Facts on File World News Digest Yearbook 2009: The Indexed Record of World Events, Volume 69

FACTS

ON FILE World News Digest

Yearbook

2009

The Indexed Record of World Events Volume 69

FACTS ON FILE News Services an imprint of Infobase Publishing

FACTS

ON FILE World News Digest

Yearbook

2009

The Indexed Record of World Events Volume 69

FACTS ON FILE News Services an imprint of Infobase Publishing

Facts On File

®

World News Digest With Index

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January 1–8, 2009

Volume 69, No. 3551

Israeli Ground Troops Invade Gaza Strip; U.N. Security Council Calls for Cease-fire More Than 750 Palestinians Killed. Israeli ground troops Jan. 3 invaded the Gaza Strip, in what the Israeli government said was a bid to stop the Palestinian militant Islamist group Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement) from launching rockets into southern Israel. Israeli aircraft and warships for the past eight days had been bombarding targets in Gaza affiliated with Hamas, after Hamas ended a six-month-old cease-fire. The United Nations Security Council Jan. 8 called on Israel and Hamas to reinstate a cease-fire, amid reports from aid groups that a humanitarian crisis in Gaza caused by the fighting was getting worse. [See 2008, p. 945A1] John Holmes, the U.N. undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs, Jan. 8 said that according to Gaza authorities, 758 people had been killed in the Gaza Strip since the Israeli attacks started in late December. The dead included 257 children and 56 women. He said some 3,100 Gazans had reportedly been wounded, including 1,080 children and 465 women, and 20,000 people had been displaced. Nine Israeli soldiers had been killed since Israeli ground operations started, three of them in combat with Hamas militants, as of Jan. 8. Before the invasion, one soldier and three civilians had been killed by rockets fired from Gaza. Although Israeli officials maintained that their aim was to stop the rocket fire and not to reoccupy the Gaza Strip, it was widely speculated that Israel was trying to oust Hamas from power in the territory, which it had governed since June 2007. Lead-up to the Invasion—Israeli forces in the days before the ground assault had continued their bombardment of Hamas targets. An air strike Jan. 1 killed Nizar Rayyan, a Hamas leader with links to the organization’s military wing who had called for renewed suicide attacks on Israel. He had refused to go underground like most Hamas officials, and was the first senior leader of the group to be killed. Rayyan was killed in his home in the Jabaliya refugee camp north of Gaza City, along with his four wives and nine of his children. Israeli forces Jan. 1–3 also destroyed Hamas security facilities, weapons storehouses, militants’ homes, smuggling tunnels un-

der the Gaza-Egypt border, and the parliament building and justice ministry in Gaza City. Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni Jan. 1 denied that there was a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Israel had been allowing some trucks carrying humanitarian goods into the territory, but aid groups said not enough supplies were being delivered. The Israeli military Jan. 2 said it had allowed more than two hundred foreignpassport holders—including many spouses of Palestinians—to leave the Gaza Strip. U.S. President George W. Bush Jan. 2 in a radio address blamed Hamas for putting Palestinian civilians at risk, by operating in residential areas. He said he was “deeply concerned” about humanitarian conditions in Gaza and that the U.S. would increase its aid. It was Bush’s first statement on the situation. The U.S. government had firmly backed Israel’s right to strike at Hamas in order to protect itself from rocket attacks. Israeli Ground Forces Split Gaza—Israeli troops and tanks late Jan. 3 poured over the Gaza border. By Jan. 4, they had taken control of the former Israeli settlement of Netzarim, which had been abandoned during Israel’s unilateral pullout from Gaza in 2005, and pushed to the Mediterranean Sea. The Israeli advance effectively cut the territory in half, in a line that ran just south of Gaza City. Israeli troops reportedly had also captured areas that had been used by Hamas to launch rockets. Israeli forces avoided pushing into Gaza City and other urban areas where it was anticipated that resistance would be heavier, instead operating mostly in open areas. Hamas fighters were reportedly refraining from engaging Israeli troops at close range, for the most part relying on mortars and improvised explosive devices. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak late Jan. 3 said, “This will not be easy or short. But we are determined.” Israel activated tens of thousands of reservists after the ground invasion started. Casualties Jan. 5 continued to mount on both sides, as some Israeli troops moved into eastern areas of Gaza City and clashed with Hamas fighters. Three Israeli soldiers

were killed when an Israeli tank mistakenly fired on them. Israel said some civilian casualties had resulted from attacks on militants operating in civilian areas. There was also reportedly intense fighting Jan. 6 in Gaza City and in Khan Yunis, in the south. Livni Jan. 5 had rejected efforts by European leaders, including French President Nicolas Sarkozy, to negotiate a cease-fire.

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Israel Shells U.N. School, Killing 40—

Israeli soldiers Jan. 6 shelled a U.N.-run school in Jabaliya, killing at least 40 people according to Palestinian officials, including 10 children and five women. The Israeli military said it was returning fire at gun-

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MAJOR STORIES IN THIS ISSUE Israeli ground troops invade Gaza Strip; U.N. Security Council calls for cease-fire; more than 750 Palestinians killed.

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PAGE 1

Russia halts gas shipments to Ukraine. PAGE 3

111th Congress opens. PAGE 3

Obama taps Panetta for CIA director. PAGE 5

Obama rallies support for economic recovery plan. PAGE 6

Atta Mills narrowly wins Ghana’s presidential election.

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Hasina sworn in as Bangladeshi prime minister. PAGE 9

Sri Lankan army captures de facto rebel capital. PAGE 9

SPECIAL FEATURE

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A review of the top news stories of 2008. PAGES 10–12

© 2009 by Facts On File News Services An imprint of Infobase Publishing REFERENCES in brackets give location of background information in this & preceding volumes.

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Israeli Ground War in the Gaza Strip

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Israeli town of Nahariya, wounding two people. It was initially feared that the Lebanese Shiite Muslim militia Hezbollah had fired the rockets and was going to reprise its 2006 war with Israel. However, Hezbollah denied responsibility for the attack, and the Lebanese government condemned it. It was thought that the rockets had been fired by one of several Palestinian groups active in refugee camps on the Lebanese border. Hamas militants continued to fire rockets into Israel from Gaza, although they caused no fatalities after the Israeli ground assault began. A Grad, or Katyusha, rocket Jan. 6 flew the farthest distance yet into Israel, wounding a baby in the town of Gadera, in the central part of the country. Gadera was more than 25 miles (40 km) north of Gaza, and only 20 miles from Tel Aviv. Egypt, France Negotiate Cease-fire Plan—

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Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Jan. 6 unveiled a cease-fire proposal, brokered with France, that included provisions that addressed the smuggling of weapons into Gaza, ending the Israeli blockade of Gaza and the possibility of an international monitoring force to patrol Gaza’s borders. Israel said it was in “fundamental agreement” with the proposal, although details would have to be negotiated. The proposal received broad international support, including from the Palestinian Authority (PA), which governed the West Bank. The U.N. Security Council Jan. 8 approved a resolution calling for an “immediate, durable and fully respected cease-fire, leading to the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.” It did not mention Hamas rocket attacks on Israel or the Israeli blockade of Gaza. The resolution was approved, 14–0, with the U.S. abstaining. U.S. Secre-

Deir al-Balah

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men in the school, and claimed that several militants, including members of a mortar squad, were among the dead. U.N. officials denied that militants had been using the building. The shelling was one of the deadliest single attacks to take place in Gaza since Israeli operations started. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon called the shelling—and two other attacks on U.N. facilities Jan. 5–6 that had killed three people—“totally unacceptable.” The U.N. had opened its schools throughout the territory to displaced Gazans, who could not flee the Gaza Strip due to an Israeli blockade. The U.N. Relief and Works Agency said 1,674 people had been staying at the Jabaliya school. In another controversial incident, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Jan. 8 said Israel had barred aid workers from a house full of wounded Gazans for several days. According to survivors, a house filled with over 100 members of the extended Samouni family in the Zeitoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City, early Jan. 5 had been destroyed in an Israeli attack, killing some inside and leaving many more

wounded. Israeli troops allegedly did not allow relief workers access to the victims until Jan. 8, despite being aware of their plight. The Red Cross said it had rescued 100 people from the building, and had found 40– 50 bodies, but that more injured and dead might remain in the building. It charged that Israel had “failed to meet its obligation under international humanitarian law to care for and evacuate the wounded.” Israel said it was investigating the incident. Israel Jan. 6 said it would open up a “humanitarian corridor” to let aid and relief workers reach Gaza. Israel Jan. 7–8 ceased combat for three-hour periods on each day to facilitate aid distribution. However, the U.N. Jan. 8 said it was suspending aid operations after one of its drivers was allegedly killed by Israeli troops during the cease-fire that day, despite coordinating his movements with Israel and driving a U.N.-marked vehicle. Other aid organizations, including the ICRC, also said they would restrict their operations due to security concerns. Lebanese Rockets Hit Israel—Two rockets launched from Lebanon Jan. 8 hit the

Facts On File World News Digest With Index (ISSN 0014-6641) Publication #183680 EDITOR IN CHIEF: Jonathan Taylor MANAGING EDITOR: Jennifer Dunham SENIOR EDITOR: Joshua Lustig EDITORS: Rahul Chadha, Ian McGullam, Ryu Spaeth ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Todd Grennan, Shannon O’Toole DATABASE COORDINATOR: Ben Miller INDEX EDITOR: Jonathan Leith COPY EDITOR: Walter Kronenberg EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS: Ingrid Jungermann, Ernesto Malinis Jr. FACTS ON FILE World News Digest is published weekly by Facts On File News Services, an imprint of Infobase Publishing, 132 West 31st Street, 17th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001 (212-290-8090). Subscription $900 a year. Yearbooks (bound volumes) available from 1941. Cumulative Index published twice a month. Vice President & Publisher: Louise Bloomfield. Associate Publisher: Marjorie B. Bank. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y. and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Facts On File World News Digest, Facts On File News Services, 132 West 31st Street, 17th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001

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FACTS ON FILE

U.N. Organs General Assembly—President of the 63nd session:

Joint U.N. Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)—

Executive Director: Michel Sidibe (Mali)

Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann (Nicaragua) [See 2008, p. 697C3] Security Council—The council consists of 15 member states. Five permanent members have veto power over resolutions. The 10 rotating seats are allocated on a regional basis. Five new members are selected each fall for two-year terms that begin the following January. [See 2008, p. 766B3]

U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF)—Executive Director: Ann Veneman (U.S.) [See 2005, p. 29A3]

Permanent—China (People’s Republic of), France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States Rotating—Terms end 2010: Austria, Japan, Mexico, Turkey, Uganda Terms end 2009: Burkina Faso, Costa Rica, Croatia, Libya, Vietnam

U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)—Director General: Koichiro

Secretariat—U.N. Secretary General: Ban Ki

Moon (South Korea) [See 2006, p. 779A1] Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)—

President: Leo Merores (Haiti) World Court (International Court of Justice)—

President: Rosalyn Higgins (U.K.) Major Agencies and Their Heads Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)—Di-

rector General: Jacques Diouf (Senegal) [See 1993, p. 892C1] International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)— Director General: Mohamed ElBaradei (Egypt) International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)—President: Lennart Bage (Sweden) International Monetary Fund (IMF)—Managing

Director: Dominique Strauss-Kahn (France) [See 2007, p. 645C3]

tary of State Condoleezza Rice said the U.S. agreed with the resolution but did not want to interfere with the Egyptian-French proposal. The U.S. Jan. 3 had blocked the introduction by Libya of another cease-fire deal negotiated by the Arab League. U.S. President-elect Barack Obama Jan. 6 had broken his silence on the fighting in Gaza, saying, “The loss of civilian life in Gaza and in Israel is a source of deep concern to me, and after January 20th [Inauguration Day], I’ll have plenty to say about the issue.” Obama promised to “engage effectively and consistently in trying to resolve the conflicts that exist in the Middle East.” His transition team had previously deferred to Bush on the issue. Protests of the Israeli air strikes and ground assault on Gaza continued throughout the Arab world, Europe, Asia and the U.S. Polls showed that a large majority of Israelis supported the government’s actions. n

Other International News Russia Halts Gas Shipments To Ukraine. OAO Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned ener-

gy company, Jan. 1 cut off natural gas shipments to Ukrainian customers due to an ongoing dispute over Ukraine’s debts to Gazprom and stalled contract negotiations. Gazprom Jan. 7 shut off gas shipments to Ukraine that were intended for delivery to European customers. The reduction in outflow resulted in supply disruptions Jan. 2– 8 as far away as Germany. Southeastern European countries with small gas reserves were particularly hard-hit, as the shortages January 1–8, 2009

U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)—Secretary General: Supachai Panitch-

pakdi (Thailand) U.N. Development Program (UNDP)—Adminis-

trator: Kemal Dervis (Turkey) [See 2005, p. 354E3]

Matsuura (Japan) [See 1999, p. 775E1] U.N. Environmental Program (UNEP)—Executive Director: Achim Steiner (Germany) U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights

(UNHCHR )—High Commissioner: Navanethem Pillay (South Africa) [See 2008, p. 568E2] U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)—High Commissioner: Antonio Guterres

(Portugal) [See 2005, p. 354G3] U.N. Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)—Director General: Kandeh Yumkella

(Sierra Leone) U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA)—Executive Director: Thoraya Ahmed Obaid (Saudi Arabia) [See 2000, p. 818C2] World Bank Group—President: Robert Zoellick (U.S.) [See 2007, p. 428A2] World Food Program (WFP)—Executive Director: Josette Sheeran (U.S.) [See 2006, p. 907E2] World Health Organization (WHO)—Director

General: Dr. Margaret Chan (China) [See 2007, p. 13D2]

came in the midst of a bitter cold snap. [See 2008, p. 985F3; 2007, p. 580A3; 2006, p. 18C1] Ukraine in December 2008 had paid Gazprom $1.5 billion, which Ukrainian officials said represented the country’s total debt to the company. However, Gazprom claimed that Ukraine owed as much as $615 million in late payment surcharges. The two sides had also been unable to agree on a new contract for 2009. Gazprom wanted to increase the price of gas, while Ukraine wanted to increase the tariff Russia paid for use of its gas pipelines. Gazprom Jan. 2 accused Ukraine of stealing gas intended for paying European customers. NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy, Ukraine’s state gas company, said Gazprom’s allegations were “untrue.” The company admitted to tapping at least 21 million cubic meters of Russian gas per day, which it said was necessary to maintain sufficient pressure in its pipelines. Putin Orders More Cuts—Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin Jan. 5, speaking to Gazprom Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Aleksei Miller on Russian state television, instructed Miller to cut gas output that day by an additional 65.3 million cubic meters, the amount Miller alleged Ukraine had siphoned off at the expense of paying European customers. Miller said Gazprom would continue to decrease output to Ukraine by the amount it determined the country was siphoning off per day. By Jan. 6, more than a dozen countries had reported delivery disruptions. Several Southeastern European countries along the so-called Western Balkan transit route said

gas shipments had almost completely stopped.

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Gazprom Halts All Shipments to Ukraine—

Gazprom Jan. 7 said it had completely halted all gas shipments to Ukraine, after it claimed the previous day that Ukraine had closed off its export pipelines. Ukrainian officials Jan. 6 denied the allegation, and claimed that Russia had suddenly shut off gas supplies. The European Union, which had initially called on Russia and Ukraine to settle the dispute independently, Jan. 5–6 entered negotiations with both countries to place international monitors along transport pipelines in Russia and Ukraine. However, Ukraine and Russia as of Jan. 8 were unable to agree on a monitoring plan. Putin, in what observers described as a concession, that day offered to pay a “market-based” tariff for use of Ukraine’s gas pipelines if Ukraine paid a market price for Russian gas. Putin Jan. 8 accused unnamed Ukrainian politicians of planning to use gas profits “as financial resources in future political campaigns.” Observers suggested he was referring to Ukraine’s president and prime minister, rivals expected to run against each other in Ukraine’s 2010 presidential election. [See 2008, p. 986E1] n

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U N I T ESTATES D S TAT E S UNITED

111th Congress Opens

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Senate Democrats to Accept Ill. Appointee.

The 111th Congress opened Jan. 6, with the swearing-in of larger Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate. However, two seats remained empty in the Senate, pending a disputed vote count in Minnesota and indecision over whether to accept Roland Burris (D), who had been appointed a week earlier by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) to fill the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. The Senate of the 110th Congress had adjourned Jan. 2, and the House the following day. [See 2008, pp. 951F1, C2, 950A1] Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) and other top Democrats had initially declared that Burris would not be seated,

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Mark Wilson/Getty Images

UNITED NATIONS—2009

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G Former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris (D), speaking outside the Capitol Jan. 6, when he was barred from claiming the Senate seat he was appointed to by Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D).

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LEADERS OF THE 111TH CONGRESS

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Speaker of the House: Nancy Pelosi (D, Calif.)

Born: March 26, 1940, Baltimore, Md. Education: Trinity College B.A. 1962 First elected: 1987 Former occupation: State party chairwoman Career: Pelosi was the daughter of former Baltimore Mayor Thomas D’Alesandro Jr. (D), who also served five terms in the House. She was elected to the House in 1987 in a special election to fill the seat vacated by the death of Rep. Sala Burton (D, Calif.), widow of Pelosi’s political mentor, Rep. Phil Burton (D, Calif.). She represented a liberal-leaning district that included San Francisco. [See 1987, p. 448B3] In her 20 years in the House, Pelosi built up a consistently liberal voting record. She was a strong supporter of abortion rights and opposed President George W. Bush’s tax cuts. In 2001, she was elected House minority whip when Rep. David Bonior (D, Mich.) resigned to pursue a gubernatorial bid. That was the highest position ever held by a woman in either house of Congress. Pelosi set another record for women in 2002 when she was promoted to minority leader, after Rep. Richard Gephardt (D, Mo.) gave up the post in response to the Democrats’ failure to regain the majority in midterm elections. [See 2002, p. 887D2; 2001, p. 793G1] After the Democrats won control of Congress in the November 2006 midterm elections, Pelosi was elected House speaker, becoming the first “Madam Speaker.” [See p. 1B1]

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House Majority Leader: Steny Hoyer (D, Md.)

Born: June 14, 1939, New York City Education: University of Maryland B.S. 1963; Georgetown University Law Center J.D. 1966 First elected: 1981 Former occupation: State senator Career: Hoyer won a special election to the House in 1981 when Rep. Gladys Spellman (D, Md.) was incapacitated by illness. He served as deputy majority whip from 1987 to 1989, and chaired the House Democratic Caucus from 1989 to 1994. [See 1989, p. 515G1; 1981, p. 342E2] Hoyer, who was seen as a moderate, in 2001 lost his bid to become minority whip when the party chose the more liberal Pelosi instead. He was elected whip in 2002 when she was promoted to House minority leader. [See 2002, p. 887B3; 2001, p. 793F1] The Democratic caucus in November 2006 elected Hoyer as majority leader, despite Pelosi’s support for his rival, Rep. John Murtha (Pa.). [See 2006, p. 876B3]

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House Minority Leader: John Boehner (R, Ohio)

Born: Nov. 17, 1949, Cincinnati, Ohio Education: Xavier University B.S. 1977 First elected: 1990

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calling his appointment illegitimate due to federal corruption charges against Blagojevich for attempting to sell Obama’s seat and other criminal schemes. However, Reid Jan. 7 reversed himself and met with Burris, signaling that the former Illinois attorney general, 71, would be accepted after all. Obama had initially supported Reid in his opposition to seating Burris. But Obama, in a meeting with Reid Jan. 5, reportedly urged him to seek an “amicable resolution” to the dilemma. The standoff had become awkward for Democratic leaders after black House members rallied behind Burris, who was 4

Former occupations: Businessman, state legislator Career: Boehner rose quickly in the House Republican ranks, becoming conference chairman after the party won control of the chamber in 1994. But he was ousted from the leadership after GOP election losses in 1998. Boehner became chairman of the Committee on Education and the Workforce in 2001, and helped shepherd Bush’s signature education reform, the No Child Left Behind Act. [See 2001, p. 998A2] In February 2006, after House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R, Texas) finalized his resignation, Boehner won the right to succeed him, defeating Rep. Roy Blunt (Mo.), the majority whip and acting leader, and Rep. John Shadegg (Ariz.). [See 2006, p. 69C2] Following the Republican losses in the November 2006 elections, Boehner won the race for minority leader, beating Rep. Mike Pence (R, Ind.). [See 2006, p. 891A3] House Minority Whip: Eric Cantor (R, Va.)

Born: June 6, 1963, Richmond, Va. Education: George Washington University, B.A. 1985; College of William and Mary, J.D. 1988; Columbia University, M.S. 1989 First elected: 2000 Former occupations: lawyer; member of Virginia House of Delegates, 1992–2001 Career: Cantor, the only Jewish House Republican, served as the caucus’s chief deputy whip from 2002 to 2008. In November 2008, after the GOP lost seats for the second straight election cycle, he was seen as a top prospect to challenge Boehner for the position of minority leader, but opted to run for whip instead. The incumbent, Blunt, stepped aside to avoid a contest. [See 2008, p. 852D3] Senate Majority Leader: Harry Reid (D, Nev.)

Senate Majority Whip: Richard Durbin (D, Ill.)

Born: Nov. 21, 1944, East St. Louis, Ill. Education: Georgetown University B.S. 1966, J.D. 1969 First elected: 1996 Former occupations: Lawyer, state political aide; U.S. House 1983–97 Career: Durbin became Senate minority whip in November 2004, when Reid moved up to minority leader. He was elected majority whip in November 2006. [See 2006, p. 876F2; 2004, p. 910C3] Senate Minority Leader: Mitch McConnell (R, Ky.)

Born: Feb. 20, 1942, Sheffield, Ala. Education: University of Louisville B.A. 1964; University of Kentucky College of Law J.D. 1967 First elected: 1984 Former occupations: County judge-executive, deputy assistant attorney general Career: McConnell from 1997 to 2001 chaired the National Republican Senatorial Committee, a position he had unsuccessfully sought in 1990 and 1992. He was married to Elaine Chao, who served as labor secretary under Bush. [See 1996, p. 909E2; 1992, p. 853A2; 1990, p. 849F3] A long-standing opponent of legislative efforts to restrict campaign contributions, McConnell helped defeat several such bills before one, known as McCain–Feingold, was finally signed into law in 2002. He led a lawsuit against the law, but the Supreme Court upheld the legislation in 2003. [See 2003, p. 973C3; 2002, p. 226A3] McConnell was elected Senate majority whip in 2002. In November 2006, the Senate Republicans elected him minority leader. [See 2006, p. 876A3; 2002, p. 887F3]

Born: Dec. 2, 1939, Searchlight, Nev. Education: Southern Utah State University A.S. 1959; Utah State University B.A. 1961; George Washington University J.D. 1964 First elected: 1986 Former occupations: Capitol police officer 1961–64; Nevada state assembly 1969–70; Nevada lieutenant governor 1970–74; chairman, Nevada Gaming Commission 1977–81; U.S. House 1983–87 Career: Reid became Senate Democratic whip—the second-ranking party post—in 1999. He was elected by the caucus to replace Sen. Thomas Daschle (D, S.D.) as Senate minority leader after Daschle lost his seat in a November 2004 election. A Mormon who opposed abortion, Reid was seen as a centrist. [See 2004, p. 910C3] The Democrats elected Reid to serve as majority leader after they won control of the Senate in the 2006 midterm elections. [See 2006, p. 876F2]

Born: April 25, 1942, Oakland, Neb. Education: University of Arizona, B.A. 1964; University of Arizona, LL.B. 1966 First elected: 1994 Former occupations: lawyer; member of the U.S. House, 1987–1995 Career: Kyl served as chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee from 2003 to 2007. (The 1946 Congressional Reorganization Act established separate policy committees for the majority and minority parties in each house, with the aim of providing a forum for developing sound legislative proposals.) Kyl was elected chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, the third-ranking leadership post, in 2006. In December 2007, he won an election for minority whip after Sen. Trent Lott (R, Miss.) announced his retirement and vacated the post. [See 2007, p. 822G3; 1946, p. 245K]

black, noting that Obama’s resignation left the Senate with no black members. Burris had actively campaigned to be seated. He appeared at the Capitol Jan. 6 to be sworn in, but was turned away by the Senate secretary, Nancy Erickson, because Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White (D) had refused to sign the certification of his appointment. Burris Jan. 2 had filed a petition in Illinois Supreme Court seeking to compel White to sign the certification. Reid Jan. 7 hosted Burris at a private meeting in his office, along with Sen. Richard Durbin (Ill.), the majority whip, or

second-ranking Senate Democrat. Afterwards, Reid said the Senate could consider Burris’s appointment if White signed the certification and Burris testified before a special impeachment committee of the Illinois state legislature that he had made no improper deal with Blagojevich for the appointment. Burris Jan. 8 testified before the committee at the state capitol in Springfield, Ill., declaring, “I would not participate in anybody’s quid pro quo.” The committee later that day voted unanimously to recommend that the full state House vote to impeach Blagojevich.

Senate Minority Whip: Jon Kyl (R, Ariz.)

FACTS ON FILE

MAJOR COMMITTEE CHAIRS AND CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP

Following is a list of congressional leaders and House and Senate committee chairpersons of the 111th Congress: Committee Chairs* HOUSE

SENATE

Agriculture—Collin Peterson (Minn.) Appropriations—David Obey (Wis.) Armed Services—Ike Skelton (Mo.) Budget—John Spratt (S.C.) Education and Labor—George Miller (Calif.) Energy and Commerce—Henry Waxman (Calif.) Ethics—Gene Green (Texas)** Financial Services—Barney Frank (Mass.) Foreign Affairs—Howard Berman (Calif.) Homeland Security—Bennie Thompson (Miss.) Intelligence—Silvestre Reyes (Texas) Judiciary—John Conyers (Mich.) Natural Resources—Nick Rahall 2nd (W. Va.) Oversight and Government Reform—Edolphus Towns (N.Y.) Rules—Louise Slaughter (N.Y.) Science and Technology—Bart Gordon (Tenn.) Small Business—Nydia Velazquez (N.Y.) Transportation and Infrastructure—James Oberstar (Minn.) Veterans’ Affairs—Bob Filner (Calif.) Ways and Means—Charles Rangel (N.Y.) *All Democrats, except Lieberman **Pelosi had yet to name a replacement for Green, who had reached his term limit for serving on the committee.

Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry—Tom Harkin (Iowa) Appropriations—Daniel Inouye (Hawaii) Armed Services—Carl Levin (Mich.) Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs—Christopher Dodd (Conn.) Budget—Kent Conrad (N.D.) Commerce, Science and Transportation— John (Jay) Rockefeller 4th (W. Va.) Energy and Natural Resources—Jeff Bingaman (N.M.) Environment and Public Works—Barbara Boxer (Calif.) Ethics—Boxer Finance—Max Baucus (Mont.) Foreign Relations—John Kerry (Mass.) Health, Education, Labor and Pensions—Edward Kennedy (Mass.) Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs—Joseph Lieberman (I, Conn.) Indian Affairs—Byron Dorgan (N.D.) Intelligence—Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) Judiciary—Patrick Leahy (Vt.) Rules and Administration—Charles Schumer (N.Y.) Small Business and Entrepreneurship—Mary Landrieu (La.) Special Committee on Aging—Herb Kohl (Wis.) Veterans’ Affairs—Daniel Akaka (Hawaii)

Congressional Leadership HOUSE

SENATE

Speaker—Nancy Pelosi (D, Calif.) Majority leader—Steny Hoyer (D, Md.) Majority whip—James Clyburn (D, S.C.) Democratic Caucus chairman—John Larson (Conn.) Democratic Caucus vice chairman—Xavier Becerra (Calif.) Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman—Chris Van Hollen (Md.) Minority leader—John Boehner (R, Ohio) Minority whip—Eric Cantor (R, Va.) Republican Conference chairman—Mike Pence (Ind.) Republican Conference vice chairwoman— Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.) National Republican Congressional Committee chairman—Pete Sessions (Texas)

President Pro Tempore—Robert Byrd (D, W. Va.) Majority leader, Democratic Caucus chairman—Harry Reid (D, Nev.) Majority whip—Richard Durbin (D, Ill.) Democratic Caucus vice chairman, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chairman—Charles Schumer (N.Y.) Democratic Conference secretary—Patty Murray (Wash.) Minority leader—Mitch McConnell (R, Ky.) Minority whip—Jon Kyl (R, Ariz.) Republican Conference chairman—Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) Republican Conference vice chairman—John Thune (S.D.) National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman—John Cornyn (Texas)

Franken Declared Minn. Winner— After a drawn-out recount, Minnesota’s State Canvassing Board Jan. 5 certified comedian Al Franken (D) as the victor of the state’s Nov. 4, 2008, Senate election by a margin of 225 votes, out of 2.9 million cast, over incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman (R). Coleman Jan. 6 filed a lawsuit challenging the result, alleging that the recount had been flawed. He argued that 650 more absentee ballots should have been counted, and that more than 100 ballots had been counted twice. The case would be decided by a threejudge panel of the state Supreme Court. Other News—In related developments: o Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D) Jan. 3 appointed Denver schools superintendent January 1–8, 2009

Michael Bennet (D) to the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Ken Salazar (D, Colo.), Obama’s nominee for interior secretary. Bennet, 44, had been Denver’s schools chief since 2005, and had previously served as chief of staff to Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper (D). He had never run for elected office, but signaled that he planned to run for a full term in 2010. o Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), the younger brother of President George W. Bush, Jan. 6 said he had decided not to run in 2010 for the Florida Senate seat held by Sen. Mel Martinez (R), who had said he planned to retire. o Cable television political talk show host Chris Matthews Jan. 7 said he had de-

cided not to challenge Sen. Arlen Specter (R, Pa.) in 2010. Matthews, the host of MSNBC’s “Hardball,” had openly discussed a possible run with Pennsylvania Democratic officials even while pursuing a new contract with MSNBC. o Sen. Christopher Bond (R, Mo.) Jan. 8 said he would not run for reelection to a fifth term in 2010. o A lawyer for former Sen. Larry Craig (R, Idaho) Jan. 8 said he would not appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court to overturn his 2007 misdemeanor conviction for disorderly conduct in a men’s room at Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport. Craig had pleaded guilty after being arrested by an undercover police officer who alleged that Craig had solicited sex from him. Craig subsequently attempted to withdraw his plea, claiming that he had been pressured by the police. [See 2008, p. 950E2] n

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Presidential Transition Obama Taps Panetta for CIA Director.

Democratic officials Jan. 5 said Presidentelect Barack Obama had chosen former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta as his nominee for director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Panetta, 70, had been chief of staff for President Bill Clinton from 1994 to 1997. He had also served Clinton as director of the White House Office of Management and Budget from 1993 to 1994, and had been a congressman from California from 1977 to 1993. However, he had relatively little direct experience with intelligence matters. [See 2008, p. 936A1; 1996, p. 835A1] Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D, Calif.), incoming chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Jan. 5 raised concerns about Panetta’s qualifications. She said she had not been told of the choice in advance, adding, “My position has consistently been that I believe the agency is best served by having an intelligence professional in charge at this time.” The outgoing chairman, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, W. Va.), and the senior Republican on the panel, Sen. Christopher Bond (Mo.), also voiced doubts about Panetta. However, Feinstein Jan. 7 said she would support Panetta’s nomination after a conversation the previous day in which he assured her that he would build a team of intelligence veterans to assist him. Obama reportedly had telephoned both Feinstein and Rockefeller Jan. 6 to apologize for not consulting them on the nomination, and that day said Panetta “had to evaluate intelligence consistently on a day-to-day basis” as White House chief of staff. The selection of Panetta took longer than Obama’s other cabinet-level nominations, which had been completed two weeks earlier. The delay in settling on a nominee was attributed to objections by congressional Democrats to intelligence officials who had been involved in controversial Bush administration policies, such as the use of harsh interrogation methods on terrorism suspects. 5

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It had been previously disclosed that Obama had decided to nominate retired Adm. Dennis Blair as national intelligence director, assigned with coordinating the various U.S. intelligence agencies, including the CIA. It was reported Jan. 8 that Obama had chosen former top CIA official John Brennan as his top White House counterterrorism adviser. In December 2008, Brennan had withdrawn himself from consideration for CIA director, citing his support for severe interrogation practices. Richardson Quits Over Ethics Probe—

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D), Obama’s nominee for commerce secretary, Jan. 4 withdrew from consideration for the post, citing a federal investigation into allegations that his state administration had steered contracts to a campaign contributor. Richardson said he and his staff had “acted properly in all matters.” But he said the federal probe might last for months, and he did not want to cause a distraction for the Obama administration. [See 2008, p. 880A3] A federal grand jury in Albuquerque, N.M., reportedly was probing state contracts worth more than $1.5 million that had been awarded in 2004 to CDR Financial Products of Beverly Hills, Calif., for advice on a transportation bond issue. CDR and its president and chief executive, David Rubin, had given about $100,000 to two of Richardson’s political organizations just before the firm won the contracts. Rubin, a leading Democratic donor, had given $28,700 to the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the national party’s executive arm, in 2008, and $3,300 to Obama’s presidential campaign. The New Mexico case was reportedly part of a nationwide probe of such alleged “pay-to-play” deals for lucrative contracts to provide bond market advice to state and local governments. Richardson had served as energy secretary and United Nations ambassador in the Clinton administration and was one of Obama’s rivals for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. He would have been the highest-profile Hispanic member of Obama’s cabinet. Two Hispanic cabinet nominees remained: Rep. Hilda Solis (D, Calif.), for labor secretary; and Sen. Ken Salazar (D, Colo.), for interior secretary. Other News—In related developments: o The House and Senate, in a joint session presided over by Vice President Dick Cheney, Jan. 8 certified the final tally of electoral votes for the Nov. 4, 2008, presidential election. As expected, Obama and his running mate, Sen. Joseph Biden (Del.), received 365 electoral votes, while the Republican ticket of Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin took 173. o President George W. Bush Jan. 7 hosted a lunch at the White House for Obama and the three living former presidents: Democrats Clinton and Jimmy Carter, and Bush’s father and fellow Republican, George H.W. Bush. It was the first 6

White House meeting of all the living presidents since 1981, when Ronald Reagan hosted his predecessors, Carter and Republicans Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. [See 1981, p. 741D1] o Obama Jan. 4 joined his family at the Hay-Adams Hotel in Washington, D.C., across Lafayette Square from the White House, where they planned to stay until Jan. 15, when they would move to Blair House, the official guesthouse for visiting dignitaries. Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, had said they were moving to the capital from Chicago before his Jan. 20 inauguration to allow their daughters— Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7—to begin school at Sidwell Friends Academy. o Obama Jan. 8 named Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine chairman of the DNC, succeeding former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean. The committee members were expected to confirm the choice in a vote later in the month. o It was reported Jan. 7 that neurosurgeon and television correspondent Sanjay Gupta was the leading contender to be chosen as surgeon general by Obama. Gupta, 39, was chief medical reporter for CNN and was also a correspondent for CBS, as well as a professor at Emory University Medical School in Atlanta, Ga. o Obama Jan. 5 announced several nominations for high-level Justice Department posts, including Harvard Law School Dean Elena Kagan as solicitor general, the administration’s top Supreme Court lawyer. Obama also named Indiana University law professor Dawn Johnsen as head of the Office of Legal Counsel, which had gained notoriety under the Bush administration for approving harsh interrogation methods and other controversial antiterrorism programs. Johnsen, who served as deputy and acting chief of the office under Clinton, had been a sharp critic of its actions under Bush. [See 2008, p. 215E3] o It was reported Jan. 7 that Obama intended to retain Sheila Bair as chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC). Bair had clashed with other Bush administration officials during the ongoing financial crisis, advocating her own plan to modify mortgages to prevent an increase in home foreclosures, but was blocked by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. [See 2008, p. 849A1] o The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Jan. 8 held the first confirmation hearing for former Senate Majority Leader Thomas Daschle (D, S.D.), Obama’s nominee for health and human services secretary. [See 2008, p. 901F2] o Obama’s transition team Jan. 7 said Harvard Law School professor Cass Sunstein would be named to head the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Sunstein had been a prominent colleague of Obama’s at the University of Chicago Law School, and was known as a pioneer of a field of study known as law and behavioral economics, which sought to take account of actual human behavior,

rather than assuming that people always made rational decisions. n

Economy Obama Rallies Support for Recovery Plan.

President-elect Barack Obama Jan. 5 held meetings with congressional leaders in Washington, D.C., in an effort to rally bipartisan support for an economic recovery plan that was expected to cost some $775 billion over the next two years. Obama’s economic team the previous day had said the plan could include about $300 billion in tax breaks, more than what most lawmakers had expected, in what was seen as a bid to enlist the support of Republicans wary of the plan’s emphasis on government spending. [See 2008, p. 950C3] Obama at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., Jan. 8 urged Congress to act quickly, in his first formal speech since winning the presidential election in November. He said an ongoing recession “was unlike any we have seen in our lifetime,” and warned that it “could linger for years” if Congress did not pass a recovery plan in the coming weeks. Obama had originally hoped to sign the plan into law shortly after his Jan. 20 inauguration, but lawmakers from both parties had said the legislation would not be ready before midFebruary, due to its size and complexity. January Financial Update (Close of trading Jan. 2 except where indicated)

Stocks and Bonds Dow Jones Industrial Average

9034.69

Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index Nasdaq Composite Index London Stock Exchange

931.80 1632.21 4561.79

Tokyo Stock Exchange

9043.12

Toronto Stock Exchange

9234.11

(see box, 2008, p. 951A1)

(Financial Times-Stock Exchange 100) (Nikkei index) (Jan. 5)

(TSE Composite Index)

U.S. 10-Year Treasury Note (yield) U.S. 6-Month Treasury Bill (yield) Currencies (late New York trading) Australia (dollar) (in U.S. dollars) Britain (pound) (in U.S. dollars) Canada (dollar) (in U.S. dollars) European Union (euro) (in U.S. dollars) Japan (yen) (per U.S. dollar) Mexico (peso) (per U.S. dollar) Switzerland (franc) (in U.S. dollars)

2.41% .27% $0.7093 $1.4497 $0.8226 $1.3850 92.277 13.7080 $.9234

Commodities Gold (per troy oz.)

$875.40

Silver (per troy oz.)

$11.0800

(N.Y. Comex spot price) (London fixing spot price)

Oil (per barrel)

$46.34

(Nymex crude future)

Gasoline (per gallon)

(nationwide weighted average price at the pump; Lundberg survey released Dec. 21, 2008)

$1.66 $6.6050

Wheat (No. 2 hard, per bushel) (Kansas City market)

Recent U.S. Data Inflation

(consumer price index 12-month increase through November; see 2008, p. 913G1)

Unemployment rate

1.1% 6.7%

(November; see 2008, p. 900B2)

Gross domestic product growth

-0.5%

Prime rate

3.25%

(annualized third-quarter 2008 rate, final report; see 2008, p. 937E2)

FACTS ON FILE

The tax breaks included a $500 cut for individuals and a $1,000 cut for families in lower- and middle-income tax brackets, although Obama had not specified an income ceiling that would determine eligibility for the cuts. Businesses would be able to retroactively apply losses from 2008 and 2009 to earlier years and immediately receive tax refunds, instead of waiting for the filing of their 2008 and 2009 returns. Businesses would also receive a $3,000 tax credit for every job they created or preserved. Government spending in the plan included investments in infrastructure projects, alternative-energy development, and aid to states to pay for Medicare health care costs. As details of the plan emerged, it came under some criticism from both Democrats and Republicans. Following a meeting with Obama’s advisers, Democrats Jan. 8 questioned whether the tax cuts would stimulate the economy, since they said consumers were likely to pocket the money instead of spending it. Democrats also said the plan should include more investments in the country’s energy infrastructure, and provisions to revitalize the country’s slumping housing market. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) called for the repeal of tax cuts for the country’s wealthiest individuals, something Obama had pledged to do in the presidential campaign but was reportedly reconsidering. Republicans voiced concerns that the plan would drastically increase the budget deficit. House Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio) Jan. 8 asked, “How much debt are we going to pile on future generations?” [See below]

Environment Bush Names Three Marine Monuments.

President George W. Bush Jan. 6 named three areas of the Pacific Ocean surrounding U.S. territories as national marine monuments, a designation that limited fishing, oil exploration and other commercial activity within them. In all, the three areas totaled some 195,280 square miles (505,775 sq km) and included portions of the Mariana Trench—the world’s deepest sea canyon—as well as uninhabited islands in the Northern Mariana Islands, the Rose Atoll in American Samoa and several uninhabited equatorial islands. The protected areas served as the habitat for a wide range of rare marine animals and birds. [See 2006, p. 513C3] Bush used the 1906 Antiquities Act to establish the monuments, after a two-year study identified the areas as biologically and geologically worthy of the designation. It was Bush’s second marine monument proclamation; the first was his naming of a 140,000-square-mile (363,000-sqkm) area of the Pacific Ocean that included an island chain and its surrounding waters as the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument in 2006. Bush, despite his establishment of the monuments, had been widely criticized by environmental advocates for his environmental record in office. The Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress, Jan. 7 reported that, under Bush, the National Marine Fisheries Service had failed to establish legally required protections for 14 threatened marine mammal species. n

Deficit Forecast to Reach $1.2 Trillion—

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office Jan. 7 projected that the federal budget deficit would reach $1.2 trillion for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. That would equal 8.3% of gross domestic product (GDP), the largest percentage since 1945, and easily surpass the previous deficit record of $455 billion, set in fiscal year 2008. Additionally, the estimate did not include Obama’s $775 billion economic recovery plan. [See 2008, p. 746E1] The increase was attributed to a $700 billion financial rescue package passed in October 2008, and a government takeover of mortgage-financing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in September 2008, which had not been added to the fiscal 2008 budget. Additionally, the economic downturn had led to increases in unemployment compensation and a shortfall in tax revenue. [See 2008, pp. 713A1, 629A1] Obama Jan. 6 had warned that the government could record “trillion-dollar deficits for years to come.” However, in previous statements he had emphasized that there was a virtual consensus among economists that government spending was the most effective way to counter the current recession. Obama Jan. 6 pledged to “take extraordinary steps” to ensure that the government’s investments were “made wisely and managed well,” and said he considered budget reform an “absolute necessity.” n January 1–8, 2009

AFRICA

Ghana Atta Mills Narrowly Wins Presidential Election.

The Electoral Commission of Ghana Jan. 3 declared John Atta Mills of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) party the winner of Ghana’s runoff presidential election. Atta Mills narrowly defeated Nana Akufo-Addo of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), 50.23%–49.77%. Atta Mills was sworn in Jan. 7, succeeding twoterm President John Kufuor of the NPP. [See 2008, p. 970C3; for facts on Atta Mills, see p. 7A3] The winner was announced after voting was conducted Jan. 2 in the Tain constituency, in the midwestern Brong Ahafo region— the only one of Ghana’s 230 electoral constituencies that did not vote in a nationwide presidential runoff held Dec. 28, 2008. (Voting had been delayed due to the late arrival of election materials on Dec. 28.) Prior to Jan. 2, Atta Mills had led Akufo-Addo by just 23,000 votes; there were about 53,000 registered voters in Tain. Atta Mills, a 64-year-old tax lawyer, had served as vice president under President Jerry Rawlings from 1997 to 2000. He had lost the presidential election to Kufuor in 2000 and 2004. In the first round of the presidential election in early December

FACTS ON ATTA MILLS

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John Evans Atta Mills won born July 21, 1944, in Tarkwa, in western Ghana. He received a bachelor’s degree and a law degree from the University of Ghana in 1967. He earned a Ph.D. in law from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, and then continued his legal studies at Stanford University in the U.S. on a Fulbright scholarship. Atta Mills went on to teach tax law at the University of Ghana for some 25 years. He also was a member of Ghana’s national field hockey team. Atta Mills served as Ghana’s tax commissioner from 1996 to 1997, under President Jerry Rawlings. He then served as vice president from 1997 to 2001. Atta Mills ran for president in 2000 as the candidate for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party, but lost to John Kufuor of the National Patriotic Party (NPP). He also lost to Kufuor in the 2004 presidential election. [See 2004, p. 996A1] Atta Mills was again nominated as the NDC’s candidate for Ghana’s 2008 presidential election. In the first round of voting Dec. 7, 2008, he placed a close second to NPP candidate Nana Akufo-Addo. Neither candidate received the 50% needed to win the election outright. A runoff vote was held Dec. 28, 2008; however, the tallies for the two candidates were so close that the final result was delayed until one of Ghana’s 230 constituencies, Tain—which could not vote that day— voted Jan. 2. The Electoral Commission Jan. 3 declared Atta Mills the winner with 50.23% of the vote, and he was sworn in Jan. 7. [See p. 7E2] Mills was married to Ernestina Naadu Mills, and they had one son.

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2008, he had placed a close second to Akufo-Addo; however, neither candidate had garnered more than 50% of the vote, necessitating a runoff. The NPP had threatened to boycott the Jan. 2 voting in Tain due to allegations that the opposition was intimidating the NPP’s supporters in the constituency. However, the vote went ahead as planned, and the NPP Jan. 3 appeared to accept the results. AkufoAddo, also a 64-year-old lawyer, Jan. 3 said, “I acknowledge the electoral commission’s declaration and congratulate Professor Mills.” Atta Mills stated that he would be a “president for all.” The election in Ghana, considered one of Africa’s most stable democracies, had been closely watched across the continent, after election-related disputes and violence in 2007 and 2008 in Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Kenya. Ghana had returned to democracy in 1992 under Rawlings, after 35 years of political instability, military coups and dictatorships. Atta Mills’s inauguration marked the second peaceful transfer of power from one democratically elected president to the next in Ghana’s history. [See 2008, pp. 974E1, 972F1, 971C2] Atta Mills would be in charge of overseeing the development of newly discovered oil deposits off Ghana’s coast. The NDC had also won a majority in parliament in elections held the same day as the first presidential round. According to the electoral commission, the NDC claimed 114 seats, compared with 107 for the NPP, 7

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in the 228-member parliament. Independents and minor party candidates filled the remaining seats. n

AMERICAS

Cuba Revolution’s 50-Year Anniversary Marked.

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The Cuban government Jan. 1 marked the 50-year anniversary of the communist revolution that brought former President Fidel Castro Ruz to power and ousted the U.S.backed military dictatorship of Gen. Fulgencio Batista. Castro, who in July 2006 had handed over day-to-day governing duties to his younger brother, Raul Castro Ruz, did not appear publicly as part of the commemoration. Fidel Castro, 82, had not been seen publicly since July 2006, when he was thought to have undergone surgery for an intestinal ailment. However, the Communist Party newspaper Granma that day published some of his remarks on the event. [See 2008, p. 117B3] Raul Castro, who formally assumed the office of president in February 2008, delivered a nationwide address from the eastern city of Santiago, where Fidel Castro had declared the revolution victorious 50 years earlier. In his speech, Raul Castro hailed his older brother and declared, “Today, the revolution is stronger than ever.” Although he had instituted relatively minor economic reforms since taking office, he did not suggest that any more were forthcoming. In contrast to 50 years earlier, when the nascent Castro regime was shunned by most of its neighbors, Cuba currently enjoyed good diplomatic relations with most Latin American countries. However, it remained hamstrung by U.S. trade sanctions and faced challenging economic conditions, many of which experts blamed on the failures of the country’s socialist economy. U.S. President-elect Barack Obama had previously raised the possibility of easing travel and remittance restrictions imposed on Cuba. Raul Castro in a Jan. 2 televised address described Obama as “honest” and “sincere,” but added, “One man cannot change the destiny of a nation, much less the United States.” [See 2007, p. 702F3] n

EUROPE

UNITED STATES

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Germany Billionaire Hit by Financial Crisis Kills Self.

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Adolf Merckle, a billionaire whose company held controlling stakes in major German industrial companies, had committed suicide after suffering heavy losses amid the global financial crisis, his family announced Jan. 6. Merckle, 74, was one of Germany’s richest people. His holding company, Vermoegensverwaltung GmbH, had as much as $40 billion in annual revenue, and controlled about 120 companies, in industries such as pharmaceuticals and cement. He had been found dead on railroad tracks, having apparently been hit by a train, late Jan. 5 near his house in Blaubeuren, southern Germany. [See 2008, p. 841B3] n 8

Government Takes 25% Stake in Bank.

The German government Jan. 8 agreed to invest 10 billion euros ($13.7 billion) in Commerzbank AG, the country’s secondlargest bank, in exchange for a 25% stake of the bank’s stock. The government had already injected 8.2 billion euros into Commerzbank in November 2008, using a rescue fund created to help the nation’s banking sector weather the global financial crisis. The new agreement was the first in which the government had taken a direct stake in a bank, following similar recent moves by the U.S and British governments. Commerzbank was seen as requiring the assistance in order to complete its acquisition of Dresdner Bank AG, set in August. [See 2008, pp. 841B3, 664E1] n

Great Britain Bank of England Cuts Rate to Record Low.

The Bank of England, the British central bank, Jan. 8 cut its key interest rate by half a percentage point, to 1.5%, the lowest in the bank’s 315-year history. The British economy had already entered its first recession in 17 years, amid a global financial crisis. The rate cut followed the lead of the U.S. Federal Reserve, which had cut its benchmark rate to near zero in December 2008 in a bid to encourage the resumption of normal lending. [See 2008, pp. 913A1, 888E2] n

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Iraq Suicide Bomber Kills Shiite Pilgrims. A suicide bomber Jan. 4 blew himself up outside an important Shiite Muslim shrine in Baghdad, Iraq’s capital, killing at least 35 people and wounding at least 72 more. The attack took place as a crowd of pilgrims, many of them Iranian, had gathered at the shrine of Imam Musa Kadhim in the northern neighborhood of Kadhimiyah, for religious celebrations that were to culminate on the Jan. 7 Shiite holy day Ashura. The bomber, who authorities initially mistakenly said was female, reportedly joined a group of about 16 Iranians before blowing himself up. [See 2008, pp. 948A2, 842E2] Since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Shiite shrines and festivities had been the target of attacks intended to heighten sectarian tensions between Shiites and Sunni Muslims, among them a 2004 bombing of the Kadhimiyah shrine. Those tensions were thought to have eased in recent months. However, some officials said that the November 2008 reopening of a bridge across the Tigris River between Kadhimiyah and the predominantly Sunni Adhamiyah neighborhood had helped allow the attack to happen. Residents expressed outrage that the bomber had penetrated the numerous layers of security checks around the shrine, with some complaining that guards were not diligent in searching pilgrims. [See 2004, p. 135F1] Officials Jan. 6 announced a ban on women in the shrine area. Although the Jan. 4 bomber was eventually identified as

a man, women were generally not searched as closely as men, giving a female bomber a better chance of entering the premises. Ashura commemorated the death of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, in a conflict that originated the Shiite-Sunni divide. Millions of pilgrims attended celebrations under heavy security across the country Jan. 7, with particularly large gatherings in the cities of Karbala, where Imam Hussein was entombed, and Najaf. In other violence, a suicide bomber Jan. 2 had attacked a gathering of tribal leaders in Yusufiya, just south of Baghdad, intended to promote sectarian reconciliation. U.S. and Iraqi officials gave varied accounts of the death toll, which ranged from 23 to 32 people. The meeting, of hundreds of members of the Qaraghul tribe, was held at the home of its leader, Mohammed Abdullah Al-Qaraghuli. The region encompassing Yusufiya had long been known as a stronghold of Sunni insurgents, although some local tribal leaders had opposed them and become targets of attack. A pair of roadside bombs Jan. 8 killed six Iraqi soldiers in an army convoy in Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad. Two more soldiers were killed that day by a roadside bomb near the northern city of Kirkuk. A car bomb Jan. 1 killed three policemen who had been inspecting the vehicle in the northern city of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province. The series of attacks early in the year raised concerns that tensions were increasing in advance of provincial elections scheduled for Jan. 31. U.S. Cedes Control of Green Zone—

The U.S. Jan. 1 formally handed over control to Baghdad’s Green Zone, a heavily fortified area of the capital where most Iraqi government and U.S. officials resided and worked, to the Iraqi government. U.S. forces would reportedly continue to be stationed at security checkpoints for at least the next 90 days as they trained Iraqi troops, and the U.S. would advise Iraq on the administration of the four-square mile (10-sq-km) zone. The handover was marked in a modest ceremony, one of a number of transitions that occurred Jan. 1. British forces formally turned over control of the southern city of Basra’s airport to Iraq. Also, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki presided at a ceremony in which Iraq took control of the Republican Palace, the onetime headquarters of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, who had been ousted in the U.S. invasion and later executed. The palace had recently served as the U.S. embassy; the U.S.’s newly constructed embassy was dedicated Jan. 5. Maliki at the ceremony hailed the recent security agreement with the U.S. that outlined the eventual withdrawal of its forces, saying that a year earlier, “the mere thought of forces withdrawing from Iraq was considered a dream.” The agreement, which took effect Jan. 1, instituted a joint U.S.-Iraqi committee to approve military operations, although U.S. soldiers remained under U.S. command. FACTS ON FILE

Blackwater Guards Plead Not Guilty—

Five former security guards with the U.S. military contractor Blackwater Worldwide Jan. 6 pleaded not guilty to charges of manslaughter, attempted manslaughter and using a firearm in a violent crime, in connection with a 2007 Baghdad shooting incident in which 17 Iraqi civilians were killed. The trial of the five men was scheduled to begin Feb. 1, 2010, in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., with numerous pretrial motions expected from the defense. A sixth defendant had pleaded guilty, and was expected to testify against the others. [See 2008, p. 915G1] n

poverty in Bangladesh, one of the poorest countries in the world. Hasina also vowed to combat government corruption and end the political bickering that had paralyzed the country in the years before the military takeover in January 2007. Hasina’s rival, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Jan. 1 had conceded defeat, even as she maintained that the elections had been rigged. International observers had proclaimed the elections free and fair. n

Sri Lanka Army Captures De Facto Rebel Capital.

SOUTH ASIA

Bangladesh Hasina Sworn In as Prime Minister. Sheikh Hasina Wazed Jan. 6 was sworn in as Bangladesh’s prime minister, following a landslide victory for her Awami League party in national parliamentary elections held in late December 2008. Her swearing-in restored democracy to Bangladesh after nearly two years of rule by a military-backed caretaker government. [See 2008, p. 989B3; for facts on Hasina, see p. 9D1] Hasina, 61, who had previously served as prime minister from 1996 to 2001, that day pledged to reduce food prices and fight FACTS ON HASINA

Sheikh Hasina Wazed was born Sept. 28, 1947, in the village of Tungipara, in what was then East Bengal, a province of Pakistan. She married nuclear scientist M.A. Wazed Miah in 1968, and graduated from the University of Dhaka in 1973. Following Bangladesh’s 1971 war for independence, Hasina’s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, became the country’s first president. Mujibur Rahman, his wife and their three sons were killed in 1975 in a military coup. Hasina and her sister, Sheikh Rehana, were in West Germany at the time. [See 1975, p. 614F3] After six years in exile, Hasina returned to Bangladesh in 1981 to oppose the military government of Gen. Hossein Mohammed Ershad. That year she was chosen as the president of her father’s party, the Awami League. She spent much of the next nine years either in jail or under house arrest, until Ershad resigned in 1990. [See 1990, p. 936D1] Hasina’s party lost subsequent elections, in 1991, to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party of Khaleda Zia; the two women would go on to be bitter political rivals. Hasina was elected to a five-year term as prime minister in 1996. One of her major legacies in office was to sign a peace treaty with rebels in southeastern Bangladesh. [See 1996, p. 453F2; 1991, p. 162A1] However, the Awami League was voted out of office in 2001. Following a military coup in 2007, Hasina was arrested on corruption charges stemming from her tenure as prime minister. She was released on bail in June 2008. [See 2008, p. 421F1] Hasina Jan. 6 was once again sworn in as prime minister, following a landslide victory for the Awami League in December 2008 elections. [See p. 9B1; 2008, p. 989B3] Hasina had a son and a daughter. January 1–8, 2009

The Sri Lankan government Jan. 2 announced that the army had captured the northern town of Kilinochchi, the de facto capital of the rebel group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The development was a significant symbolic victory for the government, which in the past year had steadily taken territory from the LTTE, a group that since 1983 had been fighting for a separate homeland for the country’s minority Tamils. Army troops Jan. 3 reportedly continued northward, seeking to oust the rebels from the Jaffna peninsula, the LTTE’s last stronghold. [See 2008, p. 799C1] Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a nationally televised address Jan. 2 described Kilinochchi’s capture as “an unparalleled victory.” He said, “For the last time, I call upon the LTTE to lay down their arms and surrender.” Rajapaksa and the majority of Sri Lankans were ethnically Sinhalese, and celebrations broke out that day on the streets of Colombo, the government capital. Rajapaksa in 2008 had formally annulled a six-year-old cease-fire, and vowed to defeat the LTTE militarily. The army in recent months had persistently claimed that it was on the verge of taking Kilinochchi, but the operation, which killed hundreds of fighters, was reportedly bogged down by heavy rains. Additionally, the rebels had reportedly created a 10-mile-deep (16-km) fortification around the town, composed of moats and earthen barriers. The government Jan. 7 officially reinstituted a ban on the LTTE, quashing hopes that the two sides could broker a political solution to the conflict in the near future. The government said the move followed a refusal by the LTTE to let hundreds of thousands of civilians in the north flee the fighting. The United Nations, which was sending food aid to civilians in rebel-held areas, had estimated that some 200,000 civilians had been displaced due to the army’s northern operation. Other News—In other Sri Lankan news: o A suspected LTTE suicide bomber Jan. 2 killed two airmen and wounded 30 others in an attack on the air force’s headquarters in Colombo. o An unidentified gunman Jan. 8 killed the prominent editor of a Sri Lankan newspaper, the Sunday Leader, which had accused government officials of corruption, including Rajapaksa’s brother, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the country’s defense minister. The editor, Lasantha Wickramatunga, was shot while caught in a traffic jam in Colombo.

o Gunmen Jan. 6 attacked the Colombo studios of MBC Networks, the country’s largest private broadcaster, after state media criticized MBC for its coverage of an LTTE suicide attack. n

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ARTS & SCIENCES

UNITED STATES

People Friends and relatives of actor John Travolta, 54, and his wife, actress Kelly Preston, 46, Jan. 8 attended a memorial service near Ocala, Fla., for the couple’s 16-year-old son, Jett Travolta. The boy died Jan. 2 at the family’s vacation home in the Bahamas after apparently suffering a seizure and banging his head against a bathtub. The child, who had a history of seizures and other health problems, was the older of the Travoltas’ two children; the couple, who also had a daughter, had been married since 1991. The boy’s body had been cremated in the Bahamas Jan. 5, after an autopsy was performed there; autopsy results were not released. [See 2008, p. 892C2; 2005, p. 596D2] n

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O B I T UA R I E S BELL, Griffin Boyette, 90, U.S. attorney general, 1977–79, and the first of two men to hold the post during the administration of President Jimmy Carter; before heading the Justice Department, he had made his mark as both a corporate lawyer for a leading Atlanta, Ga. law firm, and a federal judge; returning to his private law practice after leaving government, he often helped major companies conduct internal probes of troublesome matters; he was also President George H.W. Bush’s personal lawyer during the Iran-contra arms-scandal probes of the early 1990s; born Oct. 31, 1918, in Americus, Ga.; died Jan. 5 at an Atlanta hospital, of pancreatic cancer complications. [See 1999, p. 160B2; 1994, p. 99C3, E3; Indexes 1992–93, 1989, 1985–87, 1983, 1976–81, 1972, 1969, 1965–67, 1963] PELL, Claiborne deBorda, 90, Rhode Island Democrat who served six terms in the U.S. Senate (1961–97); though hailing from an extremely wealthy family with roots in colonial America, he was genuinely concerned with the welfare of middle- and lower-income Americans; in 1972, he sponsored legislation creating the financial-aid program for college students known, since 1980, as the Pell Grants; he also sponsored the 1965 legislation that gave rise to the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities; as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a post he held from 1987 through 1994, he played a leading role in the 1988 ratification of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty; he also had a long-standing reputation as a bit of an eccentric, with, for example, a strong personal interest in extrasensory perception; born Nov. 22, 1918, in New York City; died Jan. 1 at his home in Newport, R.I., after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. [See 1996, pp. 827F3, 659C3; 1995, pp. 762G3, 666G3, 360A3; Indexes 1987–94, 1978–85, 1960–76] SUZMAN, Helen (born Helen Gavronsky), 91, South African antiapartheid campaigner who was a member of her country’s parliament from 1953 to 1989, representing a liberal constituency in the Johannesburg area; of Lithuanian-Jewish extraction, she trained as an economic historian before entering politics; she was for some years South Africa’s only woman MP, and from 1961 to 1974 its only opposition lawmaker; as an MP, she was especially concerned with the plight of prisoners, and for years was one of the few people permitted to visit African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela, who was to become South Africa’s first black president in 1994, during his incarceration on Robben Island; in 1989, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II made her an honorary dame of the British Empire, one of her many awards; born Nov. 7, 1917, in Germiston, South Africa; died Jan. 1 at her Johannesburg home, after a brief illness. [See 1989, pp. 367B3, 115A2; 1987, p. 454C2; Indexes 1985–86, 1980, 1977, 1973, 1970–71, 1968, 1966] n

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A Review of the Top News Stories of 2008 A

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Obama Wins U.S. Presidential Election Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.), the Democratic nominee, Nov. 4 won the U.S. presidential election, defeating Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the Republican nominee. Obama and his running mate, Sen. Joseph Biden (D, Del.), won the popular vote by a margin of 53% to 46%, and garnered 365 electoral votes, to 173 for McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Obama would become the first black president when he took office on Jan. 20, 2009. [See 2008, p. 801A1] Democrats also added to their majorities in the House and Senate in the Nov. 4 congressional elections. They would have 257 seats

INTERNATIONAL NEWS U.S. Financial Crisis Sparks Global Economic Slump

Myanmar Cyclone Kills at Least 77,000 People

Stock markets worldwide Dec. 31 ended the year at historic lows, as a financial crisis that began in the U.S. spread to markets around the world and sparked a global economic downturn. The crisis, which had its roots in the U.S. housing market, caused upheavals in the global financial system and led to unprecedented government intervention into markets. [See 2008, p. 947G1] The U.S. government Oct. 3 enacted a $700 billion program to stabilize the financial system, following the Sept. 15 collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. The government Oct. 14 said it would spend $250 billion acquiring stakes in financial institutions, and Dec. 19 said it would extend $17.4 billion in loans to the country’s struggling car makers. The U.S. Federal Reserve introduced a raft of programs to inject liquidity into markets, and Dec. 16 for the first time cut its benchmark interest rate to near zero. The Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Dec. 1 said the U.S. economy had entered a recession in December 2007. [See 2008, pp. 933A1, 913A1, 882C2, 865A1, 737A1, 713A1, 645A1] European countries, whose financial institutions had also invested heavily in the U.S. housing market, were compelled to shore up banks, boost lending and enact federal spending programs to spur economic growth. Asian countries were affected by falling demand for their exports in the U.S. and Europe. Emerging economies around the world were also hard hit, as Western companies decreased their investments abroad. [See 2008, pp. 927D1, 925A1, 911C3, 910D2, 886F3, 873F2, 781A1, 738C2] The financial crisis led to high levels of coordination between central banks around the world. Several countries received assistance from the International Monetary Fund. The Group of 20 (G-20) leading economies Nov. 15 pledged to reform the global financial system. [See 2008, pp. 890E3, 873C3, 846D2, 783C2, E2, 713A1] In a volatile year of trading, the price of oil rocketed to a record high in July, before falling precipitously toward the end of 2008, as investors predicted that demand for oil would subside as the global slowdown worsened. [See 2008, p. 948B1]

Cyclone Nargis May 2–3 struck Myanmar, killing at least 77,000 people (with nearly 56,000 still listed as missing) and displacing

Russia Invades Georgia After Assault on South Ossetia

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in the House, to 178 for the Republicans, in the 111th Congress. In the Senate, pending a recount in Minnesota, the Democrats would have at least 58 seats, including two independents who caucused with them, to at least 41 seats for the Republicans. [See 2008, p. 951F1] In the weeks following the election, Obama named choices for cabinet posts and other top administration positions. The biggest nomination was that of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) for secretary of state, announced Dec. 1. She had been Obama’s main rival for the Democratic presidential nomination. [See 2008, p. 880A3]

Russian forces Aug. 8 invaded Georgia, a day after Georgia moved troops into South Ossetia, a Russian-aligned splinter region located within Georgia’s internationally recognized borders. Russian troops occupied parts of undisputed Georgian territory until October, when they withdrew to South Ossetia and another breakaway Georgian region, Abkhazia. Russia’s actions drew harsh criticism from Georgia’s Western allies, which Oct. 22 pledged $4.5 billion to rebuild the country. [See 2008, pp. 927F3, 828C1, 549A1]

Kosovo Declares Independence From Serbia The Serbian province of Kosovo, administered by the United Nations since a 1999 war, Feb. 17 declared independence. Serbia, backed by Russia, rejected the declaration as a violation of its sovereignty. [See 2008, pp. 910G3, 99F1]

China Earthquake Kills 70,000 A strong earthquake May 12 struck Sichuan Province in southwestern China, killing nearly 70,000 people, according to the official death toll as of Dec. 31, with more than 18,000 still listed as missing. [See 2008, pp. 978G2, 321A1] 10

about 2.5 million. [See 2008, pp. 337F2, 301A1]

Middle East Israel Bombs Hamas in Gaza

Israeli forces Dec. 27–31 bombed facilities in the Gaza Strip linked to the militant Islamist group Hamas, killing over 320 Gazans. The attacks came after Hamas ended a six-month cease-fire with Israel Dec. 19. There had previously been a spate of heavy fighting in Gaza beginning Feb. 27, including an Israeli ground incursion March 1–3. [See 2008, pp. 945A1, 943A2, 137A1] Iraq Approves U.S. Security Agreement

Iraq Dec. 4 approved a security agreement with the U.S., which

authorized the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq past the end of 2008.

[See 2008, p. 889F1] The Iraqi army March 25–30 clashed with Shiite Muslim militiamen in Basra, in what was seen as a move by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government against radical Shiite cleric Moqtada alSadr’s Mahdi Army militia. [See 2008, p. 210A1] Israeli Prime Minister Olmert Resigns

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Sept. 21 announced his resignation, amid a corruption probe. Elections that would determine his successor were scheduled for February 2009. [See 2008, p. 685G1]

South Asia Terrorist Attacks in India Kill More Than 170

A group of terrorists Nov. 26–29 launched attacks on Mumbai, India’s commercial capital, killing more than 170 people. India accused Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba of orchestrating the attacks. [See 2008, pp. 871A1, 861A1] Pakistani President Musharraf Resigns

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf Aug. 18 announced his resignation, ending his nine-year tenure in office amidst widespread calls for his ouster and mounting terrorist attacks within the country. Asif Ali Zardari, leader of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and widower of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Sept. 6 was elected Pakistan’s president. [See 2008, pp. 641E1, 565A1] U.S. Sets Troop Increase in Afghanistan

Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dec. 20 said the U.S. could deploy between 20,000 and 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan in 2009, to quell a resurgent Taliban insurgency that had led to record levels of violence. [See 2008, p. 988E2]

Africa Zimbabwe Power-Sharing Deal Stalls

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai Sept. 15 signed a power-sharing deal after a dis-

puted presidential election, but the deal had yet to be implemented as of Dec. 31. Meanwhile, a cholera outbreak had killed more than 1,600 and sickened some 30,300 as of Dec. 30. [See 2008, pp. 973G3, 659A1] ICC Charges Sudanese President Bashir

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court July 14 filed charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes FACTS ON FILE

against Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir related to the government’s military campaign in the western Darfur region. [See 2008, pp. 973C2, 482C3] South African President Mbeki Resigns

South African President Thabo Mbeki resigned Sept. 25 under pressure from his ruling African National Congress party, which was controlled by Mbeki’s rival, Jacob Zuma. [See 2008, pp. 973A1, 679A1] Somali President Quits; Piracy, Violence Rise

Somali interim President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed resigned Dec. 29, amid gains by Islamist insurgents, a humanitarian crisis and a rise in pirate attacks off Somalia’s coast. [See 2008, pp. 972F2, 847D2] Other News

Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan Dec. 14 launched a joint offensive against the Ugandan rebel Lord’s Resistance Army in northeastern Congo. [See 2008, p. 968E3]…Ethnic Tutsi rebels Aug. 28 launched an offensive in eastern Congo against government forces and ethnic Hutu militias, resulting in a humanitarian crisis. [See 2008, pp. 970E1, 794E2]…Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki April 13 announced the formation of a national unity cabinet with the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party, and named ODM leader Raila Odinga to the newly created post of prime minister. [See 2008, pp. 971C2, 262B2]

Asia-Pacific

Europe Medvedev Wins Russian Presidential Election

Russian authorities Mar. 4 announced that Dmitri Medvedev had won Russia’s presidential election. He was sworn in May 7. The following day, former President Vladimir Putin was confirmed as Russia’s prime minister. [See 2008, pp. 316B2, 138A3]

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Irish Voters Reject European Union Treaty

Irish voters in a referendum June 12 rejected the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty, which was designed to reform the 27-nation group’s institutions. At an EU summit, Ireland Dec. 11 said it would hold a second referendum on the treaty. [See 2008, p. 927F2] War Crimes Suspect Karadzic Apprehended

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Serbian officials July 21 announced that they had apprehended Radovan Karadzic, who in 1995 had been indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, the Netherlands, on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity. [See 2008, pp. 623G2, 497A1] Other News Silvio Berlusconi May 8 was sworn in as Italian prime minister after his coalition won parliamentary elections April 13–14, ousting the center-left government. It was the conservative media magnate’s third time serving as prime minister. [See 2008, p. 316A1]

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Americas

Protests Paralyze Thai Capital

Protesters Aug. 26 occupied the compound surrounding the Thai prime minister’s office and Nov. 25–28 took control of two airports in Bangkok, the capital, in an effort to oust the ruling People Power Party (PPP). After a Dec. 2 ruling disbanding the PPP, Abhisit Vejjajiva, the head of the opposition Democrat party, Dec. 15 was named prime minister. [See 2008, pp. 926F2, 886F1, 873A1, 622D3] U.S. Removes North Korea From Terrorism List

The U.S. Oct. 11 removed North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, after the two countries reached an agreement on verifying North Korea’s dismantling of its nuclear weapons program. However, a dispute emerged over the verification terms, stalling international talks on the issue. [See 2008, pp. 925E3, 741F2] Other News Ma Ying-jeou of the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) March 22 was elected president of Taiwan, and subsequently steered Taiwan’s policy toward China on the more conciliatory path that his party favored. [See 2008, p. 204B3]…Taro Aso Sept. 24 took office as Japan’s prime minister, following the resignation of Yasuo Fukuda. [See 2008, p. 681D2]

Fidel Castro Steps Down as Cuban President

Cuban President Fidel Castro Ruz Feb. 19 announced his resignation, after ruling the country since seizing power in a 1959 Marxist revolution. Raul Castro Ruz, Fidel Castro’s younger brother, Feb. 24 was named his successor. [See 2008, pp. 117B3, 97A1] Colombian Military Strikes FARC Camp in Ecuador

Colombia March 1 said its military earlier that day had killed

Raul Reyes, one of the highest-ranking members of the Marxist rebel group Revolultionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), in

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fighting near the border with Ecuador. [See 2008, p. 149B3]…Colombian forces July 2 tricked FARC forces into releasing 15 hostages, among them former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt Pulecio and three U.S. defense contractors. [See 2008, p. 452A1] Other News

In an unprecedented move, Canadian Governor General Michaelle Jean Dec. 4 agreed to a proposal by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to suspend the Canadian Parliament’s session until Jan. 26, 2009, circumventing the possible ouster of Harper’s government by an opposition coalition. [See 2008, p. 885B1]

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UNITED STATES NEWS U.S. Politics Illinois Governor Accused of Corruption

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents Dec. 9 arrested Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) on corruption charges. Blagojevich was accused of corrupt schemes including a plot to sell Obama’s Senate seat. He was released on bond and remained in office, defying calls for his resignation. [See 2008, p. 893A1]

Civil Rights Calif. Ballot Initiative Reverses Gay Marriage Ruling

Voters in California Nov. 4 approved Proposition 8, which amended the state’s constitution to explicitly ban same-sex marriage. The California Supreme Court May 15 had ruled that samesex couples had a constitutional right to marry. [See 2008, pp. 811A1, 325A2]

Supreme Court Constitutional Right for Terrorism Suspects

The Supreme Court June 12 ruled, 5–4, that foreign terrorism suspects held at the U.S. military prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, had a constitutional right to a writ of habeas corpus, allowing January 1–8, 2009

them to challenge their detention in federal courts. [See 2008, p. 389A1] Individual Right to Bear Arms Affirmed

The Supreme Court June 26 ruled, 5–4, for the first time in its history that the Second Amendment protected an individual’s right to bear arms for purposes of self-defense. [See 2008, p. 429A1]

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Business Financier Arrested for Massive Stock Fraud Bernard Madoff, founder of brokerage firm Bernard L. Madoff Securities LLC, Dec. 11 was charged with securities fraud for a scheme that authorities said could lead to $50 billion in losses for investors worldwide. [See 2008, p. 917A1]

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Surveillance Update Passed, Signed

Bush July 10 signed a controversial bill that updated the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), granting the government expanded wiretapping and surveillance powers within the U.S., and immunizing telecommunications companies that had assisted in the warrantless wiretapping of U.S. citizens from lawsuits. [See 2008, pp. 465D2, 433C1] 11

A Review of the Top News Stories of 2008 (continued) A

Terrorism First Convictions in Military Commissions

Terrorism detainees Salim Ahmed Hamdan and Ali Hamza Ahmad Suliman al Bahlul were convicted Aug. 6 and Oct. 31, respec-

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tively, of war crimes under the legal system set up by the 2006 Military Commissions Act, becoming the first and second detainees convicted at trial at Guantanamo. Hamdan Nov. 25 was transported to his home country of Yemen to serve out his sentence. [See 2008, pp. 863G3, 817D3, 532A1] Other News

Military prosecutors at Guantanamo Feb. 11 filed capital charges against six detainees accused of assisting Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the U.S. The defendants included Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the attack; charges against one of the defendants, Mohammed al-Qahtani, were dropped May 13. [See 2008, pp. 329C2, 86A2]…A federal judge Nov. 20 ordered the U.S. to free five Algerian detainees being held at Guantanamo, ruling that the U.S. government had failed to present com-

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Other U.S. News The Cleveland Clinic in Ohio Dec. 16 said surgeons had performed the first partial face transplant in the U.S. sometime in the previous two weeks. [See 2008, p. 922E2]…The Food and Drug Administration April 21 linked contaminated batches of the bloodthinning drug heparin to the deaths of at least 81 people. [See 2008, p. 276F1]…The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) July 11 outlined a regulatory scheme that the federal government could use to regulate the release of man-made greenhouse gases linked to global climate change. However, in an unprecedented move, EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson in an accompanying memo essentially disavowed the agency’s analysis. [See 2008, p. 488F2]

MISCELLANEOUS Sports

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pelling evidence against them. The U.S. Dec. 16 repatriated three of the five detainees to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where they had citizenship; the other two remained at Guantanamo at the end of the year. [See 2008, pp. 920G2, 846G1]

Baseball—The Philadelphia Phillies Oct. 29 beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 4–3, to win the World Series, four games to one. [See 2008, p. 799D2] Basketball—Kansas April 7 beat Memphis, 75–68, in overtime to win the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men’s basketball tournament. Tennessee April 8 beat Stanford, 64–48, to win the women’s title. [See 2008, p. 245A2]…The Boston Celtics June 17 beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 131–92, to win the best-of-seven National Basketball Association finals, four games to two. [See 2008, p. 439A1] Cycling—Carlos Sastre of Spain July 27 won the 105th Tour de France; however, the race was again marred by doping scandals. [See 2008, p. 527G3] Drugs in Sports—Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher Roger Clemens and his former trainer Feb. 13 testified before a House committee about their alleged roles in the distribution and use of performance-enhancing drugs. MLB officials Jan. 15 had appeared before the committee. [See 2008, pp. 992D3, 95A3]…Trevor Graham, a former coach of top track stars, May 16 was convicted of perjury in connection with a federal probe of a doping ring. [See 2008, p. 995F1] Football—Louisiana State Jan. 7 beat Ohio State, 38–24, to win the Bowl Championship Series national title game and claim the NCAA Division I-A football championship. [See 2008, p. 23A3]…The New York Giants Feb. 3 upset the New England Patriots, 17–14, to win Super Bowl XLII, thwarting New England’s bid to become the first team in National Football League history to go 19–0. [See 2008, p. 78F3] Golf—Tiger Woods of the U.S. June 16 won the U.S. Open, and June 18 said he would miss the rest of the season due to a knee injury. Ireland’s Padraig Harrington July 20 won the British Open and Aug. 10 won the Professional Golfers’ Association Championship. [See 2008, pp. 993D2, 563G1, 421C3]…The U.S. Sept. 21 beat Europe to reclaim the Ryder Cup. [See 2008, p. 686D2]…Annika Sorenstam of Sweden May 13 announced her retirement. [See 2008, p. 993E3] Hockey—The Detroit Red Wings June 4 beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3–2, to win the best-ofseven Stanley Cup, four games to two. [See 2008, p. 403A2] Horse Racing—Racehorse Big Brown May 3 won the Kentucky Derby and May 17 won the

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Preakness Stakes, but placed last in the June 7 Belmont Stakes, failing to win the Triple Crown. [See 2008, p. 403F3] Olympics—The XXIX Summer Olympic Games ended Aug. 24 in Beijing, China. The U.S. won the most medals, with 110, and China won the most golds, with 51. U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps won a record eight golds. [See 2008, pp. 597E3, 579F1, 578A2]

Soccer—Spain June 29 beat Germany, 1–0, to win the European Championships. [See 2008, p. 458B3] Tennis—Rafael Nadal of Spain Aug. 18 took over the men’s top ranking from Switzerland’s Roger Federer, after beating Federer in the finals of the French Open June 8 and Wimbledon July 6. [See 2008, pp. 642B3, 477D3]

Awards Nobel Prizes: Peace—Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari. Literature—Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio, France. Chemistry—Martin Chalfie, Roger Tsien and Osamu Shimomura, all U.S. (Shimomura was Japanese-born). Economics—Paul Krugman, U.S. Physiology or Medicine—Harald zur Hausen, Germany, and Luc Montagnier and Francoise Barre-Sinoussi, both France. Physics—Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa, both Japan, and Yoichiro Nambu, U.S. (Japanese-born). [See 2008, p. 758D1] Films—Academy Awards: Best Picture: No Country for Old Men. Best Actor, Daniel Day Lewis, There Will Be Blood. Best Actress: Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose. Best Director: Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men. [See 2008, p. 135G3]. Top-Grossing Film: The Dark Knight, $531.0 million. [See 2008, p. 997E2]

Deaths [For page references, see under DEATHS in the 2008 index.] Eddy Arnold, 89, country music singer, May 8; Sammy Baugh, 94, football player, Dec. 17; William F. Buckley Jr., 82, conservative intellectual, Feb. 27; George Carlin, 71, comedian, June 23; Aime Cesaire, 94, Martinican intellectual and politician, April 17; Youssef Chahine, 82, Egyptian filmmaker, July 27; Cyd Charisse, 86, actress and dancer, June 17; Arthur C. Clarke, 90, British-born science-fiction writer, March 19; Lansana Conte, 74?, Guinean leader, Dec. 22; Michael Crichton, 66, author of scientific thrillers, June 26; Jules Dassin, 96, film director, March 31; Mahmoud Darwish, 67, Palestinian

poet, Aug. 9; Michael DeBakey, 99, heart surgeon, July 11; Bo Diddley, 79, pioneering rocker, June 2; W. Mark Felt, 95, Watergate’s “Deep Throat,” Dec. 18; Mel Ferrer, 90, actor, June 2; Bobby Fischer, 64, chess player, Jan. 17; Steve Fossett, 63, adventurer, Feb. 15 (declared); Simon Gray, 71, British playwright, May 6 ; Joerg Haider, 58, Austrian right-wing politician, Oct. 11; Isaac Hayes, 65, soul singer and songwriter, Aug. 12; Jesse Helms, 86, polarizing North Carolina senator, July 4; Charlton Heston, 84, actor and NRA spokesman, April 5; Sir Edmund Hillary, 88, New Zealand–born conqueror of Mt. Everest, Jan. 11; Tony Hillerman, 83, mystery novelist, Oct. 26; Albert Hofmann, 102, Swiss chemist who synthesized LSD, April 29; Hua Guofeng, 87 or 88, Chinese Communist leader, Aug. 20; Freddie Hubbard, 70, jazz trumpeter, Dec. 29; Samuel Huntington, 81, political scientist, Dec. 24; Van Johnson, 92, actor, Dec. 12; Hamilton Jordan, 63, President Jimmy Carter’s chief of staff, May 20; Eartha Kitt, 81, singer, dancer and actress, Dec. 25; Tom Lantos, 80, Congress’s only Holocaust survivor, Feb. 11; Heath Ledger, 28, Australian-born actor, Jan. 22; Bernie Mac, 50, comedian and actor, Aug. 9; Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, 91?, Indian transcendental-meditation guru, Feb. 5; Miriam Makeba, 78, South African singer and ant-apartheid activist, Nov. 11; Dick Martin, 86, comedian and TV host, May 24; Howard Metzenbaum, 90, U.S. senator from Ohio, March 12; Anthony Minghella, 54, British filmmaker, March 18; Paul Newman, 83, actor, Sept. 26; Conor Cruise O’Brien, 91, Irish intellectual, diplomat and politician, Dec. 18; Odetta, 77, folk singer, Dec. 2; Bettie Page, 85, pin-up model, Dec. 11; Harold Pinter, 78, British playwright, Dec. 24; Suzanne Pleshette, 70, actress, Jan. 19; Sydney Pollack, 73, film director, May 26; Robert Rauschenberg, 82, visual artist, May 12; Alain Robbe-Grillet, 85, French novelist, Feb. 18; Tim Russert, 58, “Meet the Press” host, June 13; Yves Saint-Laurent, French designer, 71, June 1; Roy Scheider, 75, actor, Feb. 10; Paul Scofield, 86, British actor, March 19; Tony Snow, 53, Bush administration press secretary, July 12; Alexander Solzhenitsyn, 89, dissident Russian novelist, Aug. 3; Suharto, 86, Indonesian strongman, Jan. 27; Sir John Templeton, 95, financier and philanthropist, July 8; Studs Terkel, 96, oral historian, Oct. 31; David Foster Wallace, 46, novelist and essayist, Sept. 12; Paul Weyrich, 66, conservative political strategist, Dec. 18; John Wheeler, 96, physicist, April 13; Richard Widmark, 93, actor, March 24 January 1–8, 2009

Gaza Fighting Continues as Death Toll Tops 1,000 Progress Toward Cease-fire Seen. Fierce

fighting Jan. 9–15 continued to rage in the Gaza Strip between Israeli military forces and the Palestinian militant Islamist group Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement), which controlled the territory. Israel the previous week had invaded Gaza in what it said was an attempt to stop militants from firing rockets into southern Israel, after conducting air attacks on Hamas since late December. Negotiators Jan. 14–15 were reported to be close to agreeing on an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire. [See p. 1C1] Gazan health officials said more than 1,090 Palestinians had died as of Jan. 15— including 375 children, 150 women and 14 medical workers—and some 5,000 had been injured. They also said tens of thousands of Gazans had been displaced by the fighting. Thirteen Israelis had been killed as of Jan. 15, including nine soldiers killed in ground operations in Gaza. Fighting Moves Into Gaza City— Israeli forces Jan. 10–11 pushed further into the suburbs of Gaza City, after having previously avoided urban areas where ambushes were considered more likely. A tank shell Jan. 10 killed eight Palestinians in the Jabaliya refugee camp, north of Gaza City. Israeli tanks Jan. 11 advanced into the southern Gaza City suburb of Sheikh Ajleen, where militants said they ambushed them. In the resulting heavy fighting, at least 20 Palestinian fighters were killed. Israeli planes also continued bombing targets throughout the Gaza Strip, including smuggling tunnels in Rafah, on the Gaza-Egypt border. Gaza City residents repeatedly received leaflets and telephone calls warning them to evacuate their homes. However, with the Gaza Strip borders closed and attacks taking place all over the territory, Gazans said they had nowhere to flee to. Heavy fighting Jan. 15 flared up again, as an Israeli air strike killed Hamas Interior Minister Said Siam in Jabaliya. Siam, the highest-ranking Hamas official to be killed in the Israeli offensive, was in charge of the organization’s police and security forces. Witnesses said the air strike also killed his brother, son and four neighbors. Also that day, Israel shelled the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza City, destroying a warehouse full of food and medical supplies. Israeli Defense Secretary Ehud Barak reportedly initially apologized to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, but Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert later said a Hamas militant had been using the building as cover. A UNRWA spokesman denied that militants had been present. Israeli forces had allegedly struck U.N. facilities and personnel several times since the offensive started, including shelling a U.N. school in Jabaliya the previous week, killing some 40 Gazans. (The Israeli newspaper Haaretz Jan. 11 reported that, according to an Israeli military probe, the school had been hit by a stray Israeli mortar round, after Israeli forces attacked a nearby Hamas mortar team that had struck them. The Israeli military denied that account,

saying they had fired at militants sheltering in the building.) Hamas continued to fire rockets into southern Israel, although less frequently than earlier in the offensive. Several rockets Jan. 14 were launched into northern Israel from Lebanon. Israel said it had fired shells at the source of the rockets, and added that it considered “the Lebanese government and military as responsible to prevent such attacks.” No group took responsibility for the attack. The Lebanese Shiite Muslim militant group Hezbollah had denied involvement in a previous rocket attack, and one of several Palestinian groups active on the Lebanese border was thought to have been responsible for that attack. The advocacy group Human Rights Watch Jan. 10 accused Israeli forces of using white phosphorus in Gaza. White phosphorus was permitted for use in flares and to create smoke screens, but Human Rights Watch said that using it in densely populated areas could put civilians in danger of severe chemical burns. Gazan doctors reported treating patients with injuries consistent with those inflicted by the substance. The Israeli military did not address its use of white phosphorus, but said it “uses weapons in compliance with international law. Israel had banned Israeli and foreign journalists from Gaza since the offensive started. However, the Israeli military Jan. 12 and Jan. 15 escorted small groups of reporters into the territory. Israel Sees Military Progress— Olmert Jan. 11 at a cabinet meeting said, “Israel is getting close to achieving the goals it set for itself,” although he added that “more patience, determination and effort are still demanded.” Senior Israeli security officials said Israeli ground forces had confirmed killing some 300 militants; Hamas had an estimated total force of 15,000 fighters. They said Palestinian fighters were acting in a more uncoordinated and ineffective manner, but probably still had significant weapons stockpiles. Israeli officials also said some Israeli army reservists had been deployed in Gaza since Jan. 8. They suggested that the offensive might soon transition into a “third phase”— involving a push into urban areas and the increased use of reservists—after the aerial bombardment and initial ground invasion. Israeli officials claimed that according to intelligence reports, Hamas leaders within Gaza were increasingly open to a cease-fire, although those in exile in Damascus, Syria, were pressing to continue fighting. Khaled Meshal, Hamas’s political leader in Damascus, Jan. 10 had denounced the Israeli offensive as a “holocaust,” and said Hamas would not negotiate unless Israeli troops withdrew and opened the border crossings. An audio recording released Jan. 14 on the Internet, purportedly of Osama bin Laden, the leader of the international terrorist network Al Qaeda, called on Muslims to attack Israel and criticized Arab governments for not supporting Hamas. It was the first time a recording of bin Laden had been re-

Facts On File

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World News Digest With Index ©2009 by Facts On File News Services An imprint of Infobase Publishing

Volume 69, No. 3552 January 15, 2009

B leased since May 2008. Al Qaeda and Hamas were ideological foes, but bin Laden often expressed support for the Palestinians against Israel. [See 2008, p. 386A1] U.N. Warns of Refugee Crisis—U.N. officials Jan. 12 warned of a growing refugee crisis in Gaza, as the number of Palestinians forced from their homes by the fighting had doubled over the past four days. The U.N. said some 30,000 Gazans were living in U.N. schools throughout the territory, while an estimated 60,000 were staying with relatives. It added that about a third of the 91 U.N. schools in Gaza were full. The UNRWA Jan. 9 said it would resume its distribution of food aid to Gazans after receiving security assurances from the Israeli military. The agency earlier in the day had suspended aid, after a U.N. driver the previous day had allegedly been shot and killed by Israeli forces.

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MAJOR STORIES IN THIS ISSUE Gaza fighting continues as death toll tops 1,000; progress toward cease-fire seen. PAGE 13

2.5 million jobs lost in U.S. in 2008. PAGE 14

Congress releases rest of financial rescue funds.

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Clinton pledges active diplomacy in confirmation hearing. PAGE 16

Burris sworn in as senator from Illinois. PAGE 18

Bush gives farewell speech. PAGE 18

Official confirms detainee torture at Guantanamo. PAGE 20

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Somali pirates free Saudi tanker after ransom drop. PAGE 21

South Africa reinstates corruption charges against Zuma. PAGE 21

Germany approves stimulus plan.

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Iraqi parliament speaker selection delayed. PAGE 23

Florida wins NCAA football title. PAGE 23

REFERENCES in brackets give location of background information in this & preceding volumes.

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Nine Israeli human rights groups Jan. 14 called for an investigation into whether Israel had committed war crimes. In addition to the refugee situation, they said Gaza’s medical, electrical and water systems had largely collapsed, and some Gazans were unable to access emergency aid. However, International Committee of the Red Cross President Jakob Kellenberger, after visiting Gaza City Jan. 13, said the city’s primary hospital had enough medical supplies, and that doctors were coping with the inflow of injured Gazans. Earlier reports had indicated that the hospital had been overwhelmed by the wounded and dead. Iran’s state-run radio Jan. 13 reported that the Israeli navy had stopped an Iranian ship carrying humanitarian supplies bound for Gaza. Iran was a major backer of Hamas. Cease-fire Negotiations Move Forward—

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Hamas negotiators Jan. 14, at a meeting with Egyptian mediators in Cairo, Egypt’s capital, said they were willing to call a cease-fire with Israel, although they called for further discussion over the opening of Gaza’s borders and the patrol of the GazaEgypt border against smugglers. (Israel refused to negotiate directly with Hamas because it considered Hamas to be a terrorist group.) Olmert and Barak Jan. 15 met to discuss the terms of a cease-fire. It had earlier been reported that Barak and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni supported a ceasefire, while Olmert was pressing for expanded military operations. An unnamed senior Israeli official said a one-year renewable truce was being discussed. The truce would reportedly set a timeline for an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the opening of border crossings. Livni late Jan. 15 flew to Washington, D.C., to confer with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Livni and Rice were expected to sign an agreement addressing Hamas’s smuggling of weapons across the Egyptian border. Keeping Hamas from using the smuggling tunnels to rearm was one of Israel’s main demands for a cease-fire. Israel and Hamas Jan. 9 had rejected a cease-fire proposed the previous day by a U.N. Security Council resolution. Olmert said it was “unworkable” because it did not mention Gazan rocket attacks on Israel, and he said Israel’s military “would go on defending citizens” until a solution was found to ensure that the rocket fire stopped and would not resume. Meanwhile, Hamas representatives said any cease-fire would be predicated on Israel withdrawing its troops from Gaza and opening the border crossings into the territory. Olmert Jan. 12 told the Associated Press (AP) that he had influenced the U.S.’s decision to abstain from the Security Council resolution vote. (The resolution had passed, 14–0, with only the U.S. abstaining.) Olmert said he had called U.S. President George W. Bush to demand that the U.S. abstain from the vote. U.S. officials denied Olmert’s account, and said the U.S. had abstained so as not to interfere with a cease-fire proposal backed by Egypt and France. n

U N I T ESTATES D S TAT E S UNITED

2.5 Million Jobs Lost in 2008 Dec. Unemployment Rate Hits 16-Year High.

The Labor Department Jan. 9 reported that the U.S. had shed 2.5 million jobs in 2008, the largest yearly Unemployment loss since 1945, as 2008 7.2% an ongoing reces- December Previous Month 6.8% sion forced com- Year Earlier 4.9% panies to cut back on costs. The department reported that the unemployment rate in December 2008 rose to a 16-year high of 7.2% after seasonal adjustment, up from its November level of 6.8%. An estimated 524,000 nonfarm jobs were cut in December. [See 2008, p. 900B2] Jobs were lost in almost all areas of the economy, with the exception of education and health care. Government employment also increased. The report put pressure on lawmakers to pass a large economic recovery plan, including a mixture of federal spending and tax breaks, supported by President-elect Barack Obama, who was due to take office Jan. 20. Obama Jan. 9 described the unemployment situation as “dire,” and called for quick passage of the plan, saying, “For the sake of our economy and our people, this is the time to act without delay.” The House Jan. 15 unveiled a two-year stimulus plan that would cost $825 billion. [See p. 15E1] Economists said the official unemployment rate belied the severity of problems in the labor market, because it did not include “discouraged” workers who had stopped looking for work, and were therefore no longer considered part of the workforce, or those who had accepted only part-time employment even though they sought fulltime work. Counting those people, the rate would be 13.5%, up from 12.6% in November. 154.4 Million Jobs Held in December—

According to a household survey, 154.4 million people held jobs in December 2008, the Labor Department reported Jan. 9. The department counted 11.1 million people as unemployed. The department counted 642,000 workers as discouraged in December. Eight million people who sought full-time employment were working part-time instead. The average manufacturing workweek was 33.3 hours in December, down from 33.5 in November, and the lowest average since 1964, when the department began tracking such data. Economists said the trend indicated that employers were cutting back work hours to keep costs down. Factory workers’ average overtime was 3.0 hours, down from 3.3 the previous month. The average hourly wage for production workers rose five cents, to $18.36. The unemployment rate among whites in December was 6.6%, up from 6.2% in November. The jobless rate for blacks was 11.9%, up from 11.3% the previous month. For Hispanics, who could be of any race, the rate was 9.2%, up from 8.6% in November.

For men age 20 and over, December unemployment was 7.2%, up from 6.7% in November. For adult women, it was 5.9%, up from 5.6% the previous month. The teenage rate was 20.8%, up from 20.4% in November. For black teenagers it was 33.7%, up from 32.2% the previous month. n

Other Economic News Rest of Financial Rescue Funds Released.

The Senate Jan. 15 voted, 52–42, to reject a measure that would have blocked the release of the second half of a $700 billion financial rescue package enacted in October 2008, giving the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama access to $350 billion to stabilize the country’s fragile financial industry if necessary. The move came as two of the country’s largest banks, Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc., struggled with rising losses and falling stock prices. The House that day unveiled a separate $825 billion economic recovery plan, which was comprised of a mix of tax breaks and new government spending. [See below, p. 6A3; 2008, p. 934B1] President George W. Bush Jan. 12 had formally requested the second half of the package, known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), at Obama’s behest. Obama that day said it would be “irresponsible” for him take office Jan. 20 “without any potential ammunition should there be some sort of emergency or weakening of the financial system.” The Bush administration had already made commitments exceeding the initial $350 billion allotment. The Bush administration’s handling of the funds, most of which had been used to buy shareholder stakes in financial institutions, had been

Facts On File World News Digest With Index (ISSN 0014-6641) Publication #183680 EDITOR IN CHIEF: Jonathan Taylor MANAGING EDITOR: Jennifer Dunham SENIOR EDITOR: Joshua Lustig EDITORS: Rahul Chadha, Ian McGullam, Ryu Spaeth ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Todd Grennan, Shannon O’Toole DATABASE COORDINATOR: Ben Miller INDEX EDITOR: Jonathan Leith COPY EDITOR: Walter Kronenberg EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS: Ingrid Jungermann, Ernesto Malinis Jr. FACTS ON FILE World News Digest is published weekly by Facts On File News Services, an imprint of Infobase Publishing, 132 West 31st Street, 17th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001 (212-290-8090). Subscription $900 a year. Yearbooks (bound volumes) available from 1941. Cumulative Index published twice a month. Vice President & Publisher: Louise Bloomfield. Associate Publisher: Marjorie B. Bank. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y. and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Facts On File World News Digest, Facts On File News Services, 132 West 31st Street, 17th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001

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widely criticized by lawmakers. They said TARP had failed to achieve one of its primary goals, which was to compel financial institutions to resume lending to businesses and consumers, following a crippling freeze in credit markets. Lawmakers also criticized Bush for not using TARP funds to prop up the slumping housing market, which had led to a rising number of home foreclosures. Under the TARP legislation, the release of the remaining funds could be blocked within 15 days of a formal request, if both the House and Senate approved the block. House members were reportedly against releasing the funds without first placing stricter restrictions on how they would be used. Rep. Barney Frank (D, Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Jan. 9 had proposed legislation that would require the Treasury to use $40 billion in TARP funds to prevent foreclosures, and require financial institutions that received TARP aid to show more transparency in how the funds were spent. Obama heavily lobbied members of the Senate to defeat the measure to block the release of the $350 billion, as they were seen as more amenable to releasing the funds without imposing new, formal restrictions. The Senate’s rejection of the measure would make any House vote moot. Obama reportedly threatened to veto a measure blocking the funds’ release. In a bid to gather support, Lawrence Summers, who would be director of the National Economic Council in Obama’s administration, Jan. 15 sent a letter to Senators, pledging to use $50 billion–$100 billion of TARP funds to address the foreclosure crisis. Summers also wrote that financial institutions receiving TARP aid would have to limit the compensation of their executives and demonstrate that they were increasing lending. Six Republican Senators voted to release the funds, along with 46 Democrats. Obama after the vote said he shared the “frustration” of those who felt that Bush had not used the funds wisely, and promised to change the way the package was implemented and “keep faith with the American taxpayer.” $825 Billion Recovery Plan Proposed—

The House Appropriations Committee Jan. 15 unveiled an economic recovery program that would cost $825 billion over the next two years, in an attempt to combat an ongoing recession. The plan was composed of $550 billion in new government spending and $275 billion in tax relief for businesses and consumers. Obama Jan. 10 in a weekly radio and Internet address had supported such a plan, saying it would create or save three million to four million jobs. Rep. David Obey (D, Wis.), the committee chairman, Jan. 15 described the bill as “the largest effort by any legislative body on the planet” to spur economic growth, but warned that it still could prove “insufficient” due to the severity of the recession. The bill, already bigger than the $775 billion estimate previously proposed by Obama aides, was expected to increase in cost as it moved through Congress; the January 15, 2009

Senate was currently drafting its own version of the program. The bill proposed broad government investments in education ($117 billion), infrastructure projects ($90 billion) and alternative-energy development and energy conservation ($54 billion). States would receive $119 billion in aid to help pay for health care and other costs, and $106 billion would be used to extend unemployment benefits, provide health insurance for the needy and increase food stamp allowances. Individuals making less than $75,000 a year would receive a $500 payroll tax cut, and families making less than $150,000 would receive a $1,000 payroll tax cut. Businesses would be able to retroactively apply losses from 2009 to taxes paid as early as 2003, and immediately receive tax refunds, instead of waiting for their 2009 returns to be filed. An earlier Obama proposal to provide a $3,000 tax credit to businesses for every job they created was nixed, following criticisms that the provision could be easily abused. Republicans balked at the program’s cost. House Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio) Jan. 15 claimed that the plan had received “no Republican input” and said it was “grounded in the flawed notion that we can simply borrow and spend our way back to prosperity.” Banks Remain Vulnerable—Media outlets Jan. 15 reported that Bank of America had appealed to the government for aid, as it struggled to close its acquisition of brokerage Merrill Lynch & Co. The deal had been announced in September 2008, when losses stemming from the slumping housing market nearly pushed Merrill into bankruptcy. The two sides had finalized the deal Jan. 1. [See 2008, p. 738A1] Merrill was reportedly set to post a massive write-down on its assets for the fourth quarter of 2008, complicating Bank of America’s efforts to absorb the firm. Bank of America had already received a $25 billion capital injection from the government. Its share price on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Jan. 14 was $10.20, down about 30% for the year. Banking giant Citigroup Jan. 13 announced that it would sell a 51% stake in its Smith Barney retail brokerage unit to Morgan Stanley for $2.7 billion. Smith Barney would be run as a joint venture between Citigroup and Morgan Stanley. The split was expected to be the first step in a plan to shrink the company, which had reported huge losses in the past year due to investments in the housing market. Investors saw the move as an indication that Citigroup was trying to separate its core businesses from those that had become unprofitable. However, it remained unclear whether the plan would allow Citigroup, which had received $45 billion in government capital, to become financially viable. Its NYSE share price Jan. 14 fell $1.37, to $4.53. Separately, former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, a Citigroup director, Jan. 9 announced that he would retire. Rubin had come under criticism for pushing Citigroup to make riskier investments after joining the bank in 1999. [See 2008, p. 865E3] n

MERCHANDISE TRADE DATA

Country/ Region China Japan Canada European Union Mexico NICs†

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*Bilateral trade figures in billions of dollars unadjusted for seasonal variations. The data—except figures given for Canada—do not include revisions of month-earlier figures. †Newly industrialized countries—Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea.

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Trade Deficit Fell to $40.4 Billion in Nov. ’08.

The Commerce Department Jan. 13 reported that the Trade Deficit seasonally adjust(in billions) ed U.S. trade def- November 2008 $40.44 icit in goods and Previous Month $56.69 $59.87 services for No- Year Earlier vember 2008 was $40.4 billion, down from a revised $56.7 billion in October, and a five-year low. Economists said the deficit drop came as a result of an ongoing recession, which suppressed U.S. demand for imports. Another central factor was the plummeting price of imported oil, with the average barrel of crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange commanding an average of $66.72 in November, compared with $92.02 in October. [See 2008, p. 900C3] Imports decreased by $25 billion in November, to $183.2 billion. Besides oil, the change was led by decreased imports of industrial supplies and materials and consumer goods. Exports in November fell to $142.8 billion, an $8.7 billion drop from the preceding month, as demand for U.S. goods fell as a result of a global economic downturn. The change was led by decreased exports of industrial supplies and materials, and capital goods. n

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Retail Sales Fell 2.7% in December 2008.

The Commerce Department Jan. 14 reported that the value of retail sales in December 2008 was $343.2 billion, after seasonal adjustment. That was 2.7% below the revised figure for November, and the sixth straight monthly decline, as an ongoing recession depressed consumer spending. [See 2008, p. 921A3] n Federal Reserve Issues ‘Beige Book.’ The Federal Jan. 14 issued its “beige book” survey of economic data covering the previous six weeks. The survey was compiled eight times a year on a rotating basis by the Fed’s 12 regional banks. In its latest survey, the Fed found that economic activity had slowed in a “wide range of manufacturing industries,” due to an ongoing recession. [See 2008, p. 882G2] The Fed said the slumping housing market had “continued to worsen” and retail spending was “generally weak.” The Fed said credit markets were still frozen, making it difficult for consumers and businesses to gain access to loans. n 15

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Presidential Transition Clinton Pledges Active Diplomacy. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D, N.Y.) Jan. 13 testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at a confirmation hearing for her nomination as secretary of state by President-elect Barack Obama. Clinton vowed to pursue active diplomacy, including direct engagement with nations such as Iran and Syria that had been shunned by the Bush administration. [See p. 5C3; 2008, p. 880A3] During their contest in the primary campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, Clinton had criticized Obama’s pledge to open talks with Iran and other nations whose leaders were perceived as hostile to the U.S. But she adopted Obama’s position at her confirmation hearing, saying that his administration would be “very open to looking to a positive, effective way of engaging with Iran.” Clinton also reaffirmed Obama’s plans to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq, renew efforts to stabilize Afghanistan and deepen U.S. involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, despite the current Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. She deplored the “tragic humanitarian costs” of the latter conflict, but said the Obama administration would not negotiate directly with Hamas, the Islamist movement that controlled Gaza, unless it recognized Israel’s right to exist and renounced violence. [See pp. 23F1, 13A1; 2008, p. 988F2] Clinton said she would make it a top priority to press for treaties reducing stockpiles of nuclear arms. She also said she would focus on economic issues, declaring, “Of particular concern to me is the plight of women and girls, who comprise the majority of the world’s unhealthy, unschooled, unfed and unpaid.” Clinton drew a warm response from members of the panel from both parties during her five hours of testimony, and was expected to easily win confirmation. However, Republicans on the committee raised the issue of possible conflicts of interest related to the international fund-raising activities of her husband, former President Bill Clinton. Clinton said there was no reason for such concerns, citing an agreement worked out in November 2008 between Obama’s transition team and her husband that required him to make annual disclosures of the identities of donors to his charitable foundation. His first such disclosure had revealed multimillion-dollar contributions from a number of foreign governments and business magnates. The Associated Press Jan. 13 reported that Sen. Clinton had intervened at least six times in matters directly concerning the business interests of donors who later contributed to Bill Clinton’s foundation. Sen. Richard Lugar (R, Ind.), the senior Republican on the committee, said he regretted that she did not see a need for further restrictions on her husband’s fundraising. However, he said he would vote for her anyway, telling her, “Your qualifications are remarkable.” 16

The committee Jan. 15 voted, 16–1, to send Clinton’s nomination to the full Senate. Sen. David Vitter (R, La.) cast the lone vote against her, citing Bill Clinton’s foundation as a “multimillion-dollar minefield of conflicts of interest.” Hearing Held for U.N. Nominee Rice—

Susan Rice, who had served in the State Department in the Clinton administration, Jan. 15 testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in her confirmation hearing for the position of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Obama. Rice currently worked at the Brookings Institution think tank and had advised Obama’s presidential campaign. During her testimony, Rice said that, if confirmed, her central priorities as U.N. ambassador would be to expand the U.N.’s ability to carry out peacekeeping missions, increase programs benefiting the world’s poorest citizens, push for unified action against climate change and arrest the spread of nuclear weapons. [See 2008, p. 880A3] Biden Visits Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan—

Vice President–elect Joseph Biden Jan. 9– 12 traveled to Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq to meet with civilian and military leaders. Biden met Jan. 9 with Pakistani Prime Minister Asif Ali Zardari in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital; Jan. 10 with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul, the Afghan capital; and Jan. 12 with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and other officials in Baghdad, the Iraqi capital. Biden made no public statements during his trip. As former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he traveled officially as a senator on a fact-finding mission, and was accompanied by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R, S.C.). Biden Jan. 15 resigned his Senate seat. He had represented Delaware in the Senate for 36 years, and was reelected to a seventh term in November 2008. Gov. Ruth Ann Minner (D) had named Biden’s former chief of staff, Edward Kaufman (D), to fill the seat for the next two years until a special election in 2010. [See 2008, p. 867A3] n Holder Confirmation Hearings Begin. Eric Holder Jr., President-elect Barack Obama’s nominee for attorney general, Jan. 15 began his confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. If confirmed, Holder, a former judge who had served as deputy attorney general under President Bill Clinton, would be the first black attorney general. [See 2008, p. 880A3; 2007, p. 730A2] Senators questioned Holder about his tenure under Clinton, including his involvement in the pardoning of then-fugitive financier Marc Rich and members of a Puerto Rican nationalist group that had carried out terrorist acts. Holder stood by his recommendation that Clinton pardon 16 members of the Armed Forces of National Liberation (FALN), the Puerto Rican group, but admitted that he had failed to gather enough information about the Rich pardon before it was approved. [See 2002, p. 230G2; 1999, p. 959A1]

Holder called the controversy surrounding the Rich pardon “the most intense, most searing experience I’ve ever had as a lawyer.” However, he said he had learned from the debacle and suggested that he would “be a better attorney general, if confirmed, having had the Marc Rich experience.” Waterboarding Called Torture—During his testimony, Holder said waterboarding, a notorious interrogation technique that involved pouring water over a detainee’s cloth-covered face in order to simulate drowning, was “torture.” His position contradicted that of current Attorney General Michael Mukasey, who had refused to call the technique torture during his own confirmation testimony in 2007. Waterboarding, which in the past had been prosecuted as a war crime by the U.S., had been used by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) against at least three terrorism detainees in U.S. custody during their interrogation. Holder’s description of the technique as torture opened the door for possible criminal prosecutions of CIA interrogators, as well as high-level Bush administration officials who had signed off on its use. However, Holder did not say whether such prosecutions would occur, and noted that Obama had said he did not want to carry out prosecutions that would “criminalize policy differences where they might exist.” Holder also said he believed that some of the claims of executive authority made by the Bush administration had been erroneous and would be rolled back. He also rejected the Bush administration claim that the president had the right, in some situations, to violate U.S. law, saying, “No one is above the law.” Holder said he did not expect to challenge the immunity from lawsuits that had been granted to U.S. telecommunications companies that had assisted the Bush administration in its warrantless wiretapping program. However, he pledged that the Justice Department would work to make sure that the civil liberties of U.S. citizens were respected during terrorism and criminal investigations. In addition, Holder confirmed that Obama still intended to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, despite potential legal and logistical complications. Holder also suggested that he was open to prosecuting some of Guantanamo’s remaining detainees in U.S. courts. Politically Motivated Hiring to be Probed—

In his testimony, Holder said the Bush administration’s politically motivated hiring within the Justice Department was “appalling.” He added that, if confirmed, he would carry out a “damage assessment” to see how much those actions had compromised the ability of the department to effectively function. He did not say whether he would seek to remove unqualified department personnel who had been chosen for their political beliefs. (The department’s inspector general, Glenn Fine, had issued a series of reports alleging that senior officials had discriminated against liberal applicants. The latest FACTS ON FILE

report, issued Jan. 13, said Bradley Schlozman, a former senior official in the civil rights division, had violated civil-service laws and made false statements to Congress.) Napolitano Confirmation Hearing Held—

Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D), Obama’s nominee for homeland security secretary, Jan. 15 appeared before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs for her confirmation hearing. If confirmed, Napolitano, a former U.S. attorney under Clinton, would be the first woman to serve as homeland security secretary since the position was created in 2002. [See 2008, p. 867D2] In her testimony before the committee, Napolitano said the work of shaping the Department of Homeland Security, which had been constructed out of 22 separate agencies and divisions, was “not finished,” and suggested that she would push to improve the department rather than dismantling it, as some critics had called for. She highlighted cybersecurity, increased control over U.S. borders and effective response to accidents and natural disasters as some of her major priorities for the department. n Treasury Nominee Failed to Pay Taxes.

The Senate Finance Committee Jan. 13 canceled a confirmation hearing scheduled to take place that day for Obama’s Treasury secretary nominee, Timothy Geithner, after it was revealed that Geithner had failed to pay $34,000 in payroll taxes for salary he had received from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) between 2001 and 2004. The committee that day held a closed-door meeting with Geithner, who reportedly claimed that the failure to pay the taxes was an innocent mistake. The committee Jan. 14 scheduled Geithner’s confirmation hearing for Jan. 21, a day after Obama’s inauguration. [See 2008, p. 866G1] Obama Jan. 14 said he believed Geithner’s claim, and argued that Geithner, the current president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, was “uniquely qualified” to lead the Treasury. Many members of the committee also appeared to support Geithner, who had played a central role in the government’s recent attempts to stabilize financial markets. But Sen. Charles Grassley (Iowa), the committee’s ranking Republican, Jan. 13 had said the charges were “serious,” and left open the possibility that they could disqualify Geithner from confirmation. According to information made available by the committee and Obama’s transition team, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audited Geithner in 2006, and found that he owed about $17,000 in back taxes and interest for Medicare and Social Security payments he should have made in 2003 and 2004, a sum Geithner then paid. Before Geithner was nominated in November 2008, Obama’s vetting team informed him that he had not paid the same taxes in 2001 and 2002. Geithner then paid the IRS an additional $26,000 in back taxes and interest. In all, including other, smaller infractions, Geithner had owed the IRS $48,000. January 15, 2009

Observers noted that U.S. citizens working for international institutions like the IMF often made mistakes in their tax payments. The IMF did not withhold payroll taxes, and U.S. employees were expected to pay those taxes directly to the IRS. The IMF also paid its U.S. employees the equivalent of a U.S. employer’s payroll tax contribution, which was also intended to be turned over to the IRS. Skeptics of Geithner’s claims said the IMF made it explicit to U.S. employees that they were responsible for paying those taxes. Geithner was also found to have hired an immigrant housekeeper whose authorization to live in the country had expired for three months during her employment. She later reapplied for authorization, and currently lived in the U.S. legally. Hearing for SEC Chief Nominee Held—

The Senate Banking Committee Jan. 15 held a hearing for Mary Schapiro, Obama’s nominee to be chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in which she pledged to act “with full force and fervor against anyone who violates investors’ trust.” The SEC in recent months had been accused of lax regulation of the financial industry, allowing the spread of risky assets that then caused a crisis in markets worldwide. The SEC had also come under heavy criticism for its failure to detect a stock fraud allegedly carried out by financier Bernard Madoff, which could cost investors up to $50 billion in losses. [See p. 15D2; 2008, p. 955F1] Schapiro was currently the head of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra), an oversight body set up by the industry. Lawmakers questioned her record as Finra chief, which critics said showed that she had been reluctant to take aggressive action against large financial institutions. Schapiro insisted that there were “no sacred cows” in the financial world, and that she would “vigorously prosecute those who have broken the law.” n Daschle Speaks on Health Care Reform.

Former Sen. Tom Daschle (D, S.D.), the Health and Human Services secretary nominee, Jan. 8 pledged before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions to work with congressional Republicans in shaping a drastic reform of the U.S.’s health care system. Daschle’s was the first Senate hearing for a nominee of the administration of President-elect Barack Obama. Daschle told Republicans, “I’m determined to work with each of you and use the regular order to produce the best product we can,” meaning the administration would seek Senate approval for reform legislation under ordinary rules, rather than special budget procedures that bypassed filibusters. [See p. 6F2] Daschle at the hearing also said he would work to fast-track the approval of cheaper generic medicines, bolster support for community and rural health care, embrace new health-care technology and eliminate political interference in federal science agencies. Daschle also faced a confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee.

However, that committee delayed setting a hearing date because it was still examining Daschle’s complex tax records, the Wall Street Journal reported Jan. 15. Chu Confirmation Hearing Held— The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Jan. 13 held a confirmation hearing for Steven Chu, Obama’s nominee for Energy Secretary. Chu, a 1997 Nobel Prize winner in physics, was widely considered to be qualified for the position but faced questioning from senators about past statements he had made on energy policy and the environment. [See 2008, p. 901G3; 1997, p. 778D3] Chu was questioned about remarks he had made in 2007, in which he referred to coal as “my worst nightmare,” and told the committee that the current methods for producing electricity by burning coal were unsustainable due to their emissions, which had helped fuel climate change. However, Chu said he did not intend to push for a moratorium on coal-plant construction, and that he favored additional research into so-called clean coal technologies, which aimed to minimize carbon emissions. Chu affirmed his support for a so-called cap-and-trade plan, under which permits were sold to businesses in order to contain emissions and create a financial incentive not to pollute, but said that such a system would need to be simple. He also expressed cautious support for an increase in the number of nuclear plants in the U.S., and spoke in favor of initiatives that would increase energy efficiency and fund research into biofuels.

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Interior Nominee Pledges Ethics Reform—

Sen. Ken Salazar (D, Colo.), nominee for secretary of the interior, Jan. 15 appeared for his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Salazar said he would work to “clean up the mess” at the Interior Department, a reference to a recent ethics scandal in which department employees had sex and used illegal narcotics with employees from oil companies they were charged with regulating. [See 2008, pp. 956A1, 918E1] Salazar said he agreed with Obama’s plan to reduce the U.S.’s dependence on foreign oil by developing additional renewable energy sources. However, he was vague in response to questions on whether he supported the development of oil exploration and drilling projects on public land and on offshore rigs. Congressional Democrats had been strongly opposed to such projects for environmental reasons, but Obama during the presidential campaign said they would be part of his comprehensive energy plan. Jackson Indicates EPA Changes— Lisa Jackson, Obama’s nominee as Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator, Jan. 14 attended her confirmation hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. In a tacit criticism of the Bush administration, she promised to adhere to the law and scientific data in executing her duties. Jackson said she would not rule out applying older laws to situations that did not exist at the time of their passage, a position that left open the 17

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possibilty of using the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon dioxide emissions. [See 2008, pp. 918D2, 557F3] Vilsack Testifies for Agriculture Post—

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Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack (D), Obama’s choice for agriculture secretary, Jan. 14 appeared for his confirmation hearing before the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee. He voiced strong support for programs that would send locally grown fruit and vegetables to school lunch programs, and also advocated for big commodity farms, organic farming and renewable energy initiatives. He acknowledged difficulties for the ethanol industry, which had suffered amid the current economic slowdown, but stopped short of pledging to create a new federal program to boost it. [See 2008, pp. 918F1, 557B3] Vilsack pledged to enforce the provisions of the 2008 agriculture subsidy law (commonly known as the “farm bill”), which, amid some criticism, had earmarked $43 billion for farm subsidies through 2013. Both Democrats and Republicans praised Vilsack during the hearing, and committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D, Iowa) said he expected that Vilsack would be confirmed unanimously Jan. 20. [See 2008, p. 436F2] Education Nominee Viewed Favorably—

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Chicago schools chief executive Arne Duncan, Obama’s nominee for secretary of education, Jan. 12 appeared before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which largely welcomed him as an innovative and diligent administrator. Duncan, during his tenure in Chicago, had been known for his judicious handling of a reform agenda, while also maintaining good relations with the Chicago Teachers Union. [See 2008, p. 918D3] During his confirmation hearing, Duncan pledged to work toward expanding access to both early childhood education and college. He also voiced support for charter schools and performance pay, by which teachers received bonuses for notable classroom improvement. He was vague on his opinion of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which measured school and student performance with standardized testing, and was likely to come up for debate after Obama’s administration took office. Duncan said he agreed with Obama that “we should neither bury NCLB nor praise it without reservation.” [See 2008, p. 905D1] Labor Pick Dodges Union Card Queries—

Rep. Hilda Solis (D, Calif.), Obama’s pick for labor secretary, Jan. 9 appeared before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. She expressed support for job training programs and workplace safety rules, but declined to answer Republicans queries about her position on the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill opposed by pro-business Republicans. [See 2008, p. 936E1; 2007, p. 143D3] Both Solis and Obama had co-sponsored the bill, which would allow workers to organize by signing union cards, as opposed to a system of periodic secret ballot votes. It was widely believed that the “card check” system would make it easier for workers to or18

ganize. Solis said she had not discussed the issue with Obama and therefore was unable to speak for his administration. Solis said that, if confirmed, she would work toward implementing more job training programs, especially for veterans and the unemployed. She also pledged to fight job discrimination and push for fair pay and safe workplaces. She noted that her parents, who immigrated from Mexico and Nicaragua, had both been union workers. Despite her silence on the card-check bill, observers considered Solis’s confirmation all but guaranteed after she received an endorsement from Sen. Orrin Hatch (R, Utah), who opposed many of the pro-labor causes Solis had championed. n

Politics Burris Sworn in as Senator From Illinois.

Vice President Dick Cheney Jan. 15 swore in Roland Burris (D) as the new senator from Illinois, filling the seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. Burris took his seat after a reversal by Senate Democratic leaders, who had initially vowed to block his appointment by Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D). [See p. 3D3] Blagojevich faced federal corruption charges for a variety of alleged schemes, including one to sell Obama’s seat to the highest bidder. He had been arrested early in December 2008, but remained in office and at the end of that month announced his appointment of Burris, 71, a former Illinois attorney general. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D, Nev.) had first responded by declaring that Burris could not be seated, citing the refusal of Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White (D) to certify his appointment. However, Reid subsequently indicated that he would support the appointment if Burris obtained that certification and testified that he had not made any improper deal for the seat. White Jan. 9 signed a letter certifying Burris’s appointment, which was presented at the Senate Jan. 12 by Burris’s lawyers. Reid and Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D, Ill.) Jan. 12 declared in a statement that Burris’s credentials “now satisfy Senate rules and validate his appointment.” Burris replaced Obama as the lone black member of the Senate. He would serve the remaining two years of Obama’s term, but said he had not yet decided whether to run for a full term in 2010. Blagojevich Impeached— The Illinois state House Jan. 9 voted, 114–1, to impeach Blagojevich, making him the first governor to be impeached in the state’s 190-year history. He faced a trial in the state Senate, expected to begin Jan. 26, and would be removed from office if convicted, on a two-thirds majority vote, of any of the 13 articles of impeachment. Blagojevich held a news conference after the vote, reiterating that he was innocent of the charges against him. “I believe that at the end of the day I will be properly exonerated,” he said. n

Bush Administration Bush Gives Farewell Speech. President George W. Bush Jan. 15 delivered a farewell address to the nation, admitting some “setbacks” during his presidency but insisting that he had always acted in the “best interests” of the U.S. He gave the 13minute speech in the East Room of the White House before an audience of 200, including invited guests and members of his cabinet. It was his last scheduled public appearance before the Jan. 20 inauguration of his successor, President-elect Barack Obama. [See p. 5C3; for a transcript of Bush’s speech, see p. 19A1] “Like all who have held this office before me, I have experienced setbacks,” Bush said, adding, “There are things I would do differently if given the chance. Yet I have always acted with the best interests of our country in mind. I have followed my conscience and done what I thought was right.” He continued, “You may not agree with some tough decisions I have made. But I hope you can agree that I was willing to make tough decisions.” He said his job had never returned to normal after Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S. Alluding to the controversial antiterrorism policies he had approved subsequently, such as expanded wiretapping and harsh interrogation methods, as well as the invasion of Iraq, Bush said, “There is legitimate debate about many of these decisions. But there can be little debate about the results. America has gone more than seven years without another terrorist attack on our soil.” Bush also reaffirmed the stark moral contrasts that had characterized his presidential rhetoric, saying, “I have often spoken to you about good and evil. This has made some uncomfortable. But good and evil are present in this world, and between the two there can be no compromise.” Bush was leaving office with extraordinarily low public approval ratings that made him one of the most unpopular presidents in modern history. According to RealClearPolitics.com’s average of major national polls taken between Jan. 6 and Jan. 16, just 29% of respondents approved of Bush’s performance and 65% disapproved. The approval ratings ranged from a low of 22% in a New York Times poll to the high of 34% found by both a USA Today/ Gallup poll and a Fox News poll. Bush Jan. 12 had held his last news conference at the White House. He used the 47-minute session to mount a similar defense of his record. Referring to the criticism of his antiterrorism policies, he said, “All these debates will matter not if there is another attack on the homeland.” He acknowledged some mistakes, such as his speech on an aircraft carrier under a banner saying “Mission Accomplished,” soon after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, where U.S. forces were still fighting nearly six years later. But he defended the widely criticized federal response to Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast in 2005. “Don’t FACTS ON FILE

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH’S FAREWELL SPEECH

Following is a transcript of George W. Bush’s last national address as U.S. president, delivered Jan. 15 [See p. 18A3]:

women of the United States armed forces. Our nation is blessed to have citizens who volunteer to defend us in this time of danger. I have cherished meeting these selfless patriots and their families. And America owes you a debt of gratitude. And to all our men and women in uniform listening tonight: There has been no higher honor than serving as your commander-in-chief. Advancing Freedom The battles waged by our troops are part of a broader struggle between two dramatically different systems. Under one, a small band of fanatics demands total obedience to an oppressive ideology, condemns women to subservience, and marks unbelievers for murder. The other system is based on the conviction that freedom is the universal gift of Almighty God, and that liberty and justice light the path to peace. This is the belief that gave birth to our nation. And in the long run, advancing this belief is the only practical way to protect our citizens. When people live in freedom, they do not willingly choose leaders who pursue campaigns of terror. When people have hope in the future, they will not cede their lives to violence and extremism. So around the world, America is promoting human liberty, human rights, and human dignity. We’re standing with dissidents and young democracies, providing AIDS medicine to dying patients—to bring dying patients back to life, and sparing mothers and babies from malaria. And this great republic born alone in liberty is leading the world toward a new age when freedom belongs to all nations. For eight years, we’ve also strived to expand opportunity and hope here at home. Across our country, students are rising to meet higher standards in public schools. A new Medicare prescription drug benefit is bringing peace of mind to seniors and the disabled. Every taxpayer pays lower income taxes. The addicted and suffering are finding new hope through faith-based programs. Vulnerable human life is better protected. Funding for our veterans has nearly doubled. America’s air and water and lands are measurably cleaner. And the federal bench includes wise new members like Justice Sam Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts. When challenges to our prosperity emerged, we rose to meet them. Facing the prospect of a financial collapse, we took decisive measures to safeguard our economy. These are very tough times for hardworking families, but the toll would be far worse if we had not acted. All Americans are in this together. And together, with determination and hard work, we will restore our economy to the path of growth. We will show the world once again the resilience of America’s free enterprise system. Like all who have held this office before me, I have experienced setbacks. There are things I would do differently if given the chance. Yet I’ve always acted with the best interests of our country in mind. I have followed my conscience and done what I thought was right. You may not agree with some of the tough decisions I have made. But I hope you can agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions. The decades ahead will bring more hard choices for our country, and there are some guiding principles that should shape our course. While our nation is safer than it was seven years ago, the gravest threat to our people remains another terrorist attack. Our enemies are patient, and determined to strike again. America did nothing to seek or deserve this conflict. But we have been given solemn responsibilities, and we must meet them. We must resist complacency. We must keep our resolve. And we must never let down our guard. At the same time, we must continue to engage the

world with confidence and clear purpose. In the face of threats from abroad, it can be tempting to seek comfort by turning inward. But we must reject isolationism and its companion, protectionism. Retreating behind our borders would only invite danger. In the 21st century, security and prosperity at home depend on the expansion of liberty abroad. If America does not lead the cause of freedom, that cause will not be led. Good and Evil As we address these challenges—and others we cannot foresee tonight—America must maintain our moral clarity. I’ve often spoken to you about good and evil, and this has made some uncomfortable. But good and evil are present in this world, and between the two of them there can be no compromise. Murdering the innocent to advance an ideology is wrong every time, everywhere. Freeing people from oppression and despair is eternally right. This nation must continue to speak out for justice and truth. We must always be willing to act in their defense—and to advance the cause of peace. President Thomas Jefferson once wrote, “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.” As I leave the house he occupied two centuries ago, I share that optimism. America is a young country, full of vitality, constantly growing and renewing itself. And even in the toughest times, we lift our eyes to the broad horizon ahead. I have confidence in the promise of America because I know the character of our people. This is a nation that inspires immigrants to risk everything for the dream of freedom. This is a nation where citizens show calm in times of danger, and compassion in the face of suffering. We see examples of America’s character all around us. And Laura and I have invited some of them to join us in the White House this evening. We see America’s character in Dr. Tony Recasner, a principal who opened a new charter school from the ruins of Hurricane Katrina. We see it in Julio Medina, a former inmate who leads a faith-based program to help prisoners returning to society. We’ve seen it in Staff Sergeant Aubrey McDade, who charged into an ambush in Iraq and rescued three of his fellow Marines. We see America’s character in Bill Krissoff—a surgeon from California. His son, Nathan—a Marine—gave his life in Iraq. When I met Dr. Krissoff and his family, he delivered some surprising news: He told me he wanted to join the Navy Medical Corps in honor of his son. This good man was 60 years old—18 years above the age limit. But his petition for a waiver was granted, and for the past year he has trained in battlefield medicine. Lieutenant Commander Krissoff could not be here tonight, because he will soon deploy to Iraq, where he will help save America’s wounded warriors—and uphold the legacy of his fallen son. In citizens like these, we see the best of our country: resilient and hopeful, caring and strong. These virtues give me an unshakable faith in America. We have faced danger and trial, and there’s more ahead. But with the courage of our people and confidence in our ideals, this great nation will never tire, never falter, and never fail. It has been the privilege of a lifetime to serve as your president. There have been good days and tough days. But every day I have been inspired by the greatness of our country, and uplifted by the goodness of our people. I have been blessed to represent this nation we love. And I will always be honored to carry a title that means more to me than any other: citizen of the United States of America. And so, my fellow Americans, for the final time: Good night. May God bless this house and our next president. And may God bless you and our wonderful country. Thank you.

pansion of government health care programs and the tobacco tax increase. The Democratic-controlled Congress had failed to override his veto in both instances. However, President-elect Barack Obama supported the expansion and was expected to sign it into law.

House Passes Children’s Insurance Funds.

ance, but who earned too much to qualify for Medicaid. The bill would provide an additional $32.3 billion over four and a half years for the program, allowing an additional four million children to join it, for a total enrollment of about 11 million. Funding for the program had been set to expire March 31. [See 2008, p. 35B2]

The House Jan. 14 voted, 289–139, to pass a bill that would expand funding for the state Children’s Health Insurance Plan (SCHIP or CHIP), which provided coverage to children in families too poor to afford private insur-

The bill would raise the federal tax on cigarettes by 61 cents per pack, to $1, to fund the program’s expansion. President George W. Bush in 2007 had twice vetoed similar bills, arguing against both the ex-

Fellow citizens: For eight years, it has been my honor to serve as your President. The first decade of this new century has been a period of consequence— a time set apart. Tonight, with a thankful heart, I have asked for a final opportunity to share some thoughts on the journey that we have traveled together, and the future of our nation. Five days from now, the world will witness the vitality of American democracy. In a tradition dating back to our founding, the presidency will pass to a successor chosen by you, the American people. Standing on the steps of the Capitol will be a man whose history reflects the enduring promise of our land. This is a moment of hope and pride for our whole nation. And I join all Americans in offering best wishes to President-elect [Barack] Obama, his wife Michelle, and their two beautiful girls. Tonight I am filled with gratitude—to Vice President [Dick] Cheney and members of my administration; to [First Lady] Laura [Bush], who brought joy to this house and love to my life; to our wonderful daughters, Barbara and Jenna; to my parents, whose examples have provided strength for a lifetime. And above all, I thank the American people for the trust you have given me. I thank you for the prayers that have lifted my spirits. And I thank you for the countless acts of courage, generosity, and grace that I have witnessed these past eight years. Sept. 11 Attacks This evening, my thoughts return to the first night I addressed you from this house—September the 11th, 2001. That morning, terrorists took nearly 3,000 lives in the worst attack on America since Pearl Harbor. I remember standing in the rubble of the World Trade Center three days later, surrounded by rescuers who had been working around the clock. I remember talking to brave souls who charged through smoke-filled corridors at the Pentagon, and to husbands and wives whose loved ones became heroes aboard Flight 93. I remember Arlene Howard, who gave me her fallen son’s police shield as a reminder of all that was lost. And I still carry his badge. As the years passed, most Americans were able to return to life much as it had been before 9/11. But I never did. Every morning, I received a briefing on the threats to our nation. I vowed to do everything in my power to keep us safe. Over the past seven years, a new Department of Homeland Security has been created. The military, the intelligence community, and the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] have been transformed. Our nation is equipped with new tools to monitor the terrorists’ movements, freeze their finances, and break up their plots. And with strong allies at our side, we have taken the fight to the terrorists and those who support them. Afghanistan has gone from a nation where the Taliban harbored al Qaeda and stoned women in the streets to a young democracy that is fighting terror and encouraging girls to go to school. Iraq has gone from a brutal dictatorship and a sworn enemy of America to an Arab democracy at the heart of the Middle East and a friend of the United States. There is legitimate debate about many of these decisions. But there can be little debate about the results. America has gone more than seven years without another terrorist attack on our soil. This is a tribute to those who toil night and day to keep us safe—law enforcement officers, intelligence analysts, homeland security and diplomatic personnel, and the men and

tell me the federal response was slow when there was 30,000 people pulled off roofs right after the storm passed,” he said. [See 2007, p. 575E2; 2003, p. 321A1] n

Legislation

January 15, 2009

The House bill also contained provisions easing restrictions that barred legal immigrants from receiving Medicaid or enrolling in CHIP. Under a major 1996 welfare reform law signed by then-President Bill Clinton, legal immigrants under 21 or 19

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who were pregnant could not receive benefits for federal health care programs during their first five years of residency in the U.S. The bill would allow states to decide whether to continue those restrictions. Analysts estimated that elimination of the ban could allow another 400,000–600,000 children to gain health benefits. [See 1996, p. 622C2] n House Passes Two Wage Parity Bills. The House Jan. 9 passed two measures intended to eliminate wage disparities between men and women who worked similar jobs. The House voted, 247–171, to pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, designed to nullify a 2007 Supreme Court ruling which found that workers suing with a claim of a pay disparity had to do so within 180 days of first receiving an allegedly discriminatory paycheck. [See 2008, p. 310F1] Lilly Ledbetter, after whom the bill was named, had discovered her subpar pay at a Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. Alabama plant after working there nearly 20 years. The measure would allow the statute of limitations period to renew after every instance in which a paycheck was issued. In a separate vote, the House passed, 256–163, a bill that shifted the burden of proof to employers in cases where employees alleged gender-based pay discrimination. Current law required the employee to prove an intention to discriminate; under the new bill, employers would have to show that the pay discrepancy was justified by a nondiscriminatory consideration. The bill also eliminated ceilings on compensatory and punitive awards in pay discrimination lawsuits. President-elect Barack Obama had indicated that he would sign both bills. n

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Official Confirms Detainee Torture. The Defense Department official in charge of the prosecution of terrorism detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Jan. 14 confirmed in an interview with the Washington Post that detainee Mohammed al-Qahtani had been tortured while in U.S. custody. It was the first time that a current official at Guantanamo had admitted that the U.S. had tortured a detainee. The official, Convening Authority Susan Crawford, said Qahtani’s “treatment met the legal definition of torture” and said she had ordered charges against him to be dropped as a result. [See 2008, pp. 902D3, 329C2] Qahtani, accused in connection with Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the U.S., had been captured in Afghanistan in 2002 following the U.S.-led invasion of the country. He had been subjected to socalled harsh interrogation techniques during his detention, including sleep deprivation, hooding, isolation and forced nudity. A 2005 Defense Department investigation of Qahtani’s interrogation found that he had been subjected to treatment that was “degrading and abusive,” but which fell within authorized parameters and did not constitute torture. According to Crawford, Qahtani had not been allowed to see anyone other than his 20

interrogators for 160 consecutive days during his detention, and had been questioned for 18–20 hours on 48 days in a 54-day period. She said that although the techniques used in his interrogation were allowed at the time they were used, “the manner in which they were applied was overly aggressive and too persistent.” She said the use of the techniques “had a medical impact on him” and had “hurt his health.” Qahtani’s interrogations had twice led to episodes of bradycardia, an extremely low heart rate, that were serious enough to require hospitalization. In February 2008, Guantanamo prosecutors had filed capital charges against Qahtani and five others accused of involvement or attempted involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks, but the charges against Qahtani were thrown out by Crawford in May 2008. Crawford said that while she was certain that Qahtani had attempted to take part in the Sept. 11 attacks, she had dropped the charges and would block a second attempt to charge him because he had been tortured and had recanted all the confessions made under harsh interrogation. The Defense Department Jan. 13 issued a statement emphasizing that all the techniques used against Qahtani during his interrogation were allowed by department policies at the time they were used. The statement also noted that the Defense Department had subsequently “adopted new and more restrictive policies and improved oversight procedures for interrogation and detention operations.” n Hamdan Released By Yemeni Government.

An attorney for former U.S. terrorism detainee Salim Ahmad Hamdan Jan. 11 announced that Hamdan had been released by the Yemeni government on Jan. 8. Hamdan, who had worked for Al Qaeda international terrorist network head Osama bin Laden, had been the first person convicted of war crimes under the system of military trials set up at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by the 2006 Military Commissions Act. [See 2008, p. 863G3] Hamdan had been sentenced in August 2008 to five years and six months’ imprisonment but had received credit for five years and one month already served. He had been flown from Guantanamo Bay to his home country of Yemen in November to finish serving his sentence. Judge Orders Release of Detainee—

Judge Richard Leon of U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., Jan. 14 ordered the release of a 21-year-old terrorism detainee who had been in U.S. custody since he was 14. Leon had previously ordered the government to release five other Guantanamo detainees, three of whom had subsequently been freed and sent to Bosnia and Herzegovina. [See 2008, p. 846D1] Leon found that the government’s case against the detainee, Chadian citizen Mohammed el Gharani, was based primarily on uncorroborated testimony from other Guantanamo detainees and did not support Gharani’s continued detention. Leon also questioned government claims that Ghara-

ni at age 11 had been a member of a British terrorism cell in 1998 while living with his parents in Saudi Arabia. n

Intelligence Intelligence Court Upholds Wiretap Request.

An special court set up by the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Jan. 15 released an unclassified August 2008 ruling that said the government in 2007 had had the legal right to request a warrantless wiretap from a telecommunications company. The ruling was only the second ever publicly released by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review. It applied only to the specific wiretap request, which the court said had additional civilliberties safeguards not included in the 2007 Protect America Act, a temporary law that had authorized the Bush administration to carry out warrantless wiretaps in the U.S. to gather foreign intelligence. [See 2008, pp. 465D2, 54F3] The case was brought by an unidentified telecommunications company that had been approached by the Bush administration with a surveillance request. The company argued that the request violated its customers’ Fourth Amendment rights, which guaranteed against unreasonable searches and seizures. The company reportedly complied with the request even as it challenged its legality in court, after being threatened with contempt charges. The court found that government surveillance of U.S. citizens was exempt from the Fourth Amendment if part of the purpose of such surveillance was to collect foreign intelligence related to national security, and if there were “several layers of serviceable” safeguards to protect civil liberties. The court did not rule on the legality of the 2007 law authorizing the warrantless surveillance, or the 2008 law that succeedn ed it, a revised version of FISA.

Supreme Court Evidence Found Valid Despite Police Errors.

The Supreme Court Jan. 14 ruled, 5–4, that evidence collected after an illegal arrest was sometimes admissible in court, as long as the arrest resulted from “isolated negligence,” and was not part of a wider disregard for the law by police. The ruling indicated contrary positions on the court over support for the so-called exclusionary rule, a judicially created rule that was intended to uphold a citizen’s Fourth Amendment protections from unreasonable search and seizure. The case was Herring v. United States. [See 2008, p. 126E1] The case revolved around the 2004 arrest of Bennie Dean Herring in Coffee County, Ala. Police arrested Herring after being mistakenly told that there was an outstanding arrest warrant for him in a neighboring county, and then found him in possession of an illegal weapon and drugs. Herring had argued in lower courts that because the neighboring county’s arrest warrant had been rescinded, his arrest was the result of a computer error and therefore ilFACTS ON FILE

legal, and that the evidence was not admissible in court. However, he had been convicted and sentenced to a 27-month prison term. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., writing for the majority, said such evidence was admissible when its discovery had resulted from a “good-faith” error, and not from “systemic error or reckless disregard of constitutional requirements.” He also said judges should only suppress evidence as a last resort, and instead rule on individual cases by assessing the degree of police misconduct. He was joined by Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, writing the dissent, said the ruling would erode Fourth Amendment protections guaranteed by the exclusionary rule. “The most ‘serious impact’ of the court’s holding will be on innocent persons ‘wrongfully arrested based on erroneous information in a computer data base,’” she wrote. Ginsburg argued that the ruling would encourage sloppy police work. She was joined by Justices John Paul Stevens, David H. Souter and Stephen G. Breyer. n Judge Sentencing Power Upheld. The Supreme Court Jan. 14 ruled, 5–4, that judges maintained discretionary fact-finding powers over whether people convicted of multiple crimes could serve their prison terms concurrently or consecutively. In the case, Oregon v. Ice, an Oregon state judge had made a factual finding regarding defendant Thomas Ice’s “willingness to commit more than one criminal offense,” and had effectively raised his sentence to 340 months, from 90 months. [See 2007, p. 48B2] The court’s decision was a break with a trend begun in 2000, when the court decided in Apprendi v. New Jersey that it was unconstitutional for judges to issue factual findings that increased a convict’s sentence, as that was a power reserved exclusively for juries. However, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, writing the court’s opinion, said the “decision to impose sentences consecutively is not within the jury function that ‘extends down centuries into the common law.’” She was joined by Justices John Paul Stevens, Anthony M. Kennedy, Stephen G. Breyer and Samuel A. Alito Jr. [See 2000, p. 441F1] Justice Antonin Scalia, writing the dissent, said the decision “directly contradicts what we held eight years ago and have reaffirmed several times since.” He was joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices David H. Souter and Clarence Thomas. n Obama, Biden Meet With Justices. President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joseph Biden Jan. 14 visited the Supreme Court as guests of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. Obama and Biden reportedly met with all of the members of the court, with the exception of Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., in the court’s West Conference Room. They were then taken on a tour of the justices’ private conference room. Roberts said he hoped that such visits would become a “congenial tradition.” [See p. 16A1] n January 15, 2009

AFRICA

Somalia Pirates Free Saudi Tanker After Ransom Drop.

Somali pirates Jan. 9 released the MT Sirius Star, a Saudi Arabian supertanker carrying two million barrels of oil that had been hijacked in November 2008. The ship was released after its owner, Vela International Marine Ltd., a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company, Saudi Aramco, parachuted a parcel filled with $3 million in ransom money onto the deck of the vessel, which had been anchored near the northern Somali port town of Harardhere. [See 2008, p. 972G3] The newly constructed tanker, which had a crew of 25 on board, was worth an estimated $150 million, and its cargo at the time of its capture had been valued at $100 million. (The price of oil had fallen since November 2008.) After the ransom drop, the band of at least 25 pirates reportedly left the ship and headed to shore via five speedboats. In a further twist to the story, one of the five speedboats sank, resulting in the deaths of five of the eight pirates it was carrying, as well as the loss of $350,000 in ransom money. The body of one of the missing pirates Jan. 11 washed ashore with $153,000. The U.S. Navy Jan. 8 had said it would lead an international force to combat piracy off Somalia’s coast, in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, to be coordinated by the U.S. Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain. The U.S., Russia, China and other European and Asian nations had dispatched warships in late 2008 in response to a sharp increase in piracy in the area, which was a major world shipping route. The rise in piracy was a result of the failure of Somalia’s weak transitional government to assert its authority in the country. Recently, Islamist insurgents had gained control of almost all of south and central Somalia. [See below] According to the International Maritime Bureau, Somali pirates as of Jan. 9 still held 14 captured vessels and 267 crew members. Ethiopian Troops Begin Withdrawal—

Several thousand Ethiopian troops, who had been propping up Somalia’s transitional government and battling the Islamist insurgency since December 2006, Jan. 2–13 withdrew from Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, and most other areas of the country. Cheering Somalis reportedly lined the streets of Mogadishu Jan. 13 as the last soldiers from Ethiopia—Somalia’s traditional enemy—departed from the city. Some Ethiopian troops reportedly would remain in the border area between the two countries. [See 2008, p. 972G2] More than 2,600 African Union (AU) peacekeeping troops remained in Somalia, but they had been ineffective in stemming the advance of the Islamists and primarily served to protect the airport and presidential palace in Mogadishu. The forces of the transitional government were also seen as too weak to hold off the insurgents.

Amid the power vacuum that resulted from the Ethiopians’ departure, Islamist factions—which had formerly been united by the goal of driving the Ethiopians out of Somalia—clashed with each other over control of Mogadishu, including vacated Ethiopian military bases. The hardline Al Shabab group was reportedly battling more moderate Islamist groups for control of the country. Somalis traditionally practiced a moderate form of Islam, and some Somalis had reportedly turned against Al Shabab after it tried to impose strict Islamic law in areas that it controlled. The U.S. Jan. 12 began circulating a draft resolution at the United Nations Security Council calling for a U.N. peacekeeping force for Somalia to replace the AU force by June 1, and for the AU force to be strengthened in the interim. However, the New York Times Jan. 13 reported that U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon had said more than 50 nations rejected a request to lead the force. Meanwhile, the transitional government had been haggling over the appointment of a new interim president to replace Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, who had resigned in December 2008. According to the Times report, some factions of the government wanted to consult with moderate Islamist groups on the choice of a new president. The government had signed a power-sharing deal with moderate groups in October 2008 in neighboring Djibouti, which also called for a withdrawal of Ethiopian forces. However, others, including the parliament speaker and acting president, Sheikh Adan Mohamed Nur, insisted that the new president be selected by the parliament alone. [See 2007, p. 82G3] The humanitarian situation in Somalia had become increasingly dire in recent months, as the insecurity caused by the Islamists’ advance forced civilians from their homes and hindered the operations of aid agencies. An estimated one million people had been displaced and were in need of assistance. The increase in clashes between Islamist factions was expected to exacerbate the humanitarian crisis. n

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South Africa Zuma Corruption Charges Reinstated. A five-judge panel of South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeals Jan. 12 overturned a lower court decision that had dismissed, on procedural grounds, charges of corruption, fraud, racketeering and money laundering against Jacob Zuma, the president of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party. The decision by the Supreme Court of Appeals—the second-highest court in the country—automatically triggered the reinstatement of the charges. Zuma’s lawyers Jan. 14 said they would appeal the decision. [See 2008, pp. 973B1, 660D2] The charges had first been filed in 2005, after then–South African Deputy President Zuma’s former financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, was convicted of corruption. Shaik’s conviction stemmed from allegations that he had funneled bribes to Zuma 21

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from a French arms company that was awarded a lucrative contract to supply the South African navy in the late 1990s. Soon after Shaik’s conviction, then–President Thabo Mbeki fired Zuma, and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) subsequently filed corruption charges against him. Those charges were thrown out on a technicality in 2006, but the NPA refiled them in December 2007, just days after Zuma defeated Mbeki in an election for the ANC presidency. In September 2008, High Court Judge Chris Nicholson in Pietermaritzburg had again dismissed the charges against Zuma on a technicality, and controversially alleged that Mbeki and his allies had been behind the NPA’s decision to pursue the case. Later in September, Mbeki stepped down as South Africa’s president under pressure from the ANC’s National Executive Committee, which was controlled by Zuma’s supporters. ANC stalwart Kgalema Motlanthe took over as caretaker president and would serve out the remainder of Mbeki’s term. The ouster of Mbeki had led to the formation of a new political party, Congress of the People (COPE), by ANC dissidents. The decision by the Supreme Court of Appeals overturned Nicholson’s ruling. The appeals court also chided Nicholson for overstepping his authority by making statements regarding Mbeki’s alleged interference in the case. It said Nicholson’s ruling had been “unfortunately subverted…by making gratuitous findings against persons who were not called to defend themselves; by failing to distinguish between allegation, fact and suspicion.” Zuma had consistently proclaimed his innocence, and his supporters alleged that the charges were politically motivated. Zuma’s lawyers would appeal the ruling to the Constitutional Court, the nation’s highest court. It was also reported that his allies were in discussions with the NPA to make a deal to drop the charges. As head of the ANC, which had been the dominant political party in South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994, Zuma had been widely expected to become the nation’s next president after elections set for the spring. (Under South Africa’s electoral system, voters selected members of parliament, who in turn elected the country’s president.) Analysts said the reinstatement of the charges weakened Zuma’s position and could give COPE a boost at the polls, but likely not enough to prevent Zuma from becoming president. ANC Launches Campaign— The ANC Jan. 10 launched its campaign for the spring elections at a rally in East London, in Eastern Cape province. In its campaign manifesto, the party promised to increase government spending in areas such as health care, education, job creation and rural development. Although the platform also promised to continue the free-market policies implemented by Mbeki, analysts said it had a populist focus on improving the lives of South Africa’s poor, many of whom had been left behind by the Mbeki administration’s pro-business policies. Un22

employment in the country was 23.2% in the third quarter of 2008, the most recent period reported on by the government. Addressing the rally, Zuma said the ANC would “put in place a comprehensive, state-led industrial policy that will direct public and private investment to support employment creation and broader economic transformation.” The platform also pledged to fight corruption in the ANC. That prompted Helen Zille, leader of the Democratic Alliance, another opposition party, to call for Zuma to “answer [corruption] charges in court, and, if he is to honor the undertaking in the ANC’s manifesto to step up the fight against corruption in its ranks, he should renounce his candidature for the presidency.” n

the previous year. Analysts said the government would need to restrict its spending to essential items as part of efforts to rein in inflation. [See p. 22C2; 2008, p. 22D3] Nearly half of the government’s budget was derived from the sale of oil, the price of which had dropped dramatically in recent months due to a decrease in demand spurred by a global economic slowdown. Several analysts expected Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias to devalue the country’s currency, the bolivar, a move that would increase the government’s spending power. However, a devaluation would also contribute to inflation. n

AMERICAS

Nightclub Fire Kills More Than 65. A fire in a nightclub in Bangkok, Thailand’s capital, Jan. 1 killed more than 65 people and injured more than 200 others. The cause of the fire, which occurred just after midnight during a New Year’s Eve celebration, was unclear. Witnesses alternately blamed electrical problems or in-club fireworks for the blaze. [See 2008, p. 467F2] Thai police estimated that about 1,000 people had been inside the club, Santika, at the time the fire broke out. They said 54 of the victims had died in the club, while at least 11 others had later died of their injuries after being hospitalized. At least 10 foreign nationals were reportedly killed in the fire, and more than 40 of the wounded were foreigners. Suriya Ritrabue, Santika’s owner, Jan. 5 turned himself in to the police, who were investigating allegations of criminal negligence and failure to observe minimum age laws at the nightclub. Separately, Interior Minister Chaovarat Chanweerakul Jan. 7 announced that a new committee would begin monthly safety inspections of social venues. Clubs with spaces of more than 200 square meters (2,150 square feet) would be required to show proof that they had undergone building inspections. n

Venezuela U.S. Oil Aid Halted, Resumed. Citgo Petro-

leum Corp., a U.S. subsidiary of Venezuelan state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), was suspending a threeyear-old program through which it provided heating oil to some 200,000 low-income homes in 23 states in the U.S., it was announced Jan. 5 by former U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy 2nd (D, Mass.), chairman of Citizens Energy, a U.S. nonprofit entity that helped distribute the fuel. However, Citgo Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Alejandro Granado Jan. 7 said the company had reversed its decision, and would continue to provide oil assistance in the U.S. during the winter season. [See 2005, p. 902C3] In 2007, Citgo had donated about $100 million worth of oil to the program. Kennedy Jan. 5 said he had been informed of Citgo’s suspension of the program shortly before Dec. 25, 2008, and had unsuccessfully attempted to convince Citgo executives to reverse the decision. Analysts said Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias had likely ordered the program’s suspension because the government was facing significantly decreased revenue as a result of the falling price of oil. (Venezuela’s government was highly dependent on the sale of oil for generating revenue to fund its spending.) [See p. 22G2] Granado Jan. 7 said the company’s reversal had been made after Chavez considered the impact of the program on the U.S.’s poor. Separately, the New York Times Jan. 15 reported that Venezuela was courting bids from large Western oil companies to develop its oil fields. The move marked a change in Chavez’s position on private firms operating in Venezuela; in recent years, he had ordered the nationalization of the Venezuelan subsidiaries of several Westernowned and other private companies. n ’08 Inflation Rate Reaches 11-Year High.

Venezuela’s central bank Jan. 8 reported that the country’s inflation rate in 2008 was 30.9%, its highest level in 11 years. Economic growth dropped to 4.9%, from 8.4%

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Germany New Economic Stimulus Plan Unveiled.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel Jan. 13 unveiled a new 50 billion euro ($67 billion) economic stimulus package of spending and tax measures through 2010, but vowed that the debt would be paid off as soon as possible. The package included about 18 billion euros in income and payroll tax cuts, as well as funding for education and transportation infrastructure projects. [See p. 23E1; 2008, p. 841B3] The plan supplemented a previous package set in November 2008, which had been widely criticized by economists as insufficient to help the European Union’s largest economy through the global financial crisis. Merkel had initially resisted additional spending, criticizing other EuroFACTS ON FILE

pean governments for abandoning budgetary discipline. The government Jan. 12 also said it would set up a 100 billion euro fund to provide loan guarantees to companies that could not obtain financing in the current credit crunch. n

Turkey 37 Detained in Alleged Coup Plot. Turkish police Jan. 7 detained 37 people, including three retired generals and nine active-duty officers, in connection with an alleged coup plot by a secular-leaning ultranationalist group intent on overthrowing the Islamic-based ruling party of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In July 2008, prosecutors had charged 86 people with involvement in the plot against Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP). [See 2008, p. 493E1] An Istanbul antiterrorism court Jan. 11 formally arrested 14 suspects in the coup plot. Opposition leaders said the probe and arrests were part of a political vendetta by the AKP against its secular enemies, who had unsuccessfully tried to have the party banned by Turkey’s highest court in 2008 for alleged violations of the nation’s secular constitution. Turkey’s military chief, Gen. Ilker Basbug, Jan. 8 met with Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul to discuss the detention of the officers. The military was considered one of the last bastions of Turkey’s old secular establishment, and had forced out four elected governments in recent decades. n

Other European News European Central Bank Cuts Interest Rate. The European Central Bank (ECB) Jan. 15

cut its key interest rate by half a percentage point, to 2%, matching its lowest previous level. The ECB handled monetary policy for the 16 countries that used the common euro currency, known as the eurozone. The ECB cited expectations that the current eurozone recession would continue to worsen. Its latest rate cut followed recent moves by the U.S. Federal Reserve, which had cut its benchmark rate to near zero in December 2008, and the Bank of England, which had cut its key rate to 1.5% earlier in January. [See p. 8C2; 2008, p. 888E2] n

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Iraq Parliament Speaker Selection Delayed.

The Iraqi parliament Jan. 11 said it would reconvene Jan. 17 to select a new speaker of parliament, after legislators had been unable to agree on which Sunni Muslim faction should get the position by the Jan. 9 deadline. The previous speaker, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, had resigned in December 2008. Informal political agreements dictated that the parliament speaker be a Sunni Arab. [See p. 8D2; 2008, p. 948G2] January 15, 2009

Iyad al-Samarraie, head of the Iraqi Accordance Front (known in Arabic as Tawafiq), the largest Sunni coalition, Jan. 8 said he had been tapped for the position. Samarraie was also a top official in the Iraqi Islamic Party, the largest Sunni party in parliament and part of the coalition. However, four Sunni deputies Jan. 10 accused the Iraqi Islamic Party of trying to force its coalition partners to accept Samarraie. The deputies said they would quit the Iraqi Accordance Front. Other News—In other Iraqi news: o U.S. Defense Department and military officials Jan. 14 said military commanders were designing plans for a quicker withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq than the current timetable called for, the New York Times reported Jan. 15. The officials said U.S. President-elect Barack Obama had not requested plans for a faster withdrawal, but they were anticipating such a request after his administration took office Jan. 20. Obama during his presidential campaign had promised to withdraw all combat troops from Iraq within 16 months of taking office. An agreement between the U.S. and Iraq finalized in December 2008 called for U.S. combat troops to withdraw from Iraqi cities by June, and from all of Iraq by the end of 2011. [See p. 16A1] o The U.S. military Jan. 13 announced that Sgt. First Class Joseph Mayo would be court-martialed on murder and conspiracy charges, which stemmed from the 2007 discovery of four Iraqis who had been shot and dumped in a canal in Baghdad, the Iraqi capital. He could receive a life sentence if convicted. [See 2008, p. 648C2] o The Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) Jan. 13 released a report that said a $722 million contract awarded in 2004 to Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR)—a former unit of construction conglomerate Halliburton Co. that had since become an independent company—was marked by costly modifications, delays and poor oversight. The contract had been for rebuilding oil infrastructure in southern Iraq. [See below; 2008, p. 955D2] o A number of bombings Jan. 12 killed eight people and wounded at least 29 others in Baghdad. Most of the bombings had reportedly targeted Iraqi soldiers and police officers, but Iraqi officials said four of the dead and most of the wounded had been civilians. o Qassim Atta al-Moussawi, a spokesman for Baghdad’s security program, Jan. 11 announced that Iraqi forces Dec. 18, 2008, had captured Thayer Kadhim Abid Salman al-Surawi, the leader of the Iraqi terrorist group Ansar al-Sunna. Moussawi said Surawi had confessed under questioning to 13 crimes committed between 2006 and 2008, including a June 2008 bombing in Baghdad’s Huriya neighborhood that killed 40 people. Surawi also reportedly said he had connections with some Iraqi politicians. Ansar al-Sunna had been formed in 2001 by Kurdish extremists, and was reportedly linked to the international

terrorist network Al Qaeda. [See 2008, p. 406E2] o The U.S. State Department’s inspector general Jan. 9 released a report that said the department might have violated federal rules when it delegated management of its multibillion-dollar private security contract in Iraq to outside contractors. The report praised the State Department Bureau of Diplomatic Security, which oversaw State Department security contractors, for its successes in “ensuring the safety” of diplomats in Iraq. However, it said the bureau’s frequent use of contractors “strained the Department’s ability to effectively manage them.” [See p. 9A1; 2008, p. 935F3] n

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Florida Wins NCAA Football Title Beats Oklahoma in BCS Championship Game.

The University of Florida Gators Jan. 8 defeated the University of Oklahoma Sooners, 24–14, in Miami, Fla., to win the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) national title game. With the win, the Gators, coached by Urban Meyer, claimed their second National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I-A football championship in three seasons, and their third overall. [See 2008, pp. 929E2, A3, 26A3] The title game matched up two highpowered offenses led by Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford—the winner of the Heisman Trophy in 2008—and Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, the 2007 Heisman winner. However, the game was not the high-scoring affair that many had predicted. The score was tied at seven at halftime. Florida built a 14–7 lead in the third quarter on a two-yard touchdown run by Percy Harvin. Oklahoma, coached by Bob Stoops, tied the score early in the fourth quarter, with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Bradford to Jermaine Gresham. Florida regained the lead later in the final quarter, with a 27-yard field goal by Jonathan Phillips, and sealed the victory with a four-yard touchdown pass from Tebow to David Nelson. Tebow was named the game’s most outstanding player. Florida, which finished the season with a record of 13 wins and one loss, Jan. 9 was automatically ranked number one in the USA Today final poll of college football coaches, under the rules of the BCS. Florida was also ranked atop the Associated Press (AP) poll of media members. Oklahoma (12–2) ended up fifth in both polls. Three other teams—the University of Utah (13–0), the University of Southern California (USC) (12–1) and the University of Texas (12–1)—laid claim to at least a share of the national title, based on their regular-season records and bowl game results. In the final AP poll, Utah was ranked second, followed by USC, Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Texas Christian University (TCU), Penn State, Ohio State and Oregon. (Florida received 48 first-place votes, while Utah received 16 and USC, one.) In the coaches’ poll, USC was second, followed by 23

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Texas, Utah, Oklahoma, Alabama, TCU, Penn State, Oregon and Georgia. Utah was the only team in the nation to go undefeated, but because it played in the Mountain West Conference, it did not get a berth in the national title game. The Mountain West Conference was generally considered weaker than conferences such as the Big 12, to which Texas and Oklahoma belonged, and the Southeastern Conference (SEC), to which Florida belonged. Utah Jan. 2 had won the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, La., defeating the University of Alabama—an SEC team—31–17. After the final polls were released, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham asserted that his team should have been ranked number one. Utah’s attorney general, Mark Shurtleff, Jan. 6 said he was investigating the BCS for possible violations of federal antitrust laws, arguing that the Mountain West and other conferences that did not receive automatic bids for BCS bowls were at an unfair disadvantage both competitively and financially. (Teams that played in BCS bowls received lucrative financial packages, as well as the prestige of playing in high-profile games.) Some observers criticized the investigation as a waste of taxpayers’ money. USC Jan. 1 had staked a claim to the national title by soundly defeating Penn State, 38–24, in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. And Texas Jan. 5 won the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz., beating Ohio State, 24–21. Other Results—In other bowl results: o Tulsa Jan. 6 defeated Ball State, 45– 13, in the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala. o Connecticut Jan. 3 beat Buffalo, 38– 20, in the International Bowl in Toronto, Canada. o Mississippi Jan. 2 won the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, beating Texas Tech, 47–34. o Kentucky Jan. 2 beat East Carolina, 25–19, to win the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn. o Virginia Tech Jan. 1 won the Orange Bowl, beating Cincinnati, 20–7, in Miami. o Nebraska Jan. 1 beat Clemson, 26–21, in Jacksonville, Fla., to win the Gator Bowl. o Georgia Jan. 1 won the Capital One Bowl, defeating Michigan State, 24–12, in Orlando, Fla. o Iowa Jan. 1 beat South Carolina, 31– 10, in Tampa, Fla., to win the Outback Bowl. Other News—In other college football news: o Boston College Jan. 7 fired coach Jeff Jagodzinski, one day after he interviewed with the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL) for that team’s open coaching position. Boston College athletic director Gene DeFilippo had warned that he would fire Jagodzinski if he interviewed with the Jets, it was reported Jan. 5. DeFilippo Jan. 7 said he wanted a coach who “really wants to be at Boston College and will be here for the length of their con24

tract.” Jagodzinski did not get the Jets coaching job. [See 2008, pp. 993F1, 992G1] o Yale Jan. 7 hired Tom Williams, a defensive coach for the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, as its new head coach. Williams became Yale’s first black head coach, and just the second black head coach in the Ivy League. The first had been Norries Wilson, who was hired by Columbia in 2005. n

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Awards Bush Honors Three World Leaders. At his

last ceremonial appearance before leaving office, U.S. President George W. Bush Jan. 13 in the White House in Washington, D.C., bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom on three foreign leaders who had been widely viewed as among his staunchest allies during his eight years as president. The three were former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, former Australian Prime Minister John Howard and current Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Velez. Blair had been Britain’s prime minister from 1997 to 2007, Howard had been Australia’s prime minister from 1996 to 2007, and Uribe had been president of Colombia since 2002. [See 2008, pp. 788A2, 421D2; 2006, p. 434A1] n Golden Globes Ceremony Held. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association Jan. 11 presented its 66th annual Golden Globe Awards for excellence in film and television. Unlike in 2007, when a strike by the Writers Guild of America led to the cancellation of a formal awards ceremony, the awards once again were presented with typical lavishness, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. The ceremony was carried live on the NBC television network. [See 2008, p. 28B1] The major award winners in film were: Best Drama: Slumdog Millionaire Best Musical or Comedy: Vicky Cristina Barcelo-

na Best Director: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire Best Actress, Drama: Kate Winslet, Revolutionary

Road Best Actress, Musical or Comedy: Sally Hawkins,

Happy-Go-Lucky Best Actor, Drama: Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler Best Actor, Musical or Comedy: Colin Farrell, In

Bruges Best Supporting Actress: Kate Winslet, The

Reader Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, The Dark

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The major television winners were: Best Drama Series: “Mad Men” (AMC) Best Musical or Comedy Series: “30 Rock” (NBC) Best Miniseries or Movie: “John Adams” (HBO) Best Actress, Drama Series: Anna Paquin, “True Blood” (HBO) Best Actor, Drama Series: Gabriel Byrne, “In Treatment” (HBO) Best Actress, Musical or Comedy Series: Tina Fey, “30 Rock” (NBC) Best Actor, Musical or Comedy Series: Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock” (NBC) Best Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Laura Linney, “John Adams” (HBO) Best Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Paul Giamatti, “John Adams” (HBO) n

Film Critics Society Bestows Awards. The

National Society of Film Critics Jan. 3 announced its annual awards. Best-picture honors went to Waltz With Bashir, an animated documentary from Israel, written and directed by Ari Folman, about that country’s 1982 war with Lebanon. Sean Penn won best-actor honors for his portrayal of assassinated San Francisco, Calif., gay political leader Harvey Milk in Milk. British director Mike Leigh won bestdirector honors for Happy-Go-Lucky, a comedy about a bouncy London schoolteacher, while British actress Sally Hawkins was named best actress for her portrayal of that teacher. [See 2008, p. 28G1] n

People Outgoing U.S. First Lady Laura Bush had signed a book deal with Scribner, an imprint of publisher Simon & Schuster, it was announced Jan. 5. The memoir, which was to include a survey of her eight years in the White House, was set to be published in 2010. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. [See 2008, p. 952F3] n

O B I T UA R I E S ASHETON, Ron(ald), 60, guitarist with the Ann Arbor, Mich.–based rock band the Stooges, which, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, helped set the stage for the evolution of punk rock; the group’s drummer was his younger brother, Scott Asheton, while its lead singer was James Osterberg, better known as Iggy Pop; the group disbanded in 1974 but reunited in 2003, and toured widely over the next four years; born July 17, 1948, in Washington, D.C.; found dead Jan. 6 at his Ann Arbor home; toxicological tests were being conducted to try to determine the cause of death. MONTALBAN, Ricardo (Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Mexican-born stage, Montalban y Merino), 88,

screen and television actor; though he appeared in many Hollywood movies, from the late 1940s on, and was active in the theater, including on Broadway, he often complained about having been restricted to typically Latino or ethnic roles, and, in 1968, helped found an organization, Nosotros, to combat such typecasting; perhaps his best-known role was that of the debonair, white-suited television character Mr. Roarke, who presided over an imaginary tropical resort in the “Fantasy Island” series (1978–84); his sidekick on that show was a character named Tattoo, portrayed by diminutive, French-born actor Herve Villechaize, who committed suicide in 1993; during that era, Montalban was also the TV pitchman for the Cordoba, a luxury car introduced by Chrysler, whose seats, he claimed, were upholstered in “soft, Corinthian leather”; this became a bit of a joke, especially after people found out that there was no such thing as Corinthian leather; born Nov. 25, 1920, in Mexico City; died Jan. 14 at his home in Los Angeles, after battling congestive heart failure. [See 2003, p. 628C2; 2002, p. 680C2; 1993, p. 676F3; Indexes 1988, 1982, 1973, 1968–69, 1966, 1964, 1962, 1960, 1957, 1955, 1952, 1950] NEUHAUS, Richard John, 72, Canadian-born theologian who in the 1960s was a Lutheran pastor prominent in the U.S. civil rights and antiwar movements; in the 1970s, he veered rightward politically and in 1980 he became a registered Republican and backed the successful presidential candidacy of Ronald Reagan; thereafter, religious conservatives became an increasingly powerful national political force; he advised President George W. Bush on religious issues, including faith-based initiatives, which gave federal funding to religious organizations that provided social services; having converted to Roman Catholicism in 1990, he was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1991; he was the author or editor of a number of influential books about the role of religion in society, notably The Naked Public Square (1984); born May 14, 1936, in Pembroke, Ontario; died Jan. 8 at a hospital in New York City, of a systemic infection that developed soon after he was diagnosed with cancer in November 2007. [See 1980, p. 819E2; 1969, pp. 242D3, 216F1; Index 1964] n

January 15, 2009

Obama Takes Oath of Office as 44th President; Biden Sworn in as Vice President First Black President Succeeds Bush.

Barack Hussein Obama Jan. 20 took the oath of office to become the 44th president of the United States, succeeding George Walker Bush and putting the White House back in Democratic hands after a two-term Republican presidency. Obama, 47, the biracial son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas, became the first black president of the U.S. [See p. 29B1; 2008, p. 801A1; for the text of Obama’s inaugural address, see p. 27A1; for a biography of Obama, see 2008, p. 583A1] Obama delivered an 18-and-a-halfminute inaugural address reminding the nation that it faced great challenges both at home and abroad, with an economic recession resulting from a global financial crisis, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a continuing threat from the international Islamist terrorist network Al Qaeda. Calling for “a new era of responsibility,” he declared that the U.S. could meet all challenges if it drew on the values that had sustained it since its founding. Standing on a platform at the West Front of the Capitol in Washington, D.C., before a crowd of well over one million people on the National Mall, Obama took the oath of office from Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. just after noon, Eastern standard time. He placed his left hand on a Bible used for the swearing-in of President Abraham Lincoln in 1861. His wife, Michelle Obama, held the Bible, as their daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, looked on. There was some confusion between Obama and Roberts over the wording of the oath. Obama began his response before Roberts finished reciting the first phrase. Then Roberts asked Obama if he swore “that I will execute the office of president to the United States faithfully,” mangling

the wording in the Constitution, which read, “That I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States.” Obama paused to allow Roberts to correct himself. Roberts then attempted to do so, prompting, “Faithfully the office of president of the United States.” Obama responded, still inaccurately, “The office of president of the United States faithfully.” Constitutional scholars mostly said there was scant basis for doubting the validity of the oath, but some suggested that it would be prudent of Obama to retake it. Roberts Jan. 21 readministered the oath correctly to Obama at the White House, this time without a Bible, before a small group of officials and reporters. Six of Obama’s predecessors had taken the oath twice. Calvin Coolidge had repeated the oath in private in 1923 amid doubts about the qualifications of his father, who had initially sworn him in after the death of President Warren Harding. In 1881, Chester Arthur took the oath in New York City following the assassination of James Garfield, and again in a public ceremony upon arriving in Washington. Four other presidents, because their inaugurations fell on a Sunday, were sworn in privately and repeated the oath in a public ceremony the following day. Minutes before Obama took the oath Jan. 20, former Sen. Joseph Biden (D, Del.) was sworn in as vice president by Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. Rev. Rick Warren, minister of Saddleback Church, an evangelical megachurch in Lake Forest, Calif., delivered the invocation, calling Obama’s inauguration as the first black president a “hinge-point of history.” Obama’s choice of Warren for the role had drawn criticism from liberal groups that cited Warren’s opposition to gay rights and abortion rights. Some ob-

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World News Digest With Index ©2009 by Facts On File News Services An imprint of Infobase Publishing

Volume 69, No. 3553 January 22, 2009

B servers suggested that the choice of the Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire to lead a prayer at an official Jan. 18 preinaugural concert was intended to assuage those concerns. Robinson was a gay man whose consecration as a bishop had caused controversy in the Episcopal Church. [See 2008, pp. 936C3, 916A2] Opinion polls published Jan. 18 showed a high level of positive public expectations for Obama’s presidency, among them a New York Times/CBS News poll in which 79% of respondents said they were “optimistic” about it. Speech Focuses on Sobering Tasks—

In his speech, Obama delivered a sobering message on the daunting tasks that faced his administration and the nation, but warned against “a sapping of confidence across our land.” He declared, “Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real,”

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MAJOR STORIES IN THIS ISSUE Obama takes oath of office as 44th president; Biden sworn in as vice president; first black president succeeds Bush. PAGE 25

Obama reverses policies.

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Cecilio Ricardo/U.S. Air Force via Getty Images

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White House staff pay frozen, lobbying rules tightened. PAGE 29

Clinton confirmed as secretary of state. PAGE 29

Cease-fire ends Gaza Strip fighting; Israelis pull out; death toll placed at 1,300. PAGE 30

U.S. government aids Bank of America. PAGE 32

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Crippled jet lands safely in Hudson River. PAGE 33

Rwanda arrests Congolese Tutsi rebel leader. PAGE 34

Chinese GDP growth slowed in 2008. PAGE 35

North Korean ‘weaponized’ plutonium claim reported. PAGE 35

Russia-Ukraine gas standoff ends. PAGE 37 Barack Obama, with his wife Michelle Obama at his side, being sworn in as the 44th president of the U.S. Jan. 20 by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. REFERENCES in brackets give location of background information in this & preceding volumes.

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adding, “They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America: They will be met.” He said, “Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.” He signaled a pragmatic, rather than ideological, approach to public policy, saying, “The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works.” Obama paid tribute to American values: “honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity.” He said, “This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed, why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall. And why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.” That was the only direct reference in his speech to his making history as the first black president. Signals Repudiation of Bush Legacy—

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Certain lines in Obama’s speech stood out as apparent repudiations of controversial parts of Bush’s legacy. In the first part of his speech, as he outlined his plans for reviving the economy, Obama vowed, “We will restore science to its rightful place.” That was taken to be a reference to Bush’s record of placing religious concerns above scientific ones on several key issues, such as the restrictions he had imposed on embryonic stem-cell research. [See 2007, p. 397G2] Then, as he turned to national security, Obama said, “As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers, faced with perils that we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake.” That was seen as an implicit criticism of Bush’s authorization of antiterrorism policies including harsh interrogation practices that had been condemned as torture, the prison camp for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the secret warrantless wiretapping of U.S. citizens’ telephone calls. Obama had pledged that one of his first executive orders would be to close Guantanamo. [See p. 28G1] However, Obama said there was plenty of blame to go around for the present economic crisis, citing “our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.” In a message to “all other peoples and governments who are watching today,” Obama said, “Know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more.” However, he also vowed to confront the nation’s enemies, warning, “For those for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken. You cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.”

Inauguration Performances—The inaugural ceremonies, presided over by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D, Calif.), featured several performances. Aretha Franklin, joined by a gospel choir, sang “My Country, ’Tis of Thee.” Violinist Yitzhak Perlman, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, clarinetist Anthony McGill and pianist Gabriela Montero played a new work by the composer John Williams, “Air and Simple Gifts,” based on a Shaker song that was also used in Aaron Copland’s 1944 ballet Appalachian Spring. The New York Times Jan. 22 reported on its Web site that the music heard at the inauguration was actually a recording made two days earlier by the quartet due to a judgment that the cold weather would make it impossible to keep instruments in tune. The members of the quartet said they had played along with the recording note for note, but their instruments were not amplified. Poet Elizabeth Alexander read a poem for the occasion, entitled, “Praise Song for the Day.” Rev. Joseph Lowery, a prominent leader in the 1960s civil rights movement, delivered a poetic benediction, urging racial reconciliation in rhyming cadences. Among the special guests seated behind Obama on the West Front was his stepgrandmother, Sarah Obama, 86, who had traveled from her home in Kisumu, his father’s ancestral village in Kenya, with other relatives. Obama was the first son of an immigrant to become president since James Buchanan, the son of an Irishman, who took office in 1857. After the ceremonies, the Obamas and Bidens led the inaugural parade down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, emerging from their limousines to walk part of the way. The Obamas that night attended all 10 official inaugural balls. Obama’s inaugural committee had raised $41 million for the events, reviving the question of whether such private contributions—which were unlimited by law, unlike campaign contributions—gave big donors improper influence over the new president. In December 2008, the inaugural committee had announced that it was setting a $50,000 maximum for individual contributions, and would not accept money from corporations, lobbyists, non–U.S. citizens or political action committees. Bushes Depart for Texas—Bush and his wife, Laura Bush, left the inauguration ceremony in a U.S. Marine helicopter that took off from the East Front of the Capitol as the Obamas and Bidens waved from the steps. The Bushes had welcomed both couples to the White House for coffee that morning before the inauguration. The helicopter took the Bushes to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, where they boarded a presidential airplane that flew them to Midland, Texas, where they were greeted by about 20,000 supporters. The former president said, “Tonight, I have the privilege of saying six words that I have been waiting to say for a while: It is good to be home.” He and his wife then returned to their ranch in Crawford, Texas. They had recently bought a house in Dallas

to serve as their main residence, close to Southern Methodist University, the future site of Bush’s presidential library and museum. [See 2008, p. 952F3] Former Vice President Dick Cheney attended the inauguration in a wheelchair, after reportedly pulling a back muscle while moving personal belongings to his new home in McLean, Va. After the inauguration, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D, Mass.) suffered a seizure during a congressional luncheon for Obama at the Capitol. Obama was among those who rushed to his side. Kennedy was taken by ambulance to Washington Hospital Center, and was released the next day. Kennedy, 76, had been undergoing treatment for brain cancer since it was diagnosed in May 2008. His early endorsement had helped clear Obama’s path to the Democratic presidential nomination. [See 2008, p. 375F2] First Cabinet Members Confirmed—After his inauguration, Obama Jan. 20 formally nominated the members of his cabinet. The Senate, which had already held confirmation hearings for most of the cabinet-level nominees, that day voted by unanimous consent to confirm seven of them. They were Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag. The highest-profile nominee, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D, N.Y.), chosen for secretary of state, was confirmed a day later. Sen. John Cornyn (R, Texas) had forced a delay for additional debate and a roll call vote, rather than a voice vote, on her nom(Continued on p. 28A1)

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FACTS ON FILE

TRANSCRIPT OF PRESIDENT OBAMA’S INAUGURAL ADDRESS

Following is a transcript of U.S. President Barack Obama’s Jan. 20 inaugural address: [See p. 25A1] My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank [former] President [George W.] Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition. Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents. So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans. That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly, our schools fail too many, and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet. These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable, but no less profound, is a sapping of confidence across our land; a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, that the next generation must lower its sights. Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real, they are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this America: They will be met. On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics. We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness. In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted, for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things—some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor—who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom. For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life. For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West, endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth. For us, they fought and died in places Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn. Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction. This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions—that time has surely passed. Remaking America Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America. For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of our economy calls for action: bold

January 22, 2009

and swift. And we will act not only to create new jobs but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its costs. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do. Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what this country has already done, what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose and necessity to courage. What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them, that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long, no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works, whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public’s knowledge will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government. Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched. But this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control. The nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart—not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good. Safety and Ideals As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers faced with perils that we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so, to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more. Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with the sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use. Our security emanates from the justness of our cause; the force of our example; the tempering qualities of humility and restraint. We are the keepers of this legacy, guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort, even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We’ll begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people and forge a hardearned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we’ll work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life nor will we waver in its defense. And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken. You cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you. For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth. And because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering

in a new era of peace. To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict or blame their society’s ills on the West, know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist. To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders, nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it. Values and Responsibility As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service: a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment, a moment that will define a generation, it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all. For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break; the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate. Our challenges may be new, the instruments with which we meet them may be new, but those values upon which our success depends, honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism—these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility—a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task. This is the price and the promise of citizenship. This is the source of our confidence: the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny. This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed, why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall. And why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath. So let us mark this day in remembrance of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by nine campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people: “Let it be told to the future world that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive, that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet it.” America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words; with hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come; let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations. Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.

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ination. Cornyn cited the potential for conflicts of interest between her responsibilities as secretary of state and the global fund-raising of her husband, former President Bill Clinton, for his charitable foundation. [See p. 29F2] Obama’s White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, Jan. 20 signed an order halting all pending federal regulations issued by the Bush administration until the Obama administration had time to subject them to a “legal and policy review.” President Ronald Reagan upon taking office in 1981 had started a recent practice of ordering such a review after a transfer of executive power from one party to the other. On the day before his inauguration, Obama marked Martin Luther King Day by contributing community service, helping to paint the interior of a shelter for homeless teenagers in Washington. He had called on his supporters across the nation to perform similar service that day. Obama Jan. 19 also visited wounded troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, and took part in a dinner honoring Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), his defeated Republican opponent in the presidential election. Obama and his family Jan. 17 had taken a whistle-stop train ride from Philadelphia, Pa., to Washington, following the route Lincoln had taken to his first inauguration. They were joined by Biden and his family in Wilmington, Del. Security Measures— The inauguration was held under elaborate security measures, with more than 35,000 civilian and military personnel standing guard and roads and bridges in the Washington area shut down. Thousands of people with tickets for designated viewing areas near the Capitol reportedly were caught in bottlenecks at checkpoints for several hours. U.S. counterterrorism officials Jan. 20 said they had investigated a threat of “uncertain credibility” against the inaugural events. The threat was attributed to Al Shabab, a radical Islamist insurgent group in Somalia that was said to be an affiliate of Al Qaeda. The Homeland Security Department said Obama’s transition team had been briefed on the threat. [See 2008, p. 972E3] The inauguration drew relatively few protesters, and no arrests were reported, although Bush and Cheney drew jeers from the crowd when they were introduced, and when Bush’s helicopter departed. n

Obama Administration Obama Reverses Bush Terrorism Policies.

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President Barack Obama Jan. 22 signed executive orders that mandated the closing of the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by Jan. 22, 2010, and restricted the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to the same interrogation tactics used by the military against terrorism detainees, among other orders. The signing of the orders effectively rolled back a series of pol28

icies instituted by the Bush administration as part of its so-called war on terrorism after Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the U.S. [See p. 25A1; 2008, p. 958D3] At the public ceremony marking the signing of the orders, Obama said that, under his administration, “the United States will not torture” and suggested that “the orders that I signed today should send an unmistakable signal that our actions in defense of liberty will be as just as our cause.” White House counsel Gregory Craig Jan. 21 had briefed members of Congress about the contents of the planned orders. The move was praised by civil liberties activists and some congressional Democrats, including 2004 presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry (Mass.), who said Obama’s actions had made it “a great day for the rule of law.” Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R, Mich.) criticized the move, saying that the changes had placed “hope ahead of reality” and asked what would be done with alleged Sept. 11, 2001, plotter Khalid Sheikh Mohammed “and his fellow terrorist conspirators—offer them jail cells in American communities?” The administration did not say it had decided whether prisoners would be held inside the U.S. or if they would be released or charged. A poll conducted Jan. 13–16 by ABC News and the Washington Post found that 53% of U.S. residents opposed continuing to hold terrorism detainees at Guantanamo, versus 42% who favored continued their detention there. In addition, the poll found that 62% of those opposing continued detentions at the military prison were in favor of trying detainees in the U.S. court system rather than deporting the prisoners to their home countries to face trial. Orders Affect Interrogations, Prisons—

Under the new executive orders, all legal opinions concerning interrogation policy that were written by Bush administration lawyers between Sept. 11, 2001, and Jan. 22 were no longer to be treated as valid by any government employee, effectively rejecting multiple Bush administration claims about the president’s executive authority to hold terrorism detainees without trial during wartime. Analysts said that the change was largely symbolic, since many of the Bush administration’s more extreme claims had previously been reversed. The orders also required all government interrogators to use only the 19 noncoercive, nonviolent tactics set down in the publicly available Army Field Manual. The CIA had previously argued that the Army Field Manual techniques were too restrictive for its purposes, and had been exempted from adhering to the manual by Bush in 2007. The CIA was also ordered to close its international system of secret prisons for terrorism suspects as part of Obama’s executive orders. However, in testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, retired Adm. Dennis Blair, Obama’s nominee for national intelligence director, Jan. 22 left open the possibility that separate protocols to be established for intelligence agency interrogators might ultimately include certain techniques beyond those permitted in

the Army manual. The use of coercive techniques like waterboarding had reportedly been ruled out. The executive orders established multiple cabinet-level task forces intended to review Bush administration antiterrorism policies. The task forces would examine general U.S. detainee policy; inspect the CIA’s use of extraordinary rendition (in which terrorism suspects were secretly abducted and transferred between countries); review all remaining detainees at Guantanamo and make recommendations about whether they should be released or charged; and consider whether long-term CIA interrogation guidelines should differ from military interrogation guidelines in light of their separate missions. Following his inauguration as president, Obama Jan. 20 had ordered military prosecutors at Guantanamo to request 120-day delays in all pending hearings in order to allow the new administration time to consider its options and to review the cases of detainees who had been charged. Experts said that the Obama administration’s attempts to review the cases against all remaining detainees could be complicated by the detainee files left behind by the Bush administration, which reportedly contained many gaps and omissions. [See 2008, p. 902D3] One of Obama’s orders mandated a separate review of the case of Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, a U.S. legal resident who had been held since 2003 without trial at a U.S. Navy brig in Charleston, S.C. Acting Solicitor General Edwin Kneedler Jan. 22 asked the Supreme Court for a 30-day delay in the deadline for the government’s brief on a lawsuit filed by al-Marri’s lawyers contesting his continued detention, in order to allow the administration to formulate its position on the lawsuit. [See 2008, p. 903E1] Six Detainees Released—The Defense Department Jan. 17 announced that it had transferred six detainees from Guantanamo to their home countries, reducing the number of detainees still held at the prison to 244. One of the detainees, Haji Bismullah of Afghanistan, had been released after new information led an internal review panel at Guantanamo to conclude that he was not an enemy combatant; the other five detainees were transferred despite their status as enemy combatants. Four of the detainees were returned to Iraq, while Bismullah was sent to Afghanistan and another detainee was sent to Algeria. Ex-Detainee Alleges Mistreatment—The New York Times reported Jan. 6 that former Guantanamo detainee Muhammad Saad Iqbal had accused the U.S. government of mistreating him during his six years in U.S. custody. The Times reported that he had been held despite a lack of compelling evidence against him. He had been returned to his home country of Pakistan in August 2008. Iqbal had been captured in Indonesia in 2002 and had been sent by the U.S. to Egypt for interrogation, where he said he was drugged and subjected to repeated electric shocks. He was subsequently held FACTS ON FILE

and questioned at the U.S.’s Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, where he claimed to have been subjected to sleep deprivation for more than six months, and then moved to Guantanamo in 2003. Iqbal Jan. 18 held a press conference in Islamabad, Pakistan, to demand U.S. compensation for his imprisonment, which he said had left him with continuing medical problems. n Staff Pay Frozen, Lobbying Rules Tightened.

President Barack Obama on his first full day in office Jan. 21 froze the salaries of his highest-paid staffers and imposed stricter limits on members of his administration who resigned to become lobbyists. He also issued orders to make administration records more easily accessible to requests for information from the public. [See p. 25A1] At a swearing-in ceremony for senior White House officials, Obama said the new rules symbolized the values he wanted his administration to display, declaring, “Transparency and rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency.” Good-government advocates hailed the moves, calling the lobbying restrictions broader than any previous administration’s. The promise of less secrecy was called a sharp break from the Bush administration, which had frequently resisted requests for the disclosure of information. The salary freeze would affect White House officials who made more than $100,000 a year. Alluding to the current economic recession, Obama said, “Families are tightening their belts, and so should Washington.” Under the new lobbying rules, former Obama appointees in executive agencies would not be allowed to lobby the administration as long as Obama remained in office. Former lobbyists would not be allowed to work for federal agencies that they had lobbied within the past two years. Once they became eligible for an administration post, they would be required to recuse themselves from handling matters connected with their lobbying activities for a two-year period. Administration officials were also banned from accepting gifts from lobbyists. The new rules immediately complicated the confirmation processes of two highranking Obama nominees: William Lynn, nominated for deputy defense secretary, and William Corr, nominated for deputy health and human services secretary. Lynn had been a lobbyist for Raytheon Corp., a major defense contractor, and Corr had lobbied for a nonprofit group, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Corr reportedly had said he would recuse himself from tobacco issues. Obama aides acknowledged that both nominees were in violation of the new rules, but said waivers could be granted when doing so was deemed to be in the public interest. The Senate Armed Services Committee Jan. 22 postponed a confirmation vote for Lynn. Chairman Carl Levin (D, Mich.) said the committee would await word on “whether a waiver will be forthcoming and what the scope of the waiver will be.” Obama’s order on information disclosure reversed a 2001 order by President January 22, 2009

George W. Bush that gave federal agencies more leeway to ignore public requests for documents under the Freedom of Information Act. Obama also declared that only the incumbent president had the authority to decide which records from previous administrations should be withheld from public disclosure. That reversed another Bush order that gave former presidents the right to claim executive privilege to prevent such disclosures. Holds Meeting on Iraq Pullout— Obama Jan. 21 also held an hour-long meeting with senior military and national security advisers, including Gen. David Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command, which oversaw the Middle East and Central Asia. The meeting reportedly focused on the Iraq war and Obama’s campaign pledge to withdraw most U.S. troops from Iraq within 16 months of taking office. Obama issued a statement saying that he had “asked the military leadership to engage in additional planning necessary to execute a responsible military drawdown from Iraq.” [See p. 38A1] Obama began the day in the Oval Office by reading a note left for him in the desk by former President George W. Bush. Then Obama, Vice President Joseph Biden and their wives attended a National Prayer Service at Washington National Cathedral, joined by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton. Clergy from a range of faiths offered prayers, including several Christian denominations, Jews, Muslims and a Hindu. Obama to Continue Using E-Mail—

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs Jan. 22 said Obama and his top aides had reached a compromise that would allow the president to keep using his BlackBerry handheld e-mail device “to keep in touch with senior staff and a small group of personal friends.” Gibbs added that “use will be limited” and the security of the device would be “enhanced.” Obama had been an enthusiastic user of his BlackBerry during the presidential campaign, but aides had raised concerns that e-mails he sent and received as president would be vulnerable to theft by hackers. They also warned that his e-mails would be considered presidential records and, as such, would be subject to eventual public disclosure. For that reason, none of Obama’s predecessors since the advent of e-mail had used it to communicate. n Clinton Confirmed as Secretary of State.

The Senate Jan. 21 voted, 94–2, to confirm former Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D, N.Y.) as secretary of state. Republican Sens. Jim DeMint (S.C.) and David Vitter (La.) cast the two votes against her. Sen. John Cornyn (R, Texas) had demanded a roll call vote, rather than a voice vote, and additional debate on the nomination, arguing that there were still questions about conflicts of interests related to Bill Clinton’s international fund-raising for his charitable foundation. [See p. 16A1] Mitchell, Holbrooke Named Envoys— In a ceremony at the State Department attend-

ed by Obama and Biden, Clinton Jan. 22 introduced two special envoys, former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell (D, Maine) and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Richard Holbrooke. Mitchell would be responsible for ArabIsraeli affairs, while Holbrooke would handle Afghanistan and Pakistan. Mitchell, 75, had brokered the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement in Northern Ireland, ending the decades-old sectarian conflict between the mostly Roman Catholic republicans, who sought to end British rule, and the mostly Protestant unionists, who were loyal to Britain. [See 1998, p. 245A1] Mitchell had also chaired an international commission that investigated the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2000–01 and made recommendations on how to resolve it. [See 2001, p. 525A1] Holbrooke, 67, was a veteran diplomat best known for brokering the 1995 Dayton peace accord that ended the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. [See 1995, p. 865A1]

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Transportation Pick Quizzed, Confirmed—

Former Rep. Ray LaHood (R, Ill.), President Barack Obama’s choice for transportation secretary, Jan. 22 was confirmed by the Senate by voice vote. LaHood Jan. 21 had appeared before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, where he pledged to work toward developing an improved labor contract for air traffic controllers, modernize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and advocate for the increased funding of Amtrak. LaHood had served seven terms in the House, and became the first Republican member of Obama’s administration who was not a holdover from the previous one. [See 2008, p. 936B2] Some taxpayer advocacy groups raised questions about Lahood’s previous defense of earmarks, or funds for pet projects in lawmakers’ home districts, which ran contrary to Obama’s stated intention to curb them. According to a Jan. 14 Washington Post report, LaHood in 2008 had directed more than $8 million in federal funds toward projects that benefited Peoria, Ill.– based Caterpillar Inc., which produced construction and mining equipment. Caterpillar and its employees since 1998 had reportedly made more than $190,000 in campaign contributions to LaHood. LaHood had also been criticized for his ties to Illinois power broker William Cellini, head of the Illinois Asphalt Pavement Association. Cellini on Oct. 30, 2008, had been indicted by a federal grand jury for attempting to extort contributions for Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) from a Chicagobased real estate investment firm. Cellini that day had asserted his innocence through a lawyer. [See p. 3D3; 1976, p. 597G2]

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Shinseki Confirmed for Veterans Post—

The Senate Jan. 20 confirmed by voice vote former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki as the Veterans Affairs (VA) secretary. Shinseki at a Jan. 14 hearing before the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs had pledged to reform the VA in order to provide proper care for the increasing number of wounded veterans from the wars in 29

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Iraq and Afghanistan. He said he would work to streamline and modernize the VA claims system and eliminate a massive backlog; restore benefits to many veterans who had lost them under the Bush administration; and secure appropriations bills to fund the department early, in order to alleviate delays and personnel shortages. [See 2008, p. 901C3] Senators at his confirmation hearing praised Shinseki for his testimony before the 2003 invasion of Iraq that the U.S. would need several hundred thousand troops to stabilize Iraq, far more than the Defense Department initially deployed. Donovan Confirmed as HUD Chief—

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The Senate Jan. 22 confirmed by voice vote Shaun Donovan, New York City’s housing commissioner, as the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secretary. Donovan at a Jan. 13 Senate Banking Committee hearing said that under his leadership, HUD would take a more active role in combatting the U.S.’s home foreclosure crisis and broader economic problems. Senators praised his qualifications for the job, and urged him to work to provide direct assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure and enact better oversight of the government-backed mortgage-financing companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. [See 2008, p. 918F3] Other Confirmations—The Senate Jan. 22 unanimously confirmed Lisa Perez Jackson as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; Mary Schapiro as chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission; and Susan Rice as ambassador to the U.N. [See pp. 17B2, F3, 16A2] n Committee Approves Treasury Nominee.

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The Senate Finance Committee Jan. 22 voted, 18–5, to recommend that the full Senate confirm Federal Reserve Bank of New York President Timothy Geithner as Treasury secretary. The vote came after two days of hearings, in which senators grilled Geithner on his failure to pay $34,000 in payroll taxes for salary he had received from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) between 2001 and 2004. Geithner during his hearing Jan. 21 said, “These were careless mistakes. They were avoidable mistakes. But they were unintentional.” [See p. 17C1] Geithner Jan. 21 said the administration of President Barack Obama would take “dramatic” steps to resolve an ongoing crisis in financial markets, saying, “In a crisis of this magnitude, the most prudent course is the most forceful course.” He promised to unveil a “comprehensive plan” in the coming weeks to encourage banks and other financial institutions to resume lending amidst a freeze in credit markets. Without providing specific details, Geithner said he would “reshape and redesign” a $700 billion financial rescue package enacted in October 2008, known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The Bush administration, which had already allocated more than half of the TARP funds, had been widely criticized by lawmakers for sending confusing signals to markets 30

and failing to stimulate lending. Geithner said he would offer a “clear plan.” Geithner Jan. 21 said he would consider a proposal to create a so-called “bad bank,” which would use TARP funds to purchase distressed assets from financial institutions. Many of those assets were backed by mortgages, and had seen their value plummet after the housing market entered a slump in 2006. Those assets were now virtually unsalable on the market, and weighed heavily on bank balance sheets, leading to large losses. Some senators said Geithner was uniquely qualified to become Treasury secretary, given his deep familiarity with the financial crisis and his close involvement with the government’s efforts to address it. However, some Republican critics identified him with the regulatory failures that contributed to the crisis and the shortcomings of the Bush administration’s response. Geithner also drew attention for saying, in written testimony submitted to the committee Jan. 22, that Obama believed that China was “manipulating” its currency, the yuan. The U.S. had long pressed China, which controlled the value of the yuan against the U.S. dollar, to allow it to rise from what critics called an artificially low level that made China’s exports cheaper and increased its trade surplus. But Geithner’s comment broke with an unspoken policy of the Bush administration, which had refrained from overtly accusing China of currency manipulation over fears that it would unnecessarily antagonize a major trading partner and the second-largest holder of U.S. Treasury securities. Geithner said Obama would “use aggressively all the diplomatic avenues open to him to seek change in China’s currency practices.” Geithner said, “The question is how and when to broach the subject in order to do more good than harm.” Geithner did not say he would officially label China a currency manipulator in the Treasury’s annual currency report, due in the spring. Such a move would require the administration to take legal steps against China. Analysts said a tougher stance on China’s trade policies would please U.S. labor unions and manufacturers. However, they also said it could cool relations between the two countries at a time when the U.S. was dependent on Chinese Treasury bond purchases to fund its economic recovery plans. n Holder Confirmation Vote Delayed. Senate Republicans on the Judiciary Committee Jan. 21 used a procedural rule to force a one-week delay of the advance of attorney general nominee Eric Holder’s confirmation vote to the full Senate. Holder, who had served as deputy attorney general under President Bill Clinton, was still expected to be confirmed by the Senate. [See p. 16E2] Sen. Arlen Specter (R, Pa.) said the delay would allow Republicans to ask Holder additional questions, suggesting that they had not been given sufficient time to probe his record. Republicans had raised concerns about Holder’s role in the 2001 pardoning of fugitive businessman Marc Rich,

as well as Holder’s views on the legality of the Bush administration’s anti-terrorism policies. Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D, Vt.) said Holder was an important part of President Barack Obama’s national security team, adding that he was “extremely disappointed” with the delay. The position was currently filled by Acting Attorney General Mark Filip. Holder Criticized, Supported— Former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Louis Freeh Jan. 16 testified before the committee on the second day of hearings connected to Holder’s nomination. He said Holder had been “used and co-opted” by Clinton in connection with the Rich pardon, which Freeh had opposed and called a “corrupt act,” but said he believed Holder would “never allow himself again to be put in that position.” Holder had previously admitted that he had failed to adequately study the proposed pardon, but suggested that he had learned from his mistake. The committee Jan. 16 heard testimony from witnesses opposed to Holder’s confirmation, including a man whose father had been killed in 1975 by members of the Armed Forces of National Liberation (FALN), a Puerto Rican nationalist group that carried out terrorist attacks in New York City and Chicago. Under Clinton, Holder had signed off on the commutation of the sentences of 16 FALN members who had not been convicted of crimes that involved killed or wounded victims. n

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Cease-fire Ends Gaza Strip Fighting Israelis Pull Out; Death Toll Placed at 1,300.

Israel Jan. 17 announced that it would impose a unilateral cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, effective 2:00 a.m. local time the following day. The Palestinian militant Islamist group Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement), which controlled the territory, Jan. 18 also said it would observe a cease-fire, ending the 22-day war between Israel and Hamas. Israeli troops Jan. 21 finished withdrawing from the Gaza Strip. [See p. 13A1] Israel Jan. 3 had invaded the Gaza Strip, with the stated aim of stopping Hamas from firing rockets into southern Israel. Israeli planes and ships had been bombarding Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip since Dec. 27, 2008. The United Nations Jan. 19 reported that, according to Gazan health officials, 1,314 Palestinians had been killed in the Israeli offensive, including 412 children and 110 women. The death toll was reportedly likely to increase as more victims were unearthed from collapsed buildings. About 5,000 Palestinians were reported to have been wounded. Thirteen Israelis were killed, including three civilians and a soldier slain by rockets before the ground invasion began. Combat Continues Before Cease-fire—

Fighting had continued in Gaza Jan. 16–17 before the cease-fire was announced. There FACTS ON FILE

was a fierce battle Jan. 16 between Israeli tanks and Palestinian militants in Gaza City’s southwestern Tal Al Hawa neighborhood, reportedly killing several dozen Palestinians. Palestinians that day also reported that a shell had hit a house of mourning in the Shajaiye neighborhood of Gaza City, killing at least 10 people, and that a mother and five children had been killed in the Bureij refugee camp. Israeli tanks Jan. 17 fired on a U.N. school in the northern town of Beit Lahiyah, killing two young brothers and injuring their mother and 13 others. U.N. officials called for a probe into whether Israel had committed a war crime in targeting the school, which was housing 1,600 Gazan refugees. The Israeli military promised an investigation but said its soldiers had been defending themselves. It was the latest in a series of Israeli attacks that had hit U.N. facilities or personnel. Khaled Meshal, the Hamas political leader in exile in Damascus, Syria, Jan. 16 called for Palestinians to continue fighting against Israel, and said those Arab countries that had ties with Israel should break them off to protest the offensive. Qatar and Mauritania in response ceased all their relations with Israel. Also that day, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, Israel’s closest ally in the region, said Israel should be ejected from the U.N. for disregarding a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a cease-fire, and for shelling the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) headquarters in Gaza City the previous day. Israel, U.S. Sign Antismuggling Pact—

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Jan. 16 signed a “memorandum of understanding” in Washington, D.C., aimed at stopping Hamas’s smuggling of weapons through tunnels underneath the GazaEgypt border. Under the agreement, the U.S. would provide technical assistance and work with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to block smugglers. Britain, Germany and France also agreed to cooperate in the antismuggling efforts. The agreement called for the deployment of international monitors. However, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Egypt would not be bound by the agreement and objected to foreign monitors being stationed on its soil. Israel had bombed the tunnels heavily during the offensive, and keeping Hamas from using them to rearm was one of the main Israeli demands for a long-term truce. Israeli officials said they had destroyed about 80% of the tunnels. In addition to importing weapons, smugglers also used tunnels to bring in civilian goods, circumventing an Israeli blockade of the territory. Israeli Cease-fire Announced— Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert late Jan. 17 in a televised address announced the ceasefire. He said Israel had “reached all the goals of the war,” showing its deterrent power and severely punishing Hamas. Olmert warned that if Hamas continued to January 22, 2009

fire rockets, “the Israeli army will regard itself as free to respond with force.” However, if Hamas agreed to a cease-fire, he said Israel would “consider leaving Gaza at a time that is suitable to us.” Olmert in his speech did not address whether Israel would accept any provisions of a cease-fire proposal being negotiated between Hamas and the Egyptian government, although he thanked Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for his diplomatic efforts. Israel did not negotiate directly with Hamas because it considered the group to be a terrorist organization. Hamas officials criticized Israel for disregarding the Egyptian-brokered cease-fire proposal, and said they would continue fighting until Israeli forces had completely withdrawn from Gaza. Hamas militants continued to fire rockets into Israel after the Israeli cease-fire took effect and before Hamas adopted its own cease-fire. Hamas Gives Israel a Week to Withdraw—

Hamas Jan. 18 announced that it would participate in the cease-fire, and gave Israel seven days to withdraw its troops from Gaza. Hamas officials earlier in the day had said they would not stop fighting until Israel withdrew its troops, opened Gaza border crossings and ended its blockade of the territory. However, Israel ignored the demands, and Hamas ordered the cease-fire later that day anyway. Both sides declared victory: Israeli politicians claimed they had dealt a serious blow to Hamas, while Hamas said it had survived a prolonged assault by the overwhelming might of the Israeli army. A Hamas leader in Damascus, Moussa Abu Marzouk, Jan. 18 in a televised statement said the organization would continue to negotiate with Egypt to end the blockade of Gaza. Israeli troops Jan. 18 began pulling out from Gaza, and had completed their withdrawal by Jan. 21. It had previously been reported that Israel was trying to complete the withdrawal before the Jan. 20 inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama. There were scattered violations of the cease-fire Jan. 19–20, as Palestinian militants reportedly fired on Israeli troops or launched mortar shells at Israel, and Israeli troops returned fire. Gazans Jan. 18 began to emerge from cover and survey the damage to the territory. Over 100 corpses were exhumed that day from collapsed buildings, and 14 more were discovered Jan. 19. Gazan officials said over 4,000 buildings had been destroyed by the fighting, and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said total property damage amounted to $1.9 billion. Reconstruction Aid Disputed— European and Arab leaders Jan. 18 met in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, to press for a more permanent truce. The European Union pledged to aid in rebuilding Gaza, but EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner Jan. 19 refused to funnel reconstruction funds through Hamas. Hamas had reportedly been paying compensation to Gazans who had been injured or who had lost family

members or their homes, in a bid to increase its popularity in the territory. Olmert Jan. 20 said Israel would not allow aid to enter Gaza if it would be controlled by Hamas. Saudi Arabia at an Arab League summit in Kuwait Jan. 19 promised $1 billion in reconstruction aid. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon Jan. 20 visited Gaza, where he described the Israeli invasion as an “outrageous and totally unacceptable attack.” He called on Israel to open the Gaza border crossings, and said they could be patrolled by a third party, such as the EU or Turkey, in order to prevent arms smuggling. However, Livni said the blockade would not end until Hamas released Cpl. Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who had been kidnapped by the group in 2006.

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Obama Pledges Mideast Engagement—

Obama in a speech Jan. 22 promised that the U.S. would “actively and aggressively seek a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians.” He said that in order for the truce to hold, Hamas had to stop its rocket fire into Israel; Israel had to completely withdraw its forces and open the Gaza crossings; and the U.S. and its allies had to “support a credible antismuggling and interdiction regime, so that Hamas cannot rearm.” Obama also said, “I was deeply concerned by the loss of Palestinian and Israeli life in recent days and by the substantial suffering and humanitarian needs in Gaza.” It was his first public statement on the situation in Gaza. Obama the same day announced his appointment of former Sen. George Mitchell (D, Maine) as his special diplomatic envoy to the Middle East. [See p. 29G2] n

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United Nations Court Finds U.S. Execution Violated Ruling.

The United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court, Jan. 19 unanimously ruled that the August 2008 execution of Mexican citizen Jose Medellin by the U.S. state of Texas violated a 2004 ICJ ruling. That ruling had called for Medellin and 50 other Mexican nationals to have their cases reconsidered by U.S. courts. The prisoners had been tried without being allowed access to legal help from Mexican consulates in the U.S., in apparent violation of the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. [See 2008, p. 518A3] In the new ruling, the ICJ ordered U.S. courts to consider whether the cases of the 50 remaining Mexican nationals had been negatively affected by a lack of access to consular legal advice. Experts said that the ruling was nonbinding and could be enforced only by the unanimous vote of the U.N. Security Council, of which the U.S. was a permanent member. U.S. President George W. Bush had attempted to block Medellin’s execution in order to avoid violating the ruling; however, the U.S. Supreme Court in March 2008 had ruled that Bush lacked the power to interfere with state courts. n 31

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U.S. government Jan. 16 agreed to buy $20 billion in stock from Charlotte, N.C.–based Bank of America Corp., as the bank struggled to complete its $50 billion acquisition of New York City–based brokerage Merrill Lynch & Co. The government also agreed to partially guarantee against losses some $118 billion worth of Bank of America’s assets. With the latest agreement, the government since October 2008 had provided Bank of America with $45 billion in capital injections. [See p. 15C2] Bank of America had been hobbled by larger-than-expected losses at Merrill, which that day said it would record a $15.3 billion loss for the fourth quarter of 2008, its last quarter as an independent company. The losses stemmed from write-downs on the value of a wide variety of assets, most of which were backed by mortgages from the slumping housing market or other loans. Bank of America that day posted its own fourth-quarter loss of $1.79 billion. Bank of America had claimed that the extent of Merrill’s losses had only been revealed after shareholders voted to approve the deal in early December 2008. The bank said the deterioration of Merrill’s assets had begun to accelerate in the second week of December, in tandem with broader financial markets. Despite those claims, Bank of America was criticized for failing to examine Merrill’s assets more closely in September 2008, when the acquisition was hastily arranged to prevent Merrill from entering bankruptcy. Bank of America Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chairman Kenneth Lewis Jan. 16 said he had considered canceling the purchase, but was persuaded that the deal’s dissolution would further destabilize fragile financial markets. He said, “I do think we were doing the right thing for the country.” Lewis had met with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. in midDecember, both of whom reportedly urged him to follow through on the deal and pledged government support. Bank of America Jan. 22 announced that former Merrill CEO John Thain had resigned from his position as chief of the combined company’s global banking and wealth-management unit. Thain, who had originally won plaudits for orchestrating Merrill’s sale, came under heavy criticism following Merrill’s fourth-quarter loss. Thain had also angered shareholders by approving bonus payments for Merrill employees before the deal with Bank of America was sealed Jan. 1, and about a month before Merrill normally issued bonuses, in what was seen as a move to prevent Bank of America from curtailing bonus payments. Thain was replaced by Brian Moynihan, Bank of America’s general counsel. [See 2008, p. 955A1] Bank of America’s share price on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Jan. 22 ended at $5.71, down about 83% since September 2008. 32

Separately, Lewis Jan. 6 announced that he would forgo his 2008 bonus, becoming the latest banking executive to do so in the wake of large losses during the year. [See 2008, p. 953G3] Citigroup Posts Large Loss—New York City–based banking giant Citigroup Inc. Jan. 16 said it would record an $8.3 billion loss for the fourth quarter of 2008, its fifth straight quarterly loss. Citigroup executives expected losses to continue in 2009, as an ongoing recession forced consumers to default on a wide array of loans. Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit that day unveiled a plan to split Citigroup into two entities, Citi Holdings and Citicorp. Citi Holdings would contain the bank’s unprofitable units and all the distressed assets on Citigroup’s books. Citicorp would then house profitable businesses that had been cleansed of those debilitating assets. But analysts remained skeptical that Citigroup could fully strip businesses of assets that had been spread throughout the financial system. Citigroup’s NYSE share price that day fell to $3.50, down 48% for the week. Rejecting widespread reports, Pandit that day said Citigroup was not “in a rush” to sell its more unprofitable units and dismantle a sprawling company that critics said was too unwieldy to manage. However, Citigroup Jan. 19 said its Nikko Cordial Securities brokerage, based in Japan, was up for sale. Citigroup Jan. 21 said Richard Parsons, a Citigroup board director and former chairman of media company Time Warner Inc., would succeed Sir Win Bischoff as the bank’s chairman. [See 2008, p. 828A3]

sures and had refused to answer many of the questions the committee had posed. [See p. 30D1; 2008, p. 901A1] The panel said the Treasury, which had thus far pledged more than half of the TARP’s funds to ailing financial institutions, had failed to encourage banks to resume lending amidst a freeze in credit markets. The panel said the Treasury had also failed to clarify how participating banks were using TARP money, leading to confusion among investors and consumers. Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general overseeing TARP, Jan. 22 said he would require banks that received TARP aid to disclose how the funds had been spent. Barofsky’s statement came in a letter to Sen. Charles Grassley (Iowa), the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee. The House Jan. 21 had voted, 260–166, to pass a bill that would place greater restrictions on how TARP funds were used. The bill would require banks to show that they were using TARP aid to increase lending, and compel the Treasury to use $40 billion in TARP funds to address the foreclosure crisis. The Senate, however, was not expected to consider the bill. The House Jan. 22 voted, 270–155, to block the release of the remaining TARP funds to President Barack Obama. The vote was symbolic, since the Senate the previous week had rejected a proposal to block the funds, allowing them to be released to the Obama administration. [See p. 14A3] n

Government Agrees to Sell IndyMac—

Caroline Kennedy Drops N.Y. Senate Bid.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) Jan. 2 agreed to sell Pasadena, Calif.–based mortgage lender IndyMac Federal Bank (formerly known as IndyMac Bancorp) to a group of private investors for $13.9 billion. The FDIC had seized IndyMac in July 2008, after it collapsed due to losses on its mortgage assets. Under the terms of the deal, the FDIC would partially guarantee IndyMac’s mortgage portfolio against default. In return, the investor group, led by private-equity firm Dune Capital Management LP, would continue the FDIC’s loan-modification program, which was intended to help homeowners struggling to make their monthly payments. The FDIC, which insured consumer bank deposits, said the takeover of IndyMac could cost it as much as $9.4 billion. The FDIC, funded by premiums paid by the banking industry, had $34.6 billion in reserves at the end of the third quarter of 2008, down from $52.4 billion at the end of 2007. n

Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of slain President John F. Kennedy, Jan. 22 announced that she had withdrawn from consideration for the U.S. Senate seat that was being vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton (D, N.Y.) due to her nomination as U.S. secretary of state. Gov. David Paterson (D) had the sole authority to name a replacement to fill Clinton’s seat until an election to be held in 2010. [See p. 29F2; 2008, p. 919D2] Kennedy issued a statement saying, “I informed Governor Paterson today that for personal reasons I am withdrawing my name from consideration for the United States Senate.” Kennedy, 51, was a resident of New York City. She had sought to maintain her privacy for most of her adult life until emerging onto the national political stage in 2008 by endorsing the candidacy of then-Sen. Barack Obama (D, Ill.) for the Democratic presidential nomination and then helping to direct his search for a running mate. In December, Kennedy had announced her interest in Clinton’s Senate seat, despite having never run for elected office. She faced criticism that she was unqualified and motivated by a sense of family entitlement, particularly after her uncertain performance in a series of media interviews. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and U.S. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, both Democrats, were seen as the two leading contenders for Paterson’s appointment after Kennedy dropped out. n

Treasury Financial Rescue Plan Criticized.

A five-member oversight panel created by Congress Jan. 9 released a report criticizing the Treasury Department for its handling of a $700 billion financial rescue package enacted in October 2008, known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The panel reiterated several complaints it had made in a previous December 2008 report, saying the Treasury had not developed a clear strategy for stabilizing the financial system, had done little to stem a wave of home foreclo-

Politics

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Supreme Court Voting Rights Act Case Accepted. The Supreme Court Jan. 9 accepted the case Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One v. Mukasey, in which it would consider the constitutionality of a central provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Section 5 of the law established so-called preclearance requirements, which mandated that any changes to voting procedures in nine states—Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia—and towns and counties in seven other states be approved by the Justice Department before they could be instituted. [See 2006, p. 572B2; 1965, p. 286B3] The preclearance requirements had been instituted mainly in the South in response to literacy tests and other schemes designed to prevent blacks from voting. They had originally been intended to last for only five years, but had instead been extended four times and had grown to apply to other minority groups. Gregory Coleman, a former Texas solicitor general, had brought the lawsuit against the Justice Department on behalf of a small municipality outside Austin, Texas, that did not exist at the time of the Voting Rights Act’s creation. Critics of the preclearance rules said they infringed on states’ sovereignty, and were a source of embarrassment to areas that had made strides in civil rights protections over the past 40 years. Other Cases Accepted—The high court Jan. 9 accepted three other cases. In Ricci v. DeStefano, the court would decide whether a civil service board in New Haven, Conn., was justified in throwing out the results of a civil service exam on which white firefighters significantly outperformed Hispanic and black firefighters. The court agreed to hear Horne v. Flores, in which it would consider a lower court ruling that Arizona had not spent enough money to aid residents attempting to overcome language barriers. In Iraq v. Beaty, the court would consider whether Iraqis who suffered under the regime of former President Saddam Hussein were entitled to remuneration from the current Iraqi government. The Justice Department had requested that the court hear the case and then rule that the current Iraqi government’s sovereignty granted it immunity from such claims. n

Accidents & Disasters Crippled Jet Lands Safely in Hudson River.

U.S. Airways Flight 1549, a commercial jet carrying 150 passengers and five crew members, Jan. 15 crash-landed in the Hudson River after both engines failed at an altitude of 3,200 feet (975 m), minutes after taking off from New York City’s LaGuardia Airport. All 155 people survived the water landing, and were quickly transported to land via nearby boats and ferries, which converged upon the sinking aircraft minutes after it landed. Some passengers were treated for hypothermia, but no major January 22, 2009

injuries were reported. [See 2006, p. 784A1; 1995, p. 736F2] It was widely reported that that the aircraft, an Airbus A320 twin-engine jetliner, was believed to have lost power in both engines after it struck a large flock of geese, and one or more were sucked into each engine. However, that conclusion had not yet been confirmed by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which was investigating the accident. The pilot, Chesley Sullenberger III, had reported a “double bird strike” to aircraft controllers, and flew the disabled plane for about three and a half minutes in a path seeking to avoid densely populated New York City neighborhoods before splashing down in the icy waters of the Hudson. Witnesses and passengers described the crash-landing as controlled and smooth. After the landing and evacuation, the abandoned aircraft floated downstream to the southern end of the island of Manhattan, where it was moored and Jan. 17 pulled from the river. Investigators were able to recover cockpit voice recorders and the aircraft’s “black box” flight data recorder. The left engine had detached from the plane in the landing, but divers Jan. 21 located it about 50 feet underwater, and began making preparations to recover it. The same day, NTSB investigators said they had discovered a feather and “organic material” in the aircraft’s right engine. The NTSB was also investigating why the plane’s right engine had sustained a temporary power reduction during a Jan. 13 flight. However, the Wall Street Journal Jan. 21 reported that investigators did not think that incident was related to the Jan. 15 engine failure. A final NTSB report on the cause of the accident was not expected for several months. Sullenberger and the rest of the flight crew were lauded as heroes across the country in the days that followed the extraordinary water landing. Sullenberger had been a U.S. Airways pilot since 1980, and before that had served for seven years as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force after graduating from the Air Force Academy. He also ran an aviation-safety consulting firm. n

Environment Toxins Found High Near Coal Waste Spill.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Jan. 2 said water samples taken downriver from a coal waste spill in Tennessee showed the river had levels of arsenic greater than 100 times the acceptable amount, and five times the acceptable amount of lead. In late December, a retaining wall at the coal-fired Kingston Fossil Plant, a power plant operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) public utility, had burst, sending an estimated 5.4 million cubic yards (4.1 million cubic meters) of coal fly ash waste onto nearby land and into the Emory River, a tributary of the Tennessee River. [See 2008, p. 956G2] The EPA had previously said that water samples had shown elevated contaminant levels, but had not publicly released its data. The environmental group Appalachian Voices Jan. 1 had released the results

of its own tests of water downriver from the plant, which showed levels of several metals—including arsenic, lead and chromium—between two and 300 times higher than drinking water standards allowed. Activists said federal officials had failed to issue timely warnings regarding potential health dangers posed by the waste after the spill. TVA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tom Kilgore Jan. 8 said retaining walls at the Kingston plant had leaked twice in the past five years without being properly repaired. The Tennessee spill, thought to be the largest of its kind in U.S. history, had led to calls by environmentalists and some lawmakers for stricter regulation of waste ponds used to contain coal ash. Although waste from coal-fired power plants contained a range of toxins, the dumps that housed the material were subject to little or no federal regulation. Several studies had shown that exposure to coal waste caused a number of ailments in humans, including cancer and birth defects, and had devastated the ecosystems abutting the dumps. There were about 1,300 coal ash ponds similar to the one that broke in Tennessee across the U.S. Separately, up to 10,000 gallons (37,850 liters) of coal waste Jan. 9 spilled into a tributary of the Tennessee River from a waste pond at the Widows Creek Fossil Plant, near Stevenson, Ala. n

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tice Department Jan. 19 announced that President George W. Bush had commuted the prison sentences of two former Border Patrol officers who had been convicted of shooting an unarmed drug smuggler and attempting to cover up their actions. Bush did not comment on the commutations, which were the 10th and 11th of his presidency; he had also pardoned 190 people but later revoked one of the pardons. The actions were Bush’s final use of his authority to pardon and commute sentences. [See 2008, p. 959A2; 2007, p. 649C2] The two former agents, Igancio Ramos and Jose Compean, had been sentenced to 11 years and 12 years in prison, respectively, after being convicted of charges including violating their victim’s civil rights and assault with a firearm. The convictions of Ramos, 39, and Compean, 32, had been widely criticized by conservatives and anti-immigration groups. Following the commutations, Compean and Ramos were scheduled to be released from prison March 20 after serving two years and two months of their sentences. Bush left office without pardoning I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney. Nor did he, as some suggested he might, issue preemptive pardons to any administration figures involved in possible illegalities in its controversial antiterrorism policies. Bush had already commuted Libby’s two-and-ahalf-year sentence for perjury. Cheney Jan. 21 said he believed that Libby deserved a pardon. n 33

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Rwanda Arrests Congolese Tutsi Rebel Leader Move Comes Amid Joint Offensive. Rwandan authorities late Jan. 22 arrested former Congolese army Gen. Laurent Nkunda, an ethnic Tutsi rebel leader who in August 2008 had launched an offensive against Congolese troops and ethnic Hutu militias in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The arrest came two days after as many as 4,000 Rwandan troops entered Congo’s eastern province of North Kivu, at the invitation of the Congolese government, and joined with Congolese forces in an operation against the Hutu militias, comprised mainly of Rwandan Hutu extremists who had fled that country after leading a genocide in 1994 that killed about 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. [See 2008, p. 970E1] The arrest of Nkunda, leader of the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), came as a surprise; it had been widely reported that he was being backed by the Tutsi-dominated Rwandan government. According to Rwandan and Congolese officials, he was arrested in Rwanda just over the Congo’s eastern border, after fleeing the joint offensive’s attack on his Congolese stronghold of Bunagana. Congo in 2005 had issued an international arrest warrant for Nkunda for atrocities allegedly committed by forces under his command in the eastern city of Bukavu in 2004. However, it was unclear whether Rwanda would turn him over to Congolese authorities. It was believed that about 2,000 fighters remained loyal to Nkunda. In the early 1990s, Nkunda had fought for the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), the Rwandan Tutsi rebel group that put a stop to the Rwandan genocide in July 1994 and drove the Hutu extremists into eastern Congo. (The leader of the RPF, Paul Kagame, was currently Rwanda’s president.) Nkunda then joined a Rwandan-backed Congolese rebel group led by Laurent Kabila—the father of current Congolese President Joseph Kabila—that ousted President Mobutu Sese Seko in 1997. However, after assuming Congo’s presidency, Laurent Kabila broke with Rwanda, and Nkunda became a commander in another eastern Congo rebel group, the Rwandan-backed Congolese Rally for Democracy. The group eventually joined Congo’s coalition government at the end of that country’s 1998–2003 civil war, and Nkunda was given the position of general in Congo’s army. However, Nkunda never took up his army position, instead forming the CNDP, which he argued was needed to protect Tutsis in eastern Congo from the Hutu extremists. In late 2008, Nkunda’s forces launched an offensive that had routed the Congolese army, capturing a large swath of territory in eastern Congo near the border with Rwanda. The fighting exacerbated a humanitarian crisis that had existed in the region for years. At one point during the offensive, 34

Nkunda had appeared to widen his goals beyond protecting Congolese Tutsis, saying he wanted to “liberate” the entire country. In late December 2008, Nkunda’s representatives walked out of United Nations– brokered peace talks in Kenya, after refusing to agree to a cease-fire with government forces. Analysts said the arrest of Nkunda could have been linked to his opposition to the alliance formed by the governments of Congo and Rwanda to battle the Hutu militias, known as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) or the Interhamwe. It was rumored that Congo had agreed to allow the Rwandan forces into its territory to pursue the FDLR and, in exchange, Rwanda had agreed to rein in Nkunda. (Rwandan forces had invaded Congo unilaterally twice in the late 1990s to pursue the Hutu extremists.) Nkunda had also been weakened by the Jan. 16 defection of his chief of staff, Bosco Ntaganda, who said he and his followers would join the Congolese army’s fight against the FDLR due to “a failure of political leadership” on the part of Nkunda. Ntaganda in 2008 had been charged by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the Netherlands, for forcibly conscripting child soldiers between July 2002 and December 2003, and some observers speculated that he had agreed to join the army in exchange for protection from ICC prosecution by Congo’s government. Also, Ntaganda had allegedly been in charge of CNDP troops that were accused of massacring civilians in the eastern Congolese town of Kiwanja in November 2008. [See 2008, pp. 970E2, 361E3] Rwandan Forces Hunt Hutu Militias—

The Jan. 20 crossing of Rwandan troops into Congo was touted by both governments as an offensive to wipe out the FDLR, which was believed to number about 6,000 fighters. The joint offensive marked a shift in alliances in the region; Congo and Rwanda had previously had tense relations, with Rwanda accusing Congo’s government of supporting the FDLR and Congo in turn pointing to Rwanda’s alleged support of Nkunda’s forces. A December 2008 United Nations report had cited evidence of those accusations, reportedly embarrassing both governments. [See 2008, p. 970A2] As the fighting intensified and the humanitarian situation worsened in late 2008, the two governments reportedly reached an agreement to take decisive action against the armed groups that had been roaming eastern Congo with near impunity. A Congolese military spokesman Jan. 20 said the offensive was expected to last only 10 to 15 days, and would be commanded by the Congolese army. All groups operating in the region—including the Congolese army—had been accused of widespread human rights abuses, including mass rape, conscripting child soldiers, and the looting and destruction of villages. Also, all sides had also been accused of plundering eastern Congo’s vast mineral resources; many analysts said con-

trol of those resources was at the root of the conflict. The invitation extended to Rwandan forces by the government of Congolese President Joseph Kabila was criticized by some Congolese politicians, who cited Rwanda’s support for previous Congolese rebel movements that had committed atrocities, as well as its two invasions of eastern Congo in the 1990s. The U.N. peacekeeping force in Congo—the U.N. Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC)—which numbered about 17,000 troops, Jan. 20 said it had not been informed of the operation. MONUC Jan. 22 called for a role in the offensive, saying its presence was needed to protect civilians. n

Africa News in Brief Central African Republic: New Cabinet Set.

Central African Republic President Francois Bozize Jan. 18 dissolved the government, paving the way for the formation of a new unity administration that had been agreed to at a national peace conference in December 2008. Bozize Jan. 19 reappointed Faustin-Archange Touadera as prime minister. Touadera later that day named a new cabinet that included two rebel leaders—one of them being Francois Naouyama of the Popular Army for the Restoration of Democracy, who became minister of environment and ecology. Two opposition leaders were also named to the new cabinet. Fewer than one-third of the previous ministers retained their posts. However, the radical opposition Union of Active Forces of the Nation (UFVN) coalition refused to join the government. Also, the defense ministry Jan. 20 reported a rebel attack in the northern region of Ndele, the first such attack since the peace conference. [See 2008, p. 969E3] n Guinea: Junta Installs Government. Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara, the head of Guinea’s ruling military junta, which had taken power after the death of authoritarian President Lansana Conte in December 2008, Jan. 14 named a new government. The government, comprised mainly of army officers and technocrats, shut out former members of Conte’s administration. In late December 2008, the junta, led by mid-level army officers, had appointed banker Kabine Komara as prime minister. The 15member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Jan. 10 suspended Guinea’s membership due to the coup. The U.S. Jan. 6 had said it was suspending about $15 million in aid to the country, and called for a return to civilian rule. Earlier that day, the junta had arrested former senior military officials under Conte who had been forced to resign after the coup. [See 2008, p. 971A1] n Rwanda: Ex-Minister Convicted in Genocide.

A court in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, Jan. 20 sentenced former Justice Minister Agnes Ntamabyariro to life in prison for incitement in connection with Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, in which some 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were massacred. NtaFACTS ON FILE

mabyariro, who had a Hutu father and a Tutsi mother, had been convicted the previous day. Her crimes included ordering the murder of an Tutsi official in the southern city of Butare during the genocide. Ntamabyariro was the first high-ranking official of the former government to be convicted in a Rwandan court; most other officials had been tried before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania. [See p. 34A1; 2008, p. 923A2] n

AMERICAS

Chile President Bachelet Sets Stimulus Plan.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet Jeria late Jan. 5 announced a $4 billion (2.63 trillion peso) stimulus package for the country, to be financed by tapping its sovereign wealth fund and through the sale of bonds. Under the plan, the government would provide tax rebates and increase spending on the country’s infrastructure by about $700 million. [See 2008, p. 819G2; 1999, p. 993F2] The plan also called for the government to provide the state-run copper mining company, Corporacion Nacional del Cobre (Codelco), with a $1 billion capitalization. Much of the money in the multibillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund had been accrued through Codelco’s sale of copper, which had cost as much as $4 per pound in 2008. However, in the wake of the global economic slowdown, copper had fallen to about $1.40 per pound, as demand for it declined. Low-earning workers between the ages of 18 and 24 and their employers would receive subsidies, and one-time payments equal to about $63 would be given to poor children. As a result of the increased spending, the government would run a deficit equal to about 2.9% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), its largest since 1990. n

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China GDP Growth Slowed in 2008. China’s National Bureau of Statistics Jan. 22 reported that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) had grown in 2008 by 9.0% from the previous year, confirming a slowdown in growth amid a global economic slump. The bureau Jan. 14 had released revised statistics for 2007, saying that GDP growth for that year was 13%, up from the previous estimate of 11.9%. [See below; 2008, pp. 773D1, 39F2] The 2008 growth figure was China’s first below 10% since 2002. The bureau said GDP in the fourth quarter had grown by 6.8% from the year-earlier period. The intensifying slowdown raised the possibility that China’s growth would dip below the government’s perennial 8% annual target, which the country had routinely reported exceeding in recent years. (However, some foreign economists expressed January 22, 2009

doubt about the precise underpinnings of China’s statistics, and suggested that they were manipulated to some extent by the authorities.) China was being hurt particularly hard by a decline in worldwide demand for its exports. The government Jan. 14 reported that exports had declined in December 2008 by 2.8% in U.S. dollar terms from a year earlier, the biggest drop since 1999. ’07 Growth Puts Economy in Top Three—

China’s Jan. 14 upward revision of its 2007 GDP data meant it had the third-largest economy in the world in that year, displacing Germany in the slot behind the U.S. and Japan. China’s GDP for the year was reported at 25.731 trillion yuan ($3.383 trillion), compared with Germany’s $3.321 trillion, Japan’s $4.4 trillion and the U.S.’s $13.8 trillion. However China’s per-capita GDP was only about $2,500, compared with $40,400 for Germany. China had surpassed Britain as the world’s fourth-largest economy in 2005. [See 2006, p. 132C3] n Death Sentences Issued in Milk Scandal.

A court in Shijiazhuang, in Hebei Province, Jan. 22 handed down death sentences to two men convicted in connection with the widespread contamination of dairy products with the chemical melamine, after trials held in December 2008. Another defendant was given a suspended death sentence, and three others were sentenced to life in prison. It had emerged in September 2008 that melamine had been added to milk produced by a number of dairies in order to boost its measured protein content in quality tests. At least six children had died after consuming tainted formula, and 300,000 were sickened. [See 2008, p. 979F1] One of the two condemned defendants, Zhang Yujun, was convicted of selling the melamine powder to dairies, while the other Geng Jinping, was convicted of producing poisonous food products. Tian Wenhua, the former chairwoman of the dairy company most extensively involved in the scandal, Shijiazhuang Sanlu Group Co., was sentenced to life in prison for allowing the production of tainted milk to continue even after becoming aware of the contamination. Also receiving a life term was Zhang Yanzhang, for buying the powder and reselling it to milk-collecting companies. The court, the Intermediate People’s Court, also gave 15 other people prison terms ranging from five to 15 years. Parents of sickened children demonstrated outside the courthouse, with some suggesting that, in addition to the defendants, the government bore responsibility for failing to adequately regulate the industry or to respond properly to the scandal. Class Action Filed With Highest Court—

Lawyers representing the families of 213 children made ill by tainted milk products Jan. 16 filed a class-action lawsuit in China’s highest court, the Supreme People’s Court in Beijing, the capital. The lawsuit against 22 dairy companies was a rare example of both a product liability case and

of a class action in China, and came after lower courts rejected other class-action melamine suits. It was not yet known whether the high court would accept the case. Among the plaintiffs were the families of four children who had died but were not included in the official count of six deaths attributed to the tainted milk products. A lawyer for the parents of one of the children who died Jan. 16 said they had become the first to accept compensation from a fund established by the 22 companies, with the government’s backing. Parents of a child who died were entitled to $29,000 in compensation, if they agreed not to pursue legal action against the producers. The fund would pay some $4,400 in compensation to the families of children with serious kidney damage, and those suffering from less serious illness would get about $290. n

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North Korea ‘Weaponized’ Plutonium Claim Reported.

A U.S. scholar, Selig Harrison, Jan. 17 said North Korean officials had told him they had “weaponized” most of the country’s stockpile of plutonium, an amount considered enough to make four or five nuclear bombs. It was the first time North Korea, which in 2006 had tested a nuclear device, had indicated how many weapons’ worth of plutonium it had processed. Harrison had recently visited North Korea for meetings with senior officials, and reported on them afterward in Beijing, China. [See 2008, p. 925F3] North Korea in a 2007 agreement in sixnation talks had agreed to abandon its nuclear weapons program in exchange for a series of economic and diplomatic incentives. However, the process had stalled in late 2008 in a dispute with the U.S. over the procedures for verifying North Korea’s dismantling of its nuclear sites. Harrison, the Asia program director at the Center for International Policy in Washington, D.C., said North Korea had invited him to visit just before the Jan. 20 inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama, so as to indirectly issue messages to the new administration. He said North Korea presented the information about the plutonium, of which it said it had weaponized 30.8 kilograms (68 lbs.), as an indication that it had to be dealt with as a “nuclear weapons state.” However, he said officials had not furnished evidence of that achievement or define precisely what they meant by “weaponized.” Harrison acknowledged that North Korea “could be bluffing” in an effort to strengthen its negotiating position with the Obama administration. He said North Korean officials had expressed hope for better relations with the U.S., which they said would be possible only if Obama first reversed what North Korea routinely called the U.S.’s “hostile policy.” The administration of Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush, had participated in the six-nation talks that yielded the 2007 nuclear agreement, after previously abandoning contacts pursued under the administration of U.S. President Bill Clinton. 35

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‘All-Out’ Hostility to South Declared—A uniformed North Korean military spokesman Jan. 17 delivered a televised message declaring an “all-out confrontational posture to smash” South Korea. The spokesman vowed “strong military measures,” prompting South Korea to put its border forces on heightened alert. The North Korean spokesman criticized the government of South Korean President Lee Myung Bak for its policy of placing new conditions on economic cooperation with North Korea. [See 2008, p. 887F1] U.S. in New Uranium Warning— Outgoing U.S. national security adviser Stephen Hadley in a speech Jan. 7 said that “some in the intelligence community have increasing concerns that North Korea has an ongoing covert uranium-enrichment program” in addition to the plutonium-based nuclear program it had acknowledged. The U.S. in 2002 had said that North Korea had admitted to conducting such a uranium program, something North Korea later disputed. It was later reported that U.S. intelligence officials had expressed greater uncertainty about whether the program was still ongoing. [See 2007, p. 124F1] U.S. intelligence officials’ concerns on the matter were reportedly renewed by traces of uranium found on materials handed over by North Korea as part of its declaration of its nuclear activities. However, there was reportedly disagreement among government agencies on whether the uranium traces showed evidence of having been enriched in North Korea, or could have been come from equipment that North Korea had acquired from Pakistan. Hadley said, in an interview published Jan. 19 by Britain’s Financial Times, “We strongly believe that there is an undetermined amount of highly enriched uranium in North Korea,” adding that, whether it was produced in North Korea or imported, “It’s got to be explained.” n

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New Bank Rescue Plan Set. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown Jan. 19 announced a new £100 billion ($150 billion) rescue plan for the nation’s banks. The plan followed £37 billion in government capital injections for two of the country’s biggest banks, announced in October 2008, which had failed to stabilize the sector and encourage a return to normal lending in the global financial crisis. [See p. 8C2] Under the new plan, the Treasury, in exchange for a yet to be determined fee, would insure about 90% of risky assets held by banks “against exposure to exceptional future credit losses.” The banks would cover the first portion of losses, with the Treasury absorbing the rest, but details of the plan had yet to be settled. The government also said that in April it would start to guarantee securities backed by the highest-rated mortgage, consumer and corporate debt. The government would ex36

tend through the end of the year its previous guarantees for debt issued by the banks. The plan would also allow the Bank of England, the British central bank, to buy up to £50 billion in “high-quality” privatesector bank assets, including corporate bonds and other debt instruments. That would effectively allow the central bank to increase the money supply, giving it a new tool to fight the downturn. The bank had recently cut its key interest rate to 1.5%, leaving it with little room left to make an impact with further rate cuts. The government Jan. 19 also said it had reached an agreement to increase its stake in Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) to 70%, from 58%, by converting preferred shares into ordinary shares, which would save RBS £600 million a year. RBS was one of the two banks that had received emergency capital from the government in October; the other was Lloyds Banking Group, in which the government had taken a 43% stake. [See 2008, p. 983E3] The move took RBS a step closer to the possibility of full nationalization. But Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling that day rejected such an outcome, saying, “We have a clear view that British banks are best managed and owned commercially and not by the government.” RBS’s shares Jan. 19 fell 67%, after the bank reported that its 2008 losses could amount to as much as £28 billion. More than half of the losses were linked to RBS’s participation in a consortium that acquired Dutch bank ABN Amro Holding NV in 2007. The value of the ABN assets had eroded since the acquisition. [See 2007, p. 674A1] n

Russia Human Rights Lawyer, Journalist Shot Dead.

Prominent human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov, 34, and student journalist Anastasia Baburova, 25, Jan. 19 were shot dead by a masked gunman in central Moscow, Russia’s capital. Markelov died instantly, and Baburova died at a hospital later that day. Investigators did not name suspects in the slaying, but said they suspected that Markelov was the intended target. Many observers compared the shooting, widely believed to be a contract killing, with the murder of journalist and rights activist Anna Politkovskaya, who was shot dead near her Moscow home in 2006. Her killer remained at large. [See 2008, p. 856F1] Markelov and Baburova were shot just after Markelov had told reporters that he would fight to reverse former Russian army Col. Yuri Budanov’s Jan. 15 early release from jail. Budanov in 2003 was convicted of abducting and killing Elza Kungayeva, an 18-year-old Chechen civilian, three years earlier. Chechnya was a majority Muslim region in Southern Russia. Kungayeva had been killed in the 1999–2001 second Chechen war between the Russian military and separatist Chechen rebels. Budanov had been sentenced to 10 years in jail, but was released early for good behavior. Markelov had represented Kungaye-

va’s family in her murder trial. [See 2004, p. 1016F2] Some Russian nationalists considered Budanov a military hero who had been unjustly tried for actions taken during the chaos of an armed conflict. However, Chechens largely considered Budanov a symbol of Russian military abuses in the region. Budanov, through his lawyer, Jan. 19 denied that he was connected with Markelov’s murder. The Kungayeva family, who lived in exile in Norway, Jan. 19 said Markelov had received recent death threats in response to his fight to keep Budanov in jail. However, observers said Markelov could have made many enemies during his career. His legal work had concentrated largely on military subjects and war crimes, and since 2006 he had served as the president of the Rule of Law Institute, a Russian civil liberties organization. He had also represented Umar Israilov, a Chechen who in 2006 had formally accused Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, 32, of abductions and torture. Israilov Jan. 13 was shot dead in Austria, where he had lived in exile. [See below] Victims Connected With Newspaper—

Both victims of the Jan. 19 slayings had been affiliated with Novaya Gazeta, an independent newspaper often critical of the Russian government, and where Politkovskaya had also worked. Baburova, who was a student at Moscow State University, worked as a freelance writer for the newspaper. According to Nadezhda Prusenkova, a Novaya Gazeta spokeswoman, Markelov had “handled almost every case opened as a result of the work of Anna Politkovskaya.” Four of Novaya Gazeta’s reporters had been murdered since 2000. Aleksandr Lebedev, one of the paper’s owners, Jan. 22 said the paper had submitted a request to the Federal Security Service (FSB) to allow reporters to carry firearms, because “law enforcement agencies are not carrying out their responsibilities.” It was illegal for civilians to carry arms in Russia without a special permit. Reaction—More than 1,500 people Jan. 20 gathered in central Grozny, Chechnya’s capital, to express outrage over Markelov’s murder. Kadyrov, who was known as a hardliner and an ally of Russia’s government, that day gave Markelov a posthumous award “for service to the Republic of Chechnya.” Hundreds of people the same day gathered in Moscow at the site of the shooting. Russian politicians from various parties Jan. 21 also condemned the murders. The Czech Republic, which currently held the six-month rotating European Union presidency, Jan. 20 called on Russia to “investigate Markelov’s murder, as well as previous attacks on human rights activists, journalists and members of nongovernmental organizations.” Chechen Dissident Killed in Austria—

Umar Israilov, 27, a former Chechen insurgent who had worked for Kadyrov but later accused him of human rights violations, Jan. 13 was shot dead in broad daylight in Vienna, the capital of Austria, which had granted FACTS ON FILE

him asylum. Israilov in 2006 had submitted a complaint against Russia in the European Court of Human Rights, in which he claimed that Kadyrov and his security forces from 2003 to 2005 had systematically employed abductions and torture to intimidate suspected Chechen rebels and their families. Israilov was reportedly gunned down by as many as four men, who had been waiting for him outside a grocery store. Austrian police the same day detained another Chechen in connection with Israilov’s murder. [See 2008, p. 731G3] Israilov in 2008 had reportedly been warned repeatedly by a Chechen government agent to drop his complaint against Kadyrov. Austrian officials Jan. 22 confirmed that Israilov had asked for police protection, but his request had been denied. About 100 Chechen immigrants the same day gathered in front of the Austrian presidential offices to demand a thorough investigation of the murder. Kadyrov had denied numerous accusations of human rights abuses. Some observers suggested that he was shielded from prosecution by his close ties with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who had served as Russia’s president from 1999 to 2008. n

Other European News Russia-Ukraine Gas Standoff Ends. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko Jan. 19 met in Moscow, Russia’s capital, and signed a 10-year contract that ended a bitter feud between their countries over natural gas prices and shipments. The quarrel had cut off deliveries of Russian gas to 18 countries in Eastern and Central Europe for nearly two weeks amid a bitter cold snap. As a result of the agreement, Russian gas deliveries to Europe resumed Jan. 20. [See p. 3F1] Europe imported about 25% of its natural gas from Russia, about 80% of which was delivered via Ukrainian pipelines. OAO Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned energy company, in January had shut off all gas deliveries to Ukraine, including those intended for customers in other countries, after it accused Ukraine of siphoning off gas. Ukraine denied the allegation. Ukraine and Gazprom had also failed to agree on a 2009 contract for gas deliveries to Ukrainian customers, or resolve a dispute over Ukraine’s alleged $615 million debt to the company. The European Union had initially considered the dispute a private matter between Russia and Ukraine, but later became frustrated by reduced gas shipments to Europe and intervened. Observers said the feud had shattered European confidence in Russia and Ukraine as energy suppliers, and that Ukraine could face difficulties in its drive to join the EU. Experts estimated that Gazprom had lost $1.5 billion as a result of the gas delivery shutdown. Agreement Sets Market-Based Prices—

Under the terms of the Jan. 19 agreement, the price of Russian natural gas sales to January 22, 2009

Ukraine would be pegged to a marketbased formula similar to what was used across Europe. Ukraine in 2009 would receive a 20% discount on that price, and would begin paying the full market price in 2010. Ukraine in 2009 was estimated to pay between $208 and $240 per 1,000 cubic meters (1,300 cubic yards) of gas, up from the $179.50 it paid in 2008. In turn, Ukraine would allow Russia to use its pipelines to transport gas to Europe at a discounted price in 2009. That price would also be renegotiated using a market formula for 2010 and beyond. Putin and Tymoshenko also agreed to eliminate intermediary gas companies widely perceived to be corrupt. Gazprom Deputy Chairman Alexander Medvedev Jan. 20 said an agreement had been reached on Ukraine’s alleged debt, but did not give details. [See 2008, p. 93C1] Pact Followed Failed Negotiations—

The Jan. 19 contract agreement came after several failed attempts to resolve the dispute. Russian and Ukrainian officials Jan. 11 had confirmed the signing of a mutual accord with the EU to install pipeline monitors in both countries. The agreement would have allowed Russia to ship gas to its European customers but not to Ukraine. It came after Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, who Jan. 1 had taken over the 6-month rotating EU presidency, Jan. 10– 11 met with Putin in Moscow and with Tymoshenko in Kiev, Ukraine’s capital. [See 2008, p. 986D1] However, it emerged Jan. 11 that Tymoshenko had attached an addendum to Ukraine’s copy of the accord. The attached declaration said Ukraine had not stolen any gas meant for European customers, and had paid all debts to Gazprom in full. Russian President Dmitri Medvedev (who was not related to Alexander Medvedev) said the additions were a “mockery of common sense and a violation of earlier achieved agreements,” and ordered the Russian government not to adopt the accord. Officials from Russia, Ukraine and the EU Jan. 12 signed a similar accord. However, Gazprom Jan. 13 said it had been unable to pump 76.6 million cubic meters of gas to Balkan customers because Ukraine had stolen the shipment. Ukrainian officials countered that Gazprom had shipped the gas through the wrong pipeliness, and that they would have had to cut off gas to much of eastern Ukraine if the Balkan deliveries were allowed. A breakthrough finally came Jan. 18, when Putin and Tymoshenko, after meeting privately for several hours in Moscow, said they had agreed on the fundamentals of a resolution. European Leader Blasts Countries—

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso Jan. 20 lashed out at Russia and Ukraine’s “really incredible” behavior, and suggested that they had failed to uphold the terms of previous EU-negotiated agreements. Barroso said he was “very disappointed…about the way the leadership in these two countries negotiated.” The episode soured European relations with Ukraine and Russia, and prompted European countries to consider ways to di-

versify their energy supply. Barroso the same day said the EU should dedicate $5 billion to bolster energy infrastructure in member states. Analysts said the reputation of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, who was already unpopular in Ukraine, had suffered amid the ordeal. Russia had refused to negotiate with the Western-leaning Yushchenko. Tymoshenko, who was credited with sealing the contract deal with Putin, was expected to run against Yushchenko in Ukraine’s 2010 presidential election. [See 2008, p. 986D1] n Riots Erupt in Latvia, Lithuania. Large antigovernment protests Jan. 13 and Jan. 16 gave way to riots in the Baltic countries of Latvia and Lithuania. Both countries had flourished economically after they joined the European Union in 2004, but their economies, which had largely been supported by foreign loans, were hit hard by the current global economic crisis and credit crunch. Both countries’ economies were expected to contract in 2009. [See 2008, pp. 984G2, 887G3]

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Violence Outside Lithuanian Parliament—

Fifteen people Jan. 16 were injured and more than 80 detained after a riot erupted outside of the parliament building in Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital. About 7,000 people had gathered there that day to protest government reforms that raised taxes and cut public sector wages and pensions. Violence broke out as hundreds of protesters began throwing rocks and eggs at police and the parliament building. Riot police then attempted to break up the angry mob with tear gas and rubber bullets. The ensuing clash reportedly lasted several hours. Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius, whose center-right coalition government had taken office in November 2008, suggested that day that the riot had been planned in advance by “forces that are interested in destabilization and chaos in Lithuania.” Also Jan. 16, the country’s finance ministry announced that it planned to take out a $1.3 billion loan from the European Investment Bank in order to close a budget gap. 106 Arrested in Latvia—As many as 40 people Jan. 13 were injured and 106 arrested after a riot broke out near Latvia’s parliament building in Riga, the capital. The riot followed a peaceful demonstration that day, in which as many as 10,000 protesters called for early elections amid a crumbling economy. After most demonstrators had dispersed, several hundred people began to hurl cobblestones at government buildings, and some reportedly attempted to storm the parliament. They were rebuffed by riot police armed with tear gas and truncheons. Latvian President Valdis Zatlers Jan. 14 said he might submit a referendum proposal that would allow citizens to vote to dissolve the parliament. He condemned the violence, but said it was also necessary to understand “why people gathered.” He said trust in the Latvian government had “collapsed catastrophically.” n 37

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Several Iraqi politicians Jan. 16–21 were targeted in attacks throughout the country, ahead of provincial council elections scheduled for Jan. 31. Iraqi and U.S. officials had warned of increased violence in the runup to the elections, which would take place in 14 of Iraq’s 18 provinces. They were the first provincial council elections since those of 2005, which had been boycotted by much of Iraq’s Sunni Muslim Arab population. Sunni participation in the upcoming elections was expected to reduce the clout of Shiite Muslim Arab and Kurdish parties in many provinces. [See p. 23F1; 2008, p. 948E2] Gunmen Jan. 16 killed a prominent candidate from Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri alMaliki’s Shiite-dominated Islamic Dawa party. The candidate, Haitham Kadhim alHusaini, was killed as he was leaving a campaign appearance in Jbala, in Babil province, south of Baghdad, the Iraqi capital. Dawa was engaged in a fierce political contest with another Shiite party, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), for control of Iraq’s Shiite southern provinces, although the two parties were coalition partners in the federal government. A suicide bomber Jan. 18 killed a powerful Sunni tribal sheikh, Hassan Zaidan alLuhaibi, in the town of Gayara, in the northern province of Nineveh. The bombing also killed two other people. Luhaibi had been leading the political campaign of National Dialogue Front—one of the main Sunni parties—in Nineveh and Salahuddin provinces. (He had been barred from running himself because he had been a senior member of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party.) Officials of Luhaibi’s party said he had been a supporter of a strong central government and against the greater regional autonomy proposed by some Kurdish and Shiite parties. He had also worked to reduce the power of the Sunni insurgent group Al Qaeda in Iraq. A car bombing Jan. 21 narrowly missed a senior leader of the Iraqi Islamic Party, another main Sunni party that was participating in the elections. The leader, Ziad alAni, was helping to coordinate the party’s political campaigns. The bombing hit Ani’s convoy as it was leaving the campus of the Islamic University, where he was a dean, in Baghdad’s northern Adhamiya district. The attack killed four bystanders. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq’s most powerful Shiite cleric, Jan. 19 called on Iraqis to vote in the elections “despite not being totally satisfied with the previous electoral experience,” his office said. Sistani also reportedly said he “stands at an equal distance from all candidates.” He had endorsed parties in past elections. Maliki Jan. 16 ordered the replacement of the police chief of the southern Wasit province for not enforcing election laws. Dawa officials in December 2008 had reported that Wasit police officers were rip38

ping down campaign posters and replacing them with the posters of another candidate, who was the chief’s cousin. Local politicians said the dismissal of the chief, Maj. Gen. Abdul Haneen al-Amara, so soon before the elections indicated that Maliki was interfering in the province’s politics. Obama Calls for Withdrawal Plans—

U.S. President Barack Obama Jan. 21 on his first full day in office met with senior U.S. military and civilian security officials, and told them to draw up further plans for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq. Obama during his campaign had pledged to withdraw all combat troops from Iraq within 16 months of taking office. The U.S. and Iraq in December 2008 had signed an agreement calling for a withdrawal by the end of 2011. Military officials had reportedly prepared a number of withdrawal plans, which could pull soldiers out at varying speeds. [See pp. 29B2, 23B2] Ryan Crocker, the outgoing U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Jan. 22 warned against withdrawing from Iraq too quickly. He said such a move could lead to a resurgence of Al Qaeda in Iraq and a loss of public faith in the Iraqi government. He also stressed the importance of the upcoming elections being regarded as “credible,” which he said would increase the confidence of the Iraqi people. Crocker, who had taken the post in March 2007, was expected to leave within two or three weeks. Other News—In other Iraqi news: o The Associated Press (AP) Jan. 22 reported that a U.S. Army investigation had determined that a U.S. soldier’s electrocution was a case of negligent homicide. U.S. Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth had been electrocuted in January 2008 at Camp Slayer military base in Baghdad. The U.S. Army criminal special agent at Camp Slayer, Amber Wojnar, Dec. 16, 2008, had reportedly sent an e-mail to Maseth’s mother, Cheryl Harris, saying that Maseth’s death had been reclassified as negligent homicide, rather than accidental. Wojnar said she had “credible information” that it had been caused by the negligence of U.S. contractor KBR Inc. and two of its supervisors. [See 2008, pp. 785B3, 176C1] o Iraqi National Security Adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie Jan. 20 said an Iranian resistance group in exile in Iraq had planned to attack the Iraqi security headquarters with a suicide bomber. Rubaie, speaking on a visit to Tehran, the Iranian capital, said the Iraqi government had decided to expel the 3,500 members of the group—the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran, or Mujaheddin-e Khalq (MEK)—who remained in a camp in Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad, despite their claims that they would be executed or tortured by Iran. The MEK said the accusations were false and part of a conspiracy between the Iraqi and Iranian governments. The U.S. military had agreed to protect the MEK’s camp in exchange for the group disarming after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, despite the MEK’s classification as a terrorist group by Iraq, the U.S. State Department and the European Union. [See 2008, p. 935C3] n

SOUTH ASIA

Pakistan Terrorists Reportedly Killed in U.S. Strike.

The Washington Post Jan. 8 reported on its Web site that two Pakistani-based leaders of international terrorist network Al Qaeda had been killed in a Jan. 1 missile strike launched by a U.S. Predator drone aircraft. The U.S.’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was believed to have conducted more than 30 such attacks in 2008, in a rampedup effort to neutralize suspected terrorists who had created safe havens in Pakistan’s northwest tribal areas. International media outlets, citing unidentified intelligence sources, Jan. 9–10 backed the Post’s report. [See 2008, p. 875C1] The strike, which targeted a compound near the town of Karikot in the South Waziristan tribal area, reportedly killed Usama al-Kini, who was thought to be Al Qaeda’s head of operations in Pakistan, and Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan, Kini’s deputy. Kini and Swedan were Kenyan nationals who had been indicted in 1998 by a U.S. federal jury for their alleged roles in organizing terrorist attacks that year on the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. [See 1998, p. 959D3] Kini, 32, whose given name was Fahid Mohammed Ally Msalam, had reportedly been an Al Qaeda commander in Afghanistan and Eastern Africa before becoming the group’s Pakistani chief in 2007. He was reportedly behind a spate of terrorist attacks in Pakistan over the past couple of years. They included an October 2007 assassination attempt on former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, which killed more than 170 people, and a September 2008 truck bombing at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, which killed more than 50 people. (Bhutto was assassinated in December 2007.) [See 2008, p. 685B3; 2007, p. 677A1] Al-Kini was thought to be the eighth senior Al Qaeda figure to be killed by Predator strikes in Pakistan since July 2008. U.S. officials said their deaths could inflict a heavy blow to the group’s operations. However, analysts said Al Qaeda operatives had also proven capable of quickly regrouping under new leadership. Other Developments—In other developments in Pakistan: o Pakistani paramilitary forces Jan. 21 reportedly arrested seven Al Qaeda members during a raid in the village of Bara Qadeem, near Peshawar, capital of Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). According to unidentified Pakistani officials cited in news reports, the captives included Zabi ul-Taifi, a Saudi national suspected of involvement in 2005 terrorist attacks in London that killed 52 people. [See 2005, p. 449A1] o U.S. Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell Jan. 16 said Saad bin Laden, a son of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, had been released from Iranian custody and was “probably” in Pakistan. Saad bin Laden had been placed under house FACTS ON FILE

arrest in Iran in 2003. The U.S. Treasury Department, in a statement announcing that it was freezing the assets of Saad bin Laden and three other suspected Al Qaeda members, Jan. 16 said that he had not been in Iranian custody “as of September 2008.” Intelligence officials said his arrest and release reflected the complicated dynamic between Iran’s Shiite Muslim regime and the Sunni Muslim Al Qaeda. They were seen as wary of each other, even as they were loosely allied in their opposition to the U.S. and Israel. [See 2003, p. 388B3] o Pakistani paramilitary forces Jan. 10– 11 battled hundreds of Islamic extremist militants in the Mohmand tribal area, leaving 40 militants and six Pakistani troops dead. Many of the militants were reportedly members of fundamentalist Sunni group the Taliban, which was currently waging an insurgency in neighboring Afghanistan. Taliban militants Jan. 9–11 had also fought alongside Sunni militants against rival Shiites in the Hangu district in NWFP, in clashes that left 40 dead. o Pakistan Jan. 2 reopened the Khyber Pass, a route used by U.S. and NATO forces to transport supplies from Pakistan to their troops in Afghanistan. The route had been closed in December, as the Pakistani military launched an offensive against Taliban militants who had conducted near-daily attacks on the route for several months. U.S. Gen. David Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command, Jan. 20 said the U.S. had secured agreements to open new supply routes to Afghanistan through its northern neighbors in Central Asia and Russia. Petraeus did not provide any specifics on the agreements. [See 2008, p. 988G3] n

Other South Asia News Pakistani ‘Agencies’ Blamed for Attacks.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Jan. 6 said terrorist attacks that killed more than 170 people in Mumbai, India’s commercial capital, in November 2008 “must have had the support of some official agencies in Pakistan.” Pakistan denied the accusation, which was considered Singh’s most pointed to date. India had thus far accused Pakistani-based terrorist group Lashkar-eTaiba of organizing the attacks, but had only vaguely suggested that the group had received cooperation from Pakistani government “elements.” [See 2008, p. 990A2] Singh’s comments came a day after India submitted to Pakistan a dossier of purported evidence showing that the attacks had originated in Pakistan. The evidence included a confession from a suspect in Indian custody, Muhammad Ajmal Kasab, the sole survivor of the 10 gunmen who had allegedly carried out the attacks. The evidence also included details of phone intercepts between the gunmen and their accomplices in Pakistan; data retrieved from satellite phones and global positioning system equipment used by the gunmen; and information about weapons that were recovered from the attacks. Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon Jan. 5 said the attacks were so soJanuary 22, 2009

phisticated and well-planned that it was unlikely that they could have been pulled off without the knowledge of someone in the Pakistani “establishment.” Menon declined to specify whether he was referring to Pakistan’s military spy agency, InterServices Intelligence (ISI), which had supported Lashkar-e-Taiba in the past and was suspected of operating outside the control of Pakistan’s civilian government. Menon repeated India’s demand that Pakistan extradite suspects in the attacks, a concession that analysts said Pakistan was unlikely to make. Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi Jan. 7 said, “Pakistan’s political and military leadership is one.” Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, ISI’s chief, in an interview published that day on the Web site of the German magazine Der Spiegel, asserted that his agency was taking orders from the government of President Asif Ali Zardari. Pasha said Pakistan and India faced a common enemy in terrorism. Also that day, Mahmud Ali Durrani, Pakistan’s national security adviser, acknowledged to media outlets that Kasab was a Pakistani citizen. Pakistani officials had previously said they were unable to confirm Kasab’s citizenship, and Durrani hours after his statement was fired from his position for “irresponsible behavior.” Pakistani officials subsequently backed Durrani’s statement. The U.S. was attempting to tamp down tensions between the two countries. Richard Boucher, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, during a visit to Pakistan Jan. 5 said it was clear that the “attackers had links that lead to Pakistani soil.” However, he said the Pakistani government was determined to “find those responsible.” Pakistan Jan. 15 said it had detained 124 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba and its charity branch, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, and had shut down five camps, 87 schools and six Web sites associated with the groups. n

SPORTS

UNITED STATES

Arizona, Pittsburgh Advance To Super Bowl Cardinals to Appear in First Title Game.

The Arizona Cardinals Jan. 18 defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, 32–25, to win the National Football Conference (NFC) championship game in Glendale, Ariz. Later that day, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens, 23–14, at home to win the American Football Conference (AFC) title. The two teams Feb. 1 would meet in Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Fla. [See 2008, p. 990G3] Arizona, coached by Ken Whisenhunt, would be playing in its first Super Bowl. In the regular season, the Cardinals had won the NFC West division with a record of just nine wins and seven losses, and had not been expected to advance far in the playoffs. The Steelers, coached by Mike Tomlin, had won the AFC North division with a 12– 4 record, tied for second-best in the Nation-

al Football League (NFL). They had last won the NFL title in 2006, beating the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL. On Feb. 1, the Steelers would be seeking a record sixth Super Bowl win. [See 2006, p. 100A1] Cardinals Overcome Eagles—The Cardinals in the Jan. 18 NFC championship game led 24–6 at halftime. The Cardinals’ veteran quarterback, Kurt Warner—a twotime league most valuable player (MVP) who had won the Super Bowl with the St. Louis Rams in 2000—threw three touchdown passes in the first half to star receiver Larry Fitzgerald, including a 62-yard play in the second quarter. [See 2005, p. 655D3] The Eagles, led by quarterback Donovan McNabb, mounted a comeback in the second half, scoring 19 unanswered points in the third quarter and early fourth quarter to take a 25–24 lead. Warner then led the Cardinals on a 14-play, 72-yard game-winning touchdown drive that consumed seven minutes and 52 seconds. The drive was highlighted by three receptions by Fitzgerald and an eight-yard touchdown pass from Warner to Tim Hightower with 2:53 remaining. Earlier NFC Playoff Results—The Cardinals in the second round of the playoffs Jan. 10 defeated the favored Carolina Panthers, 33–13, in Charlotte, N.C., to advance to the NFC championship game. Warner completed 21 of 32 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns, while Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme threw five interceptions and also lost a fumble. The sixth-seeded Eagles Jan. 11 upset the New York Giants—the top seed in the conference—winning, 23–11, in East Rutherford, N.J., to move on the championship game. The Giants, the defending Super Bowl champions, had posted a 12–4 regular-season record, but lost three of their last four games. The Eagles led, 13– 11, at the end of the third quarter, and scored 10 unanswered points in the fourth to seal the victory. In the wild-card round, the Cardinals Jan. 3 had defeated the Atlanta Falcons, 30–24, in Glendale, and the Eagles Jan. 4 beat the Minnesota Vikings, 26–14, in Minneapolis, Minn. Steelers Outlast Ravens—The Steelers scored the first 13 points of the AFC championship game Jan. 18, with two field goals by Jeff Reed and a 65-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to wide receiver Santonio Holmes. The Ravens closed the gap to 13–7 before halftime with a three-yard touchdown run by Willis McGahee. Pittsburgh extended its lead to 16–7 late in the third quarter with a 46-yard field goal by Reed. Baltimore rookie quarterback Joe Flacco in the fourth quarter led his team on a 58-yard touchdown drive, capped by a one-yard run by McGahee to make the score 16–14. On the Ravens’ next drive, however, Steelers safety Troy Polamalu returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown, giving the Steelers an insurmountable 23–14 lead with 4:24 remaining. 39

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Earlier AFC Playoff Results—The Steelers Jan. 11 defeated the San Diego Chargers, 35–24, at home to advance to the AFC championship game. Roethlisberger returned to lead the Steelers after suffering a concussion in the final game of the regular season in late December 2008. (The Steelers had earned a bye in the first round of the playoffs.) The Steelers led 14–10 at the half, and extended their lead to 21–10 in the third quarter. The third quarter proved to be the Chargers’ undoing, as the team ran only one offensive play—an intercepted pass—and had possession of the ball for just 17 seconds. In the other second-round AFC matchup, the Ravens Jan. 10 had upset the Tennessee Titans, the top seed in the conference, 13–10, in Nashville, Tenn. Veteran kicker Matt Stover made a 43-yard field goal with 57 seconds remaining to win the game for Baltimore. In the wild-card round, the visiting Ravens Jan. 4 beat the Miami Dolphins, 27–9, and the Chargers Jan. 3 had defeated the Indianapolis Colts, 23–17, in overtime in San Diego, Calif. n

ARTS & SCIENCES

UNITED STATES

Awards Academy Award Nominations. The Acade-

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my of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Jan. 22 announced the nominees for its 81st annual Oscar awards, which would be presented Feb. 22. [See 2008, p. 44A1] The film with the most nominations was The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which got 13, for categories including best picture, best director, best actor, best supporting actress and best adapted screenplay. The film was based on a 1921 short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and its title character, portrayed by Brad Pitt, was a man growing younger, instead of older, with the passage of time. The film with the next-highest number of Oscar nominations, 10, was Slumdog Millionaire, a British film set and shot in Mumbai, India, and with some of its dialogue in Hindi. Its title character was a young man from the Mumbai slums trying to make it big as a game-show contestant. The film was made for a relatively modest $15 million, in contrast to the $150 million budgeted for Benjamin Button. Gus Van Sant’s Milk, which dealt with the life of pioneering gay activist Harvey Milk, was nominated for eight Oscars, including best picture, best director, best actor and best supporting actor. All five films nominated in the best-picture category also secured best-director nominations. Actress Kate Winslet secured a best-actress nomination for her role as a woman with a secret Nazi past in The Reader, but, to the surprise of many, did not get nominated for an acting Oscar for her portrayal of a tormented housewife in Revolutionary Road. Winslet Jan. 11 had achieved the rare distinction of winning two Golden Globe acting awards, one for Revolutionary Road (best actress in a drama) and the other for The Reader (best supporting actress). [See p. 24E2, F2] 40

The major nominees were: Picture

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Frost/Nixon Milk The Reader Slumdog Millionaire Actor

Richard Jenkins, The Visitor Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon Sean Penn, Milk Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler Actress

Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married Angelina Jolie, Changeling Melissa Leo, Frozen River Meryl Streep, Doubt Kate Winslet, The Reader Supporting Actor

Josh Brolin, Milk Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road Supporting Actress

Amy Adams, Doubt Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona Viola Davis, Doubt Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler Director

David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon Gus Van Sant, Milk Stephen Daldry, The Reader Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire n

People The board of the financially troubled New York City Opera Jan. 14 announced that it had appointed impresario and conductor George Steel as its general manager and artistic director, effective Feb. 1. The post had originally been offered to European impresario Gerard Mortier, but he had backed out of it in November 2008, on the grounds that he would not have enough money to do an adequate job. Steel, 42, had recently assumed the post of general director of Texas’s Dallas Opera. [See 2008, p. 844A2] n

O B I T UA R I E S BERRI, Claude (born Claude Berel Langmann),

74, French film director and producer; he wrote or coauthored the scripts for some of his films, and acted in some of the earlier ones, including the farcical comedy Marry Me! Marry Me! (1968); among his later films was Lucie Aubrac (1997), about a heroine of the French Resistance during World War II; born July 1, 1934, in Paris; died Jan. 12 at a Paris hospital, after suffering a stroke. [See 2007, p. 184B3; 1987, pp. 944E2, 528C2; Indexes 1981, 1978, 1968–69] LENOTRE, Gaston (Albert Celestin), 88, French pastry chef who was the most celebrated professional in his field since Antonin Careme, an early 19th-century figure deemed the greatest French pastry maker in history; he opened his first Paris pastry shop in 1957 and eventually created a worldwide business, with shops in Germany, Japan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the U.S. and elsewhere; born May 28, 1920, in Saint-Nicolas-du-Bosc, France; died Jan. 8 at his home in Sennely, France, of cancer. McGOOHAN, Patrick Joseph, 80, U.S.-born actor, raised in England, who got his start in British theater before becoming British television’s highest-paid

actor in the 1960s, as the star of a spy series called “Danger Man” (aired in the U.S. as “Secret Agent”); in the late 1960s, he created and starred in a short-lived TV series called “The Prisoner” that became a cult classic; only 17 episodes were ever filmed, in all of which he portrayed No. 6, a prisoner struggling with authority figures in a mysterious, high-tech prison; he also acted in films and made one appearance on Broadway, in 1985, as a British spy in Hugh Whitemore’s Pack of Lies; in 2000, he resurfaced as No. 6, voicing the role in an episode of the animated TV series “The Simpsons”; born March 19, 1928, in New York City; died Jan. 13 in Los Angeles, after a brief illness. [See 1995, p. 476D1; 1985, p. 292G2; Indexes 1979, 1974, 1963] MORGAN Jr., Charles, 78, civil rights lawyer, associated with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) from 1964 to 1976, who argued a number of key cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, notably Reynolds v. Sims (1964), in which the high court ordered the Alabama legislature to reapportion districts so as to give black candidates a better chance of getting elected; he quit as director of the ACLU’s Washington, D.C., office in 1976 after making statements that the ACLU’s leadership said violated its commitment to nonpartisanship; born March 11, 1930, in Cincinnati, Ohio; died Jan. 8 at his home in Destin, Fla., of Alzheimer’s disease complications. [See 1983, p. 839B1; 1976, p. 680F2; Indexes 1973, 1971, 1964–67] POHLAD, Carl Ray, 93, owner of Major League Baseball’s Minnesota Twins franchise since 1984; under his ownership, the team won its only two World Series titles, in 1987 and 1991, but he was also vilified as one of baseball’s most miserly owners, despite having a personal fortune estimated at $3.6 billion; his wealth derived from banking, financial-services, realestate and various other interests; born Aug. 23, 1915, in Valley Junction, Iowa; died Jan. 5 at his home in Edina, Minn.; the cause of his death was not reported. [See 2002, p. 219F1; 1999, p. 807E3; Index 1997] SNODGRASS, W(illiam) D(eWitt), 83, poet, critic and academic who in 1960 won a Pulitzer Prize for his first volume of verse, Heart’s Needle, credited with ushering in the 1960s era of confessional poetry; in that collection, he used tightly controlled, yet straightforward language, to explore the failure of his first marriage, as a result of which he lost custody of his young daughter; his later work was sometimes more experimental; it included a highly controversial collection of dramatic monologues, The Fuehrer Bunker, written between 1977 and 1995 and set in the days preceding the collapse of Nazi Germany; he adapted part of that work for the stage, in a production seen briefly in New York City in 1981; born Jan. 5, 1926, in Wilkinsburg, Pa.; died Jan. 13 at his home in Erieville, N.Y., of lung cancer. [See 1981, p. 544A3; 1960, p. 154C1] WALTERS, Sir Alan (Arthur), 82, British economist who, in 1989, as an economic adviser to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, clashed with then– Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson, leading to Lawson’s resignation, an event that helped set the stage for Thatcher’s own political demise a year later; he had been knighted in 1983, during the first of his two stints as Thatcher’s economic adviser; born June 17, 1926, in Leicester, England; died Jan. 3 in London, after battling Parkinson’s disease. [See 1993, p. 778G3; 1991, p. 282E3; Indexes 1988–89] WYETH, Andrew (Andrew Newell Wyeth 3rd),

91, realist painter whose favorite subjects were people and landscapes drawn from the two communities in which he spent most of his life, rural Pennsylvania and coastal Maine; he was, along with Norman Rockwell, perhaps the most popular and commercially successful U.S. traditionalist painter of the 20th century, although many critics faulted his work as excessively facile and sentimental; he was a son of noted illustrator N.C. Wyeth, who died in a car crash in 1945; after his father’s death, his work became starker and more unsettling; three years later, he produced perhaps his most iconic painting, Christina’s World, showing a disabled woman dragging herself across a Maine field; the painting was acquired by New York City’s Museum of Modern Art in 1948, and had been on display there ever since; in 1963, he became the first artist to be awarded the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom; in the mid-1980s, controversy swirled about the revelation that he had painted 240 “secret” portraits of a woman named Helga, some of them nude; even at the time, some claimed that the whole affair was a publicity stunt calculated to drive up the value of the Helga paintings; in 2007, President George W. Bush presented him with a National Medal of Arts; he was the father of artist Jamie Wyeth, also a realist painter; born July 12, 1917, in Chadds Ford, Pa.; died in his sleep Jan. 16 at his Chadds Ford home. [See 2007, p. 795A2; 1990, p. 524F3; Indexes 1986–87, 1965, 1963, 1955, 1950] n

January 22, 2009

U.S. House Passes $819 Billion Economic Recovery Plan No Republicans Support Stimulus Bill.

The House Jan. 28 voted, 244–188, to pass an economic recovery plan that would cost $819 billion over the next two years, in an attempt to spark growth amidst a deepening recession. The legislation, considered one of the most expensive and far-reaching stimulus packages in U.S. history, received no Republican votes despite heavy lobbying from President Barack Obama. The Senate was expected to begin debate the following week on its own version of the bill, which could cost as much as $900 billion. [See p. 15E1] Obama Jan. 28 praised the House for passing the bill, saying, “We must move swiftly and boldly to put Americans back to work, and that is exactly what this plan begins to do.” Acknowledging that the bill would likely change as it was reconciled with the Senate’s version, he said, “I hope that we can continue to strengthen this plan before it gets to my desk.” Obama had said he wanted to see a final version of the bill passed by Feb. 13, before Congress recessed for Presidents’ Day. House Republican leaders criticized the enormous amount of new federal spending that the bill would generate, with Rep. Eric Cantor (Va.), the minority whip, describing it as “beyond anyone’s imagination.” The plan contained nearly $545 billion in spending, and $275 billion in tax cuts for businesses and individuals. Eleven Democrats joined the House’s 177 Republicans in voting against the bill. The legislation would see the federal government greatly expand its influence in several areas of the economy and society. The bill proposed broad investments in infrastructure projects, alternative-energy development, health-care, education and assistance programs for lower-income workers. It included provisions intended to give a quick boost to the economy, which was typical of government stimulus plans, but contained other measures designed to have a more long-lasting effect. Still, Obama Jan. 27 had said that the recovery plan was just one element of the government’s attempts to right the economy. He said separate initiatives would assist the country’s ailing banking industry and resolve an ongoing freeze in credit markets, which had severely reduced lending to consumers and businesses. [See p. 44B2] Legislation Details, Projections— The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Jan. 26 projected that by Sept. 30, 2010, the end of the 2010 fiscal year, the House economic recovery plan would have had a “noticeable impact on economic growth and employment.” The CBO said that $526 billion of the plan, or about 65%, would be spent by the end of fiscal 2010. The CBO said the bill’s provisions for tax cuts and aid to the needy and unemployed would have the quickest stimulative effects, while it would take a longer time for the economy to feel the impact of investments in infrastructure and alternative energy.

Individuals making less than $75,000 a year would receive a $500 payroll tax cut, and married couples making less than $150,000 a year would receive a $1,000 payroll tax cut. Workers who paid payroll taxes, but made too little to pay income taxes, would also be eligible for the cuts, a provision that had been strongly supported by Obama. House Republicans had argued that it amounted to government welfare. First-time home buyers and families with college students would also receive additional tax breaks. On a temporary basis, businesses would be able to retroactively apply losses from a current year to taxes paid up to five years previously, and immediately receive tax refunds, instead of waiting to file their current returns. Businesses could also cash in tax credits that they were unable to use because of mounting losses. The bill included provisions to bolster the ability of local governments to borrow money, which would make financing for construction and other projects more readily available. The bill would see the government spend $125 billion to support public education, in what observers described as an unprecedented move by the federal government to involve itself in an area traditionally handled by state and local governments. Among other initiatives, the funds would be spent renovating school and college buildings; preventing education-related job losses; and boosting school programs in poorer areas. About $50 billion was reserved for developing alternative sources of energy and energy-conservation projects. They included weatherizing government buildings and houses in low-income areas; developing a so-called “smart grid” that would use electricity more efficiently, and tap into wind and solar energy sources more easily; and tax credits for companies that developed renewable energy technologies. States would receive $87 billion in aid to ensure that Medicaid health services for the poor and disabled were not cut back during the recession. Eligibility for Medicaid would also be temporarily expanded to include a rising number of laid-off workers. The legislation would subsidize, for one year, 65% of premium payments under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), which allowed former employees to continue receiving company-sponsored health-care coverage. The bill also dedicated $20 billion to computerizing all medical records, an initiative that advocates said would significantly reduce costs and increase efficiency in the health-care system. About $30 billion in the bill was set aside for building and maintaining roads and bridges and $9 billion for investing in public transportation. The bill included several additional provisions to help the needy and recently unemployed. About $27 billion would be used to extend eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits through Dec. 31.

Facts On File

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World News Digest With Index ©2009 by Facts On File News Services An imprint of Infobase Publishing

Volume 69, No. 3554 January 29, 2009

B An additional $9 billion would increase weekly benefits to $325, up from $300. Republican Proposals Defeated— The House, voting largely on partisan lines, Jan. 28 defeated two economic recovery proposals supported by Republicans. Lawmakers voted, 266–170, to defeat an alternative recovery plan composed entirely of tax cuts for individuals and businesses. They voted, 270–159, to defeat a measure that would have stripped the Democratic bill of some of its longer-term spending plans and its increased spending for infrastructure projects. Republicans’ opposition to the bill mostly centered around the inclusion of what they described as wasteful spending with little immediate stimulative impact. During negotiations, Democrats agreed to delete provisions that would have allocated $200 million to refurbishing the National

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MAJOR STORIES IN THIS ISSUE U.S. House passes $819 billion economic recovery plan; no Republicans support stimulus bill. PAGE 41

Obama addresses Muslim world in television interview. PAGE 42

International Criminal Court opens first trial.

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Illinois Gov. Blagojevich ousted by unanimous state Senate vote; convicted after swift impeachment trial. PAGE 43

Senate confirms Treasury Secretary Geithner. PAGE 44

Fed leaves interest rate at near zero. PAGE 45

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Guantanamo judge defies Obama delay request. PAGE 46

Bolivian voters endorse new constitution. PAGE 50

Iceland’s government collapses in financial crisis. PAGE 52

Afghan presidential election delayed until August. PAGE 54

P. Manning wins third NFL MVP award. PAGE 55

REFERENCES in brackets give location of background information in this & preceding volumes.

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Mall in Washington, D.C., and $335 million to family-planning programs. While Republicans lauded Obama for his highly public attempts to take their concerns into account, they complained that House Democrats had shut them out of the process and loaded the bill with longtime Democratic priorities that they had been unable to pass during the administration of President George W. Bush. Senators from both parties said they shared some of the House Republicans’ criticisms. Many argued that the recovery plan should be stripped of the long-term investments that would not have an immediate effect on the economy. Republicans argued that while many of the bill’s provisions were billed as temporary, they would pull the government into the workings of the economy to an extent unseen since the Great Depression. Supporters of the long-term investments said they were necessary to build a foundation on which the economy could grow in future years. Senators had already made clear that substantial revisions would be made to the House bill. More funds were expected to be funneled toward infrastructure projects. Additionally, senators wanted to include provisions to bolster the slumping housing market, which had eroded consumer wealth and crippled banks that had invested heavily in mortgages in recent years. The Senate bill was also expected to set aside $70 billion to shield middle-income taxpayers from the alternative minimum tax (AMT). The AMT had been designed to prevent high-income taxpayers from using deductions to reduce their taxable income to little or nothing. But because it was not adjusted for inflation, it increasingly applied to taxpayers who were currently in middle-income brackets. The Senate bill could also contain more tax cuts for businesses, including a measure allowing them to defer tax payments on corporate debt they bought back at a discounted price. The House bill was also criticized for its inclusion of so-called “Buy America” provisions, which mandated that infrastructure and construction projects use U.S.-made steel and iron. Critics said the provisions were overly protectionist, and would lead the U.S.’s trading partners to shun purchases of U.S. goods in retaliation. The provisions could also violate U.S. trade pacts with other countries. n

Obama Addresses Muslim World In Television Interview Pledges Israeli-Palestinian Engagement.

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U.S. President Barack Obama Jan. 27 addressed the Muslim and Arab worlds and expressed hope for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, in the first formal televised interview of his administration. The interview, with Al Arabiya, a United Arab Emirates (UAE)–based Arabic-language satellite television network, had been recorded at the White House the previous day. [See pp. 30D3, 29A3]

Obama emphasized that the U.S. had to use “a language of respect” with Muslim countries, and added, “My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy. We sometimes make mistakes. We have not been perfect.” Obama pledged that he would not “wait until the end of my administration to deal with Palestinian and Israeli peace. We’re going to start now.” However, he also said that Israel remained “a strong ally of the United States” and that he would “continue to believe that Israel’s security is paramount.” Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement) a week and a half earlier had declared a cease-fire, ending a 22-day war in the Hamas–controlled Gaza Strip. [See below] Obama also said he was open to “potential avenues for progress” with Iran, although he charged that the country’s leaders were acting in ways that “are not conducive to peace and prosperity in the region.” Iran had been accused of attempting to covertly develop nuclear weapons and supporting terrorist groups. Obama’s special envoy to the Middle East, former U.S. Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell (D, Maine), Jan. 26 departed on an eight-day tour, with scheduled stops in Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, France and Britain. He met Jan. 29 with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, but not with officials of Hamas, which the U.S. regarded as a terrorist organization. Obama in the Al Arabiya interview said the trip would primarily be a listening tour, although Mitchell would also work with Israel, Egypt and the PA to shore up the Gaza truce. Violence Disrupts Gaza Cease-fire—

One Israeli and one Palestinian Jan. 27 were killed on the Gaza Strip border, in the first significant violence since the ceasefire was declared. A bomb exploded near an Israeli military vehicle on the Israeli side of the Gaza border, killing one Israeli soldier and wounding three. Hamas said it was not clear who had planted the bomb, but Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak vowed that Israel would respond to the attack. Israeli forces later in the day mounted an incursion into the Gazan town of Dier al-Balah, near the bombing site, killing a Palestinian farmer. An Israeli missile strike also hit a motorbike in the Gazan city of Khan Yunis, injuring an alleged Hamas militant and a bystander. Also that day, Israel closed the border crossings into Gaza, barring 185 trucks filled with humanitarian aid from entering the territory. Hamas officials involved in Egyptian-brokered negotiations had reportedly proposed a yearlong truce, in exchange for Israel ending its blockade of Gaza and opening the territory’s border crossings. However, Israel Jan. 23 had said it would continue to allow only humanitarian aid through the crossings. Israel had reportedly continued to launch air strikes on smuggling tunnels underneath the Gaza-Egypt border, which were used to import weapons for Hamas and consumer goods to supply the Gaza economy. The New York Times Jan. 24 re-

ported that Palestinians were rebuilding the tunnels, which had been heavily targeted during the Gaza fighting. Hamas Jan. 25 announced that it would distribute a total of $52 million in aid to Gazans who had lost property or whose relatives had been killed in the fighting. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Jan. 25 said the Israeli government had created legal teams to defend Israeli soldiers accused of committing war crimes during the Gaza offensive. Israeli and international human rights groups had said Israeli forces had violated international law by using excessive force against civilians and blocking aid from reaching them, but no criminal charges had yet been filed. The British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) refused to air an appeal for aid for victims of the fighting in Gaza, saying that it would compromise the impartiality of its reporting on the conflict, it was reported Jan. 22. The appeal was produced by the Disaster Emergency Committee, an umbrella organization representing several prominent British aid organizations. The BBC’s decision was heavily criticized, with some protesters claiming that the network was bowing to pressure from Jewish and pro-Israeli groups, while others said it had grown overly sensitive after a series of unrelated controversies. Another British broadcaster, Sky News, joined the BBC in rejecting the appeal, but three other stations aired it Jan. 26. [See 2008, p. 824E1; 2006, p. 435B2] n

International Criminal Court Opens First Trial Congolese Warlord Lubanga in Dock. The International Criminal Court (ICC) in

The Hague, the Netherlands, Jan. 26 be-

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FACTS ON FILE

gan the first trial since the court—the world’s first permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide—was created in 2002. The defendant in the case was Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, a warlord from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who was accused of war crimes for allegedly enlisting and conscripting children under the age of 15 as soldiers to engage in combat between eastern Congo’s ethnic Hema and Lendu groups. [See 2008, p. 970G2] Lubanga’s case was seen as an important test for the credibility and effectiveness of the ICC. He had been arrested by Congolese authorities in 2005, and turned over to the ICC in 2006. His trial had been delayed for several months in 2008 due to a dispute over the disclosure of evidence by the prosecution. Lubanga, 48, was an ethnic Hema who had allegedly founded the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) and the Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (FPLC) rebel groups in eastern Ituri province during Congo’s 1998–2003 civil war. He pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, which related to alleged crimes committed between early September 2002 and Aug. 13, 2003, as head of the FPLC. (The ICC had jurisdiction only over crimes that occurred after it came into existence on June 1, 2002.) In his opening statement, the ICC’s lead prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Jan. 26 alleged that “Lubanga’s armed group recruited and trained hundreds of children to kill, pillage and rape. Hundreds of children still suffer the consequences of Lubanga’s crimes. They cannot forget what they suffered, what they did, what they saw.” Moreno-Ocampo also alleged that girls were abducted and used as sex slaves. The prosecution planned to call 34 witnesses, including former child soldiers and members of Lubanga’s militias. Evidence from another 93 victims would also be heard. Lubanga’s defense lawyers Jan. 27 claimed that their client was being unfairly singled out from among numerous militia leaders in Congo—including Laurent Kabila, father of current Congolese President Joseph Kabila—who had acted in a similar manner during the conflict. They also said Lubanga could not get a fair trial at the ICC, alleging that the prosecution had still not fully complied with judges’ orders to disclose evidence. The case against Lubanga suffered a setback Jan. 28 when the first prosecution witness initially stated that he had been abducted by the UPC as a child and forced to fight, but then recanted his testimony after a break in the proceedings. The witness had been testifying from behind a screen—but in view of Lubanga—to protect his identity. Deputy prosecutor Fatou Bensouda then asked for, and was granted, an adjournment in order to conduct a review of measures in place to protect the witness, both during the trial and after he returned to Congo. n January 29, 2009

Religion Pope Reinstates Dissident Bishops. Pope

Benedict XVI Jan. 24 reversed the excommunication of four ultraconservative bishops who belonged to the Society of St. Pius X, a traditionalist sect. The faction, which had about 600 priests and 400,000 laity, had been created in 1970 by French archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who had rejected the reforms of the Roman Catholic Church’s Second Vatican Council in the 1960s. Lefebvre in 1988 had ordained the four bishops without the consent of the Vatican, and Pope John Paul II had excommunicated all five men in response. In a statement released Jan. 24, Bishop Bernard Fellay, director of the Society of St. Pius X, said that because of the gesture, “Catholics attached to tradition throughout the world will no longer be unjustly stigmatized and condemned for having kept the faith of their fathers.” [See 2008, p. 916A3; 2005, p. 752C3] The creation of the Society of St. Pius X was considered the only modern schism in the Roman Catholic Church. The group had not officially accepted the tenets of Vatican II, one of which affirmed that Jews were not collectively responsible for the death of Jesus Christ. Cardinal Walter Kasper, liaison for Vatican-Jewish relations, Jan. 25 said the Pope had not consulted with him on the reinstatement of the bishops. Bishop Denies Holocaust, Angers Jews—

Benedict XVI’s move to reinstate the bishops received considerable attention because British Bishop Richard Williamson, one of the excommunicated bishops, in an interview broadcast Jan. 22 on Swedish television station STV, had said “historical evidence” was “hugely against six million Jews having been deliberately gassed” in the Holocaust. He added, “I believe there were no gas chambers.” The remarks sparked an outcry from Jewish advocacy groups across the world. Williamson had also reportedly claimed that the U.S. government was responsible for the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and had written that women should not attend universities or wear trousers. [See 2007, p. 284E2; 1988, p. 510E1] The Vatican Jan. 27 released a statement from Fellay that said Williamson’s views did not “reflect the position of the society.” Fellay also asked for the Pope’s forgiveness for “the dramatic consequences” of Williamson’s statements. The same day, Oded Wiener, director general of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, the country’s highest religious body, in a letter to Kasper, suggested that unless Williamson recanted his statements and issued an apology, the office would “postpone” a planned March meeting between the rabbinate and Vatican officials. Also that day, the Society of St. Pius X ordered Williamson to maintain silence on historical issues. Benedict XVI Jan. 28, in his weekly address to the public, recalled that he had paid multiple visits to the grounds of the Auschwitz Nazi concentration camp, which he described as the site of the “brutal massacre of millions of Jews, innocent victims of a blind racial and religious hatred.” Wiener praised his statements as “a giant step forward.” [See 2005, p. 276A2] n

U N I T ESTATES D S TAT E S UNITED

Illinois Gov. Blagojevich Ousted By Unanimous State Senate Vote

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Convicted After Swift Impeachment Trial.

The Illinois state Senate Jan. 29 voted, 59– 0, to convict Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) on an article of impeachment and remove him from office, after a four-day trial. The Senate also voted unanimously to bar Blagojevich, 52, from ever again holding public office in Illinois. Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn (D), 60, was sworn in as governor an hour later. [See p. 18C2] The impeachment by the state House two weeks earlier had followed Blagojevich’s arrest on federal corruption charges in early December 2008, when he was accused of a number of criminal schemes, including a plot to sell President Barack Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat. Blagojevich had boycotted the impeachment trial, complaining that its rules were unfair because they prevented him from issuing subpoenas to compel witnesses to testify. He spent the first three days of the trial in New York City, appearing in more than a dozen national television interviews to make his case to the public. However, after refusing to testify or be cross-examined under oath, Blagojevich Jan. 28 requested permission to make a closing argument at the end of the trial at the state capitol in Springfield, which was presided over by Chief Justice Thomas Fitzgerald of the state Supreme Court. The request was granted, and Blagojevich delivered a 45-minute speech Jan. 29, declaring his innocence. “I have done absolutely nothing wrong,” he said. He argued, “You haven’t proved a crime—and you can’t, because it hasn’t happened. How can you throw a governor out of office with incomplete or insufficient evidence?” He called the trial “an evisceration of the presumption of innocence.”

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Prosecution Cites Wiretap Evidence—

The impeachment prosecutor, David Ellis, cited the federal criminal complaint against Blagojevich, which quoted from wiretapped profanity-laced telephone conversations in which the governor and his aides allegedly discussed schemes to demand favors, such as campaign contributions, in exchange for state contracts or other official actions. Ellis also charged that Blagojevich had abused his powers by circumventing the will of the state legislature on various matters. In his closing argument, Ellis Jan. 29 said, “Our point was on his words, his secretly recorded words, and who in the world was more qualified to testify about the governor’s words than the governor himself?” The state Senate Jan. 27 had listened to a short excerpt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recordings of Blagojevich’s phone conversations. The U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Patrick Fitzgerald, who was in charge of the federal probe of the governor, had released only five minutes of the tapes for use in the impeachment trial. 43

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In the recordings heard Jan. 27, Blagojevich was allegedly discussing with his brother, Rob Blagojevich, and a lobbyist, Lon Monk, a scheme to extract a $100,000 campaign contribution from a horse-racing executive, John Johnston, in exchange for the governor’s signature on a bill that would give racetracks a share of casino profits. Blagojevich still faced the threat of a federal indictment after his removal from office. He became the first Illinois governor to be impeached, and the first governor of any state to be removed from office by impeachment since Arizona Gov. Evan Mecham (R) in 1988. [See 2008, p. 136E3] Despite the charges against him, Blagojevich had appointed former state Attorney General Roland Burris (D) to Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat. Democratic leaders in the Senate had initially rejected the appointment as tainted by the corruption allegations against the governor, but eventually relented and allowed Burris to be seated in mid-January. Obama Jan. 29 issued a statement on Blagojevich’s ouster, saying, “Today ends a painful episode for Illinois. For months, the state had been crippled by a crisis of leadership. Now that cloud has lifted. I wish Governor Quinn the best and pledge my full cooperation as he undertakes his new responsibilities.” n

Obama Administration Senate Confirms Treasury Secretary. The

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Senate Jan. 26 voted, 60–34, to confirm Federal Reserve Bank of New York President Timothy Geithner as Treasury secretary. At his swearing-in hours later, Geithner said the Treasury would take “bold” steps to bolster the country’s weakened financial system, which had led to a protracted freeze in the country’s credit markets and was exacerbating an ongoing recession. [See pp. 41A1, 30D1] When first nominated by then–Presidentelect Barack Obama in November 2008, Geithner, 47, had been expected to sail through the confirmation process. However, his confirmation was held up after it was revealed that he had failed to pay $34,000 in payroll taxes for salary he had received from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) between 2001 and 2004. Some lawmakers Jan. 26 said they had voted against his confirmation due to the tax controversy. Geithner, who as Treasury secretary would head the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), said the missed tax payments had resulted from an innocent mistake. He had since paid the IRS back taxes with interest. Some lawmakers also criticized Geithner’s record at the New York Fed, where he had been deeply involved in the government’s administration of a $700 billion financial rescue package, known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Critics said the government had used the funds in a haphazard fashion, and had failed to encourage banks to resume lending to consumers and businesses, and to each other. More than half of the TARP funds had already been committed, mostly 44

to buying shareholder stakes in ailing financial institutions. But most senators saw Geithner as uniquely qualified to assume the post, due to his familiarity with the crisis and the government’s efforts to address it. The New York Fed Jan. 27 said William Dudley, 56, would replace Geithner as its president. Dudley had previously served as an executive vice president at the New York Fed, overseeing its financial markets unit. He had also worked as chief economist at Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs Group Inc. [See p. 45B2]

tential losses, it could also cost nothing if the assets eventually recovered value. Obama had already pledged to use between $50 billion and $100 billion of the TARP funds to stem a rising number of home foreclosures. Administration officials left open the possibility that Obama would request Congress to authorize even more money to aid the financial sector. Obama was also currently working with Congress to pass an economic recovery plan that could cost as much as $900 billion over the next two years.

Bank Takeover Expectations Dampened—

Obama Jan. 29 lashed out at Wall Street bankers who had received billions of dollars in bonuses even as their companies lost money and received government aid, describing the bonuses as “shameful” and the “height of irresponsibility.” Obama was reacting to a report released by the New York State comptroller’s office the previous day, which said Wall Street employees living in New York City had received $18.6 billion in bonuses in 2008. It was a 44% decline from the previous year, but still the sixthhighest yearly bonus payout ever. Obama Jan. 29 said, “Part of what we’re going to need is for the folks on Wall Street who are asking for help to show some restraint and show some discipline and show some sense of responsibility.” The administration had said it would seek to place tighter restrictions on executive pay at financial institutions that received TARP aid. Obama’s comments came as the political fallout from the financial rescue package intensified. At the Obama administration’s urging, Citigroup, which had received $45 billion in government aid, Jan. 27 said it had canceled plans to buy a $50 million corporate jet, after the purchase sparked a public outcry. John Thain, the chief executive of Merrill Lynch & Co. until its 2008 acquisition by Bank of America, Jan. 26 publicly admitted that it had been “a mistake” to spend $1.2 million to renovate his office. Thain said he would personally reimburse Bank of America, which also had received $45 billion from the government. [See p. 32E1]

Geithner Jan. 28 countered widespread speculation that the government would have to effectively nationalize some of the country’s banks, saying, “We have a financial system that is run by private shareholders, managed by private institutions and we’d like to do our best to preserve that system.” Bank stocks that day climbed on the comments, but economists said it was likely that the government would have to increase its stake in banks, because they were badly in need of capital. With share prices of the country’s biggest banks at historic lows, any significant government investments would lead to large ownership stakes. [See p. 32A1] Geithner was reportedly consulting with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) Chairwoman Sheila Bair and Lawrence Summers, head of Obama’s National Economic Council, to formulate a comprehensive strategy for reviving the banking system and using the remaining TARP funds. They reportedly wanted to avoid the approach of the previous administration of President George W. Bush, which had been criticized for addressing the crisis on a case-by-case basis without a fully formed vision for normalizing the industry. The government was reportedly considering the creation of a so-called “bad bank,” which would purchase distressed assets from financial institutions. Many of those assets were backed by home mortgages, and had seen their value plummet after the housing market entered a slump in 2006. Those assets were now virtually unsellable on the market, and had led to large losses for banks. However, the bad bank proposal was fraught with technical difficulties. The prices of such assets were hard to determine, and the government ran the risk of overpaying for them at the expense of the taxpayer. If the government underpaid for them, it would lead to even greater losses for the banks. Additionally, there was an estimated $1 trillion–$2 trillion worth of such assets on the market, much more than what remained in the TARP fund. The government was also reportedly considering guaranteeing some of those assets against losses, a move it had employed in recent efforts to support banking giants Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. The strategy was intended to boost investor confidence in such assets, as well as in the banks themselves. While it would expose the government to billions of dollars of po-

Obama Blasts ‘Shameful’ Bonuses—

Lobbying, Political Influence Limited—

Geithner Jan. 27 announced that the Treasury would impose rules limiting the influence that lobbyists and politicians had on determining which financial institutions received TARP aid. The announcement followed media reports that the aid money had sparked a frenzy of lobbying activity on behalf of the banking sector. Additionally, reports had questioned the motivations of lawmakers who had pushed for TARP funds to be directed toward financial institutions in their home states. Geithner that day said, “American taxpayers deserve to know that their money is spent in the most effective way to stabilize the financial system. Today’s actions reaffirm our commitment toward that goal.” While details of the rules were yet to be released, the Treasury said it would limit its contacts with banking lobbyists, and publicize on its Web site a weekly log of all contacts made with lobbyists and public FACTS ON FILE

officials concerning particular financial institutions. To minimize the influence of politicians, the Treasury said its Office of Financial Stability would publish a “detailed description” to accompany every TARP disbursement, certifying that it had been made using objective criteria. China Responds to Currency Remarks—

China’s commerce ministry Jan. 23 released a statement denying that it had ever engaged in “so-called currency manipulation,” in what was widely seen to be a rebuttal to written statements submitted by Geithner during his Senate confirmation process. Geithner had written that Obama “believes that China is manipulating its currency,” the yuan, and that Obama would “use aggressively all diplomatic avenues” to seek a change in China’s practices. [See p. 30C2] The Chinese ministry said, “Directing unsubstantiated criticism at China on the exchange-rate issue will only help U.S. protectionism and will not help towards a real solution to the issue.” U.S. officials had long pressed China to allow the yuan to rise against the U.S. dollar from what critics described as an artificially low level that made China’s exports cheaper and increased its trade surplus. However, the Bush administration had refrained from labeling China a currency manipulator, over fears that it could antagonize one of the U.S.’s largest trading partners. Analysts said Obama could be taking a harder line against China’s currency practices, which might increase trade tensions between the two countries. Some said tensions could distract the two sides from working together to combat a global economic downturn. n Blair Confirmed as Intelligence Director.

The Senate Jan. 28 voted unanimously to confirm Dennis Blair, a retired four-star admiral and former commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, as director of national intelligence. Blair was the third person to hold the position following its creation in 2004. His predecessor, Mike McConnell, had resigned Jan. 27. [See p. 6A1; 2001, p. 636F3] Blair Jan. 22 testified before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence as part of his confirmation. He said, “The intelligence agencies of the United States must respect the privacy and civil liberties of the American people, and they must adhere to the rule of law.” The remarks were considered a break from the policies of former President George W. Bush, who had been criticized for authorizing the warrantless surveillance of U.S. citizens and condoning interrogation techniques that many described as torture. Blair promised that, if confirmed, “there will be no waterboarding on my watch. There will be no torture on my watch.” However, Blair declined to state if he believed that waterboarding, a controversial interrogation technique that simulated drowning, constituted torture. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had used waterboarding against at least three terrorism detainees since 2001 The U.S. had previously January 29, 2009

prosecuted waterboarding as a war crime, and Eric Holder Jr., President Barack Obama’s nominee for attorney general, had said that waterboarding was torture during his confirmation hearings. Blair Jan. 28 submitted written responses to additional questions posed by members of the committee. In his responses, Blair said he would investigate whether staff could be cut from the office of the director of national intelligence, and said that conflicting laws overseeing covert operations were a serious problem that served to “slow and degrade the conduct of operations in the field.” n

Economy Fed Leaves Interest Rate at Near Zero.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the policy-making body of the Federal Reserve, Jan. 28 voted, 8–1, to leave its benchmark federal-funds interest rate target on overnight loans between banks at between zero and one quarter of a percentage point. In a statement released that day, the Fed said an ongoing recession was “likely to warrant exceptionally low” interest rate levels “for some time.” [See 2008, p. 913A1] The Fed said that since its last interestrate meeting in December 2008, the U.S. economy had “weakened further.” It noted that “industrial production, housing starts and employment have continued to decline steeply, as consumers and businesses have cut back spending.” It said credit conditions remained “extremely tight,” and that “global demand appears to be slowing significantly.” [See pp. 46D2, 45C3, 14A2] The Fed also said it saw “some risk that inflation could persist for a time below rates that best foster economic growth.” Analysts said the statement reflected concerns that a drop in demand could usher in a deflationary cycle, when falling prices decreased business revenue, leading to higher unemployment and a further drop in demand. [See p. 46C1] Adjusting the interest rate was the Fed’s primary tool for implementing monetary policy, and lowering the interest rate normally boosted lending. But with the federal funds rate near zero, the Fed had resorted to buying debt to reduce rates amidst a freeze in credit markets. The Fed said it was “ready to expand” its purchases of debt and mortgage-backed assets from mortgage-financing giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The Fed in February was also expected to begin a $200 billion program to encourage purchases of assets backed by other consumer loans, such as auto, student and credit-card loans. The Fed said it was “prepared” to buy longer-term Treasury securities, another move that could lower interest rates. Increased purchases of Treasury securities would send their yields down, and those yields were widely used as a gauge for setting interest rates. However, the Fed had been reluctant to formally adopt the policy, which would further flood the market with new U.S. dollars. Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Va., cast the

lone dissenting vote, arguing that purchases of Treasury securities would be more effective than buying debt backed by mortgages and other consumer loans. Fed to Help Reduce Foreclosures—Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, in a letter to congressional leaders, Jan. 27 said the Fed would begin modifying the terms of home loans on its books in an attempt to stem a rising number of foreclosures. The Fed was thought to own tens of billions of dollars worth of mortgage-backed assets, which it had acquired after the government intervened to rescue investment bank Bear Stearns Cos. and insurance giant American International Group Inc. (AIG). The precise amount was unknown, but thought to be less than $84 billion. [See 2008, pp. 645A1, 177A2] Bernanke did not provide details on how the program would work, but in the past had urged lenders to reduce the loan’s principal, or the size of the original loan. After housing prices started to slide steeply in 2006, homeowners were left repaying loans that were larger than the house’s value, tempting many to succumb to foreclosure. The Fed could also lower monthly interest rates or extend the loans’ maturity dates. n

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Housing Starts Fell 15.5% in Dec. 2008.

The Departments of Commerce and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Jan. 22 reported jointly that the rate of housing starts in December 2008 was 550,000 units, annualized and adjusted for seasonal variation. That was 15.5% below the revised rate for November of 651,000 units, and the survey’s lowest level since it began in 1959. The drop reflected the glut of existing homes that remained unsold on the market, as an ongoing recession depressed demand for housing. In all, an estimated 904,300 houses were started in 2008, down 33.3% from 2007. [See 2008, p. 937C3] Building permits were issued in December at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 549,000 units, 10.7% below November’s revised rate of 615,000. n

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Existing Home Sales Rose 6.5% in Dec. 2008. The National Association of Realtors (NAR)

Jan. 26 reported that sales of existing homes rose 6.5% in December 2008, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.74 million units, up from the revised November rate of 4.45 million units. The larger-than-expected spike was attributed to consumers taking advantage of plunging home prices. The NAR estimated that 45% of the sales were “distressed,” meaning that the homes had either been foreclosed on or sold for less than the amount the sellers owed on their mortgages. [See 2008, p. 937C2] Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist, said the climb in sales was a positive sign, but warned that the housing market was “still far from normal, balanced conditions.” Overall, 4.91 million existing homes were sold in 2008, down 13.1% from the previous year, and the fewest since 1997. The median sale price for existing homes in December was $175,400, down 15.3% from the $207,000 reported a year earlier. n New Home Sales Fell 14.7% in Dec. 2008.

The Departments of Commerce and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Jan. 29 45

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reported jointly that sales of new singlefamily homes fell 14.7% in December 2008 from the previous month, as the housing market continued to slump amidst an ongoing recession. The new seasonally adjusted annual rate was 331,000 units, down from the revised November rate of 388,000, and the lowest level on record. In 2008, 482,000 new homes were sold, down 37.8% from the previous year. The median price of a new single-family home sold in December was reported to be $206,500. [See 2008, p. 937B2] n Durable Goods Orders Down in Dec. 2008.

The Commerce Department Jan. 29 reported that the value of durable goods orders in December 2008 was $176.8 billion, down 2.6% from the previous month, as an ongoing recession compelled businesses to reduce their purchases of so-called big-ticket items designed to last three years or more. Overall, durable goods orders in 2008 had fallen 5.7% from the previous year. [See 2008, p. 951D1] n Consumer Prices Fell 0.7% in Dec. 2008.

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The Labor Department Jan. 16 reported that its consumer price index (CPI), which tracked prices Inflation (CPI) paid for conDecember 2008 -0.7% sumer goods by Previous Month -1.7% all urban con12-Month Increase 0.1% sumers, declined 0.7% in December 2008 after adjustment for seasonal variation, after falling 1.7% in November. It was the third straight month that consumer prices had fallen, as an ongoing recession depressed consumer demand. The drop was led by a steep decline in energy prices, which fell by 8.3% in December. [See 2008, p. 913G1] “Core” consumer prices, which excluded volatile energy and food costs, did not rise or fall in December. For the 12-month period through December, the overall unadjusted inflation rate was 0.1%. n

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Producer Prices Fell 1.9% in Dec. 2008.

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The Labor Department Jan. 15 said that according to its producer price index (PPI), prices charged by manufacturers and producers of finished goods in December 2008 fell 1.9% after seasonal adjustment. It was the fifth straight month that producer prices had fallen, largely due to a steady slide in energy prices, which fell 9.3% in December. “Core” producer prices, which excluded volatile energy and food prices, rose 0.2% in December. [See 2008, p. 921B3] The finished goods index, before seasonal adjustment, stood at 168.8% of its 1982 base average. That meant that a basket of goods that had cost $100 in 1982 would have cost $168.80 in December. Prices for intermediate, or partially processed, goods dropped 4.2% in December, and prices for crude goods fell 5.3%. n Consumer Confidence Fell in January.

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The Conference Board business research group Jan. 27 reported that its index of consumer confidence fell to 37.7 in January, down from a revised 38.6 in December 2008. The index was at an all-time low, as consumers anticipated an ongoing recession would lead to further deterioration of business conditions and more job losses. The in46

dex’s base level of 100 reflected consumer confidence in 1985. [See 2008, p. 951E1]n Leading Indicators Rose in December 2008.

The Conference Board business research organization Jan. 26 reported that its composite index of leading economic indicators, a gauge of future economic activity, rose 0.3% in December 2008, to 99.5. Based on revised data, the index had decreased 0.4% in November, the board reported. The index’s base level of 100 reflected conditions in 2004. [See 2008, p. 937A3] Four of the 10 indicators in December were “positive” contributors, led by real money supply and interest rate spread. Five indicators—led by building permits and average weekly manufacturing hours— were “negative.” Consumer expectations were neither positive nor negative. n Business Inventories Down in Nov. 2008.

The Commerce Department Jan. 14 reported that the value of business inventories at the end of November 2008 was $1.5 trillion after seasonal adjustment, down 0.7% from the revised value at the end of October. The ratio of inventories to sales—a measure of how long it would take businesses to unload their inventories at the current sales pace—was 1.41. [See 2008, p. 921D3] n Industrial Production Fell 2% in Dec. 2008.

The Federal Reserve Jan. 16 reported that its industrial production index decreased 2.0% in December 2008. Based on revised data, the Fed found that industrial production had fallen 1.3% in November. The overall index now stood at 103.6% of its 2002 base average, down from its revised level of 105.7% for November. [See 2008, p. 937G2] Manufacturing production fell 2.3% in December. The output of utilities decreased 0.1%, and mining output decreased 1.6%. Factories, mines and utilities operated at 73.6% of their total capacity in December. n

Politics Rep. Gillibrand Named to N.Y. Senate Seat.

New York Gov. David Paterson (D) at a news conference in Albany, the state capital, Jan. 23 announced his appointment of Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Paterson settled on Gillibrand, who was just starting her second term in Congress, after Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of assassinated President John F. Kennedy, abruptly withdrew from consideration for the Senate seat the previous day. Paterson passed over another high-profile contender, state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (D), to choose Gillibrand. She was sworn in as a senator Jan. 27, to serve until a special election in 2010. [See p. 32E3] Gillibrand, 42, was a former corporate lawyer with a reputation as a formidable fund-raiser. She represented New York’s largely rural, traditionally Republican 20th Congressional District, which stretched along the Hudson River into the far north of the state, and extended west around Albany. In 2006, she had unseated incumbent Rep. John Sweeney (R). [See 2006, p. 854E3]

Gillibrand’s centrist voting record in the House set her apart from the liberal majority of New York’s Democratic congressional delegation, which mostly hailed from the New York City area. Most controversially, the National Rifle Association gun-rights group had given her a perfect rating. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an independent who had supported Kennedy’s bid for the seat, issued a statement criticizing Gillibrand’s record on gun control. Her record on immigration— she had opposed any path to citizenship for illegal immigrants—also drew criticism from liberal and Hispanic groups. Gillibrand had been the only member of the New York Democratic delegation to vote against a $700 billion financial industry rescue—a bailout seen as critical for Wall Street. She voted against both versions of the bill, in September and October 2008. Gillibrand Jan. 25 said her “advocacy will be broader” on issues such as gun control, now that she was representing the entire state. She had begun a “listening tour” of the state the previous day with a trip to New York City, where she appeared at a rally held by black civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton. n

Terrorism Detainees Guantanamo Judge Defies Obama Request.

The head military judge at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Jan. 29 rejected a request from military prosecutors to delay by 120 days an arraignment hearing for terrorism detainee Abd al-Rahim alNashiri. Judge James Pohl ruled that such a delay would “not serve the interests of justice.” Newly inaugurated President Barack Obama had ordered Guantanamo prosecutors to seek the 120-day delays in pending cases, to allow the Obama administration to review the evidence against all 244 detainees remaining at Guantanamo. Two other judges, including one overseeing the case against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the U.S., had previously agreed to the requests. Nashiri was scheduled to be arraigned on Feb. 9. [See p. 20E1; 2007, p. 817B1] Pohl said the request to delay the arraignment was “not reasonable” and that “Congress passed the [2006 Military Commissions Act], which remains in effect. The Commission is bound by the law as it currently exists, not as it may change in the future.” Experts said that if Nashiri—who was accused of plotting the October 2000 suicide bomb attack on the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cole in Yemen—was arraigned by the military court, U.S. law would likely prohibit future attempts to try him in any U.S. court under double-jeopardy rules, even if the charges against him at Guantanamo were eventually dropped. Nashiri was one of three detainees known to have been subjected by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to waterboarding, a harsh interrogation tactic that had previously been prosecuted by the U.S. as a war crime. Separately, the CIA had admitted in December 2007 that FACTS ON FILE

it had taped interrogations of Nashiri and another detainee and later destroyed the tapes, triggering a criminal investigation. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs Jan. 29 said the administration was “consulting with the Pentagon and the Department of Justice to explore our options” regarding the Nashiri case, but told reporters that the decision would not interfere with plans to review evidence against all detainees. Convening Authority Susan Crawford, the highest-ranking Defense Department official at Guantanamo, had the ability to drop charges against Nashiri without involving Pohl, which would not preclude the filing of new charges against him in the future. n

Abortion Obama Lifts Ban on International Funds.

President Barack Obama Jan. 23 ended a ban on the use of U.S. foreign aid funds by international family planning programs that provided abortions, or advice on obtaining one. Known both as the “Mexico City policy” and the “global gag rule,” the ban had first been instituted in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan, but had been overturned and reinstated by subsequent presidents. Former President George W. Bush had reinstated the policy as one of his earliest acts in office in 2001, after it was reversed by his predecessor, Bill Clinton, in 1993. [See 2007, p. 668A2; 1993, p. 47D3] Obama signed the memorandum rescinding the policy in a low-key ceremony late Jan. 23 with no reporters present, a move viewed as an attempt to tamp down the controversy surrounding abortion. He also waited until the day after the 26th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that women had a constitutional right to abortion. Clinton and Bush had chosen the anniversary date to issue their orders on the policy. “For too long, international family planning assistance has been used as a political wedge issue,” Obama said. Antiabortion activists decried the move, while many women’s health advocates praised it. The reversal allowed international groups that offered abortions or information on the procedure to accept funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Obama also said he would work to restore U.S. financial support of the United Nations Population Fund, which had been defunded by Bush, who alleged that its cooperation with China’s one-child policy enabled forced abortions there. Separately, thousands of antiabortion demonstrators Jan. 22 marched in Washington D.C., in protest of Roe v. Wade. n

Environment Obama Issues Vehicle Emissions Rules.

President Barack Obama Jan. 26 issued two orders aimed at forcing automakers to design vehicles with lower greenhouse gas emissions. Obama instructed the EnvironJanuary 29, 2009

mental Protection Agency (EPA) to quickly reexamine granting California, 13 other states and Washington, D.C., a waiver that would allow them to regulate vehicle tailpipe emissions of carbon dioxide more strictly than the federal government did. Obama also instructed the Department of Transportation to formulate fuel efficiency rules requiring new vehicles to reach a standard of 35 miles per gallon by 2020. [See 2008, p. 557F3; 2007, p. 843C3] The move was a shift from the positions of the Bush administration, which in December 2007 had rejected California’s request for the waiver, despite having granted the state dozens of similar exceptions in the past. At the time, the EPA had argued that recently passed fuel efficiency standards would achieve substantial emissions reductions, and that to allow individual states to impose tailpipe emissions rules would result in a complex patchwork of regulations. Automakers had also strenuously opposed approval of the waiver, as it would likely compel them to redesign their vehicle fleets on an accelerated schedule. They had filed several lawsuits as part of an effort to block states from setting stricter vehicle emissions standards. [See 2007, p. 845B3] EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson at her recent Senate confirmation hearing had said she would “aggressively” reexamine the agency’s stance on the waiver. Although Obama could only order the EPA to reconsider granting the waiver, it was widely thought that the agency, under Jackson, would issue it. The standards that California wished to put into place would reduce emissions by 30% between 2009 and 2016. Because California was such a large market, efficiency standards implemented in vehicles sold there were usually also incorporated into cars sold throughout the U.S. The 14 states seeking to impose the stricter standards comprised nearly half the domestic market for cars. Three additional states had also indicated that they planned on adopting the emissions standards. Mary Nichols, the chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board, a governor-appointed panel charged with regulating the state’s air pollution, Jan. 21 had formally requested that Jackson reconsider the waiver issue. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) that day made a similar request of Obama. The Bush administration less than two weeks before Obama’s inauguration had also declined to issue new vehicle fuel efficiency rules, despite a 2007 law calling for a change in standards. In late 2008, the Transportation Department had circulated a proposal to raise the standards, but had never formalized them. The department would need to issue new rules by March in order for changes to be made in the 2011 model-year vehicle fleet. n

Legislation Equal Pay Measure Cleared, Signed. Pres-

ident Barack Obama Jan. 29 signed into law a bill that expanded the statute of limi-

tations for workers alleging pay discrimination based on gender. The bill was the first that Obama signed into law since becoming president Jan. 20. The signing ceremony was attended by lawmakers, civil rights advocates and Lilly Ledbetter, an Alabama woman who had sought compensation after learning that she had been paid substantially less than her male counterparts during 20 years at a Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plant. [See p. 20A1] The event also marked the most highprofile role to date that first lady Michelle Obama had taken in connection with a policy issue, as she hosted a reception after the ceremony for Ledbetter and others who supported the bill. The Senate Jan. 22 had approved the bill, known officially as the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, in a 61–36 vote. The bill nullified a 2007 Supreme Court decision that a worker had only 180 days from the issuance of their first paycheck to file a claim against a company that had allegedly engaged in wage discrimination. Under the new law, the statute of limitations period would be renewed with each paycheck. The House had passed the bill in early January, then cleared it on Jan. 27 in a 250– 177 vote. n

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Automobiles Chrysler Finance Arm Receives Federal Loan.

The Treasury Department Jan. 16 announced that it would extend a five-year, low-interest, $1.5 billion loan to Chrysler Financial, Auburn Hills, Mich.–based Chrysler LLC’s financing wing. The loan was intended to boost available credit for private auto purchasers amid an economic downturn that had severely affected the auto industry. The funds came in addition to two federal aid packages announced in December 2008, in which auto financier GMAC LLC had received $6 billion, and Chrysler and Detroit, Mich.–based automaker General Motors Corp. (GM) had received $17.4 billion in loans. [See 2008, p. 953E1] After the loan was announced, Chrysler said it would offer loans to customers with lower credit ratings and unveil favorable financing programs. A Treasury spokesman the same day said Dearborne, Mich.–based Ford Motor Co., which had not received funds from the $17.4 billion rescue, had been in similar talks with the Treasury since December. Ford said it was not seeking a federal bailout for its daily operations, but was “maintaining ongoing dialogue with the government in ideas to help unfreeze the credit market.” It was reported Jan. 26 that the Treasury was also in talks with leaders in the auto parts sector, who were expected to petition the government for as much as $10 billion. Many auto parts makers were reportedly having difficulty securing loans necessary for daily operations. Chrysler in Partnership With Italy’s Fiat—

Chrysler Jan. 20 announced that it had negotiated a no-cash partnership deal with Italian automaker Fiat SpA. Under the 47

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terms of the deal, Fiat would receive a 35% ownership stake in Chrysler with options to increase it later, and would be able to use Chrysler facilities to build Fiat and Alfa Romeo models for sale in the U.S. In return, Chrysler would receive access to technologies for producing the kind of smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles that Fiat was known for. Chrysler, in contrast, earned most of its revenue through sales of larger vehicles like sport utility vehicles, pick-up trucks and minivans. [See 2008, p. 953E1; 2005, p. 121B3] As a condition of the deal, which was expected to be completed in April, Fiat would partner with Chrysler only if the automaker received an additional $3 billion in government aid that it was eligible for. Chrysler had already received $4 billion from the U.S. government’s financial-sector rescue package. It was eligible to receive the additional $3 billion if the company submitted to the federal government a detailed restructuring plan by Feb. 17. Analysts suggested that Chrysler’s partnership with Fiat could help impove its prospects for long-term viability. However, the deal did not inject much-needed cash into Chrysler. Fiat had exited the U.S. car market in 1983, and in 2000 formed an alliance with GM that was dissolved in 2005. Auto Sales Plunge—U.S. auto sales in December 2008 fell sharply from their December 2007 level, according to statistics released Jan. 6 by Autodata Corp., an automotive research and statistics firm. GM’s sales fell by 31.2%, Chrysler’s sales declined by 53.1% and Ford’s sales dropped 32.3%. [See 2008, p. 881D3] GM, which hadheld the title of the world’s largest automaker for 77 consecutive years, Jan. 21 released global sales figures for 2008 that lagged behind those of Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. Ford Jan. 29 posted a loss of $14.6 billion for 2008, its worst annual results ever. The company the same day said it would draw $10.1 billion from its credit lines to boost its cash reserves. It also announced the elimination of 1,200 jobs in its financing wing. [See p. 51G1] GMAC Chairman Steps Down—J. Ezra Merkin, chairman of GMAC, Jan. 9 resigned amid concerns that a number of lawsuits filed against him could interfere with his administration of the company. Merkin, who also operated a hedge fund, had turned over more than $1.8 billion in investor dollars to disgraced financier Bernard Madoff, who in December was arrested and charged with securities fraud for running a Ponzi scheme allegedly responsible for the loss of as much as $50 billion in investor dollars. GMAC had lost about $8 billion during Merkin’s tenure as chairman, which began in November 2006. [See 2008, p. 955F1] Chrysler, GM Eliminate ‘Jobs Banks’—

Chrysler Jan. 22 announced that the company Jan. 26 would end its so-called jobs bank program, under which laid-off or idled auto employees were paid nearly 48

full wages under certain circumstances. GM Jan. 28 announced that it would eliminate its jobs bank Feb. 2. The United Auto Workers (UAW) union was required to give up the historically controversial program as one of the conditions of the $17.4 billion loan package. [See 2008, p. 933E1] n

Supreme Court Court Backs Worker in Harassment Case.

The Supreme Court Jan. 26 ruled unanimously that federal law protected workers from retaliation when they participated in workplace probes investigating harassment by a supervisor. The case was Crawford v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tenn. [See p. 47A3; 2008, p. 55C3] The plaintiff in the case, Vicky Crawford, and two other women had been fired from their jobs in the Tennessee school system after they cooperated in an internal investigation of sexual harassment by Gene Hughes, an employee relations director. (Hughes had reportedly received a reprimand for his behavior.) The school fired Crawford after accusing her of embezzlement, a charge never pursued by authorities. Lower courts had ruled against Crawford’s claim that the firing was retaliatory, saying Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act only protected against employer retaliation if the victim had initiated the harassment complaint. The court said Crawford had merely responded to supervisors’ questions about Hughes’s behavior. In the court’s opinion, Justice David H. Souter said, “Nothing in the statute requires a freakish rule protecting an employee who reports discrimination of her own initiative but not one who reports the same discrimination in the same words when her boss asks a question.” Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Clarence Thomas, in a separate opinion written by Alito, noted that the Court’s opinion “does not and should not extend beyond employees who testify in internal investigations or engage in analogous protected conduct.” n News in Brief. The Supreme Court Jan. 26 ruled unanimously that supervising prose-

cutors could not be sued for administrative misconduct following overturned convic-

tions. Thomas Goldstein, the original plaintiff in the case, Van de Kamp v. Goldstein, had served 24 years in jail before his conviction was overturned. He then attempted to sue a Los Angeles district attorney for allowing prosecutors in his office to use an unreliable source to build a case against him. [See 2008, p. 721C1] The court Jan. 26 unanimously ruled to

uphold antidumping duties on enriched uranium imported from France. (Selling at

artificially depressed prices was known as dumping.) The case was United States v. Eurodif. [See 2008, p. 310D2] The court Jan. 26 agreed to hear Maryland v. Shatzer, in which it would decide how long police had to respect a suspect’s

request for a lawyer before commencing an interrogation. The case arose after convicted child molester Michael Shatzer in 2003 had requested a lawyer when police began investigating a separate abuse case against him. The case was then abandoned for three years. After new evidence surfaced in 2006, Shatzer confessed to the crime and was subsequently convicted. He then appealed, claiming that his confession was invalid because his 2003 request for a lawyer had never been granted. [See 1990, p. 909C3] The court Jan. 21 declined without comment to hear Mukasey v. ACLU, letting stand a 2007 ruling striking down the Child Online Protection Act (COPA). COPA,

which penalized people who distributed material deemed harmful to minors over the Internet, had been passed by Congress in 1998, but was immediately challenged as unconstitutional, and had never taken effect. Judge Lowell Reed Jr., a federal judge in Philadelphia, Pa., in 2007 had ruled that web filtering software was as effective as federal laws in keeping objectionable material from children. The Bush administration in October 2008 had requested that the Supreme Court review the case. [See 2006, p. 211F3] The court Jan. 21 unanimously ruled in favor of the parents of a young girl who claimed that an older grade-school-aged boy had sexually harassed her on a school bus. The parents had been dissatisfied with

the school’s suggestion that the children ride on separate buses, as well as the school’s claims that the harassment could not be proven. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., in the court’s decision, said a lower court had made a mistake when it had closed the parents’ means of furthering their harassment case. The court returned the case, Fitzgerald v. Barnstable School Committee, to a lower court, which would consider whether the parents could sue the school under the Civil Rights Act of 1871, also known as Section 1983. [See 1999, p. 382A1] The court Jan. 21 unanimously ruled in favor of five Utah police officers who in 2002 had entered a suspected drug dealer’s home without a warrant after he had already answered the door for one officer, who had pretended to be interested in purchasing drugs. The officers had then arrested the suspect for methamphetamine possession. The charges against him were later thrown out, and the suspect then sued the officers for violating his Fourth Amendment rights. The case was Pearson v. Callahan. [See 2006, p. 506B3] The court Jan. 16 agreed to hear Safford Unified School District v. Redding, in which the court would decide whether a 13-year-old girl’s rights had been violated when she was subjected to a strip search at her school in 2003. School officials had reportedly forced the girl, an honor student, to strip to her bra and underpants after she was accused of giving a friend two ibuprofen pills, a violation of school policies. [See 1997, p. 883C3] FACTS ON FILE

The court Jan. 16 agreed to hear Cuomo v. Clearing House Association, in which it would decide whether state officials could investigate national banks for discrimination. The case stemmed from a 2005 inquiry by then–New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer into whether national banks— including Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co.—had charged higher interest rates on real estate loans to black and Hispanic borrowers than white borrowers. [See 2005, p. 670E2] n

revelations in 2004 that a similar drug, Merck Inc.’s painkiller Vioxx, had been linked to a greater incidence of heart attacks and strokes. Separately, Pfizer Jan. 13 had announced that it was laying off up to 800 researchers in its laboratories, which had reportedly failed to meet expectations for product development. n

Medicine & Health First Embryonic Stem Cell Trial Approved.

Mergers & Acquisitions Drugmaker Pfizer to Acquire Wyeth.

Pfizer Inc., the world’s largest pharmaceutical maker by sales, Jan. 26 announced that it had reached an agreement to purchase rival Wyeth in a $68 billion deal. The resulting company would become the fourth-largest of any kind in the U.S. in terms of market capitalization. Research firm Capital IQ said, if completed, the merger would be the largest since AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corp. completed a $70 billion deal in 2006. With the exception of government-managed mergers of banks, there had been a dearth of largescale business acquisitions since the onset of the global economic crisis in the latter half of 2008. [See 2002, p. 538E1] Under the terms of the deal, Wyeth shareholders would receive $33 and 0.985 shares of Pfizer stock for each of their shares. Pfizer said it would finance the deal with $22.5 billion from five banks, four of which had received rescue package funds from the federal government. However, Pfizer had secured the loans by agreeing to pay relatively high interest rates of 7%–9% on the loans, and the banks had secured guarantees that they could halt financing if Pfizer’s credit rating fell below a predetermined level. The merger was also expected to result in 19,000 layoffs, since there would be redundancies in the combined company’s 128,000-strong work force. The agreement would also likely result in the closing of the headquarters of either New York City– based Pfizer or Madison, N.J.–based Wyeth, resulting in further job losses in the already hard-hit New York City area. Analysts said Pfizer’s purchase of Wyeth would likely spur a round of further consolidation among drug companies. Pfizer’s acquisition was seen as an attempt to limit a significant loss of revenue resulting from the expiration in 2011 of its blockbuster cholesterol drug Lipitor, which garnered it about $13 billion per year in sales revenue; that was a significant portion of Pfizer’s total 2007 revenue of $48 billion. Pfizer Jan. 26 also announced that it would take a $2.3 billion one-time charge in order to set aside money to settle a probe by the Justice Department of its marketing of the painkiller Bextra. Prosecutors alleged that Pfizer had illegally promoted “off-label” uses of the drug which had not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Bextra had been removed from the market in 2005, following January 29, 2009

Biotechnology company Geron Inc. Jan. 23 said it had received approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the first human clinical trial of a medical treatment that used human embryonic stem cells. Therapies involving human embryonic stem cells were controversial, since their creation required the destruction of human embryos, a procedure that some considered tantamount to murder. Menlo Park, Calif.–based Geron had requested the FDA’s approval for a clinical trial examining a stem cell treatment for spinal cord injuries; company officials said they had received the approval Jan. 21. [See 2006, p. 596A1] In August 2001, then-President George W. Bush had ordered that federal funding for the creation of any new stem cell lines be halted. However, federal funding for research on existing stem cell lines was continued. President Barack Obama during his campaign had said he would overturn Bush’s prohibition and restore funding for new embryonic stem cell lines. The treatment Geron had sought approval for relied on a stem cell line in existence at the time of Bush’s ban in 2001. [See 2001, p. 618F3] Embryonic stem cells were thought to have an enormous potential for varied medical applications since they could be coaxed into developing into any type of human cell. Geron’s clinical trial was largely designed to test the safety of embryonic stem cells, but the company said researchers would be monitoring patients closely for any medical benefit. The clinical trial involved injecting stem cells grown into a cell type known as oligodendrocytes into patients’ spinal cords seven to 14 days after they had suffered an injury. The injected cells were intended to repair damaged cells and restore the ability of nerves to carry signals. n

Telecommunications FCC Chairman Resigns. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman

Kevin Martin Jan. 15 announced that he would resign, effective Jan. 20. Martin, 42, said he would be joining the Aspen Institute, a nonprofit leadership organization, as a communications fellow. He had led the FCC since 2005, and the commission under his leadership had cracked down on broadcast indecency and moved to reform cable television charges. Martin’s resignation came after it was reported Jan. 14 that President-elect Barack

Obama was likely to pick venture capitalist Julius Genachowski, 46, as the new FCC chairman. [See 2008, p. 958D2; 2005, p. 165F3] Genachowski, a close friend and Harvard Law School classmate of Obama’s, had spearheaded the Obama campaign’s innovative online efforts to reach out to volunteers and voters. He had also raised $500,000 for the campaign. If confirmed, he was expected to lead the FCC to concentrate more on Internet issues, including increasing the diversity of media ownership and so-called net neutrality, which would bar telecommunications companies or Internet service providers from favoring certain content distributed over their networks. In addition to the chair, there was one additional vacant commissioner’s seat, which was designated for a Republican, on the panel. n

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Consumer Affairs Salmonella Linked to Peanut Butter. The

Minnesota Department of Health Jan. 12 reported that it had linked an outbreak of salmonella infections to contaminated peanut butter. At least 500 people in 43 states had fallen ill from salmonella, with at least eight deaths linked to the outbreak, it was reported Jan. 29. Minnesota health officials had taken the lead in the salmonella investigation, in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other states’ health agencies. The CDC had announced the outbreak on Jan. 7, saying it had started Sept. 3, 2008. [See 2008, p. 678F1] Minnesota investigators Jan. 12 said King Nut brand peanut butter had tested positive for the strain of salmonella in the outbreak. Distributor King Nut Cos. of Solon, Ohio, Jan. 11 had issued a recall of the peanut butter, which had been produced by Peanut Corp. of America, based in Lynchburg, Va. Peanut Corp. Jan. 13 issued a nationwide recall of peanut butter produced at its Blakely, Ga., plant on or after July 1, 2008, but Jan. 28 extended that recall to encompass all its products made since Jan. 1, 2008. The FDA Jan. 27 said the plant had violated several federal manufacturing standards in 2007–08, and had knowingly shipped peanut butter contaminated with salmonella at least a dozen times in that period. Health officials had initially believed that the contamination was limited to peanut butter packed into bulk containers and sold to institutions such as schools and nursing homes. However, officials later discovered that peanut paste used in a variety of foods and food products was also contaminated. As of Jan. 28, the FDA had listed some 400 products that had been recalled, including snack bars, candies and other types of food. Health officials Jan. 21 said the Blakely plant had been conclusively identified as the sole source of tainted peanut products. n 49

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Liberia U.S. Court Sentences Taylor’s Son. Judge

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Cecilia Altonaga in U.S. District Court in Miami, Fla., Jan. 9 sentenced Charles McArthur Emmanuel, the son of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, to 97 years in prison. Emmanuel, also known as Charles (Chuckie) Taylor Jr., in October 2008 had been convicted of torture, conspiracy to commit torture and carrying a firearm during a violent crime in connection with his role as head of a Liberian security force known as the Antiterror Unit from 1999 to 2003, while his father was president. (Charles Taylor was currently on trial for war crimes before the United Nations–backed Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague, the Netherlands.) [See 2008, p. 906G3] Emmanuel’s conviction and sentencing were the first under a 1994 U.S. law that allowed a U.S. citizen or a person in the U.S. to be charged in a domestic court with torture committed in another country. n

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Bolivia Voters Endorse New Constitution. Voters

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in Bolivia Jan. 25 approved a new constitution backed by President Evo Morales Aima, 62%–38%, according to results tallied with 99% of ballots counted. Turnout was estimated at 90%. The document provided the majority indigenous population with new legal rights, and gave the federal government greater control of the country’s natural resources. [See 2008, p. 855F1] The new charter also revamped the country’s bicameral legislative branch by renaming it the “plurinational assembly,” and enlarged the Senate by nine seats, for a total of 36. The new seats were intended to increase the representation of indigenous groups in the legislature. The new constitution also called for the members of the Supreme Court to be elected, instead of named by the Senate. Also, the document concentrated the power to set energy, security, foreign and economic policy solely in the hands of the federal government. The constitutional changes would require the passage of more than 100 new laws. Voting had largely been divided by geography and ethnicity, with Indian populations in the country’s western highlands supporting the constitution. Those in the natural resource–rich eastern lowlands, who were mainly of European descent, tended to vote against the constitution because of its provisions on redistribution of farmland and fuel revenues, according to local media reports. In 2008, Bolivia had been riven between these two factions, and increasing violence between the groups had led to concerns that the country was headed toward civil war. [See 2008, p. 559B3] However, support for Morales was bolstered in August 2008, after he won the 50

support of some 67% of voters in a recall vote. Members of the opposition in October of that year had agreed to a series of amendments to the constitution that limited many of the reforms Morales had called for. However, the new constitution abolished the single five-year presidential term limit, clearing the way for Morales to run again in December. There were reports of some clashes between Morales supporters and the opposition in the run-up to the election. However, the polling had taken place largely without incident, and had been witnessed by observers from the Organization of American States (OAS), the European Union and other international groups. n

Canada Liberals Support Budget, Government. Ca-

nadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, of the ruling Conservative Party, Jan. 27 presented a budget for the 2009 fiscal year to Parliament that included a C$39.9 billion (US$32.6 billion) economic stimulus plan. Michael Ignatieff, leader of the opposition Liberal Party, Jan. 28 said his party would support the budget if it were amended to mandate that the government provide three informational updates to Parliament over the course of the year. [See 2008, p. 885B1] Conservative House of Commons Leader Jay Hill said his party would agree to Ignatieff’s request. The moves increased the likelihood that the government of Prime Minster Stephen Harper, which held a plurality of seats in the Commons and required the support of at least one other party, would remain in power in the short term. In early December 2008, the country’s three main opposition parties—the centerleft Liberal Party, the leftist New Democratic Party (NDP) and the separatist Bloc Quebecois (BQ)—had agreed to form a coalition with more seats in the Commons than were controlled by the Conservative Party. The coalition said their move was in response to the Conservative Party’s 2009 budget plan, presented in November, which did not include stimulus measures. However, analysts suggested that the parties were motivated to form the coalition by an element of the budget plan that eliminated government subsidies to political parties, which the Liberals, in particular, depended on heavily. In response to the formation of the opposition coalition, Harper had asked Governor General Michaelle Jean, Canada’s titular head of state, to suspend Parliament until his government could present a budget to a reconvened Parliament Jan. 27. The Conservatives’ budget needed to win a simple majority of votes in the Commons, or else automatically trigger new elections. Ignatieff Jan. 28 said he would seek to amend the budget so that the government would have to issue the three progress reports in March, June and December. He said the results of the reports would determine whether the Liberals would continue to support the government. The BQ and the NDP maintained their opposition to the budget plan. NDP Leader

Jack Layton Jan. 28 derisively referred to Ignatieff’s plan as a “new coalition” between the Liberals and Conservatives. Gilles Duceppe, the leader of the BQ, said the coalition forged in December was “dead.” Budget Details—The budget plan was intended to increase Canada’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 1.4% by the end of 2010. It included C$4.3 billion for increases in unemployment insurance, C$7.8 billion in aid for the country’s crumbling housing market, C$12 billion over a twoyear period for spending on infrastructure and C$4.1 billion over two years targeted to low-earning families. The budget estimated that the government would close the current fiscal year, ending March 31, with a deficit of C$1.1 billion. It projected that figure would grow to C$33.7 billion in the following fiscal year. n

El Salvador Former Rebels Gain in Municipal Elections.

According to results released Jan. 24, candidates of the leftist former guerrilla group Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) made wide gains against the conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance (Arena) party in nationwide municipal elections held Jan. 18, but failed to secure a majority in the country’s unicameral Legislative Assembly. [See 2006, p. 244B3] The FMLN secured 35 seats in the 84seat legislature, a gain of three seats from elections in 2006. Although Arena candidates won only 32 seats, the 11 seats secured by its ally, the National Conciliation Party (PCN), allowed the two parties’ coalition to maintain a slim majority in the legislature. Two smaller parties shared the remaining six seats. However, FMLN candidates won control of 96 of the country’s 262 mayoralities, a significant gain for the party, while Arena secured 122 races. The FMLN’s Violeta Menjivar, the incumbent mayor of San Salvador, the capital, was defeated by Norman Quijano of Arena. The result was seen as a blow to the FMLN, which had controlled the mayorship of the capital for the past 12 years. However, the wider election results were seen as a positive sign for the chances of FLMN presidential candidate Mauricio Funes in the upcoming presidential election, set for March 15. The FMLN was formed out of several rebel movements in the late 1980s in opposition to the U.S.-backed military government then ruling the country. n

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Japan Capital Injections for Companies Considered.

Japan’s economy, trade and industry ministry Jan. 27 said it was considering purchases, backed with public funds, of stock in companies having difficulty raising needed financing amid the current worldwide FACTS ON FILE

credit crunch. Although there was ample precedent in Japan for public capital injections into financial institutions, officials said the ministry’s plan to back stock buys in nonfinancial companies would require new legislation. [See 2008, p. 980C2] The plan would reportedly be aimed particularly at aiding small and mediumsized companies. The program would be led by the state-owned Development Bank of Japan, with the anticipated participation of private banks. The government would set aside 1.5 trillion yen ($17 billion) to partially cover the banks’ potential losses on the investments. To be eligible for the funding, companies would need to submit a plan for improving their earnings within three years. The release of the proposal sparked a rally in Japanese stocks, sending the benchmark Nikkei 225 index up 4.9% Jan. 27. Stimulus Passes Parliament— Japan’s Diet (parliament) Jan. 27 passed a 4.8 trillion yen ($54 billion) supplementary budget to fund an economic stimulus package unveiled by the government in October 2008. The opposition Democratic Party of Japan had blocked the government’s proposal in the upper house of the Diet, which it controlled. The upper house approved instead its own budget, which excluded two trillion yen in cash payments to the public that were part of the government package. Critics cited opinion polls showing that most Japanese thought the funds would be better spent in other ways, such as to help job creation and expand unemployment benefits. [See 2008, p. 855E2] However, in the case of a stalemate between the two chambers of parliament, the lower house, controlled by the governing coalition, prevailed, making for the budget’s passage. It was the second supplementary budget passed for the 2008 fiscal year, which would end March 31. [See 2008, p. 783A1] Prime Minister Taro Aso in a speech to parliament Jan. 28 pledged to pursue a speedy recovery with policies that would create 1.6 million new jobs and encourage workers to enter growing sectors. He also said the government would prepare to implement an increase in the 5% consumption tax in the 2011 fiscal year, so long as the economy had recovered by that time. Worsening Outlook Cited—Japanese government agencies in a series of January reports expressed a deteriorating outlook for Japan’s economy. In its monthly report, the Cabinet Office Jan. 20 said the economy was “worsening rapidly,” and the Bank of Japan, the central bank, two days later said it was likely to contract in both of the forthcoming fiscal years. The finance ministry Jan. 21 said Japan’s exports had fallen by 35% in December from a year earlier, the biggest monthly drop since it started keeping comparable statistics in 1980. n Founder’s Grandson to Lead Toyota. Toyota Motor Corp. of Japan Jan. 20 said Akio Toyoda, a grandson of company founder Kiichiro Toyoda, would become the comJanuary 29, 2009

pany’s new president in June, succeeding Katsuaki Watanabe. The departure of Watanabe, who had been president since 2005, had been expected since Toyota announced in December that it would post its first operating loss in 70 years for the fiscal year ending March 31. [See 2008, p. 980F2; 2005, p. 979E3] Toyoda, 52, became the first member of the company’s founding family to serve as president since his uncle, Tatsuro Toyoda, who had left the post in 1995. Watanabe would become vice chairman. Toyota earlier Jan. 20 said its worldwide sales had fallen by 4%, to 8.97 million vehicles, in 2008, its first annual sales decline in 10 years. Nevertheless, Toyota for the first time exceeded General Motors Corp. (GM) of the U.S. in yearly sales; GM Jan. 21 said it had sold 8.35 million in 2008. [See p. 48D1; 2007, p. 299D3] The Japan Automobile Dealers’ Association Jan. 5 reported that domestic car sales had fallen 6.5% in 2008, to 3.212 million. Toyota and other Japanese carmakers had announced production cuts in response to the slump. n

main engine of its economy. [See 2008, pp. 981C2, 840F1] Lee also replaced Unification Minister Kim Ha Joong with Hyun In Taek. The unification ministry handled relations with North Korea, which had responded with increasing belligerence to the hard-line policy maintained by Lee since he took office in February 2008. Hyun was closely identified with Lee’s approach to North Korea. [See p. 36A1; 2008, p. 887F1]

North Korea

Ruling Coalition Gains Seats in By-Elections.

Election Scheduled, Ministers Replaced.

North Korea Jan. 7 announced that elections would be held for the Supreme People’s Assembly, the country’s nominal parliament, March 8. Under North Korea’s political system, the elections would be a formality, since only a single candidate, approved by the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, would run for each seat in the legislature, which gave formal approval to decisions made by the party and supreme leader Kim Jong Il. [See 2008, p. 981A1; 1998, p. 638B2] Elections had been due to be held in 2008 in accordance with the five-year parliamentary term. (The previous elections had been held in August 2003.) Some foreign analysts suggested that the delay was due to a stroke that Kim was reported to have had in the fall of 2008. South Korea’s unification ministry Jan. 6 had said that at least five North Korean cabinet ministers with economy-related portfolios had been replaced. North Korea’s highly isolated, rigidly controlled economy had long been weak, and had been further hurt by a reduction in economic aid from South Korea. [See p. 51A3] n

South Korea Finance Minister Replaced in Shuffle.

South Korean President Lee Myung Bak Jan. 19 shuffled his cabinet, replacing Kang Man Soo as finance minister with Yoon Jeung Hyun, a former chairman of the Financial Services Commission, the national financial regulatory agency. The current commission chairman and Lee’s top economic adviser were also replaced, in a move to revamp the government’s response to a global economic downturn that had sent South Korea’s currency, the won, plunging and sharply slowed exports, a

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Parliament Siege Over Trade Pact Ends—

Opposition lawmakers Jan. 6 ended a 12day sit-in at the National Assembly (parliament) they had conducted to physically prevent the consideration of a bilateral free trade agreement that the government had signed with the U.S. The siege was ended after the ruling Grand National Party agreed that the pact would not be taken up by parliament until after the Jan. 20 inauguration of the new U.S. president, Barack Obama, who had indicated he wished to see parts of the deal renegotiated. [See 2008, p. 981A2] n

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Thailand Thailand’s ruling coalition, led by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s Democrat Party, Jan. 11 won 20 of 29 contested parliamentary seats in by-elections across Thailand, according to preliminary results released by Thailand’s Election Commission. All the contested seats had previously been held by members of the rival People Power Party (PPP) and its allies before a December 2007 ruling by the country’s Constitutional Court disbanded the PPP. [See 2008, p. 981A3] The by-elections increased the ruling coalition’s strength in the 480-seat parliament to 255 seats, from 235. Under Thai law, the 30 members of parliament who served in Abhisit’s cabinet were not eligible to participate in any no-confidence votes brought by opposition parties, leaving the government vulnerable because of its slim majority. Analysts said that the strong showing by the Democrat Party and its allies pointed to the declining influence of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a political rival. Thailand had been wracked by political instability since a 2006 military coup that removed Thaksin from power. n Refugees Abandoned at Sea by Military.

Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post newspaper reported Jan. 12 that the Thai military had begun a policy of capturing seaborne refugees, detaining them off the coast of Thailand and then abandoning them at sea in vessels that lacked sails or motors. As many as 1,000 refugees had reportedly been abandoned as part of the policy and more than 500 were believed to be missing or dead. [See 2001, p. 176A1] The refugees were members of Myanmar’s oppressed Rohingya ethnic group and had been traveling from Bangladesh, which had a large Rohingya refugee population, in order to seek employment in Southeast Asia. The Rohingya were pre51

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dominantly Muslim, and analysts suggested that the decision to expel the refugees could have been motivated by concerns that some might join an Islamic insurgency based in southern Thailand. More Than 500 Missing— According to media reports, the Thai military on Dec. 18, 2008, forced about 408 refugees onto a boat that lacked sails or motors before towing the boat out to international waters. The military had reportedly killed at least four refugees in order to convince the remaining refugees to board the boat. The passengers were given only two barrels of water and four bags of rice and had drifted for 10 days before being discovered near India’s Andaman Islands Dec. 28. A total of 98 refugees were on the boat when it was found; more than 300 refugees had reportedly attempted to swim to shore after sighting land, but a search turned up only nine additional survivors. The military Dec. 30 reportedly set a second group of about 590 refugees adrift in four boats without sails or motors. Indonesia’s Jakarta Post reported Jan. 14 that one boat carrying 193 refugees had been discovered by fishermen off the coast of Indonesia’s Aceh territory; the refugees were currently being held at an Indonesian naval base. A second vessel carrying about 150 refugees was also found, but the two remaining boats, which had carried a combined 237 people, were still unaccounted for. Thai Government Denies Allegations—

Lt. Col. Tara Soranarak, a representative of the Thai military, Jan. 16 told reporters that the military did not “push them [the refugees] back to the sea.” Tara also said that the country had an established “procedure to deport back the migrants to their home country after processing them through the Thai legal system.” Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva Jan. 20 said that the allegations of abuse and abandonment against the military were untrue, and stated, “Let’s be clear that Thailand has not violated the human rights of the refugees.” The South China Morning Post Jan. 15 had published photographs taken by an Australian tourist in Thailand that showed Thai soldiers publicly whipping detained refugees. Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya Jan. 29 said that the division of the military that had been linked with the alleged abuses was investigating the allegations but promised that “if the military investigation is not satisfactory, we’ll set up another group to do it.” He also described Thailand’s government as “very transparent” and told critics, “Don’t doubt before the investigation is complete.” The British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) reported Jan. 29 on its Web site that the United Nations was calling for Thailand to launch a full investigation into the claims, rather than leaving the investigation in the hands of the military. The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) Jan. 20 called on the Thai military to grant it access to 80 refugees who were being detained on Thailand’s Koh Sai Deng island, as well as another 46 refugees whose ship had been 52

seized. U.N. officials Jan. 29 were allowed to meet with 12 of the refugees, all between the ages of 14 and 17, but were blocked from interviewing any of the adult refugees. Media sources reported that 66 of the refugees currently held by the Thai government Jan. 28 had been convicted of illegally entering Thailand, and received sentences of five days imprisonment. n

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Bulgaria Antigovernment Riot Breaks Out in Capital.

Police Jan. 14 arrested some 150 people after an antigovernment protest in Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital, turned into a riot. About 2,000 people had gathered outside the parliament building to call for the resignation of the socialist-led government, which was widely viewed as corrupt and ineffective. Dozens of people were reportedly injured in the melee, including 14 police officers. Police claimed that some of the protesters, who included students, farmers and environmental activists, had carried homemade explosives. About 2,000 demonstrators gathered outside parliament the following day, but no violence was reported. [See p. 37B3; 2008, p. 910C1] The protest’s organizers Jan. 14 said, “We are fed up with living in the poorest and most corrupt country” in the European Union. Reuters news service the same day reported that Bulgarian opinion polls showed that about 70% of citizens thought Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev’s government should resign. Bulgaria was slated to hold parliamentary elections in June. The riot came amid a gas shortage that had left thousands without heat. The shortage was caused by a dispute between Russia and Ukraine over Russia’s use of Ukraine’s gas pipelines to ship gas to Europe. [See p. 37D1] n

Great Britain Government Sets Aid for Carmakers.

The British government Jan. 27 said it would provide about £2.3 billion ($3.2 billion) in aid for the nation’s auto industry to help it survive the current recession. Business Secretary Peter Mandelson told the House of Commons, the lower chamber of Parliament, that the government was offering carmakers and parts suppliers access to £1.3 billion in loan guarantees from the European Investment Bank, an arm of the European Union, and £1 billion in loans from the British Treasury. [See p. 36E1; 2008, p. 933A1] Mandelson said the auto industry was “in the front line of the downturn, with output falling faster and further than any other sector.” However, he insisted that the state aid was “no bailout.” He said the loans were intended to make the industry “greener, innovative and more productive” by financing job training and cleaner engine technologies. The auto industry in Britain, mostly foreign-owned, employed some 800,000

workers and produced about 10% of the nation’s exports. In December 2008, the U.S. government had pledged $17.4 billion in emergency aid to General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC. France and Germany had responded with more modest measures to assist their auto industries. Britain’s initiative came days after the government announced a new rescue plan for the nation’s banks. n Economic Contraction Reported. Government data released Jan. 23 showed that the British economy had contracted by 1.5% in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared with the previous quarter, or by 1.8% from a year earlier. That followed a 0.6% contraction in the third quarter, compared with the previous quarter. It was the first time since 1991 that British gross domestic product had contracted for two quarters in a row, which was a common criterion for a recession. [See pp. 52E2, 36E1] For all of 2008, GDP grew at a rate of 0.7%, the slowest since 1992. The British pound fell against the U.S. dollar in international exchange markets following the GDP report, continuing a recent decline. The pound closed at $1.38 that day, down nine cents for the week, at its lowest level since 1986. The government Jan. 21 had reported that the number of unemployed Britons rose to 1.92 million at the end of November 2008, the highest level since 1997. n

Iceland Government Collapses in Financial Crisis.

Icelandic Prime Minister Geir Haarde and his cabinet Jan. 26 resigned under pressure from growing public protests over the collapse of the nation’s economy amid the global financial crisis. The fall of the government ended a nearly 18-year period in which Haarde’s Independence Party had been in government, promoting free-market policies and presiding over a booming economy that made Iceland one of the world’s richest nations until the recent implosion of its banking sector. Haarde had become prime minister in 2006. [See p. 53C1; 2008, p. 873D3; 2006, p. 476F1] In October 2008, the government had been forced to nationalize the country’s biggest banks to save them from bankruptcy, and suspended trading in the currency, the krona, after it plunged in value in international exchange markets. Iceland subsequently received $6 billion in emergency loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and neighboring Nordic countries. The economy was projected to contract by nearly 10% in 2009, while unemployment and inflation were rising sharply. Since October, antigovernment demonstrations had been held outside the parliament building in Reykjavik, the capital. Protesters Jan. 21 surrounded Haarde’s car and pelted it with eggs and paint. The protests turned violent the next day, as police used tear gas against demonstrators for the first time in 60 years. FACTS ON FILE

Haarde Jan. 23 had announced that he was calling elections for May 9, two years early, and planned to step down as the leader of the Independence Party, which had governed in a coalition with the left-leaning Social Democratic Alliance. Haarde, 57, also said he had been diagnosed with a malignant tumor in his esophagus. President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson Jan. 27 asked Foreign Minister Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir, leader of the Social Democrats, to form a new government that would hold office until the May elections. Gisladottir was expected to form a coalition with the anti-capitalist, environmentalist LeftGreen Party, the third-largest party in parliament. However, she had said Jan. 26 that she did not want to become prime minister because she had just undergone treatment for brain cancer. n

Other European News Greece, Spain, Portugal Credit Downgraded.

Credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Jan. 14 downgraded Greece’s sovereign credit rating from A to A-minus, making it the first large Western European country to suffer such a downgrade since the current global financial crisis began. S&P delivered subsequent downgrades to Spain, whose rating was cut Jan. 19 to AA-plus, from the highest rating of AAA, and Portugal, which dropped Jan. 21 to AA-minus. S&P had also put Ireland on credit watch Jan. 9, meaning that it was at risk of a downgrade as well. [See pp. 52D2, 23E1] The downgrades came as European governments, faced with shrinking tax revenues, were boosting borrowing and adding to their budget deficits, in order to finance stimulus plans designed to help their economies weather the downturn. Those trends had led to a sharp widening of the spreads between the yields for 10-year government bonds issued by so-called peripheral European nations, such as Spain, Portugal and Greece, and benchmark German bonds, which investors viewed as more trustworthy. Spain became the first country with AAA-rated debt to be downgraded by S&P since Japan in 2001. Spain’s economy had enjoyed rapid growth over the previous 14 years, driven by a booming housing market. But the economy had entered a recession in the second half of 2008. Spain Jan. 23 reported that its unemployment rate had risen to 13.9% in December 2008, an eight-year record. That was the highest jobless rate in the eurozone, which comprised the 16 European countries that used the common euro currency. (Slovakia had joined the eurozone on Jan. 1, becoming the newest member.) The credit downgrades made it more expensive to insure sovereign debt against default, increasing borrowing costs for governments at the same time as they sought to finance more spending to stimulate their economies. European Central Bank (ECB) President Jean-Claude Trichet Jan. 21 dismissed as “unfounded” speculation that some memJanuary 29, 2009

bers might begin to drop out of the eurozone in order to regain the ability to set their own interest rates or devalue their currencies to ease the pressure on their economies. The ECB controlled monetary policy for the eurozone as a whole. n

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Iraq Government to Eject U.S. Security Firm.

The Iraqi government had told the U.S. that it would not give a new operating license to U.S. private security contractor Blackwater USA, which had been involved in several controversial shooting incidents in Iraq, the Washington Post reported Jan. 29. Moyock, N.C.–based Blackwater was the largest provider of security for U.S. State Department officials in Iraq. The interior ministry had informed the U.S. of its decision on Jan. 23, according to the Post. [See pp. 38A1, 9A1] Iraq had revoked Blackwater’s license after guards employed by the firm killed 17 Iraqi civilians in a September 2007 incident in Baghdad, the Iraqi capital. However, Blackwater continued operating in Iraq, and the U.S. State Department renewed its contract. (The U.S. in December 2008 brought criminal charges against five guards in the incident.) Iraqi Interior Ministry Spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf Jan. 29 said Blackwater would not be issued a new license because it “acted inappropriately,” and alluded to the Baghdad shooting. Foreign security contractors had previously enjoyed immunity from Iraqi prosecution under a 2004 order from the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), which the U.S.-led coalition had installed to govern Iraq after its invasion in March 2003. However, Iraq had negotiated an end to the immunity in a new agreement that governed U.S-Iraqi relations, which took effect Jan. 1. Khalaf said that as soon as a joint U.S.– Iraqi committee finished creating guidelines for security contractors under the agreement, such companies “will be under the authority of the Iraqi government, and those companies that don’t have licenses, such as Blackwater, should leave Iraq immediately.” State Department spokesman Noel Clay said the U.S. would obey Iraqi law regarding Blackwater. A spokeswoman for Blackwater said she had not heard of the decision. Unnamed U.S. officials Jan. 29 said the U.S. had asked the two other large companies that provided security for the State Department to submit new contract proposals to take over Blackwater’s security responsibilities in Iraq. The two other companies were Herndon, Va.–based Triple Canopy Inc. and DynCorp International Inc., which was based in Falls Church, Va. Sunni Election Candidates Slain— Gunmen Jan. 29 assassinated three Sunni Muslim candidates who were running in provincial council elections scheduled for Jan. 31. The killings brought the total number of candidates slain since late December 2008 to six.

Gunmen shot and killed Omar Farouk al-Ani, of the predominantly Sunni Muslim Iraqi Islamic Party, in his home in the western Amiriyah neighborhood of Baghdad. Assassins killed Hazim Salim Ahmed, a candidate of the National Unity List, as he was leaving his house in the northern city of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province. He was a close friend of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who earlier in the day had visited Mosul. In Mandali—a town in Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad—Abbas Farhan al-Azzawi, a candidate of the secular National Movement of Reform and Development, and two of his aides were shot and killed after a campaign rally. In other violence, gunmen Jan. 23 reportedly killed eight people—at least six of them members of the same family—in the Diyala town of Balad Ruz. An Iraqi police official said some of the women killed might have been prostitutes. The same day, Iraqi interior ministry security forces arrested an alleged leader of an Iranian-backed Shiite Muslim militia in Wasit province, southeast of Baghdad, and turned him over to U.S. custody. The alleged leader, Mohammed al-Zameli, was accused of carrying out numerous attacks on Iraqi civilians and security forces. U.S. soldiers early Jan. 24 raided a house in Hawija, west of the northern city of Kirkuk, and fatally shot an Iraqi couple, U.S. and Iraqi officials said. The U.S. military said the soldiers—who were searching the house for members of the Sunni insurgent group Al Qaeda in Iraq—shot the woman when she reached under a mattress for a pistol and refused to show her hands, and then killed her husband when he attacked them. However, Iraqi neighbors of the couple said they had been shot without provocation. They also said the soldiers might have been U.S. special forces. Also, two U.S. helicopters early Jan. 26 crashed south of Kirkuk, killing four U.S. soldiers. It was unclear what had caused the crashes or whether the two helicopters had collided, although U.S. military officials said they had not been downed by enemy fire. However, a Sunni insurgent group known as the Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order or the Naqshbandi Army circulated leaflets claiming that it had shot down the helicopters with rockets. The crashes caused the largest U.S. loss of life in a single incident since a September 2008 helicopter crash killed seven soldiers. Other News—In other news: o Tens of thousands of Iraqis Jan. 28 voted early in provincial elections, which were scheduled for Jan. 31. Early voting was allowed for certain groups, including soldiers and police who would be providing security for the election, and some refugees. There were scattered reports of violence, including a bombing that killed a policeman in Mosul, and the killing of two other police officers by gunmen in Tuz Khurmatu, south of Kirkuk. (Elections were not scheduled to take place on Jan. 31 in Kirkuk province, due to disputes over 53

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the control of Kirkuk city by its various sectarian groups.) o Iraqi government spokesman Ali alDabbagh Jan. 26 released a statement saying that the government the previous day had reduced the fiscal 2009 budget for a second time, due to falling oil prices. Iraq derived most of its government revenue from oil exports. The latest reduction brought the budget to $62 billion, from $67 billion; the original budget of $80 billion had first been cut in November 2008. The new budget, which would be considered by parliament in February, assumed oil exports of two million barrels a day and a price of $50 a barrel. Crude oil prices Jan. 26 closed at $45.73 a barrel. o U.S. Gen. James Conway, the Marine Corps commandant, Jan. 23 said he thought all 22,000 marines stationed in Iraq should be withdrawn later in 2009, and that 20,000 should be redeployed to Afghanistan, where the U.S. military was planning to bolster its forces to counter a growing insurgency. [See 2008, p. 734A1] n

SOUTH ASIA

Afghanistan Presidential Election Delayed Until August.

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Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission Jan. 29 announced that the country’s presidential election would be postponed to Aug. 20, largely due to instability stemming from an insurgency waged by the Taliban Islamic fundamentalist group. Political opponents of President Hamid Karzai said the decision violated Afghanistan’s constitution, which called for an election 30 to 60 days before the end of a presidential term. Karzai’s term was due to end May 22. [See 2008, p. 988E2] Azizullah Lodin, the head of the commission, said that of Afghanistan’s 364 districts, 84 were not secure enough to conduct an election. Lodin said the commission was counting on an expected increase of U.S. troops in Afghanistan to provide greater stability in the coming months. There were currently about 70,000 U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces fighting the Taliban insurgency, and the U.S. was expected to deploy as many as 30,000 additional troops over the next 12 to 18 months. Lodin said other factors had led to the vote’s delay, including heavy winter snowfall, which had prevented the government from registering voters in mountainous areas. The commission was also reportedly well short of the estimated $223 million needed to fund the vote. In delaying the vote, the commission also postponed elections for provincial councils. Humayun Hamidzada, a spokesman for Karzai, Jan. 29 said elections without the participation of the unstable provinces would be “illegitimate.” Adrian Edwards, a spokesman for the United Nations, said the delay was a “pragmatic necessity.” But opposition lawmakers claimed that Karzai could not continue as president after May 22. Some called on the U.N. and the 54

Western military coalition to help establish a caretaker government that would rule in the transition period. Lodin argued that the country’s electoral laws allowed delays if the legitimacy of the elections was threatened, and that Karzai could remain president until a vote was held. Karzai had won a five-year term in Afghanistan’s first presidential election in 2004, and had previously led an interim government established after a U.S.-led force toppled the Taliban regime in 2001. However, during his tenure the Taliban’s insurgency had gained ground, leading to record levels of violence in 2008. Karzai had made clear his intention to run for reelection, and analysts said the current crop of announced candidates did not offer a serious challenge to his bid. Gates Calls for ‘Realistic’ Goals— U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in testimony to the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, Jan. 27 said Afghanistan was the U.S.’s “greatest military challenge,” but that U.S. goals in the conflict should be “modest” and “realistic.” Gates’s testimony on Afghanistan before the Senate—and a separate appearance before the House Armed Services Committee the previous day— were his first since new U.S. President Barack Obama took office a week earlier. The goals of the Obama administration were less lofty than those of former U.S. President George W. Bush, who had emphasized the importance of nourishing the country’s fledgling democracy. Gates, who had also served as defense secretary under Bush, Jan. 27 said, “Our primary goal is to prevent Afghanistan from being used as a base for terrorists and extremists to attack the United States and our allies.” Gates’s comments came as the Obama administration was revamping the U.S.’s strategy in Afghanistan. Obama had previously described Afghanistan as “the central front” in the U.S.’s fight against terrorist threats, and had pledged to devote greater military and diplomatic resources to the country than his predecessor. In addition to the U.S. troop increase, the Obama administration reportedly planned to take a more regional approach to the conflict by securing the involvement of Afghanistan’s neighbors, such as Pakistan and India. Obama was reportedly considering increased engagement with Iran, Afghanistan’s western neighbor, which the Bush administration had considered part of an “axis of evil.” The idea had received tentative support from Western military officials, including NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Gen. David Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command. It was also reported that Obama planned to take a tougher stance than Bush on Karzai’s government, which was rife with corruption and had little or no control over wide swaths of the country. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton during her Senate confirmation hearing had described the government as “plagued by limited capacity and widespread corruption,” and called it a “narco-state,” in reference to the country’s thriving opium trade. [See p. 29F2; 2008, p. 777E2]

Obama officials said there would be a greater focus on economic and social development. Gates in his Jan. 27 testimony said he wanted the U.S.’s NATO allies to “provide more civilian support.” The U.S. had long pushed its European allies in NATO to deploy more troops to the region, but the Afghan conflict was politically unpopular in much of Europe. British Defense Secretary John Hutton Jan. 15 had criticized European countries for “freeloading on the back of U.S. military security.” Other Developments—In other developments in Afghanistan: o Karzai Jan. 25 condemned a U.S. raid the previous day in the eastern province of Laghman, which he said had killed 16 civilians. Hundreds of villagers in Laghman Jan. 25 protested the alleged killings. The U.S. military claimed that 15 Taliban insurgents had been killed in the raid. Rising civilian casualties had caused a large public backlash against both the U.S. and Karzai’s government. [See 2008, p. 989D1] o A suicide bomber Jan. 17 killed a U.S. soldier and at least two Afghan civilians, and wounded about 20 others when he detonated his charge on a road between the German embassy and a U.S. military base in Kabul, the Afghan capital. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. Also that day, a helicopter crash in eastern Afghanistan, near the Pakistani border, led to the death of one U.S. soldier. o A roadside bomb Jan. 9 killed three U.S. soldiers in the southern province of Zabul. Also that day, a suicide bomber killed at least six Afghans in the southwestern province of Nimruz. The previous day, a suicide bomber had killed two U.S. soldiers and three Afghans in the southern province of Kandahar. o Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Karzai Jan. 6 pledged to develop a “joint comprehensive strategy for combating terrorism,” in Zardari’s first visit to Afgahnistan. The agreement was seen as a positive development in relations between the two countries, since they had long accused each other of failing to rein in Islamic extremists and contributing to greater insecurity in the region. Zardari said he wanted to convey that the two countries “will stand shoulder to shoulder” in the fight against terrorists. [See p. 38A3] n

India Technology Company Chief Admits Fraud.

B. Ramalinga Raju, chairman and founder of technology company Satyam Computer Services Ltd., Jan. 7 resigned from his position after admitting that he had overstated the company’s profits, and that its reported cash balance of $1.1 billion was largely nonexistent. The revelation sparked concerns that other Indian companies had falsified their records, and that government regulation had failed to keep pace with India’s fast-growing economy. [See 2008, p. 911C3; 2005, p. 653F3] Raju, 54, had founded Satyam in 1987, and had overseen its growth into the FACTS ON FILE

fourth-largest technology company in India, with 53,000 employees and dozens of offices around the world. Satyam was one of several Indian companies to perform outsourced technology work and customer service for Western companies, an industry that had flourished since 2000. Satyam’s clients included some of the largest companies in the world, including Switzerland’s Nestle SA and the U.S.’s General Electric Co. However, India’s outsourcing industry hit a rut in 2008, as a global economic downturn forced Western companies to cut back on a wide variety of costs. Analysts said it was possible that the fall in Western revenue led to the unraveling of Raju’s scheme. They also said the fraud, one of the largest in India’s corporate history, could scare off Western investments in other Indian industries. In a letter to Satyam’s board of directors, Raju said Satyam had $66 million in cash, a stark reduction from the reported amount of $1.1 billion. Raju also said the company had actually made a $12.5 million profit for the quarter ending Sept. 30, 2008, not the $136 million it had reported. Raju said he began overstating profits years ago, and that the difference between actual and reported profits eventually reached “unmanageable proportions.” He said, “Every attempt to eliminate the gap failed,” and that he felt as if he had been “riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten.” Raju also disclosed that in the past two years he had secured $250 million in unreported loans by using Satyam shares as collateral. He said the loans were needed to run the company’s operations and that he had provided “all kinds of assurances” in order to obtain them. Raju also said a thwarted deal to purchase two construction companies from his sons in December 2008 had been an attempt to replace Satyam’s “fictitious assets with real ones.” Raju said no directors on the board had participated in the fraud, and that he had not made a personal profit from it. C.B. Bhave, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the country’s financial markets regulator, Jan. 7 said the scheme was of a “horrifying magnitude,” and that an investigation would be conducted. India’s Bombay Sensex index that day fell 7.2%, and Satyam’s share price fell 78%. Police in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, where Satyam was headquartered, Jan. 9 arrested Raju and his brother, Rama Raju, Satyam’s managing director. Satyam’s chief financial officer, Vadlamani Srinivas, was arrested Jan. 11. The federal government Jan. 9 had dissolved Satyam’s board of directors, and later installed a new board, amidst concerns that a Satyam collapse could cause losses for companies worldwide that did business with Satyam. Investigators were also expected to focus on U.S. accounting company PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, whose Indian unit since 2000 had approved Satyam’s accounting records for regulators in the U.S., Europe and India. n January 29, 2009

SPORTS

UNITED STATES

Football P. Manning Wins Third NFL MVP Award.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning Jan. 2 was voted the most valuable player (MVP) of the 2008 National Football League (NFL) regular season in balloting by 50 football writers and broadcasters conducted by the Associated Press (AP). It was the third time Manning garnered league MVP honors; he had also won for the 2004 season, and shared the award with Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair for the 2003 season. The only other player to win three NFL MVP awards was quarterback Brett Favre. [See 2008, p. 43E3; 2005, p. 23F2; 1997, p. 1011B2] Manning in the 2008 season completed 371 of 555 passes for 4,002 yards and 27 touchdowns, and had a passer rating of 95.0. In the MVP voting, he earned 32 votes. Miami Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington and Atlanta Falcons running back Michael Turner tied for second, with four votes each. (Pennington—who had led the Dolphins to the playoffs after being traded by the New York Jets to make way for their new quarterback, Favre—Dec. 31, 2008, had won the AP comeback player of the year award for the second time in three years.) [See 2008, pp. 991A2, 667C3] Other Awards—In other awards for the 2008 NFL season: o New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees Jan. 6 was named the offensive player of the year. Brees had passed for 5,069 yards in the 2008 season, the second-most of all time after Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino’s 5,084 passing yards in 1984. [See 2008, p. 991D2; 1984, p. 993B2] o Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison, who had a career-high 16 sacks and seven forced fumbles in 2008, Jan. 5 won the defensive player of the year award. [See 2008, p. 991D2] o Mike Smith of the Falcons Jan. 4 was named coach of the year. Smith led his team to a record of 11 wins and five losses in 2008, after the team had posted a 4–12 record in 2007 and lost star quarterback Michael Vick, who was jailed for running a dogfighting ring. [See 2008, pp. 992C2, 115F1] o New England Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo, who led the team in tackles in 2008, won the defensive rookie of the year award on Dec. 31, 2008. Other News—In other NFL news: o The Kansas City Chiefs Jan. 23 fired head coach Herman Edwards. [See 2006, p. 58A3] o New York City–based real estate developer Stephen Ross Jan. 20 completed a deal to become majority owner of the Dolphins. Ross paid Wayne Huizenga $1 billion for 95% of the team; Huizenga, who had owned the Dolphins since 1994, retained 5%. [See 2008, p. 155G1] o The Jets Jan. 19 hired Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan as

their new head coach, replacing Eric Mangini, who had been fired in December 2008. The Cleveland Browns Jan. 7 had named Mangini their new head coach; he succeeded Romeo Crennel, who was also fired in December. [See 2008, p. 992G1] o The St. Louis Rams Jan. 17 said New York Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo would become their new head coach. He replaced Jim Haslett, who had taken over as interim head coach in September 2008. [See 2008, p. 992A2] o The Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jan. 16 fired coach Jon Gruden and general manager Bruce Allen, after the team went 9–7 in 2008 and missed the playoffs. Tampa Bay the next day promoted Raheem Morris, an assistant, to replace Gruden, and named Mark Dominik general manager. [See 2002, p. 307G3] o The Detroit Lions—who had posted an all-time NFL worst 0–16 record in 2008—Jan. 15 reached an agreement with Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz to become their new head coach. The Lions had fired coach Rob Marinelli at the end of the 2008 season. [See 2008, p. 991C1] o The Kansas City Chiefs Jan. 13 named Scott Pioli as their new general manager, replacing Carl Peterson. Pioli had previously been the Patriots’ vice president for player personnel, where he helped put together three Super Bowl–winning teams. o Colts coach Tony Dungy Jan. 12 announced his retirement. Dungy, 53, in February 2007 had become the first African American coach to win the Super Bowl. In 13 seasons as coach of first the Buccaneers and then the Colts, he compiled a regularseason record of 139–69. Associate head coach Jim Caldwell replaced Dungy; he had been designated as Dungy’s successor in 2008. [See 2008, p. 115F1] o The Denver Broncos Jan. 12 hired Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as their new head coach. He succeeded Mike Shanahan, who had been fired in December 2008 after 14 seasons with the team. [See 2008, p. 992F1] o The Dallas Cowboys Jan. 7 announced that they had released cornerback and kick returner Adam Jones. In August 2008, the NFL had reinstated Jones after a 17-month suspension for off-field incidents that had led to multiple arrests. However, Jones had been suspended again by the league for six games after an altercation with a Cowboys bodyguard in October 2008. [See 2008, p. 667G3] n

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Awards ALA Announces Children’s Book Prizes. The American Library Association (ALA)

Jan. 26 at its midwinter meeting in Denver, Colo., announced the winners of the John Newbery Medal and the Randolph Caldecott Medal, the most prestigious honors for children’s literature in the U.S. [See 2008, p. 79E2] 55

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Conservative commentator William Kristol Jan. 26 ended his run as a weekly opinion columnist for the New York Times with a column that appeared in that day’s edition of the newspaper. The Times, which had given Kristol a one-year contract in December 2007, did not explain why the contract was not renewed. Kristol, 56, would resume writing a monthly column for the Washington Post, the Post announced Jan. 27. [See 2008, p. 44F2] Competing as Miss Indiana, Katie Stam, a 22-year-old communications major at the University of Indianapolis, Jan. 24 was crowned the winner of the 88th Miss America pageant at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nev. Stam was the first Miss Indiana ever to win the contest. [See 2008, p. 96D3] n

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CALISHER, Hortense, 97, writer of complex, elusive works of fiction who published her last novel, Sunday Jews, in 2002, when she was in her 90s; many of her short stories first appeared in the New Yorker magazine and were later anthologized; born Dec. 20, 1911, in New York City, the setting for much of her work; died there Jan. 13. [See 1972, p. 1011D1, D2; 1969, p. 781D2; Indexes 1966–67, 1962–63] CROW, Trammell, 94, Dallas, Texas–based real estate developer whose Trammell Crow Co. was thought to be the largest such business in the U.S. in the mid-1980s; his major U.S. projects included the Dallas Market Center, the Peachtree Center in Atlanta, Ga., and the Embarcadero Center in San Francisco, Calif.; his company went public in 1997; born June 10, 1914, in Dallas; died Jan. 14 at his farm near Tyler, Texas. [See 1997, p. 322C3; 1988, p. 777C2] FREEMAN, Betty (born Betty Wishnick), 87, Southern California–based philanthropist who, beginning in 1961, gave well over 400 grants and commissions to composers of modern classical music, among them Americans John Cage and John Adams, Britain’s Harrison Birtwhistle, France’s Pierre Boulez and Finland’s Kaija Saariaho; some of the works composed with her aid ended up being dedicated to her, including Adams’s opera Nixon in China and Saariaho’s opera L’Amour de Loin; she was also an accomplished portrait photographer; born June 2, 1921, in Chicago; died

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Jan. 3 at her home in Beverly Hills, Calif., of pancreatic cancer. [See 2005, p. 768E2; 2002, p. 956D1–E1] KAPLICKY, Jan, 71, Czech-born architect, based in Britain since the late 1960s, who designed such eye-catching, futuristic structures as the Lord’s Media Centre at London’s Lord’s Cricket Ground (1999) and Selfridges & Co.’s department store in Birmingham, England (2003); his buildings were known for their undulating forms and use of unconventional materials; in 2007, he submitted the winning design in a contest for a new national library in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, but its octopus-like shape did not endear it to Czech politicians, who kept what would have been his first Czech project from being built; born April 18, 1937, in Prague; collapsed and died on a Prague street Jan. 14, of an apparent heart attack. LAGHI, Cardinal Pio, 86, career Vatican diplomat who in early March 2003 tried in vain to dissuade U.S. President George W. Bush from going to war against Iraq; in 1984, Laghi had overseen the establishment of formal diplomatic ties between the Vatican and the U.S., and had then served as the Vatican’s first papal nuncio to the U.S., until being recalled to Rome from Washington, D.C., in 1990, the year before Pope John Paul II made him a cardinal; born May 21, 1922, in Forli, Italy; died Jan. 10 at a Rome hospital, which had been treating him for a blood disorder. [See 2003, p. 159C2; 1997, p. 401F3; Indexes 1985, 1983, 1976] MORTIMER, Sir John (Clifford), 85, British barrister, novelist and playwright who created Horace Rumpole, the grumpy but cunning barrister played by Leo McKern in the television series “Rumpole of the Bailey,” carried on Thames Television from 1978 to 1992 and aired on public TV in the U.S.; he was also a memoirist and screenwriter; his first wife was novelist Penelope Mortimer, to whom he was married from 1949 to 1972; she died in 1999, a year after he was knighted; in 2004, he revealed that he had fathered a son in the 1960s with actress Wendy Craig; one of the children of his second marriage was actress Emily Mortimer; born April 21, 1923, in London; died Jan. 16 in Turville Heath, England, after years of ill health. [See 2008, p. 800C3; 2002, p. 588G2; 1999, p. 808G1; 1990, p. 8F3; Indexes 1965, 1963] NAESS, Arne Dekke Eide, 96, Norwegian philosopher who in the early 1970s founded the “deep ecology” movement, whose central principle was that humans were no more important than any other living things; he expounded his ideas in such books as Freedom, Emotion and Self-Subsistence (1975) and Life’s Philosophy: Reason and Feeling in a Deeper World (2002); born Jan. 27, 1912, in Slemdal, Norway, near Oslo; died Jan. 12 in Oslo. NEWMAN, David (Fathead), 75, jazz saxophonist and flutist; he came to the fore as a tenor saxophonist in bands led by rhythm and blues pioneer Ray Charles in the 1950s and early 1960s; he was also a jazz bandleader in his own right and a much-in-demand studio musician, who made noteworthy recordings with Aretha Franklin, Natalie Cole, Art Blakey and other artists; born Feb. 24, 1933, in Corsicana, Texas; died Jan. 20 at a hospital in Kingston, N.Y., of pancreatic cancer. [See 2004, p. 452D2] O’HORGAN, Tom, 84, stage director who helped invigorate New York City’s experimental theater scene in the early 1960s before going on to direct two landmark Broadway rock musicals, Hair (1968) and Jesus Christ Superstar (1971); born May 3, 1924, in Chicago; died Jan. 11 at his home in Venice, Fla., after battling Alzheimer’s disease. [See 1985, p. 1005G3; 1981, p. 844F2; Indexes 1975, 1970–72, 1968] PEARSON, James Blackwood, 88, Kansas Republican who served in the U.S. Senate from 1962 to 1979, including two full six-year terms (1967–79); deemed one of the Senate’s more liberal Republicans, he was a relatively early GOP opponent of the Vietnam War, turning against it after the 1970 bombing of Cambodia during the presidency of Richard Nixon; born May 7, 1920, in Nashville, Tenn.; died Jan. 13 at his home in Gloucester, Mass., after four years on kidney dialysis. [See 1978, pp. 854E2, 606F1, 177F2; 1976, p. 828F1; Indexes 1962–75] ROGERS, Lorene Lane, 94, biochemist who in 1974 was named interim president of the University of Texas at Austin; the next year, she became president, a post she held until 1979; she was thought to have been the first woman to lead a major U.S. research university; born April 3, 1914, in Prosper, Texas; died Jan. 11 at an assisted living center in Dallas, Texas, not long after breaking a leg in a fall. [See 1974, p. 836E1] TORRES, Jose (Luis), 72, Puerto Rican–born boxer who won the world light-heavyweight championship in 1965 and made three title defenses before losing a close decision to Nigeria’s Dick Tiger in

1966; after retiring from the ring in 1969, he became a newspaper columnist, writing in English for the New York Post and in Spanish for New York’s El Diario Spanish-language newspaper; he also coauthored a 1971 biography of boxer Muhammad Ali, Sting Like a Bee, and in 1989 published a biography of boxer Mike Tyson, Fire and Fear; from 1984 to 1988, he was the first former professional boxer and the first Hispanic to chair the New York State Athletic Commission, which regulated boxing statewide; born May 3, 1936, in Puerto Rico’s Ponce municipality; died Jan. 19 at his Ponce home, of a heart attack linked to diabetes. [See 1985, p. 880D2; 1968, p. 183A3; Indexes 1965–66] UPDIKE, John Hoyer, 76, prolific novelist, short story writer, essayist, literary critic and writer of light verse hailed for his seemingly effortless mastery of the English language; his books appealed to a wide range of readers, and many of them became best-sellers; he was long associated with the New Yorker magazine, as a staff member for several years in the 1950s, and as a major contributor of short stories, essays and reviews for the balance of his literary career; one of his major MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

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The Newbery Medal for the best children’s book published in the U.S. in 2008 went to Neil Gaiman for The Graveyard Book, a story about a boy raised by ghosts in a graveyard after his parents’ murder. Gaiman, 48, was a well-known writer of books for both children and adults, in a variety of genres including science fiction and graphic novel. Gaiman was Britishborn but was based in Minnesota, making him eligible for the Newbery award, which was only given to U.S. residents. [See 2005, p. 695A1] The Caldecott Medal for the top picture book for children went to Beth Krommes, for her mostly black-and-white illustrations for The House in the Night, a narrative poem written by Susan Marie Swanson. Krommes, 53, lived and worked in Peterborough, N.H. The Michael L. Printz Award, presented by the ALA for the best young-adult book (not necessarily written by a U.S. resident), went to Melina Marchetta for Jellicoe Road, a novel set in a boarding school. Marchetta was born in Sydney, Australia, in 1965, and still lived there. n

Author John Updike in 2004.

themes was middle-class, suburban adultery; he explored it in such novels as Couples (1968), The Witches of Eastwick (1984)—made into both a film and a theatrical musical—and his “Rabbit” tetralogy, which focused on Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom, a Pennsylvania man trying to recapture his youthful glory as a highschool basketball star; the series began with Rabbit, Run (1960), followed by Rabbit Redux (1971), Rabbit is Rich (1981) and Rabbit at Rest (1990); the last two of these both won the Pulitzer Prize, in 1982 and 1991, respectively; the last of his works to be published in his lifetime was The Widows of Eastwick, a sequel to The Witches of Eastwick; it appeared in October 2008; born March 8, 1932, in Reading, Pa.; died Jan. 27 at a hospice in Danvers, Mass., of lung cancer. [See 2007, p. 552E2; 2006, p. 540A1; Indexes 2003–04, 2000, 1998, 1991, 1987, 1984, 1982, 1979, 1968–72, 1962–66, 1960] Van BRUGGEN, Coosje, 66, Dutch-born art historian and art critic; she was perhaps best known for her collaborations with Swedish-born Pop artist Claes Oldenburg, her husband since 1977, on a number of large, witty public sculptures installed in various places around the world; the first of these was Flashlight (1981), installed at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas; their final collaboration, Tumbling Tacks, was due to be installed in May in a museum near Oslo, Norway; born June 6, 1942, in Groningen; died Jan. 10 at her home in Los Angeles, of metastasized breast cancer. [See 2002, p. 1072B2] VENKATARAMAN, Ramaswamy, 98, lawyer who decades after helping to draft India’s constitution— adopted in 1950, three years after India gained its independence from Britain—served as India’s eighth president, from 1987 to 1992; he held the largely ceremonial post during a politically turbulent time that required him to appoint prime ministers three times; before becoming president, he had held several key cabinet posts, including those of finance minister and defense minister; born Dec. 4, 1910, in Rajamadam, India; died Jan. 27 at a hospital in New Delhi. [See 1991, pp. 453A1, F2, 373E1, 163A2; 1990, p. 831E1– A2; Indexes 1987–89, 1981–84] n

January 29, 2009

Iraqi Provincial Elections Bring Wins for Maliki Allies Voting Largely Free of Violence. Iraqi vot-

ers Jan. 31 went to the polls to elect provincial councils, which controlled local finances and gave out jobs and contracts. Very little violence was reported that day, in contrast to years past, when elections had been marked by numerous attacks on voters and politicians. Preliminary results released Feb. 5 indicated that parties supporting a strong central government, led by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Islamic Dawa party, had won significant victories throughout the country. [See p. 53G2; 2005, p. 57A1] The elections took place in 14 of Iraq’s 18 provinces. They were not held in the three northern provinces of the autonomous Kurdistan region, and in northern Kirkuk province, where control of the oilrich city of Kirkuk was being contested by its various sectarian groups. The elections were the first for the provincial councils since 2005. Then, Sunni Muslim Arabs had mostly boycotted the polls, resulting in councils that were largely controlled by Shiite Muslims and Kurds. More than 14,000 candidates representing 400 political parties and groups competed for 440 provincial council seats in the elections. Security was extremely tight, and there were few reports of election-related violence. In one of the few incidents, Iraqi forces shot two people with cameras and video recorders who were attempting to enter a polling place in the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq’s capital. Turnout, estimated at 51%, was lower than expected. That was attributed in part to security measures—including vehicle bans to thwart car bombers and curfews—making it hard for voters to get to the polls, and also because many displaced Iraqis were still registered at their old polling places. Dawa Gains in Baghdad, South—Dawa candidates and allied politicians in its State of Law coalition reportedly won strong pluralities in Baghdad and in the southern province of Basra. Maliki’s government in 2008 had launched offensives against Shiite militias in both provinces. State of Law candidates narrowly won pluralities in seven other provinces in largely Shiite southern Iraq, which would likely require them to form coalitions with other parties in order to govern. Although Dawa was a religious party that had advocated imposing Islamic law, Maliki positioned himself as a secular nationalist who supported a strong central government. Other parties that had adopted a nationalist line also did well, including two—the Free List and the Integrity and Rebuild List—that were supported by the movement of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The gains those parties made in Baghdad and in the south were seen as showing that Sadr retained influence, although it was thought to have waned in the year since the Baghdad and Basra offensives. The Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI)—a Shiite religious party and major rival both of Dawa and of Sadr’s movement— lost ground in southern Iraq. Although it had

predicted that it would win in Najaf, Babil, Qadisiya and Dhi Qar provinces, it lost to Dawa in all four areas. Voters reportedly turned against the ISCI because of its reputed links to Iran, its goal of creating an autonomous Shiite state in southern Iraq and the perception that it was a sectarian party that had failed to deliver basic public services. The Iraqi electoral commission Feb. 3 said it was investigating charges that the Iraqi Islamic Party—a Sunni religious movement that currently dominated the Anbar provincial council—had committed fraud in the western province. Sunni tribesmen there said they should have received more votes, and threatened to respond with violence if they did not win the election. Many of the tribesmen were former insurgents who had joined Awakening Councils, which had started as U.S.-allied armed groups fighting against extremists but had developed into a political force. Voter turnout in Anbar Jan. 31 was among the lowest in Iraq, at 42%. However, in a surprise outcome, the Feb. 5 preliminary results showed a party led by Saleh al-Mutlaq, a secular Sunni nationalist, eking out a narrow victory, with the Awakening Councils and the Iraqi Islamic Party coming in second and third. In the northern province of Nineveh, a new Sunni nationalist party, Al Hadba, won 48.4% of the vote, according to the preliminary count, the largest percentage of votes achieved by any party nationwide. Al Hadba took control of the council from the minority Kurds, who had politically dominated mostly Sunni Nineveh since the Sunni boycott of the 2005 elections. There had been reports of violations of election rules, including armed Kurdish pesh merga militia members entering polling places with weapons. A Sunni coalition, the Iraqi Accordance Front (known in Arabic as Tawafiq), wrested the provincial council of Diyala, northeast of Baghdad, from Shiite control. Kurdish parties retained a significant minority on the council. There had been tension between all three groups in the ethnically mixed province. A suicide bomber Feb. 5 killed at least 14 people in the town of Khanaqin shortly before the preliminary election results were announced, in what Kurds said was a politically motivated attack. Female Suicide Bomber Recruiter Held—

The Iraqi military Feb. 3 showed reporters a video of a woman who confessed to recruiting female suicide bombers in Diyala province. The military said the woman, Samira Ahmed Jassim al-Azzawi, had been arrested Jan. 21. It said she was known by the code name “Umm al-Mu’mineen,” or “the mother of believers,” and was responsible for recruiting 80 women, who had carried out 28 bombings in Diyala and Baghdad. In the video, Azzawi said she had become a recruiter for Ansar al-Sunna—a Sunni insurgent group in Diyala that was affiliated with the insurgent group Al Qaeda in Iraq—and convinced women to carry out the bombings. She said she targeted women with psychological and emotional problems, including victims of abuse.

Facts On File

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World News Digest With Index ©2009 by Facts On File News Services An imprint of Infobase Publishing

Volume 69, No. 3555* February 5, 2009

B Some reports said insurgents would rape women, and then Azzawi would persuade the women that the only way to regain their honor was to become suicide bombers. Female suicide bombers had become an increasing security threat over the past two years. The U.S. military said there at been at least 32 suicide attacks by women throughout Iraq in 2008, compared with eight in 2007. Women could hide explosives under their full-length robes, known as abayas, and usually received less scrutiny at security checkpoints due to cultural sensitivities. However, Iraqi police were recruiting more women, who could search them more thoroughly. Hill Chosen as U.S. Ambassador— The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama had tapped Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Christopher Hill as the next U.S. ambassa-

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MAJOR STORIES IN THIS ISSUE Iraqi provincial elections bring wins for Maliki allies; voting largely free of violence. PAGE 57

Unpaid taxes sink nomination of Daschle as U.S. health and human services secretary.

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Obama nominates GOP Sen. Gregg as commerce secretary. PAGE 60

U.S. GDP shrank at 3.8% rate in fourth quarter. PAGE 61

Obama sets limits on executive pay at government-rescued financial institutions. PAGE 61

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Moderate Islamist named Somali interim president. PAGE 66

Zimbabwean opposition agrees to join government. PAGE 67

Colombian rebels free six more hostages. PAGE 67

Steelers defeat Cardinals to win NFL’s Super Bowl XLIII. PAGE 70

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Serena Williams, Nadal win tennis’s Australian Open. PAGE 70 *First of two sections Section Two the 2008 Annual Index. REFERENCES in brackets give location of background information in this & preceding volumes.

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IRAQ CASUALTIES

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Following are tallies of casualties in Iraq since the beginning of a U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, as they stood Feb. 5 [See p. 57A1; 2008, p. 948A3]: U.S. military casualties:

Deaths Wounded

4,239 31,010

Allied military deaths: 317

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Iraqi security forces deaths: 8,890 Iraqi civilian deaths: 90,588–98,889

(Range based on news reports of deaths) Sources: U.S. casualties: U.S. Defense Department. Allies and Iraqi security forces: www.icasualties.org. Iraqi civilians: www.iraqbodycount.org.

C

dor to Iraq, it was reported Feb. 2. Hill would replace Ryan Crocker, who had retired in January. Hill was a veteran diplomat who had headed the Bush administration’s negotiations over North Korea’s nuclear program, and had also helped to negotiate the 1995 Dayton accords, which ended the war in Bosnia. However, unlike Crocker, he had little experience in the Middle East and did not speak Arabic. [See p. 38C2; 2008, p. 926B1] n

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Global Slowdown Focus of Davos Forum.

Some 2,500 political and international business leaders Jan. 28–Feb. 1 gathered in Davos, Switzerland, for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, where an ongoing global economic downturn dominated discussion. The U.S. came under fire for its laissez-faire economic policies, and many participants warned the U.S. against adopting protectionist measures that would shield its own industries at the expense of global trade. [See 42E1; 2008, p. 47A2] Despite efforts by governments around the world in recent months to spur economic growth and stabilize the global financial system, the downturn continued to intensify. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Jan. 28 projected that the global economy would grow at a 0.5% rate in 2009, down from its November 2008 projection of 2.2%. Leading economies such as the U.S., Britain and Japan were forecast to contract. The IMF estimated that worldwide losses on U.S. debt could reach $2.2 trillion. The downturn stemmed in large part from a global proliferation of assets backed by U.S. home mortgages, which later plummeted in value when the U.S. housing market entered a slump. Financial institutions in the U.S. and Europe continued to sustain heavy losses from those assets, which had a cascading effect on other sectors of the global economy. Consumer demand had declined steeply, hurting export-dependent countries such as China, Japan and Russia. The United Nations International Labor Office Jan. 28 said the downturn could lead to the loss of as many as 51 million jobs worldwide by the end of 2009 “if the situation continues to deteriorate.” The office said 200 million workers, the majority of

them in emerging economies, could end up in extreme poverty. Harsh Criticisms From China, Russia—

The forum opened Jan. 28 with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao blaming the global downturn on “some economies” that had allowed an “excessive expansion of financial institutions” with little accompanying regulation. The comments were widely seen as directed toward the U.S., which had been accused of lax regulation that facilitated the spread of unsound mortgagebacked assets. Wen said those institutions had engaged in a “blind pursuit of profit” and lacked “self-discipline.” Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that day mocked the U.S.’s capitalist-based financial system, saying, “A year ago, American delegates speaking from this rostrum emphasized the U.S. economy’s fundamental stability and its cloudless prospects.” He added, “Today, investment banks, the pride of Wall Street, have virtually ceased to exist.” German Chancellor Angela Merkel Jan. 30 criticized what she described as an “unfettered” system of capitalism, and called for new “clear-cut rules” for global markets. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso Jan. 30 said he hoped the U.S. would move “toward a Europeanstyle model” of capitalism, with more social benefits in the areas of health care, education and social security. Despite the criticisms, Davos participants acknowledged that they would have to cooperate with the U.S. to resolve the economic crisis. Wen said any serious friction between China and the U.S. “will make both losers.” Putin acknowledged that Russia and the U.S. had “mutual interests” and “mutual dependencies.” Newly inaugurated U.S. President Barack Obama did not attend the forum, or respond to the criticisms.

$900 billion. A spike in the availability of U.S. debt could decrease demand for sovereign debt from other countries, driving up their interest rates. The trend could also drive down the value of the U.S. dollar, which—as the world’s de facto reserve currency—could lead to a climb in global inflation. Gaza Invasion Sparks Heated Debate—

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Israeli President Shimon Peres during a Davos panel Jan. 29 engaged in a heated argument over Israel’s 22-day invasion of the Gaza territory earlier in the month that had left a reported 1,300 Palestinians dead. The dispute reportedly started because Erdogan felt that the panel moderator had unfairly given Peres more time to speak, during which Peres defended Israel’s actions. Erdogan then angrily told Peres, “You kill people,” or “When it comes to killing, you know well how to kill,” according to various reports, and left the event. Turkey was Israel’s strongest ally among its predominantly Muslim neighbors. Turkey had mediated peace discussions between Israel and Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinians. Turkish and other international media outlets reported that Peres later apologized to Erdogan privately, but Israeli officials denied those reports. n

Other International News Kyrgyzstan to Close U.S. Military Base.

Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev Feb. 3, speaking in Moscow, the Russian capital, announced that Kyrgyzstan would close Manas Air Base, the only fully operational U.S. air base in Central Asia. The base was a strategically located transit point for U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Warnings Against U.S. Protectionism—

A general consensus among economists at the forum was that protectionism by individual states would curb international trade and exacerbate the downturn. The U.S. again came under criticism, due to socalled “Buy America” provisions included in an economic recovery plan currently being debated in the U.S. Congress. The provisions required that government-funded construction projects use U.S.-made steel. French Trade Minister Anne-Marie Idrac Feb. 1 said, “It’s extremely preoccupying that one of the first acts of the new Obama administration could be a measure that is clearly protectionist.” Others said the Buy America provisions could violate U.S. treaty obligations with the World Trade Organization (WTO). The U.S. was also criticized for its recent efforts to assist its ailing auto industry, with Merkel Jan. 28 saying they could lead to a “distortion” in global auto sales. However, analysts noted that several European countries—including France, Britain and Sweden—in recent weeks had assisted domestic car makers. [See p. 52E2] Several participants also expressed concern about the amount of debt the U.S. would have to take on to fund its economic recovery plan, which could cost as much as

Facts On File World News Digest With Index (ISSN 0014-6641) Publication #183680 EDITOR IN CHIEF: Jonathan Taylor MANAGING EDITOR: Jennifer Dunham SENIOR EDITOR: Joshua Lustig EDITORS: Rahul Chadha, Ian McGullam, Ryu Spaeth ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Todd Grennan, Shannon O’Toole DATABASE COORDINATOR: Ben Miller INDEX EDITOR: Jonathan Leith COPY EDITOR: Walter Kronenberg EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS: Ingrid Jungermann, Ernesto Malinis Jr. FACTS ON FILE World News Digest is published weekly by Facts On File News Services, an imprint of Infobase Publishing, 132 West 31st Street, 17th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001 (212-290-8090). Subscription $900 a year. Yearbooks (bound volumes) available from 1941. Cumulative Index published twice a month. Vice President & Publisher: Louise Bloomfield. Associate Publisher: Marjorie B. Bank. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y. and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Facts On File World News Digest, Facts On File News Services, 132 West 31st Street, 17th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001

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58

FACTS ON FILE

(NATO) forces and nonlethal supplies en route to Afghanistan. [See p. 54C1; 2008, p. 223B1; 2007, p. 885G2; 2006, p. 669E2] Bakiyev said the base would be closed because the U.S. had not met its demands that it pay more to lease the site. U.S. officials the same day said they had not received formal warning that Kyrgyzstan was planning to shut Manas. The move came just after Russian President Dmitri Medvedev extended a $2 billion loan and $150 million in aid to Kyrgyzstan. However, an unidentified U.S. official had said the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama was not convinced Russia could supply the country with that much money. The move to close the base, which the Kyrgyz parliament was expected to approve in a Feb. 6 vote, could raise major complications for Obama’s policy in Afghanistan, where the U.S. planned to send an additional 30,000 troops. If the plan was approved, the base would be required to close within 180 days. Link Seen to Strategic Clash With Russia—

Despite Medvedev’s Feb. 3 assurance that Russia was “open to coordinated action” with U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, analysts suggested that Russia, by offering substantial aid to Kyrgyzstan, was attempting to reduce the U.S. presence in Central Asia, which it regarded as within its historic sphere of influence. Others suggested that the event was reflective of an ongoing confrontation between the U.S. and Russia on a broader array of strategic issues, but that the U.S. might ultimately regain use of the base if it offered Kyrgyzstan more money. The U.S. had previously leased the Manas base, which had opened in 2001 following that year’s Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S., for $63 million per year, and also provided Kyrgyzstan with almost $90 million in aid annually. Bakiyev, in his announcement, said Kyrgyzstan had “repeatedly raised with the United States the matter of economic compensation for the existence of the base in Kyrgyzstan, but we have not been understood.” He also cited anti-U.S. sentiment in Kyrgyzstan, which had been exacerbated by a 2006 incident in which a U.S. soldier had shot and killed a Kyrgyz truck driver. Kyrgyz officials wanted to prosecute the soldier, but the U.S. Defense Department had not cooperated with Kyrgyz requests to revoke his immunity. A Feb. 4 statement from the Kyrgyz government asserted that the terrorist threat in Afghanistan had “been removed,” and added that NATO airstrikes in Afghanistan had caused too many civilian casualties. [See 2008, p. 989D1] U.S. officials Feb. 4 said they had begun exploring alternate locations for an air base in Europe and the Middle East. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton the following day said Kyrgyzstan’s actions were “regrettable” and that “we hope to have further discussions with them.” However, she added that the U.S. would proceed in a “very effective manner no matter what the outcome of the Kyrgyzstan government’s deliberations might be.” n February 5, 2009

U N I T ESTATES D S TAT E S UNITED

Unpaid Taxes Sink Daschle Nomination Ties to Health Care Industry Also Scrutinized.

Former Senate Democratic leader Thomas Daschle (S.D.) Feb. 3 withdrew as President Barack Obama’s nominee for health and human services secretary after coming under scrutiny for failing to pay $128,000 in federal income taxes and for his lucrative ties to the health care industry. Daschle’s tax problem came after Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner won Senate confirmation a week earlier despite having failed to pay $34,000 in payroll taxes. [See pp. 44D1, 17E2] Daschle Jan. 2 had paid $140,167 in late taxes, penalties and interest that he owed for the years 2005–07, it was reported Jan. 30. Daschle owed most of the taxes for his use of a chauffeur and limousine provided by Leo Hindery Jr., a leading Democratic donor. Daschle had also failed to report more than $83,000 in consulting income from Hindery’s firm and to document about $15,000 in charitable deductions. Since losing his Senate seat in 2004, Daschle had worked as a consultant to InterMedia Advisors LLP, a private equity investment firm founded by Hindery. Obama Feb. 3 accepted the withdrawal of a second nominee, Mary Killefer, whom he had chosen for a new position as chief performance officer for the federal government. In 2005, the District of Columbia had placed a lien for $947 on her home for failing to pay unemployment taxes for a household employee. Killefer was an executive at corporate consulting firm McKinsey & Co. Obama Admits Mistake—Before Daschle’s withdrawal, Obama Feb. 2 had reaffirmed his strong support for the nomination, saying he “absolutely” stood by it. However, in a series of Feb. 3 television interviews after Daschle withdrew, Obama said he blamed himself for having “screwed up,” and regretted that his loyalty to Daschle might have appeared to undermine the high ethical standards that he had set for his administration. In an interview on NBC News, Obama said, “I’ve got to own up to my mistake, which is that ultimately it’s important for this administration to send a message that there aren’t two sets of rules.” He added, “You know, one for prominent people and one for ordinary folks who have to pay their taxes.” Obama had also drawn accusations of double standards on ethics after he set a new policy barring former lobbyists from administration jobs for at least two years, but then said he would grant waivers in certain cases. One of the first such exceptions was his nominee for deputy defense secretary, William Lynn 2nd, a former lobbyist for defense contractor Raytheon Corp. [See p. 29B1] Daschle had been an early supporter of Obama’s presidential candidacy and was viewed as one of his closest advisers.

Obama had chosen Daschle to lead a major health care reform initiative aimed at achieving his campaign pledge of extending insurance coverage to most of the millions of people who lacked it in the U.S. Daschle’s former role as a Senate leader had been seen as a unique qualification for driving the ambitious plan through Congress. In addition to nominating Daschle for the cabinet post, Obama had named him to head a new White House office on health care reform, giving him unusual influence as a so-called health czar. Daschle Feb. 3 resigned from that post as well. Daschle Apologizes—Daschle Feb. 2 made a public apology for his unpaid taxes after attempting to explain the matter at a closed-door meeting of the Senate Finance Committee, which had to approve his nomination before it could be sent to the full Senate. Daschle said, “My failure to recognize that the use of a car was income and not a gift from a good friend was a mistake,” adding, “It was completely inadvertent. But that’s no excuse, and I deeply apologize to President Obama, to my colleagues and to the American people.” Committee Democrats said they accepted Daschle’s explanations and planned to vote for his confirmation, but Republicans expressed doubts. Aides said Sen. Charles Grassley (Iowa), the senior Republican on the committee, was also concerned that Daschle might face conflicts of interest related to advisory and speaking fees that he had received from health care companies. The Finance Committee had also probed whether Daschle should have paid taxes on travel and entertainment provided to him and his wife by EduCap Inc., a student loan company under investigation by the committee and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for alleged violation of its nonprofit status. Daschle had flown on EduCap’s private jet to the Bahamas and the Middle East. Daschle had reported earnings of more than $5 million since going into the private sector after losing his 2004 reelection bid. In 2005, he had joined law and lobbying firm Alston & Bird as a “policy adviser,” but was not a registered lobbyist. [See 2005, p. 167B1] One of the clients to whom he gave policy advice was UnitedHealth Group Inc., one of the largest U.S. health insurers. Daschle had also earned a total of $220,000 in 2007–08 in fees for giving speeches to the health-care industry. In 2005, Daschle joined Hindery’s investment firm as chairman of the executive advisory board. Hindery had previously been chief executive of several leading telecommunications and cable companies. Hindery provided Daschle with $1 million a year in consulting fees and the use of a Cadillac limousine and chauffeur. Daschle had not reported the car service, valued at $255,000 in 2005–07, as income. He had also failed to report one monthly fee of $83,333 as income. Daschle reportedly had unsuccessfully recommended Hindery for the position of 59

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commerce secretary in the Obama administration. Labor Nomination Held Up by Taxes—

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Feb. 5 postponed a vote scheduled for that day on Obama’s nomination of Rep. Hilda Solis (D, Calif.) as labor secretary, after it was reported that her husband had paid about $6,400 that week to settle a number of tax liens. [See p. 18F1] USA Today reported that day that Los Angeles County records showed 15 outstanding liens against her husband, Sam Sayyad, and his auto repair business, for a total of $7,630. Some of the liens reportedly had been on file for as long as 16 years. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs defended Solis, saying, “She’s not a partner in that business.” He added, “So we’re not going to penalize her for her husband’s business mistakes.” Solis’s nomination had already been held up for weeks by Republicans questioning her previous sponsorship of the Employee Free Choice Act, a controversial bill that would make it easier for workers to organize unions, and her position as unpaid treasurer of American Rights at Work, a pro-labor group. n

Other Obama Administration News

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GOP Sen. Gregg Nominated for Commerce.

President Barack Obama Feb. 3 nominated Sen. Judd Gregg (R, N.H.) to be commerce secretary. Gregg, if confirmed, would be the third Republican in Obama’s cabinet, joining Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. Obama’s original nominee for commerce secretary, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D), had withdrawn in January due to a federal investigation of state contracts given to a campaign contributor. [See pp. 59A2, 6B1; 2005, p. 998G1; 2004, p. 873B1] Gregg, 62, was the senior Republican on the Senate Budget Committee and was known as a fiscal conservative. He had served in the Senate for 16 years and had previously been governor of New Hampshire and a congressman. Announcing the nomination, Obama said, “Now, clearly Judd and I don’t agree on every issue—most notably, who should have won the election.” He added, “But we do agree on the urgent need to get American businesses and families back on their feet,” referring to an ongoing recession. Gregg struck a similar note of pragmatism in his remarks, saying, “This is not a time for partisanship. This is not a time when we should stand in our ideological corners and shout at each other. This is a time to govern and govern well.” New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch (D) Feb. 3 announced his appointment of Republican businesswoman Bonnie Newman, a onetime chief of staff for Gregg, to fill Gregg’s Senate seat for the last two years of his current term. Gregg had insisted that he would accept Obama’s cabinet nomination only if he was 60

replaced in the Senate by another Republican. The Democrats had a majority of at least 58 seats in the Senate, which could increase to 59 pending the outcome of a disputed Minnesota election. Gaining Gregg’s seat could have given the Democrats a majority of 60, the number needed to block filibusters by the minority party. Census Oversight Disputed—Black and Hispanic lawmakers and interest groups responded to the nomination by raising concerns about the Commerce Department’s oversight of the 2010 Census, noting that Gregg had opposed President Bill Clinton’s request for emergency funding for the 2000 census. Gregg had also voted for a 1995 Republican-backed budget plan that would have abolished the Commerce Department itself. [See 2008, p. 380E2] An unnamed senior White House official Feb. 4 said the Census Bureau would report directly to the White House, circumventing the commerce secretary, Congressional Quarterly reported on its Web site. Republican Reps. Darrell Issa (Calif.) and Patrick McHenry (N.C.) that day sent a letter to Obama warning that they would oppose any attempt to politicize oversight of the census, which would determine the number of congressional districts apportioned to each state, and the redrawing of districts based on population changes. Ex-Aide Probed in Lobbying Scandal—

The Associated Press (AP) Feb. 4 reported that Kevin Koonce, a former top aide to Gregg, had been implicated in an ongoing federal investigation into the influencepeddling schemes of lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his associates. [See 2008, p. 950A3] The AP reported that Koonce, Gregg’s legislative director and counsel from 2002 through 2004, was cited in a plea agreement by lobbyist Todd Boulanger, who pleaded guilty Jan. 30 to plying public officials with gifts and favors in exchange for official actions that benefited his clients. Koonce, identified in the plea agreement as “Staffer F,” allegedly accepted more than $10,000 worth of tickets to sporting events, meals and drinks from Boulanger while he was working for Gregg. Koonce allegedly tried to add spending items and other amendments to legislation on Boulanger’s behalf. Gregg Feb. 4 issued a statement confirming that his office had been contacted by the Justice Department the previous day in connection with the probe. “Prior to this, I was not aware of any improper acts by the former staffer in question,” he said. Gregg added that he had been “informed that I am neither a subject nor a target of the investigation.” n Obama Updates Faith-Based Office. President Barack Obama Feb. 5 signed an executive order that created the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, a successor to a similar office created by former President George W. Bush. In addition to providing federal funding for faith-based programs as the Bush-era office had, the office would work toward reducing poverty and abortions, as

well as strengthening families and bolstering interfaith relations. [See pp. 47B1, 19C2; 2007, p. 415G3] Obama Jan. 29 tapped Joshua DuBois, 26, to head the religious office. DuBois, a Pentecostal pastor who was known for his close relationship with Obama, had been in charge of religious outreach efforts for Obama’s presidential campaign. The new office preserved the 11 religious office positions within several different federal agencies that Bush had created. Obama’s order also created a 25-seat advisory council within the office. The 15 council members he announced that day included prominent representatives from Baptist, Catholic, Jewish and Methodist groups, as well as a Muslim community organizer and an openly gay director of a nonprofit group. [See 2001, p. 66G2] Obama notably did not rescind a controversial policy enacted by Bush, which had allowed faith-based organizations receiving federal funds to selectively hire people of a certain religion. DuBois said the office would review the policy on a “case by case basis.” Obama while campaigning in July 2008 had said, “You can’t use [federal] grant money to proselytize to the people you help and you can’t discriminate against them—or against the people you hire—on the basis of their religion.” [See 2008, p. 445B2] At the signing, Obama said the “goal of this office will not be to favor one religious group over another, or even religious groups over secular groups,” and added that the office would work on behalf of community organizations “without blurring the line that our founders wisely drew between church and state.” n Holder Confirmed as Attorney General.

The Senate Feb. 2 voted, 75–21, to confirm Eric Holder Jr. as attorney general. Holder, a former judge who had served as deputy attorney general under President Bill Clinton, was the first black attorney general and the 82nd person to hold the position. He was sworn in Feb. 3 in Washington, D.C. [See pp. 30F2, 16E2] Holder had attracted bipartisan support, including the backing of former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Louis Freeh and James Comey, deputy attorney general under President George W. Bush, who cited his extensive relevant experience. However, Senate Republicans had held up Holder’s confirmation over concerns about his role in a pardon granted by Clinton to fugitive businessman Marc Rich and Holder’s belief that waterboarding, an interrogation technique that simulated drowning, constituted torture. The Senate Judiciary Committee Jan. 28 voted, 17–2, to advance Holder’s nomination to a vote by the full Senate. Republican Sens. John Cornyn (Texas) and Tom Coburn (Okla.) were the only two members of the committee to vote against Holder. Both men cited Holder’s role in the Rich pardon in explaining their votes. Holder had previously apologized for failing to object to the pardon and said he had learned from the experience. n FACTS ON FILE

Economy GDP Shrank at 3.8% Rate in Fourth Quarter.

The Commerce Department Jan. 30 reported that U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) shrank at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.8% in the fourth quarter of 2008, its largest contraction since 1982. The contraction in GDP—a measure of the output of goods and services produced within a nation’s borders—came as a result of an ongoing U.S. recession and a global economic downturn, which pushed down consumer spending, business investment and exports. The department had previously reported that GDP had shrunk at a 0.5% rate in the third quarter, and its fourth quarter estimate would be revised twice. [See p. 41A1; 2008, p. 937E2] The rate of contraction was not as severe as most economists had expected, largely because consumer spending fell so steeply that businesses did not have time to adjust their orders. As a result, unsold business inventories that were counted as part of the nation’s production grew. Excluding the inventory increase, GDP in the fourth quarter contracted at a 5.1% rate. Consumer spending shrank at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.5%, due to mounting job losses and a freeze in credit markets. Exports contracted at a 19.7% rate, as the global economic slowdown deFebruary Financial Update (Close of trading Feb. 2 except where indicated)

Stocks and Bonds Dow Jones Industrial Average

7,936.83

Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index Nasdaq Composite Index London Stock Exchange

825.44 1,494.43 4,077.78

Tokyo Stock Exchange

7,873.98

Toronto Stock Exchange

8,624.83

(see box, p. 61A3)

(Financial Times-Stock Exchange 100) (Nikkei index)

(TSE Composite Index)

U.S. 10-Year Treasury Note (yield) U.S. 6-Month Treasury Bill (yield)

2.71% 0.39%

Currencies (late New York trading) Australia (dollar) (in U.S. dollars) Britain (pound) (in U.S. dollars) Canada (dollar) (in U.S. dollars) European Union (euro) (in U.S. dollars) Japan (yen) (per U.S. dollar) Mexico (peso) (per U.S. dollar) Switzerland (franc) (in U.S. dollars)

$0.6324 $1.4281 $0.8039 $1.2844 89.61 14.4865 $0.8603

Commodities Gold (per troy oz.)

$905.49

Silver (per troy oz.)

$12.4300

(N.Y. Comex spot price) (London fixing spot price)

Oil (per barrel)

(Nymex crude future)

Gasoline (per gallon)

(nationwide weighted average price at the pump; Lundberg survey released Jan. 25)

Wheat (No. 2 hard, per bushel) (Kansas City market)

$40.08 $1.86 $6.2000

Recent U.S. Data Inflation

-0.7%

Unemployment rate

7.2%

(consumer price index 12-month increase through December 2008; see p. 46C1) (December 2008; see p. 14A2)

Gross domestic product growth

-3.8%

Prime rate

3.25%

(annualized fourth-quarter 2008 rate, final report; see p. 61A1)

February 5, 2009

pressed demand. U.S. business investments also fell as companies cut back on costs. Total government spending rose at a 1.9% rate, but analysts said state and local governments were cutting back due to falling tax revenues. The report placed increased pressure on the federal government to enact a stimulus package to resuscitate the flagging economy, an $819 billion version of which had been passed by the House earlier in the week. President Barack Obama that day described the country’s poor economic performance as a “continuing disaster for America’s working families,” and urged the Senate to move quickly to pass a package. The Dow Jones Industrial Average that day fell 148.15 points, or 1.8%, to end at 8,000.86. For the month, the Dow was down 8.8%, the largest January percentage decline in its history. [See p. 61A3] n

Mortgage & Credit Crisis Limits to be Placed on Executive Pay.

President Barack Obama Feb. 4 announced new limits on executive pay for ailing financial institutions that received government aid. The announcement followed a public backlash against banking executives who continued to receive large compensation and expensive perks, even though their companies had sustained massive losses over the past year, leading to a destabilization of the broader economy. [See p. 44B3] Obama that day said, “This is America. We don’t disparage wealth...But what gets people upset—and rightfully so—are executives being rewarded for failure, especially when those rewards are subsidized by U.S. taxpayers.” Obama the previous week had described generous executive bonuses on Wall Street as “shameful,” and several companies had pulled back on more exorbitant expenses due to the public outcry. San Francisco, Calif.–based bank Wells Fargo & Co., which had received $25 billion in government aid, Feb. 3 had announced that it would cancel a four-day employee conference that was to be held at luxury hotels in Las Vegas, Nev. The new rules were expected to be adopted in the coming weeks, and some specifics had not been finalized. They would not retroactively apply to companies that had previously received government aid. Under the rules, “senior executives” at companies that received “exceptional assistance” from the government would have their yearly salaries capped at $500,000. Compensation above the cap would be paid in restricted stock, which could be cashed in only after the company paid back its debt to the government. “Exceptional assistance” was thought to be defined as federal aid that prevented a company’s collapse. Those companies would have to publicize their compensation guidelines for executives, and present them to shareholders for a nonbinding vote. The top 25 executives could have part of their salaries or bonuses rescinded if they misrepresented or misreported information that led to a higher payout. The top 10 executives would not

Dow Jones Industrial Average Trading on the New York Stock Exchange Closing

January 2 5

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9,034.69 8,952.89 9,015.10 8,769.70 8,742.46 8,599.18 8,473.97 8,448.56 8,200.14 8,212.49 8,281.22 Holiday 7,949.09 8,228.10 8,122.80 8,077.56 8,116.03 8,174.73 8,375.45 8,149.01 8,000.86

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Volume (in millions of shares) 1,035.9 1,313.9 1,327.7 1,220.2 1,187.2 1,149.7 1,297.6 1,298.7 1,406.1 1,634.6 1,609.4 Holiday 1,695.9 1,714.8 1,544.8 1,411.3 1,265.1 1,166.4 1,536.2 1,421.1 1,471.2

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be allowed to receive a severance package if they left the company, and the next 25 could receive no more than the equivalent of one year’s compensation. Company boards would have to develop guidelines for luxury expenditures—such as for corporate jets, office renovations and parties—and company chief executives would have to certify such expenditures. For companies that received more moderate assistance from the government, such as investments from a financial rescue fund known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), senior executives could avoid the $500,000 cap by publicizing the details of their compensation packages and submitting them to a nonbinding shareholder vote. The top five executives in those companies would be limited to a one-year severance package. More than 350 financial institutions in the U.S. had received TARP aid. Obama administration officials said the pay limits were intended to change a corporate culture that rewarded chief executives handsomely no matter how poor the company’s performance. Analysts said the limits would be politically necessary if the Obama administration requested Congress to authorize more aid for the weakened financial industry, as many expected it to do. Democratic lawmakers praised the rules, which did not require congressional approval. Republicans were also supportive, but expressed some reservations about the government extending its reach into the private sector. Some banks criticized the rules, saying they would hinder their ability to recruit top talent.

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Regulator Says Treasury Overpaid—

Elizabeth Warren, chairwoman of the Congressional Oversight Panel for TARP, Feb. 5 testified to the Senate Banking Committee that the Treasury had overpaid for assets bought using TARP funds. She said the Treasury Department under former President George W. Bush had paid $254 billion for stocks and assets that were valued at $176 billion at the time of their purchase. The cal61

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culation was made by examining transactions with 10 companies, and then extrapolating the findings. [See p. 32F2] Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general for TARP, that day testified that the Treasury had to develop a “more complete strategy” for how it would manage the assets that were now on its books. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was expected to unveil the Obama administration’s TARP strategy the following week. Barofsky that day released a report warning that a $200 billion program to encourage purchases of assets backed by consumer loans was vulnerable to “fraud, waste and abuse.” The program would see the Treasury lend $20 billion in TARP funds to investors that bought such assets, in a bid to lower interest rates on the underlying loans amidst a freeze in credit markets. (The Federal Reserve would provide the remaining $180 billion in loans.) Barofsky said the plan, which would have the Treasury accept those assets as collateral, could enable investors to overstate the value of the assets and then keep the loan. [See p. 45F2; 2008, p. 865A1] The Government Accountability Office (GAO), the nonpartisan investigative arm of Congress, Jan. 30 had reported that banks receiving TARP aid lacked adequate oversight to ensure that they were using the funds to increase lending and stabilize their finances. The GAO said the Treasury had taken some steps to monitor how banks used TARP aid, such as implementing a monthly survey of some banks, but that it was still inadequate. The GAO that day reported that as of Jan. 23, the Treasury had spent $294 billion of the $700 billion authorized for TARP, $194 billion of which had been used to buy shareholder stakes in financial institutions. n

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Republican Party Elects First Black Chairman.

The Republican National Committee (RNC), the executive body of the Republican Party, Jan. 30 elected former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele as its new chairman. Steele, 50, became the party’s first black leader. His election took place 10 days after the inauguration of the first black president, Democrat Barack Obama, amid warnings that the Republicans had to broaden their appeal to minorities if the party hoped to recapture the White House and Congress. [See p. 25A1; 2006, pp. 877E2, 853D2] Steele won in the sixth round of voting by the RNC, defeating five rival candidates, including another black contender, former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell. The incumbent RNC chairman, Mike Duncan of Kentucky, withdrew in the third round. Duncan, who had assumed the post in 2007 as the choice of President George W. Bush, blamed his poor showing on the desire of RNC members to free the party from the burden of Bush’s unpopularity. Another candidate, Chip Saltsman, former chairman of the Tennessee party, in December 2008 had sparked a racial controversy by distributing an album of 62

Christmas songs including one titled, “Barack the Magic Negro.” After his victory, Steele declared a new direction for the party. “We have an image problem,” he said, adding, “We’ve been misidentified as a party that is insensitive, a party unconcerned about the lives of minorities.” He insisted, “Nothing could be further from the truth.” Steele was known as a moderate Republican who had publicly criticized Bush at times. He had been the party’s nominee for a Maryland Senate seat in 2006, losing to Democrat Benjamin Cardin. Since then, he had frequently appeared as a political commentator on the cable television network Fox News, sometimes substituting for conservative talk show host Sean Hannity. Kaine Installed as DNC Chairman—The RNC’s counterpart, the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Jan. 21 voted to approve Obama’s selection of Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine as its new chairman, replacing former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean. [See p. 6B2] n

Automobiles Chrysler, GM Announce Worker Buyouts. Auburn Hills, Mich.–based Chrysler LLC

and Detroit, Mich.–based General Motors Corp. (GM) had offered a new round of buyouts to almost all of their hourly employees, it was reported Feb. 3. The move was part of efforts by the companies to lower their production costs, as mandated by a $17.4 billion federal auto industry rescue package enacted in December 2008. [See p. 47D3; 2008, pp. 789C1, 396F1] Chrysler reportedly offered employees $50,000 to retire, plus a $25,000 voucher for a new Chrysler vehicle. If workers were willing to forgo retirement health care benefits, the lump sum payment increased to $75,000. Chrysler employees would have until Feb. 25 to accept the deal. GM reportedly offered workers $20,000 to retire, as well as a $25,000 vehicle voucher. GM workers could accept the buyout through the end of March. Under new, cost-saving contracts the automakers had negotiated with the United Auto Workers (UAW) in 2007, new hourly employees received about half the salary of workers hired under previous contracts. After the new contracts were ratified, the Michigan automakers had offered buyout packages, which tens of thousands of workers had accepted. However, with auto sales at historic lows, there had been few opportunities to hire lower-paid workers under the new contract. The Wall Street Journal Feb. 3 reported that GM had told UAW officials that the buyouts would “address the number of surplus employees and create the potential for hiring entry-level employees when the business environment improves.” [See below; 2007, p. 733E3] The buyout’s lump-sum payments were significantly lower than figures the companies had offered in the last round of buyouts, which had been announced in early 2008. Workers who accepted those buyouts had received as much as $140,000 at

GM and as much as $100,000 at Chrysler. Analysts suggested that many employees were likely to accept the current, less attractive buyout for fear of being laid off later. [See 2008, p. 88B1] Automakers Post Worst Sales in 27 Years—

Figures released Feb. 3 by Autodata Corp., a research and statistics firm, showed new auto sales at their lowest since 1982. Compared with sales in January 2008, GM’s sales plummeted 48.9%, Chrysler’s tumbled by 54.8%, and Dearborn, Mich.–based Ford Motor Co.’s sales declined by 40.3%. Ford had not received any funds from the federal rescue package. [See p. 48D1] Parts Suppliers Request $25.5 Billion—

The Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA), a group representing auto parts makers, Feb. 2 submitted to the Treasury Department a request for $25.5 billion in aid. In the request, MEMA warned, “Without immediate assistance to suppliers, the country will face massive job losses and the eventual breakdown of the entire automotive sector in the United States.” [See p. 47F3] n

Legislation Children’s Health Insurance Bill Signed.

President Barack Obama Feb. 4 signed into law a bill that significantly expanded funding for the state Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP or SCHIP). The Senate Jan. 29 had passed its version of the bill, 63–32, and the House Feb. 4 cleared the measure in a 290–135 vote. CHIP was a program that provided health insurance to children whose families were not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid but who did not earn enough to purchase private coverage. Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush, had twice vetoed similar bills. [See p. 19G1] The bill provided additional funding for the program over the next five years that would allow four million additional children to participate in it, for a total enrollment of about 11 million. The $32.8 billion additional cost of the expansion was funded through a 62-cent increase on the federal cigarette tax, raising it to $1.01 per pack. The bill required states to offer dental benefits to all enrolled in the program, and allowed children covered by private health care plans that did not provide dental care to receive it through CHIP. It also nullified an element of a 1996 welfare reform law that prevented legal immigrants who were under 21 or pregnant from receiving federal health care program benefits during their first five years of residency in the U.S. At the bill’s signing ceremony, Obama said he considered the measure a “down payment on my commitment to cover every single American,” a reference to his campaign pledge to reform the country’s health care system to ensure that everyone had insurance. n Congress Passes Delay of Digital TV Switch.

The House Feb. 4 passed, 264–158, a bill delaying by four months an upcoming national transition to digital television, until June 12. The Senate Jan. 26 had approved the delay by voice vote, but the House Jan. FACTS ON FILE

28 voted, 258–168, on the legislation, failing to achieve the two-thirds majority required to pass it under suspension of the rules. The Senate Jan. 29 passed the bill again, allowing the House to approve it with a simple majority. The White House said President Barack Obama would sign the bill. [See 2008, pp. 834F1, 749G1] The Nielsen Co. estimated that more than 6.5 million U.S. households that relied on free television broadcasts were unprepared for the switch, which would require them to buy a digital television or a converter box for their old television. (Cable or satellite television subscribers would not be affected.) Television stations previously would have been required to switch to digital signals, from analog, by Feb. 17; however, the Federal Communications Commissions (FCC) said that government centers set up to field questions on the conversion were understaffed and needed more time. A program administered by the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) that issued $40 vouchers to defray the cost of converter boxes had reportedly reached its $1.34 billion spending limit, and millions of people were put on a waiting list for coupons whose original recipients had allowed them to expire. An additional $650 million in funding for the voucher program was included in an economic stimulus package being considered by Congress. [See p. 41A1] Democrats said the switch disproportionately affected low-income and elderly viewers. John Podesta, the cochairman of Obama’s transition team, Jan. 16 sent a letter to Congress expressing the incoming administration’s support for a delay. However, House Republicans, who mostly voted against the bill, said that the change would confuse matters even further and impose extra costs on television stations. n

Consumer Affairs Criminal Investigation Set in Peanut Recall.

Stephen Sundlof, director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Jan. 30 announced that the FDA and the Justice Department had launched a criminal investigation into Lynchburg, Va.–based Peanut Corp. of America, whose peanut products had been linked to a widespread outbreak of salmonella poisoning in the U.S. [See p. 49C3] It was unusual for the FDA to publicly announce an ongoing criminal investigation, but it did so after several members of Congress called for one. The investigation began after the FDA discovered that the company had knowingly shipped salmonella-contaminated products at least 12 times in 2007–08. The FDA and other health agencies in January had linked peanut butter and other peanut products produced at Peanut Corp.’s Blakely, Ga., plant to an outbreak of salmonella thought to be the cause of February 5, 2009

some 575 illnesses and at least eight deaths. The discovery of the bacterium had also led to the recall of some 500 food products that contained peanut butter or other peanut products made at the plant, in what had grown into one of the largest food recalls in U.S. history. The FDA Jan. 30 also revealed that a shipment of peanut products made by Peanut Corp. for export to Canada had been blocked from being returned to the U.S. in April 2008, after metal fragments were found in the food. The incident reportedly alerted the FDA that peanut products other than peanut butter were being made at the plant. The shipment was later destroyed. The incidents renewed calls for an overhaul of the FDA, which in recent years had been beset by a slew of regulatory failures that had led to widespread food and drug recalls. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs Jan. 30 said President Barack Obama planned to announce a new FDA commissioner within the next few days. Obama Feb. 2 said his administration was “going to be doing a complete review of FDA operations,” as a result of the salmonella outbreak. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) Feb. 5 said it was suspending all of its contracts with Peanut Corp. It said contaminated peanut products made by the company had been sold to a federally managed, free school-lunch program. n

Labor Obama Signs Pro-Union Executive Orders.

President Barack Obama Jan. 30 signed three executive orders that reversed policies on federal contractors that were viewed by unions as anti-labor. Obama said the orders would “reverse many of the policies toward organized labor that we’ve seen these last eight years, policies with which I’ve sharply disagreed.” [See p. 60A1; 2001, p. 119E3] Under Obama’s first order, when federal agencies switched contractors, they were mandated to first offer positions to nonsupervisory workers employed under the old contract before searching for employees elsewhere. The rule had been in effect under the administration of former President Bill Clinton, but was rescinded by Obama’s predecessor, President George W. Bush. Under the second order, federal contractors with commissions worth more than $100,000 were no longer required to post notices informing workers of their right not to be a member of a union. Instead, contractors would be required to post a “balanced notice of their employees’ rights” as stipulated by the National Labor Relations Act. Under the third order, federal contractors were barred from receiving reimbursement for expenses incurred from efforts to influence workers to accept or reject unionization. At the signing, Obama welcomed labor officials “back to the White House,” and asserted that he did not “view the labor movement as part of the problem. To me, it’s part of the solution.”

Unions See Membership Increase—The Bureau of Labor Statistics Jan. 28 reported that unions gained 428,000 members in 2008, the largest increase in 25 years. Most were reportedly government employees, who unionized more frequently than workers in the private sector, where employers were more likely to oppose union organizing. The proportion of all workers who were unionized in 2008 was 12.4%, up from 12.1% the previous year. [See 2008, p. 88B3] ‘Middle-Class Task Force’ Set—Obama and Vice President Joseph Biden Jan. 30 at the executive-order signing formally announced the creation of a Middle Class Working Families Task Force chaired by Biden. (They had first announced their plans for the task force in December 2008.) The task force, designed to identify ways to improve the quality of life for middle-class families, would hold its first public meeting in Philadelphia, Pa., Feb. 27. Officials emphasized that the task force’s conclusions would be submitted directly to Obama, who could then back legislation or issue executive orders to implement them. [See 2007, p. 608B1] n

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Terrorism Detainees Request Canadian Resettlement.

Attorneys for three Chinese Muslim detainees who had been cleared for release from the U.S. military prison for terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Feb. 3 announced that their clients had asked the Canadian government to grant them political asylum. Two of the detainees had made the request the previous week, while the other had done so in October 2008. Canada had not yet responded to the requests, and had previously refused to resettle detainees from Guantanamo despite multiple requests by the Bush administration. [See 2008, p. 723C2] President Barack Obama had recently issued an executive order that required the closure of Guantanamo within one year, but had not yet decided what to do with the more than 240 remaining detainees. [See p. 28F1] The three men were part of a group of 17 detainees who belonged to the Uighur ethnic group native to the Xinjiang region of China. The U.S. government had previously determined that the detainees did not pose a threat and had authorized their release, but had been unable to find a country willing to accept them. U.S. officials had refused to return the men to China because of concerns that they could be tortured there. China accused the men of belonging to a separatist terrorist group. A federal judge in October 2008 had ordered the U.S. government to release the men and allow them to enter the U.S., but the Bush administration had appealed the ruling. A spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry Feb. 5 said that China opposed “any country accepting these people.” It addition, she expressed hope that the transfer of the Uighurs would be carried out “in accordance with international law,” which, 63

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according to the Chinese government, required the Uighurs to be returned to China. The Associated Press (AP) reported Feb. 5 that China had privately warned European nations not to accept the Uighurs. EU Parliament Calls for Resettlement—

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The European Parliament, the legislative body of the European Union, Feb. 4 voted, 542–55, to recommend that EU member nations assist in the closing of Guantanamo by agreeing to accept some of the detainees there who had been found not to pose a threat to security. [See 2008, p. 958D3] The recommendation was nonbinding. Portugal and Germany had previously said they were considering accepting detainees, while the Netherlands had ruled out doing so. EU Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot Feb. 3 had suggested that EU countries that agreed to accept Guantanamo detainees could receive financial support. Yemeni’s Detention Upheld—Judge Richard Leon of U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., Jan. 28 ruled that a Guantanamo detainee who had been held by the U.S. for seven years had correctly been classified as an enemy combatant and should not be freed. The detainee, Ghaleb al-Bihani of Yemen, had admitted to involvement in Afghanistan’s Taliban Islamist movement, but said that he had been an assistant in one of the group’s kitchens, not a fighter. Leon ruled that “helping prepare the meals” for Taliban militants constituted support for the group, and quoted French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte as saying, “An army marches on its stomach.” [See p. 20F2] n

Defense Obama Meets With Joint Chiefs at Pentagon.

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President Barack Obama Jan. 28 paid his first visit to the Pentagon since he took office the previous week. Obama met with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and reportedly discussed global strategic issues, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Obama during his campaign had promised to withdraw from Iraq within 16 months of taking office, which some military officers said was too ambitious a schedule. However, Obama at the meeting reportedly indicated that he might be willing to alter the withdrawal schedule over military concerns about preserving security in Iraq. [See p. 29B2] In what was seen as a criticism of the Bush administration’s military policies, Obama told reporters after the meeting, “We have for a long time put enormous pressure on our military to carry out a whole set of missions, sometimes not with the sort of strategic support and the use of all aspects of American power, to make sure that they’re not carrying the full load.” He pledged to change that. Obama had said he wanted to shift U.S. foreign policy with toward more of a diplomatic, and less of a military, emphasis. n

Medicine and Health Lawsuits Filed Over ‘Conscience Rule.’

The attorneys general of seven states, led by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blu64

menthal, Jan. 15 filed a federal lawsuit against a so-called right of conscience rule issued by the Bush administration that expanded protections for health care workers who refused to provide certain treatments on the basis of their moral or religious beliefs. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in December 2008 had issued the rule, in a move seen as an attempt to provide protection to health care workers opposed to abortion. [See 2008, p. 965G3] Connecticut was joined by California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon and Rhode Island in the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Hartford, Conn. The Planned Parenthood Federation of America also filed a suit, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed another one on behalf of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association. The rule allowed HHS to withhold federal funding for state and local hospitals and other health care facilities if they did not accommodate health care providers with moral, ethical or religious qualms about a particular treatment. Family planning advocates, women’s health activists and others had argued that the rule would imperil the ability of people to receive several types of health services, including emergency contraception after rape, end-of-life care and fertility treatments. The plaintiffs also argued that the rule conflicted with several state laws designed to guarantee women’s access to birth control and certain types of contraception. n UnitedHealth Settles Suits for $350 Million.

Health insurance provider UnitedHealth Group Inc. Jan. 15 said it had agreed to pay $350 million to settle several class-action lawsuits charging that it had systemically underpaid patients and doctors for treatment considered performed by “out-of-network” health practitioners. Health insurers had been given wide latitude to calculate “usual and customary” charges used to determine payments for out-of-network care. [See 2008, p. 218A3] In 2000, a group of plaintiffs, led by the American Medical Association physicians’ group and including several state medical societies and consumers, argued that insurers often pegged the costs of health care services far below the rates actually charged to patients, forcing them to pay a substantially larger portion of the costs. A lawyer for one of the plaintiffs said the settlement was not high enough, and Jan. 15 petitioned one of the judges overseeing the lawsuits not to accept it. UnitedHealth Jan. 13 had agreed to settle with New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo over his investigation into the company’s use of a database run by its subsidiary, Ingenix Inc., used to calculate the “usual and customary” charges. Cuomo said his investigation, launched in February 2008, found that the Ingenix database routinely underpaid certain claims by 10%– 28%. Information in Ingenix databases was also used by most insurance companies to calculate out-of-network charges, meaning the settlement would have a nationwide effect on insurance payments.

Under the terms of the deal, UnitedHealth agreed to shut down Ingenix, and pay $50 million to establish a new, nonprofit database to calculate such claims. n News in Brief. The office of New York State Health Department Inspector General Joseph Fisch Jan. 27 issued a report which found that former state Health Commissioner Antonia Novello had abused her authority over her employees, often ordering them to perform personal errands for her. Novello, who was health commissioner from 1999 to 2006, had also served as U.S. surgeon general under Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush. Fisch had reportedly asked prosecutors to consider whether to file felony charges against Novello for defrauding the government. [See 1989, p. 783C2] The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Jan. 15 issued final rules governing the regulation of genetically engineered animals, which did not include a requirement that food products be labeled as such unless the product differed substantially from those made from ordinary animals. Genetically engineered animals were those that had snippets of recombinant DNA (rDNA) inserted into their own DNA in order to foster desirable traits, such as fast growth. However, opponents of the practice said it could result in unforeseen harm. [See 2008, p. 792A3] The Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress, Jan. 15 reported that the FDA had failed to ensure that medical devices were effective or safe. Under the FDA’s approval system,

created in 1976, device manufacturers generally received marketing approval from the FDA after telling the agency that new devices functioned like similar, older ones, and were therefore safe. Congress in 1990 had ordered the FDA to enact more stringent reviews, but that call had gone unheeded. The GAO report found that the FDA from 2003 to 2007 had approved 228 devices without properly reviewing them. [See 2008, p. 73B3] Drugmaker Eli Lilly & Co. Jan. 15 agreed to pay about $1.42 billion to settle civil and criminal charges that it had illegally marketed its antipsychotic drug Zyprexa by promoting it for uses unapproved by the FDA, and had downplayed

the drug’s side effects. Lilly would pay a total of $615 million in penalties to resolve a criminal investigation launched by the Justice Department, and another $800 million to settle civil suits brought by federal and state governments, as well as other plaintiffs. Zyprexa, used to treat bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, had garnered worldwide sales of $37 billion since being introduced in 1996. [See 2008, p. 967C1] A team of researchers reported in the Jan. 15 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine that patients taking a type of drug known as atypical antipsychotics had twice the death rate from sudden cardiac failure than those not taking them. The researchers had studied the Medicaid records of 276,907 people aged 30–74, about onethird of whom had taken an antipsychotic drug between 1990 and 2005. In recent years a growing body of scientific evidence FACTS ON FILE

had called into question the efficacy, safety and cost of atypical antipsychotics, which had grown to represent about 90% of the market for antipsychotic drugs. The research was led by Wayne Ray, a professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., and the Nashville Veterans Affairs Medical Center. [See 2006, p. 929B2] The office of the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Jan. 12 reported that the FDA had failed to enforce policies requiring drug manufacturers to disclose payments to researchers conducting clinical trials that

constituted potential conflicts of interest. The report said 42% of marketing applications submitted by drug and device manufacturers lacked such required disclosure information. The inspector general’s office said payments could affect the impartiality of the researchers, and lead to the approval of unsafe medicines or medical devices. Julie Gerberding, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Jan. 9 announced her resignation, effective Jan. 20, in an e-mail sent to agency employees. Gerberding in November 2008 had indicated that she expected to leave her position after President-elect Barack Obama took office. She would be replaced on an interim basis by CDC Chief Operating Officer (COO) Bill Gimson. [See 2002, p. 555B3]n

Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg Undergoes Surgery. Jus-

tice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Feb. 5 underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. According to a statement released that day by the Supreme Court, Ginsburg had been informed of a small lesion in the center of her pancreas after a routine checkup in January at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. The statement said she was likely to remain at Sloan-Kettering for seven to 10 days. [See 1999, p. 725C1] Ginsburg, 75, had been appointed to the court in 1993 by President Bill Clinton, and was currently the sole female on the bench. She was treated for colon cancer in 1999. n

September 11 Attack Aftermath Deal Reached on Flight 93 Memorial. Families of Flight 93, a group representing the families of victims of United Airlines Flight 93—which crashed after being hijacked in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks—and the National Park Service Jan. 16 reached an agreement to purchase more than 270 acres of the crash site near Shanksville, Pa., from a quarry company. The land was expected to become part of a planned 2,000-acre (809-hectare) park and memorial for the victims of Flight 93. Construction of the memorial was scheduled to begin in fall 2009. [See 2008, p. 633G3] The agreement to purchase the land had reportedly been delayed for years due to disputes between Svonavec Inc., which owned the land, and the National Park service. Svonavec had turned down an offer by the National Park Service to purchase the land February 5, 2009

for $250,000, as well as a later offer of $750,000 made by the Families of Flight 93. The Families of Flight 93 had asked President George W. Bush in December 2008 to instruct the Interior Department to seize the land needed for the memorial. The group had reportedly been concerned that further delays would keep the memorial from being completed in time for the 10th anniversary of the attacks. Following the group’s request, the National Park Service agreed to share with Svonavec the results of a third independent assessment of the land’s value— which found that it was worth about $611,000—paving the way for a deal. Under the agreement, the price paid for the land would be determined by a federal court, following the filing of a condemnation suit. Svonavec would receive an additional payment of $200,000 to cover expenses, but would allow preconstruction work on the park and memorial to begin immediately. n

Environment News in Brief. Interior

Department officials Jan. 14 said they were again removing

gray wolves in the western Great Lakes region and the northern Rocky Mountains re-

gion from protections provided by the Endangered Species Act. Wolves in Wyoming would retain their endangered species protections because the department said that state had not done enough to ensure their viability. The administration of President George W. Bush had attempted to remove the wolves from the endangered species list three times, but had been blocked by court order each time. However, implementation of the rule was suspended Jan. 21 by Bush’s successor, Barack Obama, who had issued a blanket hold on all pending Bush administration regulations. [See p. 28A1; 2008, p. 791C2] The U.S. Climate Action Partnership, a coalition of 26 large companies and several environmental organizations, Jan. 15 presented a detailed plan to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to 20% of 2005 levels by a deadline of 2050. The plan called for the creation of a “cap-and-trade” system in which credits permitting a certain level of emissions would be sold to companies. The credits could then be sold or traded in a market. The group had released a similar but less detailed plan in 2006. [See 2007, p. 47B3] Plum Creek Timber Co., the country’s largest private land owner, Jan. 5 withdrew a request it had made to the U.S. Forest Service for a policy change that would have allowed it to pave roads in federally owned lands in order to develop housing on company-owned land. The company had used primitive existing roads for logging purposes, but in recent years had begun to develop land for vacation homes. Plum Creek said it withdrew its request in the wake of widespread opposition generated by press reports that the Bush administration was attempting to push the rule change through before President-elect Barack Obama, who was opposed to the plan, took office. [See 2000, p. 521B3] n

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Algeria CIA Station Chief Accused of Rape. The U.S.’s ABC News reported Jan. 28 on its Web site that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) station chief for Algiers, the capital of Algeria, had been accused of rape by two Algerian women and was currently under investigation by the U.S. State and Justice departments. The two alleged assaults had been reported independently by the women in September 2008, and the station chief, 41-year-old Andrew Warren, had been recalled to the U.S. the following month by David Pearce, the U.S. ambassador to Algeria. [See 2008, p. 257B3] Both of the alleged victims were Algerian citizens who currently lived in Europe, and said the crimes had occurred while they were visiting Algiers. Each had reported losing consciousness at Warren’s residence after consuming alcoholic drinks prepared by Warren, and one woman said that she had woken to find Warren in the act of raping her, while the other found evidence that she had been raped. The attacks allegedly took place in September 2007 and February 2008. Warren, a convert to Islam, had been interviewed by investigators in October 2008 about the allegations, and had admitted having sex with both women but maintained that the sex was consensual. ABC reported that investigators had discovered numerous recordings that Warren had apparently made secretly of himself having sex with women, including one of the accusers, who appeared semiconscious on the tape. Investigators were reportedly examining whether Warren had drugged women during his previous posting in Egypt. Analysts suggested that the allegations could hurt the image of the U.S. in Algeria, and complicate the partnership between the CIA and Algerian intelligence services, which had been working together to combat Algerian militants linked to the Al Qaeda international terrorist network. The Senate Intelligence Committee Jan. 29 was briefed by the CIA about the allegations, a day after the details of the case were made public by ABC News. Following the briefing, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D, Calif.), the committee’s chairwoman, and Sen. Christopher Bond (R, Mo.), the highest-ranking Republican member of the committee, released a joint statement that called the alleged rapes “completely unacceptable” and announced their support for “the ongoing investigation by the Department of Justice.” n

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Kenya Kenyatta Named Finance Minister. Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki Jan. 23 named former Trade Minister Uhuru Kenyatta the country’s new finance minister. Kenyatta—son of Kenya’s founding father, Jomo Kenyatta—was a close ally of Kibaki. He replaced acting Finance Minister John Mi65

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chuki, who had taken over from Amos Kimunya in July 2008 after Kimunya stepped down due to corruption allegations. Kimunya was reportedly cleared by an official inquiry in November 2008, although the results of the inquiry were never made public. Kibaki Jan. 23 named Kimunya trade minister. [See 2008, p. 971E3] n

Madagascar Capital’s Mayor Ousted Over Power Grab.

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Malagasy President Marc Ravalomanana Feb. 3 fired Andry Rajoelina, the opposition mayor of Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo. Rajoelina Jan. 31 had declared himself the country’s leader, and earlier Feb. 3 said he would begin naming cabinet ministers if Ravalomanana did not resign by Feb. 7. [See 2007, p. 670A2] The 34-year-old Rajoelina, a charismatic former disc jockey and self-made advertising mogul, led the Tanora malaGasy Vonona (Young Malagasies Determined) movement. He had been elected in December 2007, soundly defeating the president’s favored candidate. Especially well liked among young people, he had spread his populist, antigovernment message through his radio and television station, Viva. Ravalomanana, a 59-year-old wealthy businessman who led the I Love Madagascar (TIM) party, had come to power in 2002 on a wave of popular support, and was easily reelected in 2006. He owned the Malagasy Broadcasting System, which operated MBS TV and Radio MBS, as well as Tiko, Madagascar’s largest food corporation. Rajoelina had criticized Ravalomanana’s government for failing to lift the majority of Malagasies out of poverty, and for his alleged authoritarian tendencies. However, it was reported that many Magalasies believed that the mayor was being backed by former President Didier Ratsiraka, whom Ravalomanana had defeated in a controversial 2001 election. [See below] The standoff between Ravalomanana and Rajoelina had begun in December 2008, when the president shut down the mayor’s television station after it aired an interview with Ratsiraka. In response to the shutdown, Rajoelina’s supporters held a series of demonstrations in Antananarivo, protesting rising food prices and accusing Ravalomanana of autocratic rule. The demonstrations came to a head Jan. 26–27, when rioters attacked stores, factories and a television station owned by Ravalomanana. Clashes between protesters and police left as many as 100 people dead. That led Rajoelina to declare himself the nation’s leader Jan. 31. He called for civil servants and schoolchildren to stay home Feb. 2, a call that largely went unheeded. Rajoelina then said he would move to impeach the president. In order to fire Rajoelina Feb. 3, Ravalomanana invoked a law that allowed him to dismiss elected officials who were not carrying out their duties. Andry Ralijaona, an official in the president’s office, said, “For the past two months, the mayor has not spent much time fulfilling his real duties; he only went into the streets to excite the 66

crowds and create trouble.” He added, “The roads are not fixed; the rubbish is not cleared; and there are strange decisions, like the way he uses the symbols of his political party to decorate Antananarivo without consulting the people.” Ravalomanana appointed Guy Rivo Randrianarisoa as the capital’s caretaker mayor. Also Feb. 3, the Constitutional Court rejected a petition filed by Rajoelina for the court to remove Ravalomanana from his position. The court said only the country’s parliament had the power to take such action. (Parliament was controlled by Ravalomanana’s party.) At least 1,500 Rajoelina supporters Feb. 4 protested in front of city government offices in Antananarivo. At the rally, Rajoelina named Michel Ratsivalaka to serve as mayor, reasoning that he had stepped down from the position to become Madagascar’s new leader and therefore had the power to appoint his own successor. Rajoelina also proclaimed that he still planned to name a transitional government if Ravalomanana did not step down by Feb. 7. The African Union (AU), which was meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, for its annual summit, Feb. 2 condemned Rajoelina’s power grab. Madagascar had faced a similar situation in 2001–02, when both Ravalomanana, then mayor of the capital, and longtime President Ratsiraka claimed victory in a December 2001 presidential election. The country was at a stalemate for several months, until the Constitutional Court in April 2002 declared Ravalomanana the winner and Ratsiraka in July fled the country. [See 2002, p. 567C2] n

Ahmed, a former schoolteacher, was a founder of the Union of Islamic Courts, which had taken power over much of the country in 2006, ruling with the support of radical Islamists who later formed Al Shabab. The Union of Islamic Courts was ousted by transitional government forces, with strong support from Ethiopian troops, at the end of that year. Ethiopia withdrew its forces earlier in January—with the last troops reportedly leaving Jan. 25—widening the field for various factions’ and clans’ struggle for power. In exile in Djibouti, Ahmed had led a moderate faction of the opposition coalition, the Alliance for the Reliberation of Somalia (ARS), which had reached a peace deal with the transitional government in 2008. Under a power-sharing agreement, 149 ARS members, including Sharif Ahmed, Jan. 28 had been sworn in to an expanded parliament, which that day also voted to extend its mandate until 2011. In an interview published Feb. 1 in a Saudi newspaper, Ahmed declared, “We are a moderate party and we have nothing to do with the fundamentalists.” Al Shabab continued to indicate its refusal to cooperate with the government. In the ongoing violence in the country, a suicide car bomber apparently targeting African Union peacekeepers Jan. 24 killed at least 14 civilians and one policeman in Mogadishu; no peacekeepers were harmed. Also, Said Tahlil Ahmed, the director of HornAfrik, a leading independent radio station, was killed in an attack by three gunmen Feb. 4 in the city. Two other HornAfrik figures had been killed in August 2007. No group asserted responsibility for either attack. [See 2007, p. 635E3] n

Somalia

Pirates Receive Ransom, Release Ship.

Moderate Islamist Named President. Members of Somalia’s transitional parliament, meeting in the neighboring country of Djibouti, Jan. 31 elected Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a moderate Islamist leader, as the government’s new interim president. Somalia’s United Nations–backed transitional government had control of only a small portion of the capital city, Mogadishu. The Al Shabab militant Islamic insurgent group, which controlled much of the rest of southern and central Somalia, Jan. 26 had taken over the city of Baidoa, which had been the base of the parliament, and imposed Islamic law there. [See p. 21E2] The previous interim president, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, had resigned in December 2008, after opposing a peace agreement with moderate Islamists negotiated by interim Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein. Many Somalis expressed the hope that Sheikh Ahmed, because of his ties to the Islamist movement and other factions, stood a better chance of promoting national unity. He was a member of the Hawiye clan that was dominant in Mogadishu. Ahmed, 45, won election in the second round of voting, following the withdrawal of Hussein from the race. He defeated Maslah Mohamed Siad, the son of former President Mohamed Siad Barre, 293–126, and was sworn in later Jan. 31.

Somali pirates who in September 2008 had hijacked a Ukrainian ship carrying a cargo of weaponry released the vessel Feb. 5 after being paid a reported ransom of $3.2 million. After the pirates departed, the ship, the MV Faina, was put under the protection of the U.S. Navy. U.S. sailors inspected the pirates’ boats as they departed to ensure that they were not carrying off any of the arms, but they were allowed to escape with the ransom, so as not to endanger the nearly 150 members of other ship crews reportedly held hostage by pirates in the region. [See p. 21A2] The Faina was to be taken to the Kenyan port of Mombasa, where its crew would receive needed medical attention. The hijackers had originally demanded $20 million in ransom. In an interview with the New York Times published Feb. 6, one of the pirates, Isse Mohammed, said he and other leaders of the hijacking had gone to Harardhere, one of several Somali coastal towns known as a pirate base, to count the ransom money before authorizing the full release of the ship. In a related development, the U.S. ambassador to Kenya, Michael Ranneberger, Jan. 26 had said any pirates captured by U.S. antipiracy patrols would be turned over to Kenyan authorities for trial. Britain had reportedly agreed to do the same. n FACTS ON FILE

Zimbabwe Opposition Agrees to Join Government. The

opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party Jan. 30 announced that it would join a unity government with the longtime ruling Zimbabwe African National Union–Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party of President Robert Mugabe. Zimbabwe’s parliament, which was controlled by the MDC, Feb. 5 unanimously adopted a constitutional amendment that created a prime minister’s post, which would be filled by MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai. [See 2008, p. 974A1] The MDC’s Jan. 30 announcement came after months of wrangling between the two parties over the composition of the unity government, which had been agreed to in principle in September 2008. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s economy had continued to deteriorate, with record-high inflation and unemployment reaching 94%, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Jan. 29. Also, a cholera epidemic continued to take its toll, with more than 3,300 people having died of the disease and a further 66,000 sickened as of Feb. 5, mainly due to lack of access to clean water and basic health care facilities. [See below] Regional Body Pushes Deal Through—

The worsening situation in Zimbabwe had prompted leaders of the 15-member Southern African Development Community (SADC), at a special summit Jan. 26–27 in Pretoria, South Africa, to increase pressure on the two parties to implement the powersharing deal. Specifically, the SADC pressured the MDC to accept an arrangement that gave it a less-than-equal share of power with the ZANU-PF. That pressure came despite the fact that the MDC had won parliamentary elections in March 2008, and Tsvangirai had won more votes than Mugabe in the first round of the presidential election, but not enough for the outright majority needed to gain the presidency. Tsvangirai had pulled out of a June 2008 runoff presidential vote against Mugabe due to widespread violence against his supporters, and Mugabe had won an election widely perceived as illegitimate. The SADC meeting came amid increasing pressure from leading political and civil-society leaders in southern Africa to find a resolution to the impasse. According to an SADC statement issued Jan. 27, Tsvangirai tentatively agreed to accept a deal in which the MDC and a splinter faction would control around half of the cabinet ministries, including finance, health and education. He also relented on what had been a key point of contention: control of the home ministry, which oversaw the police. The MDC had originally demanded control of that ministry, but Mugabe refused to give it up. The SADC had proposed sharing the ministry, which Mugabe had agreed to in a Jan. 19 meeting, mediated by South Africa, in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital. Tsvangirai had rejected the proposal at the time. February 5, 2009

The MDC demanded control of the ministry because the police had been responsible for much of the violence against its supporters prior to the 2008 runoff election. The ZANU-PF retained control of the military, and the MDC was reluctant to leave the entire security apparatus under the influence of the ZANU-PF. The MDC had also demanded the immediate release of dozens of opposition activists who had been held by Zimbabwe’s security forces since late 2008, but their release was not granted. Tsvangirai and the MDC, under pressure from southern African leaders, apparently came to the conclusion that if they did not accept the SADC deal, they risked being shut out of the government completely. Mugabe had repeatedly threatened to unilaterally form a government if the MDC did not accept the deal proposed by the SADC. After the SADC meeting in Pretoria, Tsvangirai presented the deal to the MDC’s top leaders at a Jan. 30 meeting in Harare, at which they agreed to accept it. Tsvangirai that day said he saw the new government as transitional, and that the MDC was entering it to “save this country from the precipice.” Tsvangirai announced the MDC’s approval of the power-sharing deal to hundreds of cheering supporters in Harare. The constitutional amendment passed Feb. 5 provided for Tsvangirai to be sworn in as prime minister Feb. 11, and Arthur Mutambara, leader of the MDC splinter faction, to become deputy prime minister.

trillion for Z$1. Gono also said the bank was lifting all restrictions on the withdrawal of money in foreign currencies. n

Botswanan President Voices Criticism—

ist guerrilla group the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) Feb. 1– 5 unilaterally released six hostages. The unconditional hostage releases were viewed as another sign of the rebel group’s waning power and influence, following a successful military campaign against it in recent months overseen by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Velez and backed by the U.S. Several of the group’s leaders had been killed or captured in 2008, and the military in a daring July 2008 rescue had freed 15 hostages. In previous instances, FARC leaders had attempted to negotiate the release of comrades captured by the government in exchange for the return of hostages. [See 2008, pp. 819E1, 452A1] Rebels Feb. 1 released four hostages— three police officers and one soldier—who were taken from rebel captivity in a military helicopter operated by the International Committee of the Red Cross. The released captives had been captured in 2007. The rebel group Feb. 3 released Alan Jara, the former governor of the state of Meta, who had been held for more than seven years. Sigifredo Lopez, a former provincial legislator from the state of Valle de Cauca, was released Feb. 5. Lopez was one of a group of lawmakers who had been captured in 2002, of whom 11 had been killed in 2007 under unclear circumstances. FARC said the hostages had died during an assault by the Colombian military on the encampment in which they were held. The military denied participating in any such action, and said it was likely the captives had died in accidental cross-fire between two rebel groups. n

Botswanan President Seretse Khama Ian Khama Jan. 26, in what was described as a rare interview, criticized Zimbabwe’s power-sharing deal, which was modeled in part on a deal implemented in Kenya in 2008, after a disputed election. Khama, whose government had consistently and vocally criticized Mugabe, said, “These powersharing agreements are not the way to go on the continent.” He added, “You can’t have a situation where a ruling party, when it senses it may lose an election, can then manipulate the outcome so they can stay on in power.” [See 2008, pp. 971C2, 221A1] Government Allows Foreign Currencies—

Zimbabwe’s government Jan. 29 announced that it would allow transactions in currencies other than the Zimbabwean dollar. With estimated inflation running in the billions of percent (the last official rate, released in July 2008, had been 231 million percent), Zimbabwe’s currency was practically worthless, and the majority of businesses had stopped accepting the Zimbabwean dollar several months earlier. The government said it would allow the use of U.S. dollars or currencies of neighboring countries. The government Jan. 12 had introduced a Z$50 billion note, and Jan. 16 came out with a Z$10 trillion note—which at the time equaled about US$8 on the black market. Gideon Gono, governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the central bank, Feb. 2 announced that the government would slash 12 zeroes from its currency, revaluing the Zimbabwean dollar at a rate of Z$1

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AMERICAS

Canada Nortel Networks Files for Bankruptcy. Telecommunications equipment–maker Nortel Networks Corp., at one time Canada’s largest company by market value, Jan. 14 filed for bankruptcy protection in Ontario Superior Court. Its U.S. subsidiary that day filed for Chapter 11 protection in a court in Wilmington, Del. [See 2006, p. 305F3] Nortel’s stock had hit a peak of C$124.50 per share in July 2000, but the company’s worth was sharply eroded by the collapse of technology stocks the following year. The company was subsequently involved in a US$3.2 billion (C$3.9 billion) accounting fraud. Nortel stock closed Jan. 14 at C$0.30 per share. The bankruptcy filing came a day before a US$107 million interest payment was due. Several analysts said it was likely that the company would not be able to restructure itself and emerge from bankruptcy, as the global credit crisis had made it difficult for bankrupt entities to secure new financing. n

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Rebels Release Six More Hostages. Marx-

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Kazakhstan

Austria

Government Takes Control of Two Banks.

Police Detain Seven Over Chechen’s Murder.

Kazakh officials Feb. 2 announced that the government would take controlling stakes in BTA Bank and Alliance Bank, the largest and fourth-largest banks in the country, respectively. The government bought a 78% stake in BTA for about $2.1 billion under recently passed legislation that allowed the government to take control of banks that did not meet liquidity or reserve requirements. Alliance Bank willingly sold the government a 76% stake for a token sum, on the condition that the state would also assume the bank’s liabilities. Kazakhstan, which had borrowed heavily from abroad in recent years, had been severely affected by the worldwide economic slowdown, and reportedly owed $11 billion in loan payments due by the end of 2009. [See 2008, p. 838F2] In a related development, the country’s central bank Feb. 4 devalued the tenge, Kazakhstan’s currency, by as much as 25%. The government had maintained the tenge’s value at 120–121 tenge per U.S. dollar, but by Feb. 4 it was valued as low as 149 tenge per dollar. The bank pledged not to let the currency fall below 150 tenge per dollar. Officials said the devaluation was necessary as a result of declining oil prices, and after Kazakhstan’s trading partners, especially Russia, had enacted similar currency devaluations. [See p. 69A2] n

Austrian police Jan. 28 detained seven Chechen men in connection with the murder of Chechen dissident Umar Israilov, 27, who had been slain earlier that month in Vienna, the capital. (Chechnya was a majority-Muslim republic in southern Russia.) The seven were reportedly being investigated for conspiracy, aiding and abetting, and being a member of a criminal group. Another suspect who had been detained the day of the murder remained in custody. [See p. 36G3] Officials maintained that they were unsure whether Israilov’s murder had been politically motivated, though many rights groups claimed that it was linked to his 2006 and 2007 complaints against Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, 32, in the European Court of Human Rights. Israilov had accused Kadyrov, an ally of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, of employing abductions and torture from 2003 to 2005 against an ongoing, low-level Chechen insurgency. Kadyrov at that time headed the Chechen Presidential Security Service under the rule of his father, Akhmed Kadyrov, then Chechnya’s president. Israilov, a former insurgent, had been forced to serve in the Presidential Security Service in 2003, until he defected in 2004. n

France Unions Lead Strike, Protests on Economy.

Asia-Pacific News in Brief Cambodia: First Genocide Trial Scheduled.

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A United Nations–backed genocide tribunal Jan. 19 set a Feb. 17 opening date for the trial of Kang Kek Ieu, a member of Cambodia’s notorious Khmer Rouge who was also known as “Duch.” It was the first trial of a member of the Khmer Rouge. The regime was responsible for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people during its 1975–79 rule. Duch had been indicted in August 2008 by the joint U.N.–Cambodian tribunal, known as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), on charges that he oversaw the deaths of about 14,000 people while head of Tuol Sleng prison in Phnom Penh. [See 2008, p. 573A2] n Fiji: Flooding Kills 11, Displaces Thousands.

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Severe flooding Jan. 8–15 on the Fijian island of Viti Leveu killed at least 11 people and displaced more than 6,000 others. The flooding, caused by heavy rains, reportedly triggered mud slides and caused major damage to infrastructure on the island. Fijian officials Jan. 12 said that interim Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama had declared a state of emergency in response to the flooding. New Zealand and Australia Jan. 14 promised Fiji flood aid totaling $150,000 and Jan. 16 added $2.3 million to support relief efforts and rebuilding. [See 2007, p. 739B3] n 68

More than a million workers across France Jan. 29 went on strike and joined demonstrations against the response to the ongoing economic crisis by the conservative government of President Nicolas Sarkozy. The protests were organized by the country’s eight largest labor unions and backed by the Socialist Party and other leftist political parties. [See p. 68A3; 2008, p. 910D2] The unions said at least 2.5 million people joined the protests, while the interior ministry put the total at one million. Most of the participants were public-sector workers. Transportation was disrupted in Paris and other major cities, and many teachers also joined the strike. Clashes between the police and about 100 to 200 protesters reportedly occurred in Paris. Sarkozy that day issued a statement recognizing the “legitimate worries” of workers. He pledged to hold talks in February with union representatives to discuss a “program of reforms.” In December 2008, Sarkozy had announced a 26 billion euro ($34.5 billion) economic stimulus package, mainly aimed at infrastructure projects such as new nuclear plants and high-speed rail. The unions had called for higher wages and pensions and more government hiring. Since taking office in 2007, Sarkozy had sought to break the traditional power of the unions to block economic reforms, and in July 2008 he had boasted that strikes now went unnoticed. n

Great Britain Strikes Break Out Against Foreign Labor.

About 2,000 British workers at power plants and refineries across the nation Jan. 30 went on strike to protest the use of foreign labor for skilled construction jobs. The wildcat strikes, organized by workers without the authorization of union leaders, continued until Feb. 5. They had spread after starting Jan. 28 in response to a move by French oil company Total SA to award a £200 million ($290 million) contract to Italian company Irem SpA for construction work at its Lindsey oil refinery in eastern England, 175 miles (280 km) north of London. [See p. 52B3] Irem had brought in about 200 Italian and Portuguese workers for the project. Labor unions accused Total of discriminating against British workers at a time when unemployment was rising sharply. Workers at two nuclear plants in northwest England Feb. 2 joined the strikes. Workers at the Lindsey refinery Feb. 5 voted to end the strikes and accept an agreement with Total that would set aside 100 jobs on the construction project for British laborers. The strikes had become an awkward political issue for Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who gave a speech Jan. 30 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, warning against a turn toward protectionism in response to the global financial crisis. But the striking workers carried signs quoting a speech by Brown in 2007, when he had vowed to create “British jobs for British workers.” The strikes also drew threats of retaliation from the Italian government. Britain’s booming economy in recent years had attracted hundreds of thousands of foreign workers, mostly from Eastern Europe, but many of them had left as the economy entered a recession in 2008 and the value of the British pound fell against other currencies. Central Bank Cuts Interest Rate— The Bank of England, the British central bank, Feb. 5 cut its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point, to 1%, in its fifth consecutive monthly rate cut. The sharp cuts followed the example of the U.S. Federal Reserve, which had cut its key rate to near zero in December 2008. [See p. 23D1] The European Central Bank, which made monetary policy for the 16 countries that used the euro currency, that day left its rate unchanged at 2% but hinted a rate cut was likely at its next meeting in March. n

Iceland New Prime Minister Sworn In. Johanna Sigurdardottir Feb. 1 took the oath of office as Iceland’s prime minister, heading a temporary left-leaning coalition government that would remain in power until parliamentary elections scheduled for April 25. She replaced Geir Haarde, who had resigned the previous week after he and his conservative Independence Party faced mounting public protests in response to the collapse of the FACTS ON FILE

country’s economy in the global financial crisis. [See p. 52D3] In one of her first actions, Sigurdardottir, Feb. 2 said she had asked the three governors of the central bank to resign. However, the governors did not respond to her request by her deadline of Feb. 5. Sigurdardottir, 66, was a former flight attendant and labor union organizer who had served as social affairs minister in several governments. A divorced mother and grandmother, she was said to be the world’s first openly homosexual national leader, having formed a civil partnership with a woman in 2002. Sigurdardottir’s Social Democratic Alliance had formed its governing coalition with the anti-capitalist, environmentalist Left-Green Movement. The leader of the Social Democrats, Ingibjorg Gisladottir, had originally been asked to form the new government, but since she was recovering from brain surgery to remove a benign tumor she deferred to Sigurdardottir. n

Russia Sagging Economy Spurs Protests. Antigovernment protests Jan. 31–Feb. 1 took place across Russia, in a signal that unease among citizens was growing amid a global economic downturn that had drained Russia’s cash reserves and crippled the ruble, Russia’s currency. The country had previously enjoyed a decade of economic growth resulting largely from high oil prices, which had since fallen. Protesters at both approved and unapproved rallies called for a variety of actions, ranging from the resignations of President Dmitri Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, to the rejection of Western-style free-market economics in favor of broad nationalizations. [See p. 37D1; 2008, p. 985B2] The Russian authorities took the unusual step of officially allowing several opposition protests in central Moscow, the capital, a move that observers saw as an apparent concession to increasing public discontent. Antigovernment protests, when approved, were often relegated to inconvenient or isolated locations. Among the approved demonstrations was a Jan. 31 Moscow rally organized by the Communist Party, which reportedly drew about 1,000 people. The same day, a pro-government rally in Moscow reportedly attracted as many as 8,000 people. A peaceful, antigovernment demonstration of about 2,500 also took place in the far eastern city of Vladivostok, where riot police had violently dispersed a similar protest in December 2008. A number of other protests took place in Moscow and elsewhere in Russia. Unapproved protests also took place in Moscow. A police spokesman Jan. 31 said 41 protesters were detained that day. Reportedly among the detained were Eduard Limonov, leader of the banned National Bolshevik Party, and chess grandmaster and Other Russia party leader Garry Kasparov. Among protesters’ grievances were the declining ruble, rising unemployment and commodity prices, the recent murders of February 5, 2009

several rights activists and dissidents, and a new tax on foreign vehicles. [See below, pp. 68A2, 36D2] Ruble Hits 11-Year Low—The ruble Feb. 2 hit its lowest value in 11 years as it approached a benchmark Russian officials had said they would not let it fall below. The central bank Jan. 22 had said it would defend the ruble from falling below a value of 41 rubles to a basket composed of the U.S. dollar and the euro, the European Union’s common currency. The ruble Feb. 2 had hit 40.79 to the dollar-euro basket, before rising slightly in value. [See 2008, p. 929B1] Fitch Ratings, a credit-rating agency owned by France’s Fimilac SA, Feb. 4 downgraded Russia’s credit outlook to BBB, from BBB plus. A BBB rating was two grades above “junk” level. [See 2008, p. 929D1] n Kaliningrad Missile Delay Reported. A Jan. 28 report by Russia’s Interfax news agency quoted an unidentified Russian defense official as saying plans, announced in November 2008, to station missiles in Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave wedged between Lithuania and Poland, had been “suspended because the new U.S. administration is not pushing ahead with the plans to deploy the U.S. missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic.” (U.S. President Barack Obama had not yet defined his position on the missile shield, but was thought to view the project with some skepticism.) The report, which came two days after Obama had spoken with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev on the telephone, cited an unidentified Russian official, and Russian officials asked about it declined to confirm it. [See 2008, p. 879E1] However, U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) officials greeted the report as a promising signal for relations with Russia. U.S.-Russian ties had soured in 2008 following Russia’s brief war with Western-leaning Georgia, and moves by the U.S. to install missile shield components in Poland and the Czech Republic. The administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush had claimed that the missile shield would protect against threats from rogue nuclear states like Iran, while Russia argued that a shield could undermine its defenses. n

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United Arab Emirates Nuclear Power Deal Signed With U.S. United Arab Emirates (UAE) Foreign Min-

ister Sheikh Abdallah Bin Zayid al-Nahyan and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Jan. 15 signed a civilian nuclear cooperation deal in Washington, D.C., paving the way for the UAE to develop a nuclearpower industry. Under the deal, the UAE could buy U.S. nuclear technology, equipment and fuel. In return, it would submit to extensive inspections by the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and abide by the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). In addition, the UAE pledged to import its nuclear fuel, rather than developing the technology to enrich

uranium or reprocess spent fuel. The UAE said the deal would strengthen ties with the U.S., and supply its future energy needs as its oil and gas resources declined. [See 2008, p. 742E1] Signing the deal was one of the last foreign-policy actions of the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush, before the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama. Obama had not indicated whether he supported the agreement. The deal had to be reviewed by the U.S. Congress. Several U.S. legislators expressed concern that the deal might allow Iran, a major UAE trading partner, easier access to nuclear technology. Iran was operating a nuclear program—which it claimed was for civilian power generation—that included enriching uranium. The U.S. and its allies said the real aim of Iran’s nuclear program was to produce nuclear weapons. [See 2008, p. 874C2] Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Fla.), the senior Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, had introduced legislation to delay the deal until the UAE proved that it was helping to enforce sanctions against Iran. n

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Pakistan News in Brief. Islamic extremist militants in northwestern Pakistan Feb. 3 blew up a bridge used as a supply route by U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

troops fighting a Taliban insurgency in neighboring Afghanistan, temporarily suspending deliveries. The bridge was located on the Khyber Pass near the Afghan border, about 15 miles (25 km) from Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province. The route had come under frequent attack in recent months, prompting U.S. and NATO officials to seek supply routes through Afghanistan’s Central Asian neighbors to the north. U.S. and NATO shipped about 80% of their supplies to Afghanistan through Pakistan. [See pp. 58D3, 39C1] Gunmen Feb. 2 kidnapped John Solecki, a U.S. citizen who headed the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees office in Quetta, the capital of the southwestern province of Baluchistan. Solecki’s driver was killed during the abduction. While attacks on foreign aid workers had grown more common in Peshawar and other areas in Pakistan’s northwest, they were rare in Baluchistan. Authorities increased security on roads leading to Afghanistan, in case the kidnappers were aligned with the Taliban and sought to take Solecki to Afghanistan. [See 2008, p. 843C3] Missile attacks by suspected U.S. Predator drone aircraft Jan. 23 killed as many as 20 people in the northwestern tribal areas of North Waziristan and South Waziristan. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was thought to have conducted 38 such attacks since August 2008, in a ramped-up effort to target terrorists operating in Pakistan’s tribal areas. The most re69

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cent attacks were the first conducted under the administration of President Barack Obama, who had been inaugurated three days earlier. The Obama administration did not comment on the attacks, and it remained unclear if Obama himself had approved them, or if he would allow the campaign to continue. [See p. 38A3] n

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SPORTS

UNITED STATES

Steelers Defeat Cardinals to Win Super Bowl

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Pittsburgh Prevails With Last-Minute Score.

The Pittsburgh Steelers Feb. 1 defeated the Arizona Cardinals, 27–23, in Tampa, Fla., to win Super Bowl XLIII. The Steelers captured the National Football League (NFL) title with a thrilling, last-minute drive, capped by an acrobatic six-yard touchdown reception by wide receiver Santonio Holmes. [See p. 39E2; 2008, p. 78F3] The Steelers, coached by Mike Tomlin, won the sixth Super Bowl in franchise history, an NFL record. Two other franchises—the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers—had each won five Super Bowls. The Steelers had last won the Super Bowl in 2006. Holmes, who had a total of nine catches for 131 yards and one touchdown in the game, was named the Super Bowl’s most valuable player (MVP). Other stars for the Steelers included quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who passed for 256 yards and one touchdown, and linebacker James Harrison, who returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown—the longest play in Super Bowl history. The Cardinals, coached by Ken Whisenhunt (who had been the Steelers’ offensive coordinator for their 2006 Super Bowl victory), were appearing in the first Super Bowl in the team’s history. Despite being plagued by costly turnovers and penalties throughout the game, they were able to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter

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that nearly won them the title. Arizona was led by veteran quarterback Kurt Warner, who passed for 377 yards and three touchdowns, and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who had seven receptions for 127 yards and two touchdowns. Nielsen Media Research Feb. 3 said Super Bowl XLIII, which was aired on the NBC television network, had attracted the highest average viewership in Super Bowl history. The 98.7 million average viewers beat out the previous year’s matchup between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots, which had attracted 97.5 million viewers on the Fox network. [See 2008, p. 79C2] Steelers Take Early Lead—The Steelers scored on the first possession of the Super Bowl Feb. 1. Roethlisberger led Pittsburgh on a 71-yard drive, but the Cardinals stopped the Steelers at the goal line, and they were forced to settle for an 18-yard field goal by kicker Jeff Reed. The Steelers scored a touchdown less than a minute into the second quarter, on a one-yard run by tailback Gary Russell. The Cardinals answered midway through the half, when Warner connected with tight end Ben Patrick on a one-yard pass to make the score 10–7. The Cardinals looked set to at least tie the game at the end of the second half, but Harrison intercepted Warner’s pass at the goal line and returned it the entire length of the field to give Pittsburgh a 17–7 lead at half time. Reed kicked a 21-yard field goal in the middle of the third quarter to give the Steelers a 13-point lead and set the stage for the game’s exciting finish. Warner led Arizona on an 87-yard touchdown drive at the beginning of the fourth quarter, capped by a one-yard scoring pass to Fitzgerald. After a punt pinned the Steelers near their own goal line, Pittsburgh was assessed a safety when Justin Hartwig was called for holding in his own end zone with two minutes and 28 seconds remaining. The Cardinals gained possession after the safety, and quickly took a

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23–20 lead when Warner again connected with Fitzgerald on a 64-yard touchdown pass with 2:37 left in the game. Roethlisberger then led the Steelers on a 78-yard drive that ended with a six-yard fingertip catch by Holmes in the back right corner of the end zone. The officials spent several minutes reviewing the play before determining that Holmes had managed to touch both feet down within the end zone after securing possession of the ball and before he fell out of the end zone. SCORING SUMMARY First Quarter 9:45 Steelers 3, Cardinals 0—18-yard field goal by Reed. Drive: nine plays, 71 yards, 5:15. Key plays: 38-yard pass to Hines Ward from Roethlisberger; 21-yard pass to Heath Miller from Roethlisberger.

Second Quarter 14:01 Steelers 10, Cardinals 0—One-yard TD run by Russell (extra point by Reed). Drive: 11 plays, 69 yards, 7:12. Key plays: 25-yard pass to Holmes from Roethlisberger; 11-yard pass to Miller from Roethlisberger on 3rd-and-10; 11-yard pass to Miller from Roethlisberger. 8:34 Steelers 10, Cardinals 7—One-yard TD pass to Patrick from Warner (extra point by Neil Rackers). Drive: nine plays, 83 yards, 5:27. Key plays: 10- and 11-yard passes to Edgerrin James from Warner; 13-yard pass to Steve Breaston from Warner; 45-yard pass to Anquan Boldin from Warner. 0:00 Steelers 17, Cardinals 7—100-yard interception return for TD by Harrison (extra point by Reed).

Third Quarter 9:45 Steelers 20, Cardinals 7—21-yard field goal by Reed. Drive: 16 plays, 79 yards, 8:39. Key plays: 15-yard face mask penalty on Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie; five-yard pass to Ward from Roethlisberger on 3rd-and-one; 15-yard roughing the passer penalty on Karlos Dansby; 15-yard pass to Holmes from Roethlisberger; 15-yard run by Willie Parker; five-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on Adrian Wilson on 4th-and-nine.

Fourth Quarter 7:33 Steelers 20, Cardinals 14—One-yard TD pass to Fitzgerald from Warner (extra point by Rackers). Drive: eight plays, 87 yards, 3:57. Key plays: 13-yard pass to Breaston from Warner; 18-yard pass to Jerheme Urban from Warner; 18-yard pass to Fitzgerald from Warner. 2:58 Steelers 20, Cardinals 16—Safety. Holding penalty on Hartwig in end zone. 2:37 Steelers 20, Cardinals 23—64-yard TD pass to Fitzgerald from Warner (extra point by Rackers). Drive: two plays, 64 yards, 0:21. 0:35 Steelers 27, Cardinals 23—Six-yard TD pass to Holmes from Roethlisberger (extra point by Reed). Drive: eight plays, 78 yards, 2:02. Key plays: 14-yard pass to Holmes from Roethlisberger; 13-yard pass to Holmes from Roethlisberger on 3rd-and-six; 11-yard pass to Nate Washington from Roethlisberger; 40-yard pass to Holmes from Roethlisberger. n

Tennis S. Williams, Nadal Win Australian Open.

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Santonio Holmes of the Pittsburgh Steelers (10) catches a six-yard touchdown pass with his toes inches inside the end zone, in the final minute of Super Bowl XLIII against the Arizona Cardinals, Feb. 1 in Tampa, Fla. The Steelers won the game, 27–23.

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Second-seeded Serena Williams of the U.S. Jan. 31 won the women’s title at the Australian Open, the first of four yearly Grand Slam tennis tournaments, easily vanquishing third-seeded Dinara Safina of Russia, 6–0, 6–3, in Melbourne. Top seed Rafael Nadal of Spain Feb. 1 beat secondFACTS ON FILE

seeded Roger Federer of Switzerland, 7–5, 3–6, 7–6, 3–6, 6–2, to win the men’s title, becoming the first Spanish player to win the event. [See 2008, p. 63E1] Williams’s victory was her 10th Grand Slam singles title and her fourth at the Australian Open. She had previously won the tournament in 2003, 2005 and 2007. Williams, 27, Feb. 2 became the world’s topranked player, replacing Jelena Jankovic of Serbia. In the semifinals Jan. 29, Williams had beaten fourth seed Elena Dementieva of Russia, 6–3, 6–4, while Safina had defeated fellow Russian Vera Zvonareva, 6–3, 7– 6. Top seed Jankovic had been defeated Jan. 25 in the fourth round of the tournament, 6–1, 6–4, by 16th-seeded Marion Bartoli of France. Nadal Defeats Federer in Five Sets—

The Australian Open victory was Nadal’s first and his sixth Grand Slam singles victory overall. He had previously beaten Federer in a memorable match in the 2008 Wimbledon final. Nadal, 22, had a 5–2 record in Grand Slam championship matches against Federer and a 13–6 record against him overall. Federer, 27, appeared distressed after his loss and began crying during the award ceremony that followed the match. He was comforted by Nadal, who told Federer, “Remember you are a great champion. You are the best in history.” If Federer had won the match, he would have tied the men’s tennis record of 14 Grand Slam singles titles that was currently held by Pete Sampras of the U.S. Federer Jan. 29 had beaten seventh seed Andy Roddick of the U.S., 6–2, 7–5, 7–5, in the semifinals. Nadal Jan. 29–30 defeated 14th-seeded Fernando Verdasco, also of Spain, 6–7, 6–4, 7–6, 6–7, 6–4, after an epic five hour and 14 minute semifinal match that lasted into the early hours of Jan. 30; the match was the longest in the history of the Australian Open. Balkan Fans Clash During Match—Bosnian and Serbian spectators Jan. 23 clashed during a match between unseeded Amer Delic of the U.S., who had been born in Bosnia, and third-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia. The fighting was reportedly triggered when a tennis ball was thrown at a fan in one group by a fan from the other. The match was won by Djokovic, 6–2, 4–6, 6–3, 7–6. During the unrest, which largely occurred outside the stadium where the match was held, a Bosnian onlooker was struck in the head with a chair thrown by a Serbian fan, and fans of both nationalities lobbed projectiles and shouted at each other. A total of 30 fans were ejected from the event and two were arrested and charged with riotous behavior. In 2007, fighting between Croatian and Serbian fans at the Australian Open had led to the ejection of about 150 spectators. Australia had large Balkan immigrant communities. Doubles Results—Serena Williams and her sister, Venus, Jan. 30 beat Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia and Japan’s Ai Sugiyama, 6–3, 6–3, to win the women’s double title, their eighth Grand Slam doubles title. February 5, 2009

In the men’s doubles final, twins Mike and Bob Bryan of the U.S. Jan. 31 defeated Mark Knowles of the Bahamas and Mahesh Bhupathi of India, 2–6, 7–5, 6–0, to win their seventh doubles Grand Slam title. Separately, Bhupati and Sania Mirza, also of India, Feb. 1 beat Israeli Andy Ram and Nathalie Dechy of France, 6–3, 6–1, to claim the mixed doubles title. n

Swimming Phelps Suspended Over Marijuana Photo. USA Swimming Feb. 5 suspended Olympic

champion Michael Phelps from competition for three months in response to a photograph in a British tabloid newspaper that showed him smoking marijuana. USA Swimming, the sport’s governing body in the U.S., also withheld Phelps’s monthly stipend of $1,750. Phelps, 23, had won a record eight gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. [See 2008, p. 578A2] The photo was first published Feb. 1 in Britain’s News of the World. Phelps that day issued a statement saying, “I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment.” He apologized and vowed that “it will not happen again.” In 2004, he had pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated. Cereal company Kellogg Co. Feb. 5 said it would not renew its endorsement contract with Phelps, which was scheduled to expire at the end of the month. Phelps made about $5 million a year from endorsing a variety of products. No other companies had yet said they would drop him in response to the photo. Despite the three-month ban, Phelps would remain eligible for the July U.S. championships, the qualifying event for the August world championships in Rome. n

Baseball Henderson, Rice Elected to Hall of Fame. Former Major League Baseball (MLB) left

fielders Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice Jan. 12 were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., in balloting by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Henderson was elected in his first year of eligibility, and received 511 of the 539 ballots cast, or 94.8%. Rice was elected in his 15th and final year of eligibility with 412 votes, or 76.4%. (A player needed to be named on at least 75% of the ballots cast in order to be elected.) They would be inducted in July. [See 2008, pp. 992F3, 154F2] Henderson played for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, San Diego Padres, Anaheim Angels, New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers in his 25-year career. A 10-time All-Star, he won the World Series with the A’s in 1989 and the Blue Jays in 1993, and was named the American League (A.L.) most valuable player (MVP) in 1990. He retired in 2003 at the age of 44 as MLB’s all-time leader in runs scored, with 2,295, and stolen bases,

with 1,406; he was second all-time to Barry Bonds in walks, with 2,190. [See 2004, p. 598F3; 2003, p. 567E1; 2001, p. 798F3; 1991, p. 330D3; 1990, p. 882F3] Rice, 55, played his entire 16-year career with the Red Sox, and retired in 1989. He was selected as an A.L. All-Star eight times, and was named the league’s MVP in 1978. He ended his career with a batting average of .298, 382 home runs and 1,451 runs batted in. [See 1988, p. 244B2; 1978, p. 928D1] Henderson and Rice were the first left fielders named to the Hall of Fame since Carl Yastrzemski in 1989. [See 1989, p. 24C1] Former star slugger Mark McGwire, whose reputation had been tainted by allegations of performance-enhancing drug use, was named on just 21.9% of the ballots in his third year of eligibility. [See 2007, p. 832G3; 2005, p. 199D1] n

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People A painting by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin Jan. 17 fetched 37 million rubles (about $1.1 million) at a charity auction of works by Russian celebrities in Putin’s hometown, St. Petersburg. The painting, of a frost-covered window framed by curtains, was created by Putin in late December 2008 and then touched up by a professional artist. Signed by Putin, the painting was said to have been his first. The auction as a whole netted about $2.2 million; some of its proceeds would benefit children with cancer. [See 2008, p. 317B1] British singer Boy George, 47, Jan. 16 in London was sentenced to 15 months in prison for falsely imprisoning a Norwegian male escort, Audun Carlsen, 29, by handcuffing him to a wall in the singer’s London apartment in 2007. Boy George in 2006 had been sentenced to community service in New York City after pleading guilty to falsely reporting a burglary. [See 2006, p. 688B2] n

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74, jazz saxophonist who worked closely with rhythm and blues pioneer Ray Charles in the late 1950s and early 1960s before forging his own career as a leader of jazz and soul bands; born Dec. 21, 1934, in Memphis, Tenn.; died Jan. 29 at his Memphis home, from complications of a stroke suffered in 2000; he died nine days after the death of another well-known saxophonist who got an early start with Charles, David “Fathead” Newman; a third saxophonist who played with Charles early on, Leroy Cooper, had died Jan. 15, of heart failure, at age 80. [See p. 56D2] DIA, Mamadou Moustapha, 98, Senegal’s first prime minister when it gained independence from France in 1960; he was a close associate of poet and intellectual Leopold Senghor, who became Senegal’s first president at the same time; after a falling-out with Senghor, he mounted an unsuccessful coup against him in 1962, and was subsequently imprisoned until 1974, two years before being given a presidential pardon; Senghor remained in power until 1980, when he voluntarily left office; in his later years, Dia was an adviser to Senegalese opposition politicians and a media commentator on political matters; born July 18, 1910, in Khombole, Senegal; died Jan. 25 in Dakar, the Senegalese capital. [See 2001, p. 1084G2; 1976, p. 591D3; Indexes 1974, 1967, 1958–63]

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Publishers Weekly Feb. 2 listed the following hardback and paperback best sellers [See 2008, p. 1000A1]:

Top-Rated Programs. The following were the most-watched prime-time nation-

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al television shows Jan. 1–Feb. 1 as determined by A.C. Nielsen Co. Figures in parentheses are rating points; each point represents 1% of the 114.5 million television households in the U.S. [See 2008, p. 1000A2]:

1. Plum Spooky, by Janet Evanovich (St. Martin’s) 2. The Host, by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown) 3. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski (Ecco) 4. Black Ops, by W.E.B. Griffin (Putnam) 5. Agincourt, by Bernard Cornwell (Harper)

1. “Super Bowl XLIII” (NBC), Feb. 1 (42.0) 2. “Super Bowl Post-Game” (NBC), Feb. 1 (25.7) 3. “American Football Conference (AFC) Championship” (CBS), Jan. 18 (22.0) 4. “American Idol” (Fox), Jan. 14 (16.4) 5. “AFC Wild Card Game: San Diego–Indianapolis” (NBC), Jan. 3 (16.1)

General Hardback 1. Outliers: The Story of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown) 2. The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion) 3. Guilty: Liberal “Victims” and Their Assault on America, by Ann Coulter (Crown Forum) 4. Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World, by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter (Grand Central) 5. Flat Belly Diet, by Liz Vaccariello and Cynthia Sass (Rodale Press) Mass Market Paperback 1. Kiss of a Demon King, by Kresley Cole (Pocket) 2. Revolutionary Road, by Richard Yates (Vintage) 3. The Appeal, by John Grisham (Dell) 4. Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog, by John Grogan (Harper) 5. Plum Lucky, by Janet Evanovich (St. Martin’s)

Music Best-Selling Singles and Albums. Billboard magazine in its Jan. 31 issue list-

ed the five most popular singles (as determined by air play and sales) and the five best-selling albums in the U.S. as the following [See 2008, p. 1000C1]:

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1. “Just Dance,” Lady Gaga featuring Colby O’Donis (Streamline/KonLive/ Cherrytree/Interscope) 2. “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” Beyonce (Music World/Columbia) 3. “Heartless,” Kanye West (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam/IDJMG) 4. “Live Your Life,” T.I. featuring Rihanna (Def Jam /Grand Hustle/IDJMG/Atlantic) 5. “Love Story,” Taylor Swift (Big Machine/Universal Republic)

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1. Fearless, Taylor Swift (Big Machine) 2. I Am...Sasha Fierce, Beyonce (Music World/Columbia/Sony Music) 3. Dark Horse, Nickelback (Roadrunner) 4. Notorious, soundtrack (Fox/Bad Boy/AG) 5. 808s & Heartbreak, Kanye West (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam/IDJMG) FOSS, Lukas (born Lukas Fuchs), 86, Germanborn composer, conductor and pianist; after the Nazis came to power in 1933, his family fled Germany, arriving in the U.S. in 1937; he became a U.S. citizen in 1942, two years before the premiere of his first major work, The Prairie, a neoclassical cantata based on a poem by Carl Sandburg; in the late 1950s, his music became more experimental, incorporating serialism, electronics, chance and improvisation; the change was reflected in one of his best-known works, Time Cycle (1959–60), an orchestral song cycle; later, his music veered back toward tonality while remaining quite complex; as a conductor, he led orchestras in Buffalo, N.Y. (1963–70), New York City’s Brooklyn borough (1971– 90), Milwaukee, Wis. (1980–86) and Jerusalem (1972– 76); he also guest-conducted, and appeared as a pianist with, other ensembles; born in 1922 in Berlin (his birthday was listed as Aug. 15, but he was not sure of the exact date); died Feb. 1 at his New York City home, of a heart attack after battling Parkinson’s disease. FULLER, Millard Dean, 74, founder, with his wife, Linda Fuller, of the Christian house-building group Habitat for Humanity; the couple founded the group in 1976 in Americus, Ga., after abandoning an affluent lifestyle made possible by his having amassed a milliondollar fortune as a businessman before the age of 30; over the years, the group built more than 300,000 homes worldwide, for poor people given interest-free mortgages; he was chief executive of the group until 2004 and served as its president until 2005, when both he and his wife were dismissed by Habitat’s board, after sexual harassment charges were lodged against him, charges that the group’s board said were never substantiated; soon afterward, the Fullers formed a charity with a similar

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Films Top-Grossing Films. The following were the top-grossing films in the U.S. for the week of Jan. 23–29 according to Variety. Figures in parentheses were each film’s cumulative domestic box-office total and number of weeks in release to date. Information on cast and director is included when a film first appears on the list. [See 2008, p. 1000B2]:

1. Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Sony ($69.4 million, 2) Directed by Steve Carr. With Kevin James, Keir O’Donnell, Raini Rodriguez, Adhir Kalyan and Jayma Mays. 2. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, Sony ($25.6 million, 1) Directed by Patrick Tatopoulos. With Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy, Rhona Mitra, Shane Brolly and Kevin Grevioux. 3. Gran Torino, Warner Bros. ($101.9 million, 7) Directed by Clint Eastwood. With Eastwood, Cory Hardrict, Bee Vang, Ahney Her and Bryan Haley. 4. Hotel for Dogs, Paramount ($39.5 million, 2) Directed by Thor Freudenthal. With Emma Roberts, Don Cheadle, Johnny Simmons, Lisa Kudrow and Kevin Dillon. 5. Slumdog Millionaire, Fox Searchlight ($59.6 million, 11) Directed by Danny Boyle and Loveleen Tandan. With Dev Patel, Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, Madhur Mittal and Freida Pinto. 6. My Bloody Valentine 3-D, Lionsgate ($40.3 million, 2) Directed by Patrick Lussier. With Betsy Rue, Megan Boone, Jaime King, Jensen Ackles and Tom Atkins. 7. Inkheart, Warner Bros. ($9.1 million, 1) Directed by Iain Softley. With Helen Mirren, Brendan Fraser, Paul Bettany, Jim Broadbent and Andy Serkis. 8. Bride Wars, 20th Century Fox ($50.4 million, 3) Directed by Gary Winick. With Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway, Candice Bergen, Kristen Johnston and Bryan Greenberg. 9. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Paramount ($112.9 million, 5) [See 2008, p. 1000C2] 10. Defiance, Paramount Vantage ($20.3 million, 4) Directed by Edward Zwick. With Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell, Alexa Davalos and Tomas Arana.

mission, the Fuller Center for Housing; born Jan. 3, 1935, in Lanett, Ala.; died early Feb. 3 in Albany, Ga., apparently of congestive heart failure. [See 2005, pp. 612G2, 108C1; 2001, p. 530D2; Index 1996] HUNT, (Harold) Guy, 75, Alabama Republican who in 1986 was elected governor of his state on his second try (the first came in 1978), becoming the first Republican to win the office since 1872; by the time he was reelected in 1990, he had already done much to help turn Alabama into a two-party state; he never concluded his second term, though, being removed from office in 1992 after a financial-misconduct felony conviction; a state parole board, however, later granted him a full pardon; born June 17, 1933, in Holly Pond, Ala.; died Jan. 30 at a hospital in Birmingham, Ala., after a long battle with lung cancer and a failure to bounce back from gall bladder surgery performed in late 2008. [See 1998, pp. 374C1, 269B1, 98E3; 1997, pp. 624A2, 430B3; Indexes 1988–94, 1986, 1978] PERLE, George, 93, composer and music theorist; he was the author of Serial Composition and Atonality: An Introduction to the Music of Schoenberg, Berg and Webern (1962), a definitive work on the 12-tone compositional method pioneered by Arnold Schoenberg and advanced by Alban Berg and Anton Webern; he was particularly influenced by Berg in his own compositions, in which he demonstrated that 12-tone music did not have to be atonal; he wrote few works for full orchestra, favoring piano pieces and works for small ensembles; one of these, a wind quintet, netted him a Pulitzer Prize in 1986; born May 6, 1915, in Bayonne, N.J.; died Jan. 23 at his home in New York City, after a long illness. [See 1986, p. 459B2; 1978, p. 316E1]

SCHNEER, Charles Hirsh, 88, film producer known for his collaboration with special-effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen on a series of science-fiction and fantasy films, starting with It Came From Beneath the Sea (1955), highlighted by Jason and the Argonauts (1963) and concluding with Clash of the Titans (1981); born May 5, 1920, in Norfolk, Va.; died Jan. 21 at a hospice in Boca Raton, Fla., after a long illness. [See 1992, p. 244F2; 1981, p. 483D2; Indexes 1968, 1960] VIERNY, Dina, 89, model for French sculptor Aristide Maillol during the last decade of his life, from the mid-1930s until 1944, when he died in a car accident at age 83; a number of his monumental bronzes depicting her were on permanent display at the Jardin des Tuileries in Paris; active in the French Resistance during World War II, she became an art dealer after the war; in the mid-1990s, she founded a Paris museum mainly devoted to his work; born Jan. 25, 1919, in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova (then part of czarist Russia); died Jan. 20 in Paris. [See 1960, p. 7A3] YOW, (Sandra) Kay, 66, coach of the U.S. women’s basketball team that won the gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea; she won 737 games over a 38-year career, mostly at North Carolina State University, and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., in 2002; born March 14, 1942, in Gibsonville, N.C.; died Jan. 24 at a hospital in Cary, N.C., of breast cancer, more than two decades after developing it; she had long been identified with efforts to combat the disease, and in 2007 had established a cancer-research fund in her name. [See 2002, p. 775F3; 1988, p. 742G1] n

February 5, 2009

U.S. Congress Agrees to $789.5 Billion Economic Recovery Plan Deal Follows Senate Passage of $838 Billion Plan

Facts On File

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Senate Bill Receives Three GOP ‘Yes’ Votes.

U.S. lawmakers from the House and Senate Feb. 11 agreed in principle to an economic recovery plan that would cost $789.5 billion over the next two years, in an attempt to stimulate growth amidst a deepening recession. The compromise bill came a day after the Senate voted, 61–37, to pass an $838 billion version of the plan. The Senate bill received support from only three Republicans, which was enough to cross the threshold of 60 votes required to end debate and bring the bill to a vote. The House in January had passed an $819 billion version of the bill, which had received no Republican support. [See p. 41A1] House and Senate leaders Feb. 11–12 continued to engage in last-minute negotiations to reconcile their competing bills. The two chambers were expected to hold a final vote Feb. 13, and U.S. President Barack Obama was expected to sign it the following week. Obama Feb. 11 said the bill was “a hardfought compromise that will save or create more than 3.5 million jobs and get our economy back on track.” He said it was an “endeavor of enormous scope and scale,” and that he was “grateful” to lawmakers “for moving it along with the urgency that this moment demands.” The economic recovery bill contained tax breaks for businesses and consumers, as well as large injections of federal spending in the areas of health care, education, energy, infrastructure and aid for lower-income workers. The plan as of Feb. 12 contained about $282 billion in tax cuts and $507 billion in new spending. It was thought to be one of the largest economic recovery packages to be proposed since the Great Depression. The overwhelming majority of Republicans remained staunchly opposed to the bill. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) Feb. 10 said the Senate bill was “full of waste.” He added, “We have no assurance it can create jobs or revive the economy. The only thing we know for sure is that it increases our debt and locks in bigger and bigger interest payments every single year.” The Senate bill was passed the same day that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner unveiled a $2 trillion plan to bolster the country’s weakened financial industry, an initiative that Obama had said was a vital component in his administration’s strategy to combat the recession. The financial industry rescue package would see the creation of a fund to buy distressed assets from financial institutions, and the introduction of lending programs to resolve an ongoing freeze in credit markets. [See p. 76A3] Obama Pushes for Bill’s Passage—

Obama had initially said he wanted broad bipartisan support for the bill, and openly sought Republican votes during the House’s deliberations. However, his ef-

forts yielded no House Republican support, and stiff Republican resistance in the Senate led him to adopt a more forceful public tone towards the bill’s opponents. Additionally, Republicans were perceived to have gained traction in their depiction of the bill as full of wasteful spending. Obama penned an opinion piece that was published Feb. 5 by the Washington Post, in which he criticized the “narrow partisanship” and “bad habits” of lawmakers. He also took aim at “misguided criticisms” that he said “echo the failed theories that helped lead us into this crisis,” in what was widely seen as a reference to Republican free-market ideology. Obama the next day said it was “inexcusable and irresponsible” that lawmakers were allowing political infighting to delay the bill, following the release of a Labor Department report showing that nearly 600,000 jobs had been shed in January. [See p. 79G2] Obama Feb. 9 had used his first press conference as president to push for passage of the legislation. He warned that a failure to act could “turn a crisis into a catastrophe.” He addressed Republican criticisms that the bill contained too much new federal spending, saying, “With the private sector so weakened by this recession, the federal government is the only entity left with the resources to jolt our economy back to life.” He also dismissed Republican calls to place a greater emphasis on tax cuts, saying the economic policies of his Republican predecessor, President George W. Bush, had shown that “tax cuts can’t solve all of our economic problems.” [See p. 77C3] Obama Feb. 9 also began touring economically distressed areas of the country to boost public support for the plan. Senate Procedural Hurdle Cleared—

The Senate Feb. 9 voted, 61–36, to invoke cloture, preempting a potential Republican filibuster and allowing the economic recovery plan to receive a floor vote. Three centrist Republicans—Sens. Olympia Snowe (Maine), Susan Collins (Maine) and Arlen Specter (Pa.)—joined the Senate’s 56 Democrats and two independents to support the bill. Two Republican senators did not vote: John Cornyn (Texas) and Judd Gregg (N.H.), who had been nominated the previous week to become commerce secretary in Obama’s administration. (Cornyn Feb. 10 voted against the bill’s passage.) One Senate seat remained open due to an ongoing dispute over an election in Minnesota. [See p. 60C1] Snowe, Collins and Specter late Feb. 6 had agreed to support a bill that cut about $110 billion from the plan, whose total cost had ballooned to about $920 billion in the preceding days as new tax breaks were added. The agreement followed two days of intense negotiations between a group of about 20 moderate senators from both parties, who aimed to strip the bill of provisions that would not immediately stimulate the economy. The negotiations were led by

World News Digest With Index ©2009 by Facts On File News Services An imprint of Infobase Publishing

Volume 69, No. 3556* February 12, 2009

B Collins and Sen. Ben Nelson (D, Neb.), and occurred largely behind the scenes as debate continued on the Senate floor. During formal debate on the bill, which began Feb. 2, senators from both parties accused the other side of excessive partisanship. Sen. Charles Schumer (D, N.Y.) Feb. 5 said, “It takes two to tango, and the Republicans aren’t dancing.” Democrats pointed out that they had helped approve two Republican-sponsored amendments to the bill that provided tax breaks for homeowners and greater protection against the alternative minimum tax (AMT). But Republicans claimed they had been shut out of the process. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R, S.C.) Feb. 5 said, “There is no negotiation going on here. Nobody is negotiating.” Senators Cut Spending Measures—The Senate’s version of the bill contained a $39 billion fund designed to provide aid to states, a significant reduction from the $79 billion fund in the House version. Support-

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MAJOR STORIES IN THIS ISSUE U.S. Congress agrees to $789.5 billion economic recovery plan; deal follows Senate passage of $838 billion plan. PAGE 73

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U.S. Treasury unveils $2 trillion financial industry rescue plan; stock markets fall on lack of details. PAGE 76

Obama holds first news conference as president. PAGE 77

Unemployment rate hits 17-year high in January. PAGE 79

Opposition leader Tsvangirai sworn in as Zimbabwean prime minister.

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Australian bushfires kill at least 181. PAGE 83

North Korea abandons pacts with South Korea. PAGE 84

France sets aid to carmakers. PAGE 84

Rival parties both claim victory in Israeli elections. PAGE 85

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MLB’s Alex Rodriguez admits to past steroid use. PAGE 87 *First of two sections Section Two is an interim index. REFERENCES in brackets give location of background information in this & preceding volumes.

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ers of the House bill said more aid was necessary because declining tax revenues had forced states to cut back services and lay off workers. More than 40 states were currently experiencing budget shortfalls, and many were struggling with depleted unemployment insurance funds. Some of the state aid money was also slated for education programs that were strongly supported by Democrats. In other differences between the two bills, the Senate version set aside $70 billion to shield middle-income taxpayers from the AMT. The AMT had been designed to prevent high-income taxpayers from using deductions to reduce their taxable income to little or nothing. But because it was not adjusted for inflation, it increasingly applied to taxpayers who were currently in middle-income tax brackets. The Senate bill included $19 billion to fund a tax credit for new home buyers. Home buyers for one year would receive a credit equivalent to 10% of the house’s price, with a cap of $15,000. The provision was intended to spark home sales, which had slid steeply after a real estate bubble burst in 2006. The Senate bill also included an $11 billion measure to allow deductions on sales taxes and loan interest payments accrued from car purchases. The Senate bill limited the numbers of workers who would be eligible for a payroll tax cut. The House version promised a $500 cut for individuals who made less than $75,000 a year, and a $1,000 tax cut for married couples making less than $150,000. The Senate bill reduced the salary caps to $70,000 and $140,000, respectively. The Senate bill expanded the scope of the House’s so-called “Buy America” provisions, mandating that “all manufactured goods” purchased with the legislation’s funds come from U.S. producers. The House bill required only that steel and iron be bought from U.S. companies. The provisions led to an outcry from the U.S.’s trading partners. European Union officials Feb. 3 warned that if the provisions were enacted, they would consider taking legal action against the U.S. for violating trade agreements. The Senate bill eventually moderated the provisions, saying they had to be “applied in a manner” that deferred to the U.S.’s existing trade pacts. The Senate bill increased investments in infrastructure projects to $45 billion, up from the $30 billion marked in the House bill. The Senate bill also included a measure to limit the bonuses of the 25 highest-ranking executives at financial institutions that received aid from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), a fund established to stabilize the financial industry. The provision would decrease tax revenue by an estimated $11 billion. n

International Relations Biden Outlines U.S. Foreign Policy Goals.

U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden, speaking Feb. 7 at the Munich Conference on Security Policy in Germany, said the U.S. wanted to “press the reset button” on rela-

tions with Russia, and was “willing to talk to Iran,” a significant departure from the policy of former U.S. President George W. Bush. Biden also called for increased U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) cooperation with Russia, especially in fighting the war in Afghanistan. Biden’s speech was considered to be the first substantial outline of U.S. President Barack Obama’s foreign policy. [See pp. 86G1, 54C1, 42F1, 16C2; 2008, pp. 879E1, 114E2] Biden, in his address, said, “The last few years have seen a dangerous drift in relations between Russia and members of our alliance.” He asserted that “the U.S. and Russia can disagree but still work together where its interests coincide,” such as on dissuading North Korea and Iran from their nuclear weapons ambitions. Biden also mentioned that Russia had “long ago” warned of threats from the Taliban and AlQaeda in Afghanistan, and said, “NATO and Russia can and should cooperate to defeat this common enemy.” [See below, pp. 35C3, 16B1] Biden also said the Obama administration would “continue to develop” the Bush administration’s plan to build a missile shield to guard against nuclear threats from Iran, “provided the technology is proven to work and is cost-effective.” The Bush administration had pushed for components of the shield to be built in the Czech Republic and Poland, but Biden made no mention of the location of the proposed shield. In an interview the same day, Biden said the U.S. would “consult with our European allies as well as consult with the Russians” on the missile defense project. [See p. 69B2] Some analysts had expected Biden to announce that the U.S. would review the missile shield plan. Russia had vehemently opposed the shield when it was promoted by the Bush administration, saying it could be used to undermine the country’s defenses. Some observers suggested that Biden’s support of the initiative came in response to the announced closure of the Manas air base in Kyrgyzstan, which the U.S. used to transport soldiers and supplies to Afghanistan. A number of Western analysts had suggested that the Kyrgyz government’s move not to renew the U.S.’s lease on Manas had come at Russia’s behest. However, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov Feb. 8 denied that Russia had been involved in Kyrgyzstan’s decision. The same day, Ivanov said, “It’s obvious the new U.S. administration has a very strong desire to change, and we’re ready to cooperate with this administration on all levels.” [See p. 58D3] Biden Warns Russia— In addition to urging cooperation with Russia, Biden in his Feb. 7 speech said the U.S. would not permit Russia to impose a “sphere of influence” over neighboring countries. He asserted that “the United States will not recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states.” The two regions were located within Georgia’s internationally recognized borders, but were both controlled by separate governments loyal to Moscow. Georgia and Russia in 2008 had

fought a brief war over control of South Ossetia, which had ultimately reinforced Russian influence in both splinter regions. Russia and Nicaragua were the only countries to recognize them as sovereign. [See p. 84D3] Biden Feb. 8 met with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. When questioned after the meeting, Biden said he was “in favor of Georgia’s continued independence and autonomy,” but declined to endorse Georgian membership in NATO. He said it was Georgia’s decision alone whether it would join the alliance. The Bush administration had pushed for Georgian NATO membership, irking Russia, which viewed eastward expansion of NATO as hostile to its interests. Biden Says U.S. Open to Talks with Iran—

In his Feb. 7 speech, Biden indicated that the U.S. was open to talks with Iran, a strategy the Bush administration had opposed. However, in continuity with Bush’s foreign policy, Biden warned Iran to give up its nuclear program, or face “pressure and isolation.” Biden added that if Iran abandoned its “illicit nuclear program and support for terrorism,” the U.S. would respond with “meaningful incentives.” [See p. 79F1] Ali Larijani, speaker of the Iranian parliament, had left the room before Biden delivered his speech. The previous day, Larijani had addressed the conference, and said “in the past, the U.S. has burned many bridges, but a new White House can rebuild them.” Retired Gen. James Jones, Obama’s national security adviser, was present for Larijani’s talk. In his speech, Larijani also said there could be “different perspectives on the Holocaust.” Pierre Lellouche, a French politician, pointed out that Holocaust denial was

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a crime in France. Larijani replied, “In Iran, we don’t have the same sensitivities.” [See p. 75D3] Gen. Petraeus Speaks On Afghanistan—

U.S. Gen. David Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command, in an address to the Munich Security Conference Feb. 8 said the war in Afghanistan had “deteriorated markedly in the past two years.” Petraeus said he would “be remiss if I did not ask individual countries to examine very closely what forces and other contributions they can provide.” The Obama administration was expected to send as many as 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. Richard Holbrooke, the U.S.’s special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, also addressed the conference that day, and warned that achieving objectives in Afghanistan would be “much tougher than Iraq.” Both Petraeus and Holbrooke, in their addresses, notably declined to mention Afghan President Hamid Karzai, whom the Obama administration reportedly regarded as an ineffective leader. Karzai also addressed the conference that day, and stated that Afghanistan was neither a “narco-state” nor a “failed state,” as some had alleged. Some U.S. officials suggested that Karzai’s assessment was incongruous with actual conditions in Afghanistan. His presidential term was set to expire in May, but presidential elections had been pushed back to Aug. 20. n U.S. Said to Reject Israeli Plan for Iran Raid.

The New York Times Jan. 10 reported on its Web site that the U.S. in September 2008 had rebuffed a secret request from the Israeli government for “bunker-busting” bombs to be used to attack Iran’s main nuclear complex in Natanz. Bunker-busting bombs could penetrate ground and concrete to attack underground structures. The U.S. alleged that Iran was developing nuclear weapons, while Iran claimed its program was focused on producing civilian nuclear power. [See 2008, pp. 874C3, C2] U.S. President George W. Bush had also rejected an Israeli request for permission to fly over U.S.-controlled airspace in Iraq to reach Natanz, site of the only publicly known uranium enrichment center in Iran, and for refueling equipment needed to launch the attack. The Times, citing unidentified U.S. and foreign officials, reported that Bush had informed Israel that he had authorized covert operations aimed at sabotaging Iran’s suspected efforts at developing nuclear weapons. According to the Times, Bush had been convinced by members of his administration, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, that a military attack against Iran’s nuclear program would only push Iran to shroud it in greater secrecy, and could draw U.S. troops into a wider war in the Middle East. Instead, Bush in early 2008 had embraced a covert operation aimed at disrupting Iran’s efforts to secure nuclear materials and supplies abroad, including computer and electrical systems. The Times said it had withheld information about the covert operation at the request of senior U.S. intelligence and Bush administration officials. February 12, 2009

Israel’s desire to launch the attack had reportedly stemmed from its lack of confidence in a late 2007 U.S. National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), which concluded that Iran had effectively halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003. Israel had criticized the report for relying on faulty intelligence, charges echoed by Gates in the Times report. However, it remained unclear if Israel had intended to go through with the attack against Iran if it were condoned by the U.S., or if threatening such an attack was part of Israel’s efforts to encourage the U.S. to take a tougher stance against Iran before Bush left office. [See 2007, p. 797A1] U.S. officials had reportedly been particularly disturbed by Israeli air and naval exercises conducted in the Mediterranean Sea during the summer of 2008, which analysts said appeared to simulate the distance between Israel and Iran. n

Nuclear Proliferation Rogue Pakistani Nuclear Scientist Released.

Abdul Qadeer Khan, the former leader of a now-defunct nuclear technology smuggling network, Feb. 6 was released from house arrest by a court in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital. Khan’s lawyer, Ali Zafar, that day said the Islamabad High Court had ruled the detention illegal since “there is no case against” Khan, who had never been charged by Pakistan in connection with the network’s activities. [See 2008, p. 527A3] U.S. State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid that day said the court’s ruling was “extremely regrettable,” and that the U.S. still considered Khan, 72, a “serious proliferation risk.” Pakistan’s foreign ministry said it would take “all necessary measures to promote the goals of nonproliferation,” but affirmed that the “so-called A.Q. Khan affair is a closed chapter.” International media outlets, citing unidentified Pakistani and U.S. officials, Feb. 9 reported that the Pakistani government would continue to impose some restraints on Khan, including not letting him leave Pakistan and monitoring his activities. However, U.S. officials reportedly remained dissatisfied with the arrangement. The smuggling network had been broken up in 2003, and Khan in 2004 publicly confessed to selling nuclear-weapons technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya. He was placed under house arrest that year. The U.S. and the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) pressed Pakistan to make Khan available for questioning related to the network’s operations, the details of which remained murky. Investigators had found blueprints for an advanced nuclear weapon on computers used by Khan’s network, and it remained unknown if they had been sold to a hostile country or terrorist group. But Khan was revered in Pakistan for his leading role in helping the country develop its nuclear-weapons arsenal, and the government resisted international efforts to investigate the case further. In recent years Khan had recanted his confession, claim-

ing that the government of then–Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf had pressured him to make it. The current government of President Asif Ali Zardari had steadily eased the terms of his house arrest, and analysts said Khan’s release was part of a broader effort by the government to ingratiate itself with the Pakistani public, which had criticized Zardari as being too influenced by the U.S.

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Smuggling Suspect Released From Jail—

Marco Tinner, one of three members of a Swiss family suspected of belonging to Khan’s smuggling network, Jan. 23 was released on bail from a Swiss prison, following three years in investigative detention. His brother, Urs, had been released in December 2008, and their father, Friedrich, had been freed in 2006. Swiss prosecutors could still bring charges against the Tinners for their alleged involvement with Khan’s ring. The Swiss investigation had reportedly been hampered by a 2007 government decision to destroy computer files seized from the network, after they were deemed to contain information that threatened national security. [See 2008, p. 985D3] Urs Tinner had told Swiss television station SF1 in a documentary broadcast Jan. 22 that he had alerted the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to a shipment of centrifuge equipment bound for Libya in 2003 that led to the breakup of Khan’s network. The CIA did not publicly comment on Tinner’s claim. n

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D Religion Vatican Tells Holocaust Denier to Recant.

The Vatican’s Secretariat of State Feb. 4 released an unsigned statement that called on Bishop Richard Williamson, a dissident Roman Catholic bishop who had claimed that no Jews had died in Nazi gas chambers during World War II, to “absolutely, unequivocally and publicly distance himself from his positions” on the Holocaust. Williamson Feb. 7 said he might “correct” himself after studying historical evidence, but warned that the effort “would take time.” [See p. 43A2] Williamson, a member of the Society of St. Pius X, a far-right sect considered to represent the only modern Roman Catholic schism, had been excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church in 1988 after he was consecrated a bishop without the Vatican’s consent. In January, he was rehabilitated by Pope Benedict XVI. Days before his rehabilitation, a Swedish television station had broadcast his remarks on the Holocaust, which sparked fierce criticism from around the world. In addition to calling on Williamson to recant his views on the Holocaust, the Vatican statement said the Society of St. Pius X, in order to be fully reintegrated into the Roman Catholic Church, would have to fully accept the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Among the reforms the Society of St. Pius X reportedly opposed was the assertion that Jews were not collectively responsible for the death of Jesus Christ. Cardinal Walter Kasper, the Vatican’s liaison for Vatican-Jewish relations, Feb. 4 75

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said of the controversy that “there wasn’t enough talking with each other in the Vatican and there are no longer checks to see where problems could arise.” He added that the Vatican administration had made “mistakes.” The Vatican maintained that it had not known Williamson’s views on the Holocaust before he was rehabilitated. Some analysts said the ongoing controversy suggested internal conflict within the Vatican. Other observers criticized Benedict’s leadership skills. The Society of St. Pius X had dismissed Williamson from his position as director of the La Reja seminary in Argentina, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, the capital, it was reported Feb. 9. Father Christian Bouchacourt, head of the Latin American chapter of the Society of St. Pius X, said Williamson’s “statements do not in any way reflect the position of our congregation.” Merkel Calls for Clarification—In an unusual move, German Chancellor Angela Merkel Feb. 3 had said the Vatican had given “the impression that Holocaust denial might be tolerated,” and added that “the pope and the Vatican should clarify unambiguously that there can be no denial and that there must be positive relations with the Jewish community overall.” Williamson’s rehabilitation had sparked sharp criticism in Germany, Benedict’s homeland. In Germany, Holocaust denial was a crime. [See p. 317E2] A Vatican spokesman that day said, “The condemnations of declarations which deny the Holocaust could not have been any clearer,” referring to Benedict’s remarks addressing the issue made the previous week. Spokesmen for both Merkel and Benedict Feb. 8 said the two had a “constructive” telephone conversation that day. The pope Feb. 12 reiterated that “any denial or minimization of this terrible crime is intolerable.” He confirmed that he would visit Israel, probably in May. In related news, the Vatican Jan. 31 announced that Rev. Gerhard Wagner would be promoted to auxiliary bishop in Linz, Austria. Wagner had previously claimed that Hurricane Katrina, which had devastated New Orleans, La., in 2005, was God’s punishment for sinful behavior there. [See 2008, p. 652C3] n

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Bird Flu Cases Reported in China, Vietnam.

Health officials in Beijing, China’s capital, Jan. 6 said a woman there had died of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza the previous day, the country’s first bird flu death since February 2008. The government Jan. 7 issued an alert, and intensified checks of poultry slaughterhouses and markets. As of Feb. 11, seven cases of the illness had been reported in China since the beginning of the year, with four resulting in death. Also, Vietnam Jan. 6 had recorded its first avian flu case since early 2008. The World Health Organization (WHO) had recorded 44 cases of the disease worldwide in 2008, 33 of them fatal, down from the 2006 peak of 115 cases and 79 deaths. [See 2008, p. 444D2] 76

Also, as of Feb. 9, Egypt had reported four cases of avian flu in 2009. n Polio Eradication Effort Gets $635 Million.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Rotary International and the governments of Britain and Germany Jan. 21 announced that they would donate a combined $635 million in an effort to eradicate polio. Since 1988, a coalition of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and governments had overseen a campaign that had reduced worldwide cases of polio to about 1,600 in 2008, from 350,000 in 1988. The funds would be administered by the World Health Organization (WHO). [See 2008, p. 864F3] However, polio remained endemic in India, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria, and the spread of the disease beyond those countries still presented a threat of its resurgence. Efforts to eradicate the disease had been complicated by the halt of polio vaccinations in northern Nigeria in 2003, after people there became suspicious of health care workers and refused the treatment. n

Other International News Japanese Navy to Fight Somali Pirates.

Japan’s government Jan. 28 said it would send naval forces to protect Japanese ships threatened by pirates off the coast of the African nation of Somalia. Japan would join some 20 other countries, including China, that had sent ships to the area to combat an epidemic of hijacking. Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said the Japanese deployment might take place by March. However, under Japan’s pacifist constitution, which permitted the military to act only in national self-defense, new legislation would be required to authorize the mission to go beyond actions in defense of Japanese vessels, citizens or cargo. [See p. 66E3; 2008, p. 22F3] However, the parliamentary opposition had resisted previous government attempts to expand the permitted activities of Japan’s military forces. Since taking control of parliament’s upper house in 2007, the opposition Democratic Party of Japan had determinedly used its power to delay government initiatives in an effort to force the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to call elections. n Russian Oligarch Buys British Tabloid.

Aleksandr Lebedev, who during the Soviet era had worked as a KGB agent at London’s Soviet embassy before becoming a rich investor, or oligarch, in post-Soviet Russia, Jan. 21 announced that he had acquired a majority ownership stake in the Evening Standard, a daily London tabloid with a circulation of about 280,000. Lebedev reportedly paid £1 ($1.40) for a 75.1% controlling stake in the paper, which was widely reported to have been operating at a loss of millions of pounds per year. Lebedev also owned, with former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, one of the last remaining news outlets in Russia that was critical of the government. He pledged to preserve the Standard’s editorial independence. [See p. 36D3] n

U N I T ESTATES D S TAT E S UNITED

Treasury Unveils $2 Trillion Financial Industry Rescue Plan Stock Markets Fall on Lack of Details.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner Feb. 10 unveiled a $2 trillion plan to stabilize the ailing financial industry, whose massive losses over the past year and a half had led to a freeze in credit markets that was exacerbating an ongoing recession. The highly anticipated plan was criticized for its lack of details, and markets that day slid steeply, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 381.99 points, or 4.6%, to end at 7,888.88. [See pp. 73A1, 61C2] Geithner that day said the plan was “comprehensive and forceful.” He acknowledged that efforts by the government thus far to bolster the financial system had been “inadequate.” The previous administration of President George W. Bush had been criticized for its handling of a $700 billion federal fund known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). More than half of the fund had already been spent or allocated, but banks had largely failed to resume lending to other banks, businesses and consumers, severely hampering economic growth. Geithner’s plan consisted of four elements designed to stabilize the financial industry and encourage lending: a $500 billion–$1 trillion fund to buy distressed assets from financial institutions; a $1 trillion financing program to bring down the costs of consumer loans; as much as $200 billion in capital injections into ailing banks; and a pledge of $50 billion in resources to stem a rising number of home foreclosures. [See below] But critics said Geithner had only provided the broad outlines of a plan, indicating that the administration of President Barack Obama had not finalized a strategy to fix the financial system. Geithner later that day testified before the Senate Banking Committee, where he was grilled by lawmakers seeking more details. Sen. Christopher Dodd (D, Conn.), the committee chairman, said the Treasury had to “reassure the American people that their money is in good hands.” Sen. Richard Shelby (Ala.), the committee’s ranking Republican, questioned whether the Treasury had a “concrete plan” that was “well thought out.” Geithner, testifying the following day before the Senate Budget Committee, said, “I understand the desire for details.” But he argued that it was better to be cautious before making public commitments, so as to avoid a situation in which the Treasury would have to make “quick departures and changes in strategy.” The Bush administration had been criticized for changing the focus of its rescue strategy, leading to confusion among investors and the general public. Geithner Feb. 10 had told the Banking Committee that the Obama administration was not asking Congress to authorize new aid for the financial industry, since the Federal Reserve, the U.S. central bank, would be financing much of the program. HowFACTS ON FILE

ever, he warned that such a request was possible, saying, “This is going to be an expensive problem for the nation and it’s going to require substantial resources.” Funds for Distressed Assets—Under the Treasury plan, the government would join with the private sector to create one or more funds that would purchase distressed assets from financial institutions. Many of those assets were backed by home mortgages, and had steadily dropped in value after a real estate bubble burst in 2006. They were virtually unsalable on the market, weakening the balance sheets of financial institutions and eroding investor confidence in the industry. The funds would also buy distressed assets backed by other loans that had lost value, such as commercial real estate mortgages and corporate debt. The Treasury and private investors would contribute as much as $100 billion to the funds. With the aid of loans from the Fed, that amount could be leveraged to purchase between $500 billion and $1 trillion worth of distressed assets. Treasury officials said the joint private-public funds would allow private investors to determine the value of the assets. Valuing the assets was extremely difficult, and the government ran the risk of overpaying for them at the taxpayers’ expense. If assets were bought at overly depressed values, it could lead to write-downs and further losses at financial institutions. But prospective investors, such as hedge funds and private-equity firms, complained that the mechanisms of the funds remained unclear. Home prices continued to slide, complicating efforts to value the assets. In addition, the government was expected to introduce separate programs that would modify mortgage terms to prevent a rising number of foreclosures, further distorting their value. [See p. 45A3] Omitted from the funds plan was a previously reported element that would have seen the government insure such assets against default, which would reduce their perceived risk. It was still possible that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) or another government entity would be included in the plan to provide insurance. Expansion of Consumer Loan Program—

As the second main part of the plan, Geithner said the government would expand a lending program known as the Term AssetBacked Liquidity Facility (TALF). The program was intended to encourage investor purchases of assets backed by consumer loans—such as auto, student, credit-card and home loans—by providing financing with highly favorable terms. Increased purchases of such assets would lower interest rates on the underlying loans, making them more affordable. With the onset of the credit freeze, banks had drastically reduced the number of consumer loans they issued. Geithner Feb. 10 said the plan would allow the government to “go around the banking system directly to the markets that consumers and businesses depend on.” Economists said the move would allow the government to ensure that credit was flowing while it atFebruary 12, 2009

tempted to rid the crippled banking system of distressed assets. TALF had been scheduled to begin in February, with $20 billion in TARP money and $180 billion in financing from the Fed. Under the new plan, as much as $100 billion of TARP money would be used, which could be leveraged by the Fed to provide up to $1 trillion worth of financing. Banks to Undergo ‘Stress Tests’—Under the third part of the plan, banks holding more than $100 billion worth of assets would undergo a “stress test” to gauge their ability to weather the deepening recession. The test, which Geithner did not detail, would be designed to give the government more objective criteria to determine which banks needed an injection of private capital or, as a last resort, government aid. More than 350 U.S. banks had thus far received aid from TARP. Geithner did not specify how much capital the government intended to pump into banks, although the figure was expected to fall between $100 billion and $200 billion. Since the Treasury began using TARP money to invest in banks, it had largely purchased preferred shares. Under the new plan, it would be able to convert those shares to common stock, which would dilute the value of stock held by existing shareholders. While the government had resisted nationalizing banks outright, analysts said increased government holdings of common stock would result in de facto nationalization. Banks that received government capital injections would be subject to limits on dividends, stock repurchases, corporate acquisitions and executive pay. Geithner also laid out measures to increase transparency in the government’s dealings with banks. A Web site was established that would allow taxpayers to see how banks were using TARP aid. Banks would also have to issue monthly reports showing the number of loans they had made. However, Geithner did not go so far as to require that participating banks increase their lending to consumers and businesses, as many lawmakers had called for. In discussions within the Obama administration, Geithner had reportedly argued that the requirement would discourage banks from participating. $50 Billion for Housing Market—Geithner Feb. 10 said the administration would use $50 billion in TARP funds to help prevent a rising number of foreclosures. Geithner said a plan would be prepared in the coming weeks. Government officials had long wrestled with how to resolve the foreclosure crisis, which was complicated by the fact that mortgages in recent years had been bundled into complex financial products, and then cut up and sold to investors around the world. As as result, modifying the terms of a single mortgage required the consent of several parties. Banking Executives Testify—Eight chief executives of banks that had received a total of $165 billion in TARP aid Feb. 11 testified before the House Financial Services Committee, where they were harangued by lawmakers for the large role they were widely perceived to have played in pushing

the economy into a recession. There had also been a public outcry over the lavish bonuses and perks enjoyed by executives at banks that had received government aid. Vikram Pandit, chief executive officer (CEO) of Citigroup Inc., pledged that he would accept only $1 a year in salary until his bank became profitable again. The seven other banks represented at the hearing were Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Wells Fargo & Co., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Bank of New York Mellon Corp., Morgan Stanley and State Street Corp. The executives argued that they had used TARP aid to increase lending, and had also enacted programs to reduce monthly mortgage payments. The executives also acknowledged the role that banks had played in the financial crisis, by purchasing and spreading mortgage-backed assets throughout the financial system. [See 2008, p. 826D2] Rep. Barney Frank (D, Mass.), the committee chairman, reminded the executives that the public felt a “great deal of anger” toward their banks. But he said, “We have no option if we are to get credit flowing in this country other than to work with the existing institutions.” n

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Obama Holds First News Conference Pushes Congress to Pass Stimulus Bill.

President Barack Obama Feb. 9 held his first White House news conference since taking office, calling on Congress to move quickly to pass an $800 billion economic stimulus bill that he argued was needed to pull the U.S. out of a recession. He had traveled to economically distressed Elkhart, Ind., earlier that day to promote the plan at a town-hall meeting reminiscent of his presidential campaign. [See p. 73A1; for excerpts from Obama’s news conference, see p. 78A1] Obama delivered an opening statement and then took 13 questions from preselected reporters during the hour-long session, on topics ranging from the economy to foreign policy to the admission of steroid use by Major League Baseball slugger Alex Rodriguez. Obama became the first president to call on a blogger at a news conference, taking a question from a reporter for the Huffington Post, a liberal Web site. In his eight-minute opening statement, Obama stressed the severity of the economic crisis, noting that 598,000 jobs had been lost in January. Referring to the stimulus package, he said, “I can’t tell you that everything in this plan will work exactly as we hope, but I can tell you with complete confidence that a failure to act will only deepen the crisis.” The first question he faced was whether he risked damaging public confidence with his dire warnings that an economic “catastrophe” could ensue unless Congress rapidly passed the stimulus plan he wanted. He replied, “No, no, no, no. I think that what I’ve said is what other economists have said across the political spectrum, which is that if you delay acting on an economy of this severity, then you poten(Continued on p. 79A1) 77

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EXCERPTS FROM PRESIDENT OBAMA’S FIRST NEWS CONFERENCE

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Following are excerpts from President Barack Obama’s Feb. 9 news conference [See p. 77C3]: From the Opening Statement ...Before I take your questions tonight, I’d like to speak briefly about the state of our economy and why I believe we need to put this recovery plan in motion as soon as possible. I took a trip to Elkhart, Indiana, today. Elkhart is a place that has lost jobs faster than anywhere else in America. In one year, the unemployment rate went from 4.7 percent to 15.3 percent. Companies that have sustained this community for years are shedding jobs at an alarming speed, and the people who’ve lost them have no idea what to do or who to turn to. They can’t pay their bills and they’ve stopped spending money. And because they’ve stopped spending money, more businesses have been forced to lay off more workers. In fact, local TV stations have started running public service announcements that tell people where to find food banks, even as the food banks don’t have enough to meet the demand. As we speak, similar scenes are playing out in cities and towns across America. Last Monday, more than a thousand men and women stood in line for 35 firefighter jobs in Miami. Last month, our economy lost 598,000 jobs, which is nearly the equivalent of losing every single job in the state of Maine. And if there’s anyone out there who still doesn’t believe this constitutes a full-blown crisis, I suggest speaking to one of the millions of Americans whose lives have been turned upside down because they don’t know where their next paycheck is coming from. And that is why the single most important part of this economic recovery and reinvestment plan is the fact that it will save or create up to four million jobs, because that’s what America needs most right now. It is absolutely true that we can’t depend on government alone to create jobs or economic growth. That is and must be the role of the private sector. But at this particular moment, with the private sector so weakened by this recession, the federal government is the only entity left with the resources to jolt our economy back into life. It is only government that can break the vicious cycle where lost jobs lead to people spending less money, which leads to even more layoffs. ...But as we’ve learned very clearly and conclusively over the last eight years, tax cuts alone can’t solve all of our economic problems—especially tax cuts that are targeted to the wealthiest few Americans. We have tried that strategy, time and time again. And it’s only helped lead us to the crisis we face right now. And that’s why we have come together, around a plan that combines hundreds of billions in tax cuts for the middle class with direct investment in areas like health care, energy, education and infrastructure, investments that will save jobs, create new jobs and new businesses and help our economy grow again, now and in the future.... Now despite all of this, the plan’s not perfect. No plan is. I can’t tell you for sure that everything in this plan will work exactly as we hope, but I can tell you with complete confidence that a failure to act will only deepen this crisis, as well as the pain felt by millions of Americans. ...My administration inherited a deficit of over $1 trillion, but because we also inherited the most profound economic emergency since the Great Depression, doing little or nothing at all will result in even greater deficits, even greater job loss, even greater loss of income, and even greater loss of confidence.... We find ourselves in a rare moment where the citizens of our country and all countries are watching and waiting for us to lead. It’s a responsibility that this generation did not ask for, but one that we must accept for the future of our children and our grandchildren.... Questions and Responses Q: Earlier today in Indiana you said something striking. You said that this nation could end up in a crisis, without action, that we would be unable to reverse. Can you talk about what you know or what you’re hearing that would lead you to say that our recession might be permanent when others in our history have not? And do you think that you risk losing some credibility or even talking down the economy by using dire language like that? No, no, no, no. I think that what I’ve said is what other economists have said across the political spectrum, which is that if you delay acting on an economy of this severity, then you potentially create a negative

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spiral that becomes much more difficult for us to get out of. We saw this happen in Japan in the 1990s, where they did not act boldly and swiftly enough, and as a consequence they suffered what was called the “lost decade,” where essentially for the entire ’90s, they did not see any significant economic growth. So what I’m trying to underscore is what the people in Elkhart already understand, that this is not your ordinary, run-of-the-mill recession. We are going through the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We’ve lost now 3.6 million jobs. But what’s perhaps even more disturbing is that almost half of that job loss has taken place over the last three months, which means that the problems are accelerating instead of getting better. Q: ...What is your strategy for engaging Iran, and when will you start to implement it? Will your time table be affected at all by the Iranian elections? And are you getting any indications that Iran is interested in a dialogue with the United States? I said during the campaign that Iran is a country that has extraordinary people, extraordinary history and traditions, but that its actions over many years now have been unhelpful when it comes to promoting peace and prosperity both in the region and around the world; that their attacks or—or their—their financing of terrorist organizations like [Lebanese Shiite Muslim militia] Hezbollah and [Palestinian militant group] Hamas, the bellicose language that they’ve used towards Israel, their development of a nuclear weapon or their pursuit of a nuclear weapon—that all of those things create the possibility of destabilizing the region and are not only contrary to our interests, but I think are contrary to the interests of international peace. What I’ve also said is that we should take an approach with Iran that employs all of the resources at the United States’ disposal, and that includes diplomacy. And so my national security team is currently reviewing our existing Iran policy, looking at areas where we can have constructive dialogue, where we can directly engage with them. And my expectation is, in the coming months, we will be looking for openings that can be created where we can start sitting across the table, face to face; of diplomatic overtures that will allow us to move our policy in a new direction.... Now it’s time for Iran to send some signals that it wants to act differently as well and recognize that even as it is has some rights as a member of the international community, with those rights come responsibilities. Q: ...You have often said that bipartisanship is extraordinarily important overall and in this stimulus package. But now when we ask your advisers about the lack of bipartisanship so far—zero votes in the House, three in the Senate—they say, well, it’s not the number of votes that matters; it’s the number of jobs that will be created. Is that a sign that you are moving away, your White House is moving away, from this emphasis on bipartisanship? And what went wrong? Did you underestimate how hard it would be to change the way Washington worked? I don’t think I underestimated it. I don’t think the American people underestimated it. They understand that there have been a lot of bad habits built up here in Washington. And it’s going to take time to break down some of those bad habits. You know, when I made a series of overtures to the Republicans—going over to meet with both Republican caucuses, you know, putting three Republicans in my cabinet, something that is unprecedented, making sure that they were invited here to the White House, to talk about the economic recovery plan—all those were not designed simply to get some shortterm votes. They were designed to try to build up some trust over time. And I think that, as I continue to make these overtures, over time, hopefully that will be reciprocated.... As I said, the one concern I’ve got on the stimulus package, in terms of the debate and listening to some of what’s been said in Congress is that there seems to be a set of folks who—I don’t doubt their sincerity— who just believe that we should do nothing. Now, if that’s their opening position or their closing position in negotiations, then we’re probably not going to make much progress, because I don’t think that’s economically sound and I don’t think what—that’s what the American people expect, is for us to stand by and do nothing....

QUESTION: You’ve promised to send more troops to Afghanistan. And since you’ve been very clear about a time table to withdraw our combat troops from Iraq within 16 months, I wonder what’s your time table to withdraw troops eventually from Afghanistan?... ....With respect to Afghanistan, this is going to be a big challenge. I think, because of the extraordinary work done by our troops and some very good diplomatic work done by Ambassador [Ryan] Crocker in Iraq, we just saw an election in Iraq that went relatively peacefully, and you get a sense that the political system is now functioning in a meaningful way. You do not see that yet in Afghanistan. They’ve got elections coming up, but effectively the national government seems very detached from what’s going on in the surrounding community. In addition, you’ve got the Taliban and Al Qaeda operating in the FATA [Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan] and these border regions between Afghanistan and Pakistan. And what we haven’t seen is the kind of concerted effort to root out those safe havens that would ultimately make our mission successful. So we are undergoing a thorough-going review. Not only is General [David] Petraeus, now the head of CENTCOM [U.S. Central Command], conducting his own review, he’s now working in concert with the special envoy that I’ve sent over—Richard Holbrooke, one of our top diplomats—to evaluate a regional approach. We are going to need more effective coordination of our military efforts with diplomatic efforts with development efforts with more effective coordination with our allies in order for us to be successful. The bottom line, though…is, this is a situation in which a region served as the base to launch an attack that killed 3,000 Americans. And this past week I met with families of those who were lost in 9/11 [Sept.11, 2001, terrorist attacks], a reminder of the costs of allowing those safe havens to exist. My bottom line is that we cannot allow al Qaeda to operate. We cannot have those safe havens in that region. And we’re going to have to work both smartly and effectively, but with consistency, in order to make sure that those safe havens don’t exist. I do not have yet a timetable for how long that’s going to take. What I know is I’m not going to make, I’m not going to allow al Qaeda or bin Laden to operate with impunity planning attacks on the U.S. homeland.… Q: What’s you’re reaction to [baseball star] Alex Rodriguez’s admission that he used steroids as a member of the Texas Rangers? Yeah, I think it’s depressing news on top of what’s been a flurry of depressing items, when it comes to Major League Baseball.…What I’m pleased about is, Major League Baseball seems to finally be taking this seriously, to recognize how big of a problem this is for the sport, and that our kids hopefully are watching and saying: You know what? There are no shortcuts; that when you try to take shortcuts, you may end up tarnishing your entire career, and that your integrity’s not worth it.… Q: ...Today, Senator Patrick Leahy announced that he wants to set up a truth and reconciliation committee to investigate the misdeeds of the Bush administration.He said that before you turn the page, you have to read the page first. Do you agree with such a proposal? And are you willing to rule out right here and now any prosecution of Bush administration officials? I haven’t seen the proposal, so I don’t want to express an opinion on something that I haven’t seen. What I have said is that my administration is going to operate in a way that leaves no doubt that we do not torture, that we abide by the Geneva Conventions, and that we observe our traditions of rule of law and due process as we are vigorously going after terrorists that can do us harm. And I don’t think those are contradictory; I think they are potentially complementary. My view is also that nobody’s above the law, and if there are clear instances of wrongdoing, that people should be prosecuted just like any ordinary citizen. But that generally speaking, I’m more interested in looking forward than I am in looking backwards. I want to pull everybody together, including, by the way, all the members of the intelligence community who have done things the right way and have been working hard to protect America, and I think sometimes are painted with a broad brush, without adequate information.

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tially create a negative spiral that becomes much more difficult for us to get out of.” Laments Lack of Republican Support—

Obama lamented that his bipartisan overtures had failed to win much Republican support for the stimulus package. The preliminary versions of the bill drew no Republican votes in the House and just three in the Senate. (After the Senate passed its version Feb. 10, a compromise on a $789.5 billion final bill was announced Feb. 11.) Republicans had argued that the bill contained excessive spending for favored Democratic social programs, and not enough tax cuts. Obama dismissed such criticism, claiming that his opponents clung to “failed theories” and believed that the government should “do nothing” in the current crisis. He also cast the Republicans as hypocritical, declaring that he did not need lessons from “the folks who presided over a doubling of the national debt” during the Bush administration, and pointing out that he had “inherited” a trillion-dollar deficit from his predecessor. However, he said he still hoped his overtures would lead to more bipartisan cooperation in the future. Defending the stimulus plan, Obama repeatedly asserted that it would meet his primary goal of creating or saving four million jobs, although he did not explain how he had arrived at that estimate. Obama was also asked about his administration’s plans to stabilize the financial system, but he declined to go into detail, saying that he did not want to preempt a speech the next day by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. [See p. 76A3] In Elkhart earlier that day, Obama had spoken to about 1,700 people. The town’s unemployment rate had risen to 15.3%. Obama Feb. 10 traveled to Fort Myers, Fla., for another town-hall meeting, hosted by Gov. Charlie Crist (R), who had called on fellow Republicans to join him in backing the stimulus plan. Obama Feb. 11 promoted the plan in Springfield, Va., and traveled the next day to Peoria, Ill., the home of heavy equipment maker Caterpillar Inc., which had announced more than 22,000 job cuts in January. Obama Feb. 11 said Caterpillar had said it would rehire some of those fired workers if the stimulus plan was approved. Vows Diplomatic Overture to Iran—Asked at the news conference about his campaign pledge to pursue diplomatic talks with Iran, Obama said his administration “will be looking for openings that can be created where we can start sitting across the table, face-toface diplomatic overtures.” But he said he had “deep concerns” about Iran’s suspected pursuit of nuclear weapons. [See p. 74C3] Noting that his policy broke with the Bush administration’s refusal to engage in talks with Iran, Obama said, “Now it’s time for Iran to send some signals that it wants to act differently, as well.” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Feb. 10 said Iran was “ready to hold talks based on mutual respect” if the U.S. was sincere about a change in relations. [See p. 86G1] February 12, 2009

Obama criticized the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, which he said “seems very detached from what’s going on in the surrounding community” while U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces battled an insurgency led by the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban movement. [See p. 75A1] Obama said he had “no timeline” for withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan, stressing that he would not allow the international terrorist network Al Qaeda to enjoy “safe havens in that region” and “to operate with impunity, planning attacks on the U.S. homeland.” Al Qaeda leaders were believed to be based in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Obama was also asked if he supported a proposal by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D, Vt.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, to set up a commission to investigate whether Bush administration officials had violated domestic or international laws. Obama said any wrongdoing should be prosecuted, but added that he “generally” preferred “looking forward” to “looking backwards.” [See p. 80D1] Asked if he would end a ban on the media filming or photographing the flagdraped coffins of soldiers who died in Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama said he was reviewing the matter. (Defense Secretary Robert Gates Feb. 11 said he had ordered a review of the policy.) Questioned about his reaction to the admission of steroid use by the New York Yankees’ Rodriguez, Obama called it “depressing news.” He said he hoped young fans would learn the lesson that “there are no short cuts, that when you try to take short cuts, you may end up tarnishing your entire career, and that your integrity’s not worth it.” [See p. 87C1] n

Sen. Gregg Withdraws as Commerce Pick GOP Nominee Cites Stimulus Bill Cost. Sen.

Judd Gregg (R, N.H.) Feb. 12 withdrew as President Barack Obama’s nominee for commerce secretary, saying he had “irresolvable conflicts” over policy issues and had “made a mistake” by agreeing to join a Democratic administration. The withdrawal was a new setback for Obama’s efforts to bring more bipartisanship to the capital. If confirmed by the Senate, Gregg would have been the third Republican in Obama’s cabinet, more than any previous Democratic president had included. [See p. 60D1] Gregg, calling himself a “fiscal conservative,” cited a $789.5 billion economic stimulus package, backed by Obama and congressional Democrats, as a major concern. The plan had attracted no Republican votes in the House and just three in the Senate. Gregg had not voted on a preliminary version of the bill earlier that week. [See p. 73A1] Gregg also cited differences over the 2010 census, although he played them down in a later statement the same day. The Census Bureau was part of the Commerce Department. Black and Hispanic lawmakers had raised concerns about Gregg overseeing

the census, since he had been involved in partisan disputes over previous censuses. In response, the White House reportedly had said it would take control of the census, drawing protests from congressional Republicans. The issue was politically charged because the census determined the redrawing of congressional districts and the distribution of certain federal funds. Gregg’s withdrawal, just nine days after his nomination was announced, was the latest in a series of problems with Obama’s cabinet nominations. Obama’s original nominee for commerce secretary, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D), had withdrawn in January due to a federal investigation into state contracts given to a campaign contributor. Obama’s pick for health and human services secretary, former Senate Democratic leader Thomas Daschle (S.D.), had withdrawn earlier in February after it was disclosed that he had failed to pay more than $128,000 in federal income taxes. Gregg said he would stay in the Senate to serve the last two years of his current term, his third, but would not run for reelection in 2010. n

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Other Obama Administration News Economic Advisory Board Unveiled. Presi-

dent Barack Obama Feb. 6 unveiled the White House Economic Advisory Board, a group of economic advisers with different areas of expertise and varying political bents. The group, led by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, included prominent members from the business world, academia and organized labor. Obama that day said, “I’m not interested in group think, which is why the board reflects a cross-section of experience and expertise and ideology.” The group would advise the Obama administration as it crafted ways to pull the U.S. out of a deepening recession. [See 2008, p. 867B1] n

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Economy Jan. Unemployment Rate Hits 17-Year High.

The unemployment rate in January rose to a 17-year high of 7.6% after seaUnemployment sonal adjustment, 2009 7.6% up from its De- January Previous Month 7.2% cember 2008 lev- Year Earlier 4.9% el of 7.2%, the Labor Department reported Feb. 6. An estimated 598,000 nonfarm jobs were cut in January, which meant that the economy had lost 3.6 million jobs since a recession began in December 2007. About half of those jobs had been cut since November 2008, indicating that the economy was caught in a worsening cycle in which plunging demand for goods and services forced struggling businesses to lay off workers, leading to a further reduction in demand. [See p. 14A2] Jobs were lost in almost all areas of the economy, with the exception of health care and education. President Barack Obama that day urged Congress to pass an economic recovery package intended to create jobs and stimulate growth, saying, “Now is the time 79

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for Congress to act.” Senate and House lawmakers Feb. 11 agreed in principle to a compromise between their competing versions of the package, and Obama was expected to sign it the following week. [See p. 73A1] Economists said the official unemployment rate belied the severity of problems in the labor market, because it did not include “discouraged” workers who had stopped looking for work, and were therefore no longer considered part of the workforce, or those who had accepted only part-time employment even though they sought fulltime work. Counting those people, the rate would be 13.9%. 153.7 Million Jobs Held in January—According to a household survey, 153.7 million people held jobs in January, the Labor Department reported Feb. 6. The department counted 11.6 million people as unemployed. The department counted 734,000 workers as discouraged in January. About 7.8 million people who sought full-time employment were working part-time instead. The average manufacturing workweek was 39.8 hours in January, down slightly from 39.9 in December. Factory workers’ average overtime was 2.9 hours, down from 3.0 the previous month. The average hourly wage for production workers rose five cents, to $18.46. The unemployment rate among whites in January was 6.9%, up from 6.6% in December. The jobless rate for blacks was 12.6%, up from 11.9% the previous month. For Hispanics, who could be of any race, the rate was 9.7%, up from 9.2% in December. For men age 20 and over, January unemployment was 7.6%, up from 7.2% in December. For adult women, it was 6.2%, up from 5.9% the previous month. The teenage rate was 20.8%, unchanged from December. For black teenagers it was 36.5%, up from 33.7% the previous month. n

Terrorism Panel to Probe Bush Policies Proposed.

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Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D, Vt.) Feb. 9 called for the creation of an independent commission to investigate controversial Bush administration policies, including its detention of terrorism suspects, firing of nine U.S. attorneys and warrantless wiretapping of U.S. citizens. Leahy made the comments during a speech at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and said he had broached the subject to see if the idea could attract public support. [See pp. 20D1, 16A3] Under Leahy’s proposal, the commission would be modeled on South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which had granted individuals immunity from criminal prosecution in exchange for a full accounting of all crimes they had committed in connection with that country’s white-supremacist policy of apartheid. The proposed commission would report to Congress and the executive branch and would have the power to subpoena witnesses, but could grant immunity from prosecution in exchange for truthful testimony. Leahy said he had proposed the commission “not to humiliate people or punish 80

people but to get the truth out” about the Bush administration’s policies following Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the U.S. He also suggested that the commission could serve as a compromise between those favoring criminal prosecutions of former Bush administration officials and those opposed to any further investigations. Rep. Lamar Smith (Texas), the senior Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, criticized the proposal, saying that it was a partisan move by Leahy. President Barack Obama said during a Feb. 9 press conference that he would examine Leahy’s proposal, but suggested that he was unlikely to favor major investigations into the actions of the Bush administration. He said, “If there are clear instances of wrongdoing then people should be prosecuted just like any ordinary citizen,” but added, “I’m more interested in looking forward than I am in looking back.” New Administration Claims State Secrets—

The Justice Department Feb. 9 informed a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, Calif., that it would continue to argue that turning over information about the alleged torture of a terrorism detainee would endanger national security by revealing state secrets. The so-called state secrets privilege had been used by the Bush administration to block inquiries into its antiterrorism and intelligence operations. The Obama administration’s decision to continue claiming the privilege in the case was criticized by civil liberties advocates. [See 2008, p. 769E1] In May 2007, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) had filed suit against Jeppesen DataPlan Inc., a subsidiary of The Boeing Co., on behalf of five foreign men who claimed that the company helped the U.S. government fly them to countries where they were subsequently tortured or abused. One of the men, Ethiopian native Binyam Ahmed Mohammed, remained in custody at the U.S. military prison for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. A lower court had dismissed the case in February 2008 after the Justice Department used the state secrets privilege to argue that the case should be thrown out in order to protect U.S. national security. The ACLU appealed, arguing that the privilege was being used to keep torture victims from receiving their day in court. It said that the case should be allowed to proceed and that all confidential information in the case should be shown only to the presiding judge, who would rule on what information could be publicly discussed. Separately, two British High Court judges Feb. 4 ruled against the release of documents that lawyers for Mohammed said would prove he had been tortured. The judges, Justice John Thomas and Justice David Lloyd Jones, said the U.S. had threatened to withhold future intelligence information from Britain, a close ally, if the documents, which the U.S. had given to the British court, were released. The judges wrote, “We did not consider that a democracy governed by the rule of law would expect a court in another democracy to suppress” documents that were “relevant to

allegations of torture, and cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment, politically embarrassing though it might be.” Following the ruling, Clive Stafford Smith, an attorney for Mohammed, accused Britain of “capitulation to blackmail.” British Foreign Secretary David Miliband Feb. 5 denied that the U.S. had threaten to break off intelligence cooperation if the documents were released. He told Parliament that the U.S. had argued that the release would harm U.S. national security and data-sharing between the countries, an assessment that Miliband called “a simple affirmation of the facts of intelligence cooperation.” Obama Meets With Families of Victims—

Obama Feb. 6 held an hour-long meeting at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House, with a group of 40 survivors and relatives of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks and the 2000 attack on the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cole in Yemen’s port of Aden. Some of the survivors and family members had previously criticized Obama’s decision to close Guantanamo. [See p. 28F1] The White House said Obama explained why he felt that closing Guantanamo would make the U.S. safer and “help ensure that those who are guilty receive swift and certain justice within a legal framework that is durable, and that helps America fight terrorism more effectively around the world.” Charges Against Saudi Withdrawn—The Defense Department Feb. 6 announced that Convening Authority Susan Crawford, who was the military commissions official in charge of the prosecution of terrorism detainees at Guantanamo, had dropped all charges against Saudi detainee Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. Crawford had ordered the charges dropped without prejudice, allowing for them to be brought again if the government saw fit. [See p. 46C3] In January, Obama had ordered military prosecutors at Guantanamo to request a 120-day delay in all pending cases against detainees in order to give his administration sufficient time to examine the evidence against them. However, a military judge had refused to grant the request in the case of Nashiri, who was facing capital charges linked to the USS Cole attack. Nashiri had been scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 9. n

Medicine and Health Total Spending Fell in 2007. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Jan.

5 reported that health care spending in 2007 grew 6.1%, to $2.2 trillion, the lowest growth rate since 1998. The figure equaled $7,421 per person. The growth rate in 2006 was 6.7%. The slower growth was attributed to a sharp decline in spending on prescription drugs, with spending growth in that category falling to 4.9%, from 8.6% the previous year. The study also said health care spending constituted 16.2% of the U.S.’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2007, up from 16% in 2006. The report was published in the January/February issue of the journal Health Affairs. [See 2008, p. 20B3] n FACTS ON FILE

AFRICA

Opposition Leader Tsvangirai Sworn in as Zimbabwean PM Inauguration Comes After Unity Deal.

Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, Feb. 11 was sworn in as Zimbabwe’s new prime minister. Tsvangirai, a former trade union leader, took up the post as part of a power-sharing deal with the longtime ruling Zimbabwe African National Union–Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party of President Robert Mugabe. The oath of office was administered by Mugabe himself at a ceremony in Harare, the capital. [See p. 67A1; for facts on Tsvangirai, see p. 82A1] Two deputy prime ministers were also sworn in Feb. 11: Arthur Mutambara, the leader of a small breakaway MDC faction, and Thokozani Khupe, deputy leader of Tsvangirai’s MDC faction. The swearing in of Tsvangirai, 56, brought a tenuous resolution to a political crisis in Zimbabwe that had begun in March 2008, when he won more votes than Mugabe in the first round of a presidential election. (The MDC won a parliamentary majority in elections held the same day.) The country’s electoral commission, after delaying announcement of the results, said Tsvangirai won 48% to Mugabe’s 43%, failing to reach the 50% threshold needed to win the presidency and forcing a runoff. The government and its supporters then began a brutal campaign of violence against MDC supporters, prompting Tsvangirai to pull out of the runoff, held in June. Mugabe, who had ruled Zimbabwe since the country gained independence from Britain in 1980, won the election, but his victory was widely seen as illegitimate. The Feb. 11 swearing-in ceremony took place after Tsvangirai and the MDC in late January had agreed to the details of a unity government with the ZANU-PF. Under the deal, which was agreed to in principle in September 2008, the prime minister’s post was created for Tsvangirai, and the parties (including Mutambara’s MDC faction) would share cabinet posts. However, the implementation of the deal was delayed because the ZANU-PF had refused to relinquish control of key ministries, including the ministry of home affairs, which controlled the police. Under a compromise pushed through by the 15-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional grouping in January, Tsvangirai’s MDC faction and the ZANU-PF would share control of that ministry. The ZANU-PF retained control of other parts of the state security apparatus. As Zimbabwe’s political leaders haggled over the unity deal, the country’s troubled economy had continued to deteriorate, with citizens enduring hyperinflation and unemployment that reached 94%. Also, Zimbabwe had been hit by a cholera epidemic that started in August 2008, caused by a lack of access to clean water and health care facilities—a by-product of the February 12, 2009

economic crisis. As of Feb. 12, some 3,500 people had died of the disease. Tsvangirai Vows to Address Economy—

In a speech at a rally in Harare after his Feb. 11 inauguration, Tsvangirai said, “The first priority is to stabilize the economy. The economic collapse has forced millions of our most able to flee the country. This must end today.” The new prime minister pledged that all public sector workers would be paid in foreign currency, though he did not explain where that money would come from. He also called for unity among the political parties, saying, “The most important issue is that we are opening a new chapter for our country…there can be no turning back on the political agreement which each party has signed.” In a reference to a campaign of violence against opposition supporters that had been carried out or directed by the ZANU-PF, Tsvangirai said that “political violence must end today.” He added, “We can no longer afford brother against brother because one happened to have a different political opinion. I can assure that the culture of impunity and violation of human rights must end, and it must end today.” Referring to about 30 opposition activists who had been detained for months, he proclaimed, “I can assure you that they are not going to remain in those dungeons for any day or any week longer.” The New York Times Feb. 12 reported that the two parties had reached an understanding to release the activists, but they had yet to be freed. Tsvangirai had reportedly demanded their release as a condition of his participation in the inauguration ceremony; however, he apparently relented on that demand. Several of the activists had said through their lawyers that they were tortured while in custody, and their injuries had reportedly been documented by doctors. Mugabe, who would turn 85 Feb. 21, said at the inauguration ceremony, “I offer my hand of friendship and cooperation, warm cooperation and solidarity in the service of our great country Zimbabwe.” However, many observers continued to express skepticism about whether Mugabe would allow Tsvangirai to wield any real power. The inauguration of Tsvangirai prompted many analysts to recall a similar powersharing deal that Mugabe had entered into in the early 1980s with Joshua Nkomo, a rival independence leader. Nkomo was given various positions in the government, but Mugabe managed to sideline him by carrying out a violent campaign of repression against Nkomo’s supporters in the western Matabeleland area. Nkomo died in 1999 holding the ceremonial post of vice president. [See 1999, p. 540G2] MDC’s Biti Named Finance Minister—

Tsvangirai Feb. 10 named 17 cabinet ministers and deputy ministers. Tendai Biti, the MDC’s secretary general, was given the key finance ministry post. Biti, a human rights lawyer who had served as the MDC’s chief negotiator, Feb. 6 had been freed from prison after a judge dropped treason charges

against him that had been filed in 2008. [See 2008, p. 472F2] Although he was a seen as an ardent campaigner against Mugabe’s authoritarian rule, Biti, 44, had little economic experience. He would be tasked with stabilizing Zimbabwe’s economy and attracting much-needed foreign aid and investment. Among other cabinet appointments by Tsvangirai, Giles Mutsekwa, an MDC lawmaker who had a military background, was named the home affairs co-minister. (Mugabe had yet to name the other co-minister.) Henry Madzorera, a medical doctor, was named health minister, and lawyer Eric Matinenga was named constitutional and parliamentary affairs minister. Roy Bennett, a former member of parliament who had been imprisoned for eight months in 2004 for attacking the ZANU-PF justice minister, was named deputy agriculture minister. Bennett was one of thousands of white farmers who had their land seized by Mugabe’s government beginning in 2000, a policy that was seen as the root of Zimbabwe’s economic crisis. Bennett Feb. 12 told the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) that he had gone into hiding after the security services issued an arrest warrant for him. [See 2004, p. 1087C2] The ZANU-PF retained control of key ministries such as defense, justice, foreign affairs, information and local government. Mugabe late Feb. 12 named several cabinet members, but did not specify their posts. The ministers named by Mugabe included Emmerson Mnangagwa, who some viewed as a possible successor to Mugabe; Patrick Chinamasa, who had served as the ZANUPF’s chief negotiator on the power-sharing deal; former Defense Minister Sydney Sekeramayi; and Didymus Mutasa, who oversaw Zimbabwe’s disastrous land reform program. The new cabinet was scheduled to be sworn in Feb. 13. The posts of central bank governor and attorney general—which were currently held by Mugabe appointees—would reportedly be reviewed by the new government. Biti, in an interview with the BBC published online Feb. 12, said the MDC wanted to remove Gideon Gono, governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the central bank—a move that only Mugabe had the power to make. Biti said, “It’s not about Gono [per se], it’s about bringing sanity and normalcy to the Reserve Bank,” which had responded to the economic crisis and hyperinflation with measures, including slashing zeroes off the Zimbabwean dollar and introducing bank notes in higher denominations, that ultimately worsened the situation. [See p. 67F2] The power-sharing deal also provided for the MDC to choose five of the country’s 10 provincial governors. The MDC would select governors in the five provinces in which it had won a majority of the vote in the March 2008 elections. Among other provisions of the deal, parliament was reportedly considering the National Security Council Bill, under which a National Security Council would replace the Joint Operations Command as overseer 81

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Morgan Richard Tsvangirai was born March 10, 1952, in the Gutu area, south of Harare, capital of what was then the British colony of Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He was one of nine children of a bricklayer. Tsvangirai left high school early to work to help support his family, and never returned to school. In 1974, Tsvangirai began working for the Trojan Nickel Mine in the country’s Mashonaland Central region. During his 10 years at the mine, he became active in the labor movement. In 1988, he was elected secretary general of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), the country’s umbrella labor organization and a onetime ally of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union–Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party. It was in that role that Tsvangirai first challenged Zimbabwean independence hero and President Robert Mugabe, the leader of the ZANU-PF. The ZCTU in 1997 organized a general strike that forced Mugabe to withdraw a plan to increase the nation’s income tax to pay the pensions of independence war veterans. In retaliation, men believed to be members of the secret police beat Tsvangirai with a metal bar and attempted to throw him out of a 10th-story window. [See 1997, p. 1010D3] Tsvangirai and other labor activists formed the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) opposition party in 1999. In 2000 elections, the MDC won 57 seats in parliamentary elections, the first significant challenge to the ZANU-PF since it took power after independence in 1980. [See 2000, p. 454F1] In February 2002, Tsvangirai was arrested and charged with treason for allegedly plotting to assassinate Mugabe; he was acquitted in October 2004. In March 2002, as Zimbabwe’s economy deteriorated and political repression

of the nation’s security apparatus. The Joint Operations Command had been dominated by military leaders, and was seen as the architect of the crackdown on the MDC in 2008. Mugabe would head the National Security Council, and it would be comprised of Tsvangirai and the heads of the various arms of the military and security services. [See 2008, p. 772C1] n

Other African News African Union Summit Held in Ethiopia.

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The 53-member African Union (AU) Feb. 1–4 held its annual summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital. The official theme of the summit was improving the continent’s infrastructure, but discussions became sidetracked by issues including the global economic crisis and Libyan leader Muammer el-Qaddafi’s proposal for the creation of an African federal government. [See 2008, p. 441A1; 2007, p. 449A2] Qaddafi, who Feb. 2 was elected to the yearlong rotating chairmanship of the AU, during the conference focused on advancing his longtime plan to create a “United States of Africa.” However, the only concrete progress made on the plan was a Feb. 1 agreement to change the name of the AU Commission, the executive arm of the AU, to the AU Authority, and to give it expanded powers. Qaddafi Feb. 2 said he would bring to a vote at the next AU meeting in July the 82

increased, Tsvangirai lost to Mugabe in a presidential election that was widely seen as rigged. [See 2004, p. 828F1; 2002, p. 166D3] Tsvangirai was again charged with treason in 2003, after calling for mass protests against Mugabe; those charges were dropped in August 2005. In October of that year, a small group of MDC dissidents formed a splinter party, citing disagreement over policy decisions and Tsvangirai’s leadership style. [See 2005, pp. 861D3, 563C3] In March 2007, Tsvangirai and other MDC leaders were severely beaten and tortured by police after attempting to attend a prayer rally, bringing renewed international attention to the MDC’s cause. [See 2007, p. 162D2] In a March 2008 presidential election, Tsvangirai won 48% of the vote to Mugabe’s 43%, although the MDC claimed their candidate had won more than the 50% needed to win the presidency. Tsvangirai withdrew five days before the runoff election against Mugabe in June, after MDC supporters were subjected to a campaign of terror by the ZANU-PF. Mugabe and Tsvangirai in September 2008, after talks mediated by South African President Thabo Mbeki, agreed to a power-sharing deal under which Tsvangirai would become prime minister, and the two parties would share cabinet posts. However, wrangling over details of the deal delayed its implementation until January, when Tsvangarai and the MDC agreed to accept compromises under pressure from the Southern African Development Community (SADC). [See 2008, pp. 659A2, 425A1] Tsvangirai was sworn in as Zimbabwe’s prime minister Feb. 11, after parliament Feb. 5 passed a constitutional amendment creating the post. [See p. 81A1] Tsvangirai and his wife, Susan, were married in 1978, and they had six children.

implementation of measures such as a single African currency, army and passport. Qaddafi—who during the conference resided in a tent on the grounds of the luxury Sheraton Hotel—in a Feb. 4 news conference at the end of the summit said a continent-wide government fit better with traditional African social structures than the model of multiparty democracy, which he said had been imposed by outsiders. “Our parties are tribal parties—that is what has led to bloodshed,” he said, citing the ethnic violence that had erupted after disputed elections in Kenya in December 2007. [See 2008, p. 971C2] While Qaddafi strongly advocated the immediate implementation of the unity plan, other African leaders—including those of major continental powers South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Ethiopia—reportedly either opposed the plan or favored a more gradual integration. In a speech closing the conference, Qaddafi showered praise on new U.S. President Barack Obama, the country’s first black president. “We hope he will be well protected and want him to be undaunted. America doesn’t belong to the whites alone. I hope he will be able to accomplish the change he carries in him,” the Libyan leader said. [See p. 25A1] Qaddafi’s election to the mostly symbolic post of AU chairman followed his efforts to repair ties with the West after years

as a pariah for his country’s support of terrorism and illicit weapons activities. However, his ascension was ill-received in some quarters of Africa, where Qaddafi’s government in recent decades had supported violent militant groups in bloody conflicts. [See 2008, p. 636A1] AU Bars Mauritania, Guinea—The AU’s Peace and Security Council at a post-summit meeting Feb. 5 imposed sanctions on the rulers of Mauritania, who had taken power in a military coup in August 2008. Council Chairman Manuel Domingos Augusto of Angola said the sanctions would be comprised of “a travel ban on civilian and military members of the junta, the systematic refusal of visas and checks on their bank accounts.” [See 2008, p. 972A1] Mauritania and Guinea, which had undergone a military coup in December 2008, had both been barred from the summit. The moves came despite the fact that Qaddafi and other African leaders had come to power through military coups or other undemocratic means. [See p. 34E3] The Mauritanian junta Jan. 23 had announced that it would hold a presidential election June 6. n

AMERICAS

Brazil First Trade Deficit in Eight Years Reported.

Brazil’s ministry of trade and industry Feb. 2 reported that the country in January had run its first trade deficit—$518 million (1.17 Brazilian reals)—since March 2001. Brazil had had a trade surplus of $922 million in January 2008, and a surplus of $2.3 billion in December 2008. [See 2008, p. 941E1] Brazil’s economy had grown significantly in recent years, fueled by the rising price of commodities, such as soybeans and wheat. However, analysts said the trade deficit reflected the global economic slowdown resulting from the credit crisis, which had reduced foreign demand for Brazilian products. Unemployment Dip Hides Jobs Loss—

Government statistics agency Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica (IBGE) Jan. 22 reported that the country’s unemployment rate had fallen to 6.8% in December 2008, its lowest figure since March 2002, when a new method of calculating the statistic had been instituted. However, the agency reported that the figure had been buoyed by the hiring of temporary holiday labor, and that the country had lost 654,000 full-time jobs in the month. The rate was expected to increase as the temporary positions expired and the economy worsened. The unemployment rate had been 7.6% in November 2008 and 7.4% in December 2007. Also, the central bank Jan. 21 had cut its benchmark overnight interest rate, the Selic rate, by one percentage point, to 12.75%. Brazil’s was among the highest interest rates in South America, as part of a policy designed to keep inflation low. n FACTS ON FILE

Canada Interest Rate Cut to Historic Low. The Bank

of Canada, the country’s central bank, Jan. 20 cut its benchmark interest rate—the target rate on overnight loans between commercial banks—by 0.5 percentage points, to 1%, its lowest figure since the bank was founded in 1934. The previous low of 1.12% had been set in 1958, when it was calculated using a formula based on treasury bill yields. [See p. 50B2] The Bank of Canada Jan. 22 predicted that the economy would contract 4.8% in the first quarter of 2009, a downward revision from an earlier estimate predicting no change. The central bank also suggested that the current recession would be shorter than either of those experienced in 1980– 81 or 1990–92, a projection that several analysts said was too optimistic. The bank said the country’s economy would contract by 1.2% in 2009, but grow by 3.8% in 2010. [See 2008, p. 909B2] n

Guatemala Dozens Killed in Landslide. A landslide

Jan. 4 buried nearly a mile of road in the sparsely populated Alta Verapaz district of Guatemala, some 125 miles (200 km) from Guatemala City, the capital. A rescue official Jan. 7 said search teams had halted their efforts because of unsafe conditions at the site, with at least 37 people confirmed dead and some 50 more missing. The road was a conduit for coffee from nearby plantations; most of those killed were thought to be coffee workers. [See 2007, p. 130A1] n

Mexico Stimulus Set to Fight Economic Slump.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa Jan. 7 announced a stimulus package that froze the price of government-produced gasoline, and reduced the price of fuel and electricity used by some industries and homes, to combat the global economic crisis and the decline of the U.S. economy, to which Mexico’s was closely linked. Calderon’s plan also expanded unemployment benefits, and encouraged more rapid government action on spending plans. [See 1995, p. 878F3] Finance Minister Agustin Carstens Jan. 8 said the country’s economy was not expected to grow at all in 2009, scaling back a previous growth estimate of 1.8%. Guillermo Ortiz, president of the country’s central bank, Jan. 27 estimated that economic growth in the country would contract between 0.8% and 1.8%. The central bank Jan. 16 lowered its benchmark lending rate by 0.5 percentage points, to 7.75%. It was the first time the bank had lowered the rate since 2006. The central bank Jan. 27 reported that remittances from Mexicans working in the U.S. had dropped 3.6% in 2008, the first time the figure had declined since recordkeeping began in 1996. The decline was attributed to higher unemployment rates February 12, 2009

in the U.S., which had also affected immigrants seeking work there. [See 2008, p. 729E2] n

A S I A - PA C I F I C

Australian Fires Kill at Least 181 Police Suspect Arson. Widespread

bushfires Feb. 7–12 in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria killed at least 181 people, injured more than 80 others and destroyed at least 1,069 homes. The fires, which had devastated more than 400,000 hectares (988,500 acres) of land, were the deadliest in Australian history, surpassing the so-called Ash Wednesday fires of 1983, which killed 75 people in southern Australia. Police Feb. 9 blamed some of the fires on arson. [See 2006, p. 1020D2; 1983, p. 132B3] About 3,000 firefighters had been dispatched by the state and federal governments to combat the more than 400 fires across Victoria, on 12 separate fire fronts. More than 21 of the fires were still burning as of Feb. 12. The financial toll of the fires was expected to total more than A$500 million (US$325 million). Drought, Winds Fuel Fires— Temperatures in Victoria Feb. 7 had reached as high as 117 degrees Fahrenheit (47 degrees Celsius), a record for the region, and the heat, combined with a long running drought in the area, had created dry conditions that were conducive to wildfires. The fires were driven by strong, shifting winds that reached up to 62 miles per hour (100 km per hour) in some areas. Attempts to combat the fire Feb. 8 were aided by a decline in temperatures in the region as well rain and calmer winds in some afflicted areas. The unpredictable changes in the direction of the wind complicated attempts to isolate the fires and made it difficult for nearby residents to accurately determine if they

were in danger. Many of the dead had reportedly been surrounded by flames while trying to flee and had died in their cars. The largest of the fires was located about 60 miles north of Melbourne, Victoria’s capital, in and around the town of Kinglake. The fires there, which were large enough to be visible from space, had all but destroyed Kinglake, killing at least 24 people and destroying about 500 houses and buildings, as well as the nearby village of Marysville, among others. John Brumby, the premier of Victoria, Feb. 8 announced that he had accepted an offer by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to send military forces to the region in order to assist with firefighting and recovery efforts. The following day, the government began to search for additional bodies in the wreckage left behind by the fires.

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Rudd Blames Fires on Arsonists—

Rudd Feb. 9 accused arsonists, who were thought to have been responsible for some of the fires, of indirectly committing “mass murder” in connection with the rising number of deaths. Police in Victoria were reportedly investigating arson allegations linked to the fires and were treating some of the burnt areas as crime scenes. A total of about 60,000 wildfires broke out each year in Australia, and half of them were thought to be the result of arson or other unnatural origins. Investigation Announced—The government of Victoria Feb. 9 announced that it would establish a Royal Commission to investigate the fires and the government’s response to the disaster. The probe was expected to examine the government’s bushfire policies, which advised residents to either flee early or prepare to “stay and defend” their homes in order to minimize the risk of injury or death, a recommendation that came under criticism after the fires.

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Rudd Feb. 12 announced that a national day of mourning would be held to honor the victims of the fires. No date for the day of mourning was announced. n

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North Korea Jan. 30 announced that it would no longer observe its existing military, economic and other cooperation agreements with South Korea. The Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, the North Korean agency responsibly for policy toward South Korea, said bilateral relations had “worsened to the point where there is no way or hope of correcting them.” [See p. 51A3] North Korea also reiterated that it did not recognize a United Nations–imposed sea border between the two countries’ territorial waters to the west of the Korean Peninsula. That reportedly led South Korea to bolster its naval presence in the area, where occasional confrontations had erupted into serious sea clashes in 1999 and 2002. [See 2006, p. 494E1; 2002, p. 495A2] North Korea had recently escalated its hostile rhetoric toward South Korea in response to the policies of South Korean President Lee Myung Bak, who had taken a harder line against North Korea than his predecessors. North Korea had also recently claimed to have “weaponized” much of its plutonium, in a setback to international efforts to persuade it to abandon its nuclear weapons program. Some observers suggested that North Korea was increasing its belligerence in order to attract the attention of the new administration of U.S. President Barack Obama. [See p. 35C3] Lee Jan. 30 called on North Korea to return to dialogue with South Korea. A U.S. State Department spokesman that day said North Korea’s declaration would not “deter us” from pursuing “denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” North Korea Feb. 1 issued a statement warning that South Korea’s “policy of confrontation” threatened to lead to war. Missile Test Preparations Seen—South Korean and Japanese news media Feb. 3 reported that, according to South Korean officials, North Korea was preparing for a test launch of its Taepodong-2 long-range ballistic missile within two months. Satellite images had reportedly shown an object believed to be a missile being transported by rail to Dongchangri, a new launch facility on North Korea’s western coast, near its border with China. A 2006 test of the Taepodong-2, believed to be designed to reach as far as the U.S. state of Alaska, had been a failure. [See 2008, p. 673F1] Kim Meets With Chinese Envoy—North Korean and Chinese state news media Jan. 23 both reported that North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Il had met that day with a Chinese official in Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital. It was Kim’s first publicized meeting with a foreign dignitary since rumors emerged in September 2008 that he had suffered a stroke the previous month. [See 2008, p. 981A1] 84

Observers said the meeting and the official accounts of it, including photographs, were likely intended to demonstrate that Kim was well and in control of the North Korean government. North Korea had dismissed the reports of Kim’s illness, and the reports of the meeting with the Chinese envoy—Communist Party International Department head Wang Jiarui—made no mention of his health. North Korea in recent months had issued frequent reports of Kim, 66, attending events, but usually refrained from specifying the dates or locales or releasing videos. n

Asia-Pacific News in Brief Indonesia: 300 Lost in Ferry Sinking. A ferry

Jan. 11 sank off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi during a storm, leaving almost 300 people dead or missing as of Jan. 20, when the search for survivors was called off. Officials said that in addition to the official manifest of 267 passengers and crew, more than 100 others might have been on the boat, the MV Teratai Prima, when it sank. Navy Col. Jaka Santosa, Jan. 20 said there were 35 known survivors, and nine bodies of victims had been recovered by that date, leading him to estimate that there were “around 262” people still missing. The captain of Teratai Prima, Sabir, Jan. 19 was detained under suspicion of possible criminal negligence for failing to take precautions after receiving a warning of the storm. [See 2007, p. 299E1] n Vietnam: Ferry Accident Kills 40. A ferry Jan. 25 sank in Vietnam’s Gianh river, killed at least 40 people. Media sources reported that about 80 people were onboard the ferry at the time of the accident, significantly more passengers than the boat was designed to hold. Many of the passengers were reportedly shopping for gifts prior to Vietnam’s Tet holiday, which began Jan. 26 and celebrated the New Year based on a lunar calendar. Local police confirmed that at least 36 people had survived the sinking and said they had held Nguyen Xuan Quy, the ferry’s captain and owner, for questioning. [See 2008, p. 982B2] n

EUROPE

UNITED STATES

France Sarkozy Sets Aid for Carmakers. French

President Nicolas Sarkozy Feb. 9 announced a plan to provide 6.5 billion euros ($8.5 billion) in state aid to the national auto industry. The plan drew criticism from other European countries as a form of protectionism, and the European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, requested further details from France. [See p. 52E2; 2008, p. 910D2] Under the plan, the largest French carmakers, Renault SA and PSA PeugotCitroen, would each receive three billion euros in low-interest five-year government loans, in exchange for pledging not to close factories in France for the duration of the loan and to try to avoid layoffs. Renault

Trucks, a French unit of Sweden’s Volvo, would receive 500 million euros in loans, and the government said other foreign carmakers with operations in France would be eligible for aid as well. Peugeot-Citroen Feb. 11 said it planned to cut its global work force by 12,000 jobs that year, with at least half of the cuts in France. However, it said that the layoffs would be voluntary and that it would offer buyouts to French workers, in order to comply with its commitments to the government. Government officials in Sweden, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, which all had major auto industries, raised concerns that the French plan was protectionist, as did Germany’s BDI business federation. Sarkozy the previous week had called on French carmakers to stop relocating abroad. Peugeot-Citroen operated factories in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and Renault had operations in Romania. Labor costs and taxes were lower in Eastern Europe. Britain in late January had announced about $3 billion in aid for its domestic auto industry, most of which was foreignowned. The U.S. in December 2008 had set $17.4 billion in emergency aid for General n Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC.

Georgia Prime Minister Resigns After Three Months.

Prime Minister Grigol Mgaloblishvili Jan. 30 resigned his position after just three months in office, citing “health problems.” Parliament Feb. 6 voted to confirm Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Nika Gilauri, 33, as his replacement. Gilauri that day said he would make fighting unemployment his top priority. He also said the Russian-aligned Georgian splinter regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia would “be de-occupied by careful steps, which our government will take in the future with the help of our international partners.” Georgia in August 2008 had fought a five-day war with Russia over control of South Ossetia that ultimately served to reinforce Russia’s presence in the breakaway regions. [See p. 85D1; 2008, pp. 983E2, 827C3; for facts on Gilauri, see p. 85A1] Mgaloblishvili, who reportedly suffered from kidney problems, in a Jan. 31 address said Georgia could not “afford” to have a prime minister who became ill for long periods of time. Gilauri was President Mikheil Saakashvili’s fifth prime minister in as many years. Observers suggested that the frequent shake-ups in Georgia’s government were indicative of instability within Saakashvili’s administration. Opposition Calls for New Leadership—

Mgaloblishvili’s exit came just after Georgia’s fractured political opposition Jan. 29 gathered in Tbilisi, the capital, to sign a declaration calling for Saakashvili’s resignation. Leaders from a number of political parties, in the document, accused Saakashvili of leading Georgia to “catastrophe,” and called for fresh presidential and parliamentary elections, both of which were currently slated to take FACTS ON FILE

FACTS ON GILAURI

Nikoloz (Nika) Gilauri was born Feb. 14, 1975, in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, then a Soviet republic. He received a degree in international economic relations from Tbilisi State University, and went on to earn a master’s degree in international business management in 2000 from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pa., after studying also in Britain and in Ireland. From 2000 to 2004, he worked as a financial consultant in the U.S. and Georgia, mostly for energy-related projects. In 2004, he became Georgia’s energy minister, and served in that position until 2007, when he was appointed finance minister. In November 2008, he also became a deputy prime minister. He was confirmed Feb. 6 by the Georgian parliament as the country's new prime minister, replacing Grigol Mgaloblishvili, who had held the post for just three months. [See p. 84C3] Gilauri was among the longest-serving members of Georgia’s government, having worked in President Mikheil Saakashvili’s administration for five years.

place in 2013. Signatories included former parliament speaker Nino Burdzhanadze and Irakli Alasania, Georgia’s former ambassador to the United Nations. The leaders pledged to organize public demonstrations beginning in March. [See 2008, pp. 928A1, 826D3] While Saakashvili’s popularity had suffered in recent years, most observers agreed that the Georgian opposition remained too disorganized to pose a serious challenge to his government. n Minister Says Russia Sent Jets to Abkhazia.

Georgian Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze Feb. 6 claimed that Russia had sent 27 jets to the Soviet-era Gudauta air base in Abkhazia, a Russian-aligned splinter region that lay within Georgia’s internationally recognized borders. Abkhazian Deputy Defense Minister Garry Kupalba the same day denied the allegations, but added that “if a decision is made to establish an air base, we will announce it officially.” The Russian news agency Interfax Feb. 6 reported that Russian officials had denied that any Russian jets had been sent to Abkhazia. [See p. 84C3; 2008, p. 927F3] Russia’s ITAR-TASS news agency Jan. 26 had reported that an unidentified Russian navy official said Russia planned to build a naval base for its Black Sea fleet at the Abkhazian port of Ochamchira. Work on the base would begin in 2009, according to the official. Russia’s Black Sea fleet was currently stationed at Sevastopol, Ukraine, but Russia’s lease on the base there expired in 2017. After Russia’s conflict with Georgia in August 2008, Ukraine had suggested it would not renew the lease. [See 2008, p. 797A1] In related news, Georgian officials Jan. 16 said a Georgian policeman had been shot and killed that day near the South Ossetian border. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed skepticism that the attack had happened, saying, “Many reports of this kind are not confirmed.” n February 12, 2009

Russia News in Brief. Gilani Shepiyev, 36, who

from 2004 to 2006 had served as deputy mayor of Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, a majority-Muslim republic in southern Russia, Feb. 5 was shot dead outside his home in Moscow, Russia’s capital. Shepiyev had overseen law enforcement agencies in Chechnya, which had experienced years of violent conflict between government forces and separatists. He had fled Chechnya in 2006 after he was wounded in an assassination attempt. Investigators said his murder was a contract killing. His death came after the January murders of Umar Israilov, a Chechen dissident who had accused Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov of torture and abductions, and Stanislav Markelov, a prominent rights lawyer who had often represented Chechens. [See pp. 68A2, 36D2] Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and Cuban President Raul Castro Ruz Jan. 30 in Moscow signed a cooperation agreement to expand partnerships in agriculture, manufacturing, science and tourism. Russia also pledged to loan Cuba $20 million. The leaders notably did not publicly mention the possibility of military collaboration. [See 2008, p. 899E1] Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad Jan. 27 was elected the new patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. He was enthroned Feb. 1 at a Moscow ceremony attended by Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, as well as representatives from the Roman Catholic Church. Kirill I, born Vladimir Gundyayev, succeeded Aleksii II, who had died in December 2008 after leading the church’s revival since the fall of the Soviet Union, which had banned religion. Kirill was known for his involvement in the Russian ecumenical movement, which encouraged dialogue among the various Christian denominations. [See 2008, p. 912C3] n

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Rival Parties Both Claim Victory In Israeli Elections Livni, Netanyahu Vie to Build Coalitions.

The centrist Kadima party, led by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, and the conservative Likud party, led by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, both claimed victory in Feb. 10 parliamentary elections in Israel, but neither party won enough seats in the Knesset, or parliament, to govern alone. [See p. 42F1; 2008, p. 797A2] Final results released Feb. 12 gave Kadima a slight edge, with 28 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, compared with 27 for Likud. But a strong showing of 15 seats for a third party, the ultranationalist Yisrael Beitenu, led by Avigdor Lieberman, gave Netanyahu a chance of forming a right-wing coalition government without Kadima. Along with smaller nationalist and religious parties, the right won a total of 65 seats, to 55 for Kadima and the left. Chief among the smaller parties on the right, with

11 seats, was the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, which backed Netanyahu. Led by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, the center-left Labor Party, once dominant in Israeli politics, finished fourth, with 13 seats. Its leaders said they might rebuff invitations to join a coalition government, instead opting for a rebuilding period of principled opposition. Livni, 50, Feb. 10 declared victory at a rally in Tel Aviv, saying, “Today the nation chose Kadima.” She vowed to form a coalition government with parties from across the political spectrum. Livni sought to become the second female prime minister of Israel, following Golda Meir, who served from 1969 to 1974. Netanyahu, 59, also claimed victory that day before supporters in Tel Aviv, declaring, “The national camp headed by the Likud won a clear victory,” pointing to the success of the right. During the campaign, however, he had said he wanted to lead a broader coalition government including Kadima or Labor. Lieberman, 50, told his supporters that he would seek a “right-wing government” and use his party’s strength to “determine the next government’s agenda.” Livni and Netanyahu Feb. 11 each met separately with Lieberman, a former aide to Netanyahu, who had been prime minister from 1996 to 1999. President Shimon Peres, a member of Kadima, would decide which leader to ask first to try to form a government, based on the recommendations of all the parties in the Knesset. Peres was expected to make his decision within a week. If he did not choose Livni, it would be the first time in Israeli history that a president had not tapped the leader of the party that won the most seats to be prime minister. Turnout for the elections registered at about 65% of eligible voters, relatively low by historical standards. Observers said voters appeared to be tired of political instability that had led to a total of five elections in the past 10 years.

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Fate of Talks With Palestinians in Doubt—

Livni had been the only candidate of the top three parties to campaign on a pledge of seeking to continue peace talks with the Palestinian Authority (PA), leading toward the goal of creating a Palestinian state. She had led largely fruitless talks with PA President Mahmoud Abbas over the past year. Netanyahu opposed the territorial concessions that Livni supported, and said he viewed the prospect of an independent Palestinian state as a threat to Israel’s security, although he had proposed an “economic peace plan” to help the Palestinians. However, new U.S. President Barack Obama had said he would push both Israel and the Palestinians to make concessions to advance the peace process. The U.S. was Israel’s closest ally. During his tenure as prime minister in the 1990s, Netanyahu had agreed, under U.S. pressure, to make some territorial concessions to the Palestinians. Incumbent Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Kadima, who headed a coalition government that included Labor as the junior part85

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ner, was leaving office after being weakened by corruption allegations. Netanyahu and Likud had led in public opinion polls in the weeks leading up to the election. But Kadima suddenly closed the gap in the final week, as Livni campaigned more energetically than her rivals and presented herself as a moderate who could both negotiate peace and safeguard the country, drawing support from voters on the left. Lieberman, meanwhile, had led his party to growing popularity by campaigning on the message that all citizens should be required to pledge their allegiance to Israel. That was seen as a loyalty test aimed at Israeli Arabs, who made up about 20% of the population. He had also called for territorial exchanges that would move most of Israel’s 1.2 million Arabs into a Palestinian state and bring West Bank Jewish settlements within Israel’s borders. The Israeli High Court of Justice Jan. 21 had overturned a Jan. 12 vote by the Central Elections Committee to ban two Israeli Arab parties from participating in the elections. The commission had imposed the ban during Israel’s 22-day invasion of the Gaza Strip. Israeli Arabs had protested the invasion, leading to accusations that the Arab parties did not recognize the Jewish state and supported its enemies. Lieberman and Netanyahu had both backed the ban. The government had ordered the Gaza invasion with the aim of damaging Hamas, the militant Islamist group that controlled the territory and had been firing rockets at nearby Israeli cities. Israeli forces had withdrawn from Gaza in January after the fighting caused the deaths of about 1,300 Palestinians, including many civilians, drawing international criticism. The Israeli public had strongly supported the invasion, but there was widespread disappointment with the result, since Hamas remained in power in Gaza and continued to fire rockets at Israel. U.N. Halts Gaza Aid—The United Nations Relief and Works Agency Feb. 6 said it had halted its aid shipments to Gaza because Hamas had seized 10 truckloads of flour and rice that day, after seizing blankets and food from a warehouse earlier in the week. The agency said it would not resume shipping aid until the stolen supplies were returned and Hamas pledged not to steal any more goods. Hamas called the incidents a misunderstanding. The U.N. Feb. 9 said it would resume the aid shipments since Hamas had returned the supplies. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon Feb. 10 repeated his call for Israel to allow more aid into Gaza. He demanded that Israel open more border crossings into Gaza, saying that only one crossing was currently open to U.N. trucks, which did not allow enough aid to pass through. n

Iran Ahmadinejad Signals Interest in U.S. Talks.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Feb. 10 said his country was open to a diplomatic dialogue with the U.S. on the condition that there was a “fundamental” change 86

in the U.S.’s policy toward Iran. Ahmadinejad made the remarks at a rally in Tehran, the capital, marking the 30th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, in which the U.S.-backed Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi was deposed by hard-line Islamic students. The U.S. had severed diplomatic ties with the country in 1980, after 52 people at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran were held hostage by the revolutionaries. [See p. 16A1; 2008, p. 499G1; 1980, p. 257A1] U.S. President Barack Obama during his presidential campaign had repeatedly stated that his administration would be open to direct talks with Iran, and after taking office in January had made several overtures in that regard. Obama’s predecessor, President George W. Bush, had pushed to isolate Iran diplomatically and had taken a confrontational stance against Iran’s development of a nuclear program, charging that the country was attempting to create nuclear weapons. Iran rejected that claim, asserting that it sought to create a civilian nuclear power program. Bush in January 2002 had said Iran was one of three countries that formed an “axis of evil.” [See 2002, p. 41G2] Ahmadinejad in his remarks said, “The new U.S. government has announced that it wants to create change and follow the path of talks. It’s very clear that true change should be fundamental and not tactical.” He added, “These talks should be held in a fair atmosphere in which there is mutual respect.” It was unclear how much authority Ahmadinejad had to initiate discussions, as all final foreign policy decisionmaking power was thought to lie with Iran’s supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It was also thought that his policy statements were first vetted by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, a group that included influential religious and military leaders, among others. Obama during a Feb. 9 press conference, the first of his administration, had said he sought areas of “constructive dialogue” with Iran’s leaders in which the U.S. could “engage directly with them.” However, he added that he considered “the funding of terrorist organizations unacceptable,” and that if Iran developed nuclear weapons it “could set off a nuclear arms race in the region that would be profoundly destabilizing.” [See p. 79E1] Satellite Launched—Iran Feb. 3 announced that it had for the first time successfully launched a satellite into low orbit using a domestically produced missile, raising new concerns over its nuclear weapons ambitions. Although the satellite, named Omid, or Hope, was small in size and relatively lightweight compared to a nuclear warhead, experts said the event still demonstrated that Iran was capable of independently launching a multiple-stage rocket, which could be used for various military purposes. [See 2008, p. 857D1] Analysts said the move was likely intended as a signal to the U.S., and did not constitute a new and pressing threat to the U.S. or its allies. Iran joined a small group of nations—which included the U.S., Russia, China, France, Japan, Britain, India and Israel—that were capable of independently

launching satellites. Iran in 2005 had launched a satellite with Russian help, and in 2008 had launched another in a joint venture with China and Thailand, according to the Iranian state-run television channel Press TV. Iran in August 2008 had claimed to have launched a satellite on its own, but U.S. officials said it had failed to do so. U.S. Gestures Seen—U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had also made several diplomatic overtures toward Iran. Clinton Jan. 27 said there was a “clear opportunity” for Iran “to demonstrate some willingness to engage meaningfully with the international community.” However, following Iran’s satellite launch, Clinton Feb. 3 said, “If Tehran does not comply with United Nations Security Council and [International Atomic Energy Agency] mandates, there must be consequences.” [See pp. 79F1, 74C3, 42F1] Addressing the incoming Obama administration, Ahmadinejad Jan. 15 had said Iran would “always welcome dialogue and relations.” n Khatami Sets Presidential Candidacy. Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami Feb. 8 announced his candidacy in a presidential election scheduled for June 12. Khatami, who had served two terms as president, from 1997 to 2005, was a member of Iran’s reform movement and had helped ease relations with Western countries during his time in office. He had also attempted to foment greater political and social freedoms. Observers for months had speculated that he would enter the race. [See 2008, p. 776E2] Khatami, a 65-year-old cleric, had been succeeded by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a conservative politician thought to have the support of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s de facto head of state. In recent months, criticism of Ahmadinejad’s handling of the economy had grown, but there had been no public signs that he had lost Khamenei’s support. However, several of his allies in parliament had lost their seats in March 2008 elections to a faction of hard-line conservatives opposed to him. [See 2008, p. 185G2] Under Ahmadinejad, Iran had taken a more combative stance in diplomatic relations with Western powers, and resumed its nuclear enrichment program, which had been suspended under Khatami. The U.S. alleged that the enrichment was intended to develop a nuclear weapons program, while Iran claimed its goal was to generate nuclear power. [See 2008, p. 874C2] Khatami had been drafted as a candidate by Iran’s reformist elements, but his chances for success were unclear. He had left office strongly criticized by reformers, who said he had failed to adequately advance their agenda amid stubborn opposition from the country’s conservative hard-liners. Khatami’s candidacy could also be disqualified by the Guardian Council, a body of conservative clerics with close ties to Khamenei. The council had disqualified some 1,700 reform candidates in the runup to the March 2008 elections. Analysts also said Khatami’s candidacy could lead conservatives who had previously criticized Ahmadinejad to throw FACTS ON FILE

their support fully behind him, in order to stave off a return to power by Khatami. Ahmadinejad had not yet officially declared himself a candidate for the presidency. However, his press adviser, Ali Akbar Javanfekr, Jan. 28 had confirmed that he planned to run. Iranian newspapers Jan. 21 reported that Ahmadinejad had canceled his itinerary for the next four days because of a cold, renewing speculation that he suffered from a serious health problem. Ahmadinejad since April 2008 had reportedly changed his schedule five times because of health reasons. n

SPORTS

UNITED STATES

MLB’s Alex Rodriguez Admits to Past Steroid Use Confession Prompted by News Story.

Alex Rodriguez, a star third baseman for the New York Yankees and the highestpaid player in Major League Baseball (MLB), Feb. 9 admitted in an interview with sports network ESPN that he had taken performance-enhancing drugs from 2001 to 2003, when he played for the Texas Rangers. The admission by Rodriguez, 33, came two days after Sports Illustrated had reported on its Web site that he was one of 104 MLB players to have tested positive for the drugs in 2003. [See below; 2008, p. 495B2; 2007, p. 899D2] In 2003, MLB had for the first time conducted anonymous tests on 1,198 players, as part of a labor agreement signed before the start of the season with the MLB Players Association (MLBPA), which had long resisted drug testing in the sport. Under that deal, if more than 5% of players tested positive, a more rigorous testing regimen that included public naming and punishment of those who failed tests would be put in place the next season. MLB announced in November 2003 that more than 5% had tested positive, and that the stricter rules, including random, unannounced testing, would be implemented in 2004. [See 2003, p. 947E3] Rodriguez, who had played for the Seattle Mariners, the Rangers and the Yankees in his 15-year career, had long been considered one of the best players in MLB. He had won the American League (A.L.) most valuable player (MVP) award three times. In 2007, he had become the youngest player in MLB history to hit 500 home runs. His admission came amid ongoing investigations into alleged performance-enhancing drug use by two of MLB’s other biggest stars—slugger Barry Bonds and pitcher Roger Clemens. Both denied accusations that they had used such drugs. [See below; 2007, p. 519A3; 2003, p. 947A1] In the Feb. 9 interview, conducted by longtime MLB reporter Peter Gammons, Rodriguez said he began taking the drugs after signing a record 10-year, $252 million contract with the Rangers prior to the 2001 season. “When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure, felt all the weight of the world on top of me to perform, and perform at a high level every February 12, 2009

day,” he said. Rodriguez added, “Back then, [baseball] was a different culture.…It was very loose. I was young, I was stupid, I was naive. I wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time.” He also said that performance-enhancing drug use was “prevalent” in MLB “culture” in the early 2000s. [See 2000, p. 1051A2] Rodriguez claimed that he did not know what specific drugs he took, saying only, “I did take a banned substance. For that, I am very sorry and deeply regretful.” He added, “I am sorry for my Texas years. I apologize to the fans of Texas.” Sports Illustrated in its Feb. 7 report had stated that Rodriguez tested positive for testosterone and the anabolic steroid Primobolan, both banned drugs. Rodriguez said he decided to stop taking the drugs after suffering a neck injury in spring training in 2003. Rodriguez also said Gene Orza, the MLBPA’s chief operating officer, had told him during the 2004 season that he might or might not have tested positive in 2003, and claimed that he did not know he had tested positive until Sports Illustrated contacted him about its story the previous week. However, ESPN reported that an unnamed source had told the sports news organization Feb. 7 that Rodriguez had indeed known about the failed test. Sports Illustrated also alleged that Orza had tipped off Rodriguez in September 2004 that he was scheduled to be tested in the coming weeks. Report Based on Unidentified Sources—

The fact that the 2003 tests were supposed to have been confidential and anonymous raised questions as to how Sports Illustrated obtained the information for its Feb. 7 report, written by Selena Roberts and David Epstein. According to Roberts in a Feb. 8 interview on the magazine’s Web site, she and Epstein had been working on a profile of Rodriguez when they came across rumors of his positive test, and then verified those rumors with four independent, unidentified sources. The report also sparked anger among players that the union did not destroy the 2003 results in a timely manner, as it had pledged to do. MLBPA Executive Director Donald Fehr Feb. 9 released a statement saying the union had been in the process of destroying the tests in November 2003, when they were subpoenaed by the federal government in connection with an investigation into the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative (BALCO), a California nutritional supplement company that had since been found to have provided top athletes from several sports with banned drugs. After receiving the subpoena, Fehr said, “We concluded, of course, that it would be improper to proceed with the destruction of the materials.” Federal agents seized the tests in April 2004. Fehr also rejected the allegation that Orza had warned Rodriguez about the 2004 test. Reaction—Yankees general manager Brian Cashman Feb. 10 said the team had no reason to suspect that Rodriguez had used performance-enhancing drugs when it negotiated a 10-year, $275 million contract after Rodriguez opted out of his previous deal

with the Yankees following the 2007 season. He also pointed out that the Yankees had weathered similar revelations before, with pitcher Andy Pettitte in 2008 and first baseman Jason Giambi in 2004. Yankees manager Joe Girardi that day said he had been shocked by Rodriguez’s revelation, and had telephoned him to offer support. [See 2008, p. 154D2; 2007, p. 899D2; 2004, p. 974A3] Rangers owner Tom Hicks, who had signed Rodriguez to the 2000 contract, said he felt “personally betrayed.” President Barack Obama, asked about Rodriguez’s admission during a nationally televised press conference Feb. 9, called it “depressing news.” He added that he hoped children “are watching and saying: You know what? There are no shortcuts; that when you try to take shortcuts, you end up tarnishing your entire career, and that your integrity’s not worth it.” [See p. 79D2]

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Documents Detail Bonds Drug Use—

Judge Susan Illston in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Calif., Feb. 4 unsealed documents that linked Bonds to four positive tests for steroids. Also included in the released documents was an alleged steroid treatment schedule for Bonds and a transcript of a recorded telephone conversation in which Bonds’s former trainer allegedly said he had injected Bonds with steroids. Bonds’s lawyers Jan. 15 had filed a motion seeking to block that evidence because it could not be definitively tied to Bonds. Illston Feb. 5 said her “preliminary thoughts” were to exclude three of the drug tests but to admit the recording transcript. [See 2008, p. 993B1] Bonds had been charged with 10 counts of perjury for telling a federal grand jury in 2003 that he had never used performanceenhancing drugs. He had pleaded not guilty; his trial would begin March 2. Tejada Submits Guilty Plea—Houston Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada Feb. 10 was charged with one misdemeanor count of making false statements to federal investigators, and pleaded guilty to those charges the following day. Tejada, who had been the A.L. MVP in 2002, in August 2005 had told investigators that he had never spoken with his teammates about their use of performanceenhancing substances, and was unaware of any colleagues’ use of such substances. Prosecutors claimed Tejada had talked with a teammate about human growth hormone, and that he knew that person was using performance-enhancing substances. Tejada would be sentenced March 26; he faced up to a year in jail. [See 2008, p. 154C2] Clemens DNA Found on Syringe— The Washington Post Feb. 3 reported that DNA belonging to seven-time Cy Young awardwinner Clemens had been found in syringes Clemens’s trainer claimed to have used to inject him with performance-enhancing drugs. However, it had not yet been determined if traces of performance-enhancing drugs were also present in the syringe. ESPN Jan. 12 had reported that a federal grand jury was hearing evidence to determine whether Clemens had lied under oath in 2008 when he claimed at a congressional hearing that he had never used performance-enhancing drugs such as steroids or human growth hormone. [See 2008, p. 992C3] 87

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His former trainer, Brian McNamee, at the same 2008 hearing had claimed that he injected Clemens with performance-enhancing drugs as many as 38 times between 1998 and 2001. Steroid Dealer Releases Book—Kirk Radomski, a confessed steroids dealer who had supplied a number of MLB players with performance-enhancing drugs until his arrest in 2005, Jan. 27 released Bases Loaded, a book about his experiences cooperating with former Sen. George Mitchell (D, Maine). In 2007, Mitchell had released a report that described steroid use in baseball and named a number of alleged offenders. Mitchell had disputed a portion of Radomski’s book, in which he claimed that Mitchell had asked him about possible steroid use by a number of players whose names did not appear in the 2007 report, the New York Times reported Jan. 20. [See 2008, p. 495F1] MLB officials Jan. 21 disputed another portion of Radomski’s book, in which he claimed a player who bought steroids from him had said the commissioner’s office in 2004 had called players into MLB headquarters to inform them that they had tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003. Analysts suggested that Radomski’s claim implied that MLB officials might have been trying to reduce the number of players who tested positive for steroids in 2004. Torre Releases Book on Yankees—Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre Feb. 3 released The Yankee Years, a book that recalled his 12 years as manager of the Yankees. In the book, which was co-authored by Sports Illustrated writer Tom Verducci, Torre harshly criticized Alex Rodriguez for craving attention. However, Torre also praised Rodriguez as a hard worker. [See 2007, p. 743A2] n

ARTS & SCIENCES

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Awards Plant, Krauss Win Big at Grammys. The

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51st annual Grammy Awards were presented Feb. 8 by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in a ceremony at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. [See 2008, p. 115C3] The duo of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the top winners at the Grammys, winning a total of five, all linked to their album Raising Sand, on which they performed a medley of blues and country songs. The five Grammys they won were for album of the year; best contemporary folk or Americana album; record of the year for “Please Read the Letter,” one of the songs on the album; best pop collaboration for another song on the album, “Rich Woman”; and best country collaboration with vocals for a third song on the album, “Killing the Blues.” Plant, 60, was the former lead singer of the seminal British rock band Led Zeppelin. For his work with Led Zeppelin, which disbanded in 1980, he had been presented with a lifetime achievement Grammy in 2005, and he had shared a Grammy in the hard rock category with Led Zeppelin 88

bandmate Jimmy Page in 1999; the group, though, never won any Grammys during its heyday in the 1970s. [See 2007, p. 906G3; 1999, p. 140D2] Krauss, 37, was a leading bluegrass singer and fiddler. She had already won 21 Grammys, the most by a female artist, before winning five more for her collaboration with Plant. Her new total, 26, moved her into a third-place tie for career wins with classical composer and conductor Pierre Boulez. [See 2006, p. 120D1] The artist with the most Grammy nominations, eight, had been rapper Lil Wayne, who ended up winning four, including the award for rap album of the year, for Tha Carter III, the top-selling album of 2008. [See below; 2008, p. 548D1] In what proved to be another banner year for British talent—Britain’s Amy Winehouse had triumphed at the 2008 Grammys—the British rock group Coldplay won three Grammys: the coveted song-of-the year award and a performance award for “Viva la Vida,” and the best rock-album award for the album with that song, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. Also, British singer-songwriter Adele, 20, was named best new artist and won the award for best female pop vocal performance. [See 2008, p. 115C3–E3] One of the most conspicuous performers at the Grammys ceremony was Britishborn rapper M.I.A., 31, of Sri Lankan origin. She joined U.S. male rappers Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, T.I. and Kanye West in performing Lil Wayne’s song “Swagga Like Us,” at a time when she was nine months pregnant and on the evening of her baby’s due date. However, the performance proceeded without incident. The song won the Grammy for best rap performance by a duo or group. [See below] Two artists who were scheduled to perform but did not show up were rhythm and blues singer Chris Brown, 19, and pop singer Rihanna, 20. It was later reported that she had been hospitalized after a fight with Brown early Feb. 8 that led to his being arrested by Los Angeles police. He was reportedly freed on $50,000 bail Feb. 9. Country singer George Strait, 56, won the first Grammy of his decades-long career for his album Troubadour. The major winners were: Record of the Year: “Please Read the Letter,” Rob-

ert Plant and Alison Krauss Song of the Year: “Viva la Vida,” Coldplay Album of the Year: Raising Sand, Robert Plant and

Alison Krauss New Artist: Adele Female Pop Vocal: “Chasing Pavements,” Adele Male Pop Vocal: “Say,” John Mayer Pop Duo or Group Vocal: “Viva la Vida,” Coldplay Pop Vocal Album: Rockferry, Duffy Traditional Pop Vocal Album: Still Unforgettable,

Natalie Cole Contemporary Folk/Americana Album: Raising

Sand, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss Rock Album: Viva la Vida or Death and All His

Friends, Coldplay Rock Song: “Girls in Their Summer Clothes,”

Bruce Springsteen (songwriter and performer) Solo Rock Vocal: “Gravity,” John Mayer Rock Duo or Group Performance: “Sex on Fire,”

Kings of Leon Rhythm and Blues Song: “Miss Independent,”

Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen and Shaffer Smith, songwriters (sung by Ne-Yo) Female Rhythm and Blues Vocal: “Superwoman,” Alicia Keys Male Rhythm and Blues Vocal: “Miss Independent,” Ne-Yo Rhythm and Blues Duo or Group Performance:

“Stay With Me (by the Sea),” Al Green featuring John Legend Rap Solo Performance: “A Milli,” Lil Wayne Rap Duo or Group Performance: “Swagga Like Us,” Jay-Z and T.I., featuring Kanye West and Lil Wayne Rap Album: Tha Carter III, Lil Wayne Hard Rock Performance: “Wax Simulacra,” the Mars Volta Metal Performance: “My Apocalypse,” Metallica Female Country Vocal: “Last Name,” Carrie Underwood Male Country Vocal: “Letter to Me,” Brad Paisley Country Vocal Duo or Group Performance:

“Stay,” Sugarland (Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush) Country Song: “Stay,” Jennifer Nettles, songwriter (sung by Nettles and Bush) Country Album: Troubadour, George Strait n

People Rapper and actor DMX, 38, who had been held in a Phoenix, Ariz., jail since Dec. 9, 2008, Jan. 30 in Phoenix was sentenced to another 90 days in jail and at least 18 months of supervised probation. The rapper, whose real name was Earl Simmons, in late December had pleaded guilty to felony counts of theft, possession or use of marijuana, and possession or use of narcotic drugs, and to a misdemeanor count of animal cruelty. The charges stemmed from three separate cases, including an August 2007 raid on his Cave Creek, Ariz., home, in which sheriff’s deputies found malnourished and dead dogs, and various drugs and weapons. [See 2001, p. 260C2; 2000, pp. 240C2, 72D1] n

O B I T UA R I E S DEARIE, Blossom Margrete, 84, jazz and cabaret singer and pianist who became a cult figure in North America and Britain, and also performed in continental Europe and Australia; she was known for her delicate, high-pitched voice and subtly understated piano-playing; she was also a songwriter and television personality; in the late 1950s and early 1960s, she made half a dozen recordings for Verve Records that became legendary; born April 28, 1924, in East Durham, N.Y.; died in her sleep Feb. 7 at her home in New York City, of natural causes. JAMESON, Betty (Elizabeth May), 89, golfer who was one of 13 women who founded the Ladies Professional Golf Association in 1950; the high point of her athletic career came in 1947, when she became the first woman to break 300 in a 72-hole tournament, by shooting a seven-over-par 295 at the U.S. Women’s Open in Greensboro, N.C.; born May 9, 1919, in Norman, Okla.; died Jan. 31 in Boynton Beach, Fla., after surgery for a tumor. [See 1958, p. 240D2; 1955, pp. 340F1, 136D1, 72C1; Indexes 1952–53, 1947] JOHANNSON, Ingemar, 76, Swedish boxer who held the world heavyweight title from June 1959 to June 1960; he won it by upsetting reigning champion Floyd Patterson, but lost to Patterson twice thereafter, in a 1960 bout in which Patterson regained his title and in a 1961 successful title defense; he retired in 1963 as European heavyweight champion with a record of 26–2, with his only two losses having come against Patterson; he then prospered in various business enterprises; born Sept. 22, 1932, in Goteborg; died Jan. 30 at a nursing home in Kunsbacka, Sweden, shortly after contracting pneumonia and some years after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease; Patterson’s death, in 2006, had also been linked to Alzheimer’s disease. [See 2006, p. 400F3; 1983, p. 937F2; Indexes 1958–62] n

February 12, 2009

U.S. President Obama Signs $787 Billion Economic Recovery Package Into Law Follows Negotiations by House and Senate Mix of Tax Cuts, Spending to Boost Growth.

U.S. President Barack Obama Feb. 17 signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a $787 billion package designed to boost economic growth amidst a deepening recession. The signing followed votes by the U.S. House and Senate Feb. 13 to approve the package, which, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), totaled $212 billion in tax cuts and $575 billion in new federal spending through fiscal 2019, although most of the bill’s cost would be incurred in the next two years. [See p. 73A1; for highlights of the bill’s provisions, see p. 90A1] At a signing ceremony in Denver, Colo., Obama said, “We have begun the essential work of keeping the American dream alive in our time.” He said the plan was “the most sweeping economic recovery package in our history,” and that it would “create or save three and a half million jobs.” He also said the package would “set our economy on a firmer foundation, paving the way to long-term growth and prosperity.” However, Obama warned, “I don’t want to pretend that today marks the end of our economic problems. Nor does it constitute all of what we’re going to have to do to turn our economy around.” The Obama administration the previous week had announced a $2 trillion plan to prop up the country’s ailing financial industry and resolve an ongoing freeze in credit markets that had hobbled economic growth. Obama Feb. 18 also unveiled a $275 billion plan to stem a rising number of home foreclosures and halt a slide in home prices. [See pp. 92A1, 76A3] The economic recovery package contained tax cuts for businesses and individuals, as well as sizable federal investments in the areas of education, health care, energy, infrastructure and aid for lower-income workers. According to the bill’s supporters, many of the provisions in the plan were meant to simultaneously create jobs and serve as initial investments on Obama’s campaign pledges to expand health care coverage, increase the U.S.’s use of alternative energy sources and improve public education. It took the Democratic-controlled Congress about a month to pass the package, which observers said was a rapid pace considering the bill’s vast scope and potential impact. Obama’s before his Jan. 20 inauguration had called for quick passage of a stimulus bill. Additionally, a large majority of economists had said speedy enactment of the package was vital to reviving the economy, which had shed more than 3.6 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007, and was expected to lose more in the coming year. However, economists said the bill could prove insufficient to halt the economy’s slide. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs Feb. 17 said, “The president is going

to do what’s necessary to grow this economy. But there are no particular plans at this point for a second stimulus package.” Bill Receives Scant Republican Support—

The economic recovery package was finalized Feb. 12 in a conference committee between the House and Senate after their leaders reached a tentative compromise between the two chambers’ competing versions of the measure. The House Feb. 13 voted, 246–183, to pass the bill, with no Republican support. Seven House Democrats joined 176 Republicans in voting against the bill. For procedural reasons, the Senate needed 60 votes to advance the conference bill to a vote. The Senate voted, 60–38, to advance the bill, and then voted by the same margin to pass it. It received support from 55 Democrats, two independents and three centrist Republicans: Sens. Olympia Snowe (Maine), Susan Collins (Maine) and Arlen Specter (Pa.). Sen. Edward Kennedy (D, Mass.) did not vote, as he was undergoing treatment in Florida that day for brain cancer. One Senate seat remained open due to an ongoing dispute over an election in Minnesota. Obama had initially wanted broad bipartisan support for the bill, but the vast majority of congressional Republicans remained adamantly opposed to it, claiming that it was full of wasteful spending that would not stimulate the economy. House Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio) Feb. 13 said, “This bill is supposed to be about jobs, jobs, jobs, and it’s turned into nothing more than spend, spend, spend.” Republicans also expressed concern over the bill’s effect on the federal budget deficit, which was expected to balloon to about $1.4 trillion in fiscal year 2009, and about $1.1 trillion the following year. Both parties signaled that the stimulus bill could be a major campaign issue in the 2010 congressional elections. However, some Republican governors struggling with budget shortfalls and increased unemployment were supportive of the bill, which would funnel billions of dollars in federal aid to their coffers. The final bill was significantly smaller than preliminary versions passed by the House ($819 billion) and Senate ($838 billion), but a greater percentage of it would be spent quickly. The CBO Feb. 13 projected that 74% of the bill would be spent by Sept. 30, 2010, the end of the 2010 fiscal year, up from the 64% it had projected for the House bill. The bill raised the ceiling on the national debt to $12.1 trillion, up from $11.3 trillion. [See 2008, p. 715C2] Tax Relief Measures—The economic recovery package signed into law Feb. 17 contained $212 billion worth of tax cuts for individuals and businesses. In both 2009 and 2010, individuals making less than $75,000 a year would receive a payroll tax cut of $400, while married couples making

Facts On File

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World News Digest With Index ©2009 by Facts On File News Services An imprint of Infobase Publishing

Volume 69, No. 3557 February 19, 2009

B less than $150,000 a year would receive a cut of $800. The bill set aside $70 billion to shield middle-income taxpayers from the alternative minimum tax (AMT). The AMT had been designed to prevent high-income taxpayers from using deductions to reduce their taxable income to little or nothing. But because it was not adjusted for inflation, it increasingly applied to taxpayers who were currently in middle-income tax brackets. The provision, introduced by Republicans, was criticized by Democrats, who said it would do little to stimulate the economy. They also said it would have inevitably been passed in separate legislation, since Congress in past years had consistently shielded middle-class taxpayers from the AMT. New home buyers who made less than $95,000 a year, or $170,000 for families,

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MAJOR STORIES IN THIS ISSUE U.S. President Obama signs $787 billion economic recovery package; follows negotiations by House and Senate. PAGE 89

Obama visits Canada in first foreign trip. PAGE 91

Obama unveils $275 billion housing market recovery plan.

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Chrysler, GM submit restructuring plans. PAGE 92

Zimbabwe’s arrest of MDC official threatens political agreement. PAGE 96

Venezuelan voters back end to presidential term limits. PAGE 97

Cambodia begins first Khmer Rouge genocide trial.

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PAGE 98

Japanese economy shrinks at dramatic pace. PAGE 98

Sharp eurozone contraction reported. PAGE 100

Obama orders deployment of 17,000 troops to Afghanistan. PAGE 102

Pakistan allows Islamic law in militant region. PAGE 102

Pakistan admits 2008 Mumbai attack partly planned on Pakistani soil. PAGE 103 REFERENCES in brackets give location of background information in this & preceding volumes.

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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ECONOMIC STIMULUS BILL

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Following are major provisions of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was cleared by Congress Feb. 13 and signed into law by U.S. President Barack Obama Feb. 17 [See p. 89A1]: Tax Cuts

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In both 2009 and 2010, individual workers making less than $75,000 a year would receive a payroll tax cut of $400; married couples making less than $150,000 a year would receive an $800 cut. The tax credit would be phased out for workers making more than those amounts. Estimated total cost: $116 billion. o More than 26 million middle-income families would be shielded from the alternative minimum tax (AMT) in 2009. Estimated total cost: $70 billion. o First-time home buyers who purchased a house between Jan. 1 and Dec. 1 would be eligible for an $8,000 tax credit that did not have to be repaid. Estimated total cost: $7 billion. o In both 2009 and 2010, a child tax credit of as much as $1,000 would be expanded to include workers who made at least $3,000 a year, down from 2008’s floor of $8,500. Estimated total cost: $14 billion. Education

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A stabilization fund for states would be established to prevent education-related layoffs and modernize schools. Estimated total cost: $54 billion. o The maximum federal Pell grant would be expanded by $500, to $5,350. Estimated total cost: $16 billion.

would receive a tax credit of up to $8,000 for homes purchased between Jan. 1 and Dec. 1. The provision was meant to spark demand and bolster the slumping housing market. A previous version in the Senate bill had called for a $15,000 tax credit. On a temporary basis, businesses would be able to retroactively apply losses from a current year to taxes paid up to five years previously, and immediately receive tax refunds, instead of waiting to file their current returns. The provision was included in the original House and Senate bills, but in the final bill it was limited to businesses with under $15 million in yearly gross receipts. Spending Measures—The bill’s $575 billion in new spending included about $100 billion to be devoted to education. More than half of that money was contained in a $54 billion stabilization fund for states, which was to help them prevent education-related layoffs and modernize school buildings. The bill also included $16 billion to expand federal Pell grants— which were reserved for the neediest university students—by $500, to $5,350, in 2009. States would receive about $87 billion in aid to ensure that Medicaid health services for the poor and disabled were not cut back during the recession. The bill would use $25 billion to subsidize, for up to nine months, 65% of premium payments under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), which allowed former employees to continue receiving company-sponsored health-care coverage.

o Local school funding for disadvantaged students. Estimated total cost: $13 billion. o Funding for special education programs. Estimated total cost: $12 billion. o In both 2009 and 2010, individuals making less than $80,000 a year, or married couples making less than $160,000, would be eligible for a $2,500 higher-education tuition tax credit. Estimated total cost: $14 billion. o In both 2009 and 2010, state and local governments would be able to issue new tax-exempt bonds to help finance school construction and maintenance. Estimated total cost: $10 billion. Health Care

o

Federal funding for Medicaid would be increased for the period between Oct. 1, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2010. Estimated total cost: $87 billion. o Physicians and medical providers that made greater use of computerized health records would be eligible for incentive payments. Estimated total cost: $21 billion. o Former employees eligible for continued company-sponsored health-care coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), and who were laid off between Sept. 1, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2009, would receive government subsidies covering 65% of their premium payments. Estimated total cost: $25 billion. Energy

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Eligibility for tax credits earned by companies that developed alternative sources of energy would be extended by three years. Estimated total cost: $13 billion.

Workers who had lost their jobs between Sept. 1, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2009, would be eligible for the subsidies. An additional $19 billion would be devoted to computerizing medical records, an initiative that advocates said would reduce costs and inefficiencies in the system. The bill contained $45 billion in funding for alternative-energy and energy-conservation projects. About $13 billion would be spent on weatherizing homes and making low-income housing areas and federal buildings more energy-efficient; $11 billion would be invested in creating a more efficient electricity grid; and $13 billion worth of tax incentives would be available to companies that developed alternative sources of energy. The bill also expanded programs to help the needy and unemployed, which was expected to have a quick stimulative effect on the economy, since lower-income consumers were likely to spend the money on needed goods and services. About $20 billion would be used to subsidize food stamps. About $39 billion would be used to continue until Dec. 31 an extension of the period that workers could receive unemployment insurance benefits, to 33 weeks, from 26 weeks, and increase weekly unemployment checks by $25. About $14 billion was set aside to issue a $250 payment to those who received Social Security, veterans’ benefits and Supplemental Security Income. Transportation infrastructure projects would receive $61 billion in new funding, which was to go toward building and main-

o Efforts to make the U.S. electricity grid more efficient would receive additional funding. Estimated total cost: $11 billion. o Federal buildings would be refitted to be more energy efficient. Estimated total cost: $4.5 billion. o Funding for grants for energy-efficiency and energy-conservation projects would be increased. Estimated total cost: $6 billion. o Program to weatherize homes would receive additional funding. Estimated total cost: $5 billion. Lower-Income Aid

o

An extension of the period that workers could receive unemployment insurance benefits, to 33 weeks, from 26 weeks, would be continued until Dec. 31. Weekly unemployment checks would be increased by $25, and other unemployment-related aid would be dispersed to states. Estimated total cost: $39 billion. o One-time payments of $250 would be made to those receiving Social Security benefits, veterans’ benefits, Railroad Retirement benefits and Supplemental Security Income. Estimated total cost: $14 billion. o Food stamp subsidies would be increased. Estimated total cost: $20 billion. Transportation Infrastructure

o

Funding for highway construction maintenance projects would be increased. mated total cost: $27.5 billion. o Funding for mass transit. Estimated cost: $8 billion. o Funding for railroads. Estimated total $9 billion.

and Estitotal cost:

taining highways, bridges and railroads. The bill included so-called Buy America provisions, which required governmentfunded projects to buy iron, steel and other manufactured goods from domestic com-

Facts On File World News Digest With Index (ISSN 0014-6641) Publication #183680 EDITOR IN CHIEF: Jonathan Taylor MANAGING EDITOR: Jennifer Dunham SENIOR EDITOR: Joshua Lustig EDITORS: Rahul Chadha, Ian McGullam, Ryu Spaeth ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Todd Grennan, Shannon O’Toole DATABASE COORDINATOR: Ben Miller INDEX EDITOR: Jonathan Leith COPY EDITOR: Walter Kronenberg EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS: Ingrid Jungermann, Ernesto Malinis Jr. FACTS ON FILE World News Digest is published weekly by Facts On File News Services, an imprint of Infobase Publishing, 132 West 31st Street, 17th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001 (212-290-8090). Subscription $900 a year. Yearbooks (bound volumes) available from 1941. Cumulative Index published twice a month. Vice President & Publisher: Louise Bloomfield. Associate Publisher: Marjorie B. Bank. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y. and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Facts On File World News Digest, Facts On File News Services, 132 West 31st Street, 17th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001

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FACTS ON FILE

panies. The bill said such purchases were to be conducted without violating the U.S.’s existing international trade pacts. The caveat was added after the U.S.’s trading partners objected to the provisions as being overly protectionist. Executive Bonuses Capped—The bill included a provision that would cap the bonuses of executives at banks that had received aid from a financial industry rescue fund known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The provision, introduced by Sen. Christopher Dodd (D, Conn.), was thought to be stricter than new executive compensation guidelines unveiled by the Obama administration in early February. The administration reportedly objected to the provision, saying it would deter banks from participating in the program, which was designed to stabilize the financial industry. [See p. 61C2] Under the provision, the five highestranking executives at companies that had received more than $500 million in aid could receive bonuses worth no more than one-third of their total yearly salary. The provision would also apply to the next 20 highest earners at the company. Banks that had received less than $500 million would face looser restrictions. The caps applied to banks that had already received aid, while the Obama administration’s guidelines only affected recipients of fresh aid. Additionally, all bonuses were to be paid in long-term stock that could only be cashed in after the companies returned the aid money to the government. The administration was expected to provide further details on the provision in the coming weeks. Banks criticized the provision, which they said would limit their ability to recruit top talent. Executive bonuses were usually several times greater than yearly salary, and the cap could severely reduce executive income. The provision also said banks could return the aid money to the government without replacing it with private capital, which had been required under TARP. Administration officials said the measure could lead banks to return the money without adequate levels of capital in reserve, exacerbating the freeze in credit markets. n

U.S. President Obama Makes First Foreign Trip

unfettered. Harper Feb. 18 had warned that “protectionist” measures enacted by the U.S. could turn a global economic slowdown into a “depression.” His comments alluded to controversial “Buy American” provisions included in the $787 billion stimulus package signed into law by Obama the previous day. Harper had raised concerns that such provisions violated free trade agreements between the two countries. [See p. 89A1] Obama during his campaign had argued that the U.S. should consider withdrawing from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), unless Canada and Mexico agreed to renegotiate certain labor and environmental provisions. Obama’s stance had raised concern among free-trade adherents in Canada, and he had backed away from those criticisms after taking office. [See 2008, p. 434B3] Obama at the Feb. 19 news conference also said he and Harper had begun talks on “clean energy” issues. Harper had sought to exempt Canadian oil produced from oil sands—a complicated procedure criticized by environmentalists for its high energy and resource requirements—from U.S. regulation. However, Obama had been lobbied strenuously by environmentalists not to accede to the request. The U.S. imported more oil from Canada than from any other country. Harper said he was concerned about bottlenecks at U.S.-Canada border crossings resulting from stricter security checks. Harper called for the two countries to “look at security in a way that does not inhibit commerce and social interaction.” Obama suggested that spending in the two countries’ stimulus packages could be directed toward alleviating border congestion. Obama also said he “did not press the prime minister on any additional commitment of troops” deployed to Afghanistan. Obama earlier in the week had ordered the deployment of an additional 17,000 U.S. troops to the country. Canada had about 2,500 troops based in Afghanistan who were scheduled to be withdrawn in 2011. [See p. 102C1] Obama that day also met briefly with Canadian opposition Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff. n

Visits Canada, Meets With PM Harper.

Space

U.S. President Barack Obama Feb. 19 visited Canada, in his first foreign trip since taking office in January, and met with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to discuss a number of issues. Obama arrived in Ottawa, Canada’s capital, in the morning, where he was greeted by Governor General Michaelle Jean, the country’s titular head of state. Harper and Obama reportedly discussed trade, energy, economic and security issues during their meetings. [See 2008, p. 280F3] At a joint news conference with Harper later in the day, Obama said he would work to ensure that bilateral trade between the U.S. and Canada would remain

Satellites Collide in Orbit. A U.S. communications satellite Feb. 10 collided with a defunct Russian military satellite in orbit about 500 miles (800 km) above the Russian region of Siberia, the first-ever such collision of satellites. The impact destroyed the satellites and sent hundreds of pieces of debris into orbit around Earth, raising concerns about the possible hazard they might pose to other satellites and orbiting spacecraft, including the International Space Station. Officials of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said the danger to the station was currently believed to be “very small” but “elevated.” [See 2008, p. 102B1]

February 19, 2009

The U.S. satellite, Iridium 33, was operated by Iridium Satellite LLC, which maintained a global satellite communications network for subscribers. It crashed into Cosmos 2251, a Russian military communications satellite that had been launched in 1993 and reportedly taken out of service in 1995. It was as yet unclear why the Iridium satellite was unable to avoid the collision. The U.S. military monitored the paths of satellites, among the the approximately 19,000 orbiting objects measuring four inches (10 cm) or more that it constantly tracked, and Iridium was equipped with an engine for maneuvering in space. The military Feb. 13 said it was tracking 699 pieces of debris identified so far as resulting from the accident. Some experts said the accident highlighted the rising danger posed by the uncontrolled accumulation of spacecraft and flotsam. The hazard created by the impact could persist and even increase as debris spread out over time, struck other objects, and slowly descended in altitude. Another large trail of debris, consisting of some 2,500 objects, according to NASA, had been created in 2007 when China conducted a test of an antisatellite missile. [See 2007, p. 45D2] n

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Other International News French, British Nuclear Submarines Collide.

Two submarines, one British and the other French, both armed with nuclear missiles, collided Feb. 3 while deep in the Atlantic Ocean during routine patrols, the defense ministries of both countries confirmed Feb. 16, after the British news media reported the accident. Officials said the crash occurred at low speed and did not damage either craft’s nuclear reactors or missiles, or cause any radiation leak. Both were able to return to their home ports with no injuries to any crew members. The submarines involved in the accident were Britain’s HMS Vanguard and France’s Le Triomphant. [See 1993, p. 243D2] The French navy had first reported the incident Feb. 6, saying that Le Triomphant had “collided with an immersed object,” but had not identified that object as another submarine. The ministry said the vessel’s sonar dome, located in its nose, had sustained severe damage. The British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) reported Feb. 16 that the Vanguard had been towed back to its port in Scotland with visible dents and scrapes. Military experts said the U.S., Britain and France, the three members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) that had nuclear-armed submarines, did not share information on their whereabouts at sea, although they did keep each other informed of the locations of other types of submarines. Nuclear-armed submarines were equipped with advanced technology that allowed them to evade detection by sonar. But since only a handful of such submarines were believed to be at sea at any given time, such a collision had been thought highly unlikely. n 91

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Mortgage & Credit Crisis $275 Billion Housing Market Plan Unveiled.

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President Barack Obama Feb. 18 unveiled a $275 billion program designed to stem a rising number of home foreclosures and halt a slide in housing prices. The plan was just one part of the Obama administration’s strategy to pull the economy out of a deepening recession. Obama the previous day had signed a $787 billion economic recovery plan that he claimed would create or save 3.5 million jobs, and his administration the previous week had outlined a $2 trillion plan to stabilize the weakened financial industry. [See pp. 89A1, 76A3] Obama, in a speech given Feb. 18 at a high school in Mesa, Ariz., said, “This plan will not save every home, but it will give millions of families resigned to financial ruin a chance to rebuild.” He tied the housing market plan to the government’s initiatives in the financial industry and the broader economy, saying, “We cannot successfully address any one of them without addressing them all.” Problems in the housing market, which had seen prices fall steadily since a real estate bubble burst in 2006, directly affected consumer wealth, and had hit construction and manufacturing industries tied to homebuilding. Additionally, the financial industry had invested heavily in the mortgage market in recent years, and a continued slide in home prices threatened its viability and reduced its capacity to make loans. Economists said a solution to the housing crisis would help stabilize the financial industry, get credit flowing and bolster an important area of the broader economy. Housing and Urban Develoment (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan Feb. 18 said one in 10 homeowners was delinquent on a home loan in late 2008, and that six million homes could be subject to foreclosure over the next three years. Donovan said that beyond the nine million homeowners it would specifically aid, the plan would more broadly stem the fall in home prices by an average of about $6,000 per home. The plan was expected to be implemented March 4, and further details were to be released at that time. Under the government’s plan, $75 billion would be spent assisting homeowners who were on the verge of foreclosure. Lenders that agreed to reduce monthly mortgage payments to 38% of a homeowner’s monthly income, would then receive government funds that would allow the payments to be reduced further, to 31% of income. Lenders would also receive government incentives, such as $1,000 for every modified loan, and $1,000 payments for each year that the homeowner continued to make payments, for up to three years. The government estimated that the scheme could lead to modified loans for three million to four million homeowners. An additional four million to five million homeowners would be able to refinance mortgages that were owned by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae, the government92

controlled mortgage-financing giants. Those homeowners were current on their payments, but were paying high interest rates and were unable to refinance their loans because their homes had lost value. Homeowners paying a loan worth between 80% and 105% of the home’s value would be eligible for the plan, which was limited to houses costing up to $417,000 in most of the country, or up to $729,000 in some high-priced regions. Obama said the government would provide Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with an additional $100 billion each in financing to support the plan. The government in September 2008 had said it would insure each lender against losses of up to $100 billion. [See 2008, p. 629D2] Obama also said he would urge Congress to pass legislation that would allow bankruptcy judges to modify the terms of a loan and reduce its total cost. The move had been opposed by lenders, who said it violated contracts it had made with borrowers. While economists praised the plan as being the most aggressive that the government had yet presented, there remained doubts that it was enough to bring the housing market out of its slump. Home loans in recent years had been bundled into securities, and cut up and sold to investors around the world, making refinancing for many borrowers difficult. Additionally, economists noted that some homeowners who were severely “underwater,” but did not qualify for either aid plan, could choose to default, since they were paying much more than the house was worth. n

Automobiles Chrysler, GM Submit Restructuring Plans. Auburn Hills, Mich.–based Chrysler LLC

and Detroit, Mich.–based General Motors Corp. (GM) Feb. 17 submitted restructuring plans to the federal government, in which they requested an additional $21 billion in government loans, on top of $17.4 billion in loans that had been extended in December 2008. The $21 billion figure included $7.6 billion in funding requests previously made by the companies that the government had not provided. The restructuring plans were due as part of the terms of the December loan. A government task force would decide whether the automakers had proven themselves viable, and whether to extend more loans, by March 31. [See below, p. 62C2] In their restructuring plans, the embattled automakers announced broad job cuts and production slowdowns, but also warned that they could face bankruptcy if they did not receive the requested aid. Chrysler estimated that bankruptcy restructuring would require $25 billion in government debtor-in-possession financing, in which the company was provided with short-term loans through the bankruptcy process. GM claimed bankruptcy restructuring would require $100 billion in similar financing. However, some observers suggested that those numbers had been inflat-

ed in an attempt to prod the government into action. GM Feb. 17 received the final $4 billion installment from the December loan package. GM Requests $16 BIllion—GM, in its restructuring plan, said it needed a minimum of $9 billion in additional loans to avoid bankruptcy over the next few years, a figure that could rise to as much as $16 billion if economic conditions continued to deteriorate. It pledged to eliminate 47,000 jobs across the globe, including 10,000 white collar jobs. The cuts would leave GM with a workforce of about 200,000. GM also pledged to shutter 14 factories in North America by 2012, leaving a total of 33. It also said it would eliminate a number of brands in favor of focusing on its Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick brands. The company predicted that, with government loans, it could reach “sustainable profitability” by 2011. GM had not yet reached an agreement with its bondholders to reduce a $27 billion debt to $9 billion, as required by the terms of the government loan. Also, neither Chrysler nor GM had reached an agreement with the United Auto Workers (UAW) on how the automakers would fulfill retiree health-care obligations, which were estimated to be worth more than $20 million. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger Feb. 17 said the union had “reached tentative understandings” with Chrysler, GM and Dearborn, Mich–based Ford Motor Co. on altering union contracts that were ratified in 2007. (Ford had not requested any government aid, but reportedly did not want to become less competitive by not negotiating alongside Chrysler and GM.) [See 2007, p. 733E3] In related news, GM Vice Chairman Robert Lutz Feb. 9 announced that he would retire at the end of 2009. Lutz had been involved with the auto industry for 46 years and was one of its most recognizable executives. He had often drawn the ire of environmentalists for his beliefs on global warming, having once said “cow flatulence” contributed more to the phenomenon than automobile emissions. Chrysler Requests $5 Billion—Chrysler, in its restructuring plan, said it needed an additional $5 billion in aid, on top of the $4 billion it had received under the December loan agreement. Chrysler pledged to cut its workforce to less than 51,000—a reduction of about 3,000 workers—and reduce its production output by 100,000 vehicles per year. Chrysler’s production capacity in North America was reportedly about 2.5 million vehicles per year, prompting some observers to suggest that the proposed output cuts were superficial. The company would also stop production of several models and introduce 24 new models in the next two years. However, the company was vague on what kind of vehicles it planned to unveil—some suggested that the new models would come from Italy’s Fiat SpA, which Chrysler in January had formed a tentative partnership with. Chrysler said the restructuring plan FACTS ON FILE

would allow it to start repaying government loans in 2012. [See p. 47G3] In addition to a restructuring plan, Chrysler submitted plans for an organized bankruptcy, though Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Robert Nardelli said bankruptcy was “not a course of action that we’re recommending.” The partnership with Fiat was also contingent upon Chrysler receiving more aid. Reaction—White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs Feb. 17 said, “More will be required from everyone involved—creditors, suppliers, dealers, labor and auto executives themselves—to ensure the viability of these companies.” Rep. Sander Levin (D, Mich.) urged the administration not to allow the automakers to go bankrupt. He warned that “a bankruptcy in this kind of a situation is very different from any other bankruptcy that has happened in this country in modern times…everybody would essentially lose everything,” the New York Times reported Feb. 19. Similarly, the auto parts industry, which had requested a $25 billion loan from the Treasury earlier in the month, had warned that it would collapse if the automakers went bankrupt. Sen. Judd Gregg (R, N.H.) suggested that Cerberus Capital Management LP, which owned 80.1% of Chrysler, put up more money if Chrysler was in need, as opposed to taxpayers. Sen. Bob Corker (R, Tenn.) the same day expressed concern that taxpayers were becoming increasingly concerned about “continual potential bailouts.” He added, “I think at some point we’re going to have to take some tough medicine.” Obama Creates Auto Task Force—President Barack Obama had created a presidential task force to oversee the restructuring process and make a decision on the additional loan requests by the March 31 deadline, it was reported Feb. 16 . The Presidential Task Force on Autos would be headed by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and National Economic Chair Lawrence Summers, according to the reports. Ron Bloom, a former investment banker who later became a top negotiator for the United Steelworkers union, would serve on the panel as a senior adviser to the Treasury. Many had expected Obama to appoint a “car czar” to oversee the restructuring and loan processes. n

Politics Burris Admits Blagojevich Fund-raising Bid.

Sen. Roland Burris (D, Ill.) Feb. 16 admitted that he had unsuccessfully tried to raise campaign funds in November 2008 for then–Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), while seeking the governor’s appointment to fill the Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama. Burris had previously testified under oath that he had not done any such favors for Blagojevich, who faced federal corruption charges and had been impeached and removed from office by the state legislature in January. But in recent days, Burris had offered a series of differFebruary 19, 2009

ent accounts of his contacts with Blagojevich. [See p. 43A3] The Senate Ethics Committee Feb. 17 said it was opening an investigation into Burris, as did a local Illinois prosecutor, Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Schmidt (R). Burris, 71, had been seated as a senator in mid-January after overcoming initial resistance from Democratic leaders who had viewed his late December appointment as tainted because of the corruption charges against Blagojevich. Those charges, based on wiretapped telephone conversations, included allegations that the governor had attempted to sell Obama’s Senate seat to whomever offered him the highest price, in campaign contributions or other favors. In his latest revelations, in comments to reporters in Peoria, Ill., Burris said the governor’s brother, Rob Blagojevich, had asked him three times to raise money for the governor. Burris, a former state attorney general, said, “I’d talked to some people about trying to see if we could put a fund-raiser on,” but “they said, ‘We aren’t giving money to the governor.’” In his third conversation with Rob Blagojevich, Burris said, he had conveyed his decision not to raise any money for the governor because “I don’t want to have a conflict” with his pursuit of the Senate seat. Burris Feb. 18 spoke at the City Club of Chicago to plead for support from an audience of local political and business figures, saying, “I ask you today to stop the rush to judgment.” He declared, “I have a history with you, a record I have built over a lifetime—30 years in public life and never a hint of a scandal.” Sen. Richard Durbin (Ill.), the majority whip, or second-ranking Senate Democrat, that day said of Burris, “Every day there are more and more revelations about contacts with Blagojevich advisers,” adding, “This was not the full disclosure under oath that we asked for.” Previous Accounts Changed—In a sworn affidavit that he submitted Jan. 5 to the Illinois House impeachment committee, Burris had stated that “there was not any contact between myself or any of my representatives with Governor Blagojevich or any of his representatives” before his appointment. In sworn testimony before the committee Jan. 8, Burris was asked if he had discussed the Senate seat with anyone “closely related to the governor, including family members or lobbyists.” State Rep. Jim Durkin (R) posed the question with a list of names, including that of Rob Blagojevich. Burris, after conferring with his lawyer, replied, “I talked to some friends about my desire to be appointed,” but named only Lon Monk, Blagojevich’s former chief of staff. The Chicago Sun-Times Feb. 14 reported that Burris had submitted a second affidavit to the committee, dated Feb. 4, disclosing that he had in fact talked with five advisers to the governor, including three conversations with Rob Blagojevich. Burris at a Feb. 15 news conference said he had filed the second affidavit as a promised supplement to his testimony, not

as a revision. He said he had not cited the additional conversations in his testimony because lawmakers had moved on to other questions before he could provide a complete answer. Burris Feb. 15 said Rob Blagojevich had first called him in October 2008 to ask him to raise money for the governor. Burris said he replied that he could not do so at the time “because I was raising money for other candidates, and to call me back after the election.” Burris said that when Rob Blagojevich called him back twice after the Nov. 4 elections to repeat the request, he replied that he could not raise money for the governor because he was seeking the Senate seat. Burris acknowledged that federal investigators had “reached out” to his lawyers and “want to meet with me.” Gov. Pat Quinn (D) Feb. 15 said Burris “owes the people of Illinois a complete explanation.” Republican state lawmakers called on Burris to resign and said prosecutors should investigate whether he had committed perjury in his House testimony. The Chicago Tribune’s editorial page Feb. 18 also called for his resignation. n

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Obama Administration Panetta Confirmed as CIA Director. The Senate Feb. 12 approved by voice vote the nomination of Leon Panetta as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), replacing outgoing CIA Director Michael Hayden. Panetta, who had been nominated for the position in January by President Barack Obama, had previously served as White House chief of staff under President Bill Clinton and as a Democratic House member from California. The Senate Intelligence Committee Feb. 11 had voted unanimously to advance Panetta’s nomination to the full Senate for a confirmation vote. [See p. 5C3] Panetta Feb. 5–6 testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee as part of his confirmation hearings. Panetta criticized the Bush administration’s excessive secrecy and promised to brief the committee on all relevant intelligence matters, saying that doing so was “not optional. It is the law.” He also said the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) would be given access to all terrorism suspects captured by the CIA. In addition, Panetta said waterboarding—a controversial interrogation technique that had been used by the CIA against at least three detainees—constituted torture, but argued that CIA employees who had followed legal advice from Bush administration attorneys should not be prosecuted for their involvement in the interrogations. He also promised the committee that the agency would investigate Bush administration claims that the use of harsh interrogation techniques had helped to avert terrorist attacks. Experts argued that noncoercive techniques were more effective than torture and other harsh methods in extracting reliable information from suspects. 93

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Panetta earned more than $700,000 in consulting and speaking fees in 2008, according to financial disclosure forms released Feb. 4. He was paid $150,000 by California State University as well as another $170,000 by Zenith National Insurance Corp. In addition, Panetta received $56,000 from Merrill Lynch & Co., now owned by Bank of America Corp., for giving two speeches. n

Energy Salazar Cancels Oil and Gas Leases. In-

terior Secretary Ken Salazar Feb. 4 instructed the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to cancel 77 oil and gas leases on publicly owned land that had been purchased by energy companies in a December 2008 auction. The sale of the leases had been opposed by environmentalist groups because some of the land, which totaled about 130,000 acres (53,000 hectares), was located near protected sites such as the Dinosaur National Monument. [See 2008, p. 955F3] Salazar said he had ordered the leases canceled because of concerns that the department under former President George W. Bush had failed to fully consult with other federal agencies, including the National Park Service, before carrying out the auction. He said future sales of oil and gas exploration leases on some of the land was possible if legitimate environmental reviews found that they would not threaten nearby parks and other protected lands. Under Salazar’s order, companies that had purchased leases from the BLM in the sale would have their payments returned. The 77 leases to be canceled had garnered about $6 million from winning bidders, excluding royalties on actual oil or gas extraction. Judge Ricardo Urbina of U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., Jan. 17 had issued a temporary order that blocked the implementation of the leases, in response to requests from environmental groups. Urbina said that “the threat of irreparable harm to public land if the leases are issued” had motivated his decision to delay the completion of the sales. Under the terms of the lease sale, payments from the winning bidders could otherwise have been deposited by the BLM Jan. 19, which would have finalized the transactions, making them difficult to reverse. n New Energy Efficiency Standards Ordered.

President Barack Obama Feb. 5 announced that he had ordered the Energy Department to complete the drafting of long-delayed energy efficiency standards for 30 categories of appliances and other electronic devices. The creation of new standards had been required as part of the 1975 Energy Policy and Conservation Act but 22 had not been carried out by the mandated deadlines. The Bush administration had completed standards for seven of the remaining categories and had agreed to implement the standards for 15 more categories by June 2011. [See 2007, p. 843F3; 1975, p. 973C1] Obama said that the new standards would “save consumers money” and “spur 94

innovation” while also conserving “tremendous amounts of energy.” According to Obama, the implementation of new standards would save “over the next 30 years the amount of energy produced over a twoyear period by all the coal-fired plants in America.” Analysts questioned the verifiability of Obama’s prediction, noting previous difficulties in tracking energy and financial savings in the voluntary Energy Star program, which allowed appliance makers to certify the energy efficiency of their own products. The order set a June 30 deadline for completion of new standards for fluorescent and reflector lamps, and gave the department until August to complete new standards for eight other categories, including beverage vending machines, ovens and commercial boilers. Under the order, all remaining categories would have new efficiency standards established by the 2011 deadline. n

regulations of mercury emissions generated by coal plants. In 2008 an appeals court had struck down new emissions guidelines developed by the EPA, ruling that they violated the Clean Air Act. The guidelines allowed power plants to purchase pollution credits, instead of forcing them to reduce mercury emissions. [See 2008, p. 148E3] o The Justice Department Feb. 4 filed suit against Kansas utility Westar Energy, alleging that it had failed to follow a provision of the Clear Air Act requiring that it use the “best-available” emissions-reduction technology in retrofitting a coal-fired power plant. The lawsuit was filed on the behalf of the EPA. o The EPA, in a letter dated Jan. 22, withheld its approval of a coal-fired power plant in South Dakota that had received approval from state officials, citing pollution concerns. However, the EPA said once its concerns were addressed, construction of the plant could begin. n

Environment EPA Reconsiders Coal Pollution. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Commis-

sioner Lisa Jackson Feb. 17 said the agency would reconsider the position taken by her predecessor, Stephen Johnson, to not consider carbon dioxide a pollutant when issuing permits for coal-fired power plants. Johnson in December 2008 had spelled out the agency’s position on the issue in a memorandum. Jackson said she had granted a petition from the Sierra Club, an environmental group, asking the agency to reexamine the memorandum. [See 2008, p. 957C2] Johnson’s move was viewed by some as a move toward federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions generated by coal plants. However, her response did not include orders to suspend Johnson’s memorandum. Since the Supreme Court in April 2007 ruled that the EPA had the power to regulate carbon dioxide emissions as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act, environmentalists had worked to block pollution permits for new coal plants. They had met with fierce opposition from the coal industry, which argued that such regulation was the responsibility of Congress. Other News—In other coal pollution and industry news: o The U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., Feb. 13 overturned a 2007 decision requiring that the Army Corps of Engineers perform more in-depth reviews before granting permits for socalled mountaintop removal mining. That process destroyed mountain peaks in order to reveal coal seams, and was considered extremely damaging to the environment. Debris resulting from the mining was usually dumped into valleys containing streams or other waterways. The decision was lauded by coal mine operators and condemned by environmentalists. [See 2007, p. 668E3] o The Justice Department Feb. 6 withdrew a challenge to the Supreme Court of a lower-court ruling that enforced stricter

Terrorism Report Delayed by Mukasey and Deputy.

Newsweek magazine Feb. 14 reported on its Web site that an internal Justice Department report on the conduct of Bush administration attorneys who had signed off on the use of so-called harsh interrogation tactics in the questioning of terrorism suspects had been completed prior to the end of the Bush presidency, but had been delayed by then–Attorney General Michael Mukasey and one of his deputies. According to Newsweek, the report specifically criticized the legal opinions of former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo and former Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee. [See p. 28D2; 2008, p. 146B2] Mukasey and then–Deputy Attorney General Mark Filip had reportedly objected to the report’s findings and had held up its release. Filip had reportedly asked the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), which had carried out the investigation, to allow Yoo, Bybee and a third official, Steven Bradbury, the then–head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), which had formulated the interrogation decisions, to respond to the depiction of their actions in the report. The New York Times Feb. 17 reported that all three men were currently in the process of responding. Upon taking office in January, President Barack Obama had issued an executive order invalidating all legal opinions on interrogation of terrorism suspects that had been formulated by the Bush administration following Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the U.S. Those opinions included an August 2002 memorandum written by Yoo and signed by Bybee that narrowed the definition of torture in order to permit the use of harsher interrogation methods. In a March 2003 memo, Yoo argued that neither international treaties nor U.S. law could bind actions, including harsh interrogations, ordered by a wartime president to protect national security. FACTS ON FILE

Investigation Found Paper Trail— The OPR report had been compiled after an in-

vestigation of all interrogation-related legal documents written during the Bush administration. The investigation examined whether lawyers employed by the OLC had intentionally shaped their legal opinions to fit the wishes of the Bush adminstration. Investigators had reportedly uncovered multiple drafts of the controversial memos as well as e-mails discussing the contents of the documents, allowing them to trace the evolution of the interrogation opinions. The OPR was to present the report to Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. following its completion. Holder had the authority to pass on the report’s findings to state bar associations, which could conduct their own investigations into the actions of the Bush administration lawyers for possible violations of professional standards. In addition, the report was expected to be shown to relevant congressional committees, and H. Marshall Jarrett, the head of OPR, had previously raised the possibility that a summary of the report would be publicly released. Senators Request Update—In response to the Newsweek story, Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin (Ill.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.) Feb. 16 sent Jarrett a letter asking for an update on the status of the OPR’s report. In the letter, the senators asked Jarrett to tell them whether a draft of the report had previously been submitted, as well as whether Mukasey had objected to the report and whether Yoo and others were being interviewed. Whitehouse and Durbin also noted that Mukasey had testified in July 2008 that he would not block the release of the report, saying, “If OPR wants it released, it will be released.” The letter said Durbin’s staff had received an e-mail from a Justice Department official on Oct. 16, 2008, that projected that the report would be completed in “4–5 weeks.”n Ruling on Chinese Detainees Overturned.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Feb. 18 unanimously ruled that a lower court judge had exceeded his authority by ordering the U.S. government to release 17 Chinese Muslim detainees held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and to allow them to resettle in the U.S. The most recent decision was criticized by human rights advocacy groups, which argued that it violated the intent of a June 2008 Supreme Court ruling that granted habeas corpus rights to terrorism detainees. [See p. 63C3; 2008, p. 723C2] The earlier ruling had been made by Judge Ricardo Urbina of U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., who found that the U.S. government had no valid reason to continue holding the detainees, and noted that “the Constitution prohibits indefinite detention without cause.” The ruling was the first to order the release of U.S. terrorism detainees and the first to require the U.S. to allow detainees to enter the U.S. The panel split on its reasoning for overturning Urbina’s ruling, with two of the panel’s judges finding that only the executive branch had the authority to decide if February 19, 2009

foreign nationals should be allowed into the country, while the third judge ruled that Urbina had erred by failing to consult with U.S. immigration officials before ordering the release of the detainees. Following the ruling, the case was returned to Urbina for additional consideration. The 17 detainees were members of the Uighur ethnic group, which lived primarily in China’s western Xinjiang region. The U.S. government had determined that the detainees were not enemy combatants, but they had not been released because the U.S. had been unable to find a country willing to accept them. U.S. officials had declined to return the men to China because of concerns that they would be tortured there; the Chinese government had previously accused the men of belonging to a violent separatist group. n

Accidents & Disasters 50 Dead in New York Plane Crash. Conti-

nental Connection Flight 3407, a 74-seat, twin-engine Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 turbopropeller aircraft, Feb. 12 crashed into a house in Clarence Center, N.Y., outside Buffalo, killing all 49 people aboard the plane and one person in the house. The flight, operated by Manassas, Va.–based Colgan Air Inc. for Continental Airlines Inc., was en route to Buffalo from Newark, N.J. Colgan Air was owned by Memphis, Tenn.–based Pinnacle Airlines Corp. [See p. 33F1] While initial reports suggested that ice buildup on the plane likely contributed to the accident, later reports indicated that the crash might have been caused by pilot error. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was investigating the crash, but a final analysis was not expected for as long as a year. NTSB investigators Feb. 13 said the aircraft’s crew, shortly before the scheduled landing, had reported “significant ice buildup” on the plane’s wings and windshield. Ground control lost contact with the crew soon after. After the pilot deployed landing gear at about 1,600 feet (485 m), the aircraft began to “pitch and roll,” a situation where the plane’s nose lurched up and down while the wings wobbled back and forth. NTSB officials Feb. 15 confirmed that shortly before the crash, the aircraft had been on autopilot while flying in icy conditions, against recommendations in the aircraft’s flight manual. The Wall Street Journal Feb. 18 reported that investigators had said the aircraft had decelerated to dangerously slow speeds just before landing, which risked stalling the engines. The plane’s automatic safety system then engaged in an attempt to pull the nose down in order to gain speed. However, according to the report, Capt. Marvin Renslow, 47, apparently pulled back against the automatic system, pointing the plane’s nose up. The maneuver caused the plane to enter an abrupt descent. The crash took place about six miles (10 km) from Buffalo Niagara International Airport. Several notable passengers died in the crash, including Beverly Eckert, 57, whose

husband had died in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Eckert, of Stamford, Conn., had served as co-chairwoman of the 9/11 Family Steering Committee, which probed for government missteps that could have allowed the attacks to succeed. Also aboard the plane was Alison Des Forges, 66, of Buffalo, who had served as a senior adviser to the Africa division at U.S.–based advocacy group Human Rights Watch. [See p. 104C3; 1999, p. 483B3] n

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Consumer Affairs Hearing on Tainted Peanuts Held. The House

Commerce and Energy investigations subcommittee Feb. 11 held a hearing on the widespread presence of the salmonella bacterium in peanut butter and other products produced at a Blakely, Ga., plant operated by Peanut Corp. of America. As of Feb. 19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 654 people in 44 states had been made ill in the outbreak since September 2008, at least nine of whom had died. The discovery had sparked a wide-ranging recall of some 2,100 food products that contained materials made by Peanut Corp., growing into one of the largest food recalls in U.S. history. [See p. 63E1] Peanut Corp. President Stewart Parnell and Sammy Lightsey, manager of the Blakely plant, were subpoenaed to appear before the subcommittee Feb. 11, but both exercised their Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate themselves in response to all questions. In one particularly dramatic moment, Rep. Greg Walden (R, Ore.) held up a plastic jar bound with yellow caution tape that held several recalled food products and invited Parnell and Lightsey to eat them. Their appearance had been preceded by testimony from several people affected by the salmonella outbreak. The subcommittee Feb. 11 also released e-mails and other records that showed Parnell had attempted to evade positive bacteria tests by sending peanut products to different laboratories until they returned a negative result. In one e-mail, Parnell wrote that delays related to the positive tests were “costing us huge $$$$$ and causing an obviously huge lapse in time from the time we pick up peanuts until the time we can invoice.” Peanut Corp. Feb. 13 filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in federal bankruptcy court in Lynchburg, Va. Texas state health officials Feb. 12 had closed the company’s Plainview, Texas, plant after finding dead rodents, rodent excrement and other impurities there. A recall was ordered that day for all products ever made at the Plainview plant. A lawyer for Peanut Corp. Feb. 13 said the company’s last remaining plant, in Suffolk, Va., had also been closed. n

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Medicare & Medicaid Rhode Island Medicaid Reform Takes Effect.

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its Medicaid program took effect Jan. 19. Medicaid was a joint state-federal program that paid for health care for the poor and disabled, and was largely administered by individual states. The CMS in December 2008 had approved the waiver, which capped federal and state spending on Medicaid in the state at $12.1 billion for the period between 2009 and 2013, a move that would save the federal government money. [See 2008, p. 967F1, B2; 2005, p. 737D2] The waiver granted Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri (R) powers normally reserved by the federal government to change aspects of the Medicaid program, in order to close expected budget shortfalls. The spending cap was estimated by various groups to be $358 million–$842 million less than was needed to sustain Medicaid in Rhode Island in its current form through 2013. Rhode Island spent about $1.7 billion annually on Medicaid, a figure equal to about 25% of its budget. Carcieri had been vague about the changes he planned to make to Medicaid, but controversially said he would attempt to reduce expensive nursing home costs by increasing at-home care for elderly beneficiaries. Members of the state legislature said they would work to introduce legislation requiring lawmaker approval for any substantial changes to the Medicaid program. Opponents of the reform plan had argued that it could result in longer wait times for patients, or reduced services. Some said it was dangerous to limit Medicaid funding in light of a worsening economy that would likely result in rising numbers of people seeking health care through the program. The New York Times Jan. 22 reported that a poll of 40 state governments had found a substantial overall increase in the number of people signing up for Medicaid between 2007 and 2008. According to the Times, 16 of 40 states saw enrollment grow at least 5% in the time period. Most of the growth was among children in poor families. State governments’ ability to fund the program was complicated by shrinking revenues resulting from the wider economic decline. Most states had dealt with potential budget shortfalls by cutting payments to health care providers. n

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Teen Birth Rates Reported. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Jan.

7 reported that Mississippi had the highest teen birth rate in the U.S. in 2006, the latest year for which data were available. The state had 68 births to mothers aged 15 to 19 per 1,000 total births, followed by New Mexico (64) and Texas (63). New Hampshire had the lowest rate, with 19 per 1,000. Some experts said the increase in the birth rate could be due to a rise in abstinenceonly sex education that did not teach children how to use contraceptives. The CDC in 2007 had released a report showing the teen birth rate had risen in 2006 for the first time in 14 years; the recent report provided more details on the data. [See 2007, p. 874D3] n 96

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South Africa Elections Set for April 22. South African President Kgalema Motlanthe Feb. 10 said general elections would be held April 22. In the elections, voters would choose members of the national parliament, as well as provincial legislatures. The national parliament would then select South Africa’s next president. It was widely expected that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party would win the elections, and that its leader, Jacob Zuma, would become president. However, the ANC faced a strong challenge from a new party, Congress of the People (COPE), formed in late 2008 by ANC dissidents. [See p. 21F3] The ANC’s election campaign had been hampered by pending corruption charges against Zuma. A court in the city of Pietermaritzburg Feb. 4 set an Aug. 25 trial date for Zuma; however, his lawyers reportedly had petitioned the Constitutional Court, the country’s highest court, to get the charges dismissed. The ANC Feb. 13 was hit by another scandal when the Mail and Guardian newspaper published an admission by ANC spokesman Carl Niehaus that he had used government funds to support a luxurious lifestyle while working for the Gauteng provincial government. The ANC dismissed him as spokesman after the revelations. In what was seen as a boost for the ANC, highly respected former President Nelson Mandela, who at age 90 rarely made public appearances, Feb. 15 attended a rally for Zuma in Eastern Cape Province. [See 2008, p. 528B3] In a related development, the Pretoria High Court Feb. 9 had ruled that South Africans living abroad were eligible to vote in the elections. If the decision was confirmed by the Constitutional Court, it would mean that about two million expatriate South Africans—a large number of whom were whites who had left the country after the end of apartheid in 1994—would be eligible to vote. Analysts said confirmation of the decision could lead to a delay in the elections in order for new voting procedures to be implemented. n Government Moves to Ward Off Recession.

Tito Mboweni, governor of the Reserve Bank of South Africa, the central bank, Feb. 5 announced an interest rate reduction of one percentage point, to 10.5%, the largest single reduction since September 2003. He said it was needed because South Africa’s economy—the largest in Africa— would endure “a rough patch for the next three to four years” due to the global economic crisis. [See pp. 100A3, 98C3, 89A1; 2003, p. 802E2] South Africa’s economy, after growing 5% per year between 2004 and 2007, was expected to grow by around 3% in 2008, the Economist reported Feb. 12. Because its economy was more advanced and open than those of other countries on the continent, South Africa was more exposed to the global downturn, and its manufacturing,

mining and retail trade sectors were already in recession, the Economist reported. The official unemployment rate was 23.2% in the third quarter of 2008, although unoffical estimates put it as high as 35%. However, December 2008 inflation had dropped to 9.5%, Statistics South Africa reported Jan. 28, down from 11.8% in November, and was expected to continue to fall. Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, in announcing the government’s annual budget Feb. 11, presented a plan to spend 787 billion rand ($81 billion) on infrastructure projects that would create jobs. Many of those projects would be tied to preparations for hosting the 2010 soccer World Cup. As a result of the increased spending, Manuel forecast a budget deficit of equivalent to 3.8% of gross domestic product (GDP) for the current fiscal year; a surplus had been posted the previous year. [See 2008, p. 679F2; 2004, p. 376E2] n

Zimbabwe Arrest of MDC Official Threatens Stability.

The Zimbabwean government Feb. 13 arrested Roy Bennett, a top official of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party and the deputy agriculture minister– designate in a new unity government between the MDC and the longtime ruling Zimbabwe African National Union–Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party, on charges of treason. His arrest came the same day that a new power-sharing cabinet was sworn in. [See p. 81A1] Bennett, 52, was one of thousands of white farmers in Zimbabwe whose land had been confiscated by the government of President Robert Mugabe in a violent and disastrous land reform program that began in 2000. Since then, he had become a vocal critic of Mugabe and the ZANU-PF, and the third highest-ranking member of the MDC. He had spent much of the past few years in South Africa, and returned only after the MDC and the ZANU-PF agreed to the powersharing deal. Mugabe and the ZANU-PF had ruled Zimbabwe since it gained independence from Britain in 1980. Bennett was arrested on immigration charges as he tried to board a plane at a small airport near Harare, the capital, to travel to neighboring South Africa, where his family lived. He was then taken to the eastern city of Mutare, some 130 miles (210 km) from Harare, and imprisoned on treason charges. The charges stemmed from an alleged 2006 plot to overthrow Mugabe. The MDC called the charges “scandalous” and “politically motivated.” The MDC claimed that the police fired live ammunition into the air in an effort to disperse protesters who had gathered outside the prison where Bennett was being held. Bennett’s arrest, as well as the ZANUPF’s failure to keep its promise to release more than 30 human rights activists who had been detained for months, was seen as an effort by hard-liners in the ZANU-PF to undermine the unity government, which they opposed. Britain’s Observer newspaFACTS ON FILE

per Feb. 15 reported that the five-member Joint Operations Command (JOC)—which was comprised of the heads of the army, air force, police, prisons and intelligence— had been working behind the scenes to sabotage the deal by terrorizing and intimidating MDC members and supporters. Some analysts suggested that they might be acting independently of Mugabe. The JOC members were notably absent from the Feb. 13 cabinet swearing-in ceremony. Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai of the MDC, who had been sworn in Feb. 11, Feb. 14 said Bennett’s arrest “raises a lot of concerns. It undermines the spirit of our agreement.” However, he asserted that Mugabe was only “part of the problem” and was “not the obstacle we are now facing.” Tsvangirai added, “We have to budget for some residual resistance from those who see [the power-sharing] deal as a threat to their interest.” Tsvangirai’s failure to secure the release of Bennett or the imprisoned activists called into question just how much power he really wielded as prime minister in the government, especially over the security apparatus. Bennett’s lawyer, Trust Maanda, Feb. 16 said the treason charges had been dropped and that his client instead had been charged with planning to purchase weapons for an attack on a telecommunications station. The MDC in a statement called the charges, which were a violation of the Public Order and Security Act, a “fishing expedition.” Bennett Feb. 17 appeared in a court in Mutare to face charges of illegally possessing firearms with the intent to commit acts of insurgency, banditry and terrorism. He was also charged with violating immigration laws for allegedly trying to leave Zimbabwe illegally. Magistrate Livingstone Chipadza the next day upheld all but the immigration charge, and ordered Bennett to remain in custody until March 4. Bennett was to have been sworn in as deputy agriculture minister Feb. 18, but instead remained in prison. Cabinet Sworn In— Thirty-one cabinet ministers—15 from the ZANU-PF, 13 from the main faction of the MDC, led by Tsvangirai, and three from a splinter MDC faction led by Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara—were sworn in Feb. 13 in Harare, before an audience of dignitaries that included South African President Kgalema Motlanthe. The ceremony was delayed by more than two hours, after at least six extra ZANU-PF officials arrived with the expectation of being sworn in. After negotiations between the parties, the ZANU-PF reportedly gained two extra ministers without portfolios, and the MDC gained one. The MDC-Tsvangirai ministers included Tendai Biti as finance minister, Giles Mutsekwa as home affairs co-minister (as part of the power-sharing deal, the home affairs ministry, which controlled the police, was shared by the MDC and the ZANU-PF), Eric Matinenga as constitutional affairs minister and Henry Madzorera as health minister. Madzorera would be tasked with addressing Zimbabwe’s cholera epidemic, which the World Health Organization said February 19, 2009

had reached 3,712 fatalities and 78,882 recorded cases as of Feb. 17. The ZANU-PF ministers included Emmerson Mnangagwa as defense minister, Patrick Chinamasa as justice minister, Sydney Sekeramayi as state security minister, Joseph Made as agriculture minister and Kembo Mohadi as home affairs cominister. The first meeting of the new cabinet was held Feb. 17, chaired by Mugabe. After the meeting, Tsvangirai reportedly summoned Mnangagwe, Sekeramayi and Mohadi to demand a return to the rule of law to Zimbabwe, specifically with regard to the cases of Bennett and the imprisoned activists. Biti Feb. 18 announced that at least 130,000 soldiers, teachers and civil servants would be paid $100 a month in U.S. dollars, instead of Zimbabwean dollars, which had become virtually worthless due to record inflation that had reached an estimated 10 sextillion percent. He said the government had enough U.S. dollars to make the payments in February and March. Britain’s Financial Times Feb. 14 had reported that the Zimbabwean government would likely have to rely on foreign aid from other southern African nations and international institutions to make such payments in the future and to get the economy back on track. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said his government was open to lifting sanctions and offering aid if Zimbabwe showed “clear evidence…in respect of political prisoners, in respect of economic reform.” n

AMERICAS

Mexico Former General Killed in Cancun. Former Brig. Gen. Mauro Enrique Tello Quinones Feb. 2 was kidnapped, along with a bodyguard and driver, from downtown Cancun and later shot fatally in the head. The bodies of the three men, bearing signs of torture, were found Feb. 3 in the jungle near Cancun. Tello, one of the highest-ranking members of the military, had retired in January and begun serving as a security consultant in Cancun. Organized drug cartels were suspected of carrying out the murder; Cancun was a hub for drug trafficking. [See 2008, p. 977D2] The federal government Feb. 9 arrested Francisco Velasco Delgado, Cancun’s police chief, along with 35 other officers, in connection with the murders. The army also briefly took over the city’s police headquarters during the arrests. Mexican President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa had sent thousands of troops and federal police officers across the country to combat cartels after taking office in December 2006. Since Calderon had launched his crusade, violence in Mexico had become more frequent and gruesome, and had spread to regions previously unaffected by the drug trade. Calderon’s efforts had been complicated by endemic corruption within various local police forces, which often worked with cartels.

Other News—In other news related to the drug trade and violence: o The police commander of western Sinaloa state Feb. 6 was shot and killed, along with two other officers, while on his way to arrest a suspect. The men were killed in an ambush after arriving at the city of Palo Verde. o The military Jan. 23 said it had arrested a man who had confessed to dissolving the remains of at least 300 drug cartel murder victims in acid. The man, Santiago Meza Lopez, said he had destroyed the bodies while working for drug kingpin Teodoro Garcia Simental, who had broken with the Arellano Felix cartel. n

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Venezuela Presidential Term Limit Ended by Voters.

Voters in Venezuela Feb. 15 backed a proposal by President Hugo Chavez Frias to amend the country’s constitution to end the presidential term limit. According to preliminary results, about 54.4% of people voted in favor of the proposal, while 45.6% opposed it. The current constitution limited presidents to two six-year terms. Chavez’s term was set to expire in 2013; the abolition of the presidential term limit would allow him to run for reelection in 2012. [See 2008, p. 978A2] Chavez, 54, was first elected in 1998, then oversaw the drafting of a new constitution that was approved in December 1999. He was elected to his first six-year term under the new constitution in 2000, and then to a second term in 2006. The outcome of the referendum was a major political victory for Chavez, a populist leader who had nationalized many of the country’s foreign-owned businesses and emerged as a staunch critic of the U.S. Chavez had increased the government’s spending on social programs, reducing the poverty rate to 26% in 2008, from 54% in 2003, according to government statistics. However, he had relied largely on revenues generated by oil sales to fund government spending, and analysts cautioned that Venezuela would face economic difficulties as the demand for, and price of, oil dropped. In December 2007, voters had defeated a wide-ranging constitutional amendment backed by Chavez that would have eliminated term limits. Opposition party members had also made gains in midterm state elections held in November 2008. Analysts said the latest vote reflected a fractured but sizable opposition. [See 2008, p. 871E2] In the run-up to the election, Chavez had campaigned intensively in support of the amendment. An opposition coalition, largely consisting of university students and traditional elites, charged that Chavez had abused governmental powers by making use of state vehicles and other resources to campaign, and reportedly pressuring state workers to attend his rallies. Chavez Indicates Interest in U.S. Talks—

Chavez Feb. 14 signaled that he was open to direct talks with U.S. President Barack Obama. At a news conference attended by foreign journalists, Chavez said that “any 97

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day is propitious for talking.” He also indicated a willingness to meet with Obama in April, prior to a summit of Western Hemisphere nations. [See 2008, p. 661D2] Soon after Obama’s election, Chavez had expressed openness to establishing less combative diplomatic relations than he had held with Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush. However, Chavez had reportedly taken umbrage at comments made in January by Obama in which he expressed concern over Venezuelan support of Colombian rebels. n

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Bushfire Deaths Reach 208. The Australian Red Cross Feb. 19 announced that 208 people had been confirmed dead as a result of widespread bushfires in the state of Victoria. More than 4,000 firefighters had been deployed to combat the blazes, which in less than two weeks had destroyed at least 1,834 homes across Victoria and had displaced about 7,000 residents. A total of five uncontrolled fires were still burning as of Feb. 19, including one that began that day. Police were investigating the possibility that it had resulted from arson. [See p. 83A2] Police Feb. 13 had announced that they had arrested a suspect in connection with the intentional setting of a bushfire that had killed at least 21 people in Victoria’s Gippsland region. The suspect, Brendan Sokaluk, was charged with arson causing death and intentionally or recklessly lighting a bushfire, as well as with possession of child pornography. Sokaluk’s name was made public Feb. 16 by Australian media sources. They were barred from publishing photos of Sokaluk, 39, or his home address out of concern for the safety of his family. n

E Cambodia First Khmer Rouge Genocide Trial Begins.

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A joint tribunal run by the United Nations and the government of Cambodia Feb. 17 opened the first genocide trial of a highranking member of Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge regime in Phnom Penh, the capital. The Khmer Rouge had overseen the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people from starvation, torture and other abuses during its 1975–79 rule. [See p. 68D1] The defendant, Kang Kek Ieu, also known as “Duch,” had run the Khmer Rouge’s notorious Tuol Sleng prison—also known as Security Prison 21 (S-21)— where more than 14,000 prisoners had been killed. Duch, 66, had confessed to his part in the Khmer Rouge’s atrocities in a 1999 interview, but had claimed that he would have been murdered by his superiors if he had failed to obey their orders. The tribunal, which was known as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), had also arrested four other surviving members of the Khmer Rouge’s leadership, including former Khmer Rouge ideological head Nuon Chea. It was unclear 98

if other surviving members of the regime would be charged, and critics said the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen was limiting the scope of the trial to protect former Khmer Rouge members who had joined the government. Former Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot had died in 1998 without standing trial. [See 1998, p. 262C1] At the hearing, an attorney representing Duch objected to an attempt by prosecutors to add a former Tuol Sleng prisoner as a civil party to the case. The victim, Norng Chan Pal, who had been a child at the time of the Khmer Rouge’s rule, had missed the case’s filing deadline. Duch’s attorney, Francois Roux, argued that allowing the victim to join the case would violate Duch’s human rights. Only about 12 people were known to have survived incarceration at Tuol Sleng, and only four of those people, including the newly discovered victim, were still alive. n

China Wen Tours Europe. Chinese Prime Minis-

ter Wen Jiabao Jan. 27 arrived in Switzerland at the beginning of a four-nation European tour, during which he attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Wen Jan. 30 visited Brussels, Belgium, the headquarters of the EU, and met with Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm. They agreed to hold a summit meeting originally scheduled for December 2008 that China had canceled after President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, which then held the rotating EU presidency, met with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, whom China considered a separatist. [See p. 58A2; 2008, p. 979C3] Wen and Barroso did not set a date for the summit, but said the two sides in April would hold trade talks within a framework established in 2008. The current global economic downturn was the dominating theme of Wen’s tour. In Germany, where he met Jan. 29 with Chancellor Angela Merkel, Wen said that China should not be blamed for “strong fluctuations” in currency markets, and throughout the trip said China was determined to maintain a “balanced” and “reasonable” exchange rate policy. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner during his recent confirmation process had said that China was “manipulating” its currency, the yuan, by holding it at an artificially low exchange value. [See p. 30C2] Wen Jan. 30 traveled to Spain, and on to Britain Feb. 1. He said in London Feb. 2 that the financial crisis “shows how dangerous a totally unregulated market can be.” Wen and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown expressed agreement on the importance of resisting the rise of protectionist sentiment in response to the economic downturn, which they said would only make it worse. Chinese companies signed a number of business agreements with European counterparts during Wen’s tour, and he said in London that China would seek to make additional major purchases of European prod-

ucts and technology to combat protectionist feeling against Chinese exports. Also that day, a protester threw a shoe at Wen during a speech he was giving at Cambridge University in England, recalling a similar assault by an Iraqi journalist on then–U.S. President George W. Bush in December 2008. The shoe landed without hitting Wen. The thrower of the shoe was a Cambridge researcher, German citizen Martin Jahnke, 27, who was charged with an offense against public order. [See 2008, p. 913F2] Chinese state television Feb. 3 broadcast footage of the incident, in a departure from state media’s habit of avoiding coverage of potentially unflattering incidents. Wen left London for China Feb. 2. n

Japan Economy Shrinks at Dramatic Pace. The

Japanese government Feb. 16 reported that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) had shrunk in the fourth quarter of 2008 by 3.3% from the previous quarter, and at an annualized rate of 12.7%. That was the worst quarterly GDP decline since the first quarter of 1974, and a much steeper drop than suffered by other major economies so far in the current global downturn. The U.S. had registered a 3.8% annualized GDP decline for the quarter; the GDP of the eurozone, the 16 countries of the European Union that used the common euro currency, had contracted by 1.5% from the previous quarter. [See pp. 100A3, 50G3; 2008, p. 855B2] Japanese Economy Minister Kaoru Yosano Feb. 16 said the country’s economy, the second-largest in the world, was experiencing “the worst crisis since World War II.” Continuing declines in exports— at a 14% rate in the fourth quarter of 2008—and business investment helped drive the slowdown. It was the third consecutive quarter in which GDP had fallen. Finance Minister Resigns—Japanese Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa Feb. 17 resigned over his erratic behavior during a news conference at a meeting of the Group of Seven (G-7) industrialized nations in Rome Feb. 14. Nakagawa attributed his condition at the news conference, in which he appeared drowsy and mangled his answers, to the effects of a cold medicine combined with wine, but denied suggestions that he had been drinking heavily. Nakagawa initially said he would step down after the passage of currently pending budget legislation containing the government’s latest economic stimulus plans, but later Feb. 17 made his resignation effective immediately. Prime Minister Taro Aso said Yosano would assume the finance portfolio. The incident added to the political damage that Aso’s government was suffering from the poor state of the economy. Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, a fellow member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Feb. 12 blasted Aso in an unusual case of public criticism by a predecessor, questioning his ability to lead the party into parliamentary elections due FACTS ON FILE

by September. Koizumi said he was “appalled” by remarks by Aso distancing himself from one of Koizumi’s main reform initiatives, the privatization of the Japanese postal savings system. [See 2005, p. 785A2] Koizumi also questioned the government’s inclusion of a cash handout in the stimulus bill, despite the fact that it was widely unpopular and opposition to the provision threatened to slow the passage of the bill. n

Other Asia-Pacific News More Adrift Rohingya Refugees Rescued.

A group of 198 seaborne refugees Feb. 2 were discovered off the coast of Indonesia’s Aceh territory. The refugees, who were members of Myanmar’s oppressed Muslim Rohingya minority group, said they had been captured at sea by the Thai military and then left without sufficient food or water to drift in a boat without engines or sails. The boat had reportedly drifted for 21 days before it was found, during which time 22 people on board had died. Survivors were being treated at a hospital in Aceh. [See p. 51F3] Survivors said that the Thai military had abandoned them as part of a group of 1,200 people on nine engineless vessels. Of those, about 850 Rohingya had so far been found, including those rescued in the most recent incident; another boat had been found off the coast of Aceh under similar circumstances in January, while three had been found near India and one in Thailand. Three boats remained missing. Indonesian media sources Feb. 8 reported that Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda had invited the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to examine the status of the Rohingya survivors and raised the possibility that the survivors could be allowed to apply for refugee status within Indonesia. Wirajuda also called for the refugees’s “countries of origin” to cease mistreatment of ethnic and racial minorities in conjunction with the human rights provisions of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) charter. Analysts suggested that the comment was likely directed at fellow ASEAN member Myanmar. [See 2008, p. 184E2] U.S. Decries Myanmar Abuses—Richard Boucher, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, Feb. 8 called for Myanmar’s military government to end its “persecution of Rohingyas” and said the U.S. considered the mistreatment of the group to be “a matter of concern.” Boucher’s comments were made during a two-day visit to Bangladesh, where about 230,000 Rohingya refugees had taken up residence after fleeing Myanmar. Myanmar’s state-run media Jan. 30 had rejected claims that the Rohingya refugees were from Myanmar, stating that the Rohingya ethnic group was “not included in over 100 national races of the Union of Myanmar.” However, about 723,000 Rohingya reportedly lived in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. February 19, 2009

Thai Prime Minister Admits Possibility—

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva Feb. 12 said during an interview with the U.S.’s Cable News Network (CNN) that he had “reason to believe some instances” of Rohingya refugees being abandoned at sea had taken place, although he said that it was not government policy. However, he maintained that “when these practices do occur, it is done on the understanding that there is enough food and water supplied,” and expressed regret regarding “any losses” of life that had occurred. The following day, Abhisit said that accusations of abuse leveled against the Thai military had been concocted by people “trying to pressure the Thai government to change the status of the Rohingya people” and accept them as refugees. He argued that the Rohingya were not refugees because they had been traveling in search of work, and offered to assist any western nation interesting in accepting the Rohingya as refugees. About 20,000 Rohingya illegal immigrants were thought to live in Thailand, which shared a border with Myanmar. Abhisit Feb. 18 announced that a Thai government investigative department would begin examining allegations that Rohingya refugees had been abused and abandoned by the Thai military. The government had previously said it would carry out a special investigation of the claims only if an internal review by the military proved insufficient. n

Germany New Economy Minister Named. German

Chancellor Angela Merkel Feb. 9 named Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg as economy minister, replacing Michael Glos, who had resigned Feb. 8. Guttenberg, 37, was a top official of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) of the southern state of Bavaria, which Glos also belonged to. The CSU was the sister party of Merkel’s national Christian Democratic Union, the senior party in a so-called grand coalition government with the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD). [See p. 22F3; 2008, p. 707E2] Glos had failed to gain much influence over economic policy during the ongoing global financial crisis. His advocacy for large-scale tax cuts had not drawn support from Merkel, who instead had worked with Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck of the SPD to respond to the crisis. She had recently unveiled plans for a 50 billion euro ($67 billion) economic stimulus package based on infrastructure spending. The CSU had recently started voicing more criticism of Merkel and her coalition, after losing its longtime majority in the Bavarian state legislature in September 2008 elections. The party had threatened to block Merkel’s stimulus plan, forcing her to concede to its demands to include some tax cuts in the package. n

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France State Role in Holocaust Acknowledged.

France’s highest administrative court, the Council of State, Feb. 16 ruled that the French government during World War II had been responsible for deporting 76,000 Jews to Nazi death camps, where most of them were killed. The council said French officials had assisted in the deportations without being forced to do so by the Germans. The ruling was the clearest legal acknowledgment to date of the role played in the Holocaust by France’s collaborationist Vichy government during the German occupation of France from 1940 to 1944. [See 2007, p. 249B1; 2001, p. 79E1] However, the council ruled that no further reparations should be paid to those who had been deported or their families. It said, “The various measures taken since the end of World War II, both in terms of compensation as well as symbolic reparation, have repaired, as much as was possible, all the losses suffered.” The ruling had been prompted by a case in a lower court in which the daughter of a Jewish man who was deported from France and died at Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp in Poland, sought $250,000 in reparations. Several similar cases were pending in French courts. The council’s ruling was expected to lead to their dismissal. n

British Lawyer Convicted in Berlusconi Case.

A court in Milan, Italy, Feb. 17 convicted British lawyer David Mills of accepting a $600,000 bribe in exchange for giving false testimony in two 1990s corruption trials to protect Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Mills, who was not present in the Milan court for the verdict, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison. However, it was considered doubtful that he would serve any prison time, pending ongoing appeals, before the statute of limitations for the case expired in February 2010. [See 2006, p. 963A3] Berlusconi, a billionaire media magnate, had faced repeated prosecutions for corruption related to his business activities. His several convictions had all been either overturned on appeal or nullified by the statute of limitations. He had been a codefendant in Mills’s case until the Italian parliament, at his behest, approved a law in July 2008 that granted him immunity from prosecution while in office. In 2004, Mills had told prosecutors that he had received the payment for his testimony from Berlusconi, but later retracted that claim. Berlusconi had denied making such a payment. Mills was the estranged husband of British member of Parliament Tessa Jowell, the minister responsible for planning the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. She issued a statement calling the verdict “a terrible blow” to Mills, adding that “although we are separated, I never doubted his innocence.” n 99

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Walter Veltroni, leader of Italy’s main opposition party, the center-left Democratic Party, resigned Feb. 18 after the party lost a gubernatorial election in the island region of Sardinia. Veltroni, a former mayor of Rome, had overseen the creation of the Democratic Party in 2007, uniting former communists and centrist Christian Democrats in a bid to form a united front against the conservative coalition led by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. But the party had been weakened by factional infighting, and Veltroni’s departure was seen as a sign of Berlusconi’s renewed dominance of Italian politics after returning to power in April 2008 parliamentary elections for a third stint as prime minister. [See p. 99D3; 2008, p. 265A1] Veltroni apologized at a Feb. 17 news conference in Rome for his failure to “create the party I wanted and the voters wanted.” But he warned that Italy’s “system of values has been twisted” by Berlusconi’s “hegemony.” Veltroni’s deputy, Dario Franceschini, took over as interim party leader, but no permanent successor had emerged yet. n

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Three Acquitted in Politkovskaya Trial. A Russian jury Feb. 19 unanimously acquitted three men—former police officer Sergei Khadzhikurbanov and two Chechen brothers, Ibragim and Dzhabrail Makhmudov—of involvement in the 2006 murder of prominent journalist and rights activist Anna Politkovskaya. Politkovskaya had done much of her work in Chechnya, a majority-Muslim republic in southern Russia, where she had documented links between Russian authorities and severe human rights abuses. The Russian prosecutor general’s office said it would appeal the verdict. [See p. 36D2; 2008 p. 856F1] The defendants had been accused of being accomplices to her murder, and had faced life sentences if convicted. Also acquitted that day was former Federal Security Service (FSB) agent Pavel Ryaguzov, who had been accused of abuse of office and extortion for his dealings with the Makhmudov brothers. A third Makhmudov brother, Rustam, was suspected of carrying out Politkovskaya’s murder. He was believed to be hiding somewhere in Western Europe. Karinna Moskalenko, a lawyer for Politkovskaya’s family, called on officials to “start a proper investigation,” and added, “we demand, we need the real killer,” echoing government critics’ assertion that authorities had not seriously sought to get to the bottom of the case. Politkovskaya’s son, Ilya, said he believed that “the people freed today were somehow involved in the killing of my mother,” but added that he had expected the defendants’ acquittals. Murad Musayev, a lawyer for Dzhabrail Makhmudov, said the verdict was a “victory” for justice, and added that “the only way to stop these crimes is to find the real criminals.” n 100

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Other European News

UBS to Name Clients in U.S. Tax Settlement. UBS AG, Switzerland’s largest bank, Feb. 18

Sharp Eurozone Contraction Reported. The gross domestic product (GDP) of the

settled a criminal tax fraud case brought by the U.S. government, agreeing to pay $780 million in fines and other penalties and to reveal the names of some U.S. clients suspected of tax evasion. The agreement to disclose the names was seen as a break with the centuries-old tradition of secrecy in Swiss banking. [See 2008, p. 867F3] UBS admitted that some of its bankers had “participated in a scheme to defraud the United States” from 2000 through 2007, helping clients set up secret offshore accounts and falsifying or deliberately neglecting to file required tax forms. U.S. authorities alleged that UBS had helped thousands of wealthy U.S. clients illegally conceal $20 billion in assets and evade $300 million a year in taxes. UBS reportedly had agreed to immediately turn over the names of about 250 such clients. The settlement ended the criminal probe, but a civil case, in which the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had issued subpoenas to force UBS to reveal the identities of about 19,000 clients, remained open. U.S. authorities Feb. 19 filed a new lawsuit against UBS in U.S. District Court in Miami, Fla., seeking to compel the disclosure of the identities of as many as 52,000 clients. The settlement did not spare individual UBS executives from prosecution. U.S. prosecutors in 2008 had indicted former UBS executive Raoul Weil, who had been declared a fugitive and was believed to be at large in Switzerland. Another former executive, Bradley Birkenfeld, had pleaded guilty in 2008 and was cooperating with U.S. authorities. The settlement was the latest in a series of setbacks for UBS. The bank Feb. 10 had reported that it had lost a total of nearly 20 billion Swiss francs ($17 billion) in 2008, much of which was linked to investments in assets backed by U.S. mortgages. [See 2008, p. 373F2] n Swiss Re Gets Capital Boost From Buffett.

Zurich-based Swiss Reinsurance Co. (Swiss Re), the world’s second-largest reinsurer (provider of insurance to other insurance companies) in terms of premiums, Feb. 5 said Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the holding company of U.S. billionaire investor Warren Buffett, had agreed to invest three billion Swiss francs ($2.6 billion) in Swiss Re. Under the terms of the deal, Berkshire would receive a bond, with an annual 12% interest rate, that could be converted into stock in three years, increasing its stake in Swiss Re to 20%, from 3%. [See 2008, p. 696A2] Swiss Re had suffered heavy losses in the global financial crisis, mainly linked to credit-default swaps, a complex type of insurance instrument for high-risk assets. In 2008, Buffett had made similar deals to provide capital, in exchange for highly favorable terms, to two big U.S. companies also battered by losses, the bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and the conglomerate General Electric Co. n

eurozone, comprised of the 16 European Union countries that used the euro currency, contracted sharply in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to a Feb. 13 report by Eurostat, the statistics office of the EU. It was the worst quarter on record since the introduction of the euro in currency markets in 1999. [See pp. 61A1, 53C1] Eurozone GDP contracted by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, compared to the previous quarter, and 1.2% from the fourth quarter of 2007. That was worse than the U.S., which had reported a contraction of 1% compared with the previous quarter. Germany’s economy, the largest in the eurozone, shrank 2.1% in the fourth quarter, compared to the previous quarter. France reported a 1.2% contraction, on a quarterly basis; Italy, a 1.8% contraction; and Spain, a 1% contraction. Spain’s unemployment rate had risen to more than 13.9%, the worst in the eurozone, in December 2008. Spain Feb. 13 announced a four billion euro ($5.1 billion) aid package for its auto industry. Earlier that week, France had unveiled a 6.5 billion euro aid plan for its auto industry, drawing complaints from other EU members about protectionism. French President Nicolas Sarkozy had exchanged sharp words with leaders of the Czech Republic, which held the rotating EU presidency. [See p. 84F2] The EU Feb. 11 said it had scheduled two emergency summit meetings, one in March and the other in May, to discuss the global economic crisis and develop a more unified response to it. n

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Egypt Opposition Leader Freed After Three Years.

The Egyptian government Feb. 18 unexpectedly freed Ayman Nour, leader of the opposition political party Al Ghad (Tomorrow), after holding him in prison for more than three years. Nour, 44, in 2005 had run for president against Hosni Mubarak, who had ruled Egypt since 1981. After finishing second in elections that were widely regarded as flawed, he was convicted in December 2005 of forging signatures on his party’s petition for official status, and sentenced to five years in prison. The criminal case was widely seen as politically motivated. Nour was released before he would have become eligible for parole in July. [See 2008, p. 986A3; 2006, p. 397C2] Egyptian Attorney General AbdelMeguid Mahmoud said Nour had been released for “medical reasons.” Egyptian courts had previously denied appeals for Nour’s release on medical grounds. Nour’s release was seen as a reaction to increased criticism of the government over its crackdown on dissidents and handling of the war in the Gaza Strip the previous month between Israel and the Palestinian FACTS ON FILE

militant Islamist group Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement). Analysts also said Mubarak had released Nour to improve relations with the U.S. The administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush had repeatedly pushed for Nour’s freedom, but Mubarak had resisted foreign interference, and the timing of Nour’s release—after U.S. President Barack Obama’s inauguration—was seen as a snub of Bush. n

Iran EU Removes Group from Terror List. The

European Union Jan. 26 removed an Iranian opposition group—the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran, or Mujaheddin-e Khalq (MEK)—from its list of banned terrorist organizations, despite strenuous opposition from Iran. The move followed a December 2008 ruling by the European Court of First Instance that the EU had improperly withheld new information in reviewing the MEK’s status. [See p. 38F2; 2008, p. 596D1] The MEK had been formed in 1965, and sought the overthrow of Iran’s Islamic regime. It had bases in Iraq. The EU in 2002 had designated the MEK as a terrorist group and had frozen its funds. Iran said the EU’s removal of the group was irresponsible and tantamount to promoting terrorism, but the EU claimed that it was just abiding by the court’s ruling. The U.S. State Department Jan. 7 had ruled that it would continue to list the MEK as a terrorist group. U.S. officials Jan. 26 said they did not expect its status to change under the new administration of President Barack Obama. n

Iraq Suicide Bomber Kills 35 Shiite Pilgrims. A female suicide bomber Feb. 13 killed at least 35 Shiite Muslim pilgrims participating in a procession to the holy city of Karbala in southern Iraq. The blast, the deadliest in a recent string of attacks throughout Iraq, occurred in the run-up to the Feb. 15 holiday of Arbaeen, when millions of Shiites traveled to Karbala to commemorate the end of the 40-day mourning period marking the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, in the seventh century. Insurgents had intensified attacks on Shiite pilgrims during Arbaeen in recent years. [See pp. 57A1, 8D2; 2008, p. 119D3] The bomber detonated explosives hidden under her clothes at a checkpoint set up to search women and children in the village of Musayyib, south of Baghdad. Many of the dead were women and children. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but it resembled those carried out by Sunni Muslim insurgent groups such as Al Qaeda in Iraq. A roadside bomb Feb. 12 had killed at least five pilgrims in Karbala, and a gunman Feb. 13 killed two pilgrims outside of the city of Hilla. Two roadside bombs Feb. 16 each killed four pilgrims returning from Karbala, in the mostly Shiite neighborFebruary 19, 2009

hoods of Sadr City and Al Obeidi in Baghdad, the Iraqi capital. A double car bombing Feb. 11 that killed at least 16 people in a market in the predominantly Shiite Bayaa neighborhood of Baghdad was also linked to the pilgrimage. A bus full of pilgrims late Feb. 17 crashed into a stationary British armored vehicle in the southern city of Basra, killing seven pilgrims. After the crash, the British soldiers reportedly thought they were being ambushed, and fired on other vehicles, injuring an unknown number of Iraqis. Other Violence—In other violence, assassins Feb. 11 killed Ahmed Fatthi alJaburi, a senior leader of the Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party, as he was returning from prayers in in the northern city of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province. Gunmen the next day assassinated another Sunni politician as he was driving to work in Mosul. The politician, Abdul-Karim al-Sharabi, was a senior local official in the National Dialogue Front. Another Iraqi Islamic Party official, Samir Safwat, Feb. 18 was killed when gunmen broke into his home in the Zafaraniyah neighborhood of Baghdad. Both parties had run candidates in Jan. 31 provincial council elections. A suicide bomber driving a pickup truck full of explosives Feb. 9 attacked a U.S. military vehicle on patrol in Mosul. The blast killed four U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter, making it the deadliest attack on U.S. troops in Iraq since May 2008. In other attacks that day in the city, gunmen killed two off-duty police officers, a roadside bomb aimed at an Iraqi military convoy killed an Iraqi soldier and a bystander, and attackers shot to death a 17-year-old girl. The next day, separate attacks in Mosul killed at least five Iraqi police officers and a Christian woman. [See 2008, p. 305D2] U.S. soldiers Feb. 7 shot and killed a young Iraqi girl in Diwaniya, the capital of the central Qadisiya province. The U.S. military said one of its convoys was trying to move through a crowd of Shiite pilgrims when a weapon accidentally went off, striking the girl. Iraqi police and military officials in the northern province of Kirkuk charged the U.S. with twice violating a security cooperation agreement signed in December 2008, the New York Times reported Feb. 7. They said that U.S. forces had not coordinated with Iraqi troops as required in two incidents that resulted in Iraqi deaths: the Feb. 6 killing of an Iraqi man during a U.S. raid outside the city of Kirkuk, and a January raid that killed an Iraqi couple. [See p. 53D3] French

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Baghdad—

French President Nicolas Sarkozy Feb. 10 visited Baghdad and met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani, in a move to bring the two countries closer together. Sarkozy said France wanted to “participate in the economic development of Iraq, the rehabilitation of its infrastructures,” and called on French businesses to invest in the country. Maliki used the visit to emphasize that Iraq had “many friends,” not just the U.S. It was

the first visit to Iraq by a French head of state, and the first by a leader of a country that had opposed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. [See 2007, p. 729D3] France had had close business relationships with Iraq under former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and had been a major weapons supplier of the regime. Maliki at a news conference with Sarkozy responded to comments made Feb. 6 by U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden that the U.S. needed to be “more aggressive” in encouraging Iraqi political reconciliation. “The time for putting pressure on Iraq is over,” Maliki said. “The Iraqi government knows what its responsibilities are. We are carrying out reform, and we are in the last step of reconciliation.” In other visits by foreign dignitaries, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki Feb. 11 arrived in Baghdad for a threeday visit. Mottaki said Iran would not hold new talks with the U.S. on Iraqi security because current security gains had made them unnecessary. He also said Iran would appoint consuls in the Iraqi cities of Sulaimaniya, Karbala and Irbil. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the previous day had called for “talks based on mutual respect” between the U.S. and Iran. [See p. 86G1] Also, German Foreign Minister FrankWalter Steinmeier Feb. 17 visited Baghdad and met with Maliki. It was the first visit to Iraq by a German foreign minister in 22 years. Germany had also opposed the 2003 invasion. Other News—In other Iraqi news: o The Iraqi government Feb. 17 said it was holding four Iraqis who had been released from the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It said they were being interrogated to determine whether it was safe to release them. The detainees reportedly had originally been captured in Afghanistan, and had been returned to Iraq from Guantanamo Bay more than a month earlier. At least one other Iraqi reportedly remained imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay. [See p. 28F3] o The Times Feb. 15 reported that U.S. federal agencies were investigating two senior U.S. military contracting officers—retired Army Col. Anthony Bell and Air Force Lt. Col. Ronald Hirtle—for corruption related to the U.S. reconstruction program in Iraq that went into operation shortly after the March 2003 invasion. The reconstruction program during 2003 and 2004 was widely regarded as ineffective, and was reportedly characterized by a lack of oversight. Most of the previous 35 convictions won by U.S. prosecutors in Iraq corruption cases had involved mid-level military officials or private contractors. [See 2008, p. 449C3] o Iraqi election officials Feb. 15 said they had received reports of fraud from all 14 of the provinces where the provincial council elections had taken place, but that the violations had not been “critical.” United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon Feb. 6 made an unannounced visit to Iraq and praised the largely peaceful elec101

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tions, although he said the country had more work to do to become secure. o The Washington Post Feb. 13 reported that the U.S. military had reversed an order banning Iraqi translators working with U.S. forces in Baghdad from using masks to hide their identity. The mask ban had been put in place in September 2008 over concerns that the masks impeded professionalism, but interpreters and some U.S. officers said it put interpreters in danger of reprisals for working with the U.S. and reflected an overly optimistic view of Iraq’s security situation. Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, in a Jan. 7 letter to U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D, Ore.), said U.S. commanders would be able to allow interpreters to wear masks during certain “high-risk” missions. [See 2008, p. 863F3] n

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Afghanistan Obama Orders Deployment of 17,000 Troops.

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U.S. President Barack Obama Feb. 17 announced that he had authorized the deployment of an additional 17,000 troops to Afghanistan, a move he said was “necessary to stabilize a deteriorating situation” in the country. A U.S.-led force had invaded Afghanistan in 2001 to topple the Taliban’s Islamic fundamentalist regime, but an ensuing Taliban insurgency had gained ground in recent years, leading to record levels of violence in 2008. [See pp. 75A1, 54C1] Along with 6,000 U.S. troops who had been deployed by former U.S. President George W. Bush, and had arrived in Afghanistan in January, the new deployment would bring the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan to about 55,000. Under Obama’s plan, 8,000 marines would arrive in late spring, and 9,000 Army soldiers would arrive in summer. There were also some 32,000 non-U.S. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) soldiers currently operating in Afghanistan. The combat deployment was Obama’s first as president, and came as his administration was conducting a top-to-bottom review of the U.S.’s military strategy in Afghanistan. In what was seen as a criticism of Bush’s policies, Obama Feb. 17 said the conflict had “not received the strategic attention, direction and resources it urgently requires.” The review was expected to be completed by April 3, when Obama would attend a NATO summit in Germany. The Obama administration had reportedly been wary of authorizing additional troops before the review was complete. Additionally, further troop increases in Afghanistan would likely be contingent on U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq, and Obama had yet to decide on a formal timeline for withdrawal. But military commanders warned that the additional troops were urgently required to address mounting violence in the country, and to provide security for national elections that were scheduled for Aug. 20. Before Obama’s 102

announcement, military commanders had called for a total increase of 30,000 additional troops. [See p. 101D1] Obama at the NATO summit was expected to call on European members to provide additional troops, and increase their commitment to civilian reconstruction projects, training the Afghan army and fighting the country’s thriving opium industry. The U.S. and many European countries had long disagreed over troop deployments to Afghanistan, largely because the war was politically unpopular in much of Europe. Obama’s overtures were expected to be resisted. Spain as recently as Feb. 10 had announced that it would not add to its 800strong force in Afghanistan. Other Developments—In other developments in Afghanistan: o The United Nations Feb. 17 reported that civilian deaths stemming from insurgency-related violence had risen 40% in 2008 from the previous year. Rising civilian casualties had sparked a public outcry against the government of President Hamid Karzai and its ties to the military coalition. The U.N. said 2,118 civilians had died in 2008, up from 1,523 in 2007. The Taliban was responsible for 55% of the 2008 deaths, while the coalition, which included the Afghan army, was responsible for 39% of the deaths, the report said. [See p. 54B3] o Richard Holbrooke, the new U.S. special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, Feb. 12–15 visited Afghanistan as part of a fact-finding tour of the region. In an interview broadcast Feb. 15 on Afghanistan’s Tolo TV network, Holbrooke said, “It is absolutely clear that Iran plays an important role in Afghanistan,” calling that role “legitimate.” The statement was a shift in the U.S.’s stance toward Iran, which under Bush had been categorized as part of an “axis of evil.” The Obama administration had indicated that it would increase its diplomatic engagement with Iran, which was Afghanistan’s western neighbor. [See pp. 103B1, 86G1] o Eight insurgents armed with assault rifles and suicide-bomb vests Feb. 11 attacked three government locations in and around Kabul, the Afghan capital, killing 20 people and wounding 57. The eight gunmen were killed in ensuing clashes with police, some of which took place at the Justice Ministry. Observers said the brazen attack showed that the Taliban was capable of infiltrating one of Afghanistan’s most heavily guarded cities. Afghan officials said there were indications that the gunmen could have connections to Islamic militants operating in the tribal areas of neighboring Pakistan, but those suggestions were not confirmed. [See p. 102B3] o The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) Feb. 12 reported that the U.S. military had not properly kept track of tens of thousands of weapons, leaving them open to theft or procurement by the Taliban. The GAO said the military kept incomplete records of about 87,000 U.S. weapons between 2004 and 2008, and that it had no dependable records for 135,000 weap-

ons donated by other countries. The GAO presented its report to the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform’s national security and foreign affairs subcommittee. o A suicide bomber Feb. 2 killed 21 people when he detonated his charge in a police station in Tirin Kot, the capital of the southern province of Uruzgan. n

Pakistan Islamic Law Allowed in Militant Region.

The Pakistani government Feb. 16 agreed to allow the establishment of sharia, or traditional Islamic law, in the district of Malakand in the country’s North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). The district was home to the Swat Valley, which for the past year had been the site of heavy fighting between the Pakistani army and Islamic extremist militants, including members of the international terrorist network Al Qaeda and the Afghan fundamentalist group the Taliban. The agreement paved the way for a 10-day cease-fire, but critics said the government had essentially ceded control of the territory to the extremists. [See p. 69D3] Government officials argued that the agreement would diminish public support for extremists, since an ineffective legal system had compelled civilians to turn to religious groups for justice. Amir Haider Khan Hoti, the NWFP’s chief minister, said, “There was a vacuum...in the legal system. The people demanded this and they deserve it.” Government officials maintained that the Malakand system would differ greatly from the severe form of sharia imposed by the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan, before its regime was toppled by a U.S.-led force in 2001. The Taliban had imposed severe restrictions on women and been known to stone adulterers to death and sever the hands of thieves. While the government had deployed about 12,000 troops to Swat, it had been unable to defeat the some 3,000 militants thought to operate there. Militants had taken to terrorizing government officials and civilians with suicide bombs and other violent tactics, leading to an exodus of thousands of people. Members of the Awami National Party (ANP), a secular group that had won the NWFP’s most recent elections in 2008, said the government could not defeat the extremists by force alone, and that a truce was necessary to divide moderate Islamists from hard-liners. But critics said the agreement was a significant concession that could bolster the extremist movement. Similar agreements in the country’s lawless tribal areas—located between the NWFP and Afghanistan—had allowed extremists to create strongholds from where they could plot terrorist attacks and operate training camps. Additionally, past truces had fallen apart after militants continued to attack government forces, including a truce reached in Swat in 2008. [See 2008, p. 367B3] The government agreement was made with Sufi Muhammad, a local leader who had once fought alongside the Taliban in FACTS ON FILE

its ongoing insurgency against U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan. Muhammad had been released from Pakistani custody in April 2008, and was thought to be more moderate than his son-in-law, the cleric Maulana Fazlullah, one of the region’s top extremist leaders. [See 2008, p. 283A3] Richard Holbrooke, the new U.S. special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, Feb. 16 did not directly comment on the agreement. During a visit that day to New Delhi, India’s capital, Holbrooke said the U.S., Pakistan and India faced a common enemy in terrorism. [See below, p. 103C2] U.S. Envoy Receives Request for Aid—

Holbrooke Feb. 9–12 met with senior Pakistani officials in the first leg of his tour of Pakistan, Afghanistan and India. After meeting with Holbrooke, President Asif Ali Zardari Feb. 10 released a statement saying he had asked the U.S. for more aid to counter Islamic militancy. [See p. 102D2] Holbrooke’s tour launched what was thought to be a broader regional approach to the U.S. war in Afghanistan, which included reducing the influence of extremists who destabilized areas on both sides of the permeable Afghan-Pakistani border. U.S. President Barack Obama had stated that minimizing the threat of terrorism from Pakistan and Afghanistan would be one of his main foreign policy goals. During Holbrooke’s visit, Pakistani officials criticized a rising number of missile attacks against suspected terrorists in the country’s tribal areas that were thought to be conducted by U.S. Predator drone aircraft. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi Feb. 10 said the attacks were “counterproductive,” since they had also killed and wounded civilians, leading to a large public backlash against the government’s alliance with the U.S. [See p. 69G3] Other Developments—In other developments in Pakistan: o Missile attacks from a suspected U.S. Predator drone aircraft Feb. 16 killed more than 30 people in the tribal area of Kurram, including members of the Taliban. o A Predator attack Feb. 14 killed more than 30 people in the tribal area of South Waziristan, including Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters. The attack reportedly targeted a compound used by Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of Tehreek-e-Taliban, an umbrella group for various extremist factions. Mehsud was reportedly not at the compound during the attack. [See 2008, p. 990E1] o The government Feb. 6 said it had repaired and reopened a bridge in the northwest Khyber region that had been blown up by militants earlier in the week. The bridge was used by the U.S. and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to transport supplies to troops in Afghanistan. The government that day said 52 militants in the region had been killed during clashes with the army. o A previously unknown group calling itself the Baluchistan Liberation United Front Feb. 13 released a video purportedly showing a U.S. aid worker, John Solecki, in captivity. The group said Pakistan had 72 February 19, 2009

hours to release 141 female prisoners or Solecki would be killed. Solecki was the head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees office in Quetta, a city in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, and had been abducted in early February. His kidnappers were suspected of having ties to Baluchi separatists. [See p. 69F3] o Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski Feb. 9 confirmed the authenticity of a video released the previous day showing the beheading of a Polish hostage, Piotr Stanczak, by Taliban militants. The murder was thought to be the first of a Western hostage in Pakistan since U.S. reporter Daniel Pearl was killed in captivity in 2002. Stanczak, a geologist, was abducted Sept. 28, 2008, from the city of Attock, 70 miles (110 km) northeast of Islamabad, the capital. His death followed reported attempts by the Polish and Pakistani governments to negotiate his freedom, which the Taliban had predicated on the release of their comrades in prison. [See 2007, p. 793C3] o The Taliban Feb. 14 released a Chinese engineer, Long Xiaowei, who had been captured in August 2008. n

Other South Asia News Mumbai Attack Partly Planned in Pakistan.

Pakistan Feb. 12 for the first time acknowledged that a three-day terrorist attack in November 2008 that killed more than 170 people in Mumbai, India’s commercial capital, had been partly planned on Pakistani soil. India had long asserted that the Pakistani-based Islamic militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba was behind the attack, and while Pakistan had arrested some of the group’s members, it had resisted formally corroborating India’s claim that the attack had been hatched in Pakistan. India’s foreign ministry Feb. 12 said the acknowledgment was a “positive development.” [See p. 39D1] Rehman Malik, head of Pakistan’s interior ministry, that day said, “Some part of the conspiracy has taken place in Pakistan.” However, he claimed that the suspected attackers—a group of 10 men who had been armed with assault rifles and other weapons—had planned parts of the attack in various other countries as well. He said memory cards for the attackers’ cellular phones had been purchased in Austria, and that one of their satellite phones had been bought in a Middle Eastern country. He said a conspirator in Spain had purchased Internet telephone accounts for the attackers using domain names registered in the U.S. and Russia. Malik said six suspects had been charged for their involvement in the attack, including its alleged mastermind, Zaki ur-Rehman Lakhvi, a top Lashkar-e-Taiba leader who had been arrested in December 2008. Malik said Pakistani authorities were also holding Hamad Amin Sadiq, whom he identified as “one of the main operators” in the attack. Malik said another principal suspect was Zarar Shah, a Lashkar-e-Taiba leader. Malik also said police had found three boats that

the attackers had used to travel from Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi to Mumbai, on India’s western coast. Malik maintained that “non-state actors” had been behind the attack, in what was seen as a rebuttal of Indian suggestions that Pakistan’s powerful military-led spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), had been involved. ISI in the past had funded operations by Lashkar-e-Taiba and other Islamic militant groups to destabilize areas in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, site of a long-running territorial dispute between the two countries. Malik said he had sent India 30 questions to gather more information, including requests for “fingerprints and DNA samples of all the terrorists.” While India welcomed Pakistan’s acknowledgment, it continued to put public pressure on Pakistan to increase its counterterrorism efforts. Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee Feb. 13 said, “The threat of terrorism from Pakistan has emerged as a global menace and cancer.” Pakistan’s acknowledgment came on the last day of a three-day visit by Richard Holbrooke, the new U.S. special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan. The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama was thought to favor an improved diplomatic relationship between India and Pakistan, so that Pakistan could concentrate its efforts on Islamic militants who had created safe havens near the Afghan border in Pakistan’s northwest. But Pakistani officials denied that Holbrooke’s visit had played any role in their decision to make the announcement. [See p. 103B1] The Washington Post, citing unidentified U.S. and Pakistani officials, Feb. 16 reported that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had organized intelligencesharing between Pakistan and India directly after the Mumbai attack. The Post reported that the CIA’s role had reduced distrust between the two historical adversaries, helping lead to increased cooperation and Pakistan’s Feb. 12 announcement. n

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Auto Racing Kenseth Wins Daytona 500. Matt Kenseth

Feb. 15 won the 51st running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. The race was one of the premier events on the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit, and the first one of the 2009 season. Kenseth had also won the race in 2003. [See 2008, pp. 911G3, 114B3] Kenseth, who drove a Ford for the Jack Roush team, was declared the winner 17 minutes after officials halted the race due to heavy rain on lap 152 (the race was scheduled to be 200 laps). He had taken the lead on lap 122. The time of the race was two hours, 51 minutes and 40 seconds, and Kenseth’s average speed was 132.816 miles per hour (213.747 kmph). Kevin Harvick finished second, and A.J. Allmendinger was third. 103

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. sparked a nine-car crash on the 124th lap that eliminated the race leader at the time, Kyle Busch, as well as three-time defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and another top driver, Carl Edwards. Due to the ongoing economic crisis, which had hit the auto industry especially hard, NASCAR had been forced to implement cost-cutting reforms in the offseason. (NASCAR relied on the auto industry for cars, parts and sponsorship revenue.) Several teams had merged, including Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Chip Ganassi Racing, which combined to become Earnhardt Ganassi Racing in November 2008; and Gillett Evernham Motorsports and Petty Enterprises, which joined Jan. 8 to form Richard Petty Motorsports. Also, tracks had reduced ticket prices, and teams had been forced to lay off as many as 1,000 employees. [See p. 92E1; 2008, p. 912B1–D1] n De Villiers Wins Dakar Rally in South America.

Giniel de Villiers of South Africa Jan. 17 won the Dakar Rally off-road motor race, which was held in South America, instead of northwest Africa, for the first time in its 31-year history due to security concerns. Organizers had canceled the 2008 event due to threats by terrorists in Mauritania. [See 2008, p. 57F2] De Villiers completed the race, which began and ended in Buenos Aires, Argentina’s capital, in 48 hours, 10 minutes and 57 seconds. The route took him across treacherous terrain in Argentina and Chile, including the Andes mountain range and the Atacama Desert. De Villiers drove a diesel-powered Volkswagen—the first time the race was won by a diesel-powered car. n

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Awards British Academy Awards Presented. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Feb. 8 presented its annual motion picture awards. The ceremony was held in London, at the Royal Opera House. [See 2008, p. 116F1] Named best picture of the Year was Slumdog Millionaire, principally directed by British filmmaker Danny Boyle. The film, about an Indian game show contestant, won a total of seven awards, including a best-director award for Boyle. It had been nominated for 10 U.S. Academy Awards in January. [See p. 40E1] Actress Kate Winslet was named best actress for her role as a woman with a secret Nazi past in The Reader. She had also been nominated in that category for her role as a housewife in Revolutionary Road. Winslet had won two Golden Globes for her work in those films. [See p. 40F1] Two other Golden Globe winners, Mickey Rourke and Heath Ledger, also won BAFTAs. Rourke was named best actor for his comeback role as a washed-up professional wrestler in The Wrestler, while Ledger was posthumously honored as best supporting actor for his role as the Joker in 104

The Dark Knight. In the supporting actress category, Spain’s Penelope Cruz won for her role as a mentally unbalanced artist and ex-wife of another artist in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. [See p. 24E2, F2] n Sundance Film Festival Winners Named.

The annual Sundance Film Festival Jan. 24 presented its awards for the top films shown at the festival. Sundance, held Jan. 15–25 in Park City, Utah, showcased feature films and documentaries that were produced without backing from major movie studios. [See 2008, p. 96E2] The film Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire, directed by Lee Daniels, won the festival’s Grand Jury Prize for best U.S. dramatic film. Adapted from a 1996 novel by Sapphire, a prominent black woman poet, it dealt with an obese, sexually abused 16-year-old girl growing up in the Harlem district of New York City. The film also captured the festival’s audience award for best dramatic film, voted on by viewers. The Grand Jury Prize for best U.S. documentary went to Ondi Timoner’s We Live in Public, about 10 years in the life of an Internet surveillance pioneer named Josh Harris. The corresponding audience award went to The Cove, about a town in Japan where dolphins were secretly captured and killed. It was made by Louie Psihoyos, formerly a photographer for National Geographic magazine. n

People Rapper M.I.A., 31, who performed at the Feb. 8 Grammy Awards ceremony on an evening when it was thought she might give birth, informed her fans, via a Feb. 14 (Valentine’s Day) posting on her Web site, that she had given birth to a baby boy on Feb. 11. She claimed that she started having contractions just hours after her performance. The baby’s father was Benjamin Brewer, a New York City–based musician and the son of Warner Music Group Chief Executive Officer Edgar Bronfman Jr. [See p. 88D2; 2003, p. 981D2] Lari Lavi, 48, the U.S.-born founder of Toronto, Canada–based WIDEawake Entertainment Group, Jan. 15 was declared to have submitted the winning bid, US$18 million, for the assets of bankrupt U.S. rap label Death Row Records, originally owned by Marion (Suge) Knight. Death Row had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2006, after Knight in 2005 was ordered to pay $107 million to a former business associate, Lydia Harris, and could not come up with the money. In recent years, Knight had been arrested and jailed repeatedly. [See 2005, p. 272A3] n

O B I T UA R I E S ALEXANDER, Donald Crichton, 87, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) commissioner from 1973 to 1977, under U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, both Republicans, and during the first few weeks of the Democratic administration of Jimmy Carter; he successfully resisted efforts by Nixon, then caught up in the Watergate scandal that would lead to his 1974 resignation, to have the IRS audit individuals perceived as Nixon’s political enemies; born May 22, 1921, in Pine Bluff, Ark.; died Feb. 2 at his home in Washington,

D.C., of cancer. [See 1998, p. 320B2; 1985, p. 103D3; Indexes 1973–77] BECK, Hans, 79, German toy designer who, as an employee of Zimdorf-based Geobra Brandstaetter GmbH & Co. KG, invented the Playmobil line of miniature toy figures, ranging from knights and castles to pirates and pirate ships to dinosaurs; more than two billion of those toys had been sold worldwide since their 1974 debut; born May 6, 1929, in Germany’s Thuringia region; died Jan. 30 at a hospital in Markdorf am Bodensee, Germany, after a long illness. CLOSE, William Taliaferro, 84, physician who in 1976 helped control Central Africa’s first epidemic of the deadly Ebola virus; he was at that time the personal physician of Mobute Sese Seko, the president of Zaire (the country now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo) as well as the Zairian army’s surgeon general; he left Zaire, where he had arrived in 1960, after the epidemic was contained, and set up a medical practice in rural Wyoming; he was the father of actress Glenn Close; born June 7, 1924, in Greenwich, Conn.; died Jan. 15 at his home in Big Piney, Wyo., of a heart attack. [See 2008, pp. 687A2, 28F1; 1976, p. 931B3] Des FORGES, Alison (born Alison B. Liebhafsky), 66, Africa scholar and human rights activist who

in 1994 tried to call the world’s attention to the looming genocide in Rwanda, in which Hutu militias ended up killing about 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus; she later wrote a definitive account of that tragedy, Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda; the book was published in 1999, the year she was awarded a MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant; in recent years, she had appeared as an expert witness in 11 trials of alleged genocide perpetrators; born Aug. 20, 1942, in Schenectady, N.Y.; died Feb. 12 in the crash of Continental Airlines Flight 3407 near Buffalo, N.Y. [See pp. 95C2, 34B1; 1999, p. 483B3] HINGLE, Pat (Martin Patterson Hingle), 84, burly character actor known for his many appearances on Broadway, in television shows and in Hollywood films, including four “Batman” movies released between 1989 and 1997, in which he portrayed Police Commissioner James Gordon; born July 19, 1924, in Miami, Fla.; died Jan. 3 at his home in Carolina Beach, N.C., of myelodysplasia, a blood disorder. [See 1997, p. 1015E2; 1988, p. 1007G3; Indexes 1986, 1972, 1970, 1968, 1963–65, 1960, 1956–58] KIMBRO, Warren Aloysious, 74, onetime member of the militant black nationalist group the Black Panthers who in 1970 pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 1969 slaying of suspected police informer Alex Rackley in New Haven, Conn.; the case gave rise to several highly publicized trials, one of which ended in a hung jury and the dismissal of charges against Black Panther leader Bobby Seale in 1971; Kimbro was sentenced to life in prison but testified against Seale and was pardoned after serving four and a half years; he later became a New Haven community activist, helping former inmates become productive members of society; born April 29, 1934, in New Haven; died Feb. 3 at a hospital there, of a heart attack. [See 1971, p. 617A1; 1970, p. 39C3; Index 1969] LOPEZ, Orlando (Cachaito), 76, Cuban bassist who was one of a number of musicians who gained worldwide fame late in life as a member of the Buena Vista Social Club, a group brought out of retirement in the 1990s by U.S. guitarist Ry Cooder; born Feb. 2, 1933, in Havana; died Feb. 9 at a Havana hospital, of complications following cancer surgery. [See 2005, p. 548B3; 2003, p. 992D3] MARTYN, John (born Iain David McGeachy), 60, British singer, songwriter and guitarist who artfully blended folk music with jazz in more than 20 albums, notably Solid Air (1973); he influenced many artists who were much better-known than he was, among them Eric Clapton and Sade; his career was hampered by chronic substance abuse problems that took their toll on his health; born Sept. 11, 1948, in New Malden, England; died Jan. 29 in Kilkenny, Ireland, from pneumonia complications. WERBER, Bill (William Murray), 100, leadoff batter in the first Major League Baseball (MLB) game to be televised, in August 1939; he was then an infielder for the Cincinnati Reds, which would go on to win the National League pennant that year, and the World Series after the 1941 season; he retired in 1942 as a member of the New York Giants; he had begun his MLB career in 1930 with the New York Yankees, where one of his teammates was Babe Ruth; after retiring from baseball, he prospered in the insurance industry; born June 20, 1908, in Berwyn, Md.; died Jan. 22 in Charlotte, N.C.; he had been MLB’s oldest veteran at the time of his death. [See 1941, p. 464N] n

February 19, 2009

U.S. President Obama Delivers First Speech to Joint Session of Congress Pledges to ‘Rebuild,’ Reduce Deficit. U.S.

President Barack Obama Feb. 24 delivered his first speech before a joint session of Congress since taking office in January. Obama spoke on a broad range of issues, including the economy, energy, health care and education, while also pledging to reduce the government’s deficit by 50% by the end of his first term. He called on Congress to pass a bill that would cap the U.S.’s greenhouse gas emissions, and spelled out his rationale for a recently passed stimulus package and the funding of a financial stability program that provided aid to banks and other financial institutions. [See pp. 89A1, 77D3; for the full text of the speech, see p. 106A1] Obama’s speech, which was delivered in the chamber of the House of Representatives and lasted 52 minutes, was his first nationally televised address since his inauguration. It served in place of the State of the Union message that presidents usually delivered to Congress in February. After weeks of attempting to get congressional Republicans to back his stimulus package by painting the economy in arguably pessimistic terms, Obama tried to restore some confidence and idealism to the public. “While our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken, though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this: We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before,” Obama said. He added, “Now is the time to act boldly and wisely, to not only revive this economy, but to build a new foundation for lasting prosperity.” Obama pushed a broad domestic spending agenda by including major health care, energy and education reforms in his speech at a time when he benefited from relatively strong poll numbers. Obama planned to release a more detailed budget outline for the current fiscal year, in which he would spell out the elements of his plan. He also called on Vice President Joseph Biden to oversee spending related to the stimulus package to prevent instances of waste and abuse. On the Economy—In a veiled barb at his predecessor, former President George W. Bush, Obama said he had “inherited” a “trillion-dollar” deficit, as well as a “financial crisis and a costly recession.” He said previous policies had created an “era where too often, short-term gains were prized over long-term prosperity,” and argued that there would be no economic recovery unless “we clean up the credit crisis that has severely weakened our financial system.” He made a case for the continued investments of hundreds of billions of dollars of government funds in banks largely blamed for creating a financial crisis, arguing, “If we do not restart lending in this country, our recovery will be choked off before it even begins.” He acknowledged the growing public backlash toward the bailout packages, but warned, “We cannot afford to govern out of anger.” [See p. 76A3] Obama pledged to impose strict oversight of companies receiving government

money, saying that the days of company executives using taxpayer funds to “pad their paychecks, or buy fancy drapes, or disappear on a private jet” were “over.” To trim the deficit, Obama said his administration would reexamine outdated military programs developed during the Cold War, end subsidies provided to large agricultural businesses and drop failing educational programs. However, he cautioned that his budget plan would “not attempt to solve every problem or address every issue.” Calls for Health Care Reform— Obama reiterated his pledge to provide health care to all in the U.S. “Let there be no doubt: health care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year,” he said. He also encouraged all Americans to complete at least one year of vocational or college education after high school. [See p. 62C3] In his remarks, he said some $15 billion generated annually by his plan to cap greenhouse gas emissions could be used to fund renewable energy research. Speaks on Security, Foreign Issues—

Obama in his remarks also said he would soon announce “a way forward in Iraq that leaves Iraq to its people and responsibly ends this war.” He said his administration would develop a strategy in tandem with the U.S.’s allies to defeat the international terrorist organization Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Obama also notably said, “I can stand here tonight and say without exception or equivocation that the United States of America does not torture.” His statement echoed a declaration made by Bush after it was revealed that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) used interrogation techniques against suspected terrorists that critics characterized as torture. [See 2006, p. 689A1] Polls Show Strong Public Support—

Two separate polls published Feb. 24 showed high levels of public support for Obama and his actions as president thus far. A New York Times/CBS News poll conducted Feb. 18–22 found that 63% of respondents approved of the job he was doing as president. His job approval rating was about 10 percentage points higher than either Bill Clinton’s or Bush’s at similar times in their presidencies. [See p. 25C3] When asked what Obama’s priorities should be, 56% said he should adhere to the policies he campaigned on, while 39% felt he should compromise and work with Republicans. The poll found that 57% of respondents approved of Obama’s handling of the economy. In a Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted Feb. 19–22, Obama had a 68% job approval rating, and 60% of respondents approved of his handling of the economy. Obama also had the trust of 61% of respondents regarding economic matters, when compared with Republicans. n

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Volume 69, No. 3558 February 26, 2009

B joint session of Congress. In his speech, Jindal repeatedly invoked the ingenuity of ordinary Americans, and criticized Obama and the Democratic Party for enacting massive spending programs he said would “grow the government, increase our taxes down the line and saddle future generations with debt.” [See pp. 112A2, 105A1; 2007, p. 698E3] Jindal, 37, born to parents who had emigrated to the U.S. from India, was a popular figure in the Republican Party and was viewed as a possible presidential nominee in 2012. In his speech, Jindal emphasized that “the strength of America is not found in our government. It is found in the compassionate hearts and the enterprising spirit of our citizens.” He cited the disorganized federal response to Hurricane Katrina, which had devastated New (Continued on p. 108F1)

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MAJOR STORIES IN THIS ISSUE U.S. President Obama delivers first speech to joint session of Congress; pledges to ‘rebuild,’ reduce deficit. PAGE 105

U.S. Secretary of State Clinton tours Asia in first official trip abroad. PAGE 108

Ex–Serbian President Milutinovic acquitted of war crimes.

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U.S. government launches bank ‘stress tests.’ PAGE 110

Guantanamo terrorism detainee sent to Britain, released. PAGE 112

Obama taps Locke as commerce secretary. PAGE 112

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Sudanese government, Darfur rebel group set talks. PAGE 115

Tensions rise in Tibet ahead of anniversary. PAGE 116

Israeli President Peres chooses Netanyahu to form government. PAGE 118

Sri Lankan government rejects rebel cease-fire offer. PAGE 119

‘Slumdog Millionaire’ dominates Oscars. PAGE 120

La. Gov. Jindal Delivers Republican Rebuttal.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal Feb. 24 delivered the Republican response to U.S. President Barack Obama’s first address to a

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TRANSCRIPT OF PRESIDENT OBAMA’S ADDRESS TO CONGRESS

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Follwing is a transcript of U.S. President Barack Obama’s Feb. 24 address to a joint session of Congress, outlining his plans to revive the U.S. economy and other policy priorities of his new administration [See p. 105A1]: Thank you very much. Madam Speaker [Nancy Pelosi (D, Calif.)], Mr. Vice President [Joseph Biden], members of Congress, and the first lady of the United States [Michelle Obama], who’s around here somewhere. I have come here tonight not only to address the distinguished men and women in this great chamber, but to speak frankly and directly to the men and women who sent us here. I know that for many Americans watching right now, the state of our economy is a concern that rises above all others, and rightly so. If you haven’t been personally affected by this recession, you probably know someone who has: a friend, a neighbor, a member of your family. You don’t need to hear another list of statistics to know that our economy is in crisis, because you live it every day. It’s the worry you wake up with and the source of sleepless nights. It’s the job you thought you’d retire from but now have lost, the business you built your dreams upon that’s now hanging by a thread, the college acceptance letter your child had to put back in the envelope. The impact of this recession is real, and it is everywhere. But while our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken, though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this: We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before. The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation. The answers to our problems don’t lie beyond our reach. They exist in our laboratories and our universities, in our fields and our factories, in the imaginations of our entrepreneurs and the pride of the hardest-working people on Earth. Those qualities that have made America the greatest force of progress and prosperity in human history we still possess in ample measure. What is required now is for this country to pull together, confront boldly the challenges we face, and take responsibility for our future once more. Now, if we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll admit that for too long we have not always met these responsibilities, as a government or as a people. I say this not to lay blame or to look backwards, but because it is only by understanding how we arrived at this moment that we’ll be able to lift ourselves out of this predicament. Roots of the Economic Downturn The fact is, our economy did not fall into decline overnight. Nor did all of our problems begin when the housing market collapsed or the stock market sank. We have known for decades that our survival depends on finding new sources of energy, yet we import more oil today than ever before. The cost of health care eats up more and more of our savings each year, yet we keep delaying reform. Our children will compete for jobs in a global economy that too many of our schools do not prepare them for. And though all of these challenges went unsolved, we still managed to spend more money and pile up more debt, both as individuals and through our government, than ever before. In other words, we have lived through an era where too often short-term gains were prized over long-term prosperity, where we failed to look beyond the next payment, the next quarter, or the next election. A surplus became an excuse to transfer wealth to the wealthy instead of an opportunity to invest in our future. Regulations regulations were gutted for the sake of a quick profit at the expense of a healthy market. People bought homes they knew they couldn’t afford from banks and lenders who pushed those bad loans anyway. And all the while, critical debates and difficult decisions were put off for some other time on some other day. Economic Recovery Plan Well, that day of reckoning has arrived, and the time to take charge of our future is here. Now is the time to act boldly and wisely, to not only revive this economy, but to build a new foundation for lasting prosperity. Now is the time to jump-start job creation, re-start lending, and invest in areas like energy, health care, and education that will grow our economy, even as

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we make hard choices to bring our deficit down. That is what my economic agenda is designed to do, and that is what I’d like to talk to you about tonight. It’s an agenda that begins with jobs. As soon as I took office, I asked this Congress to send me a recovery plan by Presidents Day that would put people back to work and put money in their pockets, not because I believe in bigger government—I don’t—not because I’m not mindful of the massive debt we’ve inherited—I am. I called for action because the failure to do so would have cost more jobs and caused more hardships. In fact, a failure to act would have worsened our long-term deficit by assuring weak economic growth for years. And that’s why I pushed for quick action. And tonight I am grateful that this Congress delivered and pleased to say that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is now law. Over the next two years, this plan will save or create 3.5 million jobs. More than 90 percent of these jobs will be in the private sector, jobs rebuilding our roads and bridges, constructing wind turbines and solar panels, laying broadband and expanding mass transit. Because of this plan, there are teachers who can now keep their jobs and educate our kids. Health care professionals can continue caring for our sick. There are 57 police officers who are still on the streets of Minneapolis tonight because this plan prevented the layoffs their department was about to make. Because of this plan, 95% of working households in America will receive a tax cut, a tax cut that you will see in your paychecks beginning on April 1. Because of this plan, families who are struggling to pay tuition costs will receive a $2,500 tax credit for all four years of college. And Americans who have lost their jobs in this recession will be able to receive extended unemployment benefits and continued health care coverage to help them weather this storm. Now, I know there are some in this chamber and watching at home who are skeptical of whether this plan will work, and I understand that skepticism. Here in Washington, we’ve all seen how quickly good intentions can turn into broken promises and wasteful spending. And with a plan of this scale comes enormous responsibility to get it right. And that’s why I’ve asked Vice President Biden to lead a tough, unprecedented oversight effort, because nobody messes with Joe. I have told each of my cabinet, as well as mayors and governors across the country, that they will be held accountable by me and the American people for every dollar they spend. I’ve appointed a proven and aggressive inspector general to ferret out any and all cases of waste and fraud. And we have created a new Web site called recovery.gov so that every American can find out how and where their money is being spent. Financial Stability Plan So the recovery plan we passed is the first step in getting our economy back on track, but it is just the first step, because even if we manage this plan flawlessly, there will be no real recovery unless we clean up the credit crisis that has severely weakened our financial system. I want to speak plainly and candidly about this issue tonight, because every American should know that it directly affects you and your family’s well-being. You should also know that the money you’ve deposited in banks across the country is safe, your insurance is secure. You can rely on the continued operation of our financial system; that’s not the source of concern. The concern is that, if we do not restart lending in this country, our recovery will be choked off before it even begins. You see, the flow of credit is the lifeblood of our economy. The ability to get a loan is how you finance the purchase of everything from a home to a car to a college education, how stores stock their shelves, farms buy equipment, and businesses make payroll. But credit has stopped flowing the way it should. Too many bad loans from the housing crisis have made their way onto the books of too many banks. And with so much debt and so little confidence, these banks are now fearful of lending out any more money to households, to businesses, or even to each other. When there’s no lending, families can’t afford to buy homes or cars, so businesses are forced to make layoffs. Our economy suffers even more, and credit

dries up even further. That is why this administration is moving swiftly and aggressively to break this destructive cycle, to restore confidence, and restart lending. And we will do so in several ways. First, we are creating a new lending fund that represents the largest effort ever to help provide auto loans, college loans, and small-business loans to the consumers and entrepreneurs who keep this economy running. Second, we have launched a housing plan that will help responsible families facing the threat of foreclosure lower their monthly payments and refinance their mortgages. It’s a plan that won’t help speculators or that neighbor down the street who bought a house he could never hope to afford, but it will help millions of Americans who are struggling with declining home values, Americans who will now be able to take advantage of the lower interest rates that this plan has already helped to bring about. In fact, the average family who refinances today can save nearly $2,000 per year on their mortgage. Third, we will act with the full force of the federal government to ensure that the major banks that Americans depend on have enough confidence and enough money to lend even in more difficult times. And when we learn that a major bank has serious problems, we will hold accountable those responsible, force the necessary adjustments, provide the support to clean up their balance sheets, and assure the continuity of a strong, viable institution that can serve our people and our economy. Now, I understand that, on any given day, Wall Street may be more comforted by an approach that gives bank bailouts with no strings attached and that holds nobody accountable for their reckless decisions, but such an approach won’t solve the problem. And our goal is to quicken the day when we restart lending to the American people and American business, and end this crisis once and for all. And I intend to hold these banks fully accountable for the assistance they receive, and this time they will have to clearly demonstrate how taxpayer dollars result in more lending for the American taxpayer. This time, CEOs [chief executive officers] won’t be able to use taxpayer money to pad their paychecks, or buy fancy drapes, or disappear on a private jet. Those days are over. Still, this plan will require significant resources from the federal government and, yes, probably more than we’ve already set aside. But while the cost of action will be great, I can assure you that the cost of inaction will be far greater, for it could result in an economy that sputters along for not months or years, but perhaps a decade. That would be worse for our deficit, worse for business, worse for you, and worse for the next generation. And I refuse to let that happen. Now, I understand that when the last administration asked this Congress to provide assistance for struggling banks, Democrats and Republicans alike were infuriated by the mismanagement and the results that followed. So were the American taxpayers; so was I. So I know how unpopular it is to be seen as helping banks right now, especially when everyone is suffering in part from their bad decisions. I promise you: I get it. But I also know that, in a time of crisis, we cannot afford to govern out of anger or yield to the politics of the moment. My job—our job—is to solve the problem. Our job is to govern with a sense of responsibility. I will not spend a single penny for the purpose of rewarding a single Wall Street executive, but I will do whatever it takes to help the small business that can’t pay its workers or the family that has saved and still can’t get a mortgage. That’s what this is about. It’s not about helping banks; it’s about helping people. Because when credit is available again, that young family can finally buy a new home. And then some company will hire workers to build it. And then those workers will have money to spend. And if they can get a loan, too, maybe they’ll finally buy that car or open their own business. Investors will return to the market, and American families will see their retirement secured once more. Slowly, but surely, confidence will return, and our economy will recover. So I ask this Congress to join me in doing whatever proves necessary, because we cannot consign our nation to an open-ended recession. And to en-

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sure that a crisis of this magnitude never happens again, I ask Congress to move quickly on legislation that will finally reform our outdated regulatory system. It is time. It is time. It is time to put in place tough, new commonsense rules of the road so that our financial market rewards drive and innovation and punishes shortcuts and abuse. The recovery plan and the financial stability plan are the immediate steps we’re taking to revive our economy in the short term, but the only way to fully restore America’s economic strength is to make the long-term investments that will lead to new jobs, new industries, and a renewed ability to compete with the rest of the world. The only way this century will be another American century is if we confront at last the price of our dependence on oil and the high cost of health care, the schools that aren’t preparing our children and the mountain of debt they stand to inherit. That is our responsibility. Budget Outline In the next few days, I will submit a budget to Congress. So often, we’ve come to view these documents as simply numbers on a page or a laundry list of programs. I see this document differently. I see it as a vision for America, as a blueprint for our future. My budget does not attempt to solve every problem or address every issue. It reflects the stark reality of what we’ve inherited: a trillion-dollar deficit, a financial crisis, and a costly recession. Given these realities, everyone in this chamber— Democrats and Republicans—will have to sacrifice some worthy priorities for which there are no dollars, and that includes me. But that does not mean we can afford to ignore our long-term challenges. I reject the view that says our problems will simply take care of themselves, that says government has no role in laying the foundation for our common prosperity, for history tells a different story. History reminds us that, at every moment of economic upheaval and transformation, this nation has responded with bold action and big ideas. In the midst of civil war, we laid railroad tracks from one coast to another that spurred commerce and industry. From the turmoil of the Industrial Revolution came a system of public high schools that prepared our citizens for a new age. In the wake of war and depression, the G.I. Bill sent a generation to college and created the largest middle-class in history. And a twilight struggle for freedom led to a nation of highways, an American on the moon, and an explosion of technology that still shapes our world. In each case, government didn’t supplant private enterprise; it catalyzed private enterprise. It created the conditions for thousands of entrepreneurs and new businesses to adapt and to thrive. We are a nation that has seen promise amid peril and claimed opportunity from ordeal. Now we must be that nation again. That is why, even as it cuts back on programs we don’t need, the budget I submit will invest in the three areas that are absolutely critical to our economic future: energy, health care, and education. Renewable Energy It begins with energy. We know the country that harnesses the power of clean, renewable energy will lead the 21st century. And yet it is China that has launched the largest effort in history to make their economy energy efficient. We invented solar technology, but we’ve fallen behind countries like Germany and Japan in producing it. New plug-in hybrids roll off our assembly lines, but they will run on batteries made in Korea. Well, I do not accept a future where the jobs and industries of tomorrow take root beyond our borders, and I know you don’t, either. It is time for America to lead again. Thanks to our recovery plan, we will double this nation’s supply of renewable energy in the next three years. We’ve also made the largest investment in basic research funding in American history, an investment that will spur not only new discoveries in energy, but breakthroughs in medicine, in science and technology. We will soon lay down thousands of miles of power lines that can carry new energy to cities and towns across this country. And we will put Americans to work making our homes and buildings more efficient so that we can save billions of dollars on our

February 26, 2009

energy bills. But to truly transform our economy, to protect our security and save our planet from the ravages of climate change, we need to ultimately make clean, renewable energy the profitable kind of energy. So I ask this Congress to send me legislation that places a market-based cap on carbon pollution and drives the production of more renewable energy in America. That’s what we need. And to support that innovation, we will invest $15 billion a year to develop technologies like wind power and solar power, advanced biofuels, clean coal, and more efficient cars and trucks built right here in America. Speaking of our auto industry, everyone recognizes that years of bad decision-making and a global recession have pushed our automakers to the brink. We should not and will not protect them from their own bad practices. But we are committed to the goal of a retooled, reimagined auto industry that can compete and win. Millions of jobs depend on it; scores of communities depend on it; and I believe the nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it. Health Care Reform Now, none of this will come without cost, nor will it be easy. But this is America. We don’t do what’s easy. We do what’s necessary to move this country forward. And for that same reason, we must also address the crushing cost of health care. This is a cost that now causes a bankruptcy in America every 30 seconds. By the end of the year, it could cause 1.5 million Americans to lose their homes. In the last eight years, premiums have grown four times faster than wages. And in each of these years, 1 million more Americans have lost their health insurance. It is one of the major reasons why small businesses close their doors and corporations ship jobs overseas. And it is one of the largest and fastest-growing parts of our budget. Given these facts, we can no longer afford to put health care reform on hold. We can’t afford to do it. It’s time. Already, we’ve done more to advance the cause of health care reform in the last 30 days than we’ve done in the last decade. When it was days old, this Congress passed a law to provide and protect health insurance for 11 million American children whose parents work full-time. Our recovery plan will invest in electronic health records and new technology that will reduce errors, bring down costs, ensure privacy, and save lives. It will launch a new effort to conquer a disease that has touched the life of nearly every American, including me, by seeking a cure for cancer in our time. And it makes the largest investment ever in preventive care, because that’s one of the best ways to keep our people healthy and our costs under control. This budget builds on these reforms. It includes a historic commitment to comprehensive health care reform, a down payment on the principle that we must have quality, affordable health care for every American. It’s a commitment that’s paid for in part by efficiencies in our system that are long overdue, and it’s a step we must take if we hope to bring down our deficit in the years to come. Now, there will be many different opinions and ideas about how to achieve reform. That’s why I’m bringing together businesses and workers, doctors and health care providers, Democrats and Republicans to begin work on this issue next week. I suffer no illusions that this will be an easy process. Once again, it will be hard. But I also know that nearly a century after [former President] Teddy Roosevelt first called for reform, the cost of our health care has weighed down our economy and our conscience long enough. So let there be no doubt: Health care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year. Education The third challenge we must address is the urgent need to expand the promise of education in America. In a global economy, where the most valuable skill you can sell is your knowledge, a good education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity. It is a prerequisite. Right now, three-quarters of the fastest-growing occupations require more than a high school diploma, and yet just over half of our citizens have that level of education. We have one of the highest high school dropout rates of any industrialized nation, and half of the students who begin college never finish.

This is a prescription for economic decline, because we know the countries that out-teach us today will out-compete us tomorrow. That is why it will be the goal of this administration to ensure that every child has access to a complete and competitive education, from the day they are born to the day they begin a career. That is a promise we have to make to the children of America. Already, we’ve made a historic investment in education through the economic recovery plan. We’ve dramatically expanded early childhood education and will continue to improve its quality, because we know that the most formative learning comes in those first years of life. We’ve made college affordable for nearly seven million more students, seven million, and we have provided the resources necessary to prevent painful cuts and teacher layoffs that would set back our children’s progress. But we know that our schools don’t just need more resources; they need more reform. And that is why this budget creates new incentives for teacher performance, pathways for advancement, and rewards for success. We’ll invest in innovative programs that are already helping schools meet high standards and close achievement gaps. And we will expand our commitment to charter schools. It is our responsibility as lawmakers and as educators to make this system work, but it is the responsibility of every citizen to participate in it. So tonight I ask every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training. This can be a community college or a four-year school, vocational training or an apprenticeship. But whatever the training may be, every American will need to get more than a high school diploma. And dropping out of high school is no longer an option. It’s not just quitting on yourself; it’s quitting on your country. And this country needs and values the talents of every American. That’s why we will support—we will provide the support necessary for all young Americans to complete college and meet a new goal: By 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. That is a goal we can meet. That’s a goal we can meet. Now, I know that the price of tuition is higher than ever, which is why, if you are willing to volunteer in your neighborhood or give back to your community or serve your country, we will make sure that you can afford a higher education. And to encourage a renewed spirit of national service for this and future generations, I ask Congress to send me the bipartisan legislation that bears the name of Senator Orrin Hatch [R, Utah], as well as an American who has never stopped asking what he can do for his country, Senator Edward Kennedy [D, Mass.]. These education policies will open the doors of opportunity for our children, but it is up to us to ensure they walk through them. In the end, there is no program or policy that can substitute for a parent, for a mother or father who will attend those parentteacher conferences, or help with homework, or turn off the TV, put away the video games, read to their child. I speak to you not just as a president, but as a father when I say that responsibility for our children’s education must begin at home. That is not a Democratic issue or a Republican issue. That’s an American issue. And there is, of course, another responsibility we have to our children, and that’s the responsibility to ensure that we do not pass on to them a debt they cannot pay. That is critical. I agree, absolutely. See, I know we can get some consensus in here. With the deficit we inherited, the cost of the crisis we face, and the long-term challenges we must meet, it has never been more important to ensure that, as our economy recovers, we do what it takes to bring this deficit down. That is critical. Now, I’m proud that we passed a recovery plan free of earmarks, and I want to pass a budget next year that ensures that each dollar we spend reflects only our most important national priorities. Deficit Reduction And yesterday, I held a fiscal summit where I pledged to cut the deficit in half by the end of my first term in office. My administration has also begun to go line by line through the federal budget in order to eliminate wasteful and ineffective programs.

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As you can imagine, this is a process that will take some time, but we have already identified $2 trillion in savings over the next decade. In this budget, we will end education programs that don’t work and end direct payments to large agribusinesses that don’t need them. We’ll eliminate the no-bid contracts that have wasted billions in Iraq, and reform our defense budget so that we’re not paying for Cold War-era weapons systems we don’t use. We will root out the waste and fraud and abuse in our Medicare program that doesn’t make our seniors any healthier. We will restore a sense of fairness and balance to our tax code by finally ending the tax breaks for corporations that ship our jobs overseas. In order to save our children from a future of debt, we will also end the tax breaks for the wealthiest two percent of Americans. Now, let me be clear. Let me be absolutely clear, because I know you’ll end up hearing some of the same claims that rolling back these tax breaks means a massive tax increase on the American people. If your family earns less than $250,000 a year, a quarter-million dollars a year, you will not see your taxes increased a single dime. I repeat: not one single dime. In fact, not a dime. In fact, the recovery plan provides a tax cut— that’s right, a tax cut—for 95% of working families. And, by the way, these checks are on the way. Now, to preserve our long-term fiscal health, we must also address the growing cost in Medicare and Social Security. Comprehensive health care reform is the best way to strengthen Medicare for years to come, and we must also begin a conversation on how to do the same for Social Security, while creating tax-free universal savings accounts for all Americans. Finally, because we’re also suffering from a deficit of trust, I am committed to restoring a sense of honesty and accountability to our budget. That is why this budget looks ahead 10 years and accounts for spending that was left out under the old rules and, for the first time, that includes the full cost of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Foreign Policy For seven years, we’ve been a nation at war. No longer will we hide its price. Along with our outstanding national security team, I am now carefully reviewing our policies in both wars, and I will soon announce a way forward in Iraq that leaves Iraq to its people and responsibly ends this war. And with our friends and allies, we will forge a new and comprehensive strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan to defeat Al Qaeda and combat extremism, because I will not allow terrorists to plot against the American people from safe havens halfway around the world. We will not allow it. As we meet here tonight, our men and women in uniform stand watch abroad and more are readying to deploy. To each and every one of them, and to the families who bear the quiet burden of their absence, Americans are united in sending one message: We honor your service; we are inspired by your sacrifice; and you have our unyielding support. To relieve the strain on our forces, my budget in-

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Orleans, La., and much of the Gulf Coast in 2005, as an example of how large government bureaucracies were ineffective. Referring to Democrats, he added that “the way to lead is not to raise taxes and not to just put more money and power in the hands of Washington politicians.” [See pp. 18G3–19F1] However, Jindal also acknowledged that the Republican Party’s philosophy had become “less clear” in recent years. He said Republicans, by associating themselves with earmarks and big spending, had lost the public’s trust, “and rightly so.” He pledged that the party would recover that trust by defending conservative principles. Jindal Feb. 20 had announced that Louisiana would not accept funds 108

creases the number of our soldiers and Marines. And to keep our sacred trust with those who serve, we will raise their pay and give our veterans the expanded health care and benefits that they have earned. To overcome extremism, we must also be vigilant in upholding the values our troops defend, because there is no force in the world more powerful than the example of America. And that is why I have ordered the closing of the detention center at Guantanamo Bay [in Cuba] and will seek swift and certain justice for captured terrorists, because living our values doesn’t make us weaker. It makes us safer, and it makes us stronger. And that is why I can stand here tonight and say without exception or equivocation that the United States of America does not torture. We can make that commitment here tonight. In words and deeds, we are showing the world that a new era of engagement has begun, for we know that America cannot meet the threats of this century alone, but the world cannot meet them without America. We cannot shun the negotiating table nor ignore the foes or forces that could do us harm. We are instead called to move forward with the sense of confidence and candor that serious times demand. To seek progress towards a secure and lasting peace between Israel and her neighbors, we have appointed an envoy to sustain our effort. To meet the challenges of the 21st century—from terrorism to nuclear proliferation, from pandemic disease to cyber threats to crushing poverty—we will strengthen old alliances, forge new ones, and use all elements of our national power. And to respond to an economic crisis that is global in scope, we are working with the nations of the G-20 [Group of 20 economies] to restore confidence in our financial system, avoid the possibility of escalating protectionism, and spur demand for American goods in markets across the globe, for the world depends on us having a strong economy, just as our economy depends on the strength of the world’s. Conclusion As we stand at this crossroads of history, the eyes of all people in all nations are once again upon us, watching to see what we do with this moment, waiting for us to lead. Those of us gathered here tonight have been called to govern in extraordinary times. It is a tremendous burden, but also a great privilege, one that has been entrusted to few generations of Americans, for in our hands lies the ability to shape our world, for good or for ill. I know that it’s easy to lose sight of this truth, to become cynical and doubtful, consumed with the petty and the trivial. But in my life, I have also learned that hope is found in unlikely places, that inspiration often comes not from those with the most power or celebrity, but from the dreams and aspirations of ordinary Americans who are anything but ordinary. I think of Leonard Abess, a bank president from Miami who reportedly cashed out of his company, took a $60 million bonus, and gave it out to all 399

people who worked for him, plus another 72 who used to work for him. He didn’t tell anyone, but when the local newspaper found out, he simply said, “I knew some of these people since I was seven years old. I didn’t feel right getting the money myself.” I think about Greensburg, Kansas, a town that was completely destroyed by a tornado, but is being rebuilt by its residents as a global example of how clean energy can power an entire community, how it can bring jobs and businesses to a place where piles of bricks and rubble once lay. “The tragedy was terrible,” said one of the men who helped them rebuild. “But the folks here know that it also provided an incredible opportunity.” I think about Ty’Sheoma Bethea, the young girl from that school I visited in Dillon, South Carolina, a place where the ceilings leak, the paint peels off the walls, and they have to stop teaching six times a day because the train barrels by their classroom. She had been told that her school is hopeless. But the other day after class, she went to the public library and typed up a letter to the people sitting in this chamber. She even asked her principal for the money to buy a stamp. The letter asks us for help and says, “We are just students trying to become lawyers, doctors, congressmen like yourself, and one day president, so we can make a change to not just the state of South Carolina, but also the world. We are not quitters.” That’s what she said: “We are not quitters.” These words and these stories tell us something about the spirit of the people who sent us here. They tell us that, even in the most trying times, amid the most difficult circumstances, there is a generosity, a resilience, a decency, and a determination that perseveres, a willingness to take responsibility for our future and for posterity. Their resolve must be our inspiration. Their concerns must be our cause. And we must show them and all our people that we are equal to the task before us. I know that we haven’t agreed on every issue thus far. There are surely times in the future where we will part ways. But I also know that every American who is sitting here tonight loves this country and wants it to succeed. I know that. That must be the starting point for every debate we have in the coming months and where we return after those debates are done. That is the foundation on which the American people expect us to build common ground. And if we do, if we come together and lift this nation from the depths of this crisis, if we put our people back to work and restart the engine of our prosperity, if we confront without fear the challenges of our time and summon that enduring spirit of an America that does not quit, then some day, years from now, our children can tell their children that this was the time when we performed, in the words that are carved into this very chamber, “something worthy to be remembered.” Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America. Thank you.

from the $787 billion stimulus package slated to extend unemployment benefits to more people. The governor Feb. 22 had appeared on NBC’s Sunday morning political news program “Meet the Press,” and claimed the $100 million program would require Louisiana to enact higher taxes on businesses. Jindal pledged that Republicans would work with Democrats in areas they agreed on, such as energy independence and fiscal responsibility. He also called on Obama’s administration to cut taxes and drill for more oil and natural gas in the U.S. Jindal’s speech was panned by a number of prominent conservative commentators, who said his slow, punctuated delivery was strange and his speech short on new ideas. Some observers said Jindal should not have mentioned the government’s clumsy re-

sponse to Hurricane Katrina, which was considered a blot on the presidency of George W. Bush, Obama’s Republican predecessor. n

Clinton Tours Asia in First Official Trip Abroad Discusses Economy, N. Korea. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton Feb. 16–23 visited Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and China, in her first trip abroad since becoming secretary of state under U.S. President Barack Obama. Clinton said she had chosen to travel to Asia first to emphasize the importance the U.S. placed on its ties in the region. Clinton’s talks focused on the global economic slowdown, reflecting the U.S.’s extensive economic FACTS ON FILE

ties with China and Japan; the ongoing international process pressuring North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program; as well as climate change. [See pp. 116B2, 35C3, 29F2; 2008, p. 541A3] Previous secretaries of state for decades had made their first forays abroad to Europe or the Middle East, and Clinton’s gesture to Asia was received warmly. She made waves with unusually forthright remarks on the issue of a successor to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and the place of human rights in the U.S.’s relations with China. While some observers wondered whether those statements reflected inexperience as an official diplomat, Clinton Feb. 20 said in Seoul, South Korea’s capital, that to avoid saying “what’s obvious” was “an impediment to clear thinking.” En route from the U.S. to Japan, Clinton Feb. 16 said her goal, with respect to North Korea’s nuclear program, was “complete dismantling and denuclearization,” and suggested that the U.S. would have “a great openness to working with them” in return. While not a change in the essentials of U.S. policy, the remark offered a sunnier view of the prospects for dialogue with North Korea than had been typical of the administration of Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush. Clinton also played down accusations, promoted by the Bush administration, that North Korea had pursued a secret uraniumenrichment project in addition to the plutonium-based weapons program it had admitted to. She emphasized that there was “debate within the intelligence community” over the extent of the uranium activities. She pointed instead to the fact that the Bush administration had abandoned a 1994 nuclear freeze agreement with North Korea, negotiated under then–President Bill Clinton, her husband, which she said had led North Korea to intensify its plutonium reprocessing and develop actual nuclear weapons. [See 1994, p. 794A1] Makes Japan First Stop—Clinton Feb. 16 arrived in Tokyo, where she hailed the U.S.’s relationship with Japan as “a cornerstone of our efforts around the world.” Clinton’s decision to visit Japan first was greeted with satisfaction in the country, where a perceived slight by Bill Clinton, who in 1998 had taken a trip to China without stopping in Japan, was still widely remembered, and had fed concern that the U.S. was turning away from Japan and toward China as the focus of its Asian relations. [See 1998, p. 479F3] Clinton met Feb. 16 with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, and conveyed an invitation for him to become the first foreign leader hosted by Obama at the White House Feb. 24. She and Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said the two countries were cooperating closely on the world economic crisis. [See below] She also met the following day with Ichiro Ozawa, leader of Japan’s opposition Democratic Party of Japan, which was currently benefiting from the abysmal poll ratings of Aso and his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). U.S. officials said the meeting with Ozawa was merely part of an effort to widen the spectrum of contacts made on February 26, 2009

the visit, dismissing suggestions that the U.S. was preparing for the possibility that Ozawa would oust Aso in a general election due to be held by September. Ozawa said he had expressed to Clinton his belief that Japan played too subordinate a role in its current partnership with the U.S. [See p. 98E3] North Korea was prominent among the topics on Clinton’s agenda in Japan. She denounced Feb. 16 a suggestion by North Korea that it was preparing for a missile test launch. She met the following day with a group of relatives of Japanese civilians who had been abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s, and vowed to press North Korea to fully account for the abductees. However, the relatives expressed dissatisfaction that the U.S. had removed North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, and that Clinton had suggested that the U.S. was willing to extend diplomatic recognition to North Korea in exchange for its abandoning its nuclear weapons program. [See 2008, p. 426G2] (North Korea Feb. 24 announced that it was preparing to launch a communications satellite into space, but foreign observers said such a launch would in reality be a test of a long-range missile. North Korea in 1998 had announced a satellite launch that was believed to have failed. [See 1998, p. 676E3]) Clinton also signed an agreement on shifting some 8,000 U.S. marines stationed on the Japanese island of Okinawa to the U.S. territory of Guam, as part of a broader redeployment of U.S. forces in the Pacific. [See 2008, p. 151F3] Cites Indonesia as Muslim Model—

Clinton Feb. 18 traveled to Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, a stop that appeared to represent the Obama administration’s stated plans to improve relations with the Muslim world, damaged by the U.S.’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Bush administration’s antiterrorism practices, among other issues. (Indonesia had the largest Muslim population of any country.) Clinton that day cited Indonesia as a a model of how “Islam, democracy, modernity and women’s rights can coexist.” [See p. 42F1] Clinton praised Indonesia’s achievements in combating terrorism and Islamic extremism. After meeting with her, Indonesian Foreign Minister Hasan Wirajuda said, “Indonesia can be a good partner for the U.S. to reach out to the Muslim world.” Clinton expressed a desire for broader cooperation with Indonesia on other issues, including climate change. She said the two countries would open talks on allowing the resumption of U.S. Peace Corps activities in the country, which had been halted amid political strife in 1965. [See 1965, p. 143A1] Clinton said the Obama administration wished to promote stronger ties with Southeast Asia in general than the Bush administration had, and said it would enter into talks on a treaty with the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Addressing one major regional issue, Clinton said the U.S. was reviewing its policy toward the military government of My-

anmar, noting that “imposing sanctions hasn’t influenced the junta” to ease its repression of pro-democracy dissidents, and that “reaching out and trying to engage them hasn’t worked either.” [See 2008, p. 925E2] Clinton also conveyed “greetings from President Obama,” who had lived in Indonesia for a time as a child. Broaches N. Korea Succession— Clinton, on a flight to Seoul, South Korea’s capital, Feb. 19 raised the possibility of a struggle over the succession to North Korean supreme leader Kim, and said that “even if it’s a peaceful succession,” the accompanying uncertainty could “encourage behaviors that are even more provocative, as a way to consolidate power within the society.” Kim was widely believed to have suffered a stroke in 2008, and it was unclear to what extent he had recovered, with some experts suggesting that elements in the secretive country’s leadership, particularly the military, were wielding increased influence. [See p. 84G1] However, Clinton’s remarks drew notice because it was not common practice for diplomats to openly speculate on the succession question, and some observers suggested they would complicate efforts to engage with North Korea. However, Clinton later insisted, “We deal with the government in place right now.” She did not speculate on possible succession scenarios, but said she would discuss the issue with South Korean and Chinese officials. Clinton met Feb. 19 with South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung Hwan in Seoul. Vows Engagement With China—Clinton Feb. 20 traveled to Beijing, China’s capital. En route from South Korea, she said “questions of Taiwan, Tibet, human rights” and other areas of frequent disagreement between the U.S. and China “can’t interfere with” the need to cooperate with China on economic, climate change and security matters such as North Korea, noting, “We pretty much know what they’re going to say” to U.S. pressure. That prompted immediate denunciation from human rights groups. The following day, she insisted, “The promotion of human rights is an essential aspect of U.S. global policy.” Clinton Feb. 21 met with President Hu Jintao, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi. She also visited a water-efficient, low-emissions power plant, and called for cooperation on promoting economic growth in a way that did not imperil the environment, saying, “We hope you don’t make the same mistakes” made by the U.S. and Europe with untrammeled industrialization. China had recently surpassed the U.S. as the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Clinton after her meeting with Yang thanked China for its “continuing confidence” in the U.S., as the world’s largest buyer of U.S. Treasury securities, a vital source of financing as the U.S. planned additional spending to combat a recession. [See p. 105A1] 109

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Clinton Feb. 23 attended a state-sanctioned Christian church and met with social, legal and health care activists, including Gao Yaojie, who described being subjected to harassment by the authorities. [See 2007, p. 195A3] Clinton later Feb. 23 departed Beijing for the U.S. Obama Hosts Japan’s Aso—Aso Feb. 24 met with Obama at the White House, where Obama called the U.S.’s ties to Japan “the cornerstone of security in East Asia.” The two men reportedly dicussed the economic crisis and the North Korea talks, as well as the struggle by U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan against a strengthened insurgency by Taliban Islamic militants. Aso announced that Japan would provide new funding to help pay the salaries of Afghanistan’s police and to rebuild its schools and medical facilities. n

Other International News Ex–Serbian President Acquitted of War Crimes.

Former Serbian President Milan Milutinovic, 66, Feb. 26 was acquitted of five counts of war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, the Netherlands . He, along with five other Serbian officials, had been accused of ordering the removal of some 800,000 ethnic Albanians from Kosovo, and the murders of hundreds of civilians there in 1999. However, the court found that Milutinovic, who had served as president of Serbia from 1997 to 2002, could not be held responsible because he did not have effective control over the Serbian army. [See 2006, pp. 789D2, 181A1] Judge Iain Bonomy said, “In practice, it was [late Serbian President Slobodan] Milosevic…who exercised actual command authority” over the army. Milosevic had died in 2006 while on trial for war crimes at the ICTY. Kosovo, administered by the United Nations after the war, had since declared independence from Serbia, but Serbia considered Kosovo an integral part of the country and viewed its declaration of independence as illegitimate. [See 2008, p. 99F1] Five Others Convicted—While the court Feb. 26 ordered Milutinovic released immediately, the other five men on trial— former Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Sainovic, former Yugoslav army Chief of Staff and Defense Minister Dragoljub Ojdanic, former generals Nebojsa Pavkovic and Vladimir Lazarevic and former Serbian Public Security Service head Sreten Lukic—were convicted of some or all of the charges, and received sentences that ranged from 15 to 22 years in jail. They received credit for time already served in detention. Kosovar President Fatmir Sejdiu said he had “full trust” in the ICTY, while Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said the verdict served as evidence that the trial was “political.” The ruling was the ICTY’s first on crimes perpetrated by Serbs during the 1998–99 war between Kosovo and Serbia. n

U N I T ESTATES D S TAT E S UNITED

Economy Government Launches Bank ‘Stress Tests.’

The government Feb. 25 launched “stress tests” of the country’s 19 largest banks to gauge their ability to weather a deepening recession, which would help it determine whether they would need additional federal assistance. The tests began as two of the country’s largest financial institutions— banking company Citigroup Inc. and insurance giant American International Group Inc. (AIG)—were in ongoing discussions with the government for more aid. [See below, pp. 89A1, 77A2] President Barack Obama that day said the tests would restore confidence in the weakened financial industry and eventually spark lending, which had dropped off dramatically over the past year as banks sustained massive losses on investments in risky mortgages. Mounting job losses had caused a spike in defaults on other kinds of loans as well, placing increased pressure on the banks. After booking heavy losses from such loans, banks had further reined in their lending, hurting businesses and leading to more job losses. Economists said stabilizing the financial industry was imperative to pulling the economy out of that downward spiral. Banks had also been hit by falling share prices, which depleted their capital base and made them more reluctant to issue loans. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, led by a weeks-long slide in banking shares, Feb. 23 fell 250.89 points, or 3.7%, to end at 7,114.78, its lowest level since 1997. Investors were reportedly concerned that the government was considering nationalizing troubled banks, which could wipe out the value of existing shareholder stakes. But the Obama administration had emphasized that it preferred to see banks remain in private hands. Advocates of nationalization said it would facilitate government efforts to rid the financial system of toxic assets backed by mortgages and other loans that had lost value. Additionally, nationalization would allow the government to directly increase lending. Opponents of nationalization said it could lead to a crisis in confidence in healthy banks, and that the government would be unable to effectively manage the banks, the largest of which were sprawling companies with thousands of employees. However, under the administration’s stress test plan, it was possible that the government could take ownership of majority shareholder stakes in the banks, which would give it wide influence over bank policies. Obama said it was possible that he could ask Congress to authorize additional funds for a $700 billion financial industry rescue program, known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). More than half those funds had already been spent or allocated. Details of Stress Test Plan— Under the stress test plan, the details of which were released for the first time Feb. 25, the 19 banks would have to assume as a worst-case sce-

nario that U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) would contract at a 3.3% annual rate in 2009, and grow at a 0.5% rate in 2010; the unemployment rate would reach 8.9% in 2009, and 10.3% in 2010; and that average housing prices would fall 22% in 2009 from the previous year, and by 7% in 2010. The banks would have until the end of April to calculate how much capital would be lost under those conditions. If the government deemed that a bank would need more capital, the bank would have six months to raise money from private investors, or, as a last resort, accept a capital injection from the government. If federal aid was necessary, the government would buy preferred shares that could be converted into common stock. The government had thus far largely purchased nonconvertible preferred shareholder stakes in the roughly 400 banks that had received money through TARP. The switch to convertible shares was intended to buoy confidence in the banks, since investors, shaken by the uncertainty in the financial system, had started to view nonconvertible stakes as government loans rather than additions to a bank’s capital reserve. If a conversion to common stock was approved, the government could find itself with a significant ownership stake in a participating bank. The banks had up to seven years to return the government’s money, before the preferred shares automatically became common stock. The government would buy preferred shares based on a bank’s average closing price in the 20 days leading up to Feb. 9. The stress test scenarios were more dire than what government officials had projected, but market participants said it was possible that the economy could experi-

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ence an even graver deterioration. The Federal Reserve Feb. 18 projected that GDP could shrink by as much as 1.3% in 2009, and that the unemployment rate could reach 8.8%. The official unemployment rate in January was 7.6%. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke Feb. 24 testified to the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee that 2010 could be a “year of recovery,” if the government was successful in stabilizing the financial industry. He also said it was unnecessary to nationalize banks in order to fix the financial system. Markets rose on his remarks, with the Dow climbing 236.16 points, or 3.3%, to end at 7,350.94. Bernanke made similar remarks the following day in testimony to the House Financial Services Committee. Citigroup, AIG Reportedly Seek Aid—It was widely reported Feb. 23 that Citigroup and the government were involved in negotiations that could see the government take as much as a 40% stake in the bank by converting its existing preferred shares into common stock. Citigroup shares had plummeted in value in recent weeks, ending at $2.14 a share Feb. 23, down 68% for the year. It was also reported Feb. 24 that AIG and the government were in discussions to save the company, which was expected to post a huge loss for the fourth quarter of 2008. News outlets estimated that losses could reach $60 billion, which would likely lead to a downgrade of the company’s credit rating, compelling it to procure extra cash to pay its creditors. The government had already arranged two bailouts for the company, and currently held a 79.9% shareholder stake. A deal could see the government exchange some of its loans and preferred shares for common stock, or a break-up of AIG into smaller companies partly controlled by the government. n Obama Hosts ‘Fiscal Responsibility’ Summit.

President Barack Obama Feb. 23 hosted a “fiscal responsibility” summit at the White House, where he urged attending Democratic and Republican lawmakers to focus on reducing the budget deficit, which was expected to increase following government efforts to revive the slumping economy. Obama the previous week had signed into law a $787 billion economic stimulus package, which economists had estimated would help push the deficit for fiscal year 2009 to $1.2 trillion. [See p. 89A1] Obama that day said, “We cannot, and will not, sustain deficits like these without end.” Administration officials had said they hoped to slash the deficit in half by the end of Obama’s term in 2013. Obama was expected to unveil an outline of his first budget Feb. 26, which would reportedly raise taxes on the wealthy and cut costs by reducing the U.S. troop presence in Iraq. [See p. 117G2] During his weekly radio and Internet address Feb. 21, Obama said the budget would be “sober in its assessments” and “honest in its accounting.” Obama said he would include costs in his budget that the previous administration of President George W. Bush had omitted, such as funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. February 26, 2009

Some Governors Object to Stimulus—

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) Feb. 20 announced that he would not accept $100 million in federal stimulus funds designed to continue an extension of the period in which laid-off workers could receive unemployment benefits. Jindal said the provision would eventually compel the Louisiana government to raise taxes on businesses once the federal subsidies ended. Jindal was joined the next day by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) in rejecting the funds. [See p. 105G2] Other Republican governors had threatened to reject portions of the aid, and had criticized the stimulus bill as wasteful, including South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Idaho Gov. C.L. Otter. Their criticisms came as governors convened Feb. 21–24 in Washington, D.C., for the annual winter meeting of the National Governors Association. However, most of the country’s 22 Republican governors were supportive of the bill, and analysts noted that the rejected funds formed a tiny fraction of the overall amount of aid those states would receive. Obama Feb. 20 had hosted a gathering of 80 city mayors at the White House, and warned them not to waste stimulus money, saying he would “call them out on it and put a stop to it.” Obama’s comments came as concerns arose as to whether the government could prevent wasteful or corrupt use of the funds. Obama Feb. 23 announced that Earl Devaney, the inspector general at the Interior Department, would head the newly created Recovery Act Transparency and Accountability Board to monitor stimulus spending. Devaney would share some of that responsibility with Vice President Joseph Biden. [See 2008, p. 653E3] n Consumer Prices Rose 0.3% in January.

The Labor Department Feb. 20 reported that its consumer price index (CPI), which tracked prices Inflation (CPI) paid for consum2009 0.3% er goods by all ur- January Previous Month -0.8% ban consumers, 12-Month Increase 0.0% rose 0.3% in January with adjustment for seasonal variation, after falling 0.8% in December 2008. However, consumer prices remained unchanged from the previous year, the first time since 1955 that prices had not climbed over a oneyear period. The stagnation in prices came as a result of an ongoing recession, which had depressed demand. [See p. 46C1] The rise in overall CPI in January was led by a 1.7% increase in energy prices. “Core” consumer prices, which excluded volatile energy and food costs, rose 0.2% in January. n Producer Prices Rose 0.8% in January.

The Labor Department Feb. 19 said that according to its producer price index (PPI), prices charged by manufacturers and producers of finished goods in January rose 0.8% after seasonal adjustment. “Core” producer prices, which excluded volatile energy and food prices, rose 0.4% in January. Energy prices rose 3.7%. [See p. 46E1]

The finished goods index, before seasonal adjustment, stood at 170.3% of its 1982 base average. That meant that a basket of goods that had cost $100 in 1982 would have cost $170.30 in January. Prices for intermediate, or partially processed, goods dropped 0.7% in January, and prices for crude goods fell 2.9%. n

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Business Inventories Down in Dec. 2008.

The Commerce Department Feb. 12 reported that the value of business inventories at the end of December 2008 was $1.5 trillion after seasonal adjustment, down 1.3% from the revised value at the end of November. The ratio of inventories to sales—a measure of how long it would take businesses to unload their inventories at the current sales pace—was 1.44. [See p. 46B2] n Retail Sales Rose 1% in January. The Commerce Department Feb. 12 reported that the value of retail sales in January was $344.6 billion, after seasonal adjustment. That was 1.0% above the revised figure for December 2008, but economists warned that the spike in consumer spending was mostly due to seasonal anomalies and not an indication that the sluggish economy was recovering. [See p. 15E3] n Housing Starts Fell 16.8% in January. The Departments of Commerce and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Feb. 18 reported jointly that the rate of housing starts in January was 466,000 units, annualized and adjusted for seasonal variation. That was 16.8% below the revised rate for December 2008 of 560,000 units, and the survey’s lowest level since it began in 1959. The drop reflected the glut of existing homes that remained unsold on the market, as an ongoing recession depressed demand for housing. [See p. 45C3] Building permits were issued in January at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 521,000 units, 4.8% below December’s revised rate of 547,000. n Trade Deficit Fell to $39.9 Billion in Dec. 2008.

The Commerce Department Feb. 11 reported that the seasonally adjusted U.S. trade deficit in goods and servicTrade Deficit (in billions) es for December 2008 $39.93 2008 was $39.9 December Previous Month $41.58 billion, down Year Earlier $57.58 from a revised $41.6 billion in November, and a six-year low. The deficit drop came as a result of an ongoing recession, which suppressed U.S. demand for imports. Another central factor was the price of imported oil, which had slid steeply toward the end of 2008. [See p. 15B3] Imports decreased by $10.2 billion in December, to $173.7 billion. Besides oil, the change was led by decreased imports of industrial supplies and materials, and automotive vehicles, parts and engines. Exports in December fell to $133.8 billion, an $8.5 billion drop from the preceding month, as demand for U.S. goods fell as a result of a global economic downturn. The change was led by decreased exports of industrial supplies and materials, and automotive vehicles, parts and engines. n 111

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Leading Indicators Rose in January. The Conference Board business research organization Feb. 19 reported that its composite index of leading economic indicators, a gauge of future economic activity, rose 0.4% in January, to 99.5. Based on revised data, the index had increased 0.2% in December 2008, the board reported. The index’s base level of 100 reflected conditions in 2004. [See p. 46A2] Five of the 10 indicators in January were “positive” contributors, led by real money supply and interest rate spread. Five indicators—led by average weekly initial claims for unemployment insurance and building permits—were “negative.” n Industrial Production Fell 1.8% in January.

The Federal Reserve Feb. 18 reported that its industrial production index decreased 1.8% in January. Based on revised data, the Fed found that industrial production had fallen 2.4% in December 2008. The overall index now stood at 101.3% of its 2002 base average, down from its revised level of 103.2% for December. [See p. 46C2] Manufacturing production fell 2.5% in January. The output of utilities increased 2.7%, and mining output fell 1.3%. Factories, mines and utilities operated at 72.0% of their total capacity in January. n

Terrorism Guantanamo Detainee Sent to Britain, Freed.

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Terrorism detainee Binyam Ahmed Mohammed Feb. 24 was flown by the U.S. government from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Britain, where the Ethiopian-born Mohammed had formerly been a legal resident. Mohammed was the first Guantanamo detainee released by the administration of President Barack Obama. [See pp. 80D2, 28E3, 20D1; 2008, pp. 958B3, 832D1] Mohammed, 30, had been arrested in Pakistan in 2002 and accused by the U.S. of plotting to detonate a so-called dirty bomb—in which radioactive material would be dispersed into the atmosphere using traditional explosives—inside the U.S. He was held secretly by the U.S. until 2004, when he was transferred to Guantanamo. He was charged with conspiracy, but the U.S. later dropped all charges against him after a federal judge asked to review the evidence against him in a habeas corpus lawsuit. The suit was brought 112

after the Supreme Court ruled that Guantanamo detainees had the right to challenge their detention in court. Mohammed had alleged that, prior to being sent to Guantanamo, the U.S. government had sent him to Morocco, where he was tortured. British and U.S. media organizations had sued the British government in an attempt to force the release of documents that Mohammed’s lawyers said would support his claims of torture. But that suit was dismissed in early February, following objections by the U.S. government that it would compromise national security. In addition, Mohammed was a participant in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) against The Boeing Co.’s Jeppesen DataPlan Inc. unit, which the ACLU accused of facilitating Mohammed’s transfer to Morocco. Mohammed Questioned—Following his Feb. 24 arrival in Britain, Mohammed was detained under British antiterrorism laws and questioned for five hours by police before being released. The same day, Britain’s Home Office announced that Mohammed had been granted temporary admission into Britain but said that a final decision on his residential status had not been made. Mohammed’s release followed a Feb. 20 agreement between the U.S. and the British government, which had pressed for his return. The New York Times reported Feb. 23 that Britain had refused U.S. requests to subject Mohammed to electronic monitoring and other restrictions, saying the U.S. proposals would violate its human rights laws. Mohammed had reportedly agreed to several voluntary restrictions as part of his release, including a lifetime ban from entering the U.S. Mohammed Feb. 23 issued a public statement through his attorneys prior to his arrival in Britain. In the statement, he said, “Before this ordeal, ‘torture’ was an abstract word to me. I could never have imagined that I would be its victim.” He said the worst part of the experience had come when he “realized in Morocco that the people who were torturing me were receiving questions and materials from British intelligence,” which he said he “had hoped would come to my rescue.” British Attorney General Baroness Scotland was reportedly considering an investigation into the role of Britain’s government and intelligence services in Mohammed’s detention and alleged torture. Afghanistan Detainee Policy Continued—

The U.S. Justice Department Feb. 20 informed Judge John Bates of U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., that it would continue to argue that detainees held at the U.S. Air Force base at Bagram, Afghanistan, did not have the right to legally challenge their detention in U.S. court. The decision was criticized by human rights advocacy groups. The Bush administration had previously made that argument in response to lawsuits brought by Bagram’s detainees, and Bates had given the Obama administration one month to decide if would continue to make

the claim. The Obama administration had announced earlier in February that it would continue the Bush administration’s controversial use of the so-called state secrets privilege in response to the Jeppesen DataPlan lawsuit. The Bagram lawsuits had been filed on behalf of four Afghan detainees who alleged that they had illegally been held at Bagram without charge and questioned by U.S. interrogators without being given access to legal representation. The Justice Department said all detainees at Bagram had been categorized as enemy combatants and suggested that opening their detention to challenge would compromise Afghanistan’s internal security. In addition, the department said that if the Bagram detainees were allowed to challenge their detention, anyone captured by the U.S. during wartime would have to be granted the same right. Guantanamo Called Humane—The Times reported Feb. 20 on its Web site that a review of the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo conducted by Adm. Patrick Walsh, the vice chief of naval operations, had found that detainees were being held in accordance with prisoner protections enshrined in the Geneva Conventions. The report had been ordered by Obama, and the Defense Department was required to turn it in by Feb. 21. According to the Times, the report examined issues such as the force-feeding of detainees who had gone on hunger strikes, and allegations that holding most detainees in solitary confinement had triggered psychological problems in some detainees. The report recommended that detainees be given more opportunities to interact. The ACLU Feb. 20 called the report a “whitewash.” Separately, Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. Feb. 20 appointed Matthew Olson, a former federal prosecutor and Justice Department attorney, to lead a task force to determine the fate of more than 240 detainees held at Guantanamo after the prison’s planned 2010 closure. Obama had ordered the formation of the task force to examine the evidence against each detainee in order to decide whether individual detainees should be released, charged with crimes or held indefinitely. Holder Feb. 23 visited Guantanamo and toured the prison and its facilities. During his day-long visit, Holder reportedly met with officials involved with the military commission trials of terrorism detainees and discussed the charges that had been pending against detainees. Obama had suspended the military commissions trials after taking office. [See pp. 80C3, 28F1] n

Obama Administration Locke Tapped as Commerce Secretary.

President Barack Obama Feb. 25 announced the nomination of former Washington State Gov. Gary Locke (D) as commerce secretary. Locke, 59, was Obama’s third pick for the post. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) in January had withdrawn because of an ongoing investigation into the awarding of contracts in his state, and Republican Sen. FACTS ON FILE

Judd Gregg (N.H.) earlier in February had dropped out over conflicts with Obama’s policies. [See p. 79E2] Locke had served as Washington’s governor from 1997 to 2005, and during that time had gained a reputation as a pro-trade centrist. He had been the U.S.’s first Chinese-American governor, and if confirmed would be the third person of Asian descent on Obama’s cabinet. Locke currently worked at a Seattle, Wash., law firm, where he specialized in China, governmental relations and energy issues. Bronx Chief Named Urban Affairs Czar—

Obama Feb. 19 named Adolfo Carrion (D), borough president of the Bronx in New York City, as director of a new White House Office of Urban Affairs, which Obama said he expected to “focus on wise investments and developments in our urban areas that will create employment and housing opportunities.” Carrion, 47, was of Puerto Rican descent. He had first been elected as borough president in 2001, after serving for four years on the New York City Council. He had drawn some criticism for backing a deal in which Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) had agreed to provide city financing to help build a new Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, which would open in April for the 2009 Major League Baseball season. [See 2008, p. 709E3] n Solis Confirmed as Labor Secretary. The Senate Feb. 24 voted, 80–17, to confirm Hilda Solis, 51, as labor secretary. Her confirmation had been delayed due to approximately $6,400 in tax liens against her husband, Sam Sayyad, and Republican concerns about Solis’s previous work with a pro-labor group. [See p. 18F1] After postponing its vote due to the tax issue, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Feb. 11 had endorsed Solis’s nomination by voice vote. n

Business No Madoff Client Investments Found. Irving

Picard, a court-appointed trustee for brokerage firm Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, Feb. 20 said there was “no evidence” to suggest that the firm’s secretive investment-advisory unit had made any investments on behalf of its clients in at least 13 years. The firm’s head, Bernard Madoff, had been charged with securities fraud in December 2008, after he allegedly admitted that the investment-advisory unit was a Ponzi scheme responsible for up to $50 billion in losses for investors worldwide. [See 2008, p. 955F1] The disclosure suggested that the fraud was a pure Ponzi or “pyramid” scheme, in which investors’ supposed returns were actually funded by principal investments made by newer investors. Ponzi schemes typically collapsed when demand for returns exceeded the inflow from new investors lured into the fraud. Previously, there was speculation that Madoff had invested at least some of his clients’ money in stocks and bonds. However, authorities investigating the case—the Securities and Exchange February 26, 2009

Commission (SEC) and the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York—had yet to provide specific details on how the alleged fraud was carried out. Picard, who was responsible for liquidating the firm and recovering investor losses, made his announcement during a meeting for the firm’s former clients at U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York City. Picard said that since it appeared the investment-advisory unit was a fraud, investors would each be eligible for a $500,000 payment from the Securities Investor Protection Corp., a group created by Congress and sponsored by the securities industry that was charged with protecting investor interests after securities company failures. Additional repayments would depend on how much investor money was recovered, and Picard said his team had thus far salvaged about $950 million. It was also possible that investors who had collected profits on their Madoff investments would be subject to “clawbacks,” in which the profits were split up between the fraud’s victims. Picard said about 2,350 Madoff investors had filed claims requests totaling “about $1 billion.” They included charities, hedge funds, pension funds and other large financial institutions, as well as individuals, some of whose life savings were thought to have been wiped out by the scheme. Indictment Deadline Postponed— The U.S. attorney’s office and Madoff’s lawyers Feb. 11 reached an agreement to postpone by 30 days a deadline for prosecutors to procure a formal grand jury indictment or present evidence to justify their December 2008 criminal complaint against Madoff. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Litt said the postponement, to March 13, had been requested so that the two sides could “conduct additional discussions regarding a possible disposition of this case.” Observers said it was possible that Madoff could plead guilty in exchange for a lighter sentence. A previous 30-day extension had been agreed to Jan. 9. The SEC Feb. 9 had reached a partial settlement with Madoff, in which he neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing, but the agreement’s terms stipulated that the “facts” in the SEC’s civil complaint were “established and cannot be contested.” According to the civil complaint, also filed in December 2008, Madoff told two of the firm’s executives that the investment-advisory unit was “a giant Ponzi scheme” that could lead to $50 billion in losses. The two executives were later reported to be Madoff’s sons, Andrew and Mark Madoff. The terms of the partial settlement had to be approved by a judge. It did not specify how much Madoff would be fined, nor how much restitution he would have to make to his former clients. It continued a freeze on his personal assets that had been imposed in December, and barred him from working in the financial industry. Madoff was currently free on $10 million bail, but confined to his New York City apartment. The U.S. attorney’s office had attempted to revoke Madoff’s bail and remand him into custody. The office disclosed Jan. 5 that he had mailed more than $1 million

worth of jewelry to friends and family following his arrest, and revealed Jan. 8 that investigators on the day of his arrest had found $173 million in signed checks to friends and family in his desk. Prosecutors argued that Madoff was trying to hide some of his assets, but U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald Ellis Jan. 12 denied the request to revoke bail, instead ordering an inventory of all of Madoff’s assets. A U.S. District Court judge upheld Ellis’s ruling Jan. 14.

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Madoff’s Wife Withdrew $15.5 Million—

Massachusetts regulators Feb. 11 revealed that Madoff’s wife, Ruth Madoff, had withdrawn $10 million from a separate brokerage firm co-owned by Madoff on Dec. 10, 2008, the day before he was arrested. The disclosure came as part of a complaint filed in Boston, Mass., against the firm, Cohmad Securities, which was accused of withholding information from state regulators. The complaint said Ruth Madoff had also withdrawn $5.5 million from Cohmad on Nov. 25, 2008. The complaint raised questions as to whether Ruth Madoff or other associates of Bernard Madoff had been aware of, or involved in, the fraud, with some observers already expressing puzzlement about how he could have operated it by himself. He had allegedly indicated that he had acted alone, and to date none of his family members or colleagues had been charged in connection with the affair. Ruth Madoff in December had voluntarily accepted a freeze on her personal assets. The New York Times, citing unidentified sources, Jan. 10 reported that Bernard Madoff had confessed to running the Ponzi scheme to his brother, Peter Madoff, the firm’s chief compliance officer, on Dec. 9, 2008, a day before he reportedly confessed to his sons. His sons reportedly informed federal authorities shortly afterward, but Peter Madoff did not, raising the question of whether he had acted properly on the knowledge.

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Regulators Criticized by Lawmakers—

The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Jan. 27 held a hearing on the Madoff scandal, where lawmakers heavily criticized top SEC officials for failing to uncover the fraud. Sen. Christopher Dodd (D, Conn.), the committee chairman, that day said the fraud was “a regulatory failure of historic proportions.” The SEC had opened investigations into Madoff’s firm several times, including as recently as 2006, but had never charged the firm with anything more serious than minor trading infractions. Linda Thomsen, the SEC’s director of enforcement, that day testified that the SEC did not have adequate funding to properly monitor the financial industry. Lori Richards, the SEC’s director of inspections, claimed that in recent years there had been a sudden rise in the number of investmentadvisory businesses, which were not as tightly regulated by the SEC as traditional brokerages. (Madoff’s unit had ostensibly acted as a money manager, controlling clients’ accounts.) But lawmakers were skeptical of those claims, with Sen. Richard Shelby (Ala.), the committee’s ranking Republican, claiming that the SEC had been 113

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“armed with credible information suggesting that something was wrong.” Harry Markopolos, a private fraud investigator who as early as 1999 had warned the SEC that Madoff’s investment-advisory unit was a sham, Feb. 4 testified to the House Financial Services’s subcommittee on capital markets, insurance and government sponsored enterprises. He said he had brought multiple “red flags” to the SEC’s attention, and accused the body of “investigative ineptitude and financial illiteracy.” He also claimed that he believed his life had been in danger. Lawmakers on the subcommittee railed against Thomsen and other SEC officials, with Rep. Gary Ackerman (D, N.Y.) saying, “We thought the enemy was Mr. Madoff—I think it’s you.” Panel members showed further irritation that Thomsen repeatedly declined to answer questions about the Madoff case, citing the fact that the SEC’s handling of it was under investigation by the agency’s inspector general. SEC Chairwoman Mary Schapiro, who in January had been confirmed as the agency’s head, Feb. 6 vowed to crack down on financial crime, and removed procedural hurdles that she said had slowed down the ability of SEC investigators to initiate probes and impose monetary fines. Thomsen Feb. 9 resigned from her position. The SEC Feb. 19 said she would be replaced by Robert Khuzami, a former prosecutor with the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York. [See 2006, p. 926E2; 1995, p. 121C1] Spanish Bank Offers to Repay Clients—

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Spain’s Banco Santander SA Jan. 27 became the first bank to offer compensation to its private-banking clients for losses stemming from Madoff’s alleged scheme. Santander had revealed that it had lost more than 2.3 billion euros ($3.1 billion) by investing the capital of its clients, as well as its own capital, with Madoff’s investment-advisory unit. Santander offered to give noninstitutional clients their original investment back in the form of preferred stock, if they agreed not to take legal action against Santander and maintain their substantial business relations with it. However, some clients said the offer was not enough. Santandar Feb. 19 said 70% of the clients had accepted the compensation. The National Bank of Kuwait Jan. 29 said it had fully repaid its clients who had lost money with Madoff. About $50 million of its clients’ money was invested in Madoff’s firm. Other banks and funds also began paying back clients, including Swiss bank UBS AG and France’s Meeschaert Gestion Prive. The Austrian government Jan. 2 said it would take over the management of Bank Medici, which had funneled $3.6 billion of investor money to Madoff’s firm. Lawsuits around the world had already begun to crop up against financial institutions that had acted as “feeder funds” for Madoff’s investment-advisory unit, recruiting hundreds of investors to put their money under his management. Lawsuits had been filed against Bank Medici, UBS, Britain’s HSBC Holdings PLC, and the 114

U.S.’s J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. Many investors alleged that they had not been informed that their money had been turned over to Madoff. n

downgrade its rating for California’s general obligation bonds to A from A plus. The new rating was the lowest of any state’s debt.

State & Local Politics

Schwarzenegger and the Democratic majorities in the state House and Senate backed the budget deal, while most Republicans opposed it. State law required a twothirds vote to pass the budget. State Sen. Abel Maldonado, a moderate Republican from the Central Coast region, emerged as the pivotal player in the final agreement. In exchange for his decisive vote, Maldonado won major concessions. A 12-centper gallon gasoline tax increase that he opposed was dropped from the budget. His proposal for a ban on pay increases for lawmakers at times when the state was running a budget deficit was incorporated in the agreement. Also at Maldonado’s insistence, the deal included authorization for a referendum to be held in June 2010 on whether to approve a constitutional amendment that would change the state’s electoral system. The amendment would replace party primary elections, in which only party members could vote, with a single nonpartisan primary for each contest. Members of any party would be able to run for office or vote, and the top two vote-getters would advance to a general election. Maldonado and other supporters of open primaries, including Schwarzenegger, argued that such a system would free primaries from the control of highly partisan voters and give more centrist, pragmatic politicians a better chance of winning. They pointed to the long budget stalemate as a prime example of partisan gridlock. n

Republican Emerges as Key Vote— Calif. Deal Closes $42 Billion Budget Gap.

The California state legislature Feb. 19 approved a $143 billion budget agreement that set an array of tax increases and spending cuts in order to close a $42 billion deficit, after 15 weeks of deadlock and 45 straight hours of negotiations. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) Feb. 20 signed the budget into law. [See p. 105A1; 2004, p. 138E1] The budget covered both the remainder of the current fiscal year and the coming one, a total of 17 months. Parts of the agreement still required public approval in a referendum scheduled for May 19. Like most states, California’s constitution required a balanced budget. At least 46 other states faced budget shortfalls, as the ongoing U.S. economic recession led to lower than expected tax revenues. New York’s deficit was the biggest after California’s, at a projected $13 billion for the fiscal year that would begin April 1. The California deal included about $15 billion in spending cuts, with $8.6 billion coming from education funding. The budget would also impose about $13 billion in new taxes, including a one-percentagepoint increase in the sales tax and a 0.25% hike in the personal income tax. Another notable tax hike would raise the vehicle-license fee, the so-called car tax, to 1.15%, from 0.65%. Schwarzenegger had promised not to raise any taxes when he won a special election in 2003 prompted by the recall of Gov. Gray Davis (D), who lost public support in a similar budget crisis. Schwarzenegger had reduced the car tax upon taking office, in fulfillment of a campaign pledge. [See 2003, p. 786A1] To save on payroll costs, the budget called for furloughing state employees at least one day a month, altering overtime rules and eliminating two official holidays. (Schwarzenegger Jan. 29 had won a ruling in Sacramento County Superior Court upholding an executive order he had issued to require state workers to take off two days a month without pay, which had been challenged by labor unions. The furloughs began Feb. 6, with more than 200,000 employees, or about 90% of the state work force, ordered to take the day off.) Even with those measures, to cover the deficit the state would have to rely on $5.4 billion in new borrowing and its share of funds from the federal economic stimulus package enacted earlier that week. Economists said the combination of spending cuts and tax hikes could slow the state’s recovery from the nationwide economic slowdown and collapse of the housing market, which had hit California particularly hard. The state’s unemployment rate had risen to 9.3% in December 2008. The budget standoff Feb. 3 had led credit-rating agency Standard & Poor’s to

Other U.S. News Woman Gives Birth to Octuplets. Nadya Suleman Jan. 26 gave birth prematurely to eight babies at the Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Center in Bellflower, Calif. Subsequent news reports detailing the births sparked controversy after it was revealed that Suleman already had six children, and had relied on in vitro fertilization to conceive them and the octuplets. Suleman, 33, was also an unemployed single mother, raising questions about how she would manage to care for her 14 children. [See 2008, p. 930D2; 1998, p. 974G3] In an interview with NBC broadcast Feb. 9, Suleman, 33, said she had received fertility treatments at the West Coast IVF Clinic in Beverly Hills, Calif., operated by Michael Kamrava. She said she had been implanted with six embryos, two of which had split to create the eight babies. The California Medical Board Feb. 6 said it was investigating the fertility doctor who had aided Suleman, although it did not identify him. Although there was no law dictating the number of embryos that could be implanted in a woman seeking to bear a child, medical guidelines called for no more than two to be implanted at one time because of health risks. n FACTS ON FILE

AFRICA

Somalia New President Names Prime Minister. Somalia’s newly elected interim president, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, Feb. 13 nominated Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke as the new interim prime minister in the country’s transitional government. Sharmarke, 48, was the son of Somalia’s first civilian president, Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, a widely popular leader who had been assassinated in 1969. [See p. 66E2; 1969, p. 691C3] Somalia’s government was locked in a battle with radical Islamists led by a group called Al Shabab, which had waged an insurgency for more than two years and currently controlled most of south and central Somalia, including almost all of Mogadishu, the capital. Ahmed, as leader of the Union of Islamic Courts, for six months in 2006 had ruled much of Somalia with the support of radicals who later formed Al Shabab. After the Union of Islamic Courts was ousted by forces of the transitional government and neighboring Ethiopia in December 2006, the Islamists broke into factions, with the radical Al Shabab group waging an insurgency against the Ethiopians and, later, an African Union (AU) peacekeeping force. [See below] Meanwhile, Ahmed and other moderate Islamists engaged in talks with the government, eventually reaching a deal in 2008 that included a provision that the Ethiopians leave the country (they reportedly had completed their withdrawal in January). Ahmed was elected in January by the transitional parliament, after the resignation of his predecessor in December 2008. Al Shabab, which wanted to impose Islamic law in the country, opposed Ahmed’s government. The selection of Sharmarke, a member of the powerful Darod clan, was seen as part of an effort by Ahmed, a member of the rival Hawiye clan, to build a government that included most of Somalia’s influential factions. The appointment reportedly drew widespread approval from Somalia’s numerous groups, but was condemned by radical Islamists. Parliament Feb. 14 voted, 414–9, to approve the U.S. and Canadianeducated Sharmarke, who held dual Somali and Canadian citizenship and had held several positions at the United Nations. Analysts also said that with the appointment of a member of the Somali diaspora—which was believed to number several million, many of whom lived in the U.S. and Europe—Ahmed was reaching out to that community for support. Sharmarke Feb. 20 appointed a cabinet that included a former deputy chairman of the Union of Islamic Courts, Abdulkadir Ali Omar, as interior minister, and Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, a former parliament speaker and an ally of Ahmed, as deputy prime minister and finance minister. The 36-member cabinet was sworn in Feb. 21. Islamists Clash With AU Peacekeepers—

Al Shabab Feb. 22 attacked a Mogadishu compound housing Burundian troops from February 26, 2009

the AU peacekeeping force, killing 11 soldiers and injuring 15 others. The AU that day said its troops had been under attack from the insurgents since Feb. 17. Somali Internal Security Minister Omar Hashi Aden Feb. 22 said the transitional government wanted the AU force, which currently numbered about 3,500 Burundian and Ugandan troops, to remain in Somalia, and that it would “respond very quickly to this cruel attack.” Somalia’s new foreign minister, Mohamed Abdullahi Omaar, in a Feb. 24 interview said the government’s main priority was to stabilize the capital. He claimed that attacks on AU peacekeepers did not signal a general increase in violence. “The only remaining peg for the so-called militants to hang their hat on is the issue of AU forces. Those events were tragic, yet they are no longer the key determinants in Somalia,” he said. Omaar added that he expected the cabinet to relocate to Mogadishu, from Djibouti, “by the end of this month or early next month,” and that the parliament would follow soon after. (Due to the insecurity in Somalia, the transitional government had been meeting in Djibouti.) Ahmed and about 100 cabinet ministers and lawmakers Feb. 23– 25 reportedly arrived in Mogadishu in an effort to establish the government there. However, fighting between Al Shabab, AU troops and pro-government forces flared Feb. 24–25, resulting in at least 81 deaths, including nearly 50 civilians. The U.N. Security Council Feb. 25 issued a unanimous statement condemning “in the strongest terms the attacks on the African Union mission in Somalia.” It also called on Somalis “to reject violence and extremism.” Al Shabab Feb. 25 captured the town of Hudur, some 180 miles (300 km) northwest of Mogadishu near the Ethiopian border, from government forces. n

Sudan Government, Darfur Rebel Group Set Talks.

The Sudanese government and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM)—believed to be the strongest and most active of the numerous rebel groups in Sudan’s war-torn western Darfur region—Feb. 17 signed an agreement in Doha, Qatar’s capital, to begin peace talks. The two sides also agreed to a prisoner exchange, to allow the safe passage of humanitarian aid and to halt attacks on civilians in Darfur. [See 2008, p. 973C2] An estimated 300,000 people had died and some 2.7 million others had been driven from their homes in the Darfur conflict since 2003, amid fighting between rebels and government forces allied with Arab militias known as the Janjaweed. Government troops and the Janjaweed had been accused of committing atrocities against Darfuri civilians. A 2006 peace deal between the government and one rebel faction had failed to stem the fighting. In late 2007, a joint United Nations–African Union (AU) peacekeeping force, known as the U.N.-AU Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), had taken over for an ineffective AU force. However, less than half of the 26,000

peacekeepers mandated by the U.N. Security Council were currently on the ground in Darfur. Sudanese President Omar Hassan alBashir in November 2008 had declared a unilateral cease-fire in Darfur, but that was widely seen as one of several ploys by the government to try to ward off a pending war crimes indictment against Bashir by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the Netherlands. [See below] The Feb. 17 deal came as a three-judge pretrial panel of the ICC was considering whether to issue an indictment and arrest warrant for Bashir on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the chief prosecutor of the ICC, had filed the charges in July 2008. The court Feb. 23 said the pretrial panel would announce its decision on Bashir’s case by March 4. However, news outlets Feb. 12 had reported that unidentified U.N. officials and diplomats said the judges had already decided to issue an arrest warrant. [See 2008, p. 973B3] The agreement with JEM was seen as an effort by Bashir to curry favor with the international community in advance of the expected indictment and arrest warrant. The U.N. Security Council, under Article 16 of the Rome Statute governing the court, had the power to defer for 12 months an ICC investigation or prosecution, and Sudan had been lobbying for such an action since Moreno-Ocampo announced the charges. Sudan’s efforts had been supported by many African and Arab nations, as well as China, a permanent Security Council member. They argued that an indictment would undermine chances for peace in Darfur. The Qatar talks, which had begun Feb. 10, were the first face-to-face talks between the government and JEM since 2007. JEM, which was said to have links to the government of neighboring Chad, in May 2008 had launched a failed attack on Sudan’s capital, Khartoum. [See 2008, p. 330A3] The Feb. 17 agreement, called a “declaration of good intentions,” was billed as a confidence-building measure and a first step toward a peace deal. The government and JEM pledged “to remain engaged in the peace process and to maintain representatives in Doha to prepare a framework agreement for the final talks.” Sudan’s ambassador to the U.N., Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad, said the goal was to reach a peace deal “within three months.” However, other Darfur rebel groups, including the faction of the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA) led by Paris-based Abdel Wahed al-Nur, who had a strong following on the ground in Darfur, as well as the SLA faction that signed the 2006 peace deal, had argued that any agreement would be unworkable without the inclusion of all parties. Nur had refused to engage in talks with the government until it ended its military campaign in Darfur. The Feb. 17 agreement did not include a cease-fire. JEM and a faction of the SLA Feb. 18 alleged that the government earlier that day had attacked rebel positions in Darfur. 115

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Deal Comes After Army Offensive—The Feb. 17 agreement came after weeks of heavy fighting between the Sudanese army and JEM in and around the town of Muhajiriya in South Darfur state. The fighting broke out after the government launched an offensive against the rebel group to take control of the town, which JEM had captured earlier in January from another rebel group. The army’s campaign included aerial bombardments, which had been barred under the 2006 peace deal as well as by several Security Council resolutions. One such bombardment, on Jan. 24, hit civilian settlements in Muhajiriya, including a refugee camp, as well as a UNAMID base. The Sudanese government Feb. 1 warned UNAMID to withdraw its 190 peacekeepers from Muhajiriya ahead of an air raid the following day. However, the peacekeepers remained, and reportedly sheltered as many as 5,000 residents in their compound. Government forces Feb. 4 claimed to have captured Muhajiriya. About 30 people had been killed and some 30,000 others had been forced to flee their homes as a result of the weeks of fighting, the U.N. said Feb. 6. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay Feb. 3 had said she was “extremely concerned at the impact the fighting is having on the already dire humanitarian situation in Muhajiriya,” and added that relief organizations had been forced to evacuate their staff. She said, “The fighting is reported to have involved ground offensives and indiscriminate aerial bombardment by government forces that failed to distinguish between civilian communities and military targets.” Pillay also said, “JEM forces are also reported to have deliberately placed themselves in areas heavily populated by civilians.” Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Feb. 3 criticized Sudan for its apparent disregard for the welfare of civilians in its campaign against the rebels, saying, “The onus is on the government to halt all aerial bombardment.” Mohamad responded, “The U.S. should stop pouring crocodile tears on the issue of civilians,” in what was taken as a reference to the perception in the Arab world that the U.S. had failed to criticize Israel for the high number of Palestinian civilian casualties during its recent incursion into the Gaza Strip. [See p. 30D3] Other News—In other Sudan news: o An AU official Jan. 19 said UNAMID would expand to its full capacity of 26,000 troops by June. U.S. President George W. Bush, in the waning days of his presidency, Jan. 5 had said he ordered an airlift of badly needed vehicles and other equipment, some of which had been donated by Rwanda, to the U.N. force. Bush that day hosted Sudanese First Vice President Salva Kiir Mayardit, who was also the president of the semiautonomous region of South Sudan, at the White House. The Bush administration had helped broker a 2005 peace accord in a separate civil war between the government and rebels in southern Sudan. [See 2008, p. 362C2] 116

o Sudanese security services Jan. 14 arrested prominent opposition leader Hassan al-Turabi at his home in Khartoum, two days after he said Bashir should surrender to the ICC. Turabi, 76, was an Islamist former parliamentary speaker who had fallen out with former ally Bashir in 1999, and had reportedly helped found JEM. He had been arrested several times since 1999, including in May 2008, after JEM’s attempted assault on Khartoum. State media Jan. 19 reported that Turabi could be put on trial for giving financial and logistical support to JEM; however, Turabi denied any current link to the rebels. [See 2008, p. 331G1] n

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China Tibet Tensions Rise Ahead of Anniversary.

The Chinese government had deployed extra security forces in Tibet and other Tibetan-populated regions amid a movement by Tibetans to boycott festivities for Losar, the New Year holiday on the Tibetan calendar, the New York Times reported Feb. 19. The 15 days of Losar began Feb. 25 with numerous reports that Tibetans were observing the boycott. The boycotts were intended to commemorate those killed or detained in a March 2008 crackdown by Chinese authorities on unrest in Tibetan areas. The increase in tensions was also linked to the upcoming 50th anniversary of a 1959 Tibetan uprising. [See 2008, p. 979C3] An uprising against Chinese control of Tibet that began March 10, 1959, was crushed days later, forcing the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual and political leader, to flee to exile in India. On March 28, 1959, China proclaimed the dissolution of the Dalai Lama’s government and the establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. The Tibetan region’s legislature Jan. 19 approved an official holiday marking that date, calling it Serf Emancipation Day, in keeping with the government’s portrayal of the Dalai Lama as a representative of an archaic feudal order. Among the places where police had reacted to the call to boycott Losar was Lithang county in a Tibetan area of Sichuan Province. A single Tibetan Buddhist monk, shouting in the street, Feb. 15 had urged the boycott and called for the return of the Dalai Lama, whom China branded a separatist. After the monk was detained, a larger protest emerged the following day to demand his release, and foreign Tibetanrights groups said some two dozen people were arrested. Police Feb. 17 reportedly ordered businesses to close for three days. A regional official of the ruling Communist Party Feb. 19 was quoted by state media as warning monks and nuns to avoid political activity. The arrest of monks protesting restrictions on religious practice had sparked the rioting in March 2008. Earlier, state media Jan. 25 had reported that authorities were carrying out a “strike hard” anticrime campaign in Tibet, arresting 81 people. Although so-called strike-hard operations were usually aimed at general criminal activity, Tibetan rights advocates

said the recent campaign was also intended to target suspected activists and intimidate Tibetans ahead of the anniversaries of the 1959 uprising and 2008 violence. The official news report said two of those arrested had possessed “reactionary music.” New Sentences for 2008 Violence—Chinese state media Feb. 11 reported that 21 more people had received prison sentences in connection with the 2008 Tibetan riots. An official of the ruling Communist Party in Tibet was quoted as saying authorities had shown restraint in determining the sentences. The lengths of the prison terms, and the crimes the defendants were convicted of, were not reported. [See 2008, p. 872B2] The Indian-based Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy Feb. 19 said four people who had participated in protests in Garze county in Sichuan Province in 2008 had been sentenced to prison. Two Buddhist nuns, out of a group of 55 arrested in May 2008, were sentenced to nine and 10 years in prison, the center reported. n

EUROPE

UNITED STATES

European Union Leaders Discuss Economic Crisis. Leaders

from eight of the European Union’s 27 member nations Feb. 22 met in Berlin, the German capital, to discuss plans for responding to the global economic crisis. The participants included the leaders and finance ministers of Britain, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Spain. The aim of the meeting was to agree on a common European position for an April 2 summit in London of the Group of 20 nations with industrialized or emerging economies. [See pp. 100A3, 84F2] The EU leaders issued a statement calling for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to receive fresh funding in order to double its reserves, to $500 billion, for emergency bailouts of nations hard hit by the global crisis. The IMF had recently raised $100 billion from Japan and had asked other IMF member nations for $150 billion more. The IMF in recent months had extended more than $30 billion in rescue funds to several Eastern European countries, including Hungary and Latvia, which were both EU members, and Belarus, Serbia and Ukraine, which were not. The EU had also provided aid to Hungary and Latvia, but faced calls to do more for Eastern Europe. [See p. 117F1] The European leaders also called for a global system to regulate “all financial markets, products and participants—including hedge funds and other private pools of capital which may pose a systemic risk.” They said they also backed a crackdown on havens for tax evasion. n

France Sarkozy Offers More Tax Cuts, Benefits.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy Feb. 18 announced 2.7 billion euros ($3.3 billion) worth of new measures to provide relief to FACTS ON FILE

lower-income people hit by the economic recession, including tax cuts and increased benefits for families and the unemployed. Sarkozy offered the new package after his initial 26 billion euro economic stimulus package, largely made up of infrastructure spending, drew criticism from labor unions, which led to nationwide protests and strikes in late January. [See pp. 84F2, 68D2] Sarkozy Feb. 19 offered a separate package of 580 million euros in economic aid for French overseas regions, after violent demonstrations on the Caribbean island territory of Guadeloupe left one protester dead Feb. 17. A general strike had shut down Guadeloupe for the past five weeks as protesters demanded relief from rates of poverty and unemployment much higher than in mainland France. n

Italy Woman Dies After Feeding Tube Removal.

Eluana Englaro, a 38-year-old woman who had been in a coma since a 1992 car crash, and was at the center of a right-to-die controversy in Italy, died Feb. 9 after doctors at a private clinic in the northeastern city of Udine removed her feeding tubes at the request of her father. Her death was announced as the Senate debated emergency legislation to force the clinic to resume feeding her. [See 2006, p. 1027D1; 2005, p. 205A3] Conservative Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his cabinet Feb. 6 had issued a decree ordering that Englaro be fed, but President Giorgio Napolitano, a former communist, refused to sign the decree, deeming it unconstitutional. The Roman Catholic Church had strongly opposed the removal of the feeding tubes, calling it a form of euthanasia, which was illegal in Italy. Englaro’s father, Beppino Englaro, had won a series of court rulings over the past decade, including a decision in November 2008 by Italy’s highest court, allowing the removal of the tubes from his daughter, who had been in a persistent vegetative state. He said she had expressed a wish not to be kept alive by artificial means. A preliminary autopsy had found that she died of cardiac arrest due to dehydration, it was reported Feb. 11. n

Latvia Prime Minister, Cabinet Step Down. Prime

Minister Ivars Godmanis Feb. 20 resigned, along with his cabinet, after the two largest parties in his center-right coalition said they had no confidence in his leadership. Latvia, which had experienced rapid growth after it joined the European Union in 2004, had been hit hard by the current global economic slowdown, largely due to its substantial foreign debts. The finance ministry Feb. 18 had predicted that Latvia’s gross domestic product (GDP) would shrink by 12% in 2009. Godmanis’s resignation followed weeks of popular unrest due to high unemployment and decreased wages, and an antigovernment riot in January in February 26, 2009

which 40 were injured and more than 100 arrested. [See p. 37B3] President Valdis Zatlers Feb. 26 nominated former finance minister Valdis Dombrovskis, 37, to serve as Latvia’s new prime minister. Dombrovskis, a member of the center-right New Era Party who currently served in the European Parliament, said he expected to propose a new government within two weeks. He was expected to form a coalition government similar to the one Godmanis had headed. [See 2002, p. 876D1] The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2008 had extended a $9.6 billion loan to Latvia, on the condition that it cut spending so the budget deficit was less than 5% of the GDP. Dombrovskis, in order to meet that goal, needed to cut state spending by $1.3 billion, but reportedly planned to discuss those terms with the IMF. The loan was largely intended to support the lat, the country’s currency. Dombrovskis Feb. 26 said he opposed a devaluation of the lat. [See 2008, p. 984G2] Credit Outlook Downgraded—Credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s Feb. 24 cut Latvia’s credit outlook to BB-plus with a negative outlook, placing it below investment grade. Neighboring countries Lithuania and Estonia were notified that they were being examined to determine whether their credit outlook would also be downgraded. n

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Egypt Cairo Bombing Kills French Tourist. A bomb

blast Feb. 22 killed a 17-year-old French tourist and wounded at least 20 others in the center of Cairo, Egypt’s capital. The attack took place in the Khan el-Khalili bazaar, which was popular with tourists. The wounded included 13 French nationals, three Saudis, one German and four Egyptians. It was the first fatal attack on foreigners in Cairo since an April 2005 suicide bombing in Khan el-Khalili killed three tourists. [See 2008, p. 732E2; 2005, p. 252B3] Witnesses said attackers had thrown two bombs, one of which had not gone off and was disposed of by police. However, the government released a statement saying that a homemade bomb had instead been planted under a bench. Security officials Feb. 23 said they had arrested three men and two women in connection with the bombing. No one took responsibility for the attack, although Islamists in the past had clashed with the government and attacked tourists in Egypt. Some analysts suggested that the attack might be related to popular discontent in Egypt over Israel’s January invasion of the Gaza Strip. n

Iraq Legislator Accused of Complicity in Attacks.

Iraqi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Qassim Atta Feb. 22 announced that the Iraqi government was charging a Sunni Muslim member of parliament, Mohammad al-

Daini, with involvement in several murders, bombings and kidnappings. Iraqi authorities Feb. 25 ordered a Jordan-bound airplane Daini was on to turn around and took him off the plane, but then released him. His current whereabouts were reportedly unknown. [See p. 101E1; 2008, pp. 949E1, 821C2] Atta showed video footage of two of Daini’s bodyguards, who accused him of ordering attacks during the period when sectarian violence reached its height in 2006 and 2007. They said he had ordered a 2007 suicide bombing on the parliament building that had killed eight people, including a legislator, and had ordered 110 Shiite Muslims buried alive in revenge for the killings of 11 guests who had been staying at his house. The guards also said he had told them to kill Christian gold merchants and steal their wares. [See 2007, p. 231E2] Daini Feb. 23 claimed that the bodyguards’ testimony had been obtained by torture, and that the charges against him were politically motivated. Daini was a frequent critic of the Shiite-dominated government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The leader of a Sunni political party—Saleh alMutlaq of the National Dialogue Council— Feb. 24 defended Daini and called for an investigation of Maliki’s government for involvement in sectarian violence. Daini was granted immunity from arrest as a member of parliament, but an emergency session of parliament Feb. 25 was called to lift his protection. However, security officials said it was too late and that they had to release him. Atta said a warrant for Daini’s arrest could only be issued once the immunity was removed. No sitting member of the Iraqi parliament had ever been arrested.

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Men in Police Gear Fire on U.S. Troops—

Two men in Iraqi police uniforms Feb. 24 opened fire on U.S. troops at a police checkpoint in the northern city of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province. One U.S. soldier and an Iraqi interpreter were killed, and the attackers escaped. It was not clear whether the attackers were policemen or impostors. The infiltration of the Iraqi police by militants had been a constant problem, although it was mostly by Shiite Muslim militiamen, rather than the Sunni insurgents who remained active in Mosul. Iraqi interior ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf Feb. 23 said 12 policemen had been arrested in connection with a string of kidnappings and murders, and had admitted to the 2006 killing of Maysoon al-Hashemi, the sister of Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi. The policemen, who were reportedly arrested in the predominantly-Shiite Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad, were said to be part of a Shiite “gang.” Also that day in Baghdad, gunmen fired on an Iraqi army checkpoint in the Ghazaliya neighborhood, killing two soldiers and a civilian, and a bomb aimed at a police convoy in central Baghdad killed two civilians. In Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad, the U.S. military said three U.S. soldiers and an interpreter were killed during combat operations. 117

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U.S. Maj. Gen. David Perkins Feb. 22 said violent attacks in Iraq on civilian and military targets had dropped to their lowest level since August 2003, although he did not provide specific figures. Iraqi Brig. Gen. Said Ahmed Abdullah the same day said U.S. and Iraqi forces Feb. 20 had began an operation against insurgents in Nineveh projected to last three months, and had arrested 84 people. Final Election Results Released— The Iraqi government Feb. 19 released final results from provincial council elections held Jan. 31 in 14 of Iraq’s 18 provinces. The results were mostly consistent with the preliminary results released earlier in February, showing strong gains for Maliki’s State of Law coalition, led by his Dawa Party, in Baghdad and the southern province of Basra. However, the rival Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) did better in the predominantly Shiite southern provinces than the preliminary results had indicated, garnering the same number of seats as Maliki’s allies in three provinces. [See p. 101G3] The final results showed a plurality in the western province of Anbar won by the Awakening Councils, which had started as U.S.-allied armed groups fighting against extremists but had developed into a political force. The Iraqi National Project, a candidate list led by Mutlaq, had originally been declared the winner in Anbar. [See 2008, p. 915D1] Trial of Bush Shoe-Thrower Postponed—

Iraq’s Central Criminal Court in Baghdad Feb. 19 began to hear the case of Muntader al-Zaidi, an Iraqi reporter who in December 2008 had thrown his shoes at then-U.S. President George W. Bush in protest during a press conference. Zaidi claimed that he had not committed the crime of assaulting a foreign leader because he had thrown the shoes at Bush in Baghdad’s Green Zone, which at the time was controlled by U.S. troops, and because Bush had arrived in Iraq secretly. He argued that that meant Bush was not on an official visit to Iraq. Judge Abdul Amir al-Rubaie postponed the trial until March 12 in order to get the Iraqi government’s opinion on the matter. [See 2008, p. 949A1] Zaidi’s actions had been celebrated by critics of U.S. policy throughout the world, and he was applauded as he entered the courtroom. During his testimony, Zaidi argued that Bush’s smile had spontaneously provoked him to throw his shoes as a protest of “violations against human rights carried out by occupation forces.” He said an earlier statement given to investigators—that his actions were premeditated and that he had previously intended to throw something at Bush at a 2006 press conference in Jordan—was given under duress and was false. Maliki Reopens National Museum—Maliki Feb. 23 presided over the official reopening of the National Museum of Antiquities in Baghdad, in what he said was a sign of progress in the country’s reconstruction. Founded in 1923, the museum had held a renowned collection of artifacts from the region’s Stone Age, Sumerian, 118

Assyrian, Babylonian and Islamic periods. However, it had been looted of some 15,000 pieces in the aftermath of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, and had been closed that year. The U.S. had been criticized for failing to safeguard the museum. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said as many as 7,000 artifacts had not yet been returned to Iraq. [See 2008, p. 391D2] Iraqi culture ministry officials had opposed Maliki’s plans to reopen the museum, saying that it needed more time to improve security and organize its holdings. Ordinary Iraqis were still barred from visiting it. Abu Ghraib Prison Reopened—The Iraqi justice ministry Feb. 21 allowed reporters access to the reopened and partially renovated prison at Abu Ghraib, located west of Baghdad. The prison, which had been renamed the Baghdad Central Prison, had become infamous after photographs of U.S. soldiers and interrogators abusing Iraqi detainees were made public in 2004. It also had been used as a center of torture and executions under former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s regime. [See 2008, p. 624B2] The prison had been closed in 2006, and was being used as a parking facility. However, Iraqi officials said they needed to use it to absorb the transfer of thousands of detainees to Iraqi custody from the U.S. military under the terms of a new security agreement, and emphasized various amenities that would be provided for prisoners. Many Iraqis, though, reportedly said that it should instead be turned into a museum documenting the past abuses, or be torn down. Some 120 prisoners Feb. 20 were transferred to the Baghdad Central Prison from Basra, bringing the total prisoner population to 400. Iraqi officials said an additional 3,000 prisoners would shortly be transferred to the newly renovated facility. U.S. Medic Convicted for Iraqi Murders—

A U.S. military court in Vilseck, Germany, Feb. 20 convicted a U.S. Army medic, Sgt. Michael Leahy Jr., of premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit premeditated murder for the execution-style killings of four Iraqis in Baghdad in March or April 2007. Leahy, 28, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole, and also had his rank reduced to private, was dishonorably discharged and forfeited his pay. [See 2008, p. 648C2] According to prosecutors, Leahy and two other U.S. soldiers—Master Sgt. John Hatley and Sgt. First Class Joseph Mayo—had shot four Iraqi prisoners at point-blank range and pushed their bodies into a Baghdad canal, after their unit had let the Iraqis go for lack of evidence. Leahy had pleaded not guilty, saying he was dazed from a lack of sleep and the stress of months in a combat zone. The jury rejected that argument, but did acquit Leahy of murder and conspiracy charges related to the alleged killing of another Iraqi near Baghdad in January 2007 by Leahy and Hatley. [See p. 23D2] Hatley and Mayo faced later courts-martial for the March or April 2007 killings, and Sgt. Charles Quigley also faced a charge of conspiracy to commit murder in that case.

In an unrelated case, the New York Times Feb. 21 reported that a U.S. National Guard soldier acquitted of murdering two U.S. officers in Iraq in June 2005 had previously sought to plead guilty. A military jury at Fort Bragg, N.C., Dec. 4, 2008, had found Staff Sgt. Alberto Martinez not guilty of detonating a Claymore antipersonnel mine at a U.S. base in the Iraqi city of Tikrit, killing Capt. Phillip Esposito and First Lt. Lou Allen. It was one of only two known killings in Iraq by enlisted soldiers of their superiors, which had been more frequent in the Vietnam War. [See 2006, p. 1031F2] According to the new report, Martinez in April 2006 had submitted a plea offer, approved by his lawyers, after a soldier admitted to giving him Claymore mines that her unit no longer needed. However, Lt. Gen. John Vines, then commander of the Army’s 18th Airborne Corps, based at Fort Bragg, rejected the offer for unknown reasons. n

Israel Netanyahu Chosen to Form Government.

Israeli President Shimon Peres Feb. 20 tapped former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the conservative Likud party, to form a new government. Likud had won 27 seats in the 120-seat Israeli Knesset in Feb. 10 parliamentary elections, one less than the centrist Kadima party, which was led by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. Both Netanyahu and Livni had claimed victory, but Netanyahu was reportedly considered more likely to be able to form a governing coalition. Netanyahu had six weeks to negotiate a coalition. [See p. 85E2] Avigdor Lieberman, the leader of the ultranationalist Yisrael Beitenu party, Feb. 19 had endorsed Likud. A coalition with Yisrael Beitenu, which had posted a strong third-place showing of 15 seats, and several smaller right-wing parties could reportedly give Likud a 65-seat majority. However, Netanyahu professed a desire to form a centrist national unity coalition with Likud’s rivals to its left. Netanyahu Feb. 22 met with Livni, but they did not reach an agreement on a coalition. Livni said she had not been able to convince Netanyahu to agree to continue negotiations towards a two-state solution with the Palestinians, which Kadima supported. After Lieberman’s endorsement of Likud, Livni Feb. 19 had said Kadima would not serve as a “fig leaf” for “an extreme right-wing government,” and would probably go into opposition. Netanyahu Feb. 23 met with Defense Minister Ehud Barak, the leader of the center-left Labor Party, which had finished in fourth place with 13 seats. Barak also refused to join a coalition. However, both Barak and Livni said they were willing to meet again for further coalition talks with Netanyahu. n

Saudi Arabia Government Releases Terror Suspects List.

The Saudi government Feb. 3 issued a list of 85 wanted terrorism suspects, including FACTS ON FILE

11 Saudis who had been released from the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The suspects on the list included 83 Saudis and two Yemenis. The ex-Guantanamo detainees had reportedly gone through a Saudi program designed to rehabilitate extremists. [See pp. 112F1, 101D3, E3, 20D2; 2008, p. 797E2] Among the 85 suspects named were Nasir al-Wuhayshi, the leader of the Yemeni branch of the international terrorist network Al Qaeda, which had announced that it was merging with the Saudi branch of Al Qaeda. The Saudi government said another of the suspects, Abdullah al-Qarawi, was a Saudi who had been working from Iran for the past three years to carry out terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government Jan. 26 had announced that nine graduates of the rehabilitation program had been arrested after rejoining terrorist organizations. In late 2008, the government had said that no graduates of the program had returned to terrorism. The Yemeni Al Qaeda branch Jan. 23 released a video on the Internet allegedly showing that two Guantanamo detainees who had been released and had passed through the Saudi rehabilitation program had joined the terrorist group. The Al Qaeda members, who were identified in the video by name and Guantanamo detainee identification number, were Said Ali al-Shihri, who had become the deputy leader of the Yemeni Al Qaeda branch, and was suspected of responsibility for the September 2008 bombing of the U.S. embassy in Yemen; and Abu Hareth Muhammad alAwfi, who was identified in Guantanamo records as Mohamed Atiq Awayd al-Harbi. Both men had been released from Guantanamo and returned to Saudi Arabia in November 2007. [See 2008, p. 665E3] n

SOUTH ASIA

Sri Lanka Rebel Cease-Fire Offer Rejected. Sri Lankan rebel group the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Feb. 23 said it was willing to enter an internationally brokered cease-fire with the government, but the offer was quickly rejected by state officials who said that nothing less than the group’s total surrender and disarmament was acceptable. The cease-fire offer came as the rebels struggled against an army offensive that had cornered them in a small patch of land on Sri Lanka’s northeastern coast, near the Jaffna peninsula. The LTTE was fighting for a separate homeland for the country’s minority Tamil ethnic group, who it said had been discriminated against and marginalized by the country’s majority Sinhalese. [See p. 9B2] The government in early January had captured the LTTE’s de facto capital of Kilinochchi. The army then pressed further north into rebel-held territory, and Jan. 25 took Mullaittivu, the last major town controlled by the rebels. President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who had vowed to defeat the February 26, 2009

LTTE militarily, Feb. 4 predicted that the

rebels would be conquered “in a few days,” heralding the end of a conflict that had begun in 1983, in which some 70,000 people had died. But the government had thus far failed to vanquish the LTTE, which had once controlled about 5,800 square miles (15,000 square km) of territory in the north and east, but was now thought to occupy 34 square miles. The number of insurgents had also been reduced, to about 600, from as many as 12,000. Officials said the final push had been restrained because of concerns over civilian casualties, and that the rebels were using civilians as a shield against the military offensive, a claim backed by international observers. However, aid agencies and human rights groups had accused the government of shelling rebel-held territory indiscriminately, also contributing to civilian casualties. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations estimated that some 250,000 civilians were trapped in the war zone, although the government claimed that the number was closer to 65,000. News reporters were largely barred from the war zone, making it difficult to independently verify such claims. The U.S., Britain, the European Union, Japan and other members of the international community had urged a negotiated cease-fire. Both Sides Accused of Abuses— U.S.based advocacy group Human Rights Watch Feb. 20 said both the government and the LTTE had committed “numerous violations of international humanitarian law,” and that they appeared “to be engaged in a perverse competition to demonstrate the greatest disregard for the civilian population.” The group said 2,000 people had been killed over the last month of fighting, while 5,000 had been injured. “Safe zones” had been established to allow civilians to escape the fighting, but they were often the scenes of heavy violence between the two sides. Observers said the LTTE was preventing civilians from leaving not only to use them as a shield, but to force the government to negotiate a cease-fire. The government had rejected pleas to temporarily halt fighting to allow civilians to flee, saying it could enable rebels to escape as well. More than 37,000 civilians were estimated to have fled the war zone since the beginning of the year. Most were interned in heavily guarded government camps, which were criticized for limiting access to aid agencies and isolating Tamil refugees from the general population. The government was also criticized for a plan to create “welfare villages” for the refugees once the conflict was over, as aid agencies said the Tamil population would be further marginalized. ICRC officials said continuous shelling Feb. 1–4 of the war zone’s only hospital, in the area of Puthukkudiyiruppu, had killed at least 12 civilians and wounded 30, despite the fact that the hospital was in a safe zone that the government had promised not to shell. Patients and staff members were forced to flee. The government denied at-

tacking the hospital, and it remained unclear which side was responsible. Rebel Planes Attack Capital—Two LTTE airplanes Feb. 20 attacked Colombo, the government capital, killing two people and injuring 58. The planes were eventually downed by the military, with one crashing into the country’s central tax building. The attacks belied the government contention that it had neutralized the LTTE’s small air force by capturing the group’s air strips during its offensive. The government Feb. 3 said it had captured the last remaining LTTE air strip, and Feb. 5 said the last rebel naval base had been taken. Separately, a female LTTE suicide bomber Feb. 9 killed 20 soldiers and eight civilians when she detonated her explosives at a security checkpoint near Mullaittivu. Some 60 civilians were wounded. Analysts said the attack was an indication that the LTTE could continue mounting guerrilla-style attacks against government forces if it lost its last stronghold in the north. The LTTE was known for having pioneered the use of suicide bombing before it became a common terrorist tactic around the world. n

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SPORTS

UNITED STATES

Horse Racing Curlin Repeats as Horse of the Year. De-

fending champion Curlin Jan. 26 was named Horse of the Year for 2008 at the 38th annual Eclipse Awards ceremony in Miami Beach, Fla. Voting for the awards was conducted by representatives of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers Association. The last horse to win the award two years in a row had been Cigar, for 1995 and 1996. [See 2008, pp. 268F1, 171G1; 1997, p. 204G1] Of the three horses in the running for the top honor, Curlin, the winner of the Dubai World Cup in March 2008, garnered 153 votes; undefeated filly Zenyatta—winner of the 2008 Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic—took 69; and Big Brown, winner of the 2008 Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, claimed 13. Curlin, who was retired in November 2008 at age four with career earnings of more than $10.5 million, was also voted top older male horse. [See 2008, p. 823C2, G2, B3] Other Awards—In other awards presented Jan. 26: o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Top two-year-old male: Midshipman Top two-year-old female: Stardom Bound Top three-year-old male: Big Brown Top three-year-old female: Proud Spell Top older female: Zenyatta Top male sprinter: Benny the Bull Top female sprinter: Indian Blessing Top male turf horse: Conduit Top female turf horse: Forever Together Top steeplechase horse: Good Night Shirt Outstanding owner: Stronach Stables Outstanding breeder: Adena Springs Outstanding trainer: Steve Asmussen Outstanding jockey: Garrett Gomez Outstanding apprentice jockey: Pascacio Lopez n 119

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Awards ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ Dominates Oscars.

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Feb. 22 presented its 81st annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles. Australian actor Hugh Jackman hosted the ceremony for the first time. The ceremony was televised by the ABC network. [See p. 40C1; 2008, p. 135G3] The British film Slumdog Millionaire, a rags-to-riches tale shot mostly in Mumbai, India, and with much of its dialogue in Hindi, dominated the Oscars, winning eight, including top-picture honors; no other movie won more than three. The film’s director, Briton Danny Boyle, won the directing Oscar, and the author of its screenplay, Briton Simon Beaufoy, took the award for best adapted screenplay; his adaptation was based on a novel by Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup. The film’s cinematographer, Anthony Dod Mantle, and editor, Chris Dickens, also won Oscars. Composer A.R. Rahman, long a major figure in India’s “Bollywood” film industry, won two Oscars for his work on Slumdog Millionaire: for best score and for best original song. In the latter category, he won for “Jai Ho,” a Hindi phrase meaning “Let there be victory”; it was one of two Slumdog Millionaire songs that had been nominated. The film’s eighth Oscar was for sound mixing; the only category in which it was nominated but did not win was for sound editing. In that category, Richard King was honored for his work on the Batman adventure tale The Dark Knight, 2008’s top-grossing film. [See p. 12F2] One of the stars of The Dark Knight, Australian-born actor Heath Ledger, posthumously won the Oscar for best supporting actor, for portraying the villainous Joker. Ledger, who died in January 2008 of an accidental drug overdose, became only the second winner of a posthumous Oscar in an acting category; the first had been Peter Finch, for Network (1976). (Finch died in January 1977, less than three months before the 1977 Oscar ceremony.) Ledger’s award was accepted by his mother, father and sister. [See 2008, pp. 79A3, 44D3; 1977, pp. 264B1, 84A3] The best-actor Oscar went to Sean Penn, for Milk, in which he portrayed assassinated gay activist and politician Harvey Milk. Penn, the only U.S-born figure among the new group of Oscar acting honorees, in 2004 had been named best actor for his work in Mystic River. [See 2004, p. 148F1] The other acting awards went to Britain’s Kate Winslet and Spain’s Penelope Cruz. Winslet, on her sixth Oscar nomination, won for the first time, being named best actress for her role as a German woman with a secret Nazi past in The Reader. Cruz was named best supporting actress for her role as a jealousy-crazed ex-wife in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Two weeks earlier, both had been honored for the same films in the same categories at the British Academy of Film 120

and Television Arts (BAFTA) ceremony in London. [See p. 104F1, A2] The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which had been nominated for 13 Oscars, more than any other film, won the nexthighest number of Oscars, three, all in technical categories. One of the five bestpicture nominees, Frost/Nixon, failed to win a single Oscar. [See p. 40D1, A2] Another film made in India, Smile Pinki, about a village girl with a cleft palate, won the Oscar for best documentary short. In the documentary feature category, the winner was Man On Wire, about French-born aerialist Philippe Petit, who in 1974 walked between the twin towers of New York City’s World Trade Center, destroyed in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. [See 2004, p. 24F1] The winners in the major awards categories were: Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire Best Director: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire Best Actor: Sean Penn, Milk Best Actress: Kate Winslet, The Reader Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, The Dark

Knight Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, Vicky

Cristina Barcelona Best Original Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black,

Milk Best Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy, Slum-

dog Millionaire Best Foreign-Language Film: Departures (Japan) Best Animated Feature: WALL-E Best Documentary Feature: Man on Wire Best Documentary Short Subject: Smile Pinki n

People A month after quitting as director of Los Angeles’s financially troubled Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Jeremy Strick Jan. 30 was named director of the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, Texas, effective March 2. The Dallas museum, which opened in 2003, housed a major sculpture collection assembled by real estate developer and philanthropist Raymond Nasher, who died in 2007. [See 2008, p. 996D3; 2007, p. 907F3] Mexican-born actress Salma Hayek, 42, Feb. 14 married French luxury-goods retailer Francois-Henri Pinault, 46, in a civil ceremony in Paris. The couple had a baby daughter, born in September 2007. The groom’s father was billionaire investor Francois Pinault, 72. [See 2003, pp. 1069B3–E3, 780C2, 92E1] n

O B I T UA R I E S ANDERSON, Robert Woodruff, 91, playwright and screenwriter; in the 1950s, his play Tea and Sympathy, about an affair between the wife of the headmaster at a New England prep school and a student wrongly thought to be homosexual, ran for nearly two years on Broadway and was made into a 1956 film for which he wrote the script; his other big Broadway hit was You Know I Can’t Hear You When the Water’s Running, a quartet of one-act comedies mostly dealing with marital problems; it had more than 750 performances between 1967 and 1969; other films that he scripted included The Nun’s Story (1959), The Sand Pebbles (1966) and I Never Sang for My Father (1970), based on his play of the same name seen on Broadway in 1968; one of the play’s stars was actress Teresa Wright, his second wife, to whom he was married from 1959 until their 1978 divorce; they remained on good terms until her death in 2005; born April 28,

1917, in New York City; died Feb. 9 at his New York home, of pneumonia linked to Alzheimer’s disease. [See 2005, p. 176G3; 1971, p. 1033G3; Indexes 1970, 1966–68, 1959, 1956, 1953–54] BENNETT, Estelle, 67, one of three members of the singing group the Ronettes, the 1960s “girl group” inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007; the other members of the group, which broke up in 1966, were her younger sister, Ronnie Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Talley; the group was promoted by legendary record producer Phil Spector, whose marriage to Ronnie Bennett lasted from 1968 to 1974; the Ronettes sued Spector for back royalties in 1988, and years later recovered some money; after the Ronettes’ break-up, Estelle Bennett battled psychiatric problems for years; born July 22, 1941, in New York City; found dead Feb. 11 in her apartment in Englewood, N.J.; she had been suffering from colon cancer. [See 2007, pp. 634B2, 168D1; 1985, p. 292F2] COVER, Jack (John Hickson Cover Jr.), 88, physicist and aerospace scientist who in the late 1960s invented the Taser stun gun, used by law enforcement officials to subdue suspected criminals with electric shocks; the principal marketer of products based on his original invention was Scottsdale, Ariz.–based Taser International Inc., founded in 1993; born April 6, 1920, in New York City; died Feb. 7 at a retirement home in Mission Viejo, Calif., of pneumonia linked to Alzheimer’s disease. [See 2004, p. 988B2] INTERIOR, Lux (born Erick Lee Purkhiser), 62, lead singer of the cult rock group the Cramps; founded in the 1970s, its blend of surf music, punk rock and rockabilly came to be known as psychobilly; the group’s cofounder was his wife, guitarist Poison Ivy Rorschach (born Kristy Wallace); born Oct. 21, 1946, in Stow, Ohio; died Feb. 4 at a hospital in Glendale, Calif., of a heart ailment. KOLFF, Willem Johan, 97, Dutch-born physician who invented the kidney dialysis machine in the Netherlands during World War II; after moving to the U.S. in 1950, he became a professor at the University of Utah, and a leader in the field of artificial-organ development; he was the chief designer of the first mechanical heart implanted in a human being, the Jarvik-7 model that kept retired dentist Barney Clark alive for 112 days in 1982–83; he retired from the University of Utah at age 75 but continued to do medical research for years thereafter; born Feb. 14, 1911, in Leiden; died Feb. 11 at his home in Newtown Square, Pa., of natural causes. [See 2003, p. 568D3; 2002, p. 759F2; 1983, p. 217E1; Index 1975] LEONARD, Hugh (born John Joseph Byrne),

82, Irish playwright whose autobiographical drama Da had a long run on Broadway and won four Tony Awards in 1978; a film version of it, for which he wrote the screenplay, was released in 1988; in addition to plays, he wrote children’s books, radio plays, novels, journalism and two memoirs; born Nov. 9, 1926, in Dublin, Ireland’s capital; died Feb. 12 in a Dublin hospital, of multiple illnesses. [See 1988, p. 747G2, A3; 1980, p. 892G2; Indexes 1978, 1973] MARTIN, Dewey (born Walter Milton Dewayne Midkiff), 68, Canadian-born drummer for the short-

lived but highly influential 1960s rock band Buffalo Springfield; several members of the group, notably Neil Young and Stephen Sills, had long-term success after Buffalo Springfield broke up in 1968; the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997; born Sept. 30, 1940, in Chesterville, Ontario; found dead Feb. 1 in his apartment in Van Nuys, Calif.; he reportedly had been in poor health in recent years. [See 1997, pp. 684G3, 368E1] SHEPHERD Jr., Mark, 86, engineer who played a key role in transforming Dallas, Texas–based Texas Instruments Inc. into an electronics industry giant; he was successively the company’s chief engineer, chief operating officer and president before becoming its chief executive officer in 1969; he served as its chairman from 1976 until 1988, when he retired; born Jan. 18, 1923, in Dallas; died Feb. 4 at his ranch in Quitman, Texas, of pulmonary fibrosis complications. [See 1978, pp. 798B1, 797C3; 1966, p. 540F3] WHITMORE, James, 87, character actor with a long list of stage, film and television credits, dating back to the 1940s; he had major success in the 1970s with three one-man shows in which he successively impersonated humorist Will Rogers and two U.S. presidents, Harry Truman and Theodore Roosevelt; he also had a long run (1982–2002) as the TV pitchman for Miracle-Gro plant food; born Oct. 1, 1921, in White Plains, N.Y.; died Feb. 6 at his home in Malibu, Calif., of lung cancer. [See 1997, p. 76D2; 1994, p. 824D1; Indexes 1986, 1982, 1976, 1973, 1970, 1968, 1960, 1955–58, 1950, 1947] n

February 26, 2009

U.S. President Obama Sets Withdrawal of U.S. Combat Troops From Iraq by August 2010 50,000 Soldiers Will Remain Until End of 2010.

U.S. President Barack Obama Feb. 27 announced that U.S. combat forces would withdraw from Iraq by August 2010. Of the 140,000 U.S. troops currently stationed in Iraq, 35,000 to 50,000 would remain in a support role until the end of 2010, when they were required to leave the country by a U.S.Iraqi security agreement. Obama made the announcement in a speech to a crowd of U.S. marines at Camp Lejeune, N.C. [See pp. 124G3, 121E2, 105C2, 64D1] “Let me say this as plainly as I can: By Aug. 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end,” Obama said. He said the U.S. had reached its “achievable goals,” but that “America can no longer afford to see Iraq in isolation from other priorities. We cannot sustain indefinitely a commitment that has put a strain on our military, and will cost the American people nearly a trillion dollars.” He cast the move as a “transition to Iraqi responsibility” rather than a retreat. (The Obama administration the previous day had released a budget plan that portrayed the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq as a major factor in its plans to reduce the U.S. national deficit. However, the administration also planned to increase troop levels in Afghanistan to battle an insurgency by the Taliban Islamic fundamentalist group.) Obama in his speech also formally announced that Christopher Hill would be the new U.S. ambassador to Iraq. Hill’s selection had been reported earlier in February. [See p. 57C3] Obama Feb. 26 had reportedly briefed former President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on the withdrawal timeline. Obama Pledges Caution—Obama said he would “proceed cautiously” with the withdrawal and would heed the advice of U.S. military officials. His timeline was seen as a compromise between Democrats pressing for an earlier withdrawal and senior military officers—including Gen. Raymond Odierno, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq—who wanted to wait until after national elections scheduled for December to start pulling out troops. IRAQ CASUALTIES

Following are tallies of casualties in Iraq since the beginning of a U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, as they stood March 5 [See pp. 121A1, 58A1]: U.S. military casualties:

Deaths Wounded

4,255 31,102

Allied military deaths: 318 Iraqi security forces deaths: 8,933 Iraqi civilian deaths: 90,902–99,257

(Range based on news reports of deaths) Sources: U.S. casualties: U.S. Defense Department. Allies and Iraqi security forces: www.icasualties.org. Iraqi civilians: www.iraqbodycount.org.

During his campaign for president, Obama had promised to withdraw all combat troops from Iraq within 16 months of taking office, rather than the 19 months of his new timeline. Obama had also promised to withdraw U.S. forces at a rate of one combat brigade a month. Under the new plan, while some withdrawals would occur during 2009, the majority of troops would stay in Iraq to provide security for the December elections, and would start to pull out after that. The troops who remained in Iraq after August 2010 would provide training and support to Iraqi forces, as well as providing security for U.S. civilian officials and performing counterterrorism operations. Military officers noted that some of those support roles could involve combat. Reaction—Many senior Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), objected to Obama’s withdrawal timeline, protesting that it was too slow and left too many support troops in Iraq. Reid Feb. 26 after a briefing given by Obama to a group of Democratic and Republican legislators said the figure of 50,000 troops remaining was “a little higher number than I anticipated.” However, Obama received support for the timeline from his Republican opponent in the presidential race, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.). McCain, who during the campaign had criticized Obama’s Iraq policy as naive and defeatist, Feb. 27 called the timeline “a reasonable plan” and said he was “cautiously optimistic” that it would succeed. Other Republicans also backed the plan, although they said more troops should be sent in if security conditions in Iraq worsened. n

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World News Digest With Index ©2009 by Facts On File News Services An imprint of Infobase Publishing

Volume 69, No. 3559 March 5, 2009

B and would serve prison time for that concurrently with the conspiracy sentence. Hussein Official Acquitted— The Iraqi High Tribunal, a special criminal court in Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, which tried members of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s regime, March 2 acquitted former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, 72, of responsibility for the brutal suppression of an 1999 uprising of Shiite Muslims. It was the first prominent acquittal handed down by the Iraqi High Tribunal, and was seen as a sign of the court’s independence and impartiality. [See 2008, p. 948F3] Aziz, who had acted as the Hussein regime’s spokesman, also faced charges of involvement in a 1983 massacre of Kurds, and remained in custody. Two other Hussein aides, Saif al-Din alMashhadani and Uglah Abid Siqir alKubaysi, were also acquitted of involve-

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MAJOR STORIES IN THIS ISSUE U.S. President Obama sets withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq by August 2010; 50,000 soldiers will remain until end of 2010. PAGE 121

Other Iraq War News

ICC indicts Sudan’s Bashir for war crimes, crimes against humanity.

Insurgent Pleads Guilty in U.S. Court. An

Iraqi-born Dutch citizen accused of attempting to kill U.S. troops in Iraq with roadside bombs Feb. 26 pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. The charges facing Wasem Delaema, 36, included conspiracy to murder a U.S. citizen and possessing a destructive device during a violent crime. Delaema was the first alleged Iraqi insurgent to be tried in the U.S. [See pp. 121A1, 117G2; 2007, p. 264B1] Delaema had been arrested in May 2005 by Dutch police after the discovery of a videotape showing him planting explosives, and was extradited to the U.S. in January 2007. He admitted to traveling to Iraq in 2003 to join the insurgent group Mujaheddin From Fallujah. Delaema was scheduled to be sentenced April 15, and the plea deal carried a mandatory 25-year prison term. However, under the terms of the extradition deal that sent him to the U.S., Delaema would serve his sentence in the Netherlands, where his sentence could be changed under Dutch law. Delaema also pleaded guilty to assaulting a corrections officer while in custody,

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Clinton tours Middle East, signals engagement with Syria. PAGE 123

Obama unveils $3.6 trillion budget plan; sets tax hikes for wealthy, sees big deficits. PAGE 124

Government commits additional $30 billion to AIG. PAGE 126

Housing market rescue plan launched. PAGE 127

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GDP shrank at 6.2% rate in 4th quarter. PAGE 128

Guinea-Bissau president assassinated after murder of army chief. PAGE 133

Chinese migrant jobless put at 20 million. PAGE 134

EU rejects bailout for Eastern Europe. PAGE 136

Bangladeshi border leads to army clash.

guard

mutiny PAGE 137

Terrorists attack Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan. PAGE 137 REFERENCES in brackets give location of background information in this & preceding volumes.

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ment in the 1999 crackdown. However, the court found guilty former Defense Minister Ali Hassan al-Majid—known as “Chemical Ali”—for his role in the 1999 crackdown. Majid received a death sentence; two previous death sentences against him had been held off by political maneuvering. Sect Members Sentenced to Death— A court in Dhi Qar province, in southern Iraq, Feb. 26 sentenced to death 28 members of a messianic Shiite sect for carrying out attacks on Shiite pilgrims, according to an unnamed Iraqi court official. The defendants belonged to the Followers of the Mahdi group, which was part of the Soldiers of Heaven, a group that had attacked U.S. and Iraqi security forces and civilians in an attempt to prepare the way for the coming of Shiite Islam’s 12th, or “hidden,” imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, who lived during the 9th century. The group believed that he had disappeared but would someday return to redeem the world. [See 2008, p. 40E3] The court official said 19 other sect members had been sentenced to life in prison, and six had been acquitted. n

ICC Indicts Sudan’s Bashir for War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity

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No Indictment on Genocide Allegations. A three-judge panel of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the Netherlands, March 4 upheld a request made by the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, to charge Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir with seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Moreno-Ocampo had made the request in July 2008, and the panel had been considering the merits of the charges since that time. [See p. 115E2] Bashir became the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the ICC, which had been established in 2002. Two other sitting presidents—Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia and Charles Taylor of Liberia—had been charged in the past by ad hoc war crimes tribunals and tried in The Hague. [See p. 134F1, B2; 2006, p. 181A1] Bashir, who had ruled Sudan since 1989, was charged in connection with government actions during the ongoing civil war in Sudan’s western Darfur region. In 2003, rebels had taken up arms to protest what they perceived as the neglect of Darfur—which was mainly populated by nonArab Muslims from the Fur, Zaghawa and Masalit ethnic groups—by Bashir’s predominantly Arab, Islamist government. About 300,000 people had died and some 2.7 million others had been driven from their homes in the Darfur conflict, amid fighting between the rebel factions and government forces allied with Arab militias known as the Janjaweed. Government troops and the Janjaweed had been accused of committing atrocities against Darfuri civilians. Specifically, Moreno-Ocampo alleged that Bashir’s campaign in Darfur had caused the deaths of at least 35,000 civilians as part of a campaign to destroy the Fur, Zaghawa and Masalit, who the government alleged had

supported the Darfur rebel groups. In the indictment, Bashir was accused of playing an “essential role” in crimes against civilians. In announcing the judges’ decision, ICC spokeswoman Laurence Blairon said Bashir could not claim immunity from prosecution due to his position as Sudan’s head of state. “He is suspected of being criminally responsible…for intentionally directing attacks against an important part of the civilian population of Darfur, Sudan—murdering, exterminating, raping, torturing and forcibly transferring large numbers of civilians and pillaging their property,” she said. The judges, by a 2–1 vote, opted not to issue an indictment on the three counts of genocide that Moreno-Ocampo had also included in his 2008 request. The chief prosecutor had alleged that the actions of Bashir’s forces in Darfur represented a campaign to wipe out the Fur, Zaghawa and Masalit. Asked why judges did not indict Bashir for genocide, Blairon said, “In this particular case, the pretrial chamber has not been able to find there were reasonable grounds to establish a genocidal intent.” However, she said the genocide charges could be brought at a later date if the prosecutor provided more evidence. In the wake of the indictment, Bashir faced the possibility of arrest if he left Sudan. Under the ICC charter, signatory nations were obligated to arrest Bashir if he entered their territory. Non-signatories, which included the U.S. and Sudan, could also arrest him. However, it was considered unlikely that an African or Arab nation—most of which had opposed the ICC indictment on the grounds that it undermined efforts to reach a peace deal in Darfur—would turn Bashir over to the court. United Nations peacekeepers in the country, who were stationed in both Darfur and the semiautonomous region of South Sudan, could not arrest Bashir because it was not part of their mandate. Sudan Expels Aid Agencies— Bashir’s government March 4 responded to the ICC indictment by ordering at least 10 Western humanitarian organizations that had been providing aid to Darfur’s refugees to leave the country or curtail their operations. Those agencies included Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children and the International Rescue Committee. The Sudanese government had often alleged that the aid agencies were helping the ICC by giving it evidence to use against Bashir, a charge that the agencies strongly denied. The expulsion of the agencies would reportedly leave millions of refugees without access to basic necessities. Prior to the ICC’s decision, aid agencies and U.N. officials had expressed fears that an indictment against Bashir could result in revenge attacks on aid workers and peacekeepers. Currently, there were about 25,000 U.N. troops in Sudan, in both Darfur and South Sudan. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, in a March 4 statement, said the U.N. would “continue to conduct its vital peacekeeping, humanitarian, human rights and

development operations and activities in Sudan.” The statement added, “The Secretary General calls on the government of Sudan to continue to cooperate fully with all U.N. entities and their implementing partners, while fulfilling its obligation to ensure the safety and security of the civilian population, U.N. personnel and property, and that of its implementing partners,” which included other international organizations as well as nongovernmental organizations. Soon after the ICC judges’ decision was announced March 4, thousands of demonstrators gathered in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, to protest the ruling. In a March 5 speech to thousands of supporters in the capital, Bashir denounced the indictment, alleging that the ICC was a tool of Western powers intent on recolonizing Africa. “Here in Sudan, we are a liberation movement against this new colonization and we are ready for any battle,” he said, adding that “the real criminals are the leaders of the Western countries in the United States of America and Europe. They lie to their people and the world and now they think that we will kneel and beg.” Other government officials asserted that Sudan did not recognize the ICC, and that the court had no jurisdiction in the country. The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), a major Darfur rebel group that had reached a deal with the government in February to begin peace talks, March 4 said it was calling off the negotiations. Chief negotiator Ahmed Tugod Lissan said, “I don’t think that ethically it is possible to negotiate with someone who committed crimes in Darfur and has lost legitimacy.” International Reaction Mixed—The African Union (AU) March 5 said it would

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send a delegation to the U.N. Security Council to press that body to defer Bashir’s indictment. The Security Council had the power, under Article 16 of the Rome Statute governing the court, to suspend ICC prosecutions for 12 months. Also that day, the AU Peace and Security Council opened an emergency meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, to discuss the ICC’s decision. The AU and the Arab League in the past had lobbied the Security Council to suspend the ICC case against Bashir. China and Russia, both permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, strongly criticized the ICC’s decision. China, which had significant investments in Sudan’s oil industry, March 5 called on the Security Council to suspend the indictment. However, it was considered unlikely that the other three permanent members of the council—the U.S., Britain and France—would support such a move. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang March 5 said, “China opposes anything that could disrupt efforts to realize peace in Darfur and in Sudan.” Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade voiced concerns, previously expressed by other African leaders, that the ICC had thus far indicted only Africans. “Wherever in the world the people committing genocide are, we should judge them, but not only judge the Africans,” Wade said. [See p. 42D3] Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., in a March 4 statement said the U.S. “supports the ICC’s actions to hold accountable those responsible for the heinous crimes in Darfur.” The ICC’s action was also praised by human rights groups and activists involved in campaigns to end the violence in Darfur. Niemat Ahmadi, a representative of the Save Darfur Coalition, said the decision would “change the mood of frustration and helplessness for our people.” Richard Dicker, a director of U.S.-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch, said the ICC’s move “means [Bashir] will be a fugitive, a man on a wanted poster.” n

Clinton Tours Middle East, Signals Engagement With Syria Pledges Israeli-Palestinian Peace Efforts.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton March 1–4 traveled to Egypt, Israel and the West Bank, in her first trip to the Middle East as the U.S.’s top diplomat. Clinton said two top U.S. State Department officials would be sent to Syria, indicating a new U.S. engagement with that country. She pledged continued involvement in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, but expressed skepticism that Iran would respond to diplomatic overtures from the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama. Clinton March 4 traveled on to Brussels, Belgium, to meet with European and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) officials. [See pp. 108F3, 16A1] March 5, 2009

Clinton March 1 traveled to the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh., where she attended a conference of international aid donors for the Palestinian territories the next day. At the meeting, Clinton told European and Arab leaders that the U.S. was “committed to a comprehensive peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors and we will pursue it on many fronts.” Clinton also reportedly said she “was doubtful that Iran would respond” to the Obama administration’s offers of direct talks, according to an unidentified State Department official. She reportedly made that comment during a conversation with United Arab Emirates (UAE) Foreign Minister Sheik Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan. Clinton declined to discuss the conversation with reporters, but said she had told several Arab leaders that the administration would “consult constantly” with them on the U.S.’s Iran policy. Donors at the conference pledged $4.48 billion over the next two years to assist the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. At least $1.33 billion was expected to go toward rebuilding Gaza after a January Israeli invasion, but the donors stipulated that none of the money go to the militant Islamist group Hamas, which controlled the territory. It was not known how much of the $4.48 billion was made up of previous aid pledges. Also, Arab nations had historically failed to fulfill many of their aid pledges to the Palestinian territories. [See p. 30D3] Clinton pledged $900 million in U.S. aid, including $300 million in humanitarian aid for Gaza. The aid was contingent on U.S. congressional approval. Clinton said the U.S. aid would go only to the Palestinian Authority (PA), which controlled the West Bank, and would include safeguards so it did not “end up in the wrong hands,” referring to Hamas. U.S. Officials Dispatched to Syria—

Clinton March 3 continued on to Israel, where she met with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Jerusalem and pledged that the U.S. “will be vigorously engaged” in Israeli–Palestinian peace talks. Clinton said she believed in the “inevitability” of a two-state solution and said that it would be “in Israel’s best interests.” Clinton also met that day with Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the Israeli right-wing Likud Party, who was attempting to form a governing coalition after recent elections. Netanyahu supported efforts to bolster economic development in the West Bank, but had opposed continuing the talks on creating a Palestinian state. (Netanyahu Feb. 26 had met with George Mitchell, Obama’s Mideast envoy.) [See p. 118C3] Clinton after her meeting with Livni announced that two senior State Department officials traveling with her would be sent to Syria that weekend to explore how to improve relations between the two countries. Syria had been considered an international pariah in recent years. However, in 2008 it had made moves toward ending its isolation, starting indirect peace talks with Isra-

el mediated by Turkey and hosting French President Nicolas Sarkozy on a visit. [See 2008, pp. 708G3, 640F1] The U.S. had withdrawn its ambassador from Syria in 2005, after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. (Syria was suspected of orchestrating the killing, but denied involvement.) However, analysts said engagement with Syria could be a key part of U.S. Middle Eastern policy, allowing the U.S. to isolate Iran, which had close ties with Syria. Clinton said, “There has to be some perceived benefit” from negotiating with Syria “for the U.S. and our allies and our shared values.” She warned that there was “no way to predict what the future of our relations with Syria might be.” Nonetheless, she said, “I think it is a worthwhile effort to go and begin these preliminary conversations.” The two U.S. envoys were: Jeffrey Feltman, the acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs and a former U.S. ambassador to Lebanon; and Daniel Shapiro, the senior director for Middle East policy on the National Security Council (NSC). Feltman Feb. 26 had met with the Syrian ambassador to the U.S., Imad Moustapha, in Washington, D.C. The meeting had reportedly been requested by the Obama administration, and was the first high-level contact between the two countries since September 2008. The U.S. State Department before the meeting said Feltman and Moustapha would discuss Syria’s alleged support for terrorism, its alleged efforts to acquire nuclear and other unconventional weapons, its “interference” in Lebanon and a “worsening human rights situation” in Syria. Clinton March 4 traveled to Ramallah, in the West Bank, and met with PA President Mahmoud Abbas. At a news conference afterwards, she said she had “expressed concern” about Israel’s closure of the Gaza Strip border crossings, which humanitarian groups said had made it impossible for the territory to receive sufficient aid. She also said that the planned demolition by Israel of 143 Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem was “unhelpful” to the peace process. Israeli officials said the homes had been built without permits, but their Palestinian residents said such permits were impossible to obtain and that many of the houses had been there since before the annexation of East Jerusalem by Israel in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. Clinton at the news conference in Ramallah also criticized Iran for trying to undermine the PA by stirring up Muslim hostility to Israel, funding terrorism and otherwise interfering in countries’ internal affairs throughout the Middle East. n

Global Environment Countries Agree to Mercury Treaty Talks.

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Feb. 20 agreed to begin talks on drafting an international treaty that would reduce mercury emissions worldwide. The unanimous agreement was brokered during a United Nations–backed summit held Feb. 16–20 in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. [See 2008, p. 148E3] U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Environment and Sustainable Development Daniel Reifsnyder Feb. 16 had indicated that the U.S. would drop its opposition to such a treaty, reversing the policy of the administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush. Reifsnyder said no country could adequately protect its citizens “without serious cooperation internationally to reduce global mercury emissions.” [See 2001, p. 188A3] After the U.S.’s announcement, other countries, including China and India, dropped their opposition to a treaty. Formal negotiations on the pact were expected to begin in late 2009 or early 2010, and be completed by 2013. n Climate Changes Reported Inevitable. A team of climate researchers from the U.S National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration (NOAA), France and Switzerland reported in the Jan. 27 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that the levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide expected by 2050 would inevitably lead to a sea-level rise and droughts that would last for 1,000 years, regardless of any near-term cuts to man-made carbon dioxide emissions. [See 2008, p. 615D3; 1995, p. 728G3] The research was based on a model that had atmospheric carbon dioxide levels rising from its current concentration of 385 parts per million (ppm) to 450–600 ppm. The researchers said the rise would result in “mega-drought” conditions in southwestern North America, southern Africa and the Mediterranean. It would also result in significantly reduced rainfall in southern Europe, northern Africa and western Australia. The research was led by Susan Soloman, a senior scientist at the NOAA. Climate Change Speedup Reported—

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Separately, Christopher Field, director of the Carnegie Institute’s Department of Global Ecology at Stanford University, Feb. 14 reported that global climate change was likely to occur much more quickly than had been expected, as a result of greater emissions levels and ecological feedback loops set into motion by existing climate changes. “We are basically looking now at a future climate that’s beyond anything we’ve considered seriously in climate model situations,” Field said. Field had been a member of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which in 2007 had warned that an increase of 3.2°–9.7° Fahrenheit (1.8°–5.4° Celsius) in the average global temperature by the end of the century would result in massive changes to the environment. [See 2008, p. 898A1] n 124

Other International News British Prime Minister Brown Visits Obama.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown March 3 visited U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House in Washington, D.C., becoming the first European leader to meet with Obama since his January inauguration. The two men had met twice before, in 2008, when Obama was still a presidential candidate. [See p. 116D3; 2008, pp. 516D3, 275B2] In brief remarks to reporters in the Oval Office, Obama declared his intention of preserving and strengthening the “special relationship” between the U.S. and Britain. He also voiced measured support for Brown’s call for a new international system of financial regulation. Their meeting was partly devoted to preparations for a summit meeting of the Group of 20 countries with the world’s largest economies, scheduled for April in London. Brown March 4 addressed a joint session of Congress, becoming the fifth British prime minister to receive that honor. He warned against resorting to protectionism in the current global economic crisis. Brown also announced that Sen. Edward Kennedy (D, Mass.), who had brain cancer, would receive an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II. n Chinese Ship Sinks After Russia Fires On It.

A Chinese cargo ship Feb. 15 reportedly sank in waters near the Far Eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, after a Russian warship fired on it. Of the 16 Chinese and Indonesian crew members, eight were rescued by the Russian border patrol, and the remaining eight died at sea. The cargo ship, which had been flying a Sierra Leonean flag, was owned by Hong Kong, China– based J-Rui Lucky Shipping Co. Ltd. [See 2008, p. 841E2; 2007, p. 811D3] Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko Feb. 19 expressed regret over the incident, but said blame fell entirely on the captain of the cargo ship, who had “behaved extremely irresponsibly.” The Russian foreign ministry Feb. 21 said the Chinese ship Feb. 12 had left the Russian port town of Nakhodka without receiving permission from customs and border agents. Russian authorities claimed that border agents opened fire on the ship after it did not respond to warning shots and other signals for 18 hours. China’s foreign ministry Feb. 20 filed an official protest with the Russian minister counselor to China over Russia’s actions. Ministry spokesman Zhang Xiyun that day said the Russian foreign ministry’s position was “hard to understand and unacceptable.” J-Rui Lucky Shipping, according to a Feb. 22 report by the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC), claimed that the cargo ship was supposed to deliver a shipment of rice to Nakhodka at the end of January, but the buyer had refused the shipment because the rice was of low quality, and demanded to be compensated. The company claimed that Russian officials had then delayed clearing the ship for departure, prompting the captain to leave without clearance on Feb. 15. n

U N I T ESTATES D S TAT E S UNITED

Obama Unveils $3.6 Trillion Budget Plan Sets Tax Hikes for Wealthy, Sees Big Deficits.

President Barack Obama Feb. 26 unveiled a $3.6 trillion budget plan for fiscal year 2010, which would begin Oct. 1. The plan was viewed as an unusually bold and ambitious one. It called for sharply increasing taxes on the wealthy, by more than $650 billion over 10 years, while locking in tax cuts for middle- and lower-income people. Among its other highlights, the budget would set aside $634 billion over 10 years for a major expansion of government health insurance coverage; start a system under which businesses would be required to buy permits to emit greenhouse gases blamed for causing climate change; and expand the government’s role in student lending. [See below, pp. 111E1, 105A1; for a box of budget highlights, see p. 125A1] The budget forecast a $1.75 trillion deficit for the current fiscal year, which would be a record in dollar terms, eclipsing the mark of $455 billion set in fiscal 2008. At 12.3% of gross domestic product (GDP), it would be the biggest deficit as a share of the national economy since 1945, at the end of World War II. The massive deficit derived largely from the federal response to the current recession, including a $787 billion economic stimulus package enacted in February, as well as rescue measures for the financial sector, the auto industry and homeowners. [See pp. 127D3, 89A1, 76A3] The budget estimated that a further $750 billion might be necessary to stabilize the financial sector, and that the government would be likely to recoup only two-thirds of such an expenditure. As a result, the budget called for a reserve fund of $250 billion to cover potential losses. Congress had authorized $700 billion in financial rescue funds in 2008, more than half of which had already been spent or allocated. The 134-page budget plan was a preliminary outline that would be followed in April by the delivery of a more detailed, official budget proposal to Congress. Pledges to Cut Deficit in Half—The budget projected a $1.2 trillion deficit for fiscal year 2010. Obama pledged to cut that deficit by more than half, to $533 billion, or about 3% of GDP, by the end of his first term in 2013. However, some independent analysts said the budget’s economic assumptions were too optimistic, since it predicted a faster return to GDP growth than most outside economic forecasts. A return to growth would lead to more tax revenue for the government. The budget forecast a 1.2% contraction in GDP for 2009 and a 3.2% growth rate in 2010, while the Blue Chip survey of professional economists projected a 1.9% contraction in 2009 and 2.1% growth in 2010. Obama said the deficit would also be reduced by his plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq over the next two years. However, he planned to deploy more troops to FACTS ON FILE

BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS

Following are highlights of President Barack Obama’s budget plan announced Feb. 26 [See p. 124A3]: Top income tax rates to rise to 36% and o 39.6%, from 33% and 35%, for individuals earning more than $200,000 a year and married couples earning more than $250,000 a year. o Top rate on capital gains and dividends to rise to 20%, from 15%. o Payroll tax credit for low- and middle-income workers to be made permanent: $400 per year for individuals, $800 for married couples. o $634 billion reserve fund to be set aside for expansion of health insurance coverage. o Cap-and-trade system for auctioning permits for greenhouse gas emissions to raise an estimated $645 billion between 2012 and 2019. o Government to take over student loan program, eliminating role of private lenders; Pell Grants for college students to be indexed to inflation plus 1%; Pell Grants to be made an automatic entitlement program, no longer requiring annual approval by Congress. o $75.5 billion to be requested for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan through the end of fiscal year 2009; $130 billion requested for fiscal 2010.

Afghanistan. He said he would request $75.5 billion to fund operations in both countries over the rest of fiscal 2009, and $130 billion for fiscal 2010. He also proposed to eventually double overall foreign aid expenditures. [See p. 121A1] Obama’s request for war funds in the budget marked a change from his predecessor, President George W. Bush, who had sought funding for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars outside the regular budget, in emergency “supplemental spending” bills. Democratic lawmakers praised Obama for adopting what they called a more honest approach to the wars’ costs. The budget proposed an array of other spending cuts, with payments to health care providers and student lenders being targeted for sharp reductions or outright elimination. [See below] Obama also called for cutting about $5 billion in direct subsidies to farm operators with more than $250,000 in annual revenue. He proposed budgeting $273 billion over 10 years for natural disasters. Tax Hikes to Reverse Bush Cuts—

Obama called for raising the top personal income tax rates to 39.6%, from 35%, and to 36%, from 33%. The top rates applied to individuals who earned more than $200,000 a year and married couples who earned more than $250,000 a year. The increase, to take effect in 2011, would return the top rates to their level under President Bill Clinton, ending the tax cuts delivered to the top income bracket by Bush. The hike would raise $339 billion in revenue over 10 years. Obama planned to increase the tax rate for capital gains and dividends to 20%, from 15%, raising another $118 billion over 10 years. He would also tax hedgefund and private-equity managers’ earnings as income, rather than capital gains as they were currently treated. The budget March 5, 2009

said that change would raise $24 billion in revenue over 10 years. In another hike that would largely affect the wealthy, Obama would impose new limits on the value of itemized deductions for charitable gifts and other exemptions, such as mortgage interest, at the highest income brackets. He proposed that, starting in 2011, people currently paying the 33% or 35% income tax rates would be able to claim no more than a 28% deduction. That would raise $180 billion over 10 years, according to the budget. Some nonprofit groups criticized that proposal, warning that it would lead to less charitable giving at a time when economic woes had already caused a decrease in donations. Obama also called for extending the estate tax in its current form, with a 45% top rate and an exemption for the first $3.5 million, rather than allowing the tax to expire, as it was scheduled to do in 2010. The budget would eliminate a tax break that allowed corporations to defer taxes on overseas profits, raising an estimated $210 billion in revenues over 10 years. It would also impose new excise taxes and fees on oil and gas companies, raising another $31 billion in revenues. The budget would make permanent Obama’s payroll tax credit for low- and middle-income workers, of $400 per individual and $800 per married couple. The credit would phase out for income levels between $150,000 and $200,000 for couples, and between $75,000 and $100,000 for individuals. The “Making Work Pay” tax credit had been included in the recent economic stimulus package as a one-time break. Unlike previous budgets, Obama’s would not assume increased revenue from the alternative minimum tax (AMT). Congress had acted each year to prevent the tax, which was not indexed to inflation, from applying to millions more people in the middle class. [See p. 89B3] Health Care Fund— The budget proposed a $634 billion “reserve fund for health care reform” intended to be used to expand government coverage for the millions of people in the U.S. who lacked health insurance. It did not outline Obama’s specific plans for that initiative, which it said Obama would develop later in the year in negotiations with Congress. [See p. 129C1] The budget said Obama planned to pay for the insurance expansion partly by reducing other federal health care spending. It called for savings of $176 billion over 10 years by cutting payments to health insurers from Medicare, the federal program for the elderly and disabled. The budget projected more than $60 billion in additional savings from cutting Medicare payments to hospitals and home health agencies. It also proposed requiring higher-income seniors to pay more for the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Emissions Trading Plan—The budget envisioned a cap-and-trade system taking effect in 2012. Factories, power plants and other businesses would be required to buy

permits for the greenhouse gas emissions that they generated, and they would be able to trade the permits. The plan aimed to reduce U.S. emissions to 14% below 2005 levels by 2020, and to 83% below 2005 levels by 2050. However, Obama left the details of the system to be decided by Congress. [See 2008, pp. 725A1, 395C1] According to the budget, the permit system would raise at least $645 billion in revenue between 2012 and 2019. Of that revenue, $15 billion a year would be used to fund the development of cleaner energy technologies. The rest, about $525 billion, would be used to finance Obama’s payroll tax credit and help “families, communities and businesses” offset higher energy prices resulting from the permit system.

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Government to Take Over Student Loans—

The budget called for the federal government to eliminate its subsidies to banks and other private lenders for providing federally guaranteed student loans. Ending that system, known as the Federal Family Education Loan Program, would leave the government as the sole direct provider of such loans. [See p. 90A1; 2008, pp. 556E2, 343D3] The budget called for using the savings from the eliminated subsidies, estimated at $47.5 billion over the next 10 years, to expand the Pell Grant program for low-income students. It would index Pell Grants to inflation for the first time, and make the grants automatic entitlements, similar to Social Security and Medicare, which did not require annual approval by Congress. Private lenders had provided nearly $60 billion in federal student loans for the current school year, while the government had made about $20 billion in direct loans to students. Private student lenders warned that the government would be less efficient at administering the loans. Student lenders had already been hit by the ongoing crisis in credit markets, prompting many to drop out of the federal program. Shares of the biggest student lender, SLM Corp. (Sallie Mae), Feb. 26 plunged by more than 30%, to $5.80, on the news of the budget plan. Reaction— Republican congressional leaders immediately criticized Obama’s budget, warning that its combination of big tax hikes and heavy spending initiatives would further damage the ailing economy. “The era of big government is back, and Democrats are asking you to pay for it,” House Minority Leader John Boehner (R, Ohio) said Feb. 26, calling the budget “a job killer.” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R, Ky.) expressed “serious concerns” with the budget and what he called its “unprecedented spending increases.” Republicans also asserted that Obama’s plan to cap greenhouse gas emissions amounted to a major new tax, which would lead to higher costs being passed on to consumers for oil, electricity and manufactured goods. Democrats, who held majorities in both houses of Congress, gave the budget a warmer welcome, but some objected to certain proposals. Senate Budget Committee 125

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Chairman Kent Conrad (D, N.D.) expressed doubts about Obama’s plan to reduce the value of tax deductions for higher earners, as well as his call for cuts in farm subsidies. Conrad also said he was “very uncomfortable with the build-up of debt.” He urged “more discipline on the spending side.” Some commentators said the sheer scale of Obama’s agenda as laid out in the budget plan ranked with two landmark domestic policy programs of the 20th century: the 1930s New Deal of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the 1960s Great Society of President Lyndon Johnson, both Democrats. Obama’s budget was also seen by some observers as an attempt to reverse a dominant political trend of the past three decades, toward a smaller federal government, which Republican President Ronald Reagan had set in motion upon taking office in 1981. In a weekly radio and Internet address, Obama Feb. 28 said his budget was part of “the sweeping change that this country demanded when it went to the polls in November” 2008 and elected him president. He said the budget also “reflects the stark reality of what we’ve inherited: a trillion dollar deficit, a financial crisis and a costly recession.” Administration Officials Defend Plan—

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Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner March 3 defended Obama’s budget plan in testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee. White House Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag that day made similar defenses in testimony to the House Budget Committee. Geithner said the proposed tax increases met a “deep moral imperative to make our society more just.” He added, “But it’s very good economic policy, too,” calling higher taxes essential to reducing the deficit. Geithner and Orszag both stressed that none of the tax increases would take effect until 2011, when they expected the economy to have recovered. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke in testimony before the Senate Budget Committee that day gave his implicit endorsement to Obama’s plan for heavy deficit spending in the short term, calling it a necessary response to the economic crisis. But he warned that unless the deficit was reduced fairly soon, international financial markets might “begin to balk” at the U.S.’s increasing debt load. n

Other Budget News Obama Sets Federal Contracting Review.

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President Barack Obama March 4 announced that he had ordered a review of federal contracting practices, with the aim of saving $40 billion a year. Obama said he wanted to reduce the government’s use of outside contractors, which had doubled over the past eight years to a total of $518 billion in 2008, and increase competitive bidding for contracts. “We will stop outsourcing services that should be performed by the federal government,” he said. [See p. 124A3; 2008, pp. 914C3, 658A1] 126

He said he had directed White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Peter Orszag to draw up new rules for contracting by Sept. 30, the end of the current fiscal year. Obama had pledged to cut waste from the federal budget in order to partly offset big new spending initiatives and a record deficit in his $3.6 trillion budget plan for fiscal year 2010, announced the previous week. Obama said the review would cover all federal agencies, but he focused on defense contracts as a chronic source of waste. “The days of giving defense contractors a blank check are over,” he said, citing frequent cost overruns and delays on weapons development contracts, as well as fraud and waste by contractors in Iraq. Obama’s defeated Republican opponent in the November 2008 presidential election, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), joined him at the White House for the announcement, along with a bipartisan group of lawmakers. McCain had long crusaded against wasteful government spending and had led congressional investigations of fraud in defense contracts. n

Government Commits Additional $30 Billion to AIG Insurance Giant Posts Record Loss.

The government March 2 unveiled a revised plan to shore up struggling insurance giant American International Group Inc. (AIG), which could see the company receive an additional $30 billion in federal aid. AIG that day posted a $61.7 billion loss for the fourth quarter of 2008, by far the largest quarterly loss in U.S. corporate history. Markets worldwide slid steeply on the news, as well as other indications that a weakened financial industry was far from recovery. [See pp. 111C1, 110A2; 2008, p. 825G2] The revised plan brought the total amount of aid that the government had allocated to AIG to more than $180 billion since September 2008, when AIG received an $85 billion credit line from the Federal Reserve, the U.S. central bank, to stay afloat. In exchange for the credit line, the government had taken a 79.9% stake in the company. AIG’s problems initially stemmed from heavy investments made in the credit-default-swaps (CDS) market, where it underwrote insurance on assets backed by risky mortgages. Following the collapse of a housing market bubble in 2006, mortgages started to default at a higher rate, leaving AIG on the hook for billions of dollars of insurance payments. AIG also held its own portfolio of mortgage-backed assets, which had lost value. The government in October had expanded the credit line to $123 billion, and in November unveiled a revised $150 billion package in which the Treasury Department bought $40 billion worth of preferred shares of the company, using a $700 billion financial industry rescue fund known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). But AIG’s financial standing continued to deteriorate as the slump in the housing market intensified and an ongoing reces-

sion deepened. A concurrent freeze in credit markets made it difficult for AIG to borrow money, and a crisis of confidence in financial institutions led to a precipitous fall in AIG’s stock price. AIG Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Edward Liddy March 2 said most of the government’s money had been spent fulfilling the company’s obligations to its CDS trading partners. In the weeks running up to the release of AIG’s fourth quarter report, it became clear to government officials and industry observers that AIG was set to record a massive loss. Without government backing, the loss would likely have resulted in a downgrade in AIG’s credit rating, which would automatically compel it to post as much as $11 billion in additional collateral to its trading partners. A sudden spike in the amount of money it owed could have pushed AIG into bankruptcy, and led to a default on its obligations, resulting in large losses for the thousands of companies it traded with around the world. Since an AIG collapse posed a systemic risk to the financial system, the company was thought to be “too big to fail” in government parlance. The government, reportedly working with credit-rating agencies, devised a plan to prevent a downgrade, and AIG’s credit rating remained unchanged March 2 despite the report of the record fourth-quarter loss. In a statement released that day, AIG said it could need additional government support in the future if the value of its assets continued to decline, it failed to attract new customers, or its credit rating was downgraded. AIG’s quarterly report showed that it was also losing money on its traditional insurance businesses, as well as its investments in commercial real estate mortgages. In all, AIG had lost $99.3 billion in 2008. The deal further intertwined AIG and the government, exposing taxpayers to large potential losses. The AIG intervention came just three days after the government agreed to take as much as a 36% stake in banking giant Citigroup Inc. [See below] Details of AIG Rescue Plan—Under the revised plan unveiled by the government March 2, the Treasury would commit an additional $30 billion in TARP funds to buying preferred shares in AIG, on top of the $40 billion in shares purchased in November 2008. AIG said it did not need the government to buy the shares immediately. The revised plan eased the terms of the government’s investment in the insurer, allowing it to determine the dividend it paid on the government’s shares. Previously, AIG had paid the government a 10% dividend, but the costs had weighed heavily on the company’s balance sheet. AIG had already drawn down $38 billion from a $60 billion credit line established by the Fed in November. AIG had planned to sell some of its businesses to pay back the loan, but had reportedly received no offers that matched the face value of the businesses. Under the new plan, two of AIG’s profitable insurance businesses—American International Assurance Co., which mainly operated in Asia, and American Life Insurance Co.—would be placed into trusts. The FACTS ON FILE

government would own unspecified preferred shareholder stakes in the businesses, whose 5% dividend payments, as well as their potential sale in the future, would serve as a repayment on the loan. AIG’s new credit line would be set at $25 billion. The Fed would also purchase $8.5 billion worth of AIG’s life-insurance assets that were converted into bonds. The bonds would also help the company pay off its debt to the government. The Fed would continue running a $53 billion program, also unveiled in November, that had created investment vehicles to purchase AIG’s toxic assets and separate them from the company’s core insurance businesses. About $43 billion of that money had been spent. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke March 3 testified before the Senate Budget Committee, where he harshly criticized AIG for making “irresponsible bets,” and said AIG’s fall had made him “more angry” than any other episode since the financial crisis started. He said AIG had acted as a hedge fund that had been hidden from regulators by a “large and stable insurance company.” The statement was considered uncharacteristically sharp for the normally low-key chairman. Stock Markets Fall on AIG Bailout—The Dow Jones Industrial Average continued a weeks-long slide March 2, falling 299.64 points, or 4.24%, to end at 6,763.29, the first time it had dipped below 7,000 since 1997. The fall was attributed to concerns about the ailing financial industry, following the government’s bailouts of AIG and Citigroup, and negative reports from other large financial institutions and companies. AIG’s share price on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) closed that day at 42 cents. British bank HSBC Holdings PLC that day said that it would close down HSBC Finance—a U.S.-based unit that had specialized in mortgage lending—and that it would need to raise $18 billion in capital by selling new shares. HSBC Finance, formerly known as Household International Inc., had been acquired by HSBC for $14 billion in 2003. [See 2002, p. 890F3] Multinational conglomerate General Electric Co. (GE) Feb. 27 had said it would cut its dividend payments by 68%, to 10 cents a share. It was the company’s first dividend cut since 1938. GE said the move would save $9 billion a year. [See 2008, p. 954B1] The Dow continued its slide March 3, ending at 6,726.02 after falling 37.27 points. President Barack Obama that day had addressed concerns that his administration’s policies were failing to halt the decline in stock markets. He said he did not focus on the “day-to-day gyrations of the stock market” because that could distract him from finding the correct “long-term strategy” for fixing the financial system. He even encouraged investors to buy into the market, saying current low prices represented “a potentially good deal if you’ve got a long-term perspective.” Citigroup Gets Third Government Bailout—

Citigroup, which in 2008 had received two TARP capital injections totaling $45 billion, March 5, 2009

Feb. 27 agreed to a revised bailout that could see the government increase its stake in the banking giant to 36%, up from 7.8%. Citigroup had suffered heavy losses on investments in mortgage-backed assets, and its share price had plummeted as investors expected it to continue sustaining losses during the recession. The government in December 2008 had also entered into an agreement that would guarantee about $301 billion of Citigroup’s assets against losses. [See p. 111B1; 2008, p. 865E2] Under the revised deal, the government would not provide additional capital to Citigroup. Instead, up to $25 billion worth of its preferred shares would be converted to common stock. The government would only convert its shares if it was matched by private investors, at roughly a dollar-todollar ratio. Citigroup said private investors with large preferred shareholder stakes—such as the Government of Singapore Investment Corp., a sovereign wealth fund, and Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed bin Talal—had agreed to the plan. The plan could increase the value of Citigroup’s common stock to $81.1 billion, up from the $29.7 billion it had recorded at the end of December 2008. The plan was designed to reassure investors that Citigroup had adequate levels of capital to weather the recession, since common shares were viewed as a stronger bulwark against losses than preferred shares. Citigroup’s current shareholders could see their stake of common stock reduced to 26%. Analysts said the plan was essentially a partial nationalization of Citigroup, since the government would be its largest single shareholder and have significant sway over the company’s policies. Under the revised deal, Citigroup was required to replace at least six of the 15 members on its board of directors with new, independent members. The government gave up the dividend it had earned from its preferred shares, and exposed itself to greater losses if Citigroup’s share price continued to decline. Citigroup shares that day fell 96 cents, or 39%, to end at $1.50 on the NYSE. Fed, Treasury Launch Loan Program—

The Fed and the Treasury March 3 announced the launch of a program that would see the government finance as much as $1 trillion in consumer and business loans, in a bid to unlock frozen credit markets. The plan, known as the Term AssetBacked Securities Loan Facility (TALF), had first been announced in November 2008, and was expanded earlier in February. [See p. 76A3] For every allotment of $20 billion in TARP money, the Fed could leverage it to provide $200 billion in loans to investors willing to buy assets backed by consumer loans, such as auto, credit-card and student loans. The plan was intended to encourage purchases of those assets, which would bring down the interest rates on the underlying loans. The Fed and the Treasury March 3 announced that they were expanding the program to include loans for industrial and agricultural equipment and auto leases.

Fannie Mae Posts Large Loss— Fannie Mae, the government-controlled mortgagefinancing company, Feb. 26 said it would record a $25.2 billion loss for the fourth quarter of 2008, its sixth consecutive quarterly loss. The company said it had lost $59 billion over the year, largely due to problems stemming from the slumping housing market, and that it would need to tap $15 billion from the Treasury, the first time it had done so. The Treasury earlier in February had doubled an insurance program for Fannie, allowing it to protect the lender against as much as $200 billion in losses. [See p. 92B2] Freddie Mac, Fannie’s sister company, March 2 announced that CEO David Moffett was stepping down from his position, six months after being installed by federal regulators. He reportedly had chafed at a lack of independence from federal control. Regulator Raises Bank Fees—The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC)— which insured consumer bank deposits of up to $250,000 following bank failures— Feb. 27 announced that banks would be charged an emergency fee to ensure that the FDIC had adequate levels of capital. The FDIC said the plan—in which banks would pay the FDIC 20 cents for every $100 in consumer deposits—would raise $27 billion in 2009. Following a series of bank failures over the past year, the FDIC had estimated that it would spend $65 billion by 2013, which would severely deplete its insurance resources. n

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Mortgage & Credit Crisis Housing Market Rescue Plan Launched.

The Treasury Department March 4 launched a $75 billion program designed to stem a rising number of home foreclosures, and stabilize a slumping housing market that had helped push the economy into a recession. The Treasury said the plan, the outline of which had been unveiled in February, could help as many as nine million homeowners. [See p. 92A1] Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, in a written statement released March 4, said the government’s efforts to assist the housing market were “imperative” to sparking growth in the broader economy and bolstering an ailing financial system. Following the collapse of a housing market bubble in 2006, homeowners had seen the value of their homes decline, and manufacturing and construction industries tied to the housing market were hit by decreased demand. Additionally, financial institutions had invested heavily in the mortgage market in recent years, and were incurring massive losses on rising foreclosures and mortgage defaults. About 2.2 million homes had been foreclosed on in 2008, a record. [See p. 126C2] Many large mortgage lenders welcomed the plan and said they would work with the administration to implement it. They included J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. (The government had taken large stakes in all three banks in recent months.) The three banks Feb. 13 had pledged to halt all fore127

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March Financial Update

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(Close of trading March 2 except where indicated)

Stocks and Bonds Dow Jones Industrial Average

6,763.29

Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index Nasdaq Composite Index London Stock Exchange

700.82 1,322.85 3,625.83

Tokyo Stock Exchange

7,280.15

Toronto Stock Exchange

7,687.51

(see box, p. 128A3)

(Financial Times-Stock Exchange 100) (Nikkei index)

(TSE Composite Index)

B

U.S. 10-Year Treasury Note (yield) U.S. 6-Month Treasury Bill (yield) Currencies (late New York trading) Australia (dollar) (in U.S. dollars) Britain (pound) (in U.S. dollars) Canada (dollar) (in U.S. dollars) European Union (euro) (in U.S. dollars) Japan (yen) (per U.S. dollar) Mexico (peso) (per U.S. dollar) Switzerland (franc) (in U.S. dollars)

C

$926.10

Silver (per troy oz.)

$13.1400

(N.Y. Comex spot price) (London fixing spot price) (Nymex crude future)

Gasoline (per gallon)

(nationwide weighted average price at the pump; Lundberg survey released Feb. 22)

Wheat (No. 2 hard, per bushel) (Kansas City market)

Recent U.S. Data Inflation

(consumer price index 12-month increase through January; see p. 111E2)

Unemployment rate

(January; see p. 79E3)

F

G

$40.15 $1.94 $5.7175

0.0% 7.6%

Gross domestic product growth

-6.2%

Prime rate

3.25%

(annualized fourth-quarter 2008 rate, preliminary report; see p. 128F2)

E

$0.6294 $1.4053 $0.7745 $1.2576 97.43 15.4392 $0.8499

Commodities Gold (per troy oz.)

Oil (per barrel)

D

2.91% 0.44%

closures for a limited period, to give the administration time to flesh out the plan. While the plan was thought to be the most aggressive that the government had yet presented, there remained concerns that it was not enough to bring the housing market out of its slump. The plan focused on reducing monthly payments on loans, but did not include provisions that would reduce the overall cost of loans, known as the principal. Housing experts said reducing the principal could help many homeowners whose mortgages were far more expensive than the current value of their homes. Additionally, home loans in recent years had been bundled into securities, and cut up and sold to investors around the world, making refinancing for borrowers difficult. The House was currently considering controversial legislation that would allow bankruptcy judges to modify the terms of a loan and reduce its cost. The move had been opposed by some lenders who said it would violate contracts they had made with borrowers. Details of the Plan—The housing market rescue plan released March 4 had two central elements. Under the first element, the government would provide $75 billion worth of financial incentives and subsidies to lenders that were willing to reduce monthly payments for homeowners on the verge of foreclosure. The administration 128

said the first part of the plan could prevent as many as four million foreclosures. Homeowners with mortgages equaling $729,750 or less, and who had purchased their home before Jan. 1, would be eligible for the plan. If lenders agreed to reduce monthly payments to 38% of a homeowner’s monthly income, the government would provide subsidies—matched dollar for dollar with the lender’s money—to further reduce payments to as low as 31% of monthly income. Payments would be reduced by temporarily cutting monthly interest rates to as low as 2%, or extending the maturity date of a loan. The government expected that lenders would be enticed by the plan in situations where foreclosure would cost more than a loan modification. Additionally, the government would provide lenders with $1,000 for every loan they modified, and $1,000 for each year that the homeowner continued to make payments on time, for up to three years. Homeowners who kept up with their payments after receiving a modification would also receive $1,000 a year, for up to five years. Protections were established to ensure that real-estate speculators were not bailed out by the government. To qualify, homeowners had to sign an affidavit detailing their financial situations, and had to currently live in the home. Under the second element of the government’s plan, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae—the two government-controlled mortgage-financing giants—would begin modifying loans for homeowners who were up to date on their monthly payments, but were struggling with high interest rates. Those borrowers were unable to refinance their loans because their homes had lost value. To be eligible for the plan, the loans had to be financed or owned by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae, and could not exceed 105% of the home’s value. The government said as many as five million homeowners would be helped by the plan. [See p. 127A3] The Treasury in February had announced that it would make $200 billion in financing available to both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, in order to accommodate the program. n

Economy GDP Shrank at 6.2% Rate in Fourth Quarter.

The Commerce Department Feb. 27 reported that gross domestic product (GDP) shrank at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.2% in the fourth quarter of 2008. That was a much sharper contraction rate than the department’s “advance” estimate of 3.8% reported in January, and the fastest contraction rate since 1982. The new figure, which was “preliminary” and would be revised once more, indicated that an ongoing recession could be deeper and more protracted than previously expected. [See p. 61A1] The severity of the contraction cast into doubt whether a $787 billion stimulus package—signed into law by President Barack Obama earlier in February—could help the economy return to growth by 2010. Obama

Dow Jones Industrial Average Trading on the New York Stock Exchange Closing

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7,936.83 8,078.36 7,956.66 8,063.07 8,280.59 8,270.87 7,888.88 7,939.53 7,932.76 7,850.41 7,552.60 7,555.63 7,465.95 7,365.67 7,114.78 7,350.94 7,270.89 7,182.08 7,062.93

Volume (in millions of shares) 1,319.7 1,346.5 1,389.2 1,619.2 1,609.4 1,255.6 1,753.7 1,356.8 1,479.1 1,239.1 1,597.0 1,433.9 1,482.3 2,112.8 1,610.4 1,834.8 1,724.0 1,484.8 2,238.4

the previous day had released an outline for his first budget proposal, which forecast that the stimulus package would limit 2009’s GDP contraction to 1.2%, and lead to 3.2% growth in 2010, estimates that were considered overly optimistic by many economists. [See pp. 124A3, 89A1] The rate of contraction increased from its advance estimate largely due to revised data that showed a decline in business inventories. The January report said business inventories had increased by $6.2 billion, which added to total GDP, while the February report said inventories had decreased by $19.9 billion. Analysts said the revision was a potential bright spot in the report, as it meant businesses were not overstocked, and could begin making investments in the first quarter of 2009. Consumer spending—which accounted for two-thirds of GDP—contracted at an annualized rate of 4.3% in the fourth quarter, compared with 3.8% in the third quarter. n Durable Goods Orders Down in January.

The Commerce Department Feb. 26 reported that the value of durable goods orders in January was $163.8 billion, down 5.2% from the previous month, as an ongoing recession compelled businesses to reduce their purchases of so-called big-ticket items designed to last three years or more. [See p. 46B1] n New Home Sales Fell 10.2% in January.

The Departments of Commerce and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Feb. 26 reported jointly that sales of new singlefamily homes fell 10.2% in January from the previous month, as the housing market continued to slump amidst an ongoing recession. The new seasonally adjusted annual rate was 309,000 units, down from the revised December 2008 rate of 344,000, and the lowest level since the government began tracking such data in 1963. The median price of a new single-family home sold in January was reported to be $201,100. [See p. 45G3] n FACTS ON FILE

Existing Home Sales Fell 5.3% in January.

The National Association of Realtors Feb. 25 reported that sales of existing homes fell by 5.3% in January, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.49 million units. That was down from the revised December 2008 rate of 4.74 million units, and the lowest rate in 12 years. The median sale price for existing homes in January was $170,300, down 14.8% from the $199,800 reported a year earlier. [See p. 45E3] n Consumer Confidence Fell in February.

The Conference Board business research group Feb. 24 reported that its index of consumer confidence fell to 25.0 in February, down from a revised 37.4 in January. The index was at an all-time low since its 1967 inception, as consumers anticipated an ongoing recession would lead to further deterioration of business conditions and more job losses. The index’s base level of 100 reflected consumer confidence in 1985. [See p. 46G1] n

Obama Administration Gov. Sebelius Nominated to Lead HHS.

President Barack Obama March 2 officially nominated Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Obama Feb. 28 had reportedly offered the job to Sebelius, who accepted. Obama March 2 also named Nancy Ann DeParle, a health official in the administration of former President Bill Clinton, as the director of the White House Office for Health Reform. The pair were expected to have significant roles in Obama’s efforts to overhaul the country’s health care system. [See p. 59A2] Obama in December 2008 had named former Sen. Tom Daschle (D, S.D.) as his choice for HHS secretary, and to head the newly created health reform office. However, Daschle in early February had withdrawn from the nomination process after being scrutinized for failing to pay $128,000 in back taxes, and for his lucrative ties to the health care industry. Daschle’s withdrawal was widely viewed as a blow to Obama’s reform efforts. Sebelius, 60, had been an early supporter of Obama during the presidential nomination processs, and had served two terms as Kansas’s state insurance commissioner, a job that observers said gave her great insight into health care policy. She also had a reputation for bipartisanship, and had managed to get elected in a heavily Republican state, where both houses of the state legislature were controlled by Republicans. As HHS secretary, Sebelius would oversee a department with a $700 billion annual budget and some 65,000 employees. It was thought that Sebelius would play a significant role in Obama’s reform plan, should she be confirmed by the Senate. (Obama Feb. 26 had released an outline for his budget plan that called for a 10-year, $634 billion fund dedicated to health care reform, with the money derived from a tax hike on high-income earners and cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.) She had twice attempted to institute significant expansions of Kansas’s March 5, 2009

health care plans, but had been stymied by the Republican legislature both times. Observers noted that her support of abortion rights would draw the ire of anti-abortion activists, and could complicate her Senate confirmation process. [See p. 124A3] In her role as health reform office director, DeParle, 52, was expected to play a significant role in Obama’s reform efforts. However, it was unclear how implementation of the health care reform plan would be split between the HHS secretary and the reform office. DeParle had served as the administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration, now called the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), from 1997 to 2000, and had also worked as a senior executive in several large health care companies. DeParle’s position did not require confirmation by the Senate. n

Terrorism CIA Destroyed 92 Detainee Tapes in 2005. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in

2005 had destroyed a total of 92 videotapes containing footage taken of terrorism suspects in detention, according to a March 2 letter sent by the Justice Department to Judge Alvin Hellerstein of U.S. District Court in New York City. In 2007, the CIA had admitted to destroying two tapes that showed the interrogations, which reportedly involved controversial harsh techniques, of terrorism suspects Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. [See p. 129F3; 2008, p. 72E1] The letter to Hellerstein was sent by Lev Dassin, acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The suit sought information about the agency’s interrogation and detention of terrorism detainees. Dassin said in the letter that the CIA was currently working to gather additional information for release, including documents describing what had been recorded on the tapes and a list of those who had seen or handled the tapes. The ACLU had previously argued that the destruction of any tapes violated a September 2004 court order it had obtained that required the government to preserve all materials related to the treatment of terrorism detainees. Amrit Singh, an ACLU lawyer, March 2 said the CIA should be “held accountable for its flagrant violation of the law.” A criminal investigation into the destruction of the tapes had begun in January 2008 and was being overseen by John Durham, a federal prosecutor from Connecticut. The investigation was reportedly almost complete and no criminal charges were expected to be filed. Former CIA official Jose Rodriguez Jr., who had ordered the destruction of the tapes, had not yet been interviewed by investigators. Durham reportedly was focusing on the conduct of CIA attorneys who failed to advise Rodriguez that destroying the tapes could violate standing court orders. n

Al Qaeda Suspect Charged in U.S. Court.

Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, an alleged agent of the international terrorist network Al Qaeda, Feb. 26 was charged in U.S. District Court in Peoria, Ill., with two counts of providing material assistance to terrorist groups, according to an indictment unsealed on Feb. 27. Marri, 43, faced up to 30 years in prison if convicted on both charges. He had been held as an enemy combatant in a Charleston, S.C., Navy brig for more than five years by the Bush administration. He was the last U.S. legal resident held as an enemy combatant, and the final remaining enemy combatant held inside the U.S. [See p. 28F1; 2008, p. 903E1] Marri, who was from Qatar, had been arrested in Peoria as a material witness following Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the U.S., and was later charged in Illinois with credit card fraud and making false statements. Prior to his trial, Marri was designated an enemy combatant by the Bush administration and detained without charge at the Charleston brig. In December 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court had agreed to hear a lawsuit filed by Marri’s attorneys that challenged the government’s right to indefinitely detain U.S. citizens and legal residents as part of its antiterrorism operations. The U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., had ruled in July 2008 that the president had such authority, but also ruled that Marri had the right to challenge his detention in federal court. A similar lawsuit challenging the detention of Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen held as an enemy combatant within the U.S., had been dropped from consideration by the Supreme Court in 2006 after Padilla was charged with terrorism offenses in federal court in Florida. [See 2008, p. 36F2] Acting Solicitor General Edwin Kneedler Feb. 27 asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the Marri case in light of the decision to charge him in civilian court. Attorneys representing Marri had praised the decision to try him in a U.S. court but called on the Supreme Court to hear the case, which had been scheduled to begin April 27. If the Supreme Court did not consider the case, the 4th Circuit’s ruling upholding the government’s ability to indefinitely detain enemy combatants, even if they were U.S. citizens or legal residents, would stand. [See 2008, p. 487D1] n Bush-Era Antiterrorism Memos Released.

The Justice Department March 2 released nine formerly classified legal opinions that were written by Bush administration lawyers following Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the U.S. The opinions claimed broad executive powers for responding to terrorist threats. [See p. 129C2; 2008, p. 214D3] Other legal opinions relating to antiterrorist efforts, including a 2003 memorandum that authorized the Defense Department to use so-called harsh interrogation tactics against terrorism detainees, had previously been released by the Bush administration. Three of the memos released March 2 had been blocked from release in November 2008. 129

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In the newly released legal opinions, Bush administration attorneys argued that traditional checks on the power of the executive branch, including constitutional protections and other federal laws, did not apply during times of armed conflict. A Jan. 15 memo written by Steven Bradbury, then the head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), formally revoked the opinions in the earlier memos, which he said had not been applied since 2003. However, Bradbury wrote that the lawyers who wrote the memos had dealt with “novel and complex questions in a time of great danger and under extraordinary time pressure.” In an Oct. 23, 2001, memo, then–Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo and Robert Delahunty, then–special counsel for OLC, wrote that the president’s powers during war included the ability to order the military to operate within the U.S. to combat terrorism. Yoo and Delahunty argued that terrorist agents within the U.S. could be treated as equivalent to an invading military force. They found that the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, which banned the military from carrying out most law enforcement activities within the U.S., did not apply because the military would be carrying out national security actions, not law enforcement actions. The memo had been written in response to a request from then–White House counsel Alberto Gonzales for information about the limits of the president’s ability to use the military to fight terrorism within the U.S. According to the memo, the army would be allowed to destroy a hijacked airplane or attack “civilian targets, such as apartment buildings, offices or ships where suspected terrorists were thought to be.” The memo said the military was not subject to the Fourth Amendment’s restriction on unlawful searches and seizures. It found that the military was not barred from “making arrests, seizing documents or other property, searching persons or places or keeping them under surveillance, intercepting electronic or wireless communications, setting up roadblocks, interviewing witnesses or searching for suspects.” The memo also claimed that the president had the ability to suspend constitutional guarantees protecting free speech. Yoo and Delahunty wrote, “First Amendment speech and press rights may also be subordinated to the overriding need to wage war successfully.” Other legal opinions released March 2 argued that Congress lacked the authority to block the president from transferring detainees to foreign countries, even if the countries were known to torture prisoners. The memos said Congress could not pass any laws on the treatment of detainees, an opinion struck down by the Supreme Court in 2006. [See 2006, p. 501A1] 130

Leahy Continues Push for Commission—

The Senate Judiciary Committee March 4 held hearings on a proposal by Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D, Vt.) to form a “truth commission” that would examine the national security, antiterrorism and legal activities carried out by the Bush administration after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The proposal was intended as a compromise between those seeking prosecutions of Bush administration officials and those opposed to any further investigations. Leahy said the commission would have subpoena power but would grant witnesses immunity from prosecution. [See p. 80E1] The committee heard testimony from four supporters of the proposal, including former members of the Church Commission, which investigated intelligence abuses in the 1970s, and the Sept. 11 Commission, which investigated the terrorist attacks. Two people opposed to Leahy’s proposal testified; one of them, Republican attorney David Rivkin, who had served in the administration of President Ronald Reagan, called the commission “a profoundly bad idea, a dangerous idea.” He said it was “naive to expect a mere commission to settle an ongoing and embittered controversy about past government policy.” Separately, it was reported Feb. 27 that the Senate Intelligence Committee was preparing to begin an inquiry into the secret detention and interrogation of terrorism suspects carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) under the Bush administration. The inquiry was expected to last about six months and to examine whether the CIA’s use of harsh interrogation techniques against terrorism detainees had been effective in preventing terrorist attacks. It would also probe whether the actions taken by the CIA had been correctly approved. n

Supreme Court Drug Approval Does Not Preempt Lawsuits.

The Supreme Court March 4 ruled, 6–3, that pharmaceutical companies could be held liable by state courts for harm done to individuals who took drugs that carried federally approved warnings. Observers suggested that the case, Wyeth v. Levine, would have lasting repercussions for drugmakers and other industries that relied on federal regulations to shield them from litigation in state courts. [See p. 49B1; 2008, p. 721E1] Vermont resident and musician Diana Levine had sued Madison, N.J.–based drugmaker Wyeth after her arm was amputated due to gangrene following a treatment with Phenergan, an anti-nausea drug. The drug, manufactured by Wyeth, had been erroneously injected into Levine’s arm, leading to the onset of gangrene. Levine had argued that the warning against injecting the drug should have been more prominent. A Vermont jury had ruled in her favor and awarded her $6.7 million, and the Vermont Supreme Court had upheld the ruling in 2006.

Wyeth had argued that it could not be sued in state courts because the drug’s label had received approval from the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Justice John Paul Stevens, writing for the majority, said it was not impossible for Wyeth to comply with both state laws and federal regulations. He was joined by Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, David H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer. Justice Clarence Thomas also ruled in Levine’s favor, but issued a separate opinion in which he rejected “far reaching implied pre-emption doctrines.” Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote the dissent, and was joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Antonin Scalia. Alito wrote that neither federal law nor FDA rules “suggest that juries may second guess the FDA’s labeling decisions.”n Park Not Obligated to Display Monument.

The Supreme Court Feb. 25 unanimously ruled that the city government of Pleasant Grove, Utah, was not obligated to display a monument donated by a small religious group to a local public park, even if the park already contained several monuments, including one that featured the Ten Commandments. The case was Pleasant Grove City v. Summum. [See 2008, p. 720E3] The Summum church in 2003 had offered to donate a monument to the city that listed the church’s Seven Aphorisms, or guiding beliefs. The city had rejected the donation even though the park contained a number of other donated monuments, and the church in turn had sued the city. A federal appeals court in Denver, Colo., had ruled that the city was required to display the monument because the city park was a public forum. However, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., writing the court’s majority opinion, concluded that “although a park is a traditional public forum for speeches and other transitory expressive acts, the display of a permanent monument in a public park is not a form of expression to which forum analysis applies.” He added that “a permanent monument in a public park is best viewed as a form of government speech and is therefore not subject to scrutiny under the Free Speech Clause.” He was joined in that opinion by Chief Justice John G. Roberts and Justices John Paul Stevens, Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer. Justice David H. Souter, in a concurring opinion, wrote that if a government accepted a monument of “religious character, the specter of violating the Establishment Clause will behoove it to take care to avoid the appearance of a flat-out establishment of religion.” (The Establishment Clause of the Constitution required the separation of church and state.) His opinion indicated that the Summum church might be able to sue the city for displaying the Ten Commandments in the park. However, Scalia, joined by Thomas, also submitted a concurring opinion, in which Scalia wrote that Summum would probably not be successful in arguing a new case against the city based on the EsFACTS ON FILE

tablishment Clause, and referred to a similar case concerning a Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the Texas state capitol. [See 2005, p. 432F3] Breyer also submitted a concurring opinion, in which he said, “The ‘government speech’ doctrine is a rule of thumb, not a rigid category.” Stevens, joined by Ginsburg, submitted a concurring opinion as well, in which Stevens said Alito’s opinion should not be cited to expand “the recently minted government speech doctrine to uphold government action.” n

became the 10th-largest black-owned industrial company in the U.S. He had also acquired metal-stamping and construction businesses, creating the Bing Group. n Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa Reelected.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 76, Feb. 23 returned to the Supreme Court bench after undergoing surgery for pancreatic cancer weeks earlier. Doctors said the cancer had not spread to other parts of her body. Media reports said Ginsburg was in high spirits and had asked vigorous questions upon her return. [See p. 65D1] n

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) March 3 won reelection to a second four-year term, taking 56% of the vote. He defeated nine little-known rivals he had heavily outspent, clearing the threshold of 50% of the vote required to avoid a runoff in May. [See 2005, p. 340F3] Villaraigosa, 56, was the city’s first Hispanic mayor. His first term had been tarnished two years earlier by the failure of his bid for control of the city schools and the disclosure of his extramarital affair with a television reporter, which led his wife to file for divorce. But his reelection, despite low voter turnout, added to his stature as a potential contender for the California governorship in 2010. n

2009 Elections

Environment

Quigley Wins Chicago House Primary.

Obama Restores Endangered Species Rule.

Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley March 3 won a special Democratic primary for the Chicago House seat that Rahm Emanuel (D) had vacated in December 2008 to become White House chief of staff for President Barack Obama. Quigley won about 22% of the vote to finish ahead of 11 rivals in Illinois’s 5th Congressional District, making him the front-runner in the April 7 general election in the heavily Democratic district. He would face anti–illegal immigration activist Rosanna Pulido, the winner of the Republican primary, in the general election. [See 2008, p. 803F2] Emanuel had held the House seat since 2003. His predecessor, Rod Blagojevich (D), had vacated the seat after winning the 2002 Illinois gubernatorial election. Blagojevich, having won a second term in 2006, had been impeached and removed from office in January after being arrested on federal corruption charges in December 2008. [See p. 43A3] n

President Barack Obama March 2 issued a memorandum requiring federal agencies to consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) before taking actions that might harm endangered species. The move blocked a policy instituted by former President George W. Bush, whose administration in December had issued a regulation allowing federal agencies to waive such reviews if they deemed them unnecessary. [See 2008, p. 938A2] In an announcement made at a commemoration of the 160th anniversary of the Interior Department’s creation, Obama said he had instructed both the Interior Department and the Commerce Department to review the Bush administration policy. His memo said that until the review was completed, federal officials should “follow the prior longstanding consultation and concurrence practices” that required the reviews. Obama’s announcement was heralded by environmentalists, who said it would restore protections established under the Endangered Species Act. But several business and industry groups, as well as Republican lawmakers, said the review requirement would slow down urgent government projects, including those authorized by Obama’s recently enacted economic stimulus package. The move was the latest in a string of reversals of Bush administration environmental policies since Obama’s January inauguration.

Justice Ginsburg Returns to the Bench.

Bing-Cockrel Detroit Mayoral Matchup Set.

Former Detroit Pistons basketball star Dave Bing (D) and interim Mayor Kenneth Cockrel Jr. (D) Feb. 25 finished first and second, respectively, in a special nonpartisan primary election for the Detroit, Mich., mayoralty. The pair would compete in a May 5 general election to decide who would serve the eight months remaining in the term of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick (D). Kilpatrick had resigned in September 2008 and served 99 days in prison after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice in a cover-up of an affair with his chief of staff. He had also pleaded no contest to a charge of assaulting a police officer. [See 2008, p. 788G3] Bing, 65, won 29% of the vote in the primary. Cockrel, 43, who had previously been city council president, took 27%. Bing had been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990. After retiring from the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1978, he had gone into business, starting a steel company, Bing Steel, that March 5, 2009

general well-being of the public, a finding that would require the emissions to be regulated. [See p. 47G1] House Ends Carbon Neutral Plan—Separately, the House had ended a plan to become “carbon-neutral,” a phrase denoting an attempt to offset carbon dioxide emissions by purchasing so-called carbon offsets from groups claiming to have absorbed or eliminated carbon emissions, a spokesman for the House’s chief administrative officer said Feb. 27. The spokesman, Jeff Ventura, said his office would no longer purchase carbon offsets. Providers of such offsets had been criticized for failing to prove that carbon emissions were actually reduced by the promised amount. The Democratic leadership in the House had made going carbon neutral an integral part of its “Green the Capitol” program announced in June 2007. [See 2007, p. 29A2] n

Space

Carbon Dioxide Regulations Considered—

Carol Browner, the special adviser to the president on climate change and energy, Feb. 22 said the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was examining a 2007 Supreme Court decision that found that the agency had the authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions as a form of pollution. The ruling required the EPA to determine whether the emissions posed a threat to the public. Browner said the agency was close to categorizing carbon dioxide emissions as pollution that presented a danger to the

Environmental Satellite Launch Fails. A rocket carrying a climate-monitoring satellite launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) early Feb. 24 failed to reach orbit and crashed into the Indian Ocean near Antarctica. The rocket, a four-stage Taurus XL bearing the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) satellite, was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 1:55 a.m. local time. However, three minutes into the flight, a protective nose cone failed to separate, causing the rocket and satellite to crash and dooming the $278 million mission. [See 2008, p. 102B1; 2007, p. 630G1] The OCO had been designed to monitor global emissions of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas widely thought to contribute to climate change. The satellite would have also identified so-called carbon sinks, areas of the Earth that absorbed excess carbon naturally. NASA officials said they would thoroughly investigate the launch failure to determine its cause. n

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Energy Drilling Comment Period Expanded. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar Feb. 10 announced that the Interior Department would extend by 180 days the public comment period on its proposed five-year plan for oil and gas exploration off the U.S. coasts. The period had been scheduled to end March 23. The five-year plan would set guidelines for future use of the ocean for the purposes of energy production. [See p. 94B1; 2008, pp. 673D2, 504F2] Congress and former President George W. Bush had ended moratoriums against new offshore oil and gas exploration in 2008 following increases in the price of gasoline. Salazar suggested that the Bush administration had attempted to rush consideration of the new five-year plan, which was required to be completed by 2012, as part of “a process tilted toward the usual energy players.” He also said that, in addition to oil and gas drilling, the new five-year plan would 131

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examine renewable methods of generating energy from the oceans, including tide and wind–based power sources. Salazar said that the extended comment period and the other changes would help to “restore order to a broken process.” n

Armed Forces Military Allows Photographs of Coffins.

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Defense Secretary Robert Gates Feb. 26 announced that the military would lift a blanket ban on media coverage of the arrival at Dover Air Force Base, in Delaware, of the flag-covered coffins of U.S. service members killed overseas. However, military family members would have the right to decide on an individual basis whether to allow photographs of the coffins. The ban had been in place since February 1991, when the administration of President George H.W. Bush refused to allow photographs of coffins of service members killed in the Persian Gulf war. [See 2008, p. 571E3; 2004, p. 486B2; 1991, p. 169C1] Gates said he “was never comfortable with” the press ban, and wanted to give service members’ families the final decision. He had previously sought to change the policy, but said he had encountered resistance from the military. However, he said, the Army had come out in favor of the most recent change. Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was also in favor of the policy shift. President Barack Obama Feb. 9 had announced that his administration was examining the policy. A Cable News Network (CNN)/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Feb. 26 showed 67% of respondents in favor of lifting the blanket ban, with 31% opposed. Antiwar groups and news organizations praised the policy change, saying it would allow the public to see the true cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, some military families opposed it as an intrusion into what they said should be a private moment. n

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Imprisoned Spy and Son Charged. Former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) official Harold Nicholson, who was serving a prison sentence for spying for Russia, and Nathaniel Nicholson, his 24-year-old son, Jan. 29 were charged in U.S. District Court in Portland, Ore., in connection with payments made to Nathaniel Nicholson by the Russian government. The payments, which were allegedly made between 2006 and 2008, were reportedly linked to Harold Nicholson’s earlier spying, and totaled about $35,000. Both men Jan. 29 pleaded not guilty to charges of money laundering, conspiracy and acting as a foreign agent. [See 1997, p. 412F2] Harold Nicholson had served as deputy CIA station chief in Malaysia and as an instructor at CIA headquarters in Langley, Va. He pleaded guilty in 1997 to charges of conspiracy to commit espionage and attempted espionage, and had been sentenced to 23 132

years in prison. He had admitted to passing the identities of the CIA’s Moscow station chief as well as some of his former trainees to the Russian government in exchange for payments totaling $300,000. After his imprisonment on espionage charges, Harold Nicholson had allegedly reportedly attempted to convince cell mates and their families to contact Russian agents on his behalf, and had asked his son to do so after those attempts failed. Nathaniel Nicholson allegedly met with Russian agents in Peru, Mexico and San Francisco, Calif., and used the money collected at the meetings to cover family expenses and debts. Harold Nicholson reportedly hoped to move to Russia following his release from prison and expected additional payment from the Russian government for his previous spying. The funds given to Nathaniel Nicholson were thought to have been part of that payment. Prosecutors suggested that Harold Nicholson was a potentially valuable resource to the Russian government because he had insight into U.S. knowledge about Russian spying within the U.S., as well as information about how he had been caught. n

Religion Dolan Named New York City Archbishop.

Pope Benedict XVI Feb. 23 named Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan, 59, to serve as the head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, which encompassed about 2.5 million Catholics. Dolan would officially succeed Cardinal Edward Egan, 76, on April 15. Dolan was known for his gregarious manner, in contrast to Egan, who was known as a cool but effective administrator. [See 2002, p. 751F1; 2000, p. 357C2] Dolan, a conservative who espoused the Vatican’s views against abortion, birth control, divorce and gay marriage, was originally from St. Louis, Mo., and held a doctorate in American church history from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He had been named archbishop of Milwaukee in 2002. During his tenure in Milwaukee, he had notably released the names of priests within the diocese who faced credible accusations of sexual abuse. However, Chicago, Ill.–based advocacy group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), in a May 22, 2008, press release, had claimed that Dolan’s lawyers had “vigorously fought proposed reforms of child sex abuse laws” in Minnesota. Egan, during his tenure in New York, had angered some Catholics by selling church property and closing a number of parishes and schools. However, he was also praised as a shrewd businessman and fundraiser, and claimed to have eliminated a $48 million debt he inherited when he became New York’s archbishop in 2000. He was also known for his strained relationship with the media. Egan had submitted his resignation in 2007 after his 75th birthday, as all Catholic bishops were required to do. (Almost all cardinals, including Egan, were ordained bishops, and subject to the mandatory resignation age.) He

would become the first leader of the archdiocese in its history to actually step down, rather than die in office. n News in Brief. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D, Calif.), a practicing Roman Catholic who supported abortion rights, Feb. 18 briefly met with Pope Benedict XVI in Rome, Italy. Benedict, according to a Vatican statement, “took the opportunity to speak of…the church’s consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death.” The Vatican was reportedly distressed over President Barack Obama’s support for abortion rights, a departure from the views of Obama’s predecessor, President George W. Bush. [See 2008, p. 916A3] Former Roman Catholic priest George Miller, 70, Jan. 30 was sentenced to three years in prison for sexually abusing a young boy in 1988 and 1989. Miller, who had served in the Los Angeles diocese, had pleaded guilty in December 2008 to molesting at least four boys since 1977. [See below; 2008, p. 726G2] Federal authorities had initiated grand jury proceedings against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Los Angeles to determine

whether church officials had committed a crime by failing to properly supervise priests who were accused of child molestation, it was reported Jan. 29. Cardinal Roger Mahony, 72, was reportedly at the center of the inquiry. Mahony had previously admitted that he allowed priests who had confessed to, or been accused of, sexually abusing minors to continue serving. He had also fought against turning church personnel records over to authorities in previous investigations. The archdiocese in a Feb. 1 statement said it was cooperating with the probe, which reportedly began in late 2008. [See 2007, p. 872E3 ] The California Supreme Court Jan. 5 unanimously ruled that three parishes that had broken with the Episcopal Church, the U.S. branch of the worldwide Anglican communion, could not retain ownership of parish property and facilities. The court said the splinter churches had previously agreed to abide by the Episcopal Church’s rules, which stated that church properties belonged to parishes only if they remained part of the greater church. About 100 parishes and four dioceses had recently split with the Episcopal Church over its more liberal views on issues such as the inclusion of gays and lesbians. [See 2008, p. 916A2] n

Medicine & Health Court Rejects Vaccine, Autism Link.

The U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C., Feb. 12 ruled that three families seeking damages from the federal government had failed to prove that substances in vaccines had caused their children’s autism. An estimated 5,000 families with autistic children were seeking compensation from a federal fund established in 1988 for the purpose of paying damages in cases of children harmed by vaccines. The fund was designed to limit the liability of vaccine FACTS ON FILE

companies so that they would continue to manufacture products without fear of litigation. The three claims heard by the court were considered test cases for all the claims. [See 2008, p. 635E2; 2001, p. 332B2] The families seeking damages argued that a mercury-containing preservative called thimerosal—included in a measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine made by Merck & Co.—had caused autism in the children. In 1999, federal health officials had recommended the removal of thimerosal from vaccines, and by 2001 the additive was no longer commonly used. Several government studies had shown that there was no link between thimerosal and autism, but a sizable group of parents had disregarded the conclusions, with some accusing the government of a cover-up. In one of the cases, Special Master George Hastings, the judge, ruled that lawyers for Michelle Cedillo, who had autism and gastrointestinal disorders, had failed to show that “thimerosal-containing vaccines can contribute to causing immune dysfunction,” or that such vaccines “can contribute to causing autism or gastrointestinal dysfunction.” Hastings added, “Unfortunately, the Cedillos have been misled by physicians who are guilty, in my view, of gross medical misjudgment.” Similar decisions were reached by two other judges in claims brought on behalf of two other autistic people. The judgments were lauded by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which was the defendant in all three cases. Because the families needed to show only a preponderance of evidence linking the vaccines to autism, the decisions were thought to significantly decrease the chance that other families seeking damages would win their cases. n

Medicare & Medicaid Medicare Accepts Unapproved Cancer Drugs.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in June 2008 had announced that the Medicare program would expand its coverage to include several cancer drug therapies that had not yet received full approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it was reported Jan. 27. The CMS had reportedly made the policy change announcement in a lowkey press statement released on June 5, 2008, and the change had taken effect in November. [See 2008, p. 19A1; 2007, p. 806E3] The move generated controversy among doctors, insurance companies and patients rights’ advocates. Many doctors who treated cancer had lobbied for the policy change, arguing that patients were entitled to the most advanced care. However, many of the drugs were prohibitively expensive, costing as much as $10,000 per month, and had generated little clinical evidence that they were effective. Opponents of the policy also said the treatments could expose patients to uncomfortable side effects, leading to a decline in quality of life, while doing little to improve their cancer. March 5, 2009

Under the new rule, the number of reference guides, or compendiums, used by Medicare to determine whether to cover an off-label use of a cancer drug was expanded to four, from one. The new rule required Medicare to pay for an off-label drug use if one of the guides recommended it as a treatment. However, an October 2008 draft report by Medicare had warned that several of the compendiums’ publishers had close ties to the drug industry, eliciting concerns that recommendations included in the guides were being influenced by drugmakers. It was unclear how much the new policy would cost the Medicare program, or if private insurers, which generally followed the government program’s lead on coverage matters, would agree to pay for such off-label treatments. n

Consumer Affairs Massive Credit Card Data Breach Reported.

Officials at Heartland Payment Systems Inc., a Princeton, N.J.–based payment processor, Jan. 20 said it had discovered malicious software in its system that could copy a credit card’s account number, expiration date and bank codes. That information could be used to make fraudulent charges or duplicate cards. The company processed about 100 million card transactions each month for some 250,000 businesses, making the data breach perhaps one of the largest ever. [See 2007, p. 875B2] The company said it did not know how many customer records had been accessed by the malicious software. Robert Baldwin, the company’s president and chief financial officer, said Heartland had first been alerted to fraudulent transactions by Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. in October 2008. The company had then notified the Secret Service and hired its own private investigators. The software was thought to have been installed as early as May 2008. n

Accidents & Disasters Ice Storm Leaves 700,000 Without Power.

A Jan. 27–28 ice storm was blamed for more than 40 deaths, and knocked out power in more than 700,000 homes and businesses in Kentucky and northern Arkansas. President Barack Obama designated Kentucky and 23 counties in Arkansas major federal disaster areas Feb. 5 and 6, respectively. The designation allowed the federal government to reimburse state and local governments for 75% of recovery-related costs. [See 2002, p. 990F1] Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe (D) Feb. 3 said the storm had caused about $77 million in damages to infrastructure in the state. Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear (D) in a Feb. 5 press release said damages in the state had “exceeded an estimated $61 million.” Winds as high as 58 miles per hour (93 kmph) in another storm Feb. 11 caused 120,000 power outages in Kentucky. n

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Guinea-Bissau President Killed After Murder of Army Chief.

A group of soldiers early March 2 killed Guinea-Bissau President Joao Bernardo (Nino) Vieira in his home in Bissau, the capital city. The assassination came hours after the murder of the country’s army chief, Gen. Batista Tagme Na Waie, who had died in a bombing at the army’s headquarters late March 1. Vieira, 69, and Tagme reportedly had been feuding for several years. [See p. 140G3; 2008, p. 940A3] Guinea-Bissau had been plagued by poverty and political instability since it gained independence from Portugal in 1974. Vieira, a leader in the guerrilla movement that fought the colonizers, had first taken power in a military coup in 1980 that toppled the country’s first post-independence president, Luis de Almeida Cabral. Vieira won a presidential election in 1994, but himself was ousted in a 1999 coup, after which he fled into exile in Portugal. He regained power in 2005 by winning a presidential election. One of the poorest nations in the world, Guinea-Bissau—which controlled numerous tiny uninhabited islands off its coast— had gained notoriety as a transit point for the shipment of illegal drugs from South America to Europe by Colombian cartels. The drug trade had proven lucrative for corrupt political and military officials in the country, and the United Nations and other experts had described it as on the verge of becoming a “narco-state.” Some reports indicated that Vieira had planned to implement reforms of the military that could have cut top officers out of the drug trade. The rivalry between Vieira and Tagme also had an ethnic dimension; Vieira was a member of the minority Papel group, while Tagme was an ethnic Balanta, which comprised about 30% of the population but reportedly dominated the military. After a coup attempt in the 1985, Vieira responded by executing and purging Balanta officers whom he held responsible, including Tagme, who was exiled to one of the country’s small islands for years. Tensions between the two men had flared in November 2008, when Vieira survived an assassination attempt reportedly carried out by rogue elements of the military. Then, on Jan. 5, Vieira’s 400-member personal guard was accused of opening fire on Tagme’s convoy, an attack that the army commander survived. Details of the Assassination—News reports and eyewitnesses offered varied accounts of the details of the events of late March 1 and early March 2. Tagme was reportedly killed when a bomb exploded underneath a staircase leading to his office. A few hours later, in the early morning hours of March 2, a group of soldiers loyal to Tagme apparently stormed Vieira’s house. Some reports said he was shot and killed after the soldiers extracted a confession that he had ordered the murder of Tagme, while others said he was injured when sol133

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diers bombed and shot at his house, and then was killed in a machete attack. Initially, Jose Zamora Induta, the country’s navy commander, March 2 said Vieira had been shot and killed after admitting to ordering Tagme’s killing. However, later that day, after the African Union (AU) condemned Vieira’s killing as a “criminal act,” Induta said the death of Tagme had “no connection” with Vieira’s murder, which he said had been carried out by “a group of people whom we do not know.” The military in a March 2 statement on state radio said it was not seeking power and that it would respect the “constitutional order,” which called for the head of parliament to succeed the president and for a presidential election to be held within 60 days. Accordingly, parliamentary speaker Raimundo Pereira March 3 was sworn in as the country’s interim president. Pereira March 4 urged the international community to assist in stabilizing the country and in organizing elections. Vieira’s killers reportedly remained at large as of March 5. International Reaction—The AU March 2 condemned the killings, describing them as “cowardly and heinous attacks.” However, in a March 3 meeting, the AU’s Peace and Security Council decided against suspending Guinea-Bissau from AU membership, due to the assurances from the military that it was not undertaking a coup. The killings were also denounced by the U.N. Security Council, the European Union and former colonial power Portugal. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a regional group of which Guinea-Bissau was a member, March 3 sent a delegation of foreign ministers to Guinea-Bissau. Its executive secretary, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, that day said he “welcomed” the military’s statement that it was not involved in a coup, and called on it to “continue to maintain this democratic, republican posture and accept civilian control.” At the meeting, Guinea-Bissau Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior reportedly asked for financial aid from ECOWAS in order to deal with the crisis. n

Sierra Leone War Crimes Tribunal Convicts Rebel Leaders.

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The Special Court for Sierra Leone, a joint national and United Nations tribunal, Feb. 25 in Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital, found three former leaders of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel group guilty of multiple counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for acts committed during the country’s 1991–2002 civil war. The RUF was notorious for mutilating civilians and kidnapping young boys and girls to serve as fighters or sex slaves. [See 2008, p. 907E1; 2007, p. 613B3] The three RUF leaders who were convicted—Issa Hassan Sesay, Augustine Gbao and Morris Kallon—were described as the highest-ranking living members of the rebel group. RUF founder and leader Foday Sankoh had died in 2003. 134

Sesay and Kallon were convicted of 16 of the 18 charges against them, while Gbao was found guilty on 14 of 18 counts. The crimes they were convicted of included murder, amputation, attacks on peacekeepers, recruiting child soldiers, sexual slavery and forced marriage. The ruling marked the first time that an international court had delivered a guilty verdict for the crimes of forced marriage and attacks on peacekeepers. The three RUF commanders were the last defendants before the Freetown branch of the Special Court. It was also conducting a trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, an ally of Sankoh who had allegedly traded diamonds illegally mined by the RUF for weapons. Taylor had been indicted on 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. His trial had been moved to The Hague, the Netherlands, due to concerns that his continued presence in West Africa could cause regional instability. The prosecution in Taylor’s trial Jan. 30 called its final witness, and rested its case Feb. 27. Chief prosecutor Stephen Rapp Feb. 23 warned that Taylor could be set free due to a funding shortfall at the Special Court. The court was funded on a voluntary basis by donor countries, but Rapp said donations had been cut in the wake of the global economic downturn. n

AMERICAS

Cuba Raul Castro Overhauls Cabinet. Cuban President Raul Castro Ruz March 2 shuffled his cabinet, ousting several younger members staunchly loyal to his older brother, Fidel Castro Ruz, who had resigned as president in February 2008 after ruling the country for 49 years. In all, more than 10 ministers were replaced, and four ministries were combined into two. Analysts said the moves were among the most substantial governmental reorganizations in several decades, and could be an attempt by Raul Castro to cement a power base free of politicians close to his older brother. [See 2008, p. 117B3] Felipe Perez Roque, 43, a former personal secretary to Fidel Castro who was widely considered a strong candidate to succeed Raul Castro, was dismissed as foreign minister. Perez Roque had worked to strengthen Cuba’s ties with other Latin American countries, and was involved in establishing relationships with European Union members. He was replaced by his deputy, Bruno Rodriguez Aprilla, who had previously served as Cuba’s ambassador to the United Nations. However, Perez Roque retained his post on the powerful Council of State, whose members ranked above cabinet members. Carlos Lage Davila, 57, was stripped of his role as cabinet secretary, but was thought to retain his position as vice president of the Council of State. Lage was an economist widely credited with guiding Cuba through a tough economic period following the collapse of the Soviet Union, which had provided substantial aid to the

country. Lage was replaced by Gen. Jose Amado Ricardo Guerra, a military official who had worked closely with Raul Castro when he headed the country’s armed forces. Cabinet Vice President Otto Rivera Torres, a former youth leader, was replaced by Ramiro Valdez Menendez, a hard-liner who had fought in the 1959 Cuban revolution alongside the Castro brothers. Raul Castro said the cabinet moves would lead to a “more compact and functional structure,” alluding to his stated desire to reduce governmental bureaucracy. Fidel Castro, in a March 3 blog post on the government-run Web site CubaDebate, denied that the moves were designed to allow Raul Castro to solidify control of the government. Fidel Castro said Lage and Perez Roque had been removed because the “honey of power” had “awoke in them ambitions that led to an undignified role.” Fidel Castro Sightings Reported— The New York Times March 3 reported that several people claimed to have seen Fidel Castro going for walks outside the Center for Medical and Surgical Research in Havana, Cuba’s capital. Fidel Castro in July 2006 had handed over day-to-day governing powers to Raul Castro, citing an unspecified gastrointestinal ailment that required surgery, and had not been seen in public since. He was thought to be receiving treatment at the center. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias, a close friend and ally of Fidel Castro, Feb. 27 had said the former leader had gone for walks in Havana, and that his health was the best it had been since July 2006. [See 2007, p. 498E2] n

A S I A - PA C I F I C

China Migrant Jobless Put at 20 Million. A rural

policy official of China’s ruling Communist Party Feb. 2 said the current economic slowdown had forced 20 million migrant workers who could not find jobs in cities to return to their rural homes. That estimate, which did not include unemployed migrant workers still seeking jobs in urban areas, was as much as twice previous estimates. The official, Chen Xiwen of the Office of Central Rural Work Leading Group, suggested that the large number of unemployed threatened to increase social unrest. Rural areas were experiencing less prosperity than China’s cities. Deprived of the income sent back by migrant workers, they were expected to face difficulty absorbing an influx of the returning unemployed. [See p. 35E1] The government had not released specific recent figures for incidents of social unrest, but some official news media alluded to evidence that labor-related conflicts were on the rise. Chen also urged local authorities to show restraint in deploying police to confront protests and conflicts, and to do more to directly address the root causes of protests and conflicts, such as land seizures and disputes, environmental degradation, and corruption. The Communist Party and China’s State Council (cabinet) Feb. 1 had issued a joint FACTS ON FILE

report calling 2009 “possibly the toughest year” economically since the late 1990s, particularly with respect to promoting rural development. n

Taiwan Ex-President’s Relatives Plead Guilty. Wu Shu-chen, the wife of former Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian, Feb. 10 pleaded guilty to money laundering and forgery, but not to more serious embezzlement and bribery charges. Chen Jan. 19 had pleaded not guilty to charges of embezzlement, bribetaking, money laundering and the forgery of documents at the opening of his own trial. He insisted that the case was being pressed by the government at the behest of his successor, Ma Ying-jeou, for political reasons. Wu’s admission, and guilty pleas by other relatives of Chen’s, were seen as a setback to his case. [See 2008, p. 942B3] Wu, in her first court appearance since she fainted at the opening of her trial in late 2006, pleaded not guilty to embezzlement from a special presidential fund, and accepting bribes in connection with a government real estate deal. She also rejected a money-laundering charge related to the presidential fund. She acknowledged falsifying documents in connection with the presidential fund, but said money from it had not been misused. She said money she had sent overseas had been the family’s, and that she had wired it without Chen’s knowledge. Wu pleaded guilty to two counts of money laundering related to more than $2.2 million that she had received from businessmen and had previously described as political donations, rather than bribes. The couple’s son, Chen Chih-chun, his wife, Huang Jui-ching, and Wu’s brother, Wu Ching-mao, Jan. 21 all pleaded guilty to money laundering. Chen Feb. 20 reportedly began his second hunger strike since he was first detained, to protest what he called prosecutorial misconduct. In an interview with the Financial Times published Feb. 23, his first since December 2008, Chen reiterated his claim that the case was “100% political,” and suggested that China’s enmity lay behind it. As president, Chen had promoted the goal of Taiwanese independence from China, which regarded it as a breakaway province; his successor, Ma, had shifted to a more conciliatory approach toward China. Chen’s case had raised concerns about the treatment of defendants in Taiwan’s judicial system, which largely dated from a decades-long period of martial law. A January incident at a justice ministry function had also appeared to validate concerns about potential bias in the proceedings. At the ministry, a comic skit was performed in which one of the prosecutors in the case derisively mimicked Chen’s proclamations of innocence. n GDP Shrinks More Than 8%. Taiwan’s government Feb. 18 reported that gross domestic product (GDP) had fallen by 8.4% in the fourth quarter of 2008 from the year-earlier period. The dramatic decline prompted the central bank to cut its benchmark interest March 5, 2009

rate by a quarter percentage point, to 1.25%, a record low. It was the second quarter of GDP contraction in a row, meeting a common definition of an economic recession. [See 2008, p. 840G1] Taiwan’s economy had been hit particularly hard by a drop in exports. The government Jan. 7 had reported a 42% plunge in exports for December 2008 from December 2007. n

Turkmenistan Hundreds Pardoned in Mass Amnesty. Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov Feb. 16 signed a decree pardoning 990 prisoners in a mass amnesty meant to mark the country’s National Flag Day, which fell on Feb. 19. Mass amnesties had been made popular by Berdymukhammedov’s late, eccentric predecessor, Saparmurad Niyazov, whose Feb. 19 birthday until 2008 had been opulently celebrated in conjunction with Flag Day. Berdymukhammedov had since rescinded some of Niyazov’s more idiosyncratic laws, such as a ban on circuses and operas. [See 2008, p. 982A1] In related news, London-based rights group Amnesty International Feb. 12 released a report on Turkmenistan that marked the second anniversary of Berdymukhammdov’s government, which had taken office Feb. 14, 2007. Amnesty charged that while Berdymukhammedov had risen to power “amid hopes that he would improve the country’s abysmal human rights record marked by repression of any form of peaceful dissent,” he had not implemented many meaningful reforms. n

Other Asia-Pacific News ASEAN

Discusses

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Refugees.

Thailand Feb. 27–March 1 hosted the 14th annual summit meeting of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). During the meeting, which was held in the Thai town of Cha-am Hua Hin, leaders discussed the region’s Rohingya refugee problem and signed new trade deals. The meeting had been scheduled to take place in December 2008, but had been delayed after protesters occupied two airports near Bangkok, Thailand’s capital. [See below; 2008, p. 886D2; 2007, p. 790G3] Economic Grouping Scheduled for 2015—

The leaders of ASEAN’s member nations March 1 signed a document committing to the 2015 creation of an economic regional collective modeled on the European Union. The same day, ASEAN issued a joint statement urging the rest of the world to carry out “bold and urgent reform of the international finance system,” and to “stand firm against protectionism.” Analysts said increased protectionism could have a significantly negative effect on the economies of Thailand and other ASEAN members that relied heavily on exports for revenue. ASEAN members Feb. 27 signed a new free trade deal with the governments of New Zealand and Australia that was intended to increase the combined gross do-

mestic product (GDP) of the 12 participating countries by about $48 billion by 2020. In addition, ASEAN members March 1 agreed to sell oil to fellow members at discounted prices at times of economic crisis. No Resolution on Rohingya Issue— It was reported March 2 that ASEAN members had agreed to delay consideration of the problems surrounding the status of Rohingya refugees native to Myanmar until April, when a multinational conference on human trafficking that was scheduled to take place on Indonesia’s island of Bali. However, Myanmar’s government reportedly had agreed to accept any of the refugees who could be shown to be its citizens. Myanmar had previously denied any connection to the Rohingya, a largely Islamic ethnic group native to Myanmar’s Rakhine state. [See p. 99B1] The treatment of the refugees had attracted international attention in January, when Thailand’s military had been accused of abandoning more than 1,000 Rohingya migrants at sea without sufficient food or water. Hundreds of Rohingya refugees were still missing or presumed dead.

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Cambodia, Myanmar Protest Activists—

The governments of Cambodia and Myanmar Feb. 28 threatened to boycott the summit’s human rights meeting after activists from both countries were given permission to attend. Following the boycott threat, the activists reportedly agreed to withdraw, allowing the meeting to go forward. ASEAN had previously been criticized for failing to condemn human rights abuses carried out by its members. However, the group was scheduled to implement a portion of its charter intended to create an independent human rights investigative body before the end of 2009. During the human rights meeting, Myanmar’s government was reportedly encouraged to release its political prisoners in order to bring about reconciliation with its political opposition. However, Malaysian President Abdullah Ahmad Badawi afterward said, “Nobody mentioned the name of Aung San Suu Kyi,” Myanmar’s opposition leader, who was under house arrest, during the discussion. Currency Pool Expanded—ASEAN and the governments of Japan, China and South Korea Feb. 22 agreed to expand a regional currency pool by $40 billion, to a total of $120 billion, in order to safeguard the values of national currencies in the region. The currency pool, known as the Chiang Mai Initiative, had been created following a 1997–98 Asian financial crisis. As part of the agreement, ASEAN members agreed to provide $8 billion of the $40 billion, with the rest of the money provided by South Korea, China and Japan. The majority of the funds could only be accessed by countries willing to seek assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which had become unpopular in Southeast Asia as a result of its stewardship of the 1997–98 crisis. However, the Wall Street Journal reported Feb. 23 that alterations were planned that would make it possible for countries to access more of the funds without having to n involve the IMF. 135

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Estonia Former Defense Official Convicted of Spying.

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Herman Simm, 61, in an Estonian court Feb. 25 pleaded guilty to, and was convicted of, state treason for supplying outside agents with classified information about Estonia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which it had joined in 2004. He was sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison, and ordered to pay the Estonian defense ministry about $1.6 million to cover damages to security systems that he had compromised. Simm, who from 1995 to 2008 had held high-ranking defense ministry posts in Estonia, had reportedly handed over as many as 3,000 documents to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR.) He was reportedly paid at least $100,000 for his services. [See 2007, p. 284F1; 2004, p. 408C1] Prosecutors alleged that Simm had periodically met with two SVR agents, Valery Zentsov and Sergei Yakovlev, in various countries to deliver classified material. It was reported Feb. 25 that an international arrest warrant had been issued for Yakovlev, who also reportedly possessed a fraudulent Portuguese passport under the name Antonio de Jesus Amurett Graf. Russian authorities had denied working with Simm. It was unclear what kind of materials Simm had passed on to the SVR. Raivo Aeg, director of the Estonian security police, Feb. 26 claimed that “no irreversible catastrophe” had taken place, but added that Simm had “partially compromised and caused damage to various data systems, communication systems, and the like.” Some observers suggested that Simm, an alumnus of the Soviet police academy in Moscow, the capital, was resentful that he had been stripped of his rank of colonel after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Jaanus Rahumagi, head of the Estonian parliament’s security affairs committee, Feb. 25 said, “I believe Simm was happy to be involved with such a big game. He liked to be undercover and secretive.” The incident raised questions about the overall security of NATO amid the current drive to induct former Soviet republics. The organization was currently debating whether to extend membership action plans (MAPs) to Ukraine and Georgia. Russia vehemently opposed the eastward expansion of NATO, which it viewed as an encroachment on territory that traditionally lay within its sphere of influence. [See 2008, p. 879D1] n

European Union Bailout for Eastern Europe Rejected.

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European Union leaders March 1 gathered for an unofficial meeting in Brussels, Belgium, to discuss concerns about protectionism in various countries’ stimulus plans and Eastern European member states’ sagging economies. Western European members led by Germany rejected the idea of a region-wide bailout for the East136

ern European members. Observers suggested that a divide was opening between struggling Eastern European members and more stable Western European members over how to insulate the European economy amid the worst financial crisis since World War II. An official EU summit was slated to take place March 19–20. [See below, pp. 74D1, 68C3; 2008, p. 927D1] The meeting had been called Feb. 11 by the Czech Republic, the current holder of the rotating 6-month EU presidency, as it became clear that economic conditions in countries including Latvia, Hungary and Romania were deteriorating rapidly. The economies of Ireland and Greece had also deteriorated significantly in recent weeks. However, Ireland and Greece, unlike most Eastern European members, were partially shielded because they used the euro, the EU’s common currency. [See pp. 53B1, 37B3] Currencies in Eastern Europe had declined significantly against the euro, which made it increasingly difficult for the affected countries to pay back foreign loans and combat inflation. The EU had strict rules on when a member state could adopt the euro, including mandates that countries keep deficits, debt and inflation below certain levels. Those regulations had become much more difficult to fulfill for newer EU members whose economies had sharply declined in recent months. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, at the meeting, said a Hungarian request to ease some of those benchmarks should be taken into consideration. However, the European Central Bank opposed relaxing standards for euro adoption. In response to concerns that larger EU economies such as Britain, France, Germany and Italy were engaging in protectionism, Poland earlier March 1 had hosted a separate meeting of nine central and eastern EU states to prepare for the meeting of the full EU. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, at a press conference after the March 1 meeting, recognized those concerns and said member states had agreed to “keep our rules and principles regarding internal market, regarding financial stability, regarding a common approach to global supervision regulation and also regarding open economies, namely the need to fight protectionism.” Hungary Proposes $240 Billion Rescue—

Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany, at the March 1 meeting, proposed a 190 billion euro ($240 billion) economic rescue plan designed to support financial institutions in Eastern Europe. Gyurcsany warned of the growing division between Eastern and Western Europe, and said EU countries “should not allow a new Iron Curtain to be set up and divide Europe into two parts.” The plan was soundly rejected by EU leaders, led by Merkel, who said countries should receive assistance on a case-by-case basis. Poland and the Czech Republic also objected to the plan, saying they were relatively stable and did not need a rescue. Merkel also affirmed that “we help countries in need,” but through international organizations like the International

Monetary Fund rather than the EU. In related news, the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank Feb. 27 had announced that they would extend a 24.4 billion euro loan to recapitalize banks in Eastern Europe. World Bank President Robert Zoellick, however, had reportedly claimed that banks in Eastern Europe would need an infusion of 95.5 billion euros to weather the crisis, according to a Feb. 27 report in the Wall Street Journal. French Auto Rescue Revised—France’s controversial plan to extend a 6.5-billioneuro rescue loan to its auto industry was also discussed at the March 1 meeting. The program had drawn criticism for having a protectionist slant, but was revised, according to a Feb. 28 EU press release, so it “would not contain any condition regarding either the location of [auto manufacturers’] activities or a preference for France-based suppliers.” EU leaders March 1 approved the plan, which was the meeting’s only concrete acheivement. [See p. 84F2] n

Great Britain Anti-Islamic Dutch Lawmaker Refused Entry.

British immigration officials at London’s Heathrow Airport Feb. 12 barred Geert Wilders, a controversial member of the Dutch parliament, from entering Britain and forced him to board the next return flight to the Netherlands. Wilders had traveled to Britain at the invitation of a member of the House of Lords, the upper chamber of the British Parliament, to screen his 15-minute film Fitna, which meant “civil strife” in Arabic. The film, which Wilders had posted on the Internet in 2008, blamed the Koran, Islam’s holy book, for inciting violence by Muslim extremists. [See 2008, p. 244D1] The British Home Office, which oversaw domestic security, had issued an order for Wilders to be deported upon his arrival, describing him as a “genuine, present and sufficient threat to the fundamental interests of society.” Wilders called British Prime Minister Gordon Brown “the biggest coward in Europe.” Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen telephoned his British counterpart, David Miliband, to protest Wilders’s deportation. n

Poland 1,800 Bodies Found in Mass Grave. At least 1,800 bodies had been discovered in what investigators believed was a World War II– era mass grave in the Polish town of Malbork, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported Jan. 7. Investigators suspected that the bodies were those of Malbork’s civilian German residents, who had vanished in 1945, after the Soviet Red Army captured the town during its advance to Berlin, Germany’s capital, in the final months of the war. (Malbork had been known as Marienburg before the end of World War II, when it had been under German administration as part of the region of East Prussia. East Prussia became part of FACTS ON FILE

Poland after the war.) According to Piotr Szwedowski, a municipal official in Malbork, “All of the people were buried naked, without any shoes or personal effects.” He also said a number of the bodies, which included men, woman and children, appeared to have bullet wounds. [See 2007, p. 396D3; 1945, p. 26A] Bodies had first been discovered at the site on Oct. 28, 2008, by construction workers who were building a hotel near the base of a 13th-century Teutonic Knights fortress, a popular tourist attraction. The bodies had reportedly been buried in a bomb crater. Among the causes of death investigators were considering were hypothermia, starvation, artillery fire and execution. n

Ukraine Credit Rating Downgraded Further. Credit

rating agency Standard & Poor’s Feb. 25 downgraded Ukraine’s long term foreign currency rating to CCC-plus, seven levels below investment-grade and the lowest in Europe. The agency left the outlook negative. Standard & Poor’s cited political instability and doubts that the government could balance the budget for its decision. A balanced budget was a requirement for Ukraine to receive the second installment of a $16.4 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan, the first part of which had been extended in November 2008. [See p. 37C1; 2008, p. 783E2] n

Other European News New Ukraine-Romania Sea Border Drawn.

The International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, Feb. 3 drew a new maritime border in the northwestern Black Sea between Ukraine and Romania, settling a 40-year dispute between the countries. The controversy had attracted attention in the 1990s, when major deposits of oil and natural gas were discovered in the disputed area, which encompassed about 12,000 square kilometers (4,630 square miles). The court ruled that Romania would control just under 80% of the area, and the rest would belong to Ukraine. [See 1997, p. 441E1] Included in the Ukrainian-designated area was a rocky outcrop called Serpent Island, which was home to about 100 people, including scientists and Ukrainian military personnel. The court also decided in its ruling that Serpent Island was in fact an island—Romania had claimed that it was too small. However, the court did not grant Ukraine extensive rights to the coastal shelf surrounding the island, which contained the oil and natural gas deposits. (According to legend, Serpent Island was the resting place of the mythical Greek warrior Achilles, and it was the site of ancient ruins of what was believed to have been a temple built in his honor.) Both countries praised the court’s unanimous decision, which made no mention of how the area’s natural resources would be allocated. The Romanian media outlet NewsIn claimed that under the ruling, the country had received access to 70 billion cubic meters (2.47 trillion cubic ft.) of natMarch 5, 2009

ural gas and 12 million metric tons (13.2 million tons) of crude oil. The countries had agreed in advance that the court’s ruling was final and could not be appealed. n

SOUTH ASIA

Afghanistan President Calls for Early National Elections.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai Feb. 28 issued a decree calling for national elections to be held by April or May, overriding a January decision by the country’s election commission to delay the elections until Aug. 20. But the commission, which nominally held the power to issue a final decision on the election date, March 4 reaffirmed its plan to postpone the date, a move welcomed by the United Nations and the U.S. [See p. 102C1] U.S. President Barack Obama earlier in February had announced that the U.S. would deploy an additional 17,000 troops to Afghanistan to quell a resurgent insurgency by the fundamentalist Islamic group the Taliban. U.S. officials had said an August election would give those troops more time to improve the security situation before the elections. Under the Afghan constitution, national elections had to be held 30–60 days before the end of a president’s term, and Karzai’s five-year term was due to end May 21. The election commission had postponed the date, citing the deteriorating security situation and poor winter weather, which would prevent the government from registering voters. Opposition parties argued that Karzai would be violating the constitution if he remained in power after May 21, and called for a caretaker government to take his place in the interim. But Karzai appeared to be resisting calls for him to relinquish power. Critics claimed that Karzai’s decree had been an attempt to stifle his political opposition, as it was unlikely that rival candidates would be able to mount a full-fledged presidential campaign in only a few months. The U.S. State Department March 4 urged the Afghan government to formulate a way to “ensure the continuity, legitimacy and stability of the government” between the end of Karzai’s term and August. n

Bangladesh Border Guard Mutiny Leads to Army Clash.

Border guards with the Bangladeshi paramilitary group the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) Feb. 25–26 mutinied against their senior officers, killing at least 77 people in Dhaka, the capital, before the rebellion was quelled by army forces. Hundreds of members of the 42,000-strong BDR Feb. 25 had arrived at the group’s headquarters for an annual meeting with officers, reportedly to lodge protests against their pay and living quarters. [See p. 9B1; 2008, p. 421B1] Mutineers instead clashed with the officers. It was unclear if the officers were held hostage for a period of time, or were killed outright. Several smaller rebellions

were also reported in 12 other towns and cities across the country. BDR forces Feb. 25 engaged in fierce firefights with army forces on the streets of Dhaka, and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed Feb. 26 deployed tanks to surround the BDR’s compound. Hasina Feb. 25 brokered a peace agreement with 15 leaders of the rebel group. Under the agreement, the mutinous guards agreed to surrender in exchange for amnesty, and Feb. 26 began turning themselves over to army forces. The remains of some 77 officers and their friends and family members Feb. 27– 28 were discovered by government forces inside or near the BDR compound, many in shallow mass graves, nearby ponds and sewers. Among them was Shakil Ahmed, the army officer who commanded the BDR. Another 71 people were missing and presumed dead. After the discovery of the corpses, Hasina Feb. 27 said those responsible for the deaths would be tried by special tribunal, modifying her earlier pledge of amnesty. More than 1,000 BDR members March 1 were charged with murder and arson. Security forces March 3 arrested Touhidal Alam, a deputy assistant director of the BDR, on suspicion of leading the mutiny. The event was considered a serious test of Hasina’s rule, and of general political stablility in Bangladesh. Since achieving independence from Pakistan in 1971, there had been more than 22 coup d’etats and countercoups there. Hasina had taken office in January, restoring democracy to the country and ending two years of rule by a military caretaker government. n

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Pakistan Sri Lankan Cricket Team Attacked in Lahore.

As many as 14 terrorists armed with assault rifles, grenades and rocket launchers March 3 attacked a bus carrying the Sri Lankan national cricket team in the city of Lahore, in the eastern Pakistani province of Punjab. The attack left as many as eight people dead, including six police officers, and injured at least nine people, including seven Sri Lankan players. No group claimed responsibility for the attack. [See pp. 103C2, 102B3; 2008, p. 685B3] The attack began as the bus approached the Qadaffi cricket stadium, where a match with the Pakistani national team was to be held that day. None of the gunmen were killed or captured during a firefight with policemen escorting the bus. Pakistani security officials March 4 offered conflicting progress reports on an ensuing investigation, with some claiming that 20 people had been arrested, and others claiming that no arrests were made. Rehman Malik, chief of Pakistan’s interior ministry, March 3 had claimed that a “foreign hand” was behind the attack, in what he said was an attempt to “harm the country’s image.” Other officials explicitly blamed India, Pakistan’s historical rival. There was also some speculation that the attackers had connections with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a Sri Lankan 137

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rebel group that was currently fighting the Sri Lankan army. [See p. 119E1] However, observers said video images of the attack and evidence gathered afterward suggested that a Pakistani-based group was responsible. They said the attack bore clear resemblances to a November 2008 attack on Mumbai, India’s commercial capital, which officials from India and other countries had blamed on Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamic extremist group based near Lahore. Pakistani police also said they suspected that domestic militants were involved in the attack. Pakistan was currently struggling against Islamic extremist militants operating in its lawless northwest tribal areas, who in recent months had also staged major attacks on large cosmopolitan centers like Lahore. The latest attack was perceived as being particularly damaging to Pakistan’s international reputation, since cricket was hugely popular in South Asia, and had served as a cultural bridge between Pakistan and its neighbors. The national cricket teams from Australia, England and South Africa had declined to play in Pakistan due to the unstable security situation. New Zealand’s team March 3 canceled a scheduled tour. The Sri Lankan team was the first team to play in Pakistan in 14 months, and had replaced an Indian team that had backed out of a scheduled tournament after the Mumbai attack. Part of the 2011 cricket World Cup was supposed to be hosted by Pakistan, but cricketing officials said that would have to be reconsidered. [See 2008, p. 408B1] Some Pakistani officials said recent political infighting between the country’s two largest parties—the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)—had left security forces focused on safeguarding political rallies rather than the Sri Lankan team. Chris Broad, a British umpire traveling with the team, March 4 said the Pakistani government had reneged on its promise to provide the team with “presidential-style security.” [See below] Both India and Sri Lanka condemned the attack, with India’s foreign ministry saying that Pakistan’s militants presented “a grave threat to the entire world.” Ex-PM Sharif Barred From Office—Pakistan’s Supreme Court Feb. 25 barred former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from holding elected office due to a criminal conviction on his record, leading to large protests by his supporters Feb. 25–27 in various parts of the country. Sharif, head of the PML-N, accused President Asif Ali Zardari, head of the PPP, of influencing the court’s decision, fueling concern that a political fight could further destabilize the country. [See 2008, p. 596G1] The court Feb. 25 also barred Sharif’s brother, Shahbaz Sharif, from holding office due to alleged irregularities stemming from his election as the chief minister of Punjab, where the PML-N enjoyed strong public support. The federal government imposed executive rule over the province, and Salman Taseer, a member of the PPP, was named interim chief minister. 138

Nawaz Sharif that day said, “The nation should rise against this unconstitutional decision and this nefarious act by Zardari.” He urged PML-N supporters to attend a March 12 rally that had been organized to call for the reinstatement of Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry. Former President Pervez Musharraf in 2007 had ousted Chaudhry, leading to a popular backlash that eventually culminated in Musharraf’s resignation in 2008. [See 2008, pp. 641D3, 565A1] Since being elected president in September 2008, Zardari had not reinstated Chaudhry. Critics said Zardari was concerned that Chaudhry could revive corruption charges against him that had been dropped under an amnesty agreement with Musharraf. Zardari had denied that claim, and the government Feb. 25 rejected allegations that it was conspiring to prevent Sharif from returning to power. The PPP said the ruling was “a court decision that has nothing to do with the government.” Sharif maintained that the current Supreme Court was illegitimate. Sharif’s criminal conviction stemmed from a 1999 incident when he was prime minister, in which he attempted to prevent the landing of a plane carrying Musharraf, then the chief of the army, who was seeking to oust Sharif in a coup. Musharraf succeeded in taking over the country, and Sharif was convicted on several charges, including hijacking. [See 1999, p. 845B1] Observers said heightened tensions between the PPP and the PML-N could hamper U.S. interests in the region. The U.S. had pressed Zardari to focus on combating Islamic extremist militants in the tribal areas. Cease-Fire With Militants Extended— A spokesman for Maulana Fazlullah, a militant leader in the Swat Valley region of the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), Feb. 24 said Fazlullah had agreed to a cease-fire with government forces that would last for an “indefinite period.” The announcement extended a 10-day ceasefire that had been agreed to earlier in the month, in which the government said it would allow the establishment of sharia, or traditional Islamic law, in Swat. The provincial government of the NWFP and the militants March 4 agreed to 17 new rules for Swat. They included the closing of shops during prayer times, a ban on music and the adoption of a new inheritance law, in which women were entitled to receive about half of what a man would receive. Militants were banned from brandishing their weapons in public, but it remained unclear whether they were required to disarm. Also unresolved was the status of the region’s schools for girls, which the militants wanted to close. Swat, located about 100 miles (160km) from Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, had been the scene of heavy fighting between the two sides for over a year. Militants now controlled about 70% of Swat, and had terrorized its civilian population and local leadership, leading to the exodus of hundreds of thousands of people. The ceasefire agreement came under criticism from international observers, who said it would

allow militants to regroup and recruit new fighters. Separately, militants in Bajaur, a tribal area in Pakistan’s lawless northwest, Feb. 23 declared a cease-fire with government forces, ostensibly halting a battle that had lasted eight months. However, Pakistani military officials Feb. 28 claimed that the army had defeated the militants in the area. CIA to Continue Al Qaeda Efforts—U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Leon Panetta Feb. 25 told reporters at his first news briefing that the CIA’s “operational efforts” against terrorist targets in Pakistan had been “successful” and would continue. The comment was widely interpreted as a reference to a suspected CIA campaign to use Predator drone aircraft to launch rocket attacks against members of the international terrorist network Al Qaeda and other militants in Pakistan’s tribal areas. Panetta did not go so far as to publicly acknowledge that the CIA was behind the attacks. [See p. 103E1] The CIA was thought to have conducted more than 30 such attacks since 2008—including two since U.S. President Barack Obama took office in January—leading to the deaths of an estimated 80 Al Qaeda fighters. The U.S. viewed the militant strongholds as threats to its own troops, who were operating across the border in neighboring Afghanistan. [See p. 137A2] However, the strikes had provoked protests from the Pakistani public, following the reported deaths of civilians. Panetta’s comments came as high-level Pakistani and Afghan officials Feb. 24–26 met in Washington, D.C., to discuss security issues in the region. At the meeting, Pakistani officials reportedly expressed concern about the strikes, which they said were further destabilizing the country. Following the meetings, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton Feb. 26 announced that the three countries would conduct regular trilateral meetings to reduce the threat of terrorism in the region. Suicide Bomber Targets Shiites—A suicide bomber Feb. 20 killed at least 28 people and injured 65 more in an attack on a funeral procession for a slain Shiite Muslim leader in the NWFP town of Dera Ismail Khan. Violence against Pakistani Shiites had increased in recent months, in what some analysts said could be a trend of increased sectarianism on the part of Pakistani extremist groups, which were predominantly Sunni. [See p. 39B1] n

SPORTS

UNITED STATES

Tennis Israeli Player Barred From Dubai Event.

Larry Scott, chairman and chief executive of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour, Feb. 15 announced that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had refused to grant an entry visa to Israeli player Shahar Peer, who had been scheduled to compete in the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships in the country, which began that day. Tournament organizers had reportedly cited secuFACTS ON FILE

rity concerns for not allowing Peer, ranked 48th in the world, to enter the UAE, as well as local opposition to Israel’s recent incursion into the Gaza Strip. [See p. 30D3] In response, U.S.-based cable network the Tennis Channel Feb. 16 refused to televise the event. Scott Feb. 19 said the WTA Tour would require a guarantee in writing that Peer would be allowed to compete before the tour would put the event on its calendar for 2010. The WTA Feb. 20 fined the Dubai event $300,000 for the visa refusal. Venus Williams of the U.S. Feb. 22 won the event, defeating Virginie Razzano of France, 6–4, 6–2. The UAE Feb. 19 said it had issued an entry visa to Israeli Andy Ram to compete in the men’s portion of the Dubai event, which began Feb. 23. Top U.S. player Andy Roddick Feb. 21 had said he would not defend his title at the men’s Dubai event due to the controversy over Peer. Novak Djokovic of Serbia Feb. 28 beat David Ferrer of Spain, 7–5, 6–3, to claim the men’s title. [See 2007, p. 391C1] n

regulation play tied with Charley Hoffman of the U.S. at 270, 14 under par. Perry claimed $1.08 million for the victory. [See 2008, p. 267G2] o Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie Jan. 28 was named captain of the European Ryder Cup team for the 2010 event, which would be played in Wales. [See 2008, p. 686E2] o Pat Perez of the U.S. Jan. 25 won the Bob Hope Classic in La Quinta, Calif. Perez finished with a 33-under-par 327 in the five-round tournament, which included a record 20-under 124 over the first two days of the tournament Jan. 21 and 22. He earned $918,000 for the win, his first on the PGA Tour. [See 2008, p. 267B3] o The U.S.’s Zach Johnson Jan. 18 won the Sony Open in Honolulu, Hawaii. He shot a 15-under-par 265, and collected a $972,000 winner’s check. [See 2008, p. 267B3] o Ogilvy Jan. 11 won the Mercedes-Benz Championship in Kapalua, Hawaii, the first event of the PGA Tour season. He shot a 24under-par 268, and collected $1.12 million in prize money. [See 2008, p. 267C3] n

Golf Ogilvy Wins Match Play; Woods Returns.

Figure Skating

Geoff Ogilvy of Australia March 1 won the World Golf Championships–Accenture Match Play Championship in Marana, Ariz. Ogilvy, who had also won the event in 2006, defeated England’s Paul Casey, four and three, in the championship match. Ogilvy earned $1.4 million for the victory, which moved him up to fourth place in the world rankings. [See 2008, p. 267E2] At the tournament, Tiger Woods of the U.S.—the world’s top-ranked player and the event’s defending champion—Feb. 25 made his return from an eight-month absence from the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour due to a knee injury. Woods, 33, defeated his opponent that day, Brendan Jones of Australia, three and two. However, Woods in the second round Feb. 26 was eliminated by South Africa’s Tim Clark, losing, four and two. [See 2008, p. 421C3] Other News—In other golf news: o Defending champion Phil Mickelson of the U.S. Feb. 22 won the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles. He shot a 15-underpar 269, and claimed $1.134 million in prize money. [See 2008, p. 267F2] o Dustin Johnson of the U.S. Feb. 16 was declared the winner of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in Pebble Beach, Calif., two days after play was postponed due to rain after the third round. With continued rain in the forecast, Johnson, who led after the third round with a 54-hole total of 201, 15 under par, was named the winner. He earned $1.098 million in prize money. [See 2008, p. 267F2] o The U.S.’s Nick Watney Feb. 8 won the Buick Invitational in San Diego, Calif. He shot an 11-under-par 277, and earned $954,000 in prize money. [See 2008, p. 267A3] o Kenny Perry of the U.S. Feb. 1 won the FBR Open in Scottsdale, Ariz. He won on the third playoff hole, after finishing

U.S. Championships Held. Alissa Czisny,

March 5, 2009

21, Jan. 25 won the women’s title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Cleveland, Ohio. Rachael Flatt was the runner-up for the second year in a row, and Caroline Zhang placed third. Top skaters Kimmie Meissner and Emily Hughes missed the competition due to injury. [See 2008, p. 135E2] The men’s competition Jan. 25 was won by 23-year-old Jeremy Abbott. Brandon Mroz, 18, claimed second place, and twotime defending champion Evan Lysacek was third. It was the first time in six years that a skater other than Lysacek or Jonny Weir— who ended up fifth—won the title. Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker Jan. 24 won the pairs title for the second year in a row. Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett placed second, and Rena Inoue and John Baldwin took third. Meryl Davis and Charlie White Jan. 24 won the ice dancing title. Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates placed second, and Kimberly Navarro and Brent Bommentre were third. Five-time defending champions Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto missed the competition due to a back injury suffered by Agosto. n

ARTS & SCIENCES

UNITED STATES

Awards Polk Awards Honor Journalists. Long Island (N.Y.) University Feb. 16 announced the 2008 winners of the annual George Polk Awards for excellence in journalism. [See 2008, p. 136A2] Three Polk Award winners worked for the New York Times. They were investigative reporter David Barstow, and the husband-and-wife-team of Barry Bearak and Celia W. Dugger, who co-directed the paper’s Johannesburg, South Africa, bureau.

Barstow won the national reporting award for a two-part series on former military officers who were presented as independent analysts on news broadcasts but who were actually placed by the Defense Department to generate favorable publicity for the war on terror and other policies associated with the administration of President George W. Bush. [See 2008, p. 312F1] Bearak and Dugger won the foreign reporting award for their coverage of electionrelated violence in Zimbabwe. Bearak had been jailed for five days after being accused of covering the elections without government permission. [See 2008, p. 261A3] Another Polk Award winner, in the international reporting category, was Paul Salopek of the Chicago Tribune. Salopek was honored for a series of articles on U.S. antiterrorism efforts in the region known as the Horn of Africa. In 2006, Salopek had been jailed in Sudan on espionage charges for slightly over a month before being freed. [See 2006, p. 785F2] The local reporting award went to Jim Schaefer and M.L. Elrick of the Detroit Free Press for detailing corruption within the administration of Detroit, Mich., Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick (D). Kilpatrick eventually resigned and was briefly jailed. [See 2008, p. 788G3] A career award went to journalist and author Gay Talese, 77, a onetime reporter for the New York Times who became the best-selling author of such nonfiction books as Honor Thy Father (1971) and Thy Neighbor’s Wife (1981). [See 2008, p. 28A3; 1981, p. 484A1] n Barry Wins Costa Book Prize. Irish writer Sebastian Barry Jan. 27 won one of Britain’s most prestigious literary prizes, the Costa Book of the Year Award, worth £25,000 (US$35,000), for his novel The Secret Scripture. The book’s narrator was an aged woman wrongly confined to an Irish mental hospital for most of her life. It was a book for which Sebastian, 53, had nearly won the Man Booker Prize in 2008. [See 2008, pp. 779F3, 96A3] Barry Jan. 5 had been shortlisted for the Costa prize in the novel category. The other shortlisted authors were children’s writer Michelle Magorian, for Just Henry, a 700-page novel set in coastal England several years after the end of World War II; debut novelist Sadie Jones for The Outcast, about a child growing up in a repressive atmosphere in 1950s Britain; poet Adam Foulds for The Broken Word, a narrative poem dealing with the 1950s Mau Mau uprising in Kenya; and longtime book editor Diana Athill’s memoir of growing old, Somewhere Towards the End. Athill, 91, was the oldest person ever to have been shortlisted for the Costa prize, or its predecessor, the Whitbread Book of the Year Award. [See 2007, p. 88F1] n

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People British reality television star Jade Goody, 27, Feb. 22 in Hatfield Heath, England, married her boyfriend, ex-convict Jack Tweed, 21, in a ceremony for whose print and television rights she had been paid about £1 mil139

BEST SELLER LISTS

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Publishers Weekly March 2 listed the following hardback and paperback best sellers [See p. 72A1]:

Top-Rated Programs. The following were the most-watched prime-time nation-

Fiction Hardback 1. The Associate, by John Grisham (Doubleday) 2. Run for Your Life, by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge (Little, Brown) 3. Heart and Soul, by Maeve Binchy (Knopf) 4. The Host, by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown) 5. Fool, by Christopher Moore (Morrow)

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General Hardback 1. Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment, by Steve Harvey (Amistad) 2. The Yankee Years, by Joe Torre with Tom Verducci (Doubleday) 3. Outliers: The Story of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown) 4. The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion)

5. Uncommon: Finding Your Path to Significance, by Tony Dungy with Nathan Whitaker (Tyndale House)

Mass Market Paperback

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1. Confessions of a Shopaholic, by Sophie Kinsella (Dell) 2. The Appeal, by John Grisham (Dell) 3. Secrets, by Jude Deveraux (Pocket) 4. Revolutionary Road, by Richard Yates (Vintage) 5. Honor Thyself, by Danielle Steel (Delacorte)

Music

al television shows Feb. 2–March 1 as determined by A.C. Nielsen Co. (Series marked with an asterisk * had at least one other episode during the period that outranked some of the other programs listed.) Figures in parentheses are rating points; each point represents 1% of the 114.5 million television households in the U.S. [See p. 72A2]:

1. “Academy Awards” (ABC), Feb. 22 (20.6) 2. “American Idol” (Fox), Feb. 4 (14.8)* 3. “Oscar’s Red Carpet 2009” (ABC), Feb. 22 (14.5) 4. “The Mentalist” (CBS), Feb. 10 (12.0) 5. “NCIS” (CBS), Feb. 10 (11.3)

Films Top-Grossing Films. The following were the top-grossing films in the U.S. for the week of Feb. 20–26 according to Variety. Figures in parentheses were each film’s cumulative domestic box-office total and number of weeks in release to date. Information on cast and director is included when a film first appears on the list. [See p. 72B2]:

1. Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail, Lionsgate ($48.3 million, 1)

Directed by Tyler Perry. With Perry, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Derek Luke, Tamela J. Mann and Vanessa Ferlito. 2. Taken, 20th Century Fox ($97.9 million, 4)

Directed by Pierre Morel. With Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Leland Orser, Anjul Nigam and Jon Gries. 3. Coraline, Focus Features ($55.9 million, 3)

Best-Selling Singles and Albums. Billboard magazine in its Feb. 28 issue list-

ed the five most popular singles (as determined by air play and sales) and the five best-selling albums in the U.S. as the following [See p. 72C1]:

Singles

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1. “Right Round,” Flo Rida featuring Kesha (Poe Boy/Atlantic) 2. “Dead and Gone,” T.I. featuring Justin Timberlake (Grand Hustle/Atlantic) 3. “Crack A Bottle,” Eminem, Dr. Dre & 50 Cent (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope) 4. “Heartless,” Kanye West (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam/IDJMG)

5. “Just Dance,” Lady Gaga featuring Colby O’Donis (Streamline/Konlive/ Cherrytree/Interscope) Albums 1. Fearless, Taylor Swift (Big Machine) 2. Raising Sand, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss (Rounder)

3. Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics, India.Arie (Soulbird/Universal Republic/UMRG) 4. The Fray, The Fray (Epic/Sony Music) 5. It’s Not Me, It’s You, Lily Allen (Capitol)

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lion (US$1.5 million). Goody, who had first gained attention for appearing on the TV show “Big Brother” in 2002, had been diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2008, and her illness was considered terminal. She was allowing her battle with cancer to be aired on a TV show called “Jade’s Progress.” She wanted to make as much money as possible in the apparently short period of time left to her to maximize the trust fund she had set up for her two sons, now aged five and four. [See 2005, p. 92E2] n

O B I T UA R I E S BELLSON, Louie (born Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni), 84, jazz drummer,

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bandleader, composer and arranger; as a teenager, he pioneered the use of twin bass drums; in 1951, he became the Duke Ellington Orchestra’s only white member; he left Ellington’s ensemble in 1953 to become musical director for singer Pearl Bailey, whom he had wed a year before; they stayed married until her death in 1990; over the years, he made many recordings, as both a leader and a sideman; his compositions included sacred music, ballet music, and the music for Portofino, a musical that bombed on Broadway in 1958; born July 6, 1924, in Rock Falls, Ill.; died Feb. 14 at a hospital in Los Angeles, several months after breaking a hip; he had also been battling Parkinson’s disease. [See 1990, p. 632D3; 1958, p. 84E3; Index 1952]

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Directed by Henry Selig. With the voices of Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Dawn French and Keith David. 4. Slumdog Millionaire, Fox Searchlight ($103.0 million, 15) [See p. 72C2] 5. He’s Just Not That Into You, Warner Bros. ($72.6 million, 3)

Directed by Ken Kwapis. With Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Connolly, Bradley Cooper, Ginnifer Goodwin, Scarlett Johansson and Justin Long. 6. Friday the 13th, Warner Bros. ($57.0 million, 2)

Directed by Marcus Nispel. With Julianna Guill, America Olivo, Jared Padalecki, Amanda Righetti and Danielle Panabaker. 7. Confessions of a Shopaholic, Disney ($29.2 million, 2)

Directed by P.J. Hogan. With Isla Fisher, Hugh Dancy, Joan Cusack, John Goodman and John Lithgow. 8. Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Sony ($122.5 million, 6) [See p. 72B2] 9. Fired Up!, Sony ($6.3 million, 1)

Directed by Will Gluck. With Nicholas D’Agosto, Eric Christian Olsen, Sarah Roemer, Danneel Harris and David Walton. 10. The International, Sony ($18.5 million, 2)

Directed by Tom Tykwer. With Clive Owen, Naomi Watts, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Ulrich Thomsen and Brian O’Byrne.

CINTRON, Conchita (born Concepcion Cintron Verrill), 86, arguably the greatest female bullfighter

ever; during her career in the ring, which lasted from 1936 to 1950 and was pursued in South America, Mexico and Europe, she reportedly killed more than 750 bulls, fighting them both on foot (Spanish style) and on horseback (Portuguese style); soon after retiring from the ring, she married a Portuguese aristocrat and settled in Portugal; born Aug. 9, 1922, in Antofagasta, Chile; died Feb. 17 in Lisbon, Portugal, of a heart attack. FOOTE, Horton (Albert Horton Foote Jr.), 92, playwright, screenwriter and television dramatist; during U.S. television’s “golden age” of the 1950s, he wrote a number of noteworthy teleplays, several of them based on short stories by William Faulkner; writing for the movies, he won two Academy Awards, in 1963 for his adaptation of Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, published in 1960, and in 1984 for his original screenplay for Tender Mercies (1983); his many plays were widely produced, both on and off Broadway and on regional stages; quite a few of his plays were set in the fictional town of Harrison, Texas, based largely on the small Texas town in which he grew up; late in his career, in 1995, he won the Pulitzer Prize for drama for The Young Man From Atlanta, about a Texas couple having to cope with their son’s suicide; among his four children were actress Hallie Foote, a key interpreter of his work, and playwright Daisy Foote; born March 14, 1916, in Wharton, Texas; died March 4 in an apartment in Hartford, Conn., after a brief illness; he had been working on a forthcoming production of a cycle of his plays by the Hartford Stage Co. [See 2008, p. 997E3; 2006, p. 1041F3; Indexes 2004, 2000, 1997, 1994–95, 1983–86, 1965–67, 1963, 1952–54]

HARVEY, Paul (born Paul Harvey Aurandt), 90, Chicago-based radio commentator who for decades reached millions of people in the U.S. and around the world via the ABC Radio Networks and many Armed Forces Radio stations; in his 15-minute monologues, delivered in a distinctive, staccato manner, he presented an essentially conservative worldview, but with a libertarian streak, as shown by his support for women’s and abortion rights and his opposition to certain elements of the Christian right; ABC gave him a 10year, $100 million contract in 2000, when he was already 82, five years before he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom; born Sept. 4, 1918, in Tulsa, Okla.; died Feb. 28 at a hospital in Phoenix, Ariz.; the cause of his death was not revealed. [See 2005, p. 812G1; 1984, p. 136A2; Index 1970] KIM Sou-hwan, Cardinal Stephen, 86, Roman Catholic prelate who in 1969 was named South Korea’s first cardinal, a year after being appointed archbishop of Seoul, the South Korean capital; during his tenure as archbishop, which ended in 1998 and largely overlapped a period of military rule, he often spoke out against authoritarian actions taken by the government; born May 8, 1922, in Daegu; died Feb. 16 at a hospital in Seoul, of pneumonia. [See 1990, p. 786D1; 1987, pp. 441F2, 277G1, 111F1; Indexes 1986, 1982, 1969] VIEIRA, Joao Bernardo (Nino), 69, president, for most of the period since 1980, of the West African nation of Guinea-Bissau, a former Portuguese colony; he had been one of the leaders of the guerrilla movement that led to his country’s attainment of independence in 1974; born April 27, 1939, in Bissau, then the capital of Portuguese Guinea; killed by government soldiers March 2 at his home in Bissau. [See p. 133A3; 2008, p. 940A3, D3–E3; Indexes 2005, 1998–2000, 1992, 1986, 1984, 1980] n

March 5, 2009

U.S. Financier Madoff Pleads Guilty to $65 Billion Fraud Bail Revoked, Ordered to Jail. Disgraced fin-

Mario Tama/Getty Images

ancier Bernard Madoff, head of brokerage Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, March 12 pleaded guilty to a massive fraud that might have led to $65 billion in losses for investors. Following his plea in U.S. District Court in New York City, Judge Denny Chin revoked Madoff’s bail and ordered that he be jailed until sentencing, which was scheduled for June 16. [See p. 113E1] Madoff in December 2008 had been arrested on a charge of securities fraud, after he allegedly admitted to two fellow executives that the firm’s secretive investmentadvisory unit was a Ponzi scheme, in which investors’ supposed returns were actually funded by principal investments made by newer investors. Madoff was granted a $10 million bail, but had been confined to his New York City apartment. Madoff in February had reached a partial settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in which he neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing. Madoff March 12 told the court that he had never invested any of the unit’s money in stocks and bonds, as he had told his clients. He said, “I cannot adequately express how sorry I am for my crimes.” He added, “When I began the Ponzi scheme, I believed it would end shortly and I would be able to extricate myself and clients from the scheme. This proved to be difficult and ultimately impossible.” The scheme had affected charities, banks, hedge funds and pension funds around the world, as well as individual investors, many of whom were thought to have lost their life savings. Individual investors included members of Madoff’s family and his friends. Many of the fraud’s victims attended the March 12 hearing, and a few were given the opportunity to speak. Madoff pleaded guilty to all 11 charges brought against him by the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York. The charges were securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, mail fraud, wire

Bernard Madoff leaving U.S. District Court in New York City after a hearing March 10. Madoff pleaded guilty two days later to a massive financial fraud.

fraud, three counts of money laundering, making false statements, perjury, submitting a false filing to the SEC and stealing from an employee benefit plan. Madoff, 70, faced a maximum of 150 years in prison. Prosecutors did not enter an agreement with Madoff to reduce his sentence in exchange for the guilty plea. The guilty plea had been expected since March 6, when Madoff waived his right to have a grand jury assess the prosecution’s case against him. Madoff’s lawyer, Ira Sorkin, during a hearing March 10 told Chin that it was a “fair expectation” that Madoff would plead guilty March 12. The March 10 hearing was held to determine whether Sorkin could continue serving as Madoff’s lawyer, following revelations that Sorkin’s family had invested with Madoff and was likely one of the fraud’s many victims. Chin waived the potential conflict of interest after Madoff asserted that he wanted Sorkin to continue as his lawyer. Details of Ponzi Scheme Revealed—

The U.S. attorney’s office March 10 filed “criminal information” documents with the court, providing some of the first concrete details of how Madoff ran the scheme. Prosecutors said Madoff in early December 2008 had told his clients that the investment-advisory unit, which ostensibly acted as a money manager, held a total of $64.8 billion from 4,800 clients. That was significantly higher than the $50 billion Madoff had allegedly admitted to losing in December 2008. Prosecutors said only a “small fraction” of the $65 billion remained in the unit’s account. A court-appointed trustee for the firm had salvaged about $1 billion worth of assets thus far. Prosecutors revealed that the scheme had started in the early 1980s. Madoff lured clients by promising them steady, modest returns on their investments, but he also offered some clients as much as a 46% yearly return. Madoff told clients that he used a “split-strike” conversion strategy, in which he purchased a basket of shares in the S&P 100 stock average, the risks of which were offset by purchases of options on those shares. (Options allowed traders to buy or sell shares at a later date at a fixed price.) Prosecutors said Madoff hired employees with little knowledge of the securities industry, and had them create fraudulent documents, such as accounting statements and trading records, to create the appearance that the unit was trading in stocks and bonds. It remained unclear whether the employees knew that they were abetting a fraud. Prosecutors also said Madoff “repeatedly lied to the SEC.” Prosecutors said Madoff transferred money between the firm’s New York City headquarters and its London branch, Madoff Securities International Ltd., in order to create the impression that the unit was trading European stocks. Madoff took money from the unit’s investor pool for personal use, and between 2002 and 2008, diverted $250 million worth of investor money to finance the firm’s supposedly legitimate stock-trading businesses. Prosecutors said

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World News Digest With Index ©2009 by Facts On File News Services An imprint of Infobase Publishing

Volume 69, No. 3560* March 12, 2009

B that money was laundered through the London branch, and resulted in millions of dollars in “benefits” for Madoff and unidentified “others.” The connection between the investment-advisory unit and the firm’s other enterprises raised questions as to whether other executives at the firm were aware of the fraud. They included Madoff’s sons, Andrew Madoff and Mark Madoff, reportedly the two executives to whom Madoff initially confessed in December 2008. Madoff’s brother, Peter Madoff, was also an executive at the firm, and all four were on the board of directors of the London branch. Bernard Madoff had maintained that he had acted alone in organizing the fraud, and March 12 told the court that the firm’s other businesses were “legitimate, profitable and successful in all respects.” Acting U.S. Attorney Lev Dassin March 10 had said the government was still in the midst of its investigation. Many aspects of the case remained unclear, in-

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MAJOR STORIES IN THIS ISSUE U.S. financier Madoff pleads guilty to $65 billion fraud; bail revoked, ordered to jail. PAGE 141

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U.S. Secretary of State Clinton visits Europe. PAGE 142

North Korea issues threat against South Korean flights. PAGE 143

Obama lifts stem cell research funding ban. PAGE 143

Omnibus spending bill enacted despite earmarks. PAGE 143

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U.S. unemployment rate hits 26-year high. PAGE 147

SEC accuses financier Stanford of fraud. PAGE 147

Zimbabwean prime minister hurt, wife killed in car crash. PAGE 152

Three killed in dissident IRA attacks in Northern Ireland. PAGE 154

Palestinian Authority prime minister resigns. PAGE 157 *First of two sections Section Two is an interim index. REFERENCES in brackets give location of background information in this & preceding volumes.

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cluding the total amount investors had lost; how much of the funds Madoff had taken for himself; where Madoff had stashed the remaining funds, if there were any; and whether Madoff had received help from co-conspirators. Prosecutors said they were seeking $170 billion in restitution from Madoff, which was the amount of money that had passed through the investment-advisory unit since its inception. Madoff’s lawyers called the amount “grossly overstated.” Observers said unwitting investors who had profited from the scheme could be subject to “clawbacks,” in which profits were divided up among the fraud’s victims. n

U.S. Secretary of State Clinton Visits Europe Suggests Iran Attend Afghanistan Meeting.

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U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton March 5–7 continued her second trip abroad as the nation’s top diplomat, making stops in Belgium, Switzerland and Turkey. Clinton frequently discussed Iran during her trip, notably suggesting that it attend a United Nations–hosted meeting on Afghanistan, where violence from a militant Islamic insurgency was increasing. If Iran attended the summit, scheduled to be held in the Netherlands March 31, it would represent the country’s first official contact with U.S. diplomats since 2007. Despite that overture, Clinton also insisted that the U.S and its allies would not tolerate an Iranian nuclear weapons program. [See below, pp. 123F1, 86G1] Clinton’s visit to Europe followed a tour of the Middle East. Her trip preceded a planned trip to Europe by U.S. President Barack Obama in April, where he would attend a summit of the Group of 20 nations with industrialized or emerging economies in London, and a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Germany. NATO-Russia Council Revived—Clinton March 5, in Brussels, Belgium, attended a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, where the leaders agreed to revive the NATO-Russia Council. The council, which served as the official diplomatic channel between the two bodies, had been suspended following a brief war between Russia and Georgia in August 2008, after NATO had objected to the Russian military’s occupation of parts of undisputed Georgian territory. Russian troops had withdrawn from those areas in October 2008. [See 2008, pp. 879E1, 717F1] Lithuania had strongly objected to reviving the council, but relented under pressure from other members. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the alliance continued to oppose Russian plans to establish military bases in the Russianaligned Georgian splinter regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. [See p. 85F1] Proposes Afghanistan Summit—Clinton March 5 at the NATO meeting proposed the U.N. summit of countries with an interest in Afghanistan. Clinton suggested that Iran attend the meeting, and pointed out that after the U.S. military had entered Afghani-

stan following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, “Iran was consulting with our ambassador on a daily basis.” Mostly Shiite Muslim Iran, which shared its eastern border with Afghanistan, had historically rocky relations with the Taliban, a fundamentalist Sunni Muslim group leading Afghanistan’s growing insurgency. [See pp. 105C2, 102C1] Observers suggested that the Obama administration viewed cooperation with Iran on the war in Afghanistan as a promising means of reopening official communications with Iran. The U.S. had cut off diplomatic relations with Iran in 1980, and limited contacts between them had largely ceased after then–President George W. Bush in 2002 called it part of an “axis of evil.” Iran had reportedly expressed interest in attending the meeting. However, the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, March 4 had said Obama’s foreign policy “amounts to the same crooked ways of the Bush administration and nothing else.” Clinton did not relent on the U.S.’s hard line against Iran’s nuclear program. She said while there was “an ongoing debate about what the status of Iran’s nuclear weapons capacity is…I don’t think there is a credible debate about their intentions.” Clinton also pressured Iran to release Roxana Saberi, 31, an American-born journalist who had been detained in Iran in January for reporting without press credentials. Meets With Russia’s Lavrov— Clinton March 6 met with her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Geneva, Switzerland, in what both sides billed as a constructive discussion between the two countries, whose relations had soured markedly in recent months. The leaders reportedly discussed areas where the U.S. and Russia could collaborate, including on addressing nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea, and on the war in Afghanistan. [See 2008, p. 206B3] They also agreed to work closely on developing by the end of the year a new version of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), a pact struck in 1991 that limited the size of both countries’ nuclear arsenals. The treaty would expire in December. Obama and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev were expected to outline a new version of START at their first planned meeting, in London April 2. [See 2008, p. 985A2] Lavrov and Clinton also discussed a U.S. plan, opposed by Russia, to build components of a missile defense shield in the Czech Republic and Poland, but did not reach any agreements. Bush had vigorously pursued the plan, angering Russia, which had rejected his assertion that the shield was necessary to protect against nuclear threats from Iran and claimed that it would compromise its defenses. The Obama administration had indicated that it was willing to negotiate with Russia on the matter. Lavrov said talks on the shield were ongoing, and indicated that Russia might be open to a compromise. [See p. 74C2] U.S. officials also said Clinton had pressured Lavrov to cancel Russia’s planned

sale of long range S-300 missile systems to Iran. However, Lavrov, at a press conference after the meeting, said the transaction was legal and made no indication that it would be canceled. Clinton also said the U.S. was “very troubled by using energy as a tool of intimidation,” a reference to a January dispute between Russia and Ukraine over payment for Russian shipments of natural gas. Russia had shut off the gas supply to Ukraine, and as a result, supplies to European countries that received gas via Ukraine were also cut. [See p. 37C1] Clinton presented Lavrov with a symbolic gift intended to represent a fresh start in bilateral relations—a red button that was labeled “reset” in English but with an erroneous Russian translation: peregruzka, which meant “overcharge.” In Turkey, Clinton Says Obama to Visit—

Clinton March 7 visited Ankara, the capital of Turkey, where she met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other top officials. She announced that Obama planned to visit Turkey during his European trip in April. Obama’s visit to Turkey was expected to be his first to a predominantly Muslim country since his inauguration in January. He had pledged to devote special attention to improving the U.S.’s relations with the Muslim world. [See p. 42F1] During her visit, Clinton appeared on a popular television talk show, as she had done on her recent visit to Indonesia, another relatively moderate Muslim nation. The appearance was seen as a bid to appeal to ordinary Turks and improve the image of the U.S., which had suffered a sharp decline in popularity in Turkish public opinion polls in the past few years. [See p. 109D2]

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Turkey, a member of NATO, had brokered peace talks between Israel and Syria in 2008. Those talks had been suspended as a result of Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip in January, which had drawn heated criticism from Erdogan. Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan at a news conference with Clinton said Turkey would renew its role as mediator if asked to do so by both Israel and Syria. [See p. 58B3] The Obama administration the previous week had dispatched two high-level U.S. envoys to Syria in a move to explore reestablishing bilateral ties, which had been broken off under President George W. Bush. The U.S. envoys—Jeffrey Feltman, acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, and Daniel Shapiro, senior director for Middle East policy on the National Security Council—March 7 met in Damascus, the Syrian capital, with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem. Feltman told reporters after the meeting, “We found a lot of common ground.” n

Korean Peninsula Threat Issued Against South’s Flights.

North Korea March 5 said it could not guarantee the safety of South Korean passenger flights in the vicinity of its airspace, if the U.S. and South Korea proceeded with annual joint military exercises scheduled to begin the following week. The warning prompted South Korea’s major carriers, and some foreign airlines, to alter their flight plans, and drew sharp condemnation from South Korea. North Korea denounced the military exercises as a rehearsal for an invasion. North Korea had intensified belligerent rhetoric and gestures toward South Korea since South Korean President Lee Myung Bak took office in 2008 and established a less accommodating policy toward North Korea. [See pp. 109B2, 84A1] The 12-day military exercises began as planned March 9. North Korea that day announced that its armed forces were placed on high combat alert. It also announced the shutdown during the U.S.–South Korean maneuvers of a military hotline with South Korea. That halted the movement of personnel and supplies between South Korea and an industrial zone in North Korea where South Korean companies had operations, which required approval via the hotline. However, North Korea March 10 allowed crossings to resume despite the continued suspension of the hotline. A U.S. State Department spokesman March 9 said the military exercises were “not a threat” to North Korea, but that the country’s “bellicose rhetoric” was “a threat to the region.” North Korea March 9 also warned that any attempt to interfere with a satellite launch it was planning would be considered an act of war. North Korea claimed the satellite was part of a benign space program. The real intent of the launch was widely seen to be a test of North Korea’s Taepodong-2 intercontinental ballistic missile. North Korea March 11 reportedly advised international agencies that it planned to conduct the launch between April 4 and 8. n March 12, 2009

U N I T ESTATES D S TAT E S UNITED

Medical Research Obama Lifts Stem Cell Funding Ban. Pres-

ident Barack Obama March 9 signed an executive order lifting restrictions on federal funds for human embryonic stem cell research, reversing a policy that had been instituted in August 2001 by then–President George W. Bush. Under Bush’s order, federal funds for such research had been limited to the 21 cell lines in existence at the time. Obama during the presidential campaign had often spoken in support of embryonic stem cell research, and had promised to end the funding ban. [See p. 49B2, 26C1; 2001, p. 617A1] Embryonic stem cell creation relied on the destruction of a human embryo in order to harvest the cells, which could be coaxed in laboratories to grow into any type of cell found in the body. It was thought that embryonic stem cells had the potential for a great number of medical applications, including the development of laboratory-created organs for donation, and treatments for ailments including heart disease, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease, among many others. Antiabortion and other socially conservative activists maintained that the process of destroying a human embryo in order to harvest stem cells was tantamount to murder. Democrats had largely backed embryonic stem cell research, while the issue had divided Republicans. During a signing ceremony held in the White House, Obama said, “These tiny cells may have the potential to help us understand, and possibly cure, some of our most devastating diseases.” Obama criticized the Bush administration for creating a “false choice between sound science and moral values.” He also pledged that federally funded stem cell research would not contribute to human cloning, a controversial practice that Obama described as “dangerous, profoundly wrong” and without a place “in our society or any society.” [See 2007, p. 397G2] Since Bush’s 2001 funding ban, hundreds of stem cell lines had been created using private funds. Several states had also allotted money for stem cell research, with California providing tens of millions of dollars for such work at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). Critics of Bush’s move had argued that it would limit medical advances and encourage top scientists in the field to leave for other countries where research was supported by the government. Scientists also said the 21 lines that continued to receive government funding might contain defects that would make them dangerous for use in medical treatments. [See 2006, p. 596A1] In an unforeseen move, Obama’s executive order left open where the embryos for research could be obtained from. In the past, federal money for stem cell creation had been limited to human embryos donated by couples who had undergone fertility treatments, and which would otherwise be destroyed. However, embryos could also be created for the explicit purpose of re-

search by methods including cloning. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) was tasked with determining guidelines for the types of research that would receive funding. However, federal law still prohibited the use of federal funding for the creation of embryos for use in research in which they would be harmed. It would take an act of Congress to allow federal money to fund the creation of new human embryonic stem cell lines. The federal funding would therefore for the moment be applied to hundreds of newer stem cell lines that had been created by private businesses or with state government funds. White House officials March 6 had announced Obama’s intention to reverse the Bush administration policy.

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‘Scientific Integrity’ Memo Issued—

Obama March 9 signed a presidential memorandum that sought to “guarantee scientific integrity” in federal policy-making. The memo established guidelines for the use of scientific data and expert advice in the crafting of policy on a wide range of issues, including national security, climate change, endangered species and sex education. The memo instructed the Office of Science and Technology Policy to create a draft of the guidelines. [See 2008, p. 466G2, 378G2] The memo was viewed as an attempt by Obama to divorce scientific policy from political ideology. It was also seen as a thinly veiled criticism of Bush, whose administration had often been accused of placing politics before sound scientific conclusions. During the Bush administration, congressional Democrats had issued a number of reports alleging political interference, or the ignoring of scientific data, in a number of science-related policy areas. n

Fiscal 2009 Spending Bills Omnibus Bill Enacted Despite Earmarks.

The Senate March 10 cleared, by voice vote, a $410 billion omnibus spending bill to fund much of the federal government for the rest of fiscal year 2009, which would end Sept. 30. The vote for final approval followed a week of sharp debate over the thousands of earmarks, or spending items, which had been included in the bill by lawmakers for pet projects in their states or districts. President Barack Obama signed the bill March 11, after vowing earlier that day to crack down on earmarks in the future. [See below, p. 124A3; 2008, p. 702E1; 2007, p. 494A3] Obama said he had decided to sign the “imperfect” bill because “we can’t have Congress bogged down at this critical juncture in our economic recovery.” But he said the bill “must mark an end to the old way of business and the beginning of a new era of responsibility and accountability.” He said, “On occasion, earmarks have been used as a vehicle for waste, fraud and abuse.” But Obama, a former senator, also echoed lawmakers’ justifications of earmarks, saying, “Individual members of Congress understand their districts best, 143

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and they should have the ability to respond to the needs of their communities.” Obama called for new rules, including requirements for lawmakers to disclose all of their earmark requests on their official Web sites and at committee hearings, and for federal agencies to hold competitive bidding on contracts earmarked for certain companies. Obama also issued a so-called signing statement, advising federal agencies not to enforce certain provisions of the omnibus bill that he viewed as infringing on his constitutional prerogatives. One of the provisions would protect federal employees who acted as whistle-blowers by leaking information to Congress. Obama earlier in the week had issued a memorandum ordering a review of signing statements issued by his predecessor, President George W. Bush. [See p. 145D1] House Democratic leaders that day said they would adopt Obama’s earmark reform proposals, and also said earmarks should be subject to a 20-day review by the relevant federal agencies. Obama had criticized earmarks during the presidential campaign the previous year. His defeated Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), led opposition to the omnibus bill in the Senate and criticized Obama for declining to veto it. McCain was a longtime foe of earmarks, which he derided as wasteful spending that encouraged corruption. The Senate March 3 had defeated, by a vote of 63–32, an amendment offered by McCain to strip all earmarks from the omnibus bill. Republicans Allege Reckless Spending—

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Republicans seized on the earmark issue in a bid to blame Obama for reckless spending after the release of his $3.6 trillion budget plan for fiscal year 2010 the previous week, with its projection of a record $1.75 trillion deficit for the current fiscal year. However, Republicans had requested $3.1 billion of the earmarks in the omnibus bill, and Republicans had approved record numbers of earmarks when they controlled Congress and the White House in recent years. The watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense estimated the total cost of the omnibus bill’s earmarks at $7.7 billion. More than $100 million of that total had been requested by members of Obama’s cabinet before they left Congress to join his administration. Vice President Joseph Biden, a former Democratic senator from Delaware, had secured the largest amount, more than $52 million. The final approval in the Senate came after the Senate voted, 62–35, to end the long debate on the bill. Eight Republicans joining the Democratic majority to vote in favor of the motion and three Democrats broke ranks to vote against it. The House Feb. 25 had voted, 245–178, to pass the omnibus bill. The omnibus bill was required because Congress had not passed the 12 annual appropriations bills the previous year, due to a dispute over spending levels between then-President Bush and Democratic leaders. At the end of September, Congress had passed, and Bush had signed, a stopgap bill 144

to fund most government agencies at fiscal 2008 levels through March 8, providing full-year funding for only the Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs departments. The omnibus bill provided an 8% overall increase over fiscal 2008 funding levels, with particular increases for health care, education, transportation and alternativeenergy programs. One provision would end funding for the Washington, D.C., school voucher program after the 2009–10 school year unless Congress and the city council reauthorized it. The program allowed about 1,700 students to attend private schools. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs March 11 said Obama would “ensure that a disruption like that doesn’t take place.” But he also said Obama “doesn’t believe that vouchers are a long-term answer to our educational problems.” [See p. 149A2; 2006, p. 577E2] Congressional Salaries Frozen— In a symbolic belt-tightening gesture, the omnibus bill included a provision that would block the automatic annual cost-of-living raise for members of Congress in 2010. However, a $4,700 raise for the current year had taken effect Jan. 1, bringing the salary for rank-and-file members to $174,000. Sen. David Vitter (R, La.) offered an amendment to permanently eliminate the automatic cost-of-living raise, requiring Congress to hold annual votes to give itself a raise. The Senate voted, 53–45, to reject the amendment, after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D, Nev.) warned that it could derail the omnibus bill, but pledged to bring it to a vote as separate legislation. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D, Calif.) had vowed to scrap the omnibus bill and leave the government operating at fiscal 2008 funding levels if the Senate approved any amendments to the House version. The omnibus bill had also faced resistance over a provision that would ease restrictions on travel and trade links with Cuba, which had been imposed by Bush, by defunding enforcement of them. Sen. Robert Menendez (D, N.J.) March 5 had withdrawn his support for the bill over that provision, helping Republicans force Reid to postpone the final vote on the bill. Menendez and Bill Nelson (D, Fla.) agreed to vote for the bill after receiving assurances from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that the provision would not cause a major change to the Cuban embargo. n

Intelligence Council Chairman Pick Withdraws. Former

U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia Charles Freeman Jr. March 10 withdrew as National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair’s choice to head the National Intelligence Council (NIC), after his selection triggered criticism from members of Congress, among others, over statements he had made about China and Israel, and his ties to Saudi Arabia. Appointments to the position, which oversaw the writing of regular national intelligence estimates for use by the president as well as other, more specific in-

telligence assessments, did not require congressional approval. [See p. 45D1; 2008, p. 370G2] Freeman said in a statement posted March 10 on the Web site of Foreign Policy magazine that he had decided to turn down the position because he thought that it was impossible for the NIC to “function effectively while its chair was under constant attack.” He also argued that he had been targeted because of his views on Israel, and said that “the tactics of the Israel Lobby plumb the depths of dishonor and indecency and include character assassination, selective misquotation, the willful distortion of the record, the fabrication of falsehoods, and an utter disregard for the truth.” Freeman had worked as the head of the Middle East Policy Council, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., from 1997 to 2009. During his tenure, he had become increasingly critical of Israel and its policies in the Palestinian territories and toward Arab countries in the region. Critics noted that the organization received some of its funding from the government of Saudi Arabia—which, like many Arab and predominantly Muslim countries, did not officially recognize Israel—and suggested that Freeman was too biased against Israel, a longtime U.S. ally, to effectively carry out the responsibilities of his position. Critics widely cited a 2006 address in which Freeman described Israel as seeking to “bomb Lebanon into peaceful coexistence” and “smother Palestinian democracy in its cradle.” In addition, Freeman was criticized for his ties to the Chinese government. Freeman had served on the advisory board for the Chinese National Offshore Oil Corp. (NOOC) from 2004 to 2009, and had reportedly been paid $10,000 a year by the company for his participation. Critics had also discovered a 2006 Internet posting in which Freeman wrote, in reference to the Chinese government’s violent 1989 crackdown against pro-democracy activists in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China’s capital, that it was not “acceptable for any country to allow the heart of its national capital to be occupied by dissidents intent on disrupting the normal functions of government, however appealing to foreigners their propaganda may be.” Freeman March 11 claimed that the quote had been taken out of context, and that he had been expressing his view of public opinion in China regarding the government crackdown. Blog Post Triggers Opposition—Media sources reported March 12 that the first criticism of Freeman’s selection was posted Feb. 19 on the blog of Steve Rosen, a former employee of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) who was scheduled to stand trial in May on charges of receiving classified information and passing it on to Israeli officials and journalists. Rosen wrote that Freeman was a “strident critic of Israel” who had views in line with “the Saudi foreign ministry.” AIPAC did not officially oppose Freeman’s FACTS ON FILE

selection; however, the Washington Post reported March 12 that AIPAC spokesman Josh Block had confidentially supplied negative information about Freeman to at least three reporters. Critics of Freeman’s appointment, including Sen. Charles Schumer (D, N.Y.) and the Zionist Organization of America, reportedly contacted the White House in order to raise concerns about the choice. In addition, all seven Republican members of the Senate Intelligence Committee March 9 sent a letter to Blair that raised concerns about “Freeman’s lack of experience” as well as about his objectivity. The letter threatened constant reviews of all NIC assessments as long as the council was headed by Freeman. Prior to Freeman’s announcement of his withdrawal, Blair March 10 testified before the Senate Armed Forces Committee in defense of his selection. Committee member Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I, Conn.) referred to Freeman’s controversial statements and questioned whether Freeman was “inclined to lean against Israel or too much in favor of China.” Blair argued that Freeman had an “inventive mind” that would help make sure that the work of the NIC was done correctly and effectively. n

Obama Administration Obama Sets Policy on Signing Statements.

President Barack Obama March 9 issued a memorandum ordering executive-branch officials to consult with Attorney General Eric Holder before complying with any socalled signing statements issued by his predecessor, President George W. Bush. Presidents used signing statements to guide federal agencies on the enforcement of legislation they signed into law. [See 2006, p. 511D3] Bush had issued signing statements affecting an unprecedented number of provisions of bills, frequently asserting that his administration was not constitutionally bound by certain provisions. Experts said his claims in the statements were more expansive than had been customary with his predecessors. The practice had stirred controversy after Bush asserted in a 2005 signing statement that his administration was not obliged to obey a prohibition on torture. Obama said he would continue to make use of signing statements, but would issue fewer of them. “I will act with caution and restraint, based only on interpretations of the Constitution that are well-founded,” he said. Obama issued his first signing statement March 11, taking exception to several provisions in an omnibus spending bill for fiscal year 2009 that he signed that day. [See p. 143E3] Critics maintained that signing statements themselves were unconstitutional. and that presidents should simply veto bills that contained provisions they disagreed with, rather than ordering their administrations to ignore the intent of Congress. n March 12, 2009

Genachowski Nominated as FCC Chief.

President Barack Obama March 3 nominated venture capitalist Julius Genachowski, 46, as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The previous chairman, Kevin Martin, had resigned in January. Genachowski, a close friend and Harvard Law School classmate of Obama’s, had spearheaded the Obama campaign’s innovative online efforts to reach out to volunteers and voters. If confirmed, Genachowski would take control of the FCC as it was overseeing the nation’s faltering transition to digital television broadcasts from analog, which was mandated to be completed by June. [See pp. 62G3, 49F2] The FCC under Genachowski was expected to concentrate increasingly on Internet issues, including increasing broadband Internet coverage and so-called net neutrality, which would bar telecommunications companies or Internet service providers from favoring certain content distributed over their networks. Chief

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Obama March 5 named Vivek Kundra to the newly created position of federal chief information officer. Kundra, 34, had been the chief technology officer of the District of Columbia, where he was known for using technology to reduce government costs and give citizens increased access to government information. Kundra would be charged with achieving the same goals nationally in his new post. He would also oversee all federal technology spending, and could initiate or terminate information technology projects within government agencies. Obama had also announced the creation of a chief technology officer post, although he did not appoint anyone to the position. The chief technology officer would reportedly work closely with Kundra, but the post’s job description had not yet been published. Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) March 12 raided Kundra’s former office, and arrested one official involved in contracting and an executive of a contractor. The FBI March 12 said Kundra was not the target of the investigation, but the White House that day announced that he had gone on leave from his new position until more was known about the nature of the probe. n Fla. Emergency Chief Named FEMA Head.

The administration of President Barack Obama March 4 said Obama would nominate Florida Division of Emergency Management director W. Craig Fugate, 49, as head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Fugate had been appointed to the Florida position in 2001 by then–Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), and was reappointed in 2006 by Gov. Charlie Crist (R). His nomination required confirmation by the Senate. [See 2008, p. 940B2] Fugate’s nomination was praised by both Republicans and Democrats. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Fugate was “one of the most respected emergency managers in the nation, and the

work he’s accomplished in Florida serves as a model for other states to follow.” FEMA, a division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), had been under close scrutiny since its response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was widely criticized as inadequate. Some lawmakers and administration officials had raised the idea of removing FEMA from DHS administration, possibly in favor of Cabinet-level status for the agency. n Gupta Ends Surgeon General Bid. Sanjay Gupta, a practicing neurosurgeon and the chief medical correspondent for Cable News Network (CNN), had withdrawn from consideration for the post of surgeon general in the Obama administration, it was reported March 5. Reports said he wanted to be able to spend more time with his family, and to continue working for CNN. Gupta had been reported to be the leading contender for the post in January, but was never officially nominated. The surgeon general was chief of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and mostly served as a spokesperson for presidential administrations on various health issues. [See p. 6C2] n

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Medicine and Health Obama Hosts Health Care Summit. President Barack Obama March 5 presided over a health care forum at the White House attended by legislators, doctors, union leaders and representatives from business groups, hospitals, lobbyists and insurance companies, among others. The forum was intended to foster dialogue about Obama’s plan, presented during the presidential campaign, to overhaul the health care system to ensure that everyone in the U.S. had access to coverage. An estimated 46 million people in the U.S. lacked health insurance. [See p. 129C1; 2007, p. 346D3] Under Obama’s plan, the federal government would require employers to either pay a tax to fund government insurance plans, or provide health insurance to their employees. Obama in late February had unveiled a budget plan for fiscal year 2010 which would allocate $634 billion over 10 years for health care reform. [See p. 124A3] Obama at the forum said he would consider compromising on his plan, but warned “special interests” and lobbyists to refrain from impeding progress on significant reform. The forum was viewed as an attempt by Obama to avoid the obstacles that had doomed an ambitious attempt to reform health care in 1993–94 by thenPresident Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton (now Obama’s secretary of state). [See 1994, p. 701B1] Several of the people and institutions that had been instrumental in blocking the Clintons’ reform effort attended the forum, and pledged to support Obama’s endeavors. Among them were Chip Kahn, the current president of the Federation of American Hospital Systems. During the Clintons’ reform efforts, Kahn had worked for an insurance lobbying group that had created ads us145

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ing a fictional husband and wife, “Harry and Louise,” to express its dissatisfaction with the plan. The ads were credited as one of the main factors that had led to the defeat of the Clintons’ plan. [See 1994, p. 125E3] The quick advance of Obama’s reform plan had been hampered by the withdrawal in early February of former Sen. Tom Daschle (D, S.D.) as nominee for health and human services secretary. Obama in early March had announced that he was nominating Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) to that role, and appointed Nancy Ann DeParle as director of the White House Office of Health Care Reform. Other News—In other health care news: o Researchers with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Feb. 24 reported on the website of the journal Health Affairs that government spending on health care would climb 7.4% in 2009, to $1.191 trillion. Total health care expenditures were expected to reach $2.510 trillion, a 5.5% jump from the previous year. The researchers said the worsening economy would deprive more people of private coverage, leading them to seek health care through federal programs. [See p. 80F3] o Two labor unions, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), March 6 withdrew from a coalition attempting to reach agreement on the shape of health care reform. The coalition, called the Health Reform Dialogue, included representatives of employers, patients, insurers, drug manufacturers and health care providers, among others. Members of the coalition had reportedly failed to reach agreement on a number of reform issues. o The Washington Post March 8 reported that health insurers and their employees had contributed $2.2 million since 2005 to the top 10 congressional recipients of campaign contributions, while drug companies had contributed $3.3 million. The Post cited an analysis performed by the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog. Those receiving the most money from insurers and drug companies were Sen. John McCain (R, Ariz.), with a combined $546,000; Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R, Ky.), with $425,000; and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D, Mont.), with $413,000. n HHS Moves to Rescind ‘Conscience’ Rule.

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The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) March 6 formally moved to rescind the so-called right of conscience rule, which gave wide-ranging protections to health care workers who refused to provide treatment on the basis of their moral or religious beliefs. The rule had been instituted in December 2008 under then-President George W. Bush, and was intended to protect health care workers opposed to abortions. [See p. 64G1] Under the rule, the federal government could cut off funding for state and local health care providers that did not adequate146

ly provide for employees opposed to a certain type of care because of their religious, moral or ethical beliefs. In its filing, the HHS said it would move to “rescind in its entirety” the rule, because it was possible that “the rule would limit access to patient care,” especially among women and rural residents. Opponents of the rule had argued that it was so vaguely worded that it could empower health care workers to deny a range of treatments that could include contraceptives, infertility treatments, transfusions, vaccines and family planning services. The rule change was subject to a 30-day comment period. The HHS had first announced its plan to reexamine the rule in a notice posted on its Web site Feb. 27. n

elected in late January as the RNC’s first black chairman. Steele, a former Maryland lieutenant governor, Feb. 8 had defended a payment of more than $37,000 to his sister’s company for catering and Internet-related work on his unsuccessful 2006 Senate campaign. It had been reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was probing that payment and other transactions by the campaign. Steele faced more criticism from conservatives after GQ magazine March 12 published an interview in which he called abortion “an individual choice,” before adding, “The states should make that choice.” He also deviated from the conservative view on homosexuality by saying that sexual orientation was involuntary. n

Politics

Rep. Dingell Sets Record for House Tenure.

White House, Radio Host Limbaugh Clash.

The administration of President Barack Obama engaged in a war of words with leading radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh after Limbaugh Feb. 28 delivered a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., in which he said he hoped Obama would fail. Obama aides responded by asserting that Limbaugh, a conservative firebrand, was the de facto leader of the Republican Party. [See p. 62E1; 2008, p. 480C2] White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, in a television interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” March 1 said of Limbaugh, “He is the voice and the intellectual force and energy behind the Republican Party, and has been up-front about what he views, and hasn’t stepped back from that, which is he hopes for failure.” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs March 2 suggested that “Republicans agree with what Rush Limbaugh said…in wishing and hoping for economic failure in this country.” Limbaugh that day accused the Obama administration of trying to “malign me, take me out of context” in a “game of manipulation emanating from the Oval Office.” He clarified that he wanted Obama’s policies, which he viewed as “socialist,” to fail, but did not hope that the slumping economy would fail. Republican congressional leaders also criticized the White House’s comments about Limbaugh, calling them a cynical political ploy of the very sort that Obama had denounced during his 2008 presidential campaign. Republican Chairman Apologizes—Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele March 2 apologized to Limbaugh for comments on the Cable News Network (CNN) in which he had called Limbaugh an “entertainer” rather than a party leader and described his show as “incendiary” and “ugly.” Limbaugh on his show earlier March 2 had rebuked Steele, saying that he was “not head of the Republican Party,” as Steele had claimed to CNN, and was “off to a shaky start” as chairman of the RNC, the party’s executive body. Steele had been

Rep. John Dingell (D, Mich.) Feb. 11 became the longest-serving member of the House in history, 19,420 days after he first took office in December 1955. He broke a record set by former Rep. Jamie Whitten (D, Miss.), who served from 1941 to 1995. Dingell, 82, had won a special election to represent his Detroit-area district upon the death of his father, who had held the seat since 1933. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D, Calif.) and former President Bill Clinton Feb. 10 paid tribute to Dingell at a reception in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall. [See 2008, p. 852E3; 1995, p. 684E3; 1955, p. 410D3] Dingell had played a key role in the passage of major legislation including the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1965 law that created the Medicare health care program for the elderly and disabled, and the 1973 Endangered Species Act. In November 2008, Rep. Henry Waxman (D, Calif.), with Pelosi’s tacit support, had ousted Dingell from his longtime post as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, winning a vote by the Democratic caucus. Waxman and Pelosi both supported legislation to impose stricter auto emissions and fuel efficiency standards that Dingell, defending the interests of the Detroit-area auto industry, had resisted. n

Legislation D.C. Vote Bill Held Up By Gun Amendment.

The Senate Feb. 26 voted, 61–37, to pass a bill that would grant the District of Columbia a voting representative in the House for the first time. But the bill subsequently stalled in the House over a Republicanbacked Senate amendment that would repeal most of D.C.’s gun control laws. [See 2007, p. 609C1] In a compromise, the bill would give heavily Republican Utah an additional House member to balance the voting member from mostly Democratic D.C. The new members would be seated at the start of the next Congress in January 2011, expanding the House to 437 seats, from 435. That would be the first enlargement of the House since 1913. FACTS ON FILE

Utah would have the other new seat through 2012, when House seats were secheduled to be reapportioned based on population changes shown in the 2010 Census. The Supreme Court had ruled in June 2008 that D.C.’s handgun ban was unconstitutional. The District had then enacted a revised law that banned semiautomatic weapons and imposed strict limits on handgun possession. The House voted in September to weaken the D.C. law. [See 2008, p. 747A3] n House Passes Mortgage Modification Bill.

The House March 5 voted, 234–191, to pass a bill that would allow bankruptcy court judges to modify mortgage terms on primary residences, in an attempt to stem a rising number of home foreclosures. Under the legislation, bankruptcy judges could reduce monthly interest rates, extend the maturity date of the loan or reduce the loan’s principal, the original amount loaned. The bill awaited consideration in the Senate. [See p. 127D3] The bill included measures designed to encourage struggling homeowners to modify their mortgages with lenders before entering bankruptcy. Additionally, homeowners who received a principal reduction were required to split with the lender any profits they made from selling the home. Those provisions were intended to ease concerns expressed by the mortgage industry, which said the bill would set off a wave of bankruptcy filings and compel it to charge higher interest rates on new mortgages. The bill would apply only to existing homeowners, not future ones. Supporters said the legislation was necessary, given the dire condition of the housing market. The Mortgage Bankers Association March 5 reported that more than 11% of U.S. mortgages were either delinquent or in the process of foreclosure. Supporters said the bill would reduce foreclosures by 20%, and give lenders an incentive to modify mortgages instead of having modifications forced on them in a bankruptcy proceeding. They said the plan would work in tandem with a housing market rescue plan announced by President Barack Obama earlier in March. Many lenders remained opposed to the bill, but some had expressed support, including banking giant Citigroup Inc. n

Economy Feb. Unemployment Rate Hits 26-Year High.

The unemployment rate in February rose to a 26-year high of 8.1% after seasonal adjustment, up from Unemployment its January level 8.1% of 7.6%, the La- February 2009 Month 7.6% bor Department Previous Year Earlier 4.8% reported March 6. An estimated 651,000 nonfarm jobs were cut in February, and job losses from previous months were revised upward, bringing the total number of jobs lost to 4.4 million since a recession began in December 2007. About 2.4 million jobs had been lost in the last four months alone. [See p. 79E3] March 12, 2009

The government and the health-care industry were the only major economic sectors to add jobs in February. The report fueled concern that recent efforts by the government to spark growth would not be enough to pull the economy out of the recession. President Barack Obama in February had signed a $787 billion economic recovery package into law, but the plan was designed to create or save only 3.5 million jobs, well below the number that had already been lost. [See p. 89A1] Additionally, the labor market was considered a belated indicator of developments in the economy, which had undergone a sharp contraction in late 2008, indicating that unemployment figures could rise by the end of the year. The Obama administration in February had unveiled the outlines of a budget plan, in which it projected that unemployment would reach 8.1% by the end of the year, a figure already reached in the current Labor Department report. [See pp. 128F2, 124A3] Obama, at a police-recruit graduation ceremony March 6 in Columbus, Ohio, called the number of jobs lost “astounding.” He said, “We have a responsibility to act, and that’s what I intend to do,” saying the stimulus bill had allowed the Columbus police to preserve job positions for the cadets. Economists said the official unemployment rate belied the severity of problems in the labor market, because it did not include “discouraged” workers who had stopped looking for work, and were therefore no longer considered part of the workforce, or those who had accepted only part-time employment even though they sought fulltime work. Counting those people, the rate would be 14.8%. 141.7 Million Jobs Held in February—

According to a household survey, 141.7 million people held jobs in February, the Labor Department reported March 6. The department counted 12.5 million people as unemployed. The department counted 731,000 workers as discouraged in February. About 8.6 million people who sought full-time employment were working parttime instead. The average manufacturing workweek was 39.6 hours in February, down slightly from 39.8 in January. Factory workers’ average overtime was 2.6 hours, down from 2.8 the previous month. The average hourly wage for production workers rose three cents, to $18.47. The unemployment rate among whites in February was 7.3%, up from 6.9% in January. The jobless rate for blacks was 13.4%, up from 12.6% the previous month. For Hispanics, who could be of any race, the rate was 10.9%, up from 9.7% in January. For men age 20 and over, February unemployment was 8.1%, up from 7.6% in January. For adult women, it was 6.7%, up from 6.2% the previous month. The teenage rate was 21.6%, up from 20.8% in January. For black teenagers it was 38.8%, up from 36.5% the previous month. n

Federal Reserve Issues ‘Beige Book.’ The Federal Reserve March 4 issued its “beige book” survey of economic data covering the previous six weeks, finding that businesses did not expect a “significant pickup” in economic growth before late 2009 or early 2010 due to an ongoing recession. The survey was compiled eight times a year on a rotating basis by the Fed’s 12 regional banks. [See p. 15F3] The Fed said economic conditions had deteriorated since its last survey in January, with the exceptions of the areas around Philadelphia, Pa., and Chicago, where conditions merely “remained weak.” The Fed said consumer spending—which accounted for the bulk of U.S. economic growth— remained “very weak.” Consumer demand for household items was “quite depressed,” and auto sales were “exceptionally sluggish.” The Fed said unemployment had “risen in all areas,” and that housing prices “continued to decline, reportedly at double-digit paces in some areas, with little or no signs of a deceleration evident.” In a bright spot for consumers, the Fed said energy prices continued to decline. n

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Business SEC Accuses Financier of Fraud. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Feb. 17 filed a civil complaint in U.S. District Court in Dallas, Texas, charging billionaire financier R. Allen Stanford and three of his companies with a “massive, ongoing fraud.” The complaint alleged that an offshore affiliate of Stanford’s Houston, Texas–based Stanford Financial Group (SFG) had tricked clients into investing about $8 billion with the company by promising rates of return that were deceptively high. [See p. 141A1; 1999, p. 316B2] The affiliate, Stanford International Bank Ltd. (SIB), was based in the Caribbean island nation of Antigua and Barbuda. The SEC said SIB had lured in clients by selling certificates of deposit with “improbable, if not impossible” rates of return. Certificates of deposit (CDs) were considered to be safe investment vehicles, in which investors received a relatively low, fixed rate of return for a determined period of time. The SEC said SIB had advertised yearly return rates of between 11.5% and 16.5%, more than double the rate of a typical CD. According to the complaint, SIB had told clients that their money would be invested in easily salable assets, such as stocks and bonds. However, the money was allegedly invested in hard-to-sell assets, such as real estate or private equity (stakes in companies not traded on the stock market). The SEC Feb. 27 revised its complaint, charging that Stanford and a fellow executive, James Davis, had used SIB investor deposits to create $1.6 billion worth of “bogus personal loans” to Stanford. Additionally, an unspecified amount of SIB money was invested in “speculative, unprofitable private businesses” controlled by Stanford. The SEC claimed that Stanford and Davis manipulated SIB’s accounting to hide the fraud. 147

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Davis, chief financial officer of SFG and SIB, and Laura Prendergest-Holt, chief investment officer of SFG and SIB, Feb. 17

were also charged with playing a role in the fraud. The SEC said two of the SFG’s Houston-based affiliates—Stanford Group Co. and Stanford Capital Management LLP— had helped funnel U.S. investments into SIB. However, about 75% of the CDs had been sold to investors in Central and South America, where SFG had numerous affiliates. SIB was reported to have 30,000 clients from 131 countries. [See below] The SEC accused SIB of other irregularities, including falsely claiming that it was audited yearly by Antiguan regulators, and failing to reveal to the SEC that it had invested in a fund run by Bernard Madoff, who had been accused in December 2008 of a $50 billion securities fraud. SIB had allegedly lost $400,000 due to the Madoff fraud. Stanford Group Co. was also accused of using misleading information to attract investors to a mutual fund, which eventually received $1.2 billion in investments. Feds Raid Headquarters, Assets Frozen—

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Federal authorities Feb. 17 raided SFG’s headquarters in Houston. A Dallas federal judge that day froze the assets of Stanford and his companies, and approved the appointment of a receiver for SFG, who was charged with recovering investor money. Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Feb. 19 located Stanford in Fredericksburg, Va., and served him his papers. Criminal charges were not brought against Stanford or Davis. Investigations by the FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of Texas were reportedly ongoing. The FBI Feb. 26 arrested PendergestHolt in Houston on criminal charges of obstruction for misleading SEC investigators during a Feb. 10 deposition in Forth Worth, Texas. Among other infractions, Pendergest-Holt allegedly failed to disclose the extent of her knowledge about the status of some $5 billion worth of SIB funds. Warning Signals Led to Charges— According to the SEC complaint, SIB on Dec. 15, 2008, liquidated about $250 million worth of its assets, leading the SEC to believe that the bank was attempting a “dissipation” of investor money. Three days previously, clearing house Pershing LLC stopped processing U.S. wire-transfer purchases of SIB’s CDs, saying SIB had had failed to provide long-awaited answers to questions regarding its financial condition. SEC investigators began interviewing Stanford’s employees in January. The SEC had opened a probe into SIB in October 2006, but Stephen Korotash, an SEC official at its Fort Worth, Texas, office, Feb. 17 said the SEC had “stood down” to allow an unidentified federal agency to pursue the investigation. The SEC resumed its investigation in December 2008, he said. However, it was also reported that the Madoff scandal had led the SEC to pursue Stanford with renewed vigor. The SEC had come under heavy criticism for failing to detect Madoff’s alleged scheme, and Stanford in recent years had been the subject of 148

numerous probes that had failed to result in serious civil or criminal charges. An early investigation of Stanford in 1997 had been conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), which suspected that Mexican drug dealers were laundering money through SIB. SIB cooperated with investigators, turned over $3.1 million in illicit deposits and was not charged. But U.S. suspicion continued, largely because Antigua and other Caribbean islands did not impose strict regulations on their financial institutions. The Antiguan government formed an oversight board to regulate SIB and other banks, but Stanford, who had formed close ties with the Antiguan authorities, was included on the board and helped pay for it. In 2005, two Venezuelan investors filed a lawsuit in the U.S. charging that SIB was a Ponzi scheme, in which investors’ supposed returns were actually funded by principal investments made by newer investors. In 2006, a former employee also charged that SIB was a Ponzi scheme in a U.S. court. Both cases were settled out of court. The Financial Times Feb. 27 reported that a former employee at Stanford Group Co. in 2003 had informed the SEC and the National Association of Securities Dealers—a regulatory body sponsored by the financial industry that was now known as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or Finra—that the company was “engaged in a Ponzi scheme to defraud its clients.” The employee’s case was eventually dismissed. In 2008, two former SFG executives, Mark Tidwell and Charles Rawl, filed a suit claiming that the company had engaged in “various unethical and illegal business practices.” The SEC subpoenaed Tidwell and Rawl in 2008, requiring them to produce information in their possession that concerned SIB. Since April 2007, SFG had paid Finra a total of $70,000 in fines, including for providing “misleading, unfair and unbalanced information” to clients. SFG had paid the SEC $20,000 in fines in 2007. Since 2000, Stanford and SFG—through its employees and a political action committee—had also made $2.4 million worth of campaign contributions to several U.S. lawmakers, and had spent $5 million on lobbying, although nothing had yet been revealed to show that their efforts had led to legislation in Stanford’s favor. Those lawmakers included then-Sen. Barack Obama (D, Ill.); Sen. John McCain (R, Ariz.), Obama’s rival in the 2008 presidential election; Rep. Charles Rangel (D, N.Y.); Sen. Bill Nelson (D, Fla.); Sen. John Cornyn (R, Texas); Sen. Charles Schumer (D, N.Y.); and several more. Many lawmakers pledged to donate those contributions to charity. [See 2008, p. 675D1] Bank Runs, Seizures in South America—

Venezuelan authorities Feb. 19 seized control of an SIB branch, following a bank run by depositors. Mexico that day said it was investigating an SFG bank for improprieties, and Peru began taking control of SFG businesses. Panama Feb. 18 had seized an SFG bank following a bank run, and Colombia

and Ecuador that day suspended SFG-affiliated brokerages in their countries. Venezuela was reported to be particularly hard hit by the SIB scandal, with as much as $3 billion worth of SIB investments coming from Venezuelan depositors. The economic policies of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias, which had led to state intervention in private enterprise, as well as high inflation rates that devalued consumer savings, had led many wealthy Venezuelans to deposit their assets overseas. [See p. 22G2; 2008, p. 837E1] Antigua’s government Feb. 25 said it planned to seize land and property belonging to Stanford. Antiguan Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer Feb. 18 had warned that the SIB scandal could have “catastrophic” consequences for Antigua, where Stanford was the largest single employer. Stanford’s holdings included real-estate development companies and a newspaper, as well as Antigua’s main cricket stadium. (Stanford had invested heavily in the sport, agreeing to provide $20 million in 2008 to finance a match between England and the West Indies. The England and Wales Cricket Board had signed a deal with Stanford to finance future matches, but Feb. 17 said it was halting further negotiations with Stanford.) n

Supreme Court Court Declines U.S. Enemy Combatant Case.

The Supreme Court March 6 declined to hear an appeal by Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, a legal U.S. resident who had been held without charge by the military as a socalled enemy combatant at a U.S. Navy brig in Charleston, S.C., for more than five years. The court had agreed to hear the case, al-Marri v. Spagone, in December 2008, but reversed itself after the U.S. government announced in February that it would file criminal charges against Marri in U.S. District Court in Peoria, Ill. Marri had been the final enemy combatant held indefinitely without charge within the U.S. [See p. 129A3; 2006, p. 257G2] The Supreme Court also vacated a 2008 ruling by the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., which had found that the president had the authority to indefinitely detain any person designated as an enemy combatant, including U.S. citizens and legal residents, in connection with the government’s antiterrorism efforts. The Justice Department March 4 had filed a brief saying it would not object if the Supreme Court vacated the lower court ruling. The brief also argued that, by adopting its position, the Justice Department had “conclusively demonstrated that the government is not attempting to preserve its victory while evading review.” American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) attorney Jonathan Hafetz, who was representing Marri, said he had hoped that the Supreme Court would rule on the case, but that the court had “nonetheless taken an important step” by vacating the previous decision, which had upheld the Bush administration’s broad claims of executive authority regarding the detention of enemy combatants. He also said, “We FACTS ON FILE

trust the Obama administration will not repeat the abuses of the Bush administration.” n

Crime Alabama Gunman Kills 10, Himself. A gunman March 10 killed 10 people, including his mother, and injured six more during a nearly hour-long rampage in southern Alabama. The shooter, identified as Michael McLendon, 28, subsequently shot himself. He had no criminal record and no clear motive for the shooting. He had reportedly used four guns, including two assault weapons, and fired more than 200 shots in what was thought to be the worst mass shooting in the history of Alabama. [See 2008, p. 519B1; 1999, p. 576G1] Police said McLendon had begun his rampage in Kinston, Ala., his hometown, where he killed his mother and her dogs, and then burned down her house. He then drove to his uncle’s home in Samson, Ala., where he killed six people, including his uncle, his 74-year-old great aunt, his cousin and an 18-month-old girl. McLendon then killed three other people, seemingly at random, while traveling from Samson to Geneva, Ala. Attempts by the police to stop him by ramming his car and erecting a roadblock were unsuccessful. McLendon then entered a Geneva metals plant where he had once worked and fatally shot himself. McLendon had reportedly attempted to join the Samson Police Department in 2003 but had left the state’s police academy in Montgomery, Ala., without completing his training. In addition, police discovered in McLendon’s home two lists of grievances against former coworkers. However, the lists were thought to be unrelated to the shootings. n Warrant Issued in Chandra Levy Killing. A warrant for the arrest of a former day laborer was issued March 3 in connection with the murder of federal intern Chandra Levy, whose 2001 disappearance had attracted widespread media attention. The suspect, Ingmar Guandique, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, was currently serving a 10-year sentence for attacking two women in 2001 in Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C., where Levy’s body was found in May 2002. Guandique faced at least 30 additional years in prison if convicted of firstdegree murder in the Levy case. [See 2002, p. 419F2] Levy, 24, had been working as an intern with the Federal Bureau of Prisons at the time of her death and had been romantically involved with married Rep. Gary Condit (D, Calif.), who lost a 2002 reelection bid after months of negative media coverage. Condit had always denied any involvement in Levy’s disappearance or death. Condit Feb. 21 said that he was happy that Levy’s family was “finally getting the answers they deserve” and said that “it is unfortunate than an insatiable appetite for sensationalism blocked so many from searching for the real answers for so long.” Washington police renewed their probe into Levy’s death after a 13-part series was published in the Washington Post in 2008 March 12, 2009

reexamining the case and criticizing the initial investigation. The warrant against Guandique was reportedly based in part on the testimony of multiple people, including at least two fellow inmates, who said that Guandique had confessed in detail to killing Levy. n

Education Obama Outlines Reform Proposals. President Barack Obama March 10 in Washington, D.C., outlined his proposals to reform the nation’s education system, which he said was in a state of “relative decline” that was “untenable for our economy, unsustainable for our democracy and unacceptable for our children.” Obama criticized both parties for hindering progress—Democrats for opposing merit pay, a system by which teachers’ pay was partly determined by student performance, and Republicans for “opposing new investments in early education.” While Obama was not planning to advance a major education bill, he said he would provide support for effective programs in his budget and encourage states to independently develop initiatives to improve education. [See p. 107F2] Obama strongly advocated both merit pay and penalties for underperforming teachers, as well as for lifting states’ caps on the number of charter schools allowed. (Administrators at charter schools were allowed to experiment with curricula without having to forgo public funding. According to the National Alliance for Public Charter schools, about 365,000 students were on waiting lists to enter such schools.) However, those initiatives were generally opposed by teachers unions. Some observers suggested that because the teachers’ union had significant influence with the Democratic Party, Obama might have trouble winning congressional support for some reforms. [See 2006, p. 732F3] Obama said expanding early childhood education could lead to better performance in classrooms, as well as reduced crime and lower welfare and health care costs. Obama said he would ask Congress to fund an initiative by which states that improved early childhood education programs would be eligible for federal grants. Obama also urged the adoption of nationwide standards for academic achievement, and pointed out that “today’s system of 50 different sets of benchmarks for academic success means fourth grade readers in Mississippi are scoring nearly 70 points lower than students in Wyoming, and getting the same grade.” For higher education, Obama said he planned to increase the amount of money available through federal Pell Grants, which were awarded to the neediest students. He also pledged to end “wasteful student loan subsidies” to lenders through the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program, which had been criticized as inefficient and too connected to the stock market. He repeated his goal of making college more affordable for “seven million more students.” [See p. 125B3]

Obama delivered the address from the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, in what officials said was meant to highlight the increasing number of Hispanics entering public schools. Obama noted that Hispanic children were “less likely to be enrolled in early education programs than anyone else,” and pointed out that Hispanic students were “dropping out faster than just about anyone else.”

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Stimulus Funds Released to Schools—

Education Secretary Arne Duncan, in a March 6 e-mail sent to government and school officials, said $44 billion in federal stimulus aid earmarked for education would be released within the next 45 days. The $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act had set aside about $100 billion for education, about $5 billion of which was for early childhood education programs. Duncan cautioned schools to keep records of how the money was spent, and urged educators to “spend funds quickly to save and create jobs.” The remaining education stimulus money was expected to be released within six months. [See p. 89A1] n

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Civil Rights Hearing Held on Calif. Gay Marriage Ban.

The California Supreme Court March 5 began hearing arguments in a case deciding the legality of a ballot initiative approved by voters in November 2008 that nullified an earlier court ruling guaranteeing samesex couples the right to wed in the state. The court in May 2008 had ruled, 4–3, that denying same-sex couples the right to wed was a violation of the state constitution’s guarantee of equal rights. [See 2008, p. 853A2] However, in the November election, 52% of voters had backed Proposition 8, a ballot initiative that changed the state constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Gay rights advocates had challenged Proposition 8 in court on a technical issue, arguing that it was a more substantial revision to the constitution, rather than an amendment. Under state law a revision to the constitution required approval from the state legislature. Those challenging Proposition 8 were represented in court by Shannon Minter, a lawyer for the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Supporters of the ballot initiative were represented by Kenneth Starr, a former U.S. solicitor general and independent counsel whose investigation of President Bill Clinton had led to his impeachment. Analysts said that, based on questions and comments made by justices during the hearing, the court seemed to be leaning toward upholding Proposition 8. However, court members showed skepticism toward Starr’s suggestion that the ballot initiative invalidated the roughly 18,000 same-sex marriages that had taken place in California between May and November. Crowds of pro– and anti–Proposition 8 demonstrators rallied outside the courthouse the day of the hearing. The court had 90 days to issue a decision in the case. 149

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Donor List Released—The office of the California secretary of state Feb. 2 released a campaign finance report detailing donations made in support of and opposition to Proposition 8. Supporters of the initiative had sought an injunction blocking the release of the list, arguing that people and businesses that had been identified as contributors supporting Proposition 8 had been subject to harassment and death threats. The report found that both sides had spent a combined $83 million on their campaigns. Judge Morrison England of U.S. District Court in Sacramento, Calif., Jan. 29 had ruled that the reports must be released in accordance with campaign finance disclosure laws. Same-Sex Benefits Suit Filed—The gay rights advocacy group Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) March 3 filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Boston, Mass., challenging the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) by seeking federal benefits for 15 people who had had samesex weddings after Massachusetts legalized gay marriage in May 2004. [See 2005, p. 51C1; 2004, p. 818E3; 1996, p. 703A1] DOMA had been signed into law in 1996 by then-President Bill Clinton. It defined marriage as a “legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife,” and defined a spouse as “a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.” Those definitions required the federal government to deny same-sex couples benefits and other protections guaranteed to heterosexual married couples, including health benefits, Social Security payments for widowed spouses and tax advantages. The plaintiffs in the case included eight same-sex couples and three men whose husbands had died, all of whom had been married in Massachusetts. Among the plaintiffs was Dean Hara, the widower of Rep. Gerry Studds (D, Mass.), the first openly gay House member, who had died in 2006. Hara had been denied Studds’s federal pension and other benefits normally granted to the surviving member of a heterosexual married couple. [See 2006, p. 808F3] Massachusetts and Connecticut were the only two states that currently recognized gay marriages. n

Terrorism Detainees

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Countries Called Complicit in U.S. Abuses.

Foreign governments that took part in the interrogations of their citizens at the U.S. prison for terrorism detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and at secret prisons run by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) were complicit in detainee mistreatment that violated international human rights laws, according to a report issued Feb. 27 by Martin Scheinin, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism. The release of the report followed Scheinin’s December 2007 visit to Guantanamo. [See p. 129C2] At least 18 countries were thought to have sent representatives to aid the U.S.– led interrogations of terrorism suspects, including Germany and Morocco, according to the New York City–based Center for 150

Constitutional Rights, a civil liberties group that had provided lawyers for Guantanamo detainees. In addition, representatives of countries including Uzbekistan and China had reportedly made threats against detainees in U.S. custody while participating in their interrogations. [See p. 112E1] According to Scheinin’s report, “the active participation by a state through the sending of interrogators or questions, or even the mere presence of intelligence personnel at an interview with a person who is being held in places where he is tortured or subject to other inhuman treatment, can be reasonably understood as implicitly condoning torture.” Scheinin found that countries that had assisted in the questioning of U.S. terrorism detainees in locations other than Guantanamo—such as Pakistan, where representatives of Australia and Britain had reportedly questioned detainees—were equally culpable. The report concluded that the involvement of multiple nations in the U.S. interrogation process demonstrated the need for countries to “introduce safeguards preventing intelligence agencies from making use of such intelligence.” It also criticized the U.S., among other countries, for using claims of government secrecy to stymie attempts by former detainees to prove that they had been abused or tortured. French Convictions Overturned—A French appeals court in Paris Feb. 24 struck down terrorism convictions against five former Guantanamo detainees, ruling that the case against the men had been based entirely on inadmissible evidence gathered by members of France’s DST intelligence service. Analysts suggested that the ruling might make the U.S., which was scheduled to close Guantanamo in 2010, less willing to release current Guantanamo detainees to the custody of other countries. [See 2005, p. 168C3; 2004, p. 640C2] The five former detainees—Nizar Sassi, 27, Brahim Yadel, 37, Redouane Khalid, 39, Mourad Benchellali, 26, and Khaled Ben Mustapha, 35—had been captured in Afghanistan in 2001 and 2002 and had been held by the U.S. at Guantanamo prior to their release in 2004 and 2005. All five men had admitted to attending training camps run by the Al Qaeda international terrorist network but said that they had never been involved with any terrorist actions. They were each convicted in 2007 of associating with terrorists and were sentenced to one year of time already served and then released. The appeals court ruled that, under French law, the DST could not carry out intelligence-gathering operations while also operating as a law enforcement organization. It also found that the evidence against the five men, which had been gathered by the DST during interrogations at Guantanamo had violated a French law that required a magistrate to supervise all police interrogations. Britain Admits Role in Rendition— British Defense Secretary John Hutton Feb. 26 informed Britain’s Parliament that two detainees captured by British soldiers in Iraq

had been moved by the U.S. in 2004 to a detention center in Afghanistan. The British government had previously denied that it had had any involvement in the U.S.’s socalled extraordinary rendition program, in which suspected terrorists were transferred to other countries for detention and interrogation. [See 2008, p. 147G1] The two detainees were Pakistani nationals who had been accused of belonging to Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamic militant group based in Pakistan. Their names had not been released. The U.S. had reportedly said it had moved the men to Afghanistan because it lacked the translators needed to question the men in Iraq. Hutton said that the British government had been told by the U.S. “that the detainees are held in a humane, safe and secure environment meeting international standards.” In addition, the U.S. said the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had reportedly been granted access to both detainees. A total of about 650 prisoners were being held by the U.S. at a detention facility located within the U.S. Air Force base at Bagram, Afghanistan, including at least twenty detainees who had been captured outside Afghanistan. In his statement to Parliament, Hutton gave an “unreserved apology” on behalf of his department for its previous denials. The transfer of the detainees was thought to have violated both British law and an agreement between the U.S. and Britain that banned the rendition of any prisoners captured with British assistance. The rendition of the two detainees was initially revealed to Hutton in December 2008 during an internal inquiry by the British government into detentions in Iraq and Afghanistan, which had been triggered by earlier questions from members of Parliament. According to Hutton, some British officials had been informed of the rendition in 2004. In 2006, then–Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and then–Home Secretary Charles Clarke were given documents that mentioned the renditions. However, both Clarke and Straw had reportedly failed to realize the significance of the information, something Hutton blamed on the fact that the documents contained only “brief references” to the renditions. U.S. Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman said, “There was a level of formal coordination [between the U.S. and Britain] that should have taken place with respect to a transfer of this nature” and called the lack of such coordination “an error.” However, the U.S. had reportedly refused to return the two Pakistani detainees to Iraq. n

Mergers & Acquisitions Merck Makes $41 Billion Bid for Schering.

Whitehouse Station, N.J.–based drugmaker Merck & Co. March 9 announced that it would acquire rival drug manufacturer Schering-Plough Corp. in a deal worth $41.1 billion. The merger was the latest among large pharmaceutical companies traditionally focused on drug research. In January, Pfizer Inc., the world’s largest FACTS ON FILE

drug company by sales volume, had agreed to acquire rival Wyeth in a $68 billion deal. Swiss firm Roche Holding AG March 12 finalized a deal to purchase the 44% stake in U.S. biotechnology company Genentech Inc. that it did not already own for about $46.8 billion. [See below, p. 49B1; 1993, p. 574C3] The mergers represented an effort by drug companies to diversify their businesses beyond prescription drugs, which had served as a lucrative source of income over several decades. However, revenues for many so-called blockbuster drugs, so named because of their high sales volumes, were expected to dwindle as patents for them expired. The approval of prescription drugs was also expected to face greater regulatory scrutiny after several high-profile drugs were removed from the market in recent years due to safety concerns. Analysts said the acquisition of ScheringPlough—based in Kenilworth, N.J.— would give Merck greater access to broader consumer health businesses, as well as markets in China, Brazil and other developing countries where Schering-Plough had already established itself. Under the terms of the deal, ScheringPlough shareholders would receive 0.5767 of a Merck share and $10.50 for each share of Schering-Plough that they held. The agreement put the value of a ScheringPlough share at $23.61, a 34% premium over the March 6 closing price. Merck would take on $8.5 billion in short-term debt in order to purchase Schering-Plough. The two companies’ 2008 sales together totaled $46.9 billion, and the new company would have operations in 140 countries. The deal was expected to be finalized in the fourth quarter of 2009. It still required clearance from the Federal Trade Commission, and the approval of shareholders from both companies. Roche Seals Genentech Acquisition—

Roche March 12 announced that it had finalized a friendly deal to acquire the 44% stake in Genentech that it did not already own for about $46.8 billion. Roche Jan. 30 had taken its bid to acquire Genentech hostile after being unable to reach an agreement with Genentech’s board of directors. Roche in July 2008 had made a $43.7 billion bid for the Genentech stake, offering $89 per Genentech share. However, Genentech had repeatedly rejected Roche’s bids as too low. [See 2008, p. 955D3] In the latest bid, accepted by Genentech’s board, Roche offered $95 per Genentech share, an increase from the $86.50 per share offered in the hostile bid in January. At that time, Roche Chairman Franz Humer said the higher July 2008 bid had reflected a premium his company had been willing to pay to secure a friendly takeover. He added that the value of the hostile bid also considered the ramifications of a global economic crisis that had taken hold in the latter half of 2008. n

released a report that said a federal program by which police officers were deputized as federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents had allowed the officers to deport undocumented immigrants for minor crimes. The report also criticized the initiative for lacking basic guidelines and recordkeeping practices. The program was known as 287(g), a reference to a section in the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act that authorized it. [See 2006, p. 508D2] The program was intended to deter violent crime, human trafficking, gang activity and drug smuggling. However, the GAO found that some police officers had used the program to attempt to deport undocumented immigrants who had been caught for relatively minor infractions, such as speeding or carrying an open container of alcohol. The GAO also said some citizens had expressed concern that officers participating in the program had engaged in racial profiling. About 34,000 people were taken into ICE custody under the program in 2008. However, the GAO, citing inadequate recordkeeping, said it had been unable to determine how many of those were detained for minor crimes. According to the report, 44% of those taken into custody waived their right to a hearing and opted to be immediately deported; 41% had deportation proceedings initiated against them; and the remaining 15% were either freed for humanitarian reasons, sentenced to federal prison or were released “given the minor nature of the underlying offense and limited availability of the federal government’s detention space.” The Department of Homeland Security, which oversaw ICE, supported several GAO recommendations, which included establishing an official objective for the program, clarifying when to use 287(g) authority and improving recordkeeping practices. n Meat Factory Manager Sentenced. Martin De La Rosa-Loera March 3, in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was sentenced to 23 months in prison for harboring undocumented immigrants. De La RosaLoera, a former supervisor at Postville, Iowa–based Agriprocessors Inc., had pleaded guilty to the charges in 2008 after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials had raided his plant and arrested more than 380 undocumented workers there. Agriprocessors, which had once been the country’s largest kosher meat factory, had since declared bankruptcy amid numerous legal problems that had resulted from the raid. [See 2008, pp. 964B3, 656E3] n

Aviation Southwest to Pay $7.5 Million in Fines.

Immigration GAO Criticizes Immigration Program. The Government Accountability Office (GAO),

the investigative arm of Congress, March 4 March 12, 2009

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) March 2 announced that Dallas, Texas–based Southwest Airlines Co. would pay $7.5 million in fines stemming from a 2008 discovery that Southwest had operat-

ed more than 59,000 flights on 46 airplanes without completing mandatory inspections of the planes’ fuselages. It was the secondlargest fine ever levied against an airline. [See 2008, p. 535B3] In addition to paying the fine, Southwest was required to implement a number of safety regulations, which included making maintenance tracking information more easily available to the FAA, and revising manuals and inspection procedures. The fine would double if the required safety measures were not implemented by FAAmandated deadlines, which ranged from 30 days to one year. n

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Media Lobbyist Settles ‘N.Y. Times’ Lawsuit. A Washington, D.C., lobbyist Feb. 19 settled a $27 million lawsuit she had filed against the New York Times over an article it had published about her relationship with former Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (Ariz.). The Times said it had not paid any money to the lobbyist, Vicki Iseman, or retracted its story. However, it published a statement on the lawsuit from Iseman’s lawyers in the newspaper’s print edition and on its Web site claiming that Iseman was not a “public figure” and was thus not subject to the higher standard required to prove defamation. The Times also carried a rebuttal by Times Executive Editor Bill Keller. [See 2008, p. 968A3] The Times in February 2008 had published a story saying that several unidentified McCain aides in 1999 had been “convinced” that Iseman and McCain were having an affair, when Iseman was representing clients before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, which McCain then headed. Iseman in December 2008 had sued the Times, Keller and several reporters for what she said were false implications of a romantic relationship. The Times Feb. 19 published a “note to readers” in which it stated that the article had not stated or intended to suggest any improprieties by Iseman “in breach of the public trust.” Iseman’s lawyers called the note a “retraction,” but the Times said it stood by the article fully. n

Religion Disgraced Pastor’s Church Reveals Payments.

Brady Boyd, pastor of the 10,500-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo., where former pastor Ted Haggard had stepped down in 2006 after he was accused of having sex with a male prostitute, Jan. 25 told parishioners that the church beginning in 2007 had made payments to a male church member who had a relationship with Haggard prior to his dismissal. The payments, which had been ordered in a confidential legal settlement, included funds for the man’s counseling and college. Boyd said he had chosen to reveal the payments to the congregation because the man had signaled his intention to make them public. [See 2006, p. 864F2] n 151

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ical party formed in late 2008 by dissident members of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), Feb. 20 announced that Bishop Mvume Dandala would be its presidential candidate in general elections scheduled for April. Under South Africa’s constitution, the party that won the most seats in the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, earned the right to select the nation’s next president. [See p. 96A2] The choice of Dandala, a relatively unknown figure in South African politics, was considered surprising. Many had expected either party leader Mosiuoa Lekota, a former national chairman of the ANC who had stepped down as defense minister in September 2008, or another prominent member, former Guateng state Premier Mbhazima Shilowa, to be COPE’s candidate. Some observers suggested the selection of Dandala was intended to prevent friction between Lekota and Shilowa from damaging party unity. Dandala, 57, was the general secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches and a former head of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa. It was considered unlikely that COPE would be able to defeat the ANC, which had governed South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994, in the April elections. However, the ANC had recently been weakened by several scandals, including a corruption case against its leader and presidential candidate, Jacob Zuma. COPE sought to portray Dandala as a contrast to Zuma. The party said in a statement that “South Africa needs an honest, trustworthy and highly skilled leader, someone who can restore to our people hope and belief in our country.” In a related development, the Constitutional Court, South Africa’s highest court, March 12 upheld a lower court’s decision to allow South Africans living abroad who were registered voters to cast ballots in the April elections. n

Zimbabwe Prime Minister Hurt, Wife Killed in Car Crash.

Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai March 6 suffered minor injuries in a car crash on a highway about 45 miles (70 km) south of Harare, the capital. His wife of more than 30 years, Susan Tsvangirai, was killed in the crash, which occurred when a truck driving in the other direction lost control, veered into oncoming traffic and struck the Tsvangirais’ vehicle. [See below, p. 96C3] The crash immediately sparked rumors that Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party leader Tsvangirai, a longtime opposition figure who in February had been sworn in as prime minister in a power-sharing government with the Zimbabwe 152

African National Union–Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party of President Robert Mugabe, had been the target of an assassination attempt. During Mugabe’s 29-year rule, several high-profile political figures had died under mysterious circumstances, including car crashes. Tsvangirai himself had reportedly survived several assassination attempts, and had been subjected to beatings and other forms of harassment during his years as an opposition leader. [See p. 82A1; 2001, p. 465B1–D1; 1979, p. 977A1] Details of the Crash— The Tsvangirais March 6 were traveling in a Toyota Land Cruiser, the middle vehicle in a three-car convoy headed to Buhera, their hometown, for a rally scheduled for the next day when the crash occurred. The truck, which belonged to a contractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and was transporting HIV/AIDS medicine, reportedly veered into oncoming traffic and slammed into the Tsvangirais’ car, causing it to roll over at least three times. (Reports conflicted as to whether the driver swerved to avoid a large pothole, or crossed into oncoming traffic after falling asleep.) Susan Tsvangirai was thrown from the car, and was pronounced dead upon arrival at the Avenues Clinic, a private medical center near Harare. Also injured in the crash was Tsvangirai’s driver and bodyguard. The road on which they were traveling was said to be one of the country’s most dangerous. It, like much of Zimbabwe’s infrastructure, had fallen into disrepair due to the collapse of the country’s economy over the past 10 years. [See below] Mugabe and his wife, Grace Mugabe, visited the prime minister at the Avenues Clinic the night of the crash, in what was seen as a sign of reconciliation between the longtime rivals. Tsvangirai, who suffered head and chest injuries in the crash, March 7–9 traveled to neighboring Botswana for medical tests and treatment. The MDC March 7 said it would conduct its own investigation of the crash. Some party leaders reportedly alleged that security for the prime minister’s convoy had been inadequate, noting that Mugabe traveled in much larger motorcades. Upon his return from Botswana, Tsvangirai March 9 sought to calm the rumors of foul play, proclaiming that the crash was accidental. He told supporters in Harare, “In this case I want to say there is no foul play. It was an accident that unfortunately took away [Susan Tsvangirai’s] life.” Nevertheless, conspiracy theories reportedly continued to circulate. Tsvangirai, MDC officials, Mugabe and senior members of the ZANU-PF gathered March 10—Tsvangirai’s 57th birthday— for a service for Susan Tsvangirai in Harare. At the service, Tsvangirai told mourners, “Let’s celebrate her existence as God’s gift to me and you.” Mugabe also spoke, saying the “hand of God” was behind the crash and calling for an end to political violence in Zimbabwe. The Tsvangirais’ 29-year-old son, Edwin Tsvangirai, said at the service that Mugabe’s remarks had “changed my understanding of him.”

Later that day, some 20,000 people attended a memorial service at a Harare stadium. Susan Tsvangirai’s March 11 burial in Buhera was attended by thousands of mourners. Mrs. Tsvangirai, 50, who had six children with her husband and had largely shied away from the spotlight—except to advocate for charitable causes— was a popular figure in Zimbabwe, and her death elicited an outpouring of grief and sympathy. Her image contrasted sharply with that of Grace Mugabe, who had become unpopular for her lavish spending sprees and ostentatious lifestyle. Tsvangirai and his wife were described as very close. MDC official Eddie Cross March 6 had called her a “pillar of support” for her husband, adding, “Morgan will feel her loss enormously.” The truck’s Zimbabwean driver, Chinoona Mwanda, March 9 appeared in court in Chivhu, 90 miles south of Harare. He was charged with culpable homicide, and released on bail. Top Opposition Supporters Freed—

High-profile MDC official Roy Bennett, the nominee for deputy agriculture minister in the unity government, March 12 was freed on bail after nearly a month in jail, one day after Zimbabwe’s Supreme Court ordered his release. Bennett, a white farmer whose land had been taken as part of Mugabe’s disastrous land-reform program that began in 2000, had been arrested in February for allegedly possessing weapons and planning acts of sabotage against the state, charges he denied. In a related development, prominent human rights activist Jestina Mukoko and four other campaigners March 2 had been freed on bail after Mugabe approved their release. They had been detained since late 2008 on charges of plotting to overthrow Mugabe’s government, and the MDC had repeatedly pressed for their release. The New York Times March 3 reported that Mukoko had been in a medical clinic in Harare when her release was announced; she was reportedly being treated for injuries consistent with torture, as well as for high blood pressure. Six other activists, who had been granted bail Feb. 27, remained in jail because they could not post the required bond of $20,000 in property deeds. The ZANU-PF and the MDC had clashed on several other issues since the powersharing government was sworn in. Those included Mugabe’s rejection—in an interview published Feb. 26 in the state-run Herald newspaper—of an MDC request to dismiss Gideon Gono, the governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the central bank, and Attorney General Johannes Tomana. Gono had been widely held responsible for Zimbabwe’s economic collapse, especially its record inflation rate of an estimated 10 sextillion percent. The MDC held Tomana responsible for what it said was the unlawful detention of its supporters and human rights activists. Also, the ZANU-PF had reportedly stepped up a campaign to appropriate the remaining white-owned farms, despite a November 2008 ruling by a Southern African Development Community (SADC) tribunal FACTS ON FILE

that said Mugabe’s government had violated the organization’s treaty by seizing white farmers’ land. [See 2008, p. 974E3] Mugabe Feb. 28 held one of several lavish parties in celebration of his 85th birthday. (His birthday was Feb. 21.) The festivities, held in Chinhoyi, 60 miles northwest of Harare, reportedly cost about $250,000. At the gala, Mugabe said, “Land distribution will continue.…The few remaining white farmers should quickly vacate their farms as they have no place there.” Finance Minister Appeals for Aid—

Zimbabwean Finance Minister Tendai Biti, an MDC member, Feb. 26–27 attended a meeting of SADC finance ministers in Cape Town, South Africa, at which he requested a $2 billion economic rescue package for Zimbabwe. In addition to hyperinflation, Zimbabwe was currently suffering from an unemployment rate of more than 90% and severe shortages of basic necessities and services. South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel Feb. 26 said he supported Biti’s plan, but warned that it was unlikely that SADC member nations would be able to come up with the money to finance Zimbabwe’s rescue on their own. Donald Kaberuka, president of the African Development Bank, Feb. 26 met with Biti on the sidelines of the SADC meeting and praised his economic recovery plan. However, he said Zimbabwe had to clear its $5 billion in foreign debt before it could receive aid from the bank. Analysts said Zimbabwe would not be able to generate the revenue to repay the debt without foreign aid to restart its economy. Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith March 11 said in a statement that his country would provide A$10 million (US$6.4 million) “to help Prime Minister Tsvangirai and the so-called inclusive Government of Zimbabwe to restore basic water, sanitation and health services and relieve the suffering of the Zimbabwean people.” Australia became the first Western nation to announce direct aid to Zimbabwe’s new government. Previously, it had funneled humanitarian assistance through aid organizations. U.S. President Barack Obama March 4 had announced that the U.S. had extended sanctions on Zimbabwe, which included a travel ban on top ZANU-PF officials and a ban on certain Zimbabwean companies doing business in the U.S. n

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China U.S. Protests ‘Harassment’ of Naval Ships.

The U.S. government March 9 said it had lodged formal protests with China over recent incidents of harassment of U.S. maritime surveillance ships operating in international waters near China. A U.S. Defense Department spokesman said Chinese ships had “shadowed and aggressively maneuvered in dangerously close proximity” to U.S. vessels, posing a “risk of collision or miscalculation.” [See 2008, p. 979A3] March 12, 2009

U.S. officials said five Chinese naval and other official boats the previous day had surrounded a U.S. surveillance ship, the USNS Impeccable, about 75 miles (120 km) north of the Chinese island of Hainan in the South China Sea. Some of the Chinese vessels came as close as 25 feet (eight meters), they said, with crew members waving Chinese flags and demanding that the U.S. ship leave the area. The crew of the Impeccable, which did not carry heavy weaponry, reportedly opened fire hoses on the Chinese boats. In a radio communication, it requested safe passage, but was blocked by two of the Chinese ships, requiring it to make an emergency stop. U.S. officials cited four other incidents of harassment of the Impeccable and the USNS Victorious by Chinese ships or aircraft since March 4. The U.S. ships were reportedly monitoring China’s growing submarine warfare capacities. [See 2007, p. 384E3] The U.S. embassy in Beijing, China’s capital, protested to the Chinese foreign ministry, and the U.S. Defense Department summoned a Chinese defense attache in Washington, D.C. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs March 9 said, “We’re going to continue to operate in those international waters and we expect the Chinese to observe international law.” A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman March 10 claimed that the Impeccable had been operating illegally inside China’s “exclusive economic zone” (EEZ), which extended beyond its territorial waters to 200 nautical miles from its coasts. The U.S. countered that it had the right to conduct “military activities” in such zones. The U.S. March 12 said it had sent a Navy destroyer to protect the Impeccable. Observers noted that U.S.-Chinese military relations had in general improved in recent years, after a dispute over a 2001 collision between a U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft and a Chinese fighter over Hainan, and the subsequent 11-day detention of the U.S. plane’s crew. However, China in October 2008 had suspended military contacts with the U.S. over a decision by the administration of then–U.S. President George W. Bush to authorize a large arms sale to Taiwan. [See 2001, p. 631B2] U.S. Calls Annual Military Talks Positive—

The maritime incidents came days after U.S. and Chinese military officials Feb. 27–28 in Beijing had held their annual Defense Policy Coordination Talks, the first to be held since U.S. President Barack Obama took office in January. The chief of the U.S. delegation, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia David Sedney, said the talks were the “best” in his 18 years of involvement in military dealings with China. n

ruptured in the earthquake, and about 3.5 miles (5.5 km) from the epicenter. The scientists, writing in the December 2008 issue of the Chinese journal Seismology and Geology, called for further research into whether the reservoir had caused seismic activity that might have contributed to the quake, which killed some 80,000 people. [See 2008, p. 978G2] It was widely acknowledged that the weight of reservoirs behind dams could intensify seismic stresses. It was thought that such added strain could not cause an earthquake outright, but might hasten one that would have occurred eventually anyway. In another study presented in December 2008, Christian Klose of Columbia University in New York City had also concluded that the reservoir water’s weight had had a substantial impact on the nearby fault. Chinese authorities had dismissed the suggestion that the Zipingpu reservoir played any role in the earthquake, a conclusion reached by another pair of scientists in a Chinese science news publication, Science Times, also in December. Chinese authorities had been criticized over the poor construction quality of schools that collapsed in the quake, and the suggestion that a project like the Zipingpu Dam could have played a role in the disaster carried potentially great political risks for the government. n

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7.6 on the open-ended Richter scale of ground motion and a series of aftershocks Jan. 4 struck the Indonesian province of Papua, killing four people and injuring at least 250 others. One of the aftershocks was measured at 7.4 on the Richter scale by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), but most of the other associated tremors were significantly weaker. The quakes damaged or destroyed about 840 buildings in Indonesia and triggered small tsunamis near Japan’s southern coast. A tsunami alert issued by the Indonesian government after the earthquake was subsequently canceled. [See 2008, p. 942C2] Unknown attackers Jan. 20 threw three

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in Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital. According to the police, two of the three explosives went off, setting fire to part of the embassy’s wall. No injuries were reported in connection with the incident. A spokesman for the Indonesian government Jan. 21 said that the government would bolster security measures at the embassy. [See 2008, p. 573G2] n

Dam Linked to Seismic Strain in Quake Zone.

North Korea

A group of Chinese scientists had published research that they said suggested that a man-made reservoir in Sichuan Province had significantly affected seismic activity in the area prior to a devastating earthquake in May 2008, the New York Times reported Feb. 6. The reservoir, created by the Zipingpu Dam, was located about 1,600 feet (500 meters) from the fault that

Parliamentary Elections Held. North Korea March 7 held elections for the 687 seats in the Supreme People’s Assembly, the country’s unicameral parliament. Only a single candidate, approved by the ruling Workers’ Party, was on the ballot in each district, and state media March 9 reported a 99.98% turnout for the compulsory voting. North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Il, 67, 153

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was again elected to a seat in the parliament, representing a military constituency; the Supreme People’s Assembly was expected to soon reappoint Kim as chairman of the National Defense Commission, defined as the highest state post. [See p. 51C2] The elections to the parliament had been due to be held in 2008, but had been delayed amid widespread foreign reports, denied by North Korea, that Kim had suffered a stroke. Because many senior officials were drawn from among the members of the assembly, foreign observers had looked to the election for signs pointing toward a possible successor to Kim, or other indications about power shifts within the secretive regime. Initial news reports of the voting had suggested that the youngest of Kim’s three sons—Kim Jong Un, 26—was among the candidates, but none of the sons was among the list of elected candidates released March 9. n

Thailand Writer Guilty of Insulting Royals, Pardoned.

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Harry Nicolaides, an Australian writer, Jan. 19 pleaded guilty in a court in Bangkok, Thailand’s capital, to charges of insulting the Thai royal family in a selfpublished 2005 novel and was sentenced to three years in prison. He was pardoned Feb. 19 by Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and returned to Australia Feb. 22. [See 2007, pp. 580E2, 248D2] Nicolaides had printed only 50 copies of the novel, Verisimilitude, and had reportedly sold fewer than 12. The charges reportedly stemmed from a paragraph of the novel that cited gossip about the romantic activities of an unidentified Thai crown prince. He had been arrested Aug. 31, 2008, in a Bangkok airport and was charged Nov. 21, 2008, under the country’s lese-majeste law, which barred anyone from threatening, insulting or defaming the country’s king, queen, regent or heir apparent. The charge carried a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. Professor Flees Thailand—Giles Ji Ungpakorn, a leftist professor of political science at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University Jan. 20 was charged with lese-majeste in connection with his 2007 book A Coup for the Rich, which analyzed the 2006 bloodless military coup that ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra from power. Thailand’s government was currently led by the Democrat Party, which had ties to the Thai military. At least 17 lese-majeste investigations were ongoing as of March 6. Ungpakorn, who was a dual British and Thai citizen, Feb. 6 fled to Britain along with his wife in order to avoid facing the charges. Following his arrival in Britain, Ungpakorn said that he had fled because he “did not believe that I would receive a fair trial,” and argued that the Thai government was using the law in order to prevent “any discussion about the relationship between the military junta and the monarchy.” Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejajjiva March 6 said that he would examine the 154

country’s use of the lese-majeste law and “try to clarify the way this law is enforced, and I hope this will ease concerns over freedom of expression.” But he said all persons charged under the current law would continue to face possible prison terms. Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported March 5 that more than 4,800 Web sites judged to be insulting to the royal family had been blocked by the Thai government since March 2008. n

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France Two Convicted in Tunisia Synagogue Attack.

A court in Paris Feb. 5 convicted two men of involvement in a 2002 synagogue bombing in Tunisia that killed 21 people, including two French citizens. The men, Christian Ganczarski of Germany and Walid Nouar of Tunisia, were tried in France under a law that allowed for French prosecution of foreign nationals in connection with the murder of French citizens. Nouar was the brother of Nizar Nouar, who had carried out the suicide bombing. [See 2002, p. 305C1] Ganczarski, 42, had admitted to being a member of the international terrorist network Al Qaeda but denied any involvement in the attack. However, during the trial, prosecutors had played a taped phone call between him and Nizar Nouar recorded just prior to the attack. Widal Nouar, 28, had been accused of providing a satellite phone and false documents used to carry out the attack. Ganczarski was sentenced to 18 years in prison while Nouar received a sentence of 12 years. Both men had faced possible life sentences following their convictions on charges of complicity in murder and complicity in attempted murder stemming from a terrorist attack. Prosecutors had asked for 30-year and 15-year sentences for Ganczarski and Nouar, respectively. Prosecutors said the attack against the historic Ghriba synagogue, on Tunisia’s Djerba Island, had been planned by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, an Al Qaeda member who had allegedly orchestrated the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S. Mohammed was captured in 2003 and had been detained at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since 2006. He had initially been charged along with Nouar and Ganczarski in connection with the bombing, but his prosecution had been delayed by the court until he could appear in person. n

Germany Ex-Student Kills 15 in School Rampage. A teenage boy March 11 went on a shooting rampage at his former secondary school in Winnenden, a suburb of the city of Stuttgart in southern Germany. He killed nine students, all but one of whom were girls, and three female teachers. The killer, Tim Kretschmer, 17, fled when police arrived minutes after he began shooting. He shot

dead a man on the school grounds and hijacked a car. Then he killed a salesman and a customer at a car dealership in the nearby town of Wendligen, where he exchanged fire with police before killing himself. Two police officers were seriously wounded in the shootout but were expected to survive. [See p. 149A1; 2002, p. 320F2] German Chancellor Angela Merkel March 11 called the massacre “an appalling crime.” Officials March 12 said Kretschmer had given a warning of his plans in an Internet chat with another teenager six hours before he began the rampage. (Police later that day said they were probing the authenticity of the posting.) He declared that he was “sick of this life” and threatened to attack the school in Winnenden, whose students’ ages ranged from 10 to 16. He had graduated from the school in 2008, and had since been studying at a vocational school. Germany had tightened its gun control laws in 2003, after a 19-year-old student killed 16 people and himself at a high school in the eastern town of Erfurt in 2002. Police said Kretschmer’s father legally owned 15 guns, including the 9-mm Beretta handgun used in the rampage, and belonged to a shooting club where the youth had often taken target practice. n

Great Britain 3 Killed in Dissident IRA Attacks in N. Ireland.

Two British soldiers March 7 were killed after two men armed with automatic rifles opened fire on them at a military barracks in Antrim, a town just northwest of Belfast, the capital of the British province of Northern Ireland. Two other soldiers and two pizza delivery men were also seriously wounded in the attack. The dissident Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) faction the Real IRA March 8 assumed responsibility for the shooting. It was the first time British soldiers had been killed by paramilitaries in Northern Ireland in more than a decade. In a separate incident, a police officer March 9 was shot dead in the town of Craigavon; another dissident IRA faction, the Continuity IRA, the following day took responsibility for the murder. [See below; 2008, p. 185G1] The Real IRA March 8 said its attack had served as retaliation for British soldiers’ occupation of Northern Ireland. The shooting was condemned by leaders from all sides of the political spectrum as an attempt to derail the peace process in Northern Ireland, under which Roman Catholic Irish nationalists and Protestant supporters of British rule had formed a power-sharing provincial government in 2007. [See 2007, p. 196E2] The Real IRA had also claimed responsibility for a 1998 bombing in the eastern town of Omagh, which had killed 29 people. That attack was the deadliest to have occurred in Northern Ireland during the three decades of sectarian violence known as the Troubles, which had ended in 1998 with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. Since then, sectarian violence in FACTS ON FILE

Northern Ireland had decreased dramatically. [See 2007, p. 889A3] Hugh Orde, chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), March 6 had said six British intelligence officers had arrived in Northern Ireland earlier that week to investigate Irish republican paramilitary groups’ activities. Orde had claimed that such groups posed a bigger threat than at any other time since he had become constable in 2002, and said “lunatics” were planning to carry out an attack before St. Patrick’s Day. His announcement had angered the province’s Catholic minority, which accused him of betraying a 2005 agreement to refrain from employing British security agents in Northern Ireland. [See 2005, p. 524C3] Police Officer Shot Dead—An on-duty PSNI officer March 9 was shot dead in Craigavon, a town southwest of Belfast. Both Roman Catholic and Protestant politicians denounced the shooting, and Orde said the recent attacks were carried out by “murderers who are trying to distort, disrupt and destroy a political process that is working for the people of Northern Ireland.” Police in Craigavon March 10 said they had detained two men in connection with the shooting. Orde urged anyone with information on the whereabouts of violent IRA dissidents to contact the police. Some observers viewed the call as a challenge to Gerry Adams, head of Sinn Fein, the largest Irish nationalist party, who had reportedly been criticized by some Protestant leaders for his refusal to call the attacks “murders” when questioned by reporters. Sinn Fein was often referred to as the political wing of the IRA, and until 2007 had refused to cooperate in any way with the PSNI, which many Roman Catholics remained wary of. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown March 9 visited Antrim to commemorate the slain soldiers. Upon hearing of the second attack, he appealed for calm, and said the people of Northern Ireland “want the political process to move forward…they do not want a return to guns in the streets.” Media outlets reported a tense atmosphere in the British province, as well as fears of retaliatory attacks. More than 2,000 Roman Catholics and Protestants March 11 gathered at Belfast’s city hall, where they held a vigil for the slain soldiers and policeman. Vigils also took place in the towns of Londonderry and Newry. n State Takes Majority Stake in Lloyds Bank.

The British government March 6 agreed to take a majority stake in Lloyds Banking Group PLC, Britain’s third-largest bank, in exchange for the government insuring more than £250 billion ($350 billion) in distressed assets on the bank’s books. The deal would increase the government’s stake in Lloyds to at least 65%, from the 43% shareholding set in an October 2008 bailout. [See pp. 155F2, 36E1] Lloyds would pay a fee of £15.6 billion over seven years for the asset insurance. Lloyds also pledged to increase lending by £14 billion in each of the next two years, a priority for the government as it sought to March 12, 2009

fix credit markets that had effectively frozen in the global financial crisis. In January, the government had announced a banking-sector rescue plan that included insuring risky assets. Lloyds became the second major British bank to be effectively nationalized, joining Royal Bank of Scotland PLC (RBS). Lloyds’ bad assets were mostly related to its acquisition of rival bank HBOS PLC in a deal brokered by the government in September 2008. Lloyds Feb. 13 reported that it expected to post a £10 billion loss for 2008 related to the acquisition. Former HBOS Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sir James Crosby Feb. 11 resigned as deputy chairman of the Financial Services Authority, Britain’s bank regulator, after facing allegations that he had fired an HBOS subordinate in 2005 for warning that the bank was taking on excessive risk. Royal Bank of Scotland Gets New Bailout—

The government Feb. 26 agreed to provide RBS with up to £25 billion in emergency capital and insure £300 billion in toxic RBS assets. In exchange, the government would increase its stake in RBS to as much as 95%, from 70%. RBS that day reported a £24 billion net loss for 2008, the biggest yearly loss in British corporate history. Its losses largely stemmed from its participation in a consortium that acquired Dutch bank ABN Amro NV in 2007. Under pressure from the government to rein in compensation, RBS Feb. 17 said it would cut cash bonuses to its staff by 90% and freeze pay for executives and board members. Former RBS CEO Sir Fred Goodwin, 50, who had been ousted in October, Feb. 26 rejected a suggestion by the government that he should forfeit part of his £693,000 annual pension in light of the bank’s record loss. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown Feb. 27 said he might pursue “legal action” against Goodwin, citing public anger over the matter. n

Other European News Central Banks Cut Rates to Record Lows. The European Central Bank (ECB) and the

Bank of England, the British central bank, March 5 both cut their key interest rates by half a percentage point, to new record-low levels. [See pp. 68E3, 23E1] The ECB, which controlled monetary policy for the 16 European Union member nations that used the euro currency (known collectively as the eurozone), cut its key rate to 1.5%, from 2%. The Bank of England cut its key rate to 0.5%, from 1%. Bank of England Sets Big Bond Buy—

The Bank of England March 5 also announced that it would buy up to £75 billion ($105 billion) in British government and corporate bonds over the next three months. The bank said it might later expand the asset purchases to £150 billion. The unconventional move effectively amounted to printing more money, but was known technically as quantitative easing. It was designed to be an indirect means of

driving down interest rates and unfreezing credit markets for business and consumer loans. The move would expand Britain’s “monetary base”—total cash in circulation plus commercial banks’ reserves deposited with the Bank of England—by 80%. By cutting its own benchmark rate to near zero, the bank had nearly exhausted its conventional tool for influencing private lending rates. In turning to printing money, it followed the lead of the Federal Reserve, the U.S. central bank, which had started buying up corporate and consumer debt after cutting its own key rate to near zero in December 2008. However, the Fed had not yet moved to buy U.S. Treasury securities. [See p. 45B2] The ECB had yet to resort to quantitative easing, but its chairman, Jean-Claude Trichet, March 5 said it would extend an offer of unlimited loans to eurozone banks at least through the end of the year. The program had started in October, and so far had made some 600 billion euros ($765 billion) in loans. n

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Egypt Nazi Fugitive Allegedly Died in Egypt in 1992.

The New York Times and the German television station ZDF Feb. 4 reported that a Nazi fugitive, concentration camp doctor Aribert Heim, had died in Egypt in 1992 after living there for years under an assumed name. The Times and ZDF had reportedly obtained a briefcase in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, containing documents related to his life in hiding. [See 2008, p. 547E3; 2000, p. 175E2; 1979, p. 490B1] Heim had been a member of the Waffen SS and a doctor at the Buchenwald, Sachsenhausen and Mauthausen concentration camps. At Mauthausen, in Austria, he had allegedly committed atrocities—including performing operations without anesthesia and removing organs from healthy prisoners—that had killed hundreds of Jews, and was known as Dr. Death. Heim had become the most-wanted Nazi fugitive as others were found or died, according to the Israeli-based Simon Wiesenthal Center. Heim had fled Germany in 1962 as Austrian prosecutors were building a case against him. According to the new reports, he had traveled to Egypt, where he converted to Islam and went by the name Tarek Hussein Farid. In an interview in Baden-Baden, Germany, Heim’s son, Ruediger Heim, had admitted that he had been with his father when he died of rectal cancer in Egypt in 1992. Rudiger Heim said his father had been buried anonymously in a common grave by Egyptian authorities. Egyptian officials had issued a death certificate at that time for a man named Tarek Hussein Farid. German officials Feb. 5 said they had confirmed Heim’s death using additional information from people in Heim’s “personal circle.” They said they would work with Egyptian officials to locate his body. However, Efraim Zuroff, the chief Nazi in155

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vestigator of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said there was not enough evidence to prove that Heim had died in Egypt. n

Iraq Three Bombings Kill 73 in Baghdad, South.

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Three devastating suicide and car bombings March 5–10 killed at least 73 people in Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, and in the city of Hilla, south of Baghdad. The bombings came as the U.S. was preparing to withdraw forces from the country amidst apparent security gains. They were seen as a return to the spectacular mass-casualty attacks from earlier in the Iraqi insurgency, as opposed to the smaller-scale attacks that had become common more recently. [See p. 117G2] A car bomb March 5 went off in a crowded livestock market in a predominantly Shiite Muslim area of Hilla, the capital of Babil province. At least 12 people were killed, mostly civilians. A suicide bomber on a motorcycle March 8 blew himself up in a crowd outside the police academy in eastern Baghdad, killing 28 people. Many of the dead were part of a crowd of young men who had gathered in hopes of becoming police recruits. Iraqi police said a would-be second bomber did not set off his explosives, but managed to escape the scene. A suicide bomber had previously attacked the police academy in December 2008, killing 15 people. [See 2008, p. 888C3] Another suicide bomber March 10 attacked a marketplace in the Abu Ghraib neighborhood of western Baghdad, killing 33 people. The bomber struck as senior Iraqi police and military officials were touring the market, ahead of a high-profile reconciliation meeting with Sunni Muslim tribal leaders. Among the dead were seven Iraqi army officers and two journalists from the Al Baghdadia television station. In the aftermath, there was frantic shooting in the market that wounded many bystanders. Police said the gunfire was from insurgents who had ambushed them. However, many bystanders instead said the Iraqi police forces had been firing in an undisciplined manner and accidentally hit civilians. U.S. to Withdraw 12,000 Troops by Sept.—

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Maj. Gen. David Perkins, the spokesman for U.S. forces in Iraq, March 8 said the U.S. would withdraw 12,000 troops from the country by September. The announcement was seen as the first step of U.S. President Barack Obama’s plan—announced in late February—to pull all U.S. combat troops out of Iraq by August 2010. A U.S.Iraqi security agreement required all U.S. troops to leave Iraq by the end of 2011. [See p. 121A1] “Two brigade combat teams who were scheduled to redeploy in the next six months, along with enabling forces such as logistics, engineers and intelligence, will not be replaced,” the U.S. military said in a statement. There were currently some 140,000 U.S. troops—14 U.S. combat brigade teams and their support troops—in Iraq. Perkins also said 4,000 British troops would withdraw from Iraq in the coming months. 156

Perkins said attacks in Iraq were at their lowest level since the summer of 2003, However, he denied that the U.S. was being “complacent,” and warned that the Sunni insurgent group Al Qaeda in Iraq was still “desperate to maintain relevance here” despite defeats, and might ramp up violence. Hussein Officials Jailed for ’92 Killings—

The Iraqi High Tribunal, a special criminal court in Baghdad that tried members of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s regime, March 11 convicted former regime spokesman and Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz and former Defense Minister Ali Hassan al-Majid of crimes against humanity for the execution of 42 Baghdad merchants in 1992. They were each sentenced to 15 years in prison. It was Aziz’s first conviction in the court, but Majid— who was known as “Chemical Ali” for having ordered chemical weapons attacks against ethnic Kurds in the 1980s—had already been sentenced to death three times for different crimes. [See p. 121B3] The merchants had faced a summary trial for speculating on the price of food in the midst of shortages caused by international sanctions in the wake of the 1991 Gulf War, and were executed without a chance to appeal. Aziz’s lawyers said the conviction was politically motivated and expressed surprise, saying that their client had only had a diplomatic function in the Hussein regime and had been in Europe at the time of the executions. Two of Hussein’s half-brothers, Watban Ibrahim al-Hassan and Sabawi Ibrahim alHassan, were convicted of playing a role in the executions and were sentenced to death. Three other Hussein officials were also convicted and sentenced to prison terms, while another was acquitted. Iraqi Budget Cut Amid Low Oil Prices—

The Iraqi parliament March 5 passed a $58.6 billion budget for fiscal 2009 after weeks of wrangling. Legislators agreed to cuts of about $4.2 billion, or 7%, due to low oil prices; oil exports accounted for the majority of Iraq’s revenues. The budget assumed a $50 per barrel oil price, but oil had hovered in the $40-per-barrel range for the last several months, and March 5 closed at $43.61 on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex). That led some legislators to say that the country might have to run a large deficit, although it held reserves of $35 billion in unspent oil revenue. [See p. 54A1] War’s Toll on Mental Health Reported—

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Iraqi government March 7 published a survey of 4,332 Iraqis in the journal World Psychiatry finding that 17% of the respondents had mental health problems. Psychiatrists and psychologists performing the study said they were surprised that the percentage was not higher, and theorized that long years of dictatorial rule and war had led Iraqis to develop mental defenses. Women were found to be more susceptible, with 19% suffering from mental health problems, as opposed to 14% of men. Only 2% of Iraqis suffering from mental health problems were found to have sought professional help, a reflection of societal stig-

ma against mental health treatment and a lack of facilities. [See 2006, p. 113F2] Another study, released March 8 by the British charity Oxfam and the Iraqi women’s issues nonprofit group Amal, found that the past three decades of war in Iraq had widowed an estimated 740,000 women and had left many others without fathers and brothers, depriving them of resources to take care of their families. It said 75% of Iraqi widows were not receiving pensions, and that many were deprived of electricity and health care. The study was based on a survey of 1,700 Iraqi women in five provinces carried out in May 2008. U.S. Soldier Convicted in Detainee Death—

A military jury in Fort Campbell, in Kentucky, Feb. 27 convicted U.S. First Lt. Michael Behenna of assault and murder for fatally shooting an Iraqi detainee in May 2008 in Baiji, north of Baghdad. Behenna was acquitted of the more serious charge of premeditated murder, as well as of making a false statement. Behenna Feb. 28 was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Behenna’s lawyers claimed prosecutors had not shared all their evidence with them, and said they planned to seek a mistrial. [See 2008, p. 685A1] Behenna had claimed that the detainee, Ali Mansour Mohammed, had pulled a gun and that he had shot him in self-defense. A defense lawyer had said Behenna was suffering from acute stress disorder at the time of the killing. However, prosecutors said he had not been under threat from Mohammed and had clearly intended to kill him when he took him aside for interrogation. n

Lebanon Britain to Resume Contacts With Hezbollah.

The British government March 5 announced that it would reestablish diplomatic contacts with the Lebanese Shiite Muslim militant group Hezbollah for the first time since 2005. Britain in 2008 had listed Hezbollah’s military wing as a terrorist group. The British government said it would talk only with “carefully selected” contacts in the group’s political wing, which it said was distinct from the military wing. [See p. 123F1; 2008, pp. 493A3] Analysts said the gesture was prompted by diplomatic overtures towards Syria and Iran by the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama, and was part of a general move on the part of Western nations to engage with adversaries. However, British officials said Britain would not open talks with the Palestinian militant Islamist group Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement), which controlled the Gaza Strip and which Britain considered a terrorist group. The British Foreign Office said its “objective with Hezbollah remains to encourage them to move away from violence and play a constructive, democratic and peaceful role in Lebanese politics.” It said Britain had decided to initiate contact with Hezbollah “in light of more positive recent political developments in Lebanon.” Hezbollah had fought a war with Israel in 2006, but had stayed out of a January battle FACTS ON FILE

between Israel and Hamas. It had joined a Lebanese unity government in 2008, and had also done much of the reconstruction work in southern Lebanon after the 2006 war. [See p. 13B2; 2008, p. 493E3] Hezbollah officials March 6 praised the British announcement. Hezbollah’s deputy political leader, Mahmoud Komati, said the group had rejected British efforts over the past year to hold a secret meeting. However, a Foreign Office spokeswoman said that was false, and added that a meeting earlier in the year between British and Lebanese members of parliament—including one who belonged to Hezbollah—had been held publicly. An unnamed senior Obama official March 12 said to reporters that Britain had told the “previous administration” of U.S. President George W. Bush about its decision, but he indicated that the Obama administration had been taken by surprise. He also asked Britain to explain “the difference between the political, social and military wings of Hezbollah because we don’t see the difference between the integrated leadership that they see.” n

Other Middle East News Palestinian Authority PM Resigns. Pales-

tinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Salam Fayyad March 7 announced that he and his cabinet would resign by the end of March. He said his move was meant to clear the way for talks beginning March 10 in Egypt between the militant Islamist group Hamas, which controlled the Gaza Strip, and the rival nationalist movement Fatah to form a “national consensus government. (PA President Mahmoud Abbas was a member of Fatah.) Hamas in July 2007 had driven Fatah out of Gaza after a brief civil war between the two factions, leaving the PA to effectively govern only the West Bank. [See pp. 123F1, 30D3] Fayyad said his resignation would take effect “immediately upon formation” of a unity government, but not later than the end of March, the deadline for the talks. However, Palestinian legislators said it was unclear whether Abbas would accept Fayyad’s retirement, and suggested that it might be a maneuver by Fayyad to gain more political leverage. Fayyad was an independent politician with a reputation as a technocrat and backing from Western nations. He supported talks with Israel toward creating a Palestinian state. However, Hamas did not consider him a legitimate prime minister, since he had been appointed by Abbas in 2007 rather than elected. He had also angered some Fatah legislators who said their party should have gotten more senior positions in the government. A Hamas spokesman March 7 said Fayyad’s resignation had been “expected” because his government was “illegal and unconstitutional.” Gaza Cease-fire Linked to Israeli Soldier—

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Feb. 15 said Israel would not sign a formal ceasefire with Hamas unless the group freed an Israeli soldier it had been holding since 2006. The Israeli security cabinet Feb. 18 March 12, 2009

voted to make the opening of Gaza’s border crossings—a key demand of Hamas’s for any cease-fire—contingent on the release of the soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shalit. Israel and Hamas had separately ceased hostilities after a January Israeli invasion of Gaza, but they had not concluded a formal peace deal. Since then, there had been sporadic mortar and rocket attacks on Israel by Palestinian militants, and Israeli air strikes on militants carrying out the attacks and on smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border. Hamas officials Feb. 13 had said they were close to concluding an Egyptianbrokered 18-month truce with Israel, but the new Shalit condition seemingly scuttled that. [See p. 31B3] The Israeli government after the security cabinet meeting released a statement saying the release of Shalit was a “top priority” and would “entail the release of Palestinian prisoners.” That reportedly could include prisoners who had been involved in attacks that had killed Israelis, and whom Israel had previously refused to consider releasing. However, a Hamas spokesman said the Shalit condition was “blackmail,” and rejected it as part of a cease-fire. Hamas previously had demanded the release of up to 1,400 Palestinian prisoners in return for Shalit. Israeli officials Feb. 23 said Olmert had dismissed Israel’s top envoy in the Gaza cease-fire talks. The firing came after the Israeli newspaper Maariv Feb. 18 reported comments from the envoy, Amos Gilad, that Olmert’s decision to link the cease-fire to Shalit’s release risked damaging Israel’s relationship with Egypt, which was mediating the talks. Olmert Feb. 25 reinstated Gilad after Gilad apologized. U.S. Envoy Visits Israel, West Bank—

George Mitchell, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, Jan. 29–30 visited Israel and the West Bank for the first time in his new role in the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama. He expressed Obama’s concern over humanitarian suffering in Gaza and said opening the territory’s border crossings would help to stop the smuggling that Israel said Hamas used to rearm, but also called on the PA to assist in monitoring the crossings. U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D, Mass.) Feb. 19 traveled to Gaza, in the first visit to the territory by a U.S. official since Hamas took over. Kerry did not meet with Hamas officials and said his visit was not an indication of a change in the U.S.’s policy of not negotiating with the group, which it considered a terrorist organization. He toured neighborhoods that had been devastated in the January invasion, and spoke with residents about what aid was needed. The same day, U.S. Reps. Brian Baird (D, Wash.) and Keith Ellison (D, Minn.) also visited Gaza on an unrelated but similar trip. Other News—In other Israeli-Palestinian news: o London-based advocacy group Amnesty International Feb. 23 released a report calling for an arms embargo on Israel and Palestinian militant groups. It said arms exporters “will have been well aware

of a pattern of repeated misuse of weapons by both parties” and should take responsibility for war crimes committed during the January invasion. It said the U.S. had a “particular obligation” to halt military aid to Israel because it was the country’s largest arms supplier. [See p. 13B2] o The Israeli navy Feb. 5 intercepted a ship full of European activists and humanitarian aid bound for Gaza. Israel deported the activists, but said the aid had been sent on to Gaza. Several ships had run the Israeli blockade of the territory in 2008, but it was the first time one had attempted to do so since the January invasion ended. [See 2008, p. 821F3] o The Israeli military Feb. 4 after an investigation acknowledged that one of its tanks had killed the three daughters of a prominent Palestinian doctor and peace activist, Ezzeldeen Abu al-Aish, during the January Gaza invasion. Aish had been interviewed on Israeli television moments after their death, and his display of grief had reportedly been one of the most powerful displays of the suffering in Gaza to the Israeli public. The Israeli military apologized for the incident but said it had been “reasonable,” since the tank was firing at what it thought were Hamas fighters when it hit Aish’s home. Aish denied there had been militants present, but thanked Israel for conducting the investigation. o The British newspaper the Guardian Jan. 30 reported that Hamas in the wake of the January invasion had carried out reprisal attacks in Gaza, killing and wounding dozens. The victims reportedly included Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel, and prisoners who had escaped from Gaza City’s main jail after it was bombed. Hamas denied the allegations, but said it had arrested suspected collaborators. [See 2008, p. 946D2] n

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India Dates Set for National Elections. India’s

election commission March 2 announced that national parliamentary elections would be held in five phases between April 16 and May 13, and that the votes would be tallied May 16. An estimated 714 million people would be eligible to vote in the country, the largest democracy in the world. [See p. 103C2; 2008, pp. 911C3, 895G3] India’s slowing economy was expected to be a dominant issue in the elections. The government Feb. 27 had reported that India’s gross domestic product (GDP) had grown at an annual rate of 5.3% in the last three months of 2008, down from an 8.9% rate during the same period in 2007, and the slowest rate since 2003. The slowdown was largely attributed to a global economic crisis, which had dampened demand for Indian exports and reduced foreign investment in the country. The Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank, March 4 lowered its benchmark repurchase rate—the interest rate on 157

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loans from the central bank to other banks— to 5%, from 5.5%, in a bid to inject liquidity into India’s banking system, which had seen lending decrease as a result of the economic slowdown. The central bank Jan. 2 had lowered the rate to 5.5%, from 6.5%. The government Jan. 2 also introduced other measures to spark growth, including lowering the amount of money banks were required to set aside as part of their cash reserves, and allowing increased foreign purchases of Indian corporate bonds. India’s economy was still growing at a time when major economies around the world—including those of the U.S., Japan and Britain—were shrinking. Additionally, the Indian economy was less reliant on exports than some of its Asian competitors, such as China and Japan, and was thus somewhat insulated from decreased global demand. However, with about 75% of its population living on less than $2 a day, and a large percentage of younger people looking for work, even a slight slowdown in growth could have a large impact on the population. [See pp. 128F2, 98B3, 52B3, 35E1] National security was also expected to be an important issue in the elections, following a November 2008 terrorist attack by 10 gunmen on Mumbai, India’s commercial center, that had left more than 170 people dead. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the largest opposition party, had accused the ruling United Progressive Alliance, a coalition led by the Congress party, of being “soft on terror.” The government Feb. 25 filed formal charges against the lone surviving gunman, Muhammad Ajmal Kasab, a 21-year-old Pakistani in Indian custody. He was charged with murder, “waging war against India” and other offenses. The charges alleged that Kasab was a member of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistani-based Islamic extremist group. The filing also included charges against two Muslim Indians who were accused of aiding the planning of the attacks, Faheem Ahmed Ansar and Sabauddin Ahmen. They had already been in custody when the attacks took place. n News in Brief. Some personal belongings of Indian independence leader Mohandas K. (Mahatma) Gandhi March 5 were sold for $1.8 million in an auction at Antiquorum Auctioneers in New York City. The auction had prompted criticism from the Indian government, which said the items— metal-rimmed eyeglasses, a pair of leather sandals, a brass bowl and a watch—were cultural artifacts that belonged in India. Additionally, many Indians said the auction violated the legacy of Gandhi, who had urged his supporters to shun striving for material gain. A high court in New Delhi, the Indian capital, March 3 ordered a halt to the auction, arguing that the possessions, being sold by U.S. filmmaker and peace activist James Otis, had been illegally taken from India. However, the government was placated when it was revealed that the winning bidder was Vijay Mallya, chairman of Indian conglomerate UB Group, who promised to donate the items to India. [See 1997, p. 466B3] 158

France’s state-controlled nuclear company Areva SA Feb. 4 signed a preliminary deal with India’s state-owned Nuclear Power Corp. of India Ltd. to cooperate in building as many as six nuclear reactors in India. Areva would provide at least two reactors, as well as the nuclear fuel to run them, for an estimated $10 billion. The deal was India’s first following the signing of a civilian nuclear trade pact with the U.S. in October 2008. The pact had been signed after the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group, at the U.S.’s urging, lifted a ban on nuclear trade with India, opening the door for other countries to sell India nuclear technology and fuel. Observers said French nuclear-power companies had fewer domestic restrictions than U.S. companies, allowing Areva to sign a deal more quickly than its U.S. competitors. [See 2008, p. 742E1; 2007, p. 884D2] Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was also the country’s finance minister, Jan. 24 underwent a successful quintuple heart bypass operation, and was discharged from the hospital Feb. 1. In the interim, Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee had assumed some of Singh’s duties. The operation raised questions as to whether the 76-year-old Singh would continue on as prime minister if his Congress party retained power following national elections that were to be held by May. [See p. 157E3; 2008, p. 878A3] n

SPORTS

UNITED STATES

Drugs in Sports Start of MLB Star Bonds’s Trial Delayed.

The opening of the trial of former Major League Baseball (MLB) star slugger Barry Bonds on perjury charges, which had been scheduled for March 2 in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Calif., Feb. 27 was delayed until at least July. The 10 counts of perjury faced by Bonds stemmed from his 2003 testimony before a federal grand jury investigating the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative (BALCO), which had provided performance-enhancing drugs to several top athletes, that he had never used such drugs. Bonds had pleaded not guilty to the charges. [See p. 87C3] The delay came after prosecutors decided to appeal a Feb. 19 decision by the judge overseeing the case, Susan Illston, to throw out several important pieces of prosecution evidence because they could not be authenticated without the testimony of Bonds’s former personal trainer, Greg Anderson, and therefore could not be definitively linked to Bonds. Anderson—who prosecutors alleged had administered performance-enhancing drugs to Bonds and who previously had spent a year in jail for refusing to testify against Bonds—Feb. 27 told Illston that he would not testify at the perjury trial. The barred evidence included an apparent steroid treatment schedule and reports of laboratory testing of urine samples purportedly taken from Bonds from 2000 and 2001 that found them positive for drugs.

(The reports had been seized in a raid of BALCO’s headquarters.) Illston ruled that the prosecution could play in court a large portion of a recorded telephone conversation between Anderson and Bonds’s former business manager, Steve Hoskins, in which Anderson reportedly said he had injected Bonds with steroids. Defense lawyers and Illston Feb. 27 criticized the prosecution’s decision to lodge the appeal, which would be heard by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, just three days before jury selection in the trial was due to begin. Some reports said the delay could be used to give prosecutors time to pressure Anderson to testify; the New York Times Feb. 28 reported that prosecutors had threatened to bring charges against his wife and mother-inlaw. The 44-year-old Bonds, MLB’s all-time home run leader, had not played since 2007, but never officially retired. Embattled Rodriguez Has Surgery—

New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who had admitted in February to performance-enhancing drug use from 2001 to 2003, March 9 underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair cartilage in his right hip. The surgeon, Marc Philippon, said he encountered “no surprises” during the 80-minute procedure. Rodriguez began rehabbing the injured hip immediately, but was expected to miss at least the first six weeks of the regular season. [See p. 87B1] While Rodriguez was practicing with the Dominican Republic team for the World Baseball Classic, a cyst had been discovered on his right hip. On March 4, he left the team to see Philippon, who suggested surgery for a torn labrum in the same hip. After mulling over his options with Yankees officials, Rodriguez decided to undergo a less intensive procedure immediately, with follow-up surgery scheduled for November, after the season finished. Rodriguez had spent much of spring training with the Yankees under scrutiny following his admission to using performance-enhancing drugs. MLB officials March 1 interviewed Rodriguez for two hours in Tampa, Fla., the site of the Yankees’ training camp, about his drug use. The office of MLB Commissioner Bud Selig released no details from the meeting other than noting Rodriguez’s cooperation. Selig Feb. 12 had publicly chastised Rodriguez and other drug users as having “shamed the game.” At a Feb. 17 news conference in Tampa, Rodriguez had offered several revelations to reporters concerning his use of steroids. Flanked by several Yankee officials and teammates, Rodriguez said he and his cousin—whom he did not identify by name—had obtained a drug known as “boli” in the Dominican Republic and had injected it regularly from 2001 to 2003, when he played for the Texas Rangers. He repeatedly cited his youth for errors made earlier in his career, saying, “My mistake was because I was immature and stupid.” Evidence Against Clemens Bolstered—

The New York Times March 10 reported that banned substances had been found in FACTS ON FILE

syringes presented as evidence against seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens by his former trainer, Brian McNamee. The latest revelation came from federal authorities who were investigating possible perjury charges against Clemens, who had denied in 2008 congressional testimony that he ever used performance-enhancing drugs. In February, reports had linked the syringes to DNA belonging to Clemens. McNamee had claimed to have used the syringes to inject Clemens with performance-enhancing drugs. [See p. 87F3] n

Basketball West Wins NBA All-Star Game. The Western Conference Feb. 15 defeated the Eastern Conference, 146–119, to win the National Basketball Association (NBA) AllStar Game in Phoenix, Ariz. Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant and Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O’Neal—former teammates on the Lakers—were named co–most valuable players (MVPs) of the game. The two combined for 44 points, as well as several crowd-pleasing plays. [See 2008, p. 135A1] Other News—In other NBA news: o The New York Knicks Feb. 24 released guard Stephon Marbury. Marbury, who had joined the Knicks in 2004, had not played a regular-season game for the team since suffering an injury in January 2008; he was suspended in November of that year for allegedly refusing a request by coach Mike D’Antoni to play in a game against the Detroit Pistons. The former All-Star denied that he refused to play, claiming instead that he had only told D’Antoni that he did not want to play. Marbury, who lost some $400,000 in salary due to the suspension, had filed a grievance against the Knicks. The New York Times Feb. 25 reported that Marbury agreed to drop the grievance and forfeit some $2 million in salary in order to obtain the release. Marbury, 32, Feb. 27 signed with the Boston Celtics, and played his first game for them that night. [See 2007, p. 552E1; 2001, p. 523C2] o The Suns Feb. 16 fired coach Terry Porter, and named assistant Alvin Gentry interim coach. [See 2008, p. 439B3] o Seven-time All-Star center Alonzo Mourning Jan. 22 announced that he would retire rather than attempt a comeback. Mourning, 38, had not played since suffering a serious leg injury in December 2007. [See 2005, p. 175G1] o The Memphis Grizzlies Jan. 22 fired coach Marc Iavaroni, and Jan. 25 hired Lionel Hollins, an assistant for the Milwaukee Bucks, as his replacement. [See 2007, p. 439D3] n

Hockey East Wins NHL All-Star Game. The Eastern

Conference Jan. 25 defeated the Western Conference, 12–11, in an overtime shootout to win the National Hockey League March 12, 2009

(NHL) All-Star Game in Montreal, Quebec. Forward Alexei Kovalev, who played for the hometown Montreal Canadiens, scored two goals in regulation as well as the winning goal in the shootout, and was named the game’s most valuable player (MVP). The game—the second-highest-scoring All-Star Game ever—also served as a celebration of the Canadiens’ 100th anniversary. [See 2008, p. 186E2] The NHL for the 2009 All-Star Game implemented a policy under which players who missed the game but had played in their teams’ games just prior to the All-Star break were suspended for one game. However, players who failed to play in the AllStar Game but fulfilled their obligation to attend other All-Star festivities in Montreal were not punished. The NHL Players’ Association (NHLPA) and the Detroit Red Wings—which had two All-Stars, Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk, who did not travel to Montreal in order to nurse nagging injuries and therefore were suspended—Feb. 25 protested the policy. Other News—In other NHL news: o The Canadiens March 9 fired coach Guy Carbonneau. Bob Gainey, the team’s executive vice president and general manager, would coach the team for the remainder of the season.

The New York Rangers Feb. 23 fired coach Tom Renney and assistant coach Perry Pearn, after the team lost 10 of its last 12 games. Later that day, Rangers said Renney would be replaced by John Tortorella, who had led the Tampa Bay Lightning to a Stanley Cup title in 2004. [See 2008, p. 760D1; 2004, p. 703D1] o

o The Pittsburgh Penguins Feb. 15 fired coach Michel Therrien, after the team started the season with a record of 27 wins, 25 losses and five ties. He was replaced on an interim basis by Dan Blysma, the coach of the team’s minor-league affiliate. Therrien was fired less than a year after leading the team to the Stanley Cup finals. [See 2008, p. 403A2] o The Ottawa Senators Feb. 2 fired coach Craig Hartsburg, after leading the team to the third-worst record in the league (17–24–7) at that point in the season. He was replaced by Cory Clouston, coach of the team’s minor-league affiliate. [See 2008, p. 760C1]

Jeff Shumway, the chairman and chief executive of the Phoenix Coyotes, Jan. 23 resigned. Team owner Jerry Moyes was said to be seeking to sell the financially troubled team, which reportedly anticipated a loss of at least $30 million for the 2008–09 season. Coach Wayne Gretzky Jan. 15 had confirmed to the Toronto Globe and Mail newspaper that Moyes was looking for an investor who could keep the team in the Phoenix, Ariz., area. o

o The Red Wings Jan. 1 defeated the Chicago Blackhawks, 6–4, in an outdoor game played before 40,818 fans at Wrigley Field in Chicago, home of Major League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs. n

News in Brief Basketball: Summitt Gets 1,000th Win. Pat Summitt, coach of the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers, Feb. 5 earned her 1,000th victory, with a 73–43 victory over Georgia in Knoxville, Tenn. She became the first coach in women’s or men’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I basketball to reach that milestone. Summitt, 56, as of Feb. 5 had posted a record of 1,000 wins and 187 losses in 35 seasons as coach of the Lady Vols, and led the team to eight NCAA titles. Tennessee Feb. 5 announced that Summitt had signed a contract extension through 2014, under which she would earn $1.4 million per year. [See 2008, p. 245A3; 2005, p. 237C3] n

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Dog Shows: Spaniel, 10, Wins Westminster.

Ch. Clussexx Three D Grinchy Glee, a Sussex spaniel, Feb. 10 was named best-inshow at the 133rd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York City. The 10-yearold spaniel, nicknamed Stump and handled by Scott Sommer, became the oldest dog to win the top prize at Westminster, and was also the first of his breed to claim the honor. The victory was a comeback of sorts for Stump, who had technically retired in 2005 and had suffered a serious illness soon afterward. [See 2008, p. 171E2] n

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Soccer: C. Ronaldo, Marta Top Players.

The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), world soccer’s governing body, Jan. 12 named Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo, who played for English club Manchester United, the men’s world player of the year for 2008. Brazilian midfielder Marta was named the women’s world player of the year for the third time in a row. It had been announced Jan. 8 that Marta, 22, would play for the Los Angeles Sol of the new U.S.-based Women’s Professional Soccer league, which had seven teams and was scheduled to begin play March 29. [See 2007, p. 900G2] n

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Swimming: No Charge for Phelps Over Photo.

Richland County, S.C., Sheriff Leon Lott Feb. 16 announced that he did not have enough physical evidence to charge 14-time Olympic gold-medal-winning swimming champion Michael Phelps in connection with a photograph that had been published earlier in the month that showed him smoking marijuana. The photograph had been taken at a November 2008 party at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. USA Swimming, the governing body of the sport in the U.S., had suspended Phelps, 23, for three months due to the photo. Lott’s office said seven people had been charged with marijuana possession as a result of an investigation of the incident. [See p. 71B2] n

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Arts Saint Laurent Auction Shatters Records.

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tioned Feb. 23–25 at the Grand Palais in Paris. Auction house Christie’s International PLC had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to rent and refurbish much of the sprawling venue for the three-night, sixpart event. Despite the current global economic crisis, the entire event fetched about 375 million euros (US$480 million), by far the most money ever raised at auction for a private collection. Berge, 78, had decided to sell the art after Saint Laurent died in 2008 at age 71. Auction proceeds were to go to cultural projects and AIDS research and other charities. The auction drew special attention for its controversial inclusion of two Chinese artworks. [See below; 2008, p. 388F3] On the opening night of the auction, Feb. 23, approximately 206 million euros ($264 million) worth of art was sold. Auction records were broken for seven major artists: Henri Matisse and Marcel Duchamp of France, Piet Mondrian of the Netherlands, James Ensor of Belgium, Romanian-born Constantin Brancusi, Italy’s Giorgio de Chirico, and Paul Klee of Switzerland. The record-breaking works, and the prices they fetched, were: Matisse’s painting The Cuckoos, a Blue and Pink Rug (1911), 36 million euros ($46 million); Brancusi’s wooden statue Madame L.R. (c. 1914–17), 29.2 million euros; Mondrian’s painting Composition With Blue, Red, Yellow and Black (1922), 21.6 million euros; de Chirico’s painting The Ghost (c. 1918), 11 million euros; Duchamp’s mock perfume bottle Beautiful Breath, Eau de Violets (1921), 8.9 million euros; Ensor’s painting The Jealousy of Pierrot (1892), 5 million euros; and Klee’s painting Figure in a Garden (1932), four million euros. [See 2006, p. 1039E3; 2005, p. 995E2; 2004, pp. 1095C3, E3; 1999, p. 907E2] The second night of the auction, Feb. 24, saw record prices paid for works by French painter Theodore Gericault (1791– 1824) and Irish furniture designer Eileen Gray (1878–1976), among others. Gericault’s Portrait of Alfred and Elisabeth Dedreu (c. 1818), a painting of a young brother and sister, fetched nine million euros, three million euros more than Christie’s high estimate for the work. Also, a “dragon chair” created by Gray sometime before 1920 shattered the record for a piece of 20th-century furniture, fetching 21.9 million euros, more than seven times the high estimate for the piece. Chinese ‘Heads’ Sold, Buyer Reneges—

The final night of the auction, Feb. 25, saw the sale of two bronze sculptures dating back to China’s 18th-century Qing Dynasty and based on designs by an Italian Jesuit priest. One was a rabbit’s head; the other, the head of a rat. The Chinese government had tried unsuccessfully to block the sale, on the grounds that the pieces had been looted from the imperial summer palace in Beijing by French and British forces at the end of the second Opium War in 1860. Berge Feb. 20 had said he would withdraw the heads from the auction and return them to China if the Chinese government agreed to “observe human rights and give liberty to the Tibetan people and welcome the Dalai Lama.” The sale proceeded as 160

scheduled, after a French court Feb. 23 dismissed a lawsuit by Chinese lawyers. An anonymous telephone bidder paid 31 million euros for both heads. [See p. 116B2] On March 2, Chinese art dealer Cai Mingchao at a press conference in Beijing revealed that he had submitted the winning bid for the two heads but had no intention of paying for them, because he had considered it his patriotic duty, as a Chinese citizen, to sabotage the auction process. Berge March 3 indicated that he would most likely prefer to hold on to the two bronze heads, rather than sell them to the next-highest bidder. n

Awards PEN/Faulkner Award Winner Named. New York City–based author Joseph O’Neill Feb. 25 was named the winner of the 2009 PEN/ Faulkner Award for Netherland, his third novel. The book dealt with a Dutch expatriate’s involvement with a cricket-playing group of New York immigrants in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that felled the twin towers of the city’s World Trade Center. O’Neill, 45, was an Irish-born, British-trained lawyer who had lived in New York since 1998. [See 2008, p. 227E2] The $15,000 prize would be presented to O’Neill May 9 at Washington, D.C.’s Folger Shakespeare Library. n

People Levi Johnston, 19, who had been engaged to Bristol Palin, the 18-year-old daughter of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate in the 2008 election, March 11 told the Associated Press that he and Bristol Palin had mutually agreed to end their relationship “a while ago.” The couple, who had a baby son, born in December 2008, had previously said they were planning to get married in the summer of 2009. [See 2008, p. 998C2] Tom Brady, the quarterback of the National Football League’s New England Patriots team, Feb. 26 in Santa Monica, Calif., wed Brazilian-born supermodel Gisele Buendchen. Neither Brady, 31, nor Buendchen, 28, had previously been married. Brady had an 18-month-old son from a previous relationship with actress Bridget Moynahan, 37. The child, John Edward Thomas Moynahan, was one of a small number of guests at the wedding. [See 2008, p. 667E2; 2005, p. 695D2] Washington, D.C.’s Smithsonian Institution Feb. 26 named Richard Koshalek to head its Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, effective April 13. Koshalek, 67, was best known in the art world for having directed Los Angeles’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) from 1980 to 1999. The Hirshhorn Museum’s previous director, Olga Viso, had left the post at the end of 2007 to become director of Minneapolis, Minn.’s Walker Art Center. Since Viso’s departure, the Hirshhorn’s acting director had been Kerry Brougher, the museum’s chief curator. Koshalek and Brougher, 56, had previously worked together at MOCA. [See p. 120D2; 2007, p. 619E2] n

O B I T UA R I E S ASHLEY, Sir Bernard (Albert), 82, British entrepreneur who with his wife, Laura Ashley, founded the international textiles, clothing and home furnishings empire that bore her name; he ran its business operations, while his wife, who died in 1985, was its main creative force; the company went public soon after her death, and Ashley, who was knighted at the end of 1986, eventually severed all ties with it; born Aug. 11, 1926, in London; died Feb. 14 at his home in the Elan Valley in Wales, reportedly after an 18-month battle with cancer. [See 1986, p. 1008E1; 1985, p. 704A3] CUBA, Joe (born Gilberto Miguel Calderon), 77, bandleader, conga player and songwriter who pioneered the “Latin boogaloo” style, a fusion of Latin music with rhythm and blues, in the 1960s; his songs, which included such hits as “El Pito” (“The Whistle”) (1965) and “Bang Bang” (1966), were among the first to mix Spanish with English lyrics; born April 22, 1931, in New York City; died at a New York hospital Feb. 15, of a widespread bacterial infection; he had never recovered from hip replacement surgery performed in 2008. DANNENBERG, Konrad, 96, German-born rocket scientist who followed his mentor, Wernher von Braun, to the U.S. after World War II and played a key role in the development of the Saturn V rockets that propelled U.S. astronauts to the moon in 1969; born Aug. 5, 1912, in Weissenfels; died Feb. 16 at a rehabilitation center in Huntsville, Ala. [See 2008, p. 440F3; 1977, p. 532G3] GODBER, Sir George (Edward), 100, physician who had been the last surviving member of the planning group that gave rise to Britain’s National Health Service (NHS), launched in 1948; he was Britain’s chief medical officer from 1960 to 1973; born Aug. 4, 1908, in Willington, England; died Feb. 7. [See 1971, p. 899A2, C2; 1948, p. 146H] KNOPF Jr., Alfred A., 90, only child of publishing legends Alfred A. Knopf and Blanche Wolf Knopf and a publisher in his own right; after serving in the military during World War II, he worked for his parents’ company, Alfred A. Knopf Inc., until 1959, when he struck out on his own, founding Atheneum Publishers with Simon Bessie, who died in 2008, and Hiram Haydn, who died in 1973; he retired from publishing in 1988, as a senior vice president at Macmillan Inc.; born June 17, 1918, in White Plains, N.Y.; died Feb. 14 in New York City, of complications following a fall. [See 2008, p. 248C3; 1984, p. 668C2; 1973, p. 1108C3; 1966, p. 336A1] McDONALD, Wesley Lee, 84, admiral who commanded the October 1983 invasion of the Caribbean island nation of Grenada, ordered by then–U.S. President Ronald Reagan; McDonald at the time was commander in chief of U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces in the Atlantic; he retired from the Navy in 1985; as a naval aviator in 1964, during the Vietnam War, he had led the first air strike against North Vietnam in connection with what came to be known as the Gulf of Tonkin incident; born July 26, 1924, in Arlington, Va.; died Feb. 8 in Arlington; he had been battling normal pressure hydrocephalus, a neurological condition. [See 2001, p. 955C3; 1983, pp. 827F3, 825F2] NOLAN, Christopher John, 43, Irish author, mute, spastic and brain-damaged since birth, who in 1988 won Britain’s prestigious Whitbread Book of the Year Award for Under the Eye of the Clock: The Life Story of Christopher Nolan, an autobiography written in the third person; his other works included poetry, short stories and a novel, The Banyan Tree, published in 1999; he did all his writing by tapping the keys of a typewriter with a stick attached to his forehead; born Sept. 6, 1965, in Mullingar, Ireland; died Feb. 20 at a hospital in Dublin, Ireland, after a piece of food became lodged in his windpipe. [See 1988, p. 432F1] UPWARD, Edward Falaise, 105, author who belonged to a generation of left-wing British writers, including W.H. Auden, Stephen Spender and Christopher Isherwood, who became prominent in the 1930s; the latter three all became better-known than he was, but continued to turn to him for advice as their careers progressed; despite being the oldest of the lot, he outlived them all, and saw much of his work, including short stories and novels, reissued, or published for the first time, late in life; born Sept. 9, 1903, in Romford, England; died Feb. 13 in Pontefract, England. [See 1995, p. 528D3; 1986, p. 8C2; 1973, p. 959B3] YANG, Xiangzhong (Jerry), 49, Chinese-born reproductive biologist who led a team that cloned the first farm animal born in the U.S., a calf named Amy, born in 1999 at the University of Connecticut; he began teaching there in 1996, and did so for most of the rest of his life; born July 31, 1959, in Weixian, a farming collective south of Beijing; died Feb. 5 at a hospital in Boston, Mass., of salivary gland cancer. n

March 12, 2009

Lawmakers, Obama Express Outrage Over Bonus Payments at Bailed-Out Insurer AIG House Votes for 90% Tax on Bonuses.

President Barack Obama March 16 said it was an “outrage” that American International Group Inc. (AIG) had paid a total of $165 million in bonuses to employees, after the insurance giant received more than $170 billion in government aid. He said his administration would “pursue every single legal avenue to block these bonuses.” The bonuses had sparked a vociferous outcry from Republican and Democratic lawmakers, prompting AIG Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Edward Liddy March 18 to say he was asking the employees to give “at least half” of the bonuses back. [See p. 126C2] The House March 19 voted to impose a 90% income tax on bonuses paid by companies that had received federal rescue funds. [See below] While AIG had not attempted to hide the bonuses, administration officials said Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner had only become aware of them March 10. The $165 million was part of a $450 million personnel retention package that had been negotiated in early 2008, before the U.S. government took a 79.9% stake in the company in September 2008. Another $55 million in bonuses had previously been paid, while an additional $230 million was slated to be distributed later in 2009. In recent months, a strong public backlash had emerged against financial institutions that continued to grant lavish bonuses and other perks to their executives, after turning to the government for help. Obama and Congress had introduced a series of measures to cap bonuses at such companies. [See pp. 91A1, 61C2] But the latest bonuses were considered particularly egregious, since AIG was by far the largest recipient of government aid, with $70 billion of its $170 billion rescue package being financed directly by taxpayers, with the rest coming in the form of loans from the Federal Reserve. Additionally, the bonuses in question were being distributed to employees at AIG Financial Products Corp., a unit that had specialized in exotic financial products that nearly brought down the company and, according to government officials, the global financial system. The unit was separate from AIG’s traditional insurance businesses, and had invested heavily in the credit-default-swaps (CDS) market, where it underwrote insurance on assets backed by risky loans, including home mortgages. When a housing market bubble burst in 2006, AIG was on the hook for billions of dollars in insurance payments, and found itself struggling to pay its trading partners. The government intervened in September 2008 to shore up the company, fearing that an AIG collapse would have a domino effect on financial institutions around the globe, since the company’s trading partners would have to post huge losses on their AIG deals. By September, the face value of the unit’s CDS contracts was $2.7 trillion. [See below]

The public outcry against the bonuses threatened to complicate Obama’s plans to fix the ailing financial system, since he was widely expected to request that Congress authorize more taxpayer money for that purpose. Congress in November 2008 had authorized $700 billion in funds, known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), more than half of which had already been spent or allocated. Additionally, observers said banks and other financial institutions could grow reluctant to cooperate with the government if their activities continued to be harshly scrutinized by the public. AIG Defends Bonuses—In a letter to Geithner March 14, Liddy wrote that he found it “distasteful” to disburse the bonuses, which began going out March 13. But he maintained that AIG was contractually obligated to pay them, and said the company needed to provide incentives to help retain employees whose expertise in complex financial products would help the company unwind its insurance contracts. The government had asked Liddy to take the helm of AIG in September 2008, and he was currently receiving a salary of $1 a year, with no bonus payments. [See 2008, p. 934F2] Geithner March 11 had reportedly spoken to Liddy and demanded that the bonuses be rescinded. But Obama administration officials by March 15 appeared to accept that the contracts could not be broken. Lawrence Summers, director of the White House National Economic Council, March 15 acknowledged that there was “a lot of anger” about AIG’s “irresponsibility,” in an interview on ABC’s “This Week.” But he added, “We are a country of laws. There are contracts. The government cannot just abrogate the contracts.” Officials with the Federal Reserve and the Treasury had also reportedly concluded that breaking the contracts could result in lawsuits more costly than the bonuses themselves. However, mounting public dissatisfaction with the bonuses led Obama—who according to White House officials learned about the bonuses March 12—to accuse AIG March 16 of “recklessness and greed,” and call for a halt to the bonuses. In a letter to Congress March 17, Geithner said $165 million would be deducted from a $30 billion capital infusion that the Treasury had agreed to provide to AIG in early March. Obama March 18 asked Congress to provide the administration with “resolution authority,” similar to that held by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), which would allow the executive branch to legally cancel contracts. Lawmakers across the political spectrum sharply criticized AIG over the bonuses. Rep. Barney Frank (D, Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, March 17 said the government, as the company’s single largest shareholder, should “exercise its ownership rights” over AIG and take back the bonuses. Sen. Charles Grassley (R, Iowa), the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, March 16 had said, alluding to

Facts On File

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World News Digest With Index ©2009 by Facts On File News Services An imprint of Infobase Publishing

Volume 69, No. 3561 March 19, 2009

B Japanese customs, that AIG employees should “resign or commit suicide,” a statement he later tempered by saying he had meant to urge AIG to show more remorse. Liddy March 18 testified before the House Financial Services subcommittee on capital markets, insurance and government sponsored enterprises, where he said he would ask employees who had received $100,000 or more in bonuses to return at least half of the money. He said some had already volunteered to return all the bonus money they had received. Lawmakers were not placated by the compromise, and continued to vent their outrage. Liddy resisted calls by Frank to publicize the names of the bonus recipients, claiming that AIG employees had received death threats in recent days. Liddy told the subcommittee that AIG Financial Products since September 2008 had unwound CDS contracts totaling $1.1

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MAJOR STORIES IN THIS ISSUE Lawmakers, Obama express outrage over bonus payments at bailed-out insurer AIG; House votes for 90% tax on bonuses. PAGE 161

G-20 finance leaders pledge ‘action’ to restore global growth. PAGE 163

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Fed to purchase $1.2 trillion in Treasuries, mortgages; leaves interest rate at near zero. PAGE 163

U.S. auto parts makers get federal aid. PAGE 164

Obama administration drops ‘enemy combatant’ classification. PAGE 165

Madagascar’s president resigns amid opposition, military pressure; military names former mayor of capital president.

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Funes, of leftist FMLN party, elected president of El Salvador. PAGE 170

France sets return to NATO command. PAGE 172

IAEA says Iran has sufficient material for atomic bomb. PAGE 173

Pakistani Supreme Court chief justice reinstated. PAGE 175

REFERENCES in brackets give location of background information in this & preceding volumes.

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trillion in face value, but that the remaining $1.6 trillion in outstanding contracts still posed a “substantial risk” to the global financial system. Details of Bonuses Provided by Cuomo—

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New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in a March 17 letter to Frank said the bonus money was split between 418 employees, with 73 of them receiving more than $1 million. Cuomo said 52 people, accounting for $33.6 million in bonus money, no longer worked at AIG, contradicting claims by AIG that the purpose of the bonuses was to retain employees who might otherwise leave the company. One employee, Douglas Poling, an executive vice president, received a bonus of $6.4 million. Cuomo March 16 had subpoenaed AIG to provide the information. Banks Get $120 Billion From AIG— Under pressure from lawmakers, AIG March 15 had released details on how it had spent a total of about $120 billion in government aid between September 16, 2008 and December 31, 2008. About $52 billion was used to finance operations at AIG Financial Products, including $22.4 billion to post collateral to its CDS trading partners, and $27.1 billion to buy CDS contracts so that AIG could cancel them. AIG had spent an additional $43.7 billion to pay debts from its securities-lending business, which had exchanged securities for cash, and used the cash to purchase assets backed by mortgages, which subsequently dropped in value. AIG also released a list of its main trading partners and the amount of government money each had received. U.S. bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc. topped the list, receiving $12.9 billion. Other U.S. banks included Merrill Lynch & Co. ($6.8 billion), Bank of America Corp. ($5.2 billion), Citigroup Inc. ($2.3 billion) and Wachovia Corp. ($1.5 billion). All of those banks had separately received direct aid from the U.S. government. (Wachovia and Merrill Lynch were later acquired by Wells Fargo & Co. and Bank of America, respectively.) AIG also made payments to foreign banks, including France’s Societe Generale SA ($12 billion), Germany’s Deutsche Bank ($12 billion), Britain’s Barclays PLC ($8.5 billion) and Switzerland’s UBS AG ($5 billion). AIG said it had made a total of $12 billion in payments to U.S. states and municipalities, and released a list of the top 20 such recipients by state, which was headed by California. House Passes Tax on Bonuses— The House March 19 voted, 328–93, to pass a bill that would impose a 90% income tax on bonuses paid to employees at financial institutions that had received more than $5 billion in TARP money. The tax would apply to individuals with household incomes of more than $250,000. The bill, proposed by Rep. Charles Rangel (D, N.Y.), received support from 243 Democrats and 85 Republicans. Six Democrats and 87 Republicans voted against it. The bill was touted as a means for the government to get the bonus money back from AIG. The Senate was considering a similar measure. The House bill had been placed on a fast-track process that required a two-

thirds vote to pass, a hurdle easily cleared. Republican leaders opposed a fast-track bill in the Senate, saying they wanted to hold hearings to further investigate who had watered down a provision in recent legislation that would have placed strict limits on bonuses at companies that had received government aid. The provision in question was part of a $787 billion economic recovery package signed into law by Obama in February. Sen. Christopher Dodd (D, Conn.) had introduced the provision, which in its original form would have applied to companies that had already received aid. However, the final version said bonus contracts written before Feb. 11 were exempt from the provision. Dodd March 18 had said, “I did not want to make any changes to my original Senate-passed amendment, but I did so at the request of administration officials, who gave us no indication that this was in any way related to AIG.” He did not identify the officials. Geithner March 19 in an interview with the Cable News Network (CNN) said Treasury officials had pressed Dodd to alter the provision, because it “was vulnerable to legal challenge.” Obama Defends Geithner—Obama March 18 defended Geithner against accusations that he should have been aware of the bonuses before March 10. Geithner had also come under fire from lawmakers for failing to produce a detailed plan to rid the financial system of mortgage-backed and other risky assets that had led to massive profit losses and caused a crisis of confidence on Wall Street. [See p. 76A3] Obama said no Treasury secretary, “except maybe Alexander Hamilton,” had faced the “multiplicity of issues that Secretary Geithner is having to deal with.” He said he had “complete confidence” in Geithner, who was “making all the right moves in terms of playing a bad hand,” referring to the fact that the Obama administration had inherited the financial crisis upon taking office. Obama also sought to quell some of the heated rhetoric that had emerged in recent days, saying he wanted to “channel our anger in a constructive way.” The AIG bonus controversy had flared up as the Treasury struggled to fill senior positions that required confirmation by the Senate, leaving the department understaffed as it attempted to address the financial crisis. Several Treasury nominees had withdrawn from consideration, and thus far none, besides Geithner, had been confirmed. Analysts said the withdrawals were a result of the Obama administration’s stringent vetting process, which reportedly required months of questioning and background checks. The process had been intensified after it was revealed that prominent administration nominees had failed to pay some of the taxes they owed, including Geithner and former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle (S.D.). Geithner survived his confirmation process, but Daschle, who had been named to head the Department of Health and Human Services, withdrew over the controversy. [See pp. 59A2, 44D1] n

Global Economy G-20 Finance Leaders Pledge ‘Action.’ Fi-

nance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 (G-20) leading economies March 13–14 met in Horsham, England, where they pledged to “take whatever action is necessary” to restore growth to the global economy. In a communique released March 14, the G-20 emphasized that its members had taken “coordinated” steps to resolve the global economic crisis, but in the days running up to the meeting disagreements had emerged over the best method for doing so. The meeting preceded a summit that was to be attended by G-20 heads of state on April 2 in London. [See pp. 116C3, 58D1; 2008, p. 846D2] In addition to promising to boost growth, the G-20 said it was committed to reforming the global financial system, including requiring the registration of hedge funds, which were lightly regulated. The G-20 also pledged a very substantial but unspecified increase of contributions to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and said emerging economies “should have a greater voice” at the IMF. The G-20 did not offer many specific details on its pledges. [See below] Finance ministers strove to present a united front, with British Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling March 14 saying there was a “great deal of consensus” among the countries, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner saying there was a “broad consensus globally on the need to act aggressively.” However, rifts were apparent, particularly over the issue of fiscal stimulus. The U.S. was widely thought to have urged Eu-

Facts On File World News Digest With Index (ISSN 0014-6641) Publication #183680 EDITOR IN CHIEF: Jonathan Taylor MANAGING EDITOR: Jennifer Dunham SENIOR EDITOR: Joshua Lustig EDITORS: Rahul Chadha, Ian McGullam, Ryu Spaeth ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Todd Grennan, Shannon O’Toole DATABASE COORDINATOR: Ben Miller INDEX EDITOR: Jonathan Leith COPY EDITOR: Walter Kronenberg EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS: Ingrid Jungermann, Ernesto Malinis Jr. FACTS ON FILE World News Digest is published weekly by Facts On File News Services, an imprint of Infobase Publishing, 132 West 31st Street, 17th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001 (212-290-8090). Subscription $900 a year. Yearbooks (bound volumes) available from 1941. Cumulative Index published twice a month. Vice President & Publisher: Louise Bloomfield. Associate Publisher: Marjorie B. Bank. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y. and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Facts On File World News Digest, Facts On File News Services, 132 West 31st Street, 17th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001

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ropean countries to enact new stimulus packages—which included government spending and tax breaks—but some had resisted, most notably Germany and France, arguing that fixing financial markets was a more important priority. German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck March 14 said, “We are convinced it makes no sense to pump more and more money in our economy when we haven’t restored the confidence on the financial markets.” France, Germany Reject New Stimulus—

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a joint press conference in Berlin, Germany, March 12 said they were opposed to introducing new stimulus packages. Both had unveiled stimulus packages in recent months, but neither equaled 2% of yearly gross domestic product (GDP), a threshold that U.S. President Barack Obama and other U.S. officials had urged other countries to meet. [See pp. 116G3, 89A1, 22F3] German and French officials were reportedly concerned about the effect additional stimulus packages would have on their national debts. Additionally, observers said the 2% threshold, adopted from an IMF estimate, failed to take into account the increased welfare support in France and Germany that automatically took effect in times of economic crisis. European finance ministers of the eurozone—the 16 countries that shared the euro currency—March 9 said they would wait to see what effect previously enacted stimulus packages had before committing to new ones. The announcement followed a meeting in Brussels, Belgium. U.S. Proposes Big Boost for IMF—Geithner March 11 proposed that the world’s leading economies commit an additional $500 billion worth of funding to the IMF, so that the organization had adequate resources to prop up developing economies hard hit by the global crisis. Under the proposal, the U.S. would increase its contribution to the IMF’s emergency lending unit to $100 billion, from $10 billion. The proposed increase was greater than what the IMF or the European Union had called for, with both pushing for an increase of about $250 billion. The IMF currently had $250 billion in funds. The U.S. and other countries were reportedly encouraging China and other countries with large foreign currency reserves to increase their IMF funding. Japan had already committed an additional $100 billion to the IMF. [See 2008, p. 847F1] Since the financial crisis began in 2008, the IMF had issued nearly $50 billion in loans to Latvia, Hungary, Ukraine, Belarus, Serbia, Iceland and Pakistan. Analysts said the IMF could take the lead in assisting economies in Eastern Europe, since the European Union earlier in March had rejected pleas for an economic bailout of the region. [See p. 136G1] n Switzerland, Other Tax Havens to Lift Secrecy.

Switzerland March 13 joined several other European countries known as tax havens in March 19, 2009

pledging to ease bank secrecy laws and accept international standards on sharing tax information, in response to growing pressure to crack down on tax evasion. [See p. 100A2] Austria and Luxembourg made similar pledges that day, following statements by the small principalities of Andorra and Liechtenstein March 12. Monaco followed suit March 16. Belgium March 12 said it would negotiate a system for sharing tax information with fellow European Union members. Among leading tax havens outside Europe, Singapore March 6 had pledged to ease its bank secrecy laws, and China’s autonomous Hong Kong region had made such a pledge the previous week. The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) March 5 had reportedly updated its blacklist of uncooperative tax havens to include Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Singapore and Hong Kong. The list expanded on a previous one that had comprised only Andorra, Liechtenstein and Monaco. Switzerland, the world’s largest tax haven, March 13 pledged to adopt the legal standards of the OECD, which defined tax evasion as a crime and required members to cooperate with international tax investigations. Switzerland had previously maintained that it was not obliged to cooperate with foreign tax probes because its laws treated tax evasion as a civil offense, rather than a criminal offense on the level of tax fraud. Swiss President and Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz March 13 said Switzerland would limit its cooperation to “individual cases” in which foreign tax investigators provided specific evidence of wrongdoing. He said there would be “no automatic exchange of information,” and warned against “fishing expeditions” seeking to trawl through the files of large numbers of banking clients. Merz also said Switzerland might seek an amnesty for tax evasion committed before the signing of treaties formalizing the new standards. Germany, France to Keep Up Pressure—

Germany and France March 16 said they would continue to campaign for support for international sanctions against tax havens that refused to cooperate with tax evasion probes. German officials expressed skepticism about the pledges by Switzerland and other countries, and said they planned to raise the issue of sanctions at an April 2 summit in London of the leaders of the Group of 20 (G-20) nations with advanced or emerging economies. Britain said it would also continue to press for action against banking secrecy. [See p. 162A3] A bill pending in the U.S. Congress, backed by President Barack Obama, would also impose sanctions on offshore tax havens. U.S authorities in February had reached a settlement in a tax evasion case with UBS AG, Switzerland’s largest bank, in which UBS agreed to pay $780 million in fines and other penalties and disclose the names of U.S. clients. n

U N I T ESTATES D S TAT E S UNITED

Fed to Purchase $1.2 Trillion in Treasuries, Mortgages Interest Rate Left at Near Zero. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the policymaking body of the Federal Reserve, March 18 voted unanimously to purchase as much as $300 billion worth of long-term Treasury securities and increase its purchases of assets backed by mortgages by up to $750 billion, in a bid to resolve an ongoing freeze in credit markets. The FOMC also voted to leave its benchmark federal-funds interest rate target on overnight loans between banks at between zero and one quarter of a percentage point. [See p. 45B2; 2008, p. 865G1] Under the plan, the Fed would purchase up to $1.25 trillion worth of mortgagebacked assets issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-controlled mortgage-financing giants. The Fed had previously said it would buy $500 billion worth of such assets. Additionally, the Fed would double its maximum for purchases of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debt, to $200 billion. The move was intended to lower interest rates on the underlying mortgages, and prop up the slumping housing market. The Fed also said it would buy up to $300 billion worth of longer-term Treasury securities over the next six months, a departure from its ordinary purchases of shorter-term instruments. Treasury yields were widely used as a gauge for setting interest rates on a variety of different loans, and increased purchases of Treasuries resulted in lower yields. The Fed said the move would “help improve conditions in private credit markets,” which some analysts interpreted as an affirmation that the Fed was not attempting to reduce the government’s deficit by lowering the interest rates it had to pay on its loans. Investors reacted positively to the announcement, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 90.88 points, or 1.23%, to end at 7,486.58. Investors said the Fed’s plan showed that it would continue to take aggressive action to combat the credit crunch, even though it had already exhausted its traditional monetary policy tool—adjusting the benchmark interest rate—by lowering the rate to near zero. The impact on Treasury yields was immediate, with the 10-year Treasury note March 18 falling to 2.53%, from 3.00% the previous day, the largest single-day percentage drop since 1987. While the Fed had openly considered purchasing Treasury securities, the central bank had not given any indication that it was ready to do so, surprising investors. Analysts said the Bank of England’s plan to buy up to £150 billion ($210 billion) worth of British government bonds, announced the previous week, had convinced the Fed that the plan could ease interest rates in the near term. The Bank of Japan March 18 said it would buy 1.8 trillion yen ($15 billion–$18 billion) worth of Japanese government bonds a month, up from its current rate of 1.4 trillion, set in January. [See p. 155G2] The exchange value of the U.S. dollar, however, fell steeply against the euro, the 163

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European Union’s common currency. At the close of trading March 18, one euro was worth $1.34, up from $1.30 the previous day, the euro’s largest one-day gain since its introduction in 1999. Investors fled from the dollar because the Fed’s plan would effectively increase the money supply, devaluing the dollar’s worth. Increasing the money supply had the potential to increase inflation. But prices were currently depressed due to an ongoing recession, reportedly easing the Fed’s concerns about inflation. n

Other Economy News Treasury Sets Small Business Lending Aid.

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President Barack Obama March 16 announced that the Treasury would attempt to help small businesses receive credit by purchasing up to $15 billion in securities linked to small business loans. Obama made the announcement at a meeting in the White House with small business owners and representatives of small community banks. Obama said the wider credit crisis, attributed to the plummeting value of complex mortgage-backed securities and other dubious financial instruments, had frozen credit markets for small businesses, closing their access to financing necessary to continue routine operations. [See p. 76A3] “Today, too many entrepreneurs can’t access the capital to start, operate or grow their businesses,” Obama said. The White House in a statement released that day said that “economic recovery will be driven in large part by America’s small businesses.” Obama said small businesses had been responsible for creating an estimated 70% of jobs over the past 10 years. The purchase of the securities would be financed by a $700 billion financial industry rescue fund known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), and was set to begin in late March. Also, the Small Business Administration (SBA) would guarantee up to 90% of the loan value on credit extended to small businesses. Under the previous policy, the SBA would guarantee up to 85% of loans below $150,000 and 75% of loans exceeding that figure. The SBA would also suspend assessing fees associated with the loans. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that day said his department would require the 21 largest banks receiving federal rescue package funds to report the percentage of their lending that was provided to small businesses. The plan was criticized for potentially wasting assistance on businesses that were unsound. Others said the purchases of the securities could end up providing greater help to large businesses and lenders, as opposed to small businesses. n Trade Deficit Fell to $36 Billion in January.

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The Commerce Department March 13 reported that the seasonally adjusted U.S. trade deficit in Trade Deficit goods and servicbillions) es for January was January(in 2009 $36.03 $36.0 billion, Previous Month $39.93 down from a re- Year Earlier $59.16 vised $39.9 billion in December 2008, and the sixth straight 164

MERCHANDISE TRADE DATA

Country/ Region China Japan Canada European Union Mexico NICs†

Deficit/Surplus* January December 2009 2008 -20.57 -4.30 -2.49 -3.48 -2.68 -1.62

-19.88 -5.27 -2.79 -6.97 -4.08 -0.92

*Bilateral trade figures in billions of dollars unadjusted for seasonal variations. The data—except figures given for Canada—do not include revisions of month-earlier figures. †Newly industrialized countries—Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea.

month the deficit had dropped. The drop came as a result of an ongoing recession, which suppressed U.S. demand for imports. Another central factor was the falling price of imported oil. [See p. 111E3] Imports decreased by $11.5 billion in January, to $160.9 billion. Besides oil, the change was led by decreased imports of industrial supplies and materials, and automotive vehicles, parts and engines. Exports in January fell to $124.9 billion, a $7.6 billion drop from the preceding month, as demand for U.S. goods fell as a result of a global economic downturn. The change was led by decreased exports of capital goods and automotive vehicles, parts and engines. n

Automobiles Parts Makers Receive Federal Backing. The Treasury Department March 19 announced that it would create a $5 billion fund to aid U.S. auto parts suppliers, which for months had warned that they were in danger of going bankrupt as a result of turmoil within the auto industry. Auto parts suppliers generally received payment for parts after they were delivered to automakers. Under the plan, the Treasury guaranteed parts suppliers payment for parts shipped to automakers, “no matter what happens to the recipient car company.” Michigan-based automakers Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp. (GM) had recently received billions of dollars in government aid and were undergoing drastic, government-mandated restructuring amid fears that they would abruptly run out of cash. [See below, p. 92D2] The program set aside much less than the $25.5 billion in aid that parts makers had requested in February. According to a report published March 19 in the Washington Post, an unnamed member of President Barack Obama’s auto task force had said that while the government wanted to support the parts industry, “We have to allocate capital in a prudent manner…we can’t help every company in every industry.” Generally, automakers paid parts suppliers within 60 days of a parts order shipping date. Parts makers were able to sell or borrow money against the automakers’ debts, called receivables, in order to fund their daily operations. However, since the drastic decline of the U.S. auto industry became apparent, banks had become reluc-

tant to honor automaker debt, leaving some parts makers underfunded. The federal initiative, however, would also allow parts suppliers to sell receivables to the government for cash as opposed to trying to unload them on banks. The plan was funded through the Treasury’s $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) financial rescue initiative, which had been authorized in November 2008. It would be administered through U.S. auto companies that agreed to participate in it. All U.S.-based auto parts suppliers that shipped to participating automakers were eligible for the federal guarantee. GM and Chrysler had already signed up, but Ford Motor Co., which had not received federal rescue loans, said it would not participate, and added that “we remain viable and expect no issue with continued payment to our suppliers.” [See 2008, p. 825A1] Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the program would “provide supply companies with much-needed access to liquidity…while giving the domestic auto companies reliable access to the parts they need.” The supplier payment guarantee was the first major action taken by President Barack Obama’s auto task force. The task force would also review Chrysler and GM’s restructuring plans, which were due March 31, and make recommendations on whether the companies should receive additional loans. [See p. 93D1] U.S. Auto Sales Continue to Plummet—

Autodata Corp., a research and statistics firm, March 3 released figures that showed that sales of new automobiles in February had reached their lowest level since December 1981. Compared with February 2008, GM’s sales declined by 53.1%, Chrysler’s, by 44%, and Ford’s, by 48.5%. The three automakers sold a total of 309,270 new vehicles in February, compared with 611,008 in February 2008. [See p. 62A3] n

Legislation Bill on Unionizing Introduced. Rep. George Miller (D, Calif.) and Sen. Tom Harkin, (D, Iowa) March 10 introduced the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) in the House and Senate, respectively. The legislation, first introduced in 2003, would allow a company’s workers to decide on how to vote to unionize: either by reaching a majority who had signed union cards, known as “card check,” or by holding a secret ballot. Under the current system, employers could force a secret ballot. [See pp. 63D2, 60C1] Organized-labor advocates favored the card-check system because it made it easier for workers to unionize. Business advocates preferred the secret ballot requirement, which they argued ensured a democratic vote. However, labor leaders claimed that the secret ballot system allowed employers to intimidate workers prior to unionization votes. Business leaders in turn claimed that the card-check system allowed unions to intimidate workers. The bill would also require that a government arbitrator be brought in to settle contract disputes that could not be resolved FACTS ON FILE

within 120 days of a union’s formation.While President Barack Obama supported the bill, it was opposed by business groups, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and nearly every congressional Republican. Supporters of EFCA said the legislation was necessary to counteract the decline of the labor movement over the past few decades, and that the revitalization of labor unions could help close the widening gap between rich and poor. The bill’s opponents said the EFCA would discourage companies from creating jobs in the U.S. and exacerbate the current recession. They also opposed the mandatory arbitration provision. The legislation was expected to pass easily in the House, but Democrats, who currently held 56 seats in the Senate, needed 60 votes to overcome an expected Republican filibuster. Sen. Arlen Specter (R, Pa.), was considered to hold a key vote on the issue. He had voted in favor of advancing EFCA in 2007, but the Wall Street Journal March 10 reported that Specter was undecided on the bill. Also, a few Democrats had expressed concern about the effects of passing the bill amid the economy’s current weakness. n

Obama Administration Seattle Police Chief Named Drug Czar.

President Barack Obama March 11 nominated Seattle, Wash., Police Chief R. Gil Kerlikowske as director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Known informally as the “drug czar,” the director oversaw the creation and oversight of the U.S. government’s antidrug policies. Under the Bush administration, the drug czar had been part of the cabinet, but the position had been downgraded under Obama. [See 2007, p. 477F2] Vice President Joseph Biden said at the ceremony to announce Kerlikowske’s nomination that the administration would put a new emphasis on treating drug abusers who committed crimes, rather than simply imprisoning them. However, he also promised that the government would not neglect efforts to police the U.S. border with Mexico, a major point of entry for illegal drugs. Biden had helped to create the Office of National Drug Control Policy in the 1980s during his time in the Senate, and was expected to play a major role in setting the Obama administration’s antidrug policy. Kerlikowske said at the ceremony that “the success of our efforts to reduce the flow of drugs is largely dependent on our ability to reduce demand for them.” Prior to becoming Seattle’s police chief, Kerlikowske had served as a Justice Department official under President Bill Clinton and as police commissioner of Buffalo, N.Y. He noted in his speech that “as a police officer but also in my own family, I have experienced the effects that drugs can have,” apparently referring to his adult stepson, who had previously been arrested on drugrelated charges. The post of drug czar was subject to Senate confirmation and some analysts suggested that his stepson’s drug use could complicate his nomination. March 19, 2009

Medical Marijuana Raids to End—Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. March 18 said the Obama administration would not make it a priority to conduct federal raids against medical marijuana facilities that were operating in accordance with state law, citing the need to judiciously allocate law enforcement resources. However, Holder also said people who violated state medical marijuana laws or attempted to use such laws as “a shield for activity” that was not medical in nature would be targeted. Prosecutions were expected to focus on dispensaries that sold medical marijuana to minors, and on people with fake marijuana prescriptions. Holder Feb. 25 had said, in response to a reporter’s question, that Obama’s campaign statements opposing raids carried out under the Bush administration on medical marijuana facilities that abided by state laws were consistent with the Justice Department’s planned policy. However, Holder’s comments had been widely interpreted as suggesting that the federal government would carry out no further raids against any medical marijuana facilities, which reportedly led Holder on March 18 to clarify his previous statements. California had legalized medical marijuana in 1996, and 12 other states, including Oregon and Michigan, had subsequently passed similar laws. Under the Bush administration, federal raids of medical marijuana dispensaries and farms in California, among other states, had triggered criticism from state officials. However, the Supreme Court had ruled in 2001 that federal laws banning marijuana superseded state medical marijuana laws, allowing federal raids of medical marijuana facilities to continue. [See 2001, p. 370A2] Separately, state legislators in both California and Oregon had recently introduced bills related to the regulation of marijuana within their states. Neither bill was expected to be enacted. Under the Oregon bill, introduced March 11 by Republican legislator Ron Maurer, the state government would control and oversee all medical marijuana farming and distribution in the state. The bill was reportedly intended to ensure that the drug was being used for medical purposes only. California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, a Democrat, Feb. 23 introduced a bill that would legalize recreational marijuana use for persons who were 21 years old or older. The bill also allowed for the additional regulation and taxation of the state’s market for marijuana. Ammiano estimated that legalizing and taxing marijuana would net the state more than $1 billion per year in additional revenue. n

Terrorism Detainees ‘Enemy Combatant’ Term Dropped. The Jus-

tice Department March 13 announced in a filing in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., that it would no longer classify terrorism detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as “enemy combatants” and had limited the terms under which such suspects could be held indefinitely. President Barack Obama had

ordered the closure of Guantanamo by January 2010 as part of his administration’s efforts to revise U.S. antiterrorism policies put in place under President George W. Bush. [See pp. 129A3, 112F2] The Justice Department argued in the filing that the president had the authority to order the indefinite detention of terrorism suspects who had “substantially supported Taliban or Al Qaeda forces or associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners.” The statement said that Obama’s authority stemmed from an authorization of use of force passed by Congress following Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the U.S., and was consistent with international laws of war. The changes applied to all of the more than 240 detainees currently held at Guantanamo. Under the Bush administration, the Justice Department had argued that the president had inherent constitutional authority to detain terrorism suspects, including U.S. citizens. Bush had authorized the detention of any suspects who had “directly supported” the international terrorist network Al Qaeda or Afghanistan’s Taliban Islamic fundamentalist group, a standard that analysts said was broader than that put forward by the Obama administration. However, many legal experts said the new policy would represent little change in practice from the Bush administration’s. In its filing, the Justice Department said that while the standard applied to detainees would be the same in all cases, “the particular facts and circumstances justifying detention will vary from case to case.” The Washington Post reported March 14 that judges in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., had previously rejected that approach, finding that doing so was unfair to the detainees and their attorneys.

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U.S., E.U. Discuss Detainee Transfers—

Representatives of the European Union March 16 met with Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. and other Obama administration officials in Washington, D.C., to discuss the possibility of EU countries accepting detainees from Guantanamo as part of Obama’s plan to close the prison. Guantanamo had about 60 detainees who had been found not to pose a threat to society but whose release had been delayed because the U.S. government refused to return them to their home countries due to concerns that they would be tortured there. [See 2008, p. 958D3] Under the Bush administration, the U.S. had asked individual EU member nations to accept Guantanamo detainees, but had been unable to place many. Analysts suggested that the Bush administration’s tendency to justify its indefinite detention of the suspects by highlighting allegations of dangerous terrorist activities had made other countries reluctant to accept them; the Obama administration was reportedly less concerned with arguing that all detainees had been correctly detained. Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos Feb. 24 had announced that Spain would consider accepting detainees from Guantanamo. The EU reportedly wanted the U.S. government to accept some of the detainees 165

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cleared for release into the U.S., and to hand over all information concerning detainees that EU countries were considering accepting. In addition, EU representatives had asked for guarantees that the U.S. would not follow its closure of Guantanamo by creating a similar prison system at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, or elsewhere. Separately, it was reported March 13 that the U.S. government had begun negotiations with the government of Saudi Arabia on a plan that would send a group of Yemeni detainees at Guantanamo to Saudi Arabia. The U.S. reportedly planned to file charges against 15 of the group of about 100 Yemeni detainees and to send another 15 back to Yemen; the proposed agreement with Saudi Arabia was expected to involve some of the remaining 70 detainees. [See pp. 119A1, 20D2] Yemen was widely viewed as a haven for Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations, and the U.S. government had previously been hesitant to release detainees to the custody of the Yemeni government. However, Saudi Arabia had developed a rehabilitation program for former detainees that experts said had been largely successful at keeping detainees from becoming involved or re-involved with terrorist organizations. A spokesman for the government of Yemen March 13 said it would oppose efforts to send Yemeni detainees to any other country. Yemen was reportedly designing its own detainee rehabilitation program based on the Saudi model. Pentagon Claims Rising Recidivism Rate—

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Defense Department spokesman Geoff Morrell Jan. 13 said that 61 of about 520 former detainees had become involved in terrorist activities after their release from Guantanamo as of Dec. 24, 2008, a recidivism rate of about 11%. That rate was an increase from a rate of 7% reported by the Defense Department in March 2008. [See 2008, p. 305F1] Morrell said that the total of 61 included 18 former detainees whose new involvement in terrorism had been confirmed, as well as another 43 detainees who were suspected of having returned to terrorism. According to Morrell, the Defense Department had connected the former detainees to terrorist activities through the use of photographs, fingerprints and other evidence. The Seton Hall Law School Center for Policy and Research, which had issued a 2007 report disputing previous detainee recidivism claims made by the Defense Department, Jan. 15 issued a statement criticizing the Defense Department’s new claims. It said the department had offered scant support for its claims, had branded former detainees as recidivists merely for criticizing the U.S., and in some cases had cited individuals who had never been detained at Guantanamo. Guantanamo Closure Official Chosen—

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton March 12 appointed Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried as a special envoy in charge of expediting the closure of Guantanamo. Fried, a former U.S. ambassador to Poland, was expected to conduct negotiations with 166

other countries on the transfer of Guantanamo detainees. [See p. 112D3] Holder March 11 appointed two other officials to lead task forces created to rework the Bush administration’s antiterrorism policies. Holder named California federal prosecutor J. Douglas Wilson as the head of a task force overseeing an examination of U.S. guidelines for the interrogation and transfer of terrorism detainees. Holder selected Justice Department attorney Brad Wiegmann to lead a task force that would revise the government’s legal arguments for the detention of future terrorism suspects.n

Politics Cheney Says Obama Moves Raise Risk.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney in a television interview March 15 asserted that President Barack Obama’s moves to reverse some of the Bush administration’s antiterrorism policies “raise the risk to the American people of another attack.” Cheney used the interview, on the Cable News Network (CNN) talk show “State of the Union,” to defend President George W. Bush’s record of preventing further attacks on the U.S. after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Cheney also criticized Obama’s economic policies. It was his first television interview since leaving office in January. [See pp. 165G2, 28G1] Among his biggest reversals of Bush’s policies, Obama had pledged to close the U.S. prison camp for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and bar the use of harsh interrogation methods on terrorism suspects. Cheney defended those programs, calling them “absolutely essential to the success we enjoyed of being able to collect the intelligence that let us defeat all further attempts to launch attacks against the United States since 9/11.” Asked to specify which attacks had been foiled, he replied, “I can’t give you the details of it without violating classification, but I can say there were a great many of them.” Cheney insisted, contrary to critics of those programs, that they were “done in accordance with our constitutional practices and principles.” Cheney said those policies had been put in place because the Bush administration viewed the threat of terrorism as a “wartime situation.” He said Obama appeared to be reverting to “law-enforcement mode” and “giving up that center of attention and focus that’s required, and that concept of military threat that is essential if you’re going to successfully defend the nation against further attacks.” Cheney portrayed the Iraq war as a triumph, saying, “We have succeeded in creating in the heart of the Middle East a democratically governed Iraq, and that is a big deal,” adding, “And that is, in fact, what we set out to do.” Cheney also asserted that Obama’s $3.6 trillion budget plan, together with heavy spending to stimulate the economy and rescue the financial industry, “constitute the biggest or one of the biggest expansions of federal authority over the private economy in the history of the republic.” [See p. 124A3]

White House Fires Back—White House press secretary Robert Gibbs March 16 fired back at Cheney, saying, “I guess Rush Limbaugh was busy, so they trotted out the next most popular member of the Republican cabal.” Gibbs and other top Obama officials had recently engaged in a war of words with Limbaugh, a leading conservative radio talk show host, seeking to depict him as the de facto head of the Republican Party. [See p. 146C2] Gibbs questioned the effectiveness of the Bush administration’s antiterrorism policies, saying that “the very perpetrators that the vice president says he’s concerned about weren’t brought to justice.” Gibbs seemed to allude to Osama bin Laden, the leader of the international terrorist network Al Qaeda, who had claimed responsibility for the attacks and had since evaded capture. Cheney Says Bush Left Aide ‘Hanging’—

Cheney in his interview March 15 also touched on a disagreement between himself and Bush over Bush’s decision not to grant a pardon to I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby, Cheney’s former chief of staff. Libby had been convicted of perjury, lying to Federal Bureau of Investigation agents and obstruction of justice in connection with a probe into the leaking of the identity of a Central Intelligence Agency operative. Bush had commuted Libby’s prison sentence but did not pardon him before leaving office. [See p. 33D3; 2007, p. 429A3] Cheney said of Libby, “I think he’s an innocent man who deserves a pardon.” He added, “I was clearly not happy that we, in effect, left Scooter sort of hanging in the wind, which I didn’t think was appropriate.” Bush Gives Speech, Starts Book—Bush in Canada March 17 gave his first speech since leaving office, in a paid appearance in Calgary, Alberta. The event was closed to reporters, but attendees said Bush had refrained from criticizing Obama and said he hoped for his successor to succeed, declaring, “He deserves my silence, and if he wants my help he is welcome to call me.” Bush also reportedly said that he was at work on a book, which was expected to be published in 2010 by Crown Publishing Group, a unit of Random House Inc. The New York Times March 19 quoted Robert Barnett, the lawyer who negotiated Bush’s book deal, as saying that the book would deal with 12 key personal and political decisions made by Bush. They ranged from his resolution to stop drinking and his embrace of religion to his response to the Sept. 11 attacks and the invasion of Iraq. Bush confirmed that he was working on the book in a March 18 Associated Press (AP) interview. Terms of the book deal were not disclosed. Bush’s predecessor, Bill Clinton, also represented by Barnett, had received a $15 million advance for his memoir My Life, published in 2004. [See 2004, p. 462F3] n

Supreme Court Scope of Voting Rights Act Curbed. The

Supreme Court March 9 ruled, 5–4, that protections designed to preserve a minority FACTS ON FILE

population’s voting power were only applicable in areas where the minority-group voter population exceeded 50% of the total voter population. At issue in the case, Bartlett v. Strickland, was whether the North Carolina government could redraw the boundaries of a voting district to ensure that black voters formed 39% of the voting population. [See p. 33A1] In 2003, the North Carolina legislature redrew District 18 in the southeastern part of the state, saying it was required under Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Supporters said that with 39% of the voting population, the district’s blacks could form coalitions with “crossover” voters of other races to elect their desired representatives. However, in redrawing District 18, North Carolina divided Pender County into two voting districts, in violation of the state’s constitution. The county sued, and the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that Section 2 applied only when the minority group accounted for “a numerical majority of citizens of voting age.” Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia voted to uphold the lower court’s decision. Kennedy, joined by Roberts and Alito, wrote the plurality opinion, saying the inclusion of crossover voters in determining a district’s boundaries would place courts “in the untenable position of predicting many political variables and tying them to race-based assumptions.” Kennedy said the 50% rule was an “objective, numerical test” that “draws clean lines for courts and legislatures alike.” But Kennedy affirmed that the Voting Rights Act protected minority populations from a dilution of their voting power, saying, “Racial discrimination and racially polarized voting are not ancient history.” He added, “Much remains to be done to ensure that citizens of all races have equal opportunity to share and participate in our democratic processes and traditions.” While Thomas and Scalia concurred with the ruling, they disagreed with Kennedy’s reasoning. Thomas, joined by Scalia, wrote in a separate opinion that Section 2 “does not authorize any vote dilution claim, regardless of the size of the minority population in a given district.” Justices David H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer and John Paul Stevens were the dissenters. Souter in the dissenting opinion said the ruling would lead to increased racial division, by forcing “the states to perpetuate racially concentrated districts, the quintessential manifestations of race consciousness in American politics.” Ginsburg and Breyer also penned separate opinions. n

Capital Punishment New Mexico Ends Death Penalty. A bill

signed into law March 18 by New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (D) repealed the death penalty in the state for all prisoners convicted after July 2009. The bill had been passed Feb. 11 by the New Mexico House of Representatives, 40–28, and March 19, 2009

March 13 by the state Senate, 24–18. The state House had previously passed bills to repeal the state’s death penalty in both 2005 and 2007, but both had failed to pass the state Senate. [See 2007, p. 841B2] Richardson had previously supported the death penalty and said that signing the bill had marked “the end of a long personal journey for me.” He said that while he felt that the punishment was appropriate for some crimes, “the reality is the system is not perfect—far from it. The system is inherently defective. DNA testing has proven that. Innocent people have been put on death row all across the country.” New Mexico was the second state to legislatively repeal the death penalty, rather than having its law invalidated by a court ruling, since the U.S. Supreme Court ended a national ban on executions in 1976. The first, New Jersey, had abolished capital punishment in December 2007. A total of 15 states, including New Mexico, did not allow capital punishment. The 2001 execution of convicted child murderer Terry Clark in 2001 had been the only time since 1960 that New Mexico had put a prisoner to death. Two condemned prisoners remained on New Mexico’s death row; the new law did not affect their cases. n

of a unified agency, separate from the FDA and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) that would be charged with handling the oversight of food. At a March 11 hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on health, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers had expressed support for a legislative overhaul of the U.S.’s food regulatory system, although they remained divided over the creation of a new food agency. Members of the subcommittee largely agreed on efforts to grant the FDA the power to recall unsafe foods, and to improve the ability of the government to trace foods in order to deal with contaminations quickly and efficiently. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack March 14 also announced that “downer cattle,” those that could not stand under their own power, would be banned from slaughter and entering the food system. Under previous rules, downer cattle that had been certified as safe to eat were allowed into the food system. The practice had raised concerns that possibly dangerous meat was being sold to consumers. [See 2008, p. 964A2] n

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Media Seattle, Denver Newspapers Shut Down.

Consumer Affairs Obama Promises Food Safety Overhaul.

President Barack Obama March 14 announced the creation of a Food Safety Working Group as part of a pledge to overhaul the country’s federal food regulation system. He said the government’s failure in recent years to ensure a safe food supply was “a hazard to the public health.” Obama said the group would include the secretaries of the Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Commerce Departments. Obama made the remarks during his weekly address to the U.S., which was broadcast on the radio and posted on the Internet. [See p. 95B3; 2008, pp. 619F1, 536A2] Obama said the working group would be asked to advise on the modernization of food safety laws, adding that it was the government’s responsibility to ensure that “the foods we eat, and the medicines we take, are safe and do not cause us harm.” He noted that many of the country’s food safety laws dated to the early 20th century and had never been updated, and said only 5% of the country’s 150,000 food processing plants were inspected annually. He said he would ask Congress to authorize $1 billion in funding to modernize testing laboratories and hire new food inspectors. [See 2007, p. 806E2] Obama also said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had suffered from a lack of funding and personnel under his predecessor, former President George W. Bush. In recent years a number of high profile drug and food safety regulation failures had brought the country’s consumer protection system under harsh scrutiny. At least 12 federal agencies shared responsibility for regulating the U.S.’s food supply. The diffuse approach had recently led to a debate among legislators over the creation

Hearst Corp. March 16 announced that the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (P-I), which it owned, would print its last issue the next day, and would thereafter shift to an Internet-only format. The company Jan. 9 had announced that it would close the newspaper, which had lost money every year since 2000, if it could not find a buyer. Also, the Rocky Mountain News Feb. 27 had printed its last issue, after owner E.W. Scripps Co. said it would close the 150-year-old Denver, Colo., newspaper because it could not find a buyer. [See 2003, p. 873D3; 1987, p. 712C1] The 146-year-old P-I was the largest newspaper to abandon a print edition in favor of its Web site, and was seen as a test of a new business model for newspapers as the industry faced declining circulations and advertising revenue. The revamped Web site featured blogs, commentary, some local reporting and links to other news Web sites. It employed 20 journalists, down from the 165 of the print newsroom. The developments left Seattle, Wash., and Denver with one city newspaper each: the Seattle Times and the Denver Post. However, both surviving newspapers had had joint operating agreements with their rivals, and it was thought that the closings would further harm their already shaky finances. Separately, Hearst Feb. 24 threatened to sell or close the San Francisco Chronicle unless its unions made significant concessions. If the Chronicle shut down, San Francisco would become the largest U.S. city to lose its major newspaper. Private equity firm Platinum Equities Inc. had purchased Copley Press Inc., the owner of the San Diego Union-Tribune, the two sides said March 18. Platinum said the Union-Tribune, San Diego’s only daily newspaper, was still making a profit, but it 167

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The Minneapolis Star Tribune Jan. 15 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The newspaper had taken on a heavy debt load when it was bought by private equity group Avista Capital Partners in 2007, and had stopped making payments of its major debts in September 2008. Avista in December 2008 had threatened to file for bankruptcy protection if it did not win concessions from its employees. The newspaper would continue to publish during bankruptcy. [See 2006, p. 213E3] Philadelphia Newspapers, a subsidiary of Philadelphia Media Holdings LLC that owned the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News, Feb. 22 also filed for bankruptcy protection. It said it would seek concessions from its creditor banks, rather than from its labor unions. [See 2006, p. 491D1] Times Publishing Co., the owner of the St. Petersburg Times, Jan. 28 said it would attempt to sell Congressional Quarterly (CQ), a collection of publications and Web sites covering legislative affairs. Times Publishing said that although CQ was profitable, the company did not have enough funding to support its expansion, and the money from the sale would help to bolster the Times. Times Publishing was owned by the Poynter Institute, a nonprofit journalism foundation. [See 1978, p. 540F3] Other newspapers across the country were cutting costs by laying off or furloughing employees, or by combining or dropping sections such as book reviews, business and local news. ‘N.Y. Times’ Takes $250 Million Loan—

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The New York Times Co. Jan. 19 said it had agreed to accept a $250 million loan from Mexican telecommunications billionaire Carlos Slim Helu, in order to help service its $1.1 billion debt load. The loan carried a 14% interest rate, and would give Slim, who already owned 6.9% of the company, warrants that could be converted into a 17% stake in it. That would make him the second-largest shareholder, after Arthur Sulzberger Jr., the chairman and New York Times publisher. Slim, however, would not receive voting rights or representation on the company board. [See 2008, p. 903C3] The Times Co. March 9 announced a leaseback deal with investment firm W.P. Carey & Co., in which it would lease part of its headquarters building in New York City to W.P. Carey for as long as 15 years in exchange for $225 million. It was expected that the Times Co. would exercise an option allowing it to buy back the building after 10 years for $250 million, making the deal akin to a loan secured by the building. The Times Co. had also suspended its quarterly dividend Feb. 19, and was attempting to sell its 18% stake in Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox. The company had seen a 48% decline in net income for the fourth quarter of 2008. n 168

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was reported that the company had paid a low price for the newspaper. The deal marked the end of the Copley family’s 81year involvement in the news industry. [See 2004, p. 720B3]

AFRICA

Madagascar’s President Resigns Amid Opposition, Military Pressure Military Names Former Mayor President.

Madagascan President Marc Ravalomanana March 17 said he was ceding power to the country’s armed forces, after months of increasing political unrest instigated by Andry Rajoelina, the former mayor of Antananarivo, the capital. Ravalomanana had become increasingly isolated in recent days as the military came out in support of the 34-year-old Rajoelina, who had called for Ravalomanana’s resignation for months. [See p. 66B1] Ravalomanana, 59, said he was turning power over to Hyppolite Ramaroson, a navy vice admiral who was Madagascar’s highest-ranking military officer. “After deep reflection, I have decided to dissolve the government and give up power so that a military directorate can be established,” he said, adding, “This decision was very difficult and very hard, but it had to be made. We need calm and peace to develop our country.” Later March 17, Ramaroson said the military would hand power to Rajoelina. “We have categorically rejected the authority that Ravalomanana asked us to set up after his resignation,” he said. Under Madagascar’s constitution, the president had to be at least 40 years old, and the head of the upper house of parliament was supposed to take power upon the president’s resignation. However, the Constitutional Court, the country’s highest court, March 18 endorsed Rajoelina as president. Rajoelina March 18 said he would hold presidential elections within 24 months, and would change the constitution. He also began naming cabinet ministers. The next day, he dissolved the country’s parliament, which was controlled by Ravalomanana’s I Love Madagascar (TIM) party. Rajoelina reportedly was scheduled to be sworn in March 21. The Southern African Development Community (SADC), a 15-member regional group to which Madagascar belonged, March 19 condemned the ouster of Ravalomanana and called for him to be returned to power. It threatened to impose sanctions if there was not a return to “democratic and constitutional rule in the shortest time possible.” Former colonial power France that day said 24 months was “too long” a delay in holding elections. The African Union (AU) was scheduled to meet March 20 to determine whether the events in Madagascar constituted a military coup. The AU had recently sanctioned Mauritania and Guinea after the military took power from democratically elected leaders. [See p. 82B3] Norway March 19 said it would freeze $14 million in annual aid to Madagascar. Ravalomanana, a self-made millionaire businessman and himself a former mayor of Antananarivo, had come to power in 2002. Riding a wave of popular support, he had challenged longtime President Didier

Andry Rajoelina March 17 parading through the streets of Antanarivo, Madagascar’s capital. Madagascan President Marc Ravalomanana that day resigned and turned power over to the military, which named Rajoelina president.

Ratsiraka in a December 2001 election. Both men claimed victory, and the country had dual governments until April 2002, when the Constitutional Court declared Ravalomanana the winner. Ratsiraka fled the country in July of that year. Ravalomanana was reelected in 2006, and TIM won parliamentary elections in September 2007. His whereabouts were unknown as of March 19. [See 2007, p. 670A2; 2002, p. 567C2] Rajoelina, a charismatic former disc jockey and self-made advertising mogul, led the Tanora malaGasy Vonona (Young Malagasies Determined) movement. He had been elected in December 2007, easily defeating the candidate backed by Ravalomanana. Rajoelina, who spread his populist message through his radio and television station, Viva, was especially popular among Madagascar’s large population of young people. He criticized Ravalomanana for enriching himself through foreign investment deals while failing to lift the majority of Malagasies out of poverty (an estimated 70% of the population lived on less than $1 per day), and alleged that the president ran the country in an authoritarian manner. Some analysts said Ratsiraka and his supporters were backing Rajoelina. Resignation

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Ravalomanana’s March 17 resignation had been preceded by months of political unrest on the Indian Ocean island of about 20 million people that had resulted in at least 135 deaths. The standoff between Ravalomanana and Rajoelina had begun in December 2008, when the president shut down the Viva television station after it broadcast an interview with Ratsiraka. In response, Rajoelina’s supporters began antigovernment demonstrations in Antananarivo. Clashes in late January between protesters and police left as many as 100 people dead. That led Rajoelina to declare himself FACTS ON FILE

Jacques Demarthon/AFP/Getty Images

Former Madagascan President Marc Ravalomanana in April 2008. Ravalomanana March 17 resigned and turned power over to the military, which named Andry Rajoelina president.

the nation’s leader, and call for the president’s impeachment. In response, Ravalomanana fired Rajoelina as mayor in early February. Nevertheless, Rajoelina continued to declare that he was in charge of the country, and began to set up a parallel government. Rajoelina’s supporters continued to hold demonstrations against the government in Antananarivo. During one such demonstration Feb. 7, the presidential guard opened fire on protesters marching on the presidential palace, killing 28 people. That incident reportedly undermined support for the president among the military, although officially it continued to maintain its neutrality. Defense Minister Cecile Manorohanta Feb. 9 resigned in protest of the killings, and was replaced by Mamy Ranaivoniarivo, the chief of military staff. More than 30,000 people gathered at a sports stadium in Antananarivo Feb. 11 in a display of support for Ravalomanana. Clashes between opposition supporters and security forces continued throughout February, including attempts by Rajoelina’s supporters to take control of government ministries. Throughout the crisis, Eritrean diplomat Haile Menkerios, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon’s special envoy for the crisis, along with local church leaders attempted to facilitate negotiations between the two sides. Rajoelina, however, pulled out of the negotiations Feb. 25 after the president failed to show up at a scheduled meeting. A group of military officers March 8 reportedly launched a mutiny, saying they would no longer take orders from Ravalomanana’s government to suppress street demonstrations and proclaiming their loyalty to Rajoelina. The next day, the U.N.’s envoy to Madagascar, Tiebile Drame, said the U.N. was giving Rajoelina “protection” at an undisclosed location after an attempt by police to arrest him. The army chief of staff, Edmond Rasolomahandry, March 10 said the military would intervene if the feuding leaders did March 19, 2009

not resolve the political crisis within 72 hours. Also that day, Ranaivoniarivo quit as defense minister, apparently under pressure from the military. However, Rasolomahandry March 11 was ousted by junior officers in an apparent mutiny. Ravalomanana, in a March 12 radio address, called on the military to remain neutral in the dispute. A meeting planned for that day to attempt to negotiate an end to the crisis was canceled when Rajoelina refused to come out of hiding to attend. Also that day, the head of the military police declared his support for the mutineers. Dissident soldiers March 13 deployed tanks on the streets of Antananarivo, while Ravalomanana called on his supporters to gather in front of the Iavoloha palace—a presidential palace some nine miles (15 km) from the center of the city to which he had retreated—to help defend it. Rajoelina March 14 emerged from hiding and led a rally in Antananarivo, declaring again that he had taken power in the country and ordering Ravalomanana’s arrest for allegedly hiring foreign mercenaries to back his government. Ravalomanana, in an attempt to defuse the crisis, March 15 offered to hold a referendum on whether he should remain in power. That was rejected by Rajoelina. Army troops backing Rajoelina March 16 stormed the mainly ceremonial presidential palace in Antananarivo, as well as the central bank. The next day, Rajoelina entered the palace and proclaimed that he was in control. Analysts said the military’s decision to back Rajoelina was the key factor in Ravalomanana’s March 17 decision to resign. However, it was unclear whether Rajoelina had widespread support among Madagascar’s population, beyond the military and his vocal backers in the capital. The months of unrest had seriously damaged the nation’s lucrative tourism sector, and also reportedly worried foreign investors. Rajoelina Nixes Daewoo Land Deal—

Rajoelina, in one of his first actions as Madagascar’s leader, March 18 said he would cancel a controversial deal, signed in 2008 by Ravalomanana’s government with South Korea’s Daewoo Logistics, to lease, for 99 years, 1.3 million hectares (3.2 million acres) of land in Madagascar. Daewoo planned to use Malagasy labor to produce palm oil and corn on the land for South Korean consumption. The deal, which involved about half of Madagascar’s arable land, was intended by South Korea to secure access to food supplies at a time when food prices had been rising rapidly. According to some reports, Daewoo initially expected to lease the land for free; however, it reportedly later offered to invest between $2 million and $6 million in infrastructure projects in Madagascar. The deal had sparked considerable anger in Madagascar, where land was seen as a sacred ancestral legacy. Opponents, including Rajoelina, claimed that Malagasy farmers would be forced from their land due to the deal. They also noted that many

in Madagascar depended on U.N. food aid, and questioned why food grown in their country would be exported to South Korea. Rajoelina March 18 said the constitution “stipulated that Madagascar’s land is neither for sale nor for rent.” He added, “We are not against the idea of working with investors, but if we want to sell or rent our land, we have to change the constitution, you have to consult the people.” n

Other Africa News Tanzania Hosts Meeting on Economic Crisis.

African leaders and International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials March 10–11 attended a meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s capital, to discuss the impact of the global economic crisis on Africa. Although the continent—the world’s poorest—had minimal direct exposure to the toxic assets at the heart of the worldwide credit crunch, it had been hit by a resulting lower demand for commodities such as precious metals, tea and cotton, as well as by decreases in foreign direct investment, foreign aid, remittances from citizens living abroad and tourism. [See pp. 162F2, 96F2] The meeting came in advance of a much-anticipated summit of the Group of 20 (G-20) leading economies on April 2 in London. Only one African nation—South Africa—would attend that summit. IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who attended the meeting, March 10 said, “Even though the crisis has been slow in reaching Africa’s shores, we all know it is coming and its impact will be severe.” He added, “We must ensure that the voice of the poor are heard. We must ensure that Africa is not left out.” StraussKahn also said the IMF’s current prediction of 3.3% growth for sub-Saharan Africa in 2009—down from a previous prediction of 6.7%—could be “too optimistic.” (Sub-Saharan Africa had experienced 5% growth in 2008.) Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete March 11 called on leaders of the Group of Eight (G-8) industrialized nations to make good on a pledge made at a 2005 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, to double their aid to Africa to $50 billion per year by 2010. South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel Jan. 16 had said the G-8 had missed its pledged target by $240 billion thus far. [See 2005, p. 468D3] The World Bank March 10 had urged wealthy nations to put 0.7% of the economic stimulus packages that they had enacted to address the crisis into a fund to assist poor nations during the downturn. In a joint statement at the conclusion of the meeting, the IMF and African finance ministers March 11 said they had agreed to boost lending to the continent and ease loan requirements under the IMF’s Exogenous Shocks Facility, an emergency program that allowed poor countries to increase their foreign currency reserves. The statement also reiterated a call for richer nations to keep their promises of aid to the developing world. Strauss-Kahn that day said, “It is certainly time for advanced economies to be less arrogant. The way the 169

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leaders of advanced economies address leaders of the rest of the world has to change and it is in the process of changing.” African Development Bank President Donald Kaberuka March 11 in an interview with Reuters news service said the bank had enough capital to continue lending to its members for the next five years. He also said the bank planned to double annual lending to $11 billion. He said Africa was just beginning to feel the impact of the downturn and that “frankly, we don’t know how deep and prolonged this crisis will be.” United Nations Deputy Secretary General Asha-Rose Migiro of Tanzania, who also attended the Dar es Salaam meeting, said in a March 12 Reuters interview that it was important to continue to strive toward meeting the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) despite the economic downturn. The MDGs—set in 2000—envisioned reducing global poverty by half by 2015. “The MDGs were supposed to be a focused road map towards achieving sustainable development and they shouldn’t be reset,” Migiro said. [See 2008, p. 697F3] African Leaders Visit London— British Prime Minister Gordon Brown March 16 hosted a meeting in London of several African leaders, as well as Kaberuka, to further discuss the state of Africa’s economy. Leaders in attendance included Kikwete, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. Meles called for Western nations to invest in Africa, arguing that “the global stimulus impact of every dollar spent in Africa is higher than if it is spent in the U.S. or the U.K.” Meles and Johnson-Sirleaf also warned that economic instability could cause a return to conflict in countries that had recently emerged from war. China’s Hu Tours Africa—Chinese President Hu Jintao Feb. 12–17 visited the African nations of Mali, Senegal, Tanzania and Mauritius. Hu had last visited the continent—which was the recipient of billions of dollars in Chinese investment—in early 2007. Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu Feb. 12 described the trip as a “turning point for China and Africa” that would “promote practical cooperation in extensive areas.” Another Chinese official, senior diplomat Zhai Jun, pointed out that none of the nations on Hu’s tour were resource-rich, and that the goal of the trip was to promote friendship with those nations. China had previously been criticized for exploiting Africa’s natural resources, through extensive investments in sectors such as Zambian copper and Sudanese oil, with little regard for the well-being of Africans. [See 2007, p. 92A3] Hu Feb. 13 in Bamako, Mali’s capital, laid the symbolic first brick of a $75 million “friendship bridge” in a ceremony with President Amadou Toumani Toure. He also pledged to continue to support investment and debt relief in Africa, despite 170

the global economic crisis, which had caused China’s economic growth to slow dramatically in recent months. [See p. 134E3] The Chinese president later Feb. 13 arrived in Senegal, where he met with President Abdoulaye Wade. The next day he traveled to Tanzania, and was greeted by Kikwete at the airport in Dar es Salaam. Hu and Kikwete Feb. 15 held talks on the effects of the global financial crisis on their economies, as well as cultural exchanges between the two countries. Hu pledged that “China will keep its promise, not reduce aid to Africa and urge the international community to honor their aid commitment to the continent.” Hu Feb. 16 left Tanzania for his final stop, the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. In Mauritius, Hu Feb. 17 met with President Sir Anerood Jugnauth, Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam and former Prime Minister Paul Berenger, leader of the opposition Mouvement Militant Mauricien (MMM) party. Hu departed for China later that day. n

AMERICAS

El Salvador Funes of Leftist FMLN Elected President.

Voters in El Salvador March 15 elected former television journalist Mauricio Funes Cartagena of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition of former Marxist rebels, the first leftist president of the country since 1989. Funes, 49, defeated Rodrigo Avila, the former head of the country’s police force and the leader of the conservative National Republican Alliance (Arena), 51.3%–48.7%, according to results released March 16. Funes was scheduled to take office June 1, and would succeed President Elias Antonio (Tony) Saca of Arena. [See p. 50C3; 2006, p. 244B3] Members of the FMLN had fought a 1980–92 civil war against a series of rightwing governments backed by the U.S., before the United Nations brokered a peace treaty in 1992. An estimated 75,000 people

were killed during the war, with another 8,000 thought to have been “disappeared” by the government and right-wing paramilitary death squads. After the war, FMLN members had turned to mainstream politics. Funes, who hosted a popular television talk show and had no political experience, had been recruited to run under the party’s banner. Funes’s victory came in his first run for political office. He had presented himself as a moderate, campaigning under the slogan, “A Safe Change,” and comparing himself to recently elected U.S. President Barack Obama. In a March 16 speech, Funes said, “The time has come for the excluded, the opportunity has arrived for genuine democrats, for men and women who believe in social justice and solidarity.” Funes also reaffirmed El Salvador’s strong ties to the U.S. by meeting with Robert Blau, the U.S.’s charge d’affaires at its embassy, shortly after his victory. He also pledged to keep the U.S. dollar as the official currency and remain in the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). [See 2006, p. 194E2] Funes faced the immediate challenge of developing an economic recovery package for El Salvador, in the face of dwindling remittances from Salvadorans working abroad and a decline in foreign investment. During the campaign, Arena operatives had attempted to tie Funes to far-left leaders in Latin America, especially Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias and former Cuban President Fidel Castro Ruz. Funes had said he would model himself after the more moderate leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the president of Brazil. n

Mexico Obama to Review Border Troop Request.

U.S. President Barack Obama March 11 in a meeting with reporters from 14 regional newspapers said he was considering sending National Guard troops to patrol the U.S.-Mexico border, amid growing concerns that violence related to Mexico’s drug trade had begun spilling over into the U.S.’s southwest. “We’re going to examine

FACTS ON FUNES

Carlos Mauricio Funes Cartagena was born in San Salvador, El Salvador’s capital, on Oct. 18, 1959. His father was an accountant and his mother a secretary. Funes studied communications at the Universidad Centroamericana “Jose Simeon Canas,” a private, Jesuitrun school in San Salvador. There he was active in student politics, but did not belong to any particular party. After graduating, he worked as a teacher in Roman Catholic schools in San Salvador. In February 1986 he joined Canal 10 de Television as a reporter, before moving to Canal 12 the following year to work as the channel’s news director. After the 1992 United Nations– brokered peace deal that ended El Salvador’s 12-year civil war, Funes rose to public prominence as the host of the program “Uncensored,” in which he exposed several scandals. Funes also served as a correspondent for the Spanish-language edition of the U.S.-based

Cable News Network (CNN) from 1991 to 2007, and won several journalism awards. In February 2005, Funes left Canal 12, after increasing political pressure was brought to bear on the network because of Funes’ exposes. He joined another channel, Megavision, in May of that year. In September 2007, Funes announced his candidacy for the presidency as a member of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), a party founded by former leftist guerrillas who had fought the U.S.-backed right-wing government in the civil war. Funes March 15 won the election, defeating conservative Rodrigo Avila of the Nationalist Republican Alliance (Arena) party, 51.3%–48.7%. He was scheduled to take office June 1. [See p. 170C2] Funes was married to Vanda Pignato, a founding member of Brazil’s Workers’ Party (PT), and had three sons. FACTS ON FILE

whether and if National Guard deployments would make sense and under what circumstances they would make sense,” he said. However, Obama said that he was generally opposed to “militarizing the border,” and had no “particular tipping point in mind” in terms of when he would consider sending troops there. [See p. 97D2; 2008, p. 490C1] Mexican President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa had sent some 40,000–45,000 troops and federal police officers across the country to combat cartels after taking office in December 2006. Since the launch of that campaign, violence in Mexico had become more frequent and gruesome, and had spread to regions previously unaffected by the drug trade. More than 6,000 people had died from drug-related violence in Mexico in 2008, nearly double the figure reported in 2007. About another 1,000 people had already been reported killed thus far in 2009. At a hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano Feb. 25 announced a series of steps intended to stem the activities of drug cartel–associated criminals in the U.S. She said she had contacted Attorney General Eric Holder, national security adviser James Jones and various state and local police agencies to formulate a plan to halt the flow of guns and money from the U.S. to Mexican drug gangs, and assist Mexico’s beleaguered law enforcement officials. Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) in a Feb. 25 news conference had called on the federal government to provide 1,000 troops to help patrol the border. However, some local officials had opposed the request, arguing that it was unwarranted and that it might increase tensions and fear in the area. State and federal officials at a Feb. 23 hearing of the Arizona State Senate reported that Mexican drug cartel–related violence had been increasingly reported in Arizona in 2008. Phoenix police said they regularly received calls about border-related hostage situations or kidnappings, and the district attorney’s office of Maricopa County said reports of similar crimes had increased to 241 in 2008, from 48 in 2004. Hundreds Arrested in U.S. Crackdown—

Holder Feb. 25 announced that U.S. authorities had arrested 755 people, seized more than 20 tons of illegal drugs and confiscated dozens of guns and vehicles as part of a 21-month crackdown on the operations of the Sinaloa Mexican drug cartel in the U.S. The effort, called Operation Xcellerator, had targeted the cartel’s distribution network in the U.S., and had yielded the seizure of $59.1 million in cash, 13 tons of cocaine and eight tons of marijuana, plus smaller seizures of other drugs. Holder the previous day had met with his Mexican counterpart, Eduardo MedinaMora, who had criticized the flow of guns from the U.S. to Mexico as a major impediment to stopping the drug cartels. Officials of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) estimated that about 90% of weapons used by gangs were bought in the U.S. March 19, 2009

Members of drug gangs were known to seek weaponry in the U.S. because regulations on gun sales and on the types of weapons available there were much less strict there than in Mexico. There was a particularly large concentration of licensed gun dealers near the Mexican border, around 6,600. The trial of George Iknadosian, the owner of a Phoenix gun store, X-Caliber Guns, March 9 began in Maricopa County Superior Court. Iknadosian had been arrested in May 2008 and charged with fraud, conspiracy and assisting a crime syndicate for allegedly knowingly selling weapons to Mexican drug cartels. Investigators alleged that Iknadosian had sold some 700 weapons of the sort commonly sought by drug gangs, at least 600 of which had been smuggled to Mexico. He had also allegedly sold weapons to an undercover officer who had informed him that he intended to resell the weapons in Mexico. Additional Troops Sent to Chihuahua—

Calderon over the past few weeks had sent 5,000 soldiers and 1,800 federal police officers to Chihuahua state, to supplement a force of 2,000 soldiers and at least 500 policemen already there, British newspaper the Financial Times reported March 14. Violence in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, had continued unabated, after 1,640 people were killed there in 2008. Despite the dramatic increase in violence, Calderon several times in recent weeks had reiterated his commitment to capturing or otherwise eliminating the drug cartels. “It’s either the narcos or the state,” he said in an interview published Feb. 27 by Mexican newspaper El Universal. Calderon Feb. 19 had said military forces would remain deployed within Mexico until the army had “completed its mission.” He also suggested that drug barons had paid protesters who had taken to the streets in several northern cities in recent days to protest the presence of the military. Other news—In other news related to drugs and drug violence: o Forbes magazine in its list of the richest people in the world, published March 11, included Joaquin Guzman Loera, the fugitive head of the Sinaloa cartel. Mexican officials March 12 harshly criticized Forbes for including Guzman in its list. o Gunmen Feb. 22 opened fire on a vehicle convoy bearing Chihuahua Governor Jose Reyes Baeza, killing a bodyguard and wounding two others. Reyes Baeza was not injured in the attack. n Retaliatory Tariffs Imposed on U.S. Goods.

Mexican Economy Minister Gerardo Ruiz Mateos March 16 said his government would impose tariffs of 10%–45% on at least 90 U.S. products, in response to the U.S.’s termination of a pilot program that had allowed Mexican trucks to operate in the U.S. The tariffs were imposed on trade worth $2.4 billion annually in goods produced in some 40 U.S. states in an effort to broaden their economic impact. They took effect March 17. [See 2008, pp. 978A1, 280F3]

The dispute began in 1995, after the U.S. refused to develop a trucking program as required by the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), arguing that it would allow potentially unsafe Mexican truckers on U.S. roads. U.S. labor unions, particularly the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, had also protested the plan. However, the U.S. in September 2007 had begun allowing 25–30 Mexican trucking companies to haul cargo in the U.S., provided that they met certain safety criteria. The pilot program was extended for two years in August 2008, but an element of the fiscal 2009 omnibus spending bill signed into law March 11 by U.S. President Barack Obama had eliminated it, sparking Mexico’s protest. [See p. 143E3; 2002, p. 943G3] Efforts by the U.S. to begin talks to resolve the dispute were hindered by Obama’s lack of a commerce secretary. After two previous nominees withdrew, Obama in late February had nominated former Washington Gov. Gary Locke (D) to the post, but he had yet to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. [See p. 112F3] n

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China Dalai Lama Calls Tibet Rule ‘Hell on Earth.’

The Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, in a fiercely worded March 10 speech in Dharmsala, India, denounced Chinese government policies as having created a “hell on Earth” for Tibetans and brought their cultural identity near “extinction.” The speech marked the 50th anniversary of a Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule that was crushed by Chinese forces, leading the Dalai Lama and members of the Tibetan government he had headed to flee into exile. [See p. 116B2; 1959, p. 101G3] The speech also came nearly a year after March 2008 Tibetan unrest. It followed weeks of a reported security lockdown by Chinese authorities across the Tibet region and other Tibetan-populated areas of China, in anticipation of the politically sensitive anniversaries, as well as the Tibetan New Year holiday, Losar. Activists had urged a boycott of official Losar celebrations as a gesture of mourning for those killed or arrested in the March 2008 disturbances. The strong tone of the Dalai Lama’s speech appeared to reflect anger at China’s recent clampdown, and the fact that talks held in 2008 with the Chinese government had failed to make any progress. The Dalai Lama, 73, said Tibetan “religion, culture, language, identity are near extinction. The Tibetan people are regarded like criminals, deserving to be put to death.” He contended that “hundreds of thousands of Tibetans” had died as a result of Chinese policies. However, the Dalai Lama also continued to insist that he did not favor independence for Tibet, unlike some younger, more radical Tibetan activists. He said he sought greater autonomy and respect for 171

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Tibetan rights within China, something he said had been promised before his exile by early Chinese Communist leaders, including Mao Zedong. China branded the Dalai Lama an advocate of violent separatism, and officials March 10 dismissed his remarks as false and defamatory. A day earlier, Chinese President Hu Jintao had met with Tibetan government officials in Beijing, China’s capital, and called for a “Great Wall” against separatism, “so that Tibet, now basically stable, will enjoy lasting peace and stability.” There were no reports of major disturbances in Tibet around the anniversary, although foreigners had been barred from the region, and cellular telephone and Internet connections there had reportedly been curtailed by authorities. A monk in Aba County in Sichuan Province Feb. 28 had set himself on fire in protest of official moves to restrict religious rituals around the Tibetan New Year. Tibetan-rights groups said that, according to eyewitnesses, after the monk set himself ablaze, police shot him, extinguished the flames, and carried him away, and his whereabouts and condition were unknown. The monk was one of hundreds reportedly prevented from entering a prayer hall at the Kirti Monastery for rites of Monlam, a prayer festival that fell early in the Tibetan calendar. U.S. House Denounces ‘Repression’—

The U.S. House of Representatives March 11 approved, 422–1, a resolution marking the anniversary of the 1959 uprising and calling on China to “to respond to the Dalai Lama’s initiatives to find a lasting solution to the Tibetan issue, cease its repression of the Tibetan people, and to lift immediately the harsh policies imposed on Tibetans.” A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman denounced the resolution as “groundless” and interference in China’s domestic affairs. Rep. Ron Paul (R, Texas) cast the lone dissenting vote. His spokeswoman said the U.S. would not like it “if China postured in a similar way on our affairs,” adding that there was “no benefit” for the U.S. from such actions. In the run-up to the anniversary, China’s government March 2 issued a document outlining the official understanding of Tibetan history. It said that in driving out the Dalai Lama, China had liberated the region from “serfdom,” comparing the event to the abolition of slavery in the U.S. It said “Western anti-China forces” used a spurious “Tibet issue” in an “attempt to restrain, split and demonize China.” n

which had been traveling from neighboring Kazakhstan to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’s capital, collided with another car and burst into flames, charring its passengers—believed to be Sadyrkulov and two guards—beyond recognition. The driver of the other vehicle survived. [See p. 58D3] Sadyrkulov, during his tenure as Bakiyev’s chief of staff, had helped create Bakiyev’s political party, Ak Zhol, and had overseen its sweeping victory in Kyrgyzstan’s 2007 parliamentary elections. Western monitors had said that election had failed to meet democratic standards. Sadyrkulov Jan. 8 had stepped down as Bakiyev’s chief of staff, weeks before Bakiyev had announced that Kyrgyzstan was evicting U.S. military forces from its Manas air base. Sadyrkulov claimed to have left voluntarily but some observers suggested that he had been forced out. He Jan. 19 said he had turned down an offer to serve as the country’s foreign minister, but offered little explanation. [See p. 58D3; 2007, p. 885G2] The Wall Street Journal March 14 reported that Sadyrkulov had said that he quit the government because he was wary of Bakiyev’s shift toward establishing closer ties with Russia, which in January had extended the country a $2.3 billion aid package. Kyrgyzstan’s political opposition claimed that Sadyrkulov had been preparing to join them, and broadly concurred that he had been assassinated. The New York Times March 14 reported that an unnamed opposition figure had claimed that Sadyrkulov had recently been raising money in Kazakhstan to fund an attempt to overthrow Bakiyev’s government. Elmira Ibrahimova, a former deputy prime minister who had resigned to join the opposition in January, had claimed that Sadyrkulov and his guards were murdered and later moved to the scene of the car accident, according to a March 16 report in Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). She also claimed that Sadyrkulov had recently told her that he had noticed strangers lingering near his home, and had claimed that they wanted to kill him. The Kyrgyz government denied any involvement with Sadyrkulov’s death, and Bakiyev said he would personally lead an investigation. Bakiyev March 16 released a statement saying, “You cannot play on people’s feelings and grief, and play politics in a tragedy,” seemingly warning opposition parties against using the incident for political gain. n

EUROPE

UNITED STATES

Kyrgyzstan

Austria

Prominent Politician Killed in Car Wreck.

Man Pleads Guilty in Incest, Captivity Case.

Medet Sadyrkulov, who had been President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s chief of staff before stepping down from that post in January, March 13 was reportedly killed in a car crash, which the Kyrgyz opposition claimed was an assassination. According to reports, Sadyrkulov’s sports utility vehicle,

Josef Fritzl March 18 pleaded guilty to all charges against him for imprisoning his daughter in his basement for 24 years, raping her repeatedly, holding captive four of the seven children she had by him and allowing an ailing infant son to die rather than seek medical treatment for him. The

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judge March 19 sentenced Fritzl, 73, to be held for life in a prison psychiatric ward, with no possibility of parole for at least 15 years. The trial was closed to the public and took place in the town of St. Pölten, west of the capital, Vienna. [See 2008, p. 295E3] Fritzl’s daughter, Elisabeth Fritzl, in April 2008 had escaped from captivity in his house in Amstetten, a town 80 miles (130 km) west of Vienna. She and her six surviving children, who had witnessed her being raped, had since been recovering under psychiatric care. Fritzl on the opening day of the trial March 16 had pleaded guilty to charges of rape, incest, false imprisonment and coercion, but not guilty to charges of negligent homicide and enslavement. He changed his plea to guilty to all charges after the court March 16–17 viewed 11 hours of videotaped testimony by his daughter, who reportedly appeared in court both days. She was now 42, having been 18 when he first imprisoned her. Fritzl March 18 said of the death of their infant son in 1996, “I should have recognized that the baby wasn’t doing well. I don’t know why I didn’t help. I hoped that he would pull through.” Fritzl and his wife had raised three of the children he fathered with their daughter. He had persuaded his wife that Elisabeth had run away to join a cult and abandoned the children. n

France Sarkozy Sets Return to NATO Command.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy March 11 formally announced that France would rejoin the military command structure of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for the first time since President Charles de Gaulle withdrew France from the command in 1966. [See 2008, p. 474F3] De Gaulle had pulled France out of NATO’s command, and ordered U.S. forces out of France, in protest of what he viewed as the U.S.’s excessive influence in NATO and in European affairs. However, France had remained a member of the alliance, and was one of its leading European contributors of troops and funds. More than 3,000 French troops were currently serving with NATO forces in Afghanistan. Sarkozy said, “Our strategy cannot remain stuck in the past when the conditions of our security have changed radically.” He insisted that France would retain its military independence, while gaining more influence in NATO. Sarkozy’s government March 17 opened the plan to debate in parliament and put itself to a vote of confidence. The National Assembly, the lower house of the French parliament, March 17 voted, 329– 238, to defeat a motion of no confidence in the government. The plan had drawn opposition both from the center-left opposition Socialist Party, and from some members of Sarkozy’s center-right Union for a Popular FACTS ON FILE

Movement (UMP), the modern descendant of the Gaullist political tradition. NATO was expected to give its formal approval to France’s return to a command role at the alliance’s 60th anniversary summit in April, to be cohosted by France and Germany in Strasbourg, France. n

Great Britain Rioters Protest Arrests in N. Ireland Killings.

Riots broke out March 14 in mostly Roman Catholic areas of the British province of Northern Ireland in response to the arrest of several suspects in the killings of two British soldiers and a policeman the previous week. Two splinter factions of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) had claimed responsibility for the attacks. The Real IRA said it had killed the soldiers and the Continuity IRA claimed to have killed the police officer. [See p. 154D3] Both splinter groups opposed the power-sharing provincial government in which Sinn Fein, the nationalist political party formerly linked to the IRA, had joined the mostly Protestant Democratic Unionist Party, which wanted the province to remain part of Britain. The power-sharing arrangement was based on the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement, which had been hailed as the end of three decades of sectarian violence. The IRA had announced in 2005 that it was disarming. Martin McGuinness, a former IRA leader who now served as deputy first minister of the government, March 10 had denounced the killers of the policeman, Constable Stephen Carroll, a Catholic, as “traitors to the island of Ireland.” He called for anyone with information about the killings to contact the police. That was viewed as an unprecedented condemnation by a republican leader for such a crime. Sinn Fein reportedly increased security for McGuinness after his remarks, in case of reprisals. In a display of unity and rejection of violence, both Catholic and Protestant leaders March 13 attended Carroll’s funeral in the town of Banbridge. Thousands of people, Catholics and Protestants, lined the route of the funeral procession. A total of nine suspects had been arrested through March 15 in connection with the two attacks. Four people were being held for the March 7 shooting of the two soldiers at a base in Antrim, northwest of Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, and five others for the killing of Carroll two days later in the town of Craigavon, southwest of Belfast. One of the suspects reportedly was Colin Duffy, 41, who was known as a longtime IRA commander. Riots erupted March 14 in the town of Lurgan after Duffy’s arrest that day. Gangs threw gasoline bombs at police and blocked a railroad line. In 1993, Duffy had been convicted of killing a British soldier, but the verdict was reversed on appeal. In 1997, he was accused of killing two police officers, but the charges were dropped after a witness recanted her testimony. n March 19, 2009

Latvia New Coalition Government Approved. The Latvian parliament March 12 voted, 67– 21, to approve a five-party center-right coalition government headed by former finance minister Valdis Dombrovskis. Dombrovskis, 37, was a member of the centerright New Era party (JL), and had been nominated as prime minister in February by Latvian President Valdis Zatlers. The previous government, headed by former Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis, had collapsed in February amid a global economic downturn that had crippled the exportbased Latvian economy and driven the country’s unemployment rate to 9.5% in February. Latvia’s gross domestic product (GDP) had grown at an average of 9% per year from 2000 to 2007, and contracted by 4.6% in 2008. It was expected to contract by as much as 12% in 2009. [See p. 117F1; 2002, p. 876D1] Dombrovskis’s coalition government— composed of JL, the People’s Party (TP), the Union of Latvian Greens and Farmers (ZZS), the Civic Union and For the Fatherland and Freedom/Latvian National Independence Movement (TB/LNNK)—was similar to the one Godmanis had headed, although JL had not been a coalition partner in that government. The new coalition, in a March 11 declaration, warned citizens that “our country is experiencing a systematic crisis” and that “in the near future, the state’s financial possibilities will be limitFACTS ON DOMBROVSKIS

Valdis Dombrovskis was born on Aug. 5, 1971, in Riga, the capital of Latvia, then part of the Soviet Union. In 1993 he received a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Latvia, and in 1995 he received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Riga Technical University. In 1996 he received a master’s degree in physics from the University of Latvia, and in 2007 he received a master’s degree in customs and tax administration from Riga Technical University. Dombrovskis had also studied in Germany and the U.S. In 1998, Dombrovskis accepted a position as a macroeconomic specialist for the Bank of Latvia’s monetary policy board. In 2001 he became the board’s chief economist. In 2002, Dombrovskis was elected to the Latvian parliament as a member of the center-right New Era (JL) party, and the same year became the country’s finance minister. He held that position until 2004, when he was elected to the European Parliament. Also in 2004, Dombrovskis became an adviser to Latvia’s minister of economics, and worked in that capacity until 2006. [See 2002, p. 876D1] Dombrovskis represented Latvia in the European Parliament until Ferbruary, when Latvian President Valdis Zatlers nominated him to become prime minister. The previous government, headed by Ivars Godmanis, had collapsed amid a global economic downturn that had crippled Latvia’s economy. Dombrovskis and the center-right coalition government he assembled March 12 were officially approved by the Latvian parliament. [See p. 173D2] Dombrovskis was married.

ed, and we must achieve a decrease in the state’s future expenditure.” Dombrovskis was expected to slash government spending and attempt to renegotiate the terms of a 7.5 billion euro ($9.5 billion) loan extended to Latvia in December 2008 by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and other donors. Only a small portion of those funds had been released. Under the current terms of the loan, Latvia was required to keep its budget deficit under 4.7% of its GDP. However, since the GDP was expected to decline sharply in 2009, Dombrovskis was expected to ask donors to revise the deficit ceiling to 7% of Latvia’s GDP. [See 2008, p. 984G2] n

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Netherlands Turkish Airlines Jet Crashes, Nine Killed.

A Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800 jet Feb. 25 crashed on its approach to Schiphol international airport outside Amsterdam, the Netherlands, killing nine of its 135 passengers and crew, including all three pilots. More than half of the survivors were injured. The airplane, Flight 1951, was bound for Amsterdam from Istanbul, Turkey. Most of the passengers were Turkish; more than 30 were Dutch. Of the dead, five were Turkish and four from the U.S. It was Turkish Airlines’ first fatal accident since 2003, and the first for any airline at Schiphol since 1994. [See 2003, p. 36E2] Dutch investigators March 4 released their preliminary findings, blaming the crash on a faulty radio altimeter, or altitude indicator. According to the report, the altimeter malfunctioned when the plane was at an altitude of about 2,000 feet (600 m) during its approach to Schiphol, incorrectly indicating that the plane was about to touch down. That caused the automatic pilot and throttle system to sharply slow both engines. The report said the altimeter had malfunctioned twice during the plane’s previous seven flights. According to the recovered cockpit recording, the crew received an automated warning of its apparent malfunction, but did not react to the stalling of the engines for more than a minute and a half. By then, it was too late to regain altitude and speed. The jet crashed in a field less than a mile (1.6 km) from the runway. n

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United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Feb. 19 reported that Iran had accumulated more low-enriched uranium than had previously been thought, and theoretically had enough to build an atomic bomb. However, the agency stressed that doing so would require further enrichment, a process that would require several highly public and lengthy steps. The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Michael Mullen, March 1 indi173

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cated that the U.S. agreed with the IAEA’s assessment. [See p. 86G1; 2008, p. 986D3] The IAEA reported that Iran had produced a total of 1,010 kilograms (2,227 lbs.) of low-enriched uranium, which Iran claimed would be used as fuel for civilian nuclear power generation. U.N. officials said that with further enrichment, Iran’s uranium stockpile could be processed into over 20 kilograms of fissile material, enough to build a single atomic bomb. However, they said that in order to do that, Iran would have to overhaul its enrichment facility at Natanz, a process that would take months, and would also have to expel international inspectors and withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. They added that countries generally waited until they had enough low-enriched uranium for several weapons before attempting to enrich it further. The IAEA said Iran had 839 kilograms of low-enriched uranium when the agency performed its annual inspection in November 2008, and between then and the end of January had enriched a further 171 kilograms. It had previously reported that Iran had 630 kilograms in November 2008. U.N. officials attributed the discrepancy to initial Iranian estimates being lower than the observed amount. They dismissed suggestions that Iran might have moved some uranium into a secret location for enrichment into fissile material. The report also said the Natanz plant had a total of 4,000 centrifuges enriching uranium, up from 3,800 in November 2008, and that it had 1,600 more centrifuges in reserve. IAEA Director General Mohammad ElBaradei Feb. 17 had said that Iran could have added more centrifuges, but had made “a political decision” not to. However, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Gholam-Reza Aghazadeh, Feb. 25 said Iran had 6,000 centrifuges installed at Natanz. Mullen, in response to a question March 1 on the Cable News Network (CNN) show “State of the Union” on whether Iran had enough low-enriched uranium to make a bomb with further processing, said, “We think they do, quite frankly.” The U.S. and the IAEA had previously disagreed over the extent of the Iranian nuclear program’s progress. However, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates the same day said Iran was “not close to a stockpile” of nuclear weapons. He also called for diplomatic efforts to convince Iran to give up its nuclear program, and said the low price of oil and worldwide economic turmoil could enhance the effects of sanctions against Iran. U.S. President Barack Obama had offered to hold direct talks with Iran. The Israeli chief of military intelligence, Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin, March 8 warned that Iran had “crossed the threshold” and was capable of producing a nuclear weapon. However, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair March 10 told the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee that “Iran has not decided to press forward…to have a nuclear weapon on top of a ballistic missile,” and said Iran would 174

need at a minimum until 2010–15 to produce enough highly enriched uranium for a single weapon. He said Israel was taking “more of a worst-case approach to these things from their point of view.” Nuclear Reactor Tested—Iran Feb. 25 started a long-delayed test of a nuclear power plant being built at the southwestern port of Bushehr. Aghazadeh said the process, which would use lead instead of uranium in a “virtual fuel-injection test,” would take four to seven months. Iran’s official IRNA news agency said the plant’s construction, by Russian state-owned contractor Atomstroiexport, was almost complete. Russia would supply the nuclear fuel for the plant, and would dispose of the spent fuel so it could not be used to produce nuclear weapons. [See 2008, p. 93E3] n Khatami Drops out of Presidential Race.

Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami March 17 said he would drop out of the country’s presidential race and support another opposition candidate, former Prime Minister Mir Hussein Moussavi. Moussavi March 10 had announced his candidacy for the June election, in which he would presumably face President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who had indicated that he would seek re-election. [See p. 86C3; 1989, p. 615C3] Moussavi had been prime minister from 1981 to 1989, but had since avoided political activity. He was well-regarded for his leadership during the 1980–88 Iran-Iraq War, and was a critic of Ahmadinejad’s economic policies. However, he supported the clerical domination of Iran’s government and the country’s nuclear program, and was considered the only prominent opposition candidate capable of attracting conservatives dissatisfied with Ahmadinejad’s administration. Analysts had said that Iran’s reform movement was employing a “three-general” strategy, in which Khatami, Moussavi, and a third reformist candidate—cleric Mehdi Karroubi—would run separate campaigns until May. At that point, the two trailing candidates would drop out and back the candidate with the most support. However, at a meeting March 16 between Khatami and Moussavi, Moussavi said he would not quit the race. Khatami, a reformist cleric who had served two terms as president from 1997 to 2005, said he would instead drop out so as not to split the opposition vote. He said that despite their policy differences, Moussavi “will defend the fundamental rights and freedoms of people and the country’s international reputation.” n

Iraq U.S. Downs Iranian Drone in Iraqi Airspace.

U.S. military officials March 16 said that U.S. warplanes Feb. 25 had shot down an “Iranian unmanned aerial vehicle” in Iraqi airspace. It was the first time the U.S. had acknowledged downing an Iranian drone. The incident was seen as a potentially complicating factor in relations between the

U.S. and Iran. U.S. President Barack Obama had indicated a willingness to hold direct talks with Iran. [See pp. 156A1, 101B3] U.S military spokesman Col. James Hutton said the drone had been shot down about 60 miles (100 km) northeast of Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, relatively near the Iran-Iraq border. However, he said the drone had not crossed the border by accident, and that the U.S. had observed it for one hour and 10 minutes before taking action. The drone was reportedly an Ababil 3 aircraft equipped with video cameras and transmission equipment and controlled by a pilot on the ground. Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Muhammad al-Askari said Iraq’s airspace security remained the U.S.’s responsibility under a U.S.-Iraqi security agreement, and that the presence of the drone 80 miles into Iraqi territory was “illegal.” An unidentified Iraqi defense ministry official said the U.S. had informed the Iraqi government of the incident on March 15. U.S. military officials reportedly told Iraq that the drone might have been scouting routes for Iran to smuggle weapons into Iraq. The U.S. had accused Iran of supplying weapons to Shiite Muslim militias in Iraq that attacked U.S. and Iraqi forces, but recently was thought to have halted that support. However, media reports suggested that it might also have been spying on an Iranian opposition group—the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran, or Mujaheddin-e Khalq (MEK)—which had taken refuge in Iraq near where the drone was shot down. The Iraqi government, which had taken over security responsibility for the MEK’s Camp Ashraf from the U.S. at the beginning of 2009, had vowed to expel the group from the country. MEK spokespeople said Iraqi troops March 13 had surrounded the camp, and were preventing food and supplies from being brought in. [See p.101B1] Bush Shoe-Thrower Jailed for Three Years—

A Baghdad court March 12 convicted Muntader al-Zaidi, an Iraqi journalist who in December 2008 had thrown his shoes at then–U.S. President George W. Bush in protest during a press conference in Baghdad, and sentenced him to three years in prison. Zaidi proclaimed his innocence, and added, “It was a natural reaction to the crimes of the occupation.” [See p. 118D1] Zaidi had originally faced a charge of assault of a foreign head of state, which carried a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. However, the prosecutor asked that the charge be reduced to assault of an official during the execution of his duties, which had a maximum penalty of three years. Zaidi’s actions had made him a folk hero throughout the Arab world, and his family members and supporters condemned the court’s decision as unnecessarily harsh. Some observers expected that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki would pardon Zaidi after he had served part of his sentence. Lawyers for Zaidi said they would appeal the verdict. FACTS ON FILE

Other News—In other Iraqi news:

Stuart Bowen Jr., the U.S. special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction (SIGIR), March 16 reported that the U.S. had returned to the Iraqi government more than $13 million in reconstruction funds that had been “improperly held” by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. According to the SIGIR investigation, the Army Corps in 2006 had not returned unused funds from a $1.5 billion electrical infrastructure project as required, but had directed contractors to submit unjustified claims so it could retain control of the money. Bowen said that according to the U.S. Justice Department, no crimes had been committed. [See p. 23D2] o Iraqi President Jalal Talabani March 13 said that he was not planning to seek reelection. Talabani made the announcement during an interview with the Iranian staterun Press TV television network, while on a visit to Tehran, Iran’s capital. However, aides cautioned that his decision hadn’t been formalized. Talabani’s term would last until the Iraqi parliament chose a new president, a move expected in spring 2010. Talabani, a Kurd, had worked to resolve sectarian disputes since he became president in 2005, and strong competition was expected between Kurds and Sunni Muslims to replace him. (Prime Minister Maliki was a Shiite.) o Gunmen in Anbar province, west of Baghdad, March 13 killed six men who had recently been released from the U.S.-run Camp Bucca detention facility in the southwestern Basra province. According to the victims’ relatives, they had fled their homes in Baiji, north of Baghdad, but had been abducted and killed by local police in revenge for crimes they had allegedly committed when they were insurgents. n o

SOUTH ASIA

Pakistani Supreme Court Chief Justice Chaudhry Reinstated Follows Protests by Government Opposition.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani March 16 in a televised address to the nation announced that ousted Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry would be restored to his position March 21. The announcement was a capitulation to protesters who for nearly a week had staged demonstrations across the country calling for Chaudhry’s reinstatement. Prior to the announcement, the government of President Asif Ali Zardari since March 11 had arrested hundreds of protesters and imposed a ban on political rallies. [See p. 138F1] The protests were sparked by a February Supreme Court ruling that had barred former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from holding political office. The court had also barred Sharif’s brother, Shahbaz Sharif, from holding office, leading the government to dismiss him as chief minister of Punjab, and place the region under executive control. Punjab, located in eastern Pakistan, was the most populous of the country’s four provinces, and Nawaz Sharif’s March 19, 2009

opposition party, the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N), enjoyed strong support there. The court ruling was seen as a power grab by Zardari, and Sharif immediately joined forces with a lawyers’ movement that had demanded an independent judiciary and the reinstatement of Chaudhry, who had been ousted from his position in March 2007 (and again in November 2007 after a brief reinstatement) by then-President Pervez Musharraf. Musharraf—who had originally taken power in a 1999 coup, when he was chief of the army—had reportedly been concerned that Chaudhry would raise legal challenges to his rule. Chaudhry’s ouster led to a wide public backlash against Musharraf, eventually culminating in his resignation in 2008. [See 2008, p. 565A1] Since being elected president in September 2008, Zardari, head of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), had not reinstated Chaudhry, as he had pledged to do. Critics said Zardari was concerned that Chaudhry could revive corruption charges against him that had been dropped under a 2007 amnesty agreement with Musharraf. Rifts over Chaudhry’s status had led to a break between the PPP and the PML-N in August 2008, leading to the collapse of their parliamentary coalition. [See 2008, p. 596G1] Gillani’s March 16 announcement came as thousands of protesters from different cities were converging on Islamabad, the capital, to agitate for the reinstatement of Chaudhry and dozens of other judges ousted by Musharraf. Observers said the protests also reflected broad dissatisfaction with Zardari’s government, which had failed to stem a rise in terrorist attacks and rehabilitate Pakistan’s slumping economy. [See p. 137E3; 2008, p. 890F3] Gillani March 16 said all the judges would be restored to their former positions. He said the Supreme Court would review its rulings against the Sharif brothers. He also said opposition supporters arrested in recent days would be released, and that the ban on rallies would be lifted. Gillani the following day said he supported ending executive control of Punjab. The March 16 announcement was followed by jubilant celebrations across the country, in what was seen as a rare victory for the judiciary in Pakistan, where leaders had long stacked the Supreme Court with cronies. Nawaz Sharif that day said, “From here, God willing, the fate of this nation will change. From here, a journey of development will start. From here, a revolution will come.” Protesters Arrested, Rallies Banned—

The government March 11 began cracking down on PML-N supporters and members of the lawyers’ movement, arresting as many as 400 people and imposing a ban on rallies in Punjab and Sindh province, a PPP stronghold. The crackdown was a bid to head off a planned “long march” by protesters to Islamabad, which was to start the following day in various cities, including Lahore in Punjab, Karachi in Sindh and Quetta in Baluchistan province. Clashes between protesters and police March 11 were reported in various cities.

Information Minister Sherry Rehman March 11 said the measures were “unfortunate,” but necessary to prevent “open rebellion.” The PML-N had staged several rallies in the preceding days at which Sharif had called for a “revolution.” Arrests and clashes between police and protesters continued March 11–15 in Punjab, Sindh and Baluchistan. Security was bolstered on highways leading to Islamabad, and the army was put on high alert. The government March 13 halted the transmission of Geo, one of several independent television channels that had broadcast the events. Observers said the government crackdown was reminiscent of authoritarian steps taken by Musharraf in 2007 to solidify his control of the country. [See 2007, p. 725A1] Senior members of the PPP also grew critical of the crackdown, particularly those loyal to slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Bhutto, a revered leader in PPP circles, had been assassinated in December 2007, and Zardari, her husband, then took charge of the PPP. Zardari was reported not to have made any public appearances during the protests, and observers said he had ensconced himself in the presidential residence due to fears for his personal security. Rehman March 13 abruptly resigned from her position in an apparent protest of the government’s attempts to block Geo’s transmission. [See 2007, p. 857A1] The government March 14 tried to compromise with the PML-N, saying it would ask the Supreme Court to reconsider its rulings against the Sharif brothers. But they reportedly rejected the offer because the government did not commit to reinstating Chaudhry and the other judges. Police March 15 placed Nawaz Sharif under house arrest in Lahore, but he and a convoy of vehicles later that day tore through the barricades and began the 185mile (300-km) journey to Islamabad along with thousands of chanting protesters. In an indication that Zardari’s control was eroding, police officers began to withdraw from demonstration sites when Sharif broke his house arrest, after clashing with PML-N supporters earlier in the day.

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Pakistani Army, U.S., Britain Involved—

Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani, head of the Pakistani army, was in frequent contact with Zardari and Gillani, as were U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and Richard Holbrooke, the U.S.’s special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan. Kiyani and the Western diplomats all reportedly pushed for a peaceful resolution to the standoff. The diplomats also maintained frequent contact with Sharif. Kiyani was reportedly unwilling to order army forces to clamp down on the protesters, and had urged the government to concede to the opposition’s demands. The army was a powerful arbiter in Pakistani affairs, although Kiyani was thought to prefer keeping the army and government separate, following nine years of military control under Musharraf. The U.S. was reportedly concerned that increased political instability in Pakistan 175

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would prevent the government from confronting Islamic extremist militants who operated in the country’s northwest tribal areas, and were considered a threat to U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) troops stationed in neighboring Afghanistan. The U.S. reportedly informed Pakistan that it could not justify sending a planned $1.5 billion in aid to the country if the country was caught in political turmoil. [See p. 103B1] Holbrooke March 16 said Zardari’s compromise was a “statesmanlike act” that was a “substantial step toward national reconciliation.” However, Zardari’s clout was thought to have been badly damaged by the episode. n

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NFC Wins NFL Pro Bowl. The National Football Conference (NFC) Feb. 8 defeated the American Football Conference (AFC), 30–

21, to win the Pro Bowl, the annual all-star game of the National Football League (NFL), in Honolulu, Hawaii. The NFC had also won in 2008. [See 2008, p. 114E3] Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald—a standout in his team’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl one week earlier—caught five passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns in the Pro Bowl, and was named the game’s most valuable player (MVP). [See p. 70B1] Other News—In other NFL news: o The NFL Players Association (NFLPA), the players’ union, March 15 selected DeMaurice Smith, a Washington, D.C., criminal defense lawyer, as its new executive director. He succeeded Gene Upshaw, who had died in August 2008. (Richard Berthelsen had been running the union on an interim basis.) Smith, 45, who had no prior experience in labor law or sports, beat former NFL players Troy Vincent and Trace Armstrong and lawyer David Cornwell in a vote by player representatives. Smith would be in charge of negotiating a new contract for the 2011 season, after NFL owners in May 2008 had opted out of the current deal. [See 2008, p. 668D1] o The Dallas Cowboys March 5 announced that they had released star wide receiver Terrell Owens. Owens March 7 signed a one-year contract with the Buffalo Bills that was worth a guaranteed $6.5 million. Although Owens, 35, had reportedly clashed with teammates and coaches during the 2008 season, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones March 11 said the team had released him in order to give the Cowboys’ other receivers more opportunities to play. [See 2006, p. 1035D3] o The New England Patriots Feb. 28 announced that they had traded quarterback Matt Cassel and linebacker Mike Vrabel to the Kansas City Chiefs for a second-round (34th overall) pick in the 2009 draft. Cassel had led the Patriots to a record of 11 wins and five losses in 2008, after taking over as the team’s starter when Tom Brady suffered a serious knee injury in the first game 176

of the season. Analysts said the deal indicated that the Patriots were confident that Brady would fully recover from the injury in time for the 2009 season. [See p. 160E2; 2008, p. 667E2] o The Washington Redskins Feb. 27 signed Pro Bowl defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth to a seven-year contract that could be worth as much as $115 million. The deal included an NFL-record $41 million in guaranteed money. [See 2006, p 1035D3] o New York Jets quarterback Brett Favre Feb. 11 announced his retirement for the second time in less than a year. Favre, 39, in August 2008 had emerged from retirement to join the Jets, after retiring from the Green Bay Packers in March. [See 2008, p. 667G2] o The Chiefs Feb. 6 hired Cardinals offensive coordinator Todd Haley as their new head coach. He replaced Herman Edwards, who was fired in January. [See p. 55F2] o The Oakland Raiders Feb. 3 officially made Tom Cable the team’s head coach. Cable had taken the job on an interim basis after the Raiders fired Lane Kiffin in September 2008. [See 2008, p. 992F2] o Six people Jan. 31 were elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio: late wide receiver Bob Hayes; guard Randall McDaniel; defensive end Bruce Smith, late linebacker Derrick Thomas; cornerback and safety Rod Woodson; and Bills owner Ralph Wilson Jr. [See 2008, p. 668A1] n

ARTS & SCIENCES

UNITED STATES

People Former U.S. first lady Barbara Bush, 83, March 13 was discharged from Houston, Texas’s Methodist Hospital, nine days after open-heart surgery to repair her aortic valve. In November 2008, a small tear in her bowel had been surgically repaired at the same hospital. [See 2008, p. 891D2] Fans of the Vermont-based rock-androll jam band Phish March 6 got to hear the four-member group live for the first time since August 2004 when the group performed at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Va. It was the first of three sold-out weekend shows at that 13,800-seat venue, to be followed by a large-scale tour, also already sold out. The group, which in 2004 had said it was breaking up for good, had decided to reunite in September 2008. Hampton-area police March 9 claimed to have confiscated about $1.2 million worth of illegal drugs from Phish music fans over the weekend. [See 2004, p. 415F1] Jack Valenti, who had been Hollywood’s chief lobbyist for nearly four decades (1966–2004) after serving as a special assistant to U.S. President Lyndon Johnson (D), had been the target of a secret Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) probe into his sexuality, the Washington Post reported Feb. 19. The Post said that in 1964, while Valenti was still at the White House, the FBI had investigated whether he had been sexually involved with a male

commercial photographer, one of numerous investigations of the personal lives of prominent personalities by the agency under then-Director J. Edgar Hoover. The probe, which began two years after Valenti married Johnson’s personal secretary, was reportedly quickly dropped after the photographer told the FBI that he and Valenti had never had sex. Valenti died in 2007 at the age of 85. [See 2007, p. 288B3] n

O B I T UA R I E S FEHN, Sverre, 84, Norwegian architect who won the most prestigious award in his field, the Pritzker Architecture Prize, in 1997, becoming the first Scandinavian architect to do so; most of his completed designs were in Norway, whose northern landscapes helped inspire his work; born Aug. 14, 1924, in Kongsberg, Norway; died Feb. 23 at a retirement home in Oslo, Norway. [See 1997, p. 895C2] PURDY, James Otis, 94, reclusive author of novels, short stories and plays whose hallucinatory quality militated against their becoming commercially successful; his work, which included the novels Malcolm (1959) and Eustace Chisholm and the Works (1967), often frustrated mainstream book reviewers but was lavished with praise by such literary lights as Dame Edith Sitwell, Susan Sontag, Edward Albee (who adapted Malcolm for the stage) and Gore Vidal; openly gay for most of his life, he dealt with homosexuality, either implicitly or explicitly, to a significant degree; born July 17, 1914, near Hicksville, Ohio; died March 13 at a hospital in Englewood, N.J., after years of declining health. [See 1966, p. 176E2] RICHARDSON, Natasha Jane, 45, British-born actress, resident in New York City since the 1990s, who was a member of Britain’s illustrious Redgrave acting family, which included, among others, Sir Michael Redgrave (her maternal grandfather), Vanessa Redgrave (her mother) Lynn Redgrave (her aunt) and Joely Richardson (her sister); she began acting at the age of four, being cast as an extra by her father, director Tony Richardson, in his film The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968); her first prominent role was in a 1985 London production of Anton Chekhov’s classic play The Seagull; later, she starred on Broadway in a revival of the musical Cabaret, winning a 1998 Tony Award for her portrayal of the show’s female lead, Sally Bowles; she was also known for her work in films, including the title role in Patty Hearst (1988), and roles in The Comfort of Strangers (1990) and The Parent Trap (1998); since 1994, she had been married to actor Liam Neeson, her co-star in a 1993 Broadway revival of Eugene O’Neill’s play Anna Christie, and the father of her two sons; born May 11, 1963, in London; died March 18 at a New York hospital, after being taken off life support; she died two days after falling and hitting her head on a ski trail at the Mont Tremblant resort near Montreal, Canada; she initially seemed to be in good shape, but her condition soon deteriorated, and she was treated at a Montreal hospital before being flown to New York for further treatment March 17. New York’s chief medical examiner March 19 said an autopsy revealed a brain hemorrhage as the cause of death. [See 2005, p. 379D2; 2003, p. 416D3; Indexes 1998–99, 193, 1990, 1987–88] SALIH, Tayeb, 80, Sudanese-born novelist resident in Britain for most of his life; his novel The Season of Migration to the North (1966), dealing to a large extent with the clash between Eastern and Western values, was proclaimed in 2001, by the Damascus, Syria–based Arab Literary Academy, to be the most important 20th-century novel in Arabic; born July 12, 1928, in Karmakol, Sudan (then a British colony); died Feb. 18 in London. SILVER, Ron(ald Arthur), 62, actor and political activist; his many film roles included his portrayal of attorney Alan Dershowitz in Reversal of Fortune (1990), based on Dershowitz’s book of the same name, about a high-profile attempted-murder case; on Broadway, he turned in a Tony Award–winning performance as a repulsive Hollywood film producer in David Mamet’s Speed-the-Plough (1988); he also often appeared on television; in the political realm, he was a firm believer in liberal and Democratic causes until after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which turned him into a Republican, and a strong supporter of the presidency of George W. Bush; born July 2, 1946, in New York City; died March 15 at his New York home, of esophageal cancer, diagnosed in 2007. [See 2008, p. 912F3; 1994, p. 743G3; Indexes 1986–90, 1983–84] n

March 19, 2009

U.S. Treasury Outlines Plan for Purchase of Up To $1 Trillion in Banks’ Troubled Assets Public Financing to Reduce Private Investors’ Risk Markets Jump in Response. The U.S. Trea-

sury Department March 23 released details of its plan to shore up the financial system by helping banks sell mortgage-related assets that had collapsed in value after the bursting of a housing market bubble beginning in 2006. The so-called toxic assets were weighing down banks’ balance sheets and making them reluctant to issue new loans, freezing credit markets and hindering a recovery from the nation’s current economic recession. The plan was intended to encourage private investors to purchase the so-called toxic assets by creating public-private partnerships in which they would receive extensive government financing and share eventual profits on the investments with the government, but face very limited losses in the case of investments that turned out to be bad. [See pp. 161A1, 76A3] The plan represented the U.S. government’s latest proposal for disposing of the troubled assets. Under then-President George W. Bush, the Treasury in 2008 had proposed a $700 billion plan to do so, but most of the funds were used instead to shore up banks by taking capital stakes in them. After President Barack Obama took office in January, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in February had announced an outline of the Obama administration’s proposal for disposing of toxic assets that was seen as vague and inspiring little confidence that the administration had a well-thought-out plan. Reaction to the fleshed-out program was much more positive, and U.S. stock indexes shot up on news of the plan. Although major banks were initially noncommittal about their plans to participate in the scheme, some major investment companies indicated that they intended to make asset purchases. However, some critics said that the plan offered excessively favorable terms to investors, at taxpayers’ likely expense, and others warned that it was too limited in its scope. [See below] Nonetheless, the positive response in financial markets was something of a reprieve for Geithner and the Obama administration. The previous week, they had borne some of the brunt of an outburst of political rage over the government’s previous actions to rescue financial institutions. The furor centered on millions of dollars in bonuses paid out by bailed-out insurance giant American International Group Inc. (AIG) to top employees after it had been rescued by the government in 2008. Geithner in testimony to Congress March 24 and 26 outlined proposals to give the government greater regulatory power over nonbank financial institutions. The administration said such powers would have given it the ability to determine AIG’s use of the money it had been given, and would have helped prevent AIG and other institutions from reaching the point where the government had to step in to save them or risk a broader collapse in the financial system. [See p. 178A2]

Details of the Plan—The Treasury plan,

called the Public-Private Investment Program, would allow for the purchase of between $500 billion and $1 trillion in toxic assets, which the Treasury dubbed “legacy assets,” through partnerships known as Public-Private Investment Funds. One part of the plan would address securities that were backed by real-estate loans, and another part concerned banks’ books of actual loans. In the “legacy loans program,” the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) would hold auctions in which private investors would bid for pools of loans that banks offered for sale. The bank would take a loss on the difference between the loans’ face value and the winning bid. The Treasury and the FDIC would finance up to 85% of the price for the winning bidder; the purchaser would put up half the remainder, and the Treasury the other half. In a hypothetical example furnished by the Treasury, a loan pool with a face value of $100 might fetch $84 in an auction. Of that, an investor would have to put up $6, and the Treasury would provide an equal amount, and the FDIC would lend $72. The FDIC financing would be in the form of “nonrecourse” loans, meaning they were secured only by the purchased assets as the collateral. The private investors would manage the loans under FDIC oversight. But in cases where the loans went bad, the FDIC would take ownership of them, and the private investors would face the loss of no more than their own initial $6. In the “legacy securities program,” the Treasury would approve five private assetmanagement companies to raise private capital for investment in troubled securities. The government would match private investment dollar-for-dollar, and the Treasury would provide a loan equal to between 50% and 100% of that total equity investment. The private investors and the government would share the returns on the securities. In the Treasury’s example, $100 from private investors would go toward the purchase of $300–$400 in securities, with the matching government investment and the Treasury lending. The Treasury and the Federal Reserve would offer as much as another $1 trillion in financing for purchases of troubled securities through their joint Term AssetBacked Securities Loan Facility (TALF). That would be a use of TALF different from what was envisioned when it was created in 2008, which was to encourage new lending by financing newly issued loan-backed securities. The Treasury would use $75 billion to $100 billion out of the funds still remaining from the $700 billion appropriated for the initial financial rescue package, the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Using $100 billion would leave only $12 billion in the TARP fund for future emergencies.

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Volume 69, No. 3562 March 26, 2009

B The plan’s heavy reliance on the Federal Reserve and the FDIC was widely seen as due in part to the fact that those institutions could act without congressional approval, allowing the administration to avoid seeking new appropriations from Congress at a time of heightened skepticism about assistance to the financial sector. The Obama administration had leaked aspects of the plan in the days preceding its official unveiling. The terms of the final plan reportedly offered private investors a greater potential share of the returns on the troubled assets than earlier versions had, raising the maximum to 50%, from 20%. The administration reportedly denied suggestions that the change had been made in an effort to build support for the plan among investors, and asserted that it would reduce the risk borne by taxpayers.

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MAJOR STORIES IN THIS ISSUE U.S. Treasury outlines plan for purchase of up to $1 trillion in banks’ troubled assets; public financing to reduce private investors’ risk. PAGE 177

U.S. Treasury Secretary Geithner proposes regulatory overhaul. PAGE 178

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U.S. President Obama sends video message to Iran. PAGE 179

Obama defends budget at news conference. PAGE 181

Madagascar’s military-appointed president sworn in. PAGE 184

U.S. increases Mexico border security. PAGE 185

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Chinese parliament session focuses on economy. PAGE 186

Czech prime minister resigns after noconfidence vote. PAGE 188

Hungarian prime minister resigns amid financial crisis. PAGE 188

Israel’s Netanyahu assembles governing coalition. PAGE 189

Japan wins second straight World Baseball Classic. PAGE 190

REFERENCES in brackets give location of background information in this & preceding volumes.

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Reaction—Stock markets posted their biggest gains in months following the release of the plan, led by shares in major banks, whose stockholders potentially stood to benefit. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 497.48 points for the day, or 6.84%, to 7,775.86. The Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 index rose 54.38 points, or 7.1%, to 822.92, and the Nasdaq was up 98.50, or 6.8%, to 1,555.77. The gains were aided also by data released that day showing a slight gain in existing-home sales for January, which some took as a harbinger of a reversal in the housing market’s decline. [See p. 183C1] However, in contrast to the stock market, credit markets showed little immediate indication of loosening. A number of major asset-management companies indicated their satisfaction with the program and their willingness to participate, among them BlackRock Inc., Legg Mason Inc. and Pacific Investment Management Co. (Pimco), a major buyer of bonds. Pimco Co–Chief Investment Officer Bill Gross called it a “win-win-win policy,” good for his firm, its clients and taxpayers in general. However, some investors reportedly expressed wariness about potential political entanglements that might come with joining the program, suggesting that if they realized substantial profits, they might become the targets of anger similar to that directed at beneficiaries of government aid such as AIG. Also, the prospects for banks’ participation in the program were not immediately clear. Although the program was intended to aid the country’s major banks by raising the prices of the toxic assets, the sales would still require banks to mark down the value of the assets and record resulting losses. That could threaten their capital levels, which were subject to special monitoring under a program of “stress tests” to determine whether they would be forced to either raise private investment or accept additional public stakes. Although the Treasury suggested that the program’s structure was designed to arrive at a proper price for the troubled assets, some critics of the plan said it would work only by encouraging investors to pay artificially inflated prices for them, at taxpayer expense. Some suggested that direct government capital injections in banks did a better job of guaranteeing that taxpayers would benefit from the banks’ renewed prosperity. Others said the proposal, limited by the political infeasibility of obtaining more congressional funding, avoided facing the full extent of banks’ losses, and was too small relative to the actual magnitude of the toxic assets on banks’ books. Some suggested that banks’ problems were so great that it would inevitably be necessary to take more drastic measures such as temporary nationalizations, in which the government would seize and restructure banks and then sell them off to private investors. Some of those critics pointed to Sweden’s handling of a banking crisis in the 1990s as a model for such a process. [See 1992, p. 717E1] n

Power to Seize Nonbanks Sought—

Other U.S. Economic News Geithner Proposes Regulatory Overhaul.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner March 26 outlined a proposal for “comprehensive reform” of the nation’s financial regulatory framework, calling for a new entity to oversee “systemic” risks to the financial system, and new government powers to regulate a wider range of financial institutions. In an ongoing financial crisis, a housing market collapse had threatened to cause a global meltdown due to the proliferation through a wide range of financial institutions of intricate, often risky transactions based on mortgage loans. Advocates of increasing regulation said the crisis had revealed tremendous shortcomings in regulators’ current ability to assess the risks being taken by major financial institutions and to prevent problems from endangering the entire financial system. [See p. 177A1] Geithner described the proposals in testimony before the House Financial Services Committee; the regulatory overhaul he suggested would require federal legislation. Geithner said a single new independent agency should be established “with responsibility for systemic stability over the major institutions and critical payment and settlement systems.” It would have regulatory authority over nonbank institutions that currently faced little or no federal regulation, such as insurers, hedge funds and private-equity firms, if they were deemed to be “systemically important.” The agency would have the power to impose stricter capital requirements and rein in the risks they took. The 2008 near-collapse and government rescue of insurance giant American International Group Inc. (AIG) had highlighted the increasing role played by such institutions in the financial system. AIG had faced colossal losses on investments made in the credit default swap (CDS) market, where it underwrote insurance on assets backed by mortgages. The government had stepped in out of fear that AIG’s inability to cover its CDS obligations would have put many other large institutions in equal danger of collapse. Geithner also proposed expanding federal regulation over large hedge funds and private-equity firms, and financial instruments such as CDSs that were also often lightly regulated. He said, “Financial products and institutions should be regulated for the economic function they provide and the risks they present, not the legal form they take.” He said hedge funds and private-equity firms would have to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He also suggested that regulatory reform should take place in the context of “a global framework” of oversight. Geithner did not offer extensive details on the administration’s proposal. In response to lawmakers’ queries about how the power would be wielded, he cited the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), which had the power to take over failed banks, as a “model.”

Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke in testimony before the same committee March 24 had said that a new regulatory body should have the power to seize financial institutions besides banks. Geithner suggested that the Treasury be given such new authority, but Bernanke aid he thought the FDIC “or some other body” should have it. They both cited the AIG case, noting that even though the government had acquired a nearly 80% stake in AIG, it did not have the power to renegotiate contracts, including employees’, or determine how to best address the claims of AIG’s creditors and transaction counterparties, as the FDIC did when it seized a failed bank. They said that such powers would have allowed the government to prevent AIG from handing out $165 million in bonuses that had caused a political furor in recent days. [See p. 161A1] The government also might have been able to negotiate lower payments to some of AIG’s CDS counterparties. Bernanke was questioned about AIG’s use of money from the government to make payouts to other banks, many of them in Europe. He said that defaulting on the obligations would have caused “chaos in financial markets,” and pointed out that European institutions had used aid from their governments to satisfy U.S. creditors. Lawmakers pressed Bernanke and Geithner about how they let the bonuses be paid, although their remarks were generally less heated than in the previous week. Bernanke said he had considered filing a lawsuit to force AIG not to pay them, but had received legal advice about the risks of losing the case and owing additional damages to the AIG employees.

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Reaction—House Democrats were generally receptive to the reform proposals, but many Republicans warned against hasty action that might have unforeseen consequences. Some hedge fund managers questioned the need for greater regulation of their industry, saying it had not been a major factor in the recent financial crisis, and that many funds in practice were already subject to various forms of regulation, depending on the kinds of trading they conducted. Insurance industry groups also downplayed the extent to which AIG’s activities were representative of the industry as a whole, although some large insurers had long sought a federal regulatory framework. n

U.S. President Obama Sends Video Message to Iran Calls for Talks on ‘Full Range of Issues.’

U.S. President Barack Obama March 20 in a three-minute video address to the government and people of Iran called for a “new beginning” of diplomatic engagement “that addresses the full range of issues” between the two countries. The three-minute address, which had Farsi subtitles, was posted online and released to international broadcasters to coincide with the Persian New Year holiday of Nowruz. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, March 21 dismissed the message and called for U.S. policy changes rather than just rhetoric. [See pp. 173F3, 86G1] “My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us, and to pursuing constructive ties among the United States, Iran and the international community,” Obama

said in the message. “This process will not be advanced by threats. We seek instead engagement that is honest and grounded in mutual respect.” Obama said, “The United States wants the Islamic Republic of Iran to take its rightful place in the community of nations,” but added, “You have that right— but it comes with real responsibilities, and that place cannot be reached through terror or arms, but rather through peaceful actions that demonstrate the true greatness of the Iranian people and civilization.” Obama twice referred to Iran by its official name, the Islamic Republic of Iran, adopted in the 1979 revolution that precipitated a rupture in bilateral relations. Together with Obama’s disavowal of “threats,” it was seen as a sign that he would negotiate with Iran’s cleric-dominated government, rather than seek its overthrow. Former U.S. President George W. Bush in a 2008 Nowruz message had told the Iranian people that their country’s “regime” had caused their isolation from the rest of the world by continuing work on a nuclear program. Israeli President Shimon Peres March 20 also delivered a Nowruz message over Israel Radio’s Farsi-language channel, although it was aimed at the Iranian people and not the government. Peres called the Iranian government “a handful of religious fanatics [who] take the worst possible path” and said, “I think that the Iranian people will topple these leaders.” Some analysts said that the release of the message from Israel would reduce the potential positive impact of Obama’s address on U.S.Iranian relations. Khamenei in a speech in the Iranian holy city of Mashhad March 21 said of Obama’s overture, “They chant the slogan of change but no change is seen in prac-

TRANSCRIPT OF OBAMA’S ADDRESS TO IRAN

Following is the transcript of U.S. President Barack Obama’s March 20 video address to the government and people of Iran [See p. 179C1]: Today I want to extend my very best wishes to all who are celebrating Nowruz around the world. This holiday is both an ancient ritual and a moment of renewal, and I hope that you enjoy this special time of year with friends and family. In particular, I would like to speak directly to the people and leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Nowruz is just one part of your great and celebrated culture. Over many centuries your art, your music, literature and innovation have made the world a better and more beautiful place. Here in the United States our own communities have been enhanced by the contributions of Iranian Americans. We know that you are a great civilization, and your accomplishments have earned the respect of the United States and the world. For nearly three decades relations between our nations have been strained. But at this holiday we are reminded of the common humanity that binds us together. Indeed, you will be celebrating your New Year in much the same way that we Americans mark our holidays—by gathering with friends and family, exchanging gifts and stories, and looking to the future with a renewed sense of hope. Within these celebrations lies the promise of a new day, the promise of opportunity for our children, security for our families, progress for our communities, and peace between nations. Those are shared hopes, those are common dreams. So in this season of new beginnings I would like to speak clearly to Iran’s leaders. We have serious

March 26, 2009

differences that have grown over time. My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us, and to pursuing constructive ties among the United States, Iran and the international community. This process will not be advanced by threats. We seek instead engagement that is honest and grounded in mutual respect. You, too, have a choice. The United States wants the Islamic Republic of Iran to take its rightful place in the community of nations. You have that right—but it comes with real responsibilities, and that place cannot be reached through terror or arms, but rather through peaceful actions that demonstrate the true greatness of the Iranian people and civilization. And the measure of that greatness is not the capacity to destroy, it is your demonstrated ability to build and create. So on the occasion of your New Year, I want you, the people and leaders of Iran, to understand the future that we seek. It’s a future with renewed exchanges among our people, and greater opportunities for partnership and commerce. It’s a future where the old divisions are overcome, where you and all of your neighbors and the wider world can live in greater security and greater peace. I know that this won’t be reached easily. There are those who insist that we be defined by our differences. But let us remember the words that were written by the poet Saadi, so many years ago: “The children of Adam are limbs to each other, having been created of one essence.” With the coming of a new season, we’re reminded of this precious humanity that we all share. And we can once again call upon this spirit as we seek the promise of a new beginning. Thank you, and Eid-eh Shoma Mobarak [Happy New Year].

tice.” He called on the U.S. to discontinue sanctions on Iran and stop its “unconditional support” for Israel. However, he said to the U.S., “should you change, our behavior will change, too.” Iranian parliament Speaker Ali Larijani March 25 issued more pointed criticism of Obama’s statement, saying that Iran’s “problem with America is not an emotional problem that could be solved by sending congratulations.” He noted that problems between the two countries went back 30 years, and specifically cited the U.S.’s support of Iraq during the 1980–88 Iran-Iraq War. Larijani made his comments at a news conference in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf, after meeting with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq’s most powerful Shiite Muslim cleric. n

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Religion Pope Admits Rehabilitation Mistake. Pope

Benedict XVI, in a March 12 letter to Roman Catholic bishops, said his rehabilitation of dissident Bishop Richard Williamson, a Holocaust denier, had been an “unforeseen mishap.” Williamson had been excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church in 1988 after he was ordained a bishop by Marcel Lefebvre, founder of the ultraconservative Society of St. Pius X, without the Vatican’s consent. (The Society of St. Pius X rejected the liberalizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s.) His rehabilitation had caused an international outcry, and had reportedly led many Catholics to question both the astuteness of the Vatican’s bureaucracy and the Pope’s moral authority. [See p. 75D3] Benedict said he recognized that “the quiet gesture of extending a hand gave rise to a huge uproar, and thus became exactly the opposite of a gesture of reconciliation.” Williamson, in an interview broadcast on Swedish television in January, had said he believed that no Jews died in Nazi gas chambers. In the days prior to his rehabilitation, the interview had been widely viewed on the Internet. In his letter, Benedict repeated his claim that he had not known of Williamson’s views on the Holocaust when he rehabilitated him, and said he had “been told that consulting the information available on the Internet would have made it possible to perceive the problem early on…I have learned the lesson that in the future in the Holy See we will have to pay greater attention to that source of news.” However, Benedict also expressed dismay that “even Catholics, who should have been better able to understand” his purpose, had reacted with “open hostility.” Williamson had several times expressed regret for the fallout caused by his comments, but had not explicitly recanted his assertion that no Jews were killed in Nazi gas chambers, as the Vatican had ordered him to. Williamson’s current status within the Roman Catholic Church was unclear. WIlliamson Expelled From Argentina—

Williamson March 24 left Argentina for 179

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Britain, after Argentine officials Feb. 19 had ordered him to leave the country. Williamson had served as the director of an Argentine seminary until his dismissal from that post in February. The Argentine interior ministry cited a visa violation for its decision, and said Williamson’s views “profoundly insult Argentine society, the Jewish community and all of humanity by denying a historic truth.” At the airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina’s capital, Williamson reportedly raised his fist at a journalist and shoved him. n

sales and its 2003 invasion of Iraq. [See 2008, p. 980B1] Among positive developments cited in the report, the State Department found that Colombia had notably curbed the number of its human rights abuses in 2008. The report praised the implementation of judicial reforms, as well as increased investigations into ties between Colombian political figures and criminal and paramilitary organizations. It noted that the country’s kidnapping and murder rates had declined. [See 2008, p. 753C2] n

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OPEC

U.S. State Department Issues Annual Report.

Output Level Remains Steady. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) March 15 at a meeting in Vienna, Austria, left its oil production level unchanged, at 24.845 million barrels a day. However, it urged members to abide by their output quotas, in an attempt to stabilize prices. Crude oil prices March 16 closed at $47.35 on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), up $1.10 from the previous week, but still far below the July 3, 2008, high of $145.29. The next OPEC meeting was scheduled for May 28. [See 2008, p. 915G2] OPEC had pledged to cut production by 4.2 million barrels a day since September 2008. However, many countries had not abided by their quotas, and actual production remained about 800,000 barrels a day over the quota. The call for better compliance had been led by Saudi Arabia, which was responsible for half of the total production cuts even though it produced a third of the cartel’s oil output. OPEC President Chakib Khelil, also Algeria’s oil minister, said the cartel had refrained from further cutting production in order to not “make life more difficult for the G-20,” referring to the Group of 20 countries with the world’s largest economies, whose leaders were scheduled to meet in April to coordinate a response to the global economic crisis. U.S. President Barack Obama March 13 had called Saudi King Abdullah to discuss “the need to coordinate international efforts to restore economic growth,” according to U.S. officials. The U.S. had consistently opposed OPEC efforts to lower production and raise prices. However, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin addressed the OPEC meeting and warned that without higher prices, countries would not be able to make the investments in production that would ensure adequate oil supplies in the future. Russia was not a member of OPEC, but had developed close ties to the cartel. The Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) March 13 released a report saying that oil production from nonmembers of OPEC would remain flat in 2009. It projected that those countries would produce 50.6 million barrels a day, eliminating a previously forecast 380,000-barrel rise. The IEA said the adjustment was due to operational problems in Azerbaijan, as well as expected future problems caused by tight credit and falling demand for oil. n

The U.S. State Department Feb. 25 issued its yearly report tracking human rights abuses in countries around the world, highlighting deteriorating conditions in countries such as China, Russia, Zimbabwe and others, and improvements in Colombia. The report was intended to probe violations of civil, religious, political and other rights in foreign nations and had been compiled annually by the State Department since 1977. [See 2008, p. 176G3] According to the report, human rights abuses had escalated in the previous year in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where it estimated 45,000 people were killed each month in 2008 in fighting between the government and other armed groups. The report found that rape was endemic and that looting, extrajudicial detentions and torture were on the rise. [See 2008, p. 970E2] The report found increases in “unlawful” killings and abductions carried out by Russian government security forces in the republics of Dagestan, Ingushetia and Chechnya. In addition, the report pointed out the government’s failure to solve several recent murders of Russian journalists. [See 2008, p. 664C3] According to the report, the number of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe had grown “dramatically” during 2008, an increase that the report attributed to “systematic” abuses and corruption by the “illegitimate government.” The report criticized widespread violence against the country’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party and its supporters during the run-up to a presidential runoff election in June 2008. [See 2008, pp. 974E1, 425A1] The report found that human rights abuses in China, including mistreatment of human rights advocates and other activists, had risen significantly during protests in Tibet as well as the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China’s capital. China was also criticized for carrying out extrajudicial executions, imposing heavy restrictions on freedom of speech and cracking down on international nonprofit groups operating in the country, among other acts. China’s state-run news agency Feb. 26 issued a response to the report arguing that its authors had “willfully ignored and distorted basic facts” about China, and criticizing the U.S. for its international arms 180

U N I T ESTATES D S TAT E S UNITED

Federal Budget Deficit Forecast Grows for Obama Plan.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) March 20 released an analysis of President Barack Obama’s budget plan, projecting deeper long-term deficits than the White House had estimated in February. The CBO projections exceeded Obama’s by a total of $2.3 trillion over the next decade. [See p. 124A3] Obama had issued his plan in late February, pledging to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term in office, in 2013. The CBO projected that his budget proposals would come close to achieving that goal, but then would contribute to a steadily increasing deficit after 2013. The CBO estimated that Obama’s budget plan would lead to deficits averaging about $1 trillion a year over the next decade, or more than 4% of gross domestic product (GDP). White House Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag March 20 acknowledged that a deficit of that size would “not be sustainable.” The CBO projected a record deficit of $1.85 trillion, or about 13% of GDP, for the current fiscal year, which would end Sept. 30. That was $100 billion more than the White House forecast of a $1.75 trillion deficit. The CBO projected a $1.4 trillion deficit in fiscal year 2010, compared with the White House estimate of $1.2 trillion. The differences arose mainly because the CBO relied on economic assumptions that were less optimistic than those used by the White House. The CBO projected an average annual GDP growth rate of 2.5% over the next decade, compared to the White House estimate of 2.8%. The Blue Chip consensus estimate of private economists was 2.3%. The CBO found that Obama’s plan would increase federal spending to record levels, even after winding down measures to stabilize the financial system and revive economic growth. Republicans Seize on Figures—Republicans seized on the report to bolster their opposition to Obama’s budget plan. Sen. Judd Gregg (R, N.H.), the senior Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, March 20 said Obama’s plan would cause an “avalanche of debt that is poised to crush our economy.” Gregg had briefly been Obama’s nominee for commerce secretary in February, but withdrew due to what he said were differences over policy. [See p. 79E2] House Minority Leader John Boehner (R, Ohio) March 24 said Obama’s budget “may be the most irresponsible piece of legislation I’ve seen in my legislative career,” and “only makes the crisis we’re in worse.” Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D, N.D.) also said the CBO report raised concerns, adding that Congress would “have to make adjustments to the president’s budget if we want to keep the deficit on a downward trajectory.” FACTS ON FILE

Obama in a speech to state legislators at the White House March 20 said his aides were going “through the books line by line” to find unnecessary spending to cut. But he added, “What we will not cut are investments that will lead to real growth and real prosperity over the long term.” He referred specifically to his plans for health care, energy and education. Obama defended his budget again at a March 24 news conference. [See p. 181D2] The White House and the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the executive body of the Democratic Party, had called on an e-mail network of Obama volunteers from the 2008 presidential campaign to rally support for his budget plan. In a video message to those supporters, released March 21, Obama urged them to work “block by block and door by door.” Volunteers spent that day gathering signatures for a pledge backing his budget. The initiative was seen as an unusual attempt to reactivate a campaign machine for a legislative goal. Senate, House Unveil Draft Plans—The Democratic chairmen of the House and Senate Budget Committees March 24–25 unveiled their own nonbinding blueprints, known as budget resolutions. They were largely based on Obama’s plan, but called for trimming his spending proposals. Both congressional plans would meet Obama’s goal of cutting the current fiscal year’s deficit in half by 2013. Both congressional plans excluded Obama’s proposal to reserve $250 billion for further aid for the financial sector, and dropped Obama’s touted middle-class tax cut. They would allow spending for Obama’s top priorities of health care, energy and education reforms only if they did not increase the deficit. Conrad March 24 presented his draft, saying that it trimmed $608 billion from Obama’s blueprint over the next five years. Conrad dropped Obama’s plan for making permanent his payroll tax cut of $400 a year for individuals earning up to $75,000, or $800 a year for couples earning up to $150,000. Instead, Conrad would let the tax cut expire at the end of 2010, unless Obama could find other revenue to make up its cost. Conrad left out Obama’s proposal for a reserve fund of $634 billion to finance his plan to expand health insurance coverage. He also cut $160 billion from Obama’s proposal for overall nondefense spending over the next five years. Conrad assumed that the alternative minimum tax (AMT) would apply to millions more taxpayers in 2013 and 2014, bringing in much more revenue. Republicans called that a gimmick, pointing out that Congress had consistently acted in recent years to shield middle-class taxpayers from the spread of the AMT. Obama, unlike his predecessor, President George W. Bush, had not assumed substantial revenue growth from the AMT. The tax had originally been intended to apply to wealthy taxpayers, but had not been indexed for inflation. March 26, 2009

The committee March 26 voted, 13–10, on party lines, to approve the plan and send it to the full Senate. The House Budget Committee March 25 voted, 24–15, along party lines, to approve the version of the budget plan introduced by its chairman, Rep. John Spratt (D, S.C.), and send it to the full House. The plan was similar to Conrad’s, dropping Obama’s payroll tax cut and $250 billion bank bailout fund. The House version would reduce Obama’s proposed levels of nondefense spending by $7 billion in fiscal year 2010, compared with a $15 billion cut in the Senate version. Most of the House cut would affect international programs. The House plan would allow Democrats to use a procedural maneuver, known as “budget reconciliation,” to push through Obama’s health care and education initiatives in the Senate with 51 votes, instead of 60. That would allow the Democrats to overcome Republican filibusters. But it did not include another major initiative, Obama’s plan for capping emissions of greenhouse gases, in that strategy. Obama March 25 visited the Capitol to discuss the budget with the Senate Democratic caucus. White House Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag said the administration was “very pleased” with the House and Senate budget plans, which he called “fully in line with the president’s key priorities.” However, a newly formed group of 16 moderate Democratic senators was expected to press for further spending cuts when the full Senate debated the budget the following week. n

Obama Administration Obama Defends Budget at News Conference.

President Barack Obama March 24 held a White House news conference, defending his $3.6 trillion budget plan against criticism that it would increase the deficit to dangerous levels. Obama argued that his budget was a key part of his strategy to help the U.S. economy recover from the current recession. He said, “It’s a strategy to create jobs, to help responsible homeowners, to restart lending and to grow our economy over the long term. And we are beginning to see signs of progress.” [See pp. 180A3, 77D3] The prime-time news conference was Obama’s second since taking office in January. It lasted for nearly an hour. Obama struck back at Republican critics of his budget, saying they had “a short memory” because “as I recall, I’m inheriting a $1.3 trillion annual deficit from them.” But he also acknowledged that fellow Democrats in the House and Senate were moving to pare down the size of his spending plans and tax cuts. “We never expected when we printed out our budget that they would simply Xerox it and vote on it,” he said. He added that he would be able to pursue his priorities in separate legislation if any were left out of the congressional budget resolution. Obama said other countries should also increase their economic stimulus measures,

warning, “We don’t want a situation in which some countries are making extraordinary efforts and other countries aren’t, with the hope that somehow the countries that are making those important steps lift everybody up.” Leaders of the 27 member countries of the European Union had signaled that they opposed the U.S.’s calls for more stimulus spending. [See p. 188F2] Obama also faced questions about his administration’s response to a controversy over some $165 million in bonus payments to employees of insurer American International Group Inc. (AIG), which had received more than $170 billion in federal aid. The House had voted the previous week to impose a 90% income tax on the bonuses. [See p. 161A1] Asked why he had not immediately condemned the bonuses, Obama said, “It took us a couple of days because I like to know what I’m talking about before I speak.” In his opening remarks before taking reporters’ questions, he reiterated that he shared the outrage over the bonuses, but cautioned against excessive anger, saying, “The rest of us can’t afford to demonize every investor or entrepreneur who seeks to make a profit.” Obama, noting that he had only been in office for “a little over 60 days,” said it would take time and sustained effort to achieve his goals on initiatives including the pursuit of an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. “That whole philosophy of persistence, by the way, is one that I’m going to be emphasizing again and again in the months and years to come, as long as I am in this office,” he said, adding, “I’m a big believer in persistence.” Asked about the role of race in his presidency, Obama downplayed it. He said the U.S. had experienced “justifiable pride” over his becoming the first black president, “but that lasted about a day.” He added, “Right now, the American people are judging me the way I should be judged,” based on his progress in fixing the economy and keeping the nation safe. n

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Locke Confirmed as Commerce Secretary.

The Senate March 24, by voice vote, confirmed former Washington State Gov. Gary Locke (D), 59, to serve as commerce secretary. His confirmation came after President Barack Obama’s two previous choices for the post—New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) and Sen. Judd Gregg (R, N.H.)— had withdrawn their nominations. The commerce secretary’s wide-ranging responsibilities included managing the census, oceans and fisheries and some international trade policies. [See pp. 182A1, 112G3] Locke March 19 was unanimously endorsed for the post by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. At his confirmation hearing, held the previous day, Locke, who in 1997 had become the first Chinese-American governor in the U.S., pledged to ensure that the 2010 census was free from partisan meddling. (Statistics from the census were used to redraw congressional districts.) Locke also pledged to reduce the trade deficit, and asserted that while he supported free trade 181

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and would seek to open new markets, “we must enforce our trade agreements and place a high value on environmental, labor and safety standards.” n Kirk Confirmed as U.S. Trade Representative.

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The Senate March 18 voted, 92–5, to confirm former Dallas, Texas, Mayor Ronald Kirk (D), 54, as President Barack Obama’s nominee for U.S. trade representative. The Senate Finance Committee March 12 had approved Kirk’s nomination by voice vote. Kirk, who was black, was known for his pro-business stance and support for free trade. At his March 9 confirmation hearing, Kirk pledged to focus his attention on enforcing existing trade regulations on issues like environmental protection and labor rights. Trade policy under the previous administration of President George W. Bush had focused more on forging new free trade agreements. [See 2008, p. 936G1] In an apparent rebuke of the Bush administration, Kirk at his confirmation hearing asserted that he did not have “deal fever,” and added that he would not “do deals just for doing so.” He pledged to review pending bilateral free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea, which Bush had approved but Congress had not passed due to opposition from Democrats. He also indicated that he would have to balance free trade policies with growing calls for protectionist measures amid a recession. [See 2008, p. 952D2] The Senate Finance Committee March 2 had released a report that said Kirk had failed to pay $9,975 in taxes related to speaking fees from Austin College in Sherman, Texas. Kirk had for years requested that those fees be donated to a scholarship fund there in his name. According to the report, both Kirk and his tax preparer had erroneously believed that since the fees were donated, he did not have to pay taxes on them. The report also said Kirk had improperly deducted the cost of season tickets to the Dallas Mavericks National Basketball Association (NBA) team as a business expense. However, Kirk agreed to pay the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) what he owed, and subsequently sailed through confirmation votes by both the Senate Finance Committee and the full Senate. n Hamburg Tapped as FDA Commissioner.

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President Barack Obama March 14 named former New York City Health Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, 53, as his nominee for commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Obama also named Joshua Sharfstein, 39, the health commissioner for Baltimore, Md., as Hamburg’s top deputy. [See 2008, p. 966B2] The FDA in recent years had been roundly criticized for failing to ensure the safety of the country’s medicine supply, after several high-profile recalls of prescription drugs that were approved by the agency, and its inability to adequately regulate the medical device market. Scandals over imported Chinese-produced food products that had contained potentially toxic impurities, and a series of widespread food-borne illnesses, several of which were traced to 182

domestic sources, had also raised questions about its regulation of food safety. [See 95B3; 2007, pp. 753D1, 752D2] Both Hamburg and Sharfstein had reputations as health and safety advocates, and would be tasked with the oversight of an agency with an annual budget of more than $2 billion and about 11,000 employees. The FDA was responsible for regulating about $1 trillion worth of goods each year, including medicine, food, cosmetics and vitamins. Hamburg had served as New York City’s health commissioner from 1991 to 1997, when she left to become the assistant secretary for planning and evaluation at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) during the administration of President Bill Clinton. She would succeed Andrew von Eschenbach, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, who had been criticized for allowing political considerations to influence the actions of the FDA. Hamburg’s appointment required confirmation by the Senate. [See 2006, p. 952D3] Sharfstein had gained prominence after lobbying the FDA in 2007 to limit the use of over-the-counter cough and cold medications by children. He had also overseen Obama’s FDA transition team. [See 2007, p. 716C3] n Rooney Named Ambassador to Ireland.

President Barack Obama March 17 named Dan Rooney, owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL), as U.S. ambassador to Ireland. Rooney, 76, was a lifelong Republican but had endorsed Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign. He had long been an active supporter of the peace process in the British province of Northern Ireland. He was cofounder of the American Ireland Fund, which had raised more than $300 million for peace and education programs. His son, Art Rooney 2nd, had taken over the daily operation of the Steelers in 2002. The team had won Super Bowl XLIII in February for its sixth championship, an NFL record. [See p. 70B1] Obama March 17 also hosted Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen. The two leaders held a meeting and attended the annual St. Patrick’s Day reception at the White House. Obama praised the people of Northern Ireland for rejecting a return to sectarian violence after the killings of two soldiers and a policeman the previous week. “This peace will prevail, because the response of the people of Northern Ireland and their leaders to these cowardly attacks has been nothing short of heroic,” he said. [See p. 173B1] n Obama Regrets Disabled Joke on ‘Tonight.’

President Barack Obama March 19 traveled to Los Angeles to promote his budget plan at a town hall meeting and make a videotaped appearance on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” on NBC television. He became the first sitting president to appear on a late-night talk show. After the show, Obama hastily apologized to disabled people for a joke he had made comparing his own bowling skills to those of athletes in the Special Olympics. [See p. 181D2]

Obama told Leno that he had tried out the bowling alley in the White House and was disappointed with his performance. “It was like the Special Olympics or something,” he quipped, drawing laughter from the audience. After taping the show, and before it was broadcast, Obama telephoned Special Olympics Chairman Tim Shriver to apologize. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs March 20 said, “I know that the president believes that the Special Olympics are a triumph of the human spirit, and I think he understands that they deserve a lot better than the thoughtless joke that he made last night.” n

Economy Final 4th Quarter GDP Fall Put at 6.3%.

The Commerce Department March 26 reported that, according to its third and final estimate, gross domestic product (GDP) for the fourth quarter of 2008 had contracted at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.3% from the previous quarter. That was a revision from the department’s second, “preliminary” estimate, released in February, that the GDP had contracted by 6.2%. However, the final figure had fallen short of analysts’ expectations of a 6.5% decline. [See p. 128F2] The figure was the largest GDP contraction since 1982. The rate of contraction increased from its preliminary estimate largely due to a larger reduction of inventories by businesses than had been previously estimated. A larger cutback on commercial construction than was previously estimated also contributed to the greater decline. Corporate profits fell a record $120.1 billion, or 16.5%, in the fourth quarter of 2008, when compared with the previous quarter. Analysts said the U.S. economy was caught in a vicious cycle in which a climbing unemployment rate, the decline in the stock market and a fall in house values had led to a reduction in consumer spending, and forced companies to cut back on production and lay off staff. n Consumer Prices Rose 0.4% in February.

The Labor Department March 18 reported that its consumer price index (CPI), which tracked prices Inflation (CPI) paid for conFebruary 2009 0.4% sumer goods by Previous Month 0.3% all urban con12-Month Increase 0.2% sumers, rose 0.4% in February with adjustment for seasonal variation, after climbing 0.3% in January. The two consecutive months of increases reduced concern that the U.S. was headed for a period of deflation, a sustained decline in prices that further depressed economic activity by leading consumers to delay spending in anticipation of lower prices. For the 12-month period through February, the overall unadjusted inflation rate was 0.2%. [See p. 111E2] The rise in overall CPI in February was led by a 3.3% increase in energy prices. “Core” consumer prices, which excluded volatile energy and food costs, rose 0.2% in February. n FACTS ON FILE

Durable Goods Orders Up 3.4% in February.

The Commerce Department March 25 reported that the value of durable goods orders in February was $165.6 billion, an increase of 3.4%, or $5.5 billion, from the previous month. That reversed a six-month trend of decreases. Durable goods were socalled big-ticket items designed to last three years or more. [See p. 128E3] n New Home Sales Climbed 4.7% in February.

The Departments of Commerce and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) March 25 reported jointly that sales of new singlefamily homes rose 4.7% in February from the previous month in an unexpected reversal of the recent downward trend. The new seasonally adjusted annual rate was 337,000 units, up from the revised January rate of 322,000 units. The median price of a new single-family home sold in February was reported to be $200,900. [See p. 128F3] n Existing Home Sales Rose in February.

The National Association of Realtors March 23 reported that sales of existing homes rose by 5.1% in February, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.72 million units, a surprise reversal of the recent downward trend. That was up from the revised 4.49 million units rate in January. Analysts said a sharp decline in housing prices had enticed many first-time buyers to purchase a home. The median sale price for existing homes in February was $165,400, down 15.5% from the $195,800 reported a year earlier. [See p. 129A1] n Housing Starts Up 22.2% in February. The Departments of Commerce and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) March 17 reported jointly that the rate of housing starts in February was 583,000 units, annualized and adjusted for seasonal variation. That was up 22.2% from the January revised rate of 477,000. Analysts said much of the increase resulted from construction growth in the multifamily market, consisting largely of apartments and condos, and that the overall housing market remained weak. [See p. 111C3] n Leading Indicators Rose 0.4% in February.

The Conference Board business research organization March 19 reported that its composite index of leading economic indicators, a gauge of future economic activity, declined 0.4% in February, to 98.5. Based on revised data, the index had increased 0.1%, in January, the board reported. The index’s base level of 100 reflected conditions in 2004. [See p. 112B1] Six of the 10 indicators in February were “positive” contributors, led by the interest rate spread, and the index of supplier deliveries. Four indicators—led by average weekly initial claims for unemployment insurance and the stock market—were “negative.” n Business Inventories Down in January.

The Commerce Department March 12 reported that the value of business inventories at the end of January was $1.4 trillion after seasonal adjustment, down 1.1% from the revised value at the end of December 2008. The ratio of inventories to sales—a measure of how long it would take busiMarch 26, 2009

nesses to unload their inventories at the current sales pace—was 1.43. [See p. 111A3] n Industrial Production Fell 1.4% in February.

The Federal Reserve March 16 reported that its industrial production index decreased 1.4% in February. Based on revised data, the Fed found that industrial production had fallen 1.9% in January. The overall index now stood at 99.7% of its 2002 base average, down from its revised level of 101.2% for January. [See p. 112D1] Manufacturing production fell 0.7% in February. The output of utilities fell 7.7%, and mining output fell 0.4%. Factories, mines and utilities operated at 70.9% of their total capacity in February. n

Armed Forces Army to Phase Out Stop-Loss Policy. Defense Secretary Robert Gates March 18 announced that the Army would phase out its “stop-loss” policy over the next two years. Stop-loss allowed the Army to require soldiers whose service obligations were expiring to remain in the military if their units were deploying within 60 days. The Army said service members affected by stop-loss would receive a $500 monthly bonus, retroactive to October 2008. [See 2005, p. 95G2] The military said the policy allowed units deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan to retain cohesion, and prevented shortages of service members with special skills. However, it was seen as a burden on military families. Sen. John Kerry (D, Mass.) during his 2004 presidential campaign had denounced the policy as a “backdoor draft.” [See pp. 156F1, 102C1] Gates said he felt that the stop-loss policy, which had been created by a 1990 executive order and was reactivated after Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S., was “breaking faith” with soldiers. About 13,000 soldiers were currently being kept in the Army involuntarily by stop-loss, and some 120,000 soldiers had been affected by the policy since 2001. Under the new plan, Army Reserve units would begin mobilizing without stoploss soldiers in August, followed by the National Guard in September and the active-duty Army in January 2010. Gates said “scores, not thousands” of troops with special skills might be held under stop-loss after January 2010. Gates said the discontinuation of stoploss was made possible by a recent expansion of the Army, and the fact that more troops were being withdrawn from Iraq than were being deployed to Afghanistan. The Army also said it would offer bonus payments to soldiers who volunteered to extend their service obligations until 60 days after the end of overseas deployments. n

Terrorism Detainees CIA Treatment of Detainees Called ‘Torture.’ A

confidential 2007 report by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

found that the treatment of terrorism suspects held in secret prisons run by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had “constituted torture” as well as “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,” according to excerpts from the report published in the April 9 issue of the New York Review of Books, made public March 15. The report followed an investigation by the ICRC that included interviews at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with 14 detainees who had previously been held in the secret prisons. [See 2008, p. 724C2] The ICRC was responsible for monitoring compliance with the Geneva Conventions, which banned torture and other degrading treatment. Analysts said the ICRC report’s specific use of the word “torture” had legal weight. The 2007 report had reportedly been shared with CIA and Bush administration officials but had not been previously made public, in accordance with ICRC rules that mandated the confidentiality of its reports on prisoner conditions. The article’s author, Mark Danner, did not say how he had obtained the report. According to the report, prisoners were regularly beaten, sprayed with cold water, chained in physically stressful positions for long periods of time and had their heads slammed into walls by interrogators, among other alleged abuses. One prisoner, Zain al-Abidin Muhammed Hussein— known as Abu Zubaydah—was shackled to a chair for up to three weeks and was sprayed with water as part of an attempt to keep him awake at all times. He was also subjected to waterboarding, a type of simulated drowning, along with at least two other detainees. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) March 17 asked Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. to name an independent prosecutor to investigate the allegations raised in the ICRC report, as well as in previous reports. The ACLU warned that, due to statutes of limitation, the Justice Department would no longer be able to file charges in connection with some instances of alleged abuse after the spring of 2010. Separately, Newsweek magazine reported March 23 that the Obama administration was considering releasing additional Justice Department memoranda written during the Bush administration that had set down guidelines for the use of so-called harsh interrogation techniques on terrorism detainees. The Obama administration had released nine other antiterrorism memos earlier in March. [See p. 129F3]

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Ex-Enemy Combatant Ordered Held—

Magistrate Judge Robert Carr of U.S. District Court in Charleston, S.C., March 18 ordered terrorism detainee Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri to be held without bail pending his arraignment in federal court in Peoria, Ill., on charges that he provided material assistance to terrorists. Marri had been held without charge as an enemy combatant since 2003 at a U.S. Navy brig in Charleston before being indicted in Illinois Feb. 27. He had been the last U.S. legal resident held as an enemy combatant and the last enemy 183

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combatant held within the U.S. [See p. 148C3] Carr found that Marri posed a potential flight risk and rejected an offer by Marri’s attorneys that would have allowed him to be released into the custody of a guarded safe house in exchange for more than $1 million bail. Marri had been imprisoned since 2001 on federal charges and then as an enemy combatant. Following the ruling, Marri March 20 was transported to Illinois by federal marshals. Marri March 23 pleaded not guilty to two charges of providing material assistance to terrorists. At the arraignment, the prosecution alleged that Marri had undergone training at camps in Afghanistan run by the Al Qaeda international terrorist network and had entered the U.S. with the intention of operating as an Al Qaeda agent. His trial was tentatively scheduled to begin May 26. n

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Auto Union Approves Concessions to Ford. The United Auto Workers (UAW) March 9

said workers at Ford Motor Co. had voted to approve contract modifications with the Dearborn, Mich.–based automaker, under which workers would give up some perks. Also, Ford would be permitted to use company stock, rather than cash, for up to half of a $13.2 billion payment it owed to its retired workers’ health care trust fund. The current Ford-UAW contract expired in 2011. The changes came amid turmoil within the U.S. auto industry that threatened automakers with bankruptcy. [See p. 92D2; 2007, p. 733E3] Ford said the contract changes would allow it to remain competitive with foreign “transplant” automakers operating in the U.S., which employed less expensive, nonunion workers, as well as with Michiganbased automakers General Motors Corp. (GM) and Chrysler LLC. GM and Chrysler were currently undergoing dramatic, government-mandated restructuring after receiving billions of dollars in federal rescue loans following a steep decline in auto sales. Ford said the modifications would allow it to reduce its hourly labor costs so that they would match transplant automakers’ costs by 2011. GM and Chrysler were expected to do the same as part of their restructuring plans, which were due March 31. Under the changes, which would affect about 42,000 employees and 187,000 retirees and their spouses, some scheduled bonuses would be canceled; overtime would no longer be available to employees who worked fewer than 40 hours in a week; and break times would be shorter. The changes ended the controversial “jobs banks” program under which furloughed UAW workers were able to collect almost their full wages for extended periods of time. It also outlined employee buyouts under which workers could accept as much as $70,000 in cash to leave the company, in order to make room for newer, lower-paid employees. Those buyouts would reportedly be made available April 1–May 22. [See p. 48G1] 184

Some observers expressed concern that Ford’s retiree health fund would become too tied to the stock market as a result of the modifications. About 58% of skilled workers and 59% of production workers approved the change, compared with 71% of skilled workers and 81% of production workers a who had approved the original contract in 2007. Chrysler and GM had reportedly negotiated similar wage concessions with the UAW, but had been unable to compromise with the union on how to fund their health care obligations. Ford Announces Debt Reduction Plan—

Ford March 4 announced that it planned to eliminate up to $10.4 billion of its approximately $25.8 billion in non–health care related debt by exchanging bonds for cash and stock. Ford Motor Credit, the company’s financing arm, March 23 said one debt buyback program under which the company had set aside $500 million to buy back senior secured loan debt, or debt that would be paid back first if a company defaulted, was oversubscribed, meaning that there were more creditors who wanted to participate in the program than there was cash set aside to buy back their debt. Ford said it would expand that program to $1 billion, so it could buy back about $2.2 billion in senior secured debt at 47 cents to the dollar. Ford had initially planned to buy back $1.3 billion of that debt. n

Medicine and Health News in Brief. Judge Edward Korman of

U.S. District Court in New York City March 23 ordered the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reconsider its 2006 decision to limit access by girls under 18 to the “morning after” contraceptive to those with a prescription. Korman ordered the agency to allow the drug, sold under the name Plan B, to be made available to 17year-olds without a prescription within 30 days. In his ruling, Korman wrote that the FDA’s rationale for instituting the restrictions was “arbitrary and capricious,” and motivated by “political and ideological” concerns, instead of public health considerations. Plan B was a high dose of hormones given to a woman up to 72 hours after unprotected sex. Critics of the medication said it was a form of abortion. [See 2006, p. 664D1] An assisted suicide law March 5 took effect in Washington state, after voters approved the law as a ballot initiative during the November 2008 elections. Washington became the second state, after Oregon, to allow physicians to assist those with terminal illnesses to end their lives by self-administering lethal prescription drugs. The law limited the physician’s aid to those over 18 who were considered mentally competent. Several hospitals and health care networks had invoked an opt-out provision in the law. [See 2008, p. 817D2; 2006, p. 28A2] n

AFRICA

Madagascar Military-Appointed President Sworn In. An-

dry Rajoelina March 21 was sworn in as president at a ceremony in Antananarivo, the capital, following a week of political upheaval in Madagascar. Four days earlier, in the face of growing opposition and fading support from the military, President Marc Ravalomanana had resigned and handed power over to the country’s highest-ranking military officer, who appointed Rajoelina, a former mayor of Antananarivo. The transfer of power drew international condemnation as unconstitutional. [See p. 168A2] According to the country’s constitution, the head of the upper house of parliament was supposed to succeed the president following his resignation. Also, at age 34, Rajoelina did not meet the presidential age requirement of 40 years or older. In his inaugural speech, Rajoelina announced the creation of a national commission to oversee changes to the constitution and the formation of a new electoral system. Thousands of his backers turned out for the swearing-in at a sports stadium in the capital. Rajoelina, a charismatic former disc jockey and self-made advertising mogul, enjoyed strong support among Malagasy youth, especially in the capital. However, some analysts said that his movement, the Tanora malaGasy Vonona (Young Malagasies Determined), had few followers in the island’s rural provinces, where impoverished citizens depended on humanitarian aid for sustenance. The recent political crisis had caused a rift with many foreign donors. International funding accounted for the majority of the country’s budget. International Condemnation Continues—

At a March 20 meeting, the African Union (AU) voted to suspend Madagascar and demanded the return of a constitutional government within six months. France, Madagascar’s former colonial power, that day also spoke out against the new regime. President Nicolas Sarkozy declared the recent presidential ouster a “coup d’etat.” In an interview with Britain’s Financial Times published March 23, Rajoelina said, “The international community must…respect the popular will” of “the Malagasy people.” He reiterated his previous promise to hold elections within two years. Ravalomanana, who had been in hiding since his resignation, March 24 had reportedly arrived in Swaziland ahead of a scheduled meeting of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The 15member SADC, of which Madagascar was a member, was expected to address the political situation there at the Swazi meeting. Meanwhile, Ravalomanana’s supporters March 23 held a protest in Antananarivo, with the crowd estimated at around 3,000; protests continued in subsequent days, with declining numbers. n FACTS ON FILE

Sudan Foreign Aid Groups Expelled. Sudanese

President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who earlier in March had been indicted on war crimes charges by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the Netherlands, March 16 ordered all foreign aid workers to exit the country within a year. Several major organizations assisting refugees in the western Darfur region had already been ejected in the immediate aftermath of the ICC charges. Bashir had accused those groups of spying to gain evidence against him in the war crimes case. [See p. 122C1] The United Nations Security Council March 6 had expressed concern over expulsion of the humanitarian organizations, but failed to reach an agreement on sanctions against the Sudanese government. Libya’s ambassador to the U.N., Ibrahim Dabbashi, sought to have the ICC charges deferred, in order to “calm the situation.” Security Council members China, Vietnam and Uganda all backed Dabbashi’s suggestion, while Western countries had urged a strong condemnation of Sudan. With diplomatic efforts to reverse the exit order faltering, some of the foreign aid workers March 8 began leaving the country. Reports emerged March 18–20 that refugees faced a worsening humanitarian crisis with concerns over fresh disease outbreaks. Many of the camps depended entirely on aid groups for essential supplies such as clean water, medicine and food. About 300,000 people had died and some 2.7 million others had been driven from their homes in the Darfur conflict, amid fighting between rebel factions and government forces allied with Arab militaias known as the Janjaweed. Bashir claimed that the void of exiting foreign workers would be filled by local aid groups, although three of those had also been shut in the recent crackdown. As the Darfur situation worsened, neighboring Chad feared a massive influx of refugees from the area. Camps in eastern Chad already sheltered some 260,000 Sudanese refugees, along with 180,000 homeless Chadians. The European Union March 15 transferred command over a protection force for the area to the U.N. The EU’s mandate had expired at midnight that day, after it had commanded the force in eastern Chad and in neighboring Central African Republic since February 2008. Emboldened Leader Travels Abroad—

Despite an international arrest warrant against him, Bashir March 23 made a oneday visit to Eritrea, followed by a one-day visit to Egypt two days later. Neither country was a signatory to the ICC charter, which required the arrest of any indicted suspect in the country’s territory. In Egypt, he met with President Hosni Mubarak to discuss the conflict in Darfur. In another display of defiance, Bashir vowed to attend an Arab League summit in Qatar set for March 29– 30. A panel of Sudanese Muslim scholars, fearing he would face arrest, March 22 had urged Bashir to skip the summit. March 26, 2009

Bashir March 18 had addressed a rally of Arab tribesmen on his second visit to Darfur since the ICC indictment. In his speech, he urged rebels to disarm and vowed to confront the Western “colonizers.” His increasingly defiant rhetoric had strained Sudan’s already tenuous relations with the West. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton March 17 had vowed to hold Bashir responsible for every death caused by lack of humanitarian aid. U.S. President Barack Obama March 18 named retired Air Force Maj. Gen. J. Scott Gration as his special envoy to Sudan. Rebels Suspend Peace Talks—The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), believed to be the strongest and most active of the numerous rebel groups in Darfur, March 20 officially suspended peace talks with the government over Bashir’s decision to expel the aid organizations. The two parties had agreed to start the peace process in mid-February. An increasing amount of the violence in Darfur had been directed at foreigners since the ICC indictment of Bashir. Eight unidentified gunmen March 17 had attacked a patrol of peacekeepers from the U.N.–African Union (AU) Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), killing one of them. [See p. 115E2] Three workers for the aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) and a Sudanese guard March 11 were kidnapped at gunpoint in Darfur. The foreign hostages were identified as a Canadian nurse, an Italian doctor and a French coordinator. Three days later, they were released unharmed by their captors, a group protesting the war crimes charges. No ransom was paid, according to a representative from Medecins Sans Frontieres. The government March 9 released prominent opposition leader Hassan alTurabi. Turabi, an Islamist and former ally of Bashir, who had connections with JEM, had been arrested in January by security services at his home in Khartoum, the capital. Some observers suggested the release was intended to promote domestic unity in the face of the international pressire, although Turabi had voiced his support for war crimes charges against the president. [See p. 116A2] Violence Erupts in South—Fighting between local government troops and militias in the semiautonomous region of south Sudan had escalated in February and early March, according to numerous reports. The clashes began Feb. 24 in the town of Malakal over authorities’ demands that a militia leader be handed over for interrogation. Fighting continued for two days and left at least 14 civilians dead. Elsewhere, feuding tribesmen in Pibor County March 5–13 raided villages in retaliation for alleged cattle thefts in January. Local officials claimed that more than 200 people were killed in the raids. [See 2008, p. 362C2] The region had been relatively peaceful since a 2005 peace deal that ended 20 years of civil war between the predominantly Muslim, Arab-dominated central government, based in the north, and mainly black, Christian and animist forces in the south. Bashir had marked the four-year anniversary of the U.S.-brokered deal on Jan. 9.

The disarmament of fighters from the civil war officially began on Feb. 10 in Blue Nile State. n

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U.S. Increases Mexico Border Security Clinton Visits Mexico. Janet Napolitano, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary, March 24 said 460 federal agents would be sent to the U.S.’s border with Mexico, to bolster security forces already there and address a growing spillover of Mexican drug-related violence into the U.S. [See p. 170E3] Napolitano said 360 of the agents would be sent to support the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) units that operated along the 2,000-mile (3,200km) border. Another 100 agents would be sent to buttress the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) units working in the area. Border forces would also be given mobile X-ray units, new license-plate reading equipment and drug-searching dogs. Amid escalating fighting between drug cartels and Mexican federal troops and police, U.S. border states in recent months had reported that violent incidents related to Mexican cartels had also increased. An estimated 90% of the weapons used by drug cartels seized in Mexico originated in the U.S., while some 90% of illegal drugs sold in the U.S. were trafficked through Mexico. Under the plan announced by Napolitano, $30 million from the recently passed U.S. stimulus package would be provided to local and state law enforcement agencies that worked near the border. The U.S. would also provide training and high-tech equipment, including helicopters and other surveillance aircraft, to Mexican forces through the $700 million Merida Initiative, a U.S. aid package to Mexico and several Central American countries intended to help fight drug trafficking. [See p. 143E3] Napolitano said requests from Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) and Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) to deploy National Guard troops to their borders were still being considered. (Napolitano was a former Arizona governor, and had supported such a move while in that role.) Napolitano said the relocation of the federal agents was “really the first wave of things that will be happening.” At a March 24 news conference, U.S. President Barack Obama acknowledged that Mexican drug organizations “have gotten completely out of hand,” and said fighting them was a “shared responsibility” between Mexico and the U.S. [See p. 181D2]

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Clinton Discusses Violence, Trade—

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton March 25–26 visited Mexico, where she met with President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa and other Mexican officials, to discuss the drug trade and related violence, as well as a recent trade dispute over Mexican truckers in the U.S. that had led Mexico to impose tariffs totaling $2.4 185

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billion annually on U.S. goods. Clinton was the first U.S. cabinet member to visit Mexico since Obama took office in January, and would be followed by Napolitano, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Obama himself, who was scheduled to visit in mid-April. [See p. 171F2] Clinton, speaking to reporters March 25 on the flight to Mexico, acknowledged that the U.S.’s approach to combating the narcotics trade had largely failed. “Clearly what we have been doing has not worked,” she said, adding, “Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade.” She also said the U.S.’s failure to prevent the flow of domestically sold guns into Mexico “causes the deaths of police, soldiers and civilians.” Her remarks were an unusually blunt appraisal of the U.S.’s antinarcotics efforts by a government official. Clinton later March 25 met with Mexican Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa in Mexico City, Mexico’s capital. She said she would work to obtain $80 million from the U.S. Congress in order to provide Mexico with three Black Hawk helicopters to be used to track drug smugglers. Clinton later that day met with Calderon, and reportedly discussed the countries’ joint efforts to combat the drug trade, as well as trade and the global economic downturn, among other issues. In an interview with Britain’s Financial Times published March 27, Calderon said he had requested that the U.S. dedicate an additional $10 billion–$35 billion to combating Mexico’s drug trade. He said U.S. aid should equal “the flow of money that American consumers give to the criminals,” referring to the fact that most of the drugs trafficked through Mexico were used in the U.S. Clinton March 26 said the two countries had agreed to develop a “checklist” of tasks to fight the drug war. She also said she was “confident” the trade dispute would be settled. Talks on Trucking Dispute Held—U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood March 20 met with officials from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the U.S. State Department as part of efforts to hammer out an agreement allowing Mexican truckers access to U.S. roads. Under the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Mexican truckers were supposed to have been allowed to cross the U.S.-Mexico border to deliver goods in the U.S. However, that plan had been met with staunch opposition from lawmakers and unions, who argued that the Mexican drivers would constitute a safety threat on U.S. roads. Obama in March had signed an omnibus spending bill that had eliminated a pilot program that had given Mexican truckers greater access to the U.S. In retaliation, Mexico had announced tariffs on around 90 U.S. exports. LaHood March 24 met with several lawmakers to seek an agreement on the issue, but it was unclear if such a plan could gain the endorsement of key Democrats. Bounties for Drug Suspects Offered—

Mexican authorities March 23 released a list of the top 24 most-wanted Mexican 186

drug lords, and offered rewards of up to $2 million each for information leading to the capture of the suspects. Officials also offered up to $1 million for information leading to the capture of 13 suspected drug cartel lieutenants. Law enforcement officials March 25 said they had captured Hector “La Burra” Huerta Rios, one of the drug lords included on the list, the previous day. Mexican soldiers and federal police officers March 19 had captured Vicente Zambada Niebla, 34, the alleged security and operations head of the powerful Sinaloa cartel. Vicente Zambada was also the son of alleged cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. n

Brazil Da Silva Visits U.S., Meets with Obama.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva during a visit to the U.S. March 14 met with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C., where the pair discussed trade, energy and the economy, among other issues. Da Silva became the first leader from Latin America to visit Obama at the White House since he took office in January. [See 2007, p. 156A2] In an interview with the Wall Street Journal published March 11, da Silva had said he would make ending protectionist trade policies the top priority of his discussions with Obama, saying that was the best means of stimulating economic growth in the face of a global slowdown. He also criticized the “Buy America” provisions in the U.S. stimulus package signed in February. [See p. 89A1] Da Silva also reportedly lobbied Obama to reduce the U.S.’s 53-cent-per-gallon tariff imposed on ethanol imported from Brazil. The tariff was designed to make the price of Brazilian ethanol, created from sugar cane, less competitive with corn-derived ethanol produced in the U.S. The tariffs were scheduled to expire in 2010, but could be renewed by the U.S. Congress. Da Silva March 16 also met with U.S. businessmen to make his case for ending the tariff. Da Silva also pressed Obama to support the reopening of the so-called Doha round of talks intended to establish a global trade pact. The talks had most recently ended in a stalemate in July 2008, after participating countries failed to reach agreement on agricultural tariffs. [See 2008, p. 513A1] Prior to his visit, da Silva had stated an intent to help improve U.S. relations with several left-leaning Latin American countries. He had offered to serve as a go-between for the U.S. and the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias, who had been an ardent critic of U.S. policy under Obama’s predecessor, President George W. Bush. Da Silva also said he would request that the U.S. end its trade embargo against Cuba. [See p. 144E2; 2008, p. 661D2] At their meeting, the leaders also discussed the case of David Goldman, a New Jersey man whose son was taken without his consent to Brazil by his mother in 2004. The boy’s mother, Bruna Bianchi, had died

in Brazil in August 2008, leaving the child in the care of her second husband. Brazilian GDP Decline Reported— The government statistics agency Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica (IBGE) March 10 reported that Brazil’s gross domestic product (GDP) had fallen 3.6% in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared with the previous quarter. It was the country’s largest GDP decline since 1996, and had exceeded analysts’ estimates of a fall of around 2.3%. Overall, Brazil’s GDP had grown 5.1% in 2008, to 2.9 trillion reals ($1.25 trillion). [See 2008, p. 941E1] Brazil’s central bank March 11 cut its benchmark Selic overnight interest rate by 1.5 percentage points, to 11.25%. That followed a one-percentage-point cut in the rate implemented in January. [See p. 82D3] n

A S I A - PA C I F I C

China Parliament Session Focuses on Economy.

The National People’s Congress, China’s parliament, March 5–13 held its annual session, in Beijing, the capital. The meeting, at which the legislature gave formal approval to proposals decided by the ruling Communist Party, focused largely on the world economic slowdown and the government’s plans to combat its effects on China. [See p. 134D3; 2008, p. 183E2] Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, in his speech on the session’s opening day, March 5 said that China would be able to maintain a gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 8% for the year. That was the target the government had set out in several previous years, and had consistently exceeded, according to government statistics. However, some economists said they thought the current slump was severe enough to possibly push China’s growth rate well below the 8% target in 2009. (China had recorded 9% GDP growth for 2008.) [See p. 35E1] Contrary to rumors circulating in preceding days, Wen did not announce a new package of economic stimulus measures to supplement a plan unveiled in late 2008. Wen outlined areas in which the government planned to increase spending, including education, health care and social assistance payments, and plans for boosting consumer demand with tax breaks and subsidies. However, observers said the government’s exact plans for its stimulus package, which it had said totaled four trillion yuan ($585 billion), remained unclear. A group of more than a dozen party elders in January had sent a letter to President Hu Jintao calling for greater disclosure of the stimulus programs, it was reported March 4. They warned of the danger of “corrupt officials seeking opportunities for their own benefit.” A prominent lawyer based in Shanghai, Yan Yiming, had drawn widespread attention by vowing to sue the finance ministry and the National Development and Reform Commission, the economic planning agency, unless it disclosed detailed lists of the recipients of stimulus funds. FACTS ON FILE

Talks With Taiwan Offered—Wen in his March 5 speech also welcomed recent improvements in relations with Taiwan, and said China was “ready to hold talks on cross-Straits political and military issues and create conditions for ending the state of hostility and concluding a peace agreement.” He also suggested that China could be more flexible on Taiwanese participation in international organizations, which it ordinarily objected to as a sign of recognition of Taiwan as an independent country. China regarded Taiwan as a breakaway province, and Wen said political talks would be contingent on Taiwan affirming the “one China” policy stating that Taiwan and mainland China were parts of a single country. [See 2008, p. 981G2] Taiwanese President Ma Ying Jeou had put Taiwanese policy toward China on a more conciliatory course since taking office in 2008. However, Taiwanese officials March 5 said they were at the moment willing to discuss only economic and trade issues with China, until greater “mutual trust” was established. Food-Safety Law—The parliament also enacted a new food-safety law, following a series of scandals over contaminated food and other unsafe Chinese-made products over the past two years. The new law had reportedly taken five years to draft, and would take effect June 1. It specified stronger penalties against makers of tainted food products, and created a new national foodsafety commission intended to better coordinate regulation. It also added new requirements that food additives be shown to be necessary and safe before they could be used. [See p. 35C2] Wen Voices Doubts About U.S. Bonds—

At the customary prime minister’s news conference at the close of the parliamentary session, Wen March 13 said China had “worries” about its extensive investments in U.S. Treasury securities. Wen urged the U.S. “to maintain its good credit, to honor its promises and to guarantee the safety of China’s assets.” China was the world’s largest holder of U.S. government or government-backed debt, with up to an estimated two-thirds of its nearly $2 trillion in foreign exchange reserves invested in such bonds. Chinese officials in recent months had taken to placing the bulk of the blame for the current financial crisis on poor U.S. financial regulation. Analysts said China’s investment in U.S. debt had for years helped keep U.S. interest rates low, thereby financing debt-driven consumption in the U.S. That, in turn had expanded U.S. demand for Chinese exports, deepening the two countries’ mutual economic dependence. Wen did not elaborate on his concerns about the U.S., but his remarks came as the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama was planning an increase in spending that would increase the U.S.’s borrowing. Obama administration officials said in response that U.S. government debt was considered the safest investment in the world, and that government spending was needed to revive the economy and prevent worse financial problems in the future. Obama March 14 said the fact that “even in March 26, 2009

the midst of this economic crisis, you’ve seen actual increases in investment flows here into the U.S.” showed that “the stability not only of our economic system but our political system is extraordinary.” Wen at the news conference also addressed the previous reports of a second stimulus package, calling them the result of “rumors and misunderstandings,” but vowing that “new stimulus policies” could be enacted if and when they were considered necessary. Military Spending Hike Announced—A spokesman for the National People’s Congress March 4 on the eve of the session announced that the country’s military spending in 2009 would be 480.7 billion yuan, 14.9% higher than the year before. That was a smaller rise than 2008’s 17.6% increase. (Many foreign experts believed that China’s actual military spending was higher than revealed in the official total.) n

Kyrgyzstan Opposition Leader Charged With Murder.

Kyrgyz authorities March 9 arrested Alikbek Dzhekshenkulov, a former foreign minister who currently headed the For Justice Movement, an opposition party, and two days later charged him with involvement in the 2007 murder of Servet Cetin, a Turkish businessman, and illegal possession of a weapon. Kyrgyz opposition leaders called the charges politically motivated. [See pp. 187G2, 172G1; 2005, p. 692B2] The Kyrgyz internal affairs ministry March 9 said a bullet found at the Cetin crime scene was traced back to a gun registered in Dzhekshenkulov’s name. While he was not implicated in the actual shooting, a court in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’s capital, March 11 ordered that Dzhekshenkulov remain in detention while an investigation took place. Dzhekshenkulov March 5 was also charged with abuse of power for actions he allegedly took while serving as Kyrgyzstan’s foreign minister. His lawyer March 11 said Dzhekshenkulov denied all the charges against him. Kyrgyz authorities were reportedly investigating Dzhekshenkulov’s son and brother for separate crimes. His son, Bekkul, in 2008 had reportedly been questioned by police in connection with the 2007 murder of Uzbek journalist Alisher Saipov, who had been shot dead in the Kyrgyz city of Osh. His brother, Taalaybek Mederkulov, was a local official accused of abuse of power. Dzhekshenkulov said the investigations into his family were an attempt by the government to tarnish his reputation. [See 2007, p. 790G2] n Dissident Reporter Survives Stabbing.

Syrgak Abdyldayev, a prominent journalist for the independent weekly newspaper Reporter-Bishkek and a critic of Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, March 3 was beaten and stabbed more than 30 times by four assailants in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’s capital, but survived the attack. In addition to the stab wounds, Abdyldayev reportedly sustained broken arms and a concussion. In

an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) made public March 5, Abdyldayev claimed that he had noticed strangers following him in recent months, and said the attack was connected to his work as a reporter. [See pp. 187C2, 172G1] Bakiyev’s office March 4 released a statement saying it was “concerned and saddened” by the attack, and called for an investigation. n

Myanmar U.N. Refugee Official Visits Myanmar.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres March 7–12 traveled to Myanmar to examine ongoing U.N. services for refugees and displaced persons within the country and to meet with representatives of Myanmar’s government. Myanmar’s treatment of its Rohingya ethnic minority had attracted widespread attention after more than 1,000 Rohingya refugees were set adrift without adequate provisions by the Thai military. [See p. 135A3] Guterres March 9 visited Naypyidaw, Myanmar’s capital, and held meetings with the country’s ministers for border areas and immigration, among others. The following day, Guterres toured the Rakhine region, which had about 723,000 Rohingya residents, and visited Myanmar’s nearby border with Bangladesh. He also visited the southern port town of Myeik, from which some of the seaborne Rohingya refugees had reportedly set sail. The Rohingya, a largely Muslim group, were not considered citizens of Myanmar by the country’s ruling military junta and were reportedly subject to widespread mistreatment within Myanmar. About 230,000 Rohingya refugees who had fled lived in Bangladesh; the Rohingya populations in both countries reportedly suffered from widespread poverty and hunger. In addition, thousands of Rohingya had reportedly paid human traffickers to take them to Malaysia and Indonesia, which were both predominantly Muslim countries where the Rohingya saw better prospects for finding work. The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) March 12 issued a statement following Guterres’s departure announcing that its humanitarian operations in Rakhine would be immediately expanded, but the statement did not state what change or improvements had been put into effect. U.N. Envoy Meets With Suu Kyi— Ibrahim Gambari, the United Nations envoy to Myanmar, Jan. 31–Feb. 3 visited Myanmar as part of ongoing U.N. efforts to bring about political reconciliation between the ruling junta and the country’s pro-democracy political opposition. Gambari had last visited Myanmar in August 2008. [See 2008, p. 706G1] Gambari Feb. 2 met with detained prodemocracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was currently being held under house arrest, in Yangon, Myanmar’s former capital. Suu Kyi had refused to meet with Gam187

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bari during his previous visit, reportedly because she was unsatisfied with the progress made by the U.N. Suu Kyi told Gambari that she was willing to hold discussions with members of the military government but said that she would participate in negotiations only if doing so would lead to concrete results. She also opposed any visit to Myanmar by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon until the government had agreed to free all of its political prisoners, who rights groups said numbered more than 2,000. Gambari Feb. 3 met with Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein in Naypyidaw but was unable to arrange a meeting with Gen. Than Shwe, the head of the military junta. Thein Sein reportedly told Gambari that the government of Myanmar would not consider political reforms until sanctions against the country put in place by the U.S. and the European Union were ended. Government Releases Prisoners—Staterun media Feb. 20 announced that 6,313 prisoners would be released early from prison in recognition of their good behavior while incarcerated. The reports also indicated that the prisoners had been released in part because it would allow them to vote in elections scheduled for 2010. A 2008 referendum affirming the country’s new constitution had been marked by reports of widespread fraud on the part of the government, and the elections were not expected to significantly affect the balance of power within the country. [See 2008, p. 705F3] The government released at least 19 political prisoners, many of them members of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party. Those released included five Buddhist monks who had been jailed in 2003 after their monastery had refused a donation from then–Prime Minister Gen. Khin Nyunt, as well as Zaw Myint Maung, who had been elected to Myanmar’s parliament as a member of the NLD in 1991 legislative elections that were won by the NLD but were not recognized by the military. The junta Jan. 14 had released six prisoners who had been detained in December 2008 for calling for the release of Suu Kyi. Separately, Myanmar’s government Jan. 3 had sentenced Bo Min Yu Ko to 104 years in prison on charges including causing disrespect to the nation and association with illegal organizations. Bo Min Yu Ko, 21, had been a member of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions, and had not been allowed legal representation at his trial, according to pro-democracy activists. Hundreds of opposition group members had been sentenced to lengthy prison terms by the government in 2008; however, Bo Min Yu Ko’s term was thought to be the longest sentence issued against a political prisoner. Bombs Explode in Yangon—Two small bombs went off March 3 in Yangon, resulting in small-scale property damage but no injuries or deaths. The bombs reportedly went off near two parks in Yangon, damaging a bus shelter and a nearby fence. [See 2008, p. 706C3] n 188

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Czech Republic PM Resigns After No-Confidence Vote.

Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek March 26 officially resigned, two days after the lower house of parliament had voted, 101–96, to pass a no-confidence motion on his leadership. The vote came while the Czech Republic held the six-month rotating European Union presidency, and less than two weeks before a scheduled visit by President Barack Obama to Prague, the capital. [See pp. 188D3, F3; 2008, p. 796B3] President Vaclav Klaus asked Topolanek and his cabinet to continue to govern until he could appoint a new prime minister or early elections were held. Klaus, in contrast with Topolanek, was critical of the EU, but nonetheless indicated his desire to replace Topolanek quickly so the country could fulfill its obligations there. The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, March 24 said in a statement that it “has full trust that the national constitutional law allows for the Czech Republic to continue conducting the Council Presidency as effectively as it has done now.” Analysts pointed out that Topolanek’s weak center-right coalition government had collapsed more because of domestic political clashes than as a direct result of the global economic downturn, which had helped topple governments in Iceland, Latvia and Hungary. The Czech Republic had less debt than many of its neighbors, whose economies in recent years had been largely fueled by foreign investment and borrowing. German bank Deutsche Bank AG estimated that Czech gross domestic product (GDP) would contract by as much as 3.4% in 2009, a relatively mild drop compared with many Central and Eastern European economies. The no-confidence vote had been initiated by Jiri Paroubek, leader of the leftist Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD), which had criticized Topolanek for his reluctance to expand federal spending. CSSD maintained that Topolanek had mishandled the economy amid the current global economic downturn and credit crisis. n

European Union Leaders Urge More Financial Regulation.

Leaders of the European Union’s 27 member nations at a summit at EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, March 19–20 agreed to call for increased global regulations for “all major cross-border financial institutions,” including hedge funds and creditrating agencies. They also joined in rejecting U.S. calls for more spending by European governments to stimulate their economies and help counter a worldwide economic crisis. The EU leaders agreed on their positions in advance of an April 2 summit in London of the Group of 20 (G20) nations with the world’s leading economies. [See p. 162A3] The EU leaders insisted that the stimulus measures they had already approved would

be sufficient, although the U.S. and some independent economists had deemed the packages inadequate to the crisis. The EU leaders said their measures totaled 400 billion euros ($525 billion) through 2010, or 3.3% of their countries’ combined gross domestic product (GDP). But so-called automatic stabilizers—unemployment benefits, social security payments and other safety net programs that automatically increased in worsened economic conditions—accounted for about half of that total. Germany, which had the largest EU economy, had strongly opposed additional stimulus spending, arguing that it was more important to uphold EU rules restricting budget deficits. However, the leaders offered to lend 75 billion euros to help double the reserves of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which had been depleted by rescue loans for several countries. Japan had offered $100 billion to the IMF already. EU leaders said the U.S. and China should also contribute to help the IMF meet its goal of $500 billion. The EU leaders also said they would double, to 50 billion euros, a rescue fund for EU member nations that were not part of the eurozone, which comprised the 16 countries that used the euro currency. That move addressed concerns about economic weaknesses in Eastern European member nations. More than 10 billion euros in the fund had been used to assist Hungary and Latvia. Czech Calls U.S. Spending ‘Road to Hell’—

Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, whose country currently held the EU presidency (which rotated every six months), March 25 warned that the U.S.’s heavy spending on its stimulus package and financial sector rescue measures was a “road to hell.” Speaking in Brussels before the European Parliament, the EU’s legislative body, Topolanek said the U.S. would “undermine the liquidity of the global financial market” by issuing a flood of bonds to finance its spending. Topolanek drew rebukes for his sharp language from other senior figures during a debate in the parliament. Topolanek’s government had been voted out of office by the Czech parliament the previous day, but he would stay in his post, and lead the EU, until a new government was formed. [See p. 188A2] n

Hungary Prime Minister Resigns Amid Fiscal Crisis.

Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany March 23 resigned to pave the way for a new government to attempt to right the troubled Hungarian economy. Gyurcsany’s Hungarian Socialist Party (MSzP), which led a minority government, was expected to meet April 5 to select a candidate to replace him. Under Hungarian law, that nominee would become prime minister if a formal motion of no confidence in Gyurcsany, scheduled for April 14, passed in parliament. However, Gyurcsany had no clear successor, and the center-right opposition FACTS ON FILE

Hungarian Civic Alliance party, or Fidesz, March 22 said it would attempt to force the dissolution of parliament and early elections. Parliamentary elections were currently scheduled for 2010. [See p. 136G1] Amid rising discontent over the government’s handling of the economy, Gyurcsany March 21 had unexpectedly told MSzP members of his intention to step down, saying, “I hear that I am the obstacle” to the formation of a “stable government majority” that could address the economy. Some analysts suggested that Gyurcsany, by threatening to resign, might have been attempting to improve his standing within the MSzP by demonstrating that there were few alternatives to his leadership. Despite his announcement, Gyurcsany March 21 was reelected chairman of MSzP by a vote of more than 80%. Hungary, along with Latvia and Iceland, was considered to be among the European countries most heavily affected by the current global economic crisis and credit crunch. Its economy, in recent years, had been largely fueled by foreign investment and borrowing. Foreign investment had dropped off sharply, making it difficult for Hungary to sell bonds to fund its large deficit. Many ordinary Hungarians were also struggling to pay back loans taken out in other, stronger currencies. Hungary’s currency, the forint, March 6 hit a record low of 317 to one euro, the common currency of 16 EU members. The Hungarian economy had entered a recession in the third quarter of 2008, and gross domestic product (GDP) was expected to shrink by as much as 5% in 2009. n

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Iran U.S.-Iranian Reporter Detained. Iranian au-

thorities Jan. 31 arrested Roxana Saberi, a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen who had worked in Iran as a freelance journalist for foreign news outlets including the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) and the U.S.’s National Public Radio (NPR). Her detention was first reported by her father, Reza Saberi, who March 1 said on NPR that Saberi had called him Feb. 10 and told him that she was in custody. He said that the authorities had detained her after she bought a bottle of wine, which was illegal in Iran, but that that was just a pretext for her arrest. [See p. 142C2; 2008, p. 875A1] The Iranian foreign ministry March 1 said Saberi had been arrested because she had been working as a reporter in Iran illegally since her credentials were revoked in 2007. A judiciary spokesman the next day said she was being held in Iran’s notorious Evin prison. The Iranian ISNA news agency March 6 reported that according to an official in the Iranian prosecutor’s office, the investigation of Saberi’s case had been completed and she would be released “in the next few days.” However, her father March 24 said a prosecutor had told her that she would be kept in jail for months or years. March 26, 2009

Other News—In other Iraqi news:

Students Arrested in Burial Protest—

Iranian authorities Feb. 23 arrested 70 students after hundreds protested a government ceremony to rebury “unknown martyrs” from the 1980–88 Iran-Iraq War on the campus of the Amirkabir University of Technology, in Tehran, the capital. The government reportedly sent at least 20 protesters to Evin prison, but released the others. The semiofficial news agency Fars reported that the protest leaders were connected to a student group that had organized previous demonstrations for democracy and better student living conditions. Protesters said they thought the government would use the presence of the graves on campus to stifle dissent. The remains of war dead had recently been reburied at two other Iranian universities. n

Iraq Attacks Kill 32 as Turkish President Visits.

Bombings and shootings across Iraq March 23 killed at least 32 people, including a suicide bombing that hit a funeral in the eastern province of Diyala, killing 19. The attacks came as Turkish President Abdullah Gul March 23 arrived in Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, for the first visit to Iraq by a Turkish head of state in 30 years. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had visited Iraq in July 2008. [See p. 174G2; 2008, p. 485G2] The Diyala bombing struck a wake for a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party official in the town of Jalawla. The suicide bomber killed at least 19 people and wounded at least 39, including mourners. The same day, a blast killed at least eight people in the western Baghdad neighborhood of Abu Ghraib. Iraqi security officials at the scene said the bombing had killed a leader of a local Awakening Council—an armed Sunni Muslim group that had turned against insurgents—as well as his son, three members of the council and five others. However, a U.S. military spokesman said the attack had instead killed eight Iraqi soldiers, while Iraqi interior ministry officials said there had actually been two bombings, one in Abu Ghraib that killed nine and another in nearby Fallujah, in Anbar province, that killed eight. Also that day, bombings and shootings in the northern city of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province, killed at least four people, while a police officer was killed by a suicide bomber in Tal Afar, also in Nineveh. A roadside bomb apparently aimed at a U.S. patrol March 25 killed three children in the town of Rashdiya, near Mosul. Gul during his visit was scheduled to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri alMaliki and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, as well as Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani of the regional government of Kurdistan. At a March 23 press conference with Talabani, he called for cooperation to stop cross-border attacks on Turkey by Kurdish fighters based in northern Iraq. Talabani said the fighters, who belonged to the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), had to “lay down arms, or they will leave our territory.” [See 2008, p. 525G1]

Maj. Gen. David Perkins, the spokesman for U.S.-led forces in Iraq, March 25 at a news conference in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone said that nearly all measures of violence in the country, including overall attacks on U.S. troops, U.S. fatalities and “ethno-sectarian attacks,” were down from a year earlier. He said that was the case despite U.S. troops increasingly handing over responsibility to Iraqi forces. [See p. 156A2] o The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) March 24 reported that the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2011, which was mandated by a U.S.-Iraqi security agreement, would raise, rather than lower, U.S. expenditures related to the Iraq war during the withdrawal and for several years afterwards. The report said savings from deploying fewer troops overseas would be outweighed by the cost of replacing and repairing equipment and closing military bases or turning them over to Iraqi control. [See p. 121A1] o Brig. Gen. David Quantock, commander of U.S. detention operations in Iraq, March 22 said that thousands of Iraqis who were being held without charge by the U.S. would be prosecuted or released in the next few months. The U.S. was currently holding more than 13,000 Iraqis. Meanwhile, Iraqi officials and police said that the release of thousands of detainees from the U.S.’s Camp Bucca detention facility in the southern province of Basra had led to a resurgence of Shiite Muslim militia and Sunni insurgent activity in the south and in Baghdad, the Washington Post reported March 22. [See p. 175D1] o British media outlets March 21 reported that the British embassy in Baghdad had received a videotape—reportedly shot eight days earlier—showing one of five Britons who had been kidnapped in Iraq in May 2007. The hostage—who was identified by the media as Peter Moore, a computer consultant—said all five Britons were being treated well. The British government said it was working to free them. [See 2008, p. 500C3] n o

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Israel Netanyahu Assembles Governing Coalition.

The center-left Labor Party March 24 voted to join a government led by former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, giving the leader of the right-wing Likud party the support necessary to form a governing coalition. With backing from the ultranationalist Yisrael Beitenu party and the ultra-Orthodox Shas party already secured, a coalition led by Netanyahu could control 66 seats in the 120-seat Israeli Knesset, or parliament. Labor had previously indicated that it would join the opposition, and it had appeared that Likud would lead a narrow right-wing coalition with several small religious and ultranationalist parties. However, Labor’s support gave the coalition a broader base. [See p. 118C3] Likud in February elections had won 27 seats, one fewer than the centrist Kadima 189

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party, led by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. However, President Shimon Peres had tapped Netanyahu to form a government because he was seen as more likely to be able to assemble a coalition. Livni Feb. 27 had turned down an offer to join a coalition, over disagreement on issues including Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. Netanyahu had until April 3 to form a government. He opened talks March 25 with the far-right National Union Party, which held three seats, in an attempt to boost his majority. Labor Members Vote in Close Ballot—

Labor March 24 voted, 680–507, in a contentious ballot to join Likud, which had traditionally been its political opponent. Defense Minister Ehud Barak, the Labor leader, told party delegates that Labor would be more effective as a counterweight to Likud inside the government, rather than in the opposition. He vowed, “We will not serve as anyone’s fig leaf. We will ensure there will not be a narrow right-wing government, but a real government that looks after Israel.” However, at least six of Labor’s 13 Knesset members said they would not support a coalition led by Netanyahu. There was speculation that the close vote would lead to a leadership struggle within Labor. Under the coalition agreement, Barak would keep his post as defense minister, and Labor would also receive the industry, agriculture and welfare portfolios. The agreement pledged the government to work toward peace deals with Israel’s neighbors while ensuring the country’s security and interests, and to honor all previous diplomatic agreements. However, it did not specifically mention negotiations toward a Palestinian state, or other IsraeliPalestinian issues. Labor supported a twostate solution, but Netanyahu preferred a strategy of improving the Palestinian economy while avoiding the issue of statehood. Netanyahu March 25 said he would hold peace negotiations with the Palestinian Authority (PA), in his most significant comments on Israeli-Palestinian relations since the February elections. He did not mention the creation of a Palestinian state. U.S. President Barack Obama at a March 24 news conference had said that the new right-leaning government would make the Israeli-Palestinian peace process “not easier than it was,” but that continuing was “just as necessary.” He reiterated that the U.S. backed the creation of a Palestinian state. Lieberman Receives Top Diplomat Post—

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Netanyahu late March 15 had formally reached a coalition agreement with Yisrael Beitenu, which previously endorsed him for prime minister. Yisrael Beitenu, which held 15 seats, was led by Avigdor Lieberman, who had aroused controversy over his support for making Israeli citizens sign a loyalty pledge, a policy seen as being aimed at Israeli Arabs. Under the deal, Lieberman would become foreign minister, and Yisrael Beitenu would also receive the tourism, national infrastructure, immigrant absorption and national security ministries. (In a sign of tensions between Israeli Arabs and Jews, about 100 far-rightist Jews March 24 demonstrated under heavy police 190

protection in the northern Israeli Arab town of Umm al-Fahm. The march provoked counterprotests by Arab youths, who clashed with police, injuring 15 police officers and about the same number of youths.) Shas March 23 also formally agreed to join the coalition, giving the coalition its 11 seats. Shas received the interior, construction and housing, and religious services ministries. n

SPORTS

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Japan Wins Second Straight World Baseball Classic Defeats Rival South Korea in Final. Japan March 23 defeated South Korea, 5–3, in the 10th inning to win its second straight World Baseball Classic (WBC) at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. In 2006, Japan had won the inaugural WBC, a World Cup– style tournament featuring 16 nations held every three years. The tournament was played March 5–23 in North America and Japan. [See 2006, p. 226A3] The tournament consisted of two rounds of pool play, with each pool containing four teams. The top two teams in the firstround pools advanced to the second round, reducing the field to eight teams. The top two teams from the second-round pools advanced to sudden-death semifinal games. The semifinal winners met in the final. Seeding matches were held at the end of each pool to determine rankings for the following round. In recent years, the balance of power in international baseball competition had shifted away from the U.S. and Latin America toward the two Asian finalists. For decades, the Cuban national team had dominated the less-publicized Baseball World Cup, which did not feature any players from North America’s Major League Baseball (MLB). However, Japan’s win in the inaugural WBC and South Korea’s victory at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, had established both countries as strong contenders in the tournament. [See 2008, p. 599B3] WBC teams from the U.S., Venezuela and Dominican Republic all had numerous MLB stars, putting them among the favorites to win the tournament. However, because it took place in early March—traditionally the opening of MLB’s spring training—some stars avoided the WBC completely, in favor of preparations for the upcoming MLB season. Several players suffered injuries in the early rounds of the WBC, forcing them to withdraw from the competition. The 2008 American League most valuable player (MVP) Dustin Pedroia, who started at second base for the U.S., March 15 returned to the Boston Red Sox training camp after straining his abdominal muscle in batting practice. The Dominican Republic’s star third baseman, Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees, withdrew before the tournament opened to have surgery on an injured hip. [See p. 158C3] The eventual winning team, Japan, did include several MLB players, but much of

the team’s success was credited to its consitency and cohesion as a team, rather than star power. The squad, managed by Tatsunori Hara, had begun practicing as a full team in mid-February, two weeks earlier than the U.S. Final Is Rivals’ Fifth Match-Up— The meeting of Japan and South Korea in the March 23 final marked their fifth match-up throughout the tournament, with the rivals splitting the previous four games. In the final, Japan easily outhit South Korea, with 15 hits to South Korea’s five, but struggled to bring home runners in scoring position, stranding 14 throughout the contest. Japan nevertheless managed to take a 3–2 lead into the ninth inning, with pitcher Yu Darvish looking to close out the game. Darvish, who typically started games, walked two South Korean batters, before Bum Ho Lee knocked in the tying run on a a two-out single. In extra innings, Japanese right-fielder Ichiro Suzuki, an eight-time MLB All-Star with the Seattle Mariners, was at bat with two outs and two runners in scoring position. After falling behind in the count with two strikes, Suzuki lined a single to center field, knocking in both runners. Darvish returned in the bottom of the 10th inning to preserve the 5–3 lead for the win. Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, who played for the Red Sox, was named the MVP of the tournament for the second straight time. Matsuzaka continued his perfect performance in the WBC, posting a 3– 0 record with a 2.45 earned run average (ERA) in 2009. In the semifinals, also played in Los Angeles, South Korea March 21 had defeated Venezuela in a 10–2 rout. Japan March 22 ousted the U.S. with a 9–4 victory. Despite the disappointing finish, the U.S. team improved upon its 2006 performance, when it was embarrassed by a second-round exit. First-Round Highlights—Japan and South Korea dominated the first round of play to emerge from Pool A, which also featured China and Taiwan. The teams handed each other defeats during their two match-ups in Tokyo, Japan. In Pool B, played in Mexico City, Mexico, Cuba went undefeated to advance, while Mexico was the other team to emerge, with a 2–1 record. Australia and South Africa both failed to make it out of the first round for the second straight time. Pool C featured Venezuela, the U.S., Italy and Canada, with games held in Toronto, Canada. The U.S. and Venezuela each lost a game to the other, but advanced to the second round. The biggest surprises of the first round came out of Pool D, played in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The injury-plagued Dominican Republic shockingly lost twice against the Netherlands, leading to an early exit. The upsets allowed the Netherlands to advance along with Puerto Rico. Panama had lost its first two games in the pool. Second-Round Highlights—Pool One of the second round, held in San Diego, Calif., once again featured two rematches between Japan and South Korea with similar split results. Japan March 18 also defeated Cuba, FACTS ON FILE

5–0, to eliminate the former powerhouse, ending Cuba’s streak of 50 straight final appearances in major international tournaments. Mexico, the fourth team in the pool, failed to win a game in the second round. In Pool Two, played in Miami, Fla., Venezuela went undefeated to easily qualify for the semifinals. In a March 17 elimination game, Puerto Rico led the U.S., 5–3, going into the bottom of the ninth. U.S. third baseman David Wright capped off a three-run rally with a single that knocked in two runs for a 6–5 dramatic come-frombehind win. The Netherlands lost the momentum of their first round upsets with two quick losses in Pool Two. Other News—In other WBC news: o A WBC all-tournament team was named March 23. It comprised catcher Ivan Rodriguez (Puerto Rico); first baseman Tae Kyun Kim (South Korea); second baseman Jose Lopez (Venezuela); shortstop Jimmy Rollins (U.S.); South Korean third baseman Bum; outfielders Yoennis Cespedes (Cuba), Frederich Cepeda (Cuba) and Norichika Aoki (Japan); designated hitter Hyun Soo Kim (South Korea); and pitchers Jung Keun Bong (South Korea), and Japan’s Matsuzaka and Hisashi Iwakum. o The New York Times March 4 reported that the International Baseball Federation, which oversaw drug testing for the WBC, would not use blood testing on players during the tournament. Instead, players would be required to provide the more common urine samples for testing. The use of human growth hormone (HGH) could not be detected through urine samples. n

Skiing Svindal, Vonn Win Alpine World Cup Titles.

Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal March 14 won the men’s overall World Cup Alpine skiing title for the second time in three years. In the women’s competition, defending champion Lindsey Vonn of the U.S. March 11 had clinched the title. [See 2008, p. 208G1] Svindal, 26, won the title over Austria’s Benjamin Raich, 1,009 points to 1,007 points, the slimmest margin in World Cup history and the lowest-ever winning point total. In the last race of the season, a slalom in Are, Sweden, Raich straddled a gate in the first run and was disqualified, missing his final chance to overtake Svindal, who also missed a gate. Svindal also won the season title in the super giant slalom, or super-G. Defending champion Bode Miller of the U.S. March 3 in a statement released by the U.S. team had said he would not compete in the rest of the World Cup season. Miller, 31, said he needed a “break” and that he currently found “more happiness doing other things than being on tour.” Vonn Sets U.S. Women’s Record—

Vonn, 24, March 11 became the first American woman to win the overall title twice. She clinched the title by winning the final downhill event of the season in Are. She finished the season March 15 with 1,788 points. Maria Riesch of Germany was second, with 1,424 points. Vonn also won the March 26, 2009

season’s downhill and super-G titles. Vonn became the first U.S. woman to win the super-G title, and the second U.S. woman, after Picabo Street in 1995 and 1996, to claim two straight downhill titles. [See 1995, p. 260D1] n

ARTS & SCIENCES

UNITED STATES

Medical Research Prostate Test’s Benefit Questioned. Two

teams of researchers working independently March 18 both reported that large studies of prostate cancer screening tests called into question their effectiveness in reducing death rates from the disease, based on the studies’ interim results. The studies were released by the New England Journal of Medicine on its Web site, and concurrently presented at a conference held in Stockholm, Sweden’s capital. [See 2008, p. 793C1] Doctors had used a blood test for a chemical called prostate-specific antigen (PSA) to detect prostate cancer in men since the test’s introduction in 1987. However, it had long been unclear how effective the test was in preventing deaths. Prostate cancer was the second-leading cause of cancer deaths of men in the U.S., killing some 28,000 annually. However, the disease grew slowly and in many cases patients died of another other causes in the meantime. Several treatments for prostate cancer were invasive, and had significant side effects, including incontinence and impotence. Because the PSA test could return a false positive, many experts had criticized its use for needlessly exposing men to potentially harmful treatments. The U.S. study, run by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), had followed 76,693 men aged 55–74 for seven to 10 years. One group of men was encouraged to obtain regular PSA screening and a rectal examination; about 85% actually received such screening. Another group of men was given regular medical care under prevailing practices; about 50% of that group received PSA screening. Although the cancer detection rate in the first group was about 22% higher, men in both groups had a statistically equal rate of death from prostate cancer. The study was led by Gerald Andriole of Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. The European study consisted of 162,243 men aged 55–69 in seven countries assigned either to undergo PSA screening once every four years or to get no screening at all. After nine years, the researchers found that the group that had undergone screenings had about 20% fewer prostate cancer deaths than the other group. However, they also determined that, for every prevented death, 47 men needlessly underwent cancer treatment. The research was led by Fritz Schroeder of the Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands. n

Awards French Physicist Wins Templeton Prize.

French physicist and philosopher of science Bernard d’Espagnat, 87, March 16

was named the winner of the 2009 Templeton Prize. The monetary value of the prize, which from 2002 through 2008 had been known as the Templeton Prize for Research or Discoveries about Spiritual Realities, was £1 million (US$1.42 million). [See 2008, p. 227A2] D’Espagnat, a professor emeritus of physics at Paris-Sud University, was honored for quantum theoretical research that pointed to the existence of a “veiled reality” beyond the reach of science but perhaps a bit more approachable through religion or the arts. Ultimately, though, he believed, humanity had no choice but to live with “mystery,” which he called “one of the constitutive elements of being.” D’Espagnat would receive the Templeton Prize May 5 in a private ceremony at London’s Buckingham Palace. n

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Chilean Author Posthumously Honored.

Chilean novelist, short story writer and poet Roberto Bolano March 12 was posthumously awarded the National Book Critics Circle award for fiction for his epic novel 2666, which combined the life story of an enigmatic German novelist with a series of gruesome crimes committed against women in a Mexican border town. Since his death in 2003 at the age of 50, Bolano’s reputation had soared in the Spanishspeaking world, and then internationally as well, as more and more of his writing was translated into English and other languages. The manuscript for 2666 was salvaged after his death, and was published in Spanish in 2004. An English translation, by Natasha Wimmer, came out in 2008. Wimmer, who had previously translated another acclaimed novel by Bolano, The Savage Detectives (published in 2007), March 12 accepted the award for 2666 on Bolano’s behalf. [See 2008, p. 172E1] National Book Critics Circle awards, which did not include a cash prize, March 12 were presented in a number of other categories as well, including biography. The winner in that category was Patrick French for The World Is What It Is: The Authorized Biography of V.S. Naipaul. Naipaul, 76, was a writer of fiction and nonfiction born and raised in Trinidad but long resident in Britain. French’s biography had drawn considerable attention for its unsparing portrait of its subject, who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 2001, as a tormented individual, particularly in his relations with women. [See 2001, p. 822E2] Other award winners were: New York Times reporter Dexter Filkins in the nonfiction category, for The Forever War, about the U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; Ariel Sabar in the autobiography category, for My Father’s Paradise: A Son’s Search for His Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq; and Seth Lerer in the criticism category, for Children’s Literature: A Reader’s History From Aesop to Harry Potter. Finally, in the poetry category, a dual prize was given for the first time. The poets honored were August Kleinzahler, for Sleeping It Off in Rapid City, and Juan Felipe Herrera, for Half the World in Light: New and Selected Poems. n 191

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People Television talk-show host David Letterman, 61, March 19 married his longtime girlfriend Regina Lasko, 48, at the Teton County courthouse in Choteau, Mont. Letterman had been married once before, from 1969 to 1978. Attending the no-frills wedding was the couple’s five-year-old son, Harry Letterman, the target of a foiled 2005 kidnapping plot. [See 2005, p. 724E2] Nicholas Hughes, the 47-year-old son of poets Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath, March 16 hanged himself at his home in Fairbanks, Alaska. A fisheries biologist who had taught at the University of Alaska’s Fairbanks campus, Nicholas Hughes had long suffered from depression. His mother, whose reputation as a poet had grown substantially since her death, had killed herself in her London apartment in February 1963 by sticking her head in a gas oven. Her suicide came months after she and Ted Hughes separated, over his affair with Assia Wevill, also a poet. Wevill and Hughes later had a daughter, but Wevill killed both herself and the child in March 1969, also by means of a gas oven. Ted Hughes served as Britain’s poet laureate from 1984 to 1998, when he died of cancer at the age of 68. Nicholas Hughes was survived by a sister, Frieda Hughes, 48. [See 1999, p. 72B1; 1998, p. 804G2] n

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91, arts patron and philanthropist who was married to billionaire publisher Walter Annenberg from 1951 until he died in 2002; after his death, she took control of the Annenberg Foundation, which the couple established in 1989 as a conduit for much of their charitable activity; also after his death, she donated their legendary collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist art to New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, fulfilling a pledge made by the couple in 1991; she briefly served as U.S. chief of protocol, with the rank of ambassador, under President Ronald Reagan; born Feb. 20, 1918, in New York City; died March 12 at a hospital in Rancho Mirage, Calif., of natural causes. [See 2002, p. 760E2; 1993, p. 839G1; 1951, p. 336L] BELLOWS, James G., 86, newspaper editor credited with invigorating three U.S. metropolitan dailies that all eventually folded anyway: the New York Herald Tribune in the early 1960s, the Washington Star in the 1970s, and the Los Angeles Herald Examiner from 1978 until 1981; he later worked in U.S. television; born Nov. 12, 1922, in Detroit, Mich.; died March 6 at a nursing home in Santa Monica, Calif., of Alzheimer’s disease–related causes. [See 1981, p. 944A1; 1966, pp. 322F2, 166B1; Index 1962] BLAIR, Betsy (born Elizabeth Winifred Boger),

85, actress who appeared in a number of Hollywood movies in the 1940s and 1950s, notably Marty (1955), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award; her career was cut short because of her leftist politics, which led to her being blacklisted; she moved to Europe in the late 1950s and subsequently had a modest film career there; as a teenager, in 1941, she married future legendary entertainer Gene Kelly; they were divorced in 1957; her second marriage, to Czech-born British film director Karel Reisz, lasted from 1963 until his death in 2002; the following year, she published a memoir, The Memory of All That: Love and Politics in New York, Hollywood, and Paris, which ended with her marriage to Reisz, and the start of her decades of life in London; born Dec. 11, 1923, in Cliffside Park, N.J.; died March 13 in London, of cancer. [See 2002, p. 932G3; 1996, p. 76C3; Indexes 1960, 1957–58] BOND Jr., J(ames) Max, 73, architect who became a role model for the relatively few African Americans in his profession; his New York City– based firm, which he cofounded in 1970, was responsible for such projects as New York’s Schomberg Cen-

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ter for Research in Black Culture, the Martin Luther King Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta, Ga., the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute in Alabama, and the museum planned for the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the site of the felled twin towers of New York’s World Trade Center; born July 17, 1935, in Louisville, Ky.; died Feb. 18 in New York, of cancer. [See 2008, pp. 958B1, 633G3] BRINEGAR, Claude Stout (born Claude Rawles Stout), 82, U.S. transportation secretary, 1973–75,

under two Republican presidents, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford; he helped enact the nationwide 55-mileper-hour (88-kmph) speed limit for vehicles, which Nixon signed into law in early 1974, and which remained in effect until 1995; he also played a key role in the creation of the Consolidated Rail Corp. (Conrail) freight-train system; born Dec. 16, 1926, in Rockport, Calif.; died March 13 at a retirement community in Palo Alto, Calif., of natural causes. [See 1995, p. 885A1; 1975, pp. 58E2, 25F2; Indexes 1972–74] BROWN, Anne Wiggins, 96, soprano best known for creating the role of Bess in the original 1935 production of George Gershwin’s folk opera Porgy and Bess; she auditioned for, and won, the role—which Gershwin expanded while working with her before the opera’s premiere—while in her second year of graduate studies at New York City’s Juilliard School (then known as the New Institute of Musical Art), which she was reportedly the first black singer to attend; finding her career opportunities as a classical singer in the U.S. limited by racism, she moved to Norway in the late 1940s, and taught voice for many years at a drama school in Oslo, the Norwegian capital; the third of her three husbands was Thorleif Schjelderup, a Norwegian philosopher, journalist and Olympic skier; born Aug. 9, 1912, in Baltimore, Md.; died March 13 in Oslo. [See 1998, pp. 259G3, 212C3] CHAPIN, Schuyler Garrison, 86, New York City arts administrator; he was, among other things, acting general manager and then general manager of the Metropolitan Opera (1972–75), dean of Columbia University’s Graduate School of the Arts (1976-87) and the city’s cultural affairs commissioner during the mayoralty of Rudoph Giuliani (1994–2001); born Feb. 13, 1923, in New York; died March 7 at his home there; he had been in poor health since suffering a heart attack in 2005. [See 1973, p. 756B2; 1972, p. 1076B2] CHAPLIN, Sydney Earle, 82, actor son of legendary British comedian and film director Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977); one of two sons from his father’s brief marriage (1924–27) to actress Lita Grey, he acted in a number of films but was best known for his work on Broadway, notably in two musicals, Bells Are Ringing (1956) and Funny Girl (1964); his starring role in the former, opposite Judy Holliday, netted him a Tony Award in 1957; born March 30, 1926, in Los Angeles; died March 3 at his home in Rancho Mirage, Calif., after a stroke. [See 1977, p. 1024B1; 1970, p. 436D3; Indexes 1967, 1964, 1962, 1959–60, 1956–57] FARMER, Philip Jose, 91, science fiction writer known for his bold mixing of genres in his many, widely translated novels and short stories; an early story of his, “The Lovers” (1952), about a sexual relationship between a male earthling and a female alien, broke what was then a taboo against erotic content in science fiction and was originally published in a pulp magazine after the two leading sci-fi editors of that era rejected it; born Jan. 26, 1918, in North Terre Haute, Ind.; died in his sleep Feb. 25 at his home in Peoria, Ill. FRANKLIN, John Hope, 94, historian and civil rights activist who wrote From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans (1947), and other landmark studies of the role of blacks in American history; he was an emeritus professor of history at Duke University, and had taught at other leading universities, including the University of Chicago, Harvard, and Cambridge University in England; he served as the first black president of the American Historical Association from 1978 to 1979, and in 1997–98 was chairman of then–President Bill Clinton’s advisory board on race relations; among his many honors were the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1995) and the Library of Congress’s lucrative Kluge Prize (2006); born Jan. 2, 1915, in Rentiesville, Okla.; died March 25 at a hospital in Durham, N.C., of congestive heart failure. [See 2006, p. 943B1–C1; 1998, p. 309G2; Indexes 1997, 1995, 1993, 1962] GOODY, Jade Cerisa Lorraine, 27, onetime dental assistant who became a star of British reality television; since being diagnosed with cervical cancer in August 2008, she had made her battle with the disease a public affair; knowing that she was near death and wanting to leave her two sons as much money as possible, she got married in February after selling the rights to the wedding ceremony for about £1 million ($1.5 million); born June 5, 1981, in London; died March 22 at her home in Upshire, England. [See p. 139G3]

HENDERSON, Sir (John) Nicholas, 89, British diplomat who, as ambassador to the U.S. from 1979 to 1982, helped secure U.S. support for Britain in its 1982 war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands; he had come out of retirement in 1979 to assume the post, at the behest of then–Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher; earlier, he had served as Britain’s ambassador to Poland (1969–72), West Germany (1972–75) and France (1975–79); born in London April 1, 1919; died March 16 at his home in London; the cause of his death was not reported. [See 1982, p. 429A1] KAUFMAN, Millard, 92, screenwriter who wrote Academy Award–nominated scripts for two films, Take the High Ground! (1953) and Bad Day at Black Rock (1955), and not only scripted but directed Convicts 4 (1962); he also helped create the cartoon character Mr. Magoo in the late 1940s, and published his first novel, Bowl of Cherries, in 2007, at age 90; his second novel, Misadventure, was set to be published in the fall; born March 12, 1917, in Baltimore, Md.; died March 14 at a hospital in Los Angeles, of open-heartsurgery complications. [See 1965, p. 487E2; 1962, p. 504E2; Indexes 1960, 1957, 1953] LAWRENCE, Jack (born Jack Lawrence Schwartz), 96, songwriter whose songs—for some of

which he wrote the lyrics and for others of which he wrote words and music—were recorded by, and helped launch or advance the careers of, such artists as the Ink Spots (“If I Didn’t Care,” 1939), Dinah Shore (“Yes, My Darling Daughter,” 1940), Frank Sinatra (“All or Nothing at All,” 1943), Rosemary Clooney (“Tenderly,” 1952) and Bobby Darin (“Beyond the Sea,” 1959); in later years, he was a theater owner and Broadway producer; born April 7, 1912, in New York City; died March 15 at a hospital in Danbury, Conn., of renal failure and complications from a pelvic fracture. [See 1984, pp. 364F1, G1; 1958, p. 42D3; Indexes 1957, 1951] LIVINGSTON, Alan Wendell, 91, music executive who was president of Capitol Records when that company introduced the British rock group the Beatles to the U.S. market in 1964; earlier, he had created the children’s character Bozo the Clown and had help revive the career of singer Frank Sinatra; in the late 1950s, he helped launch the long-running television series “Bonanza,” which featured theme music by his brother, Academy Award–winning songwriter Jay Livingston, who died in 2001; from 1955 to 1960, he was married to actress Betty Hutton, who died in 2007; born Oct. 15, 1917, in McDonald, Pa.; died March 13 at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif., after a series of ministrokes. [See 2008, p. 512B3; 2007, p. 168D3; 2001, p. 872G1] McAFEE, George Anderson, 90, star halfback with the National Football League’s Chicago Bears in the 1940s, when the team won three NFL championships (in 1940, 1941 and 1946); he acquired the nicknamed “One-Play McAfee” for his ability to score in a wide variety of ways; he retired after the 1950 season and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966; born March 13, 1918, in Corbin, Ky.; died March 4 at a hospital in Snellville, Ga.; the cause of his death was not disclosed. [See 1941, pp. 490L, 360M] MERCADO Jr., Ralph, 67, promoter of various genres of Latin music who was also a record and video producer, music publisher and nightclub owner; among his clients were salsa superstars Celia Cruz and Tito Puente; born Sept. 29, 1941, in New York City; died March 10 in Hackensack, N.J., of cancer. [See 2003, p. 568F1; 2000, p. 380E3] PINELLI, Tullio, 100, Italian screenwriter; he coauthored the first nine, and last two, of Federico Fellini’s films, included such classics as La Strada (1954), La Dolce Vita (1960) and 8½ (1963); he also worked with such other renowned Italian filmmakers as Pietro Germi and Roberto Rossellini; born June 24, 1908, in Turin, Italy; died March 7 in Rome. [See 2005, p. 379E2; 1993, p. 840C3; Indexes 1986, 1965–67, 1962, 1956–57, 1952, 1950] RICHARD, Wendy (born Wendy Emerton), 65, British actress best known for her role as workingclass matriarch Pauline Fowler in the British Broadcasting Corp.’s long-running television soap opera “EastEnders”; she appeared in the show from 1985 to 2006; born July 20, 1943, in Middlesbrough, England; died Feb. 26 at a clinic in London, after a long battle with breast cancer. [See 2005, p. 512E2] ZIEFF, Howard, 81, onetime director of television commercials who became a Hollywood filmmaker in the 1970s, specializing in comedies; he directed nine of them before Parkinson’s disease forced him to retire in the mid-1990s; the first of his films was Slither (1973); others included Private Benjamin (1980) and The Dream Team (1989); born Oct. 21, 1927, in Chicago; died Feb. 22 at a hospital in Los Angeles, of Parkinson’s complications. [See 1994, p. 148B2; 1991, p. 1016E1; Indexes 1989, 1979, 1973] n

March 26, 2009

G-20 Summit Held in London; IMF Funding Boosted To $1 Trillion to Fight Economic Crisis Obama Makes Debut on World Stage. The Group of 20 (G-20), comprised of the world’s leading advanced and developing economic powers, April 1–2 held a summit meeting in London in an effort to develop a coordinated response to the global economic crisis. U.S. President Barack Obama took a central role at the summit, making his highest-profile international appearance since taking office in January. At the end of the summit, the leaders agreed to increase funding for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to $1.1 trillion, so the IMF could increase lending and boost global trade. [See pp. 188F2, 177A1, 169B3, 162A3] On the sidelines of the summit, Obama April 1 held his first meetings with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and Chinese President Hu Jintao. Obama and Medvedev pledged to finalize a new nuclear arms reduction treaty by the end of 2009. Obama and Hu agreed to expand ongoing bilateral economic talks to include security issues as well. Obama accepted invitations to visit both Russia and China later in the year. [See below] In the run-up to the summit, differences had emerged between the U.S. and European nations, led by France and Germany, over how to respond to the economic crisis. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, warning against recklessly adding to budget deficits and debt, had led opposition to Obama’s calls for more countries to follow the U.S.’s lead in enacting large spending increases and tax cuts to stimulate their economies. Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy had also sought to rally support for new global financial regulations, blaming unfettered markets, especially in the U.S., for sparking the crisis. Sarkozy April 1 threatened to walk out of the summit unless the G-20 reached an agreement on implementing such regulations. He toned down his threat later that day at a news conference with Merkel, but still called such measures “nonnegotiable,” declaring, “France and Germany will speak with one and the same voice.” Meanwhile, Britain and Japan joined the U.S. in backing aggressive stimulus measures and regulation that would be implemented on a national rather than global scale. Obama after meeting with the summit’s host, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, April 1 warned that the world could no longer expect the U.S. to drive global economic growth with its “voracious consumer market,” because “in the wake of this crisis, even as we’re doing stimulus, we have to take into account our own deficits.” He added, “If there is going to be renewed growth, it can’t just be the United States as the engine, everybody is going to have to pick up the pace.” Obama also accepted some of the European criticism, saying, “If you look at the sources of the crisis, the United States certainly has some accounting to do with respect to a regulatory system that was inadequate to the massive changes that had taken place in the global financial system.”

Funding Boost Set for IMF—Brown April 2 announced that the G-20 leaders had agreed to make $1.1 trillion in funding available to the IMF, in order to boost the IMF’s power to make emergency loans to help countries through the crisis, and to facilitate world trade. The leaders said they had agreed on several measures to tighten financial regulations, particularly for hedge funds and credit-rating agencies, as well as a crackdown on tax havens. Instead of agreeing to commit to specific amounts of stimulus spending, the leaders made a general pledge to “deliver the scale of sustained fiscal effort necessary to restore growth.” They pledged to meet again later in the year. Brown declared, “This is the day the world came together to fight back against the global recession.” Obama at his own post-summit news conference said, “Today, we’ve learned the lessons of history,” by not delaying action to fight a major economic crisis. Brown said the leaders had also agreed on a plan to deal with so-called toxic assets, largely mortgage-based securities, that had caused heavy losses for banks around the world and remained on many of their balance sheets. Few details of that plan were provided. The new IMF funding was to include $750 billion in loans from its member nations, a tripling of the IMF’s resources for aiding nations that were struggling in the crisis. The other $250 billion would come from an extraordinary issuance of Special Drawing Rights, which were IMF financial instruments based on a basket of international currencies, and could be traded for currencies such as the U.S. dollar, the euro or the Japanese yen. They were mostly used to balance the IMF’s accounts with its member nations. The expanded issuance would be used to increase member nations’ foreign currency reserves in an effort to finance international trade. The G-20 leaders also agreed to raise more funds for assistance to poor nations by selling off some of the IMF’s gold reserves. In their communique, the leaders vowed to “name and shame” countries that interfered with free trade by resorting to protectionist measures. The World Trade Organization (WTO) March 26 had warned that there had been “significant slippage” in commitment to free trade in recent months, with some countries adopting new import tariffs and other protectionist measures. The WTO March 23 had forecast that global trade would shrink by at least 9% in 2009, the biggest drop in the group’s 62-year history. The IMF March 25 had announced plans to ease its lending terms in order to overcome reluctance among some countries to accept assistance. The IMF said it would offer a new “flexible credit line” that countries would be encouraged to use to prevent an economic emergency, rather than waiting for one to occur before seeking aid. The

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World News Digest With Index ©2009 by Facts On File News Services An imprint of Infobase Publishing

Volume 69, No. 3563 April 2, 2009

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countries that met certain criteria for sound economic policies. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon March 25 had called on the G-20 leaders to commit to providing a $1 trillion stimulus package for the world’s poorest nations. Obama, Medvedev Talk Arms Control—

Obama and Medvedev at their meeting in London April 1 pledged to conclude a binding nuclear-arms reduction treaty by the end of the year. Obama accepted Medvedev’s invitation to visit Moscow, the Russian capital, for a summit meeting in July. [See p. 208A1] They issued a joint statement that said they were committed to “achieving a nuclear-free world” and were “ready to move beyond Cold War mentalities and chart a fresh start in relations.” They vowed to co-

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MAJOR STORIES IN THIS ISSUE G-20 summit held in London; leaders agree to $1 trillion package to fight economic crisis; Obama makes debut on world stage. PAGE 193

Obama unveils new Afghanistan strategy; more troops, narrower goals. PAGE 194

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Benedict makes first trip to Africa as pope. PAGE 195

Obama administration rejects automakers’ reform plans; bankruptcy threat for GM, Chrysler. PAGE 197

Case against former Alaska Stevens dropped.

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Detainees at U.S. Afghan base given habeas rights.

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African regional body suspends Madagascar over ouster of president. PAGE 203

Thai protesters surround prime minister’s office. PAGE 205

Netanyahu confirmed as Israeli prime minister. PAGE 209

Israeli abuses in Gaza invasion reported. PAGE 209

REFERENCES in brackets give location of background information in this & preceding volumes.

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operate on a range of issues, including the economic crisis, the war in Afghanistan and Iran’s nuclear program. However, they noted that “differences remain” between them. One key difference was a U.S. plan, begun by Obama’s predecessor, President George W. Bush, to build a missile defense system in Eastern Europe, which Russia viewed as an affront to its traditional sphere of influence. Also, during the meeting, Obama reportedly refused to recognize the independence of two breakaway regions of Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which Russia supported. (The Russia-Georgia dispute had led to a brief Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008.) [See pp. 142B1, 85D1] Medvedev said that “relations between our countries have been adrift over the past years,” but added that he saw more points for potential agreement than differences. Obama said, “What we’re seeing today is the beginning of new progress in U.S.Russian relations. And I think that President Medvedev’s leadership is, and has been, critical in allowing that progress to take place.” The revival of nuclear arms talks was seen as a major development, since the Bush administration had considered such treaties outdated and unnecessary, for the most part. Obama and Medvedev said they would negotiate a new treaty to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which was scheduled to expire at the end of the year. Obama also said he would press the U.S. Senate to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which it had rejected in 1999. [See 2002, p. 454E2] China Proposes New Reserve Currency—

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China in the run-up to the G-20 summit March 23 proposed the creation of a new international reserve currency, managed by the IMF, to replace the dominant role of the U.S. dollar. China held the world’s largest currency reserves (valued at about $2 trillion), more than half of which was in U.S. Treasury bonds and other dollar-denominated securities. Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao earlier in March had expressed concerns about the safety of those investments, given Obama’s plans to run massive deficits over the next several years, which could cause a decline in the value of the dollar, and therefore of the bonds held by China. China’s central bank governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, unveiled the new currency idea in a paper released March 23. Zhou called for a “super-sovereign” currency, or one that would not be issued by any individual nation. Instead, it would be created by expanding the use of the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner March 25 appeared to give a tentative endorsement of the idea, saying, “We’re actually quite open to that suggestion.” After his remarks caused the dollar to drop suddenly against other currencies in exchange markets, Geithner delivered a new message later in the day, saying, “The dollar remains the world’s dominant reserve currency,” adding, “I think that’s likely to continue for a long period of time.” That

appeared to reassure investors, as the dollar recovered most of its losses that day. Hu reportedly did not raise the idea of creating a new currency in his April 1 meeting with Obama. Hu April 1 also met with Sarkozy in a bid to ease tensions between China and France over Sarkozy’s previous criticism of China’s treatment of its Tibet region and his meeting in December 2008 with the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader. The Chinese and French foreign ministries issued a joint statement affirming that “Tibet is an integral part of Chinese territory.” [See p. 98C2] Obamas Meet Queen, Prime Minister—

Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, April 1 visited Brown and his wife, Sarah Brown, at the prime minister’s official residence at 10 Downing Street in London. Then the Obamas visited Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, at Buckingham Palace in London. They gave the queen an Apple iPod loaded with music and video from her 2007 trip to the U.S. They also gave her a rare songbook by U.S. composer Richard Rodgers. When Brown visited the U.S. in March, Obama had given him a selection of DVDs of classic Hollywood movies, a gift criticized as inadequate by the British press. [See p. 124A2] Michelle Obama drew notice by putting an arm around the queen while talking to her. Traditional protocol discouraged nonroyal visitors from touching the queen. London Protest Turns Violent— About 4,000 people April 1 demonstrated against the G-20 summit in London’s financial district, known as the City. The protest turned violent when some participants smashed windows at a branch of Royal Bank of Scotland PLC, which had been taken over by the government after racking up record losses in 2008. Rioters also attacked the Bank of England, the British central bank, and clashed with police, who arrested more than 30 people. About 5,000 police officers had been deployed throughout London to contain the protests and guard the summit. [See p. 207B2] Global Output Decline Forecast—The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank March 31 both forecast that global economic output would shrink in 2009 for the first time since World War II. The World Bank projected a 1.7% drop in output, while the OECD projected that the global economy would contract by 2.75%. [See p. 182C3] n

U.S. President Obama Unveils New Afghanistan Strategy More Troops, Narrower Goals. U.S. President Barack Obama March 27 unveiled his strategy for fighting the war in Afghanistan. He described the U.S.’s main goal as defeating the Taliban militia and eliminating the safe havens of the Al Qaeda terrorist network in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan. Obama called for 4,000 more U.S. troops to be sent to Afghanistan to help train the country’s own military, and for an increased focus on pressuring Pakistan to combat Taliban and Al Qaeda elements op-

erating on its soil, while aiding the country in those efforts. [See p. 137A2] Obama’s approach, unveiled after a two-month review of Afghanistan policy, was seen as more narrowly focused than that of his predecessor, George W. Bush, who had made much of the broader goal of nurturing democracy in Afghanistan. Obama said that the reason for the U.S.’s continued involvement in Afghanistan was the fact that “the terrorists who planned and supported the 9/11 attacks” were operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan, referring to Al Qaeda’s Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S., which had spurred a U.S.-led military assault in 2001 to oust the Taliban from power in Afghanistan. He said the U.S.’s “clear and focused goal” was to “disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan.” He said terrorists allied with the group could use their haven there to plan attacks elsewhere as well, meaning that “the safety of people around the world is at stake.” Obama said his administration would establish benchmarks to determine whether the U.S. was meeting its goals in the region. The 4,000 new troops were intended to help Afghanistan reach a goal of doubling the size of its military, to 134,000. The additional U.S. troops, when added to a 17,000 deployment Obama had ordered in February, would bring the U.S.’s total number of forces there to more than 60,000. That would be about twice as many as the total number of other North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) troops, in a shift from the Bush administration’s efforts to get non-U.S. NATO nations to shoulder more of the burden in Afghanistan. U.S. military commanders had reportedly pressed for a greater increase in troops,

Facts On File World News Digest With Index (ISSN 0014-6641) Publication #183680 EDITOR IN CHIEF: Jonathan Taylor MANAGING EDITOR: Jennifer Dunham SENIOR EDITOR: Joshua Lustig EDITORS: Rahul Chadha, Ian McGullam, Ryu Spaeth ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Todd Grennan, Shannon O’Toole DATABASE COORDINATOR: Ben Miller INDEX EDITOR: Jonathan Leith COPY EDITOR: Walter Kronenberg EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS: Ingrid Jungermann, Ernesto Malinis Jr. FACTS ON FILE World News Digest is published weekly by Facts On File News Services, an imprint of Infobase Publishing, 132 West 31st Street, 17th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001 (212-290-8090). Subscription $900 a year. Yearbooks (bound volumes) available from 1941. Cumulative Index published twice a month. Vice President & Publisher: Louise Bloomfield. Associate Publisher: Marjorie B. Bank. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y. and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Facts On File World News Digest, Facts On File News Services, 132 West 31st Street, 17th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001

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foreseeing a Taliban offensive as Afghan elections, scheduled for August, drew near. Gen. David Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command, April 1 said the military had proposed that another 10,000 troops be sent in 2010, and that Obama was to decide on the request in the fall. [See below] The U.S. would also send hundreds more civilians to the country to “promote a more capable and accountable government” and help it “develop an economy that isn’t dominated by illicit drugs,” Obama said, referring to the country’s opium trade. Pakistan’s Cooperation Called Crucial—

Obama said that progress in Afghanistan was inseparable from Pakistan’s success in “going after Al Qaeda” in its safe havens along the border with Afghanistan, and that the Pakistani government’s own stability depended on it as well. He called on Congress to approve a five-year, $7.5 billion package of aid for Pakistan to improve its infrastructure and “strengthen [its] democracy.” However, he said, “After years of mixed results, we will not provide a blank check,” demanding as a condition of the aid that Pakistan “demonstrate its commitment” to eliminating terrorists on its soil and “that action be taken—one way or the other—when we have intelligence about high-level terrorist targets.” (The U.S. regularly carried out air strikes on suspected terrorists within Pakistan using unmanned drones, and under the Bush administration had mounted some ground operations inside Pakistan.) Obama also said the U.S. would solicit the cooperation of all countries “who should have a stake in the security of the region,” among them Russia, China and India, as well as Afghanistan’s western neighbor, Iran, which the Bush administration had shunned any contact with. [See below] Afghan President Hamid Karzai March 28 praised the Obama plan as “exactly what the Afghan people were hoping for.” Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari also said it was “a positive change,” and vowed to act “firmly” against those who threatened the Pakistani government. Both Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Congress generally welcomed the strategy, although some expressed skepticism about the prospects for halting the free movement of militants back and forth across the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and securing full cooperation from the Pakistani government. Obama, in an interview with the New York Times published March 8, had suggested that he would consider seeking cooperation with moderate elements of the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan who could be enlisted in struggling against Al Qaeda. He said a similar tactic had shown results in Iraq. The Times March 11 reported that the Afghan government was proceeding with its own efforts to open talks with the Taliban. However, the Times March 27 reported that the Afghan and Pakistani branches of the Taliban had agreed to cooperate more closely against the new U.S. deployment. U.S., Iranian Officials Meet—Richard Holbrooke, the U.S.’s special envoy to AfghanApril 2, 2009

istan and Pakistan, March 31 met briefly with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Medhi Akhundzadeh, at a United Nations conference on Afghanistan held in The Hague, the Netherlands. The conference was attended by some 80 countries and organizations, including Iran, Pakistan, the World Bank, the European Union and NATO. The meeting between Holbrooke and Akhundzadeh was the first direct contact between the U.S. and Iran since Obama took office, and the latest move to open a direct dialogue; he had recently sent a video greeting to the Iranian people. [See p. 179C1] U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who also attended the forum, said the meeting was unplanned, and that Holbrooke and Akhundzadeh had discussed border security between Afghanistan and Iran, and the problem of drug traffic across it. She described the issue as a concern the U.S. shared with Iran, and said, “We will look for ways to cooperate with them.” Clinton also said a U.S. official had given a letter to the Iranian delegation asking for assistance in locating Robert Levinson, a U.S. citizen who had gone missing in Iran, and for the release of two IranianAmericans who had been detained there, journalist Roxana Saberi and student Esha Momeni. The direct delivery of the letter was a departure from the U.S.’s normal practice of directing any communications with Iran, with which it did not have diplomatic relations, through Switzerland. [See p. 189E1; 2008, p. 875A1; 2007, p. 892E2] En route to the conference, Clinton March 30 said the U.S. would give $40 million toward the $100 million the U.N. said still had to be raised to cover the cost of holding the Afghan elections. August Election Date Upheld— Karzai March 7 said he accepted the national election commission’s decision to schedule Afghanistan’s presidential election on Aug. 20. Karzai, whose term would end May 21, in late February had issued a decree that the election be held by late April, in accordance with the constitution, but the commission had rejected the decree. The commission said there was not time to make security preparations by then, and that weather conditions in much of the country would prevent many people from voting. Karzai March 7 said he intended to remain in office until the election despite the expiration of his term, defying opposition demands that he make way for an interim leader. Karzai said there was no constitutional provision for such a caretaker. He declined to say whether he planned to run in the election. Afghanistan’s Supreme Court March 29 issued a nonbinding opinion backing Karzai’s position. Other News—In other Afghan news: o A group of at least four suicide bombers April 1 attacked the office of the provincial council of the southern province of Kandahar, killing 13 people and wounding at least 14 more. The Taliban asserted that it had carried out the attack. A suicide bomber March 30 had killed at least eight people, including both police officers and civilians, in an attack on a government building just south of Kandahar city.

NATO March 23 said its troops had killed a senior Taliban commander for southern Afghanistan, Maulawi Hassan, in an attack on his compound in the southern province of Helmand. o The U.S. March 22 said five militants had been killed in a raid led by a Special Forces unit on a compound in Imam Sahib, near Afghanistan’s northern border with Tajikistan. However, the town’s mayor and other officials said the compound was his house, and that those killed were civilian members of his staff. o A suicide bomber March 16 killed nine police officers and two other people in an attack on a police antinarcotics operation in Lashkar Gal, capital of Helmand. o A roadside bombing March 15 killed four U.S. soldiers in the eastern province of Kunar, the site of a sharp increase in Taliban attacks since a new deployment of U.S. troops there at the beginning of the year. Three British troops were killed in Helmand province that day, and a French soldier had been killed the day before in the eastern province of Kapisa. n

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Religion Benedict Makes First Visit to Africa as Pope.

Pope Benedict XVI March 17–23 made his first papal visit to Africa, visiting Cameroon and Angola, where he drew enormous crowds and urged Africans to adhere to Roman Catholic teachings. However, his visit was overshadowed by comments he made en route to Cameroon, his first stop, in which he said condom use increased the risk of contracting HIV. The assertion drew sharp criticism from several European governments and health advocates worldwide. Approximately 22 million people in subSaharan Africa had contracted HIV, a number that represented about 67% of the total HIV cases in the world. [See p. 179B3; 2008, p. 274B1; 1998, p. 225E1] Africa was the fastest-growing region for Roman Catholicism. However, Islam and evangelical Christian faiths were spreading there as well, and many people also practiced animism, a broad term for religious rituals that ranged from ancestor worship to voodoo. Claims Condoms Spread HIV—Benedict March 17, en route to Yaounde, Cameroon’s capital, stated that HIV and AIDS “cannot be overcome with the distribution of condoms, which, on the contrary, increase the problem.” The Roman Catholic Church traditionally opposed contraception and maintained that abstaining from premarital sex and being faithful to one’s spouse were critical ways to fight the spread of the disease. [See 2006, p. 339E2] A torrent of criticism was unleashed after Benedict’s comments became public. Belgium’s health minister, Laurette Onkelinx, March 18 said Benedict’s statements were a “dangerous doctrinaire vision” that “could demolish years of prevention and education and endanger many human lives.” Eric Chevallier, a spokesman for the French foreign ministry, said France con195

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sidered Benedict’s comments to be “a threat to public health policies and the duty to protect human life.” Germany’s health and development ministers, in a joint statement said, “Condoms save lives, in Europe as well as on other continents…assistance to the developing world today must make access to family planning available to the poorest of the poor.” The United Nations Joint Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) March 19 released a statement that said condoms were “the single most efficient, available technology to reduce the sexual transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.” Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, March 18 said Benedict’s comments were meant to reinforce the Vatican’s stance that advocating condom use diverted attention from efforts to educate people on the church’s teachings about sex. Britain’s Guardian newspaper the same day reported that the Vatican had modified the text of Benedict’s statements on its Web site, seemingly making the claim about condoms less stark: “the scourge cannot be resolved with the distribution of prophylactics; on the contrary, the risk is of increasing the problem.” A March 27 editorial in the British medical journal Lancet called Benedict’s statements “outrageous and wildly inaccurate,” and went on to say “the pope has publicly distorted scientific evidence to promote Catholic doctrine.” Benedict, an academic who spent most of his career within the Vatican, had recently caused another uproar by rehabilitating Robert Williamson, an excommunicated bishop who said in a January television broadcast that he believed no Jews had died in Nazi gas chambers. Some critics suggested that Benedict, who reportedly had few close advisers, was too isolated to realize how his pronouncements might be received, or unwilling to consider it. Makes First Stop in Cameroon—Benedict March 17 arrived in Cameroon, and the following day met with African bishops, whom he urged to promote Catholic teachings on marriage and the family. He also met separately with Cameroonian President Paul Biya. Benedict March 19 met with 22 representatives from Cameroon’s Muslim community. (Cameroonian Christians and Muslims coexisted more peacefully than in sone neighboring countries, notably Nigeria.) The same day he celebrated an outdoor mass for as many as 60,000 people, in which he lamented the kidnapping of African children forced to fight in wars. [See pp. 134F1, 42D3; 2008, p. 884A3] Marks 500 Years of Christianity in Angola—

G

Benedict March 20 arrived in Luanda, the capital of Angola, which had celebrated the pope’s arrival by declaring a national holiday. The visit marked the 500th anniversary of the introduction of Christianity to the country. In an address March 20, Benedict recognized “the multitude of Angolans who live below the threshold of absolute poverty.” He also condemned sexual violence against women, and scolded the 45 African countries that had adopted the 196

Maputo Protocol, which, among other things, allowed women access to abortions in cases of rape or incest, or if the mother’s life was endangered by her pregnancy. Benedict said the accord represented “an irony of those who promote abortion as a form of ‘maternal’ health care.” In a second address that day, at the home of President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, Benedict urged African countries to liberate people “from the scourges of greed, violence and unrest,” and encouraged “modern civic democracy.” Dos Santos agreed that “there is a necessity to help those in need.” Dos Santos had ruled Angola for 29 years, during much of which time the country had been consumed by civil war that ended in 2002. A presidential election due in 1997 had been repeatedly postponed, most recently until later in 2009. [See 2008, p. 636A3] Benedict March 21, at a mass attended by local clergy and other church leaders in Luanda, asked his audience to urge Africans to reject belief in witchcraft. (Those accused of being witches in Africa, often homeless children and the elderly, were sometimes killed.) Benedict later that day said another mass before tens of thousands of people, in which he comforted young people who had lost family members to war. Two young women were killed that day, and 40 were injured, in a stampede to enter the arena where Benedict was speaking. Benedict March 22 outside Luanda said his last public mass before departing for Rome, in which he again advocated for the destitute and railed against war. The Vatican estimated that the mass drew a crowd of as many as a million people. n

Other International News Arab League Backs Sudan’s Bashir Against ICC.

The Arab League March 30 held its annual summit in Doha, Qatar’s capital. The summit was attended by 17 of the 22 heads of state of the league members. They included Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, for whom the International Criminal Court (ICC) earlier in March had issued an international arrest warrant for war crimes charges in connection with atrocities committed in Sudan’s western Darfur region. Arab leaders greeted him warmly and issued a resolution supporting him and calling for the charges to be dropped. [See p. 185A1; 2008, p. 225D3] Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in an opening speech March 30 denounced the indictment as “yet another chapter in the process of intimidating the Arabs and not respecting the sovereignty of their states.” He called for the West to prosecute alleged crimes committed by the U.S. and Israel in Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories before pursuing Bashir. Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa before the meeting said members would “continue our efforts to halt the implementation of the warrant.” Arab League foreign ministers drafted a resolution rejecting “attempts to politicize the principles of international justice and using them

to undermine the sovereignty, unity and stability of Sudan.” United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon attended the summit, and in a speech criticized Bashir for having “politicized” relief efforts in Darfur. Bashir had responded to the warrant by expelling many foreign aid groups from Darfur or curtailing their operations. Bashir, in his speech, called the U.N. Security Council an “undemocratic institution that…applies double standards, targeted the weak and gave a blind eye to the criminals.” (U.S. President Barack Obama March 30 repeated a request for Sudan to allow humanitarian groups that had been expelled to return to Darfur in order to provide desperately needed aid. If it refused, Obama said he would “find some mechanism” to deliver humanitarian supplies, which aides later said would mean helping aid groups that remained in Sudan.) Divisions Remain on Palestinians, Iran—

Despite the unity shown on Bashir’s behalf, deep divisions remained on other issues among Arab League members. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak refused to attend the summit. Egypt had accused Qatar of giving critics of Egypt’s inaction during Israel’s January invasion of the Gaza Strip opportunities to denounce the Mubarak regime at an emergency Arab summit and on satellite television channel Al Jazeera. Hopes that the summit could showcase a reconciliation between the rival Palestinian factions Fatah, which controlled the West Bank, and the Islamist militant group Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement), which ruled the Gaza Strip, fell flat as negotiations faltered. Arab countries also disagreed on how to handle Iran’s nuclear program and influence throughout the Middle East, and the issue was skirted at the summit. Libyan leader Muammer el-Qaddafi March 30 also caused a stir when he interrupted proceedings to criticize Saudi King Abdullah as a “British product and American ally.” When he was shouted down by Qatari Emir Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa alThani, he stormed out of the room. However, Qaddafi later adressed Abdullah in a warmer manner, proposing that they exchange visits. Qaddafi and Abdullah reportedly had been quarreling since Qaddafi launched a similar verbal sally in 2003. [See 2003, p. 134G1] n Alleged Arms Smugglers Bombed in Sudan.

News reports March 26 said that Israeli or U.S. warplanes had bombed a convoy of vehicles traveling in an isolated area of eastern Sudan, near Port Sudan and close to the border with Egypt. The vehicles had reportedly been carrying arms to be smuggled into the Gaza Strip, in defiance of the Israeli blockade of the territory. The attack had reportedly taken place in January, while Israel was fighting a war with the Palestinian militant Islamist group Hamas, which controlled the Gaza Strip. Some reports also said a second convoy had been bombed in Sudan in early February, after the Gaza fighting had ceased. [See pp. 185A1, 157G2; 2008, p. 988C1] The strikes were first reported by the independent Egyptian newspaper Al-ShoFACTS ON FILE

rouk, which said U.S. jets had killed 39 people and destroyed 17 trucks in the first convoy. CBS News later that day said Israeli planes had carried out the attack, and described that account as the “semi-official American version.” Israeli officials March 26 refused to confirm or deny Israel’s involvement in the air strikes. However, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in a speech to an academic conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, said, “We operate everywhere where we can hit terror infrastructure.” He added, “There is no point in going into detail…Those who need to know, know. And those who need to know, know that there is no place where Israel cannot operate.” Israel had a history of launching strikes outside its borders when it felt its security was threatened, including a 2007 bombing raid on what it claimed was a Syrian nuclear reactor. The U.S. military March 26 denied that it had taken part in any attack on Sudan. Sudanese Foreign Minister Deng Alor said he had no knowledge of the attacks, but they were confirmed by Highways Minister Mabrouk Mubarak Saleem. An unnamed Sudanese official said the second convoy had been carrying only African migrants, not weapons. A Sudanese government spokesman said that more than 100 people had been killed in the first attack, and called it a U.S. act of “genocide”; he added, “We don’t differentiate between the U.S. and Israel. They are all one.” The spokesman said the Sudanese government had waited to publicize the attacks because it had been investigating them, and that it was still carrying out the inquiry. The International Criminal Court (ICC) earlier in March had issued a warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, and media reports suggested that the genocide comment was part of a Sudanese backlash against those charges. [See p. 122C1] n China and Brazil Reach Oil Agreement.

Brazilian state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) Feb. 19 said it had signed an agreement to sell state-owned China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) 60,000–100,000 barrels of oil per day. Petrobras also signed a memorandum of understanding to sell an additional 60,000 barrels of oil per day to the China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC). The agreements were announced in Brasilia, Brazil’s capital, during a visit by Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, who met with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva that day. [See 2008, p. 416B1] Petrobras that day also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese Development Bank to receive up to $10 billion in financing for the exploration and extraction of massive oil reserves thought to lie off Brazil’s southern coast. Analysts said the so-called Santos Basin could hold up to 80 billion barrels of high-grade oil— as well as natural gas reserves—under layers of water, rock and salt. Petrobras said it hoped to receive the funds by May, during a scheduled visit by da Silva to China. n April 2, 2009

UNITED STATES U N I T E D S TAT E S

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Obama Administration Rejects Automakers’ Reform Plans Bankruptcy Threat for GM, Chrysler. President Barack Obama’s automobile industry task force, in a report released March 30, said government-mandated restructuring plans submitted in February by Michiganbased automakers General Motors Corp. (GM) and Chrysler LLC were unacceptable because the companies, which were currently dependent on government aid to fund daily operations, had presented unsustainable business models. The task force outlined new restructuring plans that the embattled companies were required to adopt in order to receive a requested $21.6 billion in federal loans, on top of $17.4 billion in loans they had already received. Government officials repeatedly stated that they would let the companies enter bankruptcy if they failed to implement meaningful changes. [See pp. 184C1, 92E2] As a requirement of the administration’s plan, GM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rick Wagoner March 29 was forced to resign, in one of the sharpest government interventions in a private company since the Great Depression. The task force March 30 said the auto companies’ “best chance at success may well require utilizing the bankruptcy code in a quick and surgical way.” Obama affirmed that the companies would likely be forced to enter bankruptcy restructuring if they failed to reach satisfactory agreements with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union and bondholders, or if restructuring plans were otherwise inadequate. However, he said it would not be “a process where a company is simply broken up, sold off and no longer exists,” or is “stuck in court for years.” Under the government’s plans, GM would have 60 days to settle with its creditors, negotiate a modified contract with the UAW and consolidate its sprawling operations by eliminating jobs and closing factories. The government concluded that Chrysler was too weak to go forward as an independent company, and gave it 30 days to merge with Italy’s Fiat SpA, with which it had already formed a tentative alliance in January. The government would continue to fund operations for both companies until their respective deadlines passed, at which point it would either deem the revised business models acceptable and disburse more loans, or reject them, at which point the companies would be forced into bankruptcy restructuring. [See p. 47G3] The government was requiring both companies to renegotiate their labor contracts, under which burgeoning retiree benefit costs had become harder for the companies to bear amid an accelerating decline in U.S. auto sales over the past year. The companies were also required to negotiate debt-for-equity swaps with their bondholders, who owned billions of dollars in automaker debt. The automakers were supposed to have negotiated those agreements by March 31, the deadline set by the administration of Obama’s predecessor, President George W.

Bush, when he had approved the initial $17.4 billion rescue loan for the companies in December 2008. However, neither bondholders nor the UAW had been willing to accept the deep concessions that the Obama administration was now forcing alongside threats of bankruptcy. In order for the automakers to become profitable, bondholders would have to agree to take some losses, and the UAW would have to make concessions on workers’ compensation and allow the companies to fund half of their massive health care obligations with company stock rather than cash. Such concessions had already been approved by UAW workers at Dearborn, Mich.–based Ford Motor Co., which had not received government assistance. [See 2008, p. 933A1] In order to boost consumer confidence in the companies, the government March 30 also said it would temporarily back warranties on new GM and Chrysler vehicles. The federal guarantee would end if and when the government deemed the companies healthy again. Funding for that program would come from the $787 billion economic stimulus plan passed in February. The government also planned to offer a tax incentive for people to purchase new vehicles from the two companies. [See p. 89A1] Observers suggested the strategy the administration rolled out March 30 represented a major political risk for Obama, who faced questions about why he appeared to be tougher on failing automakers than on failing financial institutions that had received extensive government assistance. He also risked losing the support of unions, a major Democratic voting bloc, if he attempted to exact too many concessions from UAW members. Prior to the auto task force’s verdict, Obama March 26 had warned the UAW and the automakers’ bondholders that “if they’re not willing to make the changes and restructurings that are necessary, then I’m not willing to have taxpayer money chase after bad money.” He went on to caution that the U.S. auto industry would probably not see the large market share it “had back in the 1950s.” However, Obama also maintained that the auto industry was a vital part of the U.S. economy, and March 30 said “we cannot, we must not, and we will not let our auto industry simply vanish.” GM and Chrysler together employed about 132,000 people in the U.S., and an enormous network of suppliers and auto dealers depended on a healthy U.S. auto industry for their livelihoods. [See p. 164B2]

B

C

D

E

F

GM Must Settle With Creditors in 60 Days—

Obama’s task force concluded that the plan GM had submitted in February was inadequate because health care and pension obligations would reach “unsustainable levels reaching approximately $6 billion per year in 2013 and 2014,” and because GM had assumed too rosy an outlook for its sales. It gave GM 60 days to reach agreements with its bondholders and the UAW. GM was seeking $16.6 billion in federal 197

G

April Financial Update

A

(Close of trading April 2 except where indicated)

Stocks and Bonds Dow Jones Industrial Average

7,761.60

Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index Nasdaq Composite Index London Stock Exchange

811.08 1,551.60 3,955.61

Tokyo Stock Exchange

8,351.91

Toronto Stock Exchange

8,941.82

(see box, p. 198A3)

(Financial Times-Stock Exchange 100) (Nikkei index)

(TSE Composite Index)

B

U.S. 10-Year Treasury Note (yield) U.S. 6-Month Treasury Bill (yield) Currencies (late New York trading) Australia (dollar) (in U.S. dollars) Britain (pound) (in U.S. dollars) Canada (dollar) (in U.S. dollars) European Union (euro) (in U.S. dollars) Japan (yen) (per U.S. dollar) Mexico (peso) (per U.S. dollar) Switzerland (franc) (in U.S. dollars)

C

$927.40

Silver (per troy oz.)

$12.9800

(N.Y. Comex spot price) (London fixing spot price) (Nymex crude future)

$1.9523

Wheat (No. 2 hard, per bushel)

$5.9100

(Kansas City market)

Recent U.S. Data Inflation

(consumer price index 12-month increase through February; see p. 182E3)

Unemployment rate

(February; see p. 147F1)

G

0.2% 8.1%

Gross domestic product growth

-6.3%

Prime rate

3.25%

(annualized fourth-quarter 2008 rate, final report; see p. 182B3)

F

$48.39

Gasoline (per gallon)

(nationwide weighted average price at the pump; Lundberg survey released March 22)

E

$0.6992 $1.4438 $0.7929 $1.3232 98.67 13.8985 $0.8726

Commodities Gold (per troy oz.)

Oil (per barrel)

D

2.65% 0.39%

loans, on top of the $13.4 billion it had already received. Thousands of GM bondholders owned about $27 billion in unsecured debt, or debt that was not protected by underlying collateral. In order to make GM sustainable, the government required that two-thirds of that debt be swapped for equity. Bondholders had reportedly been unhappy with GM’s most recent offer, which, according to cable news network CNBC March 27, consisted of bondholders receiving eight cents to the dollar in cash for every dollar in bonds, 16 cents to the dollar in new unsecured debt and a 90% equity stake in GM. GM also owed an additional $20 billion to the UAW to fund a union-administered health care trust called a voluntary employees’ beneficiary association or VEBA, which had been implemented under a 2007 UAW contract. (UAW workers at all three of the Michigan-based automakers had made deep concessions under the 2007 contracts, which were ratified after contentious negotiations and brief strikes at GM and Chrysler.) Under the government’s plan, the UAW would have to allow GM to finance as much as half of that obligation with GM stock. GM would also have to negotiate wage concessions from the UAW. [See 2007, p. 733E3] The government also required that GM eliminate significantly more jobs than the 198

47,000 it had proposed in its February restructuring plan, and that it close a number of factories and eliminate unprofitable models. About 7,500 GM workers had accepted the company’s most recent buyout package, which expired April 1. Workers who took the buyout received as much as $45,000. However, the New York Times March 27 reported that only a third of workers eligible for the buyout had accepted it. In order to cut costs, GM sought to replace older workers with newer employees who were paid less. If GM went into bankruptcy restructuring, a judge could reduce or eliminate UAW members’ pensions and health care benefits, and bondholders would risk losing part of their investment. The March 29 task force report also notably said the company’s Chevy Volt, a fuelefficient electric hybrid car that the company had touted as a symbol of its future prosperity, was “too expensive to be commercially successful in the short term.” GM Could Be Split Into Two Parts—According to media reports, the government favored a plan by which GM would declare bankruptcy and then split into two parts: a “good” GM that would hold the profitable parts of the company, like Cadillac and Chevrolet, and a “bad” GM whose unprofitable components could be disassembled and sold off. The sustainable parts of GM would then emerge from bankruptcy as a new company financed by the government, with stakes in it distributed to GM’s creditors. The “good” GM would also assume the burden of paying back the recent federal loans. The “bad” components of GM would likely languish in bankruptcy court until they could be sold or wound down. The assets from liquidation would go toward paying back creditors. The “bad” GM would hold on to the company’s billions of dollars in retiree health care obligations. GM CEO Wagoner Forced Out—The administration March 29 announced that as part of the auto industry overhaul, Wagoner, who had headed GM since 2000, had been asked to step down. Wagoner reportedly learned of his ouster in a March 27 meeting with Steven Rattner, the head of Obama’s auto task force. GM Chief Operating Officer Frederick (Fritz) Henderson would take his place as the new, permanent CEO of GM. Much of GM’s board of directors was also expected to be replaced. Kent Kresa, who had previously served as a director, would head the board on an interim basis. GM’s U.S. market share had shrunk by about 10% since Wagoner became chairman in 2000, and its stock was currently worth about $4 per share, down from $70 in 2000. Wagoner’s critics said he had focused too heavily on both promoting large gas-guzzling vehicles and improving GM’s market share overseas, while the company’s finances had deteriorated. He was considered likely to receive his full pension and other benefits, thought to be worth about $23 million. He was to stay with the

Dow Jones Industrial Average Trading on the New York Stock Exchange Closing

March 2 3

4

5 6 9 10 11 12 13 16 17 18 19 20 23 24 25 26 27 30 31

6,763.29 6,726.02 6,875.84 6,594.44 6,626.94 6,547.05 6,926.49 6,930.40 7,170.06 7,223.98 7,216.97 7,395.70 7,486.58 7,400.80 7,278.38 7,775.86 7,659.97 7,749.81 7,924.56 7,776.18 7,522.02 7,608.92

Volume (in millions of shares) 1,971.2 1,885.6 1,794.0 1,852.0 1,768.5 1,555.0 2,172.9 1,741.6 1,797.9 1,608.9 1,894.5 1,488.8 2,071.5 1,950.8 2,428.3 1,900.5 1,634.5 1,767.9 1,795.3 1,439.1 1,503.1 1,625.4

company in an unspecified position, with a salary of $1 a year. [See p. 161A1] Chrysler Must Ally With Fiat—The auto task force March 30 said Chrysler was not viable as a stand-alone company, and the Treasury gave it 30 days’ funding to buy time for it to negotiate a partnership with Fiat, under which the Italian company would purchase the “good” parts of Chrysler. The government was expected to take a strong hand in negotiating that deal. Chrysler was also required to “extinguish” most of its $9 billion in secured debt, and exact wage and health care–related concessions from the UAW, to which it owed $10 billion to fund its VEBA. If Chrysler met the government’s requirements, it would be eligible for a $6 billion government loan, on top of $4 billion in federal loans it had already received. Chrysler in January had said it and Fiat had negotiated a deal by which Fiat would take a 35% stake in Chrysler, and would use its factories to build some of its models for sale in the U.S. Chrysler in return would receive access to Fiat technologies for building more fuel-efficient cars. However, under the government-mandated plan, Fiat would take only a 20% stake in Chrysler, and would not be allowed to increase its ownership stake above 49% until Chrysler paid back government loans. Administration officials reportedly said Cerberus Capital Management LP would see its 80% stake in Chrysler mostly wiped out under the plan. Chrysler’s negotiations on secured debt holders were expected to be difficult. Many bondholders reportedly felt they were being asked to approve more painful concessions than the UAW was being asked to make. Similarly, some observers suggested that the bondholders would get more money on their investment from bankruptcy negotiations than in talks with Chrysler and the government. FACTS ON FILE

If Chrysler went bankrupt, as the government had threatened to allow it to do if it did not satisfy the provisions outlined in the restructuring plan, its assets would be sold in order to pay its debt. Reaction—Reaction to the Obama administration’s March 29 move was mixed. Some observers applauded Obama for taking decisive action. However, many conservatives, including Sen. Bob Corker (R, Tenn.), decried the move as an unacceptable government intrusion into the private sector. Corker March 30 said, “This administration has decided that they know better than our courts and our free-market process how to deal with these companies.” He also claimed that “firing Rick Wagoner is a sideshow to distract us from the fact that the administration had no progress to announce today.” Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) similarly claimed that Wagoner had been the administration’s “sacrificial lamb,” and said the Obama administration had created a double standard “with respect to the way manufacturing companies are treated and the way Wall Street is treated.” Sen. Carl Levin (D, Mich.) said the automakers “will hopefully see that they have a pretty stark choice in terms of working something out.” Rep. John Dingell (D, Mich.) cautioned Obama that bankruptcy was “like a war or marriage; it’s easy to get into, hard to get out of.” n

Politics Case Against Former Sen. Stevens Dropped.

The Justice Department April 1 dropped all its corruption charges against former Sen. Ted Stevens (R, Alaska), after Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. said a review of the case had confirmed errors by federal prosecutors that denied Stevens a fair trial. Holder said he would not pursue a new trial. A jury had convicted Stevens in October 2008 on seven felony counts in connection with making false statements to conceal free home renovations and other gifts he received. He narrowly lost his bid for reelection eight days later. Stevens, 85, had been the longest-serving Republican senator in history, having held his seat since 1968. [See 2008, pp. 852G1, 788A1] Holder said prosecutors had failed to turn over notes from an interview with a key witness to Stevens’s lawyers. In the interview, on April 15, 2008, the witness, Bill Allen, had made statements that contradicted parts of his subsequent testimony at the trial. In a motion submitted to Judge Emmet Sullivan of U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., asking him to dismiss the case, the Justice Department said those notes “could have been used by the defendant to cross-examine Bill Allen and in arguments to the jury.” Sullivan had chastised prosecutors for their conduct on several occasions during the trial, and said he came close to declaring a mistrial. Sullivan Feb. 13 ruled three of the prosecutors in contempt of court after they failed to comply with his order to April 2, 2009

turn over documents. Sullivan had requested the documents in order to verify allegations made by a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent, Chad Joy, that evidence had been improperly withheld from Stevens’s lawyers and the judge. Allen, as chief executive of VECO Corp., a now-defunct Alaskan oil services company, had provided the renovations to Stevens’s house in Girdwood, Alaska. In the April interview, Allen had estimated the value of the work at $80,000, well below the estimate he gave in his trial testimony. The notes also showed that Allen had said he did not recall a conversation with another friend of Stevens about sending the senator a bill for the renovations. At the trial, Allen testified that the mutual friend had told him not to send Stevens a bill in response to a message from Stevens asking for one. Stevens had maintained at the trial that he had paid all the bills that he received for the renovations and had not knowingly concealed any gifts. Stevens April 1 issued a statement saying, “I am grateful that the new team of responsible prosecutors at the Department of Justice has acknowledged that I did not receive a fair trial and has dismissed all the charges against me.” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R, Ky.) that day said there was “no question” that Stevens would have won reelection “if this decision had been made last year.” The Alaskan Republican Party April 2 called for a special election to allow Stevens to try to win his seat back from Sen. Mark Begich (D). n

Terrorism Bagram Detainees Given Habeas Rights.

Judge John Bates in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., April 2 ruled that three terrorism detainees being held at a military prison at the U.S. Air Base in Bagram, Afghanistan, had the right to challenge their indefinite detentions in U.S. courts. The ruling came in the case of four detainees at Bagram who had been held without charge by the U.S. for six years or more as enemy combatants. [See pp. 150C3, 112F2; 2008, p. 389A1] Bates ruled that three of the four detainees—two Yemenis and a Tunisian—challenging their detentions had the right to be heard in U.S. courts on the grounds that they had been held for an unreasonable length of time, were not from Afghanistan and had not been captured in Afghanistan. Bates cited a June 2008 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that had granted habeas corpus rights to terrorism detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and found that the circumstances at Bagram were sufficiently similar to those at Guantanamo that the Supreme Court’s ruling also applied there. The fourth detainee was an Afghan who had been captured in another country and brought by the U.S. to Bagram. Bates did not rule on whether the Afghan detainee had the right to challenge his detention, due to concerns that allowing him to do so might complicate U.S. relations with the

government of Afghanistan. He ordered attorneys for the detainee and the U.S. government to file briefs outlining their arguments on that question. Both the Bush and Obama administrations had argued that U.S. courts lacked the jurisdiction to hear habeas corpus lawsuits filed by detainees at Bagram, using legal arguments similar to those used by the Bush administration in relation to Guantanamo. About 650 prisoners were thought to be held by the U.S. at Bagram, including at least 20 terrorism detainees who had been sent there after being captured outside Afghanistan. Analysts said that the ruling would make it more difficult for the Obama administration to use Bagram to detain terrorism suspects if the suspects were not Afghans and had been captured in other countries. President Barack Obama had ordered the 2010 closure of Guantanamo, but had not announced any plans to close Bagram. n Waterboarding of Detainee Called Fruitless.

The use of harsh interrogation tactics, including waterboarding, a type of simulated drowning, against terrorism detainee Abu Zubaydah resulted in little useful information and did not contribute to the quashing of any planned terrorist attacks, the Washington Post reported March 29. The report, which was based in part on interviews with unidentified U.S. counterterrorism officials, found that the U.S. had misidentified Zubaydah, a Saudi-born Palestinian, as a high-ranking official of the international terrorist network Al Qaeda and had wasted resources attempting to stop fictitious terrorist attacks that Zubaydah had talked about while subjected to harsh interrogation. [See p. 183C3; 2008, p. 71F2] Zubaydah, 38, also known as Zain alAbidin Muhammed Hussein, had been captured in March 2002 and was described by then-–President George W. Bush as Al Qaeda’s “chief of operations.” According to the Post, Zubaydah was never an actual member of Al Qaeda and had been mistaken for a high-ranking official due to his informal role organizing travel to training camps in Afghanistan for would-be Islamist militants. He reportedly had begun working in conjunction with Al Qaeda only after Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists attacks against the U.S., when the U.S. was on the verge of invading Afghanistan, where he lived. Zubaydah knew alleged Sept. 11 attacks mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and had been approached by Mohammed in the 1990s when Mohammed was seeking help finding people willing to fund a planned suicide attack on New York City’s World Trade Center. Zubaydah reportedly declined to help Mohammed, but recommended that he discuss his plans, which were a forerunner to the plot carried out in 2001, with Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. However, other sources cited by the Post contended that Zubaydah had played a key logistical role for Al Qaeda and had revealed important information about the organization. Most Useful Information Uncoerced—

The Post reported that most of the useful information given to the U.S. by Zubaydah 199

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

A

B

C

D

E

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came in the form of the names of people connected to Al Qaeda. Nearly all such information was obtained before the government began its use of harsh interrogation tactics against Zubaydah, it said. The Bush administration had reportedly authorized the use of waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques against Zubaydah and increased its pressure on the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to intensify interrogations in the belief that Zubaydah was holding back vital information that could protect the U.S. against imminent Al Qaeda attacks. According to the Post, no significant terrorist attacks were prevented by Zubaydah’s interrogation, which the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had deemed “torture” in a secret 2007 report. Bush administration officials, including former Vice President Dick Cheney two weeks earlier, continued to maintain that detainees subjected to the approved harsh interrogation techniques had revealed unspecified information leading to the disruption of terrorist plots. n Detainee Cleared For Release. The Justice Department March 30 announced that it planned to release Ayman Saeed Abdullah Batarfi, a Yemeni detainee at the U.S. military prison for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, once a country was found to accept him. It was unclear when Batarfi would be released or where he would be sent; U.S. officials had previously been reluctant to return detainees to Yemen, which was seen as a hub of terrorist activity. [See pp. 166B2, 112E1] Batarfi had been captured in Afghanistan in 2001 and accused of trying to make anthrax for Al Qaeda, a charge that was later dropped. Batarfi had later been accused of working for a group linked to terrorist activities; however, he claimed that he had left the group after it had been designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. Under an agreement with the Justice Department, Batarfi’s lawyers agreed to suspend a lawsuit challenging Batarfi’s detention, in order to speed up his release; a hearing in the case had been scheduled for April 6. However, Batarfi retained the right to resume his habeas corpus lawsuit if he was not satisfied with the conditions or location of his eventual release. n ‘War on Terror’ Term Dropped. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton March 30 told reporters that the Obama administration had ceased to use the term “global war on terror” to describe the U.S. government’s ongoing antiterrorism operations against the Al Qaeda international terrorist network and other groups. Clinton said that “the administration has stopped using the phrase, and I think that speaks for itself.” [See 2001, p. 700B2] However, Clinton said that she had not “gotten any directive about using it or not using it. It’s just not being used.” The term had been coined by the Bush administration in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the U.S., and had been widely criticized as inflammatory. n 200

Obama Administration Federal Housing Administration Chief Picked.

President Barack Obama March 23 nominated real estate executive David Stevens as assistant secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), where he would oversee the government’s Federal Housing Administration (FHA). The position required Senate confirmation. [See 2008, p. 955B1] Stevens was currently the president and chief operating officer (COO) of Long & Foster Cos., the country’s largest privately held real estate company. He had previously worked as a senior vice president at Freddie Mac, then a privately held, government-sponsored mortgage lender, now in federal conservatorship, and also as an executive vice president at the home mortgage division of California-based bank Wells Fargo & Co. The FHA had been created in 1934 to insure mortgages granted to borrowers with poor credit ratings or low incomes. The agency guaranteed mortgage loans made by lenders and charged participating borrowers a premium to cover defaults. However, the share of the mortgage market insured by the FHA had grown from 2% in 2005 to 30% by the end of 2008, following the collapse of the market for subprime mortgages, raising concerns that the program could become a financial liability for the government. Treasury Officials Nominated—Obama March 23 nominated two Treasury Department officials and announced that another official would continue in his current position. The Obama administration had struggled to fill appointed positions within the department, which was widely seen as understaffed, due to concerns about ties between potential appointees and financial companies, and the strictness of the administration’s vetting process. Both newly announced nominees required confirmation by the Senate. [See p. 44D1] Obama nominated former Treasury Department General Counsel Neal Wolin as deputy Treasury secretary, the department’s second-in-command. Prior to his nomination, Wolin had been working as the deputy counsel to the president for economic policy and as a deputy assistant to Obama. Obama also nominated Lael Brainard, a fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank, as undersecretary of the Treasury for international affairs. Brainard had served as deputy national economic adviser and deputy assistant to the president for international economics under President Bill Clinton and had assisted in the U.S. response to the 1997–98 Asian financial crisis. In addition, Obama announced that Stuart Levey would stay on as undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence. Levey, a former Justice Department official, had been confirmed for the position in 2004, when it was created. The Obama administration had not announced a nominee for undersecretary of

the Treasury for domestic finance, the final vacant senior-level Treasury post, after Lee Sachs, an adviser to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner who had been widely viewed as the leading candidate for the position, had reportedly declined to accept the nomination. Separately, two candidates to fill the position of deputy Treasury secretary had dropped out of contention for the spot before Wolin was nominated. n Federal Tech Chief Kundra Reinstated.

White House spokesman Nick Shapiro March 17 confirmed that Vivek Kundra had been reinstated as the nation’s first chief information officer (CIO). He had gone on leave from his position the previous week after a former employee of his was implicated in a bribery investigation, but Shapiro said Kundra was “neither a subject nor a target of the investigation.” [See p. 145C2] Shapiro also addressed reports circulating on the Internet that Kundra had stolen an item worth $300 or less in 1996, when he was 21. Shapiro characterized the crime as a “youthful indiscretion,” and said Kundra had performed community service and that the White House considered the matter “fully resolved.” The New York Times March 18 reported that Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine, also the Democratic National Committee chairman, had asked the White House to reinstate Kundra, who had previously worked for him. Kundra’s former employee, Yusuf Acar, worked in the District of Columbia technology office, which Kundra had directed. Acar March 12 was arrested and charged with bribery, bid-rigging, money laundering and wire fraud. Sushil Bansal— president and chief executive of Advanced Integrated Technologies Corp., which had won information technology contracts with several city governments—was also arrested that day and charged with bribery and money laundering. The two men were accused of defrauding public agencies of tens of thousands of dollars by overcharging for products and claiming to have hired nonexistent employees. n Obama Holds Public Forum on Internet.

President Barack Obama March 26 held a public forum at the White House, with participation by an Internet audience that selected questions for him and watched him respond via live video on the White House Web site, whitehouse.gov. It was the first such interactive event to be staged by a president. Obama had been noted for his extensive use of the Internet to mobilize supporters and set fund-raising records during his 2008 presidential campaign. Since taking office in January, he had updated the traditional presidential radio address—videos of him giving each of the speeches had been posted on the White House Web site. [See p. 181D2] Some 3.5 million people had voted on which of the more than 100,000 questions submitted by the public should be posed to Obama at the March 26 event. The selected questions covered a range of issues, including the economy, health care and educaFACTS ON FILE

tion. Obama also took questions from an invited audience at the White House during the event, which lasted more than an hour. The question that drew the most votes was whether Obama agreed that legalizing marijuana would stimulate the economy and provide a large new source of tax revenue. [See p. 165A2] Obama joked, “I don’t know what this says about the online audience.” He then replied, “The answer is no, I don’t think that is a good strategy for growing the economy.” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs later that day asserted that the popularity of that question in the online vote was due to a campaign by advocacy groups that favored legalizing marijuana, such as the National Organization for the Reform n of Marijuana Laws (NORML). Obama Discloses New Book Deal. Obama March 19 disclosed that he had signed a new book contract on Jan. 15, five days before his inauguration. The deal was a licensing arrangement that would allow his publisher, Crown Publishing Group, a unit of Random House Inc., to produce an abridged version of his autobiography, Dreams From My Father (first published in 1995), that would be “suitable for middle grade or young adult readers.” Obama would receive an advance of $250,000 for the abridgment. [See p. 166F3] Obama March 19 disclosed that he had received nearly $2.5 million in royalties in 2008, both from Dreams From My Father and his second best-selling book, The Audacity of Hope, published in 2006. Under a 2004 contract with Crown, Obama was obliged to write one more nonfiction book and a children’s book. According to his disclosure, he had amended the contract Jan. 9 to stipulate that those books would not be completed until he left office. n

Elections New York House Race Too Close to Call.

A special election for a vacant House seat representing a district in upstate New York March 31 appeared too close to call until about 6,000 absentee ballots could be counted. Democrat Scott Murphy, a venture capitalist and political newcomer, led state Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco (R) by 65 votes, of more than 150,000 cast, according to initial results, a margin that election officials April 1 revised to only 25 votes. The election was in New York’s 20th Congressional District, which stretched along the Hudson River into the far north of the state, and extended west around Albany, the state capital. [See p. 46E2] The seat had been vacated by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) in January, when Gov. David Paterson (D) appointed her to fill the former Senate seat of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. The district had long been a Republican stronghold, until Gillibrand won the 2006 election. In the monthlong campaign before the special election, the candidates had deApril 2, 2009

bated the merits of the $787 billion economic stimulus package signed by President Barack Obama in February. Murphy, 39, supported the stimulus, while Tedisco, 58, opposed it, following the lead of all but three Republicans in Congress. [See p. 89A1] Tedisco also tried to capitalize on widespread anger over the financial crisis, and especially on a controversy over bonuses paid to employees of insurer American International Group Inc. (AIG). He made Murphy’s financial career an issue, saying that the Democrat was too close to Wall Street. [See p. 161A1] n Franken Wins Ruling in Minn. Senate Count.

Democrat Al Franken March 31 won a court ruling in his extended legal battle against former Sen. Norm Coleman (R) over a recount of the results from the November 2008 election in Minnesota for the Senate seat Coleman had held. Franken, a former comedian, had a lead of 225 votes, out of 2.9 million cast. The seat had been vacant since the opening of the 111th Congress in January, pending the outcome of the dispute. [See p. 5F1] A special panel of three state judges March 31 ruled that only 400 absentee ballots should be reviewed for possible inclusion in the final count, making it unlikely that Coleman would gain enough votes to erase Franken’s lead. The ballots would be counted in the court by the next week. Coleman had argued that several thousand “wrongly rejected” ballots should be reviewed. Coleman’s lawyer, Benjamin Ginsberg, said Coleman would appeal the ruling to the Minnesota Supreme Court. n

Legislation Democrats Introduce Emissions Cap Bill.

Rep. Henry Waxman (D, Calif.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Rep. Edward Markey (D, Mass.) March 31 introduced a bill that would establish a cap on U.S. greenhouse gas emissions while shifting the country’s dependence away from fossil fuel energy sources. The bill was considered unlikely to become law, as it had no support from congressional Republicans, and imposed more stringent reductions on emissions than had been proposed by President Barack Obama. [See p. 125G2] The measure, the American Clean Energy and Security Act, would reduce the U.S.’s greenhouse gas output to 80% of 2005 levels by 2020, while Obama had called for emissions to be reduced to about 86% of 2005 levels by that year. The bill also required the U.S. to produce at least 25% of its energy from a renewable resource, such as solar, wind or geothermal energy, by 2025. (Obama’s scheme was included in his budget plan for fiscal 2010, which was still being considered by Congress.) The bill would establish a “cap-andtrade” program through which pollution credits would be issued or sold by the government, and could then be sold on an open

market. However, the measure did not contain details on how the credits would be distributed, or where any revenue generated by their sale would be directed. Republicans argued that the pollution credits would function as a de facto tax on carbon creation resulting from energy use, raising the prices of a number of goods and services. The measure would also establish a $10 billion fund for carbon sequestration, a process by which pollutants would be captured and stored, instead of released into the atmosphere. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D, Calif.) characterized the bill as “a strong starting point,” reinforcing the notion that it represented the beginning of negotiations among lawmakers over the issue. Separately, the Senate April 1 voted, 67–31, against providing the cap-and-trade proposal put forward by Obama in the budget plan with any special procedural protections. Some senators had sought to bypass normal procedures to ensure that the plan could not be filibustered. The Senate’s vote effectively required that the cap-andtrade plan receive at least 60 votes in order to defeat a possible filibuster. n

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Medicine and Health News in Brief. The National Center for Health Statistics March 18 reported that, according to preliminary data, 4.3 million people had been born in the U.S. in 2007, more than in any other year in the country’s history. The figure was slightly higher than the previous record for births in the U.S., set in 1957, during the height of the post– World War II baby boom. The data also indicated that the birth rate among girls aged 15–19 had risen 1.4% between 2006 and 2007, the second consecutive year the figure had increased. That statistic raised concerns that the trend of decline in teen births seen from 1991 to 2005 was reversing. [See p. 96F1] The Justice Department Feb. 25 charged drug manufacturer Forest Laboratories Inc. with fraud for illegally marketing its antidepressant drugs Celexa and Lexapro to children. In a complaint filed by the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston, Mass., investigators alleged that Forest executives had suppressed data gathered in 2001 showing that the two drugs were ineffective for children, and might harm them. The investigators said the company had promoted the drugs improperly from 1988 until at least 2005. The complaint also alleged that Forest gave valuable gifts to doctors who prescribed its drugs. Lexapro garnered sales of $2.29 billion in 2008, while Celexa competed with generic versions and was no longer highly profitable. [See 2004, p. 756C3] The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Feb. 12 released a study which found that a small proportion of nonprofit hospitals provided the bulk of free health care given to the poor. Nonprofit hospitals were granted tax-exempt status by the federal government in exchange for providing free care to the communities that they served, among other benefits. However, there were no 201

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firm rules requiring hospitals to provide a certain amount of community benefit in order to retain their tax status. Nonprofit hospitals had received an estimated $12.6 billion in annual tax exemptions in 2002, according to a 2006 report by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The FDA Feb. 6 approved for the first time a drug derived from a genetically modified animal. The drug, an anticlotting protein called antithrombin that was sold under the brand name ATryn, was produced in the milk of a herd of about 200 goats that had been given a human gene. Both the drug and the goats were developed by GTC Biotherapeutics Inc., based in Framingham, Mass. Companies saw the potential to save money by using genetically modified animals to produce drugs, instead of synthesizing them. [See 2008, p. 792A3] n

Transportation Public Transportation Use Hits 52-Year High.

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA), a nonprofit industry group, March 9 released a report that said use of public transit in the U.S. had been higher in 2008 than in any year since 1956. The report said Americans took public transportation about 10.7 billion times in 2008, a 4% increase from 2007 and a 38% increase since 1995. The group attributed the rise to difficult economic conditions that drew people to public transportation in order to save money. [See 2008, p. 904G1] Use of public transit sharply increased in the middle of 2008, when gasoline prices topped $4 per gallon. However, the group found that Americans continued to take public transportation even after gas prices dropped toward the end of that year. The Transportation Department Feb. 19 reported that total U.S. road travel had declined in 2008 by 3.6%, or by 108 billion miles (174 billion km). The $787 billion economic recovery bill signed by President Barack Obama in February set aside $8.4 billion to fund construction and repairs to public transportation networks. The APTA said the usage statistics showed the need for such investments. [See p. 89A1] n

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News in Brief. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano Feb. 25 ordered a review of a workplace immigration raid that had taken place the previous day without her knowledge. More than 70 immigration officials and one federal helicopter Feb. 24 had raided Bellingham, Wash.–based Yamato Engine Specialists and arrested 28 suspected undocumented workers, mostly from Mexico. Three women were released for humanitarian reasons, and the rest awaited deportation proceedings at a detention center in Tacoma, Wash. Napolitano Feb. 25 said immigration enforcement efforts at 202

workplaces should focus on the employers of illegal workers. [See below, p. 151G1] A report released Feb. 4 by the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, said “the federal fugitive operations program established in 2003 to locate, apprehend and remove fugitive aliens who pose a threat to the community has instead focused chiefly on arresting unauthorized immigrants without criminal convictions.” According to the report, which was researched in conjunction with the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University in New York City, arrests of fugitive aliens with previous criminal convictions represented 9% of arrests in 2007, down from 32% in 2003. The National Fugitive Operations Program’s funding had increased to $218 million in 2008, from $9 million in 2003. [See 2008, p. 790D1] Francesco Insolia, who in 2008 had pleaded guilty to 18 counts of harboring and concealing illegal immigrants, Jan. 27 was sentenced to one year in prison and fined $1 million. Insolia was the former owner of New Bedford, Mass.–based Michael Bianco Inc., a leather goods company that had been raided by immigration officials in 2007. More than 360 suspected undocumented workers, mostly from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, had been arrested in the raid. [See 2008, p. 965B1] n

Law Enforcement DNA Sampling Expanded. The Los Angeles Times Jan. 9 reported that beginning that day, the Justice Department would take DNA samples from people who were arrested on suspicion of immigration violations. The department would also collect DNA samples from people who were arrested on suspicion of committing a federal offense. Previously, DNA had been collected only from people who were found guilty of specific crimes. The data would be added to a national database used to match suspects to DNA found at crime scenes. [See 2008, p. 939B3] n

Crime 1970s Radical Olson Released. A onetime member of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), a 1970s radical organization best known for its 1974 kidnapping of heiress Patty Hearst, March 17 was released on parole in California. Sara Jane Olson, the former SLA member, had been convicted in 2001 of second-degree murder in connection with a 1975 bank robbery, as well as involvement in two attempted bombings the same year, and had served seven years in prison. [See 2008, p. 238E3] Olson, 62, who was originally known as Kathleen Soliah, had been arrested in 1999 after living in Minnesota under an assumed name for more than 20 years. She had initially been paroled in March 2008, but was rearrested five days later after authorities determined that she had been accidentally released a year ahead of schedule. n

AFRICA

Kenya Annan Criticizes Political Reform Delays.

Former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan March 30 called on Kenya’s coalition government to implement political reforms agreed to by the ruling party and the opposition in early 2008. His remarks came at the start of a two-day conference in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss the progress made in the year since a unity government between the political factions had been formed in Kenya after ethnic violence killed some 1,300 people following a December 2007 presidential election. [See 2008, p. 971C2] The violence had broken out after incumbent President Mwai Kibaki of the Party of National Unity (PNU) was declared the winner over Raila Odinga of the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). Allegations by the opposition of widespread vote-rigging led to months of ethnic bloodletting, mainly between Kibaki’s Kikuyu group and the Luo and Kalenjin groups, who supported Odinga, a Luo. Annan had led a mediation team that negotiated an agreement on the formation of the unity government in February 2008, and Odinga was sworn in as prime minister in April. However, many of the reforms agreed to in the 2008 accord had yet to be implemented, including the creation of a tribunal to probe the election-related violence. Kibaki and Odinga in December 2008 had agreed to set up the special tribunal to investigate and prosecute crimes related to the violence. However, Kenya’s parliament Feb. 12 had failed to approve the constitutional amendment necessary to establish the tribunal. Some members of parliament reportedly did not have confidence that the Kenyan judiciary was capable of handling the cases. Upon releasing his report on the violence in October 2008, Kenyan judge Philip Waki had given Annan a sealed envelope containing a list of high-profile Kenyans allegedly responsible for inciting and organizing the ethnic unrest. Annan had threatened to turn over the list to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the Netherlands, if Kenya did not create its own tribunal by March 1. Odinga Feb. 17 said, “Annan has expressed willingness to delay the handing over of the names in the envelope to The Hague until Kenya has completely failed to handle the matter locally,” adding that he hoped to convince parliament to change its vote. However, Annan Feb. 24 warned the Kenyan government that he would give the list to the ICC if the tribunal was delayed much longer. Annan March 30 said at the Geneva conference, “Ordinary Kenyans interpret the slow pace of reform as lack of political will on the part of their leaders. They see it, rightly or wrongly, as proof that the political elite are putting their own partisan interests above the interest of the nation as a whole.” Along with the failure to bring FACTS ON FILE

those responsible for the violence to justice, Annan stated that Kenyans were “equally angry at widespread corruption and the lack of action to root it out.” Kenyan Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka March 16 had accused members of the country’s 41-member cabinet of using government funds to finance their campaigns for the next presidential and parliamentary elections in 2012. [See p. 65G3] Annan March 31 emphasized that there could be a repeat of the violence during the 2012 elections if the reforms were not implemented. Kenyan Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi and Justice Minister Martha Karua were among the other conference attendees; however, Kibaki and Odinga did not attend. Human Rights Activists Targeted— Annan’s comments came after a period of heightened violence and unrest sparked by the March 5 murder in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, of Oscar Kamau Kingara and Paul Oulu, leaders of the Oscar Foundation human rights group. The two men were shot dead in central Nairobi as their car was stuck in traffic. Leading Kenyan human rights groups March 6 alleged that the assassinations were part of a broader campaign of violence by Kibaki supporters against activists who had been investigating the actions of alleged police death squads. Many rights activists accused the death squads of targeting young Kikuyus suspected of opposing Kibaki under the pretense that they were supporters of the outlawed Mungiki criminal gang. The Oscar Foundation provided legal representation to people who had been accused of membership in or connections to the Mungiki. Human rights lawyer Ann Njogu, of the Centre for Rights, Education and Awareness, March 28 told Reuters news service that more than 30 activists had gone into hiding, and Reuters also reported that many others had fled the country. Njogu said several activists had received death threats after the Feb. 25 release of a scathing U.N. report on extrajudicial police violence in Kenya. Many of the activists—including Kingara and Oulu—had given information to the author of the report, special U.N. investigator Philip Alston. The report stated that police death squads had been responsible for “systematic, widespread and carefully planned extrajudicial executions” since the disputed 2007 election. It concluded that the death squads had killed 500 suspected Mungiki members, along with 400 political protesters during the postelection violence and 200 alleged rebels based in the western Mount Elgon region. The report urged that the country’s attorney general, Amos Wako, and the police chief, Hussein Ali, be fired. Alston March 6 called for an independent probe of the murders of Kingara and Oulu, as did Michael Ranneberger, the U.S. ambassador to Kenya. Students and rights activists March 5, prior to the murders, had protested on the streets of Nairobi against the wave of extrajudicial murders. The Oscar Foundation had been involved in organizing the protests, April 2, 2009

which had been mainly peaceful. Alfred Mutua, a government spokesman and member of the PNU, about five hours before the murders had alleged that the Oscar Foundation was a “front” for the Mungiki sect. In response to the brazen assassinations, protesters March 6 again took to the streets, clashing with police. Riots also broke out March 10 as demonstrators called for the police chief’s resignation. Odinga March 6 said Kenya was “hurtling towards failure as a state” due to the increasing tension between police and the general public and the apparent weakening in law and order. He added that Kenyan society was “at risk again of degenerating into ethnic violence.” Government Criticized Over Deadly Fires—

At least 130 people were killed Jan. 31 when a gasoline tanker overturned on a road near the town of Molo, and exploded as people gathered to collect the spilled fuel. It was the second fatal fire in three days, after a Jan. 28 blaze at a Nairobi supermarket killed 28 people. The incidents sparked an angry response from the Kenyan public, who alleged that lax safety oversight, slow emergency response and poor emergency medical facilities had contributed to the infernos and high death tolls. n

Other African News Regional Body Suspends Madagascar.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC), a 15-member regional grouping, March 30 voted to suspend Madagascar from the body at a special oneday summit in Ezulwini, Swaziland. The suspension came after the military pressured Malagasy President Marc Ravalomanana to resign earlier in March, and then handed power to Andry Rajoelina, the former mayor of Antananarivo, the capital. [See p. 184A3] Ravalomanana attended the summit and, in a speech, made a plea for SADC to intervene “to remove the insurgents and restore democracy in my country.” He also emphasized that the political turmoil had severely dampened foreign investment in Madagascar. The summit, in its final communique, said it “condemned in the strongest terms, the unconstitutional actions that have led to the illegal ousting of the democratically elected Government of Madagascar.” It called for Rajoelina to “vacate the office of the President as a matter of urgency paving the way for unconditional reinstatement of President Ravalomanana.” The communique also stated that SADC had “suspended Madagascar” until “constitutional normalcy” was restored. However, it said the body would continue to “engage with all concerned parties” in an effort to resolve the political crisis. The African Union (AU) had also suspended Madagascar after Ravalomanana’s ouster, and most foreign governments had refused to recognize Rajoelina. The 34-year-old Rajoelina had come to power after months of high-profile protests by his supporters and defections by the mil-

itary. However, after being sworn in as president of a transitional administration (under Madagascar’s constitution, the country’s president had to be at least 40 years old), supporters of Ravalomanana had taken to the streets of Antananarivo, demanding the ousted president’s return. Police March 28—the sixth straight day of protests—used live rounds and tear gas to disperse thousands of pro-Ravalomanana demonstrators, injuring at least 30 people. Rajoelina March 31 responded to SADC’s criticism by saying, “The international community must not condemn or interfere with the decision taken by the constitutional high court of Madagascar.” (The Constitutional Court, the country’s highest court, had previously issued a ruling endorsing Rajoelina as president.) Also that day, Rajoelina named cabinet members to his transitional government, which he said would govern until elections were held sometime within the next two years. Zimbabwe Financial Support Pledged—

Also at the March 30 summit, SADC leaders pledged to support Zimbabwe in its efforts to raise $8.5 billion over the next two to three years to help jump-start its collapsed economy. Zimbabwe in February, after years of political tension and violence, had begun implementing a power-sharing deal between the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party and the long-ruling Zimbabwe African National Union–Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party of President Robert Mugabe. [See pp. 152F1, 153B1] Zimbabwean Finance Minister Tendai Biti, a member of the MDC, March 30 said at the summit that he recognized that “SADC does not have the economies that can sustain” large amounts of aid to Zimbabwe, “but it is the quality of the giving vis-a-vis the size of their economies” that was important. He called on “bigger economies” to lift economic sanctions and contribute to Zimbabwe’s recovery. SADC in its communique “noted with satisfaction” Zimbabwe’s “progress” in implementing its political reconciliation accord. It urged member nations to help implement Zimbabwe’s economic recovery plan, “in the form of budget support, lines of credit, joint ventures and toll manufacturing.” It also called on “developed countries to lift all forms of sanctions against Zimbabwe.” n

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AMERICAS

Argentina Farmers Strike in Protest of Soybean Tax.

Farmers in Argentina March 21–27 held a strike and blockaded roads in protest of a 35% export tax on soybeans. During the strike, farmers suspended the sale of grains, cattle and oilseeds. In the weeks preceding the strike, farmers had failed to negotiate a reduction in the tax with the government of Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, in talks that had begun Feb. 24. The strikes ended without leading to a change in the tax policy. [See 2008, p. 489A3] 203

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Farmers had been hurt by the declining price of soybeans on the world market, as well as the worst drought in Argentina in 50 years, which was expected to significantly curtail harvests. Fernandez de Kirchner had argued that the tariffs were a needed source of government revenue in the face of slowing economic growth that had caused a decline in tax receipts. Farmers had announced the strike March 20, a day after Fernandez de Kirchner proposed a new revenue-sharing plan for the soybean tax proceeds. Under that plan, provinces would receive 30% of revenues. The federal government, which currently received all of the tax revenue, would keep the rest. However, provinces would be limited to using the funds for “social infrastructure” purposes, such as hospital and school construction. Fernandez de Kirchner’s plan was viewed as an attempt to gain support from provincial politicians. Interior Minister Florencio Randazzo March 3, after holding talks with farmers’ unions, said the government was considering establishing a national board that would regulate grains trading. Grains exchanges and farmers had condemned the move, arguing that grains production and trade had increased substantially since the government-run National Grains Board was dismantled in 1991. Farmers also argued that the government was threatening to regulate grains trading in order to force them to sell large amounts of stored grain, which they had held back in the hopes that prices would recover or that the tax would be reduced. By keeping the grains off the market, the farmers had reduced tax revenues. Elections Moved Up—Argentina’s Congress March 26 gave final approval to a bill that would move the date for legislative elections to June 28, from October 25. Fernandez de Kirchner had backed the change, arguing that it would eliminate a long campaign period during the global economic crisis. However, her opponents said the move was intended to improve the chances that Fernandez de Kirchner’s allies would win seats before the economy worsened further in the latter half of 2009. Fernandez de Kirchner’s popularity had eroded after strikes by farmers’ unions in 2008, and had continued to decline since then as the country’s economy worsened. About 12 legislators had dissociated themselves from Fernandez de Kirchner’s Peronist party thus far in 2009, due to her sliding popularity. n

Bolivia

for state-run oil firm Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YFPB). The U.S. State Department denied the charges, calling them “unwarranted and unjustified.” Martinez March 12 left Bolivia. [See 2008, pp. 855B1, 661D2] Diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Bolivia had deteriorated in the preceding months. In September 2008, the government had ousted U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg, also accusing him of meeting with Morales’s political opponents and spies. The U.S. later that month revoked preferential trade terms previously extended to Bolivia, citing shortcomings in its antidrug enforcement. Morales in November 2008 had also ordered the U.S. to withdraw its Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents, accusing the agency of working to undermine his government. The last of some 38 DEA agents Jan. 29 departed Bolivia, ending the agency’s 30-year presence in the country.n

Salas in Carabobo and Pablo Perez in Zulia—not to defy a recently passed law that gave control of the country’s transportation hubs to the federal government. He also claimed that the ports were being used as transit points for cocaine smugglers, and suffered from lax security. [See p. 97B3] Members of the opposition said the law was intended to allow Chavez to further cement his power. It prohibited local and state governments from collecting taxes and other fees at highways and transportation hubs, which opponents said was intended to reduce revenues for their governments. In November elections, Chavez’s political opponents had won five governorships out of 22 races, and control of the mayoralty of Caracas, Venezuela’s capital. However, Chavez in February had won a public referendum eliminating presidential term limits and announced a new phase of his 10-year “Bolivarian Revolution,” intended to further his goal of implementing reforms as part of what he called “21st century socialism.”

Canada

Chavez Feb. 28 ordered federal troops to temporarily assume control of all rice processing plants in the country, accusing them of exceeding government-mandated price controls. “If they stop production I will expropriate them,” Chavez said. [See 2008, p. 837E1] Chavez March 4 ordered the expropriation of rice processing facilities owned by U.S. company Cargill Inc., accusing the company of “flagrantly violating” price regulation laws. He also threatened to take over the operations of Polar, Venezuela’s largest private company, which produced a variety of food products and beer. n

Suncor Sets Petro-Canada Bid. Oil compa-

ny Suncor Energy Inc. March 23 announced that it would buy rival Petro-Canada for C$19.6 billion (US$15.9 billion) in an allshare deal. If the deal was approved by regulators, the new company would have a market capitalization of about C$43 billion, and become the largest oil company in Canada and the fifth-largest in North America. [See 2004, p. 531E2; 1992, p. 103B1] Under the terms of the deal, Petro-Canada shareholders would exchange each of their shares for 1.28 common shares of the new company. Suncor shareholders would receive the new shares in an even exchange. The bid valued Petro-Canada at a 30% premium over its most recent stock price. Suncor and Petro-Canada were two of the largest producers of petroleum derived from oil sands, which were areas in which oil was trapped in tar-like bitumen, sand and clay. Extracting oil from the sands was an expensive, complicated process that was also criticized for being environmentally damaging. Suncor had been a leader in oil-sand extraction technology, and had focused most of its efforts in that area. Petro-Canada had been founded by the Canadian government in 1975 and remained state-controlled until 1995. It had large oil sand stakes, but was regarded as more diversified than Suncor. Some analysts viewed the merger as a defensive move by the companies, whose low stock values, due to low oil prices, made them more vulnerable to hostile takeovers. n

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Evo Morales Aima March 9 announced the expulsion of Francisco Martinez, the second secretary of the U.S. embassy, accusing him of “coordinating contacts” with spies and the political opposition. The Bolivian government said Martinez had met with Ernesto Suarez, a Morales opponent and governor of Beni department (state). Morales had also accused the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of giving espionage training to a police officer working 204

Venezuela Chavez Orders Seaport Takeover by Navy.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias March 15 ordered the country’s navy to seize control of two seaports in states that were headed by opposition governors. Chavez ordered the vessels to Port Cabello in Carabobo state and Maracaibo Port in Zulia state. Chavez said the deployment was a warning to the governors—Henrique

Chavez Makes Nationalization Moves—

Other Americas News U.S.’s Biden Visits Chile, Costa Rica. U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden March 27–30 visited Chile and Costa Rica, where he met with several leaders of Central and South American countries. The visit reflected efforts by U.S. President Barack Obama to strengthen ties in Latin America, after several leaders hostile to the U.S. had been elected in the region in recent years. Biden’s trip was made in advance of the Summit of the Americas conference, scheduled to take place in mid-April in Trinidad and Tobago. [See p. 185G3; 2008, p. 942D1] Biden March 27 arrived in the Chilean resort city of Vina del Mar to attend the March 28 Summit of Progressive Leaders, an annual meeting of center-left world leaders founded in 2000. Also in attendance were Latin American leaders including Chilean President Michelle Bachelet Jeria, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Argentine President Christina Fernandez de Kirchner, as well as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. Talks at the conference reportedly centered on economic issues related to the Group of 20 (G-20) summit of leading and emerging economic powers, which took place April 2 in London. [See p. 193A1] After the summit, Biden March 28 said the U.S. had no plans to end its trade emFACTS ON FILE

bargo on Cuba, despite lobbying by several left-leaning Latin American governments for the U.S. to do so. Biden later that day traveled to Santiago, Chile’s capital, where he met with Bachelet. Biden March 29 departed Chile for Costa Rica, becoming the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the country since then–U.S. President Bill Clinton traveled there in 1997. The following day he met with the leaders of Costa Rica, Guatemala, Belize El Salvador and Panama, as well as representatives from Nicaragua and Honduras. [See 1997, p. 334G2] Biden at the talks, held in San Jose, the capital, responded to pleas to reduce the number of Central American nationals deported from the U.S. by arguing that deportations would decline with comprehensive immigration reform in the U.S. However, he provided no details on a reform plan. Biden also brushed aside entreaties for greater economic aid from the U.S. for Central American countries. “Economic growth in the United States is central to us being able to do anything,” he said. n Man Sentenced in Cash-Smuggling Scandal.

Judge Joan Lenard of U.S. District Court in Miami, Fla., March 16 sentenced Venezuelan national Franklin Duran to a four-year prison sentence for acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign country in the U.S. Duran, 41, in November 2008 had been convicted of failure to register with the U.S. as a government agent and conspiracy. Duran was also fined $175,000. [See 2008, p. 941F3] Prosecutors had alleged that Duran had led a group of men sent to the U.S. in late 2007 by the Venezuelan government. The men had allegedly sought to silence dual U.S.-Venezuelan citizen and businessman Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson, who had been caught arriving in Argentina from Venezuela in August 2007 with a suitcase filled with almost $800,000. Prosecutors said the money was intended for the Argentinian presidential campaign of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. (Fernandez de Kirchner was elected president in October 2007.) The Venezuelan government had denied allegations that the cash was part of about $5 million in funding sent to Fernandez de Kirchner by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias. The case had worsened already strained ties between the U.S. and Venezuela. n

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Philippines U.S. Marine Rape Accuser Revises Account.

A Philippine woman who had accused a U.S. marine of raping her in 2005 near the now-closed Subic Bay U.S. Navy base March 12 signed a sworn affidavit casting doubt on her previous testimony regarding the attack. Daniel Smith, the marine, had been convicted of rape by a Philippine court in 2006 and sentenced to 40 years in prison; he was currently being held at the U.S. embassy in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, while he appealed his sentence. [See 2006, p. 936F2] April 2, 2009

The accuser, who had been identified during Smith’s trial only as “Nicole,” had previously said that she had been treated “like a pig” by Smith and three other marines who had been acquitted of aiding and abetting the rape. In the new affidavit, which was filed with the Court of Appeals in Manila March 16, Nicole wrote, “My conscience continues to bother me” about her previous testimony. She said that “with the amount of alcoholic drinks I took…it dawned on me that I may have possibly lost my inhibitions” and “became so intimate with Daniel Smith and did more than just dancing and talking with him.” She also questioned elements of the case against Smith, including her own recollection of having lost consciousness after leaving a club with Smith. Evalyn Ursua, a former attorney for Nicole, March 24 asked the Philippine Supreme Court to order an inquiry into the events leading up to the signing of the new affidavit. Following the signing of the affidavit, Nicole had reportedly moved permanently to the U.S. Ursua, who had been dismissed as Nicole’s lawyer March 16, said that she should have been present at the time the affidavit was signed because she was still Nicole’s attorney at the time. She noted that Nicole’s new affidavit had been executed by a Philippine law firm that was representing Smith during his appeal, something that she said could constitute a violation of the legal system’s ethical standards. Analysts said that Nicole’s decision to raise questions about her previous statements in the case might reduce political pressure on the Philippine government to end its military relationship with the U.S., a former colonial ruler of the Philippines. The rape investigation and trial had triggered protests by Philippine nationalists who opposed the U.S. military presence in the Philippines. [See 2007, p. 20C1] The government of the Philippines had ordered all U.S. forces out of the country in 1992. However, following Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the U.S., the Philippine government had allowed a renewed U.S. military presence as part of its efforts to combat Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic terrorist organization based in the southern Philippines. n Abu Sayyaf Abducts Aid Workers. Members of the Abu Sayyaf Islamic terrorist group Jan. 15 abducted three employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on the Philippine island of Jolo, long considered a militant stronghold. The employees—a Filipino woman, a Swiss man and an Italian man—had reportedly been captured while examining conditions at a prison in the region. [See 2008, p. 561C1] The Philippine military March 16–17 clashed with Abu Sayyaf militants on Jolo. The fighting left three soldiers and as many as seven militants dead. The three hostages March 19 were allowed to make a phone call to the Philippine Red Cross. They said during the call that the military offensive had put their lives in greater danger. An agreement reached March 19 by the military and Abu Sayyaf, calling for the re-

lease of one hostage in exchange for a partial pullback of government troops, was not implemented. The military and Abu Sayyaf each blamed the other for failing to carry out their side of the agreement. The Philippine military March 24 announced that it had surrounded the area where the Abu Sayyaf members were thought to be holding the aid workers and had cut off all supplies, including food and water, to the militants. The family of the Swiss hostage that day released a statement criticizing the Philippine government’s handling of the kidnappings and calling on the government to end military operations near the hostages. Jolo Governor Abdusakur Tan March 25 announced that the militants had threatened to behead one of the hostages if the military failed to pull back by March 31. Tan said that the government would not accede to the demand. The militants April 2 unexpectedly released the Philippine hostage into the custody of Jolo’s provincial government. She reportedly told the government that the other hostages were alive at the time of her release. n

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Thailand Protesters Surround Prime Minister’s Office.

Thousands of protesters March 26–April 2 surrounded the Government House, the office of Thailand’s prime minister, in Bangkok, Thailand’s capital, as part of ongoing demonstrations in opposition to the country’s current government. The protests were led by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), a populist organization supported by backers of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. [See 2008, p. 981A3] The protests were similar to 2008 demonstrations held by the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), an anti-Thaksin group that had occupied the Government House compound and both of Bangkok’s airports in an attempt to oust the then-ruling proThaksin People Power Party (PPP) from power. Analysts suggested that Thaksin and his supporters were attempting to capitalize on discontent over the weakening Thai economy in order to build additional political support for Thaksin’s allies, who had been forced from power in December 2008. [See 2008, pp. 926F2, 886F1] Thaksin had been ousted in 2006 in a bloodless military coup but had returned to Thailand in 2008 after the PPP won December 2007 legislative elections. However, he and his then-wife Pojamarn had fled Thailand in August 2008 after Pojamarn was convicted of tax evasion; Thaksin was subsequently convicted on corruption charges in absentia. Thaksin, who was thought to be living in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was still popular among many poor and rural voters due to populist programs enacted during his term in office. However, he had long been opposed by most of Thailand’s political elite, who saw him as a corrupt and authoritarian politician. 205

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Thaksin Urges Crowd to ‘Rise Up’—

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During the protests, Thaksin had broadcast speeches over video link to the crowds of protesters surrounding the Government House. According to Thai police, as many as 30,000 people had assembled there to watch Thaksin’s addresses. Thaksin March 27 used his speech to accuse two advisers of Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who was very popular within Thailand, of helping to orchestrate the 2006 military coup and March 28 called on his supporters in Thailand to “rise up” against the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s conservative Democrat Party. Thai Interior Minister Chaovarat Chanweerakul March 30 ordered the country’s provincial governors not to use force in dispersing demonstrators. Smaller pro-Thaksin protests had reportedly spread beyond Bangkok as part of a campaign by supporters of Thaksin to show solidarity with demonstrators outside the Government House. About 3,000 pro-Thaksin protesters March 30 protested outside the Government House, forcing Abhisit to cancel a planned trip to the building. In addition, hundreds of protesters held demonstrations outside a nearby United Nations regional office in Bangkok while Abhisit was inside attending a meeting. The same day, 21 members of PAD were charged with creating public disorder in connection with the party’s 2008 protests against the PPP. The members denied that they had broken any laws. PAD called on Abhisit’s government to stop Thaksin from addressing the UDD-backed protesters from abroad. Abhisit said that the government would do what it could to stop the speeches but noted that “everything is under laws” and that the government was obliged to respect the law. Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban March 30 accused Thaksin of trying to goad the government into responding violently to the protests as part of an effort to gain support for his movement. Suthep said that the government would “try not to fall into his trap.” Suthep also said that the Democrat Party–led coalition government had enough votes to block a proposed bill that would grant Thaksin legal amnesty. Abhisit and his cabinet had been unable to enter the Government House after protesters began blocking all entrances to the building on March 27. A court in Bangkok March 31 had ruled that protesters could not legally block the entrances; however, protesters had continued to so after the ruling and police had not stopped them. Abhisit’s cabinet March 31 had canceled a planned weekly meeting scheduled for that day due to the protests. Government

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Abhisit’s government April 1 said that it would be willing to hold negotiations with Thaksin in order to end the ongoing protests. Suthep told reporters that the government was concerned with avoiding possible violence and said, “If talks can bring peace to the country, I am ready to meet him anywhere, because Thaksin is the only person that can end the siege.” However, 206

Suthep said the government would not consider holding immediate new elections, as Thaksin had called for. Jatuporn Prompan, a UDD leader, rejected the possibility of any talks with the government, saying, “Our objective is to remove them. Why would we want to talk to them?” Thaksin had not officially responded to the offer of talks as of April 2. The UDD had scheduled a large rally at the Government House for April 8. Pro-Thaksin protesters April 2 demonstrated outside the Finance Ministry in Bangkok against the government’s decision to accept large international loans in order to prop up the Thai economy during the ongoing global financial crisis. Protesters reportedly raised questions about the ability of the Thai government to keep up with interest payments on the new loans. Analysts suggested that the continued protests could worsen the effects of the financial crisis on Thailand by handicapping the ability of Abhisit’s government to respond to economic issues. Separately, Abhisit March 31 had left Bangkok to attend a conference of the Group of 20 (G-20) leading economies in London. n

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Armenia IMF Extends $540 Million Loan. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) March 6 ap-

proved a $540 million loan to Armenia, whose economy was expected to contract by 1.5% in 2009 after more than a decade of strong growth. The IMF loan came after the Armenian central bank March 3 had announced that it would float the dram, Armenia’s currency, against the dollar. As a result, the dram lost about 20% of its value. Worried citizens reportedly cleared store shelves of everyday commodities in reaction to the bank’s move, but the atmosphere appeared to calm by March 5. [See p. 193A1; 2008, p. 638F3] The IMF said the previously overvalued dram had exacerbated unemployment and hindered Armenia’s economic growth. About $237 million of the loan was immediately released, and the rest would be disbursed in nine smaller pieces that were subject to review by the IMF. In addition to funds meant to boost the country’s financial sector, the loan included funds meant to “protect the poor through well-targeted social safety nets.” The Armenian economy had been especially damaged by a sharp decrease in remittances. The country was also affected by a fall in international commodity prices, which had slowed its vital mining industry. The World Bank Feb. 26 announced that it had extended a $35 million long-term, low-interest loan to Armenia in order to fund infrastructure improvements in rural areas. It was also considering a larger loan to the country. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin Feb. 27 said Russia was planning to loan Armenia $500 million, but that loan had not been finalized. n

Azerbaijan News in Brief. Lt. Gen. Rail Rzayev, head of Azerbaijan’s air force, Feb. 11 was shot and killed outside his home in Baku, the

capital. President Ilham Aliyev said the murder resembled past attempts “to create a strained political situation in Azerbaijan,” which some interpreted as a reference to a series of high-profile assassinations in the 1990s that had included a deputy parliament speaker among the victims. Investigators had not yet commented on a motive for the murder. An official said Rzayev’s car had been “under surveillance for several days,” but did not elaborate. [See 2008, p. 775F2; 2005, p. 215D3] Authorities Jan. 1 began enforcing a 2002 law barring foreign companies from broadcasting on national radio frequencies. The

law effectively banned the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC), the U.S. government– sponsored Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and Voice of America from broadcasting on FM radio, and was seen as a blow to independent media in Azerbaijan. Foreign companies were still allowed to broadcast via short-wave radio, satellite, cable and the Internet. However, RFE/RL said that because of the restriction, 90% of its listeners in Azerbaijan had lost access to the station. [See 2006, p. 937C2] n

France Workers Strike Against Economic Policy.

More than one million workers March 19 went on strike and marched in demonstrations to protest President Nicolas Sarkozy’s response to the global economic crisis. Police estimated that a total of 1.2 million people joined the protests; labor union officials said up to three million took part. The numbers reportedly exceeded those at similar mass protests Jan. 29. Transportation services were disrupted across the country, and about a third of France’s teachers joined the strike. [See p. 116G3] Union leaders demanded that Sarkozy take action to boost unemployment benefits and wages for low-income workers. They also called for stronger job protections to counter growing numbers of layoffs. Sarkozy in February had proposed 2.7 billion euros ($3.3 billion) in tax breaks for low-income workers and an extension of jobless benefits. Unions had criticized his original 26 billion euro economic stimulus plan, announced in December 2008, for focusing on assisting banks and other businesses, and not doing enough to help ordinary workers. Prime Minister Francois Fillon March 19 said the government could not seek a second stimulus package, asserting that the first one had already doubled the budget deficit. Sarkozy Voices Outrage at Executive Pay—

Sarkozy in a speech March 24 voiced outrage at a 3.2 million euro severance payment awarded by French auto parts maker Valeo SA to its departing chief executive, Thierry Morin. The payment, first reported that day, had stoked controversy because Valeo had lost more than 300 million euros FACTS ON FILE

in the fourth quarter of 2008 and had received government aid. Sarkozy said, “There shouldn’t be any more bonuses, distribution of free shares or stock options in companies that get state aid” or that had cut large numbers of jobs. French bank Societe Generale SA March 22 had dropped a plan to award bonuses to four board members in the form of discounted stock options. Sarkozy had denounced the bonuses as a “scandal.” The bank had received 1.7 billion euros in government aid. Workers at a factory in Pithiviers, south of Paris, owned by U.S.-based industrial conglomerate 3M Co. held their manager, Luc Rousselet, hostage for two days before releasing him March 26. They had demanded better working conditions and more severance pay for workers who were laid off. Two top executives at French energy company GdF Suez SA March 26 agreed to give up their 2008 bonuses after port workers went on strike to protest the award of stock options, disrupting two liquefied natural gas terminals. The government March 30 issued a decree banning companies that received state aid from awarding stock options to top executives. The decree would remain in effect at least through 2010. Workers at a factory in southeast France run by U.S. company Caterpillar Inc. March 31 held five managers hostage for 24 hours until the company agreed to discuss compensation for laid-off workers. n

Germany BMW Heiress’s Blackmailer Jailed for 6 Years.

A Swiss man March 9 pleaded guilty in a court in Munich, Germany, to the attempted blackmail of an heiress to the Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) auto fortune, Germany’s richest woman. Helg Sgarbi, 44, dubbed the “Swiss gigolo” by the media, confessed that he had seduced billionaire Susanne Klatten, defrauded her of seven million euros ($9 million) and then threatened to publicize evidence of their affair unless she paid him hundreds of millions of euros more. The court also convicted him of fraud and attempted blackmail in connection with three other women, and sentenced him to six years in prison. [See 2000, p. 233B2] Sgarbi, a former investment banker, said he had first approached Klatten, who was married with three children, at a spa near Innsbruck, Austria, in 2007, and soon lured her into an affair. He persuaded her to give him seven million euros in cash, claiming that he had caused a car accident that left a girl paralyzed, and that he needed to pay for her medical treatment. After Sgarbi subjected her to several blackmail attempts, Klatten reported him to the police in January 2008. Sgarbi was arrested that month in Austria with his alleged accomplice, Italian Ernano Barretta, who had since been extradited to Italy, where he was under house arrest pending trial. Klatten, 46, was the daughter of Herbert Quandt, who took control of BMW in the 1950s. She owned a 46% stake in BMW and April 2, 2009

an 88% stake in German chemicals company Altana AG. Forbes magazine had estimated her net worth at $13.2 billion, ranking her as the world’s 55th richest person in 2008. Sgarbi’s confession spared her and his other victims from having to testify in court. The judge cited that fact in giving him a more lenient sentence than the 10year maximum he faced. n

Great Britain Ex–Bank Executive’s Home Vandalized.

Vandals March 25 attacked the home and car of Sir Fred Goodwin, former chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland PLC (RBS), in a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland. The incident was seen as part of a growing backlash against executive pay in Europe and the U.S. [See pp. 206G1, 161A1, 155D2] Goodwin had been ousted from RBS in October 2008 after the government stepped in to take control of the bank, which lost £24 billion ($35 billion) in 2008, the biggest corporate loss in British history. The government had since increased its stake in RBS stock to 70%, and said it might raise it still further, to 95%. In late February, Goodwin, 50, had returned to the center of controversy when he refused the government’s call for him to give up part of his £700,000 annual pension in light of the bank’s performance on his watch. In a March 25 e-mail message to the Edinburgh Evening News, an anonymous group claimed responsibility for the attack on Goodwin’s property, in which windows were smashed in his house and MercedesBenz S600 car. He was not home at the time of the attack. The message said, “We are angry that rich people like him are paying themselves a huge amount of money and living in luxury, while ordinary people are made unemployed, destitute and homeless. This is a crime. Bank bosses should be jailed. This is just the beginning.” n

Latvia Nazi Supporters March Despite Ban. In de-

fiance of a government ban, about 300 people March 16 marched through Riga, Latvia’s capital, to commemorate a Latvian Waffen SS (Schutzstaffel) unit that fought against the Soviet army in World War II. The Waffen SS had been the military wing of the German Nazi Party. The Soviet Union had occupied Latvia in 1940, after Latvia had been incorporated into it under the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. [See p. 37F3; 2005, p. 317E1] City authorities had banned the march, reportedly out of concern that the demonstration could spark violence in Latvia, where 106 people had been arrested in January after an antigovernment protest had turned into a riot. However, SS veterans and their supporters marched anyway, and police reportedly allowed them to lay flowers at a monument in central Riga. A dozen people were reportedly detained in connection with the demonstration.

The march, which had been held every year since 1991, when Latvia declared independence from the Soviet Union, angered some Russian-speaking Latvians, who considered the Soviet army liberators from Nazi rule. Others viewed the Latvian SS unit as heros who had fought for Latvian independence against Soviet occupiers. [See 1944, p. 326D] The post–World War II Nuremberg war crimes tribunals did not charge the Latvian SS with crimes related to the Holocaust, and Latvia maintained that the unit had never engaged in SS atrocities. n

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Romania Donors Extend 20 Billion Euro Rescue Loan.

A group of donors, headed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), March 25 said they would extend a 20 billion euro ($27 billion) low-interest rescue loan to Romania, whose economy was suffering amid a sharp decline in foreign investment triggered by the current global economic downturn. Other donors included the European Union, the World Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Most of the funds would be used to bolster the Romanian central bank’s reserves, but the loan also included provisions to aid the most vulnerable of the country’s approximately 22 million citizens. The loan was subject to approval by the IMF’s executive board. [See pp. 206D2, 193A1, 136B2] Under the terms of the loan, which would be disbursed over two years, Romania was required to reduce government spending so the country’s budget deficit was not greater than 5.1% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2009 and 3% in 2011. In order to meet those terms, the government was expected to raise taxes. It was also expected to curtail payments to some pensioners and freeze civil servants’ wages, despite promises made during a parliamentary election campaign in late 2008 that those people would receive more money. [See 2008, p. 984E3] Romania’s GDP had increased by 7.1% ion 2008, one of the highest growth rates in Europe. GDP was expected to contract by as much as 6% in 2009. Despite the years of recent growth, Romania still had one of the lowest per capita incomes in Europe. n

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Russia News in Brief. The second trial of jailed former OAO Yukos oil company founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky began March 31 in

Moscow, Russia’s capital. Khodorkovsky and his former business partner, Platon Lebedev, were accused of embezzling more than $24 billion from Yukos. Both had already been convicted of tax evasion and fraud in a 2005 trial that many Western observers had called politically motivated. Khodorkovsky, who was currently serving an eight-year sentence, could receive as many as 22½ additional years in jail if convicted of the new charges. The new trial was widely viewed in the West as a test of how committed President Dmitri Medvedev was 207

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to his stated goal of strengthening the standards of Russia’s judiciary. [See 2008, pp. 640B1, 316D2] Russian media outlet Kommersant, citing sources within the U.S. government, March 2 reported that U.S. President Barack Obama had sent a letter to Medvedev, in which he reportedly suggest-

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held March 1, according to preliminary results released March 2 by the central election commission. United Russia also won most municipal elections, also held March 1, in which mayors and other regional authorities were chosen. Opposition politicians, including Communist Party head Gennady Zyuganov and Liberal Democratic Party chief Vladimir Zhirinovsky, said there had been widespread election day violations, the Moscow Times reported March 3. [See 2008, p. 138A3] n

Spain Government Sets First Bank Bailout in Crisis.

The Spanish government March 29 said it had agreed to rescue a regional savings and loan institution, Caja de Ahorros Castilla La Mancha (CCM), in the first such bank bailout in Spain since the start of the global financial crisis the previous year. Finance Minister Pedro Solbes said the Bank of Spain, the central bank, would take control of CCM and provide it with a loan backed by guarantees of up to nine billion euros ($12 billion) from the government. [See p. 155F1; 2008, p. 737A1] Solbes called the rescue an “isolated incident,” insisting that no other Spanish banks were in similar straits. He noted that CCM was relatively small, accounting for only about 1% of the nation’s banking assets. CCM had about 25 billion euros in assets under management, and was the country’s 12th-largest savings bank. CCM, based in the southeastern region of Cuenca, had been hit hard by bad loans linked to the collapse of Spain’s housing construction boom over the past year, along with many other of Spain’s 45 cajas, or savings banks. Cajas, which were typically controlled by regional governments, generally invested only domestically, and were thus particularly heavily exposed to the Spanish real estate market. Spain had not yet followed the lead of the U.S. or other European nations by injecting government capital into banks and nationalizing them by taking controlling stakes of their stock. Spanish banks were subject to strict regulations, including unusually large reserve capital requirements and restrictions on risky assets, which had so far helped them to weather the global crisis. n 208

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Iraq Awakening Leader Arrest Sparks Clashes.

Iraqi and U.S. troops March 28 arrested the leader of the Awakening Council of the Fadhil neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq’s capital, sparking fighting between Awakening Council members and Iraqi and U.S. government forces through the next day. Awakening Councils were armed groups of mostly Sunni Muslims—many of them former insurgents—who beginning in 2007 had allied themselves with the U.S. against insurgents. The rise of the Awakening Council movement was credited as one of the main causes of a general decline in violence in Iraq. [See pp. 189C2, 118C1; 2008, p. 708C2] Control of the councils had largely been turned over to the Shiite Muslim–dominated government of Prime Minister Nouri alMaliki, which had promised to integrate some members into the Iraqi security forces and give the others government jobs. However, Awakening Council members complained that the government had been late paying their salaries; that only a small fraction of council members were receiving jobs; and that government forces were targeting their leaders for arrests. It was feared that if friction between the Iraqi government and the Awakening Councils continued, some council members might rejoin insurgent groups. The council leader, Adil Mashhadani, was arrested at a checkpoint in Fadhil, a former hotbed of the Sunni insurgency. Mashhadani had been outspoken against the government’s failure to hire council members. However, U.S. and Iraqi officials said he was accused of extorting bribes from Fadhil residents, leading cells that carried out terrorist attacks and collaborating with the Sunni insurgent groups Al Qaeda in Iraq and Jaish al-Islami. U.S. and Iraqi forces also insisted that they were not targeting Fadhil’s entire Awakening Council. Shortly after the arrest, Awakening Council members in Fadhil began firing on government forces. Fighting continued into March 29, with Iraqi forces backed by U.S. troops and helicopters surrounding the neighborhood. At least 15 people were injured in the fighting, and some reports said at least one police officer was killed. Iraqi officials said the Awakening Council fighters March 28 kidnapped five Iraqi soldiers, but freed them the next day. However, according to several Iraqi soldiers and Awakening Council members, the five soldiers had voluntarily laid down their weapons. Iraqi and U.S. officials March 30 said the Fadhil Awakening Council had been permanently disbanded, and that all of the council members would be offered jobs in the Iraqi security forces. It was the first time an Awakening Council had been dissolved in Baghdad. A U.S. military spokesman said the Iraqi government had arrested 24 Fadhil council members, while a deputy to Mashhadani said the number was 80. The neighborhood remained under curfew and blockaded from the rest of Baghdad.

IRAQ CASUALTIES

Following are tallies of casualties in Iraq since the beginning of a U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, as they stood April 2 [See pp. 208A2, 121F1]: U.S. military casualties:

Deaths Wounded

4,264 31,153

Allied military deaths: 318 Iraqi security forces deaths: 8,970 Iraqi civilian deaths: 91,364–99,751 (Range based on news reports of deaths) Sources: U.S. casualties: U.S. Defense Department. Allies and Iraqi security forces: www.icasualties.org. Iraqi civilians: www.iraqbodycount.org.

Britain Turns Over Basra Base to U.S.—

British forces March 31 transferred control of their base in the southern province of Basra to the U.S. They would be replaced by 7,000 U.S. troops by the end of the summer, and the base would become the headquarters for U.S.-led troops in Iraq’s nine southern provinces. Basra had been relatively quiet since Iraqi troops launched an assault against Shiite militias in Basra city in 2008. [See pp. 156G1, 8F3] Under a security agreement with Iraq, Britain’s forces would cease combat missions in Iraq by May 31, and leave the country by July 31, except for several hundred who would remain to train Iraqi security forces. At the height of Britain’s involvement in Iraq, its forces had numbered more than 40,000 in the country. U.S. Soldier Convicted for Iraqi Murders—

U.S. Sgt. First Class Joseph Mayo March 30 pleaded guilty to premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit premeditated murder for the execution-style killings of four Iraqis in Baghdad in March or April 2007. Mayo was sentenced to 35 years in prison in a U.S. military courthouse in Vilseck, Germany. A medic in his unit, Sgt. Michael Leahy Jr., had been convicted of murder in connection with the case in February, while two other soldiers—Spec. Steven Ribordy and Spec. Belmor Ramos—had pleaded guilty to being accessories in 2008. [See p. 118E2] Mayo testified that after their unit had freed four Iraqi prisoners for lack of evidence, another soldier—Master Sgt. John Hatley, who was also facing a court-martial—had suggested that they kill the Iraqis themselves, and Mayo agreed. They then shot the Iraqis at point-blank range and pushed them into a Baghdad canal. Other News—In other Iraqi news: o The U.S. State Department April 1 said Herndon, Va.–based Triple Canopy Inc. would take over the job of providing security to U.S. diplomats in Iraq from the company formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide, whose contract was not renewed. Moyock, N.C.–based Blackwater—which Feb. 13 announced that it had changed its name to Xe—had caused controversy over the role of private security contractors in Iraq after its guards killed 17 FACTS ON FILE

Iraqi civilians in a September 2007 incident. [See p. 53B2] o A suicide truck bomber March 31 attacked a local police headquarters in Mahata, south of Mosul, the capital of northern Nineveh province, killing at least seven people. Violence remained common in Mosul, which was a center of the Sunni insurgency. o Iraqi National Security Adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie March 27 said the Iraqi government would soon move members of an Iranian opposition group living in a camp in Iraq on the Iranian border to a location in southern or western Iraq, and that shortly after that they would be forced to leave the country. The group—the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran, or Mujaheddin-e Khalq (MEK)—was considered a terrorist organization by Iraq and the U.S. State Department. However, it had given the U.S. information on Iran’s nuclear program, and U.S. troops had protected its Camp Ashraf before turning it over to Iraqi forces at the beginning of 2009. Rubaie said it would press charges against MEK leaders, but that “brainwashed cult members” would be “detoxified.” [See p. 174D3] o A car bomb March 26 exploded in a market in the Shaab neighborhood of Baghdad, killing at least 16 people. o U.S. Maj. Gen. David Perkins, the spokesman for U.S.-led forces in Iraq, March 26 said the level of attacks in Iraq was at its lowest since August 2003. He said there had been about 100 attacks per week recently, as opposed to 1,250 attacks per week when violence was at its height, in 2007. [See p. 118A1] o The Iraqi election commission March 26 ratified the results of January provincial council elections. A commission member said several candidates on winning lists had been disqualified because of “inaccuracy in their certifications,” but did not provide details. [See p. 118B1] n

Israel Netanyahu Confirmed as Prime Minister.

The Israeli Knesset, or parliament, March 31 voted, 69–45, to confirm Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the right-wing Likud party, as prime minister, and he was sworn in that day. Likud in February elections had won 27 parliamentary seats, one fewer than the centrist Kadima party, but Netanyahu had assembled a coalition with the centerleft Labor Party, the ultranationalist Yisrael Beitenu party and the ultra-Orthodox Shas party. Netanyahu, 59, had previously been prime minister from 1996 to 1999, and later served as foreign minister and finance minister under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. [See p. 189F3; for facts on Netanyahu, see p. 209A2] Netanyahu in a speech to the Knesset before being sworn in said he would continue negotiations with the Palestinian Authority (PA) along “economic, security and political” tracks. “We do not want to govern another people,” said, adding “I am telling the leaders of the Palestinian Authority, if you really want peace, it is possiApril 2, 2009

FACTS ON NETANYAHU

Benjamin Netanyahu was born Oct. 21, 1949 in Tel Aviv, Israel. He moved to the U.S. in 1963 when his father, a right-wing Zionist scholar, took a teaching job in Pennsylvania. He served in Israel’s armed forces from 1967 to 1972, rising to officer’s rank in an elite commando unit. He returned to the U.S. and earned a master’s degree in business administration at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Netanyahu’s elder brother, Yonatan, was killed in 1976 while leading a renowned raid that freed Israeli hostages held by terrorists at Entebbe Airport in Uganda. After the raid, Benjamin Netanyahu organized a series of memorial seminars in Israel that focused on combating terrorism. His work brought him to the attention of Moshe Arens, then Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., who appointed Netanyahu as his deputy in 1982. [See 1976, p. 485A1] In 1984, Netanyahu was named Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations. He enhanced his clout with Israel’s political right wing in 1988 when he resigned from his U.N. post after protesting against U.S. diplomatic overtures to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). [See 1988, p. 233C2] Netanyahu was elected to the Knesset (parliament) later in 1988 as a member of the Likud party and became deputy foreign minister. During the Persian Gulf war (1990–91), he served as Israel’s main international media spokesman, further building his political reputation. He became a deputy to Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir in 1991; after Likud lost to Yitzhak Rabin and the Labor Party in Israel’s 1992 elections, Netanyahu won the race to succeed Shamir as Likud’s chief. As an opposition leader, Netanyahu was a forceful critic of the Arab-Israeli peace process, rejecting any peace settlement that could end Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank, East Jerusalem or the Golan Heights. [See 1993, p. 256C2; 1991, p. 850C3]

ble to reach peace.” However, Netanyahu did not endorse a two-state solution, which the U.S. and international bodies supported. Netanyahu in the past had opposed the creation of an independent Palestinian state, preferring to emphasize economic development. Netanyahu also warned of the “possibility of a radical regime armed with nuclear weapons,” referring to Iran. Five Labor Knesset members who opposed the coalition abstained from the confirmation vote. The Labor Party supported the creation of a Palestinian state, among other areas in which it traditionally differed sharply with Likud and other coalition members. Netanyahu had subdivided ministries and created new ones in order to hand out ministerial portfolios to his coalition partners. His cabinet was the largest in Israeli history, with 30 ministers and at least seven deputy ministers, and prompted criticisms that it was bloated and wasteful. Under coalition deals, Labor leader Ehud Barak would remain as defense minister, while Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Lieberman, who was controversial because of his support for policies that were seen as aimed against Israeli Arabs, would become foreign minister. Lieberman April 1 said Israel was not bound by commitments to negotiate to-

Netanyahu was elected prime minister in 1996, defeating Labor’s Shimon Peres. Netanyahu and PLO leader Yasir Arafat in 1997 signed an accord on an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank city of Hebron, softening Netanyahu’s previous hard-line stance. Netanyahu and Arafat in 1998 signed an interim agreement calling for a partial Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, but opposition from Israeli rightwing legislators led to the dissolution of Netanyahu’s government. Netanyahu lost a 1999 election to a Labor-led coalition headed by Ehud Barak, and temporarily withdrew from politics. [See 1999, p. 357A1; 1998, p. 761A1; 1997, p. 17A1; 1996, p. 365A1] Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Likud, who had defeated Barak in 2001 elections, tapped Netanyahu, who was considered his main rival for the Likud leadership, as foreign minister in 2002 ahead of early elections. After besting Netanyahu in a party leadership struggle and winning the 2003 elections, Sharon removed Netanyahu from his post, but then offered him the finance ministry. Netanyahu served there until 2005, when he resigned to protest Sharon’s decision to evacuate Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip. [See 2005, p. 534E1; 2003, p. 151B3; 2002, p. 863C1] Netanyahu in 2005 was elected Likud’s leader. He led his party in a poor showing in 2006 elections against the centrist Kadima party, but was reelected to the party leadership in 2007. [See 2007, p. 893E1; 2006, p. 229C3; 2005, p. 909B3] Netanyahu was asked to form a governing coalition after Likud won one fewer Knesset seat than Kadima in Feb. 10 elections. He was confirmed March 31 as prime minister. [See p. 209E1] Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, a psychologist, had two sons, and lived in Jerusalem. Netanyahu had been married twice before, and had a daughter from his first marriage.

ward Palestinian statehood that it had made at a summit in Annapolis, Md., in 2007, but rather would follow the 2003 U.S.-backed “road map,” which required the PA to dismantle militant networks before talks could begin. He said the Annapolis agreement, which had called for the creation of a Palestinian state by the end of 2008, had not been ratified by the Knesset and “has no validity.” Lieberman also warned that granting further concessions to the Palestinians “will lead to more wars.” Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said Lieberman had “closed the door on peace.” Lieberman April 2 was questioned by police in connection with a 13-year-old investigation of allegations of bribery and money laundering. n

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Israeli Abuses in Gaza Invasion Reported.

The Israeli newspapers Haaretz and Maariv March 19–20 published allegations that Israeli soldiers had committed abuses against Palestinian civilians during Israel’s January invasion of the Gaza Strip, including killing several noncombatants without provocation. The Israeli military denied that such abuses were widespread but said it would investigate; however, the investigation was called off March 30 after the military’s advocate general said the charges reported in the newspapers were unsubstantiated. [See pp. 157G1, 31B1] 209

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Israel had invaded the Gaza Strip, which was controlled by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas (Islamic Resistance), in an attempt to stop militants from launching rockets into Israel. The Israeli military March 26 said 1,166 Palestinians had been killed during the 22-day operation, including 295 civilians, 709 “Hamas terror operatives” and 162 men of unknown affiliation. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza counted 1,417 dead, including 926 civilians and 236 combatants, although its list of civilians included about 250 policemen cited by Israel as Hamas operatives. Haaretz and Maariv March 19 ran excerpts of statements from two unnamed Israeli squad commanders who had served in the Gaza invasion, dubbed Operation Cast Lead. One said an officer had ordered Israeli snipers to kill an elderly Palestinian woman who was walking near a house occupied by Israeli forces, and also spoke of large-scale destruction of property and anti-Arab graffiti left in commandeered Palestinian residences. The other told of a sharpshooter who shot and killed a mother and her two children after they accidentally came too close to an Israeli position. The soldiers spoke of relaxed rules of engagement in Gaza, under which they were told that any Palestinians they encountered should be assumed to be terrorists and shot, even if the Palestinians were unarmed. The newspapers March 20 published further accounts from Israeli soldiers of abuses in Gaza. An Israeli squad commander also claimed that military rabbis had distributed pamphlets characterizing the invasion as a religious venture to “expel the non-Jews who are interfering with our conquest of this holy land.” The soldiers’ testimonies had first appeared in a journal published by a military preparatory course at the Oranim Academic College, in the northern Israeli town of Tivon. The academy’s director, Dany Zamir, had reportedly leaked the accounts because he felt that Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, the military chief of staff, had not taken the testimonies seriously. The military advocate general, Brig. Gen. Avichai Mendelblit, March 19 said he would open an investigation of the alleged abuses. Defense Minister Ehud Barak told Israel Radio, “The Israeli Army is the most moral in the world,” and that any abuses were exceptions to the rule. Mendelblit March 30 closed his inquiry, after finding that the most serious accusations were “based on hearsay” and that there was no evidence to support them. He said he had found that in the case of the mother and children supposedly killed, the soldier who had given the account had not actually been present at the incident. In reality, Mendelblit said, Israeli snipers had opened fire in a different direction on “two suspicious men” as the civilians were walking away, and none of the three were harmed. Israeli human rights groups criticized the decision to close the inquiry, and called for an independent investigation. Haaretz Jan. 26 had published excerpts from materials handed out by rabbis during the Gaza invasion urging soldiers to con210

quer Gaza and “show no mercy on the cruel.” The newspaper Jan. 28 reported that the military had “severely reprimanded” an unnamed officer for handing out the pamphlets. Several reports published March 23 accused Israel of further abuses in Gaza. Human rights advocates presented a report to the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) claiming that Israeli soldiers had shelled a building they had ordered noncombatants to enter the previous day, shot Palestinian children and bulldozed a home with a woman and child inside. Richard Falk, the U.N. special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, presented another report to the HRC concluding that the Israeli invasion of Gaza was “potentially a crime against peace” because there had been diplomatic options to avoid conflict. Physicians for Human Rights–Israel March 23 reported that the Israeli military had violated its own code of ethics, and possibly international law, by putting medical personnel in danger and blocking medical evacuations during the Gaza war. The Israeli military responded that it had tried to safeguard medical teams, and blamed Hamas for using ambulances, medical buildings and uniforms to conceal “terrorist activity.” Also, the New York City–based advocacy group Human Rights Watch March 25 reported that Israel had used white phosphorus artillery shells “unlawfully” during the Gaza invasion. White phosphorus was used to create smokescreens, but could also cause severe burns. Human Rights Watch said Israel had violated international law by using the substance repeatedly in heavily populated areas. An Israeli military spokesman said an internal investigation was close to completion, but that preliminary findings showed that Israel had used white phosphorus “in accordance with international law.” [See p. 13B2] Negotiations for Soldier’s Release Fail—

Outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert March 17 announced that Egyptian-brokered negotiations with Hamas to free a captured Israeli soldier had collapsed. The soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, had been kidnapped by militants in a 2006 raid across the Gaza border. Olmert said Hamas was not budging from its demand for Israel to free 450 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit’s release. Olmert said that while he was willing to release many of the Palestinians demanded by Hamas, he would not free some who were considered too dangerous. “We have red lines,” Olmert said, adding, “We don’t cross them.” Olmert took the unusual step of naming some of the Palestinians he refused to release, including Abdullah Barghouti and Hassan Salameh, who were each serving dozens of life sentences for their roles in bombings that had killed Israelis. Media reports said Israel had agreed to release about 320 of the 450 prisoners sought by Hamas. Hamas officials said they had opposed Israel’s demand that many of the prisoners be deported or confined to the Gaza Strip, rather than be allowed in the West Bank, due to security concerns.

Israel March 18–19 arrested 10 Hamas leaders, including four legislators, in the West Bank. Hamas decried the arrests as “an attempt to blackmail the resistance and achieve gains in the prisoner case,” referring to Shalit. Other News—In related developments: o A Palestinian youth orchestra March 25 performed for elderly Holocaust survivors in Holon, Israel. The orchestra was from the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, which in the past had been known as a center of militancy. The visit was organized by the orchestra’s Israeli Arab director, Wafaa Younis, as part of Israel’s annual Good Deeds Day. Jenin officials March 29 condemned the performance and barred Younis from the camp. They said Younis had exploited the children in the orchestra for the purpose of “normalizing” ties with Israel. o Israeli police March 21 found a car packed with 200 pounds (90 kg) of explosives that had malfunctioned and failed to go off in the parking lot of a crowded shopping mall in the northern Israeli port city of Haifa. If the car had exploded, it would have been one of the largest bombings within Israel in several years. An obscure group, Liberators of the Galilee, claimed responsibility for the failed attack, but security officials reportedly doubted its claim. [See 2008, p. 76A3] o Gunmen late March 15 killed two Israeli police officers on patrol in the Jordan Valley area of the West Bank, near the Israeli settlement of Massua and close to the Jordanian border. No group took responsibility for the shooting, but the Israeli police said they were treating it as a Palestinian “nationalistic” attack. The police officers were the first Israelis killed in the West Bank since two security guards were shot to death in April 2008. [See 2008, p. 385F3] o A U.S. citizen, Tristan Anderson, March 13 was severely injured when a teargas canister fired by Israeli troops hit him in the head, during a protest near Ramallah, in the West Bank. Anderson was participating in a protest that had been held weekly for several months in the village of Naalin against the construction of an Israeli security barrier. He reportedly remained in critical condition at a hospital in Tel Aviv as of April 2. The Israeli military said it would investigate the incident. [See 2008, p. 625F2; 2005, p. 997C2] o The Israeli Supreme Court March 10 blocked a Palestinian activist—Shawan Jabarin, the director of the Palestinian human rights organization Al Haq—from leaving the West Bank to accept a major human rights prize, the Geuzen Medal, in the Netherlands. The Supreme Court said he had been involved with terrorist groups, a charge he denied. Jabarin March 13 accepted the prize by videoconference. n

Lebanon Court Opens in 2005 Hariri Assassination.

A court set up to prosecute the assassins of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik FACTS ON FILE

Hariri March 1 formally opened in The Hague, the Netherlands. A bomb in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, had killed Hariri and 22 other people in 2005. Investigators had implicated the Syrian government in the killing, but Syria denied involvement. [See 2008, p. 224C2] The Special Tribunal for Lebanon was set up by the United Nations and the Lebanese government in 2006, and was endorsed by the U.N. Security Council in 2007. Eleven judges, four of them Lebanese, sat on the court. Trials would be under Lebanese law, except that imposition of the death penalty would not be permitted. The Canadian prosecutor of the court, Daniel Bellemare, said that within 60 days, he would ask the Lebanese government to hand over four Lebanese generals with close ties to Syria who had been detained in Beirut since 2005 in connection with the case. The generals were Maj. Gen. Jamil Sayyed, former chief of general security; Maj. Gen. Ali Hajj, former head of internal security forces; Brig. Gen. Raymond Azar, former chief of military intelligence; and Brig. Gen. Mustafa Hamdan, former commander of the presidential Republican Guard Brigade. Lebanon Feb. 25 had released two Lebanese and one Syrian civilian who were being held on suspicion of misleading the Hariri investigation and making false statements. The tribunal’s opening took place as relations between Syria and Lebanon were improving. Lebanon March 16 opened an embassy in Damascus, the Syrian capital, in a move towards establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries. Syria had opened an embassy in Beirut in December 2008, and Lebanon March 24 approved the appointment of Ali Abdul Karim Ali as Syria’s ambassador. Syria Jan. 27 had approved the appointment of Lebanon’s current ambassador to Cyprus, Michel el-Khoury, to become its ambassador to Syria. [See 2008, p. 776D3] n Bomb Kills PLO Official. A roadside bomb in southern Lebanon March 23 killed a senior Palestinian official and three of his companions. The official, Kamal Medhat, was the deputy chief of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in Lebanon. The bomb hit his two-car convoy at a security checkpoint as it was leaving the Mieh Mieh Palestinian refugee camp, near the city of Sidon. No one took responsibility for the blast. [See p. 13B2; 2008, p. 224G2] Palestinians speculated that the attack might have been aimed at Medhat’s superior, Abbas Zaki, who had visited Mieh Mieh earlier the same day. Other observers said it might have been carried out by enemies Medhat had made while carrying out his role as a mediator between various Palestinian factions in the refugee camps, or that it could have been meant to disrupt reconciliation talks between the rival Palestinian factions Fatah—the largest party in the PLO—and the militant Islamist group Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement). Both Fatah and Hamas condemned the bombing. n April 2, 2009

SPORTS

UNITED STATES

ARTS & SCIENCES

UNITED STATES

A

Iditarod

Theater Openings

Mackey Wins Third Straight Race. Lance Mackey March 18 won the 37th annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska, for the third consecutive year. Mackey, a 38-year-old Alaska native, finished the 1,100-mile (1,770-km) course in nine days, 21 hours, 38 minutes and 46 seconds. He became the third musher, after Susan Butcher and Doug Swingley, to win the race three times in a row. Mackey earned $69,000 and a new pick-up truck for the victory. [See 2008, p. 171F2; 2006, p. 640B3; 2001, p. 339C2] The race, which began March 8 with 67 mushers, resulted in the death of five dogs on the trail. (One or two dogs commonly died during the race each year.) The high number of deaths drew criticism from animal rights activists, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) March 24 called for a criminal inquiry. However, the Alaskan state police said it did not intend to investigate the deaths unless the race’s organizer, the Iditarod Trail Committee, requested a probe. n

The American Plan. Revival of a 1990 play by Richard Greenberg. Directed by David Grindley. With Lily Rabe, Kieran Campion and Mercedes Ruehl. In New York City, at the Samuel J. Friedman Theater. Jan. 22. [See 1990, p. 1002A3] Becky Shaw. Romantic comedy by Gina Gionfriddo. Directed by Peter DuBois. With Annie Parisse, David Wilson Barnes, Emily Bergl, Kelly Bishop and Thomas Sadoski. In New York City, at the Second Stage Theater. Jan. 8. Burnt by the Sun. Historical drama by Peter Flannery, based on Nikita Mikhalkov and Rustam Ibrahimbekov’s screenplay for Mikhalkov’s Russian film of the same name that won an Academy Award in 1995. Directed by Howard Davies. With Ciaran Hinds, Rory Kinnear and Michelle Dockery. In London, at the Royal National Theatre’s Lyttelton Theatre. March 3. [See 1995, p. 243F2; 1994, p. 403B3] Coming Home. South African drama by Athol Fugard. Directed by Gordon Edelstein. With Roslyn Ruff (as Veronica Jonkers, a character introduced in Fugard’s 1995 play Valley Song) and Colman Domingo. In New Haven, Conn., at the Long Wharf Theater. Jan. 21. [See 1995, p. 1013B3] England People Very Nice. Satirical work by Richard Bean. Directed by Nicholas Hytner. With Olivia Colman, Sacha Dhawan, Michelle Terry and Sophie Stanton. In London, at the Royal National Theatre’s Olivier Theatre. Feb. 11. (This play dealt with the touchy subject of British immigration in a manner that some critics, particularly Muslims, found offensive and even racist.) [See 2004, p. 196C2] Guys and Dolls. First Broadway revival since 1992 of Frank Loesser’s classic 1950 musical. Directed by Des McAnuff; choreographed by Sergio Trujillo. With Oliver Platt, Lauren Graham, Craig Bierko and Kate Jennings Grant. In New York City, at the Nederlander Theater. March 1. [See 1992, p. 435G3] The Heavens Are Hung in Black. Historical play by James Still. Directed by Stephen Rayne. With David Selby and Robin Moseley. In Washington, D.C., at Ford’s Theatre. Feb. 8. (This Ford’s-commissioned play about Abraham Lincoln marked the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth and received its world premiere in the newly renovated theater in which Lincoln was assassinated in 1865.) [See 2008, p. 876F1] Hedda Gabler. Revival of Henrik Ibsen’s 1890 tragedy, as newly adapted by Christopher Shinn from a literal translation by Anne-Charlotte Harvey. Directed by Ian Rickson. With Mary-Louise Parker, Michael Cerveris, Paul Sparks and Peter Stormare. In New York City, at the American Airlines Theater. Jan. 25. [See 1999, p. 411A2] Rod Blagojevich Superstar!. Musical comedy about the recently ousted governor of Illinois. Book by Ed Furman; music and lyrics by T.J. Shanoff. Directed by Matt Hovde. With Joey Bland, Lori McClain and Sam Richardson. In Chicago, at Second City e.t.c. Feb. 10. [See p. 43A3] Telephone. Absurdist play by poet Arianna Reines, inspired by The Telephone Book: Technology, Schizophrenia, Electric Speech, a 1989 book by Avital Ronell. Directed by Ken Rus Schmoll. With Gibson Frazier, Matthew Dellapina and Birgit Huppuch. In New York City, at the Cherry Lane Theater. Feb. 9. The Third Story. Comedy by Charles Busch satirizing 1940s Hollywood films. Directed by Carl Andress. With Busch, Kathleen Turner and Jennifer Van Dyck. In New York City, at the Lucille Lortel Theater. Feb. 2. [See 2008, p. 248D1; 2007, p. 795E3; 2005, p. 364B3] 33 Variations. Broadway production of Moises Kaufman’s 2007 drama about classical music. Directed by Kaufman. With Jane Fonda, Samantha Mathis, Colin Hanks and Zach Grenier. In New York City, at the Eugene O’Neill Theater. March 9. [See 2007, p. 796B1] Time Stands Still. Iraq war–related drama by Donald Margulies. Directed by Daniel Sullivan. With Anna Gunn, David Barbour, Alicia Silverstone and Robin Thomas. In Los Angeles, at the Geffen Playhouse. Feb. 11. [See 2005, p. 272F1; 2000, p. 256E1] You, Nero. Comedy by Amy Freed set in ancient Rome. Directed by Sharon Ott. With Danny Scheie and John Vickery. In Costa Mesa, Calif., at South Coast Repertory. Jan. 9. [See 2003, p. 1103E2]

Figure Skating World Championships Held in Los Angeles.

Kim Yu Na of South Korea March 28 won the women’s competition at the World Figure Skating Championships in Los Angeles. Joannie Rochette of Canada took the silver medal, and 2007 champion Miki Ando of Japan claimed the bronze. [See 2008, p. 227E1] The poor showing of the two U.S. competitors—Rachael Flatt, who placed fifth, and Alissa Czisny, who placed 11th, for a combined 16th—meant that the U.S. would have only two slots in the women’s competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. They would have had to finish with a combined placing of 13th or better to earn three slots. [See p. 139C2] Evan Lysacek of the U.S. March 26 won the men’s competition. Patrick Chan of Canada placed second, and 2007 champion Brian Joubert of France took third. The other American skater, Brandon Mroz, placed ninth, meaning the U.S. would have three representatives in the men’s competition at the Vancouver Olympics. In the pairs competition March 25, Germany’s Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy won the gold medal for the second year in a row. China’s Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao were runners-up for the second straight year, while Russia’s Yuko Kawaguchi and Alexander Smirnov took the bronze. The Russian team of Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin March 27 won gold in the ice dancing competition. Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto of the U.S. took the silver medal, and Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada won the bronze. n

You’re Welcome, America: A Final Night With George W. Bush. One-act show in which comedian Will Fer-

rell impersonates the U.S.’s 43rd president. Directed by Adam McKay. In New York City, at the Cort Theater. Feb. 5. [See p. 26F2; 2008, p. 548C2] n

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BEST SELLER LISTS

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Books

Television

Publishers Weekly March 30 listed the following hardback and paperback best sellers [See p. 140A1]:

Top-Rated Programs. The following were the most-watched prime-time nation-

Fiction Hardback 1. Handle with Care, by Jodi Picoult (Atria) 2. Corsair, by Clive Cussler with Jack Du Brul (Putnam) 3. The Associate, by John Grisham (Doubleday) 4. The Host, by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown) 5. Run for Your Life, by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge (Little, Brown)

B

General Hardback 1. Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment, by Steve Harvey (Amistad) 2. Outliers: The Story of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown) 3. A Lion Called Christian: The True Story of the Remarkable Bond Between Two Friends and a Lion, by Anthony Bourke and John Rendall (Broadway) 4. The Yankee Years, by Joe Torre with Tom Verducci (Doubleday) 5. The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion)

Mass Market Paperback

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1. The Whole Truth, by David Baldacci (Vision) 2. Hold Tight, by Harlan Coben (Dutton) 3. Bones, by Jonathan Kellerman (Ballantine) 4. Danger in a Red Dress, by Christina Dodd (Signet) 5. The Appeal, by John Grisham (Dell)

1. “Right Round,” Flo Rida featuring Kesha (Poe Boy/Atlantic) 2. “Dead and Gone,” T.I. featuring Justin Timberlake (Grand Hustle/Atlantic) 3. “Poker Face,” Lady Gaga (Streamline/KonLive/Cherrytree/Interscope) 4. “Kiss Me Thru the Phone,” Soulja Boy Tell ’em featuring Sammie (ColliPark/Interscope) 5. “My Life Would Suck Without You,” Kelly Clarkson (19/RCA/RMG)

1. All I Ever Wanted, Kelly Clarkson (S/19/RCA/Sony Music) 2. Love VS Money, The-Dream (Radio Killa/Def Jam/IDJMG) 3. No Line on the Horizon, U2 (Island/Interscope/IGA) 4. Round 2, J. Holiday (Music Line/Capitol) 5. Fearless, Taylor Swift (Big Machine)

People Grammy Award–winning rapper T.I., 28, March 27 in Atlanta, Ga., was sentenced to a year and a day in prison on federal weapons charges. The sentence was the minimum allowed under the guilty plea he entered in March 2008, when he also agreed to perform at least 1,000 hours of community service before going to prison. At his sentencing hearing, he was found to have fully complied with the community-service conditions of his plea agreement. [See 2008, p. 268F2] n

O B I T UA R I E S ALFONSIN Foulkes, Raul Ricardo, 82, Argentine human rights lawyer and politician who was his country’s president from 1983 to 1989; his election to the presidency, as the candidate of the Radical Civic Union, ended nearly eight years of military rule, marked by a “dirty war” rife with human rights abuses and “disappearances” of leftists; during the dirty war, Alfonsin cofounded the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights and defended many political prisoners; during his presidency, a number of military junta leaders were sentenced to prison, but amnesty laws, passed in 1986 and 1987, kept many lower-ranking officers from being brought to trial; in mid-1989, amid ongoing economic turmoil, including hyperinflation, he was defeated in his bid for reelection by Peronist Party candidate Carlos Menem; Alfonsin, whose six-year term was to end in December 1989, allowed Menem to succeed him in July of that year, marking the first peaceful turnover of power in more than 60

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Directed by John Hamburg. With Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones, Sarah Burns and Jaime Pressly. 3. Duplicity, Universal ($18.1 million, 1)

Directed by Tony Gilroy. With Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Giamatti and Rick Worthy. 4. Race to Witch Mountain, Disney ($47.7 million, 2)

Directed by Andy Fickman. With Dwayne Johnson, Ciaran Hinds, Anna-Sophia Robb, Alexander Ludwig and Carla Gugino. 5. Watchmen, Warner Bros. ($100.5 million, 3)

Directed by Zack Snyder. With Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Patrick Wilson. 6. The Last House on the Left, Universal ($25.8 million, 2)

Albums

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Top-Grossing Films. The following were the top-grossing films in the U.S. for the week of March 20–26 according to Variety. Figures in parentheses were each film’s cumulative domestic box-office total and number of weeks in release to date. Information on cast and director is included when a film first appears on the list. [See p. 140B2]:

2. I Love You, Man, Paramount ($24.4 million, 1)

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Directed by Alex Proyas. With Lara Robinson, Nicolas Cage, Rose Byrne, Chandler Canterbury and Ben Mendelsohn.

Best-Selling Singles and Albums. Billboard magazine in its March 28 issue listed the five most popular singles (as determined by air play and sales) and the five best-selling albums in the U.S. as the following [See p. 140C1]:

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1. “American Idol” (Fox), March 25 (14.7)* 2. “Dancing With the Stars” (ABC), March 9 (14.1)* 3. “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” (CBS), March 5 (12.7) 4. “The Bachelor: After the Final Rose” (ABC), March 2 (11.4) 5. “The Mentalist” (CBS), March 24 (11.2) (tie) “NCIS” (CBS), March 24 (11.2)

1. Knowing, Summit Entertainment ($31.5 million, 1)

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al television shows March 2–29 as determined by A.C. Nielsen Co. (Series marked with an asterisk * had at least one other episode during the period that outranked some of the other programs listed.) Figures in parentheses are rating points; each point represents 1% of the 114.5 million television households in the U.S. [See p. 72A2]:

Directed by Dennis Iliadis. With Garret Dillahunt, Martha MacIsaac, Riki Lindhome, Tony Goldwyn and Monica Potter. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Taken, 20th Century Fox ($134.4 million, 8) [See p. 140C2] Slumdog Millionaire, Fox Searchlight ($138.2 million, 19) [See p. 140C2] Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail, Lionsgate ($87.9 million, 5) [See p. 140B2] Coraline, Focus Features ($73.6 million, 7) [See p. 140C2]

years by an elected Argentine president to a successor from another party; Menem in 1990 pardoned various junta members who had been jailed; in 2005, however, the Argentine Supreme Court struck down the 1986 and 1987 amnesty laws, paving the way for the resumption of prosecutions of “dirty war” perpetrators; born March 12, 1927, in Chascomus, Argentina; died March 31 at his home in Buenos Aires, Argentina, of lung cancer. [See 2005, p. 443A2; 2001, pp. 868D1, 214G2; Indexes 1998, 1993, 1982–91, 1977, 1975, 1972–73] JAGAN, Janet (born Janet Rosalie Rosenberg),

88, U.S.-born president of Guyana, 1997–99, and the first democratically elected female president of any South American country; she and her husband, Cheddi Jagan, whom she married in 1943, helped found Guyana’s socialist People’s Progressive Party in 1950, when Guyana was still a British colony, known as British Guiana; at the time, he was practicing dentistry, while she was his nurse; both of them played key roles in Guyanese politics in the years leading up to its achievement of independence in 1966; from 1964, when a rival party, the People’s National Congress took power, until 1992, the Jagans were at the helm of Guyana’s political opposition; in 1992, Cheddi Jagan was elected president of Guyana, a post he held until his death in March 1997; his widow was elected president in December of that year, at the age of 77, and remained in power until August 1999, when she resigned after suffering a mild heart attack; her successor, Bharrat Jagdeo, was still in power; born Oct. 20, 1920, in Chicago; died March 28 at a hospital in Georgetown, the Guyanese capital, of an abdominal aneurysm. [See 2001, p. 256C2; 1999, pp. 584D2, G2; Indexes 1997–98, 1970, 1962–64, 1957, 1953–55] JARRE, Maurice Alexis, 84, French composer, long resident in the U.S., where he became one of the most sought-after creators of Hollywood film scores; a nine-time Academy Award nominee, he ended up winning three Oscars, for Lawrence of Arabia in 1963, Doc-

tor Zhivago in 1966 and A Passage to India in 1985; all were sumptuous films made by Briton David Lean, who died in 1991; the only Lean film scored by him for which he did not win an Oscar was Ryan’s Daughter (1970); he also worked with such directors as Alfred Hitchcock (Topaz, 1969), Adrian Lyne (Fatal Attraction, 1987) and Jerry Zucker (Ghost, 1990), and on four films with Peter Weir, including Dead Poets Society (1989); his most recognizable tune was probably “Lara’s Theme” from Doctor Zhivago, which became an easy-listening standard in various versions; born Sept. 13, 1924, in Lyon, France; died overnight March 28 in Malibu, Calif., of cancer. [See 1991, p. 292D3; 1966, p. 168A2; Index 1963] KELL, George Clyde, 86, third baseman for a number of Major League Baseball (MLB) teams in the 1940s and 1950s who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983; a standout both offensively and defensively, he was a 10-time All Star, had a career batting average of .306 with 2,054 hits and led all American League (A.L.) third basemen in fielding percentage seven times (his 15-year playing career was spent entirely in the A.L.); he never struck out more than 37 times in a season, and only 13 times in 1949, when he won the A.L. batting title as a Detroit Tiger with a batting average of .343; after his playing days ended, he was a longtime broadcaster for the Tigers; born Aug. 23, 1922, in Swifton, Ark.; died in his sleep March 24 at his Swifton home; he had been seriously injured in a 2004 car crash. [See 1958, p. 8C2; 1955, p. 323C2; Indexes 1954, 1949–52, 1945–46] LEVITT, Helen, 95, photographer celebrated for her images of New York City streets, notably of children congregating or playing on them; in the 1940s and 1950s, she was also involved in documentary filmmaking; in 1991, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art organized a retrospective of her work that traveled to major museums and gave her national exposure for the first time; born Aug. 31, 1913, in New York; died in her sleep March 29 in her New York home. [See 1949, p. 79E]n

April 2, 2009

Europeans Pledge Few New Troops for Afghanistan At 60th Anniversary NATO Summit Obama Tours Europe, Calls for Disarmament. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

members April 3–4 met for a summit marking the alliance’s 60th anniversary. The meeting was held in Strasbourg, France, and was co-hosted by France and Germany. European nations indicated support for U.S. President Barack Obama’s new strategy for the NATO campaign in Afghanistan, but pledged to send only up to 5,000 new troops, 3,000 of whom would be on temporary deployments. Members also agreed to choose Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen as the next NATO secretary general, after the term of Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, of the Netherlands, ended in July. Protesters outside the summit clashed with police and burned several buildings. [See pp. 194G2, 193A1, 142E1, G1; 2008, p. 232C3] Obama April 3 before the summit and April 5–7 traveled to several European countries, and also made a surprise visit to Iraq. He had attended the Group of 20 (G20) economic summit in London April 2. [See below] Nine European NATO members promised to send 1,400–2,000 troops to train the Afghan army and police. In addition, 3,000 soldiers would be deployed temporarily to provide security for Afghan elections scheduled for August. European nations also promised $100 million in aid for training Afghan security forces and $500 million in humanitarian aid, as well as additional civilian personnel to bolster Afghan institutions. Obama in 2008 had announced that he would raise U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan to 68,000, from 38,000. Media reports said the relatively small European increases meant that NATO operations in Afghanistan would become even more the responsibility of the U.S. An Afghan law that human rights groups said legalized marital rape caused controversy at the summit. The law, which had been passed by the Afghan parliament in February and which Afghan President Hamid Karzai reportedly signed March 31, required married women of Afghanistan’s Shiite Muslim minority to “give a positive response to the sexual desires of her husband.” The law also allowed Shiite women to leave the home without their husbands “only for legitimate purposes,” and included provisions on marriage, child custody and divorce that critics said discriminated against women. Analysts said Karzai had approved the bill to boost his standing with conservative Shiites ahead of the August elections. NATO leaders at the summit decried the legislation and said it might endanger Western support for a continued presence in Afghanistan. Obama April 4 called the law “abhorrent.” However, he added that “the first reason we are there is to root out [the international terrorist network] Al Qaeda, so that they cannot attack members of the alliance,” and that that was a priority over promoting democracy and human rights. Karzai April 4, before the troop commitments were announced, told reporters in

Kabul, the Afghan capital, that the law would be reviewed, and would be amended if found to be in violation of human rights provisions of the Afghan constitution. Secretary General Choice Disputed—

Rasmussen’s candidacy for secretary general was supported by the U.S. and European Union members. However, Turkey, the only largely Muslim member of NATO, had objected, claiming Rasmussen had been insensitive during a 2005–06 controversy over the publication in Danish newspapers of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed. (NATO’s rules required its members to reach a consensus on decisions.) Turkey also said choosing Rasmussen would be unwise given that NATO was currently operating in Afghanistan, a majority Muslim country. [See 2007, p. 758D2; 2006, p. 85A1] After private negotiations that included meetings between Obama, Rasmussen and Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Turkey April 4 agreed to allow Rasmussen’s selection. Turkey reportedly received at least two NATO posts in return, including a deputy to the deputy secretary general. The NATO summit saw the formal return of France to the alliance’s military command structure, which then–French President Charles de Gaulle had withdrawn it from in 1966. Also, Croatia and Albania April 1 had formally joined NATO as its 27th and 28th member nations. They had been invited to join at the 2008 summit. [See p. 172D3; 2008, p. 232G3]

Facts On File

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World News Digest With Index ©2009 by Facts On File News Services An imprint of Infobase Publishing

Volume 69, No. 3564* April 9, 2009

B 65th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of the Normandy beaches by the U.S. and other Allied forces in World War II. Earlier that day, Obama met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Strasbourg. Sarkozy announced that France would accept one detainee from the U.S. prison camp for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for resettlement. Obama had said he planned to shut down the prison within a year and asked allies to help by resettling some former detainees. [See p. 165E3] Sarkozy said France backed Obama’s new strategy for Afghanistan but would not contribute any more troops beyond the 3,000 it had already deployed with the NATO force. Obama also met that day with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Baden-Baden, Germany, and she did not offer to increase Germany’s contingent of about 3,800 troops in Afghanistan. (However, Germany at the NATO summit agreed to deploy 600 additional troops.)

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Demonstrators Clash With Police— NATO leaders April 4 before the summit

walked across a bridge over the Rhine River between Germany and France, in a gesture of European unity. However, thousands of protesters from both sides of the river clashed with police on a nearby bridge later that day, throwing stones and setting at least three structures on fire on the French side of the river. French police said about 1,000 violent agitators had attacked police, resulting in 12 injuries among the protesters and many arrests. Police said there were 10,000 protesters on the French side and 7,000 in Germany, while protest organizers claimed 30,000 participants.

Obama Meets Students in Strasbourg—

Obama April 3 held a town-hall-style meeting in Strasbourg where he spoke to about 3,500 French and German students and answered five questions from the audience. He warned that terrorism remained a threat to Europe as well as the U.S., saying, “I think it is important for Europe to understand that even though I’m now president and George Bush is no longer president, Al Qaeda is still a threat.” Addressing U.S.-European relations, he acknowledged that there had been “times when America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.” But he added that often in Europe, “There is an anti-Americanism that is at once casual but can also be insidious.” Obama that day announced that he would return to France in June to mark the

MAJOR STORIES IN THIS ISSUE Europeans pledge few new troops for Afghanistan at 60th anniversary NATO summit; Obama tours Europe, calls for disarmament. PAGE 213

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North Korea launches rocket, claims satellite success; U.S. sees failed missile test. PAGE 215

Iowa court, Vermont legislature legalize gay marriage. PAGE 216

Charges dropped against South African ruling party leader Zuma. PAGE 222

Peruvian ex-President Fujimori convicted in killings.

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PAGE 222

Earthquake hits central Italy. PAGE 224

North Carolina wins men’s NCAA basketball tournament; Connecticut wins women’s championship. PAGE 229

SPECIAL FEATURE World heads of state and government leaders listed. PAGES 232–236

*First of two sections Section Two is a first quarter index. REFERENCES in brackets give location of background information in this & preceding volumes.

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Obama April 5 in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, told a crowd of as many as 20,000 people, “Today I state clearly and with conviction America’s commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons.” Referring to the Cold War, when fears of worldwide nuclear war were more prevalent, he observed that “in a strange turn of history, the threat of global nuclear war has gone down but the risk of a nuclear attack has gone up.” Obama presented a three-pronged plan toward reaching his goal of a world free of nuclear weapons: reducing nuclear stockpiles across the globe, preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and keeping nuclear materials away from those who would use them to make weapons. His proposal came just after North Korea launched a long-range rocket that could theoretically be used to carry a ballistic missile, in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions. Referring to North Korea, Obama said, “Rules must be binding. Violations must be punished. Words must mean something.” He went on to call for a “strong international response” to the missile test. [See p. 215E1] In his speech, Obama said the U.S. planned to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which banned nuclear weapons testing, in the hopes that other countries would follow suit. He proposed a new international treaty that would ban the production of nuclear weapons–grade material, and also suggested that a nuclear energy “bank” be constructed. Countries that rejected nuclear weapons would in turn receive access to the bank, which would fuel civilian reactors used to produce power. Some countries hostile to the U.S., such as Iran and North Korea, had argued that they needed certain nuclear facilities to produce energy; access to the nuclear power bank would theoretically render those arguments ineffective. The Wall Street Journal April 6 reported that the U.S. had been involved in talks to place the bank in Kazakhstan. Obama also called for a summit to be held within a year on nuclear security, urged countries to secure unguarded nuclear material and expressed support for thorough nuclear inspections in Iran, which the U.S. suspected of seeking to develop a bomb under the guise of a civilian nuclear energy program. Obama was noncommittal on his predecessor President George W. Bush’s plan to install components of a missile defense shield in the Czech Republic. Russia had objected to the shield on the grounds that it could be used to undermine its defenses. [See p. 142F2] While in Prague, Obama also met with Czech President Vaclav Klaus and Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, who had recently lost a no-confidence vote but had remained prime minister in a caretaker capacity. Obama also met with Vaclav Havel, a former Czech president and renowned anticommunist dissident. [See p. 224G3; 2007, p. 580F3]

Obama’s first presidential appearance in a Muslim-majority nation, continued his efforts to improve U.S. relations with the Muslim world, which he had previously made in televised messages, including an overture to Iran. However, he also recognized and praised the secular character of Turkey’s democracy. Turkey was a key U.S. ally in the region, but Turkish public opinion of the U.S. had turned sharply unfavorable during Bush’s presidency. [See pp. 179C1, 142C3, 42F1] Obama said, “I know that the trust that binds the United States and Turkey has been strained, and I know that strain is shared in many places where the Muslim faith is practiced,” adding, “So let me say this as clearly as I can: the United States is not and never will be at war with Islam.” He was introduced to the parliament by his full name, Barack Hussein Obama, and alluded to his personal connections with the Muslim world in his speech. (His Kenyan father had been a Muslim, and he had spent part of his childhood in Indonesia, the country with the world’s largest Muslim population.) He drew applause when he said, “The United States has been enriched by Muslim-Americans. Many other Americans have Muslims in their families, or have lived in a Muslim-majority country. I know, because I am one of them.” His allusions to his own life contrasted with the 2008 presidential campaign. Then, Obama had played down such aspects of his background, while false rumors spread over the Internet that he was secretly a Muslim. Obama also paid tribute to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who founded the modern Turkish state in 1923. “His greatest legacy is Turkey’s strong, vibrant secular democracy, and that is the work that this assembly carries on today,” Obama said. He had visited Ataturk’s tomb in Ankara earlier that day. During the Bush administration, Turkey had been viewed by U.S. officials as a moderate Muslim nation, and therefore of strategic importance in countering international terrorism. But Turkish politics in recent years had seen growing tensions between the ruling Islamic-based Justice and Development Party (AKP) of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the secular opposition. The opposition had accused the government of seeking to undermine the secular constitution and impose Islamic law, but lost its bid to have the AKP shut down in a 2008 court case. [See p. 226E3; 2008, p. 524G3] Referring to such differences, Obama said Turkey could bridge them, declaring, “This is not where East and West divide— it is where they come together.” Obama said he supported Turkey’s bid to join the European Union. At an April 5 U.S.-EU summit in Prague, he had called on leaders of EU member nations to accept Turkey, but some, including Sarkozy and Merkel, said they remained opposed to full membership for Turkey. [See 2008, p. 333E3]

Obama Visits Turkey, Woos Muslims—

Avoids Armenian Genocide Issue—

Obama April 6 addressed the Turkish parliament in Ankara, the capital. The speech,

Obama dealt cautiously in his Ankara speech with another Turkish sore point—a

Calls for an End to Nuclear Weapons—

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pending U.S. congressional resolution that declared World War I–era mass killings of as many as 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire to have been a genocide. Turkey denied that the killings amounted to a genocide. [See 2008, p. 638F3] Obama, who had supported such a resolution when he was a senator, said he had not changed his views, but avoided using the word “genocide” in his speech. He said he supported current diplomatic efforts by Turkey and Armenia to reopen their border and reestablish normal relations. Armenian-American groups expressed disappointment that he had not pressed Turkey to acknowledge that it had committed genocide. Obama also reiterated that he intended to push for the creation of an independent Palestinian nation, despite a new conservative government in Israel, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that was resistant to that plan. Obama praised Turkey for mediating peace talks between Israel and Syria in 2008. [See p. 209E1] Obama April 7 visited Istanbul, where, escorted by Erdogan, he toured historic religious sites, including the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. He also held a public forum, answering questions from university students and defending the U.S. from what he called a stereotype that it was “selfish and crass.” Obama Makes Unannounced Iraq Visit—

Obama April 7 travelled to Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, making a brief surprise visit for several hours before returning to the U.S. He addressed U.S. troops at Camp Victory, near Baghdad International Airport, and met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. It was Obama’s first visit to Iraq since July 2008, when he was a

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presidential candidate. Bush’s last visit to Iraq, in December 2008, had been marred when an Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at Bush in protest of the U.S. military presence in Iraq. [See p. 227E3; 2008, pp. 913F2, 498D2] Speaking in a palace that had belonged to former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Obama thanked the troops for their service in the war in Iraq, which he had opposed. He told the troops they had “given Iraq the opportunity to stand on its own as a democratic country,” and declared that it was now time for Iraqis “to take responsibility for their own country and for their sovereignty.” Obama reiterated a pledge to withdraw all U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the end of 2011, but warned that national elections scheduled for late 2009 would bring unresolved Iraqi political issues “to a head.” He said Iraqi legislators were “going to have to decide that they want to resolve their differences through constitutional means and legal means.” Obama met with Maliki and several other Iraqi officials near the airport. He reportedly told the Iraqi leader that he had to do more to encourage political reconciliation, and improve security and basic services. Maliki afterwards said that “dialogue should be the only way to resolve any issue, whether it was between the Iraqi security components, or in the region.” Obama added that while the U.S. had transferred much of its attention to the war in Afghanistan, “there’s still a lot of work to be done here.” n

North Korea Launches Rocket, Claims Satellite Success U.S. Sees Failed Missile Test. North Korea

April 5 launched a rocket that it said carried a communications satellite to space, but the U.S. and its allies condemned the launch, which North Korea had announced in advance, as an illicit test of a long-range ballistic missile. North Korea claimed that a satellite had been successfully put into orbit, but the U.S. Defense Department said the launch had been a failure, with the rocket and its payload falling into the Pacific Ocean. [See p. 143C1; 2006, p. 525A1; 1998, p. 619B1] The rocket lifted off at about 11:30 a.m. local time from the Musudan-ri coastal launch site in northeastern North Korea. It appeared to be a three-stage Taepodong-2, a long-range ballistic missile that was believed to have an intended range of 3,700 miles (6,000 km), far enough to reach the U.S. state of Alaska. U.S., Japanese and South Korean officials said it flew for about 13 minutes over the Sea of Japan, crossing Japanese airspace, before plunging into the Pacific as its second stage was firing. North Korea, in contrast, said it had successfully lofted a communications satellite named Kwangmyongsong-2, after an epithet for North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Il—“lodestar.” It said the satellite was broadcasting “revolutionary songs” from orbit. North Korea in 1998 had claimed to have put a satellite into space with a Taepodong-1 rocket, which the U.S. had also April 9, 2009

said was actually a failure. A 2006 test launch of a Taepodong-2 had also been assessed abroad as a failure. The Taepodong-2 launched April 5 flew about 2,000 miles, twice as far as the 1998 rocket, and much farther than the 2006 rocket, fueling concern that NorthKorea was improving its launch capabilities. Analysts suggested that the launch was intended as a display of confidence by North Korea amid questions about the health of its supreme leader, Kim Jong Il, who days later made a major public appearance for the first time since August 2008, and was thought to have suffered a stroke. It was also seen as a bid for the attention of the new administration of U.S. President Barack Obama, and intended to strengthen North Korea’s hand in talks with the U.S. and other nations on abandoning its nuclear program. [See below] The launch came during Obama’s first major foreign tour, and hours before he gave an April 5 speech in Prague, the Czech Republic, calling on the world to strive for the elimination of nuclear weapons. Obama that day called the launch a “provocative act” and urged a “strong international response.” He said it illustrated the need to “prevent the spread” of nuclear weapons, saying, “Rules must be binding, violations must be punished, words must mean something.” [See p. 214A1] Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso April 5 also called the launch “provocative,” and South Korea called it “reckless.” North Korea had conducted a test of a nuclear device in 2006, but was considered far from being able to produce a nuclear warhead small enough to be put atop a missile. However, the prospect of North Korea successfully developing a long-range missile raised concerns that it would illicitly supply it to other countries. [See 2006, p. 777A1] Security Council Meets—The United Nations Security Council April 5 convened for an emergency session to address the launch. After three hours, the council adjourned without having taken any action, but agreed to meet again to continue discussions. A North Korean missile test was prohibited under Security Council resolutions passed in 2006. [See 2006, pp. 793A1, 567C2] Of the five permanent council members with veto power, the U.S., Britain and France proposed a new resolution condemning North Korea for violating the 2006 resolutions, and strengthening certain existing sanctions against it. However, Russia favored greater consideration of North Korea’s claim that it was a satellite launch and therefore a legitimate exercise of its right to the peaceful use of space. China, the closest ally of highly isolated North Korea, urged a cautious response that would not unduly raise tensions further. Japan, currently a nonpermanent council member, advocated imposing new sanctions against North Korea. North Korea March 24 had issued a statement warning that if the Security Council took action against it over the launch, it would spell the end of the six-nation nuclear talks. It had also warned that it would con-

sider interference with the rocket launch an act of war and respond accordingly, and April 1 threatened to shoot down U.S. surveillance aircraft observing the launch site. Japan March 27 had ordered its military to prepare to shoot down the missile or any of its debris if it appeared to threaten Japanese territory. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates March 29 said the U.S. did not plan to try to prevent the launch from taking place with military action, and would take action only if the missile’s flight indicated a danger to the U.S. South Korean Prime Minister Han Seung Soo April 6 said his government would consider developing its own long-range missiles. A defense treaty between South Korea and the U.S. currently prohibited it from doing so. Kim Appears for Reappointment—North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Il April 9 was formally reappointed to a third term as chairman of the National Defense Commission, the highest state post, by the Supreme People’s Assembly, North Korea’s nominal parliament. State news media broadcast footage of Kim presiding at the session in the capital, Pyongyang. Kim, seen joining in the applause that greeted his appearance, looked noticeably gaunt in comparison to before his absence from public view, walking with a limp and seemingly using his left hand with some difficulty. [See p. 153G3] The parliament also elected Kim’s brother-in-law, Jang Song Taek, 63, to the National Defense Commission. Many foreign observers considered Jang to be the most powerful figure in the government after Kim, and said the appointment suggested that he would play a decisive role in any transition of power. [See 2004, p. 1082B2]

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U.S. Journalists Detained at Border—

The North Korean military had detained two U.S. journalists near the China–North Korea border, it was reported March 19. North Korean state news media March 21 confirmed the reporters’ detention, saying that they were accused of “illegally intruding” on North Korean territory, and announced March 31 that they would be put on trial. The two reporters, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, had been reporting a story about North Korean refugees in China for Current TV, a U.S.based television news production company cofounded by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. [See p. 143C1; 2005, p. 548B2] The pair appeared to have been detained March 17. A South Korean Christian missionary leader who worked to aid North Korean refugees, and who had helped arrange the reporters’ travels, said he had last heard from them earlier that day. News reports suggested they had been arrested somewhere on the frozen-over Tumen River, which constituted part of the border, while shooting footage of the North Korean side. Their cameraman, also a U.S. citizen, and a Chinese guide had reportedly been detained by Chinese border police and later released. The U.S. State Department March 19 contacted the North Korean government, with which the U.S. did not have diplomatic relations, about the matter, and was also cooperating with China. n 215

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Iowa Court, Vermont Legislature Legalize Gay Marriage Become Third and Fourth States to Do So.

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The Iowa Supreme Court April 3 unanimously ruled that a 1998 state law, the Iowa Defense of Marriage Act, violated the state constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law, effectively legalizing same-sex marriages in the state. Separately, the state legislature of Vermont April 7 overrode a veto the previous day by Gov. Jim Douglas (R) of a bill that would allow gay couples to marry in the state. Iowa and Vermont became the third and fourth states, respectively, to allow same-sex couples to marry, joining Connecticut and Massachusetts. [See 2008, p. 939C3; 2007, p. 576A2; for details of states’ laws on same-sex marriage, see p. 216A2] The law struck down by the Iowa court had defined marriage as between a man and a woman. Justice Mark Cady, writing for all seven of the court’s justices, said, “We are firmly convinced the exclusion of gay and lesbian people from the institution of civil marriage does not substantially further any important governmental objective.” He added, “We have a constitutional duty to ensure equal protection of the law.” Gay couples and civil rights activists reacted to the court’s decision with elation. A court spokesman April 7 said gay couples could begin applying for marriage licenses in the state on April 27. The case, Varnum v. Brien, originated in 2005, when six same-sex couples challenged the constitutionality of the 1998 law. In August 2007, Judge Robert Hanson of a district court in Polk County had found the law unconstitutional. However, the day after his decision, Hanson had ordered a delay on the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but not before at least one gay couple was thought to have been legally married. Gay marriage opponents said they would attempt to amend the state constitution to explicitly forbid same-sex nuptials in Iowa, but that process was a lengthy one that could be completed by 2012 at the earliest. Constitutional amendments required approval by two consecutive legislative sessions, and then had to be endorsed by voters in a public referendum. However, Democrats controlled both houses of the legislature, and said they opposed any effort to amend the constitution. Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal and House Leader Pat Murphy April 3 issued a joint statement endorsing the court’s decision. “We’re going to say no to amending our constitution and putting discrimination into our constitution,” Gronstal said. Analysts and gay rights activists said they thought the ruling could have the effect of advancing acceptance of gay marriage in other Midwestern states, as Iowa was a largely rural and more socially conservative state than the others that had previously legalized it. Gay marriages remained unrecognized by the federal 216

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*California’s Supreme Court was currently considering a challenge to a ballot proposition passed in November 2008 that had amended the state constitution to bar gay marriage. [See p. 149C3] **Hawaii voters in 1998 had approved a constitutional amendment stipulating that only the legislature, and not the courts, had the power to legalize gay marriage. The state legislature subsequently passed a law banning gay marriage there. [See 1999, p. 934A2] †Iowa’s Supreme Court April 3 ruled that a law barring gay marriage violated the state’s constitution, effectively legalizing the practice there. [See p. 216A1] ‡New York recognized same-sex marriages performed in other states. [See 2008, p. 376A1] ºNo new civil unions would be performed in Vermont after a law permitting gay marriage there took effect on Sept. 1. [See p. 216F2]

government. However, President Barack Obama had stated that he wished to overturn the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defined marriage as between a man and a woman. Vermont Legislature Overrides Veto—

The Vermont House of Representatives April 7 voted, 100–49, to override Douglas’s April 6 veto of a bill legalizing samesex marriage in the state, narrowly garnering the two-thirds majority needed to do so. Vermont became the only state to recognize gay marriage through legislative means. The law was set to take effect Sept. 1. [See 2000, p. 280A3]

The outcome of the vote remained uncertain until the final tally was announced in the House chambers. Supporters of gay marriage who had gathered outside the building reacted to the news with elated cheers. The state Senate earlier that day had overwhelmingly voted to override the veto, 23–5. The state House April 2 had originally passed the measure, 95–52, falling short of the supermajority needed to override Douglas’s promised veto. However, several lawmakers switched their stance for the override vote. The state Senate March 23 had first passed the bill, 26–4. FACTS ON FILE

Vermont in 2000 had become the first state to grant same-sex couples civil unions with benefits equivalent to those of marriage. Vermont Secretary of State Deborah Markowitz said no new civil unions would be performed after the new law took effect. New Hampshire House Approves Bill—

The New Hampshire House of Representatives March 26 passed a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in the state by a narrow margin, 186–179. The bill faced an uncertain future in the state Senate, and New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch (D) had previously stated that he preferred the state’s civil union law to one allowing gay marriage. [See 2007, p. 295G1] Also, the Washington, D.C., city council April 7 unanimously voted to recognize gay marriages performed in other states. However, the vote was preliminary, and subject to review by Congress. [See 2008, p. 376A1] n

Defense Gates Cuts Weapons Systems in Budget.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates April 6 unveiled a fiscal 2010 budget proposal for the U.S. Defense Department that contained major cuts in numerous major weapons programs, while boosting other programs that he said were more useful against current threats to the U.S. and its military. The overall cost of the proposed budget was $534 billion, $20 billion more than the fiscal 2009 budget, and did not include the cost of U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, which would be addressed in a supplemental spending bill. [See p. 124A3; 2008, p. 952E3] Gates said he wanted to change the “priorities of America’s defense establishment.” He said cuts had been made in hightech and expensive weapons whose utility was debatable, while spending on lowertech programs that had proved useful in irregular warfare and counterinsurgency operations was boosted. “I’m just trying to get the irregular guys to have a seat at the table and to institutionalize some of the needs they have,” Gates said. Gates called on members of Congress whose districts included defense contractors that would be hurt by the cuts to “rise above parochial interests and consider what is in the best interest of the nation as a whole.” He also said budget increases for some programs would create jobs, even as others would be lost due to the cuts. The proposal was a rare instance of a defense secretary announcing cuts in the budget before sending it to the White House. Gates reportedly had closely guarded the confidentiality of the budget recommendations, and had received permission from President Barack Obama to withhold them from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) until after the announcement, to ensure that details were not leaked. Several legislators and unions for weapons-manufacturing workers April 6–7 criticized the budget proposal, which they said would cost thousands of jobs and degrade April 9, 2009

the U.S.’s military readiness. However, defense contracting companies said they had to review the proposals further. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D, Mo.) called the budget a “a good-faith effort,” but added, “the buck stops with Congress.” A bipartisan group of six legislators also warned that planned cuts to missile defense would endanger the country’s security. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) March 30 had reported that nearly 70% of the Defense Department’s 96 largest weapons programs had accumulated “staggering” cost overruns of nearly $300 billion in 2008, although overruns had decreased slightly from the previous year. The GAO said research and development costs were 42% higher than initial estimates, up from 27% higher in 2000. It also said the average program delay had risen to 22 months, from 21 months in 2007 and 18 months in 2003. The GAO said that although the Defense Department had made some improvements in contract management, the overruns meant that it often had to reduce the number of weapons it ordered. F-22, Future Combat Systems Slashed—

Among the most prominent programs cut in Gates’s budget proposal was the F-22A Raptor fighter jet. Gates said the military would order only four more of the jets— which cost $150 million each—from Lockheed Martin Corp., bringing the total number to 187. However, he said testing of the less-expensive F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, also built by Lockheed, would be accelerated, and that the F-35 fleet would expand to 513 over the next five years and eventually reach 2,443 aircraft. [See 2008, p. 702F3; 2007, p. 526A3] Gates also proposed shrinking the $159 billion Future Combat Systems (FCS)—a program featuring an array of high-technology innovations designed to modernize the Army—by dropping $87 billion in funds to develop vehicles to replace Bradley Fighting Vehicles and 72-ton tanks. The replacement vehicles would have had lighter armor, but would have relied on advanced surveillance technology to compensate for that. However, Gates indicated that the high toll of roadside bombs on U.S. vehicles in Iraq had made him lean towards spending the money on more Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected (MRAP) armored vehicles. Gates said the development of some FCS weapons and sensors would be accelerated, but that the entire system would be reviewed. [See 2007, p. 628B3] The budget proposal included a $2 billion increase for intelligence and surveillance equipment that had proved effective in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, including new Predator and Reaper aerial drones. However, it would halt the development of a new fleet of VH-71 helicopters to transport the president, which had been criticized as unnecessary. The budget also proposed stopping production of C-17 Globemaster transport planes, and cutting programs to develop a new defense communications satellite system and the Air Force’s CSAR-X search-and-rescue helicopter. [See 2008, p. 395A3; 2005, p. 133E1]

Under the budget proposal, the Navy would purchase only three of the newly developed DDG-1000 Zumwalt stealth destroyers, and then revert to producing lessexpensive DDG-51 Arleigh Burke destroyers, which were currently in service. However, the budget increased the number of littoral (coast-hugging) combat ships to be bought in 2010 to three, from two, and would see the Navy eventually buy 55. [See 2008, p. 658A2; 2004, p. 1044C3] Gates’s proposal shifted the military’s priorities on missile defense, cutting its overall funds by $1.4 billion. Funding for land- and ship-based defenses against short-range missiles launched by smaller powers was increased, while Gates proposed cutting more elaborate programs that were designed to defend against intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). [See 2008, p. 962E1] The budget proposal included $11 billion to increase the size of the Army by 65,000 troops and the Marines by 27,000. In addition, it called for adding 2,800 special forces troops. Gates also said he would attempt to bring down the percentage of private contractors working for the Defense Department to its pre-2001 level of 26%, from its current 39%. He said that would involve hiring up to 13,000 civil servants to replace contractors in 2010, and up to 30,000 over the next five years. Critics said the military’s increased reliance on private contractors had led to wasteful spending. [See p. 126F1] In a separate development, the Obama administration April 7 said it would replace the government’s aging spy satellite system, although it said the cost of such a program was classified. n

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Federal Budget House, Senate Approve Draft Blueprints.

The House and Senate April 2 each voted to approve their own versions of a budget blueprint for fiscal year 2010, which would begin Oct. 1. The blueprints, known as budget resolutions, had been shaped by the Democratic majorities in each chamber, and were largely based on President Barack Obama’s $3.6 trillion budget plan issued in February. The two chambers next would have to settle on a common version of the blueprint before voting for final approval. Budget resolutions were nonbinding, but set guidelines for tax and spending legislation to come later in the year. [See p. 180A3] The House voted, 233–196, with no Republicans voting for the resolution and 20 Democrats breaking ranks to vote against it. The Senate voted, 55–43, to approve its version, also with no Republican support. Both versions would reduce Obama’s spending proposals by about $100 billion. Obama had proposed an overall 10% increase in funding for domestic programs. The House called for a 9.5% increase, while the Senate proposed a 7% increase. Both plans would facilitate Obama’s major initiatives of expanding the federal role in health insurance coverage and student loans, and creating a cap-and-trade system 217

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in which businesses would have to buy permits for their greenhouse gas emissions. [See p. 201D2] Both congressional blueprints forecast a record deficit of $1.2 trillion in fiscal 2010, mainly due to measures already taken to counter the economic crisis, but projected that the deficit would be cut at least in half in five years. The House projected a $598 billion deficit in 2014, while the Senate forecast a $508 billion deficit for that year. Both the House and Senate dropped Obama’s plan to reserve an extra $250 billion for additional rescue aid for the financial sector. Congress in September 2008 had approved $700 billion in such aid, much of which had already been spent. Backing for further bank bailouts had dwindled as public opinion soured over reports of excesses in executive pay. [See p. 219F3] Both chambers also dropped Obama’s proposal to extend his payroll tax cut of $400 a year for low- and middle-income individuals, and $800 for couples, beyond 2010, when it was scheduled to expire. Nor did either blueprint include Obama’s proposal to restrict farm subsidies. The Senate voted, 51–48, to approve an amendment to its blueprint that would increase the exemption from the estate tax to $10 million for couples, from $7 million, and reduce the maximum rate for the estate tax to 35%, from 45%. A group of 10 Democrats broke ranks to vote for the amendment, joining Republicans despite the strong disapproval of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D, Nev.), who said it would benefit only the richest families. Republican Alternative Rejected— The House April 2 voted, 293–137, to reject an alternative budget plan proposed by the Republican leadership; 38 Republicans joined Democrats in voting against the plan. House Republican leaders March 26 had initially offered an 18-page outline of their plan, but released a more detailed version April 1 after Democrats ridiculed the lack of specifics in the first offering. The Republican plan called for freezing most domestic spending for five years, extending President George W. Bush’s tax cuts for higher-income people and businesses, and borrowing $3.3 trillion less over the next 10 years than Obama proposed. In the Senate, Democrats handily defeated an alternative plan, offered by Sen. John McCain (R, Ariz.), that called for a freeze on most spending, except for the defense budget. Senate Republican leaders declined to offer a plan of their own. n

National Politics Judge Orders Probe of Stevens Prosecutors.

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Judge Emmet Sullivan of U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., April 7 overturned the October 2008 conviction of former Sen. Ted Stevens (R, Alaska) on corruption charges, dismissed the case against him and ordered a criminal investigation into alleged misconduct by the federal prosecutors who tried the case. Sullivan named 218

attorney Henry Schuelke 3rd, a former federal prosecutor, to lead the probe as a special independent prosecutor. [See p. 199D1] The Justice Department the previous week had filed a motion asking Sullivan to dismiss the case against Stevens, after an internal review found that prosecutors had concealed key evidence from the court and from Stevens’s lawyers before the trial. Sullivan, addressing the court, said, “In 25 years on the bench I have never seen anything approach the mishandling and misconduct I have seen in this case.” He said the prosecutors’ behavior in the case fit a “troubling tendency” he had observed in recent cases in which prosecutors had bent the rules to obtain convictions. Sullivan ordered that six prosecutors be investigated for possible criminal contempt of court. They included William Welch, head of the Justice Department’s public integrity section, which handled political corruption cases, and his deputy, Brenda Morris, the lead prosecutor in the Stevens case. Sullivan also called on Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. to require basic training in trial procedure for prosecutors. Stevens, 85, briefly addressed the court, as family and friends looked on. He said he had always believed in the justice system, “But what some members of the prosecution team did nearly destroyed my faith.” He added, “Their conduct had consequences for me that they will never realize and can never be reversed.” Stevens had narrowly lost the Senate seat he had held since 1968 in an election eight days after his conviction for failing to report some $250,000 in home renovations and other gifts on Senate financial disclosure forms. The Justice Department review had found that prosecutors failed to turn over notes from an April 2008 interview with their key witness, Bill Allen, a Stevens friend who was head of VECO Corp., a now-defunct Alaska oil-services company. In the interview, Allen had contradicted the testimony he later gave at trial. Holder April 8 replaced the chief of the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility, which probed allegations of ethics violations by department lawyers and was conducting the internal review of the Stevens case. Sullivan had criticized the office’s handling of the probe. Holder named Mary Patrice Brown to head the office, replacing Marshall Jarrett, who was reassigned to head the executive office for U.S. attorneys. The dismissal of the Stevens case also raised questions about the evidence against other Alaska politicians caught up in the same federal corruption investigation, including the state’s lone member of the House, Rep. Don Young (R), and Stevens’s son, Ben Stevens, former president of the state Senate. Neither had yet been charged, but 10 others, including Allen, had been convicted on corruption charges. Siegelman Seeks Review—Lawyers for former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman (D) April 3 sent Holder a letter asking for a similar review of his 2006 bribery conviction, alleging prosecutorial misconduct by a par-

tisan Justice Department under the Republican administration of Obama’s predecessor, President George W. Bush. A three-judge panel of the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Ga., March 6 had upheld most of the charges against him, but dismissed two lesser ones, and ordered a new sentence. He had served nine months in prison until his release was ordered in March 2008 pending an appeal. [See 2008, p. 217D1] n

State & Local Politics Former Illinois Gov. Blagojevich Indicted.

A federal grand jury April 2 indicted former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) on 16 felony counts related to corruption in office, including racketeering, extortion and fraud. The grand jury also indicted his brother, Robert Blagojevich, two former chiefs of staff and two business associates. If convicted on all counts, Blagojevich, 53, would face a maximum sentence of more than 200 years in prison. He also faced fines of up to $250,000, including the forfeiture of his family home. [See p. 43A3] The state legislature had impeached Blagojevich and removed him from office in January after he was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) the previous month and accused of corrupt scheming. The most sensational of his alleged schemes was an attempt by the governor to sell President Barack Obama’s former Senate seat in exchange for campaign contributions, a cabinet post or ambassadorship, or other lucrative jobs for himself or his wife. [See p. 93F1] Describing Blagojevich’s activities as a racketeering enterprise, the indictment alleged that the “primary purpose of the Blagojevich Enterprise was to exercise and preserve power over the government of the State of Illinois for the financial and political benefit of Rod Blagojevich” and “for the financial benefit of his family members and associates.” The indictment restated allegations previously made by prosecutors in December, but also included some new ones. It alleged that Blagojevich and his associates agreed, even before he was first elected governor in 2002, to use his powers for personal gain and divide their spoils after he left office. The other accused co-conspirators were: Blagojevich’s former campaign manager and chief of staff Alonzo (Lon) Monk; Monk’s successor as chief of staff, John Harris; Blagojevich friend and fund-raiser Christopher Kelly; and local Republican power broker William Cellini. [See p. 28F3] Prosecutors said Harris had agreed to cooperate with them. Monk reportedly had also negotiated a deal with prosecutors. Antoin (Tony) Rezko, a former fundraiser and adviser to Blagojevich, was also believed to be cooperating. Rezko had directed commissions requiring little or no work to the real estate firm of the governor’s wife, Patricia Blagojevich, and then hired her to work for his own firm at a salary of $12,000 a month. Rezko also allegedly made as much as $90,000 in payments to Monk. [See 2008, p. 375A2] FACTS ON FILE

Blagojevich, on vacation in Florida with his family, April 2 issued a statement saying, “I’m saddened and hurt, but I am not surprised by the indictment.” He declared, “I am innocent. I now will fight in the courts to clear my name.” New Allegations—According to the indictment, Blagojevich in 2006 had pressured a U.S. House member from Illinois, identified only as “Congressman A,” to arrange a fund-raising event for him, delaying a $2 million grant sought by the congressman for two Chicago schools. The fund-raiser did not take place. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, a Democratic House member representing a Chicago district until his resignation in December 2008, was reportedly “Congressman A.” Another new allegation made in the indictment was that Blagojevich and his coconspirators had schemed to steer work on a deal to refinance state pension bonds to a company whose lobbyist had agreed to pay kickbacks to Rezko. The company reportedly was investment bank Bear Stearns Cos., which was bought by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. in 2008. [See 2008, p. 376E3] Blagojevich also allegedly had lied to FBI agents in a 2005 interview in which he claimed that he had erected a “firewall” between politics and his official duties, and said he did not keep track of who his campaign contributors were or how much they gave. His telephone conversations secretly recorded by the FBI appeared to contradict those claims. Ethics Office Probes Rep. Jackson—

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D, Ill.) April 8 confirmed that the Office of Congressional Ethics had opened an investigation into his efforts to win an appointment by Blagojevich to Obama’s former Senate seat in late 2008. The Blagojevich indictment alleged that the governor had been caught on wiretaps saying that supporters of “Senate Candidate A,” identified as Jackson, had offered to raise $1.5 million in campaign contributions for him in exchange for the appointment. Jackson denied wrongdoing. The ethics office, a panel of private citizens equally divided between Republicans and Democrats, had been created in 2008 to monitor House members. It could refer cases to the House Ethics Committee for further investigation. Illinois Pension Reforms Enacted—Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn (D), Blagojevich’s successor, April 3 signed legislation to reform the state’s investment and pension boards and agencies, which controlled retirement funds for teachers and other public employees. The new law would allow the governor to oust board members who had been appointed by Blagojevich. It also required that the boards publicly disclose more of their activities, set new rules for their hiring of outside advisers and made ethics training compulsory for board members. Quinn was pressing state legislators to pass further ethics reforms, including limits on campaign contributions and gubernatorial patronage powers. n April 9, 2009

2009 Elections Democrat Quigley Wins Chicago House Seat.

Democrat Mike Quigley, a Cook County commissioner, April 7 won a special election for a House seat representing Illinois’s 5th Congressional District. Quigley, 50, won 69% of the vote, beating Republican Rosanna Pulido, who took 24%, and Matt Reichel of the Green Party, who drew 7%. The seat had been vacated by the December 2008 resignation of Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D) after he was named White House chief of staff by President-elect Barack Obama. [See p. 131C1] n

Economy Unemployment Rate Rises to 8.5% in March.

The unemployment rate in March rose to 8.5% after seasonal adjustment, up from its February level of Unemployment 8.1%, the Labor 2009 8.5% Department re- March Previous Month 8.1% ported April 3. It Year Earlier 5.1% was the U.S.’s highest unemployment rate since 1983, and economists expected an ongoing recession to lead to more job losses in the coming months. [See p. 147F1] An estimated 663,000 nonfarm jobs were cut in March, bringing the total number of jobs lost to 5.1 million since the recession began in December 2007. About two million jobs had been lost in 2009 alone. All major sectors of the economy slashed jobs, with the exception of the health care industry. The report fueled concerns that a $787 billion economic stimulus package signed by President Barack Obama in February was not enough to stem further job losses. However, administration officials said there were no plans to enact a second stimulus package, with Labor Secretary Hilda Solis saying any consideration of additional stimulus would be considered only after the first package was given time to take full effect. The unemployment report came on the heels of some encouraging developments in the economy in recent weeks, including reports showing monthly increases in home sales and retail sales. Lawrence Summers, director of the White House’s National Economic Council, April 3 said those reports were “sprouts of green” in the economic landscape. However, he warned that the economy would lose jobs “at a substantial rate for some months to come.” [See pp. 219E3, 183A1–D1] The unemployment rate was 15.6% when it included “discouraged” workers who had stopped looking for work, and were therefore no longer considered part of the workforce, and those who had accepted only part-time employment even though they sought full-time work. 140.9 Million Jobs Held in March—According to a household survey, 140.9 million people held jobs in March, the Labor Department reported April 3. The department counted 13.2 million people as unemployed. The department counted 685,000

workers as discouraged in March. About 9.0 million people who sought full-time employment were working part-time instead. The average manufacturing workweek was 39.3 hours in March, down slightly from 39.5 in February. Factory workers’ average overtime was 2.7 hours, remaining unchanged from the previous month. The average hourly wage for production workers rose three cents, to $18.50. The unemployment rate among whites in March was 7.9%, up from 7.3% in February. The jobless rate for blacks was 13.3%, down from 13.4% the previous month. For Hispanics, who could be of any race, the rate was 11.4%, up from 10.9% in February. For men age 20 and over, March unemployment was 8.8%, up from 8.1% in February. For adult women, it was 7.0%, up from 6.7% the previous month. The teenage rate was 21.7%, up from 21.6% in February. For black teenagers it was 32.5%, down from 38.8% the previous month. n

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Producer Prices Rose 0.1% in February.

The Labor Department March 17 said that according to its producer price index (PPI), prices charged by manufacturers and producers of finished goods in February rose 0.1% after seasonal adjustment. “Core” producer prices, which excluded volatile energy and food prices, rose 0.2% in February. Energy prices rose 1.3%. [See p. 111G2] The finished goods index, before seasonal adjustment, stood at 170.1% of its 1982 base average. That meant that a basket of goods that had cost $100 in 1982 would have cost $170.10 in February. Prices for intermediate, or partially processed, goods dropped 0.9% in February, and prices for crude goods fell 4.5%. n Consumer Confidence Rose in March. The Conference Board business research group March 31 reported that its index of consumer confidence rose to 26.0 in March, up slightly from a revised 25.3 in February. The index’s base level of 100 reflected consumer confidence in 1985. [See p. 129B1] n Retail Sales Fell 0.1% in February. The Commerce Department March 12 reported that the value of retail sales in February was $346.8 billion, after seasonal adjustment. That was 0.1% below the revised figure for January. [See p. 15E3] n

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F Mortgage & Credit Crisis $50 Million in AIG Bonuses to be Repaid.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo March 23 announced that employees at a unit of insurance giant American International Group Inc. (AIG) had pledged to return $50 million worth of bonus money, following a public furor over the payments. President Barack Obama and lawmakers had blasted AIG for disbursing $165 million in bonus payments earlier in March, after the faltering company received more than $170 billion in government assistance to stay afloat. [See p. 161A1] Cuomo said 15 of the top 20 executives at the unit, AIG Financial Products Corp., 219

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had agreed to return their bonus money. Cuomo in recent weeks had threatened to reveal the names of bonus recipients who did not return the money. Cuomo said more than half of the $165 million went to employees based outside the U.S., and it was unlikely that his office had jurisdiction to seek repayment of those bonuses. Companies that had received government money during the financial crisis had come under criticism for paying executives lavish bonuses. However, the AIG bonus payments were considered particularly egregious, since AIG had received far more federal assistance than any other company. Additionally, it was widely thought that the unit in question—which was separate from AIG’s core insurance businesses—had caused AIG’s collapse by investing heavily in the unregulated credit-defaults-swap (CDS) market, where it underwrote insurance on assets backed by risky mortgages. AIG March 23 said some executives from the unit has resigned in recent days, but that “this situation is manageable.” AIG had previously warned that the bonuses were necessary to keep experienced employees capable of resolving its remaining CDS contracts, which had an estimated face value of $1.6 trillion. Bonus Tax Bill Slowed—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D, Nev.) March 23 said the Senate would not immediately vote on legislation that would levy a 90% tax on bonuses received by employees making more than $250,000 a year at companies that received more than $5 billion in government aid. The House had passed the bill the previous week with strong support from both Republicans and Democrats. Reid was supported by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R, Ky.), who said, “We ought to think about the ramifications of what we’re doing.” Observers said Reid’s decision was largely swayed by comments made by Obama March 22 on CBS’s “60 Minutes” that suggested he was reluctant to sign the bill. Obama said AIG employees should not be rewarded for their bad business decisions, but added, “As a general proposition, you don’t want to be passing laws that are just targeting a handful of individuals.” He also said it was inappropriate to use the tax code “to punish people,” and that the bill could be unconstitutional. Obama also said the bill could “hamper us from getting the banking system back on track.” It was widely reported that the legislation, and the public scrutiny engendered by the bonus brouhaha, was creating reluctance among banks to participate in government programs designed to stabilize the financial industry and resolve an ongoing freeze in credit markets. The House April 1 voted, 247–171, to pass a bill that would repeal a provision in recent legislation that said bonus contracts signed before Feb. 11 were exempt from new government limits on executive salary, which included AIG’s bonus contracts. The provision was part of a $787 billion economic stimulus package signed into law by Obama in February. The new bill would ban the payment of “unreasonable or excessive” 220

bonuses at companies that received government aid, and required that bonuses be “directly based on performance-based measures.” The Treasury Department would be charged with determining whether bonuses were in line with those criteria. Reid said the Senate would decide whether to vote on the bill “over the next few weeks.” Only 10 Republicans joined 237 Democrats in voting to pass the bill. Merrill Bonus Recipients Disclosed—

New York State Supreme Court Justice Bernard Fried March 18 ordered Bank of America Corp. to disclose the identities of 200 employees at Merrill Lynch & Co. who had received some $3.6 billion in bonuses in December 2008. Bank of America had purchased Merrill Lynch in January. Cuomo had subpoenaed Bank of America for that information, but the company had resisted, seeking a confidentiality agreement that would prevent Cuomo from releasing the employees’ names to the public. The request was denied by Fried. [See p. 32A1, F1] Cuomo was currently conducting an investigation into possible improper conduct during the merger of the two banks. Merrill Lynch had attracted suspicion when it paid its year-end bonuses a month earlier than it traditionally did, and just before it posted a $15 billion loss for the fourth quarter of 2008. The massive loss compelled Bank of America to turn to the government for $20 billion in aid to complete the merger, bringing the total amount of federal aid it had received to $45 billion. Cuomo was also investigating when Bank of America became aware of Merrill Lynch’s financial woes, and if it had hidden that information from its shareholders. Cuomo March 4 had subpoenaed seven Merrill Lynch executives who had each received more than $10 million in bonuses in 2008. Cuomo Feb. 11 had disclosed that nearly 700 Merrill Lynch executives had received at least $1 million each in bonus money. Cuomo had also taken depositions from Bank of America Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kenneth Lewis and former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain. Cuomo in his investigation was cooperating with Rep. Barney Frank (D, Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and Neil Barofsky, special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), a $700 billion fund designed to aid the financial industry. Congress had also launched investigations into the merger. Fannie, Freddie Bonuses Criticized—

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)—the regulator for the governmentcontrolled mortgage-financing giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae—April 3 disclosed that the two companies were slated to pay $210 million in bonuses to about 7,600 employees, drawing criticism from lawmakers. The government had placed the two companies into a conservatorship in 2008, after they suffered huge losses in the slumping housing market. [See pp. 163A3, 127A3, D3] Sen. Charles Grassley (Iowa), the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, that day said, “It’s hard to see

any common sense in management decisions that award hundreds of millions in bonuses when their organizations lost more than $100 billion in a year.” FHFA Director James Lockhart defended the bonuses, saying they would help retain experienced employees who were urgently needed now that the government was relying extensively on Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to revive the housing market. The two companies owned or guaranteed more than half of the outstanding mortgages in the U.S., and were involved in programs to modify loan terms and bring down interest rates. The government had pledged $400 billion to protect the two companies against future losses. Freddie Mac March 11 had announced that it would record a $23.9 billion loss for the fourth quarter of 2008, and that it would seek a $30.8 billion capital infusion from the Treasury. In all, Freddie Mac had lost $50.1 billion in 2008. Obama Meets With Bank Executives—

Obama March 27 met with executives from 13 of the country’s largest banks at the White House, where he reportedly warned them that excessive perks and bonuses could increase public disapproval of the government’s plans to bolster the weakened financial industry. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs that day said the meeting’s participants understood that “everybody needs to pitch in” to pull the U.S. economy out of its deep recession. n

Banking Accounting Rules for Toxic Assets Eased.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the body that set U.S. accounting rules, April 2 voted, 3–2, to ease so-called mark-to-market requirements, in order to give banks and other financial institutions greater discretion in determining the value of their troubled assets. The revised requirements were praised by Wall Street companies, but were criticized by investor groups that said they would enable financial institutions to mask losses. [See p. 177A1; 2008, p. 954A1] Mark-to-market accounting requirements forced financial institutions to mark the value of their assets according to current market prices. The requirements had recently become controversial, after a collapse in the housing market led to a severe drop in the market value of assets backed by mortgages, compelling financial institutions to record heavy losses on their balance sheets. Financial institutions argued that those assets were more valuable than what was reflected in the market. Under mark-to-market rules, assets designated as “other than temporarily impaired” led to an automatic write-down on the banks’ books. To escape that designation under the old requirements, banks had to prove they had the intent and ability to retain the asset until its market value rose. Under the new, looser requirements, banks only had to show they had the intent to retain the asset and would more likely do so than not. Additionally, losses from a drop in FACTS ON FILE

an asset’s market value would not need to be recorded on income statements, although they would have to be disclosed elsewhere. Thomas Linsmeier, one of the dissenters in the FASB vote, said the revised rules would make banks seem “better capitalized” than they were. The FASB, technically an independent body, was also criticized for succumbing to pressure from business interests and members of Congress. However, some major banks, like Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc., said the new rules would not significantly affect their quarterly statements. The new rules could be applied to earnings reports for the first quarter of 2008 and beyond. n

Obama Administration HHS Nominee Admits Tax Mistakes.

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D), President Barack Obama’s second nominee as Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary, March 31 sent a letter to the Senate Finance Committee informing its members that she had corrected three years of tax returns after discovering “unintended errors” in the documents. Sebelius said she and her husband had paid $7,040 in back taxes and $878 in interest to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) after finding the mistakes. The errors had occurred on her 2005–07 tax returns, and Sebelius said they were related to business expenses, the sale of a home and charitable contributions. [See p. 129C1] Sebelius became Obama’s fifth cabinet nominee to face tax troubles; his first pick for the HHS post, former Sen. Tom Daschle (D, S.D.) in early February had withdrawn from the nomination process after it was discovered that he had failed to pay $128,000 in federal income tax. Daschle had also faced criticism over ties to the health care industry that he had developed after leaving the Senate in 2005. Earlier March 31, Sebelius had testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Sebelius at the hearing affirmed her support for Obama’s plan to establish a government-managed health insurance program that would compete with private insurers. Sebelius April 2 appeared before the Senate Finance Committee for her second and final hearing before her confirmation was sent to the full Senate for a vote. She was considered likely to be confirmed, despite the tax errors and criticism from social conservatives of her support for abortion rights. However, Republicans asked that the committee defer advancing the confirmation to a full Senate vote so that they would have time to review Sebelius’s written answers to a lengthy questionnaire. That request pushed the earliest date for a confirmation vote back to late April, as Congress April 3 adjourned for a two-week recess. n

Legislation House Passes FDA Tobacco Regulation Bill.

The House April 2 voted, 298–112, to pass a measure that would give the Food and April 9, 2009

Drug Administration (FDA) wide-ranging new power to regulate tobacco products, which were thought to contribute to an estimated 400,000 deaths in the U.S. annually. [See 2008, p. 535A2] Under the legislation, the FDA would establish a new office to regulate tobacco that would be funded by fees assessed on tobacco companies. The agency would be able to limit the amount of harmful chemicals, such as nicotine, in tobacco products, and would be granted greater regulatory power over tobacco advertising and marketing practices. It would also require tobacco companies to place more prominent warnings on their products, and to include a list of ingredients on packaging. The bill was known as The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) April 1 had released a statement indicating that President Barack Obama strongly endorsed the House bill. The bill had also received the support of some 1,000 advocacy groups who said it would result in enormous health benefits. However, the measure was expected to face greater resistance in the Senate. Opponents of the measure questioned the ability of the FDA to adequately regulate tobacco products in the face of several recent highprofile medicine and food regulatory failures. North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr (R), who represented the U.S.’s leading tobacco-producing state, had threatened to filibuster the legislation. The FDA in 1996 had attempted to regulate tobacco, but the Supreme Court in 2000 had ruled that the agency required congressional authorization to do so. The House in July 2008 had passed a similar bill that was never taken up in the Senate. [See 2000, p. 188A2; 1996, p. 625F3] n

Medicine and Health News in Brief. Medtronic Inc., the world’s

largest medical device maker, March 13 said 13 people might have died from a faulty heart device that it manufactured. Medtronic in October 2007 had recalled its Sprint Fidelis internal defibrillator, after admitting that the device was prone to cracking in its wires that could cause death. Such internal devices were designed to deliver a life-saving shock to hearts that were beating irregularly. [See 2007, p. 768B2] The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Feb. 25 said a laboratory owned by Indian generic drug company Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. had falsified test results for drugs sold in the U.S. An FDA official said most of the falsified tests related to the stability of drugs over an extended period of time. The agency said it had halted consideration of all pending applications from the company. Investigators said that the problems concerned a Ranbaxy plant in Paonta Sahib, India. The FDA in September 2008 had banned imports of some 30 Ranbaxy-made generic drugs because of manufacturing problems. [See 2008, p. 831A3] n

AFRICA

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Kenya Justice Minister Resigns. Justice and Con-

stitutional Affairs Minister Martha Karua, a former ally of President Mwai Kibaki of the Party of National Unity (PNU), April 6 resigned from Kenya’s coalition government. The government had been formed after a disputed December 2007 presidential election in which Kibaki defeated Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga; allegations of vote-rigging by the PMU led to months of ethnic violence. Former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan in February 2008 brokered an agreement that led to the formation of a PNU/ODM coalition government, with Odinga as prime minister. [See p. 202A3] Karua had been Kibaki’s chief negotiator in the talks mediated by Annan. However, in recent months she had been increasingly critical of Kibaki’s lack of progress on political reform, and quit after his appointment of judges without her knowledge, saying, “My position as a minister is untenable following recent events.” Karua, the chairwoman of the National Rainbow Coalition–Kenya (NARC-Kenya) party, a junior partner to the PNU, had previously stated that she planned to run for president in the next election, in 2012, and analysts saw that as another source of tension with Kibaki. Karua after her resignation said she would “continue to participate in nationbuilding as a member of parliament and a leader. I will now be able to totally disagree with anything that is anti-reform.” NARC-Kenya’s secretary general, Danson Mungatana, April 7 resigned from his junior cabinet post of assistant minister of medical services in solidarity with Karua. The resignations came just a week after Annan had voiced criticism about Kenya’s lack of progress in implementing key elements of the deal ending the violence, such as setting up a special tribunal to investigate the postelection clashes and taking steps to combat corruption. Other key issues that had yet to be addressed included land and judicial reform, and the resettlement of the thousands of Kenyans who had been displaced by the violence. Talks Collapse—The PNU and ODM April 4–5 scheduled a retreat at a safari park to try to iron out their differences. However, both Kibaki and Odinga walked out of the meeting April 4, after the two sides reportedly failed to agree on an agenda. The Financial Times April 5 reported that Odinga’s side wanted to discuss a list of specific issues, including a recent spate of extrajudicial killings by the police, while Kibaki and his allies had a more general list. Odinga said after returning to Nairobi, the capital, “We want to be honest with Kenyans and report to them that unfortunately we were unable to agree on anything during this retreat…and therefore the meeting collapsed.” [See p. 203B1] Observers said the Kenyan population was becoming increasingly frustrated by the government’s inability to act and by 221

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allegations that officials were prioritizing their own interests over those of the people. n

South Africa Charges Dropped Against ANC Leader Zuma.

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Mokotedi Mpshe, the acting director of South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), April 6 said at a news conference that corruption charges against Jacob Zuma, president of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party, had been dropped due to misconduct by the prosecution and the lead investigator. The action ended years of wrangling and political infighting over the charges, and cleared the way for Zuma, a former deputy president of South Africa, to likely become the country’s next president, after general elections scheduled for April 22, without the prospect of a trial hanging over his head. However, the case had caused deep rifts within the ANC, the movement that fought to end apartheid in 1994 and became South Africa’s dominant party, and within the nation as a whole. [See pp. 152A1, 21F3] Zuma, 66, had faced 16 charges: 12 of fraud, two of corruption, and one each of money-laundering and racketeering. The charges, which were related to a multibillion-dollar 1999 arms deal between the South African government and a French weapons company, dated back to 2005. In early June of that year, Schabir Shaik, the former financial adviser of then–South African Deputy President Zuma, was convicted of soliciting and accepting bribes on Zuma’s behalf. (Shaik March 3 was released from prison on medical grounds, after serving just 28 months of a 15-year sentence.) About two weeks after Shaik’s conviction, then-President Thabo Mbeki fired Zuma, and the NPA six days later filed corruption charges against him. Those charges were thrown out on a technicality in September 2006, but the NPA refiled them in December 2007, days after Zuma defeated Mbeki in an election for the ANC presidency at a party conference in the city of Polokwane. In September 2008, High Court Judge Chris Nicholson again dismissed the charges against Zuma on a technicality, and alleged that Mbeki and his allies had been behind the NPA’s decision to pursue the case. Later in September, Mbeki stepped down as South Africa’s president after he was “recalled” by the ANC leadership, which was controlled by Zuma’s supporters. ANC veteran Kgalema Motlanthe took over as caretaker president until the April 22 elections. (The ouster of Mbeki had led to the formation of a new political party, Congress of the People [COPE], by disaffected ANC members.) Then, in January, South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeals overturned Nicholson’s decision on procedural grounds, and the charges were reinstated. Zuma had remained the ANC’s presidential candidate, and had been widely expected to become president even before the charges were dropped. Under South Africa’s constitution, the party that won the 222

most seats in the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, selected the nation’s next president. The ANC was still considered the dominant party, despite the recent split. ‘Abuse’ by Investigator, Prosecution Cited—

Mpshe April 6 said the charges were being dropped due to evidence of inappropriate communication about the timing of refiling the charges between former NPA head Bulelani Ngcuka and Leonard McCarthy, the former head of the Directorate of Special Operations (an elite unit of the NPA also known as the Scorpions that had been disbanded in 2008). The Scorpions had led the investigation of Zuma’s case. Mpshe said, “An intolerable abuse has occurred which impels a discontinuation of the prosecution.” He played for the news media excerpts of audio recordings—turned over to the NPA by Zuma’s lawyers—from November and December 2007 on which Ngcuka and McCarthy were heard discussing when to refile the charges against Zuma. The conversations took place before the ANC conference in Polokwane at which Zuma defeated Mbeki for the ANC presidency. The NPA refiled the charges 10 days after Zuma won that election. [See 2008, pp. 973G1, 879D2] Mpshe asserted that McCarthy, who was “in charge of the matter at all times and managed it almost on a daily basis, manipulated the legal process for purposes outside and extraneous to the prosecution itself. It’s not so much the prosecution itself but the legal process that is tainted.” He added, “Any timing of the charging of an accused person, which is not aimed at serving a legitimate purpose, is improper, irregular and an abuse of process.” The decision “does not amount to an acquittal,” Mpshe noted. However, he said the NPA would make no further attempt to prosecute Zuma on the charges. Zuma and his supporters portrayed the decision as a vindication of their longstanding argument that the charges were politically motivated and that they had been orchestrated by Zuma’s opponents— led by Mbeki—to keep him from becoming South Africa’s next president. However, Mpshe April 6 said, “We could not find any trace that the [former] president was involved.” Mbeki April 9 denied interfering in the case. Zuma’s opponents and some political and legal analysts argued that the NPA’s decision had been made under pressure from the ANC, and noted that the actual criminal charges against Zuma had never been examined in a court of law. Reaction—Zuma’s supporters April 6 celebrated the decision to drop the charges. ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe said, “This decision is a victory for the rule of law, decency and common sense.” Mantashe added, “Comrade President has endured many years of relentless persecution from individuals with ulterior motives.” Zuma April 7 said the NPA’s action and Mpshe’s statements validated claims that the case against him was politically motivated. “There never was a case against

me...I have been vindicated,” he said, adding, “My conscience is clear.” However, opposition parties were highly critical of the decision. The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party April 7 said in a statement that it had filed an application for a judicial review of the NPA’s decision. “Two weeks before the election, [the NPA] has caved in to political pressure from the Jacob Zuma faction of the ANC, and discontinued a prosecution selectively,” the party said. COPE presidential candidate Mvume Dandala April 6 proclaimed that “confidence in the justice system has been eroded.” Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) veteran leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi said Zuma should have been given the chance to clear his name in court. “I feel the charges will now be a shadow over him as our [next] head of state,” he said. South African Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu April 2 had compared Zuma unfavorably to new U.S. President Barack Obama, that country’s first black president. “In the year of Obama, can you imagine what it is like when you are walking in New York and they ask you who will be the next president [of South Africa]?” Tutu said. His statements drew a ren buke from the ANC. [See p. 25A1]

AMERICAS

Peru Ex-President Fujimori Convicted in Killings.

A three-judge panel of Peru’s Supreme Court, the nation’s highest court, April 7 convicted former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori of “crimes against humanity,” murder, aggravated kidnapping and battery, and sentenced him to a 25-year prison term. Fujimori, 70, was accused by prosecutors of backing two massacres, carried out by military death squads, in which 25 people were killed. The ruling, which followed a 15-month trial, was thought to be the first time that a former head of state had been extradited to his home country and convicted of human rights violations. [See 2007, p. 828A2] During Fujimori’s 1990–2000 tenure as president, the country had been embroiled in a conflict with two guerrilla movements, the Maoist Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) group, and the smaller Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement. An estimated 70,000 people had been killed during the conflict. Fujimori had backed aggressive military action against the rebel groups, and had been accused by prosecutors of supporting the operations of a secretive paramilitary death squad known as the Colina Group. In 2000, Fujimori had resigned as president and fled to Japan, amid growing allegations of corruption and human rights abuses. He secretly traveled to Chile in 2005, but was discovered there and arrested. He was extradited to Peru in September 2007 in order to face trial on various charges. One of the massacres Fujimori was found resposible for had occurred in 1991 at a barbecue in the Barrios Altos area of FACTS ON FILE

Lima, Peru’s capital. An eight-year-old boy was among the victims. In the second massacre, a university professor and nine students had been kidnapped in 1992. Their charred bodies were discovered one year later outside Lima. The Supreme Court also found Fujimori guilty of authorizing the 1992 kidnappings of businessman Samuel Dyer and prominent journalist Gustavo Gorriti; both men were later released unharmed. Fujimori after the ruling continued to reject the allegations against him, and pledged to appeal the court’s decision. Peruvian legal experts said the Supreme Court could take up to six months to rule on the appeal. In a separate 2007 trial, Fujimori had been convicted of ordering an illegal search, and was sentenced to six years in prison. He also faced separate corruption charges for which he had yet to face trial. Fujimori remained a polarizing figure in Peru, with some people continuing to support him because of his success against the guerrilla movements and in instituting free-market reforms. However, his critics said he had created an intelligence apparatus that he lost control of, resulting in widespread corruption and human rights abuses. His daughter, Keiko Fujimori, was a federal legislator and presidential candidate in the election scheduled for 2011. She had pledged to pardon her father if elected president. n

A S I A - PA C I F I C

Malaysia New Prime Minister Sworn In. Malaysian

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Najib Razak April 3 was sworn in as Malaysia’s sixth prime minister at the royal palace in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital, by Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia’s king. Najib replaced Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who had held the position since October 2003. Abdullah had announced in October 2008 that he would step down and had named Najib as his chosen successor after leading the ruling National Front coalition to a weak showing in March 2008 legislative elections. [See 2008, pp. 754F1, 169A1] Malaysia had been beset by political tensions following the 2008 elections and had recently suffered from a weakening economy amid the global financial crisis. Malaysia’s Department of Statistics Feb. 27 had reported that the country’s year-onyear gross domestic product (GDP) growth had been only 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2008, a drop from 4.7% in the third quarter. Malaysia’s government March 10 had announced a 60 billion Malaysian ringgit ($16.3 billion) economic stimulus plan intended to bolster the economy. Detainee Release Announced— Najib April 3 announced in his first address as prime minister that the government would release 13 people who had been detained under the country’s Internal Security Act, which allowed for indefinite detention of suspects alleged to be a threat to national security. He also promised a full review of April 9, 2009

the government’s use of the act, which critics said had been used to silence dissent. [See 2008, p. 980D3] The detainees were released April 5. They included seven members of an Islamic religious group, three foreigners, one alleged member of the Jemaah Islamiah terrorist group and two Malaysian Indian activists who had been jailed in December 2007 after organizing a demonstration protesting the government’s treatment of ethnic minorities. At least 30 other people were thought to be held by the government under the Internal Security Act. [See 2007, p. 828G3] In his speech, Najib also announced the end of a press ban that had been imposed March 23 against the opposition Suara Keadilan and Harakah newspapers. No reason was given for the ban, which had been scheduled to last for three months. Najib April 9 announced his new cabinet, which was trimmed to 28 members, from 32 under Abdullah. Najib said he would stay on as finance minister while serving as prime minister. Mahathir Rejoins Ruling Party— Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad April 4 rejoined the United Malays National Organization (UNMO) party, part of the National Front, after his application to do so was approved by Najib. Mahathir had left the party in 2008 after clashing repeatedly with Abdullah, his chosen successor, and had vowed not to rejoin the party until Abdullah resigned. Analysts suggested that his return to the party was intended to bolster the National Front in preparation for upcoming by-elections. [See 2008, p. 417A1] Opposition Wins Two of Three Races—

Malaysia’s opposition coalition April 7 won a parliamentary by-election in Perak State and a state-level by-election in Kedah State, while, the same day, the National Front won a state-level by-election in Sarawak State. The results were seen by analysts as a rebuke to Najib and the National Front, but did not significantly affect the political composition of the national parliament or either of the state legislatures. [See 2008, p. 595B1] The Perak seat was won by Mohammed Nizar Jamaluddin. Nizar had been ousted as the head of the Perak legislature in February after UNMO convinced members of the opposition to defect, forcing the ouster of the opposition-led government there. The opposition did not recognize the new government, which it argued had been illegally installed, and had called for new elections to be held. Perak opposition member Karpal Singh March 17 was charged with sedition by Malaysia’s government for threatening to sue Perak State Sultan Azlan Shah over his decision to back the National Front–led state government. Karpal’s son, Gobind Singh Deo, March 16 had been suspended from his seat in Malaysia’s parliament for one year after calling Najib a murderer. The insult referred to a long-running Malaysian murder case in which two Malaysian police officers with links to Najib

FACTS ON NAJIB

Najib Razak was born on July 23, 1953, in Kuala Lipis in Malaysia’s Pahang State. His father, Abdul Razak bin Hussein, was the second prime minister of Malaysia. Najib attended Britain’s Nottingham University and graduated in 1974 with a degree in industrial economics. He was elected to fill his father’s seat in Malaysia’s parliament in 1976, following Abdul’s death. [See p. 223D1; 2008, p. 416E3] In 1982, Najib was elected as chief minister of Pahang State after being asked by then–Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to run for the post. He improved relations with Pahang’s reigning sultan, averting a potential political crisis. Najib in 1987 was named head of the ruling National Front coalition’s United Malays National Organization (UNMO) party’s youth division, a position he held until 1993. Najib was named minister of defense by Mahathir in 1991 and then minister of education in 1995. He was named deputy prime minister in 2004 by then–Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Abdullah in October 2008 said he would not seek another term as leader of the UNMO, effectively handing the prime ministership to Najib, who was sworn in as prime minister on April 3. [See p. 223G3; 2008, pp. 754A2, 510D1] Najib was married to Rosmah Mansor and had three children.

were accused of killing a Mongolian woman who had been romantically involved with one of Najib’s aides. [See below] Verdict in Murder Linked to Najib Aide—

Malaysian High Court Judge Mohamad Zaki Yasin April 9 convicted two police officers of murder in connection with the 2006 killing of Altantuya Shaariibuu, a Mongolian woman who had had an affair with Abdul Razak Baginda, one of Najib’s former aides. The two police officers, Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar, were former members of an elite police squad assigned to protect the prime minister and deputy prime minister. Zaki sentenced both men to execution by hanging. [See 2008, pp. 909E3, 510D1] Baginda had been acquitted in October 2008 of ordering Shaariibuu’s murder and had subsequently moved to Britain. He had previously admitted having an affair with Shaariibuu. Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and others had attempted to tie Najib to the scandal; however, Najib had denied ever meeting Shaariibuu and said that he was not involved in her death. [See 2008, p. 925A2] During the trial, Azilah had said while he had been involved in detaining Shaariibuu, he had left her in Sirul’s custody and had not seen her again before she died. Sirul had maintained that he was innocent of the charges and claimed that he was being used as a scapegoat. France’s Liberation newspaper reported March 5 that Shaariibuu’s murder was related to a dispute over a payment made to Malaysian government officials by a French defense contractor, and cited an unidentified source claiming that Najib had had an intermittent sexual relationship with Shaariibuu. According to Liberation, Shaariibuu accompanied Baginda in March 2005 on a 223

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trip to Europe to negotiate details of the purchase of three submarines from Armaris, the French company. She had reportedly pressed him to give her a substantial share of a payment made by Armaris to a Malaysian corporation controlled by Baginda. The Malaysian government called the payment a “commission,” but the opposition said it amounted to a bribe. When Baginda refused to give Shaariibuu the cut she demanded, Shaariibuu began confronting him in public, including outside his family’s house, the report said. n

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Earthquake Hits Central Italy At Least 281 Killed in Abruzzo Region. A

major earthquake early April 6 struck the Abruzzo region in central Italy, devastating its capital, L’Aquila, about 60 miles (100 km) east of Rome, and a surrounding area of about 230 square miles. The death toll had risen to 281 as of April 9, and another 100 were seriously injured. About 28,000 people were left homeless, and 18,000 of them were sheltered in about 20 tent encampments that had been set up as temperatures dropped in the mountainous region. The other 10,000 refugees had been sent to hotels out of the quake zone. The Italian government April 9 increased its planned emergency aid for the quake zone to 100 million euros ($130 million). [See 2002, p. 991C3; 1997, p. 712B3] The quake had a magnitude of 6.3 on the open-ended Richter scale of ground motion, and was felt as far away as Rome. More than 400 aftershocks subsequently struck the Abruzzo region, slowing rescue workers and causing further damage to buildings. It was Italy’s worst earthquake since 1980, when a 6.9-magnitude quake struck south of Naples, killing more than 2,700 people. Rescuers pulled about 100 survivors from the rubble in the days after the Abruz-

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zo quake. Among them was Maria D’Antuono, 98, of the village of Tempera, who had been trapped in her bed for 30 hours and said she had kept occupied by knitting until her rescue April 7. The search for 15 people who were still missing continued through April 9. Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said the search would go on until April 12, when workers would shift their focus to securing and reconstructing buildings. According to official estimates, between 10,000 and 15,000 buildings were either damaged or destroyed in L’Aquila and 26 surrounding towns. The small village of Onna was one of the hardest hit, with 40 of its 300 inhabitants reportedly killed by the quake. Many of the buildings damaged in L’Aquila were historic monuments, including a 13th-century basilica and most of the city’s other old churches. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi April 7 said the government would provide 30 million euros in aid to restore historic buildings and artworks damaged in the quake, but experts said that would not be adequate for the task. Berlusconi also accepted an offer of assistance from U.S. President Barack Obama. Italy was generally more vulnerable to earthquakes than other advanced countries such as the U.S. or Japan because a much larger proportion of Italian buildings were hundreds of years old. Many of them had not been retrofitted with modern technology such as reinforced concrete to help them withstand quakes. However, some modern buildings also collapsed in the Abruzzo earthquake, in-

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cluding a hospital and a university dormitory. Some experts suggested that there had been a failure to enforce building codes, which had been tightened with new seismic standards in the 1980s. A new law had been approved in 2008, but it would not take effect until 2010 and would only apply to new buildings. Berlusconi Flies to Quake Zone— Berlusconi April 6 canceled a trip to Russia and flew to L’Aquila hours after the quake, declaring a state of emergency. At a news conference that day, he rejected assertions that there should have been advance warning of the quake, although a series of smaller tremors had been felt in the region in recent weeks. Giampaolo Giuliani, a physicist at a national nuclear research center, that day said he had warned officials that a quake would strike Abruzzo, citing levels of radon gas emissions from the earth. He said he had been put under investigation for causing undue alarm. But other scientists dismissed his radon-gas theory and agreed that there was no way to forecast quakes. Berlusconi April 8 said looting was an increasing problem in the earthquake zone and warned that the government would take stronger measures to deter theft of victims’ property. The Vatican April 8 granted a special dispensation to allow a funeral mass in L’Aquila two days later, on Good Friday, which normally was the only day on which the Roman Catholic Church did not celebrate mass. Pope Benedict XVI said he would visit the earthquake zone after Easter. n

Czech Republic President Taps Interim Prime Minister. A street of collapsed buildings in Onna, Italy, a village devastated by a strong earthquake that April 6 struck the Abruzzo region near its capital, L’Aquila.

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Czech President Vaclav Klaus April 9 appointed Jan Fischer, the nonpartisan head of the country’s national statistics office, to FACTS ON FILE

serve as the country’s new prime minister following a March no-confidence vote in Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek’s leadership. Fischer would take office May 9; until then Topolanek would continue to serve as prime minister in a caretaker capacity. The vote against Topolanek had come while the Czech Republic held the six-month rotating European Union presidency. [See pp. 214F1, 188A2] Klaus instructed Fischer to form a nonpartisan cabinet, which would serve until parliamentary elections were held in October. Both Topolanek’s Civil Democratic Party and opposition leader Jiri Paroubek’s Czech Social Democratic Party had reportedly agreed to support Fischer and his government. Fischer said he had no political ambitions and would return to his previous job after new elections were held. The Czech Republic would hold the EU presidency until June 30. n

Denmark New Prime Minister Takes Office. Danish

Finance Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen April 5 took office as prime minister, replacing Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who resigned that day to become secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). (The men were not related.) Fogh Rasmussen had been prime minister for the past seven and a half years, and had led his center-right Liberal Party and its coalition partners to a third term in office in 2007 elections. Lokke Rasmussen, 44, had been deputy leader of the party. [See p. 213A1; 2007, p. 758D2; for facts on Lokke Rasmussen, see p. 225D1] FACTS ON LOKKE RASMUSSEN

Lars Lokke Rasmussen was born May 15, 1964, in Vejle, Denmark, son of an accountant and a housewife. He earned a law degree from the University of Copenhagen in 1992. He became a member of the Folketing, or parliament, in 1994, and deputy chairman of the center-right Liberal Party in 1998. He was mayor of Frederiksborg County from 1998 to 2001. He served as minister of the interior and health from 2001 to 2007, and had been finance minister since 2007. He took office as prime minister April 5, upon the resignation of Anders Fogh Rasmussen (they were not related), who had been named secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). [See p. 225C1]

Lokke Rasmussen April 7 named Employment Minister Claus Hjort Frederiksen, 61, to succeed him as finance minister. He also named Karen Ellemann, 38, as home and social affairs minister, and Inger Stojberg, 36, as employment minister, bring the number of women in the 19member cabinet to eight. n

Macedonia Conservative Ivanov Wins Presidency.

Georgi Ivanov, 49, the candidate for the governing conservative Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization–DemApril 9, 2009

ocratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE), April 5 won a presidential runoff election with about 63% of the vote, according to unofficial results released the following day. Ivanov defeated former Interior and Foreign Minister Ljubomir Frckovski of the Social Democratic Alliance of Macedonia (SDSM), who April 5 conceded defeat with about 35% of the vote, according to unofficial results. [See 2008, p. 492D2] Officials estimated that voter turnout was about 43%, just exceeding the 40% turnout needed for the vote to be valid. The first round of elections had been conducted March 22. Both rounds passed without incident, in contrast to 2008 parliamentary elections, when one person had been killed and nine injured in election-related violence. Ivanov would be inaugurated May 12, succeeding President Branko Crvenkovski of the SDSM. Macedonia’s government was led by Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski of the VMRO-DPMNE. The position of president in Macedonia was largely ceremonial, though the president could steer some aspects of foreign policy and was formally the commander of the country’s army. Ivanov April 5 pledged to work toward three goals: membership in the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and resolving a naming dispute with neighboring Greece. Greece in 2008 had blocked Macedonia from being inducted into NATO because Macedonia had refused to change its constitutional name, “the Republic of Macedonia.” Greece maintained that that name implied a territorial claim on its northernmost province, also called Macedonia. Ivanov, during his campaign, had opposed changing the country’s name, but April 5 said resolving the dispute with Greece was his highest priority. Election monitors said there had been some irregularities in the poll, but NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer April 5 said the election demonstrated that Macedonia had “made real progress in meeting the high democratic standards of the alliance.” n

Moldova Riot Follows Communist Victory in Polls.

More than 270 people were injured and as many as 200 others were arrested April 7 after an election-related protest of as many as 15,000 people in Chisinau, the capital, turned violent. The protesters were demonstrating against unofficial results of April 5 parliamentary elections, which showed a decisive Communist victory over the three main Western-leaning opposition parties. The protesters claimed the results had been rigged by the Communist party, which had governed Moldova since 2001. Chisinau was mostly calm by April 8. [See 2005, p. 233F3] The Communists, according to the unofficial results, had won enough seats in the parliament to reach a governing mandate, which would allow them to alter the constitution and select a president to succeed President Vladimir Voronin, a Communist,

who was stepping down later in 2009 due to term limits. However, final results showed that the Communists had fallen one seat short of a governing mandate, it was reported April 9. The central election commission April 9 agreed to allow opposition parties to check voter lists against the number of votes that had been cast. The opposition had accused the government of counting votes under names of Moldovans who lived abroad. However, the commission only allotted the opposition four days to count the votes, which opposition members said was not enough time. Protests Begin— The protests began April 6, when several hundred mostly young Moldovans gathered peacefully in central Chisinau to protest the unofficial election results. The following day, the protest swelled to as many as 15,000 people, reportedly assisted by the dissidents’ use of social networking Web sites, which remained accessible on mobile phones even after Internet connections in the city were severed after the protest turned violent. Angry dissidents overcame riot police and entered the parliament building, where they set fires, hurled computers from the windows and threw rocks at police. Many waved Romanian flags. Several opposition leaders that day disavowed any connection with the violence. (Most of Moldova had been united with Romania from the mid-19th century until 1940. Relations between the two countries had become more strained after Romania had joined the European Union in 2007. About 78% of Moldovans were ethnic Romanians. The rest were mostly ethnic Ukrainians and Russians.) Many young people in Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Europe, were reportedly disillusioned with Communist rule, which they claimed stifled opportunities for them to succeed in Moldova. According to media reports, many young people had recently returned home after losing jobs abroad as a result of the current global economic downturn. Leaders Assign Blame—Moldova April 8 was rife with accusations of who was responsible for the riot. Some Moldovan opposition figures accused the government of orchestrating the previous day’s violence in order to distract from the Communists’ alleged election fraud, or to portray the opposition as violent. Voronin April 8 accused Romania of organizing the riot in conjunction with the opposition. The same day, he recalled the Moldovan ambassador to Romania, expelled the Romanian ambassador from Moldova and implemented new rules under which Romanians would require a visa to enter Moldova. Romania rejected the accusation as a “provocation,” and EU foreign ministers in an April 9 statement called on Moldova to scrap the changes and return to normal relations with Romania. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in a demonstration of support for the Communists, April 8 pointed out that many protesters had carried Romanian flags, and said he hoped “that the European Union 225

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will draw the most serious conclusions about what happened.” Russia had about 1,000 troops stationed in Trans-Dniester, a tiny, Russian-aligned splinter region of Moldova. [See 2008, p. 524A2] Other observers suggested that the riot had not been organized at all, but had erupted out of a polarized and increasingly chaotic political demonstration. n

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Pro-EU Party Wins Elections. The Coalition for a European Montenegro bloc (DPSSDP), headed by Prime Minister Milo Dju-

kanovic, had won March 29 parliamentary elections with about 51% of the vote, according to results released March 30 by the Center for Monitoring (CEMI), an independent vote monitor. As a result, DPS-SDP would receive as many as 49 seats in the 81-seat parliament, enough for a governing mandate. The party had run on a pledge to steer Montenegro toward membership in the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Two Serbianaligned opposition parties finished second and third. (Montenegro had split peacefully from Serbia in a 2006 referendum.) [See 2008, pp. 756E1, 244A1] (Djukanovic, who had previously served four terms as prime minister and had led Montenegro to independence from Serbia in 2006, on Feb. 29, 2008, had taken over for former Prime Minister Zeljko Sturanovic, also a member of DPS-SDP. Sturanovic, who had taken office in 2006, had resigned due to lung cancer on Jan. 31, 2008.) President Filip Vujanovic, another DPSSDP member, Jan. 27 had announced that parliamentary elections would be held a year and a half early. Djukanovic had reportedly requested early elections in order to seek a popular mandate for EU accession talks. The opposition claimed that Djukanovic had asked for the snap election in order to cement the DPS-SDP’s political power before the current global economic slowdown hit the Montenegrin economy. The country’s economy had improved following the split with Serbia, but was expected to contract in 2009. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a regional security organization and election monitor, March 30 said the poll “met almost all international commitments and standards, but the process again underscored the need for further democratic development.” n

Slovakia Gasparovic Reelected President. Slovakian

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President Ivan Gasparovic, 67, was reelected in an April 4 runoff with 55.5% of the vote, according to official results released the following day by the country’s national election committee. Gasparovic was an ally of the leftist Direction–Social Democracy party (Smer) headed by Prime Minister Robert Fico. The ultranationalist Slovak National Party also supported Gasparovic. Iveta Radicova, of the center-right Slovak Democratic and Christian Union–Demo226

cratic Party (SDKU-DS), finished second with 44.5% of the vote. In the first round of the election, held March 21, Gasparovic had won 47% of the vote. [See 2004, p. 294C2] Gasparovic was the first Slovakian president to win a second five-year term since the country declared independence in 1993. The position was largely ceremonial. However, the president could choose the prime minister, appoint judges to the constitutional court and veto legislation. Observers suggested that Gasparovic’s victory was a triumph for Smer prior to parliamentary elections scheduled for June 2010. However, Radicova’s strong secondplace finish was also noted. She had overcome five other candidates in the first round of voting, to garner 38% of the vote, more than expected. n

Spain Nationalists Lose Power in Basque Region. The Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) March

30 fell from power in Spain’s northern Basque region for the first time in three decades, when the conservative Popular Party (PP) and the Basque Socialist Party agreed to form a coalition government. The coalition deal emerged from weeks of negotiations that followed March 1 regional elections, in which no party won enough seats in the 75-seat Basque legislature to govern the semiautonomous region alone. [See 2007, p. 689F3; 2005, p. 269C3] The PNV, which had long pursued full independence from Spain for the Basque region, won 30 seats in the elections. The Socialists won 24 seats, and the PP won 14 seats. Under the March 30 deal, Basque Socialist leader Patxi Lopez would lead the coalition government. Spain’s Supreme Court in February had barred two parties from participating in the elections, finding that they were linked to Batasuna, a Basque separatist party that had been banned since 2003. Batasuna was viewed as the political wing of the militant group Euzkadi ta Askatasuna (ETA), which had killed more than 800 people in 40 years of violence. The Socialist Party held power in Spain’s central government, while the PP was the main opposition party in the national parliament. Prime Minister Jose Rodriguez Zapatero of the Socialist Party had opened peace talks with ETA in 2006, drawing harsh criticism from the PP. But the talks broke off after ETA detonated a bomb at Barajas international airport near Madrid, the capital, in December 2006, killing two workers. ETA had been blamed for a car bomb that exploded Feb. 9 in Madrid outside the offices of Grupo Ferrovial SA, an infrastructure company involved in the construction of a high-speed rail link connecting the Basque cities of Bilbao, Vitoria and San Sebastian with each other and with Madrid. ETA opposed the project and had threatened the personnel of companies participating in it, claiming responsibility for the killing of one such businessman in De-

cember 2008. The Madrid bombing caused no injuries, but destroyed several cars. Elections March 1 were also held for the Galician regional parliament, where the PP ousted from power a coalition of the Socialists and the Galician Nationalist Bloc, a party that advocated greater regional autonomy. n Zapatero Replaces Finance Minister. Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero April 7 shuffled his cabinet just a year into his second term in office. He replaced Finance Minister Pedro Solbes and five other ministers, in what he called a push to respond to the global economic crisis. Zapatero named Minister for Public Administration Elena Salgado, 59, to replace Solbes as finance minister. [See p. 208D1; 2008, p. 170G1] Zapatero and Solbes had openly disagreed over economic policy in recent weeks. Zapatero had called for more government spending to stimulate the economy, while Solbes had warned that such spending would increase the budget deficit to a dangerous level. Solbes, 66, had also expressed a desire to retire. Justice Minister Resigns in Scandal—

Spanish Justice Minister Mariano Fernandez Bermejo Feb. 23 resigned after a political scandal erupted over a hunting trip he had taken with judge Baltasar Garzon, who had brought corruption charges against dozens of officials of the opposition Popular Party (PP). Bermejo insisted that it was a coincidence that he and Garzon had been at the same hunt. He denied the PP’s claims that he had secretly plotted with the judge against the opposition party in the run-up to the regional elections. Garzon was widely known for investigating international human rights cases. [See 2008, pp. 856B3, 558E1] n

Turkey Ruling Party Slips in Local Elections. Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) March 29 won local elections across the nation, but its percentage of the overall vote slipped from its landslide victory in the 2007 general election. The result was viewed as a setback for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the AKP, who had portrayed the elections for mayors and provincial assemblies as a referendum on his performance. Erdogan March 30 said the impact of the global economic crisis on Turkey, where the unemployment rate was nearing 15%, had hurt his party. [See p. 23A1; 2007, p. 473A1] The Islamic-based AKP won 39% of the overall vote, down from the record 47% it won in 2007. The main secular opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), won 23% of the vote, followed by the nationalist People’s Action Party, with about 16%. In Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, the CHP trailed the AKP by just a few percentage points. The AKP lost several other major cities, including Diyarbakir, in the largely Kurdish southeast, where it lost to the Kurdish nationalist Democratic Society FACTS ON FILE

Party (DTP) despite personal campaigning in the region by Erdogan. A prominent member of the DTP, Ahmet Turk, Feb. 24 had broken a taboo by delivering a speech in Kurdish in the national parliament to protest what he called “oppression and prohibitions on Kurdish.” The public use of the Kurdish language for political purposes was still banned in Turkey, although Erdogan had sought to improve relations with the Kurdish minority, which made up about 20% of Turkey’s population. Several people were reportedly killed in violence linked to the elections, mainly in remote parts of eastern Turkey. Also, opponents had accused the AKP of attempting to bribe voters by handing out free household appliances and other goods. 56 Indicted in Alleged Coup Plot—A court in Istanbul March 25 approved an indictment of 56 suspects accused of taking part in a plot by an ultranationalist group to overthrow the government. Among those who would stand trial were two retired high-ranking generals. Another 86 defendants were already on trial in the same case. The AKP’s secular opponents had dismissed the plot as a fabrication intended to discredit them. The military was one of the few national institutions still dominated by secularists. n

Ukraine Presidential Election to Be Held in October.

In a rare show of unity, 401 of the 450 members of the Ukrainian parliament April 1 voted to move presidential elections originally scheduled for early 2010 to Oct. 25. The vote was a blow to President Viktor Yushchenko, whose approval ratings had slumped to the low single digits amid a sinking Ukrainian economy. Yushchenko that day claimed that the parliament’s move was illegal, but April 3 said he would agree to early presidential elections if early parliamentary elections took place at the same time. Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, Yushchenko’s former ally turned bitter rival, April 4 said she opposed holding a simultaneous parliamentary election. [See p. 137B1] Yushchenko and Tymoshenko’s coalition government had ground to a near halt due to frequent infighting between the leaders. Because of the discord, Ukraine had not approved some legislation that was necessary for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to release a second, much-needed installment of a $16.4 billion rescue loan. Amid the current global economic slowdown, Ukraine’s vital steel industry had dropped off sharply and its currency, the hrivna, had lost almost half its value against the U.S. dollar since the full impact of the worldwide crisis became apparent toward the end of 2008. [See 2008, p. 783E2] Members of the opposition, Russialeaning Party of Regions, which held a plurality of seats in the parliament, April 2 had physically blocked the chamber’s doors to prevent a crucial vote on IMF-mandated legislation. Party members said they reApril 9, 2009

fused to support the legislation because Yushchenko and Tymoshenko’s coalition had no concrete plan to combat the country’s growing economic problems. Viktor Yanukovich, head of the Party of Regions, was expected to run against Yushchenko and Tymoshenko in the presidential election. Opposition Party Leads Protests— As many as 20,000 people April 3 gathered in central Kiev, Ukraine’s capital, where Yanukovich addressed the crowd. He said, “I think everyone in this square has one wish—change life for the better. And there is only one way to do this, when we are rid of those now in power.” The Party of Regions had also led antigovernment protests in both Kiev and the eastern city of Donetsk March 27. Yanukovich April 3 said he would call off protests until April 14 in order to give the government time to come up with a plan to combat the economic crisis. n

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Iran U.S. Says It Will Participate in Nuclear Talks.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton April 8 announced that the U.S. would participate in talks held by five other nations with Iran on that country’s nuclear program “from now on.” Clinton made the announcement after U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns told European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who was involved in the talks, to “extend an invitation” to Iran to meet with the U.S. and the other participating countries—Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China. [See p. 179C1] “There’s nothing more important than trying to convince Iran to cease its efforts to obtain a nuclear weapon,” Clinton said. The move was seen as another step by U.S. President Barack Obama toward direct engagement with Iran. Former U.S. President George W. Bush had supported the talks but had not participated in them. Bush had sent a U.S. diplomat to attend talks in July 2008, but later said Iran was not serious and ruled out further direct contact. [See 2008, p. 510C3] Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad April 8 before the U.S. announcement had said, “The Iranian people would welcome a hand extended to it if the hand is truly based on honesty,” the Iranian semiofficial news agency Fars reported. U.S.-Iranian Reporter Charged as Spy—

An Iranian Revolutionary Court judge April 8 said on state television that a freelance journalist with dual U.S.-Iranian citizenship would be charged with spying. The journalist, Roxana Saberi, 31, had been arrested in January, and at first was accused of buying a bottle of wine, which was illegal in Iran. However, the judge said that Saberi had collected government documents and interviewed officials while masquerading as a reporter—and sometimes without press credentials—and had passed the information to U.S. intelligence agencies. He said Saberi had admitted to

the charges, but her lawyer said she was innocent. [See p. 189E1] The judge said Saberi’s trial would begin the next week. An Iranian prosecutor said she could face three to 10 years in prison if convicted of spying, or execution if convicted of spying with the intent of overthrowing the government. Clinton April 8 expressed “deep concern” over Saberi’s case and demanded her release. The case had received international attention, and it was thought that it might hurt chances to improve relations between Iran and the U.S.

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Chinese Co. Charged With Aiding Iran—

Robert Morgenthau, the district attorney of the New York City borough of Manhattan, April 7 announced that a grand jury had indicted a Chinese defense company and its chief executive for illegally selling restricted materials to Iran. Limmt Economic & Trade Co. and Li Fangwei were charged with 118 criminal counts, including conspiracy and forging business records. Analysts said some of the materials sold to Iran could be used to build missiles. The U.S. Treasury Department in June 2006 had sanctioned Limmt for selling restricted weapons. However, Morgenthau said that between November 2006 and September 2008, Limmt had made fraudulent transactions through U.S. banks to conceal sales to Iranian front companies. The Treasury froze Limmt and Li’s U.S. assets, and Morgenthau said he would ask the Chinese government to extradite Li, who was based in the Chinese city of Dalian. Li April 8 told the Wall Street Journal that the charges were based on a “misunderstanding” and that he was innocent. n

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Iraq Car Bombs Kill 32 in Shiite Areas of Baghdad.

A wave of six car bombings April 6 killed at least 32 people and injured more than 100 in Shiite Muslim neighborhoods of Baghdad, Iraq’s capital. The attacks were the worst to hit Baghdad in months, and raised doubts over the Iraqi government’s claims that security was improving and that insurgents were finding it harder to conduct operations in the capital. [See pp. 214D3, 208A2, 156A1] The first bombing, early in the morning April 6, hit a cinema near where day laborers had gathered in the Alawi neighborhood, killing at least four people. That was followed by a bombing near a market in Sadr City that killed at least 10 people; a blast in New Baghdad that hit the convoy of an interior ministry official, killing a guard and a civilian; and one in a market in the northeastern suburb of Husseiniya that killed four. At noon, two more bombs went off near a market and a clinic in the southwestern neighborhood of Um al-Maalif, killing at least 12 people. After the Sadr City bombing, Iraqi civilians reportedly threw stones at Iraqi security forces, whom they blamed for not preventing the attack. No group took responsibility for the attacks, which appeared to be coordinated, 227

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and it was unclear who carried them out. The U.S. military and some Iraqi officials blamed the Sunni Muslim insurgent group Al Qaeda in Iraq for the blasts, and said they were aimed at stirring up sectarian tensions. However, none of the attacks were suicide bombings, a trademark of Al Qaeda in Iraq. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s office April 7 released a statement blaming the attacks on members of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s banned Baath Party, acting in conjunction with Al Qaeda in Iraq. He said the attacks were timed to coincide with the April 6 anniversary of the mostly Sunni Baath Party’s founding. Also, the anniversary of Baghdad’s fall to U.S.led forces in 2003—considered by Baathists to be the beginning of the struggle against foreign occupation—was on April 9. Maliki’s statement was seen as lowering the chance of reconciliation between Baathists and the Iraqi government. Qatari satellite television channel Al Jazeera April 7 broadcast an audiotape made by Izzat Ibrahim al Douri, the most senior Hussein government official to remain a fugitive, and the de facto Baath Party leader. Douri called on “jihadis” in Iraq to continue to fight the Iraqi government until the government allowed armed Baathists to take over the government. [See 2007, p. 22B2] Another car bomb April 7 exploded in Baghdad’s Kadhimiya neighborhood near an important Shiite mosque, killing at least eight people. The U.S. military April 3 said a U.S. helicopter the previous night had fired on four members of an Awakening Council—an armed Sunni group that had turned against extremists and allied itself with U.S. forces—after they had been seen planting a roadside bomb in Taji, north of Baghdad. The military said one of the fighters had been killed and two had been injured. An Awakening leader said the men had been manning a checkpoint, and claimed that the U.S. had said the incident was an accident. The U.S. military April 5 announced that a U.S. soldier, Pfc. Carl Stovall 3rd, had been charged with the murder of a Hungarian private contractor. Stovall had allegedly shot the contractor March 26 at Taji Air Base, north of Baghdad. Other News—In other Iraqi news: o A Baghdad appeals court April 7 reduced the sentence of a reporter, Muntader al-Zaidi, who in December 2008 had thrown his shoes at then–U.S. President George W. Bush in protest of the U.S. presence in Iraq. Zaidi’s sentence was reduced to one year in prison, from three years, after he had appealed the sentence. [See p. 174E3] o Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas April 5 visited Iraq for the first time since the 2003 U.S.led invasion of the country. Abbas met with Maliki and President Jalal Talabani in Baghdad, where they reportedly discussed financial assistance, oil discounts and political support for the PA, as well as the fate of 2,300 Palestinians living in refugee camps on the Iraqi border. Abbas thanked the Iraqi government for aiding Iraq’s Palestinian population. Former Iraqi President 228

Saddam Hussein had given favorable treatment to Iraq’s Palestinians, and they had numbered 60,000 in 2003. But they had been heavily targeted for attacks by Shiite Muslim militias in the years after the invasion, and the current population was about 11,000. [See 2008, p. 631G1] n

Kuwait Elections Called After Cabinet Resigns.

Kuwaiti Prime Minister Nasir Muhammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah and his cabinet March 16 resigned, after legislators asked to question Sabah over allegations of mismanagement. It was the fifth government to fall in the past three years; the previous cabinet had resigned under similar circumstances in November 2008. Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, March 18 dissolved parliament and called for new elections within two months. A protracted political deadlock had held up a $5 billion economic rescue package considered necessary to shore up Kuwait’s financial industry. [See 2008, p. 987B3] n

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Pakistan Chief Justice Returns to Supreme Court.

Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry March 22 officially returned to his position as chief justice of Pakistan’s Supreme Court, two years after he was ousted by then-President Pervez Musharraf. Chaudhry’s return to the court followed nationwide protests the previous week against the government of President Asif Ali Zardari, who since coming to power in 2008 had failed to fulfill his campaign promise to reinstate Chaudhry. Zardari’s ensuing capitulation to protesters was seen in the country as a major victory for civil society and for the independence of the judicial branch, which had long been used as a political tool by Pakistan’s leaders. [See p. 175E1] Zardari March 28 told a joint session of parliament that he would suspend executive rule over the eastern province of Punjab, a concession to the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N), the country’s largest opposition party. The federal government had seized control of the province in February, after the Supreme Court ruled that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif—a PML-N leader and brother of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif—was ineligible to hold office. Critics accused Zardari of using the high court to consolidate his own power, and the ruling led the Sharif brothers to join forces with a two-year-old lawyers’ movement that had agitated for an independent judiciary and the reinstatement of Chaudhry. Analysts said PML-N support had given the lawyers’ movement the clout it needed to finally win Chaudhry’s reinstatement. A five-member panel of the Supreme Court, appointed by Chaudhry, March 31 overturned the ruling against Shahbaz Sharif, allowing him to return to his post. The court was also expected to reconsider

its February ruling against Nawaz Sharif, which had also banned him from holding elected office. Observers said a reconciliation between the PML-N and Zardari’s ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) could help the government focus on Pakistan’s myriad problems, which included the growing threat of terrorism and a crumbling economy. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani of the PPP, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published March 19, said he was open to resurrecting a coalition with the PML-N, which had fallen apart in 2008 after disagreements emerged over Chaudhry’s status. [See p. 228C3; 2008, p. 596G1] n Gunmen Attack Police Academy. A group of seven heavily armed gunmen March 30 attacked a police academy in the town of Manawan, in the eastern Pakistani province of Punjab, killing eight cadets and wounding more than 100. The gunmen held control of the academy for nearly eight hours before succumbing to Pakistani paramilitary forces. Four gunmen were killed in the attack, and three were arrested. [See p. 137D3] After infiltrating the police academy compound, the gunmen began firing on hundreds of cadets who had gathered on a parade ground for drills. Eyewitnesses reportedly said the gunmen were disguised in police uniforms. The gunmen took hostages, but made no demands, leading observers to believe that their only motive was to wreak havoc. At least two gunmen detonated suicide bombs strapped to their chests before paramilitary forces were able to capture them. The episode was the latest in a spate of terrorist attacks in Pakistan, including one in early March on the Sri Lankan national cricket team in Lahore, Punjab’s capital, that killed seven people. The police academy attack was seen as further evidence that Islamic extremist militants—who were largely based in Pakistan’s lawless northwest tribal areas—were gaining strength and spreading their violent campaign to areas throughout the country. [See below] Baitullah Mehsud, leader of Islamic militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban, March 31 said his followers were responsible for the attack. Mehsud had ties to the international terrorist network Al Qaeda and the Taliban, the Islamic fundamentalist group currently fighting U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces in neighboring Afghanistan. The U.S. government had offered a $5 million bounty for the capture of Mehsud, who was thought to have been responsible for several high-profile terrorist attacks in Pakistan in recent years, including the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in late 2007. [See p. 194G2; 2007, p. 857A1] Mehsud said the attack had been carried out in retaliation for a series of missile strikes by U.S. Predator drone aircraft on the tribal areas, and claimed he was planning an attack on the U.S. homeland. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was suspected of carrying out more than 30 Predator attacks since 2008, killing more than 300 people, and as many as nine seFACTS ON FILE

nior Al Qaeda figures. The drone attacks had led to some civilian deaths, sparking a wave of anti-U.S. sentiment in Pakistan, and public criticisms from the government of President Asif Ali Zardari. Petraeus Seeks Military Funding— U.S. Gen. David Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command, April 2 proposed the establishment of a $3 billion fund to train and equip the Pakistani military over the next five years, during testimony to the U.S. House Armed Services Committee. The fund would come on top of a five-year, $7.5 billion civilian aid package to the country, which was currently being considered in the U.S. Congress. Pakistan had received $12 billion in U.S. aid since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S. The military fund proposal followed the unveiling of a new U.S. strategy for the war in Afghanistan in late March, in which U.S. President Barack Obama stressed that Pakistan’s success in defeating militants in its tribal areas was crucial to bringing security to the region. In addition to providing safe havens for terrorists, Pakistan’s tribal areas were used as a launching ground for crossborder attacks on U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan. Petraeus said the military fund would help develop the Pakistani army’s “counterinsurgency capabilities.” House lawmakers raised concerns that the fund would diminish the U.S. State Department’s traditional role of disbursing security aid to countries. Petraeus April 3 also testified to the Senate Armed Services Committee, where he was pressed to release details of the Obama administration’s benchmarks for determining progress in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Senators also expressed concern over reports that Pakistan’s powerful military spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), was supplying the Taliban and other militant groups with funding and military aid. ISI since the 1980s had funded numerous militant groups in order to use them as proxies in Afghanistan and the disputed territory of Kashmir to further Pakistan’s geopolitical interests. [See below] Despite U.S. pressure on Zardari’s government to sever those ties, media outlets reported that elements of ISI continued to support the Taliban and its leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, as well as Afghan warlords Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Jalaluddin Haqqani. Zardari’s civilian government was thought to have little meaningful control over ISI. Afghan intelligence officials March 19 claimed that ISI helped train the terrorists who had staged a February attack on government buildings in Kabul, the Afghan capital. [See p. 102E2] The New York Times March 18 reported that the Obama administration was considering expanding Predator attacks to the southwestern Pakistani province of Baluchistan, where Omar was thought to be based. Other Developments—In other developments in Pakistan: o Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan, April 7 held private talks with ISI chief Lt. April 9, 2009

Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha in Islamabad, in the latest of a series of meetings between high-level representatives from the two countries. Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, that day met with Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani, head of the Pakistani army. Holbrooke and Mullen April 8 held talks with Indian officials in New Delhi, the Indian capital, where Holbrooke said Pakistan, India and the U.S. faced a “common threat” in the form of terrorism. Holbrooke and Mullen April 5 had also met with officials in Kabul. [See p. 175F3] o Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry April 6 ordered the government to produce a report explaining the public whipping of a 17-year-old girl by Islamic militants in the northwestern region of Swat Valley. A video of the whipping, which reportedly took place March 7, had been broadcast on Pakistani television April 2, sparking public outrage. The government in February had entered a ceasefire with militants in Swat, allowing them to implement sharia, or traditional Islamic law, in the region. The girl, identified as Chand, reportedly was whipped for appearing in public with a man who was not her husband. [See pp. 228D2, 138D2] o A suicide bombing April 5 at a Shiite mosque in the Punjabi town of Chakwal, located 50 miles (80 km) south of Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, killed at least 22 people. The attack came a day after a suicide bombing killed eight paramilitary troops in a wealthy Islamabad neighborhood populated by foreign diplomats. Hakimullah Mehsud, a senior leader of Tehreek-e-Taliban, claimed responsibility for both attacks, saying they were in retaliation for an April 1 Predator strike in the tribal area of Orakzai that killed at least 10 people. Mehsud April 5 said militants would begin conducting two attacks a week in Pakistan. o John Solecki, a U.S. aid worker who in early February had been kidnapped in Baluchistan, April 4 was found alive near Quetta, the Baluchi capital. A group calling itself the Baluchistan Liberation United Front had threatened to behead Solecki if the government failed to release more than 1,000 jailed Baluchi separatists, a demand that was never met. [See p. 103G1] o A suicide bomber March 27 detonated his explosives in a crowded mosque near Jamrud, in the northwestern tribal agency of Khyber, killing at least 50 people and wounding more than 150, in what was thought to be the most devastating single attack in Pakistan so far in 2009. Included among the dead were 10 police officers and four paramilitary troops. o Indian army officials March 25 said eight of its soldiers and 17 Pakistani militants had been killed since March 20 in fighting in Kashmir, site of a long-running territorial dispute between Pakistan and India. Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistani-based militant group, claimed responsibility for the fighting. India had accused Lashkar-eTaiba of orchestrating a November 2008

terrorist attack on Mumbai, India’s commercial capital, that killed more than 170 people. [See pp. 158D1, 103C2] o Leon Panetta, in his first trip overseas as director of the CIA, March 21 met with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani in Islamabad. Gillani’s office that day released a statement saying that the two had discussed resolving the Kashmir territorial dispute with India, so that Pakistan could concentrate its efforts on combating terrorism. [See p. 138A3] o A suicide bomber March 23 killed two people, including himself, when he tried to blow up a police station in Islamabad. n

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Tar Heels Dominate Spartans in NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Connecticut Women Go Undefeated. The

University of North Carolina Tar Heels April 6 defeated the Michigan State University Spartans, 89–72, to win the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men’s basketball tournament in Detroit, Mich. The University of Connecticut Huskies April 7 routed the University of Louisville Cardinals, 76–54, in St. Louis, Mo., to capture the women’s title. [See 2008, p. 245A2; for the final 16 men’s and women’s brackets, see pp. 230A1, 231A1 ] Both champions had topped their respective polls at the onset of the season, and both teams managed to defeat opponents by at least 10 points throughout tournament play. The Tar Heels, coached by Roy Williams, won the school’s fifth national championship. The title win was Williams’s second at North Carolina; he had won his first at the school in 2005. [See 2008, pp. 859A1, 858E3; 2005, p. 237A1] North Carolina guard Wayne Ellington, who hit all three of his three-point shots and finished with 19 points in the final, was named the most outstanding player of the men’s tournament. Ellington, a junior, was part of the team’s core of elite upperclassmen that also included junior point guard Ty Lawson and senior forward Tyler Hansbrough. The three stars had opted to return for another year at North Carolina following a semifinal loss in 2008. In the women’s tournament, the Huskies achieved their third overall undefeated season and the program’s sixth title. Connecticut’s perfect record marked the fifth time in the history of women’s college basketball that a team had accomplished such a feat. Coach Geno Auriemma had led the team to all six of its titles, with the most recent coming in 2004. [See 2004, p. 249A1] Connecticut center Tina Charles, who scored 25 points and grabbed 19 rebounds in the title game, was named the most outstanding player of the women’s tournament. Charles, a junior, would return for her senior year, along with most of her teammates. All-American guard Renee Montgomery was the only senior on the squad. 229

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Michigan State had toppled two top seeds en route to the April 6 men’s title game. The team’s Cinderella run seemed perfectly suited for the dramatic flair typical of the March Madness tournament. The Spartans played for the title in Detroit, Mich., only about 40 miles (65 km) from their home field in East Lansing, Mich., on the 30th anniversary of the school’s first national championship. However, heavily favored North Carolina quickly crushed any hope for a storybook ending by hitting five of its first six shots. An early 16–3 lead for the Tar Heels completely silenced the mostly pro-Spartan crowd of 72,922 at Ford Field. Lawson led all scorers with 21 points, while Hansbrough added 18 to go along with Ellington’s 19-point performance. The strong, balanced attack from the core of North Carolina’s lineup proved too much for the Spartans, leading to the largest margin of victory in a men’s title game since 1992. The semifinals saw the last remaining teams from the Big East eliminated. The conference had dominated regular season competition, and featured three of the four topseeded teams in the tournament. On April 4, Michigan State had defeated Connecticut, 82–73, while North Carolina easily beat the Villanova University Wildcats, 83–69. Huskies Stay Perfect—In the April 7 women’s title matchup, Connecticut squared off against an opponent it had defeated twice already in Big East competition by a combined margin of 67 points. Louisville managed to stay close during the first half of the final, mostly due to a slow start from the Huskies. After missing their first seven threepointers, Connecticut turned to an inside game, where Charles flourished. Montgomery and forward Maya Moore each contributed 18 points for the Huskies, leading to the blowout victory over the Cardinals. 230

In the semifinals, Louisville April 5 had come from behind to beat the Oklahoma University Sooners, 61–59. Connecticut defeated the Stanford University Cardinal, 83–64, later that night. Men’s, Women’s NIT Results—The Penn State University Nittany Lions April 2 beat the Baylor University Bears, 69–63, in New York City to win the men’s National Invitation Tournament (NIT). Penn State senior forward Jamelle Cornley, who scored 18 points in the final game, was named the most outstanding player of the men’s tournament. The University of South Florida Bulls April 4 defeated the Kansas University Jayhawks, 75–71, in Lawrence, Kan., to win the women’s NIT title. South Florida guard Shantia Grace, who had 16 points and five assists in the final game, was named the most outstanding player of the women’s tournament. Neither Penn State nor South Florida had won an NIT title before. Top Players, Coaches Named—The Associated Press (AP) April 3 named Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin the men’s player of the year. He averaged 22.7 points and 14.4 rebounds per game during his sophomore season. Bill Self, who guided Kansas to a 27–7 record in the 2008–09 season, was named the AP men’s coach of the year. The undefeated Huskies dominated the women’s awards. Auriemma April 4 was named the AP women’s coach of the year. Moore, who averaged 19.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game for Connecticut, was named the AP women’s player of the year. The Atlanta Tipoff Club April 5–7 announced the Naismith Awards to honor the top players and coaches in college basketball. Griffin, Moore and Auriemma were all named winners again, while Jamie Dixon, coach of the University of Pittsburgh

Panthers, took home the honors in the men’s coaching category. Final Regular-Season Polls Released—

Louisville March 16 topped both the AP NCAA Division I final regular-season men’s poll of media members, and the USA Today/ESPN poll of college basketball coaches. In the AP poll, North Carolina was ranked second, followed by Memphis, Pittsburgh, Connecticut, Duke, Oklahoma, Michigan State, Missouri and Gonzaga. Memphis was second in the coaches’ poll, followed by North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Duke, Connecticut, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Missouri and Gonzaga. Connecticut was ranked number one in both the final regular-season women’s AP poll and the coaches’ poll, released on March 17 and March 9, respectively. In the AP poll, Stanford was ranked second, followed by Maryland, Oklahoma, Baylor, Duke, Louisville, Auburn, Texas A&M and Ohio State. Stanford was also ranked number two in the coaches’ poll, followed by Maryland, Oklahoma, Baylor, Auburn, Louisville, Duke, Texas A&M and Ohio State. Other News—In other college basketball news: o Former Memphis men’s basketball coach John Calipari had agreed to lead the University of Kentucky Wildcats for an eight-year, $35 million deal, it was reported March 31. Kentucky March 27 had fired Billy Gillispie after just two years on the job, after the team missed the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1991. [See 2000, p. 347E2] o Yahoo Sports March 25 reported that the Connecticut men’s basketball program had allegedly violated NCAA recruitment rules. According to the report, former Huskies guard Nate Miles had received lodging, transportation and meals from sports FACTS ON FILE

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Awards London Theater Awards Presented. The

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Society of London Theatre’s 33rd annual Laurence Olivier Awards for outstanding achievements in the London theater were presented March 8 at London’s Grosvenor House hotel. [See 2008, p. 187D1] Black Watch, a drama by Gregory Burke based on interviews with soldiers from a Scottish regiment who had served in the Iraq war, won four awards, the most of any individual production. It was named best new play, while its director, John Tiffany, was named best director; its other honors were for sound design and choreography. The show, which originated at the National Theatre of Scotland in 2006, had been mounted in a number of cities, including in New York in 2007, before arriving in London in 2008. [See 2007, p. 836B1] The best new musical was U.S. import Jersey Boys. The show, about the rise of the 1960s pop group the Four Seasons, had opened on Broadway in November 2005 and was still running there. Best new comedy was Yasmina Reza’s God of Carnage, about an escalating quarrel between two sets of parents. (The show opened on Broadway March 22.) [See 2008, p. 320B2; 2005, p. 997A2] Top acting honors for performances in a play went to Margaret Tyzack, for her performance in a revival of Enid Bagnold’s 1956 drama The Chalk Garden, and to Derek Jacobi, for his role as Malvolio in a produc231

tion of William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Top acting honors for musical performances went to Elena Roger, for her portrayal of French singer Edith Piaf in Piaf, and to Douglas Hodge, for his portrayal of the drag queen Albin in a revival of La Cage aux Folles. [See 2008, pp. 780B1, 136D1, 116A2; 2007, p. 536F3; 2003, p. 116B1] n

People Pop singer Madonna’s attempt to adopt a second child from the African nation of Malawi was derailed April 3 by a Malawian judge, on the grounds that she did not meet the nation’s residency requirement of 18 to 24 months for prospective adoptive parents. That requirement had been waived by another judge in 2006, who allowed Madonna to adopt David Banda, now three years old, while she was still married to British film director Guy Ritchie. Madonna had lately been trying to adopt Chifundo “Mercy” James, a four-year-old girl living in an orphanage. In denying Madonna’s adoption application for the girl, the judge in the case noted that the child was receiving “suitable” care, whereas David Banda, who had also been an orphanage resident, had been about to be returned to his father, who might have had trouble caring for him. Madonna, who was not in Malawi when the ruling was issued, reportedly had immediately set an appeal in motion. [See 2008, pp. 876A3, 387G3] At an immigration hearing in Boston, Mass., one of U.S. President Barack Obama’s Kenyan relatives, Zeituni Onyango, the half-sister of Obama’s late father, April 1 was given an additional 10 months to prepare her application for political asylum. Onyango, 56, had been ordered to leave the U.S. in 2004, but had ignored the order and had continued to live in public

housing in Boston. Her illegal immigrant status had received wide attention on the eve of the 2008 U.S. presidential election. [See 2008, p. 804E3–G3] n

O B I T UA R I E S DREYFUS Jr., Jack Jonas, 95, creator, in the early 1950s, of the Dreyfus Fund, which became one of the U.S.’s most successful mutual investment funds; its success was at least partly due to its aggressive advertising, which featured a lion emerging from a New York City subway station and striding down Wall Street; he stopped managing the fund in 1965, and sold it in 1970; he devoted much of the rest of his life to promoting the anti-epilepsy drug Dilantin as a cure for depression (he claimed it had quickly cured him of depression in the late 1950s) and a host of other ills; despite his crusade, on which he spent millions of dollars, Dilantin never won U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval as a treatment for depression; he was also a top-notch amateur golfer, expert bridge player and breeder of champion racehorses; born Aug. 28, 1913, in Montgomery, Ala.; died March 27 at a New York hospital. [See 1976, p. 688C1; 1967, p. 511D1; Indexes 1962–63] GREEN, Archie (born Aaron Green), 91, Canadian-born folklorist with an abiding interest in the lives and creative activities of working-class people; he was the prime mover behind the creation, in early 1976, of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.; he was also the author of such books as Wobblies, Pile Butts and Other Heroes (1993) and Torching the Fink Books and Other Essays on Vernacular Culture (2001); born June 29, 1917, in Winnipeg, Manitoba; died March 22 at his home in San Francisco, Calif., of kidney and heart failure. MACIAS, Raul, 74, Mexican boxer who was his country’s most popular athlete in the 1950s; he won the world bantamweight title in 1955 and successfully defended it twice before losing it to France’s Alphonse Halimi on a split decision in 1957; born July 28, 1934, in Mexico City; died March 23 at a Mexico City hospital, of cancer. [See 1957, pp. 367F3, 200D1; 1956, p. 104F1; Index 1955] RUBY, (Richard) Lloyd, 81, race car driver who competed in the Indianapolis 500 for 18 straight years (1960–77) without winning, despite finishing in the top 10 seven times; he was the subject of a 1998 biography by Ted Buss called Lloyd Ruby: The Greatest Driver Never to Win the Indy 500; born Jan. 1, 1928, in Wichita Falls, Texas; died there March 23, of cancer. [See 1968, p. 294B3; 1967, p. 246E3; Indexes 1966, 1964] n

April 9, 2009

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World Heads of State and Government Leaders The following were the heads of state, government leaders and selected cabinet members for the countries listed, as of March 3, unless otherwise noted. For changes after April 9, consult the Index. Spellings are based on various schemes of transliteration and may occasionally vary from earlier or subsequent versions contained in news accounts. Adapted from information provided by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. [See 2008, p. 688A1] Afghanistan—President: Karzai, Hamid; Vice Presidents: Masood, Ahmad Zia; Khalili, Abdul Karim; Min. of Defense: Wardak, Abdul Rahim; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Spanta, Rangeen Dadfar; Min. of Interior: Atmar, Muhammad Hanif Albania, Republic of—President: Topi, Bamir; Prime Minister: Berisha, Sali; Min. of Defense: Oketa, Gazmend; Min. of Finance: Bode, Ridvan; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Basha, Lulzim Algeria, Democratic and Popular Republic of— President, Min. of National Defense: Bouteflika, Abdelaziz; Prime Minister: Ouyahia, Ahmed; Min. of Finance: Djoudi, Karim; Min. of Industry: Temmar, Abdelhamid; Min. of State for Foreign Affairs: Medelci, Mourad; Min. of State for Interior & Local Governments: Ould Kablia, Daho; Min. of State for Justice: Belaiz, Tayeb Andorra, Principality of*—Prime Minister: Pintat, Albert; Min. of Finance: Mirapeix, Ferran; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Mateu, Meritxell *Andorra was under the formal sovereignty of the president of France and the Roman Catholic bishop of Seo de Urgel, Spain. Angola, Republic of—President: dos Santos, Jose Eduardo; Prime Minister: Kassoma, Antonio Paulo; Min. of Defense: Paihama, Kundi; Min. of External Relations: dos Anjos, Assuncao Afonso Sousa; Min. of Finance: de Morais, Jose Pedro; Min. of Petroleum: de Vasconselhos, Jose Maria Antigua and Barbuda—Governor General: Carlisle, James B.; Prime Minister, Min. of Barbuda Affairs, Min. of Defense, Min. of Foreign Affairs & International Trade, Min. of Information & Broadcasting, Min. of National Security: Spencer, Baldwin; Min. of Finance & the Economy: Cort, Eroll; Min. of Tourism, Culture & Civil Aviation: Lovell, Harold Argentina (Argentine Republic)—President: Fernandez de Kirchner, Cristina; Min. of Defense: Garre, Nilda; Min. of Economy & Production: Fernandez, Carlos; Min. of Foreign Relations, International Trade & Worship: Taiana, Jorge; Min. of Interior: Randazzo, Florencio; Min. of Justice, Security & Human Rights: Fernandez, Anibal; Min. of Labor, Employment & Social Security: Tomada, Carlos; President, Central Bank: Redrado, Martin Armenia, Republic of—President: Sargsyan, Serge; Prime Minister: Sargsyan, Tigran; Min. of Defense: Ohanian, Seyran; Min. of Finance: Davtian, Tigran; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Nalbandian, Eduard Australia, Commonwealth of—Governor General: Bryce, Quentin; Prime Minister: Rudd, Kevin; Deputy Prime Minister, Min. for Education, Employment & Workplace Relations, Min. for Social Inclusion: Gillard, Julia; Treasurer: Swan, Wayne; Attorney General: McClelland, Robert; Min. for Defense: Fitzgibbon, Joel; Min. for Foreign Affairs: Smith, Stephen; Min. for Immigration & Citizenship: Evans, Chris; Min. for Trade: Crean, Simon Austria, Republic of—President: Fischer, Heinz; Chancellor: Faymann, Werner; Vice Chancellor, Min. of Finance: Proell, Josef; Min. of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment & Water Management: Berlakovich, Nikolaus; Min. of Defense: Darabos, Norbert; Min. of European and International Affairs: Spindelegger, Michael; Min. of Justice (acting): Hahn, Johanne; Governor, Austrian National Bank: Nowotny, Ewald Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani Republic)—President: Aliyev, Ilham; Prime Minister: Rasizade, Artur; Min. of Defense: Abiyev, Col. Gen. Safar; Min. of Finance: Sharifov, Samir; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Mammadyarov, Elmar; Min. of Internal Affairs: Usubov, Ramil Bahamas, Commonwealth of the—Governor General: Hanna, Arthur Dion; Prime Minister, Min. of Finance: Ingraham, Hubert; Min. of Foreign Affairs & Immigration: Symonette, Theodore (Brent); Min. of

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Health: Minnis, Hubert; Min. of Tourism & Aviation: Vanderpool-Wallace, Vincent Bahrain, Kingdom of—King: Khalifa, Hamad bin Isa al-; Prime Minister: Khalifa, Khalifa bin Salman al-; Min. of State for Defense: Khalifa, Muhammad bin Abdallah al-; Min. of Finance & Economy: Khalifa, Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Hamad bin Abdallah al-; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Khalifa, Khalid bin Ahmad alBangladesh, People’s Republic of—President: Rahman, Zillur; Prime Minister, Min. of Defense: Hasina Wazed, Sheik; Min. of Finance: Muhith, Abu Maal Abdul; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Moni, Dipu Barbados—Governor General: Husbands, Sir Clifford; Prime Minister, Min. of the Civil Service, Min. of Finance, Min. of Labor & Civil Service: Thompson, David; Min. of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade & International Business: McClean, Maxine; Min. of Home Affairs, Attorney General: Stuart, Freundel; Min. of Tourism: Sealy, Richard; Min. of Economic Affairs: David Eastwick Belarus, Republic of—President: Lukashenko, Aleksandr; Prime Minister: Sidorsky, Sergei; Min. of Defense: Maltsev, Leonid; Min. of Finance: Korbut, Nikolay; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Martynov, Sergei Belgium, Kingdom of—King: Albert II; Prime Minister: Van Rompuy, Herman; Vice Prime Minister, Min. of Foreign Affairs: de Gucht, Karel; Vice Prime Minister, Min. of Finance: Reynders, Didier; Vice Prime Minister, Min. of the Interior: de Padt, Guido; Vice Prime Minister, Min. of Social Affairs & Public Health: Onkelinx, Laurette; Vice Prime Minister, Min. of Employment: Milquet, Joelle; Min. of Defense: De Crem, Pieter; Min. of Justice: de Clerck, Stefaan Belize—Governor General: Young, Sir Colville; Prime Minister, Min. of Finance: Barrow, Dean; Deputy Prime Minister, Min. of Natural Resources & the Environment: Vega, Gaspar; Min. of Foreign Affairs, Min. Foreign Trade: Elrington, Wilfred Benin, Republic of—President: Yayi Boni, Thomas; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Ehouzou, Jean-Marie; Min. of State in Charge of National Defense: N’Douro, Issifou Kgui; Min. of State in Charge of the Economy, Economic Forecasting, Development & Evaluations of Public Action: Koupaki, Pascal Irene Bhutan, Kingdom of—King: Wangchuck, Jigme Khesar Namgyel; Prime Minister: Thinley, Jigme; Min. of Education: Powdyel, Thakyr Singh; Min. of Information & Communication: Rai, Nandalal Bolivia, Republic of—President: Morales Aima, Juan Evo; Vice President: Garcia Linera, Alvaro; Min. of Defense: San Miguel Rodriguez, Walker; Min. of Economy & Public Finance: Arce Catacora, Luis Alberto; Min. of Foreign Relations: Choquehuanca Cespedes, David; Min. of Government: Rada Velez, Alfredo; Min. of Hydrocarbons: Coca Antezana, Oscar; Min. of the Presidency: Quintana Taborga, Juan Ramon; Min. of Environment and Water: Orellana, Rene Gonzalo Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of—Chairman, Collective Presidency: Radmanovic, Nebojsa (Serb); Members, Collective Presidency: Komsic, Zeljko (Croat), Silajdzic, Haris (Bosniak); Chairman, Council of Ministers: Spiric, Nikola; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Alkalaj, Sven; President, Muslim–Croat federation: Krsto, Borjana; President, Bosnian Serb Republic (Republika Srpska): Kusmanovic, Rajko Botswana, Republic of—President: Khama, Seretse Khama Ian; Min. of Finance & Development Planning: Gaolathe, Jacob; Min. of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation: Skelemani, Phandu Tombola Chaka; Min. of Health: Motsumi, Lesego; Min. of Trade & Industry: Moroka, Daniel Neo Brazil, Federative Republic of—President: Da Silva, Luiz Inacio Lula; Vice President: Alencar, Jose; Min. of Defense: Jobim, Nelson Azevedo; Min. of Development, Industry & Trade: Jorge, Miguel; Min. of Finance: Mantega, Guido; Min. of Foreign Relations: Amorim, Celso; Min. of Justice: Genro, Tarso; Min. of Sports: Silva, Orlando; President, Central Bank: Meirelles, Henrique de Campos Brunei (Negara Brunei Darussalam)—Sultan, Prime Minister, Min. of Defense, Min. of Finance: Hassanal Bolkiah, Sir; Min. of Foreign Affairs, Min. of Trade: Mohamed Bolkiah, Prince Bulgaria, Republic of—President: Parvanov, Georgi; Prime Minister: Stanishev, Sergei; Min. of Defense: Tsonev, Nikolay; Min. of Finance: Oresharski, Plamen; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Kalfin, Ivaylo; Min. of Interior:

Mikov, Mihail; Min. of Labor & Social Policy: Maslarova, Emilia Burkina Faso—President: Compaore, Blaise; Prime Minister: Zongo, Tertius; Min. of Defense: Boly, Yero; Min. of Economy & Finance: Bembamba, Lucien Marie Noel Burma, Union of—See Myanmar, Union of Burundi, Republic of—President: Nkurunziza, Pierre; First Vice President: Sahinguvu, Dr. Yves; Min. of External Relations & Cooperation: Nsanze, Augustin; Min. of Finance, Economy, Cooperation & Development: Nizigama, Clotilde; Min. of National Defense & War Veterans: Niyoyankana, Lt. Gen. Germain Cambodia, Kingdom of—King: Norodom Sihamoni; Prime Minister: Hun Sen; President of the National Assembly: Heng Samrin; Min. of Economy & Finance: Keat Chhon; Min. of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation: Hor Namhong; Min. of Justice: Ang Vong Vattana; Min. of National Defense: Gen. Tea Banh Cameroon, Republic of—President: Biya, Paul; Prime Minister: Inoni, Ephraim; Min. of Economy, Planning & Regional Development: Motaze, Louis Paul; Min. of External Relations: Ayissi, Henry Eyebe; Min. of Finance: Menye, Lazare Essimi Canada—Governor General: Jean, Michaelle; Prime Minister: Harper, Stephen; Min. of Agriculture & Agri-Food, Min. of the Canadian Wheat Board: Ritz, Gerry; Min. of Citizenship & Immigration: Kenney, Jason; Min. for Democratic Reform, House Leader: Aill, Jay; Min. of the Environment: Prentice, Jim; Min. of Finance: Flaherty, Jim; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Cannon, Lawrence; Min. of Health: Aglukkaq, Leona; Min. of Indian Affairs & Northern Development: Strahl, Chuck; Min. of Industry: Clement, Tony; Min. of Intergovernmental Affairs & La Francophonie: Verner, Josee; Min. of Western Economic Diversification, Min. of Labor: Ambrose, Rona; Min. of International Cooperation: Oda, Bev; Min. of International Trade: Day, Stockwell; Min. of Justice, Attorney General: Nicholson, Rob; Min. of National Defense: Mackay, Peter; Min. of National Revenue: Blackburn, Jean-Pierre; Min. of Natural Resources: Raitt, Lisa; Min. of Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness: van Loan, Peter; Min. of Public Works & Government Services: Paradis, Christian; Min. of Transport, Infrastructure & Communities: Baird, John; President of the Treasury Board: Toews, Vic; Governor, Bank of Canada: Carney, Mark Cape Verde, Republic of—President: Pires, Pedro; Prime Minister: Neves, Jose Maria Pereira; Min. of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation & Communities: Brito, Jose; Min. of Justice & Local Administration: Morias, Marisa Helena Central African Republic—President, Min of Defense: Bozize, Francois; Prime Minister: Touadera, Faustin Archange; Min. of Finance & Budget: Besse, Albert; Min. of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration & Francophonie Affairs: Gambi, Gen. Antoine Chad, Republic of—President: Deby, Idriss; Prime Minister: Abbas, Youssouf Saleh; Min. of Economy & Urban Planning: Breme, Ousman Matar; Min. of Finance and Budget: Mourcha, Abakar Mallah; Min. of Foreign Relations: Faki, Moussa Mahamat Chile, Republic of—President: Bachelet Jeria, Michelle; Min. of Defense: Goni, Jose; Min. of Economy, Development & Reconstruction: Lavados Montes, Hugo; Min. of Finance: Velasco Branes, Andres; Min. of Foreign Relations: Foxley Rioseco, Alejandro; Min. of Interior: Perez Yoma, Edmundo; Min. of Justice: Maldonado, Carlos; Min. of Mining: Gonzales Larrain, Santiago; President, Central Bank: De Gregorio, Jose China, People’s Republic of—President, Chairman, Central Military Commission: Hu Jintao; Vice President: Xi Jinping; Prime Minister: Wen Jiabao; Executive Vice Prime Minister: Li Keqiang; Vice Prime Ministers: Hui Liangyu, Zhang Dejiang, Wang Qishan; Min. of Commerce: Chen Deming; Min. of Finance: Xie Xuren; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Yang Jiechi; Min. of National Defense: Liang Guanglie; Governor, People’s Bank of China: Zhou Xiaochuan Hong Kong Special Administrative Region—Chief Executive: Donald Tsang; Chief Secretary for Administration: Tang, Henry; Secy. for Finance: Tsang, John Macao Special Administrative Region—Chief Executive: Edmund Ho China, Republic of (Taiwan)—President: Ma Yingjeou; Vice President: Siew, Vincent; Prime Minister: Liu Chao-shiuan; Min. of Economic Affairs: Yiin Chiiming; Min. of Finance: Li Sush-der; Min. of Foreign Af-

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fairs: Ou, Francisco; Min. of National Defense: Chen Chao-min; Governor, Central Bank of China: Perng Fai-nan Colombia, Republic of—President: Uribe Velez, Alvaro; Vice President: Santos Calderon, Francisco; Min. of Commerce, Industry & Tourism: Plata, Luis Guillermo; Min. of Defense: Santos Calderon, Juan Manuel; Min. of Finance & Public Credit: Zuluaga Escobar, Oscar Ivan; Min. of Foreign Relations: Bermudez Merizalde, Jaime; Min. of Interior & Justice: Valencia Cossio, Fabio; President, Central Bank: Uribe Escobar, Jose Dario; Prosecutor General: Iguaran Arana, Mario German Comoros, Union of the—President of the Union: Sambi, Ahmed Abdallah; Vice Presidents: Dhoinine, Ikililou; Nadhoim, Idi; President of Anjouan: Toybou, Moussa; President of Grand Comore: Abdoulwahabi, Mohamed; President of Moheli: Said, Mohamed Ali; Min. of Foreign Relations: Jaffar, Ahmed Ben Sa’id Congo, Democratic Republic of the—President: Kabila, Joseph; Prime Minister: Muzito, Adolphe; Min. of National Defense & War Veterans: Mwanda Nsimba, Charles; Min. of Finance: Matenda Kyelu, Athanase; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Thambwe Mwamba, Alexis; Min. of Interior: Kalume Numbi, Denis; Min. of Mines: Kabwelulu Labilo, Martin; Min. of State for Agriculture: Basengezi Katitima, Norbert Congo, Republic of the—President: Sassou-Nguesso, Denis; Prime Minister: Mvouba, Isidore; Min. of Economy, Finance & Budget: Issoikbeka, Pacifique; Min. of Foreign Affairs, Intl. Cooperation, & Relations with Francophone Countries: Ikouebe, Basile; Min. of Security & Public Order: Mbot, Gen. Paul Costa Rica, Republic of—President: Arias Sanchez, Oscar; First Vice President, Min. of Justice: Chinchilla, Laura; Min. of Finance: Zuniga, Guillermo; Min. of Foreign Relations: Stagno Ugarte, Bruno; Min. of Foreign Trade: Ruiz, Marco Vinicio; Min. of Labor & Social Security: Morales, Francisco Cote d’Ivoire, Republic of—President: Gbagbo, Laurent; Prime Minister: Soro, Guillaume; Min. of Economy & Finance: Diby, Charles Koffi; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Bakayoko, Youssouf; Min. of Justice & Human Rights & Keeper of the Seal: Kone, Mamadou; Min. of Mines & Energy: Monnet, Emmanuel Leon Croatia, Republic of—President: Mesic, Stjepan; Prime Minister: Sanader, Ivo; Min. of Defense: Vukelic, Branko; Min. of Finance: Suker, Ivan; Min. of Foreign Affairs & European Integration: Jandrokovic, Gordan; Min. of the Interior: Karamarko, Tomislav Cuba, Republic of—President of the Council of State and of the Council of Ministers: Castro Ruz, Gen. Raul; First Vice President of the Council of State and of the Council of Ministers: Machado Ventura, Jose Ramon; Vice Presidents of the Council of State: Almeida Bosque, Juan; Casas Reguiero, Gen. Julio (also Min. of the Revolutionary Armed Forces); Colome Ibarra, Gen. Abelardo (also Min. of Interior); Murillo Jorge, Marino; Lazo Hernandez, Esteban; Min. of Economy & Planning: Rodriguez Garcia, Jose Luis; Min. of Foreign Relations: Rodruguez Parilla, Bruno Cyprus, Republic of*—President: Christofias, Demetris; Min. of Defense: Papacostas, Costas; Min. of Finance: Stavrakis, Charilaos; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Kyprianou, Markos; Governor, Central Bank: Orphanides, Athanasios *A separate entity known since 1983 as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus came into existence after Turkey invaded the island in 1974. Turkey was the only foreign country that formally recognized the enclave. Mehmet Ali Talat had been president since 2005. Czech Republic*—President: Klaus, Vaclav; Prime Minister: Topolanek, Mirek; Min. of Defense: Parkanova, Vlasta; Min. of Finance: Kalousek, Miroslav; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Schwarzenberg, Karel; Min. of Interior: Langer, Ivan; Min. of Justice: Pospisil, Jiri *Topolanek resigned March 26, but remained in office as caretaker. [See p. 224G3] Denmark, Kingdom of*—Queen: Margrethe II; Prime Minister: Rasmussen, Lars Lokke; Min. of Defense: Gade, Soren; Min. of Economic & Business Trade: Espersen, Lene; Min. of Environment: Poulsen, Troels Lund; Min. of Finance: Frederiksen, Claus Hjort; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Moller, Per Stig *Lokke Rasmussen took office April 5, after Anders Fogh Rasmussen resigned as prime minister. [See p. 225C1] Djibouti, Republic of—President: Guelleh, Ismail Omar; Prime Minister: Dileita, Mohamed Dileita; Min. of Defense: Ahmed, Ougoureh Kifleh; Min. of Econo-

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my, Finance & Privatization: Bouh, Yacin Elmi; Min. of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation & Parliamentary Relations: Youssouf, Mahamoud Ali Dominica, Commonwealth of—President: Liverpool, Nicholas J.O.; Prime Minister, Min. of Finance, Social Security & National Security: Skerrit, Roosevelt; Min. of Foreign Affairs, Immigration & Labor: Henderson, Vince; Min. of Tourism, Legal Affairs & Civil Aviation: Douglas, Ian Dominican Republic—President: Fernandez Reyna, Leonel; Vice President: Alburquerque de Castro, Rafael; Secy. of State for Finance: Bengoa Albizu, Vicente; Secy. of State for Foreign Relations: Morales Troncoso, Carlos; Secy. of State for Interior & Police: Almeida Rancier, Francisco; Secy. of State for Tourism: Garcia Fernandez, Francisco Javier East Timor—See Timor Leste Ecuador, Republic of—President: Correa Delgado, Rafael; Min. of Finance: Viteri Acaitumi, Maria Elsa; Min. of Foreign Relations, Foreign Trade & Integration: Falconi, Benitez, Fander; Min. of Mines & Petroleum: Palacios Guerrero, Derlis; Min. of Industry & Competitiveness: Abad Vicuna, Xavier Egypt, Arab Republic of—President: Mubarak, Mohammed Hosni; Prime Minister: Nazif, Ahmed Mohamed; Min. of Agriculture & Land Reclamation: Abaza, Amin; Min. of Defense: Tantawi, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein; Min. of Finance: Boutros-Ghali, Yousef; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Aboul Gheit, Ahmed Ali; Min. of Interior: El-Adly, Habib El Salvador, Republic of*—President: Saca Gonzalez, Elias Antonio; Vice President: De Escobar, Ana Vilma Albanez; Min. of Defense: Molina Contreras, Jorge Alberto; Min. of Economy: Esmahan D’Aubuisson, Ricardo; Min. of Finance: Handal, William; Min. of Foreign Relations: Argueta de Barillas, Marisol; Min. of Government: Bolanos, Juan Miguel *Mauricio Funes Cartagena was elected president March 15, and was scheduled to take office June 1. [See p. 170D2] Equatorial Guinea, Republic of—President: Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, Brig. Gen. Teodoro (ret.); Prime Minister: Tang, Ignacio Milam; Min. of Economy, Commerce & Promotion: Ndong, Jaime Ela; Min. of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation & Francophone Affairs: Ondo Bile, Pastor Micha; Min. of Mines, Industry & Energy: Elantugu Nsa, Anastasio; Min. of National Defense: Mba Nguema, Gen. Antonio Eritrea, State of—President: Issaias Afwerki; Min. of Defense: Sebhat Ephrem; Min. of Finance: Berhane Abrehe; Min. of National Development: Woldai Futur Estonia, Republic of—President: Ilves, Toomas; Prime Minister: Ansip, Andrus; Min. of Defense: Aaviksoo, Jaak; Min. of Finance: Padar, Ivari; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Paet, Urmas Ethiopia, Federal Democratic Republic of—President: Girma Woldegiorgis; Prime Minister: Meles Zenawi; Min. of Defense: Siraj Fegisa; Min. of Finance & Economic Development: Sufian Ahmed; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Seyoum Mesfin; Min. of Trade & Industry: Girma Birru Fiji, Republic of*—President: Iloilo, Josefa; Prime Minister, Min. for Finance & National Planning Min. for Home Affairs & Immigration, Min. for Information: Bainimarama, Cmdre. Josaia Voreqe (Frank); Chaudhry, Mahendra Pal; Min. for Foreign Affairs & External Trade: Nailatikau, Epeli *A military coup led by Bainimarama in December 2006 had overthrown the democratically elected civilian government. Bainimarama in January 2007 had restored Iloilo to the presidency and had himself sworn in as interim prime minister; the other cabinet positions were also held on an interim basis. [See 2007, p. 739B3] Finland, Republic of—President: Halonen, Tarja; Prime Minister: Vanhanen, Matti Taneli; Deputy Prime Minister, Min. of Finance: Katainen, Jyrki; Min. of Defense: Hakamies, Jyri; Min. of Foreign Affairs & Nordic Cooperation: Stubb, Cai-Goran Alexander; Min. of Justice: Brax, Tuija; Min. of Economic Affairs: Pekkarinen, Mauri; Governor, Bank of Finland: Liikanen, Erkki France (French Republic)—President: Sarkozy, Nicolas; Prime Minister: Fillon, Francois; Min. of State, Min. of Environment, Sustainable Development & Regional Development: Borloo, Jean-Louis; Min. of Agriculture & Fisheries: Barnier, Michel; Min. of Budget, Public Accounts & the Civil Service: Woerth, Eric; Min. of Culture & Communication: Albanel, Christine; Min. of Defense: Morin, Herve; Min. of Economy, Industry & Employment: Lagarde, Christine; Min. of Labor, Labor Relations, Urban Affairs & Solidarity: Bertrand, Xavi-

er; Min. of Foreign & European Affairs: Kouchner, Bernard; Min. for Health, Youth, Sports & Associations: Bachelot-Narquin, Roselyne; Min. of Immigration, Integration, National Identity, & Co-Development: Besson, Eric; Min. of the Interior, Overseas France & Local Authorities: Alliot-Marie, Michele; Min. of Justice & Keeper of the Seals: Dati, Rachida; Min. of National Education: Darcos, Xavier; Governor, Bank of France: Noyer, Christian Gabon (Gabonese Republic)—President: Bongo Odimba, El Hadj Omar; Prime Minister: Ndong, Jean Eyeghe; Min. of Defense: Bongo Ondimba, Ali; Min. of State for Economy, Finance, Budget & Privatization: Louembre, Blaise; Min. of State for Foreign Affairs, Cooperation & Francophonie & Regional Integration: Toungui, Paul Gambia, Republic of the—Head of State: Jammeh, Yahya; Vice President: Njie-Saidy, Isatou; Secy. of State for Finance & Economic Affairs: Bala-Gaye, Mousa; Secy. of State for Foreign Affairs: Touray, Omar Georgia, Republic of—President: Saakashvili, Mikheil; Prime Minister: Gilauri, Nikoloz; Min. of Defense: Sikharulidze, Vasil (David); Min. of Foreign Affairs: Vashadze, Grigol; Min. of Internal Affairs: Merabishvili, Vano; Min. of Justice: Adeishvili, Zurab Germany (Federal Republic of Germany)—President: Koehler, Horst; Chancellor: Merkel, Angela; Vice Chancellor, Min. of Foreign Affairs: Steinmeier, FrankWalter; Min. of Defense: Jung, Franz Josef; Min. for Environment & Nuclear Safety: Gabriel, Sigmar; Min. of Finance: Steinbrueck, Peer; Min. of the Interior: Schaeuble, Wolfgang; Min. of Justice: Zypries, Brigitte; Min. for Labor & Social Security: Scholz, Olaf; Min. for Transportation, Construction & Housing: Tiefensee, Wolfgang; President, Bundesbank: Weber, Axel A. Ghana, Republic of—President: Atta Mills, John Evans; Min. of Defense: Kan-Dapaah, Albert; Min. of Finance & Economic Planning: Duffuor, Kwabera; Min. of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration, & the New Partnership for Africa’s Development: Osei-Adjei, Akwasi Great Britain—See United Kingdom Greece (Hellenic Republic)—President: Papoulias, Karolos; Prime Minister: Karamanlis, Konstandinos (Costas); Min. of National Defense: Meimarakis, Evangelos-Vassilios; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Bakoyianni, Theodora; Min. of Justice: Dendias, Giorgios-Nikolas; Min. of National Economy & Finance: Papathanasiou, Ioannis; Governor, Bank of Greece: Garganas, Nikos Grenada—Governor General: Glean, Carlyle Arnold; Prime Minister, Min. of Information, Min. of Legal Affairs, Min. of National Security: Thomas, Tillmann; Min. of Foreign Affairs & Tourism: David, Peter; Min. of Health: Hood, Karl Guatemala, Republic of—President: Colom Caballeros, Alvaro; Vice President: Espada, Rafael; Min. of Defense: Valenzuela Gonzalez, Maj. Gen. Abraham; Min. of Economy: Caballeros, Romulo; Min. of External Relations: Rodas Melgar, Haroldo Guinea, Republic of*—President of the National Council for Democracy and Development: Camara, Capt. Moussa Dadis; Prime Minister: Komara, Kabine; Min. of Defense: Konate, Gen. Sekouba; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Loua, Alexandre Cece; Min. of Security: Camara, Gen. Mamadouba Toto * A group of mid-level army officers, led by Capt. Camara, seized power one day after the Dec. 22, 2008, death of President Lansana Conte. A presidential election was scheduled for December. [See p. 34E3] Guinea-Bissau, Republic of*—Interim President: Pereira, Raimundo; Prime Minister: Gomes Junior, Carlos; Min. of Finance: Vaz, Mario; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Nandigna, Adiato Djalo; Min. of National Defense: Silva, Artur * President Joao Bernardo (Nino) Vieira was assassinated March 2; Pereira, the speaker of parliament, was sworn in as interim president the next day. A presidential election was scheduled for June. [See p. 133A3] Guyana, Cooperative Republic of—President: Jagdeo, Bharrat; Prime Minister, Min. of Public Works: Hinds, Samuel; Min. of Finance: Singh, Ashni; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Rodrigues, Carolyn; Min. of Health: Ramsammy, Leslie Haiti—President: Preval, Rene Garcia; Prime Minister, Min. of Justice & Public Security: Exume, Jean Joseph; Min. of the Economy & Finance: Dorsainvil, Daniel; Min. of Foreign Affairs & Worship: Nicolas, Alrich; Min. of Interior & Territorial Collectivities: BienAime, Paul Antoine

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Honduras, Republic of—President: Zelaya Rosales, Jose Manuel; Min. of Defense: Orellana Mercado, Angel Edmundo; Min. of Finance: Santos Rivera, Rebeca Patricia; Min. of Foreign Relations: Rodas Baca, Patricia Isabel; Min. of Industry & Commerce: Cerrato Valladares, Fredis Alonso; Min. of Government & Justice: Meza Lopez, Victor Orlando Hungary, Republic of*—President: Solyom, Laszlo; Prime Minister: Gyurcsany, Ferenc; Min. of Defense: Szekeres, Imre; Min. of Finance: Veres, Janos; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Goncz, Kinga; Governor, National Bank of Hungary: Simor, Andras *Gyurcsany resigned March 23. [See p. 188F3] Iceland, Republic of—President: Grimsson, Olafur; Prime Minister: Sigurdardottir, Johanna; Min. of Fisheries & Agriculture: Sigfusson, Steingrimur; Min. of Environment: Sveinbjarnadottir, Thorunn; Min. of Finance: Mathiesen, Arni; Min. of Foreign Affairs & External Trade: Skarphedinsson, Ossur; Dir., Central Bank of Iceland: Oygard, Svein Harald India, Republic of—President: Patil, Pratibha; Prime Minister, Min. of Finance: Singh, Manmohan; Min. of Commerce & Industry: Nath, Kamal; Min. of Defense: Antony, A.K.; Min. of External Affairs: Mukherjee, Pranab; Min. of Health & Family Welfare: Ramadoss, Anbumani; Min. of Home Affairs: Chidambaram, Palaniappan; Governor, Reserve Bank of India: Subbarao, Duvvuri Indonesia, Republic of—President: Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono; Vice President: Kalla, Muhammad Yusuf; Coordinating Min. for Political, Legal & Security Affairs: Widodo, Adi Sujipto; Coordinating Min. for Economic Affairs, Min. for Finance: Sri Mulyani, Indrawati; Min. of Defense: Juwono Sudarsono; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Noer Hassan Wirajuda; Attorney General: Supandji, Hendarman Iran, Islamic Republic of—Supreme Leader: Khamenei, Ayatollah Ali Hoseini; President: Ahmadinejad, Mahmoud; Min. of Defense & Armed Forces Logistics: Najjar, Brig. Gen. Mostafa Mohammed; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Mottaki, Manouchehr; Min. of Interior: Mahsuli, Sadeq; Min. of Petroleum: Nozari, Gholam Hossein Iraq—President: Talabani, Jalal; Prime Minister: Maliki, Nouri Kamel al-; Vice Presidents: Abdul Mahdi, Adel; Hashimi, Tariq al-; Deputy Prime Ministers: Salih, Barham; Issawi, Rafi al-; Min. of Defense: Obaidi, Abdul Qadir al-; Min. of Finance: Jabr, Bayan; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Zebari, Hoshyar Mahmud; Min. of Interior: Bolani, Jawad al-; Min. of Oil: Shahristani, Hussain alIreland, Republic of (Eire)—President: McAleese, Mary; Prime Minister: Cowen, Brian; Deputy Prime Minister, Min. for Enterprise, Trade & Employment: Coughlan, Mary; Min. for Agriculture, Fisheries & Food: Smith, Brendan; Min. for Defense: O’Dea, Willie: Min. for Foreign Affairs: Martin, Micheal; Min. for Health & Children: Harney, Mary; Min. for Justice, Equality & Law Reform: Ahern, Dermot; Governor, Central Bank of Ireland: Hurley, John Israel, State of*—President: Peres, Shimon; Prime Minister: Netanyahu, Benjamin; Deputy Prime Minister, Min. of Foreign Affairs: Lieberman, Avigdor; Deputy Prime Minister, Min. of Defense: Barak, Ehud; Min. of Finance: Steinitz, Yuval; Min. of Industry, Trade & Labor: Ben-Eliezer, Binyamin; Min. of Interior: Yishai, Eli; Min. of Justice: Neeman, Yaakov *Netanyahu took office March 31. [See p. 209E1] Italy (Italian Republic)—President: Napolitano, Giorgio; Prime Minister: Berlusconi, Silvio; Under Sec. for the Prime Min.: Letta, Gianni; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Frattini, Franco; Min. of Defense: La Russa, Ignazio; Min. of Environment: Prestigiacomo, Stefania; Min. for Economic Development: Scajola, Claudio; Min. of Economy & Finance: Tremonti, Giulio; Min. of Interior: Maroni, Roberto; Min. of Justice: Alfano, Angelino; Governor, Bank of Italy: Draghi, Mario Ivory Coast—See Cote d’Ivoire, Republic of Jamaica—Governor General: Allen, Patrick; Prime Minister, Min. of Planning & Development: Golding, Bruce; Deputy Prime Minister, Min. of Foreign Affairs & Trade: Baugh, Kenneth; Min. of Agriculture: Tufton, Christopher; Min. of Finance & Public Service: Shaw, Audley; Min. of Health & Environment: Spencer, Rudyard; Min of National Security: MacMillan, Trevor Japan—Emperor: Akihito; Prime Minister: Aso, Taro; Chief Cabinet Secretary: Kawamura, Takeo; Min. of Economy, Trade & Industry: Nikai Toshihiro; Min. of Defense: Hamada, Yasukazu; Min. of Finance; State Min., Financial Services, Economic & Fiscal Policy: Yosano, Kaoru; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Nakasone,

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Hirofumi; Min. of Internal Affairs & Communications: Hatoyama, Kunio; Min. of Justice: Mori, Eisuke; Min. of Land, Infrastructure, Transport & Tourism: Kaneko, Kazuyoshi; State Min., Regulatory Reform, Administrative Reform & Civil Service Reform: Amari, Akira; Governor, Bank of Japan: Shirakawa, Masaaki Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of—King: Abdullah II; Prime Minister, Min. of Defense: Dahabi, Nader al-; Min. of Finance: Salem, Bassem al-; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Judeh, Nasser; Min. of Interior: Qadi, Nayef alKazakhstan, Republic of—President: Nazarbayev, Nursultan; Prime Minister: Masimov, Karim; Min. of Defense: Akhmetov, Daniyal; Min. of Finance: Zhamishev, Bolat; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Tazhin, Marat Kenya, Republic of—President: Kibaki, Mwai; Vice President, Min. for Home Affairs: Musyoka, Stephene Kalonzo; Prime Minister: Odinga, Raila Amolo; Deputy Prime Minister, Min. for Finance: Kenyatta, Uhuru; Deputy Prime Minister: Mudavadi, Wycliffe Musalia; Attorney General: Wako, Amos; Min. for Foreign Affairs: Wetangula, Moses; Min. of State for Defense: Haji, Yussuf Mohamed Kiribati, Republic of—President, Min. for Foreign Affairs: Tong, Anote; Min. for Environment, Lands & Agricultural Development: Tofinga, Martin; Min. for Finance & Economic Development: Mwemwenikarawa, Nabuti Korea, North (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea)—General Secretary, Korean Workers’ Party; Chairman, National Defense Commission; Supreme Cdr., Korean People’s Army: Kim Jong Il; President, Supreme People’s Assembly Presidium: Kim Yong Nam; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Pak Ui Chun Korea, South (Republic of Korea)—President: Lee Myung Bak; Prime Minister: Han Seung Soo; Min. of National Defense: Lee Sang Hee; Min. of Strategy & Finance: Yoon Jeung Hyun; Min. of Foreign Affairs & Trade: Yu Myung Hwan; Min. of Unification: Hyun In Tae; Governor, Bank of Korea: Lee Seong Tae Kosovo, Republic of*—President: Sejdiu, Fatmir; Prime Minister: Thaci, Hashim *Kosovo had declared independence from Serbia in February 2008. Fifty-seven countries, including the U.S., recognized Kosovo’s sovereignty, which Serbia rejected. [See 2008, p. 456E1] Kuwait, State of*—Emir: Sabah, Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jabir al-; Prime Minister: Sabah, Nasir Muhammad al-Ahmad al-; First Deputy Prime Minister, Min. of Defense: Sabah, Jabir Mubarak al-; Deputy Prime Minister, Min. of Foreign Affairs: Sabah, Muhammad al-Sabah al-Salim al-; Deputy Prime Minister: Hajji, Faysal al-; Min. of Finance: Shimmali, Mustafa al-Jassim al-; Min. of Oil: Sabah, Ahmad al-Abdallah al-Jabir al*Prime Minister Sabah and his cabinet March 16 resigned. [See p. 228B2] Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyz Republic)—President: Bakiyev, Kurmanbek; Prime Minister: Chudinov, Igor; Min. of Defense: Kalyev, Bakytbek; Min. of Finance: Sultanov, Marat; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Sarbaev, Kadyrbek Laos (Lao People’s Democratic Republic)—President: Choummali Saignason, Lt. Gen.; Vice President: Boungnang Volachit; Prime Minister: Bouasone Bouphavanh; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Thongloun Sisoulit; Deputy Prime Minister, Min. of National Defense: Douangchai Phichit, Maj. Gen.; Deputy Prime Ministers: Asang Laoli, Maj. Gen.; Somsavat Lengsavat; Thongloun Sisoulit Latvia, Republic of*—President: Zatlers, Valdis; Prime Minister: Dombrovskis, Valdis; Min. of Defense: Liegis, Imants; Min. of Economics: Kampars, Artis; Min. of Finance: Repse, Einars; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Riekstins, Maris *Dombrovskis’s government was confirmed March 12. [See p. 173A2] Lebanon, Republic of—President: Suleiman, Michel; Prime Minister: Siniora, Fouad; Deputy Prime Minister: Abu Jamra, Issam; Min. of Defense: Murr, Elias; Min. of Economy & Trade: Safadi, Muhammad; Min. of Finance: Chattah, Mohammed; Min. of Foreign Affairs & Emigrants: Salloukh, Fawzi; Min. of Interior: Baroud, Ziad Lesotho, Kingdom of—King: Letsie III; Prime Minister, Min. of Defense & National Security: Mosisili, Pakalitha Bethuel; Min. of Finance & Development Planning: Thahane, Timothy; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Tsekoa, Mohlabi Kenneth Liberia, Republic of—President: Johnson-Sirleaf, Ellen; Min. of Finance: Ngafuan, Augustine; Min. of Foreign Affairs: King-Akerele, Olubanke; Min. of Na-

tional Defense: Samukai, Brownie Libya (Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya)—Leader: Qaddafi, Col. Muammer Abu Minyar el; Secy., General People’s Congress: Kuayba, Miftah Muhammad; Secy., General People’s Committee (Prime Minister): Mahmudi, al-Baghdadi Ali al-; Secy. of the General People’s Committee for Foreign Liaison & International Cooperation: Shalgam, Abd al-Rahman Muhammad Liechtenstein, Principality of—Head of State: Prince Hans Adam II; Prime Minister: Hasler, Otmar; Chairman, Liechtenstein State Bank: Fehr, Josef Lithuania, Republic of—President: Adamkus, Valdas; Prime Minister: Kubilius, Andrius; Min. of National Defense: Jukneviciene, Rasa; Min. of Finance: Semeta, Algirdas Gediminas; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Usackas, Vygaudas Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of—Grand Duke: Henri; Prime Minister, Min. of Finance, Min. of State: Juncker, Jean-Claude; Deputy Prime Minister, Min. of Foreign Affairs & Immigration: Asselborn, Jean; Min. of Economy & Foreign Trade: Krecke, Jeannot; Chairman, Luxembourg Central Bank: Mersch, Yves Macedonia, Republic of*—President: Crvenkovski, Branko; Prime Minister: Gruevski, Nikola; Min. of Defense: Konjanovski, Zoran; Min. of Finance: Slaveski, Trajko; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Milososki, Antonio; Min of the Interior: Jankulovska, Gordana *The country was known internationally as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, but the U.S. in 2004 had recognized its constitutional name, the Republic of Macedonia. Greece, which had a region called Macedonia, objected to that name. Georgi Ivanov won an April 5 presidential election, and was scheduled to take office May 12. [See p. 225G1] Madagascar, Republic of*—President of the High Transitional Authority: Rajoelina, Andry; Transitional Prime Minister: Roindefo, Monja *President Marc Ravalomanana March 17 resigned after being ousted in a military coup. The military installed Andry Rajoelina as president of a transitional government. [See p. 203D2] Malawi, Republic of—President, Min. of Agriculture & Food Security, Min. of Education & Human Resources: Mutharika, Bingu wa; Vice President: Chilumpha, Cassim; Min. of Finance: Gondwe, Goodall; Min. of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation: Banda, Joyce Malaysia*—Paramount Ruler (King): Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Mahmud AlMuktafi Billah Shah; Prime Minister, Min. of Finance: Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak; Min. of Defense: Zahid Hamidi; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Anifah Aman; Governor, Central Bank: Zeti Akhtar Aziz *Najib was sworn in April 3 and announced his cabinet April 9. [See p. 223D1] Maldives, Republic of—President: Nasheed, Mohamed; Min. of Defense & National Security: Faisal, Ameen; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Shaheed, Ahmed Mali, Republic of—President: Toure, Amadou Toumani; Prime Minister: Sidibe, Modibo; Min. of Defense & Veterans: Plea, Natie; Min. of Economy & Finance: Diallo, Diarra Mariam Flantie; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Ouane, Moctar; Min. of Internal Security & Civil Protection: Gassama, Col. Sadio Malta, Republic of—President: Fenech Adami, Edward; Prime Minister: Gonzi, Lawrence; Minister of Finance: Fenech, Tonio; Deputy Prime Minister: Borg, Tonio Marshall Islands, Republic of the—President: Tomeing, Litokwa; Min. of Finance: Ading, Jack; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Debrum, Anton (Tony) Mauritania, Islamic Republic of*—President: Abdel Aziz, Gen. Mohamed Ould; Prime Minister: Laghdaf, Moulaye Ould Mohamed *Abdel Aziz in August 2008 led a military coup that overthrew the democratically elected government, installing himself as president and Laghdaf as prime minister. [See 2008, p. 972A1] Mauritius, Republic of—President: Jugnauth, Sir Anerood; Prime Minister, Min. of Civil Service & Administrative Reforms, Min. of Defense & Home Affairs, Min. of Foreign Affairs, Int. Trade, & Cooperation, Min. of Rodrigues & Outer Islands: Ramgoolam, Dr. Navinchandra; Min. of Finance & Economic Development: Sithanen, Ramakirshna Mexico (United Mexican States)—President: Calderon Hinojosa, Felipe de Jesus; Attorney General: Medina Mora Icaza, Eduardo; Secy. of Economy: Ruiz Mateos, Gerardo; Secy. of Energy: Kessel Martinez,

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Georgina; Secy. of Finance & Public Credit: Carstens Carstens, Agustin; Secy. of Foreign Relations: Espinosa Cantellano, Patricia; Secy. of Government: Gomez Mont Urueta, Francisco Fernando; Secy. of Labor & Social Welfare: Lozano Alarcon, Javier; Secy. of National Defense: Galvan Galvan, Guillermo; Secy. of Public Education: Vazquez Mota, Josefina; Secy. of Tourism: Elizondo Torres, Rodolfo; Governor, Bank of Mexico: Ortiz Martinez, Guillermo Micronesia, Federated States of—President: Mori, Emanuel; Vice President: Alik, Alik; Secy. of Foreign Affairs: Robert, Lorin Moldova, Republic of—President: Voronin, Vladimir; Prime Minister: Greceanii, Zinaida; Min. of Defense: Vrabie, Vitale; Min. of Finance: Durlesteanu, Mariana; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Stratan, Andrei; Min. of Internal Affairs: Mejinschi, Gen. Valentin Monaco, Principality of—Chief of State: Prince Albert II; Min. of State: Proust, Jean-Paul Mongolia—President: Enkhbayar, Nambariin; Prime Minister: Bajar, Sanjaagiin Montenegro, Republic of—President: Vujanovic, Filip; Prime Minister: Djukanovic, Milo; Min. of Defense: Vucinic, Boro; Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Policy: Lazovic, Vujica; Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration: Djurovic, Gordana; Min. of Finance: Luksic, Igor; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Rocen, Milan Morocco, Kingdom of—King: Mohammed VI; Prime Minister: Fassi, Abbas el; Min. of Economy & Finance: Mezouar, Salaheddine; Min. of Foreign Affairs & Cooperation: Fassi-Fihri, Taieb; Min. of Interior: Benmoussa, Chakib; Min. of Justice: Radi, Abdelwahed Mozambique, Republic of—President: Guebuza, Armando; Prime Minister: Diogo, Luisa Dias; Min. of Finance: Gaolathe, Baledzi; Min. of Foreign Affairs & Cooperation: Baloi, Oldemiro; Min. of National Defense: Nhussi, Fillipe Myanmar, Union of—Prime Minister: Thein Sein Lt. Gen.; Chairman, State Peace & Development Council (SPDC), Min. of Defense: Than Shwe, Sr. Gen.; Vice Chairman, SPDC: Maung Aye, Vice Sr. Gen.; First Secy., SPDC: Tin Aung Myint Oo, Lt. Gen.; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Nyan Win, Maj. Gen. Namibia, Republic of—President: Pohamba, Hifikepunye; Prime Minister: Angula, Nahas; Min. of Defense: Namoloh, Maj. Gen. Charles; Min. of Finance: Kuugongel Wa-amadhila, Saara; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Hausiku, Marco Nauru, Republic of—President, Min. for Public Service, Min. for Home Affairs, Min. for Nauru Phosphate Trust, Min. for Police, Prisons & Emergency Services: Stephen, Marcus; Min. for Foreign Affairs & Trade, Min. for Finance & Sustainable Development: Keke, Dr. Kieren; Min for Transport, Min. for Telecommunications: Dabwido, Spernt Nepal, Federal Democratic Republic of—Prime Minister: Dahal, Pushpa Kamal; Min. of Defense: Thapa, Ram Bahadur; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Yadav, Upendra; Min. of Finance: Bhattarai, Baburam; Min. of Home: Gautam, Bamder; Min. of Law, Justice & Constituent Assembly: Gurung, Dev; Min. of Local Development: Jha, Ram Chandra Netherlands, Kingdom of the—Queen: Beatrix; Prime Minister: Balkenende, Jan Peter; Deputy Prime Minister, Min. of Finance: Bos, Wouter; Deputy Prime Minister, Min. of Youth & Family Affairs: Rouvoet, Andre; Min. of Defense: van Middelkoop, Eimert; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Verhagen, Maxime; Min. of Housing, Communities & Integration: Van Der Laan, Eberhard; Min. of Justice: Hirsch Ballin, Ernst; Min. of Social Affairs & Employment: Donner, Piet Hein; President, Central Bank: Wellink, Nout New Zealand, Dominion of—Governor General: Satyanand, Anand; Prime Minister: Key, John Phillip; Deputy Prime Minister, Min. of Defense: Mapp, Wayne Daniel; Min. of Finance, Min. for Infrastructure: English, Bill; Attorney General, Minister of Arts, Culture & Heritage: Finlayson, Christopher; Min of Education: Tolley, Anne; Min. of State Services: Ryall, Tony; Min. of Justice: Power, Simon; Min. of Maori Affairs: Sharples, Pita Nicaragua, Republic of—President: Ortega Saavedra, Daniel; Vice President: Morales Carazo, Jaime; Min. of Environment & Natural Resources: Argenal, Juana; Min. of Finance & Public Credit: Guevara Obregon, Alberto Jose; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Santos Lopez, Samuel; Min. of Labor: Chavez Gomez, Jeannette Niger, Republic of the—President: Tandja, Mamadou; Prime Minister: Oumarou, Seine; Min. of Defense:

April 9, 2009

Hamadou, Djida; Min. of Economy & Finance: Lamine, Ali Zeine; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Mindaoudou, Aichatou Nigeria, Federal Republic of—President: Yar’Adua, Umaru; Vice President: Jonathan, Goodluck; Min. of Defense: Mustapha, Shettima; Min. of Finance: Muhtar, Mansur; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Maduekwe, Ojo; Min. of Interior: Abbe, Godwin; Min. of Justice: Aondokaa, Michael Kaase; Min. of Petroleum, Lukman, Rilwanu Norway, Kingdom of—King: Harald V; Prime Minister: Stoltenberg, Jens; Min. of Defense: Strom-Erichsen, Anne-Grete; Min. of Environment & Development Cooperation: Solheim, Erik; Min. of Finance: Halvorsen, Kristin; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Store, Jonas Gahr; Min. of Petroleum & Energy: Riis-Johansen, Terje; Min. of Justice & Police: Storberget, Knut; Min. of Trade & Industry: Brustad, Sylvia; Governor, Bank of Norway: Gjedrem, Svein Oman, Sultanate of—Sultan, Prime Minister, Min. of Defense, Min. of Finance: Said, Qaboos bin Said al-; Min. of Oil & Gas: Rumhi, Muhammad bin Hamad bin Sayf alPakistan, Islamic Republic of*—President: Zardari, Asif Ali; Prime Minister: Gillani, Yousaf Raza; Min. of Defense: Mukhtar, Chaudhry Ahmed; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Qureshi, Shah Mahmood; Min. of Information & Broadcasting: Rehman, Sherry; Min. of Law, Justice & Human Rights: Naik, Farooq; Min. for Kashmir Affairs & Northern Areas: Kaira, Qamar Zaman; Adviser to the Prime Minister on Interior & Narcotics Control: Malik, Rehman; Army Chief of Staff: Kiyani, Gen. Ashfaq Pevez *Rehman resigned March 13, and was succeeded by Kaira. Abbas Sarfaraz Khan replaced Kaira as Kashmir minister. [See p. 175C3] Palau, Republic of—President: Toribiong, Johnson.; Vice President, Min. for Administration: Mariur, Kerai Panama, Republic of—President: Torrijos Espino, Martin; First Vice President, Min. of Foreign Affairs: Lewis Navarro, Samuel; Min. of Commerce & Industries: Poppas, Gisela Alvarez de; Min. of Economy & Finances: Alexander Hansell, Hector Ernesto; Min. of Government & Justice: Arcia Torres, Dilio; Min. of Presidency: Mezquita, Rafael; Min. of Public Works: Colamarco, Benjamin Papua New Guinea, Independent State of—Governor General: Matane, Sir Paulius; Prime Minister: Somare, Sir Michael; Min. for Defense: Dadae, Bob; Min. for Treasury & Finance: Pruaitch, Patrick; Min. for Foreign Affairs, Trade & Immigration: Abal, Sam Paraguay, Republic of—President: Lugo Mendez, Fernando; Min. of Finance: Borda, Dionisio; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Hamed Franco, Alejandro; Min. of Interior: Filizzola, Rafael; Min. of Justice & Labor: Llano, Blas; Min. of National Defense: Bareiro Spaini, Luis Peru—President: Garcia Perez, Alan; Prime Minister: Simon Munaro, Yehude; Min. of Defense: FloresAraoz Esparza, Antero; Min. of Economy & Finance: Carranza Ugarte, Luis; Min. of Energy & Mines: Sanchez Gamarra, Pedro; Min. of Foreign Relations: Garcia Belaunde, Jose Antonio; Min. of Interior: Cabanillas Bustamente, Mercedes Philippines, Republic of the—President: Macapagal-Arroyo, Gloria; Vice President: De Castro, Noli; Executive Secretary: Ermita, Eduardo; Secy. of Finance: Teves, Margarito Gary; Secy. of Foreign Affairs: Romulo, Alberto; Secy. of Interior & Local Government: Puno, Ronaldo; Secy. of National Defense: Teodoro, Gilberto Jr.; Secy. of Trade & Industry: Favila, Peter Poland, Republic of—President: Kaczynski, Lech; Prime Minister: Tusk, Donald; Min. of Finance: Rostowski, Jacek; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Sikorski, Radoslaw; Min. of Interior & Administration: Schetyna, Grzegorz; Min. of Justice: Czuma, Andrzej; Min. of National Defense: Klich, Bogdan; President, Polish National Bank: Skrzypek, Slawomir Portugal (Portuguese Republic)—President: Cavaco Silva, Anibal Antonio; Prime Minister: Socrates Carvalho Sousa de Pinto, Jose; Min. of Agriculture, Rural Development & Fisheries: Silva, Jaime; Min. for the Economy & Innovation: Pinho, Manuel; Min. of Finance: Teixeira dos Santos, Fernando; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Amado, Luis; Min. for Internal Administration: Pereira, Rui; Min. of Justice: Costa, Alberto; Min. for National Defense: Severiano Teixeira, Nuno; Governor, Bank of Portugal: Constancio, Victor Qatar, State of—Emir, Min. of Defense: Thani, Hamad bin Khalifa al-; Prime Minister, Min. of Foreign Af-

fairs: Thani, Hamad bin Jasim bin Jabir al-; Min. of Energy & Industry: Atiyah, Abdallah bin Hamad al-; Min. of Finance & Economy: Kamal, Yusuf Husayn alRomania—President: Basescu, Traian; Prime Minister: Boc, Emil; Min. of Defense: Stanisoara, Mihai; Min. of Economy: Videanu, Adriean; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Diaconescu, Cristian Russia (Russian Federation)—President: Medvedev, Dmitri A.; Prime Minister: Putin, Vladimir V.; First Deputy Prime Minister: Shuvalov, Igor I., Zubkov, Viktor A.; Min. of Defense: Serdyukov, Anatoly E.; Min. of Agriculture: Gordeyev, Aleksei V.; Min. of Finance: Kudrin, Aleksei L.; Min. of Industry & Trade: Khristenko, Viktor B.; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Lavrov, Sergei V.; Min. of Justice: Konovalov, Aleksandr V.; Min. of Natural Resources & Ecology: Trutnev, Yuri P. Rwanda (Rwandese Republic)—President: Kagame, Paul; Prime Minister: Makuza, Bernard; Min. of Defense & National Security: Gatsinzi, Maj. Gen. Marcel; Min. of Finance & Economic Planning: Musoni, James; Min. of Foreign Affairs & Cooperation: Museminari, Rosemary Kobusingye; Min. of Justice: Karugarama, Tharcisse St. Christopher (St. Kitts) and Nevis, Federation of—Governor General: Sebastian, Cuthbert Montraville; Prime Minister, Min. of Foreign Affairs, Min. of Immigration, Min. of National Security, Min. of Sustainable Development, Min. of Tourism & Culture: Douglas, Dr. Denzil; Min. of Finance & International Trade: Harris, Timothy St. Lucia—Governor General: Louisy, Dame Pearlette; Prime Minister, Min for Finance, Econmic Affairs, Economic Planning, National Development, & External Affairs: King, Stephenson; Min. for Tourism & Civil Aviation: Chastanet, Allen St. Vincent and the Grenadines—Governor General: Ballantyne, Sir Frederick Nathaniel; Prime Minister, Min. of Finance, Min. of Planning & Economic Development, Min. of National Security, Min. of Energy: Gonsalves, Ralph; Dep. Prime Minister, Min. of Foreign Affairs, Commerce & Trade: Straker, Louis; Min. of Tourism, Youth & Sports: Beache, Glen Samoa, Independent State of—Head of State: Tui Atua Tupua Tupuola Efi Tamasese; Prime Minister, Min. of Foreign Affairs: Tuila’epa Sailele Malielegaoi; Deputy Prime Minister: Misa Telefoni Retzlaff San Marino, Republic of—Secy. of State for Foreign & Political Affairs & Economic Planning: Stolfi, Fiorenzo; Secy. of Budget & Finance: Macina, Stefano; Secy. of Interior & Civil Protection: Ciavatta, Valeria Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of— President: de Menezes, Fradique; Prime Minister: Branco, Joachim Rafael; Min. of Planning & Finance: Santiago, Angela Viegas; Min. of Foreign Affairs & Cooperation: Tiny, Carlos Alberto Pires Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of—King, Prime Minister: Saud, Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-; Crown Prince, First Deputy Prime Minister: Saud, Sultan bin Abdul Aziz al-; Min. of Finance: Asaf, Ibrahim Abdul Aziz al-; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Saud, Saud al-Faisal al-; Min. of Interior: Saud, Nayif bin Abdul Aziz al-; Min. of Justice: Issa, Muhammad bin Abd al-Karim bin Abd al-Aiziz al-; Min. of Petroleum & Mineral Resources: Naimi, Ali Ibrahim al-; Min. of Pilgrimage Affairs & Religious Trusts: Farsi, Abd al-Salam Muhammad alSenegal, Republic of—President: Wade, Abdoulaye; Prime Minister: Soumare, Cheikh Hadjibou; Min. of Armed Forces: Diop, Becaye; Min. of Economy & Finance: Diop, Abdoulaye; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Gadio, Cheikh Tidiane Serbia, Republic of—President: Tadic, Boris; Prime Minister: Cvetkovic, Mirko; Min. of Defense: Sutanovac, Dragan; Min. of Finance: Dragutinovic, Diana; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Jeremic, Vuk; Min. of Internal Affairs: Dacic, Ivica Seychelles, Republic of—President, Min. of Defense: Michel, James Alix; Vice President: Belmont, Joseph; Min. of Finance & Designated Min.: Faure, Danny; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Pillay, Patrick Georges Sierra Leone, Republic of—President: Koroma, Ernest Bai; Vice President: Sam-Sumana, Samuel; Min. of Defense & National Security: Conteh, Paulo; Min. of Finance & Development: Carew, David Omashola; Min. of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation: Bangura, Zainab Hawa Singapore, Republic of—President: Nathan, S. R.; Prime Minister: Lee Hsien Loong; Min. of Finance: Shanmugarathnam, Tharman; Senior Minister; Chairman, Monetary Authority of Singapore: Goh Chok Tong; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Yeo, George; Minister Mentor: Lee Kuan Yew

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Slovakia (Slovak Republic)—President: Gasparovic, Ivan; Prime Minister: Fico, Robert; Deputy Prime Minister, Min. of Interior: Kalinak, Robert; Min. of Defense: Baska, Jaroslav; Min. of Finance: Pociatek, Jan; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Lajcak, Miroslav Slovenia, Republic of—President: Turk, Danilo; Prime Minister: Paitor, Borut; Min. of Defense: Erjavec, Karl; Min. of Finance: Krizanic, Franc; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Zbogar, Samuel Solomon Islands—Governor General: Waena, Sir Nathaniel; Prime Minister: Sikua, Dr. Derek; Deputy Prime Minister, Min. of Rural Development: Fono, Fred; Min. of Finance & Treasury: Rini, Snyder; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Haomae, William; Min. of Justice & Legal Affairs: Kaua, Towsel Somalia, Republic of*—Interim President: Ahmed, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh; Interim Prime Minister: Sharmarke, Umar Abdirashid Ali *Somalia had been without a permanent functioning central government since 1991. [See p. 115A1] South Africa, Republic of—Interim President: Motlanthe, Kgalema; Deputy President: Mbete, Baleka; Min. of Agriculture & Land Affairs: Xingwana, Lulama; Min. of Defense: Nqakula, Charles; Min. of Finance: Manuel, Trevor; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Dlamini-Zuma, Nkosazana; Min. of Health: Hogan, Barbara; Min. of Intelligence: Cwele, Siyabonga; Min. of Justice & Constitutional Affairs: Surty, Enver; Min. of Safety & Security: Mthethwa, Nathi Spain, Kingdom of*—King: Juan Carlos I; Prime Minister: Rodriguez Zapatero, Jose Luis; Min. of Defense: Chacon, Carme; Min. of Economy & Finance: Salgado, Elena; Min. of Foreign Affairs & Cooperation: Moratinos, Miguel Angel; Min. of Interior: Rubalcaba, Alfredo Perez; Min. of Justice: Caamano Dominguez, Francisco; Governor, Bank of Spain: Fernandez Ordonez, Miguel Angel *Zapatero April 7 reshuffled his cabinet, naming Salgado to replace Pedro Solbes. [See p. 226C3] Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of—President, Min. of Defense, Min. of Finance & Planning: Rajapaksa, Mahinda; Prime Minister: Wickremanayake, Ratnasiri; Secy. of Defense: Rajapaksa, Gotabhaya; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Bogollagama, Rohitha; Governor, Central Bank: Cabraal, Ajith Nivard Sudan, Republic of the—President: Bashir, Lt. Gen. Omar Hassan Ahmed al-; First Vice President, President of Southern Sudan: Kiir Mayardit, Salva; Vice President: Taha, Ali Osman; Senior Assistant to the President: Minnawi, Minni; Min. of Defense: Hussein, Abdel Rahim Mohammed; Min. of Energy & Mining: Hasan, Al Zubayr Ahmad al-; Min. of Finance & Planning: Hassan, Zubeir Mohammed; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Deng Alor Kuol Suriname, Republic of—President: Venetiaan, Ronald; Vice President: Sardjoe, Ramdien; Min. of Defense: Fernald, Ivan; Min. of Finance: Hildenberg, Humphrey; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Kraag-Keteldijk, Lygia; Min. of Justice & Police: Santhoki, Chandrikapersad; Min. of Natural Resources: Rusland, Gregory Swaziland, Kingdom of—King: Mswati III; Prime Minister: Dlamini, Absalom Themba; Min. for Agriculture: Fakudze, Mtiti; Min. for Finance: Sithole, Majozi; Min. for Foreign Affairs & Trade: Dlamini, Moses Mathedele Sweden, Kingdom of—King: Carl XVI Gustaf; Prime Minister: Reinfeldt, Fredrik; Deputy Prime Minister, Min. of Enterprise & Energy: Olofsson, Maud; Min. of Agriculture, Food & Fisheries: Erlandsson, Eskil; Min. of Defense: Tolgfors, Sten; Min. of Environment: Carlgren, Andreas; Min. of Finance: Borg, Anders; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Bildt, Carl; Governor, Swedish Central Bank: Ingves, Stefan Switzerland (Swiss Confederation)—President, Chief, Dept. of Finance: Merz, Hans-Rudolf; Vice President: Leuthard, Doris; Chief, Dept. of Home Affairs: Couchepin, Pascal; Chief, Dept. of Transportation, Communications & Energy: Leuenberger, Moritz; Chief, Dept. of Justice & Police: Widmer-Schlumpf, Eveline; Chief, Dept. of Foreign Affairs: Calmy-Rey, Micheline; Chief, Dept. of Defense, Civil Protection & Sports: Maurer, Veli; Chief, Dept. of Economic Affairs: Leuthard, Doris; Chairman, Swiss National Bank: Roth, Jean-Pierre Syria (Syrian Arab Republic)—President: Assad, Bashar al-; Prime Minister: Utri, Muhammad Naji al-; Min. of Defense: Turkmani, Lt. Gen. Hassan; Min. of Finance: Husayn, Muhammad al-; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Mouallem, Walid; Min. of Interior: Majid, Gen. Bassam Abdel

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Taiwan—See China, Republic of Tajikistan, Republic of—President:

Rakhman, Emomali; Prime Minister: Oqilov, Oqil; Min. of Defense: Khayrulloyev, Col. Gen. Sherali; Min. of Finance: Najmuddinov, Safarali; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Zarifi, Hamrohon Tanzania, United Republic of—President: Kikwete, Jakaya Mrisho; Prime Minister: Pinda, Peter Mizengo; President of Zanzibar: Karume, Amani Abeid; Min. of Defense & National Service: Mwinyi, Hussein; Min. of Finance, Planning, Economy & Empowerment: Mkulo, Mustapha; Min. of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation: Membe, Bernard Kamillius Thailand, Kingdom of—King: Bhumibol Adulyadej; Prime Minister: Abhisit Vejjajiva; Min. of Defense: Prawit Wongsuwan; Dep. Prime Ministers: Suthep Thueaksuban, Kopsak Saphawasu, Sanan Kachornprasat; Justice Minister: Phraphan Saliratwiphak; Min. of Finance: Kon Chatikawanit Timor Leste, Democratic Republic of—President: Ramos-Horta, Jose; Prime Minister: Gusmao, Jose Alexandre (Xanana); First Deputy Prime Minister: Guterres, Jose; Min. for Justice: Lobato, Lucia; Min. for Planning & Finance: Pires, Emilia; Min. for Foreign Affairs: Da Costa, Zacarias Togo, Republic of—President: Gnassingbe, Faure; Prime Minister: Houngbo, Gilbert; Min. of Economic Affairs & Privatization: Ayassor, Adji Otheth; Min. of Foreign Affairs & Regional Integration: Esaw, Kofi; Min. of Security: Titikpina, Col. Atcha Tonga, Kingdom of—King: Tupou V, Siaosi; Prime Minister: Sevele, Feleti (Fred); Deputy Prime Minister: Tangi, Viliami; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Tupou, Sonatane Tua Taumoepeau Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of—President: Richards, George Maxwell; Prime Minister: Manning, Patrick; Min. of Finance: Tesheira-Nunez, Karen; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Gopee-Scoon, Paula Tunisia, Republic of—President: Ben Ali, Zine elAbidine; Prime Minister: Ghannouchi, Mohamed; Min. of Finance: Kechiche, Mohamed Rachid; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Abdallah, Abdelwaheb; Min. of Justice & Human Rights: Tekkari, Bechir; Min. of National Defense: Morjane, Kamel Turkey, Republic of—President: Gul, Abdullah; Prime Minister: Erdogan, Recep Tayyip; Deputy Prime Ministers: Cicek, Cemil; Ekren, Nazim; Yazici, Hayati; Min. of Finance: Unakitan, Kemal; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Babacan, Ali; Min. of Interior: Atalay, Besir; Min. of Justice: Sahin, Mehmet Ali; Min. of National Defense: Gonul, Mehmet Vecdi; Governor, Central Bank: Yilmaz, Durmus Turkmenistan, Republic of—President: Berdymukhammedov, Gurbanguly; Deputy Chairman for Intl. Relations, Min. of Foreign Affairs: Meredov, Rashit; Min. of Defense: Berdiyew, Yaylym; Min. of Internal Affairs: Amanmyradow, Orazgeldi; Min. of National Security: Amanow, Carymyrat Tuvalu—Governor General: Telito, Filiomea; Prime Minister: Ielemia, Apisai; Deputy Prime Minister, Min. for Communications & Transport, Min. for Works & Energy: Sopoanga, Saufatu; Min. of Finance, Economic Planning & Industries: Metia, Lotoala Uganda, Republic of—President: Museveni, Yoweri Kaguta; Prime Minister: Nsibambi, Apollo; Min. of Defense: Kiyonga, Crispus; Min. of Finance, Planning & Economic Development: Suruma, Ezra; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Kutesa, Sam; Min. of Justice & Constitutional Affairs: Makubuya, Kiddu Ukraine, Republic of—President: Yushchenko, Viktor; Prime Minister: Tymoshenko, Yulia; Min. of Defense: Yekhanurov, Yuriy; Min. of Finance: Umansky, Ihor; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Ohryzko, Volodymyr; Min. of Internal Affairs: Lutsenko, Yuriy United Arab Emirates—President: Nuhayyan, Khalifa bin Zayed al-; Vice President, Prime Minister, Min. of Defense: Maktoum, Mohammed bin Rashid alUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland—Queen: Elizabeth II; Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, & Minister for the Civil Service: Brown, Gordon; Chancellor of the Exchequer: Darling, Alistair; Secy. of State for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform: Mandelson, Peter; Secy. of State for Children, Schools & Families: Balls, Ed; Secy. of State for Communities & Local Government: Blears, Hazel; Secy. of State for Defense: Hutton, John; Secy. of State for Scotland: Murphy, James; Secy. of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs: Benn, Hilary; Secy. of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs: Miliband, David; Secy. of State for Health: Johnson, Alan; Secy. of State for the Home Dept.: Smith, Jacqui; Secy. of

State for International Development: Alexander, Douglas; Secy. of State for Justice & Lord Chancellor: Straw, Jack; Secy. of State for Northern Ireland; Woodward, Shaun; Secy. of State for Transport: Hoon, Geoffrey; Secy. of State for Work & Pensions: Purnell, James; Secy. of State for Wales: Murphy, Paul; Leader of the House of Commons, President of the Council & Labour Party Chairman: Harman, Harriet; Leader of the House of Lords: Baroness Ashton; Governor, Bank of England: King, Mervyn United States of America—President: Obama, Barack Hussein; Vice President: Biden, Joseph Robinette Jr. Cabinet—Secy. of Agriculture: Vilsack, Tom; Attorney General: Holder Jr., Eric; Secy. of Commerce: Locke, Gary; Secy. of Defense: Gates, Robert; Secy. of Education: Duncan, Arne; Secy. of Energy: Chu, Steven; Secy. of Health & Human Services-designate: Sebelius, Kathleen; Secy. of Homeland Security: Napolitano, Janet; Secy. of Housing & Urban Development: Donovan, Shaun; Secy. of the Interior: Salazar, Ken; Secy. of Labor: Solis, Hilda; Secy. of State: Clinton, Hillary Rodham; Secy. of Transportation: LaHood, Ray; Secy. of the Treasury: Geithner, Timothy; Secy. of Veterans’ Affairs: Shinseki, Eric Congress—President pro Tempore, Senate: Byrd, Robert; Majority Leader, Senate: Reid, Harry; Minority Leader, Senate: McConnell, Mitch; Speaker, House of Representatives: Pelosi, Nancy; Majority Leader, House: Hoyer, Steny; Minority Leader, House: Boehner, John Supreme Court—Chief Justice of the U.S.: Roberts Jr., John. G.; Associate Justices, Supreme Court: Stevens, John Paul; Scalia, Antonin; Kennedy, Anthony M.; Souter, David H.; Thomas, Clarence; Ginsburg, Ruth Bader; Breyer, Stephen G.; Alito Jr., Samuel A. Uruguay, Oriental Republic of—President: Vazquez, Tabare; Vice President: Nin Novoa, Rodolfo; Min. of Agriculture, Livestock & Fishing: Agazzi, Ernesto; Min. of Economy & Finance: Garcia, Alvaro; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Fernandez, Gonzalo; Min. of Industry, Energy & Mines: Martinez, Daniel; Min. of Labor & Social Welfare: Bonomi, Eduardo; Min. of National Defense: Bayardi, Jose Uzbekistan, Republic of—President: Karimov, Islam; Prime Minister: Mirziyayev, Shavkat; Min. of Defense: Berdiyev, Qobul; Min. of Finance: Azimov, Rustam; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Norov, Vladimir; Min. of Internal Affairs: Matlyubov, Bakhodir Vanuatu, Republic of—President: Kelekele, Kalkot Matas; Prime Minister: Natapai, Edward; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Kaltonga, Pakoa; Min. of Finance: Molisa, Sela Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of—President: Chavez Frias, Hugo; Executive Vice President: Carrizalez Rengifo, Ramon Alonzo; Min. of Defense: Rangel Briceno, Gen. Gustavo Reyes; Min. of Energy & Petroleum: Ramirez Carreno, Rafael Dario; Min. of Finance: Rodriguez Araque, Ali; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Maduro Moros, Nicolas; Min. of Interior & Justice: El Aissami, Tarik Vietnam, Socialist Republic of—President: Nguyen Minh Triet, Gen.; Prime Minister: Nguyen Tan Dung; Min. of Finance: Vu Van Ninh; Deputy Prime Minister & Min. of Foreign Affairs: Pham Gia Khiem; Min. of National Defense: Phung Quang Thanh; Min. of Industry & Trade: Vu Huy Hoang Yemen, Republic of—President: Saleh, Ali Abdullah; Prime Minister: Mujawar, Ali Muhammad; Min. of Defense: Ali, Brig. Gen. Muhammad Nasir Ahmad; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Qirbi, Abu Bakr al-; Min. of Interior: Masri, Mutahir Rashid al-; Min. of Oil & Minerals: Aydarus, Amir Salim alZambia, Republic of—President: Banda, Rupiah; Vice President: Kunda, George; Min. of Defense: Mpombo, George; Min. of Finance & National Planning: Musokotwane, Situmbeko; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Pande, Kabinga; Min. of Mines & Mineral Resources: Mwale, Maxwell Zimbabwe, Republic of—President: Mugabe, Robert; Prime Minister: Tsvangirai, Morgan; Vice Presidents: Msika, Joseph; Mujuru, Joyce; Deputy Prime Ministers: Mutambara, Arthur; Khuoe, Thokozani; Min. of Agriculture, Mechanization & Irrigation Development: Made, Joseph; Min. of Defense: Mnangagwa, Emmerson; Min. of Finance: Biti, Tendai; Min. of Foreign Affairs: Mumbengegwi, Simbarashe; Min. of Home Affairs (shared): Mohadi, Kembo; Mutsekwa, Giles; Min. of Justice & Legal Affairs: Chinamasa, Patrick; Min. of Local Government: Chombo, Ignatius; Governor, Reserve Bank: Gono, Gideon

April 9, 2009

U.S. Navy Frees Hostage Captain After Standoff With Somali Pirates in Indian Ocean First Attack on U.S.-Flagged Merchant Ship.

A band of Somali pirates April 8 attempted to hijack the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama, a container ship bound for the Kenyan port of Mombasa carrying emergency food aid, in the Indian Ocean about 200 miles (320 km) southeast of the northern Somali town of Eyl. However, its 20-member U.S. crew managed to regain control of the ship from the pirates, who then took the ship’s captain, Richard Phillips, hostage and held him captive on a lifeboat. After a four-day standoff between the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Bainbridge and the pirates, U.S. Navy SEALs aboard the Bainbridge April 12 shot and killed the pirates and rescued Phillips. [See below, p. 66E3] The attack on the Maersk Alabama—the first by Somali pirates on a U.S.-flagged merchant ship—and the violent end to the standoff increased tensions in the waters near Somalia. In most previous hostage situations involving Somali pirates, negotiations had been carried out between the pirates and the owners of the ships, with minimal government involvement and little violence. However, French commandos April 10 had stormed a yacht hijacked by pirates off Somalia. [See below] Piracy had been on the rise off the Somali coast, in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, over the past year, primarily as a result of the lack of an effective Somali central government, an ongoing civil war between Somalia’s weak transitional government and Islamists, and extreme poverty that forced many former fishermen to turn to piracy. In 2009 alone, there had been more than 70 attacks to date. Private shipping companies had paid millions of dollars in ransom to the pirates, allowing them to purchase more sophisticated weapons, vessels and communications equipment. [See p. 115A1] The situation began to draw international attention after the capture of an arms-laden Ukrainian ship and a Saudi supertanker in late 2008 (both were later released after a ransom was paid). As of April 16, Somali pirates were holding at least 15 ships and some 300 crew members hostage, mainly near the coastal havens of Eyl and Harardhere, in Somalia’s semiautonomous Puntland region. Navies from the U.S., European nations, China, Japan and India had sent warships and other vessels to the area—one of the world’s busiest shipping routes—in an effort to curb the growing pirate threat. Stepped-up patrols in the narrow Gulf of Aden had resulted in the pirates shifting tactics and preying on ships in the Indian Ocean, off Somalia’s southeast coast. However, analysts said the area of the Indian Ocean in which the pirates operated was too large for international warships to monitor effectively. The International Maritime Bureau (IMB), which tracked incidents of piracy around the world, had called on shipping companies to implement measures to prevent or repel pirate attacks, although it discouraged arming the crews,

which were mainly comprised of merchant seamen not trained to use firearms. Crew Repels Pirates; Captain Held—

According to reports released soon after the April 8 incident, as well as accounts given April 14–15 by freed crew members of the Maersk Alabama, four armed pirates had boarded their ship from a small skiff and seized the bridge. (The Maersk Alabama was owned by Maersk Line Ltd., the U.S. subsidiary of Denmark’s A.P. MollerMaersk AS.) A crew member reportedly was able to sound an alarm before being apprehended by the pirates. Most of the crew sought shelter in designated safe rooms on the ship. Those included the engine room, where the ship’s engineer was able to transfer control of its propulsion and steering from the bridge. At one point later that day, the crew managed to overpower, injure and capture the apparent leader of the pirates. Phillips then offered to surrender to the pirates in exchange for the crew’s safety. The three other pirates took Phillips aboard a lifeboat. The two sides then reportedly agreed to exchange hostages; however, according to the U.S. Defense Department and crew members—who were in contact with the press and family members via cell phone— somehow the captured pirate was handed over but the captain was not. Meanwhile, the Bainbridge, part of the U.S. Navy’s Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet, which was on patrol about 300 miles away, set off for the site of the hijacking as soon as the alarm was sounded, and arrived on the scene early April 9. Sailors from the Bainbridge boarded the Maersk Alabama, and guided it, with the 19 remaining crew members, to Mombasa, where it reached port April 11. The Bainbridge stayed near the lifeboat, and made contact with the pirates the morning of April 9. Phillips sometime during the night of April 9–10 attempted to escape by jumping overboard and swimming away, but the pirates managed to pull him back into the lifeboat. As of April 10, the pirates reportedly had tied up Phillips and refused to allow the U.S. negotiators to speak to him. Later that day, the frigate USS Halyburton delivered special-operations forces, including Navy SEALs, to the Bainbridge, and remained in the area to help monitor the lifeboat. It was later joined by the USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship equipped with missile launchers and attack planes. Trained hostage negotiators from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), working from their headquarters in Quantico, Va., April 9 joined the talks to free Phillips. They reportedly negotiated with both the pirates in the lifeboat and with clan elders on the ground in Puntland. A ransom of between $2 million and $6 million reportedly was demanded. However, the talks broke down April 11, after the U.S. demanded the surrender of the pirates. The pirates April 11 were able to restart the lifeboat’s motor, which had been

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World News Digest With Index ©2009 by Facts On File News Services An imprint of Infobase Publishing

Volume 69, No. 3565 April 16, 2009

B stalled, and began heading toward the Somali coast. The next day, though, they apparently ran out of fuel, and asked to be towed. They also allowed the Bainbridge to deliver fresh food, water and clothing. The pirates’ apparent leader, who had been injured by the crew of the Maersk Alabama, went aboard the Bainbridge for treatment and to hold talks on the hostage situation. The Navy SEALs aboard the Bainbridge had been authorized by U.S. President Barack Obama to use deadly force against the pirates if they believed Phillips’s life to be in imminent danger. The pirates became more threatening April 12, firing a tracer round at one of the Bainbridge’s small boats. At about 7:00 p.m. local time, one was observed pointing his gun at Phillips’s back. SEAL snipers then were ordered to shoot the pirates, and killed all three with

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MAJOR STORIES IN THIS ISSUE U.S. Navy frees hostage captain after standoff with Somali pirates in Indian Ocean; first attack on U.S.-flagged merchant ship. PAGE 237

North Korea pulls out of nuclear talks over United Nations action; Security Council condemns missile launch.

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Obama sees ‘glimmer of hope’ in economy. PAGE 240

Goldman Sachs, other U.S. banks report profits. PAGE 241

Obama requests funds for Iraq and Afghanistan wars. PAGE 242

NSA violated law in data collection. PAGE 243

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U.S. lifts limits on family visits and remittances to Cuba. PAGE 248

Thai protesters clash with army. PAGE 249

Iran opens nuclear fuel plant. PAGE 254

Iraq truck bombing kills five U.S. troops. PAGE 254

Cabrera beats Perry in playoff to win golf’s Masters tournament. PAGE 255

REFERENCES in brackets give location of background information in this & preceding volumes.

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just three shots from a distance of between 75 and 100 feet (25–30 m). Phillips was not harmed. The four pirates were described as being in their late teens. U.S. authorities were still trying to determine how to handle the legal case of the one pirate who was aboard the Bainbridge at the time of Phillips’s rescue. The decision was reportedly complicated by an inability to determine the age of the captured pirate, who was believed to be between 16 and 20 years old. There was also the question of whether he should be tried in a U.S. court (which was permitted under U.S. law). The U.S. could also send him to Kenya for trial; it had negotiated an agreement with the Kenyan government to try other captured pirates there. Phillips, 53, arrived in Mombasa aboard the Bainbridge April 16. He was hailed as a hero by his crew for offering himself as a hostage in exchange for their freedom. The crew had been flown to Andrews Air Force Base in the U.S. earlier that day. French Commandos Storm Yacht— As the hostage drama involving the U.S. ship was unfolding, French naval commandos April 10 stormed a private yacht, the Tanit, that had been hijacked by pirates in the Gulf of Aden April 4. The pirates had been holding five hostages, including a three238

year-old boy and his parents. The boy’s father, Florent Lemacon, was killed in the rescue operation, along with two pirates. Three pirates were captured. French President Nicolas Sarkozy reportedly had ordered the attack on the yacht after the pirates threatened to kill the hostages. The French government April 11 said there would be a judicial investigation of the rescue operation. U.S. Sets Piracy Plan; Attacks Continue—

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton April 15 announced new nonmilitary efforts to thwart the pirates, including freezing their assets and working with shipping companies to improve their abilities to evade and defend against pirate attacks. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates April 13 had said there was “no purely military solution” to the piracy problem, and that it would be stopped only if a strong, stable central government was established in Somalia. Obama April 13 said, “I want to be very clear that we are resolved to halt the rise of piracy” off Somalia. In an indication of the insecurity within Somalia, Islamist insurgents April 13 fired mortar rounds at a privately chartered plane carrying U.S. Rep. Donald Payne (D, N.J.), the chairman of the U.S. House For-

eign Affairs subcommittee on Africa, as he was departing from Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital. The plane was not hit in the attack, but at least five civilians on the ground were killed. Payne earlier that day had toured part of the decimated city and met with Somali Interim President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. He was the first U.S. official to visit Mogadishu in years. Somali Interim Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke April 16 said in an interview with the Associated Press (AP) that his government had “information on who is behind [the pirate attacks], who is involved,” adding, “we are following very closely how money is distributed here.” He appealed for international help in stopping the pirate attacks. However, Sharmarke’s weak transitional government controlled only a small portion of Somalia. The rest of the country, which had a 1,900-mile-long coastline, was under the control of extremist Islamists led by the Al Shabab group, and, in the northern regions, clans based in Puntland and another semiautonomous region, Somaliland. The pirates appeared to be undeterred by the violent end to the hostage standoff. They captured at least four more ships April 14–15, and April 15 vowed to target U.S. ships and kill any U.S. seamen they captured. On April 14, they had targeted another U.S. cargo ship carrying food aid, the Liberty Sun, but it managed to evade the attack. The ship, which sustained some damage in the attempted hijacking, arrived in Mombasa April 16. The French frigate Nivose April 15 in the Indian Ocean seized a pirate “mother ship,” from which the pirates launched the smaller boats used in the hijackings, and captured 11 pirates. Somalia Declares Sharia Law— Ahmed, considered a moderate Islamist, Feb. 28 agreed to introduce Islamic, or sharia, law in Somalia as part of a deal with clan elders. The agreement March 10 was approved by the cabinet. The move was seen as an effort to undermine the influence of the more radical Islamist elements in Al Shabab. Osama bin Laden, leader of the international terrorist network Al Qaeda, in a March 19 audio recording posted on the Internet called for Ahmed to be overthrown. However, Ahmed March 28 rejected bin Laden’s statements, saying, “Al Qaeda has not taught us religion and they have nothing for us. Now, we have all-inclusive government and hope for lasting peace.” n

North Korea Pulls Out of Nuclear Talks Over U.N. Action Security Council Condemns Missile Launch.

North Korea’s foreign ministry April 14 said in a statement that the country was ending its participation in six-nation talks on the disFACTS ON FILE

mantling of its nuclear program, and vowed to restart the program, under which it was believed to have produced enough fuel for six nuclear bombs. The announcement came hours after the United Nations Security Council April 13 adopted a statement condemning North Korea for a recent rocket launch and calling for the imposition of sanctions. North Korea called the council’s action an “unbearable insult.” [See p. 215D1] The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations nuclear monitor, April 14 confirmed that North Korea had ordered its inspectors to unseal its Yongbyon plutonium-processing facility and leave the country. North Korea in 2002 had expelled IAEA inspectors and subsequently withdrawn from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, eventually leading to the six-way talks. The discussions in 2007 had yielded an agreement under which North Korea would abandon its nuclear program in exchange for economic and energy aid and diplomatic incentives. However, implementation of the agreement had been stalled by a dispute with the U.S. on verifying North Korea’s compliance. Also, North Korea’s relations with another participant, South Korea, had worsened over the past year. The recent launch, which North Korea claimed had put a satellite into space but the U.S. and allies called an illicit missile test, had been seen as a characteristic bid to strengthen its diplomatic negotiating position with belligerent moves. In its announcement, North Korea said the nuclear talks had “lost the meaning of their existence” and that it would “never again take part in such talks and will not be bound by any agreement reached at the talks.” North Korea’s counterparts urged it to return to the discussions. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs called North Korea’s declaration a “serious step in the wrong direction.” China in a statement called for “calmness and restraint.” Council Compromises on Rebuke—The Security Council’s unanimous April 13 condemnation of North Korea’s launch reflected a compromise reached April 12 after the U.S.’s call for stronger action was resisted by China and Russia. The council called the launch a violation of resolutions prohibiting the country from conducting missile tests, passed in 2006 after a set of missile launches and a nuclear test by North Korea. However, the condemnation took the form of a statement, a less forceful measure than a resolution. It called for the imposition of sanctions that had been approved in 2006 but not yet enforced, in order to avoid further jeopardizing the six-way process. A committee of the Security Council’s members was given until April 24 to draw up a list of North Korean companies and individuals to be subjected to the sanctions. South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung Hwan April 13 said South Korea was considering joining the U.S.-sponsored Proliferation Security Initiative, a multinational program to interdict shipments of banned weapons that was seen as aimed principally at North Korea. Participation by South Korea was thought likely to make the April 16, 2009

program more effective than it had been since it was started in 2003. North Korea had said it would consider a South Korean decision to join to be effectively a declaration of war. [See 2006, p. 874A3] n

Space Shuttle Completes Delivery of Solar Arrays.

The U.S. space shuttle Discovery March 15–28 carried out a mission to the International Space Station, completing the delivery and installation of solar panel arrays that would fully power the station, ahead of the planned expansion of the station’s crew to six astronauts, from three, in May. The shuttle also delivered a replacement centrifuge for a malfunctioning water-recycling system that was designed to convert the station’s waste water, including astronauts’ urine, into drinking water. [See 2008, pp. 879D3, 429B1] Discovery lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., at 7:43 p.m. Eastern standard time March 15, after the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Feb. 3–March 11 had delayed three previously scheduled launches to make necessary shuttle repairs. The crew’s commander was Air Force Col. Lee Archambault, 48, and the pilot was Navy Cmdr. Dominic (Tony) Antonelli, 41. The mission specialists were Joseph Acaba, 41; John Phillips, 57; Richard Arnold 2nd, 45; Steven Swanson, 48; and Koichi Wakata, 45, of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Wakata stayed on board the station, replacing outgoing crew member Sandra Magnus, 44, who returned to Earth with the shuttle after a four-month sojourn in space. [See below] Discovery docked with the station March 17. On the mission’s first space walk, Swanson and Arnold March 19 installed the final solar arrays with the aid of the station’s robotic arm. The next day, the wings were successfully unfurled. On a March 21 space walk, Swanson and Acaba began removing the batteries in the truss for replacement. Acaba and Arnold, both selected in 2004 through educator-astronaut program, March 23 conducted the mission’s final space walk, the first time that both astronauts on a space walk were former teachers. While docked with the station, the pilots of the Discovery March 23 fired the shuttle’s thrusters to avoid a possible collision with an old Chinese rocket body. In recent weeks, space debris had become an increasing threat to the safety of the astronauts aboard the station. The crew station March 12 had taken refuge in an attached Russian spacecraft in response to another old rocket part passing close by the station. [See p. 91F2] Discovery departed the station March 25. The orbiter March 28 touched down in Cape Canaveral at 3:13 p.m. Eastern standard time. It was the 125th U.S. space shuttle mission, and the 36th flight of Discovery. Station Crew Exchanged—Wakata joined current international crew members Michael Finke of the U.S. and Yury Lonchakov of Russia at the end of their six-month space stay. On March 28, a Russian Soyuz

spacecraft docked with the station, having been launched on March 26 from Baikonur Cosmodome in Kazakhstan with the rest of the incoming crew. They were Gennady Padalka of Russia and Michael Barratt of the U.S., accompanied by U.S. space “tourist” Charles Simonyi, to the station. The Hungarian-born Simonyi, a billionaire software developer, had visited the station once before in April 2007, becoming the first paying tourist to make a second voyage. Finke, Lonchakov and Simonyi April 8 returned to Earth, landing in a Soyuz vessel in Kazakhstan. [See 2007, p. 291D2] n

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Other International News Alleged Nazi Guard Demjanjuk Charged.

Prosecutors in Munich, Germany, March 11 said they had issued an arrest warrant for U.S. resident John Demjanjuk on charges of acting as an accessory to the murder of more than 29,000 Jews while working as a guard at Sobibor, a Nazi death camp in Poland, in 1943, during World War II. [See 2008, p. 345E1; 1993, p. 764E1] Demjanjuk, 88, denied the charges. He was now a retired autoworker living in Ohio, having immigrated to the U.S. from his native Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union, in 1952. He had been involved in legal battles over similar allegations for much of the past three decades, since the U.S. Justice Department first accused him in 1977 of having been a Nazi camp guard. In 1986, the U.S. had extradited him to Israel, where he was convicted and sentenced to death in 1988 on charges of having been a Nazi guard known as “Ivan the Terrible” at the Treblinka death camp in Poland. But the Israeli Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 1993, finding that new evidence showed that he was not “Ivan.” Israel subsequently returned him to the U.S., which said it lacked jurisdiction to prosecute him for war crimes. In 2002, a U.S. federal judge determined that Demjanjuk had in fact been a Nazi camp guard, and stripped him of his citizenship for a second time; it had been reinstated in 1998. A U.S. immigration judge in 2005 ordered his deportation to Germany, Poland or Ukraine. He appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which in May 2008 declined to hear the case. U.S. Court Grants Last-Minute Stay—A three-judge panel of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio, April 14 granted Demjanjuk a stay of his deportation. Federal immigration agents earlier that day had removed him in a wheelchair from his home in a Cleveland suburb. He was released and returned home hours later, after the appeals court issued the stay. The court said it would consider a motion he had filed asserting that he suffered from a variety of ailments that would make deportation to Germany tantamount to torture. The U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals in Falls Church, Va., April 10 had denied Demjanjuk’s appeal for an emergency stay of deportation, and April 16 rejected a request that it reopen the case against him.n 239

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Barack Obama April 14 said there were “glimmers of hope” that the economy was beginning to pull out of a deep recession, even as he warned that there would be “more job losses, more foreclosures and more pain before it ends.” Obama’s remarks came during a speech at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he characterized his administration’s policy proposals on health care, energy and education as parts of an overarching plan to establish a foundation for long-term economic stability. [See pp. 219B2, 217D3, 181D2] Obama said five “pillars” were necessary for sustainable economic growth: tighter regulations on the financial industry, which had played a major role in pushing the economy into recession; investments in education to improve the competitiveness of U.S. workers; support for alternative sources of energy, which would reduce the U.S.’s dependence on foreign oil; reductions in the cost of health care; and slowing the growth of spending on Medicare, Social Security and other entitlement programs, with the aim of closing the long-term budget deficit. [See pp. 201E2, 180A3, 178A2, 149B2, 145C3] Obama addressed critics who said he was tackling too many problems at once— some of which were controversial and had proved intractable to presidents before him—and should focus on stabilizing the weakened financial system and stemming a rising number of job losses. Obama countered that wide-ranging reform was necessary for a strong economy. Referring to a biblical parable in Jesus Christ’s Sermon on the Mount, Obama said, “We cannot rebuild this economy on the same pile of sand. We must build our house upon a rock.” He said, “If we don’t lay this foundation now, it won’t be long before we’re right back where we are today.” He said his initiatives would not likely provide the “instant gratification” that politicians had grown accustomed to, adding, “There’s been a tendency to spend a lot of time scoring political points instead of rolling up sleeves to solve real problems.” Obama addressed criticism that his administration had not been aggressive enough in resolving problems in the banking industry. He dismissed proposals to nationalize some of the country’s largest struggling banks, arguing that such moves would likely “end up costing taxpayers even more in the end,” and undermine confidence in the financial system. Obama also dismissed claims that he was, as he put it, “spending with reckless abandon, pushing a liberal social agenda while mortgaging our children’s future.” After Obama’s speech, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R, Ohio) reiterated the Republican charge that Obama was spending too much and bloating the budget. Boehner said Obama had chosen to “ignore entitlement reform” in his budget proposal for fiscal year 2010. n

MERCHANDISE TRADE DATA

Country/ Region China Japan Canada European Union Mexico NICs†

Deficit/Surplus* February January 2009 2009 -14.20 -2.21 -1.82 -3.34 -3.10 0.03

-20.57 -4.30 -2.55 -3.48 -2.68 -1.62

*Bilateral trade figures in billions of dollars unadjusted for seasonal variations. The data—except figures given for Canada—do not include revisions of month-earlier figures. †Newly industrialized countries—Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea.

Trade Deficit Fell to $26 Billion in February.

The Commerce Department April 9 reported that the seasonally adjusted U.S. trade deficit in Trade Deficit goods and servicbillions) es for February February(in2009 $25.97 was $26.0 billion, Previous Month $36.20 down from a re- Year Earlier $61.88 vised $36.2 billion in January, and the smallest deficit since November 1999. The drop came as a result of an ongoing recession, which suppressed U.S. demand for imports. But exports rose for the first time since July 2008, which could have a beneficial impact on the U.S. economy. [See p. 164F1] Economists warned that the spike in exports could be an anomaly, and that international demand for U.S. goods would likely remain depressed for some months. But they said February’s export numbers could limit the rate at which U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) contracted in the first quarter of 2008. Adding to a growing sense of optimism among economists, Lawrence Summers, director of the White House National Economic Council, that day predicted that the “sense of a free fall” the economy had recently experienced would likely “end within the next few months.” Exports in February rose to $126.8 billion, a $2.0 billion increase from the preceding month. The change was led by increased exports of consumer goods and automotive vehicles, parts and engines. Imports decreased by $8.2 billion in February, to $152.7 billion, the seventh straight month of declines. The change was led by decreased imports of industrial supplies and materials, and capital goods. Separately, the U.S. current account, the broadest measure of the nation’s international trade, recorded a deficit of $132.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008, down from a revised $181.3 billion in the third quarter, and the smallest deficit since the fourth quarter of 2003, the Commerce Department reported March 18. The current account included investment income and foreign aid as well as trade in goods and services. [See 2008, p. 937D3] n Consumer Prices Fell 0.1% in March. The Labor Department April 15 reported that its consumer price index (CPI), which tracked prices paid for consumer goods by all urban consumers, fell 0.1% in March, with adjustment for seasonal variation, after

climbing 0.4% in February. For the 12month period through March, the overall unadjusted inInflation (CPI) flation rate was 2009 -0.1% -0.4%, the first March Previous Month 0.4% time prices had 12-Month Increase -0.4% fallen over a one-year period since August 1955. The yearly decline was attributed to a 23% fall in the price of energy, as an ongoing recession led to depressed demand for gasoline and other petroleum products. [See p. 182E3] Energy prices fell 3.0% in March. “Core” consumer prices, which excluded volatile energy and food costs, rose 0.2% in March, although 60% of that gain was due to a tax increase on tobacco products. For the 12-month period through March, core consumer prices climbed 1.8%. n Retail Sales Fell 1.1% in March. The Commerce Department April 14 reported that the value of retail sales in March was $344.4 billion, after seasonal adjustment. That was 1.1% below the revised figure for February, and ended two straight months of gains in retail sales, an important economic indicator since consumer spending accounted for more than two-thirds of the economy’s gross domestic product (GDP). The report dimmed hopes that the economy was beginning to pull out of a deep recession, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average that day fell 137.63 points, or 1.7%, to end at 7,920.18. [See p. 219E3] Contributing to the Dow’s slide was a report released that day by the Labor Department showing that, according to its producer price index (PPI), prices charged by manufacturers and producers of finished goods in March fell 1.2% after seasonal adjustment. Falling prices indicated

Facts On File World News Digest With Index (ISSN 0014-6641) Publication #183680 EDITOR IN CHIEF: Jonathan Taylor MANAGING EDITOR: Jennifer Dunham SENIOR EDITOR: Joshua Lustig EDITORS: Rahul Chadha, Ian McGullam, Ryu Spaeth ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Todd Grennan, Shannon O’Toole DATABASE COORDINATOR: Ben Miller INDEX EDITOR: Jonathan Leith COPY EDITOR: Walter Kronenberg EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS: Ingrid Jungermann, Ernesto Malinis Jr. FACTS ON FILE World News Digest is published weekly by Facts On File News Services, an imprint of Infobase Publishing, 132 West 31st Street, 17th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001 (212-290-8090). Subscription $900 a year. Yearbooks (bound volumes) available from 1941. Cumulative Index published twice a month. Vice President & Publisher: Louise Bloomfield. Associate Publisher: Marjorie B. Bank. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y. and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Facts On File World News Digest, Facts On File News Services, 132 West 31st Street, 17th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001

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that demand remained depressed as a result of the economic slowdown. [See p. 219C3] The Labor Department said “core” producer prices, which excluded volatile energy and food prices, remained flat in March, while energy prices fell 5.5%. The finished goods index, before seasonal adjustment, stood at 168.9% of its 1982 base average, meaning that a basket of goods that had cost $100 in 1982 would have cost $168.90 in March. Prices for intermediate, or partially processed, goods dropped 1.5% in March, and prices for crude goods fell 0.3%. n Federal Reserve Issues ‘Beige Book.’ The Federal Reserve April 15 issued its “beige book” survey of economic data covering the previous six weeks, finding that “overall economic activity contracted further or remained weak” during that time, but that areas of the country showed a “moderation in the pace of decline.” The survey was compiled eight times a year on a rotating basis by the Fed’s 12 regional banks. [See p. 147A3] The Fed said manufacturing activity “weakened across a broad range of industries,” and that residential real estate markets “continued to be weak,” with falling home prices and construction work. The Fed said, “Downward pressure on prices was reported” across the country, and that “employment continued to decline across a range of industries.” [See pp. 240G2, 219B2] The Fed April 15 also reported that its industrial production index decreased 1.5% in March. Based on revised data, the Fed found that industrial production had fallen 1.5% in February. The overall index now stood at 97.4% of its 2002 base average, down from its revised level of 98.8% for February. Manufacturing production fell 1.7% in March. The output of utilities rose 1.8%, and mining output fell 3.2%. Factories, mines and utilities operated at 69.3% of their total capacity in March. [See p. 183A2] n

a result of its conversion to a bank holding company in September 2008. While a handful of small banks had repaid the government, Goldman was poised to become the first major bank to do so. Goldman had navigated the financial crisis relatively well, since it had chosen not to invest as heavily as its competitors in the housing market, which entered a deep slump in 2006. It still needed approval from the Treasury and the Federal Reserve to return the TARP money, pending results from “stress tests” that they were currently conducting to gauge the health of the country’s major banks. [See below] Goldman executives for some months had suggested that they were eager to repay the TARP money. There were concerns that the government could impose new compensation limits at financial institutions that had received TARP aid, which companies said would hurt their ability to retain top talent and remain competitive, particularly with foreign banks that were not subject to such limits. Banks that had received TARP aid had come under intense public scrutiny, following revelations that some had continued to grant bonuses and other perks to executives. But there were growing concerns that Goldman’s move could put pressure on other banks to return their TARP money, since investors could come to see government assistance as a sign of weakness. A rush by banks to purge themselves of government money could hamper the Obama administration’s efforts to resolve an ongoing freeze in credit markets, since returning the funds would deplete the capital reserves the banks needed to make loans. And weakened banks that had no choice but to keep the TARP money could see their share prices slide. That scenario was a principal reason Treasury officials in the fall of 2008 had pressured all the country’s major banks to accept an infusion of government money, even the healthier ones. [See 2008, p. 738A1]

Mortgage & Credit Crisis

New York City–based J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. April 16 reported a first quarter profit of $2.1 billion, down 10% from the same period a year earlier, but better than analysts’ expectations. Profits from the banking giant’s investment-banking division outweighed losses on loan defaults. J.P. Morgan Chase said it would set aside $4.2 billion to offset potential losses in the future. [See p. 127G3] J.P. Morgan Chase Chief Executive Officer (CEO) James Dimon that day said his bank wanted to return its $25 billion TARP allotment, saying it had become a “scarlet letter” that imposed too many requirements and invited too much public attention. Dimon maintained that the bank had adequate reserves to pay the money back “tomorrow,” and that he was waiting for the government to approve such a move. Dimon also said J.P. Morgan Chase would not participate in a $1 trillion government plan to team up with the private sector to purchase toxic assets backed by risky mortgages. [See p. 177A1]

J.P. Morgan Profit Beats Expectations— Goldman Sachs Reports First-Quarter Profit.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. April 13 reported first quarter net income of $1.81 billion, a larger profit than market observers had expected, and a reversal from the $2.3 billion loss it had posted in the fourth quarter of 2008. The New York City–based bank also said it would sell $5 billion in new shares in an effort to repay the $10 billion it had received from the government’s $700 billion financial industry rescue fund, known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Goldman April 14 conducted its stock sale, selling $5 billion worth of shares at $123 apiece. [See pp. 219F3, 110A2; 2008, p. 934C2] The profits largely stemmed from Goldman’s fixed-income, currencies and commodities division. Goldman also reported a $780 million loss for December 2008, which was recorded separately while Goldman adjusted to a new fiscal calendar that used January as the year’s starting point, as April 16, 2009

Wells Fargo Reports Record Profit—San Francisco, Calif.–based Wells Fargo & Co. April 9 announced that it would show a record $3 billion profit for the first quarter of 2008 when it filed its official quarterly report April 22. The company said the better-than-expected performance was due to “exceptionally strong” results from its mortgage businesses, which analysts attributed to recent government efforts to lower mortgage interest rates. Wells Fargo also said its 2008 acquisition of rival Wachovia Corp. had contributed to its profits. [See p. 163A3; 2008, p. 953E3] The news pushed stock markets higher, sustaining a weeks-long climb, particularly for shares of banks that were perceived to be recovering from the financial crisis. The Dow Jones Industrial Average April 9 rose 246 points, or 3.14%, to end at 8,083. Wells Fargo’s share price on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) rose by 31.7% to end at $19.61. But analysts warned that the profit reports could be masking deeper problems in the banking industry. They said many banks were still weighed down by toxic mortgage-backed assets, and that rates of defaults on loans continued to be high. First Banks Repay Aid Funds—Four regional banks March 31 became the first to return their allotment of TARP aid. The government had assisted more than 500 banks through TARP. Previously, banks had been required to raise private capital before returning the money, but a $787 billion economic recovery plan passed in February eased those requirements. Executives said they had returned the money partly to avoid potential new caps on executive compensation. The banks were New York-based Signature Bank, Indiana-based Old National Bancorp, Louisiana-based IberiaBank and California-based Bank of Marin Bancorp. [See pp. 220C1, 91D1] $134.5 Billion Left in TARP— Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said about $134.5 billion of TARP money remained at the government’s disposal, in a television interview on ABC’s “This Week” that was broadcast March 29. Geithner said the estimate was based on “a very conservative judgment” that the Treasury would receive at least $25 billion back from financial institutions that had benefited from TARP aid. Geithner said the Obama administration had “substantial resources” to carry out its initiatives to revive the economy and fix the financial system, but that it was possible the administration would turn back to Congress for additional funds. [See p. 177A1] n News in Brief. Credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service April 8 downgraded Omaha, Neb.–based holding company Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s credit rating to AA2, from the top rating of AAA, saying “a severe decline in equity markets” and a “protracted economic recession” had taken a toll on the company, headed by billionaire investor Warren Buffett. Credit rating agency Fitch Ratings March 12 had downgraded Berkshire Hathaway to AA-plus, from AAA. Berkshire Hathaway Feb. 28 241

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had reported a $4.99 billion profit for 2008, down from $13.21 billion the previous year. [See p. 100E2] Maurice (Hank) Greenberg, former chief executive officer (CEO) of insurance giant American International Group Inc. (AIG), April 2 testified to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that he bore no responsibility for the near-collapse of AIG in 2008, which led to a $170 billion government rescue. Greenberg, who was ousted from AIG in 2005, blamed the company’s woes on the management team that succeeded him. AIG released a statement that day saying Greenberg during his tenure had overseen AIG’s investments in the credit-default-swap market, where it underwrote insurance on risky mortgages. Those investments had resulted in massive losses for AIG. The company said Greenberg’s claims were “implausible” and “not grounded in reality.” [See p. 219F3; 2005, p. 189B2] Moody’s March 23 downgraded the credit rating of multinational conglomerate General Electric Co. (GE), to AA2, from AAA, a rating GE had held since 1967. The agency cited strains on GE’s viability stemming from its finance unit, GE Capital Corp., which specialized in credit cards, home mortgages and commercial real estate. Credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s March 12 had downgraded GE’s rating to AA-plus, from AAA, a rating GE had held since 1956. [See p. 127E1] n

Defense Obama Requests Funds for Iraq, Afghanistan.

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President Barack Obama April 9 sent a supplemental spending bill to Congress asking for $83.4 billion to pay for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Obama had decried the practice of his predecessor, George W. Bush, of funding the Iraq and Afghanistan wars with emergency supplemental spending bills, and in February had pledged to include their costs in the regular Defense Department budget. However, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said one last supplemental spending bill was needed because the Bush administration had funded the wars only through the first half of fiscal year 2009. Gibbs said that starting in fiscal 2010, which began Oct. 1, the wars’ costs would be included in the Defense Department budget. White House officials said Congress had been asked to pass the bill by May 25. [See pp. 194G2, 125C1, 121A1; 2008, p. 490D1] U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates at a news conference said the bill was necessary, adding, “The alternative to the supplemental is a sudden and precipitous withdrawal of the United States from” Iraq and Afghanistan, “and I don’t know anybody who thinks that’s a good idea.” The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said that nearly $76 billion of the funds would go to the Defense Department, while the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) would receive some $7 billion. In addition to funding military operations and equipment, the bill in242

cluded $1.6 billion for economic aid and an increase in U.S. diplomatic and civilian personnel in Afghanistan, and $1.4 billion for those purposes in Pakistan. It also would include aid for the Palestinian territories and money for nuclear nonproliferation efforts. Obama urged legislators not to add “unnecessary spending” to the bill. It was expected that the legislation would be passed with bipartisan support, although some antiwar Democrats opposed it, saying it would extend the U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. n No Wrongdoing Found in Media Program.

The Defense Department inspector general’s office Jan. 16 reported that a public relations program that had recruited retired officers to appear on television and radio news programs as independent “military analysts” had not broken any regulations. The program was first reported in April 2008 by the New York Times, and at least 45 members of Congress had called for an investigation. [See 2008, pp. 962A2, 312F1] The inspector general’s office said there was an “insufficient basis” for concluding that the program violated internal policies or laws prohibiting propaganda, which it said was not clearly defined. It reported that there was not enough evidence to show that the department “undertook a disciplined effort” to build a corps of analysts “who could be depended on to comment favorably on DoD [Department of Defense] programs,” despite several references to the analysts as “surrogates” in official documents. In addition, it said it had not found any instances in which analysts had used their military connections to benefit companies with which they had ties. Some Democratic legislators said the investigation was seriously flawed, and added that investigators had not been able to interview several of the analyst program’s creators. The Times Jan. 17 reported that the investigation had overlooked obvious relationships between some analysts and companies. Two other investigations of the program were ongoing, one by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the other by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). n

2008 Elections Minn. Court Rules for Franken in Recount.

A special panel of three Minnesota state judges April 13 ruled that Democrat Al Franken had won more votes than the oneterm incumbent Republican, Norm Coleman, in the state’s November 2008 Senate election. The ruling followed a statewide recount and a seven-week trial. However, Coleman vowed to continue his legal challenge to the official results by appealing to the state Supreme Court, a step that could add weeks to the delay in seating Minnesota’s second senator. Either candidate could subsequently appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. [See p. 201B2] Franken’s lead April 7 had grown to 312 votes, from 225, out of 2.9 million ballots cast, after the court reviewed more than

300 absentee ballots that had been excluded from the earlier counts. Coleman argued that about 4,700 ballots had been wrongly rejected. Franken, a former comedian, would provide the 59th vote for the Democratic majority in the Senate (including two independents who usually voted with the Democrats). That would leave the Democrats just one vote short of the 60 needed to prevent filibusters by the Republican minority. Senate Republicans had urged Coleman not to give up his challenge. Meanwhile, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D), first elected in 2006, had been Minnesota’s sole senator since the opening of the 111th Congress in January. She was handling a double workload of constituent services and other home state responsibilities. n

Politics Antitax ‘Tea Parties’ Held Across U.S.

Antitax protesters April 15 held hundreds of “tea parties” in cities across the U.S. to mark the annual tax filing deadline and criticize President Barack Obama’s policies and proposals, which they said entailed excessive federal spending that would inevitably lead to higher taxes. They drew inspiration from the Boston Tea Party, the 1773 protest against British colonial taxation that was a key event leading to the American Revolution. [See p. 240A1] The April 15 tea parties took place in more than 800 cities and towns. The total number of participants was estimated in the hundreds of thousands. Organizers of the tea parties said their plans had sprung up on the Internet as a nonpartisan, grass-roots phenomenon, partly in response to a February rant against Obama’s economic policies by Rick Santelli, a business commentator for cable news channel CNBC. But Democrats and liberal groups dismissed the protests as a pseudo-populist spectacle staged by organizations linked to the Republican Party and conservative media outlets such as the Fox News cable channel, which devoted day-long coverage to the tea parties. FreedomWorks, a conservative group led by lobbyist and former House Majority Leader Richard Armey (R, Texas), had promoted the tea parties. Armey appeared at a tea party in Atlanta, Ga., while former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R, Ga.) spoke at one in New York City. Gingrich had signaled that he was considering a candidacy for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Protesters also held a tea party in Lafayette Park, across from the White House in Washington, D.C. It was dispersed after a protester threw a box of tea bags over the White House perimeter fence. The Secret Service used a robot to check the contents of the box. Obama April 15 gave a speech at the Old Executive Office Building in Washington to defend his tax policies, which he asserted had already provided relief for 95% of taxpayers. Among other measures, he cited a payroll tax cut of up to $800 for FACTS ON FILE

lower- and middle-income couples, which had been included in a $787 billion economic stimulus package enacted in February. [See p. 218C1] Obama also pledged to pursue reforms to simplify what he called the “monstrous tax code.” He said he had asked his independent economic advisory board, led by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, to provide him with proposals for such reforms by the end of the year. Obamas Report $2.6 Million in Income—

Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, had reported $2,656,902 in adjusted gross income and paid $855,323 in federal income taxes for 2008, according to copies of their tax return released April 15 by the White House. More than $2.4 million of their income came in royalties from sales of his two books, Dreams From My Father and The Audacity of Hope, which had shot up during his presidential campaign, earning him $4.2 million in 2007. [See p. 201C1] The rest of the couple’s income came from Obama’s salary as a U.S. senator and his wife’s job as an executive at the University of Chicago Hospitals. They had resigned from both of those jobs after he won the election in November 2008. The Obamas reported giving a total of $172,050, or nearly 6.5% of their income, to 37 charities in 2008. The White House also released the 2008 joint tax return filed by Vice President Joseph Biden and his wife, Jill Biden. They reported income of $269,256, and paid $46,952 in federal income tax. The Bidens reported $1,885 in charitable donations, or less than 1% of their income, but the White House said that they had not reported all of their donations on their tax return, and that they had also donated their time to favorite causes. n Rep. Waters’s Bank Ties Questioned. The Wall Street Journal March 12 reported that Rep. Maxine Waters (D, Calif.) in the fall of 2008 had helped arrange a meeting between struggling Boston, Mass.–based bank OneUnited Bank and Treasury officials. Waters and her husband, Sidney Williams, had once owned stock in the bank, and OneUnited in December 2008 received $12 million in government aid, suggesting a possible conflict of interest. Williams had also sat on the bank’s board. [See p. 241C1; 1997, p. 785G2] The New York Times, citing unidentified officials, March 13 reported that OneUnited representatives had asked for $50 million in aid at a September 2008 meeting with federal officials that Waters had requested. Waters, who was black, March 13 denied any wrongdoing, claiming that she had merely tried to ensure that minorityowned banks like OneUnited had access to the government’s aid programs. Waters that day said her husband still owned OneUnited stock. She had disclosed in 2008 that he had two investments in the bank of up to $500,000 each. She had also acquired shares worth up to $500,000 in 2004, but sold them later that year. n April 16, 2009

State & Local Politics Ex–Illinois Gov. Blagojevich Pleads Not Guilty.

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), appearing for his arraignment at U.S. District Court in Chicago, April 14 pleaded not guilty to 16 felony counts related to corruption in office, including racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud. A federal grand jury had indicted him the previous week, after he was impeached and removed from office by the state legislature in January. [See p. 218B3] His brother, Robert Blagojevich, also pleaded not guilty April 14. They were charged, along with four others, of conspiring to abuse the powers of the governor’s office for personal gain and divide the spoils after he left office. One of the other defendants, Rod Blagojevich’s former chief of staff John Harris, was cooperating with prosecutors. Harris, fund-raiser Christopher Kelley and power broker William Cellini April 16 pleaded not guilty. Asked by reporters how he planned to defend himself in court, Blagojevich said, “I believe in the truth, and I believe the truth is what matters ultimately.” The NBC television network later that day issued a statement confirming that it had reached a preliminary agreement with Blagojevich for him to appear on a reality show, “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!” The series was to be set in Costa Rica in June. NBC said Blagojevich’s participation would depend on his receiving court approval. n

Intelligence NSA Violated Law in Data Collection. The Justice Department April 15 acknowledged that the National Security Agency (NSA) had violated U.S. intelligence laws by using surveillance to capture information it was not authorized to collect without a warrant. The admission came in response to inquiries by the New York Times, which broke the story on its Web site on April 15. Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair April 16 acknowledged that the NSA had, in a “small” number of instances, “intercepted the wrong communications.” [See 2008, pp. 921E3, 884C1] The NSA had begun to conduct wiretapping and other electronic surveillance without warrants within the U.S. under the Bush administration after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the U.S. The existence of the program was revealed in 2005. According to the statement, the violations had been uncovered in a routine investigation of NSA surveillance programs by the Justice Department and the NSA that was connected to the twice-annual certification of the NSA’s wiretapping procedures by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a special court set up by the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The statement did not say how long the violations had gone on or how many people had been unlawfully surveilled. An

internal investigation into the issue was reportedly ongoing. The Justice Department said that the court and all relevant congressional committees—including the Judiciary and Intelligence committees in both the House and Senate—had been briefed on the violations. In addition, the Justice Department said that new safeguards intended to protect the civil liberties of U.S. residents had been put in place before Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. requested that the court reauthorize the program. The Times reported that the violations had stemmed from technical difficulties that made it hard for the NSA to separate electronic communications that were between people inside the U.S. from those that merely passed through U.S. routers and servers. The NSA was barred from intercepting data passed between persons inside the U.S. without a warrant, but was allowed to capture such data if it originated or ended outside the U.S. It was unclear if anyone within the NSA had actually examined any of the illegally gathered data prior to the discovery of the violations. Feinstein to Hold Hearing— Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D, Calif.) April 16 said her committee would investigate the “serious allegations” and hold a special hearing on the matter. The hearing was expected to be closed to the public and to focus on aspects of the violations that had not been disclosed at the Justice Department briefing. Surveillance of Lawmaker Mulled— The Times report said also that an ongoing Justice Department investigation into the program had found that the NSA had attempted to wiretap a member of Congress after that person had met with a suspected Muslim extremist during a congressional trip to the Middle East in 2005 or 2006. Between 2005 and 2006, the NSA reportedly monitored anyone observed communicating with someone who was already under surveillance, creating a continuously growing surveillance network. The attempt to wiretap the member of Congress was reportedly shelved. n Wiretapping Lawsuit Allowed. Judge Vaughn Walker of U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Calif., Jan. 5 ruled that a charity suing the government over a warrantless wiretapping program run by the National Security Agency (NSA) had shown through nonclassified means that it had the legal standing to sue, allowing the case to go forward. In addition, he ruled that attorneys representing the charity could be given private access to a classified document central to the case. Walker also ruled that he himself should be able to examine the document. Walker had ruled in July 2008 that the NSA’s wiretapping program had been illegal. [See p. 80C2; 2008, p. 466B1] The charity, the Al Haramain Islamic Foundation, was the now-defunct U.S. branch of a Saudi charitable organization that had been closed after the Treasury Department listed it as a terrorist organization in 2004. Al Haramain had been accused of serving as a financial conduit for violent Is243

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lamist terrorist groups operating in Russia’s Chechnya republic and elsewhere. Al Haramain said it had accidentally been given a document by the U.S. government that showed that the foundation and two of its lawyers had been subject to illegal wiretaps by the Bush administration. The government had subsequently seized the documents, making it difficult for the lawsuit filed by Al Haramain to proceed. However, Walker had ruled in July that the foundation could refile its lawsuit if it could show, without using classified sources, that the group had been targeted for warrantless wiretapping. The Justice Department under the Bush administration had argued that allowing the case to go forward could jeopardize state secrets needed to ensure national security. The Obama administration’s Justice Department Feb. 11 requested that Walker suspend the foundation’s lawsuit, citing the same state secrets privilege previously used by the Bush administration, and appealed Walker’s January ruling after he refused to do so. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco Feb. 27 declined to hear the Justice Department’s appeal, ruling that it did not have the authority to challenge Walker’s decision to allow himself and attorneys for the foundation to examine the classified document. The Justice Department had argued in its appeal that allowing anyone outside the government to read the document would endanger national security. It was also argued that the foundation could not sue the government unless the government admitted that it had wiretapped members of the organization without a warrant. Following the ruling, the Justice Department Feb. 27 filed a brief demanding that Walker give it advance notice of any plans to allow the foundation’s lawyers to look at the classified document, a copy of which was held secretly by the court, or to examine the document himself, so that the government could “withdraw that information from submission to the Court.” An attorney for Al Haramain Feb. 28 wrote in an e-mail to reporters that the government was threatening to forcibly seize the document from the court, which he said would be “an unprecedented violation of the constitutional separation of powers.” State Secrets Claimed in Separate Case—

The Justice Department April 3 filed a motion in U.S. District Court in San Francisco arguing that allowing the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a civil liberties advocacy group, to pursue a lawsuit related to the NSA’s warrantless wiretapping program would endanger national security by revealing state secrets. The EFF’s lawsuit was filed on behalf of customers of AT&T Inc., which had allegedly allowed the NSA to examine calls and e-mails made by its customers without warrants. The case, Jewel v. Bush, was also being overseen by Walker. [See 2007, p. 665G1] n News in Brief. A spokesman for the secret intelligence court set up by the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) 244

April 6 announced that Judge John Bates of U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., had been named as the next chief judge of the court in March by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. Bates had been appointed to the court, which was known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, by Roberts in 2006; his term as chief judge was scheduled to begin in May and would last until February 2013. [See p. 20A3] Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair April 7 announced that the government would develop new surveillance satellites to replace some of its current fleet, and would increase its use of data gathered by private satellite operators to fill intelligence gaps in the interim. The details of the program, which had been approved April 6 by President Barack Obama, were classified, but it was expected to cost about $10 billion and to use satellites built by Lockheed Martin Corp. The plan replaced a Bush administration program that had been scaled back after repeated delays and cost overruns. [See 2008, p. 449D2] n

Terrorism Detainees Medical Workers Called Complicit in Torture.

The actions of medical personnel who were employed by the U.S. government to assist in the interrogation of terrorism detainees constituted a “gross breach of medical ethics,” according to a confidential 2007 International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) report that was posted in its entirety April 6 on the Web site of the New York Review of Books. Excerpts and summaries of the report, which examined the treatment of terrorism detainees held in a number of secret prisons run by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), had previously been published, but the contents relating to medical personnel had not been disclosed. [See p. 183G2] According to the report, medical professionals were used by the government to monitor the pulse and oxygen levels of detainees who were being subjected to waterboarding, a type of simulated drowning, and in some cases stopped the procedure if the detainee’s vital signs suggested a problem. Medical personnel also watched over the use of other so-called harsh interrogation techniques, including the use of extreme temperatures and stress positions, that the report said constituted torture. The report found that the medical personnel were being kept on hand “to serve the interrogation process and not the patient,” but argued that the involvement of the personnel would have violated medical ethics even if the primary intention of the medical workers had been to safeguard the health of the detainees. It said the medical workers had “condoned, and participated in ill-treatment,” and suggested that they were complicit in the torture of detainees. It was unclear if the medical professionals had been physicians or other members of the medical profession. n Detainees Claim Responsibility for 9/11. A military judge at the U.S. military prison

for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, March 10 released a statement written by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a detainee and the alleged mastermind of Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the U.S., as well as four other detainees who had been charged with helping to plan and execute the attacks. [See p. 28B3] In the statement, the detainees took responsibility for the planning of the attack, described themselves as “terrorists to the bone” and said that the charges against them “were badges of honor, which we wear with pride.” The five defendants mocked the failure of the U.S. government to prevent the attacks, writing, “Your intelligence apparatus, with all its abilities, human and logistical, had failed to discover our military attack plans.” Critics argued that by ordering the release of the statement, Judge Stephen Henley had violated an executive order issued by President Barack Obama that halted all military commission trials at Guantanamo. The Defense Department maintained that the release did not constitute a “proceeding” under Obama’s order. n

Armed Forces Unified Medical Records System Planned.

President Barack Obama April 9 announced that the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs (VA) would jointly create a unified system to electronically track veterans’ health care records. Obama said the new system would reduce waiting time for veterans to receive medical attention and insure continuity of care. Currently, veterans had to carry their records to VA facilities themselves, and care was often hampered by incomplete files. The VA also had a backlog of 800,000 disability claims, resulting in waits of six months or more. [See pp. 245B3, 107D2, 29G3] Obama had promoted electronic medical records as a way to cut costs and improve care in the civilian health care system. Obama also announced his support for a budget proposal that would allow Congress to approve funding for the VA a year in advance, ensuring that care was not impaired by the late passage of funding bills. Billing for Combat Injuries Nixed—

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs March 18 announced that Obama had reversed a budget proposal for the VA to bill veterans’ private insurers to pay for the treatment of combat-related injuries. Veterans groups had lobbied against the proposal after veterans and Obama March 16 met at the White House and failed to resolve the issue. Veterans said the proposal was “a total abrogation” of the government’s duty to care for veterans injured in combat, and could prevent some veterans from acquiring health insurance coverage. The proposal would have saved the VA an estimated $530 million a year, out of the $113 billion reportedly requested for the department. n News in Brief. The Army Jan. 29 reported that at least 128 soldiers had committed suicide in 2008, up from 115 in 2007 and FACTS ON FILE

106 in 2006. There were 15 deaths still being investigated, most of which were expected to be ruled as suicides. The number of Army suicides was the highest it had been in three decades. The suicide rate, 20.2 per 100,000 soldiers, was higher than the civilian rate in 2006 (the most recent year for which data were available), 19.2 per 100,000 when adjusted for demographics. It was the first time the military rate had exceeded the civilian rate since the Vietnam War. Army officials said long deployments had contributed to mental problems when service members returned to the U.S. They said the Army had increased its mental health staff and was encouraging soldiers to get help. [See 2008, p. 963C1] The Defense Department Jan. 6 said it would not award Purple Hearts to soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after serving in combat. Gates

in May 2008 had said he would look into granting the medal—which was for those injured or killed by enemy action—to PTSD sufferers, a move advocates said would recognize their sacrifices and reduce the disorder’s stigma. However, a department panel recommended against it, saying that the disorder was difficult to diagnose and was not purposely caused by enemy action. About 20% of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans—at least 300,000 service members— suffered from PTSD, according to a 2008 study. [See 2008, p. 571C3] n

Business Madoff Associate Charged With Fraud.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo April 6 filed civil fraud charges against financier J. Ezra Merkin, accusing him of deceiving clients who had invested in three of his funds, Ascot Partners LP, Gabriel Capital Corp. and Ariel Fund Ltd. Cuomo said Merkin had falsely claimed to clients that he would personally manage their money, when in fact he had funneled most of it—about $2.4 billion—into a fund run by Bernard Madoff, the money manager who had pleaded guilty in March to a $65 billion fraud. [See p. 141A1] Cuomo did not accuse Merkin of being aware at the time that Madoff was orchestrating a fraud, but said Merkin had concealed from clients the full extent of his relationship with Madoff, and had failed to thoroughly investigate whether investing with Madoff was safe. Cuomo said Merkin had made a total of $470 million from client fees and bonuses. A lawyer for Merkin said the charges were “without merit.” Separately, Massachusetts securities regulators April 1 filed civil fraud charges against hedge fund Fairfield Greenwich Group, claiming that the fund had failed to perform due diligence on behalf of its clients when it invested $6.9 billion of its $14 billion in assets with Madoff. The filing also claimed that Madoff had instructed the hedge fund’s executives on how to parry questions from Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigators. Madoff’s Accountant Charged—The U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District April 16, 2009

of New York March 18 brought fraud charges against David Friehling, the accountant for Madoff’s firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, after Friehling surrendered to authorities earlier that day. Friehling was charged with one count of securities fraud, one count of aiding and abetting an investment-adviser fraud and four counts of submitting false SEC filings. He was released on bail later that day. Prosecutors said Friehling had not been charged with knowledge of the Madoff fraud, but alleged that from 1991 to 2008 he had falsely certified that Madoff’s accounting statements had been audited, deceiving investors. The SEC that day also brought civil charges against Friehling. Friehling was the sole auditor at his accounting firm, Friehling & Horowitz CPAs PC, which was based in New City, N.Y. After Madoff’s fraud came to light in December 2008, analysts raised doubts that one auditor could have handled all the accounting responsibilities for a company as large as Madoff’s. n

Medicine & Health Insurance Reform Coalition Issues Report.

The Health Reform Dialogue, a coalition comprised of 18 groups representing physicians, drugmakers, hospitals, consumers, employers and insurers, March 27 released a report that outlined a series of policies intended to reduce by 50% the number of people in the U.S. lacking health insurance. [See p. 145C3] The report recommended that the joint state-federal Medicaid program, which provided health care to poor individuals and families, be expanded to cover anyone below the federal poverty level. (Individuals earning less than $10,380 per year and families of four earning less than $22,050 per year were considered to be below that level.) The coalition also recommended an expansion of tax credits and subsidies to help the middle class offset the costs of insurance. However, the coalition did not make any recommendations on a host of controversial issues. The report took no stance on a plan proposed by U.S. President Barack Obama to establish a government-sponsored insurance program that would compete with private insurers. Insurance companies had strenuously objected to such a program, arguing that it might drive them out of business. The report also did not say whether employers had a responsibility to pay for their employees’ health care. The report grew out of a series of professionally mediated private discussions held over six months among coalition group members, and was notable for its inclusion of a wide range of interest groups. Among the coalition members were the elderly advocacy group AARP, the American Medical Association (AMA) physicians group, the consumer advocacy group Families USA, the National Federation of Independent Business and the drug industry trade group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).

However, two major labor unions that had been part of the Health Reform Dialogue—the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)—did not endorse the report, citing their support of Obama’s plan for a government-sponsored healthcare system. Democrats Work on Plan— The coalition’s report was issued amid ongoing negotiations among federal lawmakers on a health-care reform plan. The New York Times April 1 reported that the chairmen of five congressional committees that would play key roles in shaping the reform effort had agreed to central elements that would be included in any reform legislation package. The chairmen agreed that carrying health insurance should be required, and that the government should establish a public insurance system to compete with the private one. They also agreed that employers should help pay for insurance. The group, made up entirely of Democrats, included Rep. George Miller (Calif.) of the Committee on Education and Labor; Rep. Henry Waxman (Calif.) of the Energy and Commerce Committee; Rep. Charles Rangel (N.Y.) of the Ways and Means Committee; Sen. Edward (Ted) Kennedy (Mass.) of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee; and Sen. Max Baucus (Mont.) of the Finance Committee. The House in its budget blueprint for fiscal year 2010 had included a provision intended to speed passage of a number of Obama’s policy initiatives, including health care reform, by subjecting them to special “budget reconciliation” procedures. Reconciliation rules allowed the Senate to pass a measure with 51 votes, instead of the 60 normally needed to stave off a filibuster attempt. Since the Democrats controlled 58 seats in the Senate, they would be able to easily pass measures to which the provision was attached. [See p. 217E3]

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Insurers Agree to End Illness Pricing—

The two main trade groups representing the health insurance industry—America’s Health Insurance Plans and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association—March 24 said its members had agreed to end the practice of setting higher premiums for those with preexisting illnesses or health conditions. However, the trade groups said the change would take place only if the federal government made insurance mandatory. The offer was made in a letter sent to Senate leaders, and was thought likely to aid efforts by legislators to reaching consensus over reform. n

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Legislation Obama Signs Public Land Measure. Pres-

ident Barack Obama March 30 signed into law the Omnibus Public Land Management Act, a bill that would give two million acres (810,000 hectares) of land in nine states “wilderness” status. The designation provided the areas with the highest degree of government protection from commercial 245

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activities such as logging and mining, as well as from development and vehicular traffic. The states with land receiving wilderness status were California, Colorado, Idaho, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia. [See 2003, p. 374F3; 1991, p. 937C2] The measure also created 10 new National Heritage Areas, spaces considered to have natural, cultural, historic or recreational significance, and administered by the National Park Service. The legislation also spelled out water conservation measures for various parts of the U.S. The bill was considered the largest conservation effort by the federal government in the last 15 years and included some 160 federal, state and local proposals. The House March 25 had passed the measure, 285–140. The Senate March 19 had passed it, 77–20. n

Supreme Court Indigenous Hawaiian Land Claim Rejected.

The Supreme Court March 31 ruled unanimously that a 1993 congressional apology to indigenous Hawaiians did not prevent the state government from selling or transferring public land. The apology acknowledged the U.S.’s role in helping overthrow Hawaii’s independent monarchy in 1893, and said that “indigenous Hawaiian people never directly relinquished their claims” to the land. The case was Hawaii v. Office of Hawaiian Affairs. [See 2000, p. 130B1; 1993, p. 896G3] The Hawaii Supreme Court in 2008, using the apology as the basis for its decision, ruled that the state government could not transfer land on the island of Maui until a property dispute with indigenous Hawaiians was resolved. The case before the Supreme Court applied to all 1.2 million acres (500,000 hectares) of state-controlled land, a figure equal to 29% of the state’s total area. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., writing the court’s opinion, said the Hawaiian court had misinterpreted the apology, which he said was merely “conciliatory,” and did not grant indigenous Hawaiians any legal claim to the land. The case was returned to the Hawaii court for reconsideration. n Tobacco Punitive-Damages Case Declined.

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The Supreme Court March 31 said it should not have agreed to hear the case Philip Morris USA v. Williams, and would not issue a ruling, letting stand an Oregon Supreme Court decision that allowed $79.5 million worth of punitive damages against cigarette maker Philip Morris. The Supreme Court in 2008 had accepted the case for a third time, and its dismissal was made without comment. [See 2008, p. 433A1] The Supreme Court in 2007 had ordered the Oregon court to reconsider the damages, to ensure that the original jury had not considered the possible harm Philip Morris’s tobacco products had done to others besides Jesse Williams. (Williams’s widow, Mayola Williams, was the original plaintiff in the case.) However, the Oregon court upheld the damages, saying Philip Morris could not appeal the verdict on 246

jury-instruction grounds because the company had violated state procedural rules in submitting its proposed jury instructions. Observers had expected the court to deliver a ruling that either addressed the question of high punitive damages, or determined whether the Oregon court had improperly ignored the Supreme Court’s order. By dismissing the case without comment, the court did not set any precedent on either of those issues. n First Female Solicitor General Confirmed.

The Senate March 19 voted, 61–31, to confirm Harvard Law School Dean Elena Kagan as solicitor general. Kagan became the first woman to serve as the U.S. government’s representative in the Supreme Court. While Kagan had never argued a case before the court, she had been a clerk for the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, and an associate counsel in the administration of former President Bill Clinton. Kagan and current President Barack Obama had both worked at the University of Chicago Law School in the 1990s. [See p. 6D2; 2003, p. 528F2] n

Crime Shooter Kills 13, Self in New York State. A

gunman in Binghamton, N.Y., April 3 fatally shot 13 people and wounded another four at Binghamton’s American Civic Association, a community center that aided immigrants, before committing suicide. The gunman, Jiverly Wong, was a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Vietnam who had recently taken English classes at the center. The victims of the attack included citizens of China, the Philippines, Brazil, Vietnam, Haiti, Pakistan and Iraq, as well as the U.S. [See p. 149A1] Wong, 41, had blocked off the center’s rear exit with his car and then entered the building from the front and shot two receptionists; one was killed, while the other, who was wounded, feigned death and then contacted the police. Wong then entered a citizenship class and opened fire on the students and instructor, killing another 12 people and wounding three others. Wong reportedly shot himself after hearing approaching police sirens. Local police arrived at the center about two minutes after receiving the distress call from the wounded receptionist but did not enter the building until 43 minutes after the attack occurred. A total of 37 people were rescued by police from the building, some of whom had hidden for more than three hours before being told it was safe to leave. Binghamton Police Chief Joseph Zikuski April 6 said that the police had not been sure that Wong was dead until hours after the attack. Gerald Mollen, the district attorney for New York’s Broome County, April 5 said medical examiners believed that the injuries suffered by those who died in the attack were so extreme that it was unlikely that any of them would have survived if the police had entered the center earlier. Police April 3 found a note at Wong’s house stating that other messages from the attacker might be found, but that gave little

insight into the motives behind his attack. A Syracuse, N.Y., cable news channel April 6 received a letter from Wong that was dated March 18 and postmarked April 3. The note, which was packaged with Wong’s driver’s license and pictures that showed him brandishing guns, was written in fragmented English and contained claims that he had been harassed by undercover police officers in both New York State and California, where he had once lived. n Pa. Gunman Kills Three Police Officers. A 22-year-old gunman in Pittsburgh, Pa., April 4 shot and killed three police officers and wounded a fourth after they responded to a domestic disturbance call made by his mother. The killings marked the first time that a Pittsburgh police officer had been shot in 14 years and the first time an officer had died while on duty in 18 years. [See p. 246F3; 2007, p. 576B3] The shooter, Richard Poplawski, who was wearing a bulletproof vest and was armed with two rifles and a handgun, held off the police for about four hours before being arrested. He was charged the same day with aggravated assault and murder, among other charges. Two officers responding to the call from Poplawski’s mother were killed by Poplawski when they approached his house. A third officer was shot after exiting his car but was able to radio for backup before he died. Poplawski, who was wounded in the legs during the subsequent shootout with police, had reportedly called a friend prior to his arrest in order to say goodbye, seemingly expecting to be killed. His mother took refuge in the basement during the shooting and was not injured. The police had previously been called to the house on multiple occasions to settle domestic disputes between Poplawski and his mother. The New York Times reported April 7 that Poplawski had made racist and antiSemitic postings on Stormfront, a white supremacist Internet forum, and a Web site linked to a radio talk show host. Poplawski’s postings also expressed concerns about the election of President Barack Obama and the possibility that the government would attempt to restrict his access to guns. n Four Police Officers Killed in California. A gunman in Oakland, Calif., March 21 shot and killed four police officers and wounded a fifth after being pulled over. The gunman, Lovelle Mixon, was subsequently killed by police during a shootout. Mixon, 26, had previously been imprisoned on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and had an outstanding warrant against him for parole violations at the time of the shootings. The shootings were thought to be the highest number of police deaths in a single day in the history of Oakland. [See p. 246B3; 2007, p. 530E1] Mixon, using a handgun, shot the two police officers who had pulled him over, killing Sgt. Mark Dunakin, 40, and leaving Officer John Hege, 41, brain dead. Hege was kept alive by his family on life support until March 24. FACTS ON FILE

Mixon fled the scene of the first shootings, triggering a manhunt joined by county and state law enforcement. Mixon was discovered in an apartment building, where he killed two more police officers—Sgt. Ervin Romans, 43, and Sgt. Daniel Sakai, 35—with an assault rifle, before being killed himself. It was unclear why Hege and Dunakin had stopped Mixon or why Mixon had shot the officers. The Oakland Police Department March 23 announced that preliminary testing had linked Mixon to an unsolved sexual assault that had occurred in February. However, additional testing was needed before other possible perpetrators could be eliminated. Officer Charged in Passenger Shooting—

Prosecutors in Oakland Jan. 14 charged a transit police officer in California’s Alameda County Superior Court with murder in connection with the Jan. 1 shooting death of an unarmed man in an Oakland subway station. The officer, Johannes Mehserle, had been captured on video shooting Oscar Grant; the footage had been shown on television and had been widely circulated on the Internet. The incident was followed by widespread protests within Oakland. Grant, 22, and several other Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) passengers Jan. 1 had been removed from a subway train after transit police received reports of an altercation on board. In footage recorded during the encounter, Mehserle, 27, and another officer were shown holding down Grant, who was reportedly unarmed, before Mehserle shot Grant once in the back and subsequently handcuffed him. Police arrested about 120 people Jan. 7 after demonstrations in Oakland turned violent, with some protesters vandalizing businesses and setting cars on fire. There were additional demonstrations Jan. 8 and Jan. 14. Mehserle, who had resigned Jan. 7 and had refused to cooperate with the investigation into the shooting, was arrested Jan. 13 near Lake Tahoe, Nev. He pleaded not guilty to the murder charge Jan. 15. California Attorney General Edmund (Jerry) Brown Jan. 10 announced that his office had assigned a state prosecutor to monitor the investigation into the shooting. n Judges Plead Guilty in Kickback Case.

Two judges in Pennsylvania’s Luzerne County Feb. 12 pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Scranton, Pa., to charges of wire fraud and income tax fraud connected to allegations that they had accepted illegal payments from private detention centers in exchange for sentencing a large number of juveniles to their facilities. The two— Judge Mark Ciavarella, 58, and Judge Michael Conahan, 56—had been suspended from the bench by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Jan. 26. [See 2008, p. 750F2] Ciavarella and Conahan pleaded guilty in a deal with prosecutors that included sentences totaling seven years and three months in prison apiece. The judges also agreed to resign from the bench and to surrender their licenses to practice law. Both April 16, 2009

were expected to lose their pensions under a Pennsylvania law that stripped the pension of any judge convicted of a felony while in office. Prosecutors said that the illegal payments to the two judges had totaled more than $2.6 million. According to prosecutors, Conahan, who had been in charge of the Luzerne County District’s budget, had arranged the deals with PA Child Care LLC and Western PA Child Care LLC, related companies that owned the two private juvenile detentions centers used by the county. In 2002, the judges had ordered the closure of the county’s juvenile detention center after arguing that it was in unsatisfactory condition, and required that the two private centers be used instead. Judge Criticized for Harsh Sentences—

Ciavarella, who had served as the head judge overseeing the county’s juvenile courts, had handled all sentencing of juvenile defendants as part of the scheme. He had previously been criticized for giving harsh sentences to first-time juvenile offenders and had sentenced as many as 5,000 juveniles to terms at the two private centers since the arrangement with the two companies began in December 2002. Between 2002 and 2006, Ciavarella had sentenced 25% of juvenile defendants who appeared before his court to serve time at detention centers, compared to a statewide average of 10% of juvenile defendants sentenced to serve time during the same period. Hearings overseen by Ciavarella reportedly lasted an average of two minutes and the detention centers were reportedly commonly told how many new inmates to expect from a case before a hearing was conducted. Hundreds of Convictions Wiped Out—

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court Feb. 11 appointed Judge Arthur Grim as a special master in charge of reviewing juvenile cases overseen by Ciavarella after December 2002. Grim was asked to examine cases in which juveniles had been sentenced to terms at either of the two private detention facilities and cases in which Ciavarella had blocked attempts by juvenile defendants and their families to hire lawyers for their hearings. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court March 26 expunged hundreds of juvenile convictions handed down by Ciavarella after a report by Grim recommended purging all cases in which juveniles had not had a lawyer, had not waived their right to have a lawyer and had been convicted of minor offenses. The precise number of sentences expunged was not publicly released. Separately, lawyers representing the families of hundreds of juveniles convicted by Ciavarella Feb. 13 filed a class-action lawsuit against the two judges. n News in Brief. Eiken Elam Saimon March 20 pleaded guilty in Missouri’s Newton County Circuit Court to three counts of first degree murder and four counts of first degree assault in connection with an Aug.

12, 2007, shooting at a church in Neosho, Mo., that left three dead. Saimon and his

victims were originally from Micronesia

and Saimon was related to two of the three people he killed; the incident was reportedly triggered by teasing that Saimon, 54, received after failing to bring food to a community barbecue. Saimon also pleaded guilty to statutory rape and statutory sodomy in connection with his sexual assault on a 14-year-old girl two days before the shooting. Saimon received three life sentences without parole, four 30-year sentences and two seven-year sentences. [See 2008, p. 519B1] Judge Dale Fischer in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles March 3 sentenced

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three men convicted of involvement with disgraced private investigator Anthony Pellicano to prison terms. Both Mark Arne-

son, a former Los Angeles Police Department officer, and Rayford Earl Turner, a former telecommunications technician, had been convicted on racketeering charges in the case, and each received sentences of 12 years and one month in prison. Abner Nicherie, who had paid Pellicano to illegally wiretap a business rival, received a sentence of one year and nine months. Fischer March 9 sentenced Kevin Kachikian, who had developed wiretapping software used by Pellicano, to two years and three months in prison. [See 2008, pp. 959B3, 346D3] An unemployed truck driver Feb. 9 pleaded guilty in Tennessee’s Knox County Criminal Court to two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of felony murder and six counts of attempted first-degree murder in connection with a shooting at a Unitarian Universalist church in Knoxville, Tenn. The defendant, Jim Adkisson, had reportedly told police that all political liberals deserved to be killed and that he had chosen the church as a target because its members held liberal beliefs. Following his plea, Adkisson, 58, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. [See 2008, p. 519B1] A gunman March 8 opened fire in a Baptist church in Maryville, Ill., killing the minister, and then injured two members of the congregation with a knife. The shooter, Terry Sedlacek, was hospitalized after the attack, along with one of his stabbing victims. Sedlacek, 27, March 9 was charged in Illinois’s Madison County Circuit Court with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated battery. He reportedly suffered from Lyme disease, which had left him with brain lesions and escalating physical problems. The motive behind the attack was unclear. [See 2008, p. 519B1] The coroner’s office in Los Angeles County Jan. 13 announced that it had deter-

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mined the identities of two people whose bodies were found in a burned house in

Covina, Calif., after an attack at a Christmas Party by a man dressed as Santa Claus, Bruce Pardo. The coroner’s office said it had used dental and medical records to identify the bodies of Sylvia Pardo, Bruce Pardo’s ex-wife, and Michael Ortiz, her nephew. The bodies of Sylvia Pardo’s parents, sister, brother and two of her sistersin-law had previously been identified. [See 2008, p. 960B1] n 247

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Algeria President Bouteflika Easily Wins 3rd Term.

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Algerian Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni April 10 said President Abdelaziz Bouteflika had won a third straight five-year term in office in an election held the previous day. Zerhouni said Bouteflika, 72, who ran as an independent but was supported by Algeria’s three main political parties, had garnered 90.2% of the vote in a field of six candidates. The second-place candidate, Louisa Hanoune of the far-left Trotskyite Workers’ Party—the only female candidate—won 4.2% of the vote. [See 2008, p. 869A2] Algeria’s parliament in November 2008 had approved changes to the constitution that abolished the two-term limit for presidents. After his victory was announced, Bouteflika proclaimed the election a “truly eloquent lesson in democracy.” The African Union (AU) election observer mission praised the “freedom and transparency” of the vote. French President Nicolas Sarkozy offered Bouteflika “warm and friendly” congratulations on the victory. However, opposition parties alleged fraud and voter intimidation. They also disputed the high voter turnout figure, reported by Zerhouni at 74.5%, since many voters prior to the election had expressed apathy in light of the near-certain victory by Bouteflika, who had dominated media coverage and campaign advertising. (Turnout for Bouteflika’s last landslide election victory, in 2004, had been around 58%.) The two main leftist opposition parties, the Rally for Culture and Democracy and the Front of Socialist Forces (FFS), had boycotted the vote in protest. FFS leader Karim Tabbou called the election “a new step in closing the political field and a return to single party rule.” U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Aker April 10 said the U.S. was “concerned” about the fraud allegations and called on Algeria to investigate them. However, he also said the U.S. was “looking forward to working with President Bouteflika as he begins his third term.” Bouteflika, who was strongly backed by Algeria’s military, had been credited with guiding the country to peace and reconstruction after a bloody civil war between Islamist rebels and government-backed security forces in the 1990s. However, in recent years he had faced a rise in violence by the Islamic terrorist group Al Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb, which had been formed by remnants of the Islamist rebels and had killed hundreds of people in attacks in recent years. The group April 6 on its Web site had called for a boycott of the election, and it carried out at least two attacks on election day. [See 2008, p. 572A2] Bouteflika during the campaign had called on Algerians to give him a solid mandate in order for him to continue rebuilding the country. He promised to launch a five-year, $150 billion investment program and to create three million jobs. 248

Unemployment in Algeria was estimated by some observers at 30%, and was believed to be higher among the 70% of the population that was under the age of 30. Some unemployed youths reportedly had joined the ranks of the Al Qaeda group. Bouteflika had also pledged to hold a referendum on whether to pardon Islamist fighters who turned themselves in—including those who had committed rape and murder—as part of his continuing effort at national reconciliation in the aftermath of the civil war. Voters had approved a similar reconciliation charter in 2005, although some argued that it amounted to an amnesty for crimes committed by the security forces. [See 2005, p. 718A2] n

Rwanda Nation Marks 15th Anniversary of Genocide.

Rwandans April 7 marked the 15th anniversary of the 1994 genocide in which some 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were massacred by Hutu extremists. President Paul Kagame, a Tutsi who had led a rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), that put a stop to the 100-day genocide in July 1994, attended memorial events in Kigali, the capital, and in the town of Nyanza—where 5,000 people were slaughtered in a single day just after the Belgian United Nations peacekeeping troops who were protecting them pulled out of Rwanda. [See p. 34G3; 1994, p. 505A1] In a speech before some 20,000 people in Kigali, Kagame lambasted the international community for its failure to take action to halt the genocide. In reference to U.N. officials who decided to withdraw the U.N. peacekeeping force from Rwanda soon after 10 of its Belgian troops were murdered by Hutu extremists, Kagame said, “We are not like those who abandoned people they had come to protect. They left them to be murdered. Aren’t they guilty?” The president added, “I think it is also cowardice. They left even before any shot was fired. We are not cowards.” Kagame also praised Rwanda’s progress in the years since the genocide. He said, “As we remember, life must go on. We must continue to build a better future.” U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said in a special message that “preventing genocide is a collective responsibility.” Susan Rice, the U.S.’s ambassador to the U.N., acknowledged that Rwanda had “suffered from an international community, international institutions, and individual governments—including my own—that failed to act in the face of a vast, unfolding evil.” Tribunal Convicts Priest—The U.N. International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania, Feb. 27 convicted Emmanuel Rukundo, a Roman Catholic priest and former military chaplain, of “genocide, murder as a crime against humanity and extermination as a crime.” Rukundo, 50, was found guilty of using his position to “influence and promote” the killings of Tutsis who had sought refuge in a seminary. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison. [See 2001, p. 1070F1] n

AMERICAS

U.S. Lifts Limits on Family Visits and Remittances to Cuba Obama Eases Hard Line on Castros.

U.S. President Barack Obama April 13 ended long-standing restrictions on the ability of U.S. nationals to visit and send money to relatives in Cuba, and also ended a prohibition on telecommunications companies seeking licenses in the country. The moves were considered by analysts as the biggest shift in U.S. policy on Cuba in decades. However, the wider trade embargo instituted by President John F. Kennedy in 1962, following the 1959 communist revolution that had brought former Cuban President Fidel Castro Ruz to power, remained in place. [See p. 8E1] Under the new rules, restrictions on the amount of money or gifts that Cuban Americans could send to their relatives in Cuba were ended, as long as the recipients were not high-ranking government officials. The change also ended rules that had limited Cuban Americans to visiting the island only once every three years. Telecom companies would also be allowed to directly beam satellite television and radio programs to Cuba, although they would first need the permission of the Cuban government to do so, which was not considered likely to be granted. Companies would also be able to enter partnerships with local providers to offer communications services such as cellular phone service for U.S. visitors. The policy change fulfilled a campaign promise made by Obama to attempt to improve relations with Cuba, and was a reversal from a hard-line stance taken by Obama’s predecessor, President George W. Bush. However, the announcement of the shift was made by White House senior aides rather than the president himself, a move seen as an attempt by Obama to distance himself somewhat from controversy over the U.S.’s Cuba policies. Dan Restrepo, an official of the National Security Council, said the change in policy would “extend a hand to the Cuban people” and “open up space” for Cubans to develop “grass-roots democracy.” Cuba remained a polarizing issue in the U.S., with some arguing that the U.S. sanctions had not yielded any progress in bringing democracy to Cuba, and had only hurt Cuban residents. Several advocates of liberalizing U.S.-Cuban relations criticized the policy change for failing to completely end the trade embargo. (The embargo, as outlined in the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, was administered by the Treasury Department. Its abolition would require congressional action.) Cuban American conservatives argued that Obama’s moves would only bolster the Cuban government, which took 30% of any remittances sent to the island nation. However, younger Cuban Americans, born after the Castro revolution, generally seemed to support greater dialogue between the two countries, and the general sentiment among Cuban Americans reportFACTS ON FILE

edly increasingly favored pursuing talks with the Castro regime. The Cuban American National Foundation, a major Cuban exile group, April 8 had released a statement calling on Obama to ease the flow of public and private money to Cuba, and engage in more dialogue with Cuban leaders. The statement was a sharp reversal of the group’s previous stances, effectively rejecting many of the hard-line policy positions it had helped develop following Castro’s rise to power. However, the statement stopped short of calling for an end to the trade embargo. Several Republican and Democratic federal legislators criticized the policy shift. Republican Reps. Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart, brothers who represented heavily Cuban American districts in Florida, released a joint statement that said, “Unilateral concessions to the dictatorship embolden it to further isolate, imprison and brutalize prodemocracy activists.” However, White House officials indicated that the moves were only a first step in planned diplomatic overtures toward Cuba. In a column published online April 14 by Granma, the official newspaper of the ruling Communist Party, former President Castro called the easing of U.S. restrictions “positive although minimal,” but lamented that “of the blockade, which is the cruelest of the measures, not a word was said.” Senate Travel Bill Introduced—A bipartisan coalition of senators March 31 introduced a bill that would remove all travel restrictions on U.S. citizens wishing to visit Cuba. Sen. Richard Lugar (R, Ind.), the ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee and one of the cosponsors of the bill, had sent a letter dated March 30 to Obama, urging him to end the trade embargo. He said the sanctions undermined the U.S.’s “broader security and political interests in the Western Hemisphere,” and noted that the policy put the U.S. at odds with the United Nations, the European Union and much of Latin America. Lugar Feb. 23 had also released a report concluding that the U.S. embargo had largely “failed to achieve its stated purpose of ‘bringing democracy to the Cuban people,’ while it may have been used as a foil by the regime to demand further sacrifices from Cuba’s impoverished population.” U.S. Lawmakers Meet With Castros—

A seven-member delegation of the U.S. Congressional Black Caucus April 3–7 visited Cuba, where they met with Castro and his younger brother, current President Raul Castro Ruz, as well as several other highranking Cuban officials. The group, which included caucus leader Rep. Barbara Lee (D, Calif.), April 6 met with Raul Castro for several hours, in what was the first known face-to-face meeting of U.S. lawmakers with the Cuban president since he succeeded his brother in February 2008. Lee said the delegation had talked with Castro about trade policy and the issues of human and drug trafficking, but added, “We did not talk about specifics.” She said she was convinced that Castro “wants a normal relationship” with the U.S. April 16, 2009

Lee and Reps. Laura Richardson (D, Calif.) and Bobby Rush (D, Ill.) April 7 met with Fidel Castro, becoming the first U.S. officials to meet with him since he ceded day-to-day governing responsibilities to his brother in July 2006, citing a gastrointestinal ailment that required surgery. Since that time Castro had not appeared in public, and rumors of his ill health and impending death had abounded. n Officials Resign Posts, Pledge Loyalty.

The Cuban government March 5 released letters from former Vice President Carlos Lage Davila and former Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque in which the pair resigned from their remaining government positions and roles in the country’s Communist Party. Cuban President Raul Castro several days earlier had dismissed Perez Roque as foreign minister and stripped Lage of his role as cabinet secretary. [See p. 134D2] In his letter to Castro, Perez Roque resigned from his positions as a deputy in Cuba’s National Assembly, member of the Council of State and member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. He also affirmed his loyalty to Castro. Lage resigned from his posts as a National Assembly deputy and as a member of the party Central Committee, and also withdrew as a vice minister of the Council of State. Both men had been considered among the top prospects to eventually replace Castro, 77. Unidentified Cuban officials had said the two had gained too much prominence, and that Castro wished to consolidate his power in order to pursue economic reforms, the New York Times reported April 6. n

Mexico Holder, Napolitano Visit, Discuss Violence.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano April 2– 3 met with Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora and other high-ranking Mexican officials in Cuernavaca, about 50 miles (80 km) south of Mexico City, Mexico’s capital. Napolitano and Holder April 3 also met with Mexican President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa before returning to the U.S. [See p. 185A3] The meetings were part of efforts between the two countries to stem the rise of drug-related violence, which had spiraled out of control since Calderon began cracking down on drug smuggling cartels after taking office in December 2006. Since that time, an estimated 10,100 people had died in drug-related violence. The Mexican government planned to spend $9.3 billion on national security in 2009, a 99% increase from the figure when Calderon took office. Holder and Napolitano at an April 2 news conference acknowledged that the U.S. played a significant role in driving the violence currently roiling Mexico. Drugs smuggled from South America through Mexico were usually bound for users in the U.S. Also, most of the guns used by Mexi-

can drug cartels were thought to have been bought in the U.S. Medina April 2 said his country’s customs agency would spend $1.4 billion to upgrade equipment and infrastructure at U.S. border crossings. The U.S. and Mexican officials reportedly discussed increasing coordination between the U.S. Coast Guard and the Mexican navy in order to stop cartels that smuggled drugs into the U.S. by boat, and for the U.S. to provide training to Mexican canine units. Holder April 3 said he would send an additional 100 agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to border areas to help halt the flow of guns from the U.S. to Mexico. U.S. Aid Delay Examined— The Washington Post April 5 reported that the disbursement of millions of dollars in U.S. aid to help Mexico fight drug smugglers had been delayed. Then–U.S. President George W. Bush in June 2008 had signed a bill authorizing the U.S. to provide $400 million in aid as part of a plan known as the Merida Initiative. Much of the funds would go to providing Mexican antinarcotics forces with training and equipment, such as surveillance aircraft, and scanning and X-ray devices for the U.S.-Mexico border. The Post reported that the U.S. State Department in December 2008 had “released” $197 million of the funds, but that only $7 million had been disbursed since that time. Calderon had repeatedly called on the U.S. to provide more financial aid, and to distribute the funds quickly. U.S. officials said the delay was caused by government contracting requirements and the need to establish proper protocols and oversight.

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Cartel Leader’s Capture Announced—

Mexican officials April 2 announced that they had arrested Vicente Carrillo Leyva, 32, an alleged leader of the Juarez drug cartel. Carrillo Leyva was the son of the cartel’s alleged founder, Amado Carrillo Fuentes, who had been known as the “Lord of the Skies” for his use of airplanes to smuggle narcotics. (Carillo Fuentes had died in 1997.) Carrillo Leyva was suspected of being one of the managers of the cartel’s money-laundering operations. [See 1997, p. 518B2] n

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Thai Protesters Clash With Army Two People Killed, At Least 135 Injured.

Clashes between supporters of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the Thai military April 12–14 in Bangkok, the capital, left two people dead and injured at least 135 others. The clashes followed the decision by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, a political opponent of Thaksin’s, to impose a state of emergency in Bangkok and the surrounding areas. Hundreds of protesters since late March had surrounded the prime minister’s office, and April 11 had forced the cancellation of a planned panAsian summit in the Thai coastal town of Pattaya. [See p. 205C3; 2008, p. 561E1] 249

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The violence was the latest manifestation of political instability in the country, which had seen a split between Thaksin’s supporters, many of whom were known as the “red shirts,” and his royalist opponents, known as the “yellow shirts.” The red shirts were poorer and from Thailand’s rural areas, and saw Thaksin’s 2006 ouster by the military as a flouting of democratic rule. Since then, two pro-Thaksin prime ministers had been forced to step down after controversial trials, and Thaksin had been convicted on corruption charges. Thaksin faced two years in prison if he returned to Thailand, and was currently in self-imposed exile. In contrast, the yellow shirts drew support from the country’s middle class and ruling elites, and viewed Thaksin as corrupt and authoritarian. Widespread protests by the yellow shirts in the fall of 2008 had paralyzed the country. Abhisit had been elected as prime minister in December 2008 after defectors from the pro-Thaksin People Power Party (PPP) joined his conservative Democrat Party to form a coalition government. Thaksin Refuses Negotiations—Thaksin April 3 announced that he would not take part in talks with Abhisit’s government, saying they were “out of the question.” The government had offered to negotiate with Thaksin in the hopes of ending the ongoing protests. Thaksin instead called for Thai citizens to join protesters in massive demonstrations scheduled for April 8. Abhisit April 5 said he would not give in to demands by protesters that he hold new elections, arguing that the country was currently too unstable for elections to take place. [See 2008, p. 926F2] Pro-Thaksin protesters in Pattaya April 7 attacked Abhisit’s car as he was leaving a cabinet meeting. During the incident, protesters smashed a window of the vehicle, but Abhisit was not injured. Abhisit April 8 said a planned pan-Asian summit in Pattaya April 10–12 would not be disturbed, and promised that protests there would not “be anything like what happened with my motorcade.” He blamed the incident on his preference for traveling without a large security force. The Thai government had reportedly chosen to host the summit in Pattaya, which was about 150 km (90 miles) southeast of Bangkok, in the hopes of minimizing disruptions from protests. The summit had originally been scheduled for late 2008, but yellow-shirt protests in Bangkok had made hosting it in Thailand untenable. High-ranking officials from member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) were expected to attend the meeting, along with the leaders of China, Japan, India, South Korea, New Zealand and Australia, as well as United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and the heads of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. The global financial crisis was expected to be the central topic of discussion at the summit. [See 2008, p. 886D2] 100,000 Protesters Assemble—An estimated 100,000 antigovernment protesters 250

April 8 gathered in Bangkok. Groups of protesters that day held demonstrations outside the residence of former Prime Minister Prem Tinsulanonda, who currently served as an adviser to Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Thaksin had accused Prem of assisting in the plotting of his 2006 coup, and protesters called on Prem to resign from his current post. The royal family was widely revered in Thailand, even by many supporters of Thaksin, and analysts said Thaksin’s criticism of a royal adviser was unusual. The following day, protesters occupied the traffic intersection surrounding the Victory Monument in central Bangkok, disrupting travel in the city. Jatuporn Phromphan, one of the protest organizers, said that if the demands of the protesters were “not met, we may have to go to Pattaya” to disrupt the planned summit there. Abhisit said he would call on the Thai army to provide security at the summit, and reaffirmed that he would not resign or hold new elections, saying that doing so would only “satisfy one group of people.” Summit Canceled Due to Protests—Abhisit April 11 canceled the planned summit in Pattaya after about 600 pro-Thaksin protesters broke through security and entered the conference center where the summit was scheduled to take place. Some protesters had reportedly reached a section of the complex occupied by some leaders of other Asian countries but had subsequently been subdued at gunpoint by security. Protesters April 10 had carried out demonstrations outside the complex but had dispersed after presenting a letter denouncing Abhisit’s government to a representative of ASEAN. Protesters April 11 also surrounded a hotel occupied by Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak, keeping them from reaching the summit location. The three leaders and their entourages were later allowed to travel to a nearby airport after Abhisit canceled the summit meeting. Abhisit April 11 announced a state of emergency for Pattaya, giving the Thai army increased authority to operate within the region. The state of emergency was lifted after the Thai government successfully evacuated all the visiting officials and dignitaries by helicopter or boat. Pro-Thaksin red shirt protest leaders April 11 said they had been provoked by Abhisit’s yellow shirt supporters, whom they had clashed with earlier in the day, and claimed that the yellow shirt group had shot two red shirt protesters, killing one. A spokesman for the Thai government denied that anyone had been killed in the clash but said 13 Abhisit supporters had been injured. State of Emergency Declared in Bangkok—

Abhisit April 12 declared a state of emergency in Bangkok and its surrounding regions in response to continued protests around the prime minister’s office, known as the Government House, and the Victory Monument, among other locations. Under the decree, military powers were expanded

and protests by more than five people were banned. Thaksin supporters defied the ban and a group of about 300 protesters at the Victory Monument reportedly fought back against the army with rocks and homemade gasoline bombs. Separately, several thousand pro-Thaksin demonstrators surrounding the Government House broke through army lines, foiling attempts by the military to contain them. Following Abhisit’s announcement, a group of protesters attacked his motorcade as it left the Ministry of Information in Bangkok. Many government employees were injured and one of Abhisit’s aides was reportedly dragged from a car and beaten by protesters. Abhisit fled out the rear of the building and injured his arm during his escape. After the attack, Abhisit said the Thai people had seen “that the protesters were trying to hurt me and smash the car.” Clashes between protesters and soldiers April 13 continued in Bangkok. In addition, pro-Thaksin protesters had reportedly begun demonstrations in the northern city of Chiang Mai, Thaksin’s hometown, as well as other locations. Protest organizers in Bangkok played for protesters a recording of Thaksin in which he argued that it was “time for the people to come out in revolution.” Soldiers April 14 had reportedly driven out all the protesters from the Victory Monument, and had surrounded about 4,000 Government House protesters, who were then allowed to leave. The army regained control of most of Bangkok by mid-afternoon. The clashes had left 135 people injured, including at least 23 soldiers and 70 protesters, and two people dead. The Thai government said one of the dead had been fatally shot by protesters. Thaksin April 13 said in an interview with the U.S.’s Cable News Network (CNN) that he favored peaceful protests, arguing that “war never ended with war.” However, he also maintained that the army had killed a greater number of protesters than had been reported and claimed that it had hushed up the deaths by secretly removing bodies in military vehicles, a claim that was denied by the Thai government. Abhisit April 13 had suspended Bangkok’s traditional New Year’s water festival, citing security concerns. However, the celebration was resumed the following day. The festival usually brought in about 30,000 foreign tourists but significantly fewer attended due to the protests. Analysts said the antigovernment demonstrations could cost the country’s tourist industry as much as $600 million in lost income. Protest Leaders Arrested—Three protest leaders April 14 turned themselves in to Bangkok police to face charges of illegal assembly and creating a public disturbance related to the demonstrations. The three leaders—Weng Tojirakarn, Nattawut Siakur and Veera Musikapong—faced sentences of seven years and six months in prison if convicted. The government had also issued warrants against 37 others involved in the protests, including Thaksin. FACTS ON FILE

Separately, the government April 14 closed down a satellite television station that had broadcast footage from the demonstration as well as multiple Web sites connected with the protests. The government April 12 had revoked Thaksin’s passport, apparently in order to make it more difficult for him to continue to evade extradition. However, Nicaragua April 15 announced that Thaksin had been appointed as a “Nicaraguan ambassador” in charge of attracting investors to the country, and had been given a Nicaraguan passport. Abhisit April 16 announced that he would hold new legislative elections once the situation in Thailand became less volatile. He said the government needed to “make sure there are no further disruptions and rioting of any kind” before it set an elections date. He also said that the government “would like to make sure there is agreement on how we should proceed.” Thaksin that day said in an interview with the Associated Press (AP) that he would be willing to back talks between the current government and his supporters “if the government wants to reconcile.” The comments appeared to represent a retreat from his earlier statements in favor of revolution, reflecting the weakening of the protests after military intervention. n

China U.S. Assesses Military Expansion. The U.S.

Defense Department March 25 issued its annual report on China’s military. As in previous years, the report said China was building up its military power and sophistication without being sufficiently forthcoming about its “strategic intentions.” It specifically cited the development and deployment of missiles near the Taiwan Strait and recent advancements in China’s naval forces. With China far outpacing its Asian neighbors in military spending, the report warned that ambiguity about its purposes could lead to dangerous misunderstandings with the U.S. [See p. 187B2; 2008, p. 184C1] China’s official military budget in 2008 had been announced as 417.8 billion yuan ($58.8 billion), but the Pentagon estimated that year’s spending at between $105 billion and $150 billion. Most of the investment was thought to be in the development of new weaponry, as well as technology for cyber- and space warfare. The report said China still had scant capability to deploy military forces far outside its borders. However, in December 2008, China’s defense ministry had expressed interest in building its first aircraft carrier. [See 2008, p. 979F2] The expansion of China’s naval force was seen as the most direct threat to the U.S. military, whose Japan-based Seventh Fleet had dominated the region’s waters for decades. Earlier in March, tensions between the two countries had arisen over a confrontation between several Chinese ships and a U.S. surveillance ship. [See p. 153F1] The Pentagon report called for increased contacts between the two militaries April 16, 2009

to avoid similar incidents or unnecessary escalations. Military relations between the two countries had generally improved in recent years, but soured when the administration of then–U.S. President George W. Bush had authorized a large sale of arms to Taiwan in October 2008. China reportedly continued to build up its arsenal of short-range missiles across from Taiwan, seen as a deterrent against its declaring independence. The report suggested the buildup was also intended to “deter, delay or deny any possible U.S. support for the island in case of conflict.” [See p. 187A1; 2008, p. 981G2] China’s cabinet, the State Council, Jan. 20 had issued an assessment of the country’s security situation, naming specific threats from what it described as separatist movements in Taiwan, Tibet and the western Xinjiang region. The cabinet laid out a goal of counterbalancing the U.S. military’s influence in the region, citing in particular the arms sales to Taiwan. However, it also noted that relations with Taiwan had “taken a significant positive turn recently.” n News in Brief. Chinese antitrust regulators March 18 rejected a $2.4 billion bid to buy Huiyuan Juice Group by the U.S.’s CocaCola Co., the world’s largest soft-drink maker. The buyout offer, announced in September 2008, had incited opposition from nationalists looking to block the foreign takeover of a local brand. China’s commerce ministry March 25 denied that protectionism had played any role in the decision, instead citing concerns that it would dampen competition in the beverage market. At least 74 miners died early Feb. 22 in an explosion at the Tunlan coal mine in the northern province of Shanxi. Rescue workers the next day saved the last remaining survivors trapped beneath the rubble. At the time of the blast, 436 people were working in the mine. A day later, 114 remained hospitalized under treatment for carbon monoxide poisoning, according to state news media. [See 2007, p. 883E3] President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao Feb. 5 ordered emergency measures to combat the effects of a worsening winter drought in northern China. Much of the region had not received any rainfall since October 2008, threatening the wheat harvest. The government had set aside $44 million to subsidize irrigation projects and provide aid to struggling farmers. Later in February, light rain and some snowfall eased some of the concerns, but adequate supplies of drinking water were still lacking. A fire Feb. 9–10 engulfed an unoccupied hotel in Beijing, China’s capital, killing one firefighter before it was extinguished. An unauthorized fireworks display celebrating the Lunar New Year Feb. 9 had ignited the fire. The hotel was located inside the headquarters of state-controlled television broadcaster, CCTV. The building, designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, was one of a number of high-profile construction projects begun in the run-up to the 2008 Summer Olympics, held in

Beijing. The broadcaster took responsibility for the blaze and apologized for the fireworks show, reportedly mounted by a CCTV construction official. Police Feb. 12 detained the official and 11 other people in connection with the fire. [See 2008, p. 562D1; 2002, p. 586C3] The State Council, China’s cabinet, Jan. 21 announced a $123 billion plan to overhaul the country’s health care system. The three-year program would have the goal of providing “basic medical security” to 90% of the population, many of whom lacked insurance coverage. The lack of coverage and fear of rising costs had been seen as contributing to the high savings rate among the Chinese. By expanding insurance coverage and improving access to medical care, the government intended to spur domestic spending to reverse the recent economic downturn. The cabinet April 7 offered new details on the plan, including a massive construction undertaking to ensure every county had at least one hospital. China and the U.S. Jan. 12 held a ceremony in Beijing marking 30 years of diplomatic relations. Former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger were among the representatives for the U.S., while several past foreign ministers and former Vice Prime Minister Qian Qichen attended for the Chinese. In his speech, Carter categorized the relationship as the most important “in the world.” [See p. 153E2; 1979, p. 2B1] n

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Fiji President Dissolves Constitution. Fijian President Josefa Iloilo April 10 announced that he had repealed Fiji’s constitution and voided the appointments of all of the country’s judges in response to a court ruling that had found Fiji’s current government to be illegal. Iloilo said the move was necessary to carry out electoral reforms, and promised that democratic elections would take place no later than 2014. [See 2007, p. 19G3] Iloilo also said he had instituted a 30day state of emergency in Fiji that allowed the police to “control the movement of people” and gave the government the authority to appoint censors and media controls to block all news reports that “could cause disorder, promote disaffection or public alarm or undermine the government or the state of Fiji.” Fiji’s Court of Appeal April 9 had ruled that the current government, which had been put into place by Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama after a 2006 military coup ousted the democratically elected government headed by then–Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, was not legal, overturning an earlier ruling by the Fijian High Court. The Court of Appeal ordered Iloilo to appoint a caretaker prime minister to replace Bainimarama and to schedule elections to form a legitimate democratic government. The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by Qarase. After the ruling, Bainimarama April 9 announced that he would step down, but was reappointed to another five-year 251

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term as prime minister by Iloilo April 10. Analysts suggested that Iloilo’s decision to dissolve the constitution, which was put in place in 1997, and to reinstate Bainimarama was likely the result of Bainimarama’s undue influence, a claim that Bainimarama denied. Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean April 11 said that Iloilo’s decision to repeal the constitution and to reappoint Bainimarama was itself illegal. In addition, he suggested that Fiji could face sanctions or removal from the Pacific Islands Forum, a multinational organization comprised of Australia, New Zealand and Pacific island nations, if it did not return to a democratic form of government. Separately, Randall Powell, one of three Fijian Court of Appeal judges who had ruled on the legality of the current government, April 11 said that he felt that Bainimarama would only allow elections to go forward in 2014 “if he could be sure of winning them, because he needs to be sure that the new parliament is going to exonerate him.” The government April 14 shut down relay stations run by the Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC) and expelled one of its correspondents from the country. In addition, Dorsami Naidu, the president of the Fiji Law Society, was detained after his criticism of the decision to dismiss the judiciary and to control local media was broadcast by ABC; he was subsequently released April 15, after reportedly being threatened with sedition charges. Fiji Dollar Devalued—Sada Reddy, the governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji, April 15 announced that the Reserve Bank had devalued the Fijian dollar by 20% as part of an attempt to give “a much-needed boost to tourism” and exports, the two pillars of Fiji’s economy. Reddy conceded that the change could trigger massive inflation within Fiji but said that it was necessary to make sure that “our economy can recover quickly.” Reddy had been appointed to the position earlier April 15 by Bainimarama’s government. He replaced Savenaca Narube, who had been removed April 14 by the government on the grounds that he had been appointed under the invalid constitution. The Reserve Bank April 14 had instituted new currency exchange controls after Narube’s dismissal that were intended to bolster the country’s reserves of foreign money. n

Japan Largest-Ever Stimulus Plan Unveiled. The

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Japanese government April 10 formally unveiled a 15.4 trillion yen ($155 billion) package of spending and tax measures intended to stimulate the country’s contracting economy. It was the largest such stimulus proposal in Japan’s history, and followed two others enacted since late 2008. Including other provisions that did not constitute direct government spending, such as loan guarantees for small businesses, the total value of the measures was estimated at 56.8 trillion yen. [See p. 98B3] 252

Prime Minister Taro Aso said the plan was needed “to stop the economy falling through the floor,” noting that Japan’s “exports and production” were “tumbling.” Japan’s gross domestic product had shrunk at an annualized rate of 12.1% in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to revised figures released March 11. The government March 25 reported that exports in February had fallen 49% from February 2008. Many details of the stimulus package, which required legislative approval of a supplementary budget to finance it, had been made public April 9. They included 1.9 trillion yen intended to help preserve jobs or help the unemployed find work. It also contained 1.6 trillion yen to fund programs promoting solar power and energy efficiency, including subsidies for consumers who bought efficient appliances or traded in an old vehicle for a new fuel-efficient model. The package also allowed more money to be given as a gift free of tax, intended to encourage older Japanese holding onto large savings to transfer some to their children, who would be more likely to use it for a major purchase such as a home. The package would add to Japan’s already large public debt, which as a percentage of GDP was one of the highest in the world, 170%, due in part to extensive stimulus spending during a period of economic stagnation in the 1990s. Aso acknowledged the need to “rebuild our finances,” but only “in the mid- to long-term,” once the immediate economic crisis passed. Naoto Kan, a senior official of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), April 9 criticized the proposal as “nothing more than a campaign maneuver” ahead of parliamentary elections due to be held by September. Because it controlled the upper house of the Diet (parliament), the DPJ was able to delay government-sponsored legislation. [See p. 252E2] n Aide to Opposition Leader Indicted. Prosecutors in Tokyo, Japan’s capital, March 24 indicted an aide to Ichiro Ozawa, leader of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), on charges of concealing donations from a construction company to Ozawa’s political fund. The aide, Takanori Okubo, had been arrested March 3. Ozawa, who had not been accused in the case, in an emotional news conference held March 24, denied any wrongdoing, and vowed to remain DPJ president in order to pursue his “lifetime dream” of ousting the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from power in parliamentary elections due to be held by September. [See 2007, p. 739F3] The DPJ had been seen as having an unprecedented opportunity to beat the LDP, because Prime Minister Taro Aso’s popularity had plummeted with the country’s current economic downturn. But the charge against Okubo jeopardized the opposition’s ability to present itself as a clear reformist alternative to the LDP. [See p. 252F1] Okubo was charged with accepting and falsifying about 35 million yen ($355,000) in donations that a construction company had allegedly made in an effort to obtain

public-works contracts in Ozawa’s base of power, Iwate prefecture (province). Such dealings between construction companies and politicians had long been typical of Japanese influence-peddling scandals. Ozawa, 66, had left the LDP in 1993, after rising in its ranks as the protege of party elders themselves brought down in corruption scandals. He had become the DPJ’s leader in 2006. n

Kyrgyzstan Early Elections Called. Kyrgyzstan’s central election commission March 20 announced that a presidential election originally scheduled for October 2010 would be moved up to July 23. The move came a day after the Constitutional Court ruled that the election had to be held no later than October 2009. Opponents of Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who had been in office since 2005, said Bakiyev was forcing an early election so he could take advantage of a disorganized opposition movement to easily win a second term. [See p. 226E1; 2007, p. 885G2] As many as 1,500 antigovernment protesters March 27 gathered at a park in Bishkek, the capital, to demand a number of concessions they said were necessary in order for the snap election to be fair. Among them were calls for the government to open the central election commission, law enforcement bodies and state television to members of the opposition. Demonstrators also called for Bakiyev to allow international monitors into the country to observe the election. That demand reportedly came in response to current draft legislation that would bar nongovernmental organizations from participating in Kyrgyzstan’s electoral process. In related news, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) April 2 reported that Deputy Finance Minister Said Zulpuev had said the first installment of a $2.1 billion package of loans and aid from Russia had arrived March 31. The package had been agreed to in February. Some opposition figures were reportedly concerned that Bakiyev might use the money to fund his reelection campaign. Zulpuev said about $150 million had been disbursed so far. [See p. 59A1] n

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Azerbaijan Court Annuls Journalists’ Sentences. An

Azerbaijani appeals court April 9 annulled the sentences of two journalists—Asif Marzili and Zumrud Mammedova—who April 7 had been found guilty of libel and defamation. The annulment followed an April 8 statement by Ali Hasanov, a spokesman for President Ilham Aliyev, in which he said Aliyev did not approve of the sentences and wanted to see courts resolve such disputes in ways other than sending journalists to jail. [See below, p. 206B3] Marzili, editor-in-chief of the weekly independent newspaper Tazadlar, April 7 FACTS ON FILE

was detained and sentenced to one year in jail for libel. The sentence had come in connection with an article alleging corruption at Azerbaijan International University in Baku, the capital. Mammedova, a freelance journalist who had written the article, the same day was sentenced to six months’ corrective labor. However, both were released April 9 after the appeals court said the sentencing judge had rendered unfair decisions. Sakit Zakhidov, another independent journalist, was also released from jail April 9. Zakhidov, who had worked for the independent newspaper Azadlyg, had been jailed in 2006 on drug charges, which U.S.based advocacy group Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) claimed were “fabricated.” Zakhidov had already served about two-and-a-half years of his three-year sentence. CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova April 9 claimed there were at least four other journalists unfairly imprisoned in Azerbaijan, and called for their release. n Presidential Term Limit Abolished. Azerbaijan’s central election commission March 19 announced that voters the previous day had approved a constitutional amendment abolishing the limit on presidential terms, paving the way for President Ilham Aliyev to serve for life. Aliyev’s current term, his second, expired in 2013. Aliyev April 2 signed a decree under which the changes were formally incorporated into the constitution. [See p. 252F3; 2008, p. 775F2] The election commission said about 92% of voters had approved the measure, with voter turnout estimated at 71%. Azerbaijan’s relatively weak political opposition had boycotted the referendum, and later accused officials of ballot-stuffing and intimidating voters. Opposition leaders also said voter turnout had been lower than 25%, and some pointed out that the referendum had fallen on the eve of Novruz, an important holiday in Azerbaijan. Opposition parties had also urged a boycott of 2008 presidential elections, which Aliyev had won handily. That poll had been criticized by election monitors. Azerbaijan’s economy had expanded rapidly under Aliyev’s administration, largely due to profitable energy deals with Russia and Western countries. Aliyev was the son of former President Heydar Aliyev, who had governed Azerbaijan for a decade, until his death in 2003. n

Georgia Thousands Call for President’s Resignation.

Tens of thousands of Georgians April 9 gathered peacefully in Tbilisi, the capital, to call for President Mikheil Saakashvili’s resignation. The protesters, who said they would continue to demonstrate until Saakashvili resigned, accused the president of consolidating power into his own hands, suppressing independent media and leading the country into a brief 2008 war against Russia that eventually bolstered Russia’s presence in the Russian-aligned Georgian splinter regions of Abkhazia and South OsApril 16, 2009

setia. Saakashvili maintained that he would finish his second term, which was due to end in 2013. [See p. 84D3] The Caucasus Research Resource Center, an independent research institute, estimated the April 9 crowd at about 53,000. Smaller protests April 10–16 took place in front of the parliament, outside Saakashvili’s office and near television stations. Protesters also blocked main roads in Tbilisi. Saakashvili’s government, which had violently suppressed a similar antigovernment protest in 2007, allowed the crowds to demonstrate. Media outlets reported a sparse police presence. [See 2007, p. 740C3] The protests were organized by a number of opposition parties that had united against Saakashvili. The Christian Democrats, the largest opposition party in the parliament, declined to participate in the demonstrations. Among the opposition leaders who spoke at the protests were former parliament speaker Nino Burdzhanadze; Irakli Alasania, Georgia’s former ambassador to the United Nations; and Levan Gachechiladze, a former presidential candidate. n

Great Britain Antiterrorism Official Resigns Over Photo.

The top antiterrorism official of the London Metropolitan Police Service, Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick, resigned April 9, a day after he was photographed by news agencies while holding a plainly visible document, marked “secret,” which detailed an imminent operation. The accidental disclosure forced the operation to be carried out earlier than planned. Police April 8 arrested 12 terrorism suspects in raids across northwest England, in the cities of Manchester and Liverpool and nearby areas. [See 2008, p. 928B2] The British Ministry of Defence April 8 issued an “advisory notice” requesting that the media exercise voluntary censorship of the photo for reasons of national security. However, the photo had already appeared on the Internet by then. London Mayor Boris Johnson April 9 said Quick’s mistake had been “extremely unfortunate.” He named Assistant Commissioner John Yates to replace Quick. The 12 suspects arrested April 8 allegedly had ties to the international terrorist network Al Qaeda. They reportedly included 10 Pakistani citizens. Prime Minister Gordon Brown April 9 said the raids had disrupted “a very big terrorist plot” that authorities had been “following for some time.” However, police in Manchester said there was “no particular threat against any particular location.” Police April 11 said one of the 12 suspects, an unidentified 18-year-old, had been released without charge into the custody of immigration authorities. n Death at G-20 Protest Blamed on Police.

An amateur video showed that newspaper vendor Ian Tomlinson had been struck from behind with a baton and shoved to the ground by a police officer minutes before he collapsed and died at an April 1 protest in London against the Group of 20 (G-20) glo-

bal economic summit, Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported April 7. [See p. 194D2] Tomlinson, 47, reportedly had been on his way home at the time of the incident, and was not a participant in the demonstration, which turned violent when some protesters attacked bank offices and clashed with police. The video was shot by an unidentified investment manager from New York City. Other witnesses said they had seen the police assault Tomlinson without provocation, and had taken photographs of the attack. The Independent Police Complaints Commission April 8 said it was investigating “the alleged assault by police” and whether it caused Tomlinson’s death. The panel said it would seek a second autopsy. A first autopsy had found that Tomlinson had died of a heart attack. The London Metropolitan Police Service April 9 said the officer involved in the incident had been suspended. The service April 15 said it had suspended another officer for striking a woman at the G-20 protest. A video posted on the Internet showed the officer slapping the woman in the face and hitting her in the leg with his baton. n

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Italy Funeral Mass Held for Earthquake Victims.

Thousands of mourners April 10 attended a funeral mass in the city of L’Aquila in central Italy for 205 victims of an earthquake that had struck L’Aquila and the surrounding area in the Abruzzo region earlier that week. The quake had killed more than 290 people and displaced about 55,000, of whom more than 30,000 had taken shelter in large tent encampments. [See p. 224B1] Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi took part in the mass. His government had declared a national day of mourning. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state, presided at the mass. Pope Benedict XVI, who had promised to visit the earthquake zone after Easter, sent a message of solidarity to the mourners. The Vatican had granted a special dispensation to allow the mass to be held on Good Friday, which was the only day of the year on which the Roman Catholic Church normally did not celebrate mass. The culture ministry April 13 said the quake had damaged or destroyed at least 500 historic churches. Modern buildings, including a student dormitory, had also collapsed in the quake. L’Aquila prosecutors April 11 announced an investigation into substandard building practices, and warned that they would monitor reconstruction projects for compliance with building codes. Prosecutors also said they would scrutinize rebuilding contracts in order to detect and prevent the involvement of companies linked to organized crime, which had been linked to shoddy building practices. The Naples-based Camorra crime group had allegedly made large profits from governmentfunded reconstruction projects after Italy’s worst earthquake in recent decades, which 253

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hit the Naples area in 1980 and killed more than 2,700 people. [See 1980, p. 893A1] Interior Minister Roberto Maroni April 14 said the Abruzzo region would require at least 12 billion euros ($16 billion) for reconstruction. The government had already approved subsidies for families and businesses affected by the quake. n

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European Central Bank Cuts Rate to 1.25%. The European Central Bank (ECB) April 2

cut its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, to 1.25%, from 1.5%. The cut was smaller than expected, but ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet signaled that at least one more cut of the same size was likely. He also said the bank might soon unveil more unconventional measures to revive the economy in the eurozone, comprised of the 16 European Union member nations that used the euro currency. [See pp. 193A1, 155E2, 100A3] The rate cut was the sixth by the ECB since October 2008, and brought the rate to a record low. However, the ECB had drawn criticism for cutting rates more slowly than other central banks, such as the U.S. Federal Reserve, which had cut its benchmark rate to near zero in December 2008. The ECB also had yet to follow the lead of the Fed, the Bank of England and other central banks in starting programs to buy assets such as government and corporate bonds, in order to encourage a renewal of normal lending by private-sector banks. But the ECB since October had offered unlimited loans to banks at fixed interest rates for up to six months. Trichet said the ECB would announce its decision on whether to pursue more “nonstandard” steps in May. He expressed pessimism about the state of the eurozone economy, saying that it had “weakened markedly,” and that he expected only a gradual recovery in 2010. Eurostat, the EU statistics agency, April 1 reported that the unemployment rate in the eurozone had risen to 8.5% in February, up from 7.2% a year earlier. n

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Iran Nuclear Fuel Plant Opened. Iranian Presi-

dent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad April 9 announced the formal opening of a nuclear fuel plant in the central city of Isfahan. Ahmadinejad also indicated that Iran would be open to further international talks on its nuclear program if they were conducted with “justice, equality and mutual respect.” Iran claimed that its program was for civilian nuclear generation, but the U.S and its allies viewed the program as aimed at developing nuclear weapons. The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama the previous day had said it was willing to negotiate directly with Iran, in a break from the policy of Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush. [See p. 227C2] 254

The United Nation’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in February had reported that the Isfahan plant was already producing nuclear fuel. The fuel could reportedly be further processed into plutonium for use in weapons. [See p. 173F3] Ahmadinejad announced the testing of two new types of high-capacity uranium centrifuges, which he said would speed up enrichment, a key step in creating nuclear material used both as fuel and in weapons. Also that day, the head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, Gholamreza Aghazadeh, said Iran had increased the number of centrifuges it possessed to 7,000. The IAEA in February had reported that Iran had a total of 5,600 centrifuges. Ahmadinejad April 6 while visiting Kazakhstan had said he approved of a U.S. proposal to set up an international nuclear fuel bank in that country. If Iran used such a bank, it would theoretically mean that it would no longer have to enrich uranium to produce nuclear power plant fuel. Ahmadinejad April 15 in a speech in the southeastern city of Kerman said he was preparing a proposal to resolve international controversy over Iran’s nuclear program. He warned the U.S. against negotiating “from a position of arrogance.” n Journalist Tried in Secret for Espionage.

An Iranian judiciary spokesman April 14 said a journalist charged with spying for the U.S. had been tried in a closed hearing the previous day, and that the verdict would be handed down “within a couple of weeks.” The journalist, Roxana Saberi, 31, was a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen, although Iran did not recognize her U.S. citizenship, and had been living in Iran for six years; she had reported for several international news outlets before her press credentials were revoked without explanation in 2006. [See p. 227F2] Saberi had been arrested in January on initial charges of purchasing a bottle of wine, which was illegal in Iran. A judge in early April had announced the spying charge, which analysts said could carry a sentence of two to 10 years in prison, but could result in the death penalty in the most serious cases. The U.S. government denied that Saberi was a spy, and was pressing Iran for her release. n

Iraq Mosul Truck Bombing Kills Five U.S. Troops.

A suicide bomber April 10 blew up a dump truck full of explosives outside the headquarters of the Iraqi national police in Mosul, the capital of northern Nineveh province, killing five U.S. soldiers and two Iraqi police officers. It was the deadliest attack against U.S. soldiers in Iraq since March 2008, and continued a recent upswing in violence throughout Iraq, after a period of relative calm in early 2009. An attack on U.S. forces in Mosul in February had killed four U.S. soldiers and their translator. [See pp. 227E3, 101D2; 2008, p. 159C2] The U.S. soldiers were part of a convoy that was passing the police headquarters

when the truck exploded. It was unclear whether the U.S. unit or the police building was the target of the attack. The Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella group of Sunni insurgent groups including Al Qaeda in Iraq, April 13 claimed responsibility for the Mosul attack, as well as another attack April 11 in Iskandariyah, a town in Babil province south of Baghdad, the Iraqi capital. In the Iskandariyah attack, a suicide bomber killed at least eight members of an Awakening Council. Awakening Councils were mostly Sunni Muslim armed groups that had turned against extremists and had allied themselves with U.S. forces. The U.S. military April 15 said it was closely monitoring the arrests of 15 Awakening Council leaders by the Iraqi government over recent weeks, as well as arrest warrants issued for five more. Awakening Council members complained that the Shiite Muslim–dominated government had targeted them for persecution and had been slow to pay them and fulfill promises of incorporating them into Iraq’s security forces. The National Media Center of the Iraqi Council of Ministers April 13 had criticized local and international media outlets for provoking “hateful sectarian strife” by portraying arrested Awakening Council members “as heroes targeted by security forces.” Also, Iraq’s top military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Qassim Atta, April 13 said he was suing the London-based Arabic-language newspaper Al Hayat and the Iraqi television station Al Sharqiya in order to close down their Iraqi operations. Atta said Al Hayat had misquoted him as saying that the government would rearrest detainees released by the U.S., and Al Sharqiya had run Al Hayat’s report. Al Hayat said it had its sources confused. In other violence, a car bombing April 15 killed at least 11 security guards at an oil facility in the northern city of Kirkuk. U.S. Soldier Convicted of Iraqi Murders—

A U.S. military jury in Vilseck, Germany, April 15 convicted U.S. Army Master Sgt. John Hatley of premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit premeditated murder for his role in killing four captured Iraqis in Baghdad in March or April 2007. Hatley April 16 was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole and a dishonorable discharge. Hatley was the highestranking U.S. soldier to be convicted of murder in the Iraq war. [See p. 208D3] After their unit concluded that it lacked evidence to hold the four Iraqi detainees and was going to release them, Hatley and two other soldiers—Sgt. First Class Joseph Mayo, who pleaded guilty to murder charges in March, and Sgt. Michael Leahy Jr., who was convicted in February—shot the bound and blindfolded men at pointblank range and pushed them into a Baghdad canal. Two other soldiers had pleaded guilty to being accessories in 2008. Hatley, 40, was found not guilty of the January 2007 murder of another suspected Iraqi insurgent. In a separate case, a military jury at Camp Pendleton, Calif., April 9 acquitted Marine Sgt. Ryan Weemer of premeditated FACTS ON FILE

murder and dereliction of duty for allegedly killing an unarmed Iraqi detainee in Fallujah, in the western Iraqi province of Anbar in November 2004. While taking a polygraph test in order to join the U.S. Secret Service in 2006, after he left the Marines, Weemer had reportedly said he had killed the Iraqi; he was recalled to duty in order to be tried by the military. His lawyers said the Iraqi had been trying to take Weemer’s pistol when he was shot, and also that there was no forensic evidence of the killing. Weemer had faced a maximum sentence of life in prison and a dishonorable discharge. [See 2008, p. 624E1] Weemer’s squad leader, former Sgt. Jose Luis Nazario Jr., had been acquitted of charges related to the incident by a civilian jury in August 2008. A third marine, Sgt. Jermaine Nelson, also faced a courtmartial in the case. U.S. Contractor Found Liable for Fraud—

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in Richmond, Va., April 10 ruled that a U.S. contractor, Custer Battles LLC, could be found legally liable for fraud committed while doing reconstruction work during the early days of the Iraqi occupation. Custer Battles was accused of inflating invoices for work distributing Iraq’s new currency, and overcharging the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA)—which the U.S.-led coalition had installed to govern Iraq after its invasion in March 2003—by tens of millions of dollars for securing Baghdad International Airport. [See 2006, p. 185G1] Two whistleblowers in 2003 had sued Custer Battles and its founders under the False Claims Act, which allowed private citizens to file suit on behalf of the government against companies that made false claims for payment on federal contracts. A jury in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., in March 2006 had found the defendants liable for $3 million in fraud. The judge in the case, T.S. Ellis 3rd, had initially limited the charges to those related to Custer Battles’s currency work, which was paid for by the U.S. Treasury, rather than other work paid for by the Iraqi government or other foreign entities. After the jury reached its verdict, Ellis ruled that the False Claims Act did not apply because U.S. contracting officials working for the CPA could not be considered agents of the U.S. government under the False Claims Act. The appeals court reversed both of Ellis’s rulings. n

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Cabrera Beats Perry in Playoff To Win Golf’s Masters Final Surges by Woods, Mickelson Fall Short.

Argentina’s Angel Cabrera April 12 won the Masters golf tournament—the first men’s major of the year—at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. Cabrera defeated Kenny Perry of the U.S. on the second hole of a dramatic sudden-death playoff. [See 2008, p. 267D1] April 16, 2009

Cabrera, 39, won his second major tournament, after claiming the U.S. Open in 2007. He became the first Argentine to win the Masters. Perry, 48, was trying to win the first major of his career. If he had succeeded, he would have become the oldest major winner in history. [See 2007, p. 407E1] Perry and Cabrera had been tied for the lead at 11 under par going into the final round April 12, and Chad Campbell of the U.S. was in second place, two shots back. The world’s top two players—Americans Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson—were paired together at four under, several groups in front of the leaders. Woods and Mickelson, who were followed by a huge gallery, became the center of attention as both made several birdies on the front nine—Mickelson shot a recordtying 30—to pull closer to the leaders. (Woods, a 14-time major champion, had never won a major coming from behind on the final day.) The two players managed to reach 10 under by the 16th hole, but Woods bogeyed the 17th and 18th, and Mickelson dropped a shot on the 18th. Mickelson finished at nine under (fifth place), and Woods at eight under (tied for sixth). Meanwhile, Perry, Cabrera and Campbell played a largely steady front nine, interspersed with a few bogeys and birdies. On the back nine, Perry and Cabrera birdied the 15th and 16th, and Campbell birdied the 15th, to give Perry a two-shot lead, at 14 under, with two holes remaining. However, he bogeyed the 17th and 18th, while both Cabrera and Campbell made par. All three finished with scores of 276, 12 under par, and headed to a sudden-death playoff. On the first playoff hole, the 18th, both Cabrera and Perry made par; Campbell bogeyed the hole and was eliminated. On the second playoff hole, the 10th, Perry hooked his second shot and missed the green, ultimately leading to a bogey. Cabrera two-putted from 22 feet for par to seal the victory. He earned $1.35 million in prize money. Other News—In other golf news: o England’s Paul Casey April 5 won the Houston Open in Humble, Texas. He shot an 11-under-par 277 in regulation, tied with J.B. Holmes of the U.S. Casey claimed victory after Holmes hooked his tee shot into the water on the first playoff hole. Casey earned $1.026 million for the win, his first on the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour, after nine victories internationally. [See 2008, p. 267B2] o Woods March 29 won the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Fla. He shot a five-under-par 275, and sealed the victory—his first since returning from an eight-month injury layoff—by sinking a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole. Woods earned $1.08 million for the victory. [See p. 139D1; 2008, p. 267D2] o Retief Goosen of South Africa March 22 won the Transitions Championship (formerly the PODS Championship) in Palm Harbor, Fla. He shot a 276, eight under par, and collected a $972,000 winner’s check. [See 2008, p. 267D2]

o Mickelson March 15 won the World Golf Championships (WGC)–CA Championship in Doral, Fla. He finished with a 19under-par 269, and earned $1.4 million for the victory. [See 2008, p. 267C2] o Yong-Eun Yang of South Korea March 8 won the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., his first victory on the PGA Tour. Yang shot a nine-under-par 271, and picked up $1.008 million in prize money. [See 2008, p. 267E2] n

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Awards 3rd NYU Mathematician Wins Abel Prize.

The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters March 26 named Soviet-born mathematician Mikhail L. Gromov as the recipient of the 2009 Abel Prize for Mathematical Research, worth six million Norwegian kroner ($950,000). Gromov, 65, was a naturalized French citizen who taught at both the Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques in Bures-sur-Yvette, France, and New York University’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences in New York City. He was the third Courant Institute–affiliated mathematician in the six-year history of the Abel Prize to win it. [See 2008, p. 248A1; 2007, p. 236E1] Gromov was honored for his work in geometry, including the fields of Riemannian geometry, which evolved from the study of curved surfaces and their higher-dimensional spaces, and symplectic geometry, an outgrowth of a branch of classical physics describing the motion of particles. He had also made key contributions to geometric group theory. n

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Palestinian Group Wins Literature Prize.

The Tamer Institute, a Palestinian organization that had promoted reading on the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip for two decades, March 24 was named the winner of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for Literature, a children’s literature award administered by the Swedish Arts Council. It was worth five million Swedish kronor ($620,000). [See 2008, p. 227C2] Based in the West Bank city of Ramallah, the Tamer Institute provided books to children in the West Bank and Gaza and encouraged nontraditional teaching methods. In honoring the Tamer Institute, the Swedish Council noted that “[u]nder difficult circumstances, the institute carries out reading promotion of an unusual breadth and versatility.” n

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Theater Openings Blithe Spirit. Broadway revival of Noel Coward’s 1941 comedy. Directed by Michael Blakemore. With Rupert Everett, Christine Ebersole, Angela Lansbury and Jayne Atkinson. In New York City, at the Shubert Theater. March 15. [See 2004, p. 1097D1] Death and the King’s Horseman. Revival of a 1975 drama about Yoruba culture by Nigerian author and 1985 Nobel literature laureate Wole Soyinka. Directed by Rufus Norris. With Nonso Anozie, Lucian Msamati, Jenny Jules, Claire Benedict and Giles Terera. In London, at the Royal National Theatre’s Olivier Theatre. April 8. [See 1995, p. 1013F1; 1986, p. 799E2] Exit the King. Revival of an absurdist 1962 tragicomedy by Eugene Ionesco, as adapted by Neil Armfield

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and Geoffrey Rush. Directed by Armfield. With Rush, Susan Sarandon, Andrea Martin and Lauren Ambrose. In New York City, at the Ethel Barrymore Theater. March 26. [See 1968, p. 271D3] God of Carnage. Broadway premiere of Yasmina Reza’s most recent comedy, translated from the French by Christopher Hampton. Directed by Matthew Warchus. With Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis, James Gandolfini and Marcia Gay Harden. In New York City, at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater. March 22. [See 2008, p. 320B2] The Good Negro. Historical drama about the 1960s civil rights movement. By Tracey Scott Wilson. Directed by Liesl Tommy. With Curtis McLarin, J. Bernard Calloway, LeRoy McClain, Joniece Abbott-Pratt and Francois Battiste. In New York City, at the Joseph Papp Public Theater’s LuEsther Theater. March 16. [See 2003, p. 1104C2] Hair. Broadway revival of Galt MacDermot’s 1967 rock musical, first presented on Broadway in 1968. Directed by Diane Paulus; choreographed by Karole Armitage. With Gavin Creel, Will Swenson, Caissie Levy, Darius Nichols, Bryce Ryness, Allison Case and Kacie Sheik. In New York City, at the Al Hirschfeld Theater. March 31. (New York’s Public Theater originally mounted this production in Central Park’s Delacorte Theater in the summer of 2008.) [See 1979, pp. 528D2, 239G2; 1968, p. 271E2] Happiness. Musical set in a stalled New York City subway car. Music by Scott Frankel; lyrics by Michael Korie; book by John Weidman. Directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman. With Hunter Foster, Jenny Powers, Joanna Gleason, Phyllis Somerville and Fred Applegate. In New York, at Lincoln Center’s Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater. March 30. [See 2006, p. 359C1; 1999, p. 998D2] Impressionism. Romantic drama using projections of famous paintings. By Michael Jacobs. Directed by Jack O’Brien. With Jeremy Irons, Joan Allen, Marsha Mason and Andre De Shields. In New York City, at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater. March 24. Irena’s Vow. Broadway premiere of a drama about a Holocaust heroine, first seen off-Broadway in the fall of 2008. By Dan Gordon. Directed by Michael Parva. With Tovah Feldshuh. In New York City, at the Walter Kerr Theater. March 29. [See 2003, p. 1103E3] Madame de Sade. French historical drama by Japanese novelist Yukio Mishima, who committed ritual suicide in 1970; translated by Donald Keene. Directed by Michael Grandage. With Dame Judi Dench, Rosamund Pike, Frances Barber, Deborah Findley, Fiona Button and Jenny Galloway. In London, at Wyndham’s Theatre. March 18. [See 1995, p. 1013D2; 1970, p. 874E3] The Old Man and the Sea. Adaptation, by Eric Ting and Craig Siebels, of Ernest Hemingway’s 1952 novella of the same name. Directed by Ting. With Mateo Gomez, Rey Lucas and Leajato Amara Robinson. In New Haven, Conn., at the Long Wharf Theater. April 8. [See 1961, p. 244D3] Reasons to Be Pretty. Broadway debut of playwright Neil LaBute, in a revised version of a work seen offBroadway in 2008. Directed by Terry Kinney. With Thomas Sadoski, Marin Ireland, Steven Pasquale and Piper Perabo. In New York City, at the Lyceum Theater. April 2. [See 2008, p. 780E1] Rock of Ages. Broadway musical evoking Los Angeles’s Sunset Strip in the 1980s. Book by Chris D’Arienzo. Directed by Kristin Hanggi; choreographed by Kelly Devine. With Constantine Maroulis, Amy Spanger, James Carpinello and Mitchell Jarvis. In New York City, at the Brooks Atkinson Theater. April 7. West Side Story. First Broadway revival since 1980 of Leonard Bernstein’s classic 1957 musical, with many lines and lyrics translated into Spanish. Book by Arthur Laurents; lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Directed by Laurents; original choreography by Jerome Robbins reproduced by Joey McKneely. With Matt Cavenaugh, Josefina Scaglione, Karen Olivo, Cody Green and George Akram. In New York City, at the Palace Theater. March 19. [See 1980, p. 136G3]

O B I T UA R I E S ARNESON, Dave (David Lance), 61, creator, with Gary Gygax, of the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, introduced in 1974; two years later, he left the company that he and Gygax had founded to market the game, and filed a number of lawsuits against Gygax that were not resolved until 1981; Gygax died in 2008; born Oct. 1, 1947, in Hennepin County, Minn.; died April 7 at a hospice in St. Paul, Minn., after a two-year battle with cancer. [See 2008, p. 187C3] BACH, Steven, 70, onetime producer at Hollywood film studio United Artists Corp. (UA) who was associated with one of the biggest financial disasters in motion picture history, Heaven’s Gate, an epic Western directed by Michael Cimino and released in 1980; its failure at the box office led to his being fired, and was instrumental in UA’s 1981 sale to Metro-Goldwyn Mayer Film Co. (MGM); in 1985, he published a memoir, Final Cut: Dreams and Disaster in the Making of Heaven’s Gate, regarded as the last word on the subject; born April 29, 1938, in Pocatello, Idaho; died March 25 at his home in Arlington, Vt., of cancer. [See 1981, pp. 558B2, 523E3; 1979, p. 819F3] BRADEN, Tom (Thomas Wardell Braden 2nd),

People

92, onetime Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative turned syndicated newspaper columnist whose liberal views landed him on President Richard Nixon’s “enemies list” in the early 1970s; in 1975, he published Eight Is Enough, a memoir of his life as a father of eight that became the basis for a television comedydrama series that ran from 1977 to 1981; all eight of his children were from his marriage to Joan Braden, who worked for the U.S. State Department in the 1970s; their Washington, D.C., home became an informal salon for prominent politicians and journalists in the 1970s and 1980s; he and conservative commentator Patrick Buchanan were the original sparring partners on the Cable News Network (CNN) public affairs show “Crossfire,” which debuted in 1982; born Feb. 22, 1917, in Greene, Iowa; died April 3 at his home in Denver, Colo., of natural causes. [See 1975, p. 1031A1; 1973, p. 535C3]

The Washington Post April 12 reported that U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D, Mass.) had given the family of U.S. President Barack

56, actress best known for her work in hard-core pornographic films, notably Behind the Green Door (1972), which shattered taboos on interracial and

Why Torture Is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them.

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Obama a six-month-old Portuguese water dog, ending the search for a puppy for the president’s two daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7. The newspaper reported that the girls had named the puppy Bo because they had cousins with a cat named Bo and because first lady Michelle Obama’s father was nicknamed Diddley, after singer Bo Diddley. The dog, with its lustrous black coat and patches of white fur, was formally introduced to the White House press corps April 14. [See 2008, pp. 828C3, 388F1] A highly anticipated four-day auction of some 2,000 items from singer Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch in California was called off April 14, eight days before it was to begin and hours after the items went on public display in Beverly Hills, Calif. Jackson, 50, reportedly reached an agreement with Los Angeles–based Julien Auctions whereby the auction house would return the items to the singer after they remained on display until April 25. [See 2008, p. 998D3] The British Office of Communications, an independent media watchdog group, April 3 fined the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) £150,000 (US$220,000) for having aired lewd phone messages left by comedians Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross on actor Andrew Sachs’s answering machine in October 2008. Brand had later left the BBC, while Ross was suspended without pay from his BBC shows for three months. [See 2008, p. 824E1] n

Black comedy by Christopher Durang. Directed by Nicholas Martin. With Laura Benanti, Amir Arison, Kristine Nielsen, Richard Poe and David Aaron Baker. In New York City, at the Joseph Papp Public Theater’s Newman Theater. April 6. [See 2008, p. 780E1; 2006, pp. 564D3, 315F2] n

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CHAMBERS, Marilyn (born Marilyn Ann Briggs),

group sex; the film came out the same year as another iconic porn film of that era, Deep Throat; after Behind the Green Door was released, Chambers was identified, and quickly dropped, as the model on boxes of Procter & Gamble Co.’s Ivory Snow detergent, a product bearing the slogan “99 and 44/100% pure”; she appeared in more movies in later years, and exploited her notoriety in various other ways, including by performing in live sex shows, for which she was sometimes arrested; born April 22, 1952, in Providence, R.I.; found dead April 12 in her mobile home in Santa Clarita, Calif.; the cause of her death was being probed, although foul play had been ruled out. [See 2008, p. 800F2; 1985, p. 192B2] FIDRYCH, Mark Steven, 54, pitcher for Major League Baseball’s Detroit Tigers who in 1976, his rookie year, led the major leagues in earned run average—2.34—was the American League’s starting pitcher in the All-Star Game, compiled a 19–9 record and was named A.L. rookie of the year; nicknamed “The Bird” for his resemblance to the gangly “Sesame Street” character Big Bird, he became a fan favorite, not only for his pitching prowess but also for his various eccentricities, which included talking to the baseball and shaping the pitcher’s mound dirt with his hands; after his rookie season, though, injuries limited him to only 10 additional wins, and his major league career ended with his release by the Tigers in 1981; born Aug. 15, 1954, in Worcester, Mass.; found dead April 13 beneath a dump truck on his farm in Northborough, Mass.; authorities April 16 ruled his death an accident, having concluded that he suffocated after his clothes got caught in a part of the truck that was spinning while he was working on it. [See 1989, p. 646G3; 1976, pp. 952E1, 796D1, 544G1–A2] JAKI, Stanley Ladislas, 84, Benedictine priest, physicist and philosopher who won the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion in 1987; he had been a physics professor at Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J., for many years, and was the author of such books as The Relevance of Physics (1966) and Science and Creation (1974); born Aug. 17, 1924, in Gyor, Hungary; died April 7 in Madrid, Spain, after suffering a heart attack. [See 1987, p. 196E1] KRUG, Judith (born Judith Rose Fingeret), 69, librarian who had directed the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom since 1967, making her one of the U.S.’s most prominent foes of literary censorship; in 1982, she was instrumental in the creation of Banned Books Week, an annual ALA event calling attention to books targeted by censors; born March 15, 1940, in Pittsburgh, Pa.; died April 11 at a hospital in Evanston, Ill., of stomach cancer. [See 1982, p. 194B3] LAWRENCE, Andrea Mead (born Andrea Bario Mead), 76, only U.S. skier ever to win two Olympic

gold medals in Alpine skiing, a feat she accomplished in 1952 in Oslo, Norway; after retiring from competitive skiing, she became an environmental activist in Northern California; born April 19, 1932, in Rutland, Vt.; died late March 30 at her home in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., of cancer. [See 1955, pp. 96G1–A2, 88E1; 1953, pp. 104K, 80M; Indexes 1949–52; indexed as Mead before 1951] SEALS, Dan(ny Wayland), 61, singer-songwriter who performed as England Dan in the 1970s folk-pop duo England Dan and John Ford Coley and later had major success as a solo country singer; born Feb. 8, 1948, in McCarney, Texas; died March 25 at his daughter’s home in Nashville, Tenn., of complications from the treatment he was receiving for mantle cell lymphoma, a rare blood cancer. [See 1986, p. 968C1] SHANK, Bud (Clifford Everett Shank Jr.), 82, alto saxophonist and flutist who helped create the “cool” sound of West Coast jazz in the 1950s; he was also an early exponent of Brazilian music in the U.S., playing it years before the emergence of the bossa nova craze in the 1960s; he had a famous flute solo in the Mamas and the Papas’ 1965 hit song “California Dreamin”; born May 27, 1926, in Dayton, Ohio; died April 2 at his home in Tucson, Ariz., of a pulmonary embolism. [See 2001, p. 220D3] WALDIE, Jerome Russell, 84, liberal Democrat from California who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1966 to 1975; he was one of the first members of the House Judiciary Committee to call for the impeachment of President Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal, which led to Nixon’s resignation in 1974; Waldie decided not to run for reelection to Congress that year, but to seek the California governorship; however, he lost the Democratic primary to Jerry Brown, the eventual winner of the post; born Feb. 15, 1925, in Antioch, Calif.; died April 3 at his home in Placerville, Calif., after a short illness. [See 1976, p. 900F1; Indexes 1970–74] n

April 16, 2009

Memos Authorizing U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Interrogations During Bush Era Released New Details on Harsh Techniques Disclosed.

The U.S. Justice Department April 16 released four memoranda outlining interrogation techniques that had been found acceptable for use by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) against terrorism detainees under the administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush. The memos, which were written by members of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), dated from 2002 and 2005 and were released in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in U.S. District Court in New York City. [See pp. 183G2, 129F3; 2008, pp. 214D3, 146B2; 2007, p. 664A1; for excepts from the memos, see pp. 259A1– 260G3] The memos approved a group of 14 harsh interrogation techniques for use on detainees. Critics considered many of those techniques to be torture. One of the techniques was waterboarding, a type of simulated drowning that had been prosecuted as a war crime by the U.S. after World War II. The government had previously released similar memos that had authorized the use of harsh tactics against detainees by the CIA and the Defense Department following Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the U.S. [See below] Release of Memos Debated—The decision to release the memos was reportedly preceded by months of debate within the administration of U.S President Barack Obama. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Jr., U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair and White House counsel Gregory Craig reportedly backed releasing the memos in a largely unedited form, while CIA Director Leon Panetta and White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan (formerly a top CIA official) pushed for releasing only heavily censored versions of the memos. The memos were eventually released with few omissions for privacy or security reasons. The Justice Department had originally been required to inform Judge Alvin Hellerstein by April 2 whether it would release three memos from 2005. However, Hellerstein April 2 granted an administration request for a two-week delay, a move backed by the ACLU after the government said it would consider releasing a 2002 memo as well as the other three if it was given the additional time. Obama’s decision to release the memos largely uncensored was reportedly influenced by the fact that a leaked report by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on the treatment of detainees in the CIA’s secret prison system, with similar information about the specifics of the U.S. interrogation program, had been published the previous week by the New York Review of Books. Obama had also reportedly been swayed by administration legal experts who found that the government had little legal standing to block the release of the memos.

After taking office in January, Obama had barred government employees from relying on interrogation memos written during the Bush administration, and had ordered the creation of a task force to examine whether CIA employees had committed crimes by exceeding the legal limits set down in those memos. The task force was also required to issue recommendations on what interrogation techniques the CIA would be allowed to use against terrorism detainees in the future. CIA Employee Prosecutions Opposed—

Holder April 16 said the Justice Department would not prosecute CIA employees who had been involved in the harsh interrogations of terrorism detainees if the employees had abided by the guidelines set down in the memos. Holder said employees who had taken part in such interrogations would have any legal expenses related to their work covered by the government, along with any civil penalties that might later be levied against them. However, Holder did not rule out the prosecution of CIA employees who had violated the guidelines, or who had made use of harsh interrogation tactics prior to authorization of the tactics, or after the memos authorizing the tactics were withdrawn. Memos Outlined Detailed Guidelines—

The four memos issued by the OLC in 2002 and 2005 included detailed guidelines that were intended to allow CIA interrogators to make use of harsh interrogation tactics without violating U.S. laws and international treaties banning torture. Critics argued that the memos had been written to provide legal cover to interrogation techniques, including waterboarding, that constituted torture. The earliest memo, written in August 2002, was signed by the head of the OLC, then–Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee, and set down a list of techniques that could be used against detainee Zain al-Abidin Muhammed Hussein, also known as Abu Zubaydah. The other three memos were written in May 2005 by Steven Bradbury, who was then the acting head of the OLC. They addressed what techniques could be used on detainees, when techniques could be used in combination and whether the techniques used by the CIA violated U.S. law. In 2004, then–OLC head Jack Goldsmith had withdrawn memos written by Bybee and by former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo that had formed the legal basis for the CIA’s use of harsh interrogations. Bradbury’s memos, written in response to requests from acting CIA General Counsel John Rizzo, provided the CIA with renewed authorization to continue using harsh techniques during interrogations. [See 2008, pp. 215G2, 36E3] 14 Techniques Approved—In the 2002 memo, Bybee authorized 10 harsh interrogation techniques for use in Zubaydah’s questioning, including waterboarding, sleep deprivation, slapping or gripping his face and slamming him into walls, among

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World News Digest With Index ©2009 by Facts On File News Services An imprint of Infobase Publishing

Volume 69, No. 3566 April 23, 2009

B others. The memo also gave specific guidelines for the use of the techniques and barred their use in some circumstances. A footnote in one of the 2005 memos cited a secret 2004 report by the office of the CIA inspector general, which said interrogators had regularly exceeded waterboarding guidelines in earlier memos, along with other violations of interrogation guidelines. Under the guidelines in the 2002 memo, waterboarding could continue for no longer than 40 seconds at a time. Interrogators could put Zubaydah in “stress positions,” in which a detainee was chained in place in an uncomfortable pose for long periods of time, as long as the discomfort it induced was due only to muscle fatigue, rather than “pain associated with contortions or twisting of the body.” Interrogators who slammed detainees against walls were required to brace the detainees’ necks with

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MAJOR STORIES IN THIS ISSUE Memos authorizing U.S. Central Intelligence Agency interrogations during Bush era released; new details on harsh techniques disclosed. PAGE 257

Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s antiIsrael speech spurs walkout at United Nations racism conference.

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CIA to close secret prisons for terrorism detainees. PAGE 262

Obama asks cabinet for $100 million in budget cuts. PAGE 263

Fannie Mae chief tapped to be TARP overseer. PAGE 264

Captured Somali pirate charged in U.S. court.

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Obama visits Mexico, attends Summit of the Americas. PAGE 270

Iran sentences U.S.-Iranian reporter to eight years for spying for U.S. PAGE 274

Islamic law formalized in Pakistani militant region. PAGE 275

Sri Lankan civilians trapped as army squeezes Tamil Tiger rebels. PAGE 276

‘N.Y. Times’ wins five Pulitzers. PAGE 279

REFERENCES in brackets give location of background information in this & preceding volumes.

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towels beforehand to minimize the risk of whiplash. Bybee’s memo also approved a specialized technique that was intended to take advantage of Zubaydah’s apparent fear of insects, which had been discovered in an analysis by psychologists working on contract for the CIA. Interrogators were allowed to tell Zubaydah that they had put an insect into a box he was confined in, as long as the insect was actually harmless and they told him ahead of time that being bitten or stung by the insect would not be fatal or cause severe pain. The 2005 memos authorized nine of the techniques allowed in the 2002 memo, but did not allow the use of the insect technique or any other similar tactic against detainees. The 2005 memos also allowed the use of four new techniques: forced nudity; dietary manipulation with “liquid meal replacements”; stomach slaps; and dousing with cold water.

Security Agency (NSA) after the Sept. 11 attacks. [See p. 243D2] White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, in an appearance on ABC television’s “This Week,” April 19 said the Obama administration was not in favor of prosecuting Bush administration officials who “devised policy” for interrogations. He said, “It’s not a time to use our energy and our time in looking back,” but also said the decision to use the controversial tactics had damaged the image of the U.S. around the world. Emanuel’s comments were widely interpreted as meaning that the Obama administration did not favor prosecuting Bybee, Yoo or Bradbury for authorizing the CIA interrogation program. However, the Times April 21 reported that, according to unidentified White House officials, Emanuel had been referring to the officials who had ordered the harsh interrogations, not the OLC attorneys. [See p. 94C3]

CIA Split Over Zubaydah Interrogation—

Bloggers, including Marcy Wheeler of the Web site firedoglake.com, had noticed footnotes in the memos that revealed the number of times Zubaydah and alleged Sept. 11 attack mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed had been waterboarded in U.S. custody, the Times reported April 20. According to the memos, Mohammed had been waterboarded 183 times in March 2003, while Zubaydah had been waterboarded 83 times in August 2002. [See 2008, p. 71F2] The footnotes cited as its source for the information a still-secret 2004 report by CIA Inspector General John Helgerson. The uncensored numbers contradicted claims made by a former CIA interrogator in 2007 that Zubaydah had been waterboarded only once before agreeing to talk. [See 2007, p. 818D1]

The New York Times April 18 reported that a footnote in one of the 2005 memos had revealed divisions between the CIA interrogators questioning Zubaydah at a CIA-run secret prison in Thailand and their superiors. The interrogators had reportedly opposed using harsh methods against Zubaydah, arguing that he was being cooperative and had revealed everything he knew. However, they were overruled by higherranking CIA officials, who believed that Zubaydah was a high-ranking member of the international terrorist network Al Qaeda. The CIA reportedly had since lowered its estimate of Zubaydah’s importance and concluded that he had only limited links to Al Qaeda. [See p. 199C3] Hayden, Mukasey Criticize Release—

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The Wall Street Journal April 17 published an op-ed article written by former CIA Director Michael Hayden and former Attorney General Michael Mukasey that criticized the Obama administration’s decision to release the four interrogation memos. They argued that the release was likely to “invite the kind of institutional timidity and fear of recrimination that weakened intelligence gathering” prior to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The same day, U.S. Rep. John Conyers (D, Mich.), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said in a statement on the memos, “If our leaders are found to have violated the strict laws against torture, either by ordering these techniques without proper legal authority or by knowingly crafting legal fictions to justify torture, they should be criminally prosecuted.” The committee April 2 had released a report on the Bush administration’s antiterrorism activities, recommending that Holder appoint a special prosecutor to investigate possible lawbreaking in the CIA’s interrogation and extraordinary rendition programs. (In extraordinary rendition, terrorism suspects were forcibly abducted in foreign countries, transferred to secret CIA prisons abroad or to the custody of third countries, and subjected to harsh interrogation tactics.) The committee also called for a probe of a warrantless wiretapping program set up by the U.S. National

9/11 Plotter Waterboarded 183 Times—

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harsh techniques used against detainees had been effective and necessary to safeguard national security. He said the Obama administration’s decision to release the four interrogation memos, but not the other memos, was “a little bit disturbing.” He had asserted in a March interview that the harsh interrogations yielded intelligence that foiled many terrorist plots. [See p. 166B2] Blair in a memo dated April 16 said, “High-value information came from interrogations in which those methods were used and provided a deeper understanding of the Al Qaeda organization that was attacking this country.” However, he issued a statement April 21 saying, “The bottom line is these techniques have hurt our image around the world, the damage they have done to our interests far outweighed whatever benefit they gave us and they are not essential to our national security.” Obama April 21 told reporters that he still felt that he had made the right decision in opposing prosecutions for CIA employees who had followed the guidelines set down in the OLC memos. However, he added, “With respect to those who formulated those legal decisions, that is going to be more of a decision for the attorney general within the parameters of various laws, and I don’t want to prejudge that.” He warned that investigations of Bush officials might get “so politicized that we cannot function effectively and it hampers our ability to carry out critical national security operations.” He added that if Congress did pursue a “further accounting,” it should be done “in a bipartisan fashion, outside of the typical hearing process” and led by “independent participants who are above reproach and have credibility.” [See p. 80E1] (Continued on p. 261A1)

Headquarters—

Obama April 20 visited CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., for the first time since becoming president. He addressed a group of about 1,000 CIA employees, saying, “Don’t be discouraged that we have to acknowledge potentially we’ve made some mistakes. That’s how we learn.” He argued that the willingness of the U.S. to “uphold our values,” even when doing so was difficult, was what made it “special.” U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D, Calif.), chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, which was investigating the Bush administration’s interrogation practices, April 20 sent a letter to Obama that asked him to withhold any final decision on who would be prosecuted for involvement in the program until after the committee’s report was completed in six to eight months. She said the committee had reviewed the circumstances surrounding the interrogation of the first two detainees questioned by the CIA. The investigation focused on classified information, and hearings were expected to take place behind closed doors. Cheney Defends Interrogations—Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney April 20 said during an appearance on Fox News that he had asked the CIA to declassify additional memos that, he said, would show that the

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EXCERPTS FROM THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT INTERROGATION MEMOS

Following are excerpts from memoranda issued by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) on the legality of certain techniques for interrogating terrorism suspects, made public April 16 [See p. 257A1]: Aug. 1, 2002, Memo by Jay Bybee on the Interrogation of Abu Zubaydah

Our advice is based upon the following facts, which you have provided to us. We also understand that you do not have any facts in your possession contrary to the facts outlined here, and this opinion is limited to these facts. If these facts were to change, this advice would not necessarily apply. Zubaydah is currently being held by the United States. The interrogation team is certain that he has additional information that he refuses to divulge. Specifically, he is withholding information regarding terrorist networks in the United States or in Saudi Arabia and information regarding plans to conduct attacks within the United States or against our interests overseas. Zubaydah has become accustomed to a certain level of treatment and displays no signs of willingness to disclose further information. Moreover, your intelligence indicates that there is currently a level of “chatter” equal to that which preceded the September 11 attacks. In1ight of the information you believe Zubaydah has and the high level of threat you believe now exists, you wish to move the interrogations into what you have described as an “increased pressure phase.”… In this phase, you would like to employ ten techniques that you believe will dislocate his expectations regarding the treatment he believes he will receive and encourage him to disclose the crucial information mentioned above. These ten techniques are: (1) attention grasp, (2) walling, (3) facial hold, (4) facial slap (insult slap), (5) cramped confinement, (6) wall standing, (7) stress positions, (8) sleep deprivation, (9) insects placed in a confinement box, and (l0) the waterboard. You have informed us that the use of these techniques would be on an as-needed basis and that not an of these techniques will necessarily be used. The interrogation team would use these techniques in some combination to convince Zubaydah that the only way he can influence his surrounding environment is through cooperation. You have, however; informed us that you expect these techniques to be used in some sort of escalating fashion, culminating with the waterboard, though not necessarily ending with this technique. Moreover, you have also orally informed us that although some of these techniques may be used with [sic] more than once, that repetition will not be substantial because the techniques generally lose their effectiveness after several repetitions…. Based on the facts you have given us, we understand each of these techniques to be as follows. The attention grasp consists of grasping the individual with both hands, one hand on each side of the collar opening, in a controlled and quick motion. In the same motion as the grasp, the individual is drawn toward the interrogator. For walling, a flexible false wall will be constructed. The individual is placed with his heels touching the wall. The interrogator pulls the individual forward and then quickly and firmly pushes the individual into the wall. It is the individual’s shoulder blades that hit the wall. During this motion, the head and neck are supported with a rolled hood or towel that provides a c-collar effect to help prevent whiplash. To further reduce the probability of injury, the individual is allowed to rebound from the flexible wall. You have orally informed us that the false wall is in part constructed to create a loud sound when the

April 23, 2009

individual hits it, which will further shock or surprise in the individual. In part, the idea is to create a sound that will make the impact seem far worse than it is and that will be far worse than any injury that might result from the action. The facial hold is used to hold the head immobile. One open palm is placed on either side of the individual’s face. The fingertips are kept well away from the individual’s eyes. With the facial slap or insult slap, the interrogator slaps the individual’s face with fingers slightly spread. The band makes contact with the area directly between the tip of the individual’s chin and the bottom of the corresponding earlobe. The interrogator invades the individual’s personal space. The goal of the facial slap is not to inflict physical pain that is severe or lasting. Instead, the purpose of the facial slap is to induce shock, surprise, and/or humiliation. Cramped confinement involves the placement of the individual in a confined space, the dimensions of which restrict the individual’s movement. The confined space is usually dark. The duration of confinement varies based upon the size of the container. For the large confined space, the individual can stand up or sit down; the smaller space is large enough for the subject to sit down. Confinement in the larger space can last up to eighteen hours; for the smaller space, confinement lasts for no more than two hours. Wall standing is used to induce muscle fatigue. The individual stands about four to five feet from a wall, with his feet spread approximately to shoulder width. His arms are stretched out in front of him, with his fingers resting on the wall. His fingers support all of his body weight. The individual is not permitted to move or reposition his hands or feet. A variety of stress positions may be used. You have informed us that these positions are not designed to produce the pain associated with contortions or twisting of the body. Rather, somewhat like walling, they are designed to produce the physical discomfort associated with muscle fatigue. Two particular stress positions are likely to be used on Zubaydah: (1) sitting on the floor with legs extended straight out in front of him with his arms raised above his head; and (2) kneeling on the floor while leaning back at a 45 degree angle. You have also orally informed us that through observing Zubaydah in captivity, you have noted that he appears to be quite flexible despite his wound. Sleep deprivation may be used. You have indicated that your purpose in using this technique is to reduce the individual’s ability to think on his feet and, through the discomfort associated with lack of sleep, to motivate him to cooperate: The effect of such sleep deprivation will generally remit after one or two nights of uninterrupted sleep. You have informed us that your research has revealed that, in rare instances, some individuals who are already predisposed to psychological problems may experience abnormal reactions to sleep deprivation. Even in those cases, however, reactions abate after the individual is permitted to sleep. Moreover, personnel with medical training are available to and will intervene in the unlikely event of an abnormal reaction. You have orally informed us that you would not deprive Zubaydah of sleep for more than eleven days at a time and that you have previously kept him awake for 72 hours, from which no mental or physical harm resulted. You would like to place Zubaydah in a cramped confinement box with an insect. You have informed us that he appears to have a fear of insects. In particular, you would like to tell Zubaydah that you intend to place a stinging insect into the box with him. You would, how-

ever, place a harmless insect in the box. You have orally informed us that you would in fact place a harmless insect such as a caterpillar in the box with him…. Finally, you would like to use a technique called the “waterboard.” In this procedure, the individual is bound securely to an inclined bench, which is approximately four feet by seven feet. The individual’s feet are generally elevated. A cloth is placed over the forehead and eyes. Water is then applied to the cloth in a controlled manner. As this is done, the cloth is lowered until it covers both the nose and mouth. Once the cloth is saturated and completely covers the mouth and nose, air flow is slightly restricted for 20 to 40 seconds due to the presence of the cloth. This causes an increase in carbon dioxide level in the individual’s blood. This increase in the carbon dioxide level stimulates increased effort to breathe. This effect plus the cloth produces the perception of “suffocation and incipient panic,” i.e., the perception of drowning. The individual does not breathe any water into his lungs. During those 20 to 40 seconds, water is continuously applied from a height of twelve to twenty-four inches. After this period, the cloth is lifted, and the individual is allowed to breathe unimpeded for three or four full breaths. The sensation of drowning is immediately relieved by the removal of the cloth. The procedure may then be repeated. The water is usually applied from a canteen cup or small watering can with a spout…. Even those techniques that involve physical contact between the interrogator and the individual do not result in severe pain. The facial slap and walling contain precautions to ensure that no pain even approaching this level results. The slap is delivered with fingers slightly spread, which you have explained to us is designed to be less painful than a closed-hand slap. The slap is also delivered to the fleshy part of the face, further reducing any risk of physical damage or serious pain. The facial slap does not produce pain that is difficult to endure. Likewise, walling involves quickly pulling the person forward and then thrusting him against a flexible false wall. You have informed us that the sound of hitting the wall will actually be far worse than any possible injury to the individual. The use of the rolled towel around the neck also reduces any risk of injury.… As we understand it, when the waterboard is used, the subject’s body responds as if the subject were drowning—even though the subject may be well aware that he is in fact not drowning. You have informed us that this procedure does not inflict actual physical harm. Thus, although the subject may experience the fear or panic associated with the feeling of drowning, the waterboard does not inflict physical pain. As we explained in the Section 2340A Memorandum, “pain and suffering” as used in Section 2340 is best understood as a single concept, not distinct concepts of “pain” as distinguished from “suffering.”…The waterboard, which inflicts no pain or actual harm whatsoever, does not, in our view inflict “severe pain or suffering.” Even if one were to parse the statute more finely to attempt to treat “suffering” as a distinct concept, the waterboard could not be said to inflict severe suffering. The waterboard is simply a controlled acute episode, lacking the connotation of a protracted period of time generally given to suffering…. Although the waterboard constitutes a threat of imminent death, prolonged mental harm must nonetheless result to violate the statutory prohibition on infliction of severe mental pain or suffering….We have previously concluded that prolonged mental harm is mental harm of some 259

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EXCERPTS FROM THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT INTERROGATION MEMOS—continued

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1. Dietary manipulation. This technique involves the substitution of commercial liquid meal replacements for normal food, presenting detainees with a bland, unappetizing, but nutritionally complete diet. You have informed us that the CIA believes dietary manipulation makes other techniques, such as sleep deprivation, more effective....Detainees on dietary manipulation are permitted as much water as they want.... 2. Nudity. This technique is used to cause. psychological discomfort, particularly if a detainee, for cultural or other reasons, is especially modest. When the technique is employed, clothing can be provided as an instant reward for cooperation. During and between interrogation sessions, a detainee may be kept nude, provided that ambient temperatures and the health of the detainee permit. For this technique to be employed, ambient temperature must be at least 68°F. No sexual abuse or threats of sexual abuse are permitted. Although each detention cell has full-time closed-circuit video monitoring, the detainee is not intentionally exposed to other detainees or unduly exposed to the detention facility staff. We understand that interrogators “are trained to avoid sexual innuendo or any acts of implicit or explicit sexual degradation.”… Nevertheless, interrogators can exploit the detainee’s fear of being seen naked. In addition, female officers involved in the interrogation process may see the detainees naked…. 7. Abdominal slap. In this technique, the interrogator strikes the abdomen of the detainee with the back of his open hand. The interrogator must have no rings or other jewelry on his hand. The interrogator is positioned directly in front of the detainee; generally no more than 18 inches from the detainee. With his fingers held tightly together and fully extended, and with his palm toward the interrogator’s own body, using his elbow as a fixed pivot point, the interrogator slaps the detainee in the detainee’s abdomen. The interrogator may not use a fist, and the slap must be delivered above the navel and below the sternum. This technique is used to condition a detainee to pay attention to the interrogator’s questions and to dislodge expectations that the detainee will not be touched. It is not intended to—and based on experience you have informed us that it does not—inflict any injury or cause any significant pain…. 11. Water dousing. Cold water is poured on the detainee either from a container or from a hose without a nozzle: This technique is intended to weaken the detainee’s resistance and persuade him to cooperate with interrogators, The water poured on the detainee must be potable and the interrogators must ensure that water does not enter the detainee’s nose, mouth, or eyes…Ambient temperatures must remain above 64°F. If the detainee is lying on the floor, his head is to remain vertical, and a poncho, mat, or other material must be placed between him and the floor to minimize the loss of body heat. At the conclusion of the water dousing session, the detainee must be moved to a heated room if necessary to permit his body temperature to return to normal in a safe man260

ner. To ensure an adequate margin of safety, the maximum period of time that a detainee may be permitted to remain wet has been set at twothirds he time at which, based on extensive medical literature and experience, hypothermia could be expected to develop in healthy individuals who are submerged in water of the same temperature.... 12. Sleep deprivation (more than 48 hours). This technique subjects a detainee to an extended period without sleep. You have informed us that the primary purpose of this technique is to weaken the subject and wear down his resistance. The primary method of sleep deprivation involves the use of shackling to keep the detainee awake. In this method, the detainee is standing and is handcuffed, and the handcuffs are attached by a length of chain to the ceiling. The detainee’s hands are shackled in front of his body, so that the detainee has approximately a two- to three-foot diameter of movement. The detainee’s feet are shackled to a bolt in the floor. Due care is taken to ensure that the shackles are neither too loose nor too tight for physical safety. We understand from discussions with OMS [the CIA’s Office of Medical Services] that the shackling does not result in any significant physical pain for the subject. The detainee’s hands are generally between the level of his heart and his chin. In some cases, the detainee’s hands may be raised above the level of his head, but only for a period of up to two hours. All of the detainee’s weight is borne by his legs and feet during standing sleep deprivation…. We understand that standing sleep deprivation may cause edema, or swelling, in the lower extremities because it forces detainees to stand for an extended period of time.… In lieu of standing sleep deprivation, a detainee may instead be seated on and shackled to a small stool. The stool supports the detainee’s weight but is too small to permit the subject to balance himself sufficiently to be able to go to sleep.... Footnote 51: The IG [inspector general’s] Report noted that in some cases the waterboard was used with far greater frequency than initially indicated…and also that it was used in a different manner…. (“[T]he waterboard technique…was different from the technique described in the DOJ opinion and used in the SERE training, The difference was in the manner in which the detainee’s breathing was obstructed. At the SERE school and in the DOJ opinion, the subject’s airflow is interrupted by the firm application of a damp cloth over the air passages; the interrogator applies a small amount of water to the cloth in a controlled manner. By contrast, the Agency interrogator...applied large volumes of water to a cloth that covered the detainee’s mouth and nose. One of the psychologists/interrogators acknowledged that the Agency’s use of the technique is different from that used in SERE because it is ‘for real’ and is more poignant and convincing.”)… May 10, 2005, Memo by Bradbury on Combinations of Interrogation Techniques

The insult slap “can be used in combination with water dousing or kneeling stress positions”—techniques that are not characterized as “corrective.”...Another corrective technique, the abdominal slap, “is similar to the insult slap in. application and desired result” and “provides the variation necessary to keep a high level of unpredictability in the interrogation process”…The abdominal slap may be simultaneously combined with water dousing, stress positions, and wall standing. A third corrective technique, the facial hold, “is used sparingly throughout interrogation.”…It is not

painful; but “demonstrates the interrogator’s control over the [detainee].” …It too may be simultaneously combined with water dousing, stress positions, and wall standing….Finally, the attention grasp “may be used several times in the same interrogation” and may be simultaneously combined with water dousing or kneeling stress positions…. Cramped confinement cannot be used in simultaneous combination with corrective or other coercive techniques…. The water board may be used simultaneously with two other techniques: it maybe used during a course of sleep deprivation, and as explained above, a detainee subjected to the waterboard must be under dietary manipulation, because a fluid diet reduces the risks of the technique. Furthermore, although the insult slap, abdominal slap, attention grasp, facial hold, walling, water dousing, stress positions and cramped confinement cannot be employed during the actual session when the waterboard is being employed, they may be used at a point in time close to the waterboard, including on the same day. May 30, 2005, Memo by Bradbury on U.S. Obligations Under the United Nations Convention Against Torture

We conclude that use of these techniques, subject to the CIA’s careful screening criteria and limitations and its medical safeguards, is consistent with United States obligations under Article 16 [of the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment]. By its terms, Article 16 is limited to conduct within “territory under [United States] jurisdiction.” We conclude that territory under United States jurisdiction includes, at most, areas over which the United States exercises at least de facto authority as the government. Based on CIA assurances, we understand that the interrogations do not take place in any such areas. We therefore conclude that Article 16 is inapplicable to the CIA’s interrogation practices and that those practices thus cannot violate Article 16…. Notwithstanding these conclusions, you have also asked whether the interrogation techniques at issue would violate the substantive standards applicable to the United States under Article 16 if, contrary to our conclusion in Part II, those standards did extend to the CIA interrogation program….the relevant constraint here, assuming Article 16 did apply, would be the Fifth Amendment’s prohibition of executive conduct that “shocks the conscience.”… As an initial matter, the [Supreme] Court has made clear that whether conduct can be considered to be constitutionally arbitrary depends vitally on whether it furthers a government interest, and, if it does, the nature and importance of that interest.… Al Qaeda’s demonstrated ability to launch sophisticated attacks causing mass casualties within the United against United States interests worldwide, as well as its continuing efforts to plan and to execute such attacks…indisputably pose a grave and continuing threat…. The CIA goes to great lengths to ensure that the techniques are applied only as reasonably necessary to this paramount interest in “the security of the Nation.” Various aspects of the program ensure enhanced techniques will be used only in the interrogations of the detainees who are most likely to have critical, actionable intelligence… [W]e conclude that the CIA interrogation techniques, with their careful screening procedures and medical monitoring do not “shock the conscience.” FACTS ON FILE

(Continued from p. 258D3)

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D, Calif.) April 22 said she supported the establishment of an independent commission to investigate the Bush administration’s antiterrorism activities. However, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D, Nev.) April 23 said no commission should be created until after the conclusion of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s investigation. Reid said he was not opposed to the idea of a commission, but added, “We have to get the facts before we decide on which direction to go.” U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates April 23 said he had backed the release of the memos because he felt that it was “unrealistic” to expect that they would stay secret permanently. However, he said administration officials had weighed concerns that the release could be “used by Al Qaeda” to recruit new supporters, and potentially put U.S. military personnel at risk. Report Links Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo—

The Senate Armed Forces Committee April 21 released a report asserting that the use of harsh interrogation tactics by the military against terrorism detainees had spread from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and later Iraq. It said that resulted from then–Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s 2002 decision to authorize 15 such tactics for use at Guantanamo. Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D, Mich.) April 21 said, “The paper trail on abuse leads to top civilian leaders, and our report connects the dots.” [See 2008, p. 920C3] The report, which examined only the interrogations carried out by the Defense Department, had been issued following an 18month inquiry into the issue by the committee; a summary of the report’s major findings had been made public in December 2008. The report found that abusive treatment of detainees at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq was a consequence of Rumsfeld’s authorization and not simply due to the misbehavior of individual military personnel. The report also found that Bush administration officials had “solicited information on how to use aggressive techniques” and then subsequently “redefined the law to create the appearance of their legality.” According to the report, the use of harsh interrogation tactics by the military was first proposed at Guantanamo in October 2002. Rumsfeld Dec. 2, 2002, had approved the use of harsh methods there, including stress positions, forced nudity and the use of dogs. He revoked the authorization on Jan. 15, 2003, and then instituted new guidelines on April 16, 2003, that allowed 24 techniques, including sleep deprivation and interrogators pretending to be from countries that allowed torture. The report found that the harsh interrogation tactics used by the military were derived from the U.S. military’s Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) training program. SERE, based on techniques used by Chinese interrogators on U.S. prisoners during the Korean War, was April 23, 2009

used to train military personnel to resist torture methods used by nations that did not abide by prisoner protections in the Geneva Conventions. [See 2008, pp. 657C1, 411G2] After Rumsfeld approved the techniques for use at Guantanamo, the report found that U.S. military interrogators in Afghanistan used that authorization to justify their own use of some of the techniques. The use of the techniques spread to Iraq in 2003 after one military unit adopted the policy being used in Afghanistan. Later in 2003, the head interrogation official at Abu Ghraib submitted a document based heavily on the Afghanistan interrogation standards to justify the use of stress positions, sleep deprivation and threatening dogs. [See 2004, p. 317A1] Separately, the report said that, in June 2002, a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent had told superiors that the CIA was using techniques against Zubaydah that constituted “borderline torture.” That was weeks before harsh interrogation methods were authorized. Methods Proposed by Psychologists—

According to the Senate committee report, Bruce Jessen, a psychologist associated with the SERE program, and former Air Force psychologist James Mitchell had written a paper for the Defense Department in January 2002 that argued in favor of an interrogation and detention program that was similar to the program eventually put in place. The paper called for the government to build an “exploitation facility” where detainees could be isolated and kept away from ICRC inspectors, journalists and other outside monitors. It recommended subjecting detainees to sleep deprivation, waterboarding and other techniques intended to break their resistance. [See p. 244C2] The Times reported April 22 that Mitchell believed that Al Qaeda detainees were fundamentally psychologically different from other prisoners captured by the U.S., and argued that the prisoners would give up information only if they were too terrorstricken to resist. (Mitchell reportedly observed the interrogation of Zubaydah in August 2002.) According to the Times, none of the highranking Bush officials who were responsible for approving the CIA’s harsh interrogation program—a group that included then– CIA Director George Tenet, then–Attorney General John Ashcroft and then–national security adviser Condoleezza Rice—were aware of the origins of the SERE program or that waterboarding had previously been prosecuted as torture by the U.S. government. Many of the officials reportedly believed that since the SERE program was legal, any interrogation techniques that were used in it could legally be used against detainees. [See 2008, p. 257D1] The Times reported that the four highest-ranking Democrats and Republicans on the House and Senate Intelligence Committees had been briefed on the interrogation program. Pelosi, who had been the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee in 2002, had claimed that while she was informed that

the CIA believed the program to be legal, she was not told that the techniques would actually be used. However, then–House Intelligence Committee Chairman Porter Goss (R, Fla.), who later became CIA director, said that the lawmakers had been told that the techniques would be used. Iraq–Al Qaeda Link Pressed—According to the Senate report, interrogators were under pressure from Rumsfeld and Cheney after the Sept. 11 attacks to confirm reports from prominent Iraqi exiles of a link between Al Qaeda, which had carried out the attacks, and the regime of then–Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Although no evidence of such a link was ever found, Bush administration officials had claimed a connection between the two in order to help justify the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. [See 2002, p. 761G1] McClatchy Newspapers April 21 reported that the report’s findings about pressure to confirm the existence of that link had been corroborated by a former U.S. Army psychiatrist and an unidentified former U.S. intelligence official. According to McClatchy, the psychiatrist, Maj. Charles Burney, had suggested that the increasing severity of the techniques used against detainees could have been triggered by the demands for evidence of an Iraq–Al Qaeda link. Approval Timeline Released—The Senate Intelligence Committee April 22 released a declassified timeline for the approval of harsh interrogation tactics by the Bush administration in 2002. The timeline, declassified by Holder, was based on reports and documents turned over to the committee by the CIA. According to the timeline, Rice approved the CIA’s proposed interrogation plan for Zubaydah, which included waterboarding and other harsh techniques, on July 17, 2002, after meetings with Tenet, Ashcroft and other Bush administration officials. Her approval was conditional on a judgment from the Justice Department that the program was legal. The OLC reportedly told the CIA on July 24, 2002, that Ashcroft had concluded that use of the techniques was legal. The OLC issued three memos on the subject, including one of the newly released memos, on Aug. 1, 2002. The timeline also showed that Rumsfeld and then–Secretary of State Colin Powell were not briefed on the CIA’s authorization to use harsh interrogation tactics until September 2003. n

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United Nations Walkout Over Speech at Racism Conference.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad April 20 said Israel was run by a “totally racist government” during a speech at a United Nations international conference on racism, prompting the representatives of 23 European nations to stage a walkout. Ahmadinejad made his comments on the same day that Israel commemorated those killed during the Holocaust. The conference, which was held in Geneva, Switzerland, had begun April 20 and was scheduled to 261

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conclude on April 24. [See 2008, p. 196B1; 2001, p. 708E3] The U.S. had boycotted the conference, along with Israel, Poland, the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the Czech Republic, due in part to concerns that it would be used as a platform to criticize Israel. Other countries, including France and Britain, had instructed their delegates to leave the conference if criticisms against Israel were levied. The U.S. had also boycotted the previous U.N. racism conference, which had taken place in Durban, South Africa, in 2001. The Durban conference had been criticized for issuing a group statement that equated Zionism with racism, among other controversial elements. In his speech, Ahmadinejad accused the U.S. and European countries of supporting the creation of Israel after World War II “on the pretext of Jewish sufferings and the ambiguous and dubious question” of the Holocaust, and said the countries had put into place the world’s “most cruel and repressive racist regime.” He also said “Zionist domination” of many of the world’s countries meant that many people would “never be able to enjoy freedom, independence and security” until “the ideal of Zionism, which is the paragon of racism,” was ended. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon April 20 criticized Ahmadinejad’s speech, saying he opposed “the use of this platform by the Iranian president to accuse, divide and even incite.” However, Ban also criticized the countries that had walked out during the speech and those that had chosen to boycott the conference. Anti-Racism Document Passed— U.N. member nations attending the conference April 21 unanimously approved a group document that called on all countries to take steps to combat all forms of racism and xenophobia. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay April 21 said the document called attention to instances of increased racism suffered by many groups in the years following the Durban conference, and prodded member nations to set down concrete plans to address racism within their borders. Pillay, who served as the secretary general of the conference, April 23 announced that she had expelled three nonprofit groups attending the conference for violating “the rules laid down regarding the conduct” of such organizations, by attempting to disrupt the meeting or passing out controversial materials. Those organizations included the Union des Etudiants Juifs de France (UEJF), a Jewish group, and the Neda Institute for Political and Scientific Research, an Iranian group. n

Other International News Italy Accepts African Migrants After Dispute.

The Italian government April 19 agreed to accept about 140 African migrants who had been rescued by a Turkish cargo ship in the Mediterranean Sea four days earlier. Italy and Malta had argued over which 262

country should take responsibility for the migrants, whose sinking boats had been found in international waters, 40 miles (65 km) from the Italian island of Lampedusa and 65 miles from Malta. Malta had received a distress signal from the migrants’ boats April 16 and asked the Turkish freighter to pick them up and take them to Italy. [See 2007, p. 881E1] The migrants, whose boat had set off from Libya, spent the four days in poor conditions on the open deck of the freighter, and one pregnant woman died. Nineteen ill migrants were taken to Lampedusa, and the rest were sent to Sicily. President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, had pressed Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Maltese Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi to resolve the dispute. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) April 19 called on the EU to set binding rules on member nations’ responsibilities for rescued migrants. According to the U.N., 67,000 migrants reached EU nations by sea in 2008, and 38,000 of them landed in Italy or Malta. Illegal migration from Africa to Europe had become a major problem in recent years, and an unknown number of migrants, who hailed from North and sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, had died attempting the journey in overcrowded and poorly constructed vessels. A favored route for traffickers—who reportedly charged up to 1,000 euros ($1,300) per person—was from the Libyan coast to Malta or Lampedusa. (Routes from the West African coast to Spain’s Canary Islands were also widely used.) Libya and Italy in December 2007 had agreed to set up joint patrols to curb migrant trafficking; those patrols were set to begin in May. The UNHCR April 20 said the migrants rescued by the Turkish freighter included 129 from Nigeria, five from Ghana, four from Somalia, three from Niger, one from Liberia and one of undetermined nationality. More Than 230 Drown off Libya— More than 230 people attempting to migrate to Europe were missing and presumed dead after the overcrowded boat they were traveling in capsized March 30 in the Mediterranean about 30 miles off the Libyan coast. An official from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) April 2 said the search for survivors had been called off. The IOM April 1 reported on its Web site that according to the around 20 migrants who survived the ordeal, the smugglers’ boat, carrying 257 people, had departed from Janzour, 10 miles west of Tripoli, Libya’s capital, early March 30. The vessel capsized about three hours later, amid bad weather and leaks in the boat that caused panic among some passengers. They said the smuggler, who was an Egyptian national, was among those who drowned. Another boat that departed around the same time, carrying more than 350 migrants, was towed back to shore by the Libyan coast guard. n

U N I T ESTATES D S TAT E S UNITED

Terrorism CIA to Close Secret Prisons. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Leon Panet-

ta April 9 announced in a statement to agency employees that the CIA would close its system of secret prisons for terrorism detainees. The closure of the prisons, which had been established by the administration of then-President George W. Bush following Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the U.S., had been mandated by a January executive order signed by President Barack Obama. [See pp. 257A1, 93D3, 28F2] Panetta said the closure of the prisons, sometimes referred to as “black sites,” would be overseen by CIA personnel, and that canceling security and other contracts related to the prisons that had been awarded to outside firms would save the government about $4 million per year. The U.S. government had never officially confirmed how many secret prisons were run by the CIA or their locations. However, experts said that the countries hosting CIA prisons had probably included Thailand, Romania, Poland, Afghanistan, Morocco and Jordan. According to Panetta, the CIA still retained the right to transport terrorism suspects captured abroad to other countries, a process known as extraordinary rendition, but Panetta said the agency expected to “quickly turn over any person in our custody to U.S. military authority or to their country of jurisdiction, depending on the situation.” Panetta also said the CIA would no longer allow outside contractors to conduct interrogations of terrorism detainees. However, translators and other specialized contractors were still expected to play a role in some detainee interrogations. In the statement, Panetta said the CIA would fully cooperate with reviews of its interrogation and detention policies under the Bush administration. However, he argued that agency employees who had been involved with the controversial program “should not be investigated, let alone punished” for actions that Justice Department lawyers had declared to be legal. n DHS Warns of Right-Wing Extremism. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), April 7 had distributed a memorandum to state and local law enforcement agencies saying that a prolonged economic slump combined with the election of Barack Obama as the country’s first black president “could create a fertile recruiting environment for right-wing extremists,” news outlets reported April 14. The DHS report warned that veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who had trouble readjusting to civilian life were attractive recruits for such groups because of their combat expertise, and might be recruited to carry out attacks. A number of conservatives and veterans’ groups harshly criticized the report for grouping military veterans with violent extremists. [See p. 185A3; 2008, p. 787D3] FACTS ON FILE

The report said right-wing extremists were exploiting fears that Obama might enact strict gun control measures, increase the number of immigrants allowed into the U.S. and expand federal assistance programs for minorities. However, it added that any attack threats so far had been “largely rhetorical.” Conservatives Say Veterans ‘Profiled’—

Several conservative legislators April 15 said they found the DHS report offensive because it unfairly profiled veterans. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R, Ohio) said, “To characterize men and women returning home after defending our country as potential terrorists is offensive and unacceptable,” and called on the DHS to apologize to veterans. Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R, Fla.) accused the DHS of “engaging in political and ideological profiling of people who fought to keep our country safe from terrorism, uphold our nation’s immigration laws and protect our constitutional right to keep and bear arms.” David Rehbein, head of the American Legion, a veterans’ group, the previous day had criticized the DHS report because it mentioned Timothy McVeigh as an example of a homegrown terrorist with military training. (McVeigh was responsible for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, which killed 168 people.) Rehbein said using McVeigh “as an example of the stereotypical ‘disgruntled military veteran’ is as unfair as using [international terrorist network Al Qaeda leader] Osama bin Laden as the sole example of Islam.” [See 2001, p. 446A1] Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano April 15 defended the report as a necessary counterterrorism effort, but emphasized that the DHS respected veterans, and noted that “thousands” of veterans were employed by the department. She also said she had accepted an invitation to meet with Rehbein to discuss the report. Napolitano the next day apologized for any offense the report had caused during an appearance on the Cable News Network (CNN), and added that “it was certainly not intended.” In related news, the Wall Street Journal April 17 reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2009 had launched an investigation into white supremacist groups and “militia/sovereign-citizen extremist groups,” which included a section that focused on returning veterans. n

Intelligence Rep. Harman Implicated in Espionage Case.

Congressional Quarterly (CQ) April 19 reported on its Web site that Rep. Jane Harman (D, Calif.) had been caught making potentially incriminating statements on a National Security Agency (NSA) wiretap prior to the 2006 elections, when she was the highest ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. The phone call reportedly concerned two former employees of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) lobby who had been arrestApril 23, 2009

ed in 2005 on espionage charges. [See p. 243D3] According to CQ, Harman was not the subject of the wiretap, but had been recorded while speaking to an unidentified suspected Israeli agent who was being surveilled by the government. In the call, Harman reportedly agreed to contact an unnamed Justice Department official in the hopes of reducing the charges against Keith Weissman and Steve Rosen, the former AIPAC lobbyists. However, she said it was unlikely that she could sway then– Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, because he “just follows White House orders.” She reportedly ended the call by saying, “This conversation doesn’t exist.” The precise date of the call remained unclear, though it was thought to have occurred in either 2005 or 2006. In exchange, the suspected Israeli agent promised that pressure would be placed on then–House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D, Calif.) to name Harman as the chairwoman of the House Intelligence Committee if Democrats gained a majority in the House after the 2006 congressional elections. The New York Times April 21 reported that the suspected agent told Harman that Democratic donor Haim Saban, a wealthy pro-Israel businessman, would threaten to withhold contributions to Pelosi’s campaign if she did not name Harman as head of the committee. Harman, however, was not named the committee chairwoman after Democrats took control of the House in the 2006 elections. CQ reported that, according to two unidentified officials, a subsequent criminal investigation of Harman was dropped by Gonzales, because he needed her to publicly defend the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program, which was first revealed by the Times in December 2005. Media outlets in 2006 had reported that the investigation was dropped because investigators lacked evidence of wrongdoing. Gonzales also reportedly said Harman had been instrumental in keeping the Times from publishing the story before the 2004 presidential election. However, Times Executive Editor Bill Keller April 20 said that while Harman had urged the paper’s Washington, D.C., bureau chief to hold the story in 2004, she had never approached Keller. He added, “I don’t remember her being a significant factor in my decision” to delay the story. [See 2005, p. 905A1] Harman Denies Wrongdoing—Harman’s office April 20 issued a statement saying, “Congresswoman Harman has never contacted the Justice Department about its prosecution of present or former AIPAC employees.” The following day, Harman said she had also not contacted the White House or any other government agency in connection with the case, and asked Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. to “release all transcripts and other investigative material involving me in an unredacted form.” However, Harman did not address whether she had taken part in the alleged conversation with the suspected Israeli agent.

Pelosi April 22 said she had been briefed about the NSA recordings of Harman “maybe three years ago,” but had been instructed not to tell Harman that she had been taped. Pelosi said it was customary for the highest-ranking Democrat and Republican in the House and Senate to be informed when a member of Congress was wiretapped, and that her subsequent decision to deny Harman the committee chairmanship had not been influenced by her knowledge of the recordings. [See 2006, p. 925C1] Court Rules for Ex-Lobbyists—A threejudge panel of the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., Feb. 24 ruled that Weissman and Rosen could make use of two classified documents in their legal defense. The two classified documents reportedly included a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) file on the 1996 bombing of the U.S. military’s Khobar Towers complex in Saudi Arabia, as well as an Israeli government briefing. [See 2006, p. 838E1] Weissman had been charged with two counts of conspiracy to communicate unauthorized information, and one count of communicating national defense information to a person not authorized to view it. Rosen had been charged for having allegedly passed classified information from a U.S. official to journalists and members of the Israeli government. Experts said the charges against the two men were usually only brought against government employees. The court also upheld an earlier ruling that required the government to prove that the two men had known that passing the information would hurt the U.S., and had carried out the action in “bad faith.” Analysts said the ruling complicated the government’s case against Rosen and Weissman because of the added difficulties of proving that they had carried out their actions with criminal intent. The Washington Post April 22 reported that the Justice Department was considering dropping the charges against the two men in light of the ruling. n

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Federal Budget Obama Asks Cabinet for $100 Million in Cuts.

President Barack Obama April 20 held the first official meeting of his cabinet, and asked its members to cut spending at their departments and agencies by a combined $100 million. He ordered them to report back to him within 90 days with their proposals for cutting administrative costs. [See pp. 242C3, 217E3] Responding to questions from reporters at the meeting, Obama acknowledged that the reduction he asked for was relatively insignificant, compared with the $3.6 trillion budget he had proposed for the 2010 fiscal year, which would start in October. He said, “None of these things alone are going to make a difference,” adding, “But cumulatively they make an extraordinary difference because they start setting a tone. And so what we are going to do is, line by line, page by page, $100 million there, 263

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$100 million here, pretty soon, even in Washington, it adds up to real money.” Republican congressional leaders dismissed Obama’s order as empty posturing that would do nothing to control what they called his out-of-control spending, including a $787 billion economic stimulus package enacted in February. The budget deficit was expected to rise to a record $1.8 trillion in the current fiscal year. Antitax “tea party” rallies the previous week had drawn hundreds of thousands of people across the U.S. to protest Obama’s budget, which they said would lead to higher taxes. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R, Ky.) said, “Let’s not forget that at the same time they’re looking for millions of dollars in savings, the president’s budget calls for adding trillions to the debt.” House Minority Leader John Boehner (R, Ohio) said that $100 million in budget cuts would equal just 0.0025% of the current fiscal year’s total spending, estimated at $4 trillion. Obama’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2010 would increase overall spending, but did include some spending cuts and tax increases aimed at cutting the deficit in half in five years. However, some of those proposals faced opposition from Obama’s Democratic allies in Congress, who had already rejected his plans to cut farm subsidies and limit tax deductions for charitable gifts by upper-income taxpayers. In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama April 18 announced that he would soon order “the elimination of dozens of government programs shown to be wasteful or ineffective.” He also announced the appointments of two White House aides who would take part in those cost-cutting efforts in newly created positions. He named management consultant Jeffrey Zients as chief performance officer and Virginia Technology Secretary Aneesh Chopra as chief technology officer. They would work with Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra to improve the efficiency of federal agencies. [See p. 200B3] Obama’s original choice for chief performance officer, Nancy Killefer, had withdrawn in February after it was reported that she had failed to pay taxes for a household worker. [See p. 59D2] n

Mortgage & Credit Crisis Fannie Chief Tapped to be TARP Overseer.

President Barack Obama April 17 nominated Herbert Allison to oversee the Treasury’s $700 billion financial-industry rescue fund, known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Allison was currently the chief executive officer (CEO) of mortgage-financing giant Fannie Mae, a position the Treasury had asked him to fill in September 2008, when the struggling company was placed into a government conservatorship and its top executives were ousted. [See p. 220F2; 2008, p. 629G2] If confirmed by the Senate, Allison would become the new Treasury assistant secretary for financial stability, taking over from Neel Kashkari. Allison was expected 264

to play a central role in how the administration used TARP money to stabilize the struggling banking industry, resolve an ongoing freeze in credit markets and cleanse the financial system of toxic assets backed by home mortgages. [See p. 177A1; 2008, p. 901D2] Fannie Mae April 20 announced that Chief Operating Officer (COO) Michael Williams would replace Allison as the company’s CEO. Williams had worked at Fannie Mae for 18 years. Freddie Mac Executive Found Dead—

An executive at Fannie Mae’s sister company, Freddie Mac, April 22 was found dead at his home in Vienna, Va. Media outlets reported that David Kellerman, Freddie Mac’s acting chief financial officer (CFO), had apparently committed suicide, though police did not confirm that. Kellerman, 41, had worked at Freddie Mac for 16 years, and was named acting CFO in September 2008, when Freddie Mac was also placed into a conservatorship. [See p. 127B3] Freddie Mac March 11 had disclosed that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Justice Department were both conducting investigations into possible improper accounting practices by the company. Kellerman, as CFO, had been in charge of financial reporting and the company’s compliance with federal guidelines. But a spokesman for Freddie Mac April 22 said, “We know of no connection between this terrible personal tragedy and the ongoing regulatory inquiries.” Kellerman’s death further undermined Freddie Mac’s leadership, after CEO David Moffett’s resignation in March. John Koskinen, who had been Freddie Mac’s nonexecutive chairman since September 2008, March 11 was named as Moffett’s interim replacement. n Bank of America Reports Profit; Stocks Fall.

Charlotte, N.C.–based Bank of America Corp. April 20 reported a $4.2 billion profit for the first quarter of 2009, a strong reversal from the $1.8 billion loss it had recorded for the fourth quarter of 2008. However, the banking giant that day saw its share price fall along with a broader slide in the stock market, as renewed concerns over the health of the financial industry led investors to rein in a recent surge of optimism that had lifted markets for more than a month. [See pp. 241E1, 32A1] Bank of America said its investmentbanking business had performed well during the quarter, joining other banks that had made a healthy profit from trading in corporate debt and securities, and other financial products. Bank of America also became the latest bank to report that its mortgage-refinancing unit had contributed to profits, a trend that was attributed to recent government efforts to bring down interest rates on home mortgages. Bank of America said its recent acquisitions of brokerage Merrill Lynch & Co. and mortgage company Countrywide Financial Corp. had bolstered its presence in the areas of investment banking and mortgage refinancing. [See pp. 220B2, 163A3; 2008, p. 646G2]

However, industry observers cast doubt on Bank of America’s robust results, noting that the company had recorded $2.2 billion in profit by using an accounting technique, known as a credit value adjustment, to translate company debt that had lost market value into earnings. (According to accounting rules, a bank could record its outstanding debt as if the bank had repurchased the debt at market value. If the market value had fallen—normally a sign of deteriorating creditworthiness—it would appear as if the bank’s outstanding debt was less than it actually owed.) Bank of America during the quarter also sold $1.9 billion worth of shares in China Construction Bank Corp., a one-time gain. Contributing to investor concerns, Bank of America said it would increase the amount of cash it set aside to offset future losses by $6.4 billion, to $13.4 billion. The company said it had lost money in its commercial and residential real estate divisions, as well as its credit-card business, and that the rate of defaults on consumer loans could increase due to the ongoing recession. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kenneth Lewis April 20 said, “We continue to face extremely difficult challenges primarily from deteriorating credit quality driven by weakness in the economy and growing unemployment.” Bank of America’s share price on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) that day fell $2.58, or 24%, to end at $8.02. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 289.60 points, or 3.6%, to end at 7,841.73. The market also fell on a report released that day by the Conference Board business research organization showing that its composite index of leading indicators, a gauge of future economic activity, had fallen 0.3% in March, following a revised 0.2% decline in February. [See p. 183E1] Bank of America’s recent struggles had drawn criticisms from large shareholders, some of whom were pushing to strip Lewis of his chairmanship. Bank of America had received $45 billion in aid from the government, which was also partly guaranteeing a $118 billion portfolio of the bank’s assets against losses. Citigroup Posts First Profit in 18 Months—

New York City–based banking giant Citigroup Inc. April 17 reported a $1.2 billion profit for the first quarter, its first quarterly profit in 18 months. Citigroup, like other banks, had made money through its investment-banking business. But analysts said Citigroup had utilized a raft of accounting techniques to gloss over the extent of its losses on increasing loan defaults. Citigroup’s NYSE share price that day fell 36 cents, or 9%, to end at $3.65. [See p. 127G1] Citigroup gained $2.7 billion by making a credit value adjustment. It also made $413 million by taking advantage of a recent easing in “mark-to-market” accounting rules. (Banks were previously required to automatically record losses for assets on their books that had lost market value. Banks could now report those losses at a later date, or when the assets were eventuFACTS ON FILE

ally sold.) Citigroup also set aside an additional $2.4 billion to offset future losses, a figure that some observers speculated was too little. [See p. 220D3] Citigroup Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Edward Kelly dismissed claims that Citigroup was short on cash to cover potential losses, saying the bank was “well positioned” to weather the recession, with a total of $24 billion in capital reserves. However, Kelly also warned that losses on consumer loans would continue to rise in the coming quarters. There were concerns that Citigroup, which had already received $45 billion in federal aid, would need another government capital injection. Citigroup also said it would delay a plan to convert some of its preferred shares into common stock, which could let the government take as much as a 36% stake in the company. Citigroup said it would wait until the government had completed “stress tests” that were designed to gauge the health of the country’s major banks. [See p. 110A2] (Kelly had taken over as Citigroup’s CFO March 20, replacing Gary Crittenden, who took a part-time position as the chairman of Citigroup’s Citi Holdings division. Crittenden had reportedly requested a less demanding position, due to an illness in his family. Kelly had previously run Citigroup’s investment-banking business, and was the company’s chief negotiator with the government.) Morgan Stanley Reports Loss—New York City–based bank Morgan Stanley April 22 reported a $177 million loss for the first quarter of 2009, and announced that it would cut its quarterly dividend to five cents a share, from 27 cents, a move the company said would save $1 billion a year. The quarterly result was attributed to losses on real-estate investments and an improvement in its creditworthiness, which resulted in a credit value adjustment loss. CEO John Mack said the credit value adjustment was “a significant positive development, but had a near-term negative impact on our revenues.” [See p. 15E2] Morgan Stanley also reported a $1.3 billion loss for December 2008, which was recorded separately while the company adjusted to a new fiscal calendar that used January as the year’s starting point, a result of its conversion to a bank-holding company in September 2008. [See 2008, p. 672B1] Morgan Stanley said it was eager to return its $10 billion allotment of government aid, pending results from the stress tests. Morgan Stanley was the latest recipient to push for quick repayment of the aid, as banks chafed at the public scrutiny and additional requirements that accompanied government assistance. Separately, San Francisco, Calif.–based Wells Fargo & Co. that day officially reported a $3.1 billion profit for the first quarter. The bank had first disclosed the profit earlier in April. Wells Fargo also made use of the change in mark-to-market accounting rules to bolster its results. [See p. 241A3] n April 23, 2009

Politics Obama Aide Linked to Pension Fund Probe.

The former private equity firm of Steven Rattner, the head of the Obama administration’s task force for restructuring the auto industry, had made allegedly improper payments to an intermediary who arranged investments by New York State’s pension fund, it was reported April 17. It was subsequently reported that Rattner’s former firm, Quadrangle Group LLC, had paid the same agent, Henry (Hank) Morris, to obtain investments from New York City, Los Angeles and New Mexico public funds. [See p. 197A2] The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (D) March 19 filed civil and criminal charges against Morris, 55, and David Loglisci, 38, the former chief investment officer of the pension fund, alleging that they had run a kickback scheme. They each faced up to 25 years in prison if convicted. Rattner was not named in the indictment, but he was reportedly the unidentified Quadrangle “senior executive” cited in the SEC’s court filing. Morris had been a nationally prominent political consultant, and a top adviser to Alan Hevesi (D), who was New York State comptroller from 2003 to 2006. Morris had allegedly used his influence with Hevesi to put Loglisci in the pension fund post. Loglisci then told firms that applied to manage pension fund assets that they should hire Morris to broker the deals, the SEC alleged. Hevesi resigned in 2006 after pleading guilty to a felony for improperly using state workers as drivers for his wife. He was not charged in the March 19 indictment, but Cuomo said the probe would continue. As comptroller, Hevesi had sole authority over the $122 billion pension fund for state employees, the New York State Common Retirement Fund. Morris allegedly made more than $15 million between 2003 and 2007 in fees paid by investment firms for deals to manage the pension fund’s assets. Along with the Quadrangle Group, the firms included the Carlyle Group, a major private-equity firm based in Washington, D.C. Firm Got $100 Million in Investments—

Quadrangle obtained about $100 million in investments from the state pension fund in 2005, after agreeing to pay Greenwich, Conn.–based Searle & Co., Morris’s brokerage firm, a 1.1% fee for any amount invested by the fund. Payment of so-called placement fees by investment firms was a common practice that was not illegal as long as it did not amount to bribery of public officials. The SEC alleged that the “sham ‘finder’ or ‘placement agent fees’” received by “Morris and others were, in fact, little more than kickbacks that were made pursuant to undisclosed quid pro quo arrangements.” Quadrangle and Carlyle both also used Searle to obtain $20 million investments

from the New Mexico State Investment Council, state officials disclosed April 20. The Wall Street Journal April 21 reported that in 2005, Quadrangle had paid fees to Searle for an $85 million investment from the New York City Employee Retirement System and a $10 million investment from the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension System. Others Charged, Reforms Set—Cuomo April 15 announced criminal charges against Raymond Harding, former leader of the now-defunct Liberal Party in New York, for allegedly taking $800,000 in illegal fees for access to the state pension fund. Cuomo also said Barrett Wissman, a managing director at Dallas, Texas, hedge fund HFV Asset Management, which handled investments for the billionaire Hunt family, had pleaded guilty to securities fraud in connection with his role as a middleman between the New York State pension fund and investment firms. New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli (D) April 22 announced a ban on the use of placement agents, registered lobbyists or other paid intermediaries by firms bidding for pension fund investments. Similar schemes had previously been exposed in connection with public pension funds, which were generally controlled by elected officials or political appointees, and therefore seen as vulnerable to influence peddling. In 1999, former Connecticut state Treasurer Paul Silvester (R) pleaded guilty to accepting kickbacks for steering pension fund investments to private equity firms. [See 1999, p. 794G3] Earlier in April, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) had been indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with a variety of corrupt schemes, including a deal to award pension fund business in exchange for kickbacks. [See p. 219C1]

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Obama Retains Confidence in Rattner—

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs April 17 said President Barack Obama still had confidence in Rattner despite the disclosures of the payments by Quadrangle. Gibbs said Rattner was “not accused of doing any wrongdoing and is not likely to face any criminal or civil charges as it relates to this.” Gibbs added that Rattner had previously notified the administration about the pension fund probe. Rattner, who cofounded Quadrangle in 2000, left the firm in February to join the Obama administration as special counselor in the Treasury Department and head of the auto industry task force, which was overseeing a federal bailout for General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC. Rattner was also a leading fund-raiser for the Democratic Party. n

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from hedge fund D.E. Shaw & Co. L.P. and $2.7 million for speeches he gave to large financial institutions and other companies and groups. Obama had pledged to implement new, stricter regulations for the financial industry, but White House officials said Summers’s ties to Wall Street companies did not pose a conflict of interest. They also said it was natural that Summers would be invited to speak to those companies, since he was a former Treasury secretary and a widely respected economist. [See pp. 219E2, 178A2] n

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Warrantless Car Searches Curbed. The Supreme Court April 21 ruled, 5–4, to limit the ability of police officers without a warrant to search cars of suspects they had arrested. The court said the practice, which was routine throughout the country and taught at police academies, often violated the Fourth Amendment’s protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. The case was Arizona v. Gant. [See p. 20E3; 2003, p. 372B1; 1981, p. 495F2] Justice John Paul Stevens, writing the court’s opinion, said law enforcement officials had misinterpreted the court’s 1981 decision New York v. Belton in granting police officers the broad authority to search cars after making an arrest. Stevens wrote that police without a warrant could search cars in only two circumstances. One was if the suspect was close enough to the car to reach for a weapon or tamper with evidence. The other was if it was “reasonable to believe” that the car contained evidence relevant to the suspect’s arrest. Stevens was joined by Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, David H. Souter and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The court upheld a 2007 Arizona Supreme Court decision that had favored Rodney Gant, who was arrested in 1999 for driving with a suspended license. Gant was then handcuffed and placed in an officer’s car, while officers searched Gant’s car and found a gun and cocaine. Gant was later sentenced on drug charges. The Arizona Supreme Court ruled that police had violated Gant’s Fourth Amendment rights, and that the evidence found in the car should be suppressed. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., writing the Supreme Court’s minority opinion, said the prevailing interpretation of Belton offered a “bright line” rule for police officers, and that the majority decision was “virtually certain to confuse law enforcement officers and judges for some time to come.” Alito wrote that the decision would “cause suppression of evidence gathered in many searches carried out in good-faith reliance on well-settled case law.” Alito was joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., and Justices Anthony M. Kennedy and Stephen G. Breyer. n Animal Abuse Video Case Accepted. The Supreme Court April 20 accepted the case United States v. Stevens, in which it would decide whether videos depicting cruelty to animals were protected by the First Amendment’s guarantees of free speech. A 266

1999 federal law had made the creation or sale of videos showing animal cruelty illegal. The federal government in a brief filed with the court said videos of animal abuse “play no essential role in the expression of ideas,” and like child pornography were not protected by the First Amendment. Lawyers for the original plaintiff, Robert Stevens, who had been convicted of selling dog-fighting videos, argued, “While the government may well have a significant interest in combating acts of animal cruelty, it has not established a compelling interest in prohibiting speech—visual or aural depictions—about such conduct.” [See 2008, p. 344C3] n

Civil Rights New York State Gay Marriage Bill Introduced.

New York State Gov. David Paterson (D) April 16 introduced a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in the state. Paterson, on introducing the bill, compared gay marriage legalization efforts to the civil rights struggles of African Americans in the U.S. in the 1960s. “This is a civil rights issue. Civil rights don’t wait for the right time,” Paterson said. [See p. 216A1] In 2007, the Democratic-controlled lower house of the state legislature, the Assembly, had easily passed a bill legalizing gay marriage. However, the legislation was never brought to a vote in the state Senate. It was widely assumed that Paterson’s measure would easily pass in the House, but would face greater opposition in the Senate, where Democrats held only a narrow 32–30 seat advantage over Republicans. At least one Democrat in the state Senate, Ruben Diaz Jr., had publicly stated that he would not vote for the bill. However, Paterson, a long-time proponent of gay rights, pledged to strongly lobby legislators for the bill’s passage. Paterson April 17 said in an interview with the New York Times that he believed the bill’s chances had improved in recent weeks. During the previous week, gay marriage had been legalized in both Vermont and Iowa, which gay rights advocates said represented a shift in public sentiment toward supporting same-sex marriage. Other News—In other gay rights news: o Steve Schmidt, a Republican strategist who had headed the 2008 presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain (R, Ariz.), April 17 said the party should alter its position on same-sex marriage. Schmidt, in a speech before the homosexual group the Log Cabin Republicans, said the party risked alienating voters who were younger than 35 or lived outside the South by continuing to oppose same-sex marriage. (The Republican party platform had opposed gay marriage.) o The Washington state House April 15 voted, 62–35, to approve an expansion of the rights and benefits afforded same-sex couples in domestic partnerships. The law would grant such couples benefits equal to those of married couples. The Senate March 10 had passed the measure, 30–18.

Gov. Christine Gregoire (D) had said she would sign the bill into law. [See 2007, p. 365G1] n

Defense News in Brief. An F-22A Raptor fighter jet crashed March 25 in the Mojave Desert in

Southern California, northeast of Edwards Air Force Base, killing the test pilot. It was the second time one of the newly developed jets had crashed, after a December 2004 incident in which the pilot was able to eject safely. Defense Secretary Robert Gates in April said that the Defense Department would buy fewer F-22As than had originally been planned because of concerns over their cost and utility. [See p. 217C2; 2008, p. 572G1; 2004, p. 1044G3] Two U.S. Navy vessels—the nuclearpowered submarine USS Hartford and the amphibious transport USS New Orleans— early March 20 collided in the Strait of Hormuz. The Navy said the crash ruptured the New Orleans’s fuel tank, spilling 25,000 gallons (90,000 liters) of diesel fuel, and also damaged the Hartford and lightly injured 15 sailors aboard the submarine. However, it said the Hartford’s nuclear propulsion system was not damaged. The Strait of Hormuz was a major oil-shipping route, and there was a spike in oil prices in the aftermath of the crash, but the Navy said shipping was not affected. [See p. 91D3; 2008, p. 572E1] The Army Feb. 9 said it Feb. 3 had suspended most research at its biodefense laboratory at Fort Detrick, Md., after it dis-

covered that some of its dangerous germs and toxins were not listed in the laboratory’s database. The commander of the laboratory, the Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, said searching all of the facility’s refrigerators and freezers for undocumented materials might take three months, although some critical experiments would continue. The suspension was first reported Feb. 6 by the ScienceInsider blog of the journal Science. Scrutiny of the laboratory had been heightened after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in August 2008 revealed that it had suspected one of the laboratory’s scientists, Bruce Ivins, of being behind 2001 anthrax mailings that had killed five people; Ivins had committed suicide in July 2008 after being informed of the charges. [See 2008, p. 959B1] A Defense Department panel Jan. 8 called for the U.S. to maintain tactical nuclear weapons in Europe and modernize warheads that were slated to be scrapped in order to maintain U.S. nuclear deterrence. It said that if the U.S. allowed its nuclear deterrence capability to deteriorate, proliferation would increase since the more than 30 countries that were currently protected by the U.S. nuclear arsenal would have incentive to develop their own weapons. The panel, known as the Secretary of Defense Task Force on Defense Department Nuclear Weapons Management and headed by former Defense Secretary James Schlesinger, had been established by Gates after a series of blunders involving the U.S. nuclear arsenal came to light in 2008. [See p. 214A1; 2008, p. 962D2] n FACTS ON FILE

Armed Forces News in Brief. The

Defense Department March 17 said the number of sexual assaults reported in the military had risen to 2,923 in fiscal 2008, a 9% increase over fiscal 2007. However, it said only a small number of those cases had gone to trial because many victims would not give vital information to investigators. Officials estimated that only 10%–20% of sexual assaults in the military were reported, similar to the civilian percentage. [See 2008, p. 312E2] A North Carolina woman, Lisa Pagan, March 2 reported for duty with her two young children at Fort Benning, Ga., after being reactivated by the Army. Pagan in 2007 had been recalled to duty four years after being released from the military, under the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) program. Pagan had filed several appeals opposing her reactivation, arguing that because her husband traveled for business, there would be no one to take care of their children. Pagan’s lawyer later March 2 said the military would release her from service, and the New York Times March 8 reported that she had received an honorable discharge. [See p. 183C2; 2006, p. 31A2] The Army Jan. 7 said that it had accidentally sent 7,000 letters addressed “Dear John Doe” to families of service members who had been killed in Iraq and Afghani-

stan. The letters, dated Dec. 20, 2008, had contained information on private groups that could provide assistance to the families; however, the Army said, a mistake by a contractor had resulted in the omission of personalized salutations and addresses. The Army said it accepted responsibility for any pain the letters may have caused, and that the Army chief of staff, Gen. George Casey Jr., would send personalized letters of apology to the families. [See 2008, p. 571E3] n

Environment EPA Rules Greenhouse Gases Pollutants.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) April 17 formally ruled that manmade emissions of six greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, were a danger to the welfare and health of the public, and should therefore be regulated as pollutants. The agency had indicated that it would make such a ruling after President Barack Obama had taken office in January. It represented a sharp shift in policy from Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush. Bush had strongly opposed the regulation of greenhouse gases, widely considered to be the cause of worldwide climate change, because he said imposing limits on emissions would harm U.S. businesses and the economy. [See p. 94C2; 2008, p. 488E2] The EPA found that carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride should be considered pollutants. “In both magnitude and probability, climate change is an enormous problem,” the agency’s decision read. “The greenhouse gases that are responsible for it enApril 23, 2009

danger public health and welfare within the meaning of the Clean Air Act.” The Supreme Court in April 2007 had ruled that the EPA held the power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, and was obligated to provide a sound scientific rationale for opting not to do so. However, the EPA had avoided making any decision on the issue during the remainder of Bush’s presidency. [See 2007, p. 206A1] It was not immediately clear what steps the EPA would take to regulate greenhouse gases. The agency had not issued any targets for emissions reductions, or any new standards for greenhouse gases generated by motor vehicles, power plants or industrial activity. The rule was subject to a 60day comment period before it took effect. In the absence of congressional action on the issue, the EPA might be compelled to issue a broad set of new regulations to regulate emissions that would have a significant impact in the U.S. The EPA March 20 had submitted the decision to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). It was signed by EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson on April 17. House Democrats in late March had introduced legislation that would establish a cap on U.S. greenhouse gas emissions while shifting the country’s dependence away from fossil fuel energy sources. The bill would establish a “cap-and-trade” program through which pollution credits would be issued or sold by the government, and could then be resold on an open market. The House Energy and Commerce Committee April 22 began to hold hearings on the bill. However, the measure had received little support from Republicans and was considered unlikely to become law. Obama had also proposed a more stringent cap-and-trade system. It was thought that the EPA decision would spur greater action by Congress to devise a system to regulate greenhouse gases. [See p. 201E2] Opponents of emissions regulations criticized the EPA decision, arguing that it would further weaken the U.S. economy, and put U.S.-based businesses and industry at a competitive disadvantage to their international rivals. n News in Brief. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson March 24 said her agency would thoroughly review all permit requests for so-called mountaintop removal coal mining projects. The mining process consisted of the removal of the tops of mountains to expose coal seams; the resulting debris was usually dumped into valley streams. Jackson the previous day had sent letters to the Army Corps of Engineers recommending that a pending mining permit in West Virginia be denied, and that another permit in Kentucky be amended to minimize damage to streams. The announcement reversed a Bush administration policy, and countered a February ruling by a federal appeals court easing permit review requirements. [See p. 94F2] The Senate March 19 confirmed Jane Lubchenco as the undersecretary of com-

merce for oceans and atmosphere, a post that also made her the administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Lubchenco, 61, had worked as a professor of marine biology at Oregon State University in Corvallis, and had previously served as president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. [See 2008, p. 936C2] The Interior Department, along with several ornithological experts, March 19 released the “State of the Birds” report, an assessment of the U.S.’s bird populations over the last 40 years. The report found that climate change, the destruction of habitat, invasive species and disease, among other factors, had contributed to population declines in almost one-third of the U.S.’s 800 native bird species. The study found that between 1968 and 2007, the populations of coastal water species had declined by 39%, arid land birds by 30% and grassland birds by 40%. However, the data indicated a recovery among several species of birds that relied on wetlands. Ornithologists said bird populations were significant as they often served as a bellwether for the health of an ecosystem. [See 2007, p. 447F3] The EPA March 10 proposed a rule that would require a wide range of businesses and industries to track their output of greenhouse gas emissions. If adopted, the rule would require about 13,000 power plants, factories, oil refineries, cement manufacturers and other emissions generators to report the amount of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane and other gases they emitted. The rule would account for an estimated 85%–90% of the total U.S. greenhouse gas output. The rule was subject to a 60-day comment period and two public meetings. The reporting could begin as early as 2011 if the rule were adopted. [See pp. 267D1, 94C2, 47G1] Interior Secretary Ken Salazar March 6 said he would uphold a decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove gray wolves in the western Great Lakes and northern Rocky Mountain regions from the endangered species list. The removal had been announced in January by the Bush administration, but had been delayed for a review after President Barack Obama took office. Under the decision, management of the wolf populations would fall to state agencies in affected areas. Environmental groups said they would file a lawsuit challenging the application of the decision in the northern Rocky Mountains, home to an estimated 1,500 wolves. [See p. 65C2] A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Feb. 24 ordered the EPA to reconsider its rules regarding fine particulate air pollutants, which were generated by power plants and diesel engines, among other sources. In 2006, EPA scientists and members of an advisory panel composed of outside experts had recommended that the standard for long-term exposure to such pollutants be reduced to 12–14 micrograms per cubic liter of air, from 15 micrograms per cubic liter. However, the agency had decided to maintain the current standard. Fine particulate pollution, or soot, had been 267

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linked to numerous health problems that could lead to early death, including lung cancer. [See 2006, p. 800B3] The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, a NOAA panel, Feb. 5 voted unanimously to bar all commercial fishing in a 150,000-square-nautical-mile (514,500-sqkm) area of the Arctic Ocean. The panel said it had made its decision because global climate change had resulted in greater access to the area, which consisted of U.S waters north of the Bering Strait and west of the Canadian border. It was the first time a fishing area had been closed due to climate change and not because of overfishing. The ban would last until a comprehensive study on the effects of fishing in the area could be completed. [See 2008, p. 379D2] n

Medicine & Health Embryonic Stem Cell Research Rules Issued. The National Institutes of Health (NIH)

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April 17 released proposed guidelines for the federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. Under the proposed rules, research involving stem cells created from embryos donated by fertility clinics would receive federal financing. However, the NIH also proposed that research on stem cell lines created explicitly for that purpose, or on those created by a technique known as therapeutic cloning, be prohibited from receiving federal funds. [See p. 143A2] President Barack Obama in March had reversed a prohibition on the federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. His predecessor, George W. Bush, in August 2001 had authorized the federal government to only fund research involving stem cell lines already in existence. [See 2001, p. 617A1] Embryonic stem cell creation required the destruction of a human embryo in order to harvest the cells, which could be coaxed in laboratories to grow into any type of cell found in the body. It was thought that embryonic stem cells had the potential for a great number of medical applications, including the development of laboratory-created organs for donation, and treatments for ailments including heart disease, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease, among many others. Antiabortion and other socially conservative activists maintained that the process of destroying a human embryo in order to harvest stem cells was tantamount to murder. Democrats had largely backed embryonic stem cell research, while the issue had divided Republicans. Several supporters of embryonic stem cell research criticized the proposed rules as too limiting, and some scientists and activists complained that the process of creating the rules had been dominated by political considerations, and not by science. However, others said the rules represented a practical compromise between supporters and opponents of embryonic stem cell research. Before the funding rules could take effect, they first needed to be published in the Federal Register and subjected to a 30-day comment period. The rules were expected to be finalized by July 7. n 268

Consumer Affairs Salmonella Found in Pistachios. Officials

with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) March 30 said Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc., the country’s second-largest pistachio processor, had recalled about one million pounds (452,000 kg) of pistachios out of concerns that they could be contaminated with the salmonella bacterium. The FDA said one of Setton’s customers, Kraft Foods Inc., on March 24 had alerted the agency that it had discovered salmonella in pistachio products during routine testing. [See p. 167D2] Health officials said no illnesses had been linked to the contamination, in contrast to a 2008 salmonella outbreak linked to peanuts. Setton processed a huge volume of nuts, then sold them to wholesalers who repackaged and resold them to others. It was expected that the list of recalled items would expand, and the FDA recommended that consumers avoid all pistachios and products containing them. The FDA April 6 said it had asked Setton to recall its entire 2008 crop of pistachios. (The FDA did not have the power to order the recall, and had asked Setton to do so voluntarily.) [See below] David Acheson, the FDA’s assistant commissioner for food protection, March 31 said the contamination had occurred after Setton ran nuts that had been roasted, a process that killed pathogens, through machinery that had been used to process raw nuts. Production standards typically called for raw and roasted products to remain separate. The New York Times April 7 reported that Setton had found salmonella in its products at least 18 times since September 2008. The company was not compelled to alert federal health officials to the contamination, and had reroasted the products in question and then shipped them for consumption. The FDA was also investigating Setton’s sister plant at Setton International Foods Inc. in Comack, N.Y. That plant March 9 had failed an inspection by New York State health officials, who had discovered cockroaches and other contaminants. The announcement was the latest in a string of food contamination issues that had brought food industry practices and the FDA’s regulatory regime under scrutiny by legislators and consumer advocates. Peanut Company Fined—Texas health officials April 9 fined Lynchburg, Va.– based Peanut Corp. of America $14.6 million for violating food safety standards. Peanuts processed by the company had been linked to a salmonella outbreak that had sickened roughly 700 people since September 2008, and was linked to at least nine deaths as of early April. State officials in early February had shut down a plant operated by Peanut Corp. in Plainview, Texas, after signs of contamination were found there. The company had filed for bankruptcy soon after. The outbreak had led to one of the largest series of recalls in U.S. history. [See p. 95B3] Health officials Feb. 24 said peanut products originating in the Plainview plant

had tested positive for the strain of salmonella found in the outbreak. Salmonella had earlier been found in products processed in a Peanut Corp. plant in Blakely, Ga. Halt in Food Safety Progress Seen—

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) April 9 released a report which found that the rate of food-borne illnesses in the U.S. had plateaued between 2004 and 2008, after a long period of decline. The report was based on preliminary data gathered for 2008 as part of a program that had monitored illnesses in 10 states since 1996. Analysts said the data were likely to increase tensions between the FDA and the Department of Agriculture (USDA), which shared responsibility for the regulation of food in the U.S. The CDC reported that bacteria illnesses resulting from poultry and meat, which were regulated by the USDA, had declined, while new health risks and incidents of illnesses had grown from contaminated fresh produce and other foods regulated by the FDA. According to CDC estimates, about 76 million people in the U.S. suffered from food poisoning annually, with 300,000 requiring hospitalization and some 5,000 dying. Separately, Daniel Levinson, the inspector general of the Health and Human Services (HHS) Department March 26 released a report which found that the federal system for tracing food was routinely ignored by the majority of food manufacturers and distributors. According to the report, the failure of the government’s tracing system would hinder the response to an outbreak of disease or a bioterrorism attack. The inspector general’s office bought 40 food items, but was able to trace only five of them through the supply chain to their source due to incomplete records. Out of 118 businesses questioned, only 48 were able to provide inspectors with requested information. The inspectors also found that about 25% of food facilities they contacted were unaware of federal regulations requiring them to keep records on suppliers and recipients. n

Immigration News in Brief. A

former supervisor at Postville, Iowa–based Agriprocessors Inc., a meat processing plant where hundreds of illegal immigrants were deported following a raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in 2008, March 19 was sentenced to three years in federal prison for his role in hiring the illegal workers. The defendant, Juan Carlos Guerrero-Espinoza, had pleaded guilty to immigration-related crimes in August 2008. Elizabeth Billmeyer, a former personnel manager at Agriprocessors, April 13 pleaded guilty to similar charges, and faced as many as 20 years in prison. [See p. 151E2] Advocacy groups Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center March 17 released separate reports in which they criticized immigration officials for providing inadequate medical FACTS ON FILE

care to people detained by the ICE. The

groups argued that detention facilities had inadequate health care programs, and that many medical problems could be avoided if the ICE stopped detaining illegal immigrants who were sick, elderly or had no criminal record. HRW claimed that women’s reproductive care was particularly lacking. [See p. 151G1] n

Crime Spector Convicted of Murder. Famed pop music producer Phil Spector April 13 was convicted in California’s Los Angeles Superior Court of second-degree murder and illegal use of a firearm in connection with the February 2003 death of an actress at his home in Alhambra, Calif., near Los Angeles. Spector, 68, had previously been tried in connection with the death in 2007; however, that trial had ended in a mistrial after jurors were unable to agree on a verdict. [See 2007, p. 634C1] The actress, Lana Clarkson, had been fatally shot in Spector’s mansion just hours after the two met in a Los Angeles nightclub where Clarkson, 40, was working. Prosecutors alleged that Spector, who had a history of threatening people with guns, had shot Clarkson, while attorneys for Spector had argued that she had committed suicide. Clarkson’s family had also filed a civil lawsuit against Spector alleging that his actions had resulted in Clarkson’s wrongful death. Spector had been free on bail during both trials but was jailed following the verdict. He was scheduled to be sentenced May 29 and faced a sentence of up to 18 years in prison. n News in Brief. A military judge March 24 sentenced former Army paratrooper William Kreutzer to life in prison in connection

with a 1995 shooting at North Carolina’s Fort Bragg that killed one soldier and injured 18 others. Kreutzer had been convicted and given the death penalty in the case in 1996, but his conviction was overturned in 2004 on the grounds that he had not received effective legal representation. Kreutzer March 11 had pleaded guilty to premeditated murder and aggravated assault as well as 18 counts of attempted premeditated murder. The judge also demoted Kreutzer to the rank of private, ordered him to forfeit all future military pay and gave him a dishonorable discharge. [See 1996, p. 416B3] The federal government March 18 sued Union Pacific Railroad Co. for $37.7 million in courts in Houston, Texas and San Diego, Calif., claiming that the railroad had failed to prevent the transfer of drugs, mostly marijuana, from Mexico into the U.S. 58 times since 2001. (The amount the government was suing for was the sum of a series of fines levied for importing controlled substances.) Omaha, Neb.–based Union Pacific claimed that it could not be held responsible for its leased trains while they were in Mexico, because at that point they were operated by a Mexican shipping partner, Ferrocarril Mexicano (Feromex). Union Pacific owned 26% of Ferrocarril Mexicano. [See 2008, p. 771D2] n April 23, 2009

AFRICA

Captured Somali Pirate Charged In U.S. Court Attacks Continue Off Somali Coast. The lone survivor of a band of Somali pirates who had held the captain of a U.S.-flagged merchant ship hostage for four days in the Indian Ocean off the Somali coast April 21 appeared in U.S. District Court in New York City. U.S. prosecutors charged the Somali, Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse, with piracy—reportedly the first time in more than 100 years that such a charge had been brought in a U.S. court. Muse was also charged with conspiracy to seize a ship by force, conspiracy to commit hostage taking and firearms offenses. He faced life in prison if convicted. [See p. 237A1] Prosecutors alleged that Muse had been the ringleader of the band of four pirates who attempted to hijack the Maersk Alabama earlier in April—one of many such incidents off the Somali coast in recent years, but the first on a U.S.-flagged ship. The attempted attack was unsuccessful, and the pirates ended up holding the Maersk Alabama’s captain, Richard Phillips, hostage for four days on a lifeboat, surrounded by U.S. Navy warships. After Muse went aboard one of the ships, the USS Bainbridge, for medical treatment, U.S. Navy SEALs shot and killed the other three pirates and rescued Phillips. Muse April 20 was flown to the U.S. to face trial. One of Muse’s lawyers, Philip Weinstein, said the alleged pirate’s father, who was in Somalia, claimed that Muse was just 15 years old. If that were true, he would be too young to be tried as an adult in a U.S. court. However, prosecutors argued that the father had given conflicting statements about Muse’s age. They also said Muse had given Navy personnel widely varying accounts of his age, ranging from 16 to 26, and that Muse had told U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigators that he was 18. U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew Peck ultimately ruled that he could be tried as an adult, after concluding that he was 18 years old. Muse reportedly did not speak English, and appeared distraught during the hearing. Weinstein said his client “comes from a place with no electricity, no water” and had a “very limited education.” Weinstein added, “He is obviously scared, confused and is obviously troubled by what’s going on.” Another of Muse’s lawyers, Deirdre von Dornum, told reporters outside the New York courthouse that his legal team was looking into whether he had been “kidnapped and taken hostage,” and forced to take part in the pirate mission. At his court appearance, Muse’s left hand was heavily bandaged due to a stab wound that he had sustained during the attempted hijacking. The next hearing in the case was set for May 21. The London-based International Maritime Bureau (IMB), which tracked incidents of piracy around the world, April 21 reported that there had been 102 pirate at-

tacks worldwide in the first quarter of 2009, up from 53 in the same period in 2008. That was mainly attributed to the rise in incidents off Somalia, where there were 61 attacks in the first quarter, compared with six in the 2008 period. Pirates Release Chemical Tanker— Another band of Somali pirates holding a chemical tanker, the Stolt Strength, and its 23 Filipino crew members April 21 released the vessel, after seizing it Nov. 10, 2008, in the Gulf of Aden. The tanker was owned by Sagana Shipping of the Philippines. A spokesman for the company refused to comment on whether a ransom had been paid to free the ship, but family members of the crew reportedly said the pirates had demanded a ransom of about $2.2 million. The government of the Philippines April 20 said it was banning its sailors from ships that passed through the Gulf of Aden. Filipinos accounted for about 10% of the world’s seafarers, the most of any country. Among other recent piracy incidents off the Somali coast, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces patrolling the waters April 19 halted an attempted hijacking of a Norwegian-flagged oil tanker. However, after disarming and interrogating the pirates, they were forced to release them because they apparently did not have the authority to arrest them. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton April 20 said the release of the pirates “sends the wrong signal.” Clinton and Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen, after a meeting that day, said they would work with NATO to devise a legal framework so its forces could arrest the pirates. The U.S., Britain and the European Union had reached deals with Kenya, Somalia’s southern neighbor, to bring pirates caught by their forces to that country for trial. Eighteen alleged Somali pirates— who had been seized in separate incidents by French and German forces—April 23 appeared in court in Mombasa, Kenya, to face piracy charges. However, the Kenyan government had said its courts could not handle a large influx of pirate cases. [See 2006, p. 933C2] The United Nations April 20 announced that pirates had released a Lebanese-owned ship, the MV Sea Horse, that had been hijacked April 14. The pirates reportedly released the vessel, which had been on its way to India to collect U.N. World Food Program aid destined for Somalia, after a $100,000 ransom was paid by Somali businessmen. The U.N. denied knowledge of a ransom. Donor Conference Held in Belgium—A conference of international donors in Brussels, Belgium’s capital, April 23 pledged more than $250 million to aid Somalia’s weak transitional government in its fight against Islamic extremists and pirates. At the conference, Somali Interim President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon issued an appeal for the international community to assist Somalia in its efforts to emerge from 18 years of lawlessness. The insecurity and 269

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poverty caused by the ongoing civil war between the government and a radical Islamist group known as Al Shabab was widely seen as the root cause of the piracy problem. EU officials at the meeting said the aid would go toward strengthening the Somali security forces and supporting the 4,300member African Union (AU) force in the country, which had often been targeted by Al Shabab. The EU April 22 had pledged 60 million euros ($77.5 million) to help bolster security in Somalia. Somalia Adopts Islamic Law— The Somali transitional parliament April 18 unanimously voted in favor of legislation that would implement Islamic law, or sharia, in the country. The legislation had been proposed by Ahmed in February, and was seen as a way to undermine the influence of radical Islamists in the country. Al Shabab reportedly had already decreed sharia in the areas of Somalia that it controlled. [See p. 238E3] n

AMERICAS

Haiti Long-Delayed Senate Elections Held. Hai-

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tians April 19 voted in elections for 12 vacant seats in the country’s 30-seat Senate. The vote had originally been scheduled to take place in late 2007, but had repeatedly been delayed by political infighting, violence, and damaging storms and other natural disasters. International observers reported that turnout for the elections appeared to be very low, with some estimating the figure at around 10%. JeanMarc Baudot, a Canadian consultant working as an election official for the Haitian government, April 20 said the election results would likely not be tabulated for eight days, as ballots were transported from rural areas to Port-au-Prince, the capital. [See 2008, pp. 650B1, 539E1] Violence was reported at several polling stations across the country, resulting in numerous injuries. Supporters of President Rene Preval reportedly clashed with backers of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, whose Fanmi Lavalas party was banned from fielding candidates in any of the races. Aristide supporters had called on Haitians to boycott the elections. Also, the country’s provisional electoral council halted voting in the rural Central Department, after demonstrators in the town of Mirebalais ransacked polling stations there. Officials said the voting would be rescheduled. Clinton Visits, Aid Pledged— U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton April 16 stopped in Haiti on her way to the Summit of the Americas, being held in Trinidad and Tobago. Clinton said the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama was considering granting undocumented Haitian immigrants temporary legal status that would allow them to work in the U.S. and send remittances to Haiti. Clinton said the policy shift was being con270

sidered due to the extreme poverty most Haitians lived in. Haiti was among the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, and most residents lived on an average of $2 per day. However, Clinton said the suspension of deportation proceedings would apply only to those Haitians who had received deportation orders before Obama took office. [See p. 271A2] Haiti had been hammered in 2008 by four hurricanes that had caused an estimated $1 billion in damages and killed about 800 people. A sharp climb in global food prices in the first half of 2008 had also put many food staples out of reach for Haitians, leading to rioting. [See 2008, p. 241F3] At an international donors conference held April 14 in Washington, D.C., a group of 20 donors pledged a total of $324 million in aid to Haiti. Haitian Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis had asked for $900 million over two years. n

Venezuela Chavez Announces Spending Cuts. Vene-

zuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias March 21 presented a new budget for 2009 that reduced government spending to $72 billion, a 6.7% cut. Chavez March 22 said he would cut “unnecessary spending” and review top officials’ salaries in the face of declining government revenue resulting from the fall in the price of oil. [See p. 22G2] Oil sales also constituted more than 90% of the country’s export income, and in recent years Chavez’s government had relied on high oil prices to fund more than half of the government’s budget, including popular social programs and foreign aid to its allies. However, high government spending had also contributed to Venezuela’s 31% inflation rate in 2008. [See 2008, p. 915G2] Chavez in his March 21 announcement said the new budget was based on an oil price of $40 per barrel. The previous budget had been based on the assumption that oil would sell for $60 per barrel. He also said the government would raise the sales tax rate to 12%, from 9%, and issue $10.2 billion worth of bonds, moves that some analysts said would further fuel inflation. Chavez also said that he would raise the country’s minimum wage by 20%. Chavez stopped short of devaluing the country’s currency, the bolivar, a move that would help bolster the government’s spending power because most of its oil income came in U.S. dollars. He also did not reduce the government’s generous gasoline subsidies, which kept the price of gasoline at about 17 U.S. cents per gallon. In another sign of Venezuela’s looming budget problems, Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez, who was also the president of state-run oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), March 3 said oil service contracts would be reduced by 40% as part of efforts to save money. Calls Obama ‘Ignorant’— Chavez during his March 22 weekly television and radio program called U.S. President Barack Obama a “poor ignorant person,” after

Obama alleged that Chavez was “exporting terrorism” by supporting Colombian Marxist rebels with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Chavez had had an antagonistic relationship with Obama’s predecessor as U.S. president, George W. Bush. [See p. 271B3; 2008, p. 661D2] n Officers Accused in Synagogue Attack.

Venezuelan prosecutors March 26 charged eight police officers and three others in connection with the Jan. 31 ransacking and defacement of the Tiferet Israel synagogue in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital. Vandals had broken into the synagogue, one of the country’s oldest, and destroyed religious artifacts and spray-painted the walls with threatening messages. [See p. 154B2] Investigators said they thought the attackers, who included security guards working for the synagogue, had orchestrated the break-in to steal a large sum of money that they believed was held there. The attack also raised concerns among Jewish leaders that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias was encouraging antiSemitic sentiments. Chavez Jan. 6 had ordered the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador in reaction to an Israeli military offense in the Gaza Strip. Chavez Jan. 14 had broken off Venezuela’s diplomatic ties with Israel as a further protest of the offensive. Venezuelan government officials rejected allegations that its moves were anti-Jewish, and Chavez had repeatedly asserted that his criticisms were aimed at Israeli policies toward Palestinians, and not Jews themselves. [See p. 30D3] In a separate incident, attackers Feb. 26 threw explosives at a Jewish center in Caracas, but no one was hurt. n

Other Americas News Obama Visits Mexico, Attends Summit.

U.S. President Barack Obama April 16–17 visited Mexico, where he met with Mexican President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa to discuss the flow of drugs and guns across the U.S.-Mexico border, and the growth in drug-related violence in Mexico and U.S. border states. Obama April 17–19 traveled on to Trinidad and Tobago, where he attended the fifth Summit of the Americas, a meeting of leaders from Latin America and Caribbean nations. [See p. 204D3; 2007, p. 156C1; 2005, p. 792G3] Violence Dominates Mexican Agenda—

Obama April 16 arrived in Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, becoming the first U.S. president to visit the city since Bill Clinton in 1997. After meeting with Calderon, the pair held a news conference in which Obama continued a policy shift acknowledging the U.S.’s role in contributing to drug-related violence in Mexico. “I will not pretend that this is Mexico’s responsibility alone,” he said. “The demand for these drugs inside the United States is keeping these cartels in business.” [See p. 185A3; 1997, p. 334B1] After taking office in December 2006, Calderon had dispatched federal troops and police officers throughout Mexico in an effort to combat drug trafficking cartels. The FACTS ON FILE

effort had resulted in a significant increase in violence, with an estimated 10,000 people killed in drug-related incidents since that time. Calderon had repeatedly criticized the U.S.’s relatively lax gun control laws for contributing to the violence, since an estimated 90% of weapons recovered from Mexican crime syndicates had been purchased in the U.S. The flow of U.S. guns sent into Mexico was so great that it had become known informally as the “iron river.” More than 100,000 guns were estimated to be smuggled from the U.S. to Mexico annually, according to officials from both countries. Obama said he would press the U.S. Senate to ratify an international treaty regulating the firearms trade and increasing law enforcement cooperation among countries investigating weapons smuggling. The treaty was the Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and Other Related Materials (CIFTA), also commonly known as the inter-American arms treaty. The pact had been signed by Clinton in 1997, but had never been ratified by the Senate. It had taken effect in 1998 following its ratification by more than 20 other countries. However, Obama noted that ratification of the treaty was likely to face opposition in the Senate, as would attempts to renew a U.S. ban on assault weapons that had expired in 2004. Obama during his presidential campaign had pledged to work to reinstitute the assault weapons ban. Calderon had also cited the expiration of that law as a contributing factor to the increased violence. Obama April 15 had added three Mexican drug cartels—La Familia Michoacana, Los Zetas and Sinaloa—to a U.S. list of foreign “drug kingpins,” a move that allowed the government to seize the U.S.held assets of those organizations, estimated in the billions of dollars. The listing, under the 1999 Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, also allowed the U.S. to file criminal charges against businesses or individuals in the U.S. who smuggled cash or drugs, laundered money or gave weapons to the three cartels. Although drug violence dominated the agenda, the two leaders also discussed a potential resolution to a trade dispute that had erupted in March. The U.S. Senate had voted to eliminate a pilot program that would allow Mexican truckers limited access to U.S. roads, a condition stipulated by the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). In response, Mexico instituted a number of tariffs on U.S. goods. Calderon and Obama also announced a plan to share academic research performed in the two countries in order to promote alternative energy sources that would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. [See p. 171F2] Calderon at the news conference April 16 also suggested that the U.S. end its 47year-old trade embargo against Cuba. “I think it’s time to ask if maybe the strategy hasn’t worked too well. I don’t believe that it has,” he said. April 23, 2009

Improved U.S.-Cuban Relations Sought—

Obama April 17 arrived in Port-of-Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago, for the Summit of the Americas, which was attended by democratically elected leaders from 34 countries that were members of the Organization of American States (OAS). The stated focus of the meeting was on sustainable energy, protecting the environment and “human prosperity,” although those topics were largely overshadowed by the global economic crisis and the U.S.’s policy on Cuba. [See p. 248A3] In opening remarks at the conference, Obama said, “The United States seeks a new beginning with Cuba,” and that he was ready to “have my administration engage with the Cuban government on a wide range of issues—from human rights, free speech and democratic reform, to drugs migration and economic issues.” He added, “I know there is a longer journey that must be traveled in overcoming decades of mistrust, but there are critical steps we can take toward a new day.” Earlier in the week, Obama had relaxed the U.S.’s restrictions on remittances and travel to Cuba by Cuban Americans, and had allowed U.S. telecommunications companies to seek operations licenses from the Cuban government. Cuba was not a member of the OAS and sent no representative to the summit. Several of the summit’s attendees in their remarks criticized the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba as a relic of a failed foreign policy approach. Despite those lobbying efforts, Obama did not say he would end the embargo, or support Cuba’s accession to the OAS. (Cuba had been barred from the group in 1962 at the behest of the U.S.) However, Jose Miguel Insulza, the secretary general of the OAS, April 17 called for Cuba to be readmitted to the group. Obama during his remarks departed from a prepared speech in order to acknowledge the U.S’s past role of political interference in Latin American countries, but called on leaders to refrain from blaming all problems on the U.S. “That’s the old way, and we need a new way,” he said. Public sentiment in the U.S. among Cuban exiles appeared to be shifting away from traditional support for a hard-line stance toward Cuba. Polling firm Bendixen & Associates April 20 released a poll, conducted April 14–16, which found that 67% of Cuban Americans supported an end to all limits on travel to Cuba. Of those polled, 64% supported Obama’s shift on travel and remittance restrictions. Opinion was almost evenly split on whether the U.S. should continue its embargo of Cuba, with 42% backing its continuation, and 43% saying it should end.

However, it remained unclear if Castro’s comments reflected a change in Cuba’s policy on the U.S., as they were delivered in a speech harshly critical of the U.S. Some analysts said the U.S. had misinterpreted Castro’s remarks. Fidel Castro, in an essay published April 22 in the Cuban Communist Party newspaper Granma, said the U.S. had misunderstood his brother’s comments, and that Cuba would not consider releasing its political prisoners or reducing its taxes on remittances sent there. “When the president of Cuba said he was ready to discuss any topic with the U.S. president, he meant he was not afraid of addressing any issue,” Fidel Castro wrote. Obama Greets Chavez— Obama April 17 met and clasped hands with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias, a strident critic of the U.S. According to a press release from the Venezuelan government, Chavez told Obama, “I greeted [former U.S. President George W.] Bush with this hand eight years ago. I want to be your friend.” U.S.-Venezuelan ties had deteriorated badly during Bush’s tenure in office, with Chavez expelling the U.S. ambassador to Venezuela, Patrick Duddy, in September 2008. The U.S. had responded by expelling the Venezuelan ambassador. [See p. 270G2; 2008, p. 661D2] Chavez April 18 named Roy Chaderton, Venezuela’s representative to the OAS, as his country’s ambassador to the U.S. The U.S. State Department said Chavez’s decision followed a meeting with Clinton on the sidelines of summit meetings. However, Obama’s diplomatic overtures toward Venezuela were criticized by several U.S. Republican legislators. Sen. John Ensign (R, Nev.) April 19 said it was inappropriate for Obama to be seen as friendly with “one of the most anti-American leaders in the entire world.” Obama that day dismissed such criticism, saying, “It’s unlikely that as a consequence of me shaking hands or having a polite conversation with Mr. Chavez that we are endangering the strategic interests of the United States.” Final Summit Declaration Issued— The summit April 19 yielded a 22-page declaration that was signed by Patrick Manning, the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, but not by the leaders of any other nations in attendance. Manning said the document was not an accurate representation of the global economic crisis, as it had been drafted more than 18 months earlier. Attendees also agreed to bolster the work of the InterAmerican Development Bank (IADB) in providing economic assistance to countries without access to credit. n

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Confusion Seen in Cuba’s U.S. Policy—

Raul Castro, while attending a meeting of leftist leaders intended as a counter to the Summit of the Americas, April 16 said that Cuba had informed the U.S. that his government was “willing to discuss everything—human rights, freedom of the press, political prisoners.” U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton April 17, in response, said, “We welcome this overture.”

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Indonesia Dam Collapse Kills At Least 100 People.

At least 100 people were killed March 27 in a suburb of Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, after a nearby dam burst, flooding the area with water. Analysts suggested that the 271

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death toll was especially high because the collapse had taken place at about 2:00 a.m. local time, when most residents of the suburb, Tangerang, were asleep. About 100 people were still missing as of April 1. [See 2007, p. 884G3] According to witnesses, a giant wave more than 30 feet (nine meters) high struck Tangerang after the dam broke and rolled across the town. About 320 homes in the area were damaged by the flooding and almost 400 residents had to be relocated. The collapse of the dam, which was built in 1933 by Indonesia’s Dutch colonial government, had been preceded by unusually heavy rains on March 26, increasing the amount of water behind the dam. At least one surviving resident of Tangerang alleged that poor maintenance of the dam by the government had played a role in the disaster, Agence France-Presse reported March 28. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and other government officials March 27 visited the site of the flooding. Yudhoyono said, “The dam will be rebuilt, and we will reconsider how it is constructed.” Indonesia’s Jakarta Post newspaper reported March 29 that each household affected by the flood would receive compensation of at least five million Indonesian rupiah ($430) from the government. n News in Brief. The World Bank March 3 announced that it had authorized a $2 billion loan to Indonesia from a $5.5 billion contingency fund that was also backed by

Australia, Japan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The loan was the largest ever granted by the World Bank to a country it did not consider in crisis. The $5.5 billion fund was intended to give Indonesia’s government financial flexibility if ongoing credit constrictions worsened due to the global financial crisis. The fund was scheduled to expire in December 2010. [See 2002, p. 1055E1] Nicolas Jouwe, the only surviving cofounder of Indonesia’s Free Papua Movement (OPM), a separatist group, March 18

arrived in Indonesia after more than 40 years in exile in the Netherlands. Jouwe, 84, had been approached by the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to cooperate in efforts to end the conflict with separatists in Indonesia’s Papua province. Jouwe March 20 met with Indonesia’s coordinating minister for people’s welfare in Jakarta, the capital, and March 22 traveled to Papua. More than 1,000 Papuan protesters March 24 held demonstrations in Jayapura, the provincial capital, calling for a referendum on Papuan independence. [See 2002, p. 698D1; 1969, p. 292G1] n

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News in Brief. Kyrgyz officials April 15

said Sanjar Kadyraliev, 32, a member of parliament belonging to President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s governing Ak Zhol party, had been shot dead outside his home in Bishkek, the capital, the previous day. Officials said they were investigating the murder, but declined to comment on possible 272

motives for the shooting. Some observers said Kadyraliev’s death appeared to have been a contract killing. His murder followed the March death of former presidential Chief of Staff Medet Sadyrkulov, in a car accident under suspicious circumstances. [See p. 172G1] Two journalists March 25 were attacked by unknown assailants after leaving their office in Bishkek. Ulugbek Babakulov, editor of the weekly newspaper Moskovskiy Komsomolets-Kyrgyzstan, was hospitalized with a concussion. Yelena Ageeva, a reporter for the paper, was also beaten but did not require hospitalization. The attacks followed a March assault on Syrgak Abdyldayev, another journalist, who was stabbed more than 30 times but survived. [See p. 187G2] n

Tajikistan Audit Reveals Scandal at Central Bank.

An audit of the Tajik National Bank released April 13 by U.S.-based accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP revealed that about $856 million had been diverted from the bank to a private investment company owned by Tajikistan’s former national bank chief, Murodali Alimardon, and members of his family. Alimardon, who had headed the central bank from 1996 to 2008, currently served as Tajikistan’s deputy prime minister in charge of agriculture. The audit also revealed that an additional $221 million intended to bolster the country’s cotton industry could not be accounted for. [See 2008, p. 417E2] The audit came about a year after it was discovered that officials at the bank had lied to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) about the size of the country’s reserves. The IMF in turn had demanded that Tajikistan pay back a $47.4 million loan. n

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UNITED STATES

Great Britain Budget Calls for Tax Hike, Heavy Borrowing.

British Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling April 22 presented a budget that would increase the national debt to record levels and increase the top income-tax rate to 50%. Darling proposed those measures to finance spending meant to help Britain’s economy through a severe recession. [See p. 155F1; 2008, p. 873EF2] The 50% income-tax rate would apply to people who earned more than £150,000 ($220,000) a year. In November 2008, Darling had proposed raising the top rate to 45%, from 40%. The 50% rate, the highest since 1988, would take effect in 2010. Darling also announced 2% tax increases on alcohol, cigarettes and gasoline. Darling said the government would borrow £175 billion in 2010, the equivalent of 12.4% of gross domestic product (GDP). He projected that the national debt would increase to 79% of GDP by 2013, which would be the highest level since World War II.

Darling forecast that the economy would contract by 3.5% in 2009, which would be the worst decline since 1945. But he projected that the recession would be over by the end of the year, leading to growth of 1.25% in 2010 and 3.5% in 2011. Many independent economists forecast a much slower return to growth. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) April 22 projected that the British economy would contract 4.1% in 2009 and 0.4% in 2010. The extra income-tax hike for high earners was widely seen as a populist move aimed at shoring up support for the ruling center-left Labour Party before the next parliamentary elections, due to be held by May 2010 at the latest. The opposition Conservative (Tory) Party led Labour in public opinion polls. Tory leader David Cameron accused Prime Minister Gordon Brown of breaking a pledge not to raise taxes, and said he had condemned Britain to “a decade of debt.” Nick Clegg, leader of the third-largest party, the centrist Liberal Democrats, also criticized the budget, saying, “They have condemned us to years of unemployment and decades of debt.” Brown April 23 defended the tax hike as a matter of fairness, saying, “If we are going to give people opportunities they need for the future, then there has got to be a contribution by those who have the most and who have gained the most over the past few years.” Official data released April 22 showed that the unemployment rate had risen to 6.7% in February, the highest since Labour came to power in 1997. n Terrorism Suspects Freed Without Charge.

British police April 22 released without charge the last of 12 men arrested earlier in April in raids in northwest England said to have broken up a major terrorist plot. The other detainees had been released without charge into the custody of immigration officials for deportation to Pakistan, their home country, on grounds of national security. One of the two men released April 22 was a British citizen. [See p. 253C2] Officials suggested that the men were released because of a lack of evidence. Police had carried out the raids earlier than scheduled after the senior antiterrorism official of the London Metropolitan Police was photographed by the press carrying a secret report on the plan in full view. The official, Bob Quick, resigned. n

Hungary Parliament Confirms New Prime Minister.

Gordon Bajnai, a businessman with no official political party affiliation, April 14 was confirmed by parliament as Hungary’s new prime minister. Bajnai had been nominated March 30 by the governing Hungarian Socialist Party (MSzP) and a small allied party, the Alliance of Free Democrats (SzDSz), to succeed Ferenc Gyurcsany of MSzP, who had resigned in March amid a deteriorating Hungarian economy. [See p. 188F3; for facts on Bajnai, see p. 273A1] FACTS ON FILE

FACTS ON BAJNAI

Gordon Bajnai was born March 5, 1968, in Szeged, a town in southern Hungary. Prior to the fall of communism in that country in 1989, Bajnai had participated in Hungary’s Communist Party youth organization. In 1991, he graduated from the University of Economics in Budapest, now known as Corvinus University, with a degree in international relations. Bajnai began his career in 1991 at Creditum, a small financial consulting business in Budapest, the capital. From 1993 to 1994, he worked as a consultant at Eurocorp International Finance PLC. At both companies, he worked alongside Ferenc Gyurcsany, who later became Hungarian prime minister. From 1995 to 2000, he held senior positions at CA IB Securities PLC. From 2000 to 2005, Bajnai served as the chief executive officer of investment firm Wallis PLC. Bajnai was criticized for his management of 2003 insolvency procedures for Hajdu Bet, a poultry company that Wallis had invested in. From 2006 to 2007, Bajnai worked as head of Hungary’s National Development Agency. In 2007, he became the minister of economy and national development. On April 14, Bajnai was confirmed to serve as prime minister, following Gyurcsany’s resignation. [See p. 272F3] Bajnai was married with two children. He had no official political affiliation, but was viewed as close to the Socialist party.

Gyurcsany as prime minister had slashed Hungary’s budget deficit to 3%, from 9%, over three years by enacting unpopular tax hikes and spending cuts. Bajnai likewise pledged to enact “immediate and painful” spending cuts in order to right the faltering economy and steer Hungary toward adopting the euro, the European Union’s common currency, which was currently used by 16 of the bloc’s 27 member states. Bajnai was expected to reduce pensions, salaries for civil servants, public transportation services and subsidies for domestic energy use. The main opposition party, the centerright Hungarian Civic Alliance party, or Fidesz, boycotted the vote to confirm Bajnai, and instead called for early parliamentary elections to be held in the spring of 2010. The conservative Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF) also boycotted the vote. Bajnai April 14 said, “As long as the majority of [members of parliament] support a government’s austerity program, a crisis-management government is a better solution for Hungary than early elections.” Thousands Call for Early Elections—As many as 8,000 people April 14 gathered in Budapest, the capital, to protest Bajnai’s confirmation and demand early parliamentary elections. Several hundred protesters reportedly broke through barriers blocking off the parliament building, and police intervened with tear gas. According to police, 25 people were injured in the melee, including 15 policemen, and 12 people were detained. Some protesters burned EU flags. n April 23, 2009

Moldova Recount Confirms Communist Victory.

Moldova’s Constitutional Court April 22 said the results of a vote recount of parliamentary elections held earlier that month confirmed that the governing Communist Party had won 49.5% of the vote, giving it 60 seats in the country’s parliament. The results left the party one seat short of a governing majority, which would have allowed it to pick the country’s new president. President Vladimir Voronin was set to step down in May due to term limits. [See p. 225E2] Voronin April 10 had called for the recount, days after violent protests were held by anticommunists who rejected initial election results showing that the Communist party had defeated pro-Western parties by a much larger margin than expected. The recount confirmed those results. Voronin had claimed that the recount could restore order to Moldova, but the opposition April 14 rejected the recount and called for fresh elections. Opposition leaders claimed that the Communist Party had falsified votes in order to win by such a decisive margin. About 5,000 protesters April 12 again gathered in central Chisinau, the capital, to demonstrate against the Communist government. It also emerged April 12 that one protester had died in police custody soon after the riot. Opposition members claimed that the man had been beaten to death. However, the government said he had died after inhaling smoke from fires, or gas that police had used to control the rioting crowd. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/ RL) April 23 reported that the government had said 20 people had been charged with crimes connected to the election riot; 12 of them remained in custody. Among those facing charges was Natalia Morar, 25, a journalist who April 6 had called for antigovernment protests on social networking Web sites. She was currently under house arrest. Morar’s lawyer April 16 told RFE/RL that Morar could be charged with “inciting mass disorder,” which carried a jail sentence of up to 15 years. n

Russia Prominent Chechen Fighter Killed in Dubai.

Officials in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), March 30 said Sulim Yamadayev, an ethnic Chechen rebel who later defected to the Russian government, had apparently been assassinated two days earlier. Yamadayev, who had lived in Dubai since December 2008, had been one of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov’s most prominent opponents, and was characterized in media reports as a powerful independent leader. Sulim Yamadayev’s brother, Ruslan Yamadayev, a former member of the Russian parliament, had been shot dead in Moscow in September 2008. [See p. 180D1; 2008, 731G3] A spokesman for Kadyrov that day said the Chechen president had no information

on Sulim Yamadayev’s death. However, Kadyrov April 6 claimed that he had “70% proof that [Yamadayev] was involved in the killing of my father.” Kadyrov’s father, former Chechen President Akhmed Kadyrov, had been killed in a 2004 bombing. Kadyrov also accused Yamadayev of having attempted to kill him. Yamadayev until 2008 had commanded an elite armed unit in Chechnya. However, his increasing influence had put him at odds with Kadyrov, and that year he was dismissed from the Russian military and accused by Russian police of kidnapping a Chechen businessman in 1998. Violence perpetrated by Islamic militants and Chechen separatists had decreased since Kadyrov became president of Chechnya in 2006. However, some analysts suggested that once Kadyrov was allowed to assume near-total power over Chechnya, he would become harder for authorities in Moscow, Russia’s capital, to control. Russian

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Dahi Khalfan bin Tamim, Dubai’s police chief, April 5 said Adam Delimkhanov, a member of the Russian parliament and close adviser to Kadyrov, was suspected of ordering Yamadayev’s assassination. He also chided Russia for allowing “dirty” Chechen feuds to spill across its borders. Delimkhanov rejected the charges as did Kadyrov, who April 6 said Dubai’s investigation was “not based on any objective facts.”As a member of the Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, Delimkhanov had legal immunity and could not be extradited from Russia. Tamim April 7 said if Kadyrov “is not convinced by the results of Dubai police’s investigation and considers the accusations against Adam Delimkhanov not objective, we suggest involving an international team of investigators to examine our findings.” Two additional suspects had reportedly been detained in Dubai in connection with the murder, and another four were thought to be at large in Russia, according to Tamim. n News in Brief. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, in an April 6 speech to the country’s parliament, outlined a $90 billion economic recovery plan that largely focused on stimulating consumer spending and safeguarding young families and the elderly. In his speech, Putin said the economic problems plaguing the country “didn’t arise with us and were not our fault.” [See p. 58B2] Lev Ponomaryov, 67, a former member of parliament and director of For Human Rights, a group based in Moscow, the capital, March 31 was attacked by as many as three men near his home. He escaped but was briefly hospitalized for head and chest injuries. Ponomaryov claimed that the attack was related to his human rights activities. Ponomaryov had reportedly worked closely with human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov, who was shot to death in January. Ponomaryov was also involved with the new political opposition group “Solidarity.” The day before, the tires on his car 273

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had been slashed, and youths March 11 had thrown eggs at him while he held a news conference on prison abuses. [See p. 36D2; 2008, p. 928C3] Five Interior Ministry soldiers and as many as 16 rebel fighters March 19–22 died when police raided a forested area where anti-government fighters were thought to be hiding in Dagestan, a republic in southern Russia. In addition to ground forces, Russian troops employed military helicopters to combat the rebels. [See below, p. 180D1; 2008, p. 683B2] About 1,000 protesters March 15 gathered in the far eastern port city of Vladivostok, where they called for Putin to step down over his alleged mishandling of the economy. Many in Vladivostok were already opposed to Putin’s government in general, but their anger had grown over new tariffs the government had enacted on the import of foreign vehicles. Many in Vladivostok made a living by importing cars from Japan and South Korea, and the tariffs had resulted in a sharp increase in unemployment. [See p. 69F1] Viktor Ivanov, head of Russia’s federal drug control service, March 6 said Russia “has not just become massively hooked on Afghan opiates, it has also become the world’s absolute leader in the opiate trade and the number one heroin consumer.” He

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said seizures of heroin imported from Afghanistan in the first two months of 2009 were up 70% compared to the same period in 2008. He did not say which country Russia had displaced as the top heroin consumer. [See 2008, p. 822E3] At least five policemen March 5 were killed and two were injured when a bomb they were trying to defuse exploded near Nazran, the main city in Ingushetia, a republic in southern Russia. Among those killed was Alexander Gorelkin, Nazran’s deputy police chief. [See 2008, p. 840C3] Four police officers and at least two suspected rebels were killed Feb. 12 in Nazran when a residential building that police were raiding exploded. The police had reportedly forced their way into the building to detain suspected rebels inside when the explosion occurred. Interior Ministry troops Feb. 11 killed seven suspected rebels in the southern Russian region of Kabardino-Balkaria. A firefight had reportedly broken out as the troops staged a raid on a suspected rebel safe house in the mountains. [See 2008, p. 665B1] n

Ukraine IMF Endorses Second Loan Installment. The International Monetary Fund (IMF)

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April 17 said it would endorse the release of the second, $2.8 billion installment of a loan totaling $16.4 billion to Ukraine, whose economy continued to slump amid the current global economic crisis. The IMF’s move came after the Ukrainian government April 14 implemented public spending cuts and tax reforms. The second installment had been delayed for several months because Ukraine’s parliament had been unable to pass the IMF-required legislation amid bitter 274

infighting. In lieu of parliamentary approval, the changes had finally been implemented by decree. The IMF had released the first loan installment of $4.5 billion in November 2008. [See p. 227D1] The IMF had previously insisted that the second loan installment would not be disbursed unless Ukraine cut government spending. However, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko had refused to enact cuts, citing the need for social spending to support the poor and elderly. The IMF in turn had approved the loan even though it claimed that Ukraine’s budget deficit was equal to 4% of the GDP, up from the 3% limit it and Ukraine had previously agreed on. The Ukrainian government claimed its budget deficit was closer to 3%. The IMF’s overture was viewed as a victory for Tymoshenko, who had reportedly appealed to Russia and other countries for loans before the IMF capitulated. Tymoshenko was considered a frontrunner in Ukraine’s presidential election, which was scheduled for October. She was expected to face the deeply unpopular President Viktor Yushchenko, as well as Viktor Yanukovich, head of the Russian-leaning Party of Regions. The IMF’s board was expected to make a formal decision on the installment in May. n

Other European News Hague Tribunal Rejects Karadzic’s Appeal.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, the Netherlands (ICTY), April 7 denied an appeal for immunity by Radovan Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb president accused of orchestrating genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes during the 1992–95 Bosnian civil war. Karadzic had repeatedly claimed that Richard Holbrooke, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who had helped negotiate an end to the Bosnian war and currently served as the U.S.’s special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, had pledged in 1996 that Karadzic would not be prosecuted by the ICTY if he quit politics. Holbrooke maintained that Karadzic’s claims were false. [See 2008, p. 623G2] A study on the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s released Feb. 15 by Purdue University in the U.S. claimed that three unidentified senior U.S. State Department officials had provided information that apparently confirmed Karadzic’s claims. The New York Times, in a March 22 article, reported that it had interviewed two of those officials. One official, a high-ranking member of the U.S. State Department, told the Times that he had been told about the immunity offer by people who worked closely with Holbrooke. The second official, who had been involved with Balkan peacekeeping operations in the 1990s, said Holbrooke had personally informed him of an immunity deal with Karadzic. Holbrooke, according to the same article, had said, “No one in the U.S. government ever promised anything, nor made a deal of any sort with Karadzic.” In a March

26 Times article, Holbrooke said the unidentified officials “should have the courage to identify themselves.” He added, “All of this is fabricated and untrue.” Separately, Karadzic April 2 accused U.N. prosecutors of harassing his family and friends in Bosnia in their search for evidence to be used in his trial. However, presiding Judge Iain Bonomy said Karadzic’s claims did not “contain any specific complaint of misconduct we can take action on.” Also, media outlet BalkanInsight April 10 reported that the editor of a Slovakian literary magazine supported by that country’s culture ministry had been disciplined after publishing several of Karadzic’s poems. Karadzic had also published a book of poems in 2005, while he was in hiding. n

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Iran U.S.-Iranian Reporter Gets 8 Years for Spying.

Iranian authorities had sentenced Roxana Saberi, a journalist who was accused of spying for the U.S., to eight years in prison, her lawyer and Iranian authorities said April 18. Saberi was being held in the Evin prison in Tehran, the Iranian capital. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad April 19 called on the prosecutor to reexamine Saberi’s case. [See p. 254C2] Saberi, 31, was a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen, although Iran did not recognize her U.S. citizenship. She had lived in Iran for the past six years, and had reported for several international news outlets before her press credentials were revoked without explanation in 2006. Saberi had been arrested in January on initial charges of purchasing a bottle of wine, which was illegal in Iran. However, a judge in early April announced that she had been accused of spying for U.S. intelligence agencies. Iranian authorities said she had been convicted in a closed trial. Saberi’s father, Reza Saberi, April 18 told the U.S.’s National Public Radio (NPR) that his daughter had been tricked into making incriminating statements. U.S. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said U.S. President Barack Obama was “deeply disappointed” by Saberi’s sentence and that she was not a U.S. spy. The U.S. had pressed Iran to release Saberi. Ahmadinejad in a letter April 19 told Tehran’s prosecutor general, Saeed Mortazavi, to review the cases of Saberi and Iranian-Canadian blogger Hossein Derakhshan, who had been arrested in November 2008 on accusations of espionage but had not been charged. Ahmadinejad urged Mortazavi, who was known as a hard-line conservative, to “do what is needed to secure justice and fairness in examining these charges.” He added, “Take care that the defendants have all the legal freedoms and rights to defend themselves against the charges and none of their rights are violated.” [See 2008, p. 874F3] Iran’s president had no formal power over the judiciary. Analysts said AhFACTS ON FILE

madinejad might be involving himself in the case in order to keep conservatives from sabotaging efforts to improve relations between the U.S. and Iran. He was also running for reelection in June, and his intervention was seen as an attempt to ward off criticism of his human rights record from reformists. Iran’s judiciary chief, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, April 20 said he had ordered the head of Tehran’s courts to consider Saberi’s appeal “in a careful, quick and fair way.” Also that day, an Iranian foreign ministry spokesman denied any connection between Saberi’s imprisonment and the case of three Iranians who had been detained in Iraq by U.S. forces in 2007 and were being held without trial, but called for their release. Iran said the men were diplomats, but the U.S. claimed that they were spies and had links to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, which had allegedly funded and armed Shiite Muslim militias in Iraq. [See 2007, p. 748E1] Defenders of Human Rights Center, a legal organization run by Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, April 20 said Ebadi had agreed to head Saberi’s legal team. A judiciary spokesman April 21 said Saberi had appealed her sentence, and that he hoped “the verdict will be reconsidered by the appeals court.” n

Iraq Maliki Critic Elected Parliamentary Speaker.

The Iraqi parliament April 19 elected Ayad al-Sammaraie as its speaker. His predecessor, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, had resigned in December 2008, and several pieces of important legislation had been stalled in the intervening months of political deadlock. Sammaraie, who had previously headed parliament’s finance committee, was the head of the Sunni Muslim Iraqi Islamic Party. (The position of speaker was reserved for a Sunni.) [See pp. 254F2, 23F1] Sammaraie was a frequent critic of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and his election was seen as a sign of the growing power of Maliki’s rivals. Sammaraie won 153 votes, easily besting Maliki’s favored candidate, Mustafa al-Hiti, who won 36. Eighty-six legislators abstained or cast blank ballots, including some from Maliki’s Islamic Dawa party. Disguised Bomber Infiltrates Iraqi Base—

A suicide bomber dressed in an Iraqi army uniform April 16 detonated his explosives inside the crowded dining room of a major Iraqi military base in the city of Habbaniyah in the western province of Anbar. Witnesses said the blast killed at least 15 people and wounded at least 40. However, the Iraqi defense ministry said that 17 people had been injured and only the bomber had been killed. The bomber’s infiltration of the base was considered a serious breach of security. Another suicide bomber wearing an Iraqi police uniform April 20 attacked a city administrative office in Baqubah, the capital of the northeastern province of Diyala, April 23, 2009

while U.S. troops were meeting with city officials there. The blast killed at least three Iraqis, including two Iraqi employees of the U.S. embassy. The attack also wounded 19 people, including eight U.S. soldiers, two U.S. embassy employees and three Iraqi policemen. Later April 20, a Web site associated with the Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella group of Sunni insurgent groups including Al Qaeda in Iraq, claimed responsibility for the Habbaniyah and Baqubah bombings, as well as for an attack on oil facility guards in the northern city of Kirkuk the previous week. [See p. 254E3] In other violence, a suicide bomber April 22 attacked worshipers exiting a mosque in the town of Duluiyah, in the central province of Salahuddin, killing five. Gunmen using silenced weapons April 19 killed seven people in the course of robbing several jewelry stores in the mostly Shiite Muslim Tobchi neighborhood of Baghdad, the Iraqi capital. Iraqi authorities said the gunmen were members of a “criminal gang.” Attacks on jewelry stores, pawn shops and currency exchanges had gone up as responsibility for Iraq’s security was transferred to Iraqi forces from the U.S., even as overall violence generally declined. Other News—In other Iraqi news: o The United Nations April 22 presented a report detailing a number of options for the governance of the oil-rich northern Iraqi province of Kirkuk, whose control was disputed by its Kurdish, Turkmen and Sunni and Shiite Arab populations. The document was not publicly released, but reportedly presented four options, all of which would keep Kirkuk as a single entity and would have to be affirmed by a provincial referendum. They reportedly included making Kirkuk into an autonomous region jointly run by its ethnic groups, or a special region jointly governed by the regional and Iraqi central governments. [See p. 57B1] o The U.S. Senate April 21 confirmed, 73–23, Christopher Hill as the U.S. ambassador to Iraq. [See p. 121D1] o Judge Paul Friedman in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., April 16 sentenced an Iraqi-born Dutch citizen who in February had pleaded guilty of attempting to kill U.S. troops in Iraq with roadside bombs to 25 years in prison. However, under an extradition deal, the defendant, Wasem Delaema, would serve his sentence in the Netherlands, and it was reportedly likely that a judge there would reduce his sentence. Delaema was the first Iraqi insurgent to have been convicted in a U.S. court. [See p. 121E2] n

SOUTH ASIA

India Cricket Tournament Moved Due to Security.

Indian cricket officials March 22 announced that the India Premier League (IPL) tournament could not be held in India due to security concerns. The tournament was scheduled to take place between April

10 and May 24, overlapping with national parliamentary elections that were to be held between April 16 and May 13, and government officials had said the military could not provide adequate security for both events. The IPL March 24 said the tournament would be held in South Africa, beginning April 18. [See p. 157E3] Discussions to change the tournament’s venue began after a terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan national cricket team in neighboring Pakistan earlier in March. Security tensions had also increased in India, following a November 2008 terrorist attack on Mumbai, India’s commercial capital. [See p. 137D3; 2008, p. 877A1] The decision was bemoaned in India, where, as in other countries in the subcontinent, cricket was highly popular. Furthermore, the IPL specialized in “Twenty20” cricket, a faster and more dynamic version of the game, whose traditional rules sometimes required five days of play. Twenty20 had acquired international attention, and was sponsored by Indian movie stars and industrial magnates, leading many observers to proclaim it as a symbol of India’s ascendancy in the global economy. The tournament had been expected to bring in $1 billion over the next five to 10 years. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the country’s largest opposition party, criticized the government for not providing security for the tournament. But Indian Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram March 22 countered that the elections were “unquestionably” more important than cricket. Attacks Mar First Day of Voting—Several attacks in three states in central and eastern India April 16 killed at least 17 people, marring the first day of voting for parliamentary elections. Responsibility for the attacks in Jharkhand, Bihar and Chhattisgarh was placed on Maoist rebels, who said they were struggling for greater rights for minorities and the lower classes. Voters that day went to the polls in 15 states and two union territories. n

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Pakistan Islamic Law in Militant Region Formalized.

President Asif Ali Zardari April 13 signed a law allowing Islamic fundamentalist militants to establish sharia, or traditional Islamic law, in Malakand division in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). The law was passed in parliament earlier that day with broad political support. It was criticized by Pakistan’s Western allies and secular Pakistanis, who said lawmakers had capitulated to the demands of militant groups that would now use Malakand as a safe haven to plan terrorist operations, recruit members and expand their influence. [See p. 229B2] The establishment of sharia was the central element of a cease-fire reached between the Pakistani army and militants in February, ending 18 months of fighting in Malakand’s Swat Valley region that had led to 1,500 deaths and the exodus of more than 100,000 civilians. Swat’s militants were members of the umbrella fundamen275

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talist group Tehreek-e-Taliban, which was thought to have carried out dozens of terrorist attacks on Pakistani targets in the past couple of years, and viewed the central government as being too closely tied to the U.S. and its antiterrorism policies. The cease-fire’s supporters argued that the military had proved unable to defeat the militants, and that the truce was necessary to prevent further bloodshed. They also said the establishment of sharia would split moderate Islamists from those who were intent on conducting terrorist attacks. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani April 13 claimed that the cease-fire had “the support of the nation.” But critics said the deal weakened the authority of the central government and emboldened Tehreek-e-Taliban. They also said it would lead to human rights abuses, pointing to a video that had recently surfaced from Swat showing the public flogging of a 17-year-old girl by militants, reportedly for appearing outside her home without a male guardian. Since February, militants had reportedly increased the number of executions and whippings in Swat, and seized control of the local government and police forces. Men were discouraged from shaving their beards, and women were banned from leaving their homes without their husbands or male relatives. Girls’ schools reportedly remained open, but were subject to harsh restrictions. The Wall Street Journal April 14 reported that militants from other areas of Pakistan were streaming into Swat, increasing their numbers to between 6,000 and 8,000, about twice the number in the region since late 2008. The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama was reportedly concerned that the cease-fire, and the apparent inability of the Pakistani government to combat militant activity, would give members of the international terrorist network Al Qaeda and other terrorists a stronghold from which to operate with impunity. Additionally, U.S. officials had expressed concerns that increased militancy in Pakistan could complicate the U.S.’s efforts to quell an insurgency by the fundamentalist Islamic group the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan. Tehreek-e-Taliban and the Afghan Taliban both sought to implement sharia in their respective countries, and Afghan Taliban fighters used Tehreek-e-Taliban strongholds as safe havens. U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D, Mass.) April 14 during a trip to Islamabad said Pakistan had to “ratchet up” its commitment to defeating militants. Kerry was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which was considering a five-year, $7.5 billion civilian aid package for Pakistan. Militants Seize Neighboring District—

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Hundreds of heavily armed militants from Swat April 21 began streaming into the neighboring district of Buner, and by April 22 had effectively seized control of the district, which lay 70 miles (110 km) northwest of Islamabad, the Pakistani capital. The development fueled concerns that the militants were gaining strength, and that the government was unwilling or incapable 276

of halting their ascendancy. It was reported April 23 that militant gangs were seen on the outskirts of the neighboring districts of Shangla, Swabi, Mardan and Mansehra. Militants April 22–23 reportedly seized control of Buner’s government buildings, looted local aid agencies, set up road blocks and began patrolling villages. Local law enforcement officials reportedly did not pose much resistance, and judges and officials stepped down from their posts. The militants April 23 reportedly signed a truce with local authorities similar to the cease-fire agreement in Swat that allowed the establishment of sharia. The invasion of Buner appeared to be a violation of the government’s cease-fire agreement with the militants, which required an end to violent activity. The army April 23 dispatched several hundred members of a constabulary force to Buner, but they were easily repelled by the militants, leading to the death of one soldier. Analysts said the army’s weak response showed that it was reluctant to unleash a heavy military operation against Pakistani citizens. The army’s commitment to defeating the country’s militants had long been questioned, since the army had played a central role in nurturing Pakistani-based militant groups that had fought insurgencies in Afghanistan and the disputed territory of Kashmir. Additionally, the army continued to train its troops in conventional warfare—with an eye toward future conflicts with Pakistan’s traditional rival India—and was unprepared to conduct a counterinsurgency-like operations. The fall of Buner drew strong criticisms from U.S. officials. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton April 22 said Zardari was “basically abdicating” to the militants, who posed “a mortal threat to the security and safety of our country and the world.” Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, April 22–23 met with Pakistani Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani, the army chief, to discuss the situation. Fundamentalist Cleric Granted Bail—

The Pakistani Supreme Court April 15 granted bail to fundamentalist cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz, who in July 2007 was arrested during an eight-day army siege of the Red Mosque, or Lal Masjid, in Islamabad. The siege ended when the army stormed the mosque, killing more than 100 people, many of whom were students calling for sharia in Pakistan. The incident sparked an Islamist backlash against the government, and many extremists still considered it a point of grievance against the government. Aziz since July 2008 had largely been under house arrest, and currently faced 26 charges, including involvement in terrorist acts. [See 2007, p. 442F2] Aziz April 17 addressed thousands of his followers at the Red Mosque, saying, “Islam has been successfully brought to Swat because of the sacrifices of the students at the Red Mosque.” He added, “The day will come, not long from now, when Islam will spread to the entire country.” Aziz’s followers at times reportedly chanted, “The blood of martyrs will lead to Islamic revolution.”

Critics said Aziz’s release showed that the government did not have the political strength to prosecute extremist leaders with a large popular following. Pakistan’s authorities had a long history of arresting extremist leaders charged with terrorism, only to subsequently release them. Other Developments—In other developments in Pakistan: o A suicide bomber April 18 killed at least 20 people, many of them members of Pakistan’s security forces, at a checkpoint in the Hangu district of NWFP. The army was conducting operations in a nearby tribal area of Orakzai, which was largely outside government control and thought to be a base of operations for Hakimullah Mehsude, a senior leader in Tehreek-e-Taliban. [See p. 229D2] o The Pakistan Donors’ Conference, comprised of more than 20 countries, April 17 pledged $5.3 billion in aid to Pakistan, in order to bolster a deteriorating economy that analysts said could further undermine security and stoke militant fervor. The aid came on top of a $7.6 billion loan Pakistan had arranged with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2008 and $15 billion in previously committed aid. In the latest aid package, the U.S. and Japan each pledged $1 billion, while Saudi Arabia committed $700 million. The conference was held in Tokyo, Japan, and was cohosted by the IMF. [See 2008, p. 890F3] o Rehman Malik, head of Pakistan’s interior ministry, April 13 announced that police had arrested a suspect in the November 2008 terrorist attack on Mumbai, India’s commercial capital, that killed more than 170 people. Malik said Shahid Jamil Riaz was the fifth suspect arrested, and that four more remained at large. Indian officials had blamed the attack on Lashkar-eTaiba, a Pakistani-based Islamic militant group. [See p. 103C2] o One policeman was killed and three others were wounded April 9, during riots in the southwestern province of Baluchistan. The riots began after the discovery of the mutilated remains of three Baluchi separatist politicans who were believed to have been abducted April 2 or 3. The U.S. embassy confirmed that one of the politicans, Ghulan Mohammad Baloch, had helped facilitate the release of U.S. aid worker John Solecki, who had been kidnapped from the province in February and freed in early April. [See p. 229E2] n

Sri Lanka Civilians Trapped as Army Squeezes Rebels.

The Sri Lankan army April 20 broke through an earthen barrier surrounding the last redoubt of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebel group, which was cornered into a thin slice of land in the country’s northwest that was thought to be no larger than five square miles (13 square km). As of April 23, as many as 100,000 civilians had fled the rebel stronghold, but between 20,000 and 60,000 were thought to be trapped there and caught in the fighting. The FACTS ON FILE

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) April 21 described the deteriorating humanitarian situation as “nothing short of catastrophic.” [See p. 119E1] The army’s latest offensive appeared to presage the end of a civil war that had been fought on and off since 1983, and had claimed more than 70,000 lives. The LTTE was fighting for a separate homeland for Sri Lanka’s minority Tamil ethnic group, which it said had been discriminated against and marginalized by the country’s majority Sinhalese. But the Sri Lankan government and other countries, including the U.S., considered the LTTE to be a terrorist organization. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa had vowed to defeat the rebels militarily, and the army over the past year had made steady gains against the rebels, who as recently as 2005 had controlled nearly a third of Sri Lanka’s territory. Since April 12, when fighting was halted for two days to allow civilians to flee, the Sri Lankan government had consistently ignored international calls to enter a negotiated cease-fire with the rebels to allow civilians to leave the war zone, saying that would allow the rebels to regroup. Meanwhile, the rebels were accused of preventing civilians from leaving and using them as human shields. The LTTE accused the army of killing 1,000 civilians through indiscriminate bombardment of its stronghold, but the government said civilian casualties were much lower than that. The government said rebels were shooting at civilians trying to escape and detonating suicide bombs in their midst. Casualty numbers were difficult to independently verify, since reporters and aid agencies were barred from the war zone, but the ICRC estimated that hundreds of civilians had been killed since April 20. The United Nations estimated that 4,500 civilians had been killed since the beginning of 2009. The U.N. said no aid had been delivered to the war zone since April 1. Government Demands Rebel Surrender—

After breaking through the barrier surrounding the stronghold, which the army had once designated a “safe zone” free from fighting, the Sri Lankan government April 20 gave the LTTE 24 hours to surrender. In response, the LTTE reiterated its call for a cease-fire without preconditions, “as urged by the U.S. and other members of the international community,” a request that the government rejected. Rajapaksa that day said, “The process of the complete defeat of the LTTE has just begun,” adding, “It is now all over for the Tigers.” But as of April 23, the rebels were still resisting the army’s onslaught. State television April 20 showed civilians fleeing the war zone, and Rajapaksa described the military operation as the “largest-ever hostage rescue mission in history.” Fugitives from the war zone were placed in government camps in the nearby town of Vavuniya. Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama April 23 appealed for international aid, saying the camps were short of clean water, medical supplies and shelter. Aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) said about 400 fugitives had been wounded in the fighting. April 23, 2009

The government April 22 announced that two top LTTE officials had surrendered. The officials were Velayutham Dayanithi, known as Daya Master, and Kumar Pancharathnam, known as George. Master was an LTTE spokesman and George had worked as a translator in the group’s political wing. The surrenders were considered a rare occurrence, since LTTE fighters in the past had often resorted to drinking vials of cyanide that many of them carried on their person, in order to kill themselves and avoid capture. Rajapaksa had said he would not pardon LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, whose whereabouts were unknown, though some believed he was also in the war zone. International Reaction—Mexican ambassador to the U.N. Claude Heller, who currently held the Security Council’s rotating presidency, April 22 said, “We demand that the LTTE immediately lay down arms,” and added, “We urge all parties, including the government of Sri Lanka, to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law and to allow international and humanitarian agencies access to those affected by the fighting.” The Sri Lankan conflict was not on the council’s agenda, since Russia and China, both of which held veto power, considered the conflict an internal affair that did not pose a threat to international stability. The U.S., France and Britain—the remaining council members with veto power—had reportedly called for a stronger reaction from the Security Council. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton April 22 said, “I think that the Sri Lankan government knows that the entire world is very disappointed that in its efforts to end what it sees as 25 years of conflict, it is causing such untold suffering.” India, home to a sizable Tamil population, called for an end to civilian casualties. Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee April 22 said, “These killings must stop. The Sri Lankan government has a responsibility to protect its own citizens. And the LTTE must stop its barbaric attempt to hold civilians hostage.” n

SPORTS

UNITED STATES

Baseball Major League Baseball Season Opens. The Major League Baseball (MLB) season

opened April 5 with a 4–1 victory by the visiting Atlanta Braves over the defending World Series–champion Philadelphia Phillies. The rest of the league’s teams opened their seasons April 6–7. The season started later than usual due to the World Baseball Classic, which had been played in March and won by Japan. [See p. 190B2; 2008, p. 799D2] MLB’s off-season had been dominated by more revelations about the use of performance-enhancing drugs in the sport. Most prominent was the admission in February by New York Yankees star third baseman Alex Rodriguez that he had taken the drugs from 2001 to 2003, when he

played for the Texas Rangers. Also, the start of former star slugger Barry Bonds’s trial on perjury charges, which had been scheduled for early March, was delayed until at least July. [See p. 158D2, C3] The new season marked the opening of two new stadiums in New York City, for the Yankees and the New York Mets. [See 2008, p. 710G2]

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Nationals’ GM Quits in Prospect Scandal—

Washington Nationals general manager Jim Bowden March 1 resigned after four years at the job. His resignation came in the wake of a Feb. 18 revelation by team President Stan Kasten that a Dominican prospect Bowden had signed in 2006, 16-year-old Esmailyn Gonzalez, had falsified both his name and his age (his real name was Carlos Daniel Alvarez Lugo, and he was four years older than he claimed) by giving false documents to the Nationals, who then gave those documents to MLB. [See 2006, p. 587C1] The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) since 2008 had reportedly been investigating MLB teams’ largely unregulated scouting operations in the Dominican Republic and other Latin American countries. The FBI was said to be investigating Bowden and Jose Rijo, a special assistant to the Nationals who was involved in operating its player development facility in the Dominican Republic, for allegedly taking kickbacks from Dominican players’ signing bonuses. (The Nationals had given Lugo a $1.4 million signing bonus.) The Nationals Feb. 26 fired Rijo and Jose Baez, the team’s director of operations in the Dominican Republic. Kasten March 4 said Mike Rizzo, the club’s assistant general manager and vice president of baseball operations, would take over Bowden’s duties on an interim basis. Other News—In other MLB news: o New York Mets outfielder Gary Sheffield April 17 hit the 500th home run of his career, becoming the 25th MLB player to reach that milestone. Sheffield, 40, April 3 had agreed to a one-year, $400,000 contract with the Mets. Sheffield three days earlier had been released by the Detroit Tigers, who would pay $13.6 million of his $14 million contract with him for the year. [See 2006, p. 986F1] o Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart, 22, early April 9 was killed in a car crash in Fullerton, Calif., about five miles from Angel Stadium. Two other people who were riding with Adenhart were also killed, after their vehicle was struck by a drunk driver who had run a red light. A few hours earlier, Adenhart had had one of the most promising outings of his young career, pitching six scoreless innings against the Oakland Athletics. In light of Adenhart’s death, the Angels postponed their game scheduled for later April 9. The driver of the other car, Andrew Thomas Gallo, April 10 was charged with three counts of murder, and drunken driving. o Houston Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada March 26 was sentenced to one year of probation in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., for lying to Congress about his knowledge of performance-enhancing drug 277

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use among MLB players. He had pleaded guilty in February. Tejada, 34, was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and perform 100 hours of community service. [See p. 87E3] o Pitcher Curt Schilling, 42, March 23 announced his retirement. Schilling had pitched for five teams in his 23 seasons in MLB, and was an All-Star six times. The highlights of his career included the 2001 World Series, when he shared most valuable player (MVP) honors with Arizona Diamondbacks teammate Randy Johnson after defeating the Yankees. Schilling was also a key member of the Boston Red Sox’s 2004 and 2007 World Series–winning teams. He had missed all of the 2008 season due to injury. [See 2007, p. 723E2; 2004, pp. 849C3–850D1; 2001, p. 893B2] o The Los Angeles Dodgers and outfielder Manny Ramirez March 4 agreed to a two-year, $45 million contract, after months of often contentious negotiations. [See 2008, p. 710G3] o Former Chicago White Sox left fielder Ken Griffey Jr., a free agent, Feb. 18 agreed to a one-year, $2 million contract, plus incentives, with the Seattle Mariners, the team with which he had started his career. [See 2008, p. 711B1] o Former Dodgers pitcher Derek Lowe, a free agent, Jan. 13 agreed to a four-year, $60 million deal with the Braves. [See 2005, p. 39F2] o Pitcher John Smoltz, a free agent who had spent his entire 20-year career with the Braves, Jan. 8 agreed to a one-year, $5.5 million contract with the Red Sox. [See 2003, p. 778E2] o Former Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi, a free agent, Jan. 7 finalized a oneyear, $5.25 million contract with the A’s. [See 2007, p. 832G3] o Phillies reliever J.C. Romero—who appeared eight times in the 2008 postseason and earned two wins in the World Series—Jan. 6 was suspended for 50 games for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. The positive test had occurred in August 2008, but Romero appealed his suspension, allowing him to participate in the postseason. [See 2008, p. 799G3] n

Basketball NBA Season Ends. The National Basketball Association (NBA) season ended April 15, with 16 of the league’s 30 teams advancing to the playoffs. The top eight teams each in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference would compete in the postseason. [See 2008, p. 858C2] The Eastern Conference’s Cleveland Cavaliers posted the best record (66 wins and 16 losses) in the NBA. The Cavaliers entered the final game of the season with only one loss at home, looking to tie the alltime home record of 40–1, set by the Boston Celtics in the 1985–86 season. However, with many of the squad’s regular starters resting for the playoffs, the visiting Philadelphia 76ers April 15 defeated the 278

2008–09 NBA Statistical Leaders*

NBA 2008–09 Final Standings EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L Pct.

*Boston *Philadelphia New Jersey Toronto New York

62 41 34 33 32

*Cleveland *Chicago *Detroit Indiana Milwaukee *Orlando *Atlanta *Miami Charlotte Washington

GB

.756 .500 .415 .402 .390

— 21 28 29 30

Central Division W L Pct.

GB

66 41 39 36 34

20 41 48 49 50

SCORING

.805 .500 .476 .439 .415

— 25 27 30 32

Southeast Division W L Pct.

GB

59 47 43 35 19

16 41 43 46 48 23 35 39 47 63

.720 .573 .524 .427 .232

— 12 16 24 40

WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest Division W L Pct.

*San Antonio *Houston *Dallas *New Orleans Memphis *Denver *Portland *Utah Minnesota Oklahoma City *L.A. Lakers Phoenix Golden State L.A. Clippers Sacramento

54 53 50 49 24

GB

.659 .646 .610 .598 .293

— 1 4 5 30

Northwest Division W L Pct.

GB

54 54 48 24 23

28 29 32 33 58

.659 .659 .585 .293 .280

— — 6 30 31

Pacific Division W L Pct.

GB

65 46 29 19 17

28 28 34 58 59 17 36 53 63 65

.793 .561 .354 .232 .207

— 19 36 46 48

*In playoffs

Cavaliers, 111–110, in overtime. Cavaliers coach Mike Brown April 20 was named NBA coach of the year. The Los Angeles Lakers had the best record (65–17) in the Western Conference for the second straight season. The Lakers won the Pacific Division by a decisive 19 games, separating themselves from the rest of the contenders in the typically competitive West. The other seven Western playoff teams were in tighter competition, with many of the postseason rankings determined on the final day of the regular season. Resurgent Wade Tops All Scorers—Miami Heat guard Dwayne Wade, 27, had struggled with injuries and poor team performances since winning the NBA title with the Heat in 2006. Wade returned to form in the 2008–09 season, winning the NBA scoring title with an average of 30.2 points per game. New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul, 23, led the league in assists for the second straight year, averaging 11 per game. Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, 23, defended his rebounding title by grabbing 13.8 rebounds per game. Howard also led the league in blocked shots, with an average of 2.9 per game, becoming just the

Wade, Miami James, Cleveland Bryant, L.A. Lakers Nowitzki, Dallas Granger, Indiana Durant, Oklahoma City Paul, New Orleans Anthony, Denver Bosh, Toronto Roy, Portland

G

MPG FG% FT%

Avg.

79 81 82 81 67 74 78 66 77 78

38.6 37.7 36.1 37.7 36.2 39.0 38.5 34.5 38.0 37.2

.491 .489 .467 .479 .447 .476 .503 .443 .487 .480

.765 .780 .856 .890 .878 .863 .868 .793 .817 .824

30.2 28.4 26.8 25.9 25.8 25.3 22.8 22.8 22.7 22.6

Tot.

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REBOUNDING

Howard, Orlando Murphy, Indiana Lee, New York Duncan, San Antonio Okafor, Charlotte

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Off.

Def.

79 73 81 75 82

336 146 256 201 275

757 1093 13.8 715 861 11.8 695 951 11.7 599 800 10.7 552 827 10.1

ASSISTS

Paul, New Orleans Williams, Utah Nash, Phoenix Calderon, Toronto Kidd, Dallas

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78 68 74 68 81

861 725 717 607 702

11.0 10.7 9.7 8.9 8.7

BLOCKED SHOTS G

No.

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Howard, Orlando 79 231 2.92 Anderson, Denver 71 175 2.46 Camby, L.A. Clippers 62 132 2.13 Turiaf, Golden State 79 168 2.13 O’Neal, Miami/Toronto 68 136 2.00 *The complete names of the players are found in the index.

fifth player to lead both categories since the block became an official statistic in 1973. The other NBA players to do so were Bill Walton, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon and Ben Wallace. Howard April 21 won the defensive player of the year award. Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose April 22 was honored as the rookie of the year. After topping the NBA draft in June 2008, Rose averaged 16.8 points per game, and led all rookies with 6.3 assists per game. With the addition of Rose, the Bulls improved to a .500 record, enough to earn a playoff berth in the East. Injuries Plague Playoff Teams—Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers April 16 said star forward Kevin Garnett might miss the team’s entire playoff run because of a nagging knee injury that sidelined him for much of the previous two months. Also that day, Celtics general manager Danny Ainge was hospitalized after suffering a minor heart attack. He left the hospital on April 19. In an early round playoff game the following day, backup forward Leon Powe tore a ligament in his left knee, forcing him to sit out the remainder of the postseason. Other stars of playoff teams had been sidelined earlier in the season with major injuries, including San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, Houston Rockets guard Tracy McGrady, Magic guard Jameer Nelson, Detroit Pistons guard Allen Iverson and 76ers center Elton Brand. The top-seeded Cavaliers and Lakers, however, had relatively healthy rosters. Five Elected to Hall of Fame—Five people April 6 were elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in FACTS ON FILE

Springfield, Mass. Topping the 2009 class was five-time most valuable player (MVP) of the NBA, Michael Jordan. As a guard for the Bulls, Jordan led the team to six league championships. Other honorees included former Utah Jazz guard John Stockton, who retired as the all-time NBA leader in both assists and steals; center David Robinson, who helped the Spurs to two titles during his career; Rutgers University women’s coach C. Vivian Stringer; and Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. They were scheduled to be inducted Sept. 10–12. [See 2008, p. 859C2] Other News—In other basketball news: o Former Pistons coach Flip Saunders April 21 signed a four-year deal to coach the Washington Wizards. He succeeded interim coach Ed Tapscott, who had replaced Eddie Jordan mid-season. Tapscott was expected to remain in the team’s front office. [See 2008, pp. 994F3, 439C3] o Florida International University April 15 introduced Isiah Thomas as the school’s new men’s basketball coach. Thomas had been fired as the head coach and team president of the New York Knicks in 2008, following several consecutive losing seasons and a sexual harassment lawsuit. He would forgo salary in the first year of his $1.1 million, five-year deal and donate that money to the school’s athletic program. [See 2008, p. 298F3] n

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Awards ‘N.Y. Times’ Wins Five Pulitzers. Colum-

bia University, acting on the recommendation of its Pulitzer Prize advisory panel, April 20 in New York City announced the winners of its 93rd annual Pulitzer Prizes. Each winner received a $10,000 award except in the category of public service, where the winning newspaper received a gold medal. [See 2008, p. 247C1] The New York Times won five Pulitzer Prizes, in the categories of breaking news reporting, investigative reporting, international reporting, criticism and feature photography. The Times had exceeded that total only once, in 2002, when it won seven, the most Pulitzers ever won by a single news organization in one year. The nexthighest total was the six won by the Washington Post in 2008. [See box, p. 279A2; 2008, p. 247E1; 2002, p. 266F3] Florida’s St. Petersburg Times, which won two Pulitzers, for national reporting and feature writing, was the only other newspaper to win more than one Pulitzer in 2009. Its national reporting award was for its PolitiFact project, which had factchecked competing claims made during the 2008 presidential campaign. Most of the data gathered by the project had not appeared in print but had instead been posted on a Web site created for that purpose, PolitiFact.com. For the first time, onlineonly news outlets were allowed to compete for Pulitzer Prizes along with newspapers; however, none won any. [See 2007, p. 252G1] April 23, 2009

2009 PULITZER PRIZES ARTS AND LETTERS Fiction: Elizabeth Strout for Olive Kitteridge. History: Annette Gordon-Reed for The Hem-

mingses of Monticello: An American Family. [See 2008, p. 875F3] Biography: Jon Meacham for American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House. Poetry: W.S. Merwin for The Shadow of Sirius. General Nonfiction: Douglas A. Blackmon for Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II. Music: Steve Reich for Double Sextet. Drama: Lynn Nottage for Ruined. [See 2008, p. 998E1] JOURNALISM Public Service: The

Las Vegas Sun for articles exposing lax safety standards at Las Vegas, Nev., construction sites that endangered the lives of workers at those sites. Breaking News Reporting: The staff of the New York Times for its coverage of the prostitution scandal that led to the resignation of Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D, N.Y.) in March 2008. [See 2008, p. 161A3] Investigative Reporting: David Barstow of the New York Times for exposing links between the Pentagon and retired military officers presenting themselves as independent media analysts. [See p. 139G2–A3] Explanatory Journalism: Reporters Bettina Boxall and Julie Cart of the Los Angeles Times for exploring the growing problem of wildfires in the Western U.S. Local Reporting: Ryan Gabrielson and Paul Giblin of Mesa, Ariz.’s East Valley Tribune for

The current economic troubles of the U.S. newspaper industry had affected some of the winners. For instance, the Detroit Free Press, which shared the Pulitzer Prize for local reporting with two reporters from Mesa, Ariz.’s East Valley Tribune, had recently cut home delivery to three days a week, and had switched to an abbreviated print format on the other four days; furthermore, the Tribune had recently laid off one of its prize-winning reporters, Paul Giblin, 45. [See box, p. 279D2] The Pulitzer Prize for music went to leading minimalist composer Steve Reich, who had been a finalist for the prize at least a dozen times. Reich, 72, won the award for his 22-minute Double Sextet, which could be played either by 12 live instrumentalists or by six musicians playing against a tape recording. Reich became the second composer with roots in minimalism to win the prize, after John Adams in 2003. [See 2003, p. 280E2] Other Pulitzer winners in arts categories included poet W.S. Merwin, 81, and Newsweek magazine editor Jon Meacham, 39. Merwin won his second poetry Pulitzer for his 21st volume of poems, The Shadow of Sirius; he had previously won the award in 1971. Meacham won in the biography category for his best-selling book about 19thcentury U.S. President Andrew Jackson, American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House. [See 2008, p. 1000B1; 2006, p. 756B2; 1971, p. 703B2] n

demonstrating the pitfalls of law enforcement efforts concentrating too heavily on illegal immigrants, and the staff of the Detroit Free Press for baring the misconduct that led to the resignation of Detroit, Mich., Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his subsequent brief jailing. [See p. 139C3] National Reporting: The staff of the St. Petersburg Times for the Florida newspaper’s factchecking of competing political claims made during the 2008 presidential campaign. Feature Writing: Lane DeGregory of the St. Petersburg Times for her in-depth look at the life of a grossly neglected child. International Reporting: The New York Times for its coverage of the war in Afghanistan and the attendant major unrest in neighboring Pakistan. [See p. 275E3] Commentary: Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson for his commentary, from a black journalist’s perspective, on the political campaign that led to the election of Barack Obama as the U.S.’s first black president. Criticism: Holland Cotter of the New York Times for his art criticism. Editorial Cartooning: Steve Breen of the San Diego Union-Tribune; Breen had previously won a Pulitzer in 1998 while working for another newspaper. [See 1998, p. 260C2] Breaking News Photography: Patrick Farrell of the Miami Herald for photos of the destruction wrought by storms in Haiti in 2008. [See 2008, pp. 650B1–C1, 616A2] Feature Photography: Damon Winter of the New York Times for photos taken during Obama’s presidential campaign. [See above] Editorial Writing: Mark Mahoney of the Glen Falls, N.Y., Post-Star for editorials calling for greater transparency in local government.

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Rock Hall of Fame Inducts New Members.

The 24th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony was held April 4 at the Public Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland, home since 1995 of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, had hosted the induction ceremony only once before, in 1997. All the other ceremonies had taken place in New York City. [See 2008, p. 172A1; 1997, p. 368E1] For the first time ever, the ceremony was open to the public. One of the inductees, rhythm-and-blues (R&B) singer and songwriter Bobby Womack, 65, was a Cleveland native, and his induction particularly gratified the sellout audience. Also inducted as a solo artist was guitarist Jeff Beck, 64, who had previously been inducted in 1992 as a member of the Yardbirds. Rockabilly and country singer Wanda Jackson, 71, who once dated singer Elvis Presley, was inducted as an early influence. Two instrumentalists who had played with Presley, drummer D.J. Fontana, 78, and bassist Bill Black, who died of a brain tumor in 1965 at the age of 39, were both inducted in the sidemen category. Also inducted as a sideman was keyboardist Spooner Oldham, 65, who had worked with such artists as Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin and Bob Dylan. [See 2002, p. 267C3; 2001, p. 259F2; 1992, p. 48D2] Three groups were also inducted: the heavy metal group Metallica; the R&B and doo-wop group Little Anthony & the Impe279

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rials, whose first single, “Tears on My Pillow” (1958), catapulted them to fame; and the pioneering hip-hop group Run-DMC, only the second rap group to be inducted, after Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five in 2007. One member of Run-DMC, disc jockey Jam Master Jay (Jason Mizell), was honored posthumously; he had been shot dead in a New York City recording studio in 2002. [See 2007, p. 168D1; 2002, p. 924E3] n WWI Film Tops Canadian Awards. The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television April 4 presented its 29th annual Genie awards during a ceremony at the Canada Aviation Museum in Ottawa, Ontario, the Canadian capital. Ottawa hosted the Genies for the first time: they had previously been held either in Toronto, Ontario, or Montreal, Quebec. [See 2008, p. 187B2] The Genie for best picture was won by Passchendaele, whose title referred to a town in Belgium where World War I Canadian forces engaged in a memorable battle, also known as the Third Battle of Ypres. The film was directed and written by Paul Gross, who also starred in it, portraying a soldier loosely modeled after his grandfather, a Canadian survivor of the battle. The film April 4 also won Genies in four technical categories; it had previously been announced as the winner of the 2008 Golden Reel Award, in recognition of its having been the top-grossing Canadian film of the year. Gross had been nominated for best actor but lost out to Natar Ungalaaq, who was honored for his portrayal of an Inuit hunter in Ce qu’il faut pour vivre (The Necessities of Life), a film with dialogue in both French and Inuktitut. That film won a total of four Genies, including those for best director—Benoit Pilon—and for best original screenplay—by Bernard Emond. The best actress Genie went to Ellen Burstyn, for her role in The Stone Angel, an adaptation of a novel by Canadian author Margaret Laurence. [See 1987, p. 8D3] n

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team of geneticists Feb. 12 announced that they had sequenced a rough draft of the genome of the Neanderthal, a hominid species that lived in Europe between 30,000 and 300,000 years ago. The team’s leader, Svante Paabo of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, announced the team’s findings over a video link to the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago. [See 2008, p. 996D1; 2006, p. 943E1] The team isolated 3.7 billion base pairs of usable DNA from fossils from six Neanderthals, allowing them to reconstruct 63% of the total Neanderthal genome. Most of the DNA came from a fossilized thighbone of a female uncovered in a cave in Vindija, in Croatia, with additional fossils coming from four other European archaeological sites. Paabo said the genome was less than 3% contaminated with modern human DNA from scientists and museum curators who 280

had handled the fossils; a previous genome analysis by Paabo had been 10% contaminated. According to the draft genome, there was practically no trace of Neanderthal genes in the modern human genome. That contradicted claims that there had been interbreeding between Neanderthals and humans of their era. Also, Paabo’s analysis of the gene FOXP2, which was considered essential for language, showed that the Neanderthal’s version of the gene had similarities to the one in modern humans, indicating that Neanderthals might have been able to communicate by speech. n

Paleontology Paleontologist Pleads Guilty to Fossil Theft.

Nathan Murphy, a prominent paleontologist, April 14 pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Great Falls, Mont., to stealing fossils from public land. A sentencing hearing was scheduled for July 9, but prosecutors were not seeking jail time under the plea agreement. Murphy, who was self-taught and did not possess any advanced degrees, in 2000 had led a team that discovered the world’s best-preserved dinosaur, a mummified duckbilled hadrosaur known as Leonardo. [See 1997, p. 739D1; 1996, p. 849G3] Prosecutors said Murphy had stolen fossilized dinosaur bones from public land near Malta, Mont. They said the fossils were valued at about $3,000, and that he had done more than $17,000 worth of damage in committing the theft. Another case in which Murphy was accused of stealing fossils from private land was still under investigation. Murphy in an interview published by the New York Times Jan. 22 had admitted to finding the fossils on privately owned property in 2002, but said he believed he had an agreement to excavate there. President Barack Obama in March had signed a public land management bill that contained for the first time specific penalties for the theft of fossils from public lands. [See p. 245G3] n

People The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., April 13 announced the appointment of poet laureate Kay Ryan to a second oneyear term. Ryan, 63, was originally appointed to the post in July 2008. She would officially conclude her first term in May by giving a reading at the Library of Congress, and would reassume the post in the fall. [See 2008, p. 512D2] n

O B I T UA R I E S BALLARD, J(ames) G(raham), 78, British novelist and short story writer whose wide-ranging, provocative work included apocalyptic science fiction, as well as dystopian tales about the baneful effects of technology on modern civilization and fictionalized autobiography; two of his best-known novels, Crash (1973), about people erotically obsessed with car accidents, and Empire of the Sun (1984), based on his boyhood experiences in Shanghai, China, during the Japanese occupation of that city during World War II, were

made into major films, the latter by Steven Spielberg (1987) and the former by David Cronenberg (1996); born Nov. 15, 1930, in Shanghai; died April 19 in London, of prostate cancer, with which he had been diagnosed in 2006. [See 1987, p. 944F1] BEER, Samuel Hutchison, 97, political scientist who wrote several notable books on British governments, including British Politics in the Collectivist Age (1965); he taught at Harvard University from 1946 to 1982 and was national chairman of the liberal group Americans for Democratic Action from 1959 to 1962; born July 28, 1911, in Bucyrus, Ohio; died April 7 at his home in Washington, D.C. [See 1998, p. 886D1; 1969, p. 100E3; Indexes 1961, 1959] BLANCHARD, Doc (Felix Anthony Blanchard Jr.), 84, powerful fullback who teamed with halfback Glenn Davis on the unbeaten Army football teams of the mid-1940s to form perhaps the greatest backfield in college football history; he rushed for 38 touchdowns and gained 1,908 yards in his three seasons (1944–46) at West Point, and was the first junior to win the Heisman Trophy (in 1945) and the first football player to win the Sullivan Award as the U.S.’s top amateur athlete (in early 1946); he never turned pro but had a long career as a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot; born Dec. 11, 1924, in Bishopville, S.C.; died April 19 at his home in Bulverde, Texas, of pneumonia. [See 2005, p. 176G1; 1946, pp. 394K, 24G; Index 1945] DRUON, Maurice, 90, French author who, as an exile in London during World War II, collaborated with his writer-uncle, Joseph Kessel, on the French lyrics to “The Song of the Partisans,” which became the unofficial anthem of the French Resistance; the song’s original, Russian-language lyrics—and melody—were by Russian-born cabaret artist Anna Marly, who died in 2006; after the war, Druon wrote a series of novels, one of which—Les Grandes Familles—won the prestigious Goncourt Prize in 1948; a member of the French Academy since 1966, he was France’s minister of culture from 1973 to 1974; born April 23, 1918, in Paris; died there April 14, of various cardiovascular problems. [See 2006, p. 199G2; 1974, p. 180G3; Indexes 1973, 1948] FREUD, Sir Clement (Raphael), 84, German-born British journalist, radio personality, restaurateur, bon vivant, and Liberal member of Parliament from 1973 to 1987, the year he was knighted; he was a grandson of psychoanalysis founder Sigmund Freud and a brother of painter Lucian Freud; born April 24, 1924, in Berlin; died April 15 at his home in London. [See 2008, pp. 996G2, 459F1] GEORGE, Lord (Edward Alan John George), 70, governor of the Bank of England, 1993–2003; during his tenure, after Tony Blair became Britain’s prime minister in 1997, the bank for the first time in its history obtained the power to control interest rates; generally known as Eddie George, he was knighted in 2000 and made a life peer in 2004; born Sept. 11, 1938, in Carshalton, England; died April 18, after a long battle with cancer. [See 2003, pp. 560A3, 161F1; 2002, p. 971D3; Indexes 1993–99] KALAS, Harry (Harold Norbert), 73, longtime radio and television broadcaster for Major League Baseball’s Philadelphia Phillies; hired by the Phillies in 1971, he shared broadcasting duties with Richie Ashburn, a former center fielder for the team, until Ashburn’s death in 1997; he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame’s broadcasters’ wing in 2002; besides working for the Phillies, he did commercial voice-overs and narrated for NFL [National Football League] Films; born March 26, 1936, in Chicago; died April 13 after collapsing in the press box at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., before the start of a game that day between the Phillies and the Washington Nationals; his death was later found to have been caused by a preexisting heart condition. [See 1997, p. 700D2] MADDOX, Sir John (Royden), 83, British physicist turned science journalist who, as a longtime editor of the British science magazine Nature (1966–73 and 1980–95), helped bolster its reputation as a journal of record in reporting scientific breakthroughs; he was knighted in 1995; born Nov. 27, 1925, in Penllergaer, Wales; died April 12 in Abergavenny, Wales, of a chest infection and pneumonia contracted after breaking a hip. [See 1988, p. 798G3] SEDGWICK, Eve Kosofsky, 58, literary scholar who pioneered “queer studies,” which unearthed and analyzed homosexual content in books by authors ranging from Jane Austen to Charles Dickens to Henry James; her best-known work was Epistemology of the Closet (1990), published while she was teaching at Duke University; born May 2, 1950, in Dayton, Ohio; died April 12 in New York City, after battling breast cancer for years. n

April 23, 2009

World Health Organization Warns of Worldwide Swine Influenza Pandemic Threat At Least 257 Sickened in 11 Countries. The World Health Organization (WHO)

April 29 raised its pandemic alert level to Phase 5, the second-highest designation, after it was confirmed that dozens of people in several countries had contracted the A (H1N1) swine influenza virus. The WHO in its warning said a global swine flu pandemic was imminent. It was the first time the alert had been raised to Phase 5 since the system was created in 2005. The highest designation, Phase 6, meant that a global pandemic had begun. [See 2004, p. 29G3; 2003, p. 211F3; 1976, p. 224D2] WHO Director General Margaret Chan that day said, “All countries should immediately activate their pandemic preparedness plans.” Health officials said they were especially concerned because they had never before encountered this strain of swine influenza, which could be passed from human to human. Chan said the decision to raise the alert level was made after it was determined that ongoing human-tohuman transmission of the flu was occurring in both the U.S. and Mexico. As of April 30, the WHO reported that 257 people in 11 countries had been confirmed to have the swine flu. However, hundreds more suspected cases of the disease had been reported, but had not yet been confirmed by laboratory tests. Mexico’s government reported 97 confirmed cases, with seven deaths resulting from the flu, although estimates numbered the suspected illnesses at around 1,500 and the deaths at roughly 170. The U.S. said it had confirmed 109 cases of the disease. The other countries that had confirmed cases of the virus were Austria (one), Canada (19), Germany (three), Israel (two), the Netherlands (one), New Zealand (three), Spain (13), Switzerland (one) and Britain (eight). The WHO did not recommend any travel restrictions or border closings to contain the outbreak. Experts said such closings would do little to minimize the transmission of the virus, and could in fact impede efforts to combat the disease by preventing the shipment of needed drugs and other medical equipment. However, the WHO did recommend that people exhibiting signs of illness refrain from traveling internationally, and seek medical attention. The WHO April 27 had raised the alert level from Phase 3 to Phase 4, a designation meaning that there was evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission of a new virus, and that it was spreading to new areas. There were also growing concerns that a possible pandemic could interfere with efforts to revive the slowing global economy. Virus First Detected in California— The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) April 21 reported that it had discovered a previously unknown strain of swine flu in two children living near San Diego, Calif., in areas that bordered Mexico. The CDC said one child had fallen ill on March 28 and the other on March 30, but that neither became seriously sick. CDC of-

ficials also said the virus seemed to have been created under rare circumstances in which two strains of the flu virus had infected the same cell, resulting in a new, hybrid strain in a process known as “gene reassortment.” The CDC April 23 reported that five new cases of infection had been discovered— three in the San Diego area, and two in San Antonio, Texas. Officials also said the virus contained elements of North American swine, bird and human flus, as well as a Eurasian swine flu, a combination never seen before. Also, none of those who had fallen ill had had any contact with pigs, leading health officials to believe that the virus had been transmitted from human to human. Much of Mexico Shut Down— Mexican President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa April 30 ordered the shuttering of nonessential businesses from May 1–5, over fears that hundreds of people in the country had been infected by the virus. However, it remained unclear how the government intended to enforce the order, and several businesses said they intended to defy it. Mexico’s government April 24 closed down schools and museums around Mexico City, the capital, and encouraged anyone exhibiting flu symptoms to stay at home. The government had first noticed a large number of flu illnesses in late March, after the flu season normally concluded. It sent samples to the U.S. and Canada for testing after learning of the new swine flu strain discovered in California. The WHO April 24 reported that there had been some 800 cases of flu in Mexico in recent weeks, with about 60 of them resulting in death. However, it was not clear if all of those deaths were caused by swine flu, or another type of flu virus. The WHO had confirmed only a small number of the cases to be swine flu, although the Mexican government had reported much larger illness and mortality figures that it said were “probably linked to the virus.” Many of the illnesses had progressed beyond the usual symptoms of the flu to serious pneumonia requiring hospitalization. Calderon April 25 issued an order granting the government emergency powers to deal with the outbreak. The government had instructed people to refrain from shaking hands or greeting one another with a kiss on the cheek. Government officials also began the process of closing restaurants and bars, and barred people from attending several public events, including concerts and sporting matches. Mexican Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova April 27 extended mandatory school and university closings across the country. The closings began April 28 and were scheduled to last until May 6. The drop-off in business and tourism that ensued from the swine-flu scare had resulted in losses estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars in Mexico City. The World Bank April 26 said it had authorized

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Volume 69, No. 3567* April 30, 2009

B $25 million in financial aid to Mexico to pay for medical equipment and medicine. It remained unclear why the vast majority of fatalities tied to the flu outbreak had occurred in Mexico, or why most of the victims had been relatively young, between ages 20 and 50. Some health experts theorized that the immune systems of people who had not been exposed to a great number of flu viruses were overreacting, contributing to the deaths. U.S. Declares Emergency—U.S. officials April 26 declared a “public health emergency,” a move that allowed the government to free up funds for antiflu medications and release 25% of the nation’s stockpile of antiviral medications, which held a total of 50 million treatments. The government made the declaration after 20 cases of swine flu were detected in California, Kansas, New York, Ohio and Texas.

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MAJOR STORIES IN THIS ISSUE WHO warns of worldwide swine influenza pandemic threat; at least 257 sickened in 11 countries. PAGE 281

U.S. automaker Chrysler files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. PAGE 282

Sen. Specter switches parties, boosting Democratic majority.

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Obama holds 100th-day news conference. PAGE 285

House, Senate approve $3.56 trillion budget plan. PAGE 285

Supreme Court upholds fines for ‘fleeting expletives.’ PAGE 289

African National Congress dominates South African vote; Zuma set to become next president.

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Ecuadorean President Correa seen winning reelection. PAGE 294

Indonesia holds legislative elections. PAGE 295

Left-wing coalition wins Iceland’s elections. PAGE 295

Series of bombings kill over 180 in Iraq. PAGE 296

*First of two sections Section Two is an interim index. REFERENCES in brackets give location of background information in this & preceding volumes.

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The CDC the same day said eight of the confirmed swine-flu cases had been detected in students who attended St. Francis Preparatory School, a private Roman Catholic school in Fresh Meadows, in the New York City borough of Queens. It was believed that students who had recently traveled to Mexico had brought the virus back to the U.S. City officials April 28 said hundreds of other New York City residents might have also contracted swine flu. U.S. President Barack Obama April 28 requested that Congress authorize $1.5 billion in supplemental funding to help combat a flu outbreak. Obama at a press conference later that day said the swine flu outbreak was “a cause for deep concern, but not panic.” However, Richard Besser, the acting director of the CDC, earlier that day said, “As this moves forward, I fully expect that we will see deaths from this infection.” Federal health officials said it would likely take until early November, or possible January 2010, to create a vaccine that could prevent the new strain of swine flu, the New York Times reported April 29. Officials said it would take additional years to manufacture enough vaccine to immunize people in other countries. A 23-month-old Mexican boy April 27 died in Houston, Texas, becoming the first person to die from swine flu in the U.S. The boy two weeks earlier had been visiting relatives in nearby Brownsville, Texas, on the Mexican border, when he fell ill. He was then airlifted to a Houston hospital, where he remained before dying. The CDC April 29 confirmed that he had contracted swine flu. U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden during a television interview April 30 said he had advised family members to avoid subways and airplanes for fear they would contract swine flu, eliciting criticism from the travel industry. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs later that day said Biden had misspoken, and had intended only to suggest that those exhibiting symptoms of the illness refrain from air travel or using public transportation. The White House April 30 also said a member of the Obama administration who had traveled to Mexico in mid-April as part of a presidential visit had contracted swine flu. The man had reportedly returned to his home in Severna Park, Md., and spread the flu to his wife and son, but all three had recovered from the illness. White House officials said the man had never presented a health threat to Obama. Also, the U.S. Department of Education April 30 estimated that 300 schools in 11 states had closed in response to the flu outbreak. Most of the closed schools were in Texas. Other Countries—Canada April 26 confirmed its first cases of swine flu. Health officials in Spain and Scotland April 27 said they had detected their first cases of the virus, the first time swine flu had been detected outside North America. Cases of the disease April 29 were confirmed in Austria, Germany, Britain, New Zealand and Israel. The virus April 30 was also 282

confirmed in Switzerland and the Netherlands. Pork Trade Hit—Several countries, including Russia, China and the Philippines, April 27 said they would suspend the import of pork products from Mexico and some parts of the U.S., despite the fact that the virus was not believed to be transmitted through cooked meat products. The bans resulted in a drop in U.S. pork, corn and soybean prices. U.S. trade and agriculture officials April 28 warned countries not to ban its pork products. U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk that day said such bans, “may result in serious trade disruptions without cause.” Egypt’s government April 29 said it had begun culling pig herds, despite WHO officials’ statements that such killings would not prevent the spread of the disease. The decision reportedly strained ties between the country’s Muslims, who did not eat pork, and its Coptic Christian minority. n

U.S. Automaker Chrysler Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Some Bondholders Reject Swap. U.S. Pres-

ident Barack Obama April 30 announced that Auburn Hills, Mich.–based automaker Chrysler LLC, which since December 2008 had been dependent on billions of dollars in federal government loans to continue its operations, would file for bankruptcy that day after the government was unable to agree on a debt-for-cash swap with all of the company’s bondholders, who owned about $6.9 billion in secured company debt. While Chrysler’s four biggest creditors—banks Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley, which together owned about 70% of Chrysler’s secured debt—had accepted a government offer of $2 billion in cash for their share, a group of smaller investors rejected the swap, apparently believing they could get more back on their investments in bankruptcy court. [See below, p. 197A2] Chrysler filed its restructuring plan in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York City April 30. In a fact sheet distributed by the White House, the administration said daily operations at Chrysler would “continue operating in the ordinary course…the day after the filing will not be materially different than the day before the filing.” The administration ruled out the possibility that Chrysler would be liquidated, and Obama said he expected Chrysler to “emerge from this process stronger and more competitive.” Obama said Chrysler, while in bankruptcy restructuring, would also go through with a previously planned merger with Italian automaker Fiat SpA. Under the deal, Fiat would provide fuel-efficiency technologies to Chrysler in exchange for a stake in the company and use of Chrysler’s factories to produce Fiat vehicles for sale in the U.S. The alliance between the two automakers would result in the creation of

the sixth-largest automaker in the world. [See p. 198C3] A day earlier, the United Auto Workers (UAW) labor union had approved contract modifications that the government had mandated in order for Chrysler to receive additional loans. The union agreed to a reduction in Chrysler’s retiree health care obligations; in exchange, the retiree health care trust would receive a 55% stake in the restructured company. [See below] Chrysler Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Robert Nardelli April 30 said he would leave the company, with no severance package, and take a position at Cerberus Capital Management LP, Chrysler’s parent company, whose stake would be wiped out in the restructuring. Chrysler’s board of directors would be replaced, and the new board was expected to replace Nardelli. The U.S. Treasury would select four of the new directors, Fiat would select three directors, and the UAW and the Canadian government would each name one director. The bankruptcy filing was expected to lead to a protracted court battle between Chrysler’s creditors, dealers and parts suppliers. Chrysler’s bankruptcy restructuring would be the first by a U.S. automobile manufacturer since Studebaker Corp. in 1933. Chrysler, founded in 1925 as Chrysler Corp., had been rescued from the threat of bankruptcy by a federal package of loan guarantees in 1979. [See 1983, p. 543G3] Among the other of the U.S.’s “Big Three” Michigan-based car makers, General Motors Corp. (GM) had until May 31 to broker a deal with its bondholders and union workers, in order to present a sustainable restructuring plan to the government. The government April 24 had disbursed another $2 billion in loans to GM, bringing the total loaned to $15.4 billion. Ford Motor Co. had not accepted government loans, and despite posting a $1.4 billion loss April 24, said it did not expect that it would need government aid in 2009. Obama Pledges Swift Restructuring—

Obama April 30 pledged that Chrysler’s restructuring would be “quick, official and controlled,” and would lead to a new Chrysler that had “a balance sheet and a set of liabilities that are sustainable.” Officials estimated that the restructuring would last 30 to 60 days, though some analysts suggested that it could take much longer. Once restructuring was complete, Chrysler would receive approximately $4.7 billion in new government financing. Additional loans would come from the government of Canada, where Chrysler had substantial operations. The U.S. government would also provide up to $3.3 billion in “debtor-in-possession” funding for Chrysler to continue operating while it underwent bankruptcy restructuring. When Chrysler emerged from bankruptcy, the UAW would own 55% of Chrysler, Fiat would own 20% with options to increase its stake to 35%, the U.S. government would hold 8%, and Canada 2%. Fiat FACTS ON FILE

would be able to increase its ownership stake after reaching certain milestones, such as manufacturing a vehicle for sale in the U.S. that performed at 40 miles per gallon of gasoline. Obama Blasts Holdout Creditors—Obama, in his April 30 address, sharply criticized the Chrysler bondholders who had refused the debt-for-cash swap. He said, “A group of investment firms and hedge funds decided to hold out…they were hoping that everybody else would make sacrifices and they would have to make none.” He said some had “demanded twice the return that other lenders were getting,” and added, “I do not stand with them.” The majority of Chrysler’s creditors would go ahead with the $2 billion cash-fordebt swap, and, accoring to the government fact sheet, “the Bankruptcy Court process will be used to confirm this treatment on those lenders that failed to accept the offer that was accepted by the majority.” The swap holdouts, in a collective statement released the same day, argued that their major investors were organizations like pension funds, teachers’ unions and school endowments, and they were legally required to protect their clients’ investments. They noted that none of the approximately 20 objecting companies had received aid from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), under which $700 billion had been disbursed to help ailing financial institutions. (The four banks that held the majority of Chrysler’s debt had all accepted TARP funds.) The holdout creditors also complained that GM’s secured debtholders were “being left unimpaired with 100% recoveries,” while Chrysler’s creditors were asked to take significant losses. [See 2008, p. 693A1] Parent Company To Give Up Stake—

Under the April 30 plan, Cerberus Capital Management LP, Chrysler’s parent company, would forfeit its entire 80.1% stake in Chrysler; Germany’s Daimler AG, which owned the remaining 19.1%, would see its stake wiped out as well. Both would waive their claims on Chrysler’s less-senior debt, and Daimler would forgive loans made to Chrysler in 2007, when Cerberus bought its stake from Daimler. Daimler would also pay $600 million into Chrysler workers’ pension fund. [See 2007, p. 309E1] Chrysler Financial, Chrysler’s financing company, which had accepted a $1.5 billion federal loan in January, would merge with GMAC LLC, the financing arm of GM and a major source of auto loans in the U.S. GMAC had accepted a $6 billion federal loan in December 2008. [See p. 47D3] UAW Approves Contract Modifications—

The UAW April 29 ratified contract modifications with Chrysler, under which Chrysler would pay $4.6 billion into a UAW retiree health care fund, and the health care trust would receive a 55% stake in Chrysler. Prior to the new contract, Chrysler had owed about $10 billion in retiree health care obligations. Workers also April 30, 2009

approved some wage cuts. Chrysler’s Canadian Auto Workers union April 26 had also approved concessionary contract modifications. [See p. 184C1] n

Global Economy World Bank, IMF Hold Spring Meetings.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) April 25–26 held their annual spring meetings in Washington, D.C., where IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said the fund would soon issue bonds for the first time, in an effort to boost the IMF’s capacity to make loans to countries hard hit by the global economic crisis. The new plan was part of a drive by the Group of 20 (G-20) advanced and emerging economies to increase the amount of funds available to the IMF to $1 trillion, a goal they had set at a London summit in early April. [See p. 193A1] The G-20 had committed to increasing IMF funding to $750 billion, from its current $250 billion. (The G-20 also said the IMF would facilitate international trade by issuing $250 billion worth of Special Drawing Rights—financial instruments that acted like currency—to pad individual countries’ foreign currency reserves.) The U.S., Japan and the European Union had each pledged an additional $100 billion to the IMF, but India, China, Russia, Brazil and other emerging economies were reluctant to commit additional money until the IMF changed its voting structure to give them greater representation. Critics said small, European countries retained a disproportionate amount of influence at the IMF, which was created after World War II. By issuing bonds, the IMF could raise much-needed funds before addressing changes to its voting structure, which it was scheduled to do in 2011. Only central banks would be allowed to buy the bonds, which would be denominated in Special Drawing Rights, and have a maturity date of one to two years. Bond sales would finance an emergency credit line, known as the New Arrangement to Borrow, which had been established for countries that were considered economically sound but were struggling to obtain credit because of the global downturn. The credit line was free of the requirements that the IMF traditionally imposed on borrowers, such as spending cuts and tax increases. Mexico April 17 gained IMF approval for a $47 billion loan through the credit line. Colombia April 21 had requested a $10.4 billion loan from the credit line, and Poland April 14 had requested a $20.5 billion loan. G-7 Sees ‘Signs of Stabilization’— Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of Seven (G-7) advanced economies—the U.S., Britain, France, Japan, Canada, Germany and Italy—April 24 held a meeting in Washington, and later issued a communique saying that “the pace of decline in our economies has slowed and some signs of stabilization are emerging.”

However, G-7 officials warned that countries had to act quickly to resolve problems in the financial system if the global economy was to recover. British Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling said, “If we do not fix the banks, we will not fix the economy.” [See p. 177A1] The G-7 also encouraged China to continue “its commitment to move to a more flexible exchange rate.” The U.S. and other countries had long pressed China, which controlled the value of the yuan against the U.S. dollar, to allow it to rise from what critics called an artificially low level that made China’s exports cheaper and increased its trade surplus. [See p. 30C2] (The U.S. Treasury, in an April 15 semiannual report to the U.S. Congress, declined to formally label China, or any other country, a currency manipulator. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in a January statement before his confirmation had suggested that China was “manipulating” its currency, a finding that could prompt retaliatory measures.) Economic officials from the G-20— which included the G-7 and emerging economies like China, India and Brazil— also held a meeting later that day in Washington, which U.S. Treasury officials said was intended to “build on” the progress made at the London meeting in early April. IMF Releases Economic Forecast—The IMF April 22 released its World Economic Outlook report, finding that the current global downturn “was by far the deepest global recession since the Great Depression.” The IMF said the global economy in 2009 would contract at a rate of 1.3%, and grow at an anemic 1.9% rate in 2010. Those were downward revisions from the IMF’s January forecast, which had said the global economy would grow at a rate of 0.5% in 2009, and at a 3.0% rate in 2010. [See p. 58E1] The IMF said countries in 2010 could need to enact additional fiscal stimulus measures—such as tax breaks and increased government spending—to bolster their economies. The IMF said the U.S. remained the “epicenter” of the downturn, and that its economy would contract at a 2.8% rate in 2009. The IMF said U.S. hopes for an economic turnaround depended on the success of a recently unveiled program to cleanse the banking system of toxic mortgage-backed assets and other unsalable credit derivatives. [See p. 291C3] The IMF April 21 reported that problems in financial markets between 2007 and 2010 could lead to a total of $4.1 trillion in losses for companies in the U.S., Europe and Japan. The IMF said U.S. companies had written down the value of their assets by $510 billion in 2008, and would make additional write-downs of $550 billion in 2009 and 2010. The IMF said the eurozone—comprised of the sixteen EU countries that used the euro currency—had only made $154 billion in write-downs in 2008, and would have to report an additional $750 billion in write-downs over the next two years, sug283

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court in Stockholm, Sweden’s capital, April 17 found four men connected with the file-sharing Web site Pirate Bay guilty of aiding copyright infringement. The defendants—the site’s founders, Frederik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg and Peter Sunde; and Carl Lundstrom, who had provided funding—were each sentenced to a year in prison and ordered to pay 30 million Swedish kronor ($3.6 million) in damages. [See 2008, p. 854E2; 2007, p. 97A2, B3; 2006, p. 627D3] Pirate Bay was one of the world’s most prominent sites for sharing music, video and other files—many of them in violation of copyrights—with an estimated 22 million users reported in February. Pirate Bay did not actually host shared files, but provided links to files hosted elsewhere on the Internet. The charges had been supported by a consortium of international media and entertainment companies, led by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. The music industry had been particularly hard hit by illegal file-sharing. Early in the trial, which began Feb. 16, prosecutors had dropped a more serious charge of “assisting copyright infringement” after they could not convince the jury that Pirate Bay was illegally distributing files itself. The defendants were instead convicted of “assisting making available copyrighted content” relating to 33 specific files, and were ordered to pay damages to 17 different companies. The defendants said they would appeal the verdict, a process that could take several years, and that they would continue to operate Pirate Bay in the meantime. Sunde in an online press conference said the verdict was “bizarre” and added, “We can’t pay and we wouldn’t pay” the damages. A Swedish law banning illegal file-sharing and forcing Internet service providers to turn over information on file-sharers to copyright holders had taken effect April 1, reportedly triggering a sharp drop in Internet traffic in the country. Sweden had been known as a center of illegal file-sharing, and analysts said the drop was a sign that the law had deterred some people. Legislators were seeking to pass similar anti–filesharing laws in France and Britain. n

former Rep. Pat Toomey (R, Pa.), who had lost to him by less than two percentage points in the 2004 primary, despite Republican President George W. Bush’s support for Specter. [See 2004, p. 305E1] Toomey, 47, had announced April 15 that he would challenge Specter again. In order to do so, he resigned as president of the Club for Growth, an antitax group that had financed conservative primary challenges against a number of moderate Republican incumbents in Congress. Specter said that since he was first elected in 1980, “The Republican Party has moved far to the right.” He added, “Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans.” He said his decision to cast the pivotal vote for Obama’s $787 billion economic stimulus package in February, along with just two other Republican senators and the Democratic majority, had angered Pennsylvania Republicans so much that it “caused a schism which makes our differences irreconcilable.” [See p. 89A1] However, he said, “My change in party affiliation does not mean I will be a partyline voter any more for Democrats than I have been for Republicans,” and that he would “not be an automatic 60th vote.” He said he would not yield in his opposition to a bill backed by Democrats, the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier to organize unions by removing a requirement for secret ballots. He had first announced his opposition to the bill March 24, citing concerns that it would hurt businesses during the current recession. Supporters of the bill had counted on

U N I T ESTATES D S TAT E S UNITED

Sen. Specter Switches Parties, Boosting Democratic Majority Faced Difficult Republican Primary Fight.

Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) April 28 announced that he had switched parties after 28 years in the Senate, leaving the Republican party to join the Democratic majority. Specter’s move tightened Democratic control of Congress, bringing the Senate Democrats within reach of the 60 votes they needed to prevent Republican filibusters. But Specter, 79, who was known as a moderate with an independent streak, warned that he would not be a “party-line voter” for Democratic President Barack Obama’s agenda. [See p. 242F2; 2004, p. 927F2] Specter was the first senator to defect from a party since 2001, when Sen. James Jeffords (Vt.) left the Republicans to become an independent caucusing with the Democrats. Jeffords’s switch shifted control of the Senate to the Democrats until the Republicans won it back in the 2002 elections. [See 2001, p. 385A1] Specter’s switch left the Democrats in their most dominant position since 1977– 78, during the administration of President Jimmy Carter, when they had 61 senators as well as a House majority. Neither party had boasted at least 60 senators since then. With Specter, the Democrats now had 59 members in their caucus, including two independents. They were also in a position to pick up one more seat, pending a legal battle over the November 2008 election in Minnesota, where Democrat Al Franken held a narrow lead over Republican Norm Coleman after a recount. Cites ‘Bleak’ Polls—In a statement to the media at the Capitol, Specter acknowledged that he had decided to switch parties after concluding, based on his own “bleak” polling, that he could not win a Republican primary for reelection to a sixth term in April 2010. He faced a challenge from

Facts On File World News Digest With Index Ron Sachs–Pool/Getty Images

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gesting that European financial institutions had not moved as quickly as their U.S. counterparts to address systemic instabilities. The IMF April 22 reported in its World Economic Outlook that the economy of the EU as a whole would contract at a 4% rate in 2009, further dimming the continent’s near-term economic prospects. The World Bank April 23 announced that it would lend developing countries $45 billion over the next three years for infrastructure development. The bank April 21 had said it would funnel $12 billion in loans to developing countries to bolster food, health and education programs. n

(ISSN 0014-6641) Publication #183680 EDITOR IN CHIEF: Jonathan Taylor MANAGING EDITOR: Jennifer Dunham SENIOR EDITOR: Joshua Lustig EDITORS: Rahul Chadha, Ian McGullam, Ryu Spaeth ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Todd Grennan, Shannon O’Toole DATABASE COORDINATOR: Ben Miller INDEX EDITOR: Jonathan Leith COPY EDITOR: Walter Kronenberg EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS: Ingrid Jungermann, Ernesto Malinis Jr. FACTS ON FILE World News Digest is published weekly by Facts On File News Services, an imprint of Infobase Publishing, 132 West 31st Street, 17th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001 (212-290-8090). Subscription $900 a year. Yearbooks (bound volumes) available from 1941. Cumulative Index published twice a month. Vice President & Publisher: Louise Bloomfield. Associate Publisher: Marjorie B. Bank. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y. and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Facts On File World News Digest, Facts On File News Services, 132 West 31st Street, 17th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001

Sen. Arlen Specter (D, Pa.) at an April 29 news conference discussing his switch from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party.

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him to provide the 60th vote to cut off debate on the bill and bring it to a vote, since he had been the lone Republican to do so in 2007, when the bill fell well short of that threshold. [See p. 165B1] Specter said Democratic leaders had promised him that he would retain his seniority on the Judiciary and Appropriations committees, as though he had been a Democrat since he was first elected to the Senate. Republican Reaction—Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, the executive body of the Republican Party, April 28 had harsh parting words for Specter, saying, “Let’s be honest—Senator Specter didn’t leave the GOP based on principles of any kind. He left to further his personal political interests because he knew he was going to lose a Republican primary due to his left-wing voting record.” According to an April 28 Congressional Quarterly report, Specter voted against the Republican party line 38% of the time in 2008 and 51% of the time in 2007. Sen. Olympia Snowe (R, Maine), whose voting record was even more independent than Specter’s, said his defection showed that “the party is truly on its way to becoming a regional party.” Republicans had lost congressional seats, and voters, in the Northeast and the West in recent years, leaving the party with fewer moderates and an increasingly conservative base that had its stronghold in the South. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R, Ky.) said Specter’s defection could leave the Republicans unable to “restrain the excess that is typically associated with big majorities and single-party rule.” Obama Welcomes Specter at Meeting—

Obama April 29 welcomed Specter to the Democratic Party at a White House meeting also attended by Vice President Joseph Biden, a longtime Senate colleague of Specter’s from the neighboring state of Delaware. Biden had often pressed Specter over the past several months to switch parties. Specter said, “I think that I can be of assistance to you, Mr. President,” adding, “There are a lot of big issues we’re tackling now that I’ve been deeply involved in.” One of the issues he mentioned was funding for health research—he had survived recent bouts with cancer. Obama said, “I don’t expect Arlen to be a rubber stamp.” He added, “In fact, I’d like to think that Arlen’s decision reflects recognition that this administration is open to many different ideas and many different points of view.” Obama and Biden pledged to support Specter’s 2010 reelection bid as a Democrat, and Obama reportedly committed to campaign and raise money for Specter if necessary. n

Obama Administration Obama Holds 100th Day News Conference.

President Barack Obama April 29 held an hour-long, prime-time news conference at the White House to mark his 100th day in office. In an opening statement, Obama said his economic policies were designed April 30, 2009

not only to end the current recession but to build a “new foundation for growth.” He said, “I think we’re off to a good start, but it’s just a start,” adding, “We have a lot of work to do.” [See pp. 291C3, 285D1] Obama’s efforts to counter the most severe recession since the Great Depression had drawn comparisons to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s blitz of legislative activity in his first 100 days in office in 1933. [See 1945, p. 121K] The first question from reporters was about the spread of a new strain of swine influenza virus from Mexico and whether the U.S. was doing enough to contain it. Obama said his health advisers had not yet recommended closing the border, but “we have ramped up screening efforts” there. He noted that he had asked Congress for $1.5 billion in funding for vaccine research and stockpiling. [See p. 281A1] He urged people to take basic hygiene precautions, saying, “Wash your hands when you shake hands; cover your mouth when you cough. I know it sounds trivial, but it makes a huge difference.” Asked about the federal government’s recent moves to take ownership stakes in U.S. automakers General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, as well as in banks and other financial institutions, Obama said it was necessary to keep the companies afloat and prevent systemic risk to the economy. [See pp. 291G1, 282C2] But he denied that it reflected an ideological preference for government intervention in the private sector. He said, “I don’t want to run auto companies. I don’t want to run banks. I’ve got two wars I’ve got to run already. I’ve got more than enough to do. So the sooner we can get out of that business, the better.” Obama defended his decision to bar the use of harsh interrogation methods on terrorism suspects. The techniques were authorized by the administration of his predecessor, George W. Bush, in legal documents recently declassified by Obama. Obama called one such method, waterboarding—which simulated drowning—a form of “torture.” He said the use of such techniques “corrodes the character of a country.” [See p. 289A2] Obama rejected recent claims by former Vice President Dick Cheney that the harsh interrogations were justified because they had extracted vital intelligence that thwarted terrorist plots. Obama said he had read the still-classified reports that Cheney referred to in his comments, but insisted, “We could have gotten this information in other ways.” In response to a question about the threat posed by Islamic fundamentalist Taliban fighters to the stability of Pakistan, Obama said the Pakistani government was “very fragile,” but he was “confident” that the country’s military could safeguard its nuclear weapons. [See p. 298B1] Asked about immigration reform, Obama said he backed legislation that would provide illegal immigrants with a path to citizenship, but indicated that he did not expect immediate action by Congress. He also said that an abortion rights bill was “not my highest legislative priority.”

Polls Show High Public Approval—

Most polls continued to show that public approval ratings for Obama’s performance remained high at the 100-day mark. The Web site RealClearPolitics.com’s average of 10 national polls taken April 21–28 showed Obama’s approval rating at 61.6% and disapproval at 30.9%. n

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Sebelius Confirmed as HHS Secretary.

The Senate April 28 voted, 65–31, to confirm Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Sebelius hours later was sworn in at a ceremony in her new office attended by President Barack Obama, thus completing Obama’s cabinet. Kansas Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson (D) the same evening was sworn in as governor. [See p. 221B1] Republicans had sought to delay Sebelius’s confirmation, citing her support of abortion rights. However, opposition to her had waned as fears of a possible swine flu pandemic grew. Democrats had intensified their calls for Sebelius’s confirmation, arguing that the post needed to be filled in order to effectively address the flu outbreak. Obama also sought Sebelius’s nomination in order to have her oversee his ambitious plans to overhaul the U.S.’s health care system. [See p. 245C2] The Senate Finance Committee April 21 had approved her nomination, 15–8. n

Federal Budget House, Senate Approve $3.56 Trillion Plan.

The House and Senate April 29 both voted to give final approval to a $3.56 trillion budget blueprint for fiscal year 2010, which would begin Oct. 1. No members of the Republican minorities in either chamber voted for the plan, which was known as a budget resolution. It was nonbinding, but set guidelines for tax and spending legislation to come later in the year. [See p. 217E3] The House voted, 233–193, to approve the resolution, with 17 Democrats voting against it alongside the Republicans. The Senate approved the plan by a vote of 53– 43; four Democrats (including Sen. Arlen Specter, who had announced his switch from the Republican Party the previous day) voted against it with the Republicans. [See p. 284A2] The plan largely followed President Barack Obama’s budget proposal issued in February, and its approval gave him a victory on his 100th day in office. But the congressional blueprint trimmed his overall spending request for domestic programs by about $10 billion and excluded some of his main tax proposals. The blueprint also omitted Obama’s proposal to set aside $250 billion in case the government needed more funds to stabilize the weakened financial system. The blueprint included controversial provisions that would prevent Republicans from using Senate filibusters to block Obama’s plans for health-care and studentlending reforms, which would expand the federal role in both of those markets. The so-called budget reconciliation instructions (continued on p. 289A1) 285

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THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION: THE CABINET AND OTHER TOP OFFICIALS

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Following are biographies of cabinet members and top officials in President Barack Obama’s administration [See p. 285G1; 2005, p. 99A1]:

tary in November 2008. [See p. 44D1; 2008, pp. 738C1, 177D2] Geithner was married, with two children.

THE CABINET

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton

Robert Gates was born Sept. 25, 1943, in Wichita, Kan. He received a bachelor’s degree in history from the College of William and Mary in 1965, and a master’s in history from Indiana University in 1966. He received a Ph.D. in Russian and Soviet history from Georgetown University in 1974. Gates joined the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in 1976, and eventually became one of the agency’s top Soviet analysts. He was assigned to the staff of the National Security Council (NSC) in 1974. Gates returned to the CIA in 1979, and in 1982 he became deputy director for intelligence. He was named deputy director of central intelligence in March 1986, and became acting director when William Casey became ill later that year. Casey resigned for health reasons in 1987, and President Ronald Reagan nominated Gates to succeed him. However, when the Senate began probing Gates’s role in the Iran-contra scandal, Gates withdrew from consideration. [See 1987, p. 140C2; 1986, p. 190G3] President George H. W. Bush named Gates deputy national security adviser in 1988. Gates held that position until 1991, when Bush nominated him to replace William Webster, who had succeeded Casey as director of central intelligence. In his confirmation hearing, the Senate again focused on his knowledge of the Iran-contra affair. Nevertheless, Gates was confirmed as the 15th director of the CIA, and headed the agency until 1993, when President Bill Clinton took office. In 2002, Gates became the 22nd president of Texas A&M University. [See 1991, p. 840F3; 1988, p. 973D1] President George W. Bush nominated Gates to replace the resigning Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in November 2006, while Gates was a member of the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan commission studying the Bush administration’s Iraq policy. Gates was confirmed the following month. As defense secretary, Gates oversaw the so-called surge that deployed 30,000 additional U.S. troops to Iraq, and also began reforms of Army medical facilities and the U.S. nuclear arsenal. President Barack Obama in December 2008 said he would retain Gates as defense secretary. [See 2008, p. 880B3; 2006, p. 924A2] Gates and his wife had two children.

Hillary Rodham Clinton was born Oct. 26, 1947, in Park Ridge, Ill. She received a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College in 1969, and received a law degree from Yale Law School in 1973. At Yale, she met Bill Clinton, whom she married in 1975. They had a daughter, Chelsea, in 1980. Clinton pursued a career as a lawyer in Arkansas, where her husband won election as state attorney general and then governor. She became first lady of the U.S. upon his election as president in 1992. [See 1992, p. 8259A1] She became a controversial national figure during his presidency. Her leadership of a health-care reform task force drew criticism, and Congress abandoned her plan for universal health insurance in 1994. Her and her husband’s real-estate dealings came under scrutiny in the lengthy Whitewater investigation, and political opponents criticized her ethics in various other matters. The scandals culminated in Bill Clinton’s impeachment for lying about his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, and his 1999 acquittal by the Senate. [See 2002, p. 209B2; 1994, p. 701B1] Making her first foray as a political candidate in her own right, Hillary Clinton won a New York Senate election in 2000. She won reelection in 2006, then launched a campaign for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. She conceded defeat in June to then-Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) after a long primary battle. Obama, as president-elect, named her as his nominee for secretary of state in December 2008, and she was confirmed by the Senate in January. [See p. 29F2; 2008, p. 392A3; 2000, p. 855E1] Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner

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Timothy Geithner was born Aug. 18, 1961, in New York City. He spent his childhood in various countries—including India, China and Japan—and attended high school at the International School of Bangkok in Thailand. Geithner attended Dartmouth College, where he studied Chinese and Japanese, and graduated in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in government and Asian studies. He graduated from the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in 1985 with a master’s degree in international economics and East Asian studies. Geithner joined the Treasury Department in 1988, where he subsequently served in various positions under three administrations. From 1999 to 2001, he was the undersecretary of the Treasury for international affairs, working for Treasury Secretaries Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers, both of whom were considered his mentors. (Summers was currently the director of the White House National Economic Council.) From 2001 to 2003, Geithner was the director of the policy development and review department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In 2003, Geithner was named president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a position he held until he was confirmed as Treasury secretary in January. As president of the New York Fed, Geithner played a central role in shaping the Bush administration’s response to the financial crisis that struck in 2008. President-elect Barack Obama nominated Geithner as Treasury secre-

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Attorney General Eric Holder Jr.

Eric Holder Jr. was born Jan. 21, 1951, in New York City. He graduated from Columbia University in 1973 with a bachelor’s degree in American History and received his law degree in 1976 from Columbia Law School. He worked for the Justice Department from 1976 to 1988, was appointed to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia as an associate judge in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan. He served as the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., from 1993 to 1997 following his appointment by President Bill Clinton. [See pp. 30F2, 16E2; 2008, p. 880C3] Holder was named deputy attorney general by Clinton in 1997, becoming the first black person to hold that position. During his tenure, he attracted controversy for approving the commutation of prison sentences for 16 members of the Armed Forces of National Liberation (FALN), a Puerto Rican nationalist group that had carried out terrorist acts, and for failing to block the pardoning of fugitive business-

man Marc Rich. In 2001, Holder temporarily held the position of Acting Attorney General under President George W. Bush prior to the confirmation of Attorney General John Ashcroft. Holder joined the law firm of Covington & Burling LLP in 2001 as a partner. He also served as a senior legal adviser to President Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. Holder was married and had three children. Obama picked him as his nominee for attorney general in December 2008; he was confirmed by the Senate in February. [See p. 60E3] Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar

Kenneth Salazar was born in Alamosa, Colo., on March 2, 1955, to a family that had settled in Colorado several generations ago, and was raised on a remote ranch without a telephone or electricity. He graduated from Colorado College in Colorado Springs in 1977 with a bachelor’s degree in political science, and then received a law degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in 1981. Salazar practiced private water and environmental law for several years before joining the administration of Colorado Gov. Roy Romer (D) in 1986 as chief legal counsel. In 1990, Salazar became the executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, a post he held for four years. In 1994, he returned to the practice of private law, but won election as Colorado state attorney general in 1998. Salazar won reelection to the attorney general post in 2002, and then waged a successful candidacy for a U.S. Senate seat in Colorado in 2004, becoming the second Hispanic since 1977 to be elected to the chamber. Presidentelect Barack Obama in December 2008 announced his intent to nominate Salazar as secretary of the Interior Department. Salazar was confirmed by the Senate in January. [See p. 26C3; 2008, p. 918E1; 2004, p. 870B3] Salazar and his wife had two children. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack

Thomas Vilsack was born Dec. 13, 1950, in Pittsburgh, Pa., and was raised at an orphanage before he was adopted in 1951 by Bud and Dolly Vilsack. In 1972, Vilsack received a bachelor’s degree in history from Hamilton College in New York. He went on to earn a degree from Albany Law School, also in New York, in 1975. After receiving his law degree, Vilsack moved to Iowa, his wife Ann Bell’s home state. There Vilsack joined Bell’s father’s law practice. He began his political career in 1987 when he became mayor of Mount Pleasant, Iowa. In 1992, Vilsack was elected an Iowa state senator, and in 1998 he was elected the first Democratic governor of Iowa in more than 30 years. He served as governor for two four-year terms. In 2006, Vilsack announced that he would run for president, but withdrew in 2007, citing inadequate funding. President-elect Barack Obama in December 2008 nominated Vilsack to serve as agriculture secretary, and he was confirmed by the Senate to the position in January. Vilsack was known as an advocate for agribusiness, and was also expected to significantly expand nutrition programs for children. [See pp. 26C3, 18A1] Vilsack and Bell had two adult children. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke

Gary Locke was born Jan. 21, 1950, in Seattle, Wash., to Chinese immigrants. He

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spent the first few years of his life in a public housing project for World War II veterans and their families. In 1972, Locke received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Yale University, and in 1975, received a law degree from Boston University. After receiving his law degree, Locke worked as a deputy prosecutor in King County, Wash., and in 1982 was elected to the Washington State House of Representatives. In 1993, Locke worked as King County’s chief executive, and in 1996, was elected Washington’s governor. He was the first and thus far the only Chinese American to serve as a state governor in the U.S. Locke was reelected to a second term in 2000. He declined to run for a third term, and stepped down in 2005 to work at an international law firm, where he cochaired its China practice. Locke was nominated as commerce secretary in February and confirmed by the Senate the following month. His confirmation came after two previous nominees for the post— New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) and Sen. Judd Gregg (R, N.H.)—withdrew their candidacies. [See p. 181E3] Locke was married, with three children. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis

Hilda Solis was born Oct. 20, 1957, in Los Angeles. Solis, the daughter of immigrants from Mexico and Nicaragua, in 1979 graduated from California Polytechnic University with a degree in political science, and in 1981 received a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Southern California. After college, she held several positions in the White House, working as an analyst for the civil rights division of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and in the Office of Hispanic Affairs. In 1985, Solis was elected a member of the Rio Hondo Community College Board of Trustees. In 1992, Solis was elected a member of the California State Assembly, and in 1994, became the first Hispanic woman to be elected to the California State Senate. She was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000. Solis, who was married, was nominated to become labor secretary in December 2008, and was confirmed by the Senate in February. [See p. 113D1] Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius

Kathleen Sebelius was born May 15, 1948, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her father, John Gilligan (D), served as the governor of Ohio from 1971 to 1975. Sebelius attended Trinity Washington University in Washington, D.C., graduating in 1970 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. From 1975 to 1978 she worked as a special assistant to the Kansas secretary of corrections. In 1978 she received her masters degree in public administration from the University of Kansas in Lawrence. Sebelius from 1978 to 1986 served as the executive director of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association. In 1986 she made a successful bid for a seat in the Kansas House of Representatives, which she held until 1994. In that year she became the insurance commissioner for Kansas, serving two terms in the post. In 2002 she defeated Tim Shallenburger in the race for Kansas’s governorship, and was reelected in 2006. Sebelius’s victory made her and Gilligan the first father-daughter team to serve as governors in U.S. history. [See 2002, p. 855G1] Sebelius was an early supporter of Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign. Obama nominated her as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services April 30, 2009

(HHS) in March, about a month after Obama’s first pick, former Sen. Tom Daschle (D, S.D.) withdrew his nomination due to tax problems. [See p. 129C1] Sebelius, who was confirmed as HHS secretary in April, was a Roman Catholic who supported abortion rights. She was married to federal Magistrate Judge Gary Sebelius and had two sons. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan

California at Berkeley in 1976; he worked as a postdoctoral fellow in physics at Berkeley from 1976 to 1978. [See pp. 26C3, 17A3; 1997, p. 778D3] Chu was hired by AT&T Bell Laboratories in 1978 and worked at the facility until 1987. During his time there, Chu carried out experiments involving the use of lasers and extreme cold to isolate and control atoms. He was awarded the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics (along with William Phillips and France’s Claude Cohen-Tannoudji) for his work in that area. He was a professor of physics and applied physics at Stanford University from 1987 until 2004, when he became the director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. President-elect Barack Obama nominated Chu as energy secretary in December 2008, and he was confirmed by the Senate in January. [See p. 26C3] Chu was married with two children from a previous marriage.

Shaun Donovan was born Jan. 24, 1966, in New York City. He received a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Harvard University in 1987, and master’s degrees in architecture and public administration from Harvard in 1995. Donovan served as a special assistant at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) from 1998 to 2000, during the administration of President Bill Clinton. In 2000, became the department’s deputy assistant secretary for multifamily housing, where he was responsible for overseeing privatelyowned multifamily housing. After President George W. Bush took office in January 2001, Donovan served from 2001 to 2002 as a consultant to the Millennial Housing Commission, which he advised on strategies to increase multifamily house production. During that time, he also was a visiting scholar at New York University, researching and writing on the preservation of public housing assistance. From 2002 to 2004, Donovan worked as Prudential Mortgage Capital Co.’s director of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and affordable housing initiatives. In 2004, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) tapped him as the commissioner of the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development, where he was tasked with building 165,000 units of affordable housing by 2013. Donovan took a leave of absence in 2008 to work on the presidential campaign of thenSen. Barack Obama (D, Ill.). Obama, as president-elect, in December 2008 announced that he would appoint Donovan as HUD secretary, and he was confirmed in January. [See p. 30B1; 2008, p. 918F3] Donovan was married, with two sons.

Arne Duncan was born Nov. 6, 1964, in Chicago. Duncan, the son of two educators, graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1987, with a degree in sociology. He also played on Harvard’s basketball team, and from 1987 to 1991, played professional basketball in Australia. From 1991 to 1998, Duncan served as director of the Ariel Education Initiative, a non-profit organization that advocated for better schools for poor children living in Chicago’s South Side. In 1992, he helped found Ariel Community Academy, a charter school, which he ran until 1998. From 1998 to 2001, he served as the director of Chicago’s magnet schools and as deputy chief of staff to Paul Vallas, who was then chief executive officer (CEO) of the city’s public school system. In 2001, Duncan was appointed by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) to serve as CEO of Chicago public schools, and held that position until he was confirmed by the Senate as education secretary in January. He had been nominated to the post in December 2008. [See pp. 26C3, 18C1] Duncan was married with two children.

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki

Raymond LaHood was born Dec. 6, 1945, in Peoria, Ill. In 1971, he received bachelor’s degrees in education and sociology from Bradley University, in Peoria. From 1972 to 1974, LaHood worked as the director of Rock Island County Youth Services Bureau in Illinois. From 1974 to 1977, he was chief planner for the Bi-States Metropolitan Planning Commission in Illinois. He also worked briefly as a junior high school teacher. From 1977 to 1982, LaHood worked as an aide to Rep. Thomas Railsback (R, Ill.). From 1982 to 1983, he served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives. From 1983 to 1994, he served as chief of staff to Rep. Robert Michel (R, Ill.), and in 1994 was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served until 2009. Obama announced LaHood as his pick for transportation secretary in December 2008, and he was confirmed in January. [See p. 29C3] Lahood was married with four children. Energy Secretary Steven Chu

Steven Chu was born Feb. 28, 1948, in St. Louis, Mo., and was raised in Garden City, N.Y. He received his bachelor of arts degree in math and his bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Rochester in 1970 and his doctorate in physics from the University of

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Eric Shinseki was born Nov. 28, 1942, in Lihue, on the island of Kauai in the then-territory of Hawaii. He received a bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., in 1965, and was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the Army. He also earned a master’s in English literature from Duke University in Durham, N.C., in 1976, and attended the Armor Officer Advanced Course, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and the National War College. Shinseki, after graduating from the U.S. Military Academy, served two combat tours in the Vietnam War, acting as a forward artillery observer and a base commander. He was injured three times during the war, including losing the front of one of his feet in a mine blast. He subsequently moved up the ranks while serving in posts in the U.S. and Europe. Shinseki was promoted to the rank of four-star general in 1997, and assumed command of the 7th U.S. Army, Allied Land Forces Central Europe and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Stabilization Force in Bosnia and Herzogovina. Shinseki became the Army vice chief of staff in 1998. Shinseki was named the Army’s chief of staff in 1999. In February 2003, he testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee that the U.S. would need several hundred thou287

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sand troops to stabilize Iraq after an invasion, which took place the next month. His views were rejected by then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, and the U.S. deployed a much smaller force. However, Shinseki was widely seen to have been vindicated by the subsequent course of the war and by President George W. Bush’s January 2007 decision to send some 30,000 more U.S. troops to Iraq after four years of a violent insurgency and civil strife. [See 2006, p. 875A3; 2003, pp. 451B3, 134D3; 1999, p. 493F2] Shinseki retired in June 2003 at the end of his four-year term, and served as a director for several companies, including defense contractors Honeywell International Inc. and Ducommun Inc. President Barack Obama in December 2008 announced his nomination as secretary of veterans affairs (VA), and he was confirmed in January. Shinseki, a JapaneseAmerican, was the first Asian-American to head the VA. [See p. 29G3; 2008, p. 901C3] Shinseki and his wife had two children.

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Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano

Janet Napolitano was born Nov. 29, 1957, in New York City. She received a bachelor’s degree from Santa Clara University, where she was a recipient of a Truman Scholarship, in 1979 and received her law degree from the University of Virginia in 1983. She clerked for Judge Mary Schroeder of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in 1983 and subsequently joined the law firm of Lewis and Roca in Phoenix, Ariz.; she became a partner in 1989. She represented Anita Hill in her 1991 sexual harrassment lawsuit against then–Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. Napolitano was appointed U.S. attorney for Arizona by President Bill Clinton in 1993. She oversaw the Arizona portion of the investigation into the 1995 bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City, Okla. She was elected as Arizona’s attorney general in 1998, becoming the first woman to hold the position. Napolitano was elected governor in 2002 and was reelected in 2006. During her tenure as governor, Napolitano was known for her moderate position on illegal immigration. President-elect Barack Obama named her as his nominee for homeland security secretary in December 2008. She was confirmed by the Senate in January. [See pp. 26C3, 17A1] Napolitano had never been married. She was a breast cancer survivor and had undergone a mastectomy in 2000. OTHER CABINET-RANK OFFICIALS

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Chair, Council of Economic Advisers Christina Romer

Christina Romer was born Dec. 25, 1958, in Alton, Ill. She graduated from the College of William & Mary in 1981, and received a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1985. From 1988 to 2008 she was an economics professor at the University of California at Berkeley, where she specialized in the causes of the Great Depression and the government’s policy responses to it. Since 2003, she also served as co-director of the Program in Monetary Economics at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), widely regarded as the preeminent arbiter of when U.S. recessions began and ended. President-elect Barack Obama nominated Romer to chair the council in November 2008, and she was confirmed by the Senate Jan. 28 [See 2008, p. 866A2] 288

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson

Lisa Jackson was born in Philadelphia, Pa., on Feb. 8, 1962, but was adopted and grew up in New Orleans, La. She graduated from New Orleans’s Tulane University with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in 1983, and received her master’s degree in the same subject from Princeton University in New Jersey in 1986. Jackson served as a staff member of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for 16 years. She joined the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection in 2002, becoming commissioner in 2006. New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D) in October 2008 named Jackson as his chief of staff, and she assumed the post in December, only weeks before then–President-elect Barack Obama announced her nomination to head the EPA. The Senate unanimously confirmed her in January. [See p. 30D1; 2008, p. 902A1] Director, Office of Management and Budget Peter Orszag

Peter Orszag was born Dec. 16, 1968, in Boston, Mass. He received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University and a doctorate in economics from the London School of Economics. He was an economics adviser to President Bill Clinton, then held positions at the Brookings Institution think tank, and served as director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office from 2007 to 2008. U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk

Ronald Kirk was born June 27, 1954, in Austin, Texas. In 1976, he received degrees in political science and sociology from Austin College, and went on to earn a law degree from the University of Texas in 1979. Kirk, a Democrat, was elected the first black mayor of Dallas, Texas, in 1995, and served until 2001. Before his tenure as mayor, he had worked as Texas’s secretary of state and in the Dallas attorney general’s office. Kirk was nominated as U.S. trade representative in December 2008, and was confirmed by the Senate in March. [See p. 182A1] Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice

Susan Rice was born Nov. 17, 1964, in Washington, D.C. She received a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and received both a master’s and a doctorate in international relations from Oxford University in England. She joined President Bill Clinton’s National Security Council (NSC) in 1993 as director for international organizations and peacekeeping. She became a special assistant to Clinton and the NSC’s senior director for African affairs in 1995. Rice served as assistant secretary of state for African affairs from 1997–2001 and, following the end of the Clinton administration in 2001, she joined the Brookings Institution as a senior fellow in foreign policy in 2002. She worked as a senior foreign policy adviser for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. Obama named her as his nominee for U.N. ambassador in December 2008, and she was confirmed by the Senate in January. [See p. 16A2; 2008, p. 880C3] White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel

Rahm Emanuel was born Nov. 29, 1959, in Chicago, Ill. He received a bachelor’s degree from Sarah Lawrence College in 1981 and a master’s degree in speech and communication from Northwestern University in 1985. He

served as a senior White House adviser to President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1998. After a stint in investment banking, he was elected to Congress in 2002, representing a Chicago House district. He was chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2006, when the Democrats won back control of the House and Senate. He won election as chairman of the House Democratic Caucus in 2007. Obama tapped him as chief of staff in November 2008. [See 2008, p. 803F2] WHITE HOUSE STAFF National Security Adviser: James L. Jones Jr., 65. A retired four-star general, Jones had served as the commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps from 1999 to 2003, and as commander of the U.S. European Command and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s supreme allied commander Europe (SACEUR) from 2003 to 2006. In 2007 he served on an independent commission investigating Iraqi security forces. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice later that year appointed him as a special envoy for Middle East security, working on Israeli-Palestinian issues. [See 2008, p. 880B3] White House Counsel: Gregory Craig, 64, partner at Williams & Connolly law firm in Washington, D.C., State Department director of policy planning in Clinton administration, represented President Bill Clinton at his Senate impeachment trial. White House Senior Advisers: David Axelrod, 54, campaign strategist, political consultant, Chicago Tribune reporter; Valerie Jarrett, 52, lawyer, businesswoman, Chicago city government official; Pete Rouse, 63, longtime congressional aide, chief of staff to former Senate Democratic leader Thomas Daschle (D, S.D.). Chairman, National Economic Council:

Lawrence Summers, 54, Treasury Secretary from 1999 to 2001, president of Harvard University from 2001 to 2006, appointed to the National Economic Council by President-elect Barack Obama in November 2008. [See 2008, p. 866G1] Press Secretary: Robert Gibbs, 38, spokesman for Barack Obama both in Senate and presidential campaign. OTHER Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair

Dennis Blair was born Feb. 4, 1947, in Kittery, Maine. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1968 and, as a Rhodes scholar, received a master’s degree from Oxford University. He served in the U.S. Navy for 34 years and retired in 2002; at the time of his retirement, he was a four-star admiral and served as commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, a position he had held since 1999. During his time in the Navy, Blair had served as the commander of a destroyer, directed an aircraft carrier strike group and ran the Defense Department’s Joint Staff. [See pp. 257D1, 6A1; 2001, p. 636F3] Blair served as the president of the Institute for Defense Analyses, a nonprofit funded in large part by the Defense Department, from 2003 to 2006. During his time at the institute, he was accused of conflicts of interest due to his seat on the board of directors of a military contractor involved in a jet construction program that the institute was examining. A report by the Defense Department inspector general later found that Blair’s ties violated conflict-ofinterest rules but that he had not interfered in the institute’s examination.

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would allow those measures to pass the Senate with a simple majority of 51 votes to cut off debate, rather than the usual 60. Republicans, and some Democrats, had sharply objected to the possible use of the reconciliation maneuver as an abuse of the majority’s power. Democratic leaders said they would use it only if Republicans did not cooperate on a bipartisan deal. The budget blueprint called for setting aside reserve funds both for Obama’s health-care reform plan and for his proposal to address climate change by creating a cap-and-trade system, which would require businesses to buy permits for the greenhouse gas emissions they generated. However, the blueprint also stipulated that the health care, energy and education initiatives could not add to the deficit, though it did not say how they should be paid for. The blueprint did not include Obama’s plan to raise more than $300 billion in revenue by limiting the tax deductions available to higher-income taxpayers. The blueprint also dropped Obama’s proposal to extend his payroll tax cut for low- and middle-income taxpayers beyond 2010, unless a way was found to make up for the lost tax revenue it entailed. Deficit Forecast—The blueprint projected that the fiscal 2010 deficit would be $1.2 trillion, but would be cut by more than half, to $523 billion, or 3% of gross domestic product (GDP), by 2014. Much of the estimated 2010 deficit would be due to the large costs of the various federal responses to the current economic recession. The blueprint forecast that the national debt would increase to $11.5 trillion in fiscal 2014, or 66.7% of GDP, from $7.7 trillion in fiscal 2009, or 55% of GDP. Republicans said the budget plan underestimated future deficits. They warned that the Democrats’ budget cleared the way for a vast expansion of government and reckless spending that would saddle future generations with heavy debt. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R, Ohio) called the budget “nothing short of the most audacious move to a big socialist government in Washington, D.C.” Obama Backs Pay-As-You-Go Rules—

Obama in his weekly radio and Internet address April 25 said he supported a bill that would subject Congress to so-called pay-as-you-go budget rules. The rules would require any new spending increases or tax cuts to be offset by equal spending cuts or tax hikes. He said the use of such rules “helped transform large deficits into surpluses in the 1990s,” adding, “Now, we must restore that sense of fiscal discipline.” House Democratic leaders April 28 pledged to follow pay-as-you-go rules for four tax and spending bills later in the year. Obama the previous week had tried to emphasize such discipline by asking his cabinet to find a combined total of $100 million in budget cuts. Republicans and some independent analysts ridiculed that sum as minuscule compared with Obama’s total budget proposal. [See p. 263E3] n April 30, 2009

Terrorism Detainees Torture of Detainees Called Unreliable.

The Washington Post reported April 25 that a U.S. military agency that subjected U.S. personnel to harsh interrogation techniques as part of a training program had warned then–Defense Department General Counsel William Haynes 2nd in July 2002 that the use of such techniques against terrorism detainees was torture and that any information obtained by such methods was likely to be unreliable. The document, an attachment to a memo sent by the military’s Joint Personnel Recovery Agency (JPRA) to Haynes, had been cited by a Senate Armed Forces Committee report on detainee interrogation released in April and was obtained in full by the Post. [See p. 261E3; 2008, p. 411E3] The Post reported that the memo and its attachment were received by Haynes and then later forwarded to John Rizzo, acting Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) general counsel, and the Justice Department. However, most high-level Bush administration officials who approved the use of harsh tactics against detainees, including then–national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, were not informed that JPRA considered the techniques torture or that they had been copied from Chinese torture methods, according to an unidentified Bush administration official interviewed by the Post. [See below] Agency Oversaw Training Program— The JPRA oversaw the military’s Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape (SERE) pro-

gram, which subjected pilots and other U.S. military personnel to harsh interrogation techniques in order to train them to resist interrogation methods used by countries that did not recognize prisoner protections contained in the Geneva Conventions. The program had been devised to counter interrogation techniques used by Chinese interrogators to coerce false confessions from U.S. prisoners during the Korean War. As part of the SERE program, military personnel were reportedly subjected to techniques including waterboarding, a type of simulated drowning that had been prosecuted as a war crime by the U.S. after World War II. The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) had first authorized the use of techniques based on the SERE program against terrorism detainees in August 2002. Use of Harsh Methods Called ‘Torture’—

In the memo attachment, the JPRA asserted, “The requirement to obtain information from an uncooperative source as quickly as possible—in time to prevent, for example, an impending terrorist attack that could result in loss of life—has been forwarded as a compelling argument for the use of torture” by the government. However, the document stated, “The error inherent in this line of thinking is the assumption that, through torture, the interrogator can extract reliable and accurate information. History and a consideration of human behavior would appear to refute this assumption.”

According to the document, “A subject in pain may provide an answer, any answer, or many answers in order to get the pain to stop.” The JPRA argued that torture “has some serious operational deficits, most notably the potential to result in unreliable information.” The use of harsh interrogation techniques on detainees was described as torture multiple times in the document, which was titled “Operational Issues Pertaining to the Use of Physical/ Psychological Coercion in Interrogation.” FBI Agent Criticizes CIA Methods—

Newsweek magazine reported April 27 on its Web site that a former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent who led the initial interrogation of terrorism detainee Zain alAbidin Muhammed Hussein, better known as Abu Zubaydah, had said that Zubaydah gave up most of the significant information in his possession within “a couple of days” of his capture in response to the noncoercive, rapport-building tactics traditionally used by the FBI. The agent’s assertions were consistent with a March article in the Post which reported that the CIA’s use of harsh interrogation tactics against Zubaydah had been largely unnecessary and fruitless. [See pp. 261B2, 199C3] The FBI agent, Ali Soufan, had been part of the investigation of the 2000 attack on the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cole in Yemen's port of Aden. He told Newsweek that he and a second FBI agent, Steve Gaudin, had led the initial questioning of Zubaydah and successfully convinced him to reveal what he knew by caring for his wounds and drawing him into conversation. (Newsweek reported that the interrogations took place at a CIA “safe house” in Thailand.) Zubaydah reportedly told the two FBI agents that U.S. citizen Jose Padilla was plotting a terrorist attack in the U.S. and that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed had been the mastermind behind Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S. carried out by the international terrorist network Al Qaeda. [See 2008, p. 36F2] Soufan said that all significant information from Zubaydah was gathered prior to the CIA’s use of harsh interrogation methods against him. However, CIA officials claimed that Ramzi bin al-Shibh, who was accused of helping to organize the Sept. 11 attacks, had been captured using information that Zubaydah had given up in response to the use of harsh tactics. Tactics Used Before OLC Authorization—

According to Soufan, CIA interrogators had subjected Zubaydah to cold temperatures, loud music and forced nudity in spring 2002, months before harsh interrogation techniques were approved by the OLC. He said that use of harsh tactics began after a CIA contractor (identified by Newsweek as former U.S. Air Force psychologist James Mitchell, who had worked on the SERE program) arrived at the location where Zubaydah was held. Soufan said that when he confronted an unidentified CIA official at the prison about the legality of the interrogation methods used on Zubaydah, the official reportedly told him that the tactics had been approved by then–White House counsel Alberto Gonzales. 289

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Soufan said he had called his superiors and threatened to arrest the CIA interrogators if they did not cease their mistreatment of Zubaydah, which Soufan considered “borderline torture.” Soufan said he decided to make the call after discovering a coffin-like box intended for use in Zubaydah’s interrogation. Newsweek reported that unidentified sources said that the box had been intended for use in a “mock burial,” something that the CIA denied had ever been used against detainees. Following Soufan’s call, FBI Director Robert Mueller 3rd ordered Soufan and Gaudin to leave Thailand and barred all FBI employees from taking part in CIA interrogations of terrorism detainees. Effectiveness of Harsh Tactics Unclear—

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The Post reported April 26 that CIA interrogators had made little or no use of traditional, noncoercive interrogation methods in their questioning of Mohammed, making it difficult to determine whether the agency’s use of harsh methods against Mohammed had been necessary in order to get him to reveal information. According to the Post, Mohammed was stripped naked, chained with his hands above his head and given a forced enema soon after his detention by the U.S. in March 2003. According to the Post, some members of the Bush administration had argued that the harsh interrogation of Mohammed had been necessary and had allowed the U.S. to foil a plot to attack a Los Angeles skyscraper. However, the Post noted that President George W. Bush had said in 2007 that the Los Angeles plot was broken up in 2002, whereas Mohammed was not captured until 2003. Case Against Boeing Division Allowed—

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A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, Calif., April 28 reinstated a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of five former terrorism detainees. One of them was the recently released Binyam Mohamed, who accused a division of The Boeing Co. of assisting the CIA’s extraordinary renditions program, in which terrorism suspects were abducted and flown to secret prisons abroad or third countries and then allegedly abused. The lawsuit, filed against Boeing’s Jeppesen DataPlan Inc., had been thrown out by a trial judge after the Bush administration argued that allowing the case to continue would endanger national security. [See p. 80C2] In February, the Obama administration had supported the earlier Bush administration argument in a filing with the appeals court. The case was one of several in which the Obama administration had continued the Bush administration’s attempts to use the so-called state secrets privilege to limit the release of information about Bush-era antiterrorism policies. (Obama April 29 said at a news conference that his administration intended to curtail the use of the state secrets doctrine from its usage under Bush, but said that so far there had been too little time to do so before responding to court deadlines.) The panel ruled that the trial judge in the case had been wrong to dismiss the lawsuit, 290

and said, “According to the government’s theory, the judiciary should effectively cordon off all secret government actions from judicial scrutiny, immunizing the CIA and its partners from the demands and limits of the law.” The panel ruled that while the government did not have the right to block such lawsuits by invoking the secrets privilege, it could ask the trial judge to review on a case-by-case basis whether the release of certain pieces of classified evidence would endanger national security. Separately, the British High Court March 23 had released a document containing information on unsuccessful plea bargain negotiations that were carried out between Binyam Mohamed’s lawyers and the U.S. government in 2008. Mohamed alleged that he had been sent to Morocco by the CIA to be tortured by the government there. He was sent to Britain in February and had since been released. All charges pending against him had been dropped by the U.S. government prior to his release. [See p. 112E1] According to the High Court document, Mohamed had offered to plead “no defense” to charges that he had provided material support for terrorism, in exchange for a sentence of only three years in prison, provided that the sentence would be served in Britain, where he had been a legal resident. That offer had been rejected by the Bush administration, which had unsuccessfully sought to require him to serve three years in prison, agree never to sue the U.S. government or its officials, agree not to discuss the case against him or his imprisonment, and cease his attempts to force the release of documents that his lawyers had said would show that he had been tortured. British Attorney General Baroness Scotland March 26 had requested that British police investigate whether British intelligence officers had assisted the U.S. in planning or carrying out the alleged torture of Mohamed while he was detained by the U.S. government. Mohamed claimed that a British intelligence agent had supplied information and questions to Pakistani intelligence agents who interrogated and abused him in 2002. More Abuse Photos to Be Released—

The Defense Department April 24 announced that it would release at least 44 photos depicting the alleged abuse of terrorism detainees, in response to an ACLU Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit that had been filed in 2004. In a letter filed in U.S. District Court in New York City, the Justice Department said the Defense Department was considering releasing “a substantial number of other images” related to alleged detainee abuse, in addition to the 44 photos scheduled to be released due to the lawsuit. [See 2008, p. 790C3] Some of the photos reportedly showed detainees having weapons pointed at them by guards and wearing shackles and hoods. They had initially been gathered by the military for investigations into allegations of detainee abuse by military personnel. The Defense Department said it would release the 44 photos by May 28.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that the Defense Department had decided to release the photos after concluding that their disclosure was inevitable. The Bush administration had argued that releasing the photos would endanger the lives of U.S. troops serving abroad and violate the privacy rights of the abused detainees. However, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City had ruled against the Defense Department in September 2008 and the full appeals court had declined to rehear the case on March 11. Separately, the National Archives and Records Administration April 24 released documents that showed that former Vice President Dick Cheney March 31 had requested the release of two CIA reports related to the use of harsh interrogation tactics against terrorism detainees. Cheney had said that classified documents showed that the use of harsh interrogation tactics like waterboarding had been effective and that he had asked for them to be released. According to the National Archives, the two documents were CIA reports issued on July 13, 2004, and June 1, 2005, and filed in the vice president’s office. The National Archives said it would review Cheney’s requests before deciding whether to release the documents. [See p. 258G2] Bybee Defends Interrogation Memos—

Former OLC head Jay Bybee, who currently served as a judge on the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, April 28 sent a statement to the New York Times defending his conduct in signing two August 2002 memos that authorized the use of harsh interrogation tactics against Zubaydah. Bybee said that while he wished that he had been clearer in explaining why the use of the techniques was legal, he still felt that the memos contained “a good-faith analysis of the law.” [See p. 257E2] Bybee said that he had sent the statement to the Times in order to counter media reports that he had told friends and associates that he regretted his actions at the OLC. Bybee’s conduct in approving the memos was being investigated by the Justice Department, along with the issuance of similar memos by former OLC head Steven Bradbury and former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D, Vt.) April 29 sent Bybee a letter that invited him to testify before the committee about his role in the 2002 interrogation memos. Leahy wrote to Bybee, “There is significant concern about the legal advice provided by the OLC while you were in charge, how that advice came to be generated…the role played by the White House.” Leahy had previously said that he thought Bybee should resign his judgeship over his authorship of the memos, and other critics had called for his impeachment. n

Supreme Court Fines for ‘Fleeting Expletives’ Upheld. The

Supreme Court April 28 ruled, 5–4, that the Federal Communications Commission FACTS ON FILE

(FCC) could fine broadcasting companies for airing unscripted profanities, sometimes known as “fleeting expletives.” The court did not set any precedent regarding the First Amendment’s protections of free speech, since the case at hand, FCC v. Fox Television Stations Inc., focused on whether the FCC had adequately explained why it had changed its policy in 2004 to allow fines of up to $325,000 in such cases. [See 2008, p. 199B1] The case before the court concerned incidents in 2002 and 2003 at the Billboard Music Awards, aired live by Fox, in which celebrities used vulgar swear words. The incidents were among several that led the FCC to change its policies on indecent language, which was defined as references to sexual or excretory functions that were “patently offensive” to “contemporary community standards.” The U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City in 2007 ruled that the FCC had not provided an adequate explanation for the change. Justice Antonin Scalia, writing the Supreme Court’s opinion, said the rationale behind the change was reasonable and therefore adequate. He wrote, “The commission could reasonably conclude that the pervasiveness of foul language, and the coarsening of public entertainment in other media such as cable, justify more stringent regulation of broadcast programs so as to give conscientious parents a relatively safe haven for their children.” He was joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy agreed with the overall decision, but only in part with Scalia’s opinion. Justice Stephen G. Breyer, writing the minority opinion, said the FCC did not have “the freedom to change major policies on the basis of nothing more than political considerations or even personal whim.” Breyer was joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David H. Souter and John Paul Stevens. Four justices wrote individual concurring or dissenting opinions. Thomas and Ginsburg both addressed the constitutional implications of the case, with Ginsburg saying there was “no way to hide the long shadow the First Amendment casts over what the commission has done.” Stevens wrote, “It is ironic, to say the least, that while the FCC patrols the airwaves for words that have a tenuous relationship with sex or excrement, commercials broadcast during prime-time hours frequently ask viewers whether they too are battling erectile dysfunction or having trouble going to the bathroom.” He added, “As any golfer who has watched his partner shank a short approach knows, it would be absurd to accept the suggestion that the resultant four-letter word uttered on the golf course describes sex or excrement and is therefore indecent.” n

Mortgage & Credit Crisis Officials’ Role in Bank Merger Questioned.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo April 23 released documents showing April 30, 2009

that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and then–Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. in December 2008 had threatened to oust Bank of America Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kenneth Lewis, as well as the bank’s board, if the bank did not complete a merger with brokerage Merrill Lynch & Co. The documents said that according to Lewis, the two federal officials had urged Lewis to withhold from Bank of America’s shareholders that Merrill Lynch was set to record a massive loss for the fourth quarter of 2008. Details of the documents were first reported earlier on April 23 by the Wall Street Journal. [See p. 220B2] In a letter to regulators April 23, Cuomo said there should be more “transparency” in the government’s efforts to stabilize the financial system, and that shareholder interests should be “protected and respected.” Cuomo’s investigation was focusing on whether Bank of America had failed to disclose relevant information about Merrill Lynch to its shareholders, which could be a violation of securities laws. He was also investigating whether Merrill Lynch had improperly distributed bonuses to its employees before the merger was completed in January. Merrill Lynch’s $15.3 billion quarterly loss compelled Bank of America to seek $20 billion in aid from the government, on top of a previous $25 billion capital injection. The documents largely consisted of sworn testimony given by Lewis to Cuomo’s office in February. Cuomo also revealed details of an interview with Paulson that took place in March. Cuomo sent the documents to the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, the House Financial Services Committee, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Congressional Oversight Panel for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), a $700 billion fund designed to stabilize the financial industry. Lewis said he had told Paulson on Dec. 17, 2008, that he wanted to back out of the merger, after he became aware of the extent of Merrill Lynch’s losses. Lewis said Paulson then told him on Dec. 21, 2008, that the government would seek to remove him and the board if he did not follow through with the deal. Cuomo said Paulson had “largely corroborated” those claims. Paulson also said Bernanke had instructed him to issue the threat. Lewis said Paulson and Bernanke were concerned that a dissolution of the merger could destabilize the financial system, which at the time was still recovering from a string of bank failures. Bernanke had declined to testify in Cuomo’s investigation, and the Fed had invoked a “bank examination privilege” that allowed it to keep its documents confidential. Lewis also said Paulson and Bernanke had told him, “We do not want a public disclosure” to shareholders about Merrill Lynch’s financial problems. Spokesmen for the Fed and Paulson April 23 denied that claim. Bank of America that day released a statement, saying, “We believe we

acted legally and appropriately with regard to the Merrill Lynch transaction.” Lewis Stripped of Chairmanship—Bank of America shareholders at their annual meeting April 29 voted to separate the offices of chairman and CEO, stripping Lewis of his chairmanship. The board of directors unanimously requested that Lewis remain as CEO. Many of the bank’s shareholders were unhappy with Lewis’s performance, particularly his acquisition of Merrill Lynch. However, some shareholders came out in support of Lewis, saying he had managed the company well during an unprecedented financial crisis. The resolution to separate the offices passed by a narrow majority of 50.3%. The board named Walter Massey, who had been a board member since 1998 and was a president emeritus of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga., to replace Lewis as chairman. n

Economy GDP Shrank at 6.1% Rate in First Quarter.

The Commerce Department April 29 reported that U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) shrank at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.1% in the first quarter of 2009, after decreasing at a 6.3% rate in the fourth quarter of 2008, making it the U.S.’s worst six-month contraction since 1958. The latest report showed that an ongoing recession was still having a heavy impact on GDP, which was a measure of the output of goods and services produced within a nation’s borders, and the country’s broadest gauge of economic health. The department’s first-quarter estimate would be revised twice. [See p. 182B3] The first-quarter contraction was largely attributed to businesses culling their inventories, as they anticipated that the recession would depress consumer demand. Business investment fell 38%, and investment in the real estate market also fell 38%. GDP was also hit by a decrease in spending by state and local governments, which were struggling with budget shortfalls. However, analysts said a $787 billion stimulus package enacted by the federal government in February should help alleviate those strains in the second quarter. [See p. 89A1] In what was viewed as the first quarter’s most positive development, consumer spending rose 2.2%, a possible indication that the economy was in the process of recovering, since consumer spending accounted for more than two-thirds of GDP. Exports fell 30% as a global downturn reduced demand for U.S. products, but imports fell even further, by 34%, resulting in a net gain for GDP. [See p. 240B2] The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the policy-making board of the Federal Reserve, April 29 voted unanimously to leave its benchmark federalfunds interest rate target on overnight loans between banks at between zero and one quarter of a percentage point. The Fed that day said the “economic outlook had improved modestly since” its last interest-rate meeting in March, and that the “pace of contraction appears to be somewhat slow291

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Business Inventories Down in February.

Consumer Confidence Rose in April—

Democrat Scott Murphy April 24 claimed victory in a March 31 special election for a House seat representing a district in upstate New York, after a four-week dispute over absentee ballots. His Republican opponent, James Tedisco, a former minority leader in the state Assembly, conceded defeat. Murphy, a former venture capitalist and first-time candidate, held a lead of about 400 votes, of a total of some 160,000 cast, with several hundred absentee ballots still disputed. Murphy, 39, April 29 was sworn in to office by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D, Calif.). [See p. 201E1] The seat had become vacant in January when Gov. David Paterson (D) named Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) to fill the Senate seat that had been held by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. The election was in New York’s 20th Congressional District, which stretched along the Hudson River into the far north of the state, and extended west around Albany, the state capital. The GOP held a two-to-one advantage in voter registration in the district, its biggest edge in New York, and had held the seat for decades until 2006. The defeat was another setback for the Republicans after being routed by the Democrats in the 2006 and 2008 congressional elections. It also added to a trend of dwindling Republican numbers in the Northeast. [See p. 284A2] With Murphy in office, the current division of the House was 256 Democrats and 178 Republicans. One seat was vacant, representing California’s Los Angeles–area 32nd District, left open by Labor Secretary Hilda Solis’s move to President Barack Obama’s cabinet. Primary elections would be held in that district on May 19. n

The Conference Board business research group April 28 reported that its index of consumer confidence rose to 39.2 in April, up from a revised 26.9 in March. The group said the jump showed that “consumers believe the economy is nearing a bottom,” but that the index’s current level “still remains well below levels associated with strong economic growth.” The index’s base level of 100 reflected consumer confidence in 1985. [See p. 219D3] n Housing Starts Fell 10.8% in March. The Departments of Commerce and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) April 16 reported jointly that the rate of housing starts in March was 510,000 units, annualized and adjusted for seasonal variation. That was down 10.8% from the February revised rate of 572,000, and a 48.4% decrease from the March 2008 rate, indicating that the housing market remained in a deep slump. [See p. 183D1] Building permits were issued in March at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 513,000 units, 9.0% below February’s revised rate of 564,000. n Existing Home Sales Fell 3.0% in March. The National Association of Realtors April 23 reported that sales of existing homes fell by 3.0% in March, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.57 million units. That was down from the revised 4.71 million units rate in February. The median sale price for existing homes in March was $175,200, down 12.4% from a year earlier. [See p. 183C1]n Durable Goods Orders Down 0.8% in March.

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The Commerce Department April 24 reported that the value of durable goods orders in March was $161.2 billion, a decrease of 0.8%, or $1.3 billion, from the previous month. It was the seventh time in eight months that orders for durable goods had fallen, due to an ongoing recession, but analysts had expected an even larger drop for March. Durable goods were so-called big-ticket items designed to last three years or more. [See p. 183A1] n New Home Sales Fell 0.6% in March. The Departments of Commerce and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) April 24 reported jointly that sales of new single-family homes fell 0.6% in March from the previous month. The new seasonally adjusted annual rate was 356,000 units, down from the revised February rate of 358,000 units, but better than what most market observers had expected. The median price of a new single-family home sold in March was reported to be $201,400. [See p. 183B1] n 292

The Commerce Department April 14 reported that the value of business inventories at the end of February was $1.4 trillion after seasonal adjustment, down 1.3% from the revised value at the end of January. The ratio of inventories to sales—a measure of how long it would take businesses to unload their inventories at the current sales pace—was 1.43. [See p. 183G1] n

2009 Elections Democrat Wins N.Y. Special House Election.

AFRICA

African National Congress Dominates South African Vote Zuma Set to Become Next President.

South Africa’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) April 25 announced that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party had won 65.9% of the vote in general elections held April 22. The victory meant that controversial ANC President Jacob Zuma, 67, was almost certain to become the country’s next president when the 400-member National Assembly convened in early May. [See p. 222A1; 2004, p. 297D1; for facts on Zuma, see p. 293A1] Under South Africa’s constitution, the nation’s president was elected by a simple majority in the National Assembly. The presidential election was scheduled for May 6. According to the IEC, the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), a party of mainly liberal white and mixed-race, or colored, South Africans, placed second, with 16.7% of the national vote. (Blacks comprised about 80% of the population; whites and colored, 9% each; and 2% were of Indian origin.) Although it was far behind the ANC, the DA improved from its 12.3% showing in the 2004 elections. Also, the DA won 51% of the vote in southern Western Cape province—where the city of Cape Town was located—meaning it would take control of the provincial legislature. The DA’s leader, Cape Town Mayor Helen Zille, was set to become Western Cape’s premier. [See 2007, p. 365F2] The Congress of the People (COPE), which had been formed in late 2008 by ANC dissidents who opposed Zuma, placed third in the elections, with 7.4%—below the estimated 10% that some observers had predicted it would receive. [See below] The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), a mainly Zulu party led by Mangosuthu Buthelezi and based in Zuma’s home province of KwaZulu-Natal, garnered 4.6%, down from 7% in 2004. Its poor showing was attributed in part to the fact that many AP Photo/Themba Hadebe

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er.” However, the Fed warned that “economic activity is likely to remain weak for a time.” [See p. 163A3] The Fed also said it would continue its previously announced programs to buy $1.25 trillion in mortgage-backed securities and $300 billion in U.S. Treasury securities, which, along with keeping the federal-funds rate low, was intended to lower interest rates and resolve an ongoing freeze in credit markets. As of April 28, the Fed had purchased $74 billion in Treasury securities and $381 billion in mortgagebacked securities.

Accidents & Disasters Bridge Collapse Victims Take Settlements.

All 179 victims of the 2007 collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis, Minn. who had filed lawsuits against the state April 16 accepted settlement payments from a $36.6 million state compensation fund. The payments ranged from $4,500 to $2.2 million. A smaller group of victims was expected to file suit against contractors who had worked on the bridge. They claimed that it had collapsed due to poor maintenance, as opposed to structural problems, which the National Transportation Safety Board had identified as the cause. [See 2008, p. 771C2] n

African National Congress (ANC) party President Jacob Zuma April 25, after the ANC was declared the winner of April 22 elections.

FACTS ON FILE

FACTS ON ZUMA

Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma was born April 12, 1942, in Inkandla, in what was then Natal province (after 1994, KwaZulu-Natal), the heartland of the Zulu tribe. His father, a policeman, died when he was a young boy, and his mother moved to the province’s largest city, Durban, to work as a domestic servant. Zuma spent much of his childhood shuttling between Durban and the rural Zululand. Zuma had no formal schooling, and began working at the age of 15. In 1959, Zuma joined the African National Congress (ANC), which at the time was fighting against apartheid, the system of racial separation imposed by South Africa’s ruling white minority. After the ANC was banned in 1960, Zuma two years later joined Umkhonto We Sizwe (MK), the armed wing of the ANC. Zuma was arrested in 1963 while attempting to leave South Africa to train with MK. He was convicted of plotting to overthrow the government, and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on the notorious Robben Island (where anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela was also imprisoned). After his release in 1973, Zuma continued to work for the ANC in Natal. He left South Africa in 1975, and spent 12 years in exile in Swaziland and Mozambique. In 1987, the Mozambican government forced him to leave the country for Zambia, under pressure from South Africa. Zuma was also a member of an arm of the ANC, Mbokodo, that disciplined the group’s members, sometimes brutally, in camps in Angola, Tanzania and Zambia. [See 1993, p. 662A1, C1] Zuma returned to South Africa after the February 1990 lifting of the ban on the ANC. In the early 1990s, he helped make peace between the

ANC and the Natal-based Inkatha Freedom Party, a Zulu group that had feuded with the ANC. [See 1990, p. 98A1] In 1991, Zuma was elected deputy secretary general of the ANC. In 1994, he became its national chairman, and became active in KwaZulu-Natal’s provincial government. In 1997, Zuma became the ANC’s deputy president. [See 1997, p. 962B1; 1994, p. 1007A3; 1991, p. 546B3] In 1999, Zuma became the nation’s deputy president under President Thabo Mbeki. He also led the National AIDS Council, and was involved in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to broker a peace deal in Burundi. Mbeki and Zuma reportedly had a falling out in the early 2000s, after feuding over many issues, including allegations of corruption against Zuma related to an arms deal in the late 1990s. [See 2003, p. 802E1; 2002, p. 1049E3; 1999, p. 443F1] In June 2005, Schabir Shaik, Zuma’s former financial adviser, was convicted of soliciting and accepting bribes on Zuma’s behalf in connection with the arms deal. Mbeki then fired Zuma, and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) filed corruption charges against him. The charges were thrown out on a technicality in September 2006, but the NPA refiled them in December 2007, soon after Zuma beat Mbeki in an election for the ANC presidency. [See 2007, p. 279D2; 2006, p. 768F1; 2005, p. 462E3] Also, in May 2006, Zuma was acquitted of rape charges. However, his reputation was damaged by the publication of controversial statements he made during the trial about women and HIV/AIDS. [See 2006, p. 378A1] In September 2008, a High Court judge again dismissed the corruption charges against

Zuma on a technicality, and alleged that Mbeki and his allies had been behind the NPA’s decision to pursue the case. Later that month, Mbeki resigned as South Africa’s president under pressure from the ANC leadership, which was controlled by Zuma’s supporters. That led several Mbeki supporters to split from the ANC and form a new party, the Congress of the People (COPE). [See 2008, pp. 973C1, 679A1, 660D2] In January, the Supreme Court of Appeals reinstated the charges. The NPA in early April announced that it was dropping the charges due to misconduct by the prosecution and the lead investigator. [See p. 222A1] The ANC April 25 was declared the winner of general elections held April 22, garnering 65.9% of the vote and 264 seats in the 400-member National Assembly, which elected the nation’s president. Zuma was ensured of winning that vote when it was held May 6. [See p. 293A1] Zuma, described as a charismatic populist who often sang and danced at his rallies, would become South Africa’s first Zulu president (both Mandela and Mbeki were Xhosa). In keeping with Zulu custom, Zuma had had several wives. He married his first wife, Sizakele Khumalo, in the early 1970s. He later married Kate Mantsho Zuma, who committed suicide in 2000, and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, from whom he was divorced in 1998. (Dlamini-Zuma was South Africa’s foreign minister, and was expected to hold a cabinet post in a Zuma government.) In January 2008, Zuma married 33-year-old Nompumelelo Ntuli. In January 2009, it was reported that he was engaged to a third woman. It was unclear which wife would serve as South Africa’s official first lady. Zuma had more than 10 children, and maybe as many as 20.

Zulus chose to support Zuma, who had emphasized his Zulu identity during the campaign. The ANC would control 264 seats in the National Assembly, compared with 67 for the DA, 30 for COPE and 18 for the IFP. Turnout was 77.3% of South Africa’s 23.2 million registered voters, according to the IEC. ANC Fends Off Challengers— The ANC for much of the 20th century had led the fight against South Africa’s apartheid system of racial separation and white minority rule, and had dominated South Africa’s political landscape since the end of apartheid in 1994. However, the party had been beset by scandals in recent years, primarily related to Zuma, a charismatic populist who had received little formal schooling. South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) earlier in April had dropped fraud, corruption, money-laundering and racketeering charges against Zuma, citing political interference in the case by Zuma’s political rivals. The charges were related to a multibillion-dollar 1999 arms deal between the South African government and a French weapons company. The charges had first been filed in 2005, just after Zuma was fired as the nation’s deputy president by then-President Thabo Mbeki. Allegations of political interference in the case had led to the ouster of Mbeki, Zuma’s political rival, in September 2008, by the ANC leadership, which was controlled by Zuma’s supporters. (ANC veteran Kgalema Motlanthe took over as caretaker president.) The removal

of Mbeki led to the formation of COPE. Opposition parties alleged that the NPA’s April decision to drop the charges had been made under pressure from Zuma and his allies in the ANC. Separately, Zuma had been acquitted of rape charges in May 2006. However, his reputation had been damaged by the publication of controversial testimony regarding women and HIV/AIDS. In one statement, he claimed that he had showered after having sexual intercourse with the accuser, who was HIV-positive, in order to avoid catching the virus. [See 2006, p. 378A1] The DA during the election campaign had emphasized the goal of preventing the ANC from retaining its two-thirds majority in the National Assembly—the margin that was needed to change the constitution. It stressed that South Africa was in danger of becoming a one-party state, as was the case in many other African nations. The DA and COPE were especially critical of the events that led to Mbeki’s resignation, the ANC’s split, and the dropping of the corruption charges against Zuma, alleging that Zuma and his allies had abused their power. Some observers had expected the ANC to lose support—although still retain a large majority—as a result of the recent scandals. In the first post-apartheid elections, in 1994, the ANC had won 63% and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela became president. In 1999, it won 66%, and Mbeki succeeded Mandela as president. Mbeki was reelected in 2004 with about 70%.

Ultimately, however, analysts said most black voters were reluctant to turn away from the ANC. Support for the ANC was reinforced by the surprise appearance of Mandela, a national icon, at Zuma’s final campaign rally April 19 in Johannesburg, which was attended by about 100,000 people. Mandela, 90, was extremely frail and rarely made public appearances, making his presence at the rally even more influential. [See 2008, p. 528C3] Zuma Calls for Unity—After the ANC’s victory was announced April 25, Zuma in a speech said, “This is a time to bury uncertainty, pain and tension. We cannot afford to dwell on the negative, we have work to do.” Addressing the global economic crisis, he said, “We will work with all stakeholders, especially business and labor, to find ways to prevent and cushion our people against job losses and other difficulties that may arise.” [See p. 96F2] Zuma scolded members of the media for focusing on his party’s failure to gain a two-thirds majority, saying they were “shifting the goalposts when they should be congratulating the ANC on its decisive victory.” Zuma’s administration would be confronted with several challenges. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) April 22 reported that the economy was expected to contract at a 0.3% rate in 2009. The country also faced high unemployment and violent crime rates, as well as chronic power shortages—issues that were coming under greater scrutiny as the country prepared to host soccer’s World Cup in 2010. n

April 30, 2009

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Bolivia Police Say Morales Assassination Plot Foiled.

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Bolivian police April 16 said an elite police force earlier that day had stormed a hotel in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the capital of eastern Santa Cruz department (state), following a 30-minute gun battle with a group of foreigners allegedly plotting to assassinate Bolivian President Evo Morales Aima. Three men were killed in the shootout—Irishman Michael Martin Dwyer; Romanian-Hungarian dual national Magyarosi Arpad; and Bolivian-Hungarian dual national Jorge Eduardo Rozsa Flores. Two other men, Hungarian Elod Toaso and Bolivian Mario Tadik, alleged by police to be participants in the plot, were arrested. [See 2008, p. 436F3] Police the same day said they had uncovered a cache of weapons and explosives, as well as documents outlining assassination plots against Morales, Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera and Morales’s chief of staff. However, conflicting reports later surfaced that contradicted the police account. Those reports cited evidence that the men had been killed in their hotel room in their underwear, and that there had been no signs of a firefight. Morales’s opponents also voiced doubt that the men had been part of a plot to assassinate the president or overthrow the government. Morales had several times earlier alleged that assassination plots against him had been thwarted. Garcia Linera April 16 said a special congressional committee would be created to investigate the activities of the “international terrorist group.” He also said the backers of the plot had hired mercenaries, and were related to “business groups,” an allusion to members of an autonomy movement in Santa Cruz department. Voters in Santa Cruz department in May 2008 had backed an autonomy proposal that had not been recognized by the federal government. [See 2008, p. 313G2] The Bolivian government notably refrained from accusing the U.S. of involvement in the plot, despite the fact that it frequently accused the U.S. of interference in its affairs. However, Morales April 18 said he had asked U.S. President Barack Obama to publicly repudiate any U.S. involvement. Obama April 19 disclaimed any U.S. role in the plot, saying, “I just want to make absolutely clear that I am absolutely opposed and condemn any efforts at violent overthrows of democratically elected governments.” Hungarian television station MTV1 April 21 aired an interview with Rozsa, who was accused by the Bolivian government of being the group’s ringleader, that had been taped in September 2008. In it, Rozsa said he was returning to Santa Cruz department, his birthplace, from Hungary in order to defend its autonomy from Morales’s central government. “I am not going there to organize the attack of La Paz [Bolivia’s capital] and chase away the 294

president, that doesn’t even cross the easterners’ minds,” he said. Rozsa had reportedly given the station instructions to release the interview if anything should happen to him. Rozsa, 49, had left Bolivia as a teenager when his family moved to Chile. He later lived in Hungary, before fighting with Croatians against Serbs in the early 1990s in Yugoslavia’s civil war. The Irish government April 20 said Dwyer, 24, had no criminal history or military experience, and questioned the allegations against him. Ireland called on Bolivia to thoroughly investigate the circumstances of Dwyer’s death. n

Ecuador Correa Seen Winning Reelection. Voters in

Ecuador April 26 reelected President Rafael Correa, 46, of the leftist Allianza Pais party to a four-year term as president, according to preliminary results. Ecuador’s National Electoral Council April 28 reported that, with 77.8% of the votes counted, Correa had received almost 52% support. He ran against seven other candidates, and his closest competitor, former President Lucio Gutierrez Borbua of the Sociedad Patriotica 21 de Enero party, secured 28%, according to the preliminary tally. [See 2006, p. 935G2] In order to prevent a runoff election, a candidate needed to either win at least 40% of the vote with a minimum of a 10percentage-point victory margin over the closest competitor, or win more than 50% of the vote. Correa appeared to have done both. After official election results were released, he was likely to become the first president to secure a second consecutive term in Ecuador in 30 years. Correa April 27 said he would continue in his efforts to “eradicate misery and create a more just and dignified country.” He added, “The outlook is very good for the country, the worst is over. But, of course, there is still great uncertainty and anything could happen.” Correa had begun a four-year term in January 2007, but a new constitution approved in September 2008 called for new elections. Also contested in the voting were the 124 seats in the National Assembly, as well as a number of state and local positions. An exit poll conducted by Santiago Perez Investigacion y Estudios estimated that Alliance Pais candidates had captured some 61 seats in the assembly, while candidates allied with Gutierrez had won about 23. [See 2008, p. 705B1] Ecuador had a long history of political volatility, and had had 10 presidents since 1997, several of whom had been ousted by the federal legislature or in coups d’etat. However, Correa had proved popular with poorer voters due to spending on public programs such as education, health care and infrastructure, much of which was funded through oil revenues. He had also ordered the end of interest payments on foreign debt he considered to be illegitimate. Analysts said he would face an increasingly tough economic climate as oil

prices dropped and remittances sent by Ecuadorans working in other countries dwindled. [See 2008, p. 924D3] n

Paraguay President Admits Fathering Child. Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo Mendez, a former Roman Catholic missionary and priest, during an April 13 televised news conference in Asuncion, the capital, admitted to fathering a child out of wedlock. Lugo, 57, said he was the father of a twoyear-old boy that he had conceived with Viviana Carrillo, 26, while he was still considered a bishop by the Vatican. Lugo said he would “assume all responsibilities for the boy.” [See 2008, p. 573B1] Lugo in December 2006 had submitted his resignation to the Vatican in order to seek the presidency, because Paraguay’s constitution forbade clergy of any denomination from running for public office. The Vatican had initially suspended Lugo, but had not accepted his resignation, arguing that he would remain a bishop under church rules. However, the Vatican in July 2008 said Pope Benedict XVI had accepted his request for lay status, months after Lugo won the April 2008 presidential election. Carrillo April 8 filed a paternity suit against Lugo, alleging that she had given birth to his child five months after he submitted his resignation to the Vatican. She said she was 16 when their relationship began. A second woman, Benigna Leguizamon, 27, April 20 also alleged that Lugo had fathered her child, a six-year-old boy. Leguizamon said she had decided to go public with her claim and file a suit after seeing Carrillo do so. Leguizamon said she had first met Lugo in 2000 as a 17-yearold, while he was working as a bishop in San Pedro department (state), and gave birth to their son in September 2002. She said Lugo had initially sent her money intended for the child’s care, but that he had stopped doing so after the boy turned two, and broke off contact with her. Yet another woman, Damiana Moran, 39, April 22 said she had met Lugo in 2006, after he had attempted to leave the church, and had had a son with him, now 16 months old. Moran said she did not intend to file a paternity suit against Lugo. Lugo April 24 said he had committed “personal errors,” but did not admit to fathering either of the children born to Moran or Leguizamon. Bishop Rogelio Livieres Plano of the Ciudad del Este diocese April 21 had said that at least two women had written letters to the Vatican in 2004 alleging that Lugo had conducted relationships with them. Livieres said that when confronted on the issue, Lugo had admitted that it was possible that he had fathered children with the women. The Paraguayan bishops’ conference that day said it had never received “formal written complaints” about alleged misconduct by Lugo, and denied that it was trying to cover up any of his actions. n FACTS ON FILE

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Indonesia Legislative Elections Held. Indonesia Pres-

ident Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democrat Party April 9 came in first according to preliminary results in the country’s third set of national legislative elections since longtime ruler Suharto stepped down in 1998. The Democrat Party beat out the Golongan Karya Party (Golkar), which had been allied with Suharto, and former President Megawati Sukarnoputri’s Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). Indonesia’s Electoral Commission was not expected to release its final election results until May 9. About 123 million of Indonesia’s 171 million registered voters participated in the elections. [See 2004, p. 296D1] Yudhoyono was expected to win the country’s next presidential election, which was scheduled to be held in July. Under Indonesian law, political parties or coalitions that wished to field a candidate for the presidential election were required to receive at least 25% of the parliamentary popular vote or 20% of the seats in parliament. According to the Electoral Commission’s partial tally of the vote, the Democrat Party received 20.5% of the vote, up from less than 7.5% in the 2004 legislative elections, it was reported April 16. Golkar received 14.5%, a decline from its 2004 showing of 21.6%, and PDI-P also received 14.5%, down from 18.3%. Early polling had suggested that the Democrat Party would win a larger victory. Experts said Yudhoyono would likely be forced to form a coalition government, most likely with Golkar, which had been a member of Yudhoyono’s previous ruling coalition. Indonesia’s openly Islamic parties had suffered significant declines in the April 9 election, with their estimated share of the vote dropping to 29.5% from about 39% in 2004. However, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the country’s most prominent Islamic party, increased its percentage of the vote to 8.4%, from about 7.1% in 2004. About 90% of Indonesia’s population was Muslim. The Electoral Commission official in charge of counting votes, Wahidah Suaib, April 11 said that the body had “received 378 election violation reports from officials in 28 provinces,” adding that the problems appeared especially pronounced in the provinces of West Kalimantan, Southeast Sulawesi and Central Java. The irregularities reportedly included voters listed multiple times under different names and registered voters whose names did not appear on ballot rolls. Suaib said that, depending on how serious the irregularities proved to be, “there might have to be a repeat of the vote in some polling stations.” Britain’s Economist magazine reported April 16 that more than 1,000 irregularities had been cited. n April 30, 2009

Thailand State of Emergency Ended in Bangkok.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva April 24 lifted a state of emergency for Bangkok, the capital, and its surrounding areas. The state of emergency had been imposed April 12 in response to large-scale demonstrations in and around the city by opposition protesters allied with former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Clashes between pro-Thaksin protesters, known as “red shirts,” and Thailand’s military had left two people dead and at least 135 injured in early April. [See p. 249F3] Abhisit announced the lifting of the state of emergency after a two-day session of parliament intended to examine the country’s recent political instability. He had said April 23 in an interview with the Washington Post that “protest demonstrations can resume. The only thing we will not allow is inciting violence and rioting.” Abhisit also said that he would not schedule new elections, as demanded by the opposition, until Thailand’s constitution was amended. Abhisit supported constitutional amendments that would make Thailand’s Senate a fully elected body (currently, about half of the country’s senators were appointed) and alter laws allowing courts to disband political parties if high-ranking members were convicted of vote-buying and other election fraud charges. Abhisit had been elected prime minister in a December 2008 parliamentary vote after the pro-Thaksin People Power Party (PPP), which had won 2007 legislative elections, was dissolved by the country’s Constitutional Court in connection with voter fraud charges. ‘Red Shirts’ Hold Demonstration— A group of at least 3,000 red shirt protesters April 25 held their first demonstration since the end of Bangkok’s state of emergency. The protest was held in a public square in Bangkok near the royal palace and had been publicly announced April 24 after Abhisit’s announcement. Somyos Prueksakasemsuk, a leader of the proThaksin United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), addressed the crowd, saying that Abhisit’s gestures toward compromise were intended to create a political “reconciliation that will make people surrender to be their slaves.” He also that the protesters wanted “the rule of democracy back, which means the government should come from an election without any interference from outside powers.” Anti-Thaksin Leader Shot—Sondhi Limthongkul, who was one of the leaders of the anti-Thaksin People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), April 17 was shot and wounded in the head in an apparent assassination attempt in Bangkok. His driver and one of his aides were also injured in the attack. Sondhi, a wealthy businessman, was the most prominent leader of the PAD, which had led so-called yellow shirt protests against the PPP in 2008. Gen. Anupong Paojinda, the head of the Thai military, April 23 said that investiga-

tors had found three empty shells near the site of the shooting of a kind that was used exclusively by the Thai military. Police had also found 81 other bullet cartridges and an unexploded grenade. He said that he had initiated an investigation into the shooting and would punish any soldiers shown to be involved. However, a Thai army weapons expert April 24 said that the cartridges lacked the serial numbers that had been engraved on army bullets for the past five years, suggesting that the bullets were not necessarily military in origin. Sondhi April 25 was released from the Bangkok hospital where he had undergone surgery to repair damage to his skull caused by the shooting and to remove a blood clot. n

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Iceland Left-wing Coalition Wins Elections. Prime

Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir April 25 led her leftist coalition to victory in Iceland’s parliamentary elections, and signaled that her top priority was to apply for membership in the European Union for Iceland. She had taken office in February as head of a caretaker government after street protests the previous month, sparked by the country’s economic collapse, forced the resignation of her predecessor, Geir Haarde of the conservative Independence Party. [See p. 68F3; for facts on Sigurdardottir, see box p. 296A1] Sigurdardottir’s Social Democratic Alliance won 20 seats in the 63-seat Althingi, or parliament. Her coalition partner, the Left-Green Movement, won 14 seats. The Independence Party won 16 seats, its worst election result ever. About 85% of eligible voters cast ballots. The Independence Party had held power for most of the past two decades, pursuing free-market policies that were blamed for encouraging heavy risk-taking by Iceland’s banks. The major banks were all taken over by the government in October 2008 to save them from collapsing in the global financial crisis, and Iceland had to turn to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $10 billion rescue package. Iceland’s gross domestic product (GDP) was projected to contract 10% in 2009, and the unemployment rate had risen sharply, to 8.9% in March. Sigurdardottir April 26 said she would press for an EU membership agreement, and a referendum on it, within 12 to 18 months, despite opposition from the LeftGreens and divided public opinion. She also said she expected that Iceland would be able to adopt the euro currency within four years. The opportunity of adopting the stable euro, used by 16 of the EU’s 27 member nations, was an incentive for pursuing EU membership. The value of Iceland’s currency, the krona, had plunged during the economic crisis, and the inflation rate was now hovering at about 15%. 295

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Johanna Sigurdardottir was born Oct. 4, 1942, in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland. She graduated from the Commercial College of Iceland in 1960. She worked as a flight attendant for Loftleidir Icelandic Airlines from 1962 to 1971, then as an office worker for a packaging company from 1971 to 1978. She became a labor organizer during her airline career, and later became a top union official. She was first elected to the Althingi, or parliament, in 1978. She joined the cabinet for the first time in 1987, as minister of social affairs. In 1994, she resigned from the government and made an unsuccessful bid for the leadership of the Social Democratic Party, which later merged with two other center-left parties to form the Social Democratic Alliance. She formed her own party, the National Movement, in 1995, but rejoined the Social Democrats in 2000, and became social affairs minister again in 2007. She became prime minister Feb. 1 after street protests over Iceland’s economic crisis drove Prime Minister Geir Haarde of the conservative Independence Party from office. Her Social Democrat–led coalition won parliamentary elections April 25. [See pp. 295C3, 68F3] Sigurdardottir was Iceland’s first female prime minister and the first openly gay leader of any modern nation. In 2002, she married author and playwright Jonina Leosdottir in a civil ceremony. (Iceland legalized gay marriage in 1996.) Sigurdardottir had two adult sons from a previous marriage to a man, banker Torvaldur Johannesson. [See 1996, p. 504E3]

The Independence Party had rejected the idea of joining the EU, warning that it would lead to a loss of national sovereignty in matters such as the regulation of Iceland’s fishing industry. Sigurdardottir vowed not to give up control over natural resources in exchange for EU membership. Sigurdardottir, 66, was Iceland’s first female prime minister, and the first openly homosexual person to lead any modern nation. n

Other European News Turkey, Armenia Reach Pact to Improve Ties.

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The foreign ministries of Turkey and Armenia April 22 announced that they had reached an agreement on a “road map” for normalizing relations between the two nations. The deal called for their border to be opened for the first time since 1993. Turkey had closed the border in a dispute over Armenia’s backing for separatist rebels in the ethnic Armenian region of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan, an ally of Turkey. [See 2008, p. 638F3] Turkish-Armenian ties had also been overshadowed by the World War I–era mass killings of as many as 1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, and Turkey’s refusal to recognize those deaths as a deliberate act of genocide, as Armenia demanded. The April 22 statement did not provide further details of the agreement or a time frame for implementing it. The agreement would require final approval by both countries’ leaders and parliaments. 296

Armenia and Turkey both credited Switzerland with acting as a mediator in their negotiations. U.S. officials reportedly were also deeply involved in the talks. During his visit to Istanbul, Turkey, earlier in April, U.S. President Barack Obama had reportedly discussed the matter with Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan and Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian. Adding to the pressure on Turkey, the European Union had made reopening the Armenian border one of its conditions for Turkey’s bid for EU membership. Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry April 23 expressed opposition to the pact, with a spokesman warning that “opening the border could lead to tensions in the region.” Azerbaijan called on Turkey to insist on a withdrawal of Armenian forces from Nagorno-Karabakh as a condition for normalized relations. Azerbaijan had warned that it might withdraw Turkey’s favored status for access to its oil and gas supplies if the matter remained unsettled. In response, Turkish officials said they still intended to link the normalization of relations with Armenia to a resolution of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh. Obama Marks Killings as ‘Atrocities’—

Obama April 24 avoided using the word “genocide” in a statement issued on Armenians’ annual commemoration of the start of the mass killings in 1915. When he was still a senator and presidential candidate, Obama had described the massacres as a genocide. But earlier in April, during his visit to Turkey, he had avoided using the term. [See p. 214G2] In his April 24 statement, Obama called the massacres of Armenians “one of the great atrocities of the 20th century.” He added, “I have consistently stated my own view of what occurred in 1915, and my view of that history has not changed. My interest remains the frank and just acknowledgment of the facts. The best way to advance that goal right now is for the Armenian and Turkish people to address the facts of their past as part of their efforts to move forward.” Turkish President Abdullah Gul April 25 criticized Obama’s statement, saying that Obama should have recognized that “hundreds of thousands of Turks and Muslims” had been killed in fighting with Armenians during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. n

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Iraq Series of Deadly Bombings Kills Over 180.

A wave of bombings April 23–24 hit Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, and Diyala province northeast of Baghdad, killing at least 140 people. Six additional bombings in Baghdad April 29 killed at least 48 people. The bombings were the latest in a string of recent high-profile attacks in Iraq, which had come as the U.S. military was turning over security responsibilities to Iraqi forces. [See p. 275F1]

The bombings largely hit Shiite Muslim targets, and Iraqis reportedly feared that they were aimed at reigniting sectarian violence between Shiites and Sunni Muslims. The attacks were believed to be the work of the Sunni insurgent group Al Qaeda in Iraq, though government officials suggested that elements of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s Baath party were also involved. [See below] A suicide bomber April 23 attacked a crowd of women and children at a food distribution center in the predominantly Shiite Karrada neighborhood in central Baghdad. Iraqi officials said 28 people had died in the explosion, including at least six police officers. Witnesses said the bomber was a woman who was walking with a young child. The same day, another suicide bomber in Muqdadiyah, in Diyala, detonated his explosives outside a restaurant at which Iranian pilgrims traveling to Iraqi Shiite holy sites had stopped. The blast killed at least at least 47 people, almost all of them Iranians, according to Iraqi police. Also April 23, a suicide bomber in Diyala attacked a car carrying a leader of a local Awakening Council—an armed, predominantly Sunni group that had turned against extremists—killing the Awakening leader and four bystanders. Two suicide bombers April 24 blew themselves up in Baghdad’s mostly Shiite neighborhood of Kadhimiya near the revered Shiite shrine of Imam Musa al Kadhim and his grandson. The bombers, at least one of whom was reportedly female, killed at least 60 people, mostly Iranian pilgrims. In response to a public outcry over the attack, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri alMaliki called for an investigation into the attack and possible security failures. He also ordered the arrest of two national police commanders responsible for security in the area. The 2008 bombing of another important Shiite mosque, the Askariya shrine in Samarra, had touched off intense sectarian violence. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, April 25 indicated that U.S. troops were responsible for the bombings that had killed Iranians. However, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who was visiting Iraq that day, dismissed IRAQ CASUALTIES

Following are tallies of casualties in Iraq since the beginning of a U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, as they stood April 30 [See pp. 296F2, 208A3]: U.S. military casualties:

Deaths Wounded

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Allied military deaths: 318 Iraqi security forces deaths: 9,022 Iraqi civilian deaths: 91,586–99,991 (Range based on news reports of deaths) Sources: U.S. casualties: U.S. Defense Department. Allies and Iraqi security forces: www.icasualties.org.

FACTS ON FILE

the accusation and said the bombing was “clearly traced to the Al Qaeda remnants and other violent groups.” [See p. 297A3] All six of the April 29 bombings hit predominantly Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad. In the deadliest, two car bombs exploded at a market in the neighborhood of Sadr City, killing at least 41 people and wounding more than 60, according to Iraqi security officials. A roadside bomb in the southern neighborhood of Dora shortly afterwards exploded near a minibus, killing five of the bus’s occupants. Also that day, two car bombs exploded in front of a Sunni mosque in the mostly Shiite neighborhood of Huriya, killing at least two people, and another car bombing in the southwestern neighborhood of Shurta Rabia wounded five. Iraqi police said they had defused at least three additional car bombs. After the Sadr City attacks, Iraqis threw stones and bottles at Iraqi troops and berated them for not stopping the bombers. Insurgent Leader Reported Caught—

The Iraqi military April 23 announced that it had captured Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, who it said was the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq. However, extremist Web sites denied that he had been captured, and the U.S. military could not confirm it. Baghdadi’s death or capture had been erroneously reported several times in the past, and the U.S. military had said he did not exist, but was a fiction meant to give the foreign-led Al Qaeda in Iraq an Iraqi face. [See 2008, p. 842C3] Iraqi officials April 28 released for the first time a photograph of a man it said was Baghdadi. Maliki that day said Baghdadi had “deep ties” with Hussein’s regime. Maliki had claimed that members of the Baath party had cooperated with insurgents to orchestrate some of the recent bombings, and his government had started taking a harder line against reconciliation efforts with former Baathists. The New York Times April 26 reported that one of Hussein’s former top generals, Lt. Gen. Raad Majid al-Hamdani, who was living in Jordan, had decided to stop participating in secret U.S.-brokered reconciliation talks because he thought Maliki’s government was not willing to accept former Baathists. Analysts said the antipathy was due in part to Maliki’s desire not to offend Shiite voters—who had been oppressed by Hussein’s Sunni-dominated government— ahead of an election scheduled for later in the year. U.S. Raid in Kut Protested—U.S. troops early April 26 raided a house in the city of Kut, in Wasit province southeast of Baghdad, detaining six men who they said were suspected of involvement in Shiite militias. Two Iraqis were killed in the raid: a policemen who the U.S. military said was armed and a threat, and a woman who was caught in the cross fire. The military later released all six detainees, saying they had been mistakenly targeted, and apologized for the raid. Hundreds of Iraqis April 26 protested against the raid in Kut. Maliki said it was a April 30, 2009

violation of a 2008 bilateral security agreement, and called on the U.S. military to “hand over those responsible for this crime to the courts.” However, the agreement only gave Iraqi courts jurisdiction over U.S. soldiers if they were not “on duty.” U.S. military officials said they had received permission for the raid from Iraqi officials, as required by the agreement. U.S. Seeks to Keep Troops in Mosul—

The Times April 27 reported that the U.S. military would begin to negotiate exceptions for a provision of the security agreement that required U.S. combat troops to withdraw from Iraqi cities by June 30. The U.S. would reportedly seek to keep troops in Mosul, the capital of the northern province of Nineveh, which was one of the last strongholds of the Sunni insurgency. [See p. 156E1] U.S. combat troops would also reportedly stay in several bases in Baghdad that Iraq had classified as technically outside the city limits, and one contingent near the U.S. embassy in Baghdad would remain to protect the facility. Also, Britain April 30 formally ended its combat mission in Iraq. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, meeting with Maliki in London, said the remaining 3,700 British troops in Iraq would withdraw from their base in the southern province of Basra in the coming weeks. A small contingent would remain behind to train Iraqi forces. The war in Iraq had been deeply unpopular in Britain, and 179 British soldiers had been killed. Britain had 46,000 troops in Iraq at the peak of its involvement in 2003. [See p. 208B3] Other News—In other Iraqi news: o The office of the U.S. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) April 26 reported that the Iraqi military had been negligent in improving its ability to maintain equipment and supply troops ahead of the U.S. withdrawal. The report said delays in creating a maintenance system and training troops had led to the ballooning of U.S. costs from about $208 million to more than $628 million. [See p. 175A1] o A federal grand jury in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., April 24 indicted U.S. citizen Robert John Jeffrey for conspiracy and theft of government property for involvement in a scheme in which prosecutors said at least $40 million worth of diesel and jet fuel was stolen from the U.S. military in Iraq in 2007–08. According to prosecutors, the participants in the plot, using fraudulent papers to pose as contractors, had filled tanker trucks with at least 10 million gallons of fuel from a large U.S. Army depot in Baghdad and sold it on the Iraqi black market, which was controlled in large part by Iraqi insurgents. The U.S. Justice Department said the charges carried a penalty of up to 15 years in prison and fines of $250,000 or more. The participants allegedly included Jeffrey; Lee William Dubois, who had pleaded guilty in late 2008; several other U.S. nationals and Iraqis; and about 10 Nepalese drivers. [See p. 255C1] n

Other Middle East News Clinton Visits Iraq, Lebanon. U.S. Secretary

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of State Hillary Rodham Clinton April 24– 26 traveled to the Middle East, visiting Kuwait, Iraq and Lebanon. It was her second trip to the region as the U.S.’s top diplomat, after a March visit that included stops in Syria, Egypt, Israel and the West Bank. [See 2009, p. 123F1] After meeting with Kuwaiti officials April 24, Clinton April 25 flew to Baghdad, Iraq’s capital. The unannounced visit was her first to Iraq as secretary of state, after three trips to the country as a senator. Clinton met with Iraqi officials and Gen. Raymond Odierno, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq. She was accompanied by the new U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Christopher Hill. [See p. 296E3] In a news conference with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Clinton pledged that the U.S. would continue to “stand with the people of Iraq,” while U.S. forces withdrew over the next year. She said that despite a series of major suicide bombings over the past week that had killed at least 140 people, overall security was improving. She said the attacks were, “in an unfortunately tragic way, a signal that the rejectionists fear that Iraq is going in the right direction.” Clinton also held a town hall–style meeting with over 100 Iraqis picked by the U.S. embassy. Many of the Iraqis asked her for help for various groups such as aid organizations and former prisoners, and also questioned whether the U.S. was still committed to Iraq. Clinton asserted that U.S. aid for civilian projects would increase and the troop withdrawal would be carried out in a “responsible and careful way,” but added, “We need to be sure that all of you are supporting a strong, nonsectarian security force.”

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Clinton April 26 traveled on to Lebanon and met with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for June 7. At a news conference in Beirut, the capital, Clinton said, “The Lebanese people have a lot at stake in this election,” and expressed “hope that the election will be free of intimidation and outside interference and that the results…will continue a moderate, positive direction that will benefit all the people of Lebanon.” [See p. 156D3] In the election, the Western-backed March 14 Movement led by Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora would face the Shiite Muslim militant group Hezbollah. Clinton did not state support for either side, and did not meet with Siniora or other legislators who would participate in the election. However, she laid a wreath on the grave of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who had been assassinated in 2005 and had been Siniora’s patron. The U.S. considered Hezbollah a terrorist group and did not have contacts with the organization. [See p. 210G3] Clinton in the press conference also said the U.S. “will never make any deal with 297

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Syria that sells out Lebanon and the Lebanese people.” Syria had occupied Lebanon for almost three decades before withdrawing in 2005, and it backed Hezbollah. The Obama administration had taken steps to improve relations with Syria. [See p. 143B1] n

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Army Retakes Town From Militants. The

Pakistani army April 29 announced that it had seized control of Daggar, the main town in the northwestern district of Buner, a week after hundreds of Taliban Islamic fundamentalist militants overran the area, which lay 70 miles (110 km) northwest of Islamabad, the Pakistani capital. The Pakistani government had come under intense domestic and international pressure to combat the militants, who observers said were using a February peace deal to expand their control of the northwest. [See p. 275E3] President Asif Ali Zardari earlier in April had signed a law allowing Islamic fundamentalists to establish sharia, or traditional Islamic law, in Malakand division in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). The establishment of sharia was part of a February peace deal reached between the Pakistani army and Taliban militants in Malakand’s Swat valley, the site of an 18-month-long battle between the two sides. However, the Taliban in April invaded Buner, which was also part of Malakand, in an apparent violation of the peace deal. Critics said the government’s reaction to the developments in Buner was tepid, and that Zardari was effectively ceding territory to the Taliban, which was calling for the implementation of sharia across Pakistan and seeking to overthrow the government. The government appeared to be swayed by the criticism, particularly from domestic media outlets and prominent politicians, as well as the U.S., Pakistan’s strongest ally. The Taliban was thought to have ties to international terrorist network Al Qaeda, and was also fighting U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces in neighboring Afghanistan. Zardari was scheduled to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai May 6 in Washington, D.C., where they were expected the discuss the growing militant threat. Army Begins Ground and Air Offensive—

G

The army April 28 began a ground and air offensive against the Taliban in Buner, following what it described as a successful April 26–27 operation to root out militants in the district of Lower Dir, located between Swat district and Pakistan’s lawless tribal areas on the Afghan border. Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, a military spokesman, April 29 said one soldier and more than 50 militants were killed in the Buner operation. He said militants were currently holding Buner’s civilian population “hostage,” and that the army was “try298

ing to ensure there is minimum collateral damage and minimum displacement of local people.” Abbas said the army had freed 18 of 70 police and paramilitary troops who had been captured April 28. He said a reported withdrawal from the area by militants April 24 had been faked, and that their commander, Maulana Fazlullah, had actually ordered them to remain in Buner. Abbas said he expected the operation to last for at least a week. Heavy fighting between the two sides continued through April 30. Abbas April 28 had said the Lower Dir operation had resulted in the deaths of 75 militants and 10 troops. An estimated 30,000 civilians fled the area due to the fighting. Pakistani officials said control of Lower Dir could allow the Taliban to travel freely from Afghanistan and the tribal areas to Buner and other regions in the NWFP. U.S. officials praised the Pakistani army’s efforts. Geoff Morrell, a Defense Department spokesman, April 29 said the offensive was “exactly the appropriate response,” adding, “We hope they can sustain these operations.” The New York Times April 29 reported that Pakistan was considering deploying an additional 6,000 troops to the NWFP from Pakistan’s eastern border with India. It remained unclear whether the army’s peace deal in Swat still held following the fighting in Buner and Lower Dir. Some Taliban leaders accused the government of violating the deal, but government officials said they hoped it would remain intact. While there were about 500 militants in

Buner, there were some 8,000 militants in Swat, and the army had been unable to defeat them militarily. Separately, 12 children in Lower Dir April 25 died when they mistook a bomb for a toy. n

SPORTS

UNITED STATES

Football QB Stafford Picked First in NFL Draft. The

Detroit Lions April 25 selected University of Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford with the first pick in the National Football League (NFL) draft. The seven-round draft, in which 256 players were selected, was held April 25–26 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. [See 2008, p. 319A1; for a complete list of the first-round picks, see p. 298D2] The selection of Stafford had been expected, after he agreed April 24 to a sixyear contract with the Lions that included a guaranteed $41.7 million and could be worth as much as $78 million with incentives. The Lions in the 2008 season had been the first team in NFL history to post a record of zero wins and 16 losses. [See 2008, p. 991C1] With the second overall pick, the St. Louis Rams chose Baylor University offensive tackle Jason Smith. The Kansas City Chiefs took Louisiana State University defensive end Tyson Jackson with the third pick, and the Seattle Seahawks used the fourth selection to draft Wake Forest University linebacker Aaron Curry.

2009 NFL DRAFT: FIRST ROUND

The teams selecting in the first round of the April 25–26 National Football League (NFL) collegiate draft, the projected professional positions of the players, and the players’ colleges were [See p. 298B3]: 1. Detroit:

17. Tampa Bay (from N.Y. Jets via Cleveland):

Josh Freeman, quarterback, Kansas State 18. Denver (from Chicago): Robert Ayers, de-

fensive end, Tennessee 19. Philadelphia (from Tampa Bay via Cleve-

Matthew Stafford, quarterback,

Georgia 2. St. Louis: Jason Smith, offensive tackle, Bay-

lor 3. Kansas City: Tyson Jackson, defensive end,

LSU 4. Seattle: Aaron Curry, linebacker, Wake Forest 5. N.Y. Jets (from Cleveland): Mark Sanchez, 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

quarterback, Southern California Cincinnati: Andre Smith, offensive tackle, Alabama Oakland: Darrius Heyward-Bey, wide receiver, Maryland Jacksonville: Eugene Monroe, offensive tackle, Virginia Green Bay: B.J. Raji, defensive tackle, Boston College San Francisco: Michael Crabtree, wide receiver, Texas Tech Buffalo: Aaron Maybin, defensive end, Penn State Denver: Knowshon Moreno, running back, Georgia Washington: Brian Orakpo, defensive end, Texas New Orleans: Malcolm Jenkins, defensive back, Ohio State Houston: Brian Cushing, linebacker, Southern California San Diego: Larry English, linebacker, Northern Illinois

20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26.

27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32.

land): Jeremy Maclin, wide receiver, Missouri Detroit (from Dallas): Brandon Pettigrew, tight end, Oklahoma State Cleveland (from Philadelphia): Alex Mack, center, California Minnesota: Percy Harvin, wide receiver, Florida Baltimore (from New England): Michael Oher, offensive tackle, Mississippi Atlanta: Peria Jerry, defensive tackle, Mississippi Miami: Vontae Davis, defensive back, Illinois Green Bay (from Baltimore via New England): Clay Matthews, linebacker, Southern California Indianapolis: Donald Brown, running back, Connecticut Buffalo (from Carolina via Philadelphia): Eric Wood, center, Louisville N.Y. Giants: Hakeem Nicks, wide receiver, North Carolina Tennessee: Kenny Britt, wide receiver, Rutgers Arizona: Chris Wells, running back, Ohio State Pittsburgh: Evander Hood, defensive tackle, Missouri

FACTS ON FILE

In one of the most significant trades of the first round, the New York Jets acquired the fifth pick from the Cleveland Browns and drafted University of Southern California (USC) quarterback Mark Sanchez. In exchange, the Browns received the Jets’ first- and second-round picks in the draft, as well as three players: quarterback Brett Ratliff, defensive end Kenyon Coleman and defensive back Abran Elam. The Jets were in need of a new quarterback after their previous starter, Brett Favre, had retired in February. [See p. 176B2] Other News—In other NFL news: o The Chiefs April 23 traded tight end Tony Gonzalez to the Atlanta Falcons for a second-round pick in the 2010 draft. Gonzalez, 33, was one of the most prolific tight ends in NFL history. [See 2001, p. 111B1] o Longtime television analyst and former NFL coach John Madden April 16 announced that he was retiring from calling games. Madden, 73, had coached the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, and began his broadcasting career in 1979. Since then, he had worked for the CBS, Fox, ABC and NBC networks; his last game had been Super Bowl XLIII in February. Also, he had lent his name to the video game “Madden NFL Football” by Electronic Arts Inc. (EA)—the best-selling sports video game of all time. In 2006, Madden had been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Madden said he was retiring to spend more time with his family. [See 2006, p. 739D3; 2002, p. 198D2] o The New York Giants April 3 released troubled star wide receiver Plaxico Burress. Burress in early December 2008 had been charged with two counts of seconddegree criminal possession of a weapon, after accidentally shooting himself in the thigh with a handgun he was carrying illegally in a New York City nightclub. The Giants had suspended him without pay for the rest of the season after the incident. However, an arbitrator April 6 ruled that the Giants were obligated to pay Burress a $1 million installment of his $4.25 million signing bonus. The team had refused to pay the installment, which had been due Dec. 10, 2008. [See 2008, p. 991E1] o The Denver Broncos April 2 traded disgruntled quarterback Jay Cutler, along with a fifth-round draft pick, to the Chicago Bears for quarterback Kyle Orton, the Bears’ first- and third-round picks in the 2009 draft, and their first-round pick in 2010. Cutler reportedly had been unhappy with the firing of longtime Broncos coach Mike Shanahan in December 2008. [See 2008, p. 992F1] n

Hockey NHL Season Ends. The National Hockey League (NHL) season ended April 12, with

16 of the league’s 30 teams—eight each from the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference—advancing to the playoffs. [See p. 159G1] The Western Conference’s San Jose Sharks claimed the Presidents’ Trophy as April 30, 2009

2008–09 NHL Statistical Leaders*

NHL 2008–09 Final Standings EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L OT** Pts

*New Jersey *Pittsburgh *Philadelphia *N.Y. Rangers N.Y. Islanders *Boston *Montreal Buffalo Ottawa Toronto

GF

GA

106 99 99 95 61

244 264 264 210 201

209 239 238 218 279

Northeast Division W L OT** Pts

GF

GA

274 249 250 217 250

196 247 234 237 293

51 45 44 43 26 53 41 41 36 34

27 4 28 9 27 11 30 9 47 9 19 30 32 35 35

10 11 9 11 13

116 93 91 83 81

Southeast Division W L OT** Pts

*Washington *Carolina Florida Atlanta Tampa Bay

SCORING

50 45 41 35 24

24 30 30 41 40

8 7 11 6 18

108 97 93 76 66

GF

GA

272 239 234 257 210

245 226 231 280 279

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Central Division *Detroit *Chicago *St. Louis *Columbus Nashville *Vancouver *Calgary Minnesota Edmonton Colorado *San Jose *Anaheim Dallas Phoenix Los Angeles

W

L OT** Pts

GF

GA

51 46 41 41 40

21 24 31 31 34

112 104 92 92 88

295 264 233 226 213

244 216 233 230 233

Northwest Division W L OT** Pts

GF

GA

100 98 89 85 69

246 254 219 234 199

220 248 200 248 257

Pacific Division W L OT** Pts

GF

GA

257 245 230 208 207

204 238 257 252 234

45 46 40 38 32 53 42 36 36 34

27 30 33 35 45 18 33 35 39 37

10 12 10 10 8 10 6 9 9 5 11 7 11 7 11

117 91 83 79 79

*In playoffs **Overtime loss. Teams get one point for a loss in overtime or a shootout.

the team with the most points in the regular season. The Sharks posted a record of 53 wins, 18 losses and 11 overtime or shootout losses (worth one point), for a total of 117 points. The Boston Bruins (53–19–10; 116 points) had the best record in the Eastern Conference. Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin won the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s top points scorer, notching 35 goals and 78 assists for 113 points. For the second straight season, Washington Capitals center Alex Ovechkin claimed the Maurice Richard Trophy as the league leader in goals, with 56. [See 2008, p. 760F1] Other News—In other NHL news: o The Penguins April 27 removed the “interim” tag from coach Dan Blysma’s title, and awarded him a multiyear contract, the terms of which were not disclosed. Blysma had taken over as interim coach in February, after the team fired Michel Therrien. Blysma led the Penguins from a mediocre record to gaining the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Penguins April 25 won their first-round playoff series against the Philadelphia Flyers, four games to two. [See p. 159D2]

Malkin, Pittsburgh Ovechkin, Washington Crosby, Pittsburgh Datsyuk, Detroit Parise, New Jersey

A

GP

G

A

Pts

+/-

82 79 77 81 82

35 56 33 32 45

78 54 70 65 49

113 110 103 97 94

17 8 3 34 30

GOALS—Ovechkin, 56; Carter, Philadelphia, 46; Parise, 45; Kovalchuk, Atlanta, 43; Nash, Columbus, 40; Staal, Carolina, 40; Hossa, Detroit, 40; Vanek, Buffalo, 40. ASSISTS—Malkin, 78; Crosby, 70; Getzlaf, Anaheim, 66; Backstrom, Washington, 66; Datsyuk, 65. POWER-PLAY GOALS—Vanek, 20; Ovechkin, 19; Cammalleri, Calgary, 19; Green, Washington, 18; Selanne, Anaheim, 16; Boyes, St. Louis, 16. SHORT-HANDED GOALS—Richards, Philadelphia, 7; Marleau, San Jose, 5; Nash, 5; seven tied with 4. GAME-WINNING GOALS—Carter, 12; Boyes, 11; Marleau, 10; Ovechkin, 10; Sykora, Pittsburgh, 10. PLUS/MINUS—Krejci, Boston, 37; Wheeler, Boston, 36; Datsyuk, 34; Zajac, New Jersey, 33; Keith, Chicago, 33. PENALTY MINUTES—Carcillo, Philadelphia, 254; O’Brien, Vancouver, 196; Orr, N.Y. Rangers, 193; Stortini, Edmonton, 181; Boll, Columbus, 180.

GOALTENDING WINS—Kiprusoff, Calgary, 45; Nabokov, San Jose, 41; Ward, Carolina, 39; Lundqvist, N.Y. Rangers, 38; Backstrom, Minnesota, 37. SHUTOUTS—Mason, Columbus, 10; Luongo, Vancouver, 9; Backstrom, 8; Nabokov, 7; Rinne, Nashville, 7. †GOALS-AGAINST AVERAGE—Thomas, Boston, 2.10; Mason, 2.29; Backstrom, 2.33; Khabibulin, Chicago, 2.33; Luongo, 2.34. †SAVE PERCENTAGE—Thomas, .933; Vokoun, Florida, .926; Anderson, Florida, .924; Backstrom, .923; Luongo, .920.

B

C

D

*The players’complete names are found in the index. †Minimum 27 games played.

o The Colorado Avalanche, who finished last in the Western Conference with a 32–45–5 record, April 13 fired general manager Francois Giguere. o Minnesota Wild coach Jacques Lemaire April 12 announced that he was retiring, after eight seasons with the team. The Wild April 16 fired general manager Doug Risebrough. [See 2003, p. 683A3] o New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur March 17 won the 552nd game of his career, surpassing Hall of Famer Patrick Roy as the NHL’s all-time goalie win leader. The Devils that night defeated the Chicago Blackhawks, 3–2, in Newark, N.J. Brodeur, 36, was a four-time winner of the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goalie, and had backstopped the Devils in three Stanley Cup championships. As of the end of the 2008–09 season, he had compiled 557 wins. [See 2008, p. 760A2; 2006, p. 774F2] n Boston University Wins NCAA Title. The Boston University Terriers April 11 defeated the Miami University (Ohio) RedHawks, 4–3, in overtime in Washington, D.C., to win the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men’s hockey championship. The Terriers, coached by Jack Parker, claimed the fifth championship in the program’s history. 299

E

F

G

A

B

C

D

E

Underdog Miami had been attempting to win the first NCAA title in any sport in the school’s history. [See 2008, p. 336B1] The championship game featured a thrilling finish. The teams were tied, 1–1, at the beginning of the third period. Continuous pressure applied by Miami’s offense eventually led to goals by Tommy Wingles and Trent Vogelhuber to give the RedHawks a 3–1 lead. Parker pulled goaltender Kieran Millan for an extra attacker with three minutes and 23 seconds remaining in the game. That move paid off, as Zach Cohen scored to pull the Terriers to within one goal, and Nick Bonino stunned the RedHawks by tying the score with just 17 seconds remaining. That sent the game into overtime, and Colby Cohen scored the game-winner for Boston University 11:47 into the overtime period. Boston University had reached the final April 9 by defeating the University of Vermont, 5–4, in a game that also featured a twogoal comeback in the third period by the Terriers. Miami that day beat Bemidji State University, 4–1, to advance to the championship game. Bemidji State, a tiny school based in Minnesota, had been the first 16th (lowest) seed to reach the Frozen Four, after an improbable playoff run in which it defeated several higher-ranked teams. Gilroy Wins Hobey Baker Award— Boston University senior defenseman Matt Gilroy, the team’s co-captain, April 10 won the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as the top player in U.S. college hockey. Gilroy had been an unrecruited freshman walk-on for the school, and turned down offers from several National Hockey League (NHL) teams in order to return for his senior year. In the 2008–09 season, he played a key role in leading the Terriers to their first Frozen Four appearance since 1997. Wisconsin Claims Women’s Title— The University of Wisconsin Badgers March 22 won the NCAA Division I women’s hockey championship, defeating the Mercyhurst College Lakers, 5–0, in Boston, Mass. Wisconsin was led by goaltender Jessie Vetter, who collected her record 14th shutout of the season and was named the most outstanding player of the women’s Frozen Four. Wisconsin won its third title in four years. [See 2008, p. 268G1] n

ARTS & SCIENCES

UNITED STATES

F

Awards Swiss Architect Wins Pritzker Prize. Swiss

G

architect Peter Zumthor April 13 was named the winner of the 2009 Pritzker Prize, deemed the most prestigious prize in the field of architecture and worth $100,000. Zumthor was the first solo Swiss architect to win the prize; the Basel-based team of Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron had shared it in 2001. [See 2008, p. 247F2; 2001, p. 259G1] While little known to the general public, Zumthor, 65, was esteemed by his colleagues for having succeeded “in paring down architecture to its barest yet most sumptuous essentials,” according to the ci300

tation from the nine-member Pritzker jury accompanying the announcement of the prize. Since 1979, he had lived and worked in the remote Swiss Alpine village of Haldenstein, running a small practice of only about 20 employees. Perhaps his best-known completed project was a bath house he designed for the Hotel Therme, in Vals, Switzerland. The facility, which opened in 1996, was built on the site of a hot spring embedded in a mountainside, and its thick walls were lined with stone from local quarries. Its pools were illuminated by flickering, indirect sunlight, enhancing its aura of tranquility. Since the facility’s opening, tourism to the Vals area had reportedly climbed nearly 50%. One of his most highly regarded projects outside Switzerland was the Kolumba Art Museum in Cologne, Germany, finished in 2007. Rising from the ruins of a Gothic church destroyed during World War II, the museum was hailed by the Pritzker jury as “a startling contemporary work but also one that is completely at ease with its many layers of history.” It, too, was gently illuminated, by light penetrating through random gaps in the stonework of the structure’s upper walls. In 1993, Zumthor had submitted the winning design for a memorial to the horrors of Nazism that was to have been built in Berlin, Germany. Cost overruns reportedly led to the cancellation of that project in 2004, whereupon German officials demolished what had already been built. n

People A statue of abolitionist Sojourner Truth was unveiled April 28 in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., making her the first black woman to be so honored. Presiding over the unveiling were First Lady Michelle Obama, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D, Calif.). Born into slavery as Isabella Baumfree at the turn of the 19th century, Truth escaped to freedom in 1826 and later became not only a prominent antislavery crusader but also a women’s rights activist. She died in 1883 in Battle Creek, Mich. The statue was located in the main hall of the Capitol’s new Visitor Center, which was called Emancipation Hall. [See 2008, p. 906D2; 1979, p. 712E1] Seeking to confirm a long-standing rumor that a gold pocket-watch that had once belonged to U.S. President Abraham Lincoln contained a secret message, Washington, D.C.’s American Museum of National History, part of the Smithsonian Institution, March 10 opened the watch, which had been part of its collection since 1958. The watch, when opened, was found to contain an inscription by Irish immigrant and watchmaker Jonathan Dillon, who, while working at a Washington jewelry shop, had been tasked with repairing Lincoln’s timepiece in 1861, soon after Lincoln became president. The inscription read: “Jonathan Dillon April 13-1861 Fort Sumpter [Sumter] was attacked by the rebels on the above date...thank God we

have a government.” (Dillon was off by a day; Fort Sumter, S.C., was attacked on April 12, 1861, precipitating the Civil War.) The New York Times in April 1906 had run an article about the alleged inscription after interviewing Dillon, then 84 years old. [See 2008, p. 997C1] n

O B I T UA R I E S ANNAKIN, Ken(neth Cooper), 94, film director whose first feature film was Holiday Camp, released in 1947; he went on to direct dozens of films in both his native Britain and Hollywood, including Across the Bridge (1957), Swiss Family Robinson (1960)—one of several family-oriented movies he made for Walt Disney Co.—and Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965), a comedy about a 1910 London-toParis airplane race; the last film he directed was The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking (1988); born Aug. 10, 1914, in Beverley, England; died April 22 at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif., weeks after suffering a heart attack and a stroke within a day of each other. [See 1982, p. 884G2; 1979, p. 820B1; Indexes 1968, 1965, 1962, 1959–60, 1957, 1953, 1949–50] ARTHUR, Bea(trice) (born Bernice Frankel), 86, actress who starred in two long-running television situation comedies, “Maude” (1972–78) and “The Golden Girls” (1985–92); both were produced by Norman Lear, who created the title character of the former show, outspoken feminist Maude Findlay, just for her; before becoming a TV star, she made her mark on Broadway, originating the role of Yente the Matchmaker in the musical Fiddler on the Roof (1964) and winning a 1966 Tony Award for her performance in the musical Mame, directed by Gene Saks, her husband from 1950 to 1978; born May 13, 1922, in New York City; died April 25 at her home in Los Angeles, of cancer. [See 2008, p. 512A3; 2002, p. 351D3; Indexes 1988, 1981, 1966, 1957–58, 1955] CARDIFF, Jack, 94, British cinematographer and film director; he was the camera operator on the first Technicolor film made in Britain, Wings of the Morning (1937), and in the 1940s collaborated on three of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s best-known films—A Matter of Life and Death (1946), Black Narcissus (1947) and The Red Shoes (1948); his work on Black Narcissus won him an Academy Award, and in 2001 he was given an honorary lifetime Oscar; he himself directed about 15 films, including a 1960 adaptation of D.H. Lawrence’s novel Sons and Lovers; born Sept. 18, 1914, in Great Yarmouth, England; died April 22 at his home in Ely, England. [See 1990, p. 132D3; 1988, p. 96G3; Indexes 1968, 1964–65, 1960] JONES, Jack (James Larkin Jones), 96, general secretary of Britain’s Transport and General Workers’ Union (TGWU), 1969–78; during that period, he was perhaps Britain’s most influential nongovernmental political figure; under his leadership, the TGWU became the first British labor union to exceed two million members; born March 29, 1913, in Liverpool, England; died April 21 in London. [See 1977, pp. 392F1, 44C3, 29B2; 1976, pp. 1003E3, 889A3, 853F2, 439G3; Indexes 1975, 1971–72, 1969] MANNING, Frankie (Frank Benjamin), 94, leading exponent of the form of swing dancing known as the Lindy Hop, which began in New York City in the late 1920s and became an international craze in the 1930s; after U.S. Army service during World War II, he returned to dance, but by the early 1950s the significantly altered music scene no longer allowed him to make a living as a dancer; for the next three decades he worked as a postal clerk, until a revival of swing dancing enabled him to return to the dance world full-time, as both teacher and performer; in 1989, he shared a Tony Award for choreography with three others— Cholly Atkins, Henry LeTang and Fayard Nicholas— for their work on the Broadway revue Black and Blue; since LeTang’s death in 2007, he had been the last survivor of that foursome; born May 26, 1914, in Jacksonville, Fla.; died April 27 at a hospital in New York City, of pneumonia complications. [See 2006, p. 60C3; 2003, p. 360G2; Index 1989] MAXIMOVA, Ekaterina Sergeyevna, 71, Russian ballerina; she was a principal dancer with Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet from the late 1950s until the late 1980s, hailed not only as a soloist but as the partner of Vladimir Vasiliev, the Bolshoi’s leading male dancer of their era and her husband since 1961; she was widely reported to have been born in Moscow on Feb. 1, 1939, but, in announcing her sudden death, which occurred April 28 at her Moscow home, the Bolshoi gave her age as 71. n

April 30, 2009

Justice Souter Announces Retirement From U.S. Supreme Court Obama to Nominate His First Court Justice.

U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice David H. Souter May 1 tendered his resignation to President Barack Obama, who was tasked with nominating his first justice to the court less than four months after taking office. Souter, 69, had been nominated in 1990 by Republican President George H.W. Bush, becoming the court’s 105th member. However, Souter largely disappointed Republicans by consistently siding with the more liberal side of the bench, particularly in recent years. [See p. 167E1; 1990, p. 757B1; for facts on Souter, see p. 302F1; for key decisions in Souter’s tenure, see p. 302A1] In his resignation letter to Obama, Souter said he would step down in the summer, after the court finished its 2008–09 term. Souter was the fourth-youngest member of the nine-justice court, and was considered to be in good health. He did not publicly explain the reasons for his departure, but was known to have a distaste for life in Washington, D.C., and had once described the position of Supreme Court justice as “the world’s best job in the world’s worst city.” Friends also reportedly said he was eager to return to his hometown of Weare, N.H., where he could indulge in his passions for hiking and reading about law, history, literature and philosophy. Souter in his resignation letter wrote that he planned to “continue to render substantial judicial service as an Associate Justice,” an apparent reference to the ability of a retired justice to serve on a temporary basis in a federal district or appeals court. Bush Pick Disappointed Conservatives—

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Bush in July 1990 nominated the littleknown Souter to replace retiring Justice William J. Brennan Jr.—one of the staunchest liberals on the court—at the urging of White House Chief of Staff John Sununu, a former governor of New Hampshire. Sununu at the time told fellow Republicans that Souter was a “home run” for their cause. Souter was subsequently con-

firmed by the Senate in a 90–9 vote, and was sworn in in October 1990. At the time of his nomination to the Supreme Court, he had been a judge on the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, Mass., for a mere two months. Before that, he had served as an associate justice on the New Hampshire Supreme Court from 1983 to 1990. Souter was not long at the Supreme Court before he disappointed conservatives by coauthoring a 5–4 majority opinion in 1992 that upheld a woman’s right to an abortion, first established in the 1973 case Roe v. Wade. Souter joined Justices Anthony M. Kennedy and Sandra Day O’Connor—both of whom had been appointed by Republican President Ronald Reagan—in saying that the right to an abortion was “a rule of law and a component of liberty we cannot renounce,” in the case Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey. [See 1992, p. 479F1] Besides his support for abortion rights, Souter displeased conservatives by voting to strengthen the separation between church and state; to limit the use of capital punishment; to defend affirmative action policies; and to grant rights to suspected terrorism detainees held at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Souter in recent years had often joined Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer and John Paul Stevens to form what was considered the liberal wing of the current Supreme Court. Scholars said that during Souter’s tenure, his own legal philosophy had shifted in a liberal direction, while the ideological tenor of the court as a whole moved to the right. During much of Souter’s tenure, the court was presided over by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who was credited with guiding it in a conservative direction. The last two justices to join the court, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., were nominated in 2005 by Bush’s son, Republican President George W. Bush, and had thus far taken generally conservative positions. As a jurist, Souter was thought to adhere to the pragmatist position, believing that judges should consider the country’s historical progress when making a decision, as well as a case’s political and social context. Pragmatists were also defined as having a more flexible interpretation of the Constitution. Souter was often opposed by the court’s declared formalists—such as Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia— who voiced distrust of the court’s ability to interpret such progress (which, they asserted, came under the purview of Congress), and said that the court should limit itself to interpreting the letter of the law. Obama Praises Souter for Independence—

Associate Justice David Souter, who May 1 announced his retirement from the Supreme Court, in 2006.

Obama May 1 praised Souter as being a “fair-minded and independent judge.” Obama said, “He came to the bench with no particular ideology. He never sought to promote a political agenda. And he consistently defied labels and rejected absolutes, focusing instead on just one task—reach-

Facts On File

TM

World News Digest With Index ©2009 by Facts On File News Services An imprint of Infobase Publishing

Volume 69, No. 3568 May 7, 2009

B ing a just result in the case that was before him.” Obama that day said he would seek a justice who would rule with “empathy” from the bench. He said, “I will seek someone who understands that justice isn’t about some abstract legal theory or footnote in a casebook; it is also about how our laws affect the daily realities of people’s lives.” He added, “I will seek somebody who is dedicated to the rule of law, who honors our constitutional traditions, who respects the integrity of the judicial process and the appropriate limits of the judicial role.” Obama would be the first Democratic president to nominate a justice since Bill Clinton nominated Breyer in 1994. His choice was expected to leave the court’s current balance—with four liberals, four conservatives and Kennedy, who was considered a swing vote—unchanged. It was

C

D

MAJOR STORIES IN THIS ISSUE Justice Souter announces his retirement from U.S. Supreme Court; Obama to nominate his first justice. PAGE 301

Swine flu virus continues spread to 23 countries. PAGE 303

Maine legalizes gay marriage.

E

PAGE 304

Obama targets overseas corporate profits for tax reform PAGE 304

Former ‘enemy combatant’ pleads guilty in U.S. court.

Marri

PAGE 305

Case dropped against former Israel lobbyists. PAGE 306

Conservative businessman Martinelli elected Panamanian president.

F

PAGE 308

Israeli probe clears military of Gaza war crimes. PAGE 312

Nepal’s prime minister resigns over army dispute. PAGE 314

Thousands flee fighting in Pakistan’s northwest. PAGE 314

50-1 shot Mine That Bird wins Kentucky Derby. PAGE 315

REFERENCES in brackets give location of background information in this & preceding volumes.

301

G

SOUTER’S OPINIONS AND VOTES ON KEY ISSUES BEFORE THE SUPREME COURT

A

Following are highlights of Justice David H. Souter’s opinions and votes on major issues addressed in Supreme Court cases [See p. 301A1]: Abortion

B

Souter coauthored the Supreme Court’s 5–4 majority decision in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, a 1992 case that upheld a woman’s right to an abortion, established in the 1973 case Roe v. Wade. While the court approved many of Pennsylvania’s limits on abortion rights, it held that the “essential” right to an abortion was “a rule of law and a component of liberty we cannot renounce.” [See 1992, p. 479F1] In 2000 and 2007, Souter voted to repeal bans on an abortion procedure sometimes used late in a pregnancy’s term that opponents referred to as “partial-birth” abortion. [See 2007, p. 242A1; 2000, p. 461A1]

D

E

Capital Punishment

In 2006, Souter wrote the dissenting opinion in Kansas v. Marsh, in which the court ruled, 5–4, to uphold a Kansas statute that required the death penalty if a jury found equal reasons for and against sentencing a convict to death. Souter wrote, “Maintaining a sentencing system mandating death when the sentencer finds the evidence pro and con to be in equipoise is obtuse by any moral or social measure.” [See 2006, p. 507G1] Souter voted with the majority in the 2008 case Kennedy v. Louisiana, in which the court ruled, 5–4, that the execution of child rapists was barred by the Eighth Amendment’s protections against cruel and unusual punishment. [See 2008, p. 430G2]

Terrorism

Souter wrote the Supreme Court’s 5–4 majority decision in the 2005 case McCreary County v. ACLU Kentucky, finding that two Kentucky courthouses had violated the First Amendment by publicly displaying copies of the Bible’s Ten Commandments. Souter wrote that the Constitution requires “the government to stay neutral on religious belief, which is reserved for the conscience of the individual.” [See 2005, p. 432F3] In 1992, Souter joined a 5–4 majority that ruled that a public high school graduation could not hold a prayer as part of the ceremony. [See 1992, p. 466F1]

From 2004 to 2008, Souter was in the majority in a series of decisions that curbed the claims for presidential powers made by President George W. Bush to fight what Bush called the war on terror. [See 2008, p. 389A1; 2006, p. 501A1; 2004, p. 471D2] In 2008, the Supreme Court in Boumediene v. Bush ruled, 5–4, that suspected terrorism detainees at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, had a constitutional right to habeas corpus, allowing them to challenge their detention in U.S. courts. In an opinion concurring with the majority, Souter wrote, “Today’s decision is no judicial victory, but an act of perseverance in trying to make habeas review, and the obligation of the courts to provide it, mean something of value both to prisoners and to the nation.”

widely reported that Obama was considering replacing Souter with a woman, since Ginsburg was the sole woman on the current court. It was also reported that Obama was considering nominating the court’s first Hispanic. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D, Vt.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, May 3 joined others in calling on Obama to nominate someone outside the federal appellate court circuit, since every member of the current Supreme Court had been recruited from there. Leahy said Obama should nominate someone with more “real-life experience,” such as an elected official. Reported contenders for the position included Judge Sonia Sotomayor of the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York

City; Elena Kagan, the Obama administration’s solicitor general; Judge Diane Wood of the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago; Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, Calif.; Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears of the Georgia Supreme Court; Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D); Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D); Kathleen Sullivan, a professor at Stanford Law School; and Harold Koh, the dean of Yale Law School, who had been nominated by Obama to become legal adviser to the State Department. Obama said he wanted the Senate to confirm his nominee before the Supreme Court started its 2009–10 term in October. Obama’s nominee was expected to be con-

Church and State

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Civil Rights/Affirmative Action

Souter joined the 5–4 majority in Grutter v. Bollinger, a 2003 case that upheld racebased preferences in the affirmative action programs used in admissions at the University of Michigan Law School. [See 2003, p. 490A1] In 2007, Souter joined the court’s minority in a 5–4 decision to bar public school systems from using race as a factor in determining where students would be placed. The school systems had argued that the policy was meant to encourage racial diversity. [See 2007, p. 409A1]

FACTS ON SOUTER

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David Hackett Souter was born in Melrose, Mass., on Sept. 17, 1939. When he was 11, his family moved to Weare, N.H., where he resided when the Supreme Court was not in session. He graduated from Harvard College in 1961 with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa. He was a Rhodes Scholar and attended Magdalen College at Oxford University, in Britain, from 1961 to 1963, earning a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in jurisprudence. Souter graduated from Harvard Law School in 1966. Souter was an associate of the law firm Orr and Reno in Concord, N.H., from 1966 to 1968. He became New Hampshire assistant attorney general in 1968, deputy attorney general in 1971, attorney general in 1976, associate justice of New Hampshire’s Superior Court in 1978 and associate justice of the state Supreme Court in 1983. He served in that

capacity until May 1990, when he became a judge for the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, Mass. In July of that year, President George H.W. Bush nominated him to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Senate in October 1990 confirmed him to the bench in a 90–9 vote. [See 1990, p. 757B1] Souter was nominated on his credentials as a conservative judge, but more often than not found himself aligning with the liberal justices on the bench. He took a pragmatic, case-by-case approach, eschewing the formalist strictures of many conservative legal thinkers, who maintained that judges should adhere to the original intent and wording of the Constitution. In recent years, Souter had become a steadfast member of the court’s liberal wing. Souter May 1 announced his retirement from the court after serving for nearly 19 terms. He was a bachelor. [See p. 301A1]

Elections

Souter was in the 5–4 minority in the 2000 case Bush v. Gore, in which the court blocked recounts of ballots in Florida, leading to a presidential victory for then–Texas Gov. George W. Bush (R) over then–Vice President Al Gore (D). In a dissenting opinion, Souter said the court should have never accepted the case. “If this Court had allowed the State [of Florida] to follow the course indicated by the opinions of its own Supreme Court, it is entirely possible that there would ultimately have been no issue requiring our review, and political tension could have worked itself out in the Congress.” But now that it had, he said, “There is no justification for denying the State the opportunity to try to count all the disputed ballots now.” [See 2000, p. 949A1]

firmed with relative ease. With the recent defection of formerly Republican Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.), there were 59 senators in the Democratic caucus, and possibly a 60th pending the outcome of an election dispute in Minnesota, where Democrat Al Franken held a narrow lead. However, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R,

Facts On File World News Digest With Index (ISSN 0014-6641) Publication #183680 EDITOR IN CHIEF: Jonathan Taylor MANAGING EDITOR: Jennifer Dunham SENIOR EDITOR: Joshua Lustig EDITORS: Rahul Chadha, Ian McGullam, Ryu Spaeth ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Todd Grennan, Shannon O’Toole DATABASE COORDINATOR: Ben Miller INDEX EDITOR: Jonathan Leith COPY EDITOR: Walter Kronenberg EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS: Ingrid Jungermann, Ernesto Malinis Jr. FACTS ON FILE World News Digest is published weekly by Facts On File News Services, an imprint of Infobase Publishing, 132 West 31st Street, 17th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001 (212-290-8090). Subscription $900 a year. Yearbooks (bound volumes) available from 1941. Cumulative Index published twice a month. Vice President & Publisher: Louise Bloomfield. Associate Publisher: Marjorie B. Bank. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y. and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Facts On File World News Digest, Facts On File News Services, 132 West 31st Street, 17th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001

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FACTS ON FILE

Ky.) signaled that Republicans would resist confirming a nominee with “partisan leanings.” Analysts said a protracted confirmation battle could undermine Democratic plans to pass major legislation in 2009 on health care and energy. [See p. 284A2] Sen. Sessions to Lead GOP Challenge—

Senate Republicans May 5 named Sen. Jeff Sessions (Ala.) the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, where he would lead the Republican effort to challenge Obama’s nomination. The position became vacant after Specter, the previous ranking member, switched to the Democratic party the previous week. Sessions opposed abortion rights, and professed adherence to constitutional formalism. Sessions, a former U.S. attorney, in 1986 had seen the committee reject his nomination to become a federal judge, over controversial remarks he had made that critics said were racist, allegations that Sessions rejected. Sessions May 4 said the experience gave him a unique perspective on the confirmation process, and that he would have “a little more sympathy than normal for the nominee.” However, he added, “I don’t mind tough questioning of a nominee, I support that.” [See 1986, p. 411F2] n

Swine Flu Virus Continues Spread to 23 Countries. The A (H1N1) swine influenza May 1–7

continued its spread to a total of 23 countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) May 7 reported that 2,009 cases of the virus had been confirmed by laboratory tests worldwide, and that 44 people were known to have died from the disease. Mexico continued to lead countries with 1,112 laboratory-confirmed cases and 42 deaths. The U.S. had reported 642 confirmed cases and two deaths. [See below, p. 281A1] Cases of the virus had also been confirmed in Austria (1), Britain (28), Canada (201), China’s autonomous Hong Kong region (1), Colombia (1), Costa Rica (1), Denmark (1), El Salvador (2), France (5), Germany (9), Guatemala (1), Ireland (1), Israel (4), Italy (5), Netherlands (1), New Zealand (5), Portugal (1), South Korea (2), Spain (73), Sweden (1) and Switzerland (1). The previous week, the rapid discovery of the new strain of swine flu virus had alarmed international health officials, who feared the disease’s spread might result in a global pandemic. As of May 7, the WHO’s alert level remained at Phase 5, one level below Phase 6, the category assigned to a pandemic. However, WHO Director Margaret Chan May 3 said there had been “a lot of misunderstanding” regarding the pandemic designation, noting that it did not mean “death in big numbers is going to happen.” A pandemic was a category describing the way a disease spread, and not its lethality. It was defined as a continuing outbreak in at least two countries in one part of the world, with a simultaneous conMay 7, 2009

tinuing outbreak in at least one country in another part of the world. Richard Besser, acting director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), May 3 said genetic analysis of the new virus showed that it did not appear to contain any of the “virulence factors” found in the deadly Spanish flu of 1918 or the H5N1 avian influenza (bird flu) discovered earlier in the decade. He also said there appeared to be a much higher rate of infection in Mexico than had previously been thought, a finding that, if confirmed, would effectively lower the mortality rate of the disease. However, health officials also warned that the virus could quickly mutate into one that was more easily passed between people, or one that was deadlier. Severity of Mexican Outbreak Reviewed—

The vast majority of confirmed cases of swine flu—and all but two of deaths attributed to the disease—had been found in Mexico, but health experts were unclear as to why. Health experts said the country’s high infection and mortality rate, when compared to other countries, might result from a number of factors—a variation in the viral strain, poor education on the part of residents, and failure to seek medical care in a timely fashion among them. Experts also said it was possible that the virus had been widespread in Mexico for months, resulting mostly in mild cases of infection, before being detected. Mexican health officials May 1 said the swine flu appeared to be no more contagious than any other type of seasonal flu. Officials also said laboratory tests showed that only a fraction of people suspected of suffering from swine flu had actually contracted the virus. Mexican Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova May 3 said the country’s flu outbreak appeared to be in its “declining phase.” Businesses and government offices May 5 began to reopen after Mexican President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa the previous week had ordered a shutdown of all nonessential work for May 1–5. Schools May 6 also began reopening after a governmentmandated shutdown. Restaurants that day also resumed sit-down service, which had been halted with the intent of preventing the spread of swine flu. U.S. Reports Second Death—Texas health officials May 5 reported that a 33-year-old woman who lived in Harlingen, near the Mexican border, had become the second person to die from swine flu in the U.S. (The first had been a young Mexican boy visiting Texas.) Officials said the woman, who was not identified, had a preexisting medical condition that had been exacerbated by the flu. Besser May 6 said the median age of those hospitalized with confirmed cases of the flu in the U.S. was 15, a discovery that he said was “raising concern.” However, he noted that many early cases of swine flu had been detected in students who had recently traveled to Mexico on their spring break vacations. Experts also theorized that severe cases of the flu had been more

common in young people lacking immunity to the new strain. The CDC May 5 had ended its recommendation that schools in the U.S. close for up to 14 days if an attending student was found to carry the swine flu virus. The change reflected an easing of concerns that the flu presented a significant health danger. The recommendation had been made in order to slow the spread of the flu, since schools could serve as a transmission hub for the virus. At least 726 schools nationwide had closed as a result of the agency’s recommendation. U.S. President Barack Obama May 1 convened his cabinet in order to coordinate the federal government’s response to the outbreak. Hong Kong Sets Quarantine—Officials in Hong Kong May 1 quarantined some 300 guests and employees at the Metropark Hotel, after confirming that a 25-year-old Mexican who had arrived there the previous day had tested positive for swine flu. Others aboard the AeroMexico flight that had brought the man to Shanghai from Mexico were also quarantined. Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa May 2 criticized the Chinese government for rounding up and quarantining other Mexican nationals in China who had not exhibited any outward signs of infection. The Mexican government said at least 70 Mexicans had been held by the Chinese government with little or no explanation. The Chinese government May 4 said it had reached an agreement with Mexico to return affected Mexicans home on special chartered flights. Vaccine Expansion Considered— The Washington Post May 6 reported that the U.S. government was considering expanding its recommended vaccine regimen for the fall of 2009 to include three vaccines: one that targeted the regular seasonal flu, and two designed to combat the swine flu. Production of the seasonal flu vaccine started five to six months before the doses were administered, and changing the vaccine to target a different type of virus was a difficult process. Health officials were reportedly in the process of considering the difficulties and feasibility of producing a new vaccine. The Post May 7 also reported that several wealthier nations had preexisting contracts with vaccine makers that would allow them first purchasing rights on a new swine flu vaccine. The worldwide production capacity for a new vaccine was estimated to be between one billion and two billion doses; the U.S. had contracts guaranteeing that it could purchase 600 million doses.

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Virus Discovered in Canadian Swine—

Canadian health officials May 2 reported that pigs in the province of Alberta had tested positive for the new strain of swine flu, the first instance in which the disease had been detected in the animals. (The new strain of flu had widely been called swine flu because that was the species in which it had most likely originated.) Officials said the pigs had likely contracted the virus from an infected farm worker. n 303

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U N I T ESTATES D S TAT E S UNITED

Civil Rights Maine Legalizes Gay Marriage. Maine Gov.

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John Baldacci (D) May 6 signed into law a measure that legalized same-sex marriage in the state, making Maine the fifth state to legalize gay nuptials. Lynch signed the bill minutes after the state Senate had cleared it, 21–13, with one senator absent. The state’s House of Representatives May 5 had approved the measure, 89–58. The bill changed the law to allow marriage to take place between two people, instead of specifying that it occur between a man and a woman. [See pp. 266B2, 216A1] Prior to the votes, it had been unclear if Baldacci would sign such a bill into law. He had previously expressed opposition to a gay marriage law, citing the teachings of his Roman Catholic faith, but in January had said he would keep an open mind on the issue. After signing the bill, Baldacci said, “It’s not the way I was raised and it’s not the way that I am.” He added, “But at the same time I have a responsibility to uphold the [state] constitution. That’s my job, and you can’t allow discrimination to stand when it’s raised to your level.” Maine joined Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and Iowa in legalizing the practice. Analysts credited the success of gay marriage movements in the New England area to a strong libertarian streak among residents there. Bills signed into law in Maine normally took effect 90 days after the legislative session ended, which usually took place in June. However, opponents of the law said they planned to collect the approximately 55,000 signatures needed to have the law considered by voters in a ballot proposition. If they were able to collect the signatures before the law took effect, its implementation would be delayed pending the vote. New Hampshire Clears Bill—The New Hampshire House May 6 cleared, 178– 167, a bill to legalize gay marriage in the state, sending it to Gov. John Lynch (D). The state Senate April 29 had also voted, 13–11, to approve the measure. The New Hampshire House in March had approved a similar measure. Lynch had previously stated that he preferred keeping the state’s civil union law to legalizing of gay marriage. However, he had not stated outright that he would veto the bill. It appeared unlikely that there were enough votes in the state legislature to override a veto. Lynch had five days to either sign or veto the legislation. If he did neither after that period, the bill would become law. Iowa Law Takes Effect—A ruling by the Iowa Supreme Court legalizing same sex marriage April 27 took effect in the state. The court in early April had issued a ruling finding a state law limiting marriage to heterosexual couples in violation of the state constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law. Iowa became the third state to legalize gay marriage, after Con304

necticut and Massachusetts, and was followed shortly after by Vermont. (The Vermont law was set to take effect in September.) Several Iowa county officials April 27 said they had received numerous marriage applications from same-sex couples. Several gay couples were reportedly wed that day, after receiving waivers from judges nullifying the normal three-day waiting period. Despite polls showing that a majority of Iowans opposed gay marriage, there were no protesters outside the marriage license office in Des Moines, the state’s capital and most populous city. However, small groups of protesters were reported in some rural areas. D.C. Approves Marriage Recognition—

The Washington, D.C., City Council May 5 gave final approval, 12–1, to a bill that would recognize same-sex marriages performed in states where the practice was legal. Mayor Adrian Fenty (D) had said that he would sign the bill. However, under the Home Rule Charter, the U.S. Congress had the ability to overturn the bill. At least one congressman, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R, Utah), said he would attempt to block the law from taking effect. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D, Calif.) in a statement said, “I have long believed that Congress should not interfere with internal decisions made by the District of Columbia’s elected representatives.” The lone city council vote in opposition was cast by former Mayor Marion Barry (D). n

May Financial Update (Close of trading May 1 except where indicated)

Stocks and Bonds Dow Jones Industrial Average

8,212.41

Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index Nasdaq Composite Index London Stock Exchange

877.52 1,719.20 4,243.20

Tokyo Stock Exchange

8,977.37

Toronto Stock Exchange

9,500.78

(see box, p. 305A1)

(Financial Times-Stock Exchange 100) (Nikkei 225 index)

(TSE Composite Index)

U.S. 10-Year Treasury Note (yield) U.S. 6-Month Treasury Bill (yield)

3.17% 0.28%

Currencies (late New York trading) Australia (dollar) (in U.S. dollars) Britain (pound) (in U.S. dollars) Canada (dollar) (in U.S. dollars) European Union (euro) (in U.S. dollars) Japan (yen) (per U.S. dollar) Mexico (peso) (per U.S. dollar) Switzerland (franc) (in U.S. dollars)

$0.7303 $1.4912 $0.8433 $1.3264 99.28 13.8122 $0.8801

Commodities Gold (per troy oz.)

$886.55

Silver (per troy oz.)

$12.5000

(N.Y. Comex spot price) (London fixing spot price)

Oil (per barrel)

$53.20

(Nymex crude future)

Gasoline (per gallon)

(nationwide weighted average price at the pump; Lundberg survey released April 26)

Wheat (No. 2 hard, per bushel)

$2.05 $6.1755

(Kansas City market)

Recent U.S. Data Inflation

(consumer price index 12-month increase through March 2009; see p. 240G2)

Unemployment rate

-0.4% 8.5%

(March 2009; see p. 219B2)

Gross domestic product growth

-6.1%

Prime rate

3.25%

(annualized first-quarter 2009 rate, preliminary report; see p. 291C3)

Taxes Obama Targets Overseas Corporate Profits.

President Barack Obama May 4 called for new measures to restrict tax breaks for the overseas profits of U.S. corporations. Obama said his proposals would raise $210 billion in tax revenue over the next 10 years. [See pp. 285D3, 163G1] Obama said, “I want to see our companies remain the most competitive in the world. But the way to make sure that happens is not to reward our companies for moving jobs off our shores or transferring profits to overseas tax havens.” Obama proposed changing rules that currently allowed companies to claim deductions and defer paying taxes on overseas profits as long as they kept that money outside the U.S. Obama called for barring companies from taking deductions on overseas investments until they paid U.S. taxes on their profits. The Treasury Department estimated that such a change would raise $60.1 billion in tax revenue from 2011 through 2019. Obama proposed restricting a tax credit for taxes U.S. companies paid to other countries. He would limit the credit to overseas income that was also subject to U.S. tax. Companies currently could claim the credit for foreign taxes on income that was not subject to U.S. tax. The Treasury estimated that curbing the use of that credit would raise $43 billion in revenue through 2019.

Obama also called for closing a loophole that allowed U.S. companies to transfer profits between overseas subsidiaries in order to avoid U.S. taxes. The Treasury estimated that in 2004, the most recent year for which statistics were available, U.S.-based corporations with multinational operations paid an effective U.S. tax rate of just 2.3% on a combined $700 billion in overseas profits, well below the official top corporate tax rate of 35%. To balance the measures to tighten the rules, Obama proposed making permanent an existing corporate tax credit for research and development spending. That would cost about $75 billion through 2019. He also called for cracking down on banks in foreign tax havens that facilitated tax evasion by wealthy U.S. citizens. U.S. business groups criticized the plan to tighten the rules for overseas taxes, arguing that it would put U.S. companies at a disadvantage against foreign rivals that would still benefit from similar loopholes. Most European countries did not tax the overseas profits of companies based within their borders. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D, Mont.), whose panel handled tax legislation, responded to Obama’s proposal by saying, “Further study is needed to assess the impact of this plan on U.S. businesses.” n FACTS ON FILE

Dow Jones Industrial Average Trading on the New York Stock Exchange Closing

April 1 2

3 6 7 8 9 Holiday 13 14 15 16 17 20 21 22 23 24 27 28 29 30

7,761.60 7,978.08 8,017.59 7,975.85 7,789.56 7,837.11 8,083.38 ---8,057.81 7,920.18 8,029.62 8,125.43 8,131.33 7,841.73 7,969.56 7,886.57 7,957.06 8,076.29 8,025.00 8,016.95 8,185.73 8,168.12

Volume (in millions of shares) 1,497.5 1,866.3 1,475.3 1,292.6 1,256.6 1,312.6 1,824.0 ---1,458.5 1,740.9 1,474.5 1,597.0 1,942.7 1,751.1 1,658.3 1,764.3 1,562.9 1,725.8 1,398.1 1,250.0 1,472.4 1,717.4

Banking Obama Calls for Credit-Card Reforms.

President Barack Obama April 23 met with executives from 14 of the country’s largest credit-card companies at the White House, and reportedly urged them to reform what critics described as their predatory lending practices. Obama said he supported legislation currently being considered in Congress that would limit the ability of creditcard companies to impose fees and raise interest rates. The House April 30 passed its version of the legislation. [See below; 2008, p. 954F2] Obama told reporters after the April 23 meeting, “The days of ‘any time, any reason’ rate hikes and late-fee traps have to end.” He also urged the companies to simplify credit-card statements, saying, “No more fine print, no more confusing terms and conditions. We want clarity and transparency from here on out.” However, Obama also acknowledged that credit-card companies were struggling to finance their operations due to an ongoing recession and credit crunch, and that the companies fulfilled a unique role in the economy by providing individual consumers with credit. He said, “We need to create a new equilibrium where credit is flowing, those who are issuing credit are able to make a reasonable profit—but they’re doing so in a way that is responsible.” The House April 30 voted, 357–70, to pass a bill that would make into law new credit-card regulations approved by the Federal Reserve in December 2008. The Fed’s regulations would not take effect until July 1, 2010, and the bill’s supporters said credit-card reform had to come before then. The House bill would also add several new regulations. The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee March 31 had voted, 12–11, to adopt a bill that would place even tougher restrictions on the industry. n May 7, 2009

Terrorism Detainees Former ‘Enemy Combatant’ Pleads Guilty.

Terrorism suspect Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri April 30 pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Peoria, Ill., to one count of providing material assistance to terrorists as part of an agreement with prosecutors. Marri, a citizen of Qatar, had been held without charge as an enemy combatant by the Bush administration at a U.S. Navy brig near Charleston, S.C., for six years before being charged in federal court in February. He had been the last enemy combatant held within the U.S. and the final U.S. resident held as an enemy combatant. [See p. 183F3] Marri admitted to involvement with the international terrorist network Al Qaeda before and after its Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the U.S. In exchange for the guilty plea to the material assistance charge, which carried a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, prosecutors agreed to drop a conspiracy charge that could have imprisoned him for an additional 15 years. Marri admitted that he had attended training camps run by Al Qaeda between 1998 and 2001 and had entered the U.S. on Sept. 10, 2001, at the behest of Al Qaeda operative Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks. He also admitted that he had kept in contact with Al Qaeda using coded e-mails, and that he had researched the use of cyanide gases and marked pages in an almanac that listed U.S. waterways, dams and tunnels. Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. had reportedly blocked proposed plea agreements that did not give Marri a sentence of at least 15 years in prison. It was unclear if Marri would have years removed from his sentence for time served as an enemy combatant, a step reportedly opposed by Holder. Marri was scheduled to be sentenced July 30. n New Detainee Prison Considered. Defense Secretary Robert Gates April 30 testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee that the Obama administration had not determined how to deal with terrorism detainees held at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who it believed could not be tried in U.S. courts or safely released. He also said that the Defense Department would ask for $50 million in additional funds in case it was forced to build a new holding facility for detainees on short notice. In January, President Barack Obama had ordered Guantanamo to be closed by 2010 and had established a task force to examine whether individual detainees should be tried or released. [See pp. 262A3, 199D2] Gates told the committee that “the question is, what do we do with the 50 to 100 [detainees]—probably in that ballpark— who we cannot release and cannot try?” He said that those detainees could be held within the U.S., but did not explain what legal reasoning would be used to justify their continued detention or say how long such prisoners might be held. He said that bringing detainees to the U.S. would likely be controversial and that he expected “to

have 535 pieces of legislation before this is over, saying, ‘not in my district, not in my state.’” Republican Reps. Peter King (N.Y.) and Peter Hoekstra (Mich.) May 7 introduced a bill that would bar the government from releasing any person “whom the Department of Defense has ever determined to be, or treated as, enemy combatants” into the U.S. without the permission of the governor and legislature of the state where a given detainee was to be sent. The bill was known as the Keep Terrorists Out of America Act.

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Holder Discusses Detainees in Europe—

During a speech in Berlin, Germany, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. April 29 called on European countries to assist the Obama administration’s plans to close Guantanamo by accepting detainees from the prison. He said that “to close Guantanamo, we must all make sacrifices, and we must all be willing to make unpopular choices,” but noted that “Europe did not open Guantanamo and that, in fact, a great many on this continent opposed it.” According to Holder, about 30 of Guantanamo’s 241 remaining detainees had been cleared for release by the U.S. and would be transferred from the prison once countries willing to accept them had been found. Prior to his speech, Holder had met with representatives of the governments of Britain, the Czech Republic and Germany about possibly accepting Guantanamo detainees. European countries including Portugal, Spain and Lithuania had previously suggested that they were willing to consider accepting detainees. Separately, French President Nicolas Sarkozy April 3 had agreed to admit one detainee into France after a meeting with Obama. France May 6 confirmed that the detainee in question was Lakhdar Boumediene, an Algerian captured in Bosnia along with five others in 2001. [See 2008, p. 920B3] n

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CIA Report Triggered End of Harsh Tactics.

The New York Times reported May 4 that a 2004 report by the office of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) inspector general on the CIA’s use of harsh interrogation tactics against terrorism suspects had hastened the end of the use of such tactics by the U.S. government and had led to confrontations between then–national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and then–Vice President Dick Cheney over the CIA interrogation program. The Times report was based on interviews with more than 12 unidentified former Bush administration officials. [See 2008, p. 746G3] The Times reported that a statement issued in June 2003 by then-President George W. Bush in recognition of the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture had led to complaints from CIA officials concerned that Bush’s vocal support for prosecuting torture would make it easier for CIA interrogators to be punished for using harsh interrogation methods against terrorism detainees. According to the Times, the CIA began de305

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creasing its use of harsh methods such as waterboarding, a type of simulated drowning, the same year. The office of CIA Inspector General John Helgerson May 7, 2004, completed a report on the CIA’s interrogation and detention program that reportedly questioned the legality and the effectiveness of the program as a means of gathering intelligence from captured terrorism suspects and found that CIA employees and contractors had been regularly violating guidelines put in place by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) for the use of harsh interrogation methods. The report was released in heavily censored form in May 2008. After the report was finalized, then–CIA director George Tenet suspended the use of some harsh interrogation methods against detainees. Rice, prompted by National Security Council legal adviser John Bellinger 3rd, had begun to alter her position on the issue in 2003, and opposed a push by Cheney to renew the interrogation program. Separately, the November 2005 passage of a bill that outlawed cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of terrorism detainees by the military reportedly led then–CIA Director Porter Goss to inform the White House that the CIA would cease all uses of harsh interrogation tactics against detainees unless it received new documents explicitly authorizing the use of the methods and confirming their legality. [See 2005, pp. 865A1, 818A3] The methods reportedly were not employed again, although Bush in 2007 issued an executive order that reapproved the CIA interrogation program. The order blocked the CIA from using forced nudity and limited its use of sleep deprivation against detainees, but allowed most harsh methods previously used by the agency. Rice Defends Role—Rice April 29 was confronted by a college student about the interrogation policies during a visit to Stanford University. Rice told the student that Bush “instructed us that nothing we would do would be outside our obligations, legal obligations, under the Convention Against Torture,” and that, “by definition, if it was authorized by the president, it did not violate our obligations under the Convention Against Torture.” Critics compared Rice’s remark to a famous statement by former President Richard Nixon, who had claimed, “When the president does it, that means it is not illegal.” [See 1977, p. 405C3] n

Intelligence Case Dropped Against Former Lobbyists.

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The Justice Department May 1 asked a judge in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., to drop espionage-related charges against Keith Weissman and Steven Rosen, two former lobbyists for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), citing recent legal rulings that had complicated the government’s case against the two men. Weissman and Rosen had been charged in 2005, and were thought to be the first nongovernment employees ever 306

charged with a crime under the 1917 Espionage Act. [See p. 263F1] Prosecutors had reportedly decided to drop the case after pre-trial courts ruled that lawyers for Weissman and Rosen were authorized to make use of classified material in their defense, and that the government was required to prove that the defendants had intended to harm the U.S. when they conspired to pass sensitive information to Israeli officials and journalists. The decision, which was approved by Attorney General Eric Holder Jr., was reportedly opposed by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents who had investigated the case. Harman Wiretap Not NSA’s—National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair April 27 said that, contrary to recent media reports, a 2005 wiretap that reportedly recorded Rep. Jane Harman (D, Calif.) agreeing to intervene on behalf of Weissman and Rosen had not been operated by the National Security Agency (NSA). Harman in 2005 was the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. Blair did not identify which government agency or department had carried out the wiretap, but under U.S. law, the Justice Department was the only other government body authorized to tap phones within the U.S. Harman had repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, and had called on the Justice Department to publicly release all documents related to the wiretapping. Harman reportedly had not been the target of the wiretap, but had been taped while conversing with an unidentified suspected Israeli agent who was under surveillance. She had not been charged with a crime in the case. The New York Times April 24 reported that then–Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who was aware of the Harman wiretap recording, delayed briefing then– House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D, Calif.) and other congressional leaders about it until 2006. Gonzales had reportedly done so despite government policies that called for congressional officials to be promptly briefed when members of Congress were under surveillance. According to the Times, Gonzales had told unidentified sources that, contrary to media reports, he had only delayed an investigation into Harman’s actions, not blocked it. He reportedly said he had done so because he hoped Harman would speak out in support of the NSA’s then-secret warrantless wiretapping program. He reportedly said he also wanted FBI agents to be able to interview Harman about her connection to the alleged Israeli agent before she was tipped off about the wiretap. A spokesman for Harman had denied that the FBI had ever interviewed Harman about the investigation. In 2004, prior to that year’s presidential election, Harman had asked the Times’s Washington, D.C., bureau chief to hold its story on the NSA surveillance program. The Times reported that Harman had been given a list of so-called talking points for that meeting by then–NSA Director Michael Hayden, a claim that Harman denied. n

2009 Elections Bing Wins Brief Detroit Mayoral Term.

Former Detroit Pistons basketball star Dave Bing (D) May 5 won a mayoral election in Detroit, Mich., for the eight months remaining in the term of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick (D). Bing won 52% of the vote in the nonpartisan election, defeating interim Mayor Kenneth Cockrel (D), who took 48% after leading in preelection polls. Just 14% of registered voters turned out to participate in the election. Kilpatrick had resigned in September 2008 and served 99 days in prison after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice in a cover-up of an affair with his chief of staff. [See p. 131E1] A primary election for the next fouryear mayoral term would be held in August, followed by the general election in November. Cockrel, who returned to his previous post as city council president, did not say whether he would seek a rematch with Bing. Bing, 65, was a political newcomer. Since retiring from pro basketball in 1978 (he was inducted into the National Basketball Association [NBA] Hall of Fame in 1990), he had operated an auto parts company, Bing Steel Co., and other businesses. He had cited his business success as a qualification for the task of reviving Detroit’s moribund economy, which had one of the highest unemployment rates among U.S. cities, due in part to layoffs by struggling automakers. [See p. 282C2; 1996, p. 854B2] Bing had pledged not to accept the mayoral salary. In a victory speech May 5, he said, “I will bring efficiency, transparency, honesty and integrity back to the mayor’s office.” n Jackson Mayor Dies After Losing Primary.

Jackson, Miss., Mayor Frank Melton (D) died May 7 after losing his reelection bid in a primary election two days earlier. Melton, 60, had a history of heart problems. He had been scheduled to stand trial in federal court, starting May 11, on civil rights charges related to a 2006 incident in which he had ordered a group of sledge-hammer– wielding young men to demolish a residence that he believed was being used as a crack house. [See 2006, p. 895A2] Melton had faced up to 25 years in prison if convicted. He had been acquitted on similar charges by a state jury in 2007. His first federal trial, in U.S. District Court in Jackson, Feb. 24 ended in a mistrial due to a hung jury. Melton finished third of nine candidates in the May 5 Democratic primary. The top two finishers, former Mayor Harvey Johnson and city Councilman Marshand Crisler, advanced to a May 19 runoff; the general election was set for June 2. n

Supreme Court Juvenile Life Sentences to Be Debated.

The Supreme Court May 4 said it would consider whether a 2005 ruling that had banned the death penalty for juveniles also applied to cases where juveniles received sentences of life without parole. In the FACTS ON FILE

death penalty case, Roper v. Simmons, the court in 2005 had ruled, 5–4, that executing people under the age of 18 was prohibited by the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, which banned cruel and unusual punishment. Another case, Kennedy v. Louisiana, was also expected to come into play in the court’s decision; in that case, the court in 2008 had ruled, 5–4, that the death penalty could not be applied in cases where the victim was not killed by the perpetrator of the crime, in that instance, a child rapist. [See 2008, p. 721C2; 2005, p. 128A3] The court would separately hear two cases on the issue: Graham v. Florida, in which a 17-year-old had been sentenced to life in prison for repeated home invasions; and Sullivan v. Florida, in which a 13year-old had been given a life sentence for raping a 72-year-old woman in her home. Only a few U.S. counties allowed juveniles to be sentenced to life imprisonment. n Court Orders FCC Fine Reconsidered. The Supreme Court May 4, in a one-sentence order, said the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, Pa., must consider reinstating a $550,000 fine that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had levied against television network CBS after singer Janet Jackson’s breast had been exposed for nine-sixteenths of a second during the National Football League’s 2004 Super Bowl halftime show. The appeals court in July 2008 had overturned the fine. [See p. 290G3] The Supreme Court had delayed hearing the government’s appeal of the lower court’s ruling until it had a chance to rule on a related case, FCC v. Fox Television Stations Inc. In that 5–4 decision, the court in late April had ruled that the FCC could fine broadcasting companies for airing unscripted profanities. n EPA Can Use Cost-Benefit Analysis. The Supreme Court April 1 ruled, 6–3, that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could use cost-benefit calculations to determine the kinds of technologies used to protect the environment. At issue was whether about 500 older power plants should be required to install expensive new equipment designed to prevent billions of aquatic organisms from dying each year when water from nearby sources was used to cool equipment at the plants. The Clean Water Act said facilities that employed such cooling systems must have “the best technology available for minimizing adverse environmental impact.” [See 2008, p. 721A2] The EPA had compared the cost of updating the facilities so they were on a par with newer plants—about $3.5 billion each year—versus the dollar value of the marine organisms at issue, which it estimated at $83 million. The agency then mandated much less expensive changes that saved significantly fewer organisms. The U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City had ruled that the EPA’s cost-benefit method was illegal under the Clean Water Act. In addition to highlighting environmental damage caused by the antiquated power plants, environmentalists argued that Congress had recognized the May 7, 2009

difficulty of assigning a dollar value to the loss of wildlife. Justice Antonin Scalia, in an opinion joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr., said the EPA’s actions were “certainly a plausible interpretation of the statute.” Scalia added that the “best technology” could mean one that “most efficiently produces some good.” He added that the phrase “minimizing adverse environmental impact” was “not necessarily used to refer exclusively to ‘the greatest possible reduction.’” In a separate opinion, Justice Stephen G. Breyer agreed with the court, but noted that the drafting history of the Clean Water Act showed that it was meant to restrict, but not ban, costbenefit analysis. Justice John Paul Stevens, writing the dissent, argued, “A regulation’s financial costs are often more obvious and easier to quantify than its environmental benefits.” He added, “Cost-benefit analysis often, if not always, yields a result that does not maximize environmental protection.” He was joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David H. Souter. The case was Entergy Corp. v. Riverkeeper Inc. n

Law Enforcement Shorter Crack Cocaine Sentences Backed.

Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer April 29 testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on crime and drugs that the Justice Department favored eliminating disparities between sentencing for crimes involving powdered and crack cocaine. The testimony, which was in line with promises made by President Barack Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign, marked a reversal from Justice Department policy under the Bush administration and was thought to be the first time the department had endorsed ending the sentencing disparity. [See 2008, p. 165A3] Under current federal law, the five-year prison sentence faced by defendants charged with possession of five grams of crack cocaine was the same as that faced by a defendant charged with possession of 500 grams of powdered cocaine. According to Breuer, 82% of people convicted of crack cocaine possession were black, versus 27% of people convicted of powdered cocaine possession. Critics had long argued that the separate sentencing standard, originally introduced in 1986 in response to escalating use of crack cocaine, disproportionately targeted black drug users, resulting in a disproportionate number of black inmates in U.S. prisons. Breuer testified that “most in the law enforcement community now recognize the need to re-evaluate current federal cocaine sentencing policy and the disparities the policy creates,” and said that the Obama administration believed that “Congress’s goal should be to completely eliminate the sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine by lowering penalties against crack cocaine users.” He also said that a planned Justice Department panel would issue recommendations on the topic,

as well as other issues related to sentencing and imprisonment, within six months. n Crime Lab Methods Called Unreliable. The National Academy of Sciences Feb. 18 released a report that questioned the accuracy and scientific basis of forensic methods that were widely used by U.S. crime laboratories, and called for the establishment of a government regulatory body to oversee the activities and accreditation of such labs. The report was based on a two-year study by the academy funded by Congress in 2005. Analysts suggested that the report was likely to lead to attempts by defense attorneys to challenge forensic evidence presented by prosecutors in criminal trials. [See 2007, p. 807F3] According to the report, many forensic methods used by crime labs—including fingerprinting and bite mark, hair and handwriting analysis—had never had their accuracy verified by rigorous scientific testing and were often carried out without independent oversight. It also found that crime labs were widely understaffed, often employed inexperienced or poorly trained technicians and had few protections against police interference with their findings. The report recommended that the government create a regulatory body, the National Institute of Forensic Science, that would set standards for U.S. crime labs, grant certifications to expert witnesses and crime lab technicians, institute accreditation of crime labs and fund research into the accuracy of common forensic techniques. It also suggested that the organization should be kept independent of the Justice Department in order to guarantee that crime-lab oversight was carried out by scientists rather than law enforcement personnel. n

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Denver, Colo., jury April 3 found that University of Colorado at Boulder professor Ward Churchill had been improperly fired over an essay in which he had likened the victims of Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S. to notorious Holocaust mastermind Adolf Eichmann. Churchill had been fired in 2007, two years after the essay, which was written immediately after the attacks, came to light. The jury, which said Churchill’s unorthodox political views had been a “substantial or motivating” factor in his firing, awarded him $1 in damages. Churchill and his supporters hailed the jury’s decision as a victory for First Amendment rights and academic freedom. [See 2005, p. 117G1] In an essay, titled “Some People Push Back: On the Justice of Roosting Chickens,” Churchill had referred to World Trade Center workers as “the little Eichmanns inhabiting the sterile sanctuary of the twin towers.” The university had fired Churchill in 2007, citing research misconduct, after three faculty committees said he had plagiarized work on American Indian history. However, the jury found that Churchill had been targeted because of his controversial essay. The verdict opened the door for 307

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Churchill to be reinstated to his former position as the chairman of the university’s ethnic studies department. Ken McConnellogue, a spokesman for the university, April 3 affirmed that Churchill’s essay was indeed “what started this ball rolling” toward his dismissal. He said the university had not yet decided whether it would appeal the decision. Judge Larry Naves was expected to rule in coming months on whether Churchill would be reinstated. Churchill the same day said he would seek reinstatement to his job, and added, “I didn’t ask for money. I asked for justice.” He said April 6 that would sue the University of Colorado for more than $1 million if he was not reinstated to his old position. McConnellogue April 9 said the university “strongly opposed” reinstating Churchill, and added that “the things he was found to have engaged in by his faculty peers is behavior that we can’t have from our faculty or our students.” n

Other U.S. News Presidential Jet Flyover Triggers NYC Panic.

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Thousands of workers in New York City’s downtown financial district April 27 fled their workplaces after a Boeing 747 jet, one of two planes used to transport the U.S. president, and a military fighter jet flew unusually close to the area and circled the Statue of Liberty as part of an unannounced photography shoot. Many of the workers said the incident had triggered memories of Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the U.S., in which hijacked airplanes had been used to destroy downtown New York’s World Trade Center. [See 2001, p. 697A1] The flight, scheduled by the White House Military Office, was intended to produce an image to replace previous stock images of Air Force One—which the plane was called when the president was on board—that were used on promotional items and sold as keepsakes. The office reportedly informed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and a staffer in the office of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I), but requested that the information about the photo shoot not be publicly released. White House Military Office Director Louis Caldera April 27 apologized for the incident, saying, “While federal authorities took the proper steps to notify state and local authorities in New York and New Jersey, it’s clear that the mission created confusion and disruption.” Caldera also said he took “responsibility for any distress that the flight caused.” The decision to carry out the flight without informing the public that day was criticized by Bloomberg, who said he had not been told about it, as well as by Sen. Charles Schumer (D, N.Y.). President Barack Obama April 28 ordered an internal White House investigation into the incident and told reporters that “it will not happen again.” The investigation was expected to focus on Caldera and would reportedly determine if he would be allowed to keep his job. n 308

AFRICA

Madagascar Ousted President’s Backers Stage Protests.

Protests by supporters of former Malagasy President Marc Ravalomanana April 20– 27 in Antananarivo, Madagascar’s capital, turned violent, leading to at least five deaths. Ravalomanana’s backers had been holding protests nearly every day since he was ousted in mid-March by the military. That had led to the installation of Andry Rajoelina, the former mayor of Antananarivo, as president. [See p. 203D2] Rajoelina, 34, had seized power after months of protests against Ravalomanana in Antananarivo. Because he was too young to serve as president under Madagascar’s current constitution (which stipulated that the president be at least 40 years of age), Rajoelina had assumed the title of president of the High Transitional Authority. He had named a prime minister, Monja Roindefo, as well as the equivalent of a cabinet. Rajoelina’s actions had drawn international condemnation, and the African Union (AU) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) suspended Madagascar in March. SADC at a late March summit called for Ravalomanana, who had fled Madagascar, to be restored to power. The unrest had damaged the country’s lucrative tourism industry and also scared away much-needed foreign investment. [See below] Ravalomanana’s supporters had held numerous protests and strikes to voice their opposition to Rajoelina. At least two people were killed and 20 others injured April 20 when security forces opened fire on demonstrators protesting the closure of two proRavalomanana radio stations. Rajoelina April 21 banned public protests, but demonstrations nevertheless continued. Rajoelina’s forces April 27 stormed the Constitutional Court building and arrested four people, including the court’s head of security. Ravalomanana, who maintained that he was the country’s rightful president, April 28 named a parallel government, with Manadafy Rakotonirina as prime minister. Rakotonirina proceeded to name several cabinet minsters. A spokesman for Rakotonirina said the move was intended to maintain “a level of pressure” on the High Transitional Authority. However, it also increased already heightened tensions on the Indian Ocean island nation, and created confusion about who was running the country. A group of about 20 heavily armed members of Rajoelina’s security forces April 29 arrested Rakotonirina, 70, at a hotel in Antananarivo. Other opposition leaders reportedly were also arrested that day. South Africa’s Mail & Guardian newspaper May 6 reported on its Web site that relative calm had returned to Antananarivo. AU Says Elections by December— The AU April 30 convened a meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, of a special “contact group” assembled to address the situation in Madagascar. After the meeting, the group said in a statement that Rajoeli-

na’s government had told it that elections would be held by the end of December. Previously, Rajoelina had said elections would not be held until October 2010. Jean Ping, the chairman of the AU commission, said, “The current situation in Madagascar is dangerous. We need to work for the return of social order and lasting stability.” However, Rajoelina’s government May 1 refused to guarantee that elections would be held by the end of 2009. Roindefo said the government would “have to wait and see if conditions are favorable.” Ravalomanana April 20 had called for an election to resolve the political impasse. At a news conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, he said, “The only way to get out of this crisis is to have an election—a referendum—to ask people if they want me to stay in power or not.” He said he planned to return to Madagascar “in a few weeks,” despite the fact that Rajoelina’s government had issued a warrant for his arrest. Charities Warn of ‘Catastrophe’—A coalition of humanitarian aid groups April 23 warned that Madagascar was on the brink of “catastrophe,” saying the political unrest had worsened existing food shortages and hampered recovery from recent powerful cyclones. The groups, which included Care International, said some 150,000 people had been “severely affected and that an alarming malnutrition rate of about 14 per cent is being reached in some areas.” Separately, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) April 25 said as many as 250,000 children in southern Madagascar were at risk of malnutrition and disease. Rajoelina’s government May 3 said a group of Saudi investors had pledged $2 billion for tourism, communications and energy projects in Madagascar. n

AMERICAS

Ecuador Official Election Results Released. Ecuador’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal May 5 released official, final results confirming that President Rafael Correa had won a second term in elections held the previous week. With all votes tallied, Correa had earned 51.9%, while his closest opponent, Lucio Gutierrez Borbua, finished with 28.2%. Preliminary results had indicated that Correa would easily win, and his victory already had been widely recognized. [See p. 294B2] n

Panama Businessman Martinelli Elected President.

Voters in Panama May 3 elected supermarket magnate Ricardo Martinelli Berrocal of the right-wing Democratic Change party president. The country’s Electoral Tribunal said that, with 44% of the vote counted, Martinelli was the “indisputable winner.” According to nearly complete results released May 6, Martinelli, 57, garnered about 60% of the vote, easily surpassing the 37.5% won by former Housing Minister Balbina Herrera of the populist DemoFACTS ON FILE

FACTS ON MARTINELLI

Ricardo Martinelli Berrocal was born in Panama City, Panama’s capital, on March 11, 1952. However, he grew up in the village of Sona, in Veraguas province, in western Panama. He received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Arkansas in the U.S. He then received a master’s degree in business administration from the Instituto Centroamericano de Administracion de Empresas (INCAE) in San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. Martinelli founded Super 99, a company that would grow to become Panama’s largest supermarket chain. From 1994 to 1996, he served as the head of Panama’s social security program. In 1999, he became the minister for canal affairs and the chairman of the Panama Canal Authority Board, serving in those posts until 2003. In 2004, Martinelli made an unsuccessful bid for the presidency, finishing last in a field of four candidates. [See 2004, p. 332D2] Martinelli May 3 was elected president of Panama, defeating Balbina Herrera. He was married and had three children. [See p. 308F3]

cratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), which led the country’s governing coalition. [See 2004, p. 332D2; for facts on Martinelli, see p. 309A1] Martinelli was set to take office for a five-year term on July 1, succeeding President Martin Torrijos Espino of the PRD. Martinelli, who had made an unsuccessful bid for president in 2004, had campaigned on promises of tackling political corruption and increasing efforts to combat violent crime. He was the billionaire owner of Super 99, Panama’s largest chain of supermarkets, and had greatly outspent Herrera during the campaign. Martinelli would oversee the completion of a $5.25 billion expansion of the Panama Canal intended to allow larger tankers and container ships to pass through. Panama relied on the canal to provide nearly a third of its tax revenues. Those revenues were expected to fall while international trade declined as a result of the global economic crisis. [See 2007, p. 769F2] Martinelli May 4 said he would make finalizing the U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement a top priority of his administration. The free-trade agreement had been negotiated by the administrations of former U.S. President George W. Bush and Torrijos, and signed by Panamanian and U.S. trade representatives in June 2007. However, it had stalled in the U.S. Congress, after concerns were raised that Panama was functioning as a tax haven. U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk April 23 had said, “We believe there is strong bipartisan support for the pending free-trade agreement with Panama.” n

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China Government Sets Human Rights ‘Action Plan.’

China’s State Council (cabinet) April 13 issued a two-year National Human Rights Action Plan, in which it set goals for May 7, 2009

making progress in the protection of civil rights. The document, reportedly the first of its kind in China, called for the elimination of the use of torture and other mistreatment of suspects, the upholding of the right to a fair trial, and the judicious application of the death penalty. [See p. 180B1] Human rights groups welcomed the report as an acknowledgment by the government of the importance of the issue. But they expressed doubts about how readily the recommendations would be implemented, and said the report did not address the full range of human rights abuses prevalent in China. The report said China had “a long road ahead” in improving its human rights practices. It called for the stricter observation of rights that were already enumerated in China’s laws and constitution, but which rights advocates said were frequently ignored. Although it called for greater citizen participation in government decision-making, it did not propose political changes to the system of one-party Communist rule or giving the judiciary more independence, which critics said would be necessary to give citizens recourse against rights violations. Human rights advocates said the report did not address some of China’s grossest rights abuses, including restrictions on freedom of expression and religion and illegal detentions. They noted that it did not raise the issue of “reeducation” labor camps that authorities used to imprison people without trial. The report reaffirmed the government’s long-standing position that the Chinese populace’s economic and social needs dictated that “rights to subsistence and development” should take higher priority than political rights. Clinton Reaffirms U.S. Rights Stance—

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, after a meeting in Washington, D.C., with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, March 11 emphasized the importance to the U.S. of “a robust, comprehensive human rights agenda” in its foreign relations. Clinton had drawn criticism in February for suggesting that human rights concerns should not “interfere” with cooperation with China on other matters, as well as for statements on a Middle East tour that critics said downplayed rights abuses in Egypt and Turkey. [See pp. 123E1, 109D3] Yang March 12 met with U.S. President Barack Obama and other top officials. n

Philippines U.S. Marine’s Rape Conviction Overturned.

The Philippine Court of Appeals April 23 announced that it had overturned the conviction of a U.S. marine accused of raping a woman in 2005 near the now-closed U.S. Navy base in the Philippines’ Subic Bay and ordered his immediate release from custody. The court found that prosecutors had failed to show evidence that the marine, Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith, had used “force, threat and intimidation” in order to

have sex with the alleged victim. [See p. 205F1] Smith had been sentenced to 40 years in prison by a Manila court in 2006 after being convicted of rape. The case had triggered demonstrations by nationalists against the U.S. military’s presence in the country. The Philippine government had allowed a limited U.S. military presence in the country after Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the U.S., in order to crack down on Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic terrorist organization based in the southern Philippines. The U.S. embassy in Manila April 24 announced that Smith had left the Philippines “under the authority of United States military officials” after his release. He had been held at the embassy since December 2006, when he was transferred from a Philippine jail pending his appeal. n

Taiwan China Consents to WHO Observer Status.

Taiwan April 29 announced that China had dropped its objection to allowing Taiwan to participate as an observer at a World Health Organization (WHO) meeting in May. It was the first time that China had consented to Taiwan’s participation as an observer in a U.N. body since mainland China joined the United Nations, unseating Taiwan, in 1971. Taiwanese officials said they had received an invitation from the WHO to attend its annual World Health Assembly in May as an observer. [See p. 187A1; 2003, p. 339C3; 1972, p. 404A1] China’s move was the latest demonstration of an improvement in its relations with Taiwan since Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou took office in 2008. Ma praised the WHO’s invitation, calling Taiwan’s involvement in the group’s activities “a human rights issue” affecting the Taiwanese “people’s right to medical care and health.” A Chinese health ministry spokesman called the invitation a reflection of China’s “goodwill” and desire to “promote peaceful development of cross-Strait relations.” [See below] The WHO was currently dealing with a worldwide outbreak of a new swine influenza virus in humans, lending additional urgency to the May assembly. Taiwanese had been angered that objections by China had hindered the WHO’s ability to send help to Taiwan during a 2003 epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which killed 37 people in Taiwan. [See p. 303D1] Taiwan’s observer status at the World Health Assembly would have to be renewed in future years. It agreed to attend under the name Chinese Taipei, rather than Taiwan or its official name, the Republic of China. As an observer, it would not have a vote in the proceedings. New Cooperation Agreements—Chinese and Taiwanese officials April 25–26 met in Nanjing, China, for talks on expanding bilateral financial and transportation links. The talks yielded agreements on permitting each side’s financial institutions to offer services in the other, further expanding air 309

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links and increasing cooperation on criminal justice matters. China and Taiwan also issued a statement on allowing greater Chinese investment in Taiwan, which was currently restricted by Taiwan’s government. In what would be the first Chinese investment in a publicly traded Taiwanese company, Chinese government-owned company China Mobile Ltd. April 29 said it would acquire a 12% stake in FarEasTone Telecommunications Co. of Taiwan for 17.8 billion Taiwanese dollars (US$530 million). Approval of the deal by authorities in China and Taiwan was widely expected in light of the Nanjing agreement. Beijing Museum to Loan Imperial Art—

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The Palace Museum in Beijing, China’s capital, Feb. 16 said it would lend a number of objects from its holdings of imperial Chinese art for an exhibition at the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan’s capital. The Taipei museum also contained portions of the imperial art collection, which was divided during China’s civil war, when the Nationalists fled to Taiwan, carrying numerous choice objects. The exhibition would begin in October, and focus on the 1723–35 reign of Emperor Yongzheng. The loan agreement did not touch on China’s claim that it was the rightful owner of the imperial objects possessed by Taiwan. n

by media sources on the number of deaths and injuries on both sides had varied widely. About 100 Thai troops had entered a disputed area near the border in March. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen March 31 had threatened violence against the soldiers if they made attempts to cross into Cambodia. Cambodia had been awarded ownership of the temple in 1962 by the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court. However, a section of land near the temple had not been definitively assigned to either country, leading to continuing tensions. There were conflicting reports about the direct cause of the fighting. Cambodia claimed it had started when Thai troops had crossed the border. Thai troops said Cambodian troops had opened fire on them after discussions. Hun Sen April 4 said that he regarded “the fighting yesterday as an incident, not a war,” and said that the fighting would not become a continuing armed conflict with Thailand. Separately, a committee made up of representatives from both countries April 5–7 met to discuss the conflict. The committee had been set up following 2008 clashes over the disputed territory in order to minimize future violence. n

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GDP Declined in Fourth Quarter. Thailand’s

National Economic and Social Development Board Feb. 23 announced that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) had declined by 4.3% in the fourth quarter of 2008, from the corresponding period of 2007. The decline dropped the country’s total GDP growth in 2008 to 2.6%. [See p. 206B2] The board predicted that Thailand’s economy would go into recession in 2009, with a decline of GDP of as much as 1% for the year. That estimate was lowered on April 22 to a decline of as much as 3.5%. Separately, the Bank of Thailand’s Monetary Policy Committee April 8 lowered Thailand’s benchmark interest rate, to 1.25%, from 1.5%, its lowest level since July 2004. The bank had cut the interest rate multiple times from a rate of 3.75% in December 2008. n

Other Asia-Pacific News Thai-Cambodia Border Clash Kills Three.

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Cambodian and Thai troops April 3 fought at the two countries’ shared border, resulting in the deaths of three Thai soldiers, and the wounding of eight others. The Cambodian Army was not thought to have suffered any casualties. The clashes, which included exchanges of rockets and machine gun fire, took place near Preah Vihear, an 11th-century Hindu temple once claimed by both Thailand and Cambodia. The two countries had engaged in similar fighting in December 2008. [See 2008, p. 774B3] Two of the soldiers were killed April 3; a third Thai soldier April 5 died of injuries suffered during the fighting. Early reports 310

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Great Britain 16 Foreigners Banned for Extremist Views.

The British government May 5 released a list of 16 foreigners whom it had banned from entering the country because they had been identified as “fostering extremism or hatred.” The list cited eight Muslim clerics, activists and writers for “seeking to foment, justify or glorify terrorist violence.” [See p. 272D3] The list also named several non-Muslim U.S. citizens, including Michael Savage, a prominent conservative radio talk-show host known for making derogatory comments about Muslims, immigrants and homosexuals; Rev. Fred Phelps, a Baptist pastor known for mounting peripatetic antigay demonstrations, and his daughter, Shirley Phelps-Roser; and Stephen Donald Black, a former Ku Klux Klan (KKK) leader and creator of a white supremacist Web site. [See 2008, p. 580C2; 2007, p. 872C1] British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith issued a statement saying, “I will not hesitate to name and shame those who foster extremist views as I want them to know that they are not welcome here.” The Home Office, which oversaw domestic security, said it had denied entry to 101 such foreigners, said to have “engaged in unacceptable behavior,” since July 2005 suicide attacks by British-born Muslim extremists killed 52 people in London on buses and a subway train. It had not previously made public the names of any of those excluded foreigners. A conservative Web site, WorldNetDaily.com, May 5 quoted Savage as saying, “I want to sue the British home secretary for defamation, for linking me up with

murderers because of my opinions, my writings, my speaking—none of which have advocated any violence, ever.” British Muslim groups also criticized the list, saying that no one should be barred from entering the country because of their views. Three Acquitted in 2005 Attacks—A jury in Kingston Crown Court, west of London, April 28 acquitted three British Muslims on charges of assisting the July 2005 suicide bombers by scouting locations for the attacks. The three were Mohammed Shakil, 32; Sadeer Saleem, 28; and Waheed Ali, 25. They were the only suspects to have been charged in connection with the attacks, the deadliest in Britain since World War II. [See 2008, p. 265B3] The jury convicted Shakil and Ali on lesser charges of attending terrorist training camps in Pakistan in 2001 and 2003 along with one of the suicide bombers. They were both sentenced the next day to seven years in prison, with the possibility of release after 18 months. n

Russia Medvedev Lifts Chechnya Restrictions.

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev April 16 ordered an end to strict counterterrorism measures in Chechnya, a majority Muslim republic in southern Russia, that had been implemented following the Second Chechen War in 1999. As a result of Medvedev’s order, curfews, roadblocks and travel restrictions, including those on foreign journalists, would end, and some analysts suggested that Russia would soon begin withdrawing the approximately 20,000 troops stationed in Chechnya. Despite the move, media outlets in the following days reported a number of clashes between security forces and Chechen rebels. [See p. 273F2] Russia had sent troops to Chechnya in 1999 in order to regain control of the region, which had won de facto independence in a 1994–96 war. Under the leadership of Ramzan Kadyrov, who became the Chechen president in 2007 following the death of his father, Akhmed Kadyrov, violence in Chechnya had decreased. Kadyrov, a former rebel fighter himself, was known to offer Chechen rebels amnesty in exchange for loyalty to his government. However, some rights groups maintained that Kadyrov and his government employed arbitrary abductions and torture. Kadyrov said of the changes, “The leadership of Russia has officially confirmed that the nest of terrorism has been crushed.” He added, “I have lost more than 400 of my colleagues, friends and family. Today we have confirmed that our republic is the most peaceful and safest region of Russia.” While violence had decreased in Chechnya over recent years, it was increasing in neighboring Russian republics, such as Dagestan. Some Security Measures Reinstated—

Russian authorities by April 24 had reinstated the counterterrorism restrictions in the mountainous Chechen districts of Shali, FACTS ON FILE

Shatoy and Vedeno, after officials said they had received reports claiming that rebels in those areas were planning “terrorist attacks” against “executive authorities and law enforcement officials.” The move to reinstate the security rules also followed April 22 reports that three Russian soldiers had been shot and killed by gunmen hiding in an abandoned building near Chechnya’s western border with the republic of Ingushetia. A spokesman for Russian security forces in Chechnya said the soldiers’ weapons were stolen following the attack. n

Other European News NATO, Russia Expel Each Other’s Envoys.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) April 30 expelled two Russian diplomats from its Brussels, Belgium, headquarters after accusing Russia of spying on the organization. Russia May 6 responded by announcing the expulsion of two Canadian NATO diplomats from Moscow, its capital. NATO’s move to expel the Russian ambassadors followed the April 29 reopening of the NATO-Russia Council, the official diplomatic channel between the two sides, after an eight-month hiatus. NATO had suspended meetings of the council amid Russia’s war with neighboring Georgia in 2008. In that war, the Georgian army had been routed, and Russia had increased its presence in the Russian-aligned Georgian splinter regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. [See below, p. 142E1] Also April 29, Russia finalized agreements with Abkhazia and South Ossetia under which Russian troops received authority to guard the splinter regions’ borders. Georgia and NATO said the arrangement violated cease-fire agreements that had ended the previous year’s military conflict. Russia had stationed troops near the breakaway regions’ borders with Georgia during the 2008 war, but the new agreements formalized their presence. NATO Begins Exercises in Georgia— NATO May 6 began long-scheduled mili-

tary exercises in Georgia, which Russia opposed. Russian President Dmitri Medvedev April 17 had said NATO was holding “exercises close to areas that had only recently been the scene of extreme tension, and where even today the situation is far from simple.” He added that NATO had made an “incorrect and dangerous decision.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov May 5 said Russia would withdraw from a May 19 meeting of the Russia-NATO Council over the decision to hold the exercises, which included about 1,000 soldiers and were expected to last through June. Also, the Georgian government May 5 had announced that government forces had contained a mutiny of about 500 soldiers at a tank battalion headquarters near Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili blamed Russia for the mutiny and characterized it as an attempted coup d’etat, but Russian officials denied involvement, and Georgian officials later that day backed off from Saakashvili’s accusation. [See p. 253F1] May 7, 2009

Russia’s Lavrov Meets Obama, Clinton—

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov May 7 met separately in Washington, D.C., with U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Obama and Lavrov, following their meeting, affirmed their intention to work together toward common goals such as curbing nuclear proliferation and recovering from the global economic downturn. The meeting preceded a May 18 summit in which the U.S. and Russia were expected to begin renegotiating the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which limited the size of both countries’ nuclear arsenals and would expire in December. Clinton and Lavrov also affirmed that differences between the countries over Georgia would not stand in the way of productive START negotiations. [See p. 193C3] n Central Bank Cuts Rate, Sets Bond Buys. The European Central Bank (ECB) May 7

cut its key interest rate to 1%, from 1.25%, and announced a new program to buy 60 billion euros ($80 billion) of low-risk corporate bonds in a bid to loosen credit markets. The ECB also extended the term of short-term loans it was offering to banks to 12 months, from six months. [See p. 254B1] ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said the eurozone, comprised of the 16 European Union member nations that used the euro currency, was still in a “severe downturn,” but cited “tentative signs of a stabilization at very low levels” of economic activity. The ECB had been slow to embrace the policy of direct asset purchases, which had already been adopted by other central banks such as the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England to help restart credit markets frozen by the global financial crisis. The Bank of England, the British central bank, May 7 held its benchmark interest rate at a record low of 0.5%, but increased the size of its asset buying program, including both corporate and government bonds, to £125 billion ($190 billion), from £75 billion. 4% Contraction Forecast for 2009—The European Commission, the executive body of the EU, May 4 forecast that the eurozone’s combined gross domestic product (GDP) would contract by 4% in 2009, more than double the 1.9% contraction that it had forecast in January. The commission also forecast a 4% contraction for the economy of the EU’s 27 member nations as a whole, including those that did not use the euro. The commission said it expected growth to return gradually in the second half of 2010. Germany April 29 had projected that its economy, the largest in the eurozone, would contract by 6% in 2009, in its worst recession since World War II. The European Commission May 4 also projected that the unemployment rate in the eurozone would increase to 9.9% by the end of 2009, and 11.5% in 2010. Spain’s jobless rate, the highest in the eurozone, had risen to 17.4% at the end of the first quarter of the year, from 13.9% in the fourth quarter of 2008, the Spanish National Statistics Institute reported April 24.

Four million Spaniards were unemployed, a new record, with more than 800,000 added to their ranks in the first quarter. n

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Iraq Firefight Erupts in Ministry Corruption Raid.

Iraqi troops April 29 raided the Iraqi trade ministry headquarters in the Mansour neighborhood of Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, in order to arrest several officials on corruption charges. However, ministry security guards fired on the troops, and after a brief gun battle they withdrew with only one official in custody. The trade ministry controlled Iraq’s $5.3 billion monthly rationing program, as well as the importation of goods like cars, grain and construction equipment. [See pp. 296F2; 2008, p. 684D3] An investigation had reportedly discovered some $8 million worth of expired goods from the rations program in a warehouse, prompting the raid. Arrest warrants were issued for nine people: two current ministry directors, four previous directors, the trade minister’s two brothers—who worked as his bodyguards—and the ministry spokesman. Only the spokesman, Muhammad Hannoun, was arrested. Trade Minister Falah al-Sudani was not accused of crimes, but the Iraqi parliament May 2 called on him to explain the charges against his associates. An unnamed adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose Dawa Party Sudani belonged to, said Sudani had been asked to resign, the New York Times reported May 3. Iraq’s main anticorruption group, the Commission on Public Integrity, reported that 99 corruption cases had been initiated against trade ministry employees in 2008, the Times reported May 6. That placed the trade ministry 10th-highest among government ministries and bodies; the interior ministry had the most cases, 736. The report said there had been a total of 5,031 corruption complaints in 2008, of which 3,027 were referred to courts, resulting in 97 convictions. The report said corruption was one of the main barriers to stabilizing Iraq, and that generous amnesty laws and interference in prosecutions made it difficult to reduce. Also, the Times May 5 reported that three South Korean military officers had been convicted in an extortion and bribery scheme in the northern city of Erbil, in the autonomous Kurdistan region. One officer, identified as Capt. Park, was convicted by a South Korean military court of demanding bribes from contractors and receiving over $25,000 worth of cash and gifts, and was sentenced to three years in military prison. Two co-conspirators, Sgt. Maj. Kim and Maj. Lee, received lesser sentences, while a colonel in charge of the Korean army’s reconstruction program in Iraq received a military reprimand for failing to carry out his duties. [See 2008, p. 708E2] Iraqi Soldier Kills Two U.S. Troops—An Iraqi soldier May 2 fired on U.S. troops in a combat outpost in Hamam al-Alil, south 311

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of the northern city of Mosul. Two of the U.S. soldiers were killed and three were wounded before their attacker was slain. Another gunman simultaneously attacked another group of U.S. soldiers at the outpost, but then fled; it was unclear if any casualties resulted from that attack. It was at least the fourth time U.S. forces had been attacked by Iraqi soldiers, or people dressed in army or police uniforms, since November 2008. [See p. 117D3] Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province, was the last urban stronghold of the Sunni Muslim insurgency in Iraq. A suicide bomber there the previous day had killed five people. Iraqi government spokesman Ali alDabbagh May 4 said Iraq would hold to a June 30 deadline for U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq’s cities. The deadline was mandated by a bilateral security agreement signed in 2008, and a U.S. military spokesman said that the U.S. would abide by the deadline. Previously, U.S. officials had said they were lobbying to be allowed to stay in Mosul to combat insurgents there. [See p. 297B2] Other News—In other Iraqi news: o A bomb hidden in a produce truck May 6 exploded in a crowded market in Baghdad’s Dora neighborhood, killing at least 10 people. It was the latest in a series of recent high-profile bombings, mostly hitting Shiite Muslim targets; Dora was predominantly Sunni, but the market vendors were mostly Shiite. Another car bomb later that day exploded at a gas station in the Karrada neighborhood, killing at least one person. o Iraqi troops backed by U.S. forces May 2 arrested Nadhim al-Jubouri—a local leader of an Awakening Council, a mostly Sunni armed group that had turned against extremists—and his two brothers on terrorism charges, in the town of Duluiyah, north of Baghdad. Awakening Council members had protested that Maliki’s Shiite-dominated government had targeted them for persecution and arrests, and had been slow to incorporate them into Iraq’s security forces. The Duluiyah council’s acting leader May 4 said the group had suspended plans to disband after learning that Jubouri would be freed. [See p. 254B3] o The U.S. military May 1 said two U.S. marines and a sailor had been killed the previous day in the western province of Anbar. That brought April’s U.S. death toll to 18, double March’s total and the highest since September 2008’s toll of 25. o The U.S. military May 1 said the Iraqi government was not allowing it to interrogate Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the alleged leader of the Sunni insurgent group Al Qaeda in Iraq, who had reportedly been captured April 23. U.S. officials in the past had claimed that Baghdadi was a fictional figure created to put an Iraqi face on the foreign-led Al Qaeda in Iraq, and said they were not able to verify the identity of the current detainee. [See p. 297C1] o U.S. troops May 1 raided a house in Tikrit, north of Baghdad, killing two people. 312

The U.S. military said it had been trying to arrest the men for involvement in roadside bombings, but had killed them after they aimed weapons at U.S. troops. Iraqis afterwards protested the raid, the latest in a series of controversial U.S. operations that had resulted in Iraqi deaths. [See p. 297F1] n

Lebanon Generals Suspected in Hariri Killing Released.

Lebanese authorities April 29 released four generals who were being held in a prison in Beirut, the capital, in connection with the investigation of a 2005 bombing that killed former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others. They were released after the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, a court set up in The Hague, the Netherlands, to try Hariri’s assassins, concluded that it did not have enough evidence to justify their continued imprisonment without charge. [See pp. 297G3, 210G3] The generals were Major General Jamil Sayyed, former chief of general security; Major General Ali Hajj, former head of internal security forces; Brigadier General Raymond Azar, former chief of military intelligence; and Brigadier General Mustafa Hamdan, former commander of the presidential Republican Guard Brigade. They had close ties to Syria, which had occupied Lebanon for almost three decades before withdrawing in 2005, and had been accused of ordering Hariri’s assassination. The generals’ release caused celebration among supporters of the Shiite Muslim militant group Hezbollah, which was supported by Syria and saw the tribunal as being directed against that country. Their release evidently left the tribunal without any suspects in custody. However, media outlets April 20 reported that according to an unnamed Arab diplomat, police in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), had arrested a Syrian intelligence officer in connection with the case. The Syrian, Mohammed Zuhair Siddiq, had previously been arrested in 2005 in France on suspicion of involvement in the bombing, but had escaped from house arrest there in March 2008. n Alleged Israeli Spies Arrested. The Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar April 14 reported that Lebanese security forces had arrested a former senior Lebanese military officer on suspicion of being an Israeli spy since the 1990s. The arrest of retired Brig. Gen. Adib al-Alam was reportedly carried out with the cooperation of the Shiite Muslim militant group Hezbollah. Lebanese authorities April 23 charged Alam—along with his wife and nephew, who were also arrested, and a fourth person who remained at large—with giving sensitive information about Lebanese and Syrian military and civilian targets to Israel with the “aim of facilitating Israeli attacks”; they faced the death sentence if convicted. Lebanon considered Israel, which had fought a war with Hezbollah in 2006, an enemy nation. [See 2008, pp. 874C3, 456C3] Lebanese authorities April 25 arrested two Lebanese men and one Palestinian on

charges of spying for Israel. The arrests reportedly stemmed from information gained from Alam. Four more suspected Israeli spies were arrested May 3–4, including a Lebanese internal security forces officer. Altogether, Lebanon had arrested at least 13 suspected Israeli spies over the past year. They included Marwan Faqih, a businessman from the Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh who Lebanese media sources Feb. 16 reported had been detained. According to media reports, Faqih, who owned several mechanic’s shops and car dealerships and had possibly been a high-ranking member of Hezbollah, had been secretly installing satellite tracking and eavesdropping devices into many of the organization’s cars. The devices had reportedly allowed the Israeli military to conduct targeted air strikes on important Hezbollah figures during the 2006 war. Also, Hezbollah in July 2008 had seized Ali al-Jarrah, a school administrator in the village of Maraj, in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, on suspicion of espionage. Investigators said Jarrah had been spying for Israel on Hezbollah and Palestinian militant groups in southern Lebanon and Syria since 1983. Hezbollah had turned him over to the Lebanese government, and he faced charges in a military court. n

Other Middle East News Israeli Probe Clears Military of Gaza War Crimes.

The Israeli military April 22 released the results of several probes of its actions during Israel’s war with the militant Islamist group Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement) in the Gaza Strip, which took place from December 2008 to January. The investigations found that the Israeli military had followed international law and had “maintained a high professional and moral level” in the face of Hamas fighters who “aimed to terrorize Israeli citizens” by launching rockets at them, and used Palestinian noncombatants as “human shields.” Human rights groups, which had accused Israel of violating international law by targeting civilians and improperly using weapons in populated areas, denounced the investigations’ findings and called for an independent probe. [See p. 209F3] The Israeli military deputy chief of staff, Maj. Gen. Dan Harel, said the investigations had “discovered a small number of mistakes, not many, among the dozens of incidents we investigated.” He added, “We have already examined them and learned lessons from them.” Harel also said such errors were due to “intelligence or operational errors” and “were unavoidable,” but that no Israeli soldier had deliberately harmed “innocent Palestinian civilians.” Three of the investigations were of specific incidents in which Israeli forces were accused of killing Palestinian civilians. They included the Jan. 6 bombardment of a house in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City in which 21 members of the Daia family were killed. The investigation found that the Zeitoun house had been hit by accident as Israeli forces were trying to deFACTS ON FILE

stroy the house next door, a site it claimed was a weapons depot. Another investigation focused on the Jan. 6 shelling of a United Nations school in the Jabaliya refugee camp that killed up to 40 refugees. That investigation concluded that Israeli forces had been firing on Hamas militants near the Jabaliya school. [See p. 13G1] There were also two general investigations—one of the destruction of buildings and infrastructure by ground troops and the other of the military’s use of white phosphorus. White phosphorus was a chemical compound used to create smokescreens, but could also cause severe burns; the Israeli military said it had only used it in open areas to create smokescreens and to mark targets, in accordance with international law. [See p. 210C2] The Israeli military said a separate operational investigation of the entire war would be completed by June. Separately, U.S.-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch April 20 released a report saying that Hamas had killed at least 32 political opponents and suspected Israeli collaborators during and after the Gaza war, and had wounded dozens of others. [See p. 157D3] The U.N. Human Rights Council April 3 appointed Richard Goldstone—a former South African Constitutional Court judge who had been the U.N.’s chief prosecutor for war crimes in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia—to investigate alleged Israeli war crimes during the Gaza war. [See 1996, p. 782D3] Also, the U.N. May 5 released the results of another investigation which found that Israeli weapons were “the undisputed cause” of the destruction or damaging of several U.N. facilities in Gaza during the war, including its Gaza headquarters and several schools. It called for Israel to compensate the U.N. for the damage. Israel called the report “biased” and said it had been attacking militants using the buildings as cover. U.S. Envoy Meets With Netanyahu, Abbas—

U.S. President Barack Obama’s special envoy to the Middle East, former Sen. George Mitchell (D, Maine), April 16 met with newly elected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. The next day, he traveled to Ramallah, in the West Bank, to meet with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas and other Palestinian officials. [See p. 157D2] Mitchell in his meeting with Netanyahu emphasized the Obama administration’s support for the creation of “a Palestinian state living in peace alongside the Jewish state of Israel.” However, Netanyahu said the Palestinians first had to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Abbas April 27 said he would not recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Palestinian negotiators had said such a recognition would undermine their demands for the right for Palestinian refugees to return to Israel, as well as being against the interests of Israel’s Arab population. Mitchell April 17 said the U.S. would seek “a comprehensive peace” between IsMay 7, 2009

rael and the Arab world, building upon a 2002 Arab League proposal. Also, two Hamas leaders—Ismail Haniya, the group’s leader in Gaza, and another top official, Mahmoud Zahar—April 17 made their first public appearances since the Gaza war, preaching at separate mosques in the territory. Zahar in his sermon said Hamas would never recognize Israel. Obama April 21 said he would invite Netanyahu, Abbas, and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak—a key player in IsraeliPalestinian negotiations—to meet with him separately at the White House. U.S. officials said the meetings would probably take place between mid-May and early June. Netanyahu, addressing via satellite a conference of the U.S. pro-Israel lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), May 4 promised to pursue peace with the Palestinians by combining negotiations with the development of the Palestinian territories and bolstering PA security forces. He also said the common threat of Iran’s nuclear program could unite Israel, the U.S. and Arab nations. Israeli officials had suggested that Netanyahu’s foreign policy agenda would prioritize containing Iran’s nuclear ambitions over Israeli-Palestinian issues. However, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton April 23 had said progress on Iran could only occur if Israel was seen as working towards a Palestinian state. In an interview with the New York Times published May 5, Khaled Meshal, the leader of Hamas, pledged that the organization would be “part of the solution” in resolving Israeli-Palestinian issues. He said Hamas was seeking a Palestinian state “on the 1967 borders, based on a long-term truce. This includes East Jerusalem, the dismantling of settlements and the right of return of the Palestinian refugees.” However, he refused to recognize Israel. Meshal also said Hamas fighters for the time being had stopped firing rockets into Israel from Gaza. Six rockets and mortar shells had been fired into Israel in April, a sharp decline from the previous months. Meshal was living in exile in Damascus, Syria. Hamas and its rival Fatah, which controlled the West Bank, April 28 ended a fourth round of Egyptian-brokered reconciliation talks in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, without coming to a resolution. Egypt set May 15 as the deadline for a fifth round of talks. Hamas reportedly rejected Fatah’s demands that any unity government adhere to international conditions including recognizing Israel’s right to exist and renouncing violence. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs May 1 released a report warning that up to 60,000 Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem faced eviction. It estimated that as many as a quarter of Palestinian homes in the neighborhood were built illegally, because Israel had not provided enough building permits to keep up with the growing Palestinian population there. The U.N. called on Israel to halt demolitions, which in past years had averaged about 75 annually. East Jerusalem had been annexed by Israel after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, but

many Palestinians saw it as a potential capital for a future Palestinian state. Boy Killed in Attack on Settlement— A man with an ax April 2 attacked two boys in the Israeli West Bank settlement of Bat Ayin, killing one and wounding the other before fleeing. The Israeli government called the incident a terrorist attack, and several Palestinian militant groups claimed responsibility, including Islamic Jihad and another calling itself Martyrs of Imad Mughniyah, referring to a leader of the Shiite Muslim Lebanese miltant group Hezbollah who had been killed in a 2008 bombing in Syria. The wounded boy’s father was serving a prison sentence for involvement in a 2002 plot to blow up an Arab girls’ school in Jerusalem, although it was not known if the attack on the boys had any connection to that incident. Bat Ayin settlers April 8 fired on residents from the nearby Palestinian village of Safa, wounding six. Also, a Palestinian April 17 infiltrated the Israeli West Bank settlement of Beit Haggai but was shot dead when he attacked a settler. In other violence, Israeli policemen April 7 shot to death a Palestinian man who they said had tried to run them over with his car in East Jerusalem. The police had been guarding the demolition site of the house of the family of another Palestinian who had killed three Israelis with a construction vehicle in July 2008. (Another Palestinian driver March 5 had rammed a construction vehicle into a police car and an empty bus in Jerusalem, wounding two police officers before police and a bystander shot him to death.) [See 2008, p. 525G3] A Palestinian man April 17 was killed during a demonstration against the Israeli security barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin when a tear gas canister fired by Israeli forces struck him in the chest. A U.S. citizen had been severely injured by a tear gas canister in March, and Israeli forces had been criticized for firing them directly at protesters. [See p. 210E3] Palestinian militants May 2 fired several mortar shells into Israel from Gaza. The attack prompted an Israeli air strike on smuggling tunnels under the Egyptian-Gaza border, killing two Palestinians. Israel May 6 again bombed the tunnels after another mortar attack. n

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Afghanistan Karzai Taps Ex-Warlord as Running Mate.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai May 4 formally registered as a candidate for the country’s Aug. 20 presidential election, and said he had chosen Muhammad Qassim Fahim, a controversial ex-warlord, as one of his vice-presidential running mates. The move prompted criticism from human rights groups and aid agencies, which said Fahim had committed numerous human rights violations during Afghanistan’s civil war in the 1990s, and that he still had ties to criminal groups and drug traffickers. Karzai’s other running mate 313

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was current Vice President Abdul Karim Khalili. [See p. 195D2; 2004, p. 1070A3] Fahim had been a vice president in a transitional government that took power after a 2001 U.S.-led invasion deposed the Taliban’s Islamic fundamentalist regime. However, during the 2004 presidential election, Karzai replaced him with current Vice President Ahmed Zia Massoud. Observers said Karzai had gone back to Fahim to draw much-needed support for his reelection campaign from ex-warlords who still wielded great influence in areas of Afghanistan. Karzai saw his chances at reelection increase May 2 when one of his strongest rivals dropped out of the race. Gul Agha Shirzai, governor of the eastern province of Nangarhar, was thought to be one of the few politicians in the country with enough name recognition to defeat Karzai. Karzai had seen his support erode in recent years—due to rampant corruption in the government and increased violence stemming from a resurgent Taliban insurgency—but he was one of Afghanistan’s few nationally known politicians. He also belonged to the Pashtun ethnic group, which comprised 40% of the population. Shirzai was also Pashtun, posing a threat to Karzai’s base. Shirzai did not explain his decision, but he had reportedly met with Karzai May 1. The country’s largest opposition party, the United Front, had chosen former Foreign Minister Abdullah (who went by only one name) to be its candidate. The United Front was largely comprised of non-Pashtun groups from Afghanistan’s north.

Separately, local officials said NATO air strikes April 13 in the eastern province of Kunar had killed six civilians. NATO officials denied the charge, saying four to eight Taliban militants had been killed. Britain Pledges More Troops— British Prime Minister Gordon Brown April 29 announced that Britain would send an additional 700 troops to Afghanistan, but that they would eventually be drawn down after providing security for the Aug. 20 presidential election. Britain currently had 8,300 troops stationed in the country. Addressing Britain’s Parliament, Brown said the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan was the “crucible of global terrorism.” Brown April 27 visited Kabul, the Afghan capital, where he said Britain would provide an additional £15 million ($23 million) in aid to the country. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd April 29 pledged an additional 450 soldiers to Afghanistan, which would bring Australia’s total troop count to 1,550. Hundreds Protest Marriage Law—About 300 women in Kabul April 15 protested a recently passed law that human rights groups said legalized marital rape. The law, which applied only to Shiite Muslims, required wives to respond to their husbands’ sexual advances, and placed other restrictions on women. The demonstrators were met by hundreds of counterdemonstrators who favored the law. Karzai’s government had come under international criticism for passing the law, and Karzai said it would be reviewed before it was implemented. [See p. 213E1] n

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Pakistan Thousands Flee Fighting in Northwest.

Civilians Allegedly Killed in Air Strikes—

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) May 6 said dozens of civilians had been killed by U.S. air strikes that struck a village May 4 in the Bala Baluk district, in the western province of Farah. Afghan officials put the death toll at more than 100, which would make the incident one of the worst of its kind since the U.S. invaded Afghanistan. U.S. military officials May 5 said they would conduct an investigation into the strikes. [See p. 54B3] Karzai’s office said the alleged casualties were “unjustifiable and unacceptable.” Karzai had long criticized the U.S. and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for what he described as their reckless use of air strikes, which he said would turn the civilian population against his government and the Western forces. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton May 6 expressed deep regret over the possible loss of civilian life, after a meeting with Karzai in Washington, D.C. [See p. 315F1] Farah’s provincial governor, Rohul Amin, said the Taliban had attacked police checkpoints in Bala Baluk May 4. The insurgents then engaged with the Afghan national army, and U.S. soldiers embedded with the Afghan troops called in the air strikes. There were conflicting reports of what happened at the time of the strikes. Some officials claimed that the Taliban had used the civilians as human shields, while villagers said the strikes had hit houses that were removed from the fighting between the Taliban and the Afghan army.

coalition with Prachanda’s Maoists in protest of Katawal’s sacking. The Maoists held a plurality of seats in the assembly. Prachanda in a televised address to the nation May 4 said Yadav’s move was “unconstitutional and undemocratic,” claiming that “the president has no power to act alone without prior approval of the cabinet on such matters.” Nepal’s interim constitution did not clarify who had the power to dismiss the army chief. The president was nominally in charge of the country’s security forces, but was required to act with the legislature’s consultation. Maoist supporters May 4–7 staged protests in Kathmandu, the Nepalese capital, and there were reports of minor clashes between protesters and security forces. Following Prachanda’s resignation, the country’s political parties began jockeying to form a new ruling coalition. The Maoists said they would not ally with any party that did not support firing Katawal. Several politicians said it would be difficult to form a ruling coalition without the Maoists, who controlled 40% of the seats in the legislature. They also said the Maoists would have to be involved in writing the country’s constitution, which was the interim legislature’s main task. While the Maoists enjoyed strong political support, they had also come under criticism for their management of the country, which was beset by chronic power outages, fuel shortages and high rates of inflation. n

Nepal Prime Minister Resigns Over Army Dispute.

Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also known as Prachanda, May 4 resigned from his position, a day after his attempt to sack the country’s army chief was thwarted. The move threatened to destabilize the young democracy, which in 2008 had switched from an absolute monarchy to a democratic republic. It also raised concerns that a 2006 peace deal between the army and Prachanda’s Maoist rebel group—which later entered the political process as the Communist Party (Maoist)—could fall apart. [See 2008, p. 577B3] Prachanda May 3 had attempted to fire the army chief, Rookmangud Katawal, after he refused to begin absorbing into the army some 19,000 former Maoist rebels who were currently interned in United Nations–run camps. The integration of the army with the rebels was a central element of the 2006 peace agreement. But Katawal refused, claiming that the former rebels were too ideologically indoctrinated to blend with the army ranks. President Ram Baran Yadav later May 3 overturned Prachanda’s order. Yadav was a member of the opposition Nepali Congress Party, which held the second-highest number of seats in Nepal’s interim legislature, the Constituent Assembly. The Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist), which held the third-highest number of seats, that day pulled out of its

Thousands of civilian residents in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) May 5–7 fled the Swat district, over fears that the military was preparing to launch a major military operation against Taliban Islamic fundamentalist militants there. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani in a televised address to the nation May 7 formally announced the beginning of a Swat offensive, saying, “To restore the honor and dignity of our homeland and to protect our people, the armed forces have been called in to eliminate the militants and terrorists.” [See p. 298B1] The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) May 7 said that some 500,000 civilians had been displaced by recent fighting in Swat, as well as in Swat’s neighboring districts of Buner and Lower Dir, and that the humanitarian crisis in the region was “intensifying.” The numbers could not be independently confirmed because the news media had been banned from the conflict zones. The Pakistani government and the Taliban in Swat had reached a peace deal in February, ending 18 months of heavy fighting between the two sides. The government agreed to allow the establishment of sharia, or traditional Islamic law, in Malakand division—which included Swat, Buner and Lower Dir—if the Taliban disarmed. President Asif Ali Zardari in April signed a law approving the change, but Taliban militants in Swat did not lay down their arms. Instead, they invaded and FACTS ON FILE

seized control of Buner, which lay a mere 60 miles (100 km) from Islamabad, the Pakistani capital. The Swat peace deal was harshly criticized by moderate Pakistani groups and Pakistan’s Western allies, including the U.S., which said the government was abdicating authority and territory to the Taliban. The Taliban had vowed to overthrow the government and establish sharia across the country, and since the peace deal was reached had conducted public floggings and executions, occupied homes and burned farm land, in what was seen as an attempt to cow the local population. The Taliban had ties to international terrorist network Al Qaeda, and Taliban factions were fighting U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces in neighboring Afghanistan. In response to the criticism, the Pakistani army in late April began operations to root out militants in Buner and nearby Lower Dir. Army and government officials expressed a desire to maintain the peace deal in Swat, but it appeared to break down the weekend of May 2–3. The government May 2 established a sharia appellate court in Swat, which officials said fulfilled their end of the bargain. But Maulana Sufi Muhammad, the Taliban’s principal negotiator with the government, May 3 said the group would not recognize the court. Each side accused the other of violating the peace deal. Militants May 3 seized control of Mingora, Swat’s capital. They reportedly took over local government buildings, looted banks, laid land mines and began patrolling the streets. There were reports that the Taliban also blew up schools, attacked the region’s electrical power grid and beheaded two captured soldiers. Army officials May 5 lifted a recently imposed curfew and ordered civilians in Swat to flee. The army May 6 said it had killed 35 militants in Swat in sporadic fighting earlier that day. Helicopter gunships that day reportedly attacked militant positions, and militants attacked army bases near Mingora. The military said it was also on the offensive in Buner and Lower Dir. The army had retaken the Buneri capital of Daggar in late April, and officials said the operation was progressing as planned. But there were reports that the troops had encountered stiff resistance from the Taliban. The government May 5 announced that it would open six refugee camps in the NWFP districts of Swabi and Mardan. There were reports that the camps were lacking in basic facilities. Zardari Meets With Obama, Karzai—

Zardari May 6 held meetings with U.S. President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Washington, D.C., where the three leaders sought to find ways in which they could cooperate in defeating the Taliban. Obama afterward said, “The security of Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States are linked,” adding, “We must work together with a renewed sense of partnership to share intelligence, and to coordinate our efforts to isolate, target and take out our common enemy.” [See p. 313F3] While Obama had recently announced a U.S. troop increase to fight the Taliban in May 7, 2009

Afghanistan, the U.S.’s ability to target Taliban and Al Qaeda militants in Pakistan was limited. The Taliban largely operated with impunity in Pakistan’s lawless northwestern tribal areas, which lay between the NWFP and the porous Afghan border. The Taliban could move freely between the two countries, allowing militants to attack U.S. forces in Afghanistan, and then retreat to their safe havens in Pakistan. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had used Predator and Reaper drone aircraft to launch missile attacks against militants in Pakistan’s tribal areas, but the number of such attacks had been scaled back in recent weeks, reportedly due to Pakistani objections to a rising number of civilian casualties. Analysts said the U.S.’s main strategy was to convince Pakistan that the Taliban posed a grave threat to the country’s stability, and that the militants had to be defeated with military force. However, the army had appeared reluctant to wage war against Pakistani citizens, especially if it was perceived as being at the behest of the U.S., since anti-U.S. sentiment in Pakistan was high. Additionally, the army had historical ties with the Taliban, which it had used as a proxy force in Afghanistan in the 1980s and 1990s. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton May 6 praised the Pakistani army’s recent operations in the NWFP, and said, “I think that action was called for.” Before meeting with Obama, Zardari and Karzai May 6 held talks with Clinton, national security adviser James Jones and Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan. Top military and intelligence officials from all three countries also met that day, including CIA Director Leon Panetta and Gen. David Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command. Zardari Makes Case for More Aid— Zardari May 5 held a meeting with members of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, in which he requested that they support Obama’s proposed five-year, $7.5 billion civilian aid package for Pakistan, as well as additional military aid. However, Rep. Howard Berman (D, Calif.), the committee chairman, came away unimpressed with Zardari, telling reporters, “He did not present a coherent strategy for the defeat of the insurgency.” Lawmakers were concerned that Zardari’s government was too fragile to be trusted with the money, and wanted to attach conditions that would ensure that Pakistan was working to meet U.S. goals in the region. Obama said the civilian aid was important, since education and economic programs could build support for the government among the tribal areas’ poor populations, and help them resist overtures from the Taliban. U.S. officials had publicly supported Zardari, with Holbrooke May 5 telling the House Foreign Affairs Committee, “He should be treated as the leader of a country who vitally needs our support and whose success is vitally related to U.S. interests.” However, there were reports that the Obama administration was concerned that Zardari did not have the will or enough po-

litical support to defeat the Taliban. Those doubts grew after he signed off on the Swat peace deal. Several media outlets reported that the administration was pushing for Zardari to develop stronger ties with the more popular Nawaz Sharif, the former Pakistani prime minister. Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates April 30 urged lawmakers on the Senate Appropriations Committee to approve $400 million in emergency military aid for the Pakistani army. The $400 million was part of a proposed five-year, $3 billion fund, which would also be used by the U.S. military to train Pakistani forces in counterinsurgency techniques. The Pakistani army was thought to be ill-equipped to fight a counterinsurgency, since it had long trained its soldiers in conventional warfare, planning for a war with its traditional rival, India. Dozens Killed in Ethnic Violence— At least 34 people were killed and 42 wounded in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi after gang violence broke out April 29– 30 between ethnic Pashtuns and Mohajirs. The Muttahida Quami Movement, a secular political party dominated by Mohajirs, had recently denounced the Taliban’s encroachments in the northwest. The Taliban was largely made up of Pashtuns. n

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Horse Racing 50–1 Shot Mine That Bird Wins Kentucky Derby.

Mine That Bird, a 50–1 long shot ridden by Calvin Borel, May 2 won the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville, Ky. The Kentucky Derby was the first of the three annual U.S. Triple Crown races for thoroughbred horses. [See 2008, p. 318F2] The morning-line favorite, I Want Revenge, had been scratched earlier in the day due to an ankle injury. Observers suggested that the horse’s handlers were being especially cautious in light of the death of filly Eight Belles in the 2008 Kentucky Derby. (Eight Belles had collapsed after breaking her two front ankles about a quarter mile past the finish line, and was euthanized on the track.) Another favorite, Quality Road, had been pulled from the race April 27. The victory by Mine That Bird was the second-biggest upset in Derby history. (The biggest had come in 1913, when 91–1 shot Donerail won.) It capped a successful two days of racing at Churchill Downs for Borel, who had also ridden Street Sense to victory in the 2007 Kentucky Derby. Borel May 1 had guided Rachel Alexandra to an emphatic 20¼-length win in the Kentucky Oaks, a prestigious race for fillies. In the 1¼-mile Kentucky Derby, Mine That Bird began last in a field of 19 horses on a sloppy track. Borel deftly maneuvered the horse past 17 competitors, mainly staying close to the rail, as was his trademark. Mine That Bird then passed the final two horses through a narrow opening on the inside, proceeded to open up a wide lead and win by 6¾ lengths. Pioneerof the Nile, with Garrett Gomez aboard, placed second in a 315

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BEST SELLER LISTS

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Publishers Weekly May 4 listed the following hardback and paperback best sellers [See p. 212A1]:

Top-Rated Programs. The following were the most-watched prime-time nation-

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1. First Family, by David Baldacci (Grand Central) 2. Tea Time for the Traditionally Built, by Alexander McCall Smith (Pantheon) 3. Loitering with Intent, by Stuart Woods (Putnam) 4. Just Take My Heart, by Mary Higgins Clark (Simon & Schuster) 5. The Perfect Poison, by Amanda Quick (Putnam) General Hardback 1. Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment, by Steve Harvey (Amistad) 2. Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto, by Mark R. Levin (Threshold Editions) 3. Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist, by Michael J. Fox (Hyperion) 4. The Girls from Ames: A Story of Women and a Forty-Year Friendship, by Jeffrey Zaslow (Gotham) 5. Columbine, by Dave Cullen (Twelve) Mass Market Paperback 1. Angels & Demons, by Dan Brown (Pocket) 2. Where Are You Now?, by Mary Higgins Clark (Pocket) 3. Dark Summer, by Iris Johansen (St. Martin’s) 4. No Choice but Seduction, by Johanna Lindsey (Pocket) 5. Tribute, by Nora Roberts (Jove)

Music Best-Selling Singles and Albums. Billboard magazine in its May 2 issue listed

the five most popular singles (as determined by air play and sales) and the five best-selling albums in the U.S. as the following [See p. 212C1]:

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Singles 1. “Boom Boom Pow,” The Black Eyed Peas (will.i.am/Interscope) 2. “Poker Face,” Lady Gaga (Streamline/KonLive/Cherrytree/Interscope) 3. “Right Round,” Flo Rida featuring Kesha (Poe Boy/Atlantic) 4. “The Climb,” Miley Cyrus (Walt Disney/Hollywood) 5. “Kiss Me Thru the Phone,” Soulja Boy Tell ’em featuring Sammie (ColliPark/Interscope)

Albums 1. Hannah Montana: The Movie, soundtrack (Walt Disney)

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2. Forever in a Day, DAY26 (Bad Boy/AG)

3. Unstoppable, Rascal Flatts (Lyric Street) 4. Twilight, soundtrack (Summit/Chop Shop/Atlantic/AG) 5. Now That’s What I Call Music Vol. 30, Various Artists (Universal/EMI/ Sony/Zomba/UMe)

photo finish with Musket Man, ridden by Eibar Coa. Mine That Bird was trained by Bennie (Chip) Woolley Jr. and owned by Mark Allen and Leonard Blach. The gelding finished the Derby in two minutes, 2.66 seconds. Mine That Bird paid $103.20 on a $2 bet, and earned his owners more than $1.4 million in prize money. n

ARTS & SCIENCES

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People

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Scottish-born poet Carol Ann Duffy, 53, May 1 was named Britain’s new poet laureate, succeeding Andrew Motion, who had held the post since 1999. Duffy, whose work was known for its accessibility and humor, became the first woman ever to occupy the post, which had been granted official status in 1668. Motion, 56, had been the first poet laureate to have accepted the 316

al television shows March 30–May 3 as determined by A.C. Nielsen Co. (Series marked with an asterisk * had at least one other episode during the period that outranked some of the other programs listed.) Figures in parentheses are rating points; each point represents 1% of the 114.5 million television households in the U.S. [See p. 212A2]:

1. “American Idol” (Fox), April 1 (14.2)* 2. “Dancing With the Stars” (ABC), April 20 (13.0)* 3. “NCIS” (CBS), April 7 (10.9) 4. “NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship” (CBS), April 6 (10.8) 5. “The Mentalist” (CBS), April 28 (10.6)

Films Top-Grossing Films. The following were the top-grossing films in the U.S. for the week of April 24–30 according to Variety. Figures in parentheses were each film’s cumulative domestic box-office total and number of weeks in release to date. Information on cast and director is included when a film first appears on the list. [See p. 212B2]:

1. Obsessed, Sony ($34.8 million, 1) Directed by Steve Shill. With Beyonce Knowles, Idris Elba, Ali Larter, Jerry O’Connell and Christine Lahti. 2. 17 Again, Warner Bros. ($42.1 million, 2) Directed by Burr Steers. With Zac Efron, Leslie Mann, Matthew Perry, Michelle Trachtenberg and Melora Hardin. 3. Fighting, Universal ($13.3 million, 1) Directed by Dito Montiel. With Channing Tatum, Terrence Howard, Zulay Henao, Michael Rivera and Flaco Navaja. 4. The Soloist, Paramount ($12.5 million, 1) Directed by Joe Wright. With Jamie Foxx, Nelsan Ellis, Michael Bunin, Robert Downey Jr. and Rachael Harris. 5. Earth, Disney ($17.7 million, 1) Directed by Alastair Fothergill. Narrated by James Earl Jones. 6. Monsters vs. Aliens, Paramount ($176.6 million, 5) Directed by Rob Letterman and Conrad Vernon. With the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Kiefer Sutherland, Rainn Wilson, Paul Rudd and Stephen Colbert. 7. State of Play, Universal ($27.2 million, 2) Directed by Kevin MacDonald. With Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren and Robin Wright Penn. 8. Fast & Furious, Universal ($147.0 million, 4) Directed by Justin Lin. With Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster. 9. Hannah Montana; The Movie, Disney ($66.8 million, 3) Directed by Peter Chelsom. With Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus, Emily Osment, Jason Earles and Mitchel Tate Musso. 10. Crank: High Voltage, Lionsgate ($12.8 million, 2) Directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor. With Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Clifton Collins Jr., Efren Ramirez and Bai Ling.

post as a non-lifetime appointment, stipulating that he would resign after 10 years. All previous laureates had died in office, with the exception of the first official laureate, John Dryden, who was ousted in 1688, 12 years before his death. Duffy had been widely regarded as a leading contender for the post in 1999, but it was reported that she might have been passed over at the time, in favor of Motion, because she was a single mother in a lesbian relationship. Her 2009 appointment reportedly made her Britain’s first openly gay poet laureate as well. [See 1999, p. 392G2] n

O B I T UA R I E S FANTHORPE, U(rsula) A(skham), 79, British poet; her earliest work was inspired by her on-the-job experiences as a receptionist in the neuropsychiatric unit of an English hospital in the 1970s; her first poetry collection, Side Effects, appeared in 1978, when she was nearly 50; she went on to publish nine other volumes of verse, and in 1999 made a serious bid to become

Britain’s first female poet laureate; her longtime partner was poet Rosemarie Bailey, with whom she often gave joint readings; born July 22, 1929, in London; died April 28 at a hospice near her home in Wotton-under-Edge, England; she died days before one of her protegees, Carol Ann Duffy, was named Britain’s first female poet laureate. [See p. 316G1] KEMP, Jack French, 73, Republican politician who, as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives during the presidency of Ronald Reagan (1981–89), was instrumental in getting the GOP to embrace tax cuts as the primary means of stimulating the economy; unlike many conservative Republicans, he combined fiscal conservatism with support for affirmative action and other policies benefiting the socially disadvantaged; he was elected to Congress from the Buffalo, N.Y., area in 1970, after having been a star quarterback for the American Football League’s Buffalo Bills in the 1960s (the AFL was absorbed into the National Football League after the 1969 season); he served in Congress through 1988, when he ran unsuccessfully for the GOP presidential nomination, secured by then–Vice President George H.W. Bush, who ended up being elected president; during Bush’s one-term presidency, he served as secretary of Housing and Urban Development; in 1996, he was the running mate of losing GOP presidential candidate Sen. Bob Dole (Kan.); born July 13, 1935, in Los Angeles; died May 2 at his home in Bethesda, Md., of cancer. [See 2006, p. 175A3; 2005, p. 834C2; 2003, p. 1008F3; Indexes 2002, 2000, 1976–98, 1974, 1972, 1970, 1966]n

May 7, 2009

Top U.S. and NATO Commander in Afghanistan Gen. McKiernan Ousted McChrystal Chosen for ‘Fresh Approach.’

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates May 11 announced that he had asked for the resignation of Gen. David McKiernan, the top commander of U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ) forces in Afghanistan. Citing the need for a “fresh approach,” Gates said he would recommend to U.S. President Barack Obama that McKiernan be replaced by Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who since August 2008 had been the director of the U.S. Joint Staff. Gates also announced the creation of a new deputy post under the top commander, and nominated his top military aide, Lt. Gen. David Rodriguez, to fill the post. [See p. 194F2; 2008, p. 392B2] McKiernan had become the top commander in Afghanistan in June 2008, and had been expected to stay on for a total of two years. The ouster of a commanding U.S. general in the middle of a wartime tour was considered a rare event. Gates said it was in the military’s “best interest” to have “a fresh approach and a fresh look in the context of a new strategy” for the Afghan war, which had been unveiled by Obama in March. Gates said Obama had approved the decision, which Gates had made in consultation with Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. David Petraeus, who as head of the U.S. Central Command oversaw the U.S.’s wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq. The Obama administration’s Afghan strategy called for an increase of 21,000 U.S. troops—which would lead to a total deployment of more than 60,000—and a renewed emphasis on civilian aid and economic development. Obama had said he was open to cooperating with more moderate elements of the Taliban, the Islamic fundamentalist group whose insurgent campaign had gained strength in recent years. He had also emphasized the strategic importance of stabilizing neighboring Pakistan, which Taliban militants used as a safe haven. [See p. 314D3] While McKiernan had pressed for a U.S. troop buildup, it was widely reported that Gates and senior army officials believed his expertise in conventional warfare was ill-suited to tackle a complicated insurgency. Petraeus, in particular, in recent years had pressed the U.S. military to use innovative techniques to combat guerrillas in Iraq and Afghanistan. His counterinsurgency strategy in Iraq saw the U.S. military shed blunter, more aggressive tactics in exchange for alliances with former insurgents and an emphasis on protecting the civilian population. The strategy, accompanied by a so-called surge in U.S. forces, helped dramatically reduce violence in the country, and U.S. officials hoped to duplicate some of that success in Afghanistan. [See p. 229C1] McChrystal was considered a top expert in counterinsurgency and unconventional warfare. From 2003 to 2008, he had

headed the military’s Joint Special Operations Command, which conducted covert counterterrorism operations and other unconventional missions for the military. Under McChrystal’s leadership, Special Operations forces in Iraq in 2003 captured former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, and in 2006 killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, head of the insurgent group Al Qaeda in Iraq. [See 2006, p. 441A1; 2003, p. 993A1] Rodriguez was also considered a counterinsurgency expert. In 2008, he had led the military’s 82nd Airborne Division in eastern Afghanistan, where insurgent violence was heavy. As a deputy to the top commander in Afghanistan, Rodriguez would oversee the day-to-day operations of U.S. troops. Both McChrystal and Rodriguez would have to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and McKiernan would remain in his post until then. Observers expected senators to question McChrystal about a 2007 Defense Department investigation that found McChrystal had improperly recommended a Silver Star for Cpl. Pat Tillman, who was slain in Afghanistan in 2004. The awarding of a Silver Star implied that Tillman had been killed by enemy troops, when he was found to have been killed by friendly fire. [See 2007, p. 510F1] McChrystal had also faced scrutiny for his oversight of special operations units accused of mistreating detainees in Iraq. In particular, the task force charged with killing or capturing Zarqawi had allegedly abused potential informants detained at the now-closed prison at Camp Nama military base in Baghdad, Iraq’s capital. [See 2006, p. 207E2] When asked by reporters whether his decision would end McKiernan’s 37-year career in the army, Gates May 11 said, “Probably.” Gates praised his decades of “distinguished service,” and the White House that day released a similar statement. McKiernan had overseen combat operations in Iraq and the former Yugoslavia. Protests

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Demonstrators in Afghanistan’s western province of Farah May 7 protested as many as 130 civilian deaths that they said had been caused by U.S. air strikes earlier in the week. Gates, visiting Kabul, the Afghan capital, that day said, “We regret any—even one—Afghan civilian casualty and will make whatever amends are necessary.” However, he declined to state whether he believed U.S. air strikes had led to the deaths, saying he would wait for the results of a joint U.S.-Afghan investigation. [See p. 314D1] Gates also argued that “exploiting civilian casualties and often causing civilian casualties are a fundamental part” of the Taliban’s strategy against the U.S. Rising incidents of civilian casualties threatened to undermine popular support for the U.S. war effort and the U.S.backed government of President Hamid

Facts On File

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World News Digest With Index ©2009 by Facts On File News Services An imprint of Infobase Publishing

Volume 69, No. 3569 May 14, 2009

B Karzai. Karzai during a trip to Washington, D.C., May 10 said, “How can you expect a people who keep losing their children to remain friendly?” Militants Attack Government Buildings—

Eleven Taliban militants May 12 conducted simultaneous attacks on three government buildings in the eastern province of Khost, leading to the deaths of 20 people, including all of the militants. The militants were reportedly disguised as Afghan army officers or clad in burqas (a traditional garment for women that cloaked the entire body), and used a combination of suicide bombers and heavily armed fighters to attack the Khost governor’s compound, a municipal building and a police station. Militants held 20 civilians hostage in the municipal building; the civilians were freed later that day by U.S. and Afghan forces. n

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MAJOR STORIES IN THIS ISSUE Top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan Gen. McKiernan ousted; McChrystal chosen for ‘fresh approach.’ PAGE 317

Government regulators tell U.S. banks to raise $75 billion in capital. PAGE 318

Senate passes mortgage aid bill.

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Obama administration releases final budget proposal. PAGE 320

Interrogator, former Bush official testify on terrorism detainee interrogation tactics. PAGE 322

Unemployment rate rose to 8.9% in April. PAGE 323

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Zuma elected South African president, inaugurated. PAGE 325

Myanmar pro-democracy leader Suu Kyi arrested. PAGE 327

Spanish judge investigates U.S. detainee treatment. PAGE 329

Iranian court frees U.S.-Iranian reporter. PAGE 330

U.S. soldier in Iraq kills five fellow troops in clinic. PAGE 330

REFERENCES in brackets give location of background information in this & preceding volumes.

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Other International News Obama to Address World’s Muslims. U.S.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs May 8 announced that U.S. President Barack Obama would make a major address to the Muslim world June 4 in Egypt. The speech would continue Obama’s efforts to improve relations between the U.S. and Muslims throughout the world, which had deteriorated under his predecessor, President George W. Bush. Obama in April had made a well-received speech in Muslim-majority Turkey to the parliament there, in which he said that the U.S. “is not and never will be at war with Islam.” [See p. 214G1] Obama during his presidential campaign had promised to make a speech in a capital of a Muslim-majority nation during the first 100 days of his administration; the announced speech would fall outside that period, which ended April 29, and it was not announced whether it would take place in Cairo, the Egyptian capital. [See p. 285G1] Gibbs said Obama in his Egypt speech would “extend a hand to those that, in many ways, are like us but just simply have a different religion.” Obama had spent part of his childhood in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, and his father was a Muslim, although Obama was a Christian. The speech would be the first stop in a trip that would take Obama to Germany and then to France, where he would commemorate the 65th anniversary of the DDay invasion during World War II. Media reports said Obama would face criticism over the choice because of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s record of suppressing dissent and imprisoning opposition activists. However, Gibbs said Egypt had not been chosen as a show of support for Mubarak, but because the country “in many ways represents the heart of the Arab world.” He added that Obama would address human rights issues during the trip, and that the speech would be addressed not to “leaders” but to “many, many people” throughout the Muslim world. n IMF Approves Kosovo Membership. International Monetary Fund (IMF) member countries May 5 voted to invite Kosovo to join the organization. The vote was a victory for Kosovo, which in 2008 had declared independence from Serbia, and was currently recognized as an independent state by 58 of the 192 members of the United Nations. In order to join the IMF, Kosovo had to be approved by a majority of the body’s 185 members. Kosovo’s proposed quota, was about $88 million. (A quota was the amount of money a country had to provide to the IMF to join. It also determined the country’s voting power in the body, and the amount it was allowed to borrow.) [See p. 274F1; 2008, p. 910G3] Serbia and Russia, which rejected Kosovo’s independence, had actively campaigned against its membership in the IMF. However, it had the active support of the U.S., Britain, France and Germany. n

U N I T ESTATES D S TAT E S UNITED

Mortgage & Credit Crisis Banks Told to Raise $75 Billion in Capital.

Government regulators May 7 announced that 10 of the country’s 19 largest financial institutions needed to raise a total of $74.6 billion in fresh capital, in order to ensure that they could weather an ongoing recession. The announcement came in the government’s release of the results of so-called stress tests for the 19 companies, which were designed to gauge the ability of financial institutions to sustain losses if economic conditions deteriorated further. [See pp. 264D2, 110A2] The highly anticipated stress-test results were welcomed by investors, who largely viewed them as an indication that the health of the financial industry had improved in recent months. While regulators projected that the 19 companies could lose $600 billion over the next two years in a worst-case scenario, the amount of fresh capital that they would have to raise was far less than what analysts had expected in February, when the stress tests were first unveiled. The Dow Jones Industrial Average May 8 rose 164.80 points to end at 8,574.65, a 4.4% weekly gain that was fueled by a steady stream of leaked reports about the test results. Nearly all of the institutions had accepted government aid from a $700 billion financial rescue package known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), which had about $110 billion in remaining funds. The purpose of TARP was to stabilize the industry following a market collapse in late 2008, and resolve a severe freeze in credit markets. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner May 7 said, “With the clarity that today’s announcement will bring, we hope banks are going to get back to the business of banking.” Companies that did not have to raise additional capital said they were eager to return the TARP aid, which came with government restrictions and was viewed by some investors as a sign of weakness. The Treasury did not say when healthier companies could return their TARP aid, but Geithner had previously suggested that he would not accept repayments until the financial system as a whole was functioning normally. The government also reportedly wanted to see evidence that financial institutions were successfully selling corporate bonds without a guarantee against default from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC). The guarantee had been implemented in 2008 to ensure that banks remained afloat during the crisis. [See 2008, p. 737C2] The government said most companies in need of capital would be able to raise it without federal assistance, either by issuing new stock to private investors, selling assets or converting preferred shareholder stakes into common stock. Common stock was perceived as being a more dependable form of capital than preferred stock, since preferred stock imposed loan-like obligations on companies. The government had

mandated that the companies maintain a capital reserve of common stock and cash that was equal to 4% of its outstanding loans and other “risk-weighted assets.” Despite a generally positive reaction from the market, analysts warned that the financial industry could still face problems down the road, particularly if the recession worsened beyond the metrics used by the government to conduct the tests. The government had assumed that in 2009 the unemployment rate would rise to 10.3%; that gross domestic product would contract at a 3.3% rate; and that housing prices would fall 22% from the previous year. Additionally, analysts said there was no guarantee that credit markets would revive even if banks raised the required amount of capital. [See pp. 323C2, 291C3] The government April 23 had released preliminary test results to the 19 companies. That was followed by weeks of debate between the two sides over the accuracy of the results. Observers said some companies had been able to negotiate for more positive results, while some companies May 7 complained that their results remained overly pessimistic. The companies that needed additional capital had until June 8 to submit a fund-raising plan. Individual Stress Test Results—Government regulators May 7 released stress test results for the following 19 companies: o Charlotte, N.C.–based Bank of America Corp. would have to raise $33.9 billion in fresh capital, by far the largest amount of any of the companies. Bank of America that day said it would raise $17 billion through new stock offerings and common stock conversions, and that it was considering selling some of the companies that it controlled. Bank of America also said it no

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longer needed a federal guarantee for a $118 billion portfolio of its assets. Bank of America had received $45 billion in TARP aid. o New York City–based bank Citigroup Inc. would have to raise $5.5 billion. However, Citigroup had reportedly convinced the government not to include in that total a $52 billion common stock conversion that had been previously announced. Under that plan, the government would convert about $25 billion of its $45 billion preferred shareholder stake into common stock, leaving it with a 36% ownership stake in the company; Citigroup planned to expand the program to include $5.5 billion in nongovernment preferred shares, which would reduce the federal stake to 34%. Citigroup May 1 had sold its Japanese brokerage and parts of its Japanese investment banking business to Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group for $5.6 billion. o San Francisco, Calif.–based bank Wells Fargo & Co. would have to raise $13.7 billion. Wells Fargo May 8 said it had sold $7.5 billion in new stock. The company also planned to raise money by lowering expenses and reducing dividend payments. Wells Fargo had received $25 billion in TARP aid. o New York City–based bank Morgan Stanley would have to raise $1.8 billion. The company May 8 said it had sold $4 billion in common stock, and $4 billion in corporate bonds that were not backed by the FDIC. Morgan Stanley had received $10 billion in TARP money. o GMAC LLC, the financing unit of Detroit, Mich.–based automaker General Motors Corp., would have to raise $11.5 billion. The government owned a $5 billion preferred shareholder stake in the company, which could be converted into common stock, but analysts said it was likely that GMAC would need an additional TARP injection. [See p. 283F1] o Cincinnati, Ohio–based Fifth Third Bancorp (which had received $3.4 billion in TARP aid) would have to raise $1.1 billion; Cleveland, Ohio–based KeyCorp ($2.5 billion) would have to raise $1.8 billion; Pittsburgh, Pa.–based PNC Financial Services Group Inc. ($7.6 billion) would have to raise $600 million; Birmingham, Ala.–based Regions Financial Corp. ($3.5 billion) would have to raise $2.5 billion; and Atlanta, Ga.–based SunTrust Banks Inc. ($4.9 billion) would have to raise $2.2 billion. Analysts said Regions Financial, SunTrust and KeyCorp could have difficulty raising the money through new stock sales, but that a conversion of preferred stock to common stock could result in the government owning significant stakes in the companies. o The following companies would not have to raise additional capital: New York City–based bank J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (which had received $25 billion in TARP aid); New York City–based bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc. ($10 billion); New York City–based Bank of New York Mellon Corp. ($3 billion); New York City–based May 14, 2009

credit card company American Express Co. ($3.4 billion); Winston-Salem, N.C.– based bank BB&T Corp. ($3.1 billion); McLean, Va.–based bank Capital One Financial Corp. ($3.6 billion); Boston, Mass.–based bank State Street Corp. ($2 billion); Minneapolis, Minn.–based bank U.S. Bancorp ($6.6 billion) and New York City–based insurer MetLife Inc., which had received no TARP aid. Bernanke Sees ‘Slowing’ Contraction—

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke May 5 testified to Congress’s Joint Economic Committee that the pace of economic contraction was “slowing.” He also said banks would likely be able to raise capital without government assistance. However, he warned that “recovery will only gradually gain momentum and that economic slack will diminish slowly.” He said, “The rate of growth of real economic activity is likely to remain below its longer-run potential for a while.” AIG Posts First-Quarter Loss—Insurance giant American International Group Inc. (AIG) May 7 reported a $4.4 billion loss for the first quarter of 2009, a vast improvement from the record-setting $62 billion loss it had posted for the fourth quarter of 2008. AIG, which had received more than $180 billion in government aid, said most of its first-quarter loss was tied to the winding down of its credit-defaultswaps business, which had underwritten insurance contracts on securities backed by home mortgages. Those contracts soured after the U.S. housing market entered a deep slump. [See pp. 320C1, 126C2] AIG had sold $3.5 billion worth of its assets during the quarter, as part of its arrangement to pay back the government. However, AIG Chief Executive Officer Edward Liddy May 13 testified to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that it would take AIG three to five years to complete its restructuring plan and repay the government. Lawmakers pressed Liddy for more details on the plan, which he did not divulge, and accused AIG of shrouding the plan in secrecy. Fannie Posts Loss, Requests Aid—

Mortgage-financing giant Fannie Mae May 9 reported a $23 billion loss for the first quarter of 2009, and said it would need an additional $19 billion in emergency aid from the government, on top of the $15 billion it had received in March. Fannie Mae’s sister company, Freddie Mac, May 12 reported a $10 billion first-quarter loss, and said it would need $6 billion in additional funds, which would bring its total aid amount to $51 billion since 2008. [See pp. 220B3, 127A3] The two companies had been placed into a government conservatorship in September 2008, and the government had pledged $200 billion to each of them to offset any of their losses. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were integral components of the government’s programs to lower mortgage interest rates, but they continued to report losses due to ongoing problems in the housing market. n

Senate Passes Mortgage Aid Bill. The Senate May 6 voted, 91–5, to pass a bill that would expand the federal government’s efforts to prevent foreclosures and buoy the slumping housing market. However, the Senate April 30 had voted, 51–45, to reject a controversial amendment that would have given bankruptcy judges the power to modify mortgage terms, falling well short of the 60 “yes” votes required to add the amendment to the bill under procedural guidelines adopted for it. The amendment’s supporters said it would have prevented 1.7 million foreclosures. [See p. 147B1; 2008, p. 517C2] The House had passed its version of a mortgage aid bill in March, which included a provision allowing bankruptcy judges to modify the interest rate, principal or maturity date of a mortgage, a practice known as a “cramdown.” The provision had been strongly opposed by the financial industry, which said it would raise costs on all mortgages. The industry reportedly had more clout in the Senate than in the House, and Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D, Ill.), the sponsor of the cramdown amendment, in a radio interview April 27 had expressed frustration at the industry’s level of influence in the Senate, saying banks “frankly own the place.” Twelve Democrats joined 39 Senate Republicans to vote against the amendment. The Senate’s version of the mortgage bill would now have to be reconciled with the House’s version. The Senate bill eased requirements for a $300 billion foreclosure prevention program that was enacted in 2008, known as Hope for Homeowners. Supporters had originally claimed that the program would help some 400,000 homeowners switch from mortgages with high interest rates to those with low, fixed rates, but since 2008 only one mortgage had been modified under the program. The latest bill would expand homeowner eligibility for the program, and reduce fees banks had to pay the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to insure the mortgages against default. The insurance was a central element of the program designed to entice mortgage lenders to voluntarily agree to modifications. The Senate bill increased the borrowing authority of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) to $100 billion, from $30 billion. The FDIC had said the increase was necessary because its resources had dwindled in the past year due a series of bank failures. The bill also extended through the end of 2013 the FDIC’s authority to insure individual customer bank deposits of up to $250,000 in the case of a bank failure. In 2008, Congress had approved the increase to $250,000, from $100,000, through 2009. [See 2008, p. 694B1] About $2.3 billion of additional spending in the Senate bill would be taken from a $700 billion financial industry rescue fund known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). [See p. 318D2] Obama Foreclosure Plan Revised—The Obama administration April 28 announced that its $75 billion foreclosure-prevention plan would be revised to include second 319

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mortgages. The original plan, unveiled in February, consisted of the government providing incentives and subsidies to both lenders and homeowners in an effort to bring down interest rates on primary mortgages. However, about half of the estimated four million people in danger of foreclosure in 2009 had taken out second mortgages on their homes. Critics of the original plan had said it would not be effective if second mortgages were not also included. [See p. 92A1] Under the revised plan, lenders who agreed to modify the terms of a homeowner’s primary mortgage would automatically modify the terms of a second one. The government and the lender would split the cost of bringing down the interest rate on the second mortgage. Lenders would also receive a one-time $500 cash payment from the government, and $250 annually for three years if the homeowner kept up with loan payments. The homeowner would receive $250 annually for five years if payments were kept current. n

Financial Markets Regulation of Credit Derivatives Proposed.

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Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner May 13 laid out proposals to increase government regulation of complex financial contracts known as credit derivatives, which formed a vast, highly unregulated market that had been a leading cause of the financial crisis that struck the global economy in 2008. The proposals were the first specific guidelines put forth by the Obama administration for overhauling the financial system’s regulatory framework. [See p. 178A2] Credit derivatives were contracts that were devised to allow financial institutions to minimize their exposure to risk, but their proliferation in recent years had also spread exposure to risk throughout the financial system. The most commonly known and widely traded credit derivative was a credit default swap, in which one party essentially underwrote insurance on a second party’s security. Under a credit-default-swap contract, the insurer received regular payments from the security-holder. In exchange, the insurer would have to cover the security-holder’s losses if the asset underlying the security defaulted. The market for such contracts had grown rapidly in recent years, with their outstanding face value totaling in the hundreds of trillions of dollars by the end of 2008. Heavy investments in credit defaults swaps by insurance giant American International Group Inc. (AIG) had led to its near collapse in 2008, when it was unable to make insurance payments to its counterparties. [See p. 319C2] Geithner said the new rules would provide greater transparency to the shadowy market, and give the government greater powers to regulate it. Under the new rules, most credit derivatives would be traded on exchanges or through clearinghouses, rather than in private as was currently typical. (Some customized credit derivatives could continue to be traded privately between two 320

parties.) Companies that traded credit derivatives would be required to hold a certain amount of capital to absorb any losses. They would also have to provide much more information about the trades to regulators. Geithner urged Congress to repeal provisions of the 2000 Commodity Futures Modernization Act, a law that had limited regulation of credit derivatives. At the time of the law’s enactment, the credit-derivatives market had been much smaller. It remained unclear which regulatory body would be charged with overseeing the credit-derivatives market. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission pledged to work together to arrive at a solution. Geithner in the following weeks was expected to unveil more reform proposals, including a plan to streamline the regulatory system, which was comprised of various overlapping federal agencies. Critics said the system caused confusion, and made it possible for abuses to go unnoticed. Separately that day, Geithner announced that the Treasury would funnel more of a $700 billion financial industry rescue fund—known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program—toward small community banks. Some small banks had complained that their problems were being ignored as the government focused on propping up the country’s largest banks. n

Federal Budget Administration Releases Final Proposal.

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) May 7 released President Barack Obama’s detailed final budget proposal for fiscal 2010, which would begin Oct. 1. Obama had released an outline version of the $3.6 trillion budget in February, and the House and Senate April 29 approved a budget resolution largely along the lines of the president’s proposal. The final budget included a separate section of proposed spending cuts in 121 areas that the administration said would total $17 billion. [See p. 289A1; for a summary of budget receipts and outlays, see p. 320E3; for a breakdown of the budget proposal by federal agency, see p. 321A1] The actual levels of federal spending would be set in the dozen annual appropriations bills to be passed by Congress and signed by Obama. Republican lawmakers—none of whom had voted in favor of the budget resolution—reiterated their criticisms of Obama’s budget proposal as bloated with unnecessary spending, and dismissed the proposed spending cuts as inconsequential by comparison. Afghan War Spending to Exceed Iraq—

The budget proposed for the Department of Defense included $130 billion for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In a shift from recent years, spending in Afghanistan, with $65 billion requested, would exceed that in Iraq, for which $61 billion was requested. That compared with President George W. Bush’s fiscal 2009 request of $47 billion

for Afghanistan and $87 billion for Iraq. [See p. 317A1] The budget requested $533.8 billion in other, ordinary defense spending. The Defense Department’s comptroller, Robert Hale, said the final budget request reflected “no significant adjustments” from the initial budget outline. It included cuts, unveiled by Defense Secretary Robert Gates in April, to a number of costly weapons programs that had been deemed not worth their expense. [See below, p. 217C1] Obama did not propose any funding for the Reliable Replacement Warhead program, initiated by the Bush administration to develop new nuclear weapons that would not require testing. (The U.S. in 1992 had joined a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear tests.) In the last two years, the Democratic-controlled Congress had rejected Bush’s requests for continued funding of the program, which critics said was a hindrance to nuclear nonproliferation. Observers suggested the administration’s decision not to request the funds reflected Obama’s stated ideal of a nuclear weapons–free world. [See p. 214A1; 2007, p. 750F1] The budget proposed an overall increase of 2% in defense spending over the previous fiscal year, adjusted for inflation, a smaller rate of growth than the 4% average over Bush’s presidency. Increases for Administration Priorities—

Among the significant spending increases in the budget plan was a 54% hike for the State Department, to $23.7 billion, reflecting plans to expand the diplomatic corps, send more civilians to aid Afghanistan and Pakistan, and increase foreign aid. Obama requested a 37% increase in the budget for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to $10.5 billion, and the largest-ever increase in the budget of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), some $300 million. The FDA increase was part of a broader trend in the budget of boosting funding for regulatory agencies, FISCAL 2010 BUDGET RECEIPTS AND OUTLAYS (Proposed by President Obama; in billions of dollars)

Receipts Individual income taxes Social Security and other payroll taxes Corporate income taxes Excise taxes Other

$1,051 $940

Total

$2,333

$179 $75 $88

Outlays Social Security Medicare Medicaid Nondefense discretionary spending National defense Net interest Disaster costs Other mandatory spending Total

$696 $452 $290 $687 $707 $136 $11 $612 $3,591

FACTS ON FILE

BUDGET AUTHORITY AND OUTLAYS BY MAJOR AGENCY, 2008–2010 President Obama’s proposed budget authority and outlays by agency for fiscal 2010, which would begin Oct. 1, compared with fiscal 2008 and 2009. Dollar figures are in billions. Figures may not add up due to rounding. 2008 (Actual) Agriculture Commerce Defense Education Energy Health and Human Services Homeland Security Housing and Urban Development Interior Justice Labor State Transportation Treasury Veterans’ Affairs Army Corps of Engineers Civil defense programs Environmental Protection Agency Legislative branch Judiciary Executive Office of the President General Services Administration International assistance National Aeronautics and Space Administration National Science Foundation Office of Personnel Management Small Business Administration Social Security Administration (off-budget) Social Security Administration (on-budget) Other independent agencies (on- and off-budget) Allowances Undistributed offsetting receipts (on- and off-budget)

Total spending

—Authority— 2009 (Estimate)

2010 (Proposed)

2008 (Actual)

—Outlays— 2009 (Estimate)

A

2010 (Proposed)

$93.0 $9.6 $674.7 $65.4 $22.7 $721.7 $50.6 $50.9 $10.6 $26.4 $58.0 $23.1 $68.0 $751.2 $88.4 $9.1 $45.4 $7.4 $4.5 $6.5 $0.3 $0.3 $25.1 $17.2 $6.3 $66.0 $1.3 $601.8 $58.5 $41.4 — -$277.8

$124.4 $17.4 $663.8 $134.8 $70.1 $840.8 $45.3 $62.0 $14.4 $31.8 $126.3 $26.6 $109.4 $1,174.1 $97.2 $15.8 $48.6 $14.8 $5.0 $6.7 $0.4 $6.6 $16.9 $18.8 $9.6 $70.1 $2.6 $651.2 $78.6 $125.6 $14.3 -$277.5

$134.1 $14.0 $667.7 $58.8 $24.0 $872.6 $41.4 $47.8 $12.0 $28.8 $104.5 $28.4 $73.3 $451.6 $109.9 $5.1 $48.7 $10.4 $5.5 $7.3 $0.6 $0.6 $20.9 $18.7 $7.2 $73.1 $0.8 $679.4 $71.4 $67.4 $20.7 -$281.9

$90.8 $7.7 $594.7 $66.0 $21.4 $700.5 $40.7 $49.1 $9.9 $26.5 $58.8 $17.5 $64.9 $548.8 $84.8 $5.1 $45.8 $7.9 $4.4 $6.3 $1.2 $0.3 $11.4 $17.8 $5.8 $64.4 $0.5 $599.2 $58.6 $49.6 — -$277.8

$116.2 $11.8 $665.0 $49.7 $29.3 $817.8 $49.2 $65.1 $11.5 $29.0 $121.9 $22.4 $79.7 $1,032.4 $96.5 $12.6 $48.5 $8.4 $4.9 $6.8 $0.8 $1.4 $13.6 $19.6 $6.7 $68.5 $2.3 $646.4 $78.6 $155.1 $3.6 -$277.5

$132.9 $15.8 $685.1 $100.5 $46.3 $880.8 $49.3 $54.8 $13.0 $30.3 $106.1 $28.6 $90.5 $498.4 $108.8 $9.5 $48.6 $10.8 $5.8 $7.2 $0.7 $2.3 $22.0 $18.4 $8.1 $71.5 $1.3 $677.1 $72.0 $65.9 $10.9 -$281.9

$3,326.6

$4,346.2

$3,424.8

$2,982.9

$3,977.8

$3,591.1

B

C

D

Source: Office of Management and Budget, Congressional Quarterly

such as the Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and other labor-law enforcement activities, and the Agriculture Department’s ranks of meat and poultry inspectors. The Transportation Department budget included $1 billion in spending on highspeed rail projects, part of a plan to spend $5 billion over the next five years, in addition to $8 billion from the recent economic stimulus package already directed to such programs. Among other transportation projects, the president sought new funds to overhaul the air-traffic control system and hire more controllers and other aviation safety officials. [See p. 324A3] Among other notable requests and increases: o An 11% increase in discretionary spending for the Veterans Affairs Department, to $55.9 billion, including money to expand education benefits and improve health care. o A request for $250 billion to be set aside in case more funding was needed for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), a $700 billion program initiated in 2008 to stabilize financial institutions. [See p. 318A2] o A $7.8 billion, or 8%, increase in funding for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and $298 million toward the hiring of 50,000 new police officers. May 14, 2009

o A 47% increase for the Commerce Department, to $13.8 billion, including $6.9 billion for the conducting of the 2010 Census. o A $60 million request for the Justice Department toward the development of a new policy on terrorism detainees in preparation for the closure of the U.S. military prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. [See p. 305E2] $17 Billion in Cuts Identified—The budget proposal included a document laying out 121 “terminations, reductions and savings,” as well as proposals to redirect funds from programs deemed ineffective to more useful ones. About half of the $17 billion in total savings consisted of the previously announced defense program cuts, and about $3.6 billion would be reaped in Obama’s plan to eliminate subsidies for private lenders offering federally guaranteed student loans. However, members of Congress, including many of Obama’s fellow Democrats, immediately signaled their opposition to many of the cuts to programs they said were important. Among them, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D, Calif.) decried a plan to eliminate the Justice Department’s $400 million State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, which compensated states for the cost of jailing illegal immigrants. The administration said the money was often diverted for other purposes, and would be made less necessary by other border-en-

forcement initiatives. But Feinstein called the funding a “federal responsibility,” and the proposal to cut it was considered unlikely to be approved by Congress. Opposition was expected to some of the defense program cuts, including proposals to halt production of the F-22 Raptor fighter jet and to scrap a replacement for the presidential helicopter fleet. The budget would cut spending for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site in Nevada, except for expenditures necessary to comply with a mandated Nuclear Regulatory Commission review, in a move toward ending the project. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (R, Nev.) favored scrapping the project. [See 2008, p. 770D3] Among other programs defunded were two Bush administration abstinence-only sex-education programs, with the money to be redirected to pregnancy-prevention programs that the administration considered more effective or promising. [See p. 96F1] Deficit Estimates Increased— The OMB May 11 released new estimates of the federal budget deficits for the 2009 and 2010 fiscal years, predicting that economic conditions would raise the deficit about $90 billion in each year. It projected a deficit of $1.84 trillion for fiscal 2009, and $1.26 trillion for the following year. [See p. 180A3] 321

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Also May 11, the Treasury released a downwardly revised estimate of the new revenue that would be generated by a proposed cap on deductions claimed by highincome taxpayers. The administration had previously said the measure would raise $318 billion, covering half of a proposed 10-year, $635 billion reserve fund for national health care reform. The new estimate put the projected revenue at $267 million. n

Terrorism Detainees Interrogator, Former Bush Official Testify.

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The Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts May 13 held a hearing to examine the Bush administration’s use of harsh interrogation tactics against terrorism detainees after Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the U.S.. The hearing included testimony from a former Bush administration official who had written a memorandum criticizing the legal reasoning behind the use of the tactics, as well as from a former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent who had interrogated a terrorism detainee in 2002. [See pp. 305E3, 289B3] Subcommittee Chairman Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D, R.I.) said significant facts about the nature and creation of the interrogation program had been obscured by a “near avalanche of falsehood” on the part of Bush administration officials and called for a full-scale investigation into the program. However, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R, S.C.) called the hearing a “political stunt” and said that while people involved in designing and carrying out the program had possibly “made mistakes out of fear” in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, they should not be investigated or punished for their actions. FBI Agent Criticizes Harsh Methods—

Ali Soufan, a former FBI agent who had initially overseen the 2002 interrogation of detainee Zain al-Abidin Muhammed Hussein, better known as Abu Zubaydah, testified from behind a screen in order to safeguard his identity. Soufan called the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) techniques “amateurish, Hollywood-style interrogation methods.” He said the FBI’s use of traditional, noncoercive methods against Zubaydah had been faster and more effective than the harsh methods, which he said had caused Zubaydah to stop cooperating. Soufan told the subcommittee that the controversial techniques, which included forced nudity and waterboarding, a type of simulated drowning, had been used against Zubaydah by independent contractors employed by the CIA, not CIA employees. He suggested that Bush administration officials had made misleading public statements intended to make the techniques seem more effective than they were. Whitehouse said that he intended to investigate the role played by CIA contractors in the interrogation program and its alleged abuses. He said, “We were told we couldn’t second-guess the brave CIA officers who did this, and now we hear that the 322

program was led by private contractors with a profit motive and no real interrogation experience.” Bush Official Says Opposition Squelched—

Philip Zelikow, a Bush administration State Department official who had also served as the executive director of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (popularly known as the 9/11 Commission), testified that the use of harsh interrogations had been part of “an unprecedented program of coolly calculated dehumanizing abuse and physical torment to extract information” and said that its authorization was “a mistake, perhaps a disastrous one.” Zelikow said that he had written a classified memo in 2005 that argued against Justice Department memos authorizing the use of harsh interrogation methods against detainees. He said that the memo had not been discussed within the administration and that copies were rounded up and destroyed in 2006. (Zelikow had previously mentioned his memo in an April 21 article on the Web site of Foreign Policy magazine.) A spokesman for the State Department May 13 said that a copy of Zelikow’s memo had recently been found, but said that it could not be released until after it was reviewed and declassified. Separately, Georgetown University law professor David Luban testified before the subcommittee that the Justice Department memos authorizing the use of harsh tactics “read as if they were reverse engineered to reach a predetermined outcome.” He also noted that the memos did not mention a 1983 case in which a law enforcement officer was convicted of crimes related to the waterboarding of prisoners, which Luban called a major omission. Whitehouse said at the hearing that “nothing I have seen as a member of the intelligence committee convinces me” that harsh interrogation methods were more effective than the traditional methods used by the FBI and other law enforcement bodies. However, Graham argued that “one reason these techniques have been used for about 500 years is that they work.” (Waterboarding had been used since at least the 14th century. The U.S. after World War II had prosecuted Japanese soldiers who had waterboarded prisoners as war criminals.) Cheney Document Request Denied—

The CIA May 14 announced that it had rejected a request from former Vice President Dick Cheney to make public two documents that Cheney claimed would demonstrate the effectiveness of the harsh tactics in extracting essential information from terrorism detainees. A spokesman for the CIA said that the two documents could not be released because they were currently the subject of two upcoming lawsuits and were subject to an executive order that barred them from being made public until both cases were settled. Report on Lawyers Set for Release—

Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich May 4 wrote a letter to Whitehouse and Sen. Dick Durbin (D, Ill.) that said the Justice Department’s Office of Professional

Responsibility (OPR) report had been sent to the CIA for a review of its contents and selected declassifications. In a joint statement, Durbin and Whitehouse May 5 said the letter from Weich had contained a “strong implication” that the report would be publicly released. [See p. 94C3; 2008, p. 146B2] U.S. news sources reported May 6 that the OPR had nearly completed the report. The report was said to have concluded that at least two former Justice Department lawyers who had signed off on the tactics, John Yoo and Jay Bybee, had shown poor judgment and faulty legal reasoning, but it reportedly did not recommend criminally prosecuting them. The OPR’s investigation into the authorization of the tactics had begun in 2005 but its existence had not been publicly revealed until March 2008. The report, which was reportedly drawn heavily from classified documents and email messages between Justice Department and CIA lawyers, had examined the legitimacy of legal opinions signed between 2002 and 2007 by three members of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC): former OLC heads Bybee and Steven Bradbury, and former Deputy Assistant Attorney General Yoo. [See pp. 257D2, 129F3] A draft of the report had been submitted to then–Attorney General Michael Mukasey before the end of the Bush administration. However, Mukasey and then–Deputy Attorney General Mark Filip had reportedly objected to its findings. Filip had also reportedly instructed the OPR to allow Bradbury, Yoo and Bybee to respond to the allegations contained in the report. Bradbury, Bybee and Yoo had been given until May 4 to respond and Bybee and Yoo had reportedly done so. Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. was required to approve the OPR report before it could be publicly released and no date for its release had been given. While the report was still subject to change, it was not expected to have its central conclusions altered. Durbin and Whitehouse March 31 had written the Justice Department to raise concerns about Filip’s decision to allow Bybee, Yoo and Bradbury to review the draft report. n Pelosi Said Briefed on Harsh Tactics. The office of Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair May 7 released documents indicating that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D, Calif.) was briefed on Sept. 4, 2002, about the use of harsh interrogation tactics, including waterboarding, a type of simulated drowning, against at least one terrorism suspect. Pelosi, who, at the time of the briefing was the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, had previously claimed that she had been told that such tactics were considered legal by the Bush administration but not that they had been used; at least two other detainees were later subjected to waterboarding. [See pp. 305E3, 261G2] However, Pelosi at a news conference May 14 maintained that she had been specifically told, falsely, at the 2002 briefing FACTS ON FILE

that waterboarding had not been employed on the detainee, Zain al-Abidin Muhammed Hussein, better known as Abu Zubaydah. Pelosi said, “The CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] was misleading the Congress.” Pelosi and her office May 7–8 had reiterated her earlier claims that she had not been informed of the actual use of the techniques against detainees. However, then–House Intelligence Committee Chairman Porter Goss (R, Fla.) disputed Pelosi’s account of the meeting, saying it had been clear at the briefing that the techniques would be used. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R, Ohio) said, “It’s hard for me to imagine that anyone in our intelligence area would ever mislead a member of Congress.” Pelosi May 14 acknowledged that she had learned of the information from that briefing, but had been constrained from registering any protest by strict secrecy guidelines governing such briefings. According to one of the documents, a memo that outlined when various members of Congress and public officials were informed about the interrogation program and the government’s use of harsh tactics, Pelosi and Goss—who later became CIA director—were briefed, along with their chief counsels, on the “use of EITs,” or enhanced interrogation techniques, on Zubaydah. Zubaydah, who had been captured in March 2002, was the first terrorism detainee interrogated using the approved harsh tactics and the first to undergo waterboarding. He was waterboarded only during August 2002, before the briefing took place. The memo also said Sen. Bob Graham (D, Fla.) had been briefed on the program in 2002 and that Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, W. Va.) and Rep. Jane Harman (D, Calif.) had been informed about the program in 2003, along with Republican leaders. The remaining members of the Senate and House Intelligence Committees were not briefed until September 2006, well after details of the program had been published by news sources. However, Graham May 14 said he had not attended any briefings on the two dates in 2002 that the CIA had said he had, and that at a briefing on detainees he had attended in the fall of 2002, he had not been told anything about interrogation techniques. The Washington Post reported May 9 that Michael Sheehy, an aide to Pelosi, had attended a Feb. 5, 2003, briefing on the program that was also attended by Harman. During the briefing, Harman and Sheehy, among others, were told in detail about the use of waterboarding against Zubaydah by the CIA. Panetta Qualifies Briefing Document— CIA Director Leon Panetta May 5 wrote in

a letter to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes (D, Texas) and Rep. Peter Hoekstra (Mich.), the committee’s highest-ranking Republican, that the reliability of the information regarding the briefings was questionable. Panetta cautioned that “this information…is drawn from the past files of the CIA” and repreMay 14, 2009

sented “the best recollections” of the agents present at those meetings. He also wrote that “in the end, you and the committee will have to determine whether this information is an accurate summary of what actually happened.” Hoekstra had previously asked the CIA to release the briefing timelines, along with other relevant documents. n

panics, who could be of any race, the rate was 11.3%, down from 11.4% in March. For men age 20 and over, April unemployment was 9.4%, up from 8.8% in March. For adult women, it was 7.1%, up from 7.0% the previous month. The teenage rate was 21.5%, down from 21.7% in March. For black teenagers it was 34.7%, up from 32.5% the previous month. n

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Trade Deficit Rose to $27.6 Billion in March.

Economy Unemployment Rate Rose to 8.9% in April.

The unemployment rate in April rose to 8.9% after seasonal adjustment, up from its March level of Unemployment 8.5%, the Labor 8.9% Department re- April 2009 Month 8.5% ported May 8. It Previous Year Earlier 4.8% was the U.S.’s highest unemployment rate since 1983, but analysts noted that the pace of job losses had declined from recent months, and there was cautious optimism that the economy could be recovering from a deep, ongoing recession. [See p. 219B2; 1983, p. 776F2] In response to the report, President Barack Obama said, “The gears of our economic engine are slowly beginning to turn.” But he warned, “We’re still in the midst of a recession that was years in the making and will be months or even years in the unmaking.” He added, “We should expect further job losses in the months to come.” An estimated 539,000 nonfarm jobs were cut in April, bringing the total number of jobs lost to 5.7 million since the recession began in December 2007. The April job loss figure was the smallest since October 2008, and significantly less than the revised 699,000 figure for March. However, analysts said much of the hiring in April was done by the government, in preparation for the 2010 Census. Besides the government and the health care industry, all major sectors of the economy slashed jobs. The unemployment rate was 15.8% when it included “discouraged” workers who had stopped looking for work, and were therefore no longer considered part of the workforce, and those who had accepted only part-time employment even though they sought full-time work. 141 Million Jobs Held in April—According to a household survey, 141.0 million people held jobs in April, the Labor Department reported May 8. The department counted 13.7 million people as unemployed. The department counted 740,000 workers as discouraged in April. About 8.9 million people who sought full-time employment were working part-time instead. The average manufacturing workweek was 39.6 hours in April, up slightly from 39.4 in March. Factory workers’ average overtime was 2.7 hours, up from 2.6 the previous month. The average hourly wage for production workers rose one cent, to $18.51. The unemployment rate among whites in April was 8.0%, up from 7.9% in March. The jobless rate for blacks was 15.0%, up from 13.3% the previous month. For His-

The Commerce Department May 12 reported that the seasonally adjusted U.S. trade deficit in Trade Deficit goods and servic(in billions) es for March was March 2009 $27.56 $27.6 billion, up Previous Month $26.13 $57.40 from a revised Year Earlier $26.1 billion in February. It was the first time the deficit had risen since July 2008, when consumer demand for imported goods began to fall precipitously due to an ongoing recession. Both imports and exports fell in March, but analysts said the pace of decline in trade was slowing, suggesting that a trade recovery could be on the horizon. [See p. 240B2] Exports in March fell to $123.6 billion, a $3.0 billion decrease from the preceding month. The change was led by decreased exports of capital goods and consumer goods. Imports decreased by $1.6 billion in March, to $151.2 billion. The change was led by decreased imports of industrial supplies and materials, and capital goods. n

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MERCHANDISE TRADE DATA

Country/ Region China Japan Canada European Union Mexico NICs†

Deficit/Surplus* March February 2009 2009 -15.62 -2.61 -0.83 -4.42 -3.91 -0.15

-14.20 -2.21 -1.92 -3.34 -3.10 0.03

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*Bilateral trade figures in billions of dollars unadjusted for seasonal variations. The data—except figures given for Canada—do not include revisions of month-earlier figures. †Newly industrialized countries—Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea.

Retail Sales Fell 0.4% in April. The Com-

merce Department May 13 reported that the value of retail sales in April was $337.7 billion, after seasonal adjustment. That was 0.4% below the revised figure for March. Retail sales were an important economic indicator since consumer spending accounted for more than two-thirds of the economy’s gross domestic product (GDP). The report dimmed hopes that the economy was beginning to pull out of a deep recession, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average that day fell 184.22 points, or 2.2%, to end at 8,284.89. [See p. 240B3] n

Medicare & Social Security Funds’ Insolvency Dates Moved Up.

The trustees of the Medicare and Social Security systems May 12 forecasted that 323

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both funds would run out of money earlier than previously predicted, and blamed the deteriorating outlook on the current recession. According to the forecast, the Medicare fund would run out of money in 2017, two years earlier than predicted in 2008, and Social Security’s fund would run out in 2037, four years earlier than the 2008 prediction. The report also said Social Security payments would begin to exceed tax receipts in 2016, a year earlier than the 2008 projection. The part of the Social Security trust that offered subsidies to disabled people would run out of surplus funds in 2020. [See p. 245C2; 2008, p. 217D3] Medicare’s trustees said, “Actual payroll tax income in 2008 and projected future amounts are significantly lower than previously projected, due to lower levels of average wages and fewer covered workers.” Payroll tax revenue, which had decreased as unemployment increased, was the main source of funding for both Medicare and Social Security. The trustees said they expected the number of people eligible for Medicare in 2018 to total 58.8 million, up from 45.2 million in 2008. The increase was attributed to the post–World War II baby boom. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said President Barack Obama “explicitly rejects the notion” that it was politically impossible to broach the issue of Social Security reform. However, the administration was expected to address the problems with Medicare first because it was in worse condition. Other News—In other Medicare and Social Security news: o The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) April 22 reported on its Web site that Social Security beneficiaries would probably not receive a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in their benefit payments in 2010 or 2011. Social Security beneficiaries every year since 1975 had received a COLA increase in their payments. Social Security COLAs were determined by a formula similar to the one used to determine the consumer price index, which tracked prices paid for consumer goods by all urban consumers. The COLA for 2008 was 5.8% o Sens. Max Baucus (D, Mont.) and Charles Grassley (R, Iowa), respectively the chairman and senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, April 29 proposed broad changes in Medicare under which doctors who exceeded national benchmarks would receive increased payments, along with surgeons who practiced in rural areas and hospitals that provided exceptional care to patients suffering heart attacks, heart failure and pneumonia. The costs would be offset by eliminating Medicare payments to other hospitals and doctors, including underperforming doctors. The proposal also included provisions that would scrutinize links between doctors and companies that manufactured drugs and medical equipment, and make nursing home ownership more transparent. o The New England Journal of Medicine April 1 published a report that said the U.S. 324

spent about $17 billion per year on Medicare patients’ return visits to hospitals, and said many of those visits could have been prevented with improved follow-up care. The study said as many as one-fifth of Medicare patients who went to the hospital were readmitted less than a month after being discharged. n

Defense Report on Media Analyst Program Revoked.

The Defense Department’s inspector general’s office May 5 withdrew a report it had previously issued that cleared a Pentagon public relations program of breaking laws or internal policies prohibiting propaganda. The program, which had first been reported in April 2008 by the New York Times, had recruited retired military officers to appear on television and radio news programs as independent “military analysts.” The inspector general’s office in January had said the program did not break any regulations and that there was no evidence that analysts had benefited financially from their appearances. Several legislators had denounced the January report as a whitewash. [See pp. 279C2, 242B2] Donald Horstman, the deputy inspector general for policy and oversight, in a memorandum dated May 5 said an “independent internal review” had found that the report “did not meet accepted quality standards” because it used faulty methodologies to examine potential financial advantages gained by military analysts working with defense contractors. Horstman also said the report relied on “insufficient or inconclusive” evidence because former senior Defense Department officials who had designed the program had refused to be interviewed. Horstman said the inspector general’s office would not investigate the media analyst program further because the program had been shut down and the officials in charge of it were no longer working at the Defense Department. n

Transportation News in Brief. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) April 21 unanimously

voted to cite the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for failing to implement 1999 board recommendations on the installation of safety equipment, like seat belts, on buses. The citation was part of a ruling the NTSB made concerning a 2008 Utah bus crash that had killed nine people and injured 43, and meant that the board held the NHTSA partially responsible for the crash’s severity. (The board said the main cause of the crash was probably driver fatigue.) The NTSB had been urging the NHTSA to adopt the 1999 recommendations since they were released. According to the most recent government data, in 2007, 51 people died in commercial motor coach crashes, up from 39 in 2006. [See p. 202C1; 2008, p. 678B2; 2007, p. 144D1]

President Barack Obama April 16

called for a high-speed rail system along

10 major travel corridors in the U.S., saying the country needed “a smart transportation system equal to the needs of the 21st century.” In addition to $8 billion set aside for high-speed rail in the $787 billion economic stimulus plan enacted in February, Obama said he would seek an additional $5 billion to be released over the next five years, and said the amount was enough to “jump start” the project. Obama said creating a high-speed rail system, in addition to providing speedy transportation, would create jobs, ease congestion and reduce toxic emissions. Under the plan, new high-speed trains would travel at top speeds of more than 150 miles per hour (240 kmph), about twice the speed of most passenger trains currently operating, although much slower than high-speed rail lines in such countries as France and Japan. [See p. 321E1; 2008, p. 770D2] The Obama administration March 27 announced an increase in mileage standards for cars and light trucks, which would take effect beginning with 2011 model vehicles. Under the new regulations, passenger cars would have to average at least 30.2 miles (48.6 km) to a gallon of gasoline, up from the current 27.5. Light trucks, which included pickups and sport utility vehicles, would have to average at least 24.1 miles per gallon, up from the current 22.2. [See p. 47G1] n

Postal Service Rate Increase Takes Effect. The U.S. Postal Service May 11 increased the rates for most of its services. The price of a firstclass stamp went up two cents, to $0.44, as did the price of the so-called forever stamp. It was the third straight year that the Postal Service had raised its rates in May. [See 2008, p. 149F1] The Postal Service, a quasi-independent government agency that was funded by revenues from postage and other services, had lost $2.8 billion in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2008, and said May 6 that it had lost $2.3 billion in the first half of fiscal 2009. The losses were attributed to reduced mail volume due to factors including the economic downturn and an increase in sending material via the Internet. Analysts said the rate increases were unlikely to cover the budget shortfall, and that the service could run out of money before the end of the current fiscal year. Postmaster General John Potter March 25 at a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s post office subcommittee had asked for permission to reduce mail delivery to five days a week, from six. Such a move would have to be approved by Congress and the Postal Service’s board of governors. The Postal Service had already implemented other cost-cutting measures, such as offering workers early retirement, freezing salaries and halting the construction of new facilities. n FACTS ON FILE

AFRICA

Sierra Leone Former Rebels Sentenced for War Crimes.

The Special Court for Sierra Leone, a joint national and United Nations tribunal, April 8 in Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital, sentenced three former top leaders of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel group to prison sentences ranging from 25 to 52 years. The three men—Issa Hassan Sesay, Augustine Gbao and Morris Kallon—had been convicted in February of multiple counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for acts committed during Sierra Leone’s 1991–2002 civil war. [See p. 134F1] The court sentenced Sesay to 52 years in prison for 16 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Kallon received 40 years for the same charges, and Gbao received 25 years for 14 counts of the same charges. Taylor Case to Proceed—The three-judge panel overseeing the trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor before the Special Court May 4 rejected Taylor’s bid for acquittal. Taylor, 61, had been indicted on 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for allegedly providing financial and logistical backing to the RUF. He had pleaded not guilty. His trial was being held in The Hague, the Netherlands, due to concerns that his presence in West Africa could have caused regional instability. The prosecution had rested its case in February, and Taylor’s lawyers April 6 lodged a request for his acquittal, arguing that the prosecution had not proven that Taylor was linked to the atrocities committed by the RUF. The judges’ decision meant that Taylor would have to put on a defense; that portion of the trial was expected to begin in late June. Taylor’s case was the last scheduled to be heard by the Special Court. n

South Africa Zuma Elected President, Inaugurated. Jacob Zuma May 6 was elected South Africa’s fourth president since the end of apartheid in 1994, in a ballot in the National Assembly. Zuma’s party, the ruling African National Congress (ANC), in late April had garnered 65.9% of the vote in nationwide general elections. That translated into 264 votes in the 400-member National Assembly, which elected the president. [See p. 292A3] In the presidential voting, Zuma, 67, received the support of 277 representatives in the National Assembly. Mvume Dandala, the leader of the Congress of the People (COPE), a newly formed ANC splinter party that won 30 seats in the April elections, received 47 votes. The main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party, which had claimed 16.7% of the national vote and 67 seats, abstained from the presidential balloting. [See below] Zuma May 9 was inaugurated in a ceremony in Pretoria, the administrative capital. In attendance were former Presidents May 14, 2009

Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki— Zuma’s political rival—as well as outgoing President Kgalema Motlanthe. Zuma’s inauguration was the culmination of a remarkable political comeback, after he had been fired by Mbeki as the nation’s deputy president in 2005 and charged in separate cases with corruption and rape. He was acquitted of rape in 2006, and the corruption charges were dropped in early April. Throughout his legal troubles, however, he had remained popular with the ANC rank and file, and he defeated Mbeki in an election for party president in late 2007. Motlanthe had taken over from Mbeki in September 2008, after Zuma’s allies in the ANC leadership had pressured Mbeki to resign as the nation’s president before the end of his term due to allegations that he had interfered in the corruption case against Zuma. Zuma, who was polygamous in keeping with Zulu tribal custom, was accompanied on stage at the inauguration by his first wife, Sizakele Khumalo, whom he had married in the early 1970s. There had been much speculation about which of his three wives would serve as South Africa’s official first lady. His other two wives reportedly attended the ceremony as well. In his inaugural speech, Zuma addressed some of the most pressing issues that his administration would face, including rising unemployment, the effects of the global economic crisis, and the country’s high crime and HIV/AIDS rates. “We must acknowledge that we find ourselves in difficult economic times. Jobs are being lost in every economy across the world,” he said. Nevertheless, he added, “the dreams and hopes of all the people of our country must be fulfilled. There is no place for complacency, no place for cynicism, no place for excuses.” [See p. 96F2] Zuma also made a point of praising Mbeki, in what was seen as a move toward reconciliation. Zuma Names Cabinet—Zuma May 10 named his 34-member cabinet, which included 14 women. (The previous cabinet had 28 ministers.) The most notable change was the transfer of longtime Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, who was widely respected in the international business and finance community, to head a new National Planning Commission. Manuel had been the world’s longestserving finance minister, having taken up the position in 1996. Pravin Gordhan, the former head of South Africa’s tax collection service, was named the new finance minister. Completing Zuma’s economic team was Ebrahim Patel, a veteran union leader, who was named head of the new economic development ministry. The National Planning Commission would coordinate the government’s economic policies and was expected to wield substantial power over the direction of South Africa’s economy. World markets reacted favorably to Zuma’s economic team, apparently interpreting it as a signal that there would not be a radical shift in policy. Mbeki’s economic policies, which had focused on reducing

the nation’s deficit and cutting public spending, had been criticized by the ANC’s allies on the left, including labor unions and the South African Communist Party, as being pro-business and neglecting the plight of the poor. Some analysts had feared that South Africa’s fiscal policies would shift sharply to the left when Zuma took office. Patel May 13 said one of the new administration’s main goals would be to create jobs. South Africa’s official unemployment rate had been 23.5% for the first quarter of 2009. In another major change, Aaron Motsoaledi, a medical doctor, was named minister of health, replacing Barbara Hogan, who had taken over for the controversial Manto Tshabalala-Msimang when Motlanthe took office. Hogan, who was given the less-influential public enterprises portfolio, had been credited with reforming South Africa’s HIV/AIDS policies, but March 24 had criticized the government for refusing to allow the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader the Dalai Lama to enter the country. [See p. 327F1; 2008, p. 679G2] Among other appointments, Motlanthe was named deputy president; Tokyo Sexwale, a wealthy businessman and veteran of the antiapartheid struggle, was named minister of human settlements; Communist party leader Blade Nzimande was named minister for higher education and training; and Zuma’s former wife, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, moved to the home affairs ministry, from foreign affairs. The Department of Foreign Affairs was renamed the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, and Maite Nkoana-Mashabane was selected as its head. DA leader Helen Zille criticized Zuma for naming several “serial under-performers” to the cabinet. She also faulted the expansion of the cabinet to 34 ministers and 28 deputy ministers, saying, “A host of sinecure deputy ministries have been created, more to solve the ANC’s internal political problems at taxpayers’ expense, than to add value to service delivery.”

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The ANC and its allies May 12 harshly criticized Zille for statements made in a letter published that day in the Sowetan newspaper about Zuma’s personal life. Zille was quoted as saying, “Zuma is a self-confessed womanizer with deeply sexist views, who put all his wives at risk by having unprotected sex with an HIVpositive woman.” Zille, who was white, was referring to Zuma’s admission during his 2006 trial for raping an HIV-positive woman—a charge for which he was acquitted—that he had unprotected sex with the woman and that he had showered afterward to reduce the risk of infection. The DA had won control of the Western Cape provincial legislature in the April elections, and Zille, the former mayor of Cape Town, May 6 had been sworn in as the province’s premier. The DA’s representatives to the provincial legislature were mainly white men, as were Zille’s choices for the Western Cape cabinet, named May 325

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8. She reportedly made the remarks to the Sowetan in response to criticism that her cabinet was comprised entirely of men. The ANC said it was “astounded by the extraordinary attack.” Zille’s remarks were also criticized by the South African Communist Party and Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) labor federation, both staunch Zuma allies. The ANC Youth League, the militant youth wing of the party, directed even more virulent criticism at Zille, saying it was “disgusted by remarks attributed to the racist girl Helen Zille, who when failing to defend her stupid and sexist decision to appoint predominantly white males into her Cabinet, attacks the President of the Republic of South Africa.” It went on to threaten “militant action” against Zille. Zille’s spokesman, Fritz de Klerk, May 12 said the DA would “not dignify [the Youth League’s comments] with a response.” ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe May 13 said the party “distances itself from comments” made by the Youth League. Nevertheless, he said that Zille’s statements were “reprehensible and, quite correctly, were roundly condemned,” and that she “justly deserves criticism for the unrepresentative composition of her Cabinet.” n

Africa News in Brief

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Burundi: Civil War Officially Ends. The National Liberation Forces (FNL), a mainly ethnic Hutu group that was the last rebel holdout from Burundi’s civil war, April 22 became a political party, marking the war’s official end. Most of the fighting in Burundi’s conflict, between ethnic Hutus and Tutsis, had occurred between 1993 and 2006, when a cease-fire was signed. Some 300,000 people had been killed in the war. It was reported March 17 that the remaining members of the FNL had begun to disarm and integrate into the Burundian army and national police. Presidential and parliamentary elections were scheduled for 2010. [See 2008, p. 969A3] n Mali: Diplomats, Tourists Freed. The Malian government April 22 said Canadian diplomat Robert Fowler, the United Nations’ envoy to Niger, his Canadian assistant, Louis Guay, and two European tourists—Marianne Petzold of Germany and Gabriella Greitner of Switzerland—had been released from captivity. Fowler and Guay had been abducted in December 2008 outside Niamey, capital of neighboring Niger, while the two Europeans had been among a group of four tourists taken hostage in northern Mali on Jan. 22. The North Africa–based radical Islamic terrorist group Al Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb Feb. 18 had claimed responsibility for the kidnappings. The two other European tourists remained in captivity. [See 2008, p. 975G2] n Senegal: New Prime Minister Named.

Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade April 30 named Soulayemane Ndene Ndiaye as the nation’s new prime minister, replacing Cheikh Hadjibou Soumare, who 326

earlier that day had resigned for personal reasons. The change came after Wade’s Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS) suffered losses in March 22 local elections, including in the city council of Dakar, the capital. [See 2007, p. 365E2] n

AMERICAS

Venezuela Opposition Leader Flees to Peru. Manuel Rosales, a staunch critic of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias and one of the leaders of the country’s political opposition, April 19 fled the country for Peru amid charges of corruption. A federal prosecutor March 19 had charged that Rosales had engaged in “illicit enrichment” while governor of oil-rich Zulia state earlier in the decade, and had called for his arrest. Rosales, currently the mayor of Maracaibo, Venezuela’s second-largest city, rejected the claims, and argued that they were politically motivated. [See p. 204F2] Rosales, a former presidential candidate who had lost the election to Chavez in 2006, had been due to appear in court on April 20 for a pretrial hearing, but instead held a press conference that day in Peru in which he accused Chavez of “violating civil rights and trampling on the constitution.” The National Assembly, the country’s legislature, had opened an inquiry into $60,000 Rosales had received while governor of Zulia. (The assembly was overwhelmingly comprised of Chavez allies.) Rosales maintained that the money had been earned legally through his agricultural holdings. [See 2006, p. 935F1] A legal adviser to Rosales, Asdrubal Quintero, said Rosales had decided to leave Venezuela after another Chavez political foe, Ismael Garcia, said he had uncovered a sentencing document showing that Rosales would receive a 30-year prison term, the Washington Post reported April 22. A Venezuelan court April 22 issued an arrest warrant for Rosales, and international police agency Interpol April 23 said it had also issued a warrant for his arrest. Peruvian Foreign Minister Jose Antonia Garcia Belaunde April 27 said Rosales had been granted political asylum. The Venezuelan government the same day recalled its ambassador to Peru in protest of the decision. Former Minister Baduel Arrested—Venezuelan prosecutors April 2 said they had arrested a former defense minister, Gen. Raul Baduel, to stop him from leaving the country before he could be tried on corruption charges. Baduel had been a close ally of Chavez’s, but had broken with him in 2007 after Chavez attempted to institute broad constitutional reforms that would have significantly expanded the powers of the presidency, among them ending term limits. Baduel had since become an outspoken critic of Chavez. (Venezuelan voters in February approved the abolishment of presidential term limits.) [See p. 97B3; 2007, p. 810F1]

The attempted prosecutions of both Rosales and Baduel were viewed as an attempt by Chavez to further consolidate his power in Venezuela. In addition to controlling the legislature, Chavez had also appointed allies to the country’s Supreme Court, and closely controlled the armed forces, the state-run oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) and most of the government’s oversight and investigative agencies. n

A S I A - PA C I F I C

China Earthquake School Death Toll Released.

Chinese authorities May 7 released the first official tally of schoolchildren who died in a May 2008 major earthquake in the southwestern province of Sichuan, saying that 5,335 pupils had been killed or were still missing. The death toll among children had become a contentious issue as parents and others accused local authorities of complicity in the construction of shoddy school buildings that collapsed easily in the earthquake. [See p. 153G2] The newly released total was lower than previous estimates of about 10,000 student deaths, and suggested that children had not died in disproportionate numbers. The official total earthquake death toll currently stood at 68,712 people killed, with 17,921 more missing and presumed dead. Many of those critics dismissed the new figure, announced by Tu Wentao, the chief of the Sichuan Province education department, who said the number was “reached through legal methods.” The critics said the number was not backed up with a list of specific children in specific places. One prominent government critic, Ai Weiwei, said he was independently compiling a list of earthquake victims, and said the total number of children killed would likely exceed 6,000. Foreign news outlets reported harassment of journalists seeking to interview aggrieved parents in Sichuan in the run-up to the anniversary of the earthquake May 12. Activist parents reportedly said they had been told they would be under close surveillance until the anniversary. [See below] Parents from the Sichuan town of Mianzhu, the site of a school where 126 children had reportedly died in the earthquake, May 4 arrived in Beijing, China’s capital, on their third attempt to present a petition for a fuller investigation of school construction practices. In each instance, the parents were detained and forcibly returned to Mianzhu. Anniversary Marked—President Hu Jintao May 12 presided at a commemoration of the first anniversary of the earthquake, held in Beichuan, a town that had been devastated by it. Hu thanked foreign representatives present for their countries’ contributions of relief assistance. Meanwhile, extensive reconstruction projects were under way in Sichuan, funded by the economic stimulus plan approved FACTS ON FILE

by the government in late 2008. The Financial Times May 11 reported that the government said it had built one million homes in rural areas and had begun another 240,000. The government had set a goal of rehousing everyone displaced by the earthquake by September 2010. n Tibetan

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Nearly 100 people in an ethnic Tibetan area of Qinghai Province were detained March 22, a day after a riot in which hundreds of people reportedly attacked a police station in the town of Ragya. The crowd was reportedly angered over the disappearance of a Tibetan Buddhist monk who had recently escaped from police custody, and was rumored to have died after jumping in a river. The monk had reportedly been detained on suspicion of illegally advocating Tibetan independence by displaying a Tibetan flag. Of those held in connection with the rioting, Chinese state news media reported, six had been arrested and another 89 had voluntarily turned themselves in; nearly all were monks. [See p. 171C3] Tensions had been high in the Tibet region and other Tibetan-populated parts of China over the March anniversaries of a 1959 failed uprising against Chinese rule and of 2008 unrest. In another recent incident, a bomb March 17 had exploded at a newly built and unoccupied police station in the predominantly Tibetan Ganzi Prefecture of Sichuan Province. Separately, official media April 8 reported that a court in Lhasa, Tibet’s capital, had sentenced five people in connection with the 2008 riots. Two were sentenced to death, the severest sentence yet handed down in relation to those events, for starting fires that had reportedly been linked to seven deaths. In Ganzi, a trial began April 21 of a high-ranking Tibetan Buddhist abbot, Phurbu Tsering Rinpoche, who oversaw two convents whose nuns had mounted protests in 2008. He was charged with weapons possession and embezzlement, charges his lawyer said were unfounded. The lawyer April 27 said that, following foreign reporting of the case, the court had postponed its verdict. South Africa Bars Dalai Lama—South Africa March 23 said it would not admit the exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, into the country to attend a peace conference being organized by South Africa’s 2010 World Cup organizing committee. The decision prompted widespread accusations that the government was bending to the wishes of China, an increasingly important trading partner, which viewed the Dalai Lama as a separatist and pressured other countries not to hold contacts with him. The conference was postponed indefinitely March 24 after South Africa’s three Nobel Peace Prize laureates—retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former Presidents F.W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela—withdrew their involvement in conference, as did the Norwegian Nobel Committee. May 14, 2009

Government spokesman Thabo Masebe said China had not influenced the decision, asserting that it had been made because the Dalai Lama’s presence would have caused China-Tibet issues to distract from the agenda of the conference. China expressed satisfaction at South Africa’s move. Other News—In other news about Tibetan affairs: o State media March 30 reported that Tibet would be reopened to foreign tourists, who had been barred from the region since late February. The first subsequent tour groups reportedly arrived in Tibet April 5. o China March 24 said a video posted to the YouTube Web site, purporting to show Chinese police severely beating Tibetan protesters after the 2008 riots, had been fabricated by supporters of the Dalai Lama. Also that day, Google Inc. of the U.S., which owned YouTube, said the site had been blocked in China for unspecified reasons, which many observers suggested was due to the presence of the video. YouTube was reportedly again accessible March 27. Tibetan advocates said the video was authentic, but there was no independent verification of that. [See 2008, p. 174E1] n

that she was “deeply troubled” by the junta’s actions. Clinton called for Suu Kyi’s immediate release from custody and said that she would discuss Suu Kyi’s arrest and treatment with China, which had relatively close ties with Myanmar. U.S. Citizen Charged—John Yettaw, a U.S. citizen, May 6 was arrested by Myanmar security forces after being seen swimming away from Suu Kyi’s lakeside home. He was charged May 14 with illegally entering a restricted zone and violating Myanmar’s immigration laws, and faced up to six years in prison. He reportedly did not have legal representation, but had been allowed to meet with U.S. diplomats. Yettaw had allegedly met with Myanmar dissidents in Thailand before entering Myanmar on May 2, and had said that he was researching a book on faith-linked heroism. He had reportedly used homemade flippers to swim across the lake to Suu Kyi’s house. Suu Kyi’s lawyer May 14 said that Yettaw had refused to leave Suu Kyi’s house after arriving, citing his exhaustion from swimming, and had slept inside for one night before attempting to leave. n

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Myanmar Pro-Democracy Leader Arrested. Aung San

Suu Kyi, who had received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her efforts to establish democracy in military-controlled Myanmar, May 14 was arrested along with two of her maids, after a U.S. citizen was captured leaving her house earlier in the week. Suu Kyi, who led the country’s National League for Democracy (NLD) political party, had been imprisoned for 13 of the past 19 years and had been under house arrest in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, since 2003. [See below, p. 187F3; 2008, p. 353B3] Suu Kyi was taken to Myanmar’s notorious Insein prison outside of Yangon, where she was held in a special house on the grounds prior to her trial, scheduled to begin on May 18. Her physician and her maids were also expected to be charged. Suu Kyi was charged with violating the terms of her house arrest and faced up to five years in prison. Her current term of house arrest had been scheduled to expire on May 27 and analysts suggested that the arrest was part of an attempt by the ruling junta to extend her imprisonment past planned 2010 national elections. Suu Kyi’s primary physician May 7 had been held for questioning and had not been allowed to see Suu Kyi, who had reportedly been suffering from a variety of ailments, including low blood pressure and dehydration. Myanmar’s government allowed another doctor to visit Suu Kyi on May 8 and May 11, and her condition had reportedly improved after she was put on an intravenous drip. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton May 14 said that the charges against Suu Kyi were “baseless” and said

Georgia Protesters Storm Police Station in Capital.

Opponents of President Mikheil Saakashvili, who had been calling for his ouster in daily protests that began in early April, May 6 clashed with police when demonstrators unsuccessfully attempted to break into police headquarters in Tbilisi, the capital, where three opposition members were being held. Shota Utiashvili, a spokesperson for the Interior Ministry, said 22 protesters, six policemen and one journalist were treated for injuries, and there were no arrests. Opposition members alleged that police shot at the demonstrators with rubber bullets, but Utiashvili denied that claim and said police had used only truncheons. The incident occurred a day after the government had put down a mutiny at a tank battalion outside Tbilisi. [See p. 311G1] The three jailed opposition members had been detained for allegedly attacking a television news anchor. They were released May 7 after Ilia II, patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church, earlier that day issued a statement in which he called for the government to free the three in the interest of maintaining public order. Saakashvili’s popularity had waned since he led the Georgian army into an unsuccessful war meant to regain control over a Russian-aligned Georgian splinter region, South Ossetia, in August 2008. The Russian military easily overcame the Georgian army, and as a result of the conflict, Russia increased its presence in South Ossetia and another Russian-aligned Georgian splinter region, Abkhazia. Protesters also claimed that Saakashvili, since he took power in 2003, had mishandled the economy, consolidated power into his own 327

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hands, undermined the Georgian judiciary and suppressed free media. Meeting With Opposition Unproductive—

Saakashvili May 11 met with opposition leaders, four days after they had threatened to start blocking highways unless the president agreed to face-to-face discussions on holding early elections. However, both sides said the meeting was unproductive. Saakashvili said the two sides had “agreed on the fact that it is a step forward, that the dialogue should be continued.” Levan Gachechiladze, an opposition leader, said Saakashvili “thinks that everything is very good, and we think that everything is very bad. There is no other result from this meeting.” Former President Eduard Shevardnadze May 12, in an interview with the Associated Press (AP), called on Saakashvili to resign to avoid a violent confrontation with the opposition. Shevardnadze had stepped down in 2003 amid antigovernment protests led by Saakashvili and others. Saakashvili had maintained that he would serve his full presidential term, which ended in 2013. [See 2003, p. 931G3] n

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Berlusconi’s Wife Seeks Divorce. Veronica Lario, the wife of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, said in newspaper interviews published May 3 that she planned to file for a divorce after a public dispute in which she had rebuked him for consorting with much younger women. [See p. 99D3] Berlusconi, 72, said in an interview published May 4 that he was not sure whether he would agree to a reconciliation with Lario, 52, whom he accused of lying. “Veronica will have to publicly apologize to me. And I don’t know if that will be enough,” he said. The couple had been married for 19 years and had three children. They had previously clashed in public. In 2007, Lario had published an open letter demanding an apology after he reportedly told a former showgirl, Mara Carfagna, that he would marry her if he were not already married. He named Carfagna to his cabinet as equal opportunities minister after he returned to power in April 2008 elections. Lario April 28 issued a new public letter through the ANSA news agency, citing newspaper reports that Berlusconi was recruiting a number of models and actresses to run as candidates in the June elections for the European Parliament, the legislative body of the European Union. She also remarked that he had recently attended the 18th birthday party of a woman in Naples, Noemi Letizia, even though he “never attended the 18th birthday parties of his own children.” Berlusconi denied the accusations, saying that Lario had been manipulated by left-wing newspapers and that he was a friend of Letizia’s family. He unveiled his list of European Parliament candidates April 29. They included television personality Barbara Matera, a former Miss Italy contestant. n 328

Top Spy Dismissed in Military Shake-up.

Netherlands 6 Bystanders Killed in Car Attack on Queen.

A Dutch motorist April 30 plowed through a crowd of people and tried to ram his car into an open-topped bus carrying Queen Beatrix and other members of the royal family of the Netherlands at a parade for Queen’s Day, a national holiday, in the town of Apeldoorn. Six bystanders were killed and 12 others were injured, but the attacker narrowly missed the queen’s bus and crashed into a stone monument. [See 2004, p. 901C1; 2002, p. 344A1] Police said the driver, who died of his injuries the next day, admitted that he had deliberately targeted the royal family, but no motive was revealed. According to the police, he was a 38-year-old Dutchman, with no criminal record or history of mental illness. He had recently lost his job, according to his neighbors near Apeldoorn. n

Russia Pro-Putin Candidate Wins Sochi Election.

Anatoly Pakhomov, a member of the governing United Russia party, April 26 won a mayoral election in the southern city of Sochi with 76.8% of the vote, Sochi election officials reported the following day. He would serve a five-year term. The Sochi election had been closely watched because the city was scheduled to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, which had a federal budget of as much as $12.5 billion. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who headed United Russia, had campaigned rigorously for the 2014 Olympics to be held in Sochi. [See p. 208B1; 2008, p. 456C1] A number of Pakhomov’s opponents, including Boris Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister and native of Sochi, said the election had been rigged in Pakhomov’s favor. Nemtsov had finished second in the poll with 13.6%, followed by Yury Dzaganiya, the Communist candidate, who won 6.7%. Nemtsov April 27 claimed that an exit poll run by his campaign found that he had won 35% of the vote, to Pakhomov’s 46%. Those results, if official, would have triggered a runoff election. Nemtsov and others also complained of government intimidation and oppressive media restrictions on Pakhomov’s opponents. [See 2008, p. 928C3] Six people were on the final ballot to become mayor of Sochi, down from 26 who had initially run. Among the contenders not on the ballot was Aleksandr Lebedev, a former agent for Russia’s Soviet-era KGB security service who later became a wealthy investor following the collapse of the Soviet Union. A judge April 13 had ruled that Lebedev could not participate in the election because he had failed to complete necessary paperwork. Numerous candidates had been disqualified over similar technical glitches, heightening suspicion of foul play. Other contenders not appearing on the final ballot reportedly included a prominent ballerina, a pornographic actor and a homeless man. [See p. 76F2] n

General Valentin Korabelnikov, 63, head of the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence division, April 24 was dismissed by order of President Dmitri Medvedev. Korabelnikov had been head of the GRU since 1997, and reportedly opposed reforms aimed at making the dated Russian military a more effective mobile fighting force. Lt. Gen. Alexander Shlyakturov replaced Korabelnikov. [See 2008, p. 985A2] Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov April 28 said 50 of the military’s 249 generals had failed an unannounced proficiency test, and would be dismissed. He also said he expected the military to dismiss about 36,000 officers by December. Pankov said the tests were part of ongoing military reforms. n OAO Yukos Lawyer Released on Parole. A court in Moscow, the Russian capital, April 21 ordered Svetlana Bakhmina, a former lawyer for oil company OAO Yukos, released on parole. The company in 2004 had been seized by the government and had its assets auctioned off. Bakhmina, 39, who had been imprisoned in December 2004 on embezzlement charges that her lawyers and supporters claimed were politically motivated, served about half of a six-and-a-halfyear sentence. A number of prominent politicians, writers and artists had publicly opposed Bakhmina’s imprisonment, including former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. [See p. 207F3; 2006, p. 310G3] Bakhmina’s supporters claimed that her imprisonment had resulted from a feud between Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who had served as Russia’s president from 1999 to 2008, and Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Yukos’s founder, who had financed political parties that opposed Putin. Khodorkovsky, who had once been considered Russia’s richest citizen, was currently serving an eight-year prison sentence for tax evasion and fraud, and faced additional charges of embezzlement. [See below] Judge Irina Vyrysheva said, “The court took into consideration the fact that Bakhmina admitted her guilt, committed no rule violations during her time in prison and also that she has young children.” Calls to release Bakhmina had intensified after she became pregnant following a furlough for good behavior. She gave birth in a prison hospital in November 2008. Bakhmina had two other children. President Dmitri Medvedev, upon his inauguration in 2008, had pledged to combat corruption in Russia’s legal system. Vladimir Lukin, Russia’s human rights ombudsman, praised the decision to release Bakhmina as an indication that Russia’s courts were “starting to work like courts, and not rubber stamps.” However, Semyon Aria, Bakhmina’s lawyer, said she had probably been released more as a result of significant public pressure, which he likened to “a boil that burst.” Former Yukos Heads Pleads Not Guilty—

Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev, his former business partner, April 21 in a Moscow court both pleaded not guilty to charges of embezzling about $25 billion from FACTS ON FILE

Yukos subsidiary companies. Both could face sentences of as many as 22 years in prison if convicted. Lebedev called the charges “schizophrenic fraud.” n News in Brief. International police agency Interpol April 27 issued a warrant for Adam Delimkhanov, a member of parliament

(MP) for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party. Delimkhanov was accused of orchestrating the March murder of Sulim Yamadayev, a former Chechen military commander who had been killed in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Russian officials the same day said that since Delimkhanov was an MP, under Russian law he could not be extradited. Delimkhanov maintained that he was not involved in Yamadayev’s murder. [See p. 273F2] Russian President Dmitiri Medvedev April 13 hosted the editor of Novaya Gazeta, an independent newspaper often critical of the government, at his home outside Moscow, the capital, for an interview. It was Medvedev’s first interview with a Russian newspaper since he had taken office in 2008. While Medvedev did not say anything new in the interview, some observers praised him for engaging with an opposition publication. Others suggested that the move was a meaningless gesture meant to placate the opposition. Medvedev had reportedly promised to meet with Novaya Gazeta following the January murder of one of its reporters. [See below, p. 36E2] Russian prosecutors April 9 said they would close an investigation into journalist Yuri Shchekochikin’s 2003 death because they had not found any evidence that he was poisoned, as some of his supporters had claimed. His official cause of death had been ruled an allergic reaction. Shchekochikin had worked for Novaya Gazeta, the same newspaper slain journalist Anna Politkovskaya had worked for, and like her, had written about the southern Russian republic of Chechnya. Grigory Yavlinsky, leader of the liberal Yabloko party, said the party would fight to have the case reopened. [See p. 100C1] n

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Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon April 29 opened a wide-ranging investigation into the alleged use of torture against terrorism detainees held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The investigation, which targeted the “possible material authors” of the alleged torture, rather than those who physically carried out the abuse, was opposed by the Spanish government, which had suggested that the U.S. government should conduct its own investigation into the matter. Analysts suggested that Garzon was likely to drop the complaint if the U.S. agreed to launch such an investigation. [See pp. 305E3, 289F2, 257A1; 2000, p. 134A1] Garzon was known for his unsuccessful 1998 attempt to extradite former Chilean military ruler Gen. Augusto Pinochet Ugarte to stand trial in Spain in connection May 14, 2009

with Chilean human rights abuses. He had also overseen a separate torture complaint against six former Bush administration officials that had been assigned to another judge earlier in April. [See below] In his April 29 filing, Garzon wrote that the investigation would target any U.S. official who “executed and/or designed a systematic plan of torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of the prisoners” at Guantanamo. He wrote that widely reported abuses against detainees at Guantanamo and other U.S. detention centers suggested “the existence of a concerted plan to carry out a multiplicity of crimes of torture.” He said the alleged plan had “almost an official nature and therefore entails criminal liability” for those who authorized, designed and carried out the plan. The investigation—which Garzon was conducting on his own initiative—was based on Spanish laws allowing the prosecution of crimes against humanity and human rights abuses that had taken place elsewhere, a legal concept known as universal jurisdiction. The U.S. government was not expected to extradite any U.S. citizens or residents in connection with the case. However, persons subpoenaed or charged by Garzon’s court could be arrested if they traveled to countries that had extradition treaties with Spain. Six Bush Officials’ Case Reassigned—

Judge Eloy Velasco April 23 was assigned to oversee a criminal complaint against six former Bush administration officials, replacing Garzon. Velasco was to determine whether a criminal investigation into the matter should be launched. The U.S. officials—former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo, former Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee, former Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith, former Defense Department General Counsel William Haynes 2nd and David Addington, former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney—had been accused of approving the use of torture against Guantanamo detainees, including three Spanish citizens and two Spanish legal residents who had once been held there. The court’s consideration of the matter came in response to a criminal complaint against the six officials filed by the Association for the Rights of Prisoners, a Spanish advocacy group, in March 2008. Spanish Attorney General Candido Conde-Pumpido April 16 had criticized the investigation, saying that any inquiry should take place in the U.S. He also argued that it could lead foreign citizens to pursue their personal political agendas in Spanish courts. Spanish prosecutors April 17 recommended against any investigation into the actions of the six U.S. officials. Velasco May 5 announced that he would formally ask the U.S. government if it was currently investigating the six officials and, if not, whether it intended to do so. Experts said that Velasco had to determine whether the U.S. was investigating the matter before any case could proceed in Spanish courts. n

Turkey 45 Killed at Wedding Party in Southeast.

Masked gunmen May 4 killed 45 people at an engagement ceremony in the village of Bilge, near the city of Mardin in southeast Turkey, close to the Syrian border. The victims included the engaged couple. Turkish media reported that the attack might have been linked to a feud between two local families. Police May 5 arrested eight suspects in the attack. [See 2008, p. 525G1] Members of both families belonged to a government-backed militia that fought Kurdish separatist militants in the mostly Kurdish southeast region. Interior Minister Besir Atalay said none of the evidence so far suggested that the separatist group, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), was involved in the massacre. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan May 5 said the killings were “the result of a feud between two families,” adding, “No tradition, no custom can ever justify this massacre.” In the 1980s, the government had set up the militias, which now had about 60,000 members, to help fight the PKK. About 40,000 people had died in the conflict. Militiamen had been accused of lawless behavior, including drug smuggling, land seizures and deadly clan-based feuding. There had been relatively few PKK attacks in recent months, but a roadside bomb blast April 29 killed nine Turkish troops in an armored personnel carrier in the southeastern town of Lice. Later that day, another soldier was killed in an ambush near the Iraqi border, 300 miles (480 km) to the southeast of Lice. Starting April 14, Turkish police had detained about 200 members of the Democratic Society Party (DTP), a Kurdish nationalist political party that had won local elections in the southeast at the end of March. [See p. 226E3] Separately, three people were killed April 27 in a shoot-out in Istanbul during a series of police raids on suspected members of leftist militant groups. One of the suspects, who allegedly had links to the PKK, refused to surrender and opened fire on police. He was killed, along with a policeman and a civilian. n

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Other European News May Day Rallies Draw Crowds, Violence.

May Day rallies in cities across Europe May 1 drew hundreds of thousands of protesters who used the annual labor holiday as an occasion to vent anger over the global economic crisis. Although the rallies were generally peaceful, violence broke out at rallies in Germany, Austria, Greece and Turkey. [See pp. 253G2, 206D3] Leftist rioters clashed with police in Berlin, the capital of Germany, leaving 48 officers injured. Police said they arrested 49 protesters. Police were also injured in clashes in the northern city of Hamburg. In the western German city of Dortmund, police arrested 200 people at a rally of farright demonstrators. 329

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Police also clashed with May Day protesters in Linz, Austria; Athens, the Greek capital; and Istanbul, Turkey. In France, labor unions claimed that 1.2 million people participated in rallies across the country. Police estimated the total at 465,000, including 65,000 in Paris, and reported no serious violence. n

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Iran Court Frees U.S.-Iranian Reporter. An Ira-

nian appeals court in Tehran, the capital, May 11 freed Roxana Saberi, a reporter who had received an eight-year prison sentence after being convicted of spying for the U.S. in April. The appeals court reduced her sentence to a two-year suspended prison sentence, allowing her to leave Iran. Saberi was also banned from reporting in Iran for five years. [See p. 274C3] Saberi, 32, was a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen, although Iran did not recognize her U.S. citizenship. She had lived in Iran since 2003, and had reported for international news outlets including the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) and the U.S.’s National Public Radio (NPR). Saberi was arrested in January on charges of buying a bottle of wine, which was illegal in Iran. However, the charges were elevated to reporting in Iran without press credentials, and then to espionage, and she was convicted after a one-day trial. The date for the appeals court’s review of Saberi’s conviction was announced May 5, after her parents earlier that day said they would not use a team of lawyers headed by Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi, because “judicial authorities have advised us that it is better to use other lawyers.” Analysts said the charges could have been a political ploy by Iranian hard-liners to gain leverage over the U.S. It was also thought that her imprisonment might harm recent efforts to improve relations between the two countries. The decision to release Saberi was seen as a victory for Iranian officials who wanted to engage with the U.S. over those who were taking a more confrontational stance. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other Iranian officials after Saberi’s conviction had called on the appeals court to review her case and ensure that she got a fair trial. When asked whether her release was a goodwill gesture towards the U.S., Ahmadinejad’s press adviser, Ali Akbar Javanfekr, May 11 said, “Let people draw their own conclusions.” He added, “Maybe we want people to read into this.” U.S. President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had both pressed Iran to release Saberi. Clinton May 11 said, “We continue to take issue with the charges against her and the verdicts rendered, but we are very heartened that she has been released.” Saberi May 11 left Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, which was known for holding political prisoners. Her father, Reza Saberi, said she was in good physical condition; 330

Saberi had reportedly been hospitalized May 4 after a 15-day hunger strike. Espionage Charge Detailed— Saberi’s lawyer, Saleh Nikbakht, May 12 told reporters that the espionage charge against Saberi had been based in part on her possession of a confidential Iranian document on the U.S.-led war in Iraq. Saberi had reportedly copied the report “out of curiosity” in 2007 while doing freelance translation work for the Web site of Iran’s Expediency Council, which mediated between elected legislators, the president and the hard-line appointed Guardian Council. Nikbakht said she had not given the document to the U.S. n

Iraq U.S. Soldier Kills Five Fellow Troops in Clinic.

A U.S. soldier May 11 opened fire on fellow U.S. troops in a counseling center on a U.S. military base in Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, killing five U.S. service members and wounding three. The attacker, Sgt. John Russell, was subsequently taken into military custody, and May 12 was charged with five counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault. [See p. 311A3; 2008, p. 648B2] Russell, 44, was a communications specialist in an engineering unit. He had joined the Army National Guard in 1988, and the active duty Army in 1994. According to Maj. Gen. David Perkins, the top U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, Russell’s commanders earlier in May had ordered that his weapon be confiscated and that he attend counseling because of concerns over his mental health. According to reports, Russell had been involved in a confrontation at a combat stress clinic in Camp Liberty, near the Baghdad International Airport, and was escorted out. However, he reportedly grabbed the weapon of an escort, returned to the clinic and opened fire. Soldiers on major U.S. bases typically had their weapons and ammunition with them, but in many cases were required to keep weapons unloaded. Russell’s father, Wilburn Russell, May 12 told media outlets that Russell had felt his commanders had “threatened” him and were “setting him” up to be discharged with the counseling order. Two of the slain victims were a Navy and an Army officer who worked at the clinic, while the other three were enlisted Army soldiers. U.S. President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates May 11 pledged to investigate the incident and the wider availability of mental health services for U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. As many as one in six soldiers returning from combat reportedly suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suicide rates had skyrocketed, reportedly due in part to the stress of multiple combat deployments. [See pp. 245B1, 244G3] The attack was the deadliest of its kind since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, and was the most lethal attack on U.S. troops in Iraq since an April suicide bomb-

ing that killed five soldiers. In an incident similar to the clinic shooting, Sgt. Joseph Bozicevich in September 2008 had allegedly shot and killed two officers who were attempting to counsel him; he was currently facing military charges. Also, Sgt. Asan Akbar in April 2005 was sentenced to death for a March 2003 attack that killed two officers in Kuwait at the beginning of the Iraq invasion. Altogether, fewer than 12 U.S. soldiers reportedly had been killed on purpose by other U.S. troops during the Iraq war. Soldier-on-soldier attacks had been more common in the Vietnam War. [See p. 254F2; 2005, p. 344G1] U.S. House Speaker Pelosi Visits—U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D, Calif.) May 10 made an unannounced one-day visit to Baghdad, meeting with Iraqi officials including Prime Minister Nouri alMaliki and newly-elected parliament speaker Ayad al-Samarraie. She promised that the U.S. would maintain “intense political involvement” in Iraq and “help economically and culturally,” even as the U.S. military presence in the country was drawing down. Pelosi, who had opposed the 2003 invasion, and criticized President George W. Bush’s subsequent handling of the war, had last visited Iraq in May 2008. [See 2008, p. 340C1] Pelosi said the U.S. would work to share intelligence with Iraqi forces in order to fight extremist groups. She also warned that the two countries would need to cooperate to stem rampant corruption within the Iraqi government, which Maliki the previous day had said was as dangerous as ethnic strife. (Iraqi authorities May 10 arrested Sabah al-Sudani—a brother and bodyguard of Trade Minister Falah alSudani—who was being sought on corruption charges.) Odierno Says Troops to Stay in Cities—

Gen. Raymond Odierno, the top U.S. general in Iraq, May 8 told reporters in Washington, D.C., that one-fifth of U.S. combat troops would remain in Iraqi cities after June 30, the deadline for their withdrawal from cities according to a bilateral security agreement signed in 2008. There were 134,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, including 50,000–70,000 combat troops serving in combat brigades. [See p. 312B1] U.S. military officials had previously said they were pressing Iraq to allow U.S. forces to stay in the northern city of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province and a stronghold of Sunni Muslim extremists, past the June deadline. Odierno’s statement provided the most specific details yet on how many troops the U.S. wanted to keep in cities, although he declined to provide exact numbers. Troops were also slated to stay in several Baghdad bases that Iraq had declared as technically outside city limits. However, Iraqi politicians so far had rejected U.S. military requests to remain in Mosul. Obama Opposes Releasing Abuse Pictures—

Obama May 13 said that his administration would oppose the release of photographs showing U.S. military personnel abusing prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan, after sayFACTS ON FILE

ing in April that he would publish them. The U.S. Defense Department had previously said it would release at least 44 photographs by May 28, in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit that had been filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in 2003. [See p. 290F2] “The publication of these photos would not add any additional benefit to our understanding of what was carried out in the past by a small number of individuals,” Obama said. “In fact, the most direct consequence of releasing them, I believe, would be to further inflame anti-American opinion and to put our troops in greater danger.” He added that he had told military commanders that detainee abuse would not be tolerated, and said releasing the photographs “may only have a chilling effect on future investigations of detainee abuse.” Gates said he had been persuaded by Odierno and Gen. David McKiernan, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, that releasing the photographs would provoke more attacks on U.S. troops. Some of the photographs were reportedly personal snapshots taken by soldiers, while others had been taken by military criminal investigators probing abuses both before and after infamous pictures of abuse at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison had become public in 2004. Obama, who had reportedly seen a sampling of the pictures, said they were “not particularly sensational” compared to the Abu Ghraib photographs, but some unnamed U.S. officials said they were worse than those photographs. Human rights and civil liberties activists decried Obama’s decision, saying that he was perpetuating the Bush administration’s lack of transparency. Ex–U.S. Soldier Guilty of Rape, Killings—

A jury in U.S. District Court in Paducah, Ky., May 7 convicted former U.S. Army soldier Steven Green of raping a 14-yearold Iraqi girl, and killing her and three of her family members. Green, who was being tried in a civilian court because he had left the Army before being charged, was found guilty on all 17 charges facing him, including four counts of premeditated murder. Prosecutors were seeking the death penalty. [See 2008, p. 591B3] According to prosecutors, Green had been the ringleader of a group of U.S. soldiers that broke into a house in Mahmudiya, south of Baghdad, in March 2006. While two soldiers raped the girl, Green moved her parents and sister to a back room and shot them to death. He then raped the girl, shot her several times and tried to set fire to her body. Three other soldiers had received long prison sentences for participating in or being present during the attack. In addition, one soldier was sentenced to 27 months in prison in connection with the attack, and another had charges against him dropped.

erative, Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi, had been captured fleeing Afghanistan in 2001 and was detained in the CIA’s secret prisons system. He was turned over to Egyptian custody. Under reportedly brutal interrogation there, he provided information—later shown to be false—that was used by the Bush administration in 2002–03 to bolster support for the invasion of Iraq, including claims that Iraq had trained members of Al Qaeda in the use of biological and chemical weapons. Once back in CIA custody, Libi recanted his statements, and said he had given them in order to avoid further torture at the hands of the Egyptian interrogators. [See 2005, p. 800E3] Bush in 2006 had transferred several high-value detainees who had been in CIA custody to the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. However, Libi was not among them, and his whereabouts had been unknown until researchers monitoring Libyan prison conditions for the advocacy group Human Rights Watch met with him April 27. Libi’s death was being considered an apparent suicide, but his friends reportedly questioned that assertion. Other News—In other Iraqi news: o A suicide bomber May 12 rammed his car into a police patrol in the northern city of Kirkuk, killing seven people. Another car bomb in Kirkuk the previous day had killed three people outside a mosque. Control of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk had been disputed by its various ethnic groups, including Sunni and Shiite Muslim Arabs, Kurds and Turkmens. o The Iraqi oil ministry and the government of the autonomous Kurdistan region May 10 reached an agreement to allow Kurdistan to export oil. Under the deal, the Kurds could begin exporting 60,000 barrels a day from the Tawke oil field starting June 1, and an additional 40,000 barrels a day from the Taq-Taq field later in the month, with all proceeds going to the Iraqi federal government. The federal government had long opposed Kurdish efforts to sign separate oil deals with foreign governments and had asserted sole control over Iraq’s oil resources. [See p. 156E2; 2008, pp. 948G3, 708E2] o A gunman May 9 killed Gen. Hakeem Jassim, a top Iraqi police commander, in the southern city of Basra. o The U.S. military May 8 said U.S. troops the previous day had shot and killed a 12-year-old boy and a man in Mosul, after the boy threw a hand grenade at U.S. and Iraqi forces. The U.S. said it was part of a new trend of Iraqi extremists using children to carry out attacks. However, Iraqi witnesses said the man who had been killed, not the boy, had actually thrown the grenade. n

45-minute video, made in 2004, showed Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al-Nahyan—assisted by men including at least one uniformed police officer—holding a bound man down in the sand and torturing him with cattle prods, whips and a nail-studded board; setting his testicles afire with lighter fluid; pouring salt in his wounds; and finally running him over repeatedly with a sport utility vehicle (SUV), audibly breaking bones. Sheikh Issa was a brother of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Abu Dhabi’s emir and the UAE’s president, although he had no official position in the government. [See 2007, p. 894C1] The victim was identified as Mohammed Shah Poor, an Afghan grain merchant who Sheikh Issa claimed had cheated him. Poor survived the attack, although he was hospitalized for months. The video was provided to ABC by U.S. businessman Bassam Nabulsi, a former business associate of Sheikh Issa. Nabulsi was suing Sheikh Issa in U.S. court, claiming that he had been tortured by UAE police officers after refusing to surrender the tape. Nabulsi said his brother had shot the video on the orders of Sheikh Issa, who allegedly recorded such torture sessions for later viewing. His lawyer said he possessed other tapes showing Sheikh Issa and police officers torturing at least 25 more people, including Sudanese immigrants. The Abu Dhabi government initially told ABC that while it acknowledged Sheikh Issa’s involvement, a review had found that “all rules, policies and procedures were followed correctly by the police department,” and added that the incident was “not part of a pattern of behavior.” It also said Poor had not brought charges against Sheikh Issa. Abu Dhabi’s government April 29 released a statement condemning the incident, and promised a more comprehensive review. Before the statement was released, local news media had not reported on the incident, and Web sites publicizing the video had been blocked. It was illegal in the UAE to criticize its royalty. The UAE judicial department May 11 said Abu Dhabi authorities had detained Issa. The U.S. and the UAE in January had signed a civilian nuclear cooperation deal. The agreement still had to be recertified by the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama and reviewed by the U.S. Congress, and some legislators had raised concerns over whether it might allow Iran, a major UAE trading partner, easier access to nuclear technology. Media reports said the torture revelations might further endanger the agreement’s chances. Nabulsi said the U.S. embassy in the UAE was aware of the torture videos, but the U.S. government would not comment on them. [See p. 69F2] n

Source for Iraq Invasion Data Dies in Libya—

The Libyan newspaper Oed May 10 reported that an operative of the international terrorist network Al Qaeda who had once been held by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had died in a prison in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, after being transferred to Libyan custody in 2006. The opMay 14, 2009

United Arab Emirates Video Shows Torture by Abu Dhabi Sheikh. The U.S.’s ABC News April 22 broadcast

excerpts from a video of a member of the royal family of Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), torturing a man. The

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the National Basketball Association (NBA) regular season. James, 24, was the first Cavalier to claim the award, as well as the youngest player to win since Moses Malone in 1979. [See 2008, p. 335C3; 1979, p. 526F1] James, the top pick in the 2003 NBA draft, averaged 28.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game in the 2008–09 season, and led Cleveland to the best record in the NBA. In the MVP voting, he garnered 109 of the 121 first-place votes, and 1,172 total points. The 2008 winner, Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, placed a distant second, with two firstplace votes and 698 points. Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade was third, with seven first-place votes and 680 points. [See p. 278G1, A3; 2003, p. 527A3] In other NBA awards, Indiana Pacers forward Danny Granger, who averaged 25.8 points per game, May 12 was voted the most improved player in the 2008–09 season. Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Terry, who averaged 14.3 points per game off the bench, April 24 had won the sixth man award, which went to the top reserve player. [See 2008, p. 298E3] n

rage, Calif. It was the first victory in a major for Lincicome, 23. [See 2008, p. 267D3] Lincicome had begun the final round two strokes behind leader Kristy McPherson of the U.S., who was at eight under par, and one stroke behind American Cristie Kerr. Lincicome trailed her playing partners for the entire round. On the par-five 18th, behind by one, Lincicome hit a perfect drive and landed her approach shot six feet from the hole. She then sank the putt for eagle, finishing with a nine-under-par 279 and earning a one-stroke victory over McPherson and Kerr, who tied for second. Lincicome earned $300,000 in prize money for the win. Ochoa Wins Corona Championship—

Hometown favorite Lorena Ochoa of Mexico April 26 won the Corona Championship in Morelia, Mexico, for the second year in a row. Ochoa shot a 25-under-par 267 to beat Suzann Pettersen of Norway by one stroke. Ochoa collected $195,000 for the win. [See 2008, p. 267F3] n

ARTS & SCIENCES

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People Marathons

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Sammy Wanjiru of Kenya April 26 won the men’s race in the 29th London Marathon. Wanjiru, who had won the marathon at the 2008 Summer Olympics, finished in 2:05:10, besting the course record of 2:05:15 set by countryman Martin Lel in the 2008 race. Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia was second, with a time of 2:05:20, and Jaouad Gharib of Morocco finished third in 2:05:27. [See 2008, pp. 599C2, 387B2] Irina Mikitenko of Germany won the women’s race for the second straight year, finishing in 2:22:11. Britain’s Mara Yamauchi placed second, in 2:23:12, and Liliya Shobukova of Russia was third, with a time of 2:24:24. n

Golf Lincicome Wins Kraft Nabisco Title. Britt-

any Lincicome of the U.S. April 5 won the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the first major tournament of the year in women’s golf, at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mi332

The White House May 13 said it would nominate New York City–based theatrical producer Rocco Landesman to chair the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The post, which required Senate confirmation, had previously been occupied by poet Dana Gioia, who resigned in January. Landesman, 61, was the president and owner of Jujamcyn Theaters, which ran five theaters on Broadway. [See 2008, p. 668E2; 2002, p. 816F1] Ohio’s Cleveland Clinic, the hospital where the U.S.’s first partial face transplant had been performed in December 2008, May 6 held a news conference at which a 46-year-old Ohio woman, Connie Culp, identified herself as the recipient of the procedure. Although she did not discuss the circumstances that ultimately necessitated the surgery, it emerged that she had been the victim of a 2004 shotgun blast by her husband, Thomas Culp, who then turned the gun on himself. He too had survived his wounds, and was currently serving a sevenyear prison term. [See 2008, p. 922E2] n

O B I T UA R I E S BOAL, Augusto, 78, Brazilian theater director who pioneered the international movement known as the Theater of the Oppressed, which sought to break down barriers between actors and spectators as a political consciousness-raising tool; exiled from Brazil in 1971 by the military government then in power, he did not return to his homeland until after the restoration of democracy in 1985; in the 1990s, he served as a city councillor in his native Rio de Janeiro; his experiences in that capacity gave rise to his book Legislative Theater: Using Performance to Make Politics (1998), one of his many works of drama theory; born March 16, 1931, in Rio; died May 2 at a Rio hospital, of respiratory failure after battling leukemia. COHN, Sam(uel Charles), 79, longtime talent agent at New York City–based International Creative Management (ICM) who represented a host of actors, directors, playwrights and composers, and was adept at engineering stage and film projects that used several of his clients at a time; born May 11, 1929, in Altoona, Pa.; died May 6 at a New York hospital, after a short illness. [See 2007, p. 907D2]

DALY, Chuck (Charles Jerome), 78, basketball coach who guided the National Basketball Association’s Detroit Pistons into the NBA playoffs during all nine seasons (1983–92) that he coached the team and won consecutive NBA championships with the Pistons in 1989 and 1990; he also coached the “Dream Team” of Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and other NBA stars to the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain; he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994; born July 20, 1930, in St. Marys, Pa.; died May 9 at his home in Jupiter, Fla., of pancreatic cancer. [See 1999, p. 483E2; 1997, pp. 821E3, 503F1; Indexes 1994, 1988–92] DeLUISE, Dom(inick), 75, zany comedian who appeared in half a dozen films directed by Mel Brooks—including The Twelve Chairs (1970), Blazing Saddles (1974) and Silent Movie (1976)—and in several films starring Burt Reynolds—including Smokey and the Bandit II (1980) and The Cannonball Run (1981); he was also known for his television work (particularly in the 1960s), was in several Broadway shows, and wrote cookbooks and children’s books; born Aug. 1, 1933, in New York City; died May 4 at a hospital in Santa Monica, Calif.; he had been obese for most of his life and had battled high blood pressure and diabetes. [See 1990, p. 232G2; 1989, p. 1001A1; Indexes 1988, 1986, 1984, 1980, 1978, 1970, 1963] DiMAGGIO, Dom(inic Paul), 92, center fielder for Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox team for most of the 1940s and into the 1950s; although he was a seven-time All Star, his career was overshadowed by that of his older brother Joe DiMaggio, who, as a center fielder for the New York Yankees, Boston’s perennial American League rival, played on nine World Series–winning teams and had a 56-game hitting streak in 1941, one of the most amazing feats in the history of baseball; Dom DiMaggio’s 34-game hitting streak in 1949, while far short of his brother’s, remained the longest in Red Sox history; it ended on Aug. 9, 1949, when, in a game between the Red Sox and the Yankees, he hit a sinking line drive in the eighth inning that Joe DiMaggio caught; a third baseball-playing DiMaggio brother, Vince, had a 10-year career as a center fielder on several National League teams; born Feb. 12, 1917, in San Francisco, Calif.; died May 8 at his home in Marion, Mass., of pneumonia. [See 1999, p. 180G2; 1986, p. 760A3; Indexes 1953, 1950] FRENCH, Marilyn (born Marilyn Edwards), 79, feminist author; her semi-autobiographical first novel, The Women’s Room (1977), which focused on men’s mistreatment of women, became an international bestseller; she also wrote such other novels as The Bleeding Heart (1980) and such works of nonfiction as The War Against Women (1992) and the four-volume From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women (2002); born Nov. 21, 1929, in New York City; died May 2 at a New York hospital, of a heart ailment; she died 17 years after having been diagnosed with esophageal cancer and told that she had only months to live. [See 1981, p. 264E3; 1979, p. 356E2; Index 1978] HOLZER, Hans, 89, Austrian-born parapsychologist whose dozens of books on ghosts and other supernatural phenomena included such titles as Ghosts I’ve Met (1965), Inside Witchcraft (1980), Love Beyond the Grave (1992) and Hans Holzer’s Travel Guide to Haunted Houses (1998); he frequently appeared on television talk shows; born Jan. 26, 1920, in Vienna; died April 26 at his home in New York City. PHAIR, Venetia (born Venetia Katherine Burney), 90, granddaughter of a retired Oxford Universi-

ty librarian who in 1930, at the age of 11, came up with the name Pluto, drawn from classical mythology, for the then–newly discovered heavenly body that until the 21st century continued to be regarded as the solar system’s ninth planet; the International Astronomical Union reclassified Pluto as a “dwarf planet” in 2006, and as a “plutoid” in 2008; born July 11, 1918, in Oxford, England; died April 30 at her home in Banstead, England. [See 2008, p. 995C3; 2006, p. 660F2] VARENNIKOV, Valentin Ivanovich, 85, hard-line Soviet general who was the chief Soviet military representative in Afghanistan from 1984 to 1989, when the Soviets competed their withdrawal from that country; in August 1991, in the waning days of the Soviet Union, he backed a failed coup aimed at toppling then– Soviet President President Mikhail S. Gorbachev; he was the only one of the 12 defendants linked to the failed coup to go to trial, and ended up being acquitted, on the grounds that he had considered it his patriotic duty to try to save the Soviet Union from collapse; after his acquittal, he served as a member of the Russian parliament; born Dec. 15, 1923, in Krasnodar, in what was then the Russian Soviet Socialist Republic; died May 6 in Moscow, several months after undergoing neurosurgery. [See 2003, p. 1004F2; 1994, pp. 587C3, 588A1, D1, G1; Indexes 1990–92, 1982] n

May 14, 2009

Sri Lanka Declares Victory Over Tamil Tiger Rebels Rebel Leader Prabhakaran Reported Dead.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in an address to parliament May 19 formally declared victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebel group, ending a civil war that had been fought on and off since 1983. Rajapaksa’s announcement came a day after the army reported that LTTE leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran had been killed during the army’s final offensive against the rebels, which had taken place on a thin strip of land in Sri Lanka’s northeast. [See p. 276F3; for key events in Sri Lanka’s civil war, see p. 334A1] The conflict was thought to be the longest-running insurgency in modern Asian history, and had claimed between 70,000 and 80,000 lives. It stemmed from tensions between Sri Lanka’s ethnic Sinhalese majority, most of whom were Buddhist, and the ethnic Tamil minority, who were predominantly Hindu. Tamils claimed that since Sri Lanka’s independence from the British in 1948, Sinhalese-dominated governments had enacted discriminatory policies, including making Sinhalese the country’s national language, and denying Tamils equal access to university spots and government jobs. Tamils made up about 15% of Sri Lanka’s population. The LTTE had been formed in the 1970s to agitate for a separate Tamil homeland in the northern and eastern parts of the country, an area it called Eelam. At the height of its power, the LTTE held a fourth of the country’s territory, and ran a shadow government with a separate police force, court system and political structure. It had been

one of the only rebel groups in the world to boast a small air force and navy. But the government deemed the LTTE a terrorist organization, a designation also officially imposed by many other countries, including the U.S. The LTTE was thought to have pioneered the use of suicide bombers as an insurgent tactic, and had allegedly assassinated Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa in 1993. The group was also thought responsible for the 1991 assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, who as India’s prime minister in the 1980s had sent Indian troops to Sri Lanka to intervene in the conflict. [See 1993, p. 340F3; 1991, p. 373A1] A 2002 cease-fire between the Sri Lankan government and the rebels was officially annulled in early 2008, and Rajapaksa vowed to defeat the LTTE militarily. The army seized control of rebel-held territories in the east and north, and overran the LTTE’s de facto capital, Kilinochchi, in January. By April, the rebels were trapped in a thin, peninsular strip of land on the Bay of Bengal that was separated from the mainland by a bog. The area had previously been designated a “safe zone” for civilians that was to be free from fighting. In the last few weeks of fighting, as many as 50,000 civilians were trapped in a conflict zone no larger than two-and-a-half square miles (6.5 square km). (Population and casualty numbers for civilians were difficult to verify independently, since aid agencies and media outlets were barred from the conflict zone.) The United Nations called the violence being done to civilians by both sides a “bloodbath.” But with an outright victory in sight, Rajapaksa repeatedly rejected international calls for a cease-fire. [See below] Rajapaksa May 19 declared that his government had “liberated” the country from terrorism, and called for unity between the country’s Sinhalese and Tamils. He said, “The war against the LTTE is not a war against Tamil people. Our aim was to liberate our Tamil people from the clutches of the LTTE. We must now live as equals in this free country.” Analysts said chances for a sustained peace would depend on the Rajapaksa government’s success in reaching out to disaffected Tamils and including them in the N country’s development. The government May 18 had announced the rebels’ defeat on state television, and sent cellular telephone text messages trumpet-

Facts On File

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World News Digest With Index ©2009 by Facts On File News Services An imprint of Infobase Publishing

Volume 69, No. 3570 May 21, 2009

B ing Prabhakaran’s death to people across the country. Spontaneous celebrations erupted in Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital, and other Sinhalese-majority areas of the country. Prabhakaran’s Death Challenged— Selvarasa Pathmanathan, the LTTE’s chief diplomat, May 19 rebutted the army’s claims that Prabhakaran was dead, in a posting on TamilNet.com, a pro-LTTE Web site that was often used by the group to issue statements. He said Prabhakaran was “alive and safe. He will continue to lead the quest for dignity and freedom for the Tamil people.” However, the Sri Lankan army that day said it had identified Prabhakaran’s body, and released video footage of his purported corpse, lying on a stretcher and surrounded by army troops. Government officials said Prabhakaran had been killed May 18, as he and other top

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MAJOR STORIES IN THIS ISSUE Sri Lanka declares victory over Tamil Tiger rebels; rebel leader Prabhakaran reported dead. PAGE 333

Pope Benedict XVI tours Holy Land. PAGE 335

U.S. to reinstitute military commissions trials for terrorism detainees.

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Obama addresses abortion issue in Notre Dame speech. PAGE 338

GM, Chrysler eliminate 1,900 dealerships. PAGE 338

Federal auto fuel mileage standards announced. PAGE 339

Clashes flare between Somali government, Islamists.

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North Korea claims restart of nuclear site. PAGE 342

British expenses scandal tarnishes Parliament. PAGE 343

India’s Congress party coalition wins national elections. PAGE 345

U.N. says 1.5 million displaced by Pakistani fighting. PAGE 346

Filly Rachel Alexandra wins Preakness. PAGE 347 REFERENCES in brackets give location of background information in this & preceding volumes.

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Following are key events in Sri Lanka’s civil war [See p. 333A1]: Feb. 4, 1948—Sri Lanka, then known as Ceylon, gains independence from the British. [See 1948, p. 41K] April 5, 7 and 10, 1956—The Ceylon Freedom Party wins national elections, driven by support from the country’s ethnic Sinhalese majority. The government eventually enacts policies that ethnic minority Tamils view as discriminatory, such as making Sinhalese the national language and denying Tamils equal access to education spots and government jobs. [See 1956, p. 121A2] May 5, 1976—Vellupillai Prabhakaran founds the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebel group, with the aim of creating a separate homeland for Tamils in Sri Lanka. The LTTE grew out of Prabhakaran’s former rebel group, the Tamil New Tigers. July 24, 1983—A wave of violence against Tamils erupts after 13 Sinhalese soldiers are killed by the LTTE, an episode that is thought of as the formal beginning of the civil war. [See 1983, p. 576B2]

July 29, 1987—Sri Lanka and India, under

March 2004—Col. Vinayagamoorthy Mura-

officials tried to escape the conflict zone in an armored van. In one account, the army had fired a rocket at the van, killing Prabhakaran and others. In all, the army said 18 top LTTE officials by May 19 had been found dead, including Balasingham Nadesan, a leader of the LTTE’s political wing; intelligence chief Pottu Amman; Soosai, who went by one name and headed the LTTE’s navy; and Charles Anthony, Prabhakaran’s eldest son and the suspected leader of the group’s air force. The LTTE May 17 had appeared to concede defeat when Pathmanathan wrote on TamilNet, “This battle has reached its bitter end. It is our people now who are dying from bombs, shells, illness and hunger. We cannot permit any more harm to befall them...We have decided to silence our guns.” The government at that point was already declaring victory. Rajapaksa May 14 had declared that the conflict would end in 48 hours, and the military two days later said it had seized full control of the coast of the rebels’ tiny haven, completely surrounding them. Rajapaksa during a trip to Jordan May 16 said, “I will be going back to a country that has been totally freed from the barbaric acts of the LTTE.” While many Tamils viewed Prabhakaran, 54, as their defender against alleged discrimination and human rights abuses by the Sinhalese majority, he was also widely seen as a ruthless leader who had amassed power by killing and torturing potential challengers within the LTTE. He rose to prominence in 1975, when he personally assassinated the governor of Sri Lanka’s Jaffna province. He was rarely seen in public, although he did reportedly emerge once a year to honor LTTE fighters who had participated in suicide missions or died fighting. He required that fighters carry vials of cyanide on their person, so that they could kill themselves when they were captured. Some observers said Prabhakaran’s unwillingness to cooperate with the government undermined various peace talks that

had come and gone since 1983. Additionally, some said Prabhakaran was reluctant to join the political process over fears that he would be prosecuted for past crimes, including the assassination of Gandhi and others.

British Foreign Minister David Miliband May 12 said the conflict zone was “as close to hell as you can get.” U.S. President Barack Obama May 13 condemned the attacks on civilians as “deplorable.” The U.N. Security Council May 13 released a statement objecting to the civilian casualties. As many as 100 civilians were reported killed when the conflict zone’s only hospital was shelled May 12–13. Doctors were reportedly forced to abandon the hospital May 14. Officials from other countries and the U.N. made attempts to broker a cease-fire, but Rajapaksa deflected those entreaties.

Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, sign an accord allowing Indian peacekeeping forces to enter the country. While India signs the agreement to shield the Tamil population from a humanitarian crisis, Indian troops end up clashing with LTTE fighters over the next two years, before withdrawing in early 1990. [See 1990, p. 22G3; 1987, p. 545A1] May 21, 1991—Gandhi is assassinated by a suspected LTTE suicide bomber at a campaign rally in India. [See 1991, p. 373A1] May 1, 1993—Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa is assassinated by a suspected LTTE suicide bomber in Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital. [See 1993, p. 340F3] Dec. 18, 1999—President Chandrika Kumaratunga is injured after a suicide attack that is blamed on the LTTE. Kumaratunga loses an eye in the attack. [See 1999, p. 949A1] Feb. 22, 2002—Norway brokers a cease-fire agreement between the government and the LTTE. [See 2002, p. 134C2]

U.N. Says 265,000 Civilians Displaced—

The United Nations May 18 said 65,000 Tamil civilians had fled the conflict zone in the preceding days, bringing the total number of those displaced by the fighting in the northeast to 265,000. The Associated Press May 16 had reported that 7,000 civilians had died between Jan. 20 and May 7 in conflict-related violence, citing an internal U.N. document. Casualty numbers were expected to increase once authorities were able to determine the number killed in more recent fighting. Most of the refugees were held in 42 government camps near the conflict zone that aid officials said were overcrowded and lacking in basic necessities. Many refugees were injured and badly malnourished. The army was reportedly frisking refugees on suspicions that some were escaped Tamil fighters, and refugees were not allowed to leave the camps, which were enclosed with barbed wire. Officials said refugees could not return to their homes until the area was cleared of land mines, but critics said the squalid conditions at the camps could further alienate Tamils from the government. Both the LTTE and the government had been criticized internationally for their apparent disregard for civilian life, with the U.N. May 11 proclaiming that the situation in the conflict zone was a “bloodbath.” The LTTE was accused of using civilians as human shields against the army’s offensive, and shooting at civilians who attempted to flee. Meanwhile, the government was accused of indiscriminately shelling the conflict zone. The government April 27 had pledged to stop using heavy artillery and air strikes, but that promise was reportedly never fulfilled.

leetharan, the LTTE’s head commander in the east, splits from the rebel group and takes 6,000 fighters with him. Muraleetharan, also known as Karuna, later allies with the government. [See 2004, p. 248F3] Nov. 17, 2005—Mahinda Rajapaksa is elected Sri Lanka’s president. [See 2005, p. 842C2] July 2007—The army pushes the LTTE out of the eastern parts of the country, leaving the rebels with a stronghold in the north. Jan. 2, 2008—The government officially annuls the Norwegian-brokered cease-fire, and Rajapaksa vows to defeat the LTTE militarily. [See 2008, p. 9B2] Jan. 2, 2009—Government forces capture the northern town of Kilinochchi, the LTTE’s de facto capital. [See p. 9D2] Jan. 25, 2009—Government forces capture Mullaitivu, the last major town controlled by the rebels. [See p. 119E1] May 18, 2009—Prabhakaran is reportedly killed in battle. [See p. 333A1] May 19, 2009—Rajapaksa formally declares victory over the rebels. [See p. 333A1]

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John Holmes, the U.N. undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs, April 26–27 attempted to convince the government to allow a “humanitarian pause” in the fighting, to no avail. Miliband and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner April 29 also visited the country. In a sign of Rajapaksa’s increasing frustration with what he saw as international interference, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt April 28 was barred from joining Miliband and Kouchner. n

Pope Benedict XVI Tours Holy Land Calls For an Independent Palestinian State.

Pope Benedict XVI May 8–15 visited Jordan, Israel and the West Bank, where some of the holiest sites in Christianity, Islam and Judaism were located. The Vatican had emphasized that the visit was a religious pilgrimage, and not an intrusion into the sensitive politics of the region. However, Benedict called for an independent Palestinian state several times during his visit, an established Vatican position but a proposition that had not been endorsed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. [See pp. 336E1, 195C3] It was only the third papal visit to the Holy Land in modern times. Benedict’s predecessor, Pope John Paul II, had toured the region in 2000. [See 2000, p. 206E1] Arrives in Jordan—Benedict May 8 arrived in Amman, the capital of Jordan, an Arab country where about 90% of the population was Sunni Muslim, and was greeted at the airport by King Abdullah II. The following day, Benedict spoke outside AlHussein bin-Talal mosque, the largest in the country, where he urged both Christians and Muslims to “strive to be seen” as faithful to God. He also criticized the “ideological manipulation of religion, sometimes for political ends,” which he said was often “the real catalyst for tension and division and at times even violence in society.” Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad bin Talal, King Abdullah’s main religious adviser, May 9 thanked Benedict for expressing “regret” over a 2006 speech in Germany in which he quoted a 14th-century Byzantine emperor who said Islam brought “evil and inhumane” things to the world. Benedict had apologized for the speech after protests and violence erupted across the Muslim world. However, some Islamist groups in Jordan had protested Benedict’s visit because they said his apology had not been sufficient. [See 2006, p. 726D2] Benedict May 10 celebrated a mass in Amman before a crowd of as many as 30,000. He urged Jordan’s shrinking Christian population to “persevere in faith, hope and love” and to “build new bridges with different religions and cultures.” He also offered a greeting to the 40,000 Iraqi Christians who the Vatican estimated had taken refuge in Jordan from the war in their country. [See p. 344E2] In Israel, Speaks at Holocaust Memorial—

Benedict May 11 arrived in Israel, marking the third time a pope had visited the country since it was established in 1948. After a May 21, 2009

meeting with President Shimon Peres at the presidential residence, Benedict arrived at Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, where he laid a wreath on the site where ashes of Holocaust victims were buried. He delivered remarks in which he paid tribute to “the memory of the millions of Jews killed in the horrific tragedy of the Shoah,” the Hebrew word for the Holocaust, and denounced Holocaust denial. He declared that the names of the victims were “indelibly etched in the hearts of their loved ones, their surviving prisoners, and all those determined never to allow such an atrocity to disgrace mankind again…most of all their names are forever fixed in the memory of almighty God.” He also met with six Holocaust survivors. Benedict did not enter the museum at Yad Vashem, which featured a picture of World War II–era Pope Pius XII above a plaque that accused him of remaining silent while Rome’s Jews were deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp. The Vatican denied that claim. Benedict in 2008 had called for Pius to be beatified, a step toward being made a saint. Benedict had served in the Nazi German Hitler Youth organization as a young seminarian. He maintained that he had been unwillingly conscripted to the organization, and that he quit the group as soon as he was able to. Benedict had also recently angered many Jews when he rehabilitated an excommunicated bishop who had openly denied the existence of Nazi gas chambers. Benedict later called the rehabilitation an “unforeseen mishap.” [See p. 179B3] Benedict’s May 11 remarks at Yad Vashem drew criticism from Jewish leaders through the week as being overly vague and impersonal. Avner Shalev, Yad Vashem’s director, May 11 said Benedict’s words at the memorial were “serious and important,” but he expressed disappointment that Benedict had not mentioned antiSemitism, Germany or the Nazis in his remarks. Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, a Holocaust survivor and chairman of Yad Vashem’s board of directors, said “the identity of the murderers went completely unmentioned.” Parliament Speaker Reuven Rivlin May 12 invoked Benedict’s past in the Hitler Youth, saying the pope “speaks to us like a historian, as an observer, as a man who expresses his opinion about things that should never happen, and he was—what can you do?—a part of them.” Benedict’s remarks were contrasted with the more personal words of John Paul II, who in 2000 at Yad Vashem had invoked his own memories of the Nazi occupation of Poland, his home country. Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi May 12 said Benedict should not be expected to repeat a list of well-known facts about the Holocaust “every time he speaks.” Lombardi said Benedict had addressed the Holocaust in depth before, such as on a visit to the Auschwitz concentration camp site early in his papacy. [See 2006, p. 426B1] Also May 11, at an interfaith meeting where Benedict had been the only planned speaker, Sheik Taysir Tamimi, chief jus-

tice of the Palestinian Islamic courts, reportedly seized the microphone and voiced a sharp condemnation of Israel, and asked Benedict to endorse it. Benedict left the meeting after Tamimi’s remarks without addressing them, and Vatican officials later criticized the outburst as unproductive. Visits Holy Sites in Jerusalem— Benedict May 12 visited holy sites in Jerusalem. He began at the Muslim Dome of the Rock shrine, located on a site also revered by Christians and Jews. Benedict also visited Jerusalem’s Western Wall, an important sacred site in Judaism, where he placed a prayer on a slip of paper between the wall’s stones as was traditional, and recited Psalm 122, which was a prayer for peace in Jerusalem. He said a mass that day before several thousand Christians outside Jerusalem’s Old City. The Christian population of Jerusalem had dwindled since Israel’s establishment; in 1948, about a fifth of the city’s population had been Christian, but currently that figure was about 2%.

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In West Bank, Calls for Palestinian State—

Benedict May 13 traveled to Bethlehem in the West Bank, where he met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at his headquarters in Ramallah. He told Abbas, “The Holy See supports the right of your people to a sovereign Palestinian homeland in the land of your forefathers.” Benedict earlier had visited a Palestinian refugee camp, where he told residents it was “understandable that you feel frustrated. Your legitimate aspirations for permanent homes, for an independent Palestinian state remain unfulfilled.” He also urged young Palestinians to reject “acts of violence and terrorism.” [See p. 336E1] Bethlehem was bordered on three sides by a 25-foot- (7.6-m-) tall Israeli-built concrete security barrier that divided the West Bank from Israel. Israel had begun constructing the barrier in 2002, saying it was necessary to protect the country from Palestinian suicide bombers. Most of the rest of the barrier, which stretched about 500 miles (800 km), was made of chain-link fence or barbed wire. Benedict notably called the structure a “wall,” as opposed to a “fence,” as Israel preferred to call it. At Manger Square, a site revered by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus, Benedict also said a mass before thousands of Palestinian Christians. Israel had allowed about 70 Christians who lived in the Gaza Strip to attend the mass. The Gaza Strip was currently blockaded by both Israel and Egypt, on the strip’s southern border. Yigal Palmor, a spokesperson for Israel’s foreign ministry, said Benedict’s remarks “seemed to cater to Palestinian political claims more than any evenhandedness we’d expect from such a high-ranking leader.” Travels to Nazareth—Benedict May 14 traveled to Nazareth in northern Israel, a largely Muslim town where Jesus was believed to have spent his childhood. There he said a mass for a crowd of as many as 50,000. Later that day, Benedict addressed Hebrew-speaking Christians, saying they were “a reminder to us of the Jewish roots 335

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of our faith.” He also attended a meeting with Jewish and Muslim leaders. Benedict met privately in Nazareth with Netanyahu, who afterward said he had urged Benedict “as a moral figure to make his voice heard loud and continuously against the declarations coming from Iran about their intentions to destroy the state of Israel.” The Vatican, which had full diplomatic relations with Iran, had not directly addressed past Iranian statements of that nature. Lombardi said Benedict and Netanyahu had talked about “how to advance the terms of the peace process.” Netanyahu said they had discussed “the historic process of reconciliation between Christianity and Judaism.” [See p. 261F3] The following day, Benedict visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, located on the reputed site of Jesus’s crucifixion, where he met with clergy from the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Armenian, Ethiopian and Coptic Christian churches. Benedict May 15, before departing for the Vatican, made final remarks at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv. He recalled his visit to Auschwitz, and said, “that appalling chapter of history must never be forgotten or denied.” He again called for a Palestinian state, saying he hoped “the two-state solution will become a reality, not a dream,” and called the barrier between Israel and the West Bank “one of the saddest sights for me during my visit to these lands.” Peres and Netanyahu accompanied Benedict to the airport, and Peres praised Benedict’s previous statements at Yad Vashem. n

Middle East Netanyahu Meets With Obama at White House.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu May 18 met with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House in Washington, D.C., for the first time since the two leaders took office. Netanyahu and Obama discussed the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and containing Iran’s ambitions to expand its influence in the Middle East and develop its nuclear program. The meeting was described as successful, although significant differences reportedly remained between Netanyahu’s hawkish views and Obama’s generally more diplomatic approach. [See pp. 345F1, 313E1] The meeting between Netanyahu and Obama went on for almost two hours, double the time allotted, which U.S. and Israeli officials said was a sign that it had gone well. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Obama for the first time indicated a time frame for negotiations to convince Iran to give up its nuclear program, which Netanyahu had pressed him for. Iran said its nuclear program was for civilian power generation, but the U.S. and its allies insisted Iran was working towards building a nuclear weapon. Obama said international talks with Iran would begin after Iranian elections scheduled for June, and the U.S. might engage in “direct talks” with Iran after that. 336

However, Obama said, “We’re not going to have talks forever,” and that he would consider “a range of steps” if Iran was uncooperative. He added that he would “gauge and do a reassessment by the end of the year” on whether the talks were working, so they did not “become an excuse for inaction while Iran proceeds” with its nuclear program. Netanyahu thanked Obama for keeping “all options on the table” regarding Iran. He also said the “common threat” of Iran provided an opportunity for Israel to unite with Arab states. Obama reportedly supported a Middle East regional peace plan similar to one first proposed by Saudi Arabia in 2002, in which Israel would gain diplomatic ties with Arab nations if it recognized pre-1967 borders and resolved the plight of Palestinian refugees. Divisions Remain on Palestinians—

Netanyahu said Israel would start peace talks with the Palestinian Authority (PA) immediately, on parallel tracks dealing with political, security and economic issues. However, he said such talks would be predicated on Palestinian acceptance of Israel as a Jewish state, which Palestinian negotiators had resisted. In addition, although he said Israel did “not want to govern the Palestinians,” he added that he wanted them to “govern themselves absent a handful of powers,” including an independent army that could be used against Israel. Obama supported a two-state solution to resolve Israeli-Palestinian strife. He called on Netanyahu to stop the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, saying it was an impediment to progress in talks, and to improve humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, which was under Israeli blockade. Senior PA negotiator Saeb Erekat after the meeting praised “the active re-engagement of the United States” in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. However, he said Netanyahu had “missed another opportunity to show himself to be a genuine partner for peace” by not supporting the creation of an independent Palestinian state. n

United Nations U.S. Elected to Human Rights Council.

The U.S. May 12 was elected to a seat on the 47-member United Nations Human Rights Council, after 167 of the U.N. General Assembly’s member nations voted in favor of its candidacy. A total of 97 votes were needed to win a seat on the council, which was responsible for examining human rights practices in countries around the world. The U.N. General Assembly also voted to elect countries including Bangladesh, Senegal and Djibouti, and to re-elect Cuba, China and Saudi Arabia, among others. [See pp. 313C1, 262A1] The U.N. Human Rights Council was created in 2006 to replace the U.N. Human Rights Commission, established in 1946, which had come under widespread criticism for focusing disproportionately on alleged human rights abuses by Israel and blocking investigations into abuses carried

out by the council’s member nations or their allies. Critics argued that the council was no more functional than the commission it had replaced, and the former administration of U.S. President George W. Bush had opposed joining the council on the grounds that doing so would lend legitimacy to its actions. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice March 31 had announced that the U.S. would seek one of the three seats allotted to the world’s Western bloc. Clinton said, “With others, we will engage in the work of improving the U.N. human rights system” from within. Norway, Belgium and New Zealand had previously announced their candidacy for the seats. However, New Zealand dropped out of the race after the U.S. announced its candidacy. The decision to seek a seat on the council was criticized by Bush administration officials, including former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton, who had opposed the creation of the council. The Obama administration’s decision was praised by U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay, and by Human Rights Watch and other human rights advocacy groups. n

Other International News European Bank Invests in Eight Countries.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) May 7 said it would invest 432.4 million euros ($575 million) in small banks in eight countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The funds were intended to help local banks in those countries extend loans to small and midsize companies amid a global economic downturn that had limited their access to credit. [See below; 2008, p. 983E2] The money would be distributed to subsidiaries of Italy’s UniCredit SpA, the biggest banking group in Eastern Europe. Much of the money would go toward supporting UniCredit’s subsidiaries in Kazakhstan and Ukraine. The rest would go to banks in Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan and Serbia. In a separate statement, the ERBD said the economies of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet states would probably not begin to recover from the downturn until the end of 2010. EU Forms ‘Eastern Partnership’— The European Union May 7 formally sealed an economic partnership agreement with six former Soviet satellites—Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The EU the same day announced that it would offer those countries $820 million in incentives meant to support democratic reforms and encourage them to form strong economic ties with the EU. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov April 28 said, “Some of the comments we have heard about this initiative from the European Union do worry us.” Russia was generally wary of eastward EU expansion into former Soviet states. n FACTS ON FILE

U N I T ESTATES D S TAT E S UNITED

Terrorism Detainees Military Commissions Trials to Be Used.

President Barack Obama May 15 announced that he would reinstitute the use of military commissions trials set up under the 2006 Military Commissions Act to prosecute some of the about 240 terrorism detainees currently being held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Obama in January had ordered the closure of Guantanamo by 2010, and had requested a 120-day suspension of the commissions to allow his administration to review the evidence against the detainees. [See pp. 257A1, 28B3] Obama said the administration of his predecessor, George W. Bush had “failed to establish a legitimate legal framework” for the commissions, and had “undermined our capability to ensure swift and certain justice” against detainees. He said he would work with Congress to reform the commissions by banning the introduction of information gathered through the use of coercion or cruel treatment; making it more difficult for the government to introduce hearsay evidence; and allowing detainees more latitude in choosing their legal representatives. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Executive Director Anthony Romero criticized Obama’s decision, saying, “These military commissions are inherently illegitimate, unconstitutional and incapable of delivering outcomes we can trust.” However, the announcement was praised by others, including Sen. John McCain (R, Ariz.), who had been a leading sponsor of the Military Commissions Act and had run against Obama in the 2008 presidential election. Obama Defends Detention Policies—

Obama May 21 defended his antiterrorism and detainee detention policies, and insisted that Guantanamo would be closed by 2010 despite Republican opposition, in a speech at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. The speech followed votes by the House and Senate to reject a funding request by the Obama administration that was intended to pay for the closure of Guantanamo and the transfer of detainees to other detention facilities. [See p. 338F1] Obama said the creation of Guantanamo by the Bush administration and the prison’s continued existence was “a mess, a misguided experiment” that had made the U.S. less safe by rallying terrorists and other extremists, and had damaged the U.S.’s moral authority around the world. He argued that national security measures had to be combined with respect for the ideals and civil liberties enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, “not only because doing so is right, but because it strengthens our country and keeps us safe.” Obama said his administration would transfer some Guantanamo detainees to maximum security prisons in the U.S., and dismissed criticisms that doing so would endanger national security. He said, “NoMay 21, 2009

body has ever escaped from one of our federal ‘supermax’ prisons,” which were high security facilities where prisoners were kept in near constant isolation. He noted that those prisons already held “hundreds of convicted terrorists.” Obama said his administration intended to try detainees who were charged with breaking U.S. laws in U.S. courts, and would use the revamped military commissions to prosecute detainees accused of violating international laws governing wartime behavior. He also said 50 detainees had been cleared for release from Guantanamo, and would be transferred once countries were found that were willing to accept them. [See p. 305B3] However, Obama said he believed that some detainees at Guantanamo could not be tried by U.S. courts or military commissions, many because the evidence against them would be inadmissible, but were too dangerous to be released from custody. He said such detainees posed “the toughest issue we face.” He promised that he would work with Congress to address the issue, and said, “Our goal is to construct a legitimate legal framework for Guantanamo detainees, not to avoid one. In our constitutional system, prolonged detention should not be the decision of any one man.” Cheney Criticizes Terrorism Policies—

Former Vice President Dick Cheney May 21 gave a speech at the American Enterprise Institute think tank in Washington, D.C., that criticized Obama’s decision to close Guantanamo, as well as other aspects of Obama’s antiterrorism policies. It was the latest in a series of talks and media appearances by Cheney since leaving office in January in which he had defended the antiterrorism and national security record of the Bush administration. In his speech, which was delivered just after Obama spoke at the National Archives, Cheney praised his colleagues in the Bush administration for keeping the U.S. safe from terrorism after Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the U.S. He said, “After the most lethal and devastating terrorist attack ever, seven and a half years without a repeat is not a record to be rebuked and scorned, much less criminalized,” referring to critics of the Bush administration who had called for criminal investigations into its antiterrorism wiretapping, interrogation and detention programs. Cheney also argued that “few matters have inspired so much contrived indignation and phony moralizing as the interrogation methods applied to a few captured terrorists.” Cheney praised Obama for his stewardship of the war in Afghanistan and for his decision earlier in May to oppose the release of photographs documenting detainee abuses. But he criticized Obama’s decision to ban the use of harsh interrogation methods, saying that doing so was “recklessness cloaked in righteousness” and “unwise in the extreme.” He also attacked Obama’s decision to close Guantanamo, saying, “The administration has found that it’s easy to receive applause in Europe for closing Guantana-

mo. But it’s tricky to come up with an alternative that will serve the interests of justice and America’s national security.” [See pp. 331A1, 289A2] n

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Supreme Court Ex-Detainee Suit Barred From Proceeding.

The Supreme Court May 18 ruled, 5–4, that Javaid Iqbal, a Pakistani Muslim, could not sue former Attorney General John Ashcroft and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Robert Mueller 3rd for allegedly discriminatory policies that resulted in his physical abuse by law enforcement officials after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, writing for the majority, said the suit did not provide a plausible link connecting Iqbal’s alleged mistreatment and the policies that were devised by Ashcroft, and carried out by Mueller. The case was Ashcroft v. Iqbal. [See 2008, p. 411D2] Iqbal had been arrested in November 2001 on document fraud charges. He was one of many resident aliens from predominantly Muslim countries arrested in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on suspicion of being terrorists. He was held in solitary confinement in a maximum security prison in New York City for six months. Iqbal claimed that during that time he was beaten on numerous occasions and subjected to daily body-cavity searches. He eventually pleaded guilty to document fraud, and was deported to Pakistan. Iqbal then filed suit against Ashcroft and Mueller, claiming that his abuse came as a direct result of law-enforcement policy, which he said allowed discriminatory treatment of terrorist suspects solely on the basis of their religion, race or national origin. Kennedy wrote that Iqbal had not made a plausible claim that Ashcroft or Mueller had purposefully enacted a discriminatory policy. He wrote, “The Sept. 11 attacks were perpetrated by 19 Arab Muslim hijackers. It should come as no surprise that a legitimate policy directing law enforcement to arrest and detain individuals because of their suspected link to the attacks would produce a disparate, incidental impact on Arab Muslims, even though the purpose of the policy was to target neither Arabs nor Muslims.” (Iqbal was not Arab.) However, Kennedy allowed that if the plausibility of Iqbal’s claim was strengthened, the suit could move forward. Kennedy was joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., and Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. Justice David H. Souter, writing the minority opinion, argued that Iqbal’s claim was plausible enough to justify bringing a lawsuit. He wrote that questions of plausibility applied only when the allegations were “sufficiently fantastic to defy reality as we know it: claims about little green men, or the plaintiff’s recent trip to Pluto, or experiences in time travel. That is not what we have here.” He was joined by Justices John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer. n 337

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Pregnancy Leave Suit Rejected. The Supreme Court May 18 ruled, 7–2, that women who went on pregnancy leave before 1978 could not sue their companies to compensate them for that leave in the form of pension payments. Employers had not been required to treat pregnancy leaves like other disability leaves, but Congress in 1978 passed the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which equated pregnancy-based discrimination with sexual discrimination. In the current case, AT&T v. Hulteen, four female employees argued that the 1978 act should be applied retroactively against telecommunications company AT&T Inc. [See p. 48B2] Justice David H. Souter, writing for the majority, said 1978 provided a reasonable cut-off point for pregnancy-leave claims. He wrote that it provided “predictable financial consequences, both for the employer who pays the bill and for the employee who gets the benefit.” He was joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., and Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, John Paul Stevens, Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia and Samuel A. Alito Jr. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, writing the dissent, said that the women would receive “for the rest of their lives, lower pension benefits than colleagues who worked for AT&T for no longer than they did.” She was joined by Justice Stephen G. Breyer. n

Fiscal 2009 Spending Bills House Passes Supplemental War Funds.

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The House May 14 passed, 368–60, a supplemental spending bill that would provide $96.7 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and other international programs for the remainder of fiscal year 2009, which ended Sept. 30. The bill was opposed by a bloc of 51 Democrats, who said President Barack Obama was continuing in the footsteps of his predecessor, President George W. Bush, by escalating the war in Afghanistan without articulating a clear exit strategy. Nine Republicans also voted against the bill. [See p. 320G2] The bill included $84.5 billion to pay for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition, it would allocate $10 billion for the State Department and foreign affairs—about $3 billion more than had been requested by the Obama administration—and $2 billion for preparing for influenza pandemics, $500 million more than Obama’s request. Guantanamo Funds Stripped By Senate—

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Earlier May 14, the Senate Appropriations Committee had approved, 30–0, a version of the spending bill that allocated $91.3 billion, less than the House draft but still $1.3 billion more than the Obama administration’s request. The Senate bill initially included $80 million to carry out the Obama administration’s plans to close the U.S. prison camp for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and transfer the detainees elsewhere. It would have required the Obama administration to release a detailed plan for the transfer of each detainee before bringing him to the U.S. for detention or prosecu338

tion, and also would not allow the release of detainees in the U.S. using the funds. [See p. 337E1] However, the Senate May 20 voted, 90– 6, to cut the funds for closing Guantanamo from the bill. Democratic leaders said they supported closing the prison. However, Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) said, “Democrats under no circumstances will move forward without a comprehensive, responsible plan from the president. We will never allow terrorists to be released into the United States.” Obama outlined his approach to handling the Guantanamo detainees in a May 21 speech. The House bill did not contain any funds for Guantanamo, although it required that the federal government affirm to the states that detainees did not pose a security risk before they were transferred to the U.S. The Senate bill allocated $5 billion to account for the International Monetary Fund’s “default risk” on a $108 billion U.S. contribution requested by the Obama administration, which the House draft did not have. The Senate bill contained funding not included in the House bill for the purchase of four F-22A Raptor fighter jets requested by Obama, but not the money to shut down the production lines after they were built, as he had proposed doing. It omitted $3.1 billion that the House bill allocated for the construction of C-17 and C-130 transport aircraft. [See p. 217C2] The Senate draft contained $6.9 billion for foreign affairs funding, and $1.5 billion for anti-influenza efforts, matching the Obama administration’s requests in both areas. n

Politics Obama Addresses Abortion at Notre Dame.

President Barack Obama May 17 delivered a commencement address at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. Faced with protests at the Roman Catholic school over his support for abortion rights, Obama confronted the issue in his speech, urging those on both sides of the debate to strive for civility and compromise and “be wary of too much self-righteousness.” It was his most direct engagement with the issue since becoming president. [See pp. 268B1, 47B1] Obama said, “Maybe we won’t agree on abortion, but we can agree that this heartwrenching decision for any woman is not made casually. It has both a moral and spiritual dimension.” He added, “So let us work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions. Let’s reduce unintended pregnancies. Let’s make adoption more available. Let’s provide care and support for women who do carry their children to term.” He also said, “Let’s honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion, and draft a sensible conscience clause.” That would allow doctors to refuse to provide abortions or other procedures due to their religious objections. The administration of Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush, in 2008 had instituted a version of such a rule that Obama’s administration had rescinded. [See p. 146F1]

Catholic bishops and antiabortion activists had criticized Notre Dame for inviting Obama to speak at the graduation ceremony and awarding him an honorary degree, saying that it flouted the Catholic Church’s doctrinal opposition to abortion. Several hundred antiabortion protesters demonstrated outside the university’s front gate during Obama’s visit. Police arrested nearly 40 for trespassing on the campus. Among them was Norma McCorvey, the woman who, under the pseudonym Jane Roe, had been the plaintiff in the landmark Supreme Court abortion rights case Roe v. Wade, but had since changed sides. [See 2004, p. 732F1] Since taking office, Obama’s main actions related to abortion had been to issue executive orders that removed restrictions on federal funding for international family planning programs and for embryonic stem cell research, which abortion opponents said similarly took human life by the destruction of embryos. Both moves reversed policies put in place by Bush. However, at a news conference in late April, Obama had said that an abortion rights bill, the Freedom of Choice Act, was not his “highest legislative priority,” backing away from a 2007 campaign pledge to seek immediate enactment of the measure. [See p. 285G2] n

Automobiles GM, Chrysler Eliminate 1,900 Dealerships.

Michigan-based automakers General Motors Corp. (GM) and Chrysler LLC May 14– 15 informed about 1,900 of their auto dealerships that their franchises would be revoked. GM and Chrysler since December 2008 together had accepted $19.4 billion in federal loans, and the dealership closures were part of government-mandated restructuring plans meant to make the companies sustainable. About one-fifth of GM’s dealers would lose their contracts with the automaker in October 2010, when they expired. Chrysler, which was currently undergoing bankruptcy restructuring, would drop about a quarter of its dealers by June 9. [See p. 282C2] The Treasury Department May 14 and 15 released statements affirming that the government had no say in how many dealerships were eliminated, or how they were selected. Analysts said the massive decline in U.S. auto sales over 2008 and 2009 had left too few customers to support the current number of U.S. auto dealers, many of whom competed against each other in the same localities. Media reports noted that some of the dealerships slated for closure had been in operation for nearly a century. The National Auto Dealers Association said that the combined cuts could result in the elimination of as many as 100,000 jobs. Between the two companies, the eliminated dealers had about 109,000 unsold vehicles on their lots. GM To Drop 1,100 Dealerships—GM May 15 notified about 1,100 of its 5,969 dealers that their contracts with the company would FACTS ON FILE

not be renewed. GM also said it expected to eliminate about 10% of its remaining dealers in 2010. In addition to those, GM was expected to close another 500 dealerships that sold unprofitable models that the company planned to phase out or spin off, including Hummer, Pontiac, Saab and Saturn. Also, GM’s Canadian unit May 20 notified about 300 dealers that their contracts would terminate in 2010. Some of GM’s dealers said they would challenge GM’s decision under state franchise laws. However, many analysts expected the company to enter bankruptcy restructuring June 1, the Obama administration’s deadline for GM to approve major cost-cutting agreements with both its creditors and its unionized labor force, which would reduce the dealers’ legal leverage. [See below] Chrysler to Cull 789 Dealerships—

Chrysler May 14 notified 789 of its 3,181 U.S. dealers that their dealerships would be dropped by June 9 as part of the company’s restructuring. Because Chrysler had made the request to close them in bankruptcy court, the shuttered dealers were not entitled to any compensation for unsold vehicles or for the termination of the contracts with Chrysler. The National Auto Dealers Association criticized the move, saying that the affected dealers “and their more than 40,000 employees have done nothing but proudly represent the Chrysler brand through good times and bad, and today they find themselves left behind.” Currently, each Chrysler dealer sold an average of 303 vehicles a year. In comparison, Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., which had fewer dealers, both averaged more than 1,000 vehicle sales per year at their U.S. dealerships. James Press, a Chrysler vice chairman, said, “If the heart doesn’t pump enough blood, the capillaries in the fingers run out first, and those are the small stores.” Separately, the so-called Committee of Chrysler Non-TARP Lenders, a group of private secured debt holders who opposed Chrysler’s bankruptcy restructuring, May 8 disbanded after two of its largest members, New York City–based asset-management company OppenheimerFunds Inc. and Roslyn, N.Y.–based Stairway Capital Management LP, withdrew from the consortium. (TARP was the Troubled Asset Relief Program, under which the government had made available $700 billion in order to help ailing financial institutions. None of the companies in the corsortium had accepted TARP funds.) Following those two funds’ departures, the committee held less than 5% of Chrysler’s secured debt, which would make it harder for the committee to press its case in bankruptcy court. [See p. 283A1] UAW Opposes Auto Import Proposal—

The United Auto Workers (UAW) labor union May 15 sent letters to members of Congress criticizing a GM proposal under which the company, in order to cut costs, would increase vehicle imports from Mexico and South Korea, and introduce imports to the U.S. of Chinese-made GM cars, beginning in 2011. The plan, which was first reported May 11 by Automotive News, was May 21, 2009

dated May 5 and had been circulated among members of Congress. UAW members, in the letters, said GM should have to “maintain the maximum number of jobs in the United States.” GM in February had said it planned to close 14 North American plants by 2012. [See p. 92A3] n

Environment Federal Auto Mileage Standards Announced.

President Barack Obama May 19 announced new federal standards for automobiles, under which the average fuel economy standard in all 50 states would be set at 35.5 miles per gallon of gasoline by 2016. The announcement brought to an end years of wrangling between auto companies, federal and state governments, and environmental advocates over how such standards should be set. The wide-ranging deal had been hammered out in secret talks over recent weeks. [See pp. 338D3, 324C3, 47G1] By 2016, most cars would be required to average 39 miles to a gallon of gasoline, and light trucks would have to average 30 miles per gallon. The program to increase fuel economy, which would begin with 2012 auto models, was expected to result in a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from new vehicles. The Obama administration said the result of the program “is a projected reduction in oil consumption of approximately 1.8 billion barrels over the life of the program and a projected total reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of approximately 900 million metric tons [992 million tons].” The price of a new vehicle was expected to increase by an average of about $600 as a result of the mandate, but the administration said the increase would be offset by savings on gasoline. Obama announced the new rules at the White House, flanked by executives from 10 automakers plus other representatives, including United Auto Workers (UAW) labor union President Ron Gettelfinger and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson. The new rules were based on auto standards that California and other states had sought to implement, but were blocked by the EPA under the administration of Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush. [See 2008, p. 557F3] Analysts suggested that a federal government dominated by Democrats, combined with ongoing difficulties in the U.S. auto industry and consumer aversion to gas-guzzling vehicles, had made it easier for Obama to implement the changes. Michigan-based automakers General Motors (GM) and Chrysler LLC were both dependent on government financing for daily operations. [See p. 338D3] n

Medicine & Health Health Care Groups Pledge Cost-Cutting.

Six groups representing a broad range of health care interests May 11 sent a letter to President Barack Obama pledging to reduce growth in spending on health care. “We will do our part to achieve your ad-

ministration’s goal of decreasing by 1.5 percentage points the annual health care spending growth rate, saving $2 trillion or more,” the groups wrote in their letter. They added, “This represents more than a 20% reduction in the projected rate of growth.” The pledge was formally announced at a meeting at the White House with Obama and leaders of the groups. [See pp. 324B1, 245C2] Congressional Democrats were in the midst of negotiations over legislation for a significant reform of the U.S.’s health care system that would rein in health care spending while making insurance available to everyone. The trade groups’ announcement was viewed as an attempt to stop the government from imposing regulations to limit their profits. The gesture was also thought to be a bid by the groups for greater political goodwill with Obama and congressional Democrats, since the projected billions of dollars in savings would make it easier for them to enact a law making health insurance mandatory. The White House estimated that the savings pledged by the groups would save the average family $2,500 per year after five years. Currently, health care made up 17% of overall U.S. economic output, and was projected by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to account for 21% in 2019. If the pledged savings took effect, health care would comprise 18% of the economy in 2019, representing a savings of some $700 billion in that year alone. The groups signing the letter were the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represented many health care workers; the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), a drug trade group; the American Medical Association; America’s Health Insurance Plans; the American Hospital Association; and the Advanced Medical Technology Association, a lobbying group for medical device manufacturers. The groups said the savings would result from reducing administrative and bureaucratic costs, helping patients manage chronic ailments better and improving health care information technology, among other things. However, the letter did not spell out the savings in detail, and represented only a broad pledge, not a firm guarantee. Many of the cost-cutting measures proposed in the letter had already been outlined in Obama’s budget plan. Several health care experts said the proposals were too vague to result in significant savings. However, several representatives of the health care industry May 14 said Obama had overstated their pledge to reduce costs. They said their organizations had pledged to reduce health care spending growth by 1.5 percentage points over several years, and that Obama had implied incorrectly that they would reduce growth by 1.5 percentage points on an annual basis. Separately, members of the Senate Finance Committee May 20 said they would consider proposing spending cuts and new taxes in order to pay for health insurance for those currently without it. Among the more controversial considerations was a proposal to treat employer-provided health care benefits as taxable income. 339

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Charles Rangel (D, N.Y.), the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, May 6 had said he did not support funding a universal health care plan by taxing employee health benefits. Under current tax law, health benefits provided by employers were not taxable income, and employees’ own share of the pensions was paid with pre-tax income. Some Democrats had expressed support for taxing the most expensive health benefits, a move that could yield $100 billion in revenue over five years, according to a government estimate. However, the idea was criticized by some lawmakers and analysts, who said such a tax could end up endangering the employer-based insurance system, which provided insurance to about two-thirds of workers under 65. Conservative

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Protest—

Eight members of the fiscally conservative group of Democrats known as the Blue Dog Coalition May 11 delivered a letter to the Democratic chairmen of three House committees overseeing the development of the health care reform legislation, protesting the lack of openness surrounding the discussions. In the letter, the lawmakers said they backed Obama’s plan for universal health insurance, but were concerned over the potential cost of such a program. The letter lamented, “Our contributions, to date, have been limited.” The letter was addressed to Reps. Henry Waxman (Calif.), George Miller (Calif.) and Rangel. Other News—In related news: o Former health care executive Richard Scott Feb. 25 announced the formation of Conservatives for Patient Rights to mount a campaign opposing Obama’s plan for health care reform. The Washington Post May 11 reported that the group had spent about $600,000 in both March and April on ads, and planned to spend another $1 million in May. Scott said Obama’s plans would lead to a British-style national health care system, and argued that the free market would provide solutions for health care problems. The ads drew comparison to ads attacking a Democratic-led effort to reform health care in the 1990s featuring a couple, “Harry and Louise,” shown expressing concern about a national health care system. Scott had been chief executive of hospital chain Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. until he was ousted in a major fraud investigation in 1997. [See 1997, p. 544A2] o Karen Ignagni, the president of health insurance trade group America’s Health Insurance Plans, May 5 said members of the organization would end the practice of charging higher insurance premiums for women than they did for men. Women paid between 25% and 50% more for insurance than men. Insurers said the discrepancy was due to the fact that women’s health care was more expensive, since they went to doctors more often and required greater care for reproductive-health issues. n

2009 Elections California Voters Reject Budget Measures.

California voters May 20 rejected five ballot measures backed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) as reforms needed to 340

deal with the state’s bulging budget deficit. The only initiative that voters approved was one that would set limits on pay for elected officials. [See p. 114A2] In response to the defeat of the ballot measures, Schwarzenegger May 20 proposed wide-ranging budget cuts, including $5 billion from education spending, and layoffs of 5,000 of the state’s 235,000 employees. He also planned to borrow $2 billion from local governments in the state. The Citizens Compensation Committee, a state panel, May 20 voted to cut the salaries of the governor, lawmakers and other state elected officials by 18%, starting in the next year. The state faced a projected deficit of $21.3 billion for the next fiscal year, which would begin July 1. The rejected measures would have authorized increased taxes and borrowing, as well as other means, to raise about $6 billion. They also would have limited spending in the future and added to a rainy day reserve fund. The state treasurer’s office said California would have to borrow a total of about $20 billion in the next fiscal year. The state’s credit rating, currently the worst of any state, would make such borrowing difficult and expensive. Schwarzenegger was seeking a loan guarantee of up to $6 billion from the federal government. The referendum defeat came just three months after Schwarzenegger and Democratic leaders in the state legislature had reached a budget agreement following months of stalemated negotiations. Special House Primary Election Held—

Democrat Judy Chu, a former state assembly member, May 20 finished first in a special primary election for a vacant U.S. House seat representing California’s Los Angeles–area 32nd Congressional District. The seat had been vacated by Hilda Solis (D) after her confirmation as U.S. labor secretary. [See p. 292B2] Chu, who was Asian-American, won 31.9% of the vote in a 12-candidate field in the heavily Hispanic district. Her top rival, state Sen. Gil Cedillo (D), finished second, with 23.4%. Chu advanced to a July run-off against the top finishers from other parties. She was favored to win, since Democrats held an advantage of more than two to one among registered voters in the district. n

Obama Administration Educator Named Top Consumer Advocate.

President Barack Obama May 5 nominated Inez Moore Tenenbaum as chairwoman for the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Tenenbaum, 58, had served two terms as the South Carolina superintendent of schools, from 1999 to 2007, and had made an unsuccessful bid for the Senate in 2004. Obama also nominated University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill law professor Robert Adler to fill a new seat on the CPSC commission, which was expanding to five members, from three. Adler had previously worked as a lawyer at the CPSC. Both nominations required confirmation by the Senate. [See 2008, p. 103B2]

The CPSC had been harshly criticized in recent years for failing to adequately respond to large recalls involving lead-contaminated toys, tainted infant formula and contaminated pet food, all of which had been produced overseas. If confirmed, Tenenbaum would replace current CPSC acting Chairwoman Nancy Nord, a former lobbyist for Eastman Kodak Co. Nord had been widely criticized by congressional Democrats for failing to implement elements of a 2008 law intended to strengthen the CPSC. She had also come under fire for allowing businesses that the CPSC regulated to pay for her travel expenses in several instances. [See 2008, p. 635B2] The White House also said Obama would request that the CPSC receive an annual budget of $107 million, up from its fiscal 2007 level of $62 million. Obama during the presidential campaign had pledged to double the CPSC’s budget. n

Labor News in Brief. The Office of the Inspector

General for the Labor Department March 31 released an audit that said Randy Kimlin, a former consultant for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), had been paid $681,379 over a 27-month period ending in 2008 even though OSHA could not

“justify procuring Mr. Kimlin’s consulting services.” The report recommended that the

government pursue the return of the money. According to OSHA officials, Kimlin had worked in the office of former OSHA Director Edwin Foulke, who had been appointed by former President George W. Bush. The report said Kimlin had been hired illegally, without receiving clearance from proper authorities, and that there was “potential criminal activity related to the audit findings.” [See below; 2007, p. 192D3] The Labor Department inspector general’s office in a March 31 report claimed that a Bush administration initiative meant to improve worker safety in dangerous industries failed to follow correct procedures in 97% of its cases. The initiative, called the Enhanced Enforcement Program (EEP), had been unveiled in 2003 and was billed as a means to scrutinize employers who had a history of workplace safety violations, injuries or fatalities. The inspector general’s office found that under the program, “employers with reported fatalities were not always properly identified or inspected.” It added that if full EEP procedures had been applied, they “may have deterred and abated workplace hazards at the worksites of 45 employers where 58 subsequent fatalities occurred.” [See 2003, p. 377B1] The Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative wing of Congress, March 25 released a report that said the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), which oversaw compliance with federal employment laws, had improperly handled nine of 10 complaints filed by undercover agents posing as ordinary work-

ers. In one instance, an agent complained of underage workers operating dangerous machinery at a meatpacking plant during school hours, but the office never investiFACTS ON FILE

gated the complaint. In two cases, the WHD falsely recorded that the undercover agents had received back pay after they filed complaints. The report found that the division botched 19% of major cases. [See 2008, p. 536E2] n

Immigration News in Brief. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) April 30 released new

rules for immigration raids, under which Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials, two weeks before a raid, were required to present a strategy meant to lead to the prosecution of employers suspected of hiring illegal immigrants. The new rules also mandated that in raids of businesses employing at least 25 people, ICE agents take “humanitarian considerations” into account. That stipulation would allow the release of illegal immigrants who were sick or had child care responsibilities. The new rules represented a departure from the immigration strategies of the previous administration of President George W. Bush. In 2008, of the approximately 6,000 people arrested in workplace raids, only 135 were managers or employers. [See p. 202F1] The Government Accountability Office (GAO) April 20 released a report criticizing the ICE and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), a division of the Justice Department, for not coordinating their efforts effectively. The report said a 1994 arrangement under which the DEA oversaw ICE drug investigations was “inefficient and problematic,” and risked “duplicative investigative efforts and concern that officer safety could be compromised.” The report recommended that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. improve collaboration between the ICE and the DEA. Sen. Charles Grassley (R, Iowa), who had requested the GAO investigation, criticized the agencies, saying, “Eight years after 9/11 [2001 terrorist attacks], law enforcement turf battles should be over.” [See below, p. 249E2] The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration April 16 released a report criticizing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for allowing illegal immigrants and

others to submit tax documents with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) instead of a Social Security Number (SSN), which it said was illegal. According to the report, by using an ITIN, those individuals could improperly claim certain tax credits that would cost the U.S. $8.9 billion over the next five years. The IRS, in a response to the report, said it had already taken steps to comply with laws concerning ITINs, and that the Social Security Administration was responsible for ensuring that the numbers were used correctly. [See 2001, p. 314E2] Napolitano April 15 named Alan Bersin, a former U.S. attorney who had spearheaded a crackdown in the 1990s on illegal border crossings, the country’s “border czar.” Bersin would direct efforts to curb illegal immigration and drug smuggling along the U.S.-Mexico border. n May 21, 2009

AFRICA

Eritrea Rights Group Alleges Abuses. U.S.-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) April 16 released a report detailing widespread human rights abuses in Eritrea. The report said Eritrea’s “extensive detention and torture of its citizens and its policy of prolonged military conscription” had turned the country into a “giant prison.” HRW criticized the European Union for a recent $160 million aid package to Eritrea, claiming that the development projects it would fund would be built by prisoners or conscripts. Eritrea had gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, but the two nations were still locked in a stalemate over border demarcation. Analysts said the government used the ongoing tension with Ethiopia to continue its conscription policy. Eritrea reportedly was one of the world’s largest sources of refugees, as its citizens attempted to escape repression. [See p. 341E3; 2008, p. 975C3; 2004, p. 1088E2] n

Somalia Clashes Flare Between Government, Islamists.

An ongoing war between Somalia’s transitional government and Islamist insurgents intensified May 8, killing at least 175 civilians and injuring some 500 others before the battles reportedly subsided May 20. Much of the fighting took place in and around Mogadishu, the capital. The United Nations May 20 said at least 45,000 people had fled Mogadishu since the latest round of fighting began, further exacerbating the already dire humanitarian situation in the area. [See p. 269A2, G3] The escalation of the violence—and territorial gains made by the Islamists— sparked fears that the transitional government could collapse. Somalia had not had an effective central government since 1991. The government, backed by the U.N. and supported by about 4,350 African Union (AU) troops, had been battling the Islamists, led by the radical group Al Shabab, for more than two years. Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a former leader of a more moderate Islamist group, in January had been elected Somalia’s interim president. Ethiopian troops that had been supporting the transitional government were pulled from the country in January, amid widespread resentment among Somalis about the presence of soldiers from a country that was their traditional enemy. Diplomats and officials had reportedly hoped that the departure of the Ethiopians and the installation of a moderate Islamist as president would ease tensions with the radical Islamists and bring a measure of peace and stability to the country. However, Ahmed’s efforts to bridge the gap with hard-line Islamists had thus far been unsuccessful, as Al Shabab had refused to recognize his administration. Analysts said Al Shabab had a stronger fighting force than the transitional government, but that it could eventually alienate the popula-

tion by seeking to impose a strict version of Islamic law, or sharia. Ahmed’s government had implemented sharia throughout the country in April in an effort to undermine the Islamists. Analysts also said deepseated clan rivalries could ultimately prove the deciding factor in the power struggle. Somali radical Islamist leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys April 23 returned to Somalia after about two years in Eritrea. Aweys, a rival of Ahmed, headed Hizbul Islam, a group of militias that was allied with Al Shabab. The British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) April 28 quoted Aweys as saying that Ahmed’s government was “not representing the interests of the Somali people.” He also described the AU troops as “bacteria” that the Islamists would force from Somalia if they did not leave voluntarily. [See below] The U.N.’s special envoy to Somalia, Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, May 15 said as many as 300 foreign fighters were battling alongside Somali Islamists. Those fighters reportedly included Arabs, Chechens, Pakistanis and Uzbeks, as well as Americans, Britons and Italians of Somali descent. Al Shabab and Hizbul Islam May 17 took control of Jowhar, a strategic town about 55 miles (90 km) northeast of Mogadishu, and the next day captured another key town, Mahaday. The Islamists reportedly controlled much of southern Somalia, including most of Mogadishu. Ahmed’s government was said to control the capital city’s seaport and airport, and a small, heavily fortified area around the presidential palace. Several media outlets May 19 reported that witnesses said they had seen Ethiopian troops re-enter Somalia close to the town of Beledweyne, near the border between the two countries, after Islamists took control of the town. The Ethiopian government denied that its troops had returned to Somalia. Regional Group Condemns Eritrea—

The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a grouping of East African nations, May 20 at a meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, called on the U.N. to impose sanctions on Eritrea for its alleged support of the hard-line Somali Islamists. Eritrea was accused of supplying the Islamists with weapons including AK47 assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades. IGAD also requested an air and sea blockade of areas in southern Somalia controlled by the Islamists to prevent them from importing more weapons. Somalia was already subject to a U.N. arms embargo. [See p. 341A2] Some analysts had described recent events in the Somali conflict as a proxy war between enemies Eritrea and Ethiopia, with mainly Muslim Eritrea giving support to the Islamists and Ethiopia—whose government was solidly Christian—backing the transitional government. Eritrea, which had gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, and Ethiopia had fought a bloody border war from 1998 to 2000, and disputes over boundary demarcation had yet to be resolved. [See 2008, p. 975C3] Eritrean President Issaias Afwerki, in an interview published May 21 by Reuters 341

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news service, denied that his government was supporting the Islamist insurgents in Somalia. He alleged that U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operatives in the region were behind those allegations, but did not give evidence to support his statements. The U.S. had long alleged that the Somali Islamists had links with the international terrorist network Al Qaeda. n

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Researchers affiliated with the University of Toronto in Canada March 29 released a report on what they said was a systematic infiltration of government and other computer systems in at least 103 countries, describing it as the largest such cyber-espionage operation yet uncovered. The report said the operation, which the researchers called GhostNet, was controlled from computers in China, but that it was not known who was directing it or whether the Chinese government was involved. [See p. 251F1; 2007, p. 589C1] The researchers published the findings in the online Information Warfare Monitor. They said the spy operation focused particularly on South and Southeast Asia, with a large number of the more than 1,295 compromised computers located in Vietnam, Taiwan and India. It had also stolen material from computers of the government in exile of the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, whom China labeled a dangerous separatist, and whose headquarters was in Dharamsala, India. [See p. 327A1] The report called nearly a third of the targets “high-value,” including government ministries, embassies, international organizations and news media. The New York Times March 29 reported that China’s consulate in New York City had dismissed suggestions that the Chinese government had a role in the operation as “nonsense” and “old stories.” The U.S.China Economic and Security Review Commission, a U.S. government advisory panel, in 2008 had warned that China was intensifying attacks on U.S computers. Russia, the U.S. and other countries were also thought to be developing cyber-espionage capabilities. Also March 29, researchers at Cambridge University in England who had collaborated in investigating the infiltration of the Tibetan groups’ computers released their own report in which they did attribute the cyber attacks to agents of the Chinese government. The Dalai Lama March 30 said that confidential information in his organizations’ computers was known to have made its way into the hands of Chinese authorities. n

G Indonesia Anti-Corruption Head Detained in Murder.

Indonesian police May 4 detained Antasari Azhar, the head of the independent Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), in con342

nection with a March 14 drive-by shooting that had killed a prominent businessman. Antasari had not been officially charged with any crime and it was unclear what role he had allegedly played in connection with the murder. Under Indonesian law, suspects could be detained without charge for up to 60 days. [See 2008, p. 382E1] Nasrudin Zulkarnaen, the murdered businessman, had been a director at a government-owned pharmaceutical company. He had reportedly been a witness in a pending KPK corruption prosecution at the time of his death. The KPK had been established in 2003 as part of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s efforts to fight graft in Indonesia, which was widely considered one of the world’s most corrupt countries. However, analysts argued that the KPK had not made a significant impact on corruption until Antasari was appointed chairman in 2007 and began a crackdown. n

Japan Opposition Party Leader Resigns. Ichiro Ozawa May 11 announced his resignation as leader of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), saying that corruption charges against a former top aide threatened the party’s chances of taking power in forthcoming parliamentary elections if he did not step down. After the arrest and indictment of the aide, Takanori Okubo, in March, Ozawa had initially vowed to remain DPJ president. He continued to maintain that he had had no knowledge of the illegal campaign donations Okubo had allegedly accepted from a construction company. [See p. 251E2] The DPJ May 16 elected its secretary general, Yukio Hatoyama, to succeed Ozawa as party president. He had held the post from 1999 to 2002; his opponent in the leadership contest, Katsuya Okada, had headed the party in 2004–05. Like Ozawa, Hatoyama had roots in the political establishment the DPJ vowed to reform, and was the grandson of Ichiro Hatoyama, the first prime minister belonging to the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Hatoyama named Ozawa the party’s main campaign strategist for the election due to be held by September for the lower house of the Diet (parliament). [See 2005, p. 654E1; 2002, p. 953C3; 1959, p. 80E2] Despite criticism from party members who said Hatoyama was too closely associated with Ozawa, initial opinion polls suggested his selection as DPJ leader might revive the party’s chances for ousting the LDP. The DPJ had been seen as having an unprecedented opportunity of taking power until the scandal over Ozawa’s aide and a recent recovery in Prime Minister Taro Aso’s long-languishing public-opinion ratings. Aso’s gains were believed to have been aided by optimism that the government’s economic stimulus measures would have a positive effect, and by Aso’s hard-line stance over a recent North Korean rocket launch. [See p. 342A3] Under Ozawa, the DPJ in 2007 had won control of the upper house of the Diet,

which was less powerful, but that still allowed it to delay government legislative initiatives. n

North Korea Restart of Nuclear Site Claimed. North Ko-

rea’s foreign ministry April 25 said the country had restarted the reprocessing of plutonium for nuclear weapons fuel, after announcing earlier in the month that it was abandoning a six-nation agreement on the dismantling of its nuclear program. North Korea had withdrawn in anger over a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning a North Korean rocket launch. North Korea claimed that the launch was a peaceful space venture, while it was widely viewed abroad as a long-range ballistic missile test. [See p. 238G3] Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear monitor, who had been stationed to ensure North Korea’s compliance with its commitments under the nuclear agreement, April 16 had left the country. North Korea April 24 confirmed its withdrawal from the nuclear talks during a visit by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of Russia, one of the six nations. South Korean news media in May said intelligence agencies had detected signs of activity at North Korea’s Yongbyon plutonium facility, but May 13 reported that border sensors had not detected emissions of krypton gas, a by-product of plutonium reprocessing. Security Council Imposes Sanctions—

The announcement of the resumed plutonium reprocessing came a day after the Security Council April 24 approved financial sanctions on three North Korean companies deemed to be linked to the country’s nuclear and missile programs. The council also agreed to bar the sale to North Korea of certain items related to weapons technology. Although such U.N. sanctions had been threatened in 2006, after North Korean missile launches and a nuclear test, none had been implemented until the April 24 council action. North Korea April 29 declared that it would carry out another nuclear test and more missile tests if the U.N. did not withdraw the sanctions and resolutions condemning it, and deliver an apology. n Joint Ventures With South Threatened.

North Korea May 15 said it was canceling its existing contracts with South Korea on the operation of joint ventures at the Kaesong industrial park in North Korea, and would institute new terms. North Korea had previously demanded that the North Korean workers employed by South Korean companies at Kaesong receive a wage increase. The two sides April 21 had held talks on the matter at Kaesong, which ended after less than half an hour with no resolution. Also remaining unresolved was the case of a South Korean executive who worked at Kaesong and had been detained since March 30, reportedly for criticizing North Korea’s government. [See p. 143C1] About 39,000 North Koreans were employed at Kaesong by about 100 South KoFACTS ON FILE

rean companies that paid lower wages, an average of some $75 per month, than they would to South Koreans. The complex, a landmark in trade cooperation between the two rival countries, had opened in 2005. However, relations had deteriorated with current South Korean President Lee Myung Bak’s policy of placing more stringent conditions on economic aid to North Korea. Also, after the failed talks April 22, North Korea accused South Korea of moving a border marker, a charge dismissed by South Korean officials. n

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UNITED STATES

Bosnia & Herzegovina IMF Extends $1.6 Billion Loan. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) May 5

agreed to extend a $1.6 billion loan to Bosnia, after the country’s two ethnically divided autonomous regions agreed to implement significant budget cuts that would see major decreases in pensions for veterans and their families and in public servants’ salaries. The loan, which came amid a global economic turndown that was expected to cripple the already struggling Bosnian economy, would be disbursed in three parts over three years. The Muslim-Croat Federation would receive two-thirds of the funds, and the remaining money would go to the Republika Srpska. [See p. 336D3; 2007, p. 813A3] Some analysts were skeptical that Bosnia’s leaders possessed the political will to implement difficult budget cuts, which were expected to cause social unrest. However, others suggested that the IMF loan could give leaders a convenient excuse to implement needed reforms before presidential and parliamentary elections were held in October 2010. In 2008, government expenditures accounted for about 44% of the country’s gross domestic product, according to estimates from the country’s central bank. Unemployment in Bosnia was estimated at about 40%. Many analysts blamed the country’s economic woes on years of inefficient government administration. Bosnia’s two autonomous regions were united under a weak central government. n

European Union Intel Fined $1.5 Billion for Antitrust Violations.

The European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, May 13 imposed a record 1.06 billion euro ($1.45 billion) fine for antitrust violations on U.S.based Intel Corp., the world’s largest computer-chip maker. The commission’s previous record for such a fine was a 497 million euro penalty against U.S. software maker Microsoft Corp in 2004. [See 2007, p. 721B3; 2005, p. 962C3] Intel said it would appeal the fine at the EU’s Court of First Instance in Luxembourg. The appeals process could take several years. In its ruling, the commission said that Intel had secured its dominant position, May 21, 2009

controlling up to 80% of the global microprocessor market, by offering rebates to large computer makers for buying its chips and not the ones made by its leading rival, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) of the U.S. It also allegedly offered rebates to computer manufacturers that agreed to delay the introduction of new products that incorporated AMD chips. Neelie Kroes, the commission’s antitrust regulator, said, “Intel has harmed millions of European consumers by deliberately acting to keep competitors out of the market for computer chips for many years.” The commission acted after an investigation that lasted several years. AMD had filed its complaint against Intel in 2000. It had filed similar complaints in the U.S. and Asian countries, leading to a $25 million fine against Intel by South Korean regulators in 2008 and a settlement in Japan. Intel faced ongoing investigations in the U.S. by the Federal Trade Commission and the New York State attorney general’s office, as well as a pending civil lawsuit filed by AMD in Delaware. Meanwhile, the head of the U.S. Justice Department’s antitrust division, Christine Varney, in a speech May 11 said the Obama administration planned to increase its scrutiny of antitrust cases. That would reverse the policy of light regulation favored by the department under President George W. Bush, and bring U.S. antitrust enforcement closer to the EU’s aggressive actions. n

Great Britain Expenses Scandal Tarnishes Parliament.

Michael Martin May 19 resigned as speaker of the House of Commons, the lower chamber of the British Parliament, in a scandal over revelations that many members of Parliament (MPs) had claimed reimbursement for questionable personal expenses. The scandal had weakened Prime Minister Gordon Brown, with a general election due to be called within the next year. Martin said his resignation would take effect June 21. He became the first Commons speaker since 1695 to be ousted from the post by a formal challenge by MPs. He would also give up his seat in Parliament. [See 2008, p. 731D2; 2007, p. 68F2] Martin, a former metal worker from Glasgow, Scotland, had been speaker since 2000. He came from the traditional working-class wing of the ruling Labour Party. He had fought a losing battle to prevent the disclosure of MPs’ expenses reports, dating from 2005, in a series of ongoing exposes by the Daily Telegraph newspaper. He requested a police investigation of the source of the leaks, but was rebuffed. MPs from all parties were caught up in the scandal. They were widely viewed as using improper claims to pad their salaries. The timing of the scandal, in the middle of a severe recession, added to the public outrage over the apparent misuse of taxpayer money. Housing, Other Expenses Disclosed—

The reports showed that a number of MPs had claimed second-home expenses for costs related to mortgage payments, home

renovations, gardening and other items such as furniture, dog food and pornographic movies. Some MPs had claimed such expenses for refurbishing homes that they subsequently “flipped,” or sold at a profit. The rules allowed up to £24,000 ($38,000) a year in reimbursements for second homes to enable MPs to shuttle between their districts and London. But some MPs had claimed second-home expenses for homes that appeared in fact to be their main residences. One prominent Tory MP, former cabinet minister Douglas Hogg, May 19 said he would not seek reelection, after it was reported that he had claimed reimbursement of £2,000 for the cleaning of a moat at his country house. Justice Minister Shahid Malik May 15 became the first cabinet member to resign in the scandal, after the Telegraph reported that day that he paid below-market rent of less than £100 a week for his home in his constituency in West Yorkshire, England, thanks to a preferential deal with his landlord. He claimed the maximum of more than £66,000 in expenses over the past three years for another house in London. Labour May 14 suspended MP Elliot Morley from the party for claiming expenses of more than £16,000 for interest on a mortgage he had paid off 18 months earlier. Tory MP Andrew MacKay that day resigned as senior political adviser to Tory leader David Cameron after it was reported that MacKay had claimed a full second-house allowance for a London residence while his wife, Tory MP Julie Kirkbride, claimed the full allowance for another home. Brown himself had claimed £6,577 for payments to his brother for a home cleaning service they shared, the Telegraph reported May 8. Brown May 11 apologized on behalf of Parliament, but insisted that “people who enter our profession are there to serve the public interest, not themselves.” The disclosures had started more than a month earlier. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith April 7 had apologized for claiming expenses for adult movies rented by her husband. Brown Calls for Reforms—Brown at a news conference May 19 said he would press for reforms including a new independent monitor for MPs’ expenses. He said Parliament “cannot operate like some gentlemen’s club where the members make up the rules and operate them themselves.” The changes would be a radical departure for Parliament, which had insisted for centuries on its constitutional prerogatives. Brown said any Labour MP who had broken the rules on expenses would be barred from running for reelection in the next election as a candidate of the party. Martin later that day announced that leaders of the different parties in Parliament had agreed to a set of temporary reform measures, pending permanent changes. They included a limit of £1,250 a month in reimbursement for mortgage and rent payments, and a ban on expenses claims for furniture and other household goods. 343

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Cameron, at the prime minister’s weekly Question Time in the Commons, May 20 demanded that Brown call an election immediately, saying that was the only way to break the political “paralysis” caused by the scandal. When Brown replied that an election would only bring “chaos,” Cameron said, “The prime minister calls elections chaos. I call them change. Why can’t we have one?” Labour Peers Caught in Bribery Sting—

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In a separate scandal, a committee in the House of Lords, the upper chamber of Parliament, May 14 recommended that two Labour peers be suspended from the chamber for up to six months due to bribery allegations. The Sunday Times newspaper had reported that the two peers, Lord Peter Truscott and Lord Thomas Taylor, agreed to alter legislation in exchange for payoffs from reporters posing as corporate lobbyists. The Lords May 20 voted to approve the suspension, making the pair the first peers to be punished in that manner since 1642. n

Lithuania Former Finance Minister Wins Presidency.

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European Union Budget Director and former Lithuanian Finance Minister Dalia Grybauskaite, 53, won a May 17 presidential election with 69% of the vote, according to preliminary results released May 21 by the country’s election commission. She handily defeated six rivals, including Algirdas Butkevicius of the Social Democratic Party (LDSP), who finished second, with about 12% of the vote. Grybauskaite had run as an independent candidate, but was supported by the governing Homeland Union-Conservatives (TS) party. She was the first woman to be elected president of Lithuania. [See p. 37B3; 2004, p. 506B1] Grybauskaite was to take office in July, succeeding outgoing President Valdas Adamkus, 82, another non-partisan figure, who had served two five-year terms and was stepping down due to term limits. Upon the election of a new president, the government was required to resign. Grybauskaite was expected to replace some ministers, including the finance minister, but retain Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius. The Lithuanian president’s main duty was to guide foreign policy. The country was currently trying to reduce its budget deficit so it would not have to resort to a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as some neighboring countries had. Grybauskaite had sharply criticized the budget policies of the Social Democrat government that had preceded Kubilius’s. Lithuania’s gross domestic product had contracted by a 12.6% annual rate in the first quarter of 2009. [See 2008, p. 984G2] n

Macedonia Ivanov Sworn In as President. Georgi Ivan-

ov May 12 was sworn in as Macedonia’s new president in Skopje, the capital. Ivanov, who had been the candidate for the governing conservative Internal Mace344

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Georgi Ivanov was born May 2, 1960, in Valandovo, a town in southeastern Macedonia, which was then part of Yugoslavia. In 1982, he received a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Skopje, the capital. In 1988 he began working for a Macedonian television station, and was eventually promoted to editor. In 1995, he received a master’s degree in political science from the University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius, and went on to earn a Ph.D. in political science from there in 1998. He then taught political science at several universities, including at his alma mater, as well as at Athens University in Greece from 1999 to 2000. He also worked as a consultant for think tanks and other academic organizations. Ivanov co-founded Political Opinion, the first modern Macedonian political science journal, and the Institute for Democracy, a prominent Macedonian think tank. He also founded the Macedonian Political Science Foundation, and served as its honorary president. Ivanov in 2009 was nominated to run for president by the conservative Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization–Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE), though he was not a member of the party. He won a presidential runoff poll in April, and was inaugurated May 12. He would succeed outgoing President Branko Crvenkovski. [See p. 344G1] Ivanov was married and had one child.

donian Revolutionary Organization–Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE), pledged to lead Macedonia toward membership in both the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). He also pledged to improve relations with Greece “in the spirit of good neighborly relations and mutual trust.” Greece in 2008 had blocked Macedonia’s entrance to NATO because Macedonia had refused to change its name. Greece claimed that the name, which was also the name of its northernmost province, implied a territorial claim on Greek land. [See p. 225G1; for facts on Ivanov, see p. 344A2] n

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Iraq Baghdad, Kirkuk Bombings Kill 46 After Lull.

Bombings in Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, and in the northern city of Kirkuk May 20– 21 killed at least 46 people. The attacks shattered a recent period of relative calm in Iraq, after a series of high-profile attacks in late April killed over 180 people. [See pp. 330B2, 312C1] A minibus packed with explosives May 20 exploded near a crowded restaurant in the largely Shiite Muslim Shula neighborhood of Baghdad, killing at least 34 people, according to the Iraqi interior ministry. The U.S. military said 29 people had died— including three Iraqi soldiers—70 were wounded and another Iraqi soldier was missing. Many of the April attacks had hit Shiite targets, and it was feared that they were carried out by Sunni Muslim insurgent groups like Al Qaeda in Iraq looking

to spark sectarian fighting. Shula, which bordered a Sunni-dominated area, in past years was a stronghold of the Shiite Mahdi Army militia and had seen heavy sectarian fighting. A roadside bomb May 21 went off in a market in Baghdad’s southern Dora neighborhood as a U.S. patrol was passing, killing three U.S. soldiers. The U.S. military said four Iraqi civilians were killed, while Iraqi officials put the toll at 12. That day in the western neighborhood of Mansour, a bomb hidden in a garbage bin inside a police station exploded, killing three police officers. Also May 21, a suicide bomber in Kirkuk killed at least seven members of an Awakening Council, part of a mostly-Sunni armed movement that had turned against extremists. The bomber was reportedly dressed in the group’s uniform, and detonated his explosives as the members were lining up to receive their pay. Foreign Fighters Arrive Through Syria—

The Washington Post May 11 reported that, according to unnamed senior U.S. officials, Al Qaeda in Iraq was again smuggling foreign fighters across the Syrian border into Iraq, where many became suicide bombers. Some 80–100 foreigners a month had reportedly crossed into Iraq using the Syrian route at its peak in mid-2007, but recent gains in Iraqi security had reduced their numbers to the single digits in late 2008 and early 2009. However, the officials said, the flow of fighters had recently increased to about 20 a month due to deteriorating border security since January Iraqi provincial council elections. General Raymond Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, May 8 called on Syria to stop the flow of fighters into Iraq. [See p. 143B1; 2008, p. 784C2] The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama had been working to improve relations with the Syrian government. However, Obama May 8 said he had renewed sanctions against Syria because it had not stopped supporting terrorists, pursuing a nuclear arms program and undermining the rebuilding of Iraq. Other News—In other Iraqi news: o Judge Santiago Pedraz in Madrid, Spain, May 21 reinstated homicide charges against three U.S. soldiers for the death of a Spanish journalist in Iraq in 2003. In April 2003, during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the crew of a U.S. tank—Sgt. Shawn Gibson, Capt. Philip Wolford and Lt. Col. Philip de Camp—had fired on a Baghdad hotel, killing two journalists, including Spanish cameraman Jose Couso. U.S. officials said the soldiers’ actions had been justified and that they had come under fire from the hotel. Pedraz had filed charges against the soldiers in 2007, but they were dropped for lack of evidence. However, Pedraz said he had new testimony from three other Spanish journalists who had been in the hotel with Couso, and who reportedly said there had been no fighting in the vicinity. [See 2005, p. 762D1] o An Iraqi federal court May 18 scheduled national parliamentary elections for Jan. 30, 2010. It would be Iraq’s second FACTS ON FILE

general election since the 2003 invasion; the first one, in 2005, had been boycotted by many Sunni Arabs, and as a result had been dominated by Shiite Arab and Kurdish parties. [See p. 57A1; 2005, p. 885A1] o Iraqi security forces May 18 arrested two high-profile Sunni leaders in Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad, for “committing crimes against civilians,” according to an unnamed security official. One of the men, Sheik Riyadh al-Mujami, was a local Awakening Council leader, while the other, Abdul Jabbar al-Khazraji, headed the Sunni bloc of legislators in the Diyala provincial council. Awakening Council members portrayed the arrests as part of a campaign against their movement by the Shiite-led federal government. [See p. 312D1] n

Kuwait PM Reappointed After Elections. Kuwaitis

May 16 went to the polls for the emirate’s third parliamentary election in three years. Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad alSabah, May 20 reappointed Sheikh Nasir Muhammad al-Sabah as prime minister. Sheikh Nasir had resigned in March, causing the emir to dissolve parliament and call elections. Four women were among those elected to the 50-seat parliament, including Massouma al-Mubarak, who had been appointed the country’s first female minister in 2005, and U.S.-educated university instructor Aseel al-Awadhi, who had become a well-known liberal political figure. Women had gained the right to vote and run for office in 2005, but none had won races before. [See p. 228A2] There had been 280 candidates running in the elections, including 19 women. Islamists reportedly lost some seats, while liberal and independent candidates made gains. (Kuwait did not have political parties.) Voter turnout was reportedly low. The elections came in the midst of ongoing political deadlock. Media reports said that unless Sheikh Nasir chose reformminded officials for his cabinet, the deadlock would continue. Kuwait was one of the most democratic Arab nations in the Middle East, but it was seen as economically falling behind neighboring autocracies such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and economic stimulus legislation had been held up by the political turmoil. Kuwaiti authorities during the campaign had arrested two parliamentary candidates for publicly criticizing the ruling Sabah family, which was illegal. n

West Bank & Gaza Strip Palestinian Prime Minister Reappointed.

Salam Fayyad May 19 was sworn in as Palestinian Authority (PA) prime minister, as was a new cabinet. Fayyad in March had resigned from the post, after serving as prime minister since being appointed in 2007. The new 20-member government included eight members of PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement, after Fatah had complained that it had been excluded from Fayyad’s previous cabinet. Fayyad was a May 21, 2009

political independent with a reputation as a technocrat. [See pp. 336D1, 157C1] A fifth round of Egyptian-brokered reconciliation talks between Fatah, which controlled the West Bank, and the militant Islamist group Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement), which controlled the Gaza Strip, had ended May 18 without resolution. Hamas said Fayyad’s government was illegitimate, and its influence would be confined to the West Bank. n

SOUTH ASIA

India Congress Party Coalition Wins Elections. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the

ruling coalition led by the Congress party, May 16 declared victory in national elections for the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s Parliament, after preliminary results showed the UPA with a commanding lead over its rivals. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), had conceded defeat earlier in the day. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the betterthan-expected results were a “massive mandate” for his left-of-center Congress party. [See p. 275G2, D3; for detailed election results, see p. 345E2] The Election Commission of India May 17 released official results from the elections, which were held in five stages between April 16 and May 13. The UPA won 261 seats in the 543-member assembly, just shy of the 272 needed for a majority, with Congress winning 205 seats. The NDA won 159 seats, with the BJP garnering 116 seats. The Third Front, a coalition largely comprised of communist parties, won 80 seats. The Fourth Front, led by the socialist Samajwadi party, won 26 seats, and the remaining seats were split between smaller, regional parties. About 60% of India’s 714 million eligible voters participated in the elections, a slight increase from the 58% who voted in the 2004 elections. UPA’s The strong showing meant that it would only need to find a handful of allies to form a ruling coalition, which had to be finalized by June 2. Prior to the release of the results, analysts widely expected a tighter margin of victory for the UPA, which would likely have resulted in a weak ruling coalition composed of parties with competing interests.

Singh said the country would have a “strong, stable government,” and investors welcomed the promise of continuity, with India’s main stock exchange, the Bombay Sensex index, May 18 soaring by 17.3%. Singh, 77, would be the first prime minister to return for a second consecutive term since Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, who served from 1947 to 1964. Under the UPA, gross domestic product (GDP) had grown at an average rate of nearly 9% a year from 2004 to 2008. Analysts said a renewed mandate could enable the coalition to further liberalize the economy, attempts at which had often been stymied by communist parties within the UPA. The communist wing had separated from the UPA in 2008, over objections to a civilian nuclear deal with the U.S., which it argued would increase U.S. influence in India. The election results were viewed as a vindication of the deal and the UPA’s economic policies, with the UPA making inroads into communist strongholds in the state of Kerala and other areas. [See 2008, p. 511G1] But the UPA faced daunting economic challenges, including lifting a significant portion of India’s 1.1 billion population out of poverty. Despite its booming economy, about 40% of the country made less than $1.25 a day, below the World Bank poverty line. Additionally, the Indian economy’s rapid rate of growth had slowed in 2009, as a result of the global economic crisis. The UPA during the campaign had placed a heavy emphasis on its past support for rural, poorer parts of the population, including recent programs to create governmentfunded jobs and to waive farmers’ outstanding loans. [See 2008, p. 911C3] BJP Chief Resigns—Lal Krishna Advani, the BJP’s leader and candidate for prime minister, May 16 stepped down as head of the party. The BJP during the campaign had presented itself as a businessfriendly alternative to the Congress party, and had also argued that it was stronger on issues of national security, attacking Con-

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gress for security lapses that led to the November 2008 terrorist attacks on Mumbai, India’s commercial capital, that killed 170 people. The depth of the BJP’s loss surprised observers and BJP members, and analysts said its Hindu-nationalist base had alienated other segments of the Indian population. In contrast, Congress’s secularist themes appeared to attract a wider swath of voters. [See 2008, p. 877A1] Another candidate who did not live up to expectations was Kumari Mayawati, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest state. Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party, part of the Third Front, won only 21 seats, down from its current 40, and lost seats in Uttar Pradesh to Congress. Mayawati was part of the dalit caste—also known as “untouchables”—and had entered unlikely alliances with upper-caste Hindus to solidify her power base in Uttar Pradesh. Analysts had speculated that Mayawati was positioning herself to become a decisive figure, and possibly prime minister, if neither the UPA nor the NDA could muster enough seats to form a ruling majority. [See 2007, p. 339D1] Congress supporters attributed much of the party’s success to the energetic campaign efforts of Rahul Gandhi, son of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and slain Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi, 38, was the newest member of a Congress political dynasty that included Nehru, his great-grandfather, and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, his grandmother. He reportedly appeared at more than 120 campaign rallies throughout the country, far outstripping the number of appearances by his mother or Singh. He had also led the party’s efforts to recruit younger candidates and supporters. Many in Congress, particularly its younger members, had urged him to become prime minister, but both he and his mother maintained that Singh was to remain at the post. Singh said he would urge Gandhi to join his cabinet. There were sporadic episodes of violence during the elections, leading to more than 40 deaths. Much of the violence was blamed on Maoist insurgents, also known as Naxalites. n

Pakistan U.N. Says 1.5 Million Displaced by Fighting.

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The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) May 18 reported that 1.45 million people had been displaced by fighting in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) since May 2. The Pakistani army in the first week of May had begun a large-scale operation against the Taliban Islamic fundamentalist group, which had seized territory in the NWFP’s Swat, Buner and Lower Dir districts. [See p. 314D3] The army May 15 had lifted a curfew in Swat, allowing thousands of civilians to flee the district. While news outlets were barred from the conflict zone—making it difficult to independently confirm the number of displaced people or reported casualties—it was reported that roads leading out of Swat were jammed with trucks and 346

civilians on foot. Observers said the exodus was one of the largest of its kind since 1947, when British India was partitioned into India and Pakistan, leading to mass migrations. A large proportion of the displaced were taking refuge in government-run camps in the neighboring districts of Swabi and Mardan. Aid workers said the camps were short on basic necessities, and that their conditions were made worse by the grueling summer heat. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton May 19 pledged $110 million in emergency aid for the refugees. Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani in a speech to parliament May 14 had said it was vital that refugees be provided for. “Militarily, we will win the war, but it will be unfortunate if we lose it politically, so we will also have to win the hearts and the minds of the people,” he said. Public support for the government of President Asif Ali Zardari was weak, and analysts said a humanitarian crisis or reports of civilian casualties could quickly turn public opinion against the military operation. There were some reports that the army had indiscriminately shelled areas where civilians were residing. It was widely reported that support for a military operation grew only after the Taliban invaded Buner in April, giving it a stronghold a mere 60 miles (100 km) from Islamabad, the Pakistani capital. The government had previously been reluctant to fight the Taliban because of public opposition, going so far as to allow the group to establish sharia, or traditional Islamic law, in Swat and other NWFP districts in exchange for peace. The U.S. had pressed the Pakistani government to take military action, over concerns that the Taliban and its allies in the international terrorist network Al Qaeda were gaining strength in the region. Clinton May 19 praised the army’s efforts, and said, “There is a real national mood change on the part of the Pakistani people that, you know, we are watching and obviously encouraged by.” As of May 21, 1,000 militants and 50 soldiers had been killed since the operation began, according to army officials. The army was currently surrounding Mingora, the capital of Swat, where Taliban fighters had reportedly dug trenches, laid mines and positioned themselves on the rooftops. The army May 12 had also begun a searchand-destroy mission in the Swat region of Piochar, where militant leader Maulana Fazlullah was thought to be located. Poll Shows Public Dissatisfaction—The International Republican Institute—a U.S.based nonprofit group that was associated with the U.S. Republican Party—May 11 released a poll showing that 81% of Pakistanis believed that the country was going in the wrong direction, and that just 19% approved of Zardari’s performance. Only 10% of the poll’s 3,500 respondents said terrorism was the most important issue facing Pakistan, compared with 46% for inflation, and 22% for unemployment. The poll

was conducted from March 7 to March 30, before the Taliban entered Buner. About 80% of respondents said they supported the government’s now-defunct peace agreement with the Taliban. However, 69% said the presence of the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Pakistan was a serious problem, and 74% said religious extremism was a serious problem. Only 37% supported Pakistani cooperation with the U.S. in its fight against terrorism, but that was up from 8% in January 2008. Just 24% supported the U.S. making military incursions into the country. U.S. troops were currently operating in neighboring Afghanistan, and U.S. Predator and Reaper drone aircraft regularly conducted missile strikes against militants in Pakistan’s lawless northwestern tribal areas. Report: U.S., Pakistan in Joint Strikes—

The Los Angeles Times, citing unidentified U.S. officials, May 12 reported that the U.S. and Pakistani militaries for the first time were conducting joint drone missions, with Pakistani officers exerting some degree of control over the selection of targets. The Times said those attacks concentrated on Pakistani militant networks, and were separate from those conducted by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which largely targeted Al Qaeda operatives, many of whom were foreign. The U.S. was thought to have conducted 36 drone attacks in 2008, and about 20 so far in 2009. However, the New York Times May 14 reported that the U.S. military drones were merely providing the Pakistani army with video footage and communications intercepts. The paper said unidentified U.S. officials had rebutted the Los Angeles Times’s assertion that the Pakistani military had joint control over drone missions. The drone attacks had caused some civilian casualties, leading to a public uproar in Pakistan. While it was widely reported that Pakistan had given the U.S. permission to conduct the strikes, Pakistani officials regularly denounced them in public. Zardari had pushed the U.S. to furnish his government with its own Predators and Reapers, but the request had been denied. Nuclear Program Expansion Reported—

The Institute for Science and International Security—a U.S.-based nonprofit group that focused on limiting the spread of nuclear weapons—May 19 reported that Pakistan was expanding its nuclear weapons program, which was currently estimated to have an arsenal of between 60 and 100 nuclear weapons. The group based its findings on satellite photographs taken of a nuclear complex in Dera Ghazi Khan, which between 2004 and 2008 had significantly increased in size. The facility was less than 100 miles from where the military was battling the Taliban. [See 2008, p. 407A1] Pakistani Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira May 20 denied that the complex was being expanded. But the foreign ministry May 19 had said the country’s nuclear weapons program was not “static,” and added, “Our nuclear deterrence is an indispensable factor of stability in the region.” FACTS ON FILE

Concerns that Pakistan was expanding its nuclear program had also been heightened by U.S. Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Mullen May 14 confirmed to the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee that Pakistan was adding warheads and weapons systems to its existing arsenal. The admission stoked concern that some of a proposed five-year, $3 billion military aid package could be funneled into the nuclear program, when it was intended to improve the Pakistani military’s counterinsurgency capabilities. The possibility that the Taliban or Al Qaeda could gain access to a nuclear weapon was an abiding concern for the U.S. government. The U.S. reportedly currently funded a $100 million program to help Pakistan secure its arsenal. n

SPORTS

UNITED STATES

Horse Racing Filly Rachel Alexandra Wins Preakness.

Filly Rachel Alexandra, ridden by Calvin Borel, May 16 won the 134th running of the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of U.S. thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown, at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md. The threeyear-old became the first filly to win the Preakness since Nellie Morse in 1924, and the first horse to win from the outside post position. [See p. 315D3; 2008, p. 351F2] Rachel Alexandra, the favorite at 9–5 odds, beat a field of 12 male horses in the Preakness, including Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, who finished second with Mike Smith aboard. Rachel Alexandra had not competed in the Derby, held two weeks earlier. Her previous owners, Dolphus Morrison and Mike Lauffer, had instead opted to enter her in the Kentucky Oaks, a race for fillies, which she won by 20¼ lengths with Borel aboard. Despite her resounding victory in the Kentucky Oaks, her fifth straight win, Rachel Alexandra’s owners said they would continue to race her only against fillies. That prompted Jess Jackson, a wealthy winery owner and racing enthusiast who owned Stonestreet Stables, and Harold McCormick May 6 to purchase Rachel Alexandra for between $3 million and $4 million. (Jackson had also owned Curlin, the 2007 and 2008 Horse of the Year.) The filly’s new owners then paid a $100,000 fee to enter Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness, and switched her to award-winning trainer Steve Asmussen, from Hal Wiggins. Borel, who rode 50–1 long shot Mine That Bird to victory in the Kentucky Derby, declared that he would ride Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness. [See 2008, p. 823B2] Rachel Alexandra was immediately installed as the Preakness favorite. However, some owners of horses already entered in the Preakness attempted to prevent Rachel Alexandra from entering the race. The Preakness was limited to 14 horses, and priority was given to horses that had already been nominated for the Triple Crown. Mine That Bird’s co-owner, Mark May 21, 2009

Allen, May 10 said he might enter another of his horses, Indy Express, in the Preakness, forcing Rachel Alexandra out. Allen said he was motivated by the desire to have Borel ride Mine That Bird. But later that day, Marylou Whitney, owner of another Preakness entry, Luv Gov, said she would pull her horse from the Preakness if it appeared that Rachel Alexandra would be shut out. That prompted Allen and other owners to back down from their efforts to prevent the filly from running. The one-and-three-sixteenths-mile Preakness was run on a fast track, and Borel after the race said his mount had been “struggling” on a surface she did not like. A fast pace was set from the beginning, and Borel brought Rachel Alexandra to the front of the pack early. Meanwhile, Smith and Mine That Bird remained toward the back until the far turn. Then, similar to Mine That Bird’s remarkable come-from-behind Derby victory, Smith maneuvered the gelding past the field and challenged Rachel Alexandra from the outside. The filly held off Mine That Bird’s late charge to win the Preakness by one length. Musket Man, ridden by Eibar Coa, was third, half a length behind Mine That Bird. Rachel Alexandra finished the race in one minute, 55.08 seconds. She paid $5.60 on a $2 bet and earned her owners $660,000 in prize money. Jackson May 17 said he was not sure whether he would run Rachel Alexandra in the 1½-mile Belmont Stakes—the third leg of the Triple Crown—on June 6. No filly had ever won two legs of the Triple Crown. The crowd for the May 16 race was just 77,850, down from 112,222 in 2008, in part due to a new ban on fans in the infield bringing their own alcoholic beverages. Pimlico Owner Declares Bankruptcy—

Canada’s Magna Entertainment Corp., which owned Pimlico and six other racetracks in the U.S., March 5 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. The company, which was based in Aurora, Ontario, reportedly had about $200 million in debt due in the coming weeks that it could not pay. Magna said it would sell some wagering companies and tracks, including Florida’s Gulfstream Park, to its controlling shareholder and largest creditor, real estate company M.I. Developments Inc., and it was also expected to sell off other assets. Magna had reportedly lost $500 million over the past five years. Its chairman and chief executive officer, Frank Stronach— who was the chairman of Canadian auto parts supplier Magna International Inc.— also owned thoroughbreds through his Stronach Stables, and bred them through his Adena Springs operation. [See p. 119G3; 2007, p. 265E3] The Maryland state General Assembly, amid fears that a sale of Pimlico would result in the Preakness being moved out of the state, April 13 approved legislation authorizing the government to exercise its powers of eminent domain if necessary to buy or seize the track and other properties associated with the prestigious race. The

first Preakness had been run at Pimlico in 1873. Other News—In other horse racing news: o Ghanaati, with Richard Hills aboard, May 3 won the one-mile 1,000 Guineas for three-year-old fillies in Newmarket, England. [See 2008, p. 318G3] o Sea the Stars, ridden by Mick Kinane, May 2 won the one-mile 2,000 Guineas for three-year-old colts in Newmarket. o Well Armed, with Aaron Gryder aboard, March 28 won the Dubai World Cup, the world’s richest horse race, with a $6 million purse, in the United Arab Emirates. Well Armed, a six-year-old gelding, won by a race-record 14 lengths over Gloria de Campeao, and Paris Perfect was third. [See 2008, p. 268F1] o Alysheba, the 1988 Horse of the Year, March 27 was euthanized at the age of 25, after falling in his stall at the Kentucky Horse Park’s Hall of Champions in Lexington. [See 1989, p. 75D3] n

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Baseball Dodgers’ Ramirez Suspended for Drug Use.

Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star left fielder Manny Ramirez May 7 was suspended by Major League Baseball (MLB) for 50 games for violating the league’s drug policy. The suspension was the latest development in an ongoing performance-enhancing drugs scandal within the sport; another of its biggest stars, Alex Rodriguez, in February had admitted to using steroids between 2001 and 2003. [See pp. 277G2, 278B1] MLB, under its drug policy, did not reveal what substance a player was suspended for using. The MLB Players’ Association (MLBPA) May 7 released a statement saying Ramirez, 36, had been suspended under the “just cause” provision of the league’s drug policy in light of documentary evidence that he had used the banned substance human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), a female fertility drug. HCG was also prescribed to males who had fertility problems or low testosterone levels, to stimulate the production of testosterone in their bodies. A side effect of steroids was reduced testosterone production, and HCG had been banned by MLB in 2008 because it could be used to mask steroid use. The case reportedly had been triggered by a urine test that Ramirez took in March, before the start of the season. Sports Illustrated in its May 18 edition reported that MLB, the MLBPA and Ramirez—but not the Dodgers—had been informed in mid-April that the test results showed elevated levels of testosterone in the player’s system. MLB opened an investigation of Ramirez, leading it to discover that a doctor had prescribed HCG. Sports Illustrated reported that Ramirez, his agent, Scott Boras, and the MLBPA had been considering an appeal of the league’s plan to suspend Ramirez, but May 6 decided to accept the suspension due to solid evidence, in the form of the HCG prescription, that he had taken a banned substance. (Players had the option to apply for a therapeutic use exemption if they needed to take a 347

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banned substance for a legitimate medical condition; Ramirez did not submit such an application.) In a statement released May 7 through the MLBPA, Ramirez admitted that a doctor had prescribed HCG for him, but claimed that it was for a “personal health issue” and that he had not believed that it would violate the league’s drug policy. “Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy.…Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility.” Ramirez also pointed out that he had passed 15 other drug tests over the past five seasons. Ramirez was considered one of the best hitters in the game, but was also known for his laid-back, often careless or absentminded demeanor—colloquially known as “Manny being Manny.” He had previously played for the Cleveland Indians and the Boston Red Sox before being traded to the Dodgers in 2008, and the positive test sparked speculation as to whether he had used steroids while playing on Boston’s World Series–winning teams in 2004 and 2007. [See 2007, p. 723E1] Dodgers manager Joe Torre, at a press conference also attended by the team’s general manager, Ned Coletti, May 7 expressed his “disappointment” about the suspension, although he also said Ramirez had his support. Ramirez met May 9 with Dodgers owner Frank McCourt to apologize, and May 15 issued an apology in a meeting with his teammates. His suspension had come in the midst of the Dodgers’ MLB-record home winning streak to open the season; that streak May 7—the first day of Ramirez’s suspension—was ended at 13 games by the Washington Nationals. n

ARTS & SCIENCES

UNITED STATES

Theater Openings

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Accent on Youth. Broadway revival of a 1934 roman-

tic comedy by Samson Raphaelson. Directed by Daniel Sullivan. With David Hyde Pierce, Mary Catherine Garrison, Rosie Benton and Charles Kimbrough. In New York City, at the Manhattan Theater Club’s Samuel J. Friedman Theater. April 29. [See 1983, p. 596A3] Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. Iraq war–themed play by Rajiv Joseph. Directed by Moises Kaufman. With Arian Moayed, Kevin Tighe, Glenn Davis, Brad Fleischer, Hrach Titizian and Sheila Vand. In Culver City, Calif., at the Kirk Douglas Theater. May 17. Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson: The Concert Version. Rock musical about the U.S’s seventh president

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and his era. Book by Alex Timbers; music and lyrics by Michael Friedman. Directed by Timbers. With Benjamin Walker and Colleen Werthmann. In New York City, at the Joseph Papp Public Theater’s Shiva Theater. May 17. Desire Under The Elms. Broadway revival of a 1924 play by Eugene O’Neill; this production was first mounted at Chicago’s Goodman Theater, as the centerpiece of a recent O’Neill festival. Directed by Robert Falls. With Brian Dennehy, Carla Gugino and Pablo Schreiber. In New York City, at the St. James Theater. April 27. [See 1952, p. 19C] Everyday Rapture. Play with music by, about and starring Sherie Rene Scott, an actress from Topeka, Kan., who makes it to Broadway. Coauthored by Dick Scanlan. Directed by Michael Mayer; choreographed by Michele Lynch. With Eamon Foley. In New York City, at the Second Stage Theater. May 2. [See 2008, p. 116C2; 2005, p. 272A2; 2002, p. 1074C2; 2000, p. 347B3] Giant. Musical based on Edna Ferber’s 1952 novel about Texas’s 20th-century oil boom. Music and lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa; book by Sybille Pearson. Directed by Jonathan Butterell; choreographed by Ernesto Alonso Palma. With Lewis Cleale, Betsy Mor-

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gan, Ashley Robinson, John Dossett and Katie Thompson. In Arlington, Va., at the Signature Theater. May 10. [See 1968, p. 183C3; 1956, p. 370D3] Groundswell. Three-character drama by Ian Bruce set in post-apartheid South Africa. Directed by Scott Elliott. With David Lansbury, Larry Bryggman and Souleymane Sy Savane. In New York City, at the Acorn Theater. May 18. Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. Broadway revival of August Wilson’s 1986 drama, first seen on Broadway in 1988. Directed by Bartlett Sher. With Chad L. Coleman, Roger Robinson, Amari Rose Leigh, Ernie Hudson and LaTanya Richardson Jackson. In New York City, at the Belasco Theater. April 16. [See 2005, pp. 787G3, 695F3; 1988, p. 824F1; 1986, p. 444B1] Legacy of Light. Comedy by Karen Zacarias about women in science in two different eras. Directed by Molly Smith. With Lisa Bruneau, Carla Harting, Stephen Schnetzer, David Covington, Lindsey Kyler and Michael Russotto. In Arlington, Va., at Arena Stage in Crystal City. May 14. Mary Stuart. Broadway transfer of a revival of a classic German play first presented at London’s Donmar Warehouse in 2005. By Friedrich Schiller. Directed by Phyllida Lloyd. With Janet McTeer, Harriet Walter, Maria Tucci, Nicholas Woodeson, Chandler Williams and John Benjamin Hickey. In New York City, at the Broadhurst Theater. April 19. [See 2005, p. 595E3] Next to Normal. Broadway production of a musical about mental illness significantly revised by composer Tom Kitt and writer-lyricist Brian Yorkey since first being presented off Broadway in 2008. Still directed by Michael Greif, and once again featuring Alice Ripley, Aaron Tveit and Jennifer Damiano, but with J. Robert Spencer replacing Brian d’Arcy James as Ripley’s character’s husband. In New York City, at the Booth Theater. April 15. [See 2008, p. 248E1] 9 to 5: The Musical. Broadway show based on a 1983 film comedy. Music and lyrics by Dolly Parton; book by Patricia Resnick. Directed by Joe Mantello; choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler. With Allison Janney, Megan Hilty, Stephanie J. Block and Marc Kudisch. In New York City, at the Marquis Theater. April 30. [See 1980, p. 1003C2] The Norman Conquests. Broadway transfer, with the same director and same six-member cast, of a 2008 revival, at London’s Old Vic, of a trilogy by Alan Ayckbourn first mounted in London in 1974 and first seen on Broadway in 1975. In New York City, at Circle in the Square. April 23. [See 2008, p. 998B1] The Philanthropist. Broadway revival of a satirical comedy by Britain’s Christopher Hampton first seen on Broadway in 1971. Directed by David Grindley. With Matthew Broderick, Anna Madeley and Jennifer Mudge. In New York City, at the American Airlines Theater. April 26. [See 1971, p. 359C1] Waiting for Godot. First Broadway production since 1956 of Samuel Beckett’s absurdist masterpiece, first staged in Paris in 1953. Directed by Anthony Page. With Nathan Lane, Bill Irwin, John Goodman and John Glover. In New York City, at Studio 54. April 30. [See 1989, p. 1003E1; 1956, p. 139B2] n

People Film director and actor Woody Allen, 73, May 18 agreed to a $5 million settlement in the $10 million lawsuit he had filed against clothing manufacturer American Apparel. The settlement came the day a jury trial in the case was to begin in federal court in New York City. Allen had sued American Apparel for using an image of him without permission on billboards that had been briefly displayed in New York and Los Angeles in 2007. Drawn from Allen’s 1977 film Annie Hall, the image was of Allen’s character in that film, Alvy Singer, in the guise of a Hasidic Jew, with a long beard and side curls and wearing a black hat. [See 1986, p. 712C1; 1978, p. 315B3] Pornographic film star Marilyn Chambers, who had been found dead in April at her home in Santa Clarita, Calif., had died of a cerebral hemorrhage, a ruptured aneurysm in her brain, and underlying heart disease, according to an autopsy report released May 18 by the Los Angeles County

coroner’s office. Chambers had been 56 when she died. [See p. 256G2] British singer Boy George May 11 was released from Edmunds Hill prison in Suffolk, England, after serving four months of a 15-month sentence for falsely imprisoning a male escort at his London home. The singer would have to wear an electronic tag for the next 11 months. [See p. 71D3] Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, 31, May 2 married actor Peter Sarsgaard, 38, at a hotel in Brindisi, Italy. The couple lived in New York City with their two-year-old daughter. [See 2006, p. 792G2] n

O B I T UA R I E S PRABHAKARAN, Velupillai, 54, longtime leader of Sri Lanka’s Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebel group; born Nov. 26, 1954, in Valvettiturai, Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon); slain May 18 in a battle with the Sri Lankan military in northeastern Sri Lanka; his death effectively ended the LTTE ’s rebellion. [See pp. 333A1, 277B2; 2007, p. 743B1–C1; Indexes 2005–06, 1999–2002, 1993–95, 1987] SAULNIER, Raymond Joseph, 100, conservative economist, known for his opposition to tax cuts, who was chairman of President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Council of Economic Advisers from late 1956 until Eisenhower left office in early 1961; during Richard Nixon’s presidency, he chaired a panel on low-income housing that, in a report released in 1970, urged that such housing be built in the suburbs; born Sept. 20, 1908, in Hamilton, Mass.; died April 30 at a retirement community in Chestertown, Md., of kidney failure. [See 1970, pp. 709C3, 520A2, 482B1; 1967, pp. 495F3, 437D2; Indexes 1964, 1955–59] SEIDMAN, L(ewis) William, 88, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., 1985–91; in that capacity, he led the federal response to the U.S. savings and loan crisis of the late 1980s; he concomitantly (1989–91) served as the first head of the Resolution and Trust Corp., the entity created by Congress in 1989 to sell off the assets of failed financial institutions; earlier, from 1974 to 1977, he had been a key economic adviser to President Gerald R. Ford; born April 29, 1921, in East Grand Rapids, Mich.; died May 13 at a hospital in Albuquerque, N.M., of pneumonia complications. [See Indexes 1985–91, 1974– 76] SHARRER, Honore Desmond, 88, realist painter whose best-known work was Tribute to the American Working People (1951), a five-part painting in which the central figure, a factory worker, was surrounded by scenes of ordinary Americans at a picnic, in a parlor, on a farm and in a classroom; the work was in the permanent collection of Washington, D.C.’s Smithsonian Institution, which in 2007 mounted an exhibition devoted entirely to it; born July 12, 1920, in West Point, N.Y.; died April 17 in Washington, D.C., of dementia complications. TISDALE, Wayman Lawrence, 44, college basketball star at the University of Oklahoma who played on the gold medal–winning U.S. men’s basketball team at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and then played 12 seasons with three National Basketball Association (NBA) teams: the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns; after retiring from the NBA in 1997, he became a prominent jazz musician, playing the bass guitar, an instrument on which he was entirely self-taught; born June 9, 1964, in Fort Worth, Texas; died May 15 at a hospital in Tulsa, Okla., of bone cancer; his right leg had been amputated below the knee in August 2008. [See 1994, p. 848A2; 1989, pp. 250B1, 151C3; Index 1985] Van ES, Hubert, 67, Dutch photojournalist who, while working for United Press International during the Vietnam War, shot one of the most iconic images of the U.S. evacuation of Saigon in 1975: a long line of would-be evacuees scaling a ladder to the top of a building on which a U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) helicopter was perched; the building, an apartment house, was later perennially mislabeled as the U.S. embassy in references to the picture; after the war, he became a Hong Kong–based freelancer; born July 6, 1941, in Hilversum, the Netherlands; died May 15 in Hong Kong, of a brain hemorrhage. [See 1975, p. 290G2] n

May 21, 2009

U.S. President Obama Nominates New York Appeals Court Judge Sotomayor to Fill Supreme Court Opening Nominee Would be First Hispanic Justice.

dent Bill Clinton nominated her to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, and she was confirmed in 1998. [See 1998, p. 750B3] Sotomayor was thought to be a moderately liberal judge, and court observers said her nomination would not significantly change the ideological makeup of the Supreme Court, since Souter had consistently voted with the court’s liberal bloc, despite having been a Bush appointee. However, Sotomayor had not issued major rulings that directly addressed hot-button judicial topics such as abortion, the death penalty or national security, leaving it an open question how she would rule on those issues on the Supreme Court. [See below] (There was a question raised as to whether Associate Justice Benjamin Cardozo, who served on the Supreme Court from 1932 to 1938, had been its first Hispanic justice. Cardozo’s ancestors had been Sephardic Jews in Portugal, which shared the Iberian Peninsula with Spain. However, the ethnic designation “Hispanic” was not widely used during Cardozo’s lifetime, and it was unclear whether he would have identified himself as Hispanic. The U.S. Census Bureau defined a Hispanic as one who selfidentified as such, and said most Hispanics were of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or Central or South American origin.) Reaction—Senate Democrats May 26 largely praised Obama’s historic choice, which they said fulfilled his expressed desire for a justice who understood how the court’s decisions affected average citizens. But many Republicans said the justice’s role should be limited to interpreting the letter of the law, as opposed to weighing the wider impact of a given decision or different cultural perspectives. They cited statements Sotomayor had made to question whether she relied too heavily on her personal background when reaching decisions, and whether she saw her judicial position as a means to shape policy. Sen. Jeff Sessions (Ala.), the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, that day said, “We must determine if Ms. Sotomayor understands that the proper role of a judge is to act as a neutral umpire of the law, calling balls and strikes fairly without regard to one’s own personal preferences or political views.” Conservative critics pointed to a 2001 comment Sotomayor had made that they said showed her decisions were overly influenced by considerations of race and gender. In a lecture at the University of California at Berkeley, she was quoted as saying, “Our experiences as women and people U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor at the announcement of her nomination May 26 by President Barack Obama (right) to the Su- of color affect our decisions.” Discussing the preme Court, at the White House.

Alex Wong/Getty Images

U.S. President Barack Obama May 26 nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor to fill the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy created by outgoing Associate Justice David H. Souter, who had submitted his resignation in early May. Sotomayor, a member of the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City, would be the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court if confirmed by the Senate, as well as the third female justice in the court’s history. [See p. 301A1; for facts on Sotomayor, see p. 350A1] Obama, appearing with Sotomayor and Vice President Joseph Biden at a White House press conference, May 26 praised Sotomayor for her “rigorous intellect” and “mastery of the law,” while also drawing attention to her life story, which he described as “inspiring.” He highlighted the “extraordinary journey” she had made, from a humble upbringing in the New York City borough of the Bronx to an Ivy League education, and eventually a judgeship on a federal court. Obama said Sotomayor’s experience had granted her “an understanding of how the world works and how ordinary people live.” He added that Sotomayor had shown “that it doesn’t matter where you come from, what you look like or what challenges life throws your way—no dream is beyond reach in the United States of America.” Sotomayor, 54, who was of Puerto Rican descent, that day echoed some of Obama’s comments, saying, “I strive never to forget the real-world consequences of my decision on individuals, businesses and government.” If confirmed, she would be the Supreme Court’s 111th justice. Obama had said he wanted to see his nominee confirmed before the court began its 2009–10 term in October. Sotomayor had worked as a private attorney and a prosecutor for the district attorney’s office in New York City’s Manhattan borough. In 1991, Republican President George H.W. Bush nominated her to be a U.S. district judge for the Southern District of New York, and she was confirmed by the Senate in 1992. In 1997, Democratic Presi-

Facts On File

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World News Digest With Index ©2009 by Facts On File News Services An imprint of Infobase Publishing

Volume 69, No. 3571 May 28, 2009

B court’s record in addressing race and sex discrimination, she added, “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.” At a 2005 conference at Duke University in North Carolina, she had been quoted as saying the appellate court circuit was “where policy is made,” while quickly acknowledging that that might be a controversial sentiment. Critics said the statement was an admission that Sotomayor would use her position on the Supreme Court to push a political agenda. White House officials dismissed the charge, saying Sotomayor was merely stating that appellate courts had greater influence in interpreting laws than district courts. However, observers said initial opposition from Republican senators was relative-

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MAJOR STORIES IN THIS ISSUE U.S. President Obama nominates New York Appeals Court Judge Sotomayor to fill Supreme Court opening; nominee would be first Hispanic justice. PAGE 349

North Korea conducts second nuclear test, fires missiles. PAGE 350

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Swine flu virus confirmed in 48 countries. PAGE 351

California court upholds gay marriage ban. PAGE 352

Credit-card reform bill signed. PAGE 354

Nigerian rebels declare ‘war’ in oil region. PAGE 358

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Mexican government officials arrested in drug crackdown. PAGE 359

Myanmar pro-democracy leader Suu Kyi testifies in trial. PAGE 359

Former South Korean President Roh commits suicide. PAGE 360

Iran tests missile capable of reaching Israel, Europe. PAGE 361

Sri Lanka rebels confirm leader’s death. PAGE 363

REFERENCES in brackets give location of background information in this & preceding volumes.

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FACTS ON SOTOMAYOR

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Sonia Sotomayor was born on June 25, 1954, in New York City, after her parents emigrated from Puerto Rico. She was raised in a public housing project in the city’s Bronx borough. At age eight, she was diagnosed with diabetes. At age nine, her father, a factory worker, died. Sotomayor was largely raised by her mother, Celina Sotomayor, a nurse. Sotomayor graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University in 1976. In 1979, she graduated from Yale Law School, where she was the editor of the Yale Law Journal. From 1979 to 1984, Sotomayor was a prosecutor for the district attorney’s office in the New York City borough of Manhattan. In 1984, she joined the private law firm Pavia & Harcourt LLP.

ly muted, in what was seen as an effort not to alienate Hispanic voters. Hispanics comprised the largest minority in the country, and were its fastest-growing demographic group. Republicans had steadily lost Hispanic support in recent years—largely due to the tough anti–illegal immigration stance of many of the party’s members—and it was widely acknowledged that Republicans would have to attract Hispanic voters to compete successfully in national elections. Observers said that even a spirited opposition from Republicans would have difficulty derailing Sotomayor’s confirmation. There were currently 59 senators in the Democratic caucus, and possibly a 60th pending the outcome of an election dispute in Minnesota, where Democrat Al Franken had a slim lead over Republican Norm Coleman. With 60 votes, the Democrats could overcome a potential Republican filibuster. Sessions May 27 said, “I don’t sense a filibuster in the works.” In Sotmayor’s 1998 confirmation vote for the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, 29 Republicans had voted against her, while 25 had voted in her favor. Of those who were members of the current Senate, 11 had voted against her, and nine for her, including Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.), who had since become a Democrat. [See p. 284A2] Sotomayor an Early Front-runner—

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Sotomayor had been high on the list of reported contenders from the day Souter retired. She met Obama for the first time May 21 at the White House, where she reportedly spoke with the president for about one hour, and was interviewed by other officials for several more hours. White House officials said Obama informed Sotomayor of his decision May 25. The Obama administration reportedly investigated suggestions that Sotomayor’s demeanor on the bench could be overly aggressive and temperamental. Her supporters said she was a vigorous questioner and possessed a powerful presence, but that those qualities showed her dedication and intelligence, and were admired by colleagues and lawyers. The Obama administration reportedly concluded that her personal approach to jurisprudence would not be a problem on the court. According to the White House, Sotomayor had been part of a group of four fi-

In 1991, Republican President George H.W. Bush nominated her to be a federal judge for the Southern District of New York, and she was confirmed by the Senate in 1992. Among her highest-profile rulings was one, in favor of the Major League Baseball players’ union, that helped end a 1994–95 strike. [See 1995, p. 259C2] In 1997, Democratic President Bill Clinton nominated her to the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City, and she was confirmed in 1998. President Barack Obama May 26 nominated her to the U.S. Supreme Court, making Sotomayor the first Hispanic nominee in the court’s history. If confirmed, she would be the third woman to serve on the court. [See p. 349A1] Sotomayor had married once, but was divorced and had no children.

nalists, all of whom were women. That was in keeping with reports that Obama was intent on addressing the gender imbalance on the current court, which had only one woman, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Besides Sotomayor, the finalists were Solicitor General Elena Kagan, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Judge Diane Wood of the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. Past Cases Examined—In an abortionrelated case, Sotomayor in 2002 wrote a majority opinion for the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld the U.S.’s policy of barring foreign family-planning organizations from using U.S. funds to carry out or support abortions. Sotomayor wrote that the administration of then-President George W. Bush was “free to favor the anti-abortion position over the pro-choice decision” when it came to allocating public funds. Sotomayor in 2008 was part of a threejudge panel of the appellate court that ruled that the city of New Haven, Conn., had been within its rights to nullify the results of a firefighter promotion test, after no blacks did well enough to qualify for a promotion. The panel’s unsigned opinion cited Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which held that tests that led to such markedly different results between races were unlawful. An appeal of the decision had been accepted by the Supreme Court, and its ruling was due to be released by the end of the court’s term in June. [See p. 48C2] Sotomayor had briefly risen to national prominence in 1995, when as a U.S. District Court judge she ruled that Major League Baseball (MLB) team owners could not unilaterally change the profession’s salary and free agency rules without consulting the players’ union. The decision led to the end of a nationwide baseball players’ strike that had lasted nearly a year. [See 1995, p. 259C2] Observers said her record on business issues was mixed, and that she could not be broadly labeled as business-friendly or antibusiness, since she appeared to take a case-by-case approach to business questions. In 2006, she allowed class-action lawsuits filed against investment bank Merrill Lynch & Co. But later that year, she helped reject a securities-fraud class action against the same company. n

North Korea Conducts Second Nuclear Test, Fires Missiles U.N. Security Council Issues Condemnation.

North Korea May 25 announced that it had “successfully conducted” its second nuclear test, saying the test exceeded the first one, conducted in October 2006, in terms of “explosive power and technology.” Foreign monitoring stations confirmed a seismic event in northeastern North Korea consistent with a nuclear explosion, resulting in varying estimates of the size of the tested weapon. The United Nations Security Council later May 25 issued a statement condemning the test. [See below, p. 238G3; 2006, p. 777A1] South Korean news media May 25 reported that North Korea had also test-fired as many as three short-range missiles shortly after the test, and up to three more missiles were reportedly fired the following day. The nuclear test culminated the disintegration of long-running talks on the dismantling of North Korea’s nuclear program, conducted between it and the U.S., South Korea, China, Japan and Russia. After the 2006 test, the talks had been revived, leading to a February 2007 agreement. However, in late 2008, a dispute between North Korea and the U.S. over verifying North Korea’s compliance with the agreement had stalled its implementation. Also, North Korea’s relations with South Korea had soured since South Korean President Lee Myung Bak took office in 2008. North Korea in April had test-fired a rocket, which the Security Council condemned as an illicit missile test. North Korea in response declared its withdrawal from the six-nation talks and the resumption of its nuclear program, and issued further threats.

Facts On File World News Digest With Index (ISSN 0014-6641) Publication #183680 EDITOR IN CHIEF: Jonathan Taylor MANAGING EDITOR: Jennifer Dunham SENIOR EDITOR: Joshua Lustig EDITORS: Rahul Chadha, Ian McGullam, Ryu Spaeth ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Todd Grennan, Shannon O’Toole DATABASE COORDINATOR: Ben Miller INDEX EDITOR: Jonathan Leith COPY EDITOR: Walter Kronenberg

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The latest round of belligerent North Korean rhetoric and gestures was seen in part as a bid for the attention of the new U.S. administration of President Barack Obama. North Korea was currently planning to try two U.S. journalists arrested on its border with China. [See p. 360E2] The events also took place against a backdrop of uncertainty about North Korea’s own leadership. Supreme leader Kim Jong Il was reported to have suffered a stroke in 2008, leading to speculation about the degree of his control over the country and the question of a successor. (South Korean news media April 27 had reported that Kim’s youngest son, Kim Jong Un, had taken a job in the National Defense Commission, a powerful body that Kim chaired. The move was reported as evidence that the Kim Jong Un was being prepared to succeed his father.) Assessment of Blast—The U.S. Geological Survey May 25 reported that the tremor apparently caused by the test measured 4.7 on the open-ended Richter scale of ground motion, while the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization, based in Vienna, Austria, put it at 4.5. It was centered on Kilju, North Korea, near the site of the 2006 test. North Korea had reportedly communicated its plan to carry out the test to the U.S. hours before it took place. It would reportedly take time to conclusively confirm that North Korea had conducted a nuclear test, by detecting radiation carried from the test site in air and water samples, and to arrive at an estimate of its magnitude. Russian officials May 25 suggested that the explosion had had a force of 10 to 20 kilotons. That would be comparable to the weapons the U.S. had dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in World War II, and a great advance over the 2006 test, which was estimated at one kiloton and not deemed an unqualified success. However, U.S. officials suggested that the Russian assessment overstated the power of the May 25 blast. South Korean news media May 27 reported that U.S. intelligence satellites had observed steam emissions from North Korea’s Yongbyon plutonium-processing complex, suggesting that North Korea had restarted the facility as it had claimed. North Korea was believed to have somewhere between six and 12 nuclear devices, but was thought to still lack the ability to fashion them into warheads that could be carried by its missiles. International Condemnation—The test was roundly denounced by North Korea’s five counterparts in the nuclear talks, as well as other countries. The Security Council May 25 unanimously approved a statement condemning the nuclear test as a violation of a council resolution passed in 2006, after the previous test, forbidding North Korea from conducting another one. Members said they would soon formulate a resolution—a stronger grade of council action—and consider new sanctions against the country. The two council members who frequently opposed calls by the U.S. and its May 28, 2009

allies for firm action against North Korea—Russia and, particularly, China— both immediately joined the unequivocal denunciation of the test, suggesting that a resolution would be adopted more quickly than had been the case after the April rocket launch. China May 25 issued a statement declaring that it was “resolutely opposed” to North Korea’s nuclear test, and Russia’s ambassador to the U.N., Vitaly Churkin, also voiced strong disapproval. U.S. President Barack Obama called the test “a great threat to the peace and security of the world,” denouncing it for “directly and recklessly challenging the international community” and calling for a united international response. He reportedly reiterated the U.S.’s commitment to defend its allies Japan and South Korea, in telephone conversations with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and South Korean President Lee. U.S. officials said they did not consider the test to have spelled the definitive failure of the six-way talks, and urged North Korea to return to the process. War With South Threatened—South Korea May 26 announced that it was joining the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative, an multinational program to interdict shipments of banned weapons that was seen as aimed principally at North Korea. In keeping with its previous warnings that it would consider such a move an “act of war,” North Korea May 27 said it would attack South Korea if Proliferation Security Initiative forces attempted to halt or search its ships. North Korea also declared that it would no longer be bound by the 1953 armistice that had halted the Korean War, which had never been formally ended with a peace treaty. It warned that it could “not guarantee the safe navigation” of U.S. or South Korean ships along its disputed western sea border with South Korea. The South Korean military and the U.S. forces stationed in South Korea May 28 raised their Watch Condition alert to level two, the second-highest, from level 3. The alert had last been raised to level 2 after the 2006 test. In Japan, which was within range of North Korea’s mid-range missile arsenal, the test prompted new discussion of developing the capability to preemptively strike at its missile installations. n

Swine Flu Virus Confirmed in 48 Countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) May 27 said laboratory tests had confirmed the A (H1N1) swine flu virus in 13,398 people in 48 countries, and reported 95 deaths linked to the disease. The U.S. had reported 6,764 cases of the disease, the highest of any country, and had linked 10 deaths to the virus. Mexico had the highest number of fatalities linked to the swine flu, with 83, and had reported 4,541 confirmed cases. Canada had reported 921 cases and one death, while Japan had detected 360 cases, none of which were linked to any deaths. [See p. 303C1] Over the past several weeks, the virus had continued to spread among countries in

the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific area, after having first been detected in U.S. cities near the Mexico border. Since that time, health officials said, the outbreak in Mexico, once considered the epicenter of the disease, had appeared to taper off, while continuing in other parts of the world. The Mexican federal health ministry May 22 said the country could resume normal activity, weeks after Mexican President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa had ordered a five-day shutdown of nonessential business and other activity in the country as part of efforts to stem the disease’s spread. However, the ministry encouraged residents to continue washing their hands and taking other actions to prevent the spread of the virus. Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebard the same day lowered its public health alert system from “yellow” to “green,” the system’s lowest level. Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova May 13 said it appeared that fewer people in Mexico were contracting the virus, and that fatalities linked to it were unlikely to exceed 100. Despite initial fears that the virus had a high mortality rate, health officials were reporting that most confirmed cases of the disease were relatively mild. WHO Director General Margaret Chan in a speech May 18 referred to the apparent low lethality of the new virus strain as a “grace period.” She warned that there remained significant concern that the swine flu virus could become more deadly after mixing with older strains of flu virus circulating in humans during the flu season that was about to begin in the Southern Hemisphere. WHO to Alter Pandemic Categories—Keiji Fukuda, the WHO’s deputy director general, May 22 said the organization would rewrite the rules governing its global health alert system to account for the potential risk to humans posed by a disease outbreak. The move increased the likelihood that the swine flu outbreak would never be declared a pandemic. Under the current system, designed in 2005 during the initial stages of the H5N1 avian influenza (bird flu) virus—which had a mortality rate of about 60%—there were six “phases” or categories. Those levels reflected the extent of transmission in an outbreak, and did not account for a disease’s lethality. The WHO in a relatively short period of several days in April had raised the alert level to four, and then again to five. However, despite the fact that the outbreak appeared to meet the criteria for a phase six designation, which reflected ongoing infection in two geographically distinct areas of the world, the WHO had not raised the alert level. Several WHO officials disputed that the swine flu outbreak met the level six criteria. Fukuda said the details of the new alert system had not been worked out, but that its highest level would reflect “substantial risk of harm to people.” The WHO had made the announcement after coming under pressure from several countries to clarify the criteria for a phase six declaration, a move that would require wealthier countries to provide 351

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drugs, vaccines, detection equipment and other aid to poorer countries. Japan Ratchets Up Flu Response— Japan’s education ministry May 20 said it had ordered about 4,500 schools to shut after the tally of confirmed swine flu infections jumped by more than 200 in less than two weeks. Japanese health officials May 10 had reported four cases of the disease, the country’s first. However, that tally increased to 234 by May 20. Japanese Health Minister Yoichi Masuzoe May 20 said the country would shift its response to focus on containing the outbreak, from efforts geared toward preventing the virus from entering the country. Japan May 26 said it had eased its response after finding most of the flu cases to be mild, and linking no deaths to the outbreak. Among the measures ended were tighter visa restrictions on Mexicans seeking entry to Japan, and quarantine checks on airplane flights originating in North America. U.S. Allocates $1 Billion for Vaccine—

U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius May 22 said the U.S. government would provide $1 billion to fund the development and production of a swine flu vaccine. U.S. health officials said three companies—Sanofi-Aventis SA, Novartis AG and GlaxoSmithKline PLC— were being asked to produce enough swine flu vaccine to treat 20 million health care workers, emergency responders and members of the armed forces, among others. Anne Schuchat, the interim director for science and public health for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), May 26 said the swine flu outbreak in the U.S. might have peaked, except in New York, New Jersey and the New England region. Daniel Jernigan, the CDC’s head of flu epidemiology, May 15 said the number of people in the U.S. infected with swine flu might be “upwards of 100,000.” Jernigan said the number of laboratoryconfirmed cases of the disease did not fully account for the large estimate of people who had suffered a mild case of the swine flu and therefore had not been tested for it. Other News—In other swine flu news: o Jernigan May 20 said people born before 1957 appeared to have greater immunity to the swine flu than those born after it. Jernigan said a study of blood tests revealed that those born before 1957, when a new dominant strain of seasonal flu had emerged, were more likely to contain antibodies that attacked the swine flu virus. Officials said the tests implied that older people had been exposed to an earlier strain of virus that resembled the new virus. Less than 1% of swine flu cases had been found in people older than 65, while nearly twothirds of cases were detected in those aged between five and 24. o Fukuda May 14 rejected a claim made by retired Australian virologist Adrian Gibbs that the swine flu virus had resulted from a laboratory accident. Gibbs in an interview said genetic sequences from the swine flu posted on public databases bore signs of being grown in eggs, a method used 352

in laboratories. Fukuda said a group of experts from WHO had examined Gibbs’s claims and found no basis for them. n

AIDS News in Brief. Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer Inc. of the U.S. and GlaxoSmithKline PLC of Britain April 16 announced that they would merge the HIV drug units of their companies to form a new business to develop treatments for the virus. The new company would own 11 HIV drugs and control about 19% of the HIV drug market. Under the agreement, Glaxo would control 85% of the new entity and Pfizer the remaining 15%. Analysts said the merger would save costs, and was the first instance of two companies forming a joint venture on a broad class of drugs, rather than a single medicine. The deal was expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2009. [See p. 150G3] The World Health Organization (WHO) March 24 reported that 1.4 million of the 9.3 million people diagnosed worldwide with tuberculosis (TB) in 2007 also had HIV. The HIV infection figure was twice as high as had previously been estimated. The new data did not represent an increase in the number of people with TB and HIV, but reflected improved TB detection methods. HIV sped up the progress of TB, which was the number-one cause of death in AIDS patients. [See 2008, p. 161C2] n

Other International News U.S. Deports Alleged Nazi Guard to Germany.

The U.S. May 11 deported Ukrainian-born John Demjanjuk, 89, who had allegedly served as a Nazi concentration camp guard during World War II, to Germany. Upon arrival in Munich May 12, he was formally charged with being an accessory to the murder of some 29,000 Jews and other prisoners in 1943 at the Sobibor death camp in eastern Poland. His lawyers challenged Germany’s jurisdiction over the case. [See p. 239B3] Demjanjuk would undergo medical tests to determine whether he was fit to stand trial. Prison doctors May 13 said he was healthy enough to remain in custody. His family claimed that he suffered from an array of ailments that made his deportation inhumane. The U.S. Supreme Court May 7 had rejected without comment his final appeal to block his deportation. Demjanjuk had lived near Cleveland, Ohio, since immigrating to the U.S. in 1952. He had been extradited to Israel for trial in 1986, and convicted and sentenced to death in 1988. But he was acquitted on appeal in 1993 and returned to the U.S. U.S. authorities said they lacked jurisdiction to prosecute Demjanjuk, but his citizenship was stripped because he had allegedly made false statements on immigration forms to conceal his war record. If his case went to trial, it could be the last major prosecution for World War II– era Nazi crimes. Although Nazi hunters continued to pursue other suspected war criminals, their advancing age made capture and trial increasingly unlikely. n

U N I T ESTATES D S TAT E S UNITED

Civil Rights California Court Upholds Gay Marriage Ban.

The California Supreme Court May 26 ruled, 6–1, to uphold a ballot initiative passed in November 2008 that amended the state’s constitution to ban same-sex marriage. The initiative, Proposition 8, had nullified a May 2008 ruling by the California Supreme Court which found that denying same-sex couples the right to wed was a violation of the state constitution’s guarantee of equal rights. Opponents of Proposition 8 had challenged it, arguing that it was a substantial “revision” to the state constitution, and therefore required the approval of at least two-thirds of the legislature. [See pp. 304A1, 149C3] Chief Justice Ronald George, writing the 136-page majority opinion, found that the initiative was a limited amendment to the constitution, and not a revision, and did not “entirely repeal or abrogate” all protections available to same-sex couples. George wrote that Proposition 8 “carves out a narrow and limited exception to these state constitutional rights, reserving the official designation of the term ‘marriage’ for the union of opposite-sex couples as a matter of state constitutional law.” George noted in his opinion that same-sex couples were still able to enter into domestic partnerships in California that carried all the legal benefits and protections of marriage. The court also ruled that the estimated 18,000 same-sex marriages that had taken place between its May 2008 ruling allowing gay marriage and the November 2008 vote could stand, as Proposition 8 had not included language making its provisions retroactive. In his opinion, George wrote that the nullification of those marriages would be like “throwing property rights into disarray, destroying the legal interests and expectations of thousands of couples and their families and potentially undermining the ability of citizens to plan their lives according to the law.” Justice Carlos Moreno, in the dissenting opinion, wrote that the court’s ruling was a defeat for “any minority group that seeks the protection of the equal protection clause of the California constitution.” He added, “It places at risk the state constitutional rights of all disfavored minorities.” Protests Held—Soon after the court issued its ruling, protests against Proposition 8 were held in cities across California. An estimated 1,500–2,000 protesters gathered in West Hollywood in Los Angeles County. In San Francisco, around 175 people were arrested after blocking an intersection near City Hall. Protests were reported in cities around the U.S., including New York, Chicago and Boston, Mass. New Ballot Initiative Planned—Marc Soloman, the marriage director of gay rights group Equality California, May 26 said his organization planned to wage a campaign to overturn Proposition 8 by means of another voter initiative in November 2010. FACTS ON FILE

Kenneth Starr, the Pepperdine University Law School dean and former independent counsel who defended Proposition 8 before the state Supreme Court, May 26 called the ruling “a ringing judicial affirmation” of California’s constitutional system and its allowance for voters to amend the constitution through the ballot box. Separately, two prominent lawyers May 27 announced that they had filed a lawsuit May 22 on behalf of two California gay couples in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, claiming that Proposition 8 violated their rights to equal treatment and due process guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. The lawyers were David Boies and Theodore Olson, who had argued on opposite sides of Bush v. Gore, the U.S. Supreme Court case that had decided the 2000 presidential election. [See 2000, p. 949A1] A coalition of gay rights groups May 27 criticized the lawsuit, arguing that it had the potential to significantly set back the gay marriage movement should the case reach the U.S. Supreme Court and result in a ruling against the couples there. The coalition said the establishment of gay marriage was better won through state legislatures. N.H. Governor Requests Bill Revisions—

New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch (D) May 14 said he would sign a recently cleared bill legalizing same-sex marriage in the state if it were revised to exempt religious groups and their employees from having to participate in same-sex marriage ceremonies. Lynch had previously stated a personal belief that marriage was an institution between a man and a woman, but had remained silent on whether he would sign the bill. The passed version of the bill had included a provision exempting clergy from having to perform gay marriages, a move intended to protect religious institutions against lawsuits. [See p. 304E1] The approved bill had been withheld from presentation to Lynch by the Senate leadership. If delivered, Lynch would have five days to either sign or veto the bill. If he did neither after five days, the bill would become law. The withholding of the bill prevented the triggering of the five-day consideration period. However, the New Hampshire House of Representatives May 20 voted, 188–186, against amending the bill to incorporate Lynch’s requests. The House then voted to return the bill to committee for additional consideration. Members of the state Senate May 27 agreed to create a negotiating team to develop a compromise on the bill’s language with the House. New York Assembly Passes Bill— The New York State Assembly May 12 approved, 89–52, a bill to legalize gay marriage in the state. In a sign of changing sentiment on the issue within the Assembly, several members who had voted against a similar measure in 2007 changed their votes. New York Gov. David Paterson (D) May 17 called on the state Senate to bring the bill to a floor vote. Paterson, a strong advocate of gay rights, had submitted the May 28, 2009

bill. The state Senate’s 2009 legislative session was scheduled to end on June 22. [See p. 266B2] n

Politics Powell Takes On Cheney Over GOP Aims.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell May 24 responded to recent criticism from former Vice President Dick Cheney and others by reaffirming that he was still a Republican and arguing that the party could not reject moderates like himself if it hoped to have success in the future. In a television interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Powell warned, “If we don’t reach out more, the party is going to be sitting on a very, very narrow base.” [See pp. 284A2, 166B2] An internal debate over the GOP’s direction had intensified after the party’s losses in the November 2008 elections left Democrats in control of the White House and both houses of Congress. Some Republican leaders argued that staunchly standing for conservative principles was the best way to regroup, while others warned that voters would continue to leave the party unless it became more welcoming to moderates. Republicans faced a related dilemma after President Barack Obama May 26 named as his first Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York City. Conservative groups opposed her, but Republican senators risked damaging the party’s ties with Hispanics if they voted against the first Hispanic Supreme Court nominee. [See p. 349A1] In late April, one prominent Republican moderate, Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.), had defected to the Democrats. He declared that the GOP had moved too far to the right, leaving him without hope of winning a primary election in his bid for reelection in 2010. Powell urged Republicans to have a “candid” debate over the party’s direction, in order to “define who we are, and not just listen to the diktats that have come down from the right wing of the party.” Cheney in a May 10 interview on “Face the Nation” had been asked whether he preferred Powell’s brand of moderate Republicanism or the hard-line conservative views espoused by talk-show host Rush Limbaugh. He replied, “Well, if I had to choose in terms of being a Republican, I’d go with Rush Limbaugh, I think,” adding, “I think my take on it was Colin had already left the party. I didn’t know he was still a Republican.” [See p. 146C2] Referring to Powell’s endorsement of Obama, the Democratic nominee, in the 2008 presidential election, Cheney said he had “assumed” that was “an indication of his loyalty and his interest.” [See 2008, p. 767C2] Limbaugh May 6 had said on his show, “What Colin Powell needs to do is close the loop and become a Democrat, instead of claiming to be a Republican interested in reforming the Republican Party.” Powell replied, “Rush will not get his wish,” adding, “Mr. Cheney was misinformed. I am still a Republican.” He had been a longtime registered independent,

but became a Republican in 1995, after retiring from military service, although he turned down appeals to run for the party’s 1996 presidential nomination. [See 1995, p. 836E2]

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Powell in his May 24 interview also said he supported Obama’s decision to close the U.S. prison camp for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Cheney had repeatedly criticized that decision, most recently in a speech the previous week, as a reckless move. [See p. 337D2; 2007, p. 379G1] Powell said he had advised Obama’s predecessor, President George W. Bush, to close Guantanamo, and that Bush wanted to do so. Powell said, “Mr. Cheney is not only disagreeing with President Obama’s policy. He’s disagreeing with President Bush’s policy. President Bush stated repeatedly to international audiences and to the country that he wanted to close Guantanamo. The problem he had was he couldn’t get all the pieces together.” However, Powell criticized Obama for announcing his intent to close Guantanamo before developing a detailed plan for dealing with the 240 remaining detainees at the prison. Another top Bush administration official, former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, in an interview on CNN May 24 said he also supported Obama’s plan to close Guantanamo, and disagreed with Cheney’s assertions that Obama’s policies would put national security at risk. n

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Obama Administration Utah Gov. Huntsman Named China Envoy.

President Barack Obama May 16 announced his nomination of Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. (R) as ambassador to China. Huntsman, 49, had won a second term in 2008 with 78% of the vote, and had emerged as a leader of the moderate wing of the Republican Party. He had begun preparations to seek the party’s 2012 presidential nomination, and political commentators viewed the ambassadorial appointment as a move by Obama to sideline a potential rival. [See p. 309E2; 2008, p. 817D1] Huntsman had diplomatic experience in Republican administrations, having served as ambassador to Singapore under President George H.W. Bush and as deputy U.S. trade representative under President George W. Bush. Huntsman had learned to speak fluent Mandarin Chinese as a Mormon missionary in Taiwan. One of his seven children was an adopted daughter from China. Huntsman was the son of billionaire philanthropist Jon Huntsman Sr., founder and chairman of one of the world’s largest chemicals companies, Huntsman Corp., based in Salt Lake City, Utah. [See 2008, p. 955G2] If Huntsman was confirmed as ambassador by the Senate, Utah Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert (R) would take over as governor. Herbert was viewed as more of a conservative than Huntsman, who supported civil 353

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unions for gay couples, immigration reform and action to counter climate change. Huntsman had been national cochairman of the presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), Obama’s Republican opponent in the 2008 election. In a White House appearance with Obama, Huntsman May 16 said he had not expected to be “called into action by the person who beat us,” adding, “But I grew up understanding that the most basic responsibility one has is service to country.” He said China was the U.S.’s “most important strategic bilateral relationship.” Obama had pledged a bipartisan approach to governing, and had two Republicans in his cabinet, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. But Sen. Judd Gregg (R, N.H.) had withdrawn his nomination as commerce secretary in February, citing irreconcilable policy differences with Obama. [See p. 79E2] Roemer Tapped as India Ambassador—

Obama May 27 nominated former Rep. Timothy Roemer (D, Ind.) as ambassador to India. Roemer had served on the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (known informally as the 9/11 Commission), which investigated the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. He had given an early endorsement to Obama’s presidential bid, during the Democratic primaries. Obama May 27 also announced nominations for a number of other top ambassadorial postings, including Japan, Britain and France; all three of those prestigious jobs went to top campaign contributors. [See 2004, p. 258E1] n Hamburg Confirmed as FDA Commissioner.

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The Senate May 18 confirmed Dr. Margaret Hamburg as the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by voice vote. She would take over an agency whose reputation had been damaged in recent years by a slew of regulatory failures in prescription drugs and food products. Hamburg, 53, said at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee May 13 that she wished to restore the FDA’s reputation and increase the transparency of its operations. She had served as an assistant Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary under President Bill Clinton, and as New York City’s health commissioner. Joshua Sharfstein, the former health commissioner of Baltimore, Md., became the FDA’s deputy commissioner. He was not subject to Senate confirmation. [See p. 182F1] n Obama Names Frieden to Head CDC. President Barack Obama May 15 appointed Thomas Frieden, New York City’s health commissioner since 2002 and a specialist in infectious diseases, as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Frieden, 48, would take over the CDC in the midst of a global scare over an outbreak of the H1N1 swine influenza virus. During his tenure in New York, the city had banned trans fats, which were linked to heart disease, from food that was served in restaurants. He was set to replace acting CDC Director Richard Besser in June. [See pp. 351F2, 65C1] n 354

Legislation Credit-Card Reform Bill Signed Into Law.

President Barack Obama May 22 signed into law a bill that curbed the ability of credit-card companies to raise interest rates and impose fees on customers. Despite opposition from the financial industry, the bill had received broad bipartisan support, with the Senate May 19 voting, 90–5, to pass it, and the House May 20 passing it by a vote of 361–64. The law was one of the Obama administration’s first attempts to reform the financial industry, which critics said had engaged in predatory lending practices in recent years. [See p. 305C1] Under the new rules, credit-card companies could not raise interest rates on existing balances unless a borrower was 60 days behind on a payment. If a borrower was 60 days late, but afterward kept up with payments for six straight months, the company would have to reduce the interest rate to its original level. Companies would have to notify borrowers 45 days in advance before raising interest rates. If a borrower with multiple balances paid above the minimum monthly requirement, the company would have to divert the excess amount to the balance with the highest interest rate. (Previously, companies could divert the excess to the lower-rate balance, allowing them to continue receiving larger payments at the higher rate.) The law limited the ability of companies to impose certain fees and fines. Companies had to make information they provided to consumers much clearer, a provision that came in reaction to public complaints that companies often buried important details in fine print, making them more difficult to find. The law also curbed the ability of companies to sell credit cards to consumers under the age of 21. Some of the rules in the credit-card bill had been introduced by the Federal Reserve in 2008. However, the Fed’s rules would not take effect until July 2010, while the legislation would take effect in February 2010. The financial industry remained opposed to the bill, saying interest-rate hikes were necessary to offset the risk of borrowers in danger of default. Industry representatives said the bill would lead companies to charge higher interest rates to new customers, restore annual fees and restrict reward programs, and lead to a general tightening of credit for consumers. Gun Amendment Included—The bill included an amendment allowing individuals to carry loaded, concealed weapons in national parks and wildlife refuges, as long as it was allowed by state law. The amendment had been introduced by Sen. Tom Coburn (R, Okla.), who said May 19, “Visitors to national parks should have the right to defend themselves in accordance with the laws of their states.” The Senate May 12 had voted, 67–29, to adopt the provision in its version of the credit-card bill. The amendment came in reaction to a March 19 decision by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of U.S. District Court in Wash-

ington, D.C., to issue an injunction blocking the government from implementing a similar Bush administration rule that took effect Jan. 9. House members were allowed to vote on the provision separately from the creditcard bill. It was approved May 20 in a 279– 147 vote. Gun-control advocates in the House voiced dismay that the provision was included in an unrelated bill that enjoyed broad political support. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D, N.Y.) that day said, “I am incredibly disappointed that this wellmeaning bill has been hijacked and used as a political tool ramming a provision down the throats of Americans.” Obama

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Obama May 20 signed into law a bill that would expand the federal government’s efforts to prevent foreclosures and buoy the slumping housing market. The law eased requirements for a $300 billion program known as Hope for Homeowners, which was designed to help homeowners with high mortgage interest rate payments switch to 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration. The Senate had passed the bill in early May, and the House May 19 voted, 367–54, to pass it with minimal changes. The Senate cleared the final version by voice vote that day. [See p. 319A3] The law also increased the borrowing authority of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) to $100 billion, from $30 billion, and would allow a temporary increase to $500 billion through 2010 if necessary. The FDIC had said the increase was necessary because its resources had dwindled in the past year due to a series of bank failures. The law also extended through the end of 2013 the FDIC’s authority to insure individual customer bank deposits of up to $250,000 in the case of a bank failure. In 2008, the deposit insurance limit had been temporarily increased to $250,000, from $100,000, through 2009. n Defense Procurement Overhaul Enacted.

The Senate May 20 and the House May 21 passed a revised version of a bill that would reform the Defense Department’s system for procuring weapons and equipment. The Senate vote was 95–0, while the House vote was 411–0. President Barack Obama May 22 signed the bill; he had originally set a May 25 deadline for its passage. The bill was meant to cut down on massive cost overruns and delays that plagued the development of major weapons systems. [See p. 320A3] The Senate May 7 had approved, 93–0, an initial draft of the bill, while the House May 13 had passed its version, 428–0. A deal to reconcile the two had been reached May 19. The revised bill adopted a measure from the Senate version that would create a new independent post of director of cost assessment and program evaluation, to be appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, who would report to the secretary of defense. The new official would take over the responsibilities and staff of existing auditors. The bill also required reFACTS ON FILE

views if the cost of programs increased by more than 25% prior to certain milestones, and called for measures to reduce conflicts of interest and increase competition. Obama in signing the bill cited a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report saying that overruns among the 96 largest projects had cost taxpayers $295 billion in 2008, and said, “At a time when we’re fighting two wars and facing a serious deficit, this is inexcusable and unconscionable.” n AmeriCorps Expansion Bill Signed. President Barack Obama April 21 signed a bill that would triple the size of the AmeriCorps volunteer community service program to 250,000 positions, from 75,000, over the next eight years, authorizing $5.7 billion in funding. It would increase the education stipend for volunteers to $5,350, the same as the federal Pell Grants awarded to needy college students. [See 2002, p. 90F3; 1993, p. 725G1] The legislation was named the Senator Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act in honor of the Massachusetts Democrat, its chief sponsor. Kennedy, who had been diagnosed with brain cancer in 2008, was on hand for the signing ceremony at the SEED School for troubled youths in Washington, D.C., as was former President Bill Clinton, who created AmeriCorps in 1993. The Senate March 26 had passed the bill by a vote of 78 to 20. The House March 31 cleared it by a vote of 275 to 149. n

Fiscal 2009 Spending Bills Senate Passes Supplemental War Funds.

The Senate May 21 voted, 83–3, to pass a supplemental spending bill that would provide $91.3 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and other international programs for the remainder of fiscal year 2009, which ended Sept. 30. The House the previous week had approved a $96.7 billion version of the legislation. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D, Nev.) said the bills would be reconciled shortly after Congress returned from its May 23–31 recess. [See p. 338D1] In addition to funding military operations, the bill included $6.9 billion for foreign aid and $1.5 billion for preparations for influenza pandemics. The Senate the previous day had voted to strip the bill of $80 million in funds to close the U.S. prison camp for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Senate legislation did not include $3.1 billion that the House had allocated for purchasing military aircraft. The Senate bill included $5 billion not in the House legislation for boosting the lending capacity of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Senate May 21 had rejected an amendment by Sen. Jim DeMint (R, S.C.) to strip those funds, after Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D, Mass.) and Budget Committee ranking member Judd Gregg (R, N.H.) argued that they were vital to stabilizing the world financial system and protecting the U.S. economy. May 28, 2009

The Senate did approve an amendment exempting pictures showing alleged prisoner abuse by U.S. soldiers from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits demanding their release. Another amendment called for the Obama administration to clearly state its objectives for operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan and benchmarks for achieving them. The bill provided Pakistan with $400 million in emergency military aid. [See pp. 330G3, 315A3] An amendment put forward by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R, Texas) that would have blocked government bailout funding for bankrupt automaker Chrysler LLC if it did not give its dealerships at least 60 days to close down—rather than the current deadline of June 9—was ruled not germane. [See p. 282C2] n

Defense Obama Gives Memorial Day Speech. President Barack Obama May 25 observed Memorial Day, speaking at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., and laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns. In his speech, he honored soldiers who “felt some tug; they answered a call; they said, ‘I’ll go.’” Obama added that although he had not served in the military or lost a child in battle, “I do know this: I am humbled to be the commander in chief of the finest fighting force in the history of the world.” [See 2008, p. 358A1] For the first time, Obama sent a wreath to the African American Civil War Memorial in Washington, D.C., which commemorated the more than 200,000 blacks who had fought for the Union during the Civil War. However, he also continued a tradition of sending a wreath to the Confederate Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery. A group of college professors had petitioned Obama to cease the latter practice, which they said gave “encouragement to the modern neo-Confederate movement.” n

Economy Consumer Prices Flat in April. The

Labor Department May 15 reported that its consumer price index (CPI), which tracked prices paid for Inflation (CPI) consumer goods 2009 0.0% by all urban April Previous Month -0.1% consumers, re- 12-Month Increase -0.7% mained unchanged in April, with adjustment for seasonal variation, after falling 0.1% in March. For the 12-month period through April, the overall unadjusted inflation rate was -0.7%, the fastest annual rate that prices had dropped since June 1955. The yearly decline was attributed to a 25% fall in the price of energy, as an ongoing recession led to depressed demand for gasoline and other petroleum products. [See p. 240G2] Energy prices fell 2.4% in April. “Core” consumer prices, which excluded volatile energy and food costs, rose 0.3% in April, although 40% of that rise was due to a tax increase on tobacco products. For the 12-

month period through April, core consumer prices climbed 1.9%. [See p. 357B1] n Industrial Production Fell 0.5% in April.

The Federal Reserve May 15 reported that its industrial production index decreased 0.5% in April, the fifteenth time the index had dropped in 16 months. Based on revised data, the Fed found that industrial production had fallen 1.7% in March. The overall index now stood at 97.1% of its 2002 base average, down from its revised level of 97.6% for March. Manufacturing production fell 0.3% in April. The output of utilities rose 0.4%, and mining output fell 3.2%. Factories, mines and utilities operated at 69.1% of their total capacity in April. [See p. 241D1] n Producer Prices Rose 0.3% in April. The Labor Department May 14 said that according to its producer price index (PPI), prices charged by manufacturers and producers of finished goods in April rose 0.3% after seasonal adjustment. “Core” producer prices, which excluded volatile energy and food prices, rose 0.1% in April. Energy prices fell 0.1%. [See p. 240D3] The finished goods index, before seasonal adjustment, stood at 169.9% of its 1982 base average. That meant that a basket of goods that had cost $100 in 1982 would have cost $169.90 in April. Prices for intermediate, or partially processed, goods dropped 0.5% in April, and prices for crude goods climbed 3.0%. n Consumer Confidence Rose in May. The Conference Board business research group May 26 reported that its index of consumer confidence rose to 54.9 in May, up dramatically from a revised 40.8 in April, and reaching its highest level since September 2008. However, while the report indicated that confidence in the slumping economy was increasing, analysts warned that the index remained at a relatively low level. The index’s base level of 100 reflected consumer confidence in 1985. [See p. 292B1] n Housing Starts Fell 12.8% in April. The Departments of Commerce and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) May 19 reported jointly that the rate of housing starts in April was 458,000 units, annualized and adjusted for seasonal variation. That was down 12.8% from the March revised rate of 525,000, indicating that the housing market remained in a deep slump. However, analysts noted that the decline came as a result of a drop in multifamily housing starts, such as apartment buildings, while singlefamily housing starts increased 2.8% in April, suggesting some improvement in the market. [See p. 292C1] Building permits were issued in April at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 494,000 units, 3.3% below March’s revised rate of 511,000. n Retail Sales Fell 0.4% in April. The Commerce Department May 13 reported that the value of retail sales in April was $337.7 billion, after seasonal adjustment. That was 0.4% below the revised figure for March, and indicated that an ongoing recession was still taking a toll on consumer spending, which accounted for more than two355

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thirds of gross domestic product (GDP). [See p. 240B3] n Business Inventories Down 1.0% in March.

The Commerce Department May 13 reported that the value of business inventories at the end of March was $1.4 trillion after seasonal adjustment, down 1.0% from the revised value at the end of February. The ratio of inventories to sales—a measure of how long it would take businesses to unload their inventories at the current sales pace—was 1.28. [See p. 292A2] n

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Leading Indicators Rose 1.0% in April.

The Conference Board business research organization May 21 reported that its composite index of leading economic indicators, a gauge of future economic activity, rose 1.0% in April, to 99.0. Based on revised data, the index had decreased 0.2%, in March, the board reported. The index’s base level of 100 reflected conditions in 2004. [See p. 264D3] Seven of the 10 indicators in April were “positive” contributors, led by stock prices and interest rate spread. Three indicators— led by real money supply and building permits—were “negative.” n

Prisons California Prison Population Capped. A spe-

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cial three-judge federal panel in San Francisco, Calif., March 2 tentatively ruled that California’s failure to provide adequate health care and psychiatric resources to state prisoners constituted a violation of the prisoners’ constitutional rights, and found that the failure had been caused by overcrowding within the state’s prison system. The panel also tentatively ordered the state to reduce its prison population by up to 55,000 people over the next three years, after finding such reductions were necessary to elevate prison health care standards to levels that would not violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. [See 2008, p. 961G2] The panel said it would set down a final ruling in the future, but had “decided to make this tentative ruling in order to give the parties notice of the likely nature of that opinion, and to allow them to plan accordingly.” The judges said they expected to order California’s government to cap the number of prisoners in the state at 120%–145% of the intended capacity of the state’s prisons. California currently imprisoned more than 159,000 people in facilities designed to hold fewer than 100,000. The panel recommended that the state shorten sentences, transfer nonviolent inmates to non-prison facilities and reward prisoners with time off their sentences for demonstrated good behavior. The panel estimated that decreasing the number of prisoners would save the state more than $800 million per year. It cited previously announced plans by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) to reduce the number of inmates in the state prison system by 40,000 as evidence that the proposed prisoner cap would not endanger public safety. 356

Prison Receiver Retained— California Attorney General Edmund (Jerry) Brown Jan. 28 filed a motion in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco that called for the removal of a court-appointed officer tasked with improving health care in California’s prisons. Brown’s filing argued that the official, J. Clark Kelso, had overstepped his authority by attempting to force the state to pay $8 billion to construct new health care facilities for its prisoners and that the position was no longer necessary. The state’s prison health care system had been put into receivership in 2005 by Judge Thelton Henderson, one of the members of the three-judge panel, after he found that inadequacies in the system were resulting in the deaths of at least 50 prisoners per year. Critics argued that his plans would worsen the state’s budget deficit. [See p. 340G1] Henderson March 24 rejected Brown’s request and wrote in his ruling that “the court is far from confident” that the state government had “the will, capacity, or leadership to provide constitutionally adequate medical care in the absence of receivership.” n

Environment W.R. Grace Acquitted in Asbestos Trial. A

jury in U.S. District Court in Missoula, Mont., May 8 acquitted chemical company W.R. Grace & Co. and three of its executives on charges of hiding the threat of asbestos contamination from the residents of Libby, Mont., the site of a company-owned mine. Prosecutors had alleged that Grace executives knew as early as the 1970s the mining of the mineral vermiculite had created dust contaminated with naturally occurring asbestos, but had conspired to hide that information. The company closed the mine in 1990. Thousands of illnesses and some 200 deaths in Libby were attributed to asbestos exposure, which was known to cause lung cancer and other diseases, including asbestosis. [See 2008, p. 239C3] The trial had begun Feb. 19. Former executives Henry Eschenbach, Jack Wolter, William McCaig, Robert Bettachi and Robert Walsh had originally faced charges of wire fraud, obstruction of justice, conspiracy and violations of the Clean Air Act. (However, Molly dismissed all charges against Walsh April 27 and McCaig April 30.) Grace in 2008 had agreed to pay a $250 million settlement to clean up the town. The company in 2001 had filed for bankruptcy due to hundreds of millions of dollars made in asbestos claims, most unrelated to the Libby case, filed against it. Defense lawyers April 23 filed a request for Judge Donald Molloy to dismiss the charges, arguing that prosecutors had engaged in “repeated and intentional” misconduct. They argued that prosecutors had failed to turn over evidence that would aid the defense’s case. Molloy April 23 had thrown out several of the prosecutor’s evidence exhibits, saying he suspected they would “argue misleading inferences.”

Molloy during the trial had also questioned the testimony of former Grace executive Robert Locke, a main prosecution witness, describing him as a “liar” April 17. Defense lawyers argued that Locke had received an implicit promise that he would not face criminal trial, and that the jury was not informed of that. However, Molloy April 28 said he would not exclude Locke’s testimony. n News in Brief. The U.S. Forest Service May 1 said it had issued an order the previous week to close caves in 20 northern states in order to control the spread of a fungus thought to have killed 500,000 bats. The agency May 21 issued a second order closing caves in 13 other states in the Southeast. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service March 26 had asked people to voluntarily stay out of caves in 17 states in order to control the fungus. It was unknown how the fungus was contributing to the bats’ deaths. The outbreak was also known as “white nose syndrome.” [See 2007, p. 652G2] Interior Secretary Ken Salazar April 27 said his department would seek a court order overturning a last-minute rule from the administration of former President George W. Bush that allowed mining waste to be dumped in valley streams and rivers. Salazar said the rule was “legally defective.” If the regulation was nullified by a court, it would allow the Interior Department to put a new rule in place more quickly than if it set out to rewrite the existing rule on its own. In December 2008, the Bush administration had issued a rule allowing mining companies to dump waste within 100 feet (30 m) of waterways in some circumstances, in conflict with a 1983 law prohibiting the practice. [See p. 267F2] The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) April 15 said it would order the manufacturers of 67 chemicals used in pesticides to see if they disrupted the endocrine systems of humans or animals. The tests were scheduled to begin in the summer of 2009, and were due by the end of 2010. An EPA spokesman said 1,000 chemicals would eventually undergo such tests. [See 2008, p. 620D2] Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) April 1 said his state was being forced to dramatically cut back a plan to purchase 180,000 acres (72,900 hectares) of land from U.S. Sugar Corp. for $1.34 billion in order to restore Florida’s Everglades region. Instead, Crist said the state government would pay $533 million for 72,500 acres of land, with a 10-year option to purchase the remaining land. Crist said the scaleback was necessary due to budget constraints caused by the economic downturn. [See 2008, p. 956D3] The fiscal 2009 omnibus spending bill signed March 11 by President Barack Obama included a provision strengthening requirements for the reporting of toxic chemicals released into the environment by chemical manufacturers and other industries. The provision reversed a December 2006 rule easing reporting requirements of about 600 chemicals under the Toxics Release Inventory program. Under FACTS ON FILE

the new rule, which took effect immediately, about 3,500 entities would have to report their toxic emissions in much greater detail. [See p. 143F3; 2007, p. 825F3] The U.S. Bureau of Land Management March 2 said an offer from Madeleine Pickens, the wife of hedge fund billionaire T. Boone Pickens, to create a wild horse sanctuary in the Western U.S. was unfeasible. Pickens in November 2008 had offered to purchase about one million acres (405,000 hectares) of land, and relocate some 33,000 wild horses and burros spread across 10 states to the reserve. [See 2008, p. 939B1] n

Tobacco News in Brief. A federal tax increase on tobacco products took effect April 1. Federal

taxes on a pack of cigarettes rose to $1.01 per pack, from 39 cents, while the rate on loose tobacco climbed to $24.78 per pound, from $1.09. Taxes on cigars and smokeless tobacco were also raised. The new tax revenue was dedicated to funding the state Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP or CHIP), which provided health care to the children of poor families. The New York Times March 21 reported that at least 20 states were also considering raising tobacco taxes in order to deal with state budget shortfalls resulting from the economic crisis. [See p. 62C3] Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine (D) March 9 signed into law a bill banning most smoking in bars and restaurants in Virginia. Under the law, patrons of such establishments were only allowed to smoke in rooms with a separate ventilating system. Outdoor areas and private clubs were exempted from the smoking ban. The Virginia House of Delegates Feb. 19 had voted, 60–39, to pass the bill. The state senate earlier that day also passed the measure, 27–13. The ban was considered notable because Virginia had been an important tobacco grower for 400 years, and the industry had long opposed such a move. [See 2006, p. 304B2] A jury in Broward Co. (Fla.) Circuit Court Feb. 18 awarded Elaine Hess, the widow of a smoker who died of lung cancer, $8 million in damages from tobacco company Philip Morris USA, a unit of Altria Group

Inc. The award consisted of $3 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. Hess’s husband, Stuart Hess, had died in 1997 at the age of 55. It was the first time a plaintiff had won a tobacco lawsuit in the state since the Florida Supreme Court in 2006 threw out a $145 billion award in a class-action suit filed by smokers and their family members. Some 8,000 similar lawsuits were pending in Florida. [See 2006, p. 530C1] n

Accidents & Disasters NTSB Holds Hearing on Buffalo Plane Crash.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) May 12–14 conducted a public hearing on the crash of Colgan Air Inc. Flight 3407, which in February had crash landed on top of a house near Buffalo, N.Y., killing all 49 people aboard and one May 28, 2009

person on the ground. The NTSB criticized Manassas, Va.–based Colgan for paying employees low wages while expecting them to commute across the country to their base airports, and heard testimony affirming that tired pilots were likely to have difficulty concentrating. [See p. 95B2] Both the pilot and copilot of the downed plane had worked out of Newark, N.J., but lived elsewhere. The NTSB May 13 said copilot Rebecca Shaw, 24, who Colgan paid about $16,200 per year, had commuted the day of the flight from her home in Seattle, Wash., to Newark on a “red-eye,” or latenight flight, and had caught a connecting flight at dawn in Memphis, Tenn. The pilot, Marvin Renslow, 47, had arrived in Newark days before the flight, but was seen sleeping in Colgan’s Newark crew lounge prior to its departure, in violation of the company’s rules. Mark Rosenker, acting chairman of the NTSB, May 13 said Colgan, by allowing those practices, was effectively “winking and nodding” at safety standards. Kathryn Higgins, another NTSB board member, said commuting practices by Colgan employees “are a recipe for an accident and that’s what we have here.” The board said it was still investigating how fatigue might have affected the pilots. Pilots Violated Federal Rules—The board May 12 released transcripts of the pilots’ conversation prior to the crash, which indicated that they had been chatting as the plane was preparing to land, a violation of federal rules that banned unnecessary conversation below 10,000 feet (3,048 m). Shaw had been discussing her lack of experience with ice buildup on airplanes, which was occurring as the pilots talked. Renslow had responded by describing his experiences flying with ice buildup. Safety experts May 14 told the board that the pilots appeared not to understand the severity of their situation. The pilots had apparently failed to notice a dangerous deceleration as they prepared to land at the Buffalo airport. The plane’s automatic emergency system then attempted to point the plane’s nose down in order to help it gain speed. However, Renslow manually fought the emergency system by pulling the control stick up, which caused the plane to roll and enter a sudden descent. Also, the Wall Street Journal May 11 reported that Renslow had failed a number of flight tests, and had never been taught how to respond to the airplane’s so-called stick-pusher warning system. (Colgan said it had not known about all the test failures because some had occurred before he was employed there, and he had lied about them on his application.) Colgan, which had maintained that it was in compliance with all safety regulations, said it was currently negotiating with its pilots’ union about working hours and commuting rules. A final NTSB report on the crash was expected in 2010. n News in Brief. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley March 26 announced two settlements connected to a 2006 tunnel ceiling collapse in Boston’s so-called Big

Dig underground highway project. Camp

Hill, Pa.–based Gannett Fleming, which had designed the tunnel’s ceiling, would pay $1.5 million to maintain the tunnels, pay $50,000 to the city of Boston and gave up its claim to a $150,000 payment owed by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority. In the second settlement, Lyndhurst, N.J.–based Sika Corp., which made the epoxy glue used in the tunnel’s ceiling, would pay $200,000 for the tunnel’s upkeep. The settlements concluded the state’s legal proceedings related to the Big Dig ceiling collapse. [See 2008, p. 794F1] The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), at a March 3 hearing, said Robert Sanchez, the engineer of a California

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passenger train that had collided head-on with a freight train in 2008, killing 25 peo-

ple, had previously allowed at least one unauthorized person to sit “at the controls while the train was operating.” It also said a text message Sanchez sent from his mobile phone “indicated an offer for another unauthorized person to ride in the cab and operate the train the day of the accident.” The board concluded that “a significant issue in this accident is cellphone usage by train crews.” Investigators also said the train’s conductor had tested positive for marijuana use the day of the accident. The NTSB had previously found that Sanchez, who died in the crash, sent a text message 22 seconds before the collision. [See 2008, p. 794D1] n

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Other U.S. News Official Resigns Over NYC Flight Panic.

White House Military Office Director Louis Caldera May 8 resigned in connection with an unannounced midair photo shoot near New York City’s downtown financial district that led to the evacuations of thousands of workers in late April due to fears that it might be a terrorist attack. He had previously taken responsibility for the flight, which was approved by his office, and for the government’s failure to inform the public about it. [See p. 308C1] Also May 8, the White House released one of the photos taken during the incident—which featured the Statue of Liberty and one of the planes used to carry the president, which were known as Air Force One when the president was on board—as well as the results of an internal investigation into the incident. According to the White House report, planning for the flight had begun in March, and the U.S. Air Force and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) April 3 agreed that the public would be informed about the planned flight on April 25, two days before the flight. However, after receiving the text of the FAA’s advisory, labeled “not intended for release,” the Air Force official who had informed local officials in New York about the flight had told them not to publicly discuss the flight unless specifically asked. Caldera had not been informed of the plan until April 20 and had not read a detailed description of the planned flight until April 27, after the flight had taken place, because the description had been sent to an e-mail account that he did not check regularly. n 357

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Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) May 22 was declared the winner of the country’s May 19 presidential election. According to the Malawi Electoral Commission, the incumbent garnered 2.7 million votes, compared with 1.3 million for his closest challenger, John Tembo of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP). Mutharika, who was first elected in 2004, later May 22 was sworn in to a second five-year term. Joyce Banda, his running mate, was also sworn in that day, becoming Malawi’s first female vice president. [See 2004, p. 390D1] In voting for the 193-seat parliament, also held May 19, the DPP won 59 seats; the MCP garnered 17; former President Bakili Muluzi’s United Democratic Front (UDF), which was allied with the MCP, took 10; and the Malawi Forum for Unity and Development claimed one. Independents took 11 seats. Malawi’s constitutional court May 16 had ruled that Muluzi was ineligible to run in the presidential election because he had already served the maximum two consecutive five-year terms in office. The UDF then threw its support behind Tembo in the presidential contest. Muluzi and Mutharika were former allies who had become rivals after Mutharika launched an anticorruption campaign upon taking office. Muluzi was charged in 2006 with embezzling millions of dollars while in office, but those charges were later dropped. The government Feb. 26 announced that he had been rearrested on similar charges. [See 2006, p. 649A2] Muluzi May 21 reportedly congratulated Mutharika on his victory. However, Tembo that day said he rejected the results, alleging that the election had been rigged. Election observers from the European Union and the Commonwealth May 21–22 expressed concern that reporting in the state media during the campaign had been biased toward Mutharika, but said the election was generally free and fair. Analysts said Mutharika, a 75-year-old former World Bank official, won reelection based on his record of strengthening Malawi’s economy, agriculture sector and food security during his first term. However, two-thirds of the population still lived on less than $1 per day. [See 2005, p. 926E2] n

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Rebels Declare ‘War’ in Oil Region. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) rebel group, based in Nigeria’s restive, oil-rich southern Niger Delta, in a May 15 statement declared an “allout war” in the region. The declaration came in response to a major offensive against MEND launched by the Nigerian army earlier that day. More than three years of attacks by MEND in the region had re358

duced Nigeria’s oil production by about 25%. [See 2008, p. 972B2] MEND claimed to be fighting for a greater share of the region’s oil wealth for its impoverished citizens, who were mainly ethnic Ijaws. On Jan. 30, the group had ended a cease-fire that it declared in September 2008, and resumed attacking foreign oil installations and kidnapping foreign workers. The army’s latest offensive was called its most forceful since MEND took up arms in early 2006, and reportedly was prompted by MEND’s May 13 capture of a tanker belonging to the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corp., and the kidnapping of at least 15 Filipino crew members. MEND was also said to be holding several Nigerian soldiers hostage, as well as British oil worker Matthew Maguire, who had been kidnapped in September 2008. The military sent helicopter gunships and boats to clear out MEND camps in remote swamps in southern Delta state, in the area around the massive Escravos oil terminal, run by the U.S.’s Chevron Corp. MEND, in its May 15 statement, said it was declaring war in the region after the army earlier that day “launched indiscriminate aerial bombardment on the defenceless civilians in the Gbaramatu region of Delta State.” It also warned foreign oil companies to pull their staff from the region by midnight that night, the third such warning it had issued in as many days. Foreign oil companies operating in the Niger Delta reportedly did not heed MEND’s warning. Col. Rabe Abubakar, a spokesman for the Joint Task Force, the Nigerian military’s special unit in the Niger Delta, May 15 said, “The military task force cannot just fold its hands and allow these sorts of barbaric attacks to continue.” According to analysts, the offensive— which the Joint Task Force was believed to have been planning for some time—could last for several weeks. It was widely reported that the military was targeting a man named Government Tompolo, a member of a prominent Ijaw family who according to some reports was MEND’s leader. Civilian Deaths Alleged—A spokesman for international human rights group Amnesty International May 21 alleged that many civilians had been killed in the military’s offensive, saying, “We fear that hundreds of bystanders, including women and children, have been killed and injured, and thousands of people remain trapped in the area—unable to return to their homes having fled the fighting.” The British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC), citing accounts from eyewitnesses who had made their way to Warri, the region’s main city, that day reported that thousands of people had been forced to flee their homes in remote villages in Delta state due to attacks by the military, with many sleeping in the bush or in swamps. Those reports were backed up by local organizations, including the Ijaw National Congress. However, they could not be independently verified, as the military had denied journalists access to the area.

Britain’s Guardian newspaper May 21 reported that Abubakar had denied that there had been civilian deaths, quoting him as saying, “There are no casualties on the civilian side. Whoever is injured must have taken part in the fighting.” U.S. government-supported broadcaster Voice of America May 27 reported that local leaders in the Niger Delta had called for talks with the government of Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua to end the military offensive, citing the worsening humanitarian situation. MEND Attacks Pipelines—MEND May 25 said it had attacked five major pipelines in the region belonging to Chevron. The U.S. company confirmed the attacks, and said it had been forced to halt operations, cutting output by 100,000 barrels of oil per day. (Nigeria’s average production was about 1.6 million barrels per day.) Militant Leader Killed—Police in Yenagoa, capital of neighboring Bayelsa state, May 27 killed militant leader Ken Niweigha, reportedly in a shootout between police and his supporters, although MEND contended that he had been “summarily executed.” Niweigha had been arrested one day earlier in the nearby town of Odi. Reports varied as to whether Niweigha had been a leader of MEND or had been a head of one of the many criminal gangs that also operated in the region. (Analysts said several criminal gangs, often with connections to local politicians, operated in the Niger Delta region, siphoning oil from pipelines and selling it on the world market. MEND had also reportedly become involved in such activities, blurring the line between the rebel group and gangs.) [See 2008, p. 520F3] Odi in 1999 had been burned to the ground by security forces in reprisal for the killing of policemen by fighters allegedly led by Niweigha, and local residents reportedly turned him in to police in order to avoid a similar incident. [See 1999, p. 902G3] n

Africa News in Brief Kenya: Two Dozen Killed in Gang Violence.

At least 24 people were killed April 20–21 in clashes between residents of the town of Karatina, in central Kenya, and members of the outlawed Mungiki gang. The Mungiki—a mafia-like, mainly ethnic Kikuyu organization—was notorious for extorting and terrorizing civilians in many Kenyan cities and towns. The people of Karatina reportedly attacked suspected members of the Mungiki with clubs, machetes and spears, and the Mungiki fought back. Britain’s Guardian newspaper April 21 reported that the clashes followed more than a week of vigilante attacks on Mungiki members, including lynchings. [See p. 203D1] n Libya: Democracy Activist Dies. Prominent Libyan democracy activist Fathi al-Jahmi May 21 died in a hospital in Amman, Jordan’s capital. Jahmi, 68, had been imprisoned in Libya since 2002, after calling for greater political freedom in the country. He was released in 2004 after the intervention FACTS ON FILE

of then–U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden, now the U.S. vice president, but was rearrested weeks later after criticizing Libyan leader Muammer el-Qaddafi. Then–U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in September 2008 had raised Jahmi’s case in a meeting with Qaddafi. Jahmi, who suffered from diabetes and heart disease, in 2007 or early 2008 had been transferred to a hospital in Tripoli, from a psychiatric hospital that he had been sent to in 2006. He was taken to the Arab Medical Center in Amman May 5, after falling into a coma. The official cause of death was not released. Jahmi’s family and human rights groups alleged that he had died because he was denied proper medical care. [See 2008, p. 636F1] n South Africa: Economy Enters Recession.

Statistics South Africa May 26 reported that the country’s economy had contracted at an annualized rate of 6.4% in the first quarter of 2009—the largest decline since 1984 and larger than analysts had predicted—after shrinking an annualized 1.8% the previous quarter. The two straight quarters of negative growth meant that South Africa, the continent’s largest economy, had entered its first recession since 1992. Tito Mboweni, governor of the Reserve Bank of South Africa, the central bank, May 28 announced a one-percentage-point cut in benchmark interest rates, to 7.5%, but also said “any further significant reductions” were unlikely. The rate reduction was the fourth of 2009. South Africa’s key mining and manufacturing sectors had been hit hard by the global economic crisis. [See pp. 325E2, 96F2] n

AMERICAS

Mexico Officials Arrested in Drug Crackdown.

Mexican antidrug police and army forces May 26 arrested 10 mayors and at least 17 other government officials in the state of Michoacan in raids targeting suspected drug cartel collaborators. A spokesman for the attorney general’s office said those detained were suspected of providing protection and information to the La Familia de Michoacan drug cartel. The officials were detained in the early morning, with many taken from their homes and offices. [See p. 249E2] Michoacan was Mexican President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa’s home state, and was home to large marijuana-growing operations. Soon after taking office in December 2006, Calderon had dispatched tens of thousands of federal police and troops across the country to clamp down on the activities of drug cartels, first sending troops to Michoacan. The resulting violence had killed at least 11,000 people. Officials from municipalities in Michoacan state were widely thought to work with drug trafficking groups. Michoacan Governor Leonel Godoy held a press conference confirming the arrests, but disavowed any prior knowledge of the operation. Among those arrested in the operation was the mayor of Uruapan, a city that had May 28, 2009

gained notoriety in September 2006 after men armed with assault weapons dumped five human heads onto the dance floor of a bar there as a warning. Also arrested were a judge, and several officials from Godoy’s administration. [See 2006, p. 913C1] The arrested officials had come from all three major national political parties—Calderon’s conservative National Action Party (PAN), the leftist Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) and the populist Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)—which some observers said suggested an effort to stave off claims that the arrests were politically motivated. (Midterm congressional elections were scheduled to take place in July.) Michoacan state’s head prosecutor, Miguel Garcia Hurtado, May 27 resigned and turned himself in to police for questioning. Other News—In other news related to drug violence: o A group of suspected drug smugglers May 16 freed 53 inmates, many of whom had worked as gunmen for the Gulf cartel, from a prison in Zacatecas state. A group of 30 men in a convoy of vehicles, backed by a helicopter, had entered the prison, loaded up the escaped prisoners and then driven away. Zacatecas Governor Amalia Garcia May 17 said the raid could not have occurred without the help of prison employees, and announced that the prison warden and two other high-ranking guards had been arrested. o The Washington Post May 1 reported that the Mexican government had arrested more than 60,000 people suspected of having ties to drug smuggling cartels over the past two years. However, the Mexican attorney general’s office would not say how many of those arrested remained in custody, or how many had been charged with a drug trafficking–related crime. Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission said complaints about army conduct had also risen 576% since December 2006. Advocacy group Human Rights Watch April 29 released a report alleging that the military had committed “serious human rights violations” during its prosecution of drug cartels. o The Post April 25 reported that the Defense Department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) were formulating a contingency plan to send National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border should drug-related violence escalate in the U.S. The plan called for the military to receive up to $350 million for “counternarcotics and other activities” on the border, but did not spell out the circumstances in which National Guard troops might be deployed. The funding request for the plan was included in a supplemental budget request made earlier in the month. [See p. 355D1, 341C1] o Police in western Nayarit state April 21 said a prisoner convoy had been ambushed by a group of armed men who killed eight policemen in a failed attempt to free a highranking drug cartel member. Jeronimo Gamez, the cousin of Arturo Beltran Leyva,

an alleged leader of one of Mexico’s largest cartels, was in the convoy, which was traveling from an airport to a prison. n

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Myanmar Suu Kyi Testifies in Trial. Myanmar pro-

democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi May 26 testified that she had not violated her house arrest during an incident earlier in May when a U.S. citizen carried out a twoday unauthorized visit to her residence in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city. Suu Kyi, who had been detained by Myanmar’s ruling military government for 13 of the past 19 years, was the leader of the pro-democracy National League for Democracy (NLD) party and the recipient of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. [See pp. 327C2, 187F3; 2008, p. 925E2] Suu Kyi, 63, May 22 had pleaded not guilty to charges that she had violated the terms of her house arrest by failing to report the presence of the U.S. citizen, John Yettaw. She faced up to five years in prison if convicted on the charges. Myanmar’s judicial system was controlled by the junta and analysts said a guilty verdict was likely in the case. In her testimony, Suu Kyi said that while Yettaw had entered her house on May 3 after swimming across an adjoining lake, she had not been aware he was inside until the morning of May 4, when she was informed of his presence by one of her two housekeepers. (Yettaw and both housekeepers had also been charged in the case.) Suu Kyi said Yettaw had refused to leave the house until May 5 because he said he was suffering from cramps related to his swim. She said she had not turned him in because she did not want him or the security forces guarding her house to be punished. However, she suggested that the guards bore responsibility for the incident because they had failed to stop Yettaw from entering the house. The court, which operated out of Myanmar’s Insein prison, near Yangon, May 27 rejected three of four defense witnesses. In contrast, only nine of the 23 witnesses called by the prosecution had been blocked from testifying. An attorney for Suu Kyi said the decision would undermine her legal defense. U.S. Visitor Motivated by ‘Dream’—

Yettaw May 22 pleaded not guilty to charges that he had violated Myanmar’s immigration laws and illegally entered a restricted zone. Yettaw May 27 testified that he had dreamed that Suu Kyi would be assassinated by terrorists, and that he traveled to her residence from the U.S. on a mission from God to warn her. He testified that four or five of the guards had seen him swimming toward Suu Kyi’s house. He said they had thrown rocks at him, but did not shoot at him or otherwise attempt to stop him. He also said that he had tried to enter Suu Kyi’s house in November 2008 but had been captured and interrogated by Myanmar security forces before being released. 359

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Myanmar’s state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper May 22 reported that Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win had told Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone on May 18 that Yettaw’s visit had been organized by antigovernment groups as part of a conspiracy against the ruling junta. According to Nyan Win, the groups had plotted to intensify “international pressure on Myanmar” by baiting the government into cracking down on Suu Kyi, who was widely respected for her efforts to bring democracy to Myanmar. Myanmar’s government May 26 canceled the detention order that it had used to hold Suu Kyi under house arrest, reportedly because Myanmar law required extrajudicial detentions to be canceled if the subject of the detention was charged with a crime. However, the government said she would remain in detention during the trial. Critics argued that the government’s legal authority to hold Suu Kyi without trial had expired in 2008, and that a subsequent illegal extension of her detention had been due to expire May 27. The government May 26 had argued that it could have legally held Suu Kyi under house arrest until November 2009. Gen. Myint Thein, a high-ranking police official, May 26 claimed that the government had been considering releasing Suu Kyi “on humanitarian grounds” due to her reportedly fragile health, but had decided against doing so as a result of the Yettaw incident. Sanctions Against Myanmar Extended—

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Following Suu Kyi’s arrest, U.S. President Barack Obama May 15 informed the U.S. Congress that he had extended the U.S. government’s sanctions against Myanmar for another year. Obama justified the extension of the sanctions, which had been scheduled to expire later in May, by arguing that Myanmar’s government was engaging in a “large-scale repression of the democratic opposition” within the country. The European Union April 27 had approved a one-year extension of its sanctions against Myanmar at a meeting of the EU’s foreign ministers in Luxembourg. The EU said in a statement that it was willing to hold discussions with Myanmar’s government, and called for planned 2010 legislative elections promoted by the military government to be a “credible, transparent and inclusive process, based on international standards.” Obama May 26 issued a statement condemning Suu Kyi’s “continued detention, isolation and show trial, based on spurious charges,” and said the actions of Myanmar’s government had “cast serious doubt” on its “willingness to be a responsible member of the international community.” He called for Suu Kyi to be released and for Myanmar to respect “its own laws and its own people.” U.N. Security Council Denounces Arrests—

The United Nations Security Council May 22 voted unanimously to issue a declaration calling on Myanmar’s government to release Suu Kyi and the rest of the country’s more than 2,000 political prisoners. 360

The declaration expressed concern about the “political impact” of the government’s prosecution of Suu Kyi, and encouraged renewed dialogue between the junta and representatives of Myanmar’s pro-democracy parties, as well as groups representing oppressed ethnic minorities. Experts noted that both Russia and China, which had previously avoided criticizing Myanmar, backed the declaration. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon May 20 had announced during an interview with the U.S.’s Cable News Network (CNN) that, due to concerns about the Suu Kyi prosecution, he intended to visit Myanmar as soon as possible. He said he was currently negotiating such a trip with Myanmar’s government. Ban said Suu Kyi’s continued detention constituted “an unacceptable situation” in light of her status as “a Nobel peace laureate.” Thailand Issues Warning—The government of Thailand, which currently held the rotating presidency of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to which Myanmar also belonged, May 19 issued a statement on behalf of ASEAN warning Myanmar that “the honor and credibility” of its government were “at stake” if it failed to treat Suu Kyi humanely and to provide her with “timely and adequate medical care.” Thailand and other members of ASEAN had generally avoided criticizing Myanmar for its crackdown on democracy activists and ethnic minorities. Separately, a group of Myanmar pro-democracy activists living in exile in Thailand May 24 held demonstrations in Bangkok, Thailand’s capital, and near Thailand’s border with Myanmar. The protesters called for Suu Kyi’s release and for increased international pressure on Myanmar’s government. n

North Korea Trial Date Set for U.S. Journalists. North Korea’s state news media April 24 said that authorities had decided to indict two U.S. journalists arrested in March at the North Korea–China border on criminal charges. The charges were not detailed, but the government had previously accused the two reporters, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, of illegally entering the country with the intention of committing unspecified “hostile acts.” North Korea May 14 announced that they would go on trial June 4 in the Central Court, the country’s highest court. [See p. 215D3] North Korea said it was allowing consular contact with the pair; the U.S., because it had no diplomatic relations with North Korea, had communicated with the country on the matter through a Swedish diplomat. The diplomat, Mats Foyer, reportedly visited Lee and Ling March 30 and May 15. Numerous foreign observers suggested the reporters’ detention and planned trial were intended to place pressure on the U.S. with respect to an ongoing impasse in longrunning six-nation talks on North Korea’s nuclear program. The case drew comparison with the prosecution and subsequent release, earlier in May, of a U.S.-Iranian

reporter by Iran, also amid tensions with the U.S. over nuclear activities. [See pp. 350A3, 330B1] n

South Korea Former President Roh Commits Suicide.

Former South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun, 62, May 23 committed suicide by leaping off a mountain cliff near his home village of Bongha in the country’s south. Roh in April had become implicated in a corruption investigation in which prosecutors suspected that he had solicited payments, totaling some $6 million, made by a South Korean businessman to Roh’s wife and other relatives. Roh April 30 had been questioned at length in the case, and had issued an apology to the country expressing shame over it, although he had not admitted to wrongdoing. [See 2002, p. 994D3] Roh reportedly jumped from an outcropping called Owl Rock while on a hike near his home. He was pronounced dead at a hospital in the nearby city of Pusan. He left a short note lamenting “the suffering caused by me” and also referring to unspecified health problems. Roh, a former human rights lawyer, had been elected president in 2002, and had served from 2003 to 2008. Until the recent investigation he had maintained a reputation as a clean-handed politician, after a series of previous South Korean presidents were tainted by corruption allegations or convictions after leaving office. In an April 22 Web site posting, he declared, “You should now discard me,” adding that he could no longer be regarded as an upholder of “democracy, progressiveness and justice.” Roh’s supporters, now in the political opposition, had contended that the investigation was politically motivated and that the country’s news media was abetting prosecutors in the dissemination of damaging information. Roh’s predecessor, Kim Dae Jung, said, “He was probably unable to bear the pressure” of the stream of leaked allegations, and hailed him as a “lifelong companion” in the pro-democracy movement they had participated in under the country’s former military regime. Roh’s suicide threatened to heighten his supporters’ anger and raise political tensions with the government of President Lee Myung Bak. In the town of Kimhae, near Bongha, supporters reportedly prevented some political figures, including Prime Minister Han Seung Soo and Lee Hoi Chang, whom Roh had defeated in the 2002 election, from joining those gathered to pay their respects. President Lee May 23 called Roh’s suicide “sad” and “hard to believe,” and ordered a state funeral. Payments to Wife Investigated— Roh April 7 said for the first time that his wife, Kwon Yang Sook, had received money from the businessman at the center of the scandal, Park Yeon Cha, who headed shoe-making company Taekwang Industrial Co. Park had been arrested in December 2008, on taxevasion and bribery charges. A former aide FACTS ON FILE

to Roh, Chung Sang Moon, earlier April 7 had been arrested on charges of accepting the alleged payments, and the former president said he wanted to make clear that it was his wife who had actually sought and received the money. However, Roh asserted that the $1 million his wife had received from Park had been a loan, not a bribe, and that another $5 million given to his brother’s son-in-law had been an investment in the recipient’s business. Roh said had not known of the payments at the time. After his suicide, prosecutors announced that they were closing the case against him, but it remained unclear how they would proceed against the other targets of the probe. Rights Lawyer Pursued N. Korea Ties—

Roh had been a self-trained lawyer who defended dissident students prosecuted in the 1980s by the military government, launching a career as a labor and human rights lawyer and a member of the pro-democracy movement that led to the institution of direct elections. He succeeded Kim Dae Jung, a former dissident and fellow member of the Millennium Democratic Party, as president. Roh was impeached and suspended from office in 2004 over an election law infraction, but restored to office by a court ruling two months later. [For facts on Roh, see 2002, p. 995A1] Roh had continued the “sunshine policy” of rapprochement with North Korea pioneered by Kim, which Lee had shifted away from. North Korea May 25 announced that its supreme leader, Kim Jong Il, had sent a message of condolence to Roh’s family. [See p. 350G2] n

EUROPE

UNITED STATES

Germany President Koehler Reelected by Assembly.

German President Horst Koehler May 23 won reelection to a second five-year term in his mostly ceremonial post, in a vote by the Federal Assembly, comprised of the parliament and state representatives. Koehler, 66, was the candidate of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He also had the support of the smaller, promarket Free Democratic Party. He won 613 votes, the minimum he needed to avoid a second round, from the 1,224 assembly members. [See 2004, p. 406G1] Gesine Schwan, the candidate of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), finished in second place, with 503 votes. Schwan, a former university president and political scientist, had also lost to Koehler in the 2004 presidential election. The more radical Left Party, which included former East German communists and SDP renegades, fielded its own candidate, television actor Peter Sodann, rather than backing Schwan. Sodann won 91 votes. The presidential election was viewed as a test for the major parties in advance of parliamentary elections scheduled for Sept. 27. The CDU and the SDP shared power in May 28, 2009

Merkel’s government as a so-called grand coalition, but tensions between them were rising with the approach of the elections. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier April 19 had opened his campaign as the SPD’s candidate for chancellor, unveiling a party manifesto that called for higher taxes on the wealthy and more state intervention in the economy. CDU leaders, who did not plan to start campaigning until June, criticized Steinmeier’s early launch, saying that it could undermine the unity of the coalition government as it contended with a severe economic recession. Gross domestic product had contracted by 3.8% in the first three months of the year, compared with the fourth quarter of 2008, it was reported May 14. n

Ireland Report Cites Abuses in Catholic Schools.

An official commission May 20 issued a report on its findings that thousands of children had suffered physical, sexual and emotional abuse at the hand of priests and nuns in government funded, Roman Catholic–run reform schools and children’s group homes in Ireland during the period from 1930 to 1990. [See 2006, p. 1027C1; 2002, p. 157A1] The Irish government created the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse in 2000, in response to sexual abuse scandals involving Catholic clergy. In 1999, then– Prime Minister Bertie Ahern had apologized to the victims. The panel based its 2,600-page report on the testimony of more than 1,000 witnesses who, as children, had been students or residents at the Catholic-run institutions. More than 30,000 children had been sent to those institutions. They included orphans, children of unwed mothers or of parents otherwise deemed unfit by local clergy, and children with criminal records. The report said sexual abuse, including rape and molestation, was “endemic” in the schools and homes for boys, where severe beatings were also common, and abuses included scaldings, being doused with frigid water, and “being set upon by dogs.” Sexual abuse was generally less severe in the girls’ institutions, according to the report, but girls suffered “ritualized beating” in some schools and were frequently subjected to emotional abuse. The report said government officials in the Education Department had legal responsibility for the children but had failed to properly inspect the institutions, despite the fact that officials had been aware of allegations of abuse. Victims’ groups criticized the commission for not naming the perpetrators of the abuse in its report, shielding those who were still alive from prosecution. The Christian Brothers, which was cited for abuses more than any other religious order in the report, had won a 2004 lawsuit against the commission to prevent its members from being named. Prime Minister Responds—Prime Minister Brian Cowen May 26 held an emer-

gency cabinet meeting on the report. In a statement that day, he said, “These children were placed in institutions by the state and the state had a duty of care to them. The victims were betrayed by the state and we must ensure that this can never, ever happen again.” Cowen called on the 18 Catholic orders implicated in the abuse to pay more compensation to victims. He said, “Those orders whose members committed the abuse must too face their moral responsibilities,” and should “articulate their willingness to make a further substantial voluntary contribution.” He said they should help fund counseling and educational programs for victims and their families. The Christian Brothers and seven other orders May 27 said they would meet with Cowen to discuss how much new compensation they could offer to victims. Under a 2002 agreement, about 14,000 abuse cases had been settled at a cost of 1.1 billion euros ($1.5 billion), most of which was borne by taxpayers. The government had agreed to limit payments by the 18 implicated orders to 128 million euros. The Christian Brothers issued a statement declaring that they “accept, with shame, the findings” of the commission. It said, “The congregation is deeply sorry for the hurt we have caused—not just for the mistakes of the past, but for the inadequacy of our responses over the years.” n

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Iran Missile Able to Reach Israel, Europe Tested.

Iranian state media May 20 reported that Iran had successfully test-launched a surface-to-surface missile that had a range of 1,200 miles (2,000 km), far enough to hit Israel and parts of Eastern Europe. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was at the launch site near the city of Semnan, in the northern province of Semnan, said the rocket “landed exactly on target.” Some analysts said the rocket’s launch was a step towards Iran being able to build missiles that could deliver nuclear warheads; the U.S. and its allies said Iran’s nuclear program was dedicated to building nuclear weapons, but Iran said it was only for civilian power generation. [See p. 254F1; 2008, p. 857D1] The Sejil-2 rocket used solid fuel in two stages, which experts said gave it more accuracy and longer range than the majority of Iran’s arsenal of one-stage, liquid-fuel rockets. In addition, solid-fuel rockets could more easily be moved into and out of hiding and fired quickly, making attacks on the launchers more difficult. A similar solid-fuel rocket had been tested in November 2008. However, the Sejil-2 had “a new navigation system as well as precise and sophisticated sensors,” according to Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar. Ahmadinejad at a campaign rally in Semnan said the test demonstrated to the 361

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West that “the Islamic Republic of Iran is running the show,” and claimed that “in the near future we will launch bigger rockets with bigger reach.” He was running for reelection in June, and analysts said the test might be intended in part to boost his popularity. [See p. 362E1] U.S. President Barack Obama’s top arms control officer, Gary Samore, described the new missile as “a significant step forward in terms of Iran’s capability to deliver weapons.” He expressed hope that the U.S. “will be able to capitalize on this launch to strengthen our case” for imposing strong international sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program. However, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said the test was not strategically important for Israel, because Iran had already tested missiles with a range of 1,500 km that could reach Israel, “but it should worry the Europeans.” Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini May 20 canceled a planned visit to Iran, after the Iranian government reportedly wanted to change the meeting location from Tehran, Iran’s capital, to the rocket launch site. Western diplomats had reacted with dismay after the planned trip was first reported earlier that day; European Union nations had avoided high-level contacts with Iran because of Iran’s refusal to stop enriching uranium for its nuclear program. A secret Israeli report claimed that Bolivia and Venezuela were providing uranium for Iran’s nuclear program, the Associated Press (AP) reported May 25. The two South American nations had close ties to Iran, but it had not previously been alleged that they were involved in its nuclear program. The Bolivian and Venezuelan governments May 26 denied the allegations. n Presidential Candidates Announced. The Iranian interior ministry May 20 announced that four candidates had been cleared to run in a presidential election scheduled for June 12. They were President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad; former Prime Minister Mir Hussein Moussavi; Mehdi Karroubi, a cleric and former parliament speaker; and Mohsen Rezai, who had headed Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. Moussavi, Karroubi and Rezai all criticized Ahmadinejad for mismanaging the Iranian economy and relations with the international community, although they supported continuing the country’s nuclear program. [See p. 362A1, 174C2] Rezai April 22 had unexpectedly declared his candidacy. He was not expected to win, but analysts said he could attract conservative voters who might otherwise have voted for Ahmadinejad. Moussavi and Karroubi were both considered reformists. Moussavi April 6 had denounced Ahmadinejad’s policies as “extremist,” and said he was open to improving relations with the West and expanding personal freedoms in Iran. Iran May 23 blocked access to the social networking Web site Facebook, which had been used by all three opposition candidates to mobilize supporters and had hosted discussions by Iranians on the 362

election. Access to Facebook was restored May 26. Supreme Leader Rebukes Ahmadinejad—

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, May 4 issued a rare public rebuke of Ahmadinejad over the president’s dismissal of the official who organized the hajj—the Muslim annual pilgrimage to Mecca—according to Iranian news media. A government spokesman later that day said the official, Mostafa Khaksar Qahroudi, would be reinstated. The rebuke raised questions over whether Khamenei would support Ahmadinejad in the election. n

Iraq Minister Resigns Amid Corruption Probe.

The Iraqi government May 25 said it had accepted the resignation of Iraqi Trade Minister Abdul Falah al-Sudani, amid corruption charges leveled against officials in his ministry. Sudani had reportedly submitted his resignation May 14, but Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had held off on accepting it to allow parliament to question Sudani May 16. Maliki’s office May 27 said it would take over administering the trade ministry until a new minister was selected. [See pp. 344E2, 330D3] Sudani was not facing charges himself, and had denied allegations that he had allowed massive corruption and mismanagement to flourish. However, at least nine trade ministry officials, including two of his brothers, had been charged. The trade ministry controlled Iraq’s $5.3 billion monthly rationing program, as well as the importation of goods like cars, grain and construction equipment. The head of Iraq’s commission of integrity, Rahim al-Ugaili, May 27 said the government had issued 997 arrest warrants for officials on corruption charges that it had not yet acted on, but said Maliki had ordered security forces to arrest those officials. He said the warrants included 51 for departmental heads issued in April. Ugaili also said only 34 members of Iraq’s 275member parliament—including Maliki— had submitted their required financial disclosure forms. Ex-U.S. Soldier Gets Life Sentence— A jury in U.S. District Court in Paducah, Ky., May 21 sentenced former U.S. Army soldier Steven Green to life in prison without parole for raping a 14-year-old Iraqi girl, and killing her and three of her family members. Green in early May had been convicted on 17 counts, including four counts of premeditated murder. Prosecutors had sought the death penalty, but the jury deadlocked. [See p. 331E1] Many Iraqis strongly criticized the sentence, reportedly saying that Green should have been tried in Iraq, and deserved to be executed. According to prosecutors, Green had been the ringleader of a group of U.S. soldiers that broke into a house in Mahmudiya, south of Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, in March 2006. While two soldiers raped the girl, Green moved her parents

and sister to a back room and shot them to death. He then raped the girl, shot her several times and tried to set fire to her body. During the sentencing phase of the trial, defense lawyers argued that Green had been traumatized by the deaths of several soldiers in his unit, and that the U.S. military should have provided better mental health services. However, prosecutors said he had faced the same pressures as many other soldiers, the vast majority of whom did not commit attrocities. Three other soldiers had received long prison sentences for participating in or being present during the attack. In addition, one soldier was sentenced to 27 months in prison in connection with the attack, and another had charges against him dropped. Other News—In other Iraqi news: o A spokesman for the Iraqi oil ministry May 27 announced that the autonomous Kurdistan region had begun exporting oil for the first time, ahead of the previously announced start date of June 1. He said 10,000 barrels had been pumped from Kurdistan’s Tawke oil field through an Iraqi government-owned pipeline to Turkey, where it would be sold. The federal government earlier in May had agreed to allow the Kurdish government to begin exporting oil. [See p. 331D2] o A roadside bomb aimed at a U.S. patrol in the western Abu Ghraib neighborhood of Baghdad May 27 killed a U.S. soldier and four Iraqi civilians. o A roadside bomb May 25 killed three U.S. nationals in Fallujah, in the western province of Anbar, as they were returning from inspecting a U.S.-funded wastewater treatment plant under construction. The victims were Terrence Barnich, the deputy director of the U.S. State Department’s Iraq Transition Assistance Office in Baghdad; U.S. Navy Cmdr. Duane Wolfe, who was in charge of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office in Anbar; and a civilian contractor for the U.S. Defense Department. o A suicide bomber in a van May 24 attacked a U.S. patrol, killing eight civilians, in Mosul, the capital of the northern province of Nineveh and one of the last urban strongholds of the Sunni Muslim insurgency. In other episodes of violence in Mosul that day, a roadside bomb killed two Iraqi soldiers; the bodies of two men and two women were discovered; two policemen and a mother and daughter were killed by gunmen; and insurgents ambushed and killed a university teacher. The same day in Fallujah, a grenade killed a two-month-old child in his home, and gunmen ambushed and killed a husband and wife. o U.S. officials May 22 said the president of a small U.S. construction company had been found stabbed to death in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, after reportedly being kidnapped the previous night. Also May 22 in the Green Zone, a rocket killed another U.S. contractor. n FACTS ON FILE

SOUTH ASIA

Nepal Marxist-Leninist Leader Elected Prime Minister.

The Constituent Assembly, Nepal’s interim legislature, May 23 elected Madhav Kumar Nepal to be the country’s prime minister. Nepal succeeded Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also known as Prachanda, who had resigned as prime minister in early May after his attempt to fire the country’s army chief was thwarted. Nepal, 56, was a veteran leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist) (UML). He was sworn in May 25. [See p. 314D2] Prachanda’s Communist Party (Maoist) had not fielded a candidate and boycotted the vote, calling it a “farce.” The Maoists had won a plurality of seats in legislative elections held in 2008, but their governing coalition collapsed shortly after Prachanda attempted to fire Gen. Rookmangud Katawal in early May. Katawal was reinstated by President Ram Baran Yadav, of the opposition Nepali Congress Party, a move that Prachanda described as illegal. He resigned in protest. The UML and Congress May 17 formed a coalition comprised of 22 parties, which commanded 350 seats in the 601-member interim legislature. The coalition then nominated Nepal as its candidate for prime minister. The legislature was responsible for writing a constitution for the country, which had switched from an absolute monarchy to a democratic republic in 2008. Analysts said it could be difficult to pass a constitution without the support of the Maoists, who held nearly 40% of the legislature’s seats. Separately, two people were killed and 12 injured May 23 in a bombing attack on a Roman Catholic church in Kathmandu, the capital. No one claimed responsibility for the attack, but a group calling itself the Nepal Defense Army distributed pamphlets around the church calling for Nepal to become a Hindu state. n

Sri Lanka Rebel Spokesman Confirms Leader’s Death.

Selvarasa Pathmanathan, chief diplomat for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebel group, May 24 confirmed the death of LTTE leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran, who the government said had been killed the previous week during an army offensive that vanquished the rebels and ended 26 years of civil war in Sri Lanka. Pathmanathan said Prabhakaran had “attained martyrdom fighting the military oppression of the Sri Lankan state” on May 17, according to a posting on TamilNet.com, a pro-LTTE Web site that was often used by the group to issue statements. [See p. 333A1] However, according to TamilNet, the LTTE’s intelligence wing maintained that Prabhakaran was alive. Pathmanathan said the LTTE had “given up violence,” and was prepared to “enter a May 28, 2009

democratic process” to fight for equal rights for Sri Lanka’s ethnic minority Tamils, in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) that was published online May 24. The LTTE since 1983 had fought for a separate Tamil homeland, claiming that Tamils had been marginalized and discriminated against by Sri Lanka’s ethnic majority Sinhalese. Rajapaksa Rejects Greater Aid Access—

President Mahinda Rajapaksa May 24 rejected a request from United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to give international aid agencies greater access to Tamil refugees currently held in government-run camps. As many as 300,000 Tamil civilians were thought to have been displaced by the fighting in recent months, which had taken place in Sri Lanka’s northeast. The camps were reportedly highly overcrowded and lacking in basic necessities, and ringed with barbed wire to prevent Tamils from leaving. Rajapaksa said the army first had to screen the camps for possible LTTE members disguised as civilians. The army claimed that 9,000 rebels had been detained through the screening process, and would be sent to rehabilitation camps for six months. Ban the previous day had visited the main refugee camp in the Vavuniya district. “It was a very sobering visit, very sad, very moving,” he said. In an interview with Cable News Network (CNN) that was published online that day, Ban said, “I have traveled around the world and visited similar places, but this is by far the most appalling scenes I have seen.” The Sri Lankan military May 22 said more than 6,200 soldiers had been killed and nearly 30,000 wounded in the last three years of the war, and that 22,000 LTTE fighters had been killed in that time. The U.N estimated that 80,000 to 100,000 people had been killed in conflict-related violence since 1983. As many as 7,000 civilians had been reported killed since January, and both the LTTE and the government were accused of being responsible for civilian deaths in the final months of battle. The LTTE had reportedly held civilians hostage in its last redoubt, using them as shields, while the army was accused of indiscriminately shelling areas populated by civilians. Rajapaksa May 21 rejected international calls for an investigation into alleged war crimes. n

SPORTS

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150.318 miles per hour (241.913 kmph). Castroneves, who drove for Penske, led for 66 of the 200 laps, including the final 59 laps. Dan Wheldon of England was second, and U.S. driver Danica Patrick placed third. Castroneves April 17 had been acquitted by a Miami, Fla., federal jury of six counts of tax evasion. The jury was hung on the one remaining charge, of conspiracy. Castroneves in October 2008 had been charged with attempting to evade some $2.3 million in income taxes between 1999 and 2004, and had faced a six-year prison term if convicted. His sister and business manager, Katiucla Castroneves, and his lawyer, Alan Miller, were also acquitted of tax evasion. Prosecutors May 22 dropped the remaining conspiracy charge. [See 2008, p. 930C2] Reutimann Wins NASCAR Race—David Reutimann May 25 won the NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. The race had been scheduled for the previous day but was postponed due to rain, and on race day it was shortened to 227 laps due to continued bad weather. The 39-year-old Reutimann, driving a Toyota, averaged a speed of 120.899 mph. It was his first victory in NASCAR’s top-tier Sprint Cup, after spending several years on lower-level NASCAR circuits. [See 2008, p. 368B2] Driver Suspended for Drug Test— NASCAR May 9 suspended driver and own-

er Jeremy Mayfield indefinitely for failing a random drug test. Mayfield was the first driver to be suspended under NASCAR’s new drug policy, which had been implemented at the start of the 2009 season. The policy did not list which substances were banned, and NASCAR refused to reveal what Mayfield had tested positive for. [See 2008, p. 912C1] Mayfield May 9 in a statement said he believed the positive test had been triggered by the combination of a prescription medication and an over-the-counter allergy medicine, a claim that was later denied by Dr. David Black, who ran NASCAR’s drug testing program. Mayfield and other drivers reportedly called for NASCAR to reveal what drug the driver tested positive for, although Black May 18 claimed Mayfield had been given that information. It was reported May 21 that Mayfield had hired a lawyer and might file a lawsuit against NASCAR to get his suspension lifted. n

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Auto Racing

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Austrian Film Wins Cannes Top Prize. The 62nd Cannes Film Festival in France May 24 awarded the Palme d’Or (Golden Palm), its top prize, to Das Weisse Band (The White Ribbon), directed by Austria’s Michael Haneke. It was Haneke’s third triumph at Cannes. His film The Piano Teacher had won the festival’s runner-up prize, the Grand Prix, in 2001, and he had claimed its best-director award in 2005 for

Castroneves of Brazil May 24 won the 93rd running of the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana. Castroneves, 34, won the Indy 500 for the third time in his career; he had also won in 2001 and 2002. [See 2008, p. 368F1] Castroneves, who started in the pole position, finished the race in three hours, 19 minutes and 34.6427 seconds, averaging

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Cache (Hidden). [See 2008, p. 387D2; 2005, p. 364A2; 2001, p. 468E1] Shot in black and white, Haneke’s latest film dealt with baffling acts of violence committed in a rural German community on the eve of World War I. The film was seen as an exploration of social and psychological factors behind the rise of Nazism in post–World War I Germany. The Grand Prix went to French director Jacques Audiard’s Un Prophete (A Prophet), about a young French Arab turned into a hardened criminal while in prison. The best-director award was bestowed on Brillante Mendoza of the Philippines for Kinatay, a police melodrama containing graphic violence. The festival’s best-actor award went to Austria’s Christoph Waltz for his role as a Nazi officer in U.S. filmmaker Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, about a band of Jewish commandos during World War II. Best-actress honors went to Charlotte Gainsbourg for her role as a ferociously grieving mother in Danish director Lars von Trier’s Antichrist. n Canadian Author Wins International Prize.

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Canadian short story writer Alice Munro May 27 was named the third winner of the Man Booker International Prize for fiction. The biennial award, a lifetime achievement prize worth £60,000 (about US$95,000), had first been presented in 2005. [See 2007, p. 424G2] Munro, 77, published the first of her 11 short-story collections, Dance of the Happy Shades, in 1968. Many of her stories were set in rural Ontario, where she was born and grew up. Her work was known for its understated tone and psychological subtlety. In 1999, she became the first Canadian author to win the U.S.’s National Book Critics Circle award for fiction. One of her stories, “The Bear Came Over the Mountain,” was the basis for the film Away From Her, which dominated Canada’s Genie Awards in 2008. [See 2008, p. 187C2; 1999, p. 179C3] Munro was one of 14 authors who had been shortlisted for the latest Man Booker International Prize. Others included Joyce Carol Oates and E.L. Doctorow of the U.S., Peru’s Mario Vargas Llosa and 2001 Nobel literature laureate V.S. Naipaul, a native of Trinidad. [See p. 191E3] n Howe Wins Lilly Poetry Prize. Fanny Howe April 14 was named winner of the 2009 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize. The $100,000 award, for lifetime achievement by a U.S. poet, was administered by the Chicagobased Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. [See 2008, p. 299C3] Howe, 68, had written not only poetry but also fiction, essays and children’s books. A Massachusetts native, she had lived in California for years before returning east and settling on Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. A professor emeritus of literature and writing at the University of California at San Diego, she had an abiding interest in religion and had spent time at a monastery in Limerick, Ireland. In announcing Howe’s selection as the Lilly Prize winner, Poetry editor Christian Wiman described her as “a religious writer whose work 364

makes you more alert and alive to the earth.” He also called her “an experimental writer who can break your heart.” n

Arts New Oxford Poetry Professor Resigns.

British poet Ruth Padel, 63, May 25 quit as professor of poetry at Oxford University, just nine days after becoming the first woman elected to the five-year post in its 301-year history. Padel had originally been one of three contenders for the post, along with St. Lucia–born poet Derek Walcott— the 1992 Nobel laureate in literature—and Indian poet and critic Arvind Mehrotra. However, Walcott, 79, had bowed out of the contest May 12, after sexual harassment charges against him dating back to the 1980s resurfaced in an anonymous letter-writing campaign to the poetry chair’s Oxford electors. With only two candidates left, Padel, a great-great-granddaughter of naturalist Charles Darwin, May 16 had won easily, drawing 297 votes to Mehrotra’s 129. However, she chose to withdraw after it emerged that, despite her insistence that she had played no part in the anti-Walcott campaign, she had sent emails to two reporters raising questions about Walcott’s age and health, and referring them to a book detailing the charges against him. [See 1992, p. 805D2] Padel would have succeeded literary scholar Christopher Ricks in the post in October. She had been elected just over two weeks after Carol Ann Duffy was named Britain’s first female poet laureate. The Oxford post paid just under £7,000 a year (US$10,500), but was comparable in prestige to the laureateship. The university was expected to hold a new election for the chair. [See p. 316G1] n

People Atlanta, Ga.–based rapper T.I. May 26 arrived at a low-security federal prison in Forrest City, Ark., to begin serving his 366day sentence for attempting to buy unregistered weapons from federal agents. He had performed before 16,000 fans in Atlanta’s Philips Arena two days before reporting to prison. [See p. 212E1]

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AGNELLI, Susanna, 87, only woman to date to have served as Italy’s foreign minister, between 1995 and 1996; she was also a memoirist, a newspaper advice columnist and, by virtue of being a member of the family that founded Italy’s Fiat SpA automobile company, a major philanthropist; one of her brothers, Giovanni Agnelli, was chairman of Fiat from 1966 to 1996; born April 24, 1922, in Turin, Italy; died May 15 at a hospital in Rome, from complications of a broken hip. [See 2003, p. 56D3; 1996, p. 227B2; Index 1995] AROUCH, Salamo(n), 86, Greek-born Jewish boxer who survived nearly two years of imprisonment at the Auschwitz death camp in Poland during World War II by beating other prisoners in matches arranged by, and serving to entertain, their Nazi captors; he claimed to have fought 208 such bouts, with 206 wins and two draws; actor Willem Dafoe portrayed a character based on him in the 1989 feature film Triumph of the Spirit; born in 1923 in Salonika; died April 26 at a geriatric hospital near Tel Aviv, Israel, 15 years after suffering a debilitating stroke. [See 1989, p. 1002C1]

BENEDETTI, Mario (Mario Orlando Hamlet Hardy Brenno Benedetti Farugia), 88, Uruguayan poet, nov-

elist, short story writer, playwright and essayist; his relatively accessible verse, with its left-wing political sentiments, was perhaps more widely read than the work of any other Latin American poet of his generation; beginning in 1973, at a time when Uruguay was under military rule, he spent a number of years in exile in Argentina, Peru, Cuba and Spain; some of his poems were set to music, by such songwriters as his countryman Daniel Viglietti and Spain’s Joan Manuel Serrat; one of his best-known novels, La Tregua (The Truce, 1960), was the basis for an Argentine film nominated for an Academy Award in 1974; it, like some of his other work, drew on his experiences as an office worker before he became established as an author; born Sept. 14, 1920, in Paso de los Toros, Uruguay; died May 17 at his home in Montevideo, Uruguay, of complications from a chronic infection. [See 1977, p. 905A2; 1975, p. 303A3] CARASSO, Daniel, 103, businessman who expanded a small yogurt-making operation started by his father in Barcelona, Spain, just after World War I into a yogurt empire, whose product was marketed under the Danone label in Europe and as Dannon in the U.S.; Danone eventually became part of Groupe Danone, one of France’s largest food conglomerates; born Dec. 16, 1905, in Thessalonika, Greece; died May 17 at his home in Paris. [See 2002, p. 368F3] COMPAGNONI, Achille, 94, mountaineer who was part of an Italian expedition, led by geologist Ardito Desio, that conquered K2, the world’s secondhighest peak, in July 1954; Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli were the two members of that expedition to reach the summit; Desio died in 2001 at age 104, while Lacedelli was still alive; born Sept. 26, 1914, in Santa Caterina Valfurva, Italy; died May 13 in Aosta, Italy. [See 2001, p. 1083F3; 1954, p. 344C3] DONALD, David Herbert, 88, Civil War historian whose book Lincoln (1995) was widely thought of as the definitive one-volume biography of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln; he twice won the Pulitzer Prize for biography, the first time in 1961 for a book about abolitionist Charles Sumner and the second time in 1988 for one about novelist Thomas Wolfe; born Oct. 1, 1920, in Goodman, Miss.; died May 17 at a hospital in Boston, Mass., while awaiting heart surgery. [See 1988, p. 271E3; 1961, p. 160A1] ESCALONA Martinez, Rafael Calixto, 81, composer of many well-known songs in the tradition of vallenato, the accordion-driven folk music of the Caribbean region of Colombia; he was a longtime friend of, and an inspiration for, Colombia’s most renowned author, Nobel Prize–winning novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez; born May 27, 1927, in Patillal, Colombia; died May 13 at a hospital in Bogota, Colombia, of respiratory failure after several days of hospitalization; he had been suffering from cancer, as well as heart and kidney problems. [See 2002, p. 976B2] KIRKUP, James Falconer, 91, British poet, translator, travel writer and memoirist; openly homosexual for most of his life, he was the author of a poem whose publication, in 1976 in the London magazine Gay News, led to Britain’s last successful prosecution for blasphemy a year later; the poem, “The Love that Dares to Speak Its Name,” contained a description of a Roman centurion’s fantasy of having sex with the crucified body of Jesus Christ; the blasphemy trial, in which Gay News was defended by John Mortimer, creator of the fictional barrister Horace Rumpole, resulted in a nine-month suspended sentence for Gay News editor Denis Lemon; after the trial, Kirkup, who had spent years teaching and writing in Japan, moved to Andorra; born April 23, 1918, in South Shields, England; died May 10 at his Andorran home. [See p. 56C2; 1971, p. 744G2; Index 1964] MAW, (John) Nicholas, 73, British composer, long resident in the U.S., who wrote melodic works in a neo-Romantic style that readily shifted between tonality and atonality; his output included a violin concerto, commissioned by Joshua Bell and premiered in 1993, as well as an opera, Sophie’s Choice, based on William Styron’s 1979 novel of the same name and introduced in 2002; another of his works, Odyssey, was a one-movement orchestral piece 96 minutes long, believed to be the longest continuous symphonic work ever written; it received its first complete performance in 1989; born Nov. 5, 1935, in Grantham, England; died May 19 at his home in Takoma Park, Md., of heart failure, after battling diabetes and dementia. [See 2006, p. 872F3] ROH Moo Hyun, 62, president of South Korea from 2003 to 2008; before entering South Korean politics, he had been a human rights and labor lawyer; born Aug. 6, 1946, in Gimhae, in what was then southern Korea; committed suicide May 23 by jumping off a cliff in Bongha, South Korea; he had recently been enmeshed in a corruption scandal. [See p. 360A3; Indexes 2002–08] n

May 28, 2009

U.S. Automaker General Motors Declares Chapter 11 Bankruptcy U.S. Government to Take 60% Stake. After decades of declining sales and market share, Detroit, Mich.–based automaker General Motors Corp. (GM) June 1 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as part of a planned restructuring guided by the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama. In the restructuring, the company would be drastically pared down, and the U.S. government would take a 60% market share in the “new GM.” The rest of the shares in the new company would be held by the United Auto Workers (UAW) labor union, the Canadian government and GM’s existing bondholders. [See below, pp. 339A2, 338D3, 197A2; for a timeline of key events in GM’s history, see p. 366A1] GM, founded in 1908, was the U.S.’s largest automaker, and had been the world’s largest for decades, until being unseated by Toyota Motor Corp. of Japan in 2008. It had last recorded an annual profit in 2004. The bankruptcy filing came days after GM’s unionized work force ratified major contract concessions, and a majority of GM’s bondholders agreed to swap their GM debt for an equity stake in the new company. [See below] GM the same day announced that it would shut 11 factories, idle an additional three, and slash 21,000 jobs by 2011, down from its previously stated plan to shut 16 factories and cut 23,000 jobs. The new GM was expected to employ fewer than 40,000 U.S. unionized workers, down from about 395,000 in 1970, and 74,000 in June 2008. The government predicted that the new GM would break even when it sold 10 million new cars per year, a decrease from the previous model, under which GM needed to sell 16 million new cars per year to match its operating costs. The administration, in a fact sheet released June 1, said it “has no desire to own equity stakes in companies any longer than necessary and will seek to dispose of its ownership interests as soon as practicable.” It added, “The government will not interfere with or exert control over day-today company operations,” and that it would “only vote on core governance issues,” like selecting the board of directors. It further asserted that “the government intends to be extremely disciplined as to how it intends to use even these limited rights.” GM’s government-mandated bankruptcy filing and the federal government’s subsequent majority ownership of the company was considered a major political risk for Obama, who had been carried to victory in the 2008 presidential elections partly by winning industrial states in the Midwest, where economic fallout from the bankruptcy filing was expected to reverberate painfully. Some Republicans criticized the forced bankruptcy as an excessive and harmful intrusion into the private sector. [See p. 164D2; 2008, p. 802E1] GM’s filing, which followed that of Auburn Hills, Mich.–based automaker Chrysler LLC in April, was the fourth-largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. According

to its filing, GM had $82 billion in assets and $172 billion in debt. By June 8, GM would be delisted from the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average stock index. [See p. 372C2] GM had once been the world’s dominant automaker, and had played a leading role in 20th-century U.S. industrial history, notably during World War II, when it had retooled assembly lines to manufacture tanks, ships and bombers. In the postwar period, however, its reputation as a symbol of American ingenuity was hit by a series of quality problems with numerous car models. GM’s U.S. market share fell from 54% in 1954 to 46% in 1980, and to about 19% in April. Its stock price had fallen from $70 a share when former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Richard Wagoner had taken the helm of the company in 2000, to $0.75 per share May 29. (The Obama administration had forced Wagoner to resign in March.) Observers attributed GM’s decline into bankruptcy in part to the excessive development of overlapping models in its later years, and a failure to modify its strategy when U.S. consumers began flocking to foreign cars that were more fuel-efficient and eventually came to be considered by many as more reliable than domestically manufactured vehicles. Critics of its laborrelations strategy also said it had adopted overly generous compensation plans that had financially crippled it. Government to Supply $30.1 Billion—

The government, in addition to the $19.4 billion in aid it had already provided to GM, June 1 said it would provide another $30.1 billion to support the automaker through its bankruptcy restructuring. In exchange for the overall $49.4 billion investment, the government would receive a 60% stake in the new GM, which would contain the profitable parts of the company—its Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC divisions—while shedding brands including Pontiac and Saturn. The government would also receive $8.8 billion in the new GM’s debt and preferred stock, and would name a majority of the new company’s directors. The “bad” parts of GM would be liquidated in bankruptcy court, a process expected to take years. When the new GM emerged from bankruptcy, a 17.5% equity stake would go to a new UAW retiree health care trust called a voluntary employees’ beneficiary association (VEBA), replacing the current one. The VEBA would also receive $6.5 billion in preferred stock and a $2.5 billion note that would be paid in three installments by the end of 2017. The UAW would name one director to the board of the new GM, and had the option to increase its stake in the company by an additional 2.5%. [See below] The governments of Canada and the Canadian province of Ontario, which the Obama administration said would provide a $9.5 billion loan to GM, would receive a 12% equity share in the restructured company, as well as $1.7 billion in preferred stock. They would also name one director

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World News Digest With Index ©2009 by Facts On File News Services An imprint of Infobase Publishing

Volume 69, No. 3572* June 4, 2009

B to the board of the new company. Bondholders from the old GM would own 10% of the new company. [See below] UAW Ratifies Concessions— The UAW May 29 announced that 74% of its GM workers had voted to approve contract modifications that would save GM as much as $2 billion per year. The contract allowed GM to fund most of its VEBA obligations with stock instead of cash, curtailed employees’ medical coverage, bonuses and vacation pay, and allowed GM to make a new buyout offer to its hourly workers. The new contract also barred the union from going on strike until September 2015; in the meantime, disputes would be arbitrated by a mediator. The modified contract also included a provision under which GM would modify at least one idled auto plant to produce the first subcompact cars to be built in the U.S. The union had previously expressed strong opposition to a previous plan under

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MAJOR STORIES IN THIS ISSUE U.S. automaker General Motors declares Chapter 11 bankruptcy; U.S. government to take 60% stake. PAGE 365

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U.S. President Obama urges ‘new beginning’ with Muslim world; presses Israel, Palestinians in Cairo speech. PAGE 367

Air France flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashes in Atlantic Ocean. PAGE 369

Gunman kills Kansas abortion doctor. PAGE 370

New Hampshire legalizes gay marriage. PAGE 371

Fed chief Bernanke urges deficit reduction.

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International Criminal Court charges Sudanese rebels. PAGE 375

Guatemalan president accused of murder in video. PAGE 376

U.S. general says Afghanistan casualties to increase. PAGE 381

Pakistani army regains control of main city in Swat Valley. PAGE 382 *First of two sections Section Two is an interim index. REFERENCES in brackets give location of background information in this & preceding volumes.

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Following are key events in the history of General Motors (GM) [See p. 365A1]: Sept. 16, 1908—William Durant founds General Motors in Flint, Mich. 1909—About 25,000 GM vehicles are sold. The company acquires Cadillac and GMC. 1937—GM recognizes the United Auto Workers (UAW) labor union following a 44-day strike. 1948—GM introduces V8 engines on Oldsmobiles and Cadillacs. 1954—Market share hits 54% as the company manufactures its 50 millionth car. 1979—GM is the largest private employer in the U.S., with 618,000 workers. The UAW ratifies a new contract that raises wages, pensions and other bonuses. [See 1979, p. 698A1] 1980—GM posts a loss of more than $750 million; vehicle sales decline 16% from the previous year. Oct. 8, 1987—GM and the UAW agree on a contract under which factories cannot be closed unless their product sales decline. [See 1987, p. 785D3] 1991—GM posts an industry-record loss of $4.45 billion. The company announces that

21 plants will be closed and 26,000 positions cut over the next few years, on top of the eliminated positions at the closed plants. 1998—Workers in Flint, Mich., strike for 54 days, bringing production at almost all North American GM factories to a halt. [See 1998, p. 522B1] 1999—GM buys rights to the Hummer brand from Indiana-based vehicle manufacturer AM General LLC. 2006—About 47,600 employees at GM and its bankrupt former subsidiary Delphi Corp. accept buyout packages. Investor Kirk Kerkorian sells off a large chunk of his shares in GM. GM sells 51% of GMAC to Cerberus Capital Management LP. [See 2006, pp. 1006D1, 547A3, 276B1] April 24, 2007—Japan’s Toyota Motor Co. sells 2.35 million cars in the first quarter, surpassing GM’s quarterly sales for the first time. [See 2007, p. 299D3] Oct. 10, 2007—GM’s unionized workers ratify a contract that creates a health care trust. GM owes $50 billion in health care obligations. [See 2007, p. 666B1]

2007—GM posts a loss of $39 billion, the larg-

which those vehicles would be built for sale in the U.S. at factories in Mexico and China. [See p. 339G1] UAW President Ron Gettelfinger that day said, “We are satisfied we’ve done the right thing here to give us a lifeline at General Motors to move forward until this company rebounds.” He added, “People have enjoyed beating [the UAW] up so much…maybe they can look somewhere else now, like management.”

presence, making parts and assembling vehicles at a plant in Graz, Austria. Under the terms of the deal, Germany agreed to provide 1.5 billion euros ($2.1 billion) in emergency loans to Opel while Magna finalized its agreement with GM. In the interim, Opel would be placed into a trusteeship to keep it separated from GM’s bankruptcy filing. Germany also pledged to guarantee about three billion euros in loans, while Magna agreed to immediately inject 300 million euros in cash into Opel. Magna June 3 said it planned to complete the acquisition by September. However, the German government that day said the deal was only provisional, and “the process is still open to other bidders.” Chinese carmaker Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings Co. reportedly met with German officials June 2. The deal called for Magna to acquire a 20% stake in Opel, including its British Vauxhall brand, while Sberbank took a 35% stake. GM would retain a 35% stake, and Opel workers would own the remaining 10%. Magna said GAZ, which had previously acquired a Chrysler assembly plant, would be its industrial partner. Sberbank Chief Executive Officer (CEO) German Gref said the Opel deal “will make it possible to restructure the auto industry in Russia.” Germany was Russia’s largest trading partner, and the deal was viewed as deepening their commercial ties. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had encouraged Russian companies to make foreign acquisitions.

run-up to German parliamentary elections scheduled for September. German Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg sounded a note of dissent, warning that the government’s agreement to commit financing to Opel was too risky. He had suggested that Opel should instead declare bankruptcy and undergo restructuring without government aid. He offered to resign, but Chancellor Angela Merkel convinced him to remain in his position. Meanwhile, labor unions in Britain criticized the British government for not taking a more active role in the negotiations in order to safeguard jobs at Vauxhall factories.

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Following the UAW deal, 54% of GM’s bondholders May 31 said they had reached an agreement with the U.S. Treasury Department under which they would exchange their unsecured debt for a 10% stake in the new company, with the option to increase that stake by another 15%. GM’s bondholders together held about $27 billion in debt. As part of the deal, the bondholders who agreed to the swap said they would not oppose the company’s bankruptcy restructuring. Observers suggested that because a majority of bondholders had agreed to the swap, GM was more likely to be able to convince a bankruptcy judge to impose that same standard on bondholders who had rejected the government’s deal. Germany Brokers Sale of Opel Unit—

German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck early May 30 announced that the German government had brokered a deal for a group led by Canadian auto-parts supplier Magna International Inc. to buy Adam Opel, GM’s largest European unit. The deal, reached in talks in Berlin, the German capital, came just before GM declared bankruptcy June 1. [See 2004, p. 1063A3] Magna’s bid was backed by stateowned Russian bank OAO Sberbank and Russian automaker OAO GAZ, controlled by prominent investor Oleg Deripaska. Magna had previously made a failed attempt to acquire a major automaker, losing a 2007 bidding contest for Chrysler LLC of the U.S. Magna already had a European

Germany Seeks to Preserve Jobs—

Steinbrueck May 30 said the deal would keep Opel’s German factories open and “preserve the highest possible number of jobs” in Germany. Opel had 25,000 German workers, out of a total of 55,000 GM workers in Europe. Magna said it planned to cut about 2,500 Opel jobs in Germany but promised to keep all of Opel’s German factories running. Preserving Opel jobs had become a sensitive political issue in the

est annual loss in auto manufacturer history. [See 2007, p. 734E1] June 3, 2008—Wagoner announces that GM plans to close four factories that make large, inefficient vehicles, and steer GM toward making smaller cars. [See 2008, p. 396B2] Nov. 18–19, 2008—CEOs of GM, Chrysler LLC and Ford Motor Co. ask Congress for $25 billion in aid. Their request is rejected. [See 2008, p. 850A3] Dec. 11, 2008—Senate Republicans block a $14 billion auto industry rescue package. [See 2008, p. 899A3] Dec. 19, 2008—President George W. Bush announces that the government will loan GM and Chrysler $17.4 billion. [See 2008, p. 933A1] Dec. 29, 2008—GMAC receives $6 billion federal rescue loan. [See 2008, p. 953E1] March 30, 2009—Administration of President Barack Obama rejects GM’s restructuring plan. [See p. 197A2] June 1, 2009—GM declares Chapter 11 bankruptcy. [See p. 365A1]

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Italian carmaker Fiat SpA, Magna’s top rival in the bidding contest for Opel, dropped out May 29. Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne complained that Fiat was not given full access to Opel’s financial records. He also said GM’s demand for a buyer to provide 300 million euros in emergency funding for Opel posed “unnecessary and unwarranted risks.” Fiat had offered a noncash deal that would have combined some of its own operations with Opel’s, while cutting 10,000 jobs. The Italian government drew some domestic criticism for not supporting Fiat’s bid more actively. Marchionne said Fiat instead would focus on completing its deal to acquire a stake in Chrysler, which was emerging from bankruptcy. He said Fiat also remained interested in acquiring GM’s Latin American units. [See below] GM had bought an 80% stake in Opel in 1929, and acquired the rest of the company two years later, making GM the largest automaker in Europe during the 1930s. The Opel deal did not include GM’s Swedish unit, Saab Automobile, which GM had put up for sale separately. Saab had filed for bankruptcy protection Feb. 20, after the Swedish government refused GM’s request for assistance to the company. Saab June 2 said it had two serious bidders and planned to begin final negotiations with one of them soon. Chinese Company Buys Hummer—GM June 2 said it had agreed to sell its Hummer sport utility vehicle (SUV) division to Chengdu, China–based Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co., a privately owned company, for an undisclosed price that was reported to be less than $500 million. The Hummer, a civilian version of the Humvee military vehicle made by the U.S.’s AM General LLC, had been seen as a symbol of GM’s problems, being oversized and inefficient. As part of the deal, Sichuan Tengzhong pledged that Hummers would be manufactured in the U.S. through the end of 2011. Bill Burton, a U.S. government spokesman, said the Obama administration had no part in arranging the sale, and lauded it as “good news for the 3,000 Americans who will be able to keep their jobs, the two American plants that will remain open and the more than 100 Hummer dealers that should be able to stay in business.” Sichuan Tengzhong manufactured dump trucks, concrete mixers, and parts for bridges and oil rigs. It did not manufacture consumer vehicles, but had indicated that it planned to move in that direction with the acquisition of Hummer. The sale was subject to approval by the Chinese government. Chrysler-Fiat Deal Approved—U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Arthur Gonzalez May 31 in New York City approved a reorganization plan under which Chrysler would merge with Italy’s Fiat SpA. The Obama administration had forced the ailing Chrysler into bankruptcy in April and instructed it to form a partnership with Fiat, which it had already been planning to do. Gonzalez said a merger with Fiat was the only workable June 4, 2009

alternative to liquidating the company entirely. [See p. 282C2] However, a group of Indiana pension funds that were Chrysler creditors and a number of dealerships slated for closure had argued against the merger with Fiat. They appealed the deal June 4 on the grounds that the sale was unconstitutional because some unsecured debtowners would be paid off before more senior creditors, which they said was a violation of bankruptcy law. They also argued that the Treasury did not have the legal authority to provide the debtor-in-possession financing that was intended to keep Chrysler operating during the restructuring proceedings.n

U.S. President Obama Urges ‘New Beginning’ With Muslim World Presses Israel, Palestinians in Cairo Speech.

U.S. President Barack Obama June 4 called for a “new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world,” in a speech given at Cairo University in Cairo, the Egyptian capital. Obama said Israel and the Palestinians had to work towards a peaceful two-state solution, and challenged Muslims to embrace human rights and democracy. [See p. 318A1; for excerpts from Obama’s speech, see p. 368A1] Obama during his presidential campaign had pledged to give a major speech in the capital of a Muslim-majority nation during the first 100 days of his presidency; that period had ended April 29. He had taken several steps to improve relations with Muslims since taking office in January, including giving his first formal televised interview as president to Arabic-language satellite television network Al Arabiya, which was based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE); sending a videotaped message to the Iranian government and people on the Persian New Year in March; and addressing the Turkish parliament in April. [See pp. 214G1, 179C1, 42G1] In his speech, Obama called for new alliances between the U.S. and Muslims “based on mutual interest and mutual respect.” He added, “America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles—principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.” Obama highlighted the Muslim world’s achievements throughout history and its traditions of tolerance. He said Muslims had been present throughout the history of the U.S., which had protected their rights. He drew attention to his personal links to Islam, including his childhood in Muslim-majority Indonesia and the fact that his father was Muslim. He also brought greetings from Muslim communities in the U.S., which he gave in Arabic, and quoted from the Koran. “I consider it part of my responsibility as President of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear,” Obama said. “But that same principle must apply to Muslim perceptions of America. Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire.”

Backs Founding of Palestinian State—

Obama reiterated his strong support for a Palestinian state, even as he affirmed that the U.S.’s bonds with Israel were “unbreakable.” He said, “Threatening Israel’s destruction, or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews, is deeply wrong.” He said Palestinians needed to recognize Israel’s right to exist, and urged them to “abandon violence” and embrace nonviolent means of struggle, citing the success of the U.S. civil rights movement. However, he said, “It is also undeniable that the Palestinian people—Muslims and Christians—have suffered in pursuit of a homeland…They endure the daily humiliations—large and small—that come with occupation. So let there be no doubt: The situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity and a state of their own.” Obama twice referred to “Palestine,” which was seen as bestowing on the Palestinians recognition as a nation. He added, “The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements” in the West Bank, the construction of which “violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace.” [See p. 380E2]

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Warns Against Nuclear Arms Race—

Obama addressed tensions between the U.S. and Iran, which he said had been stoked by both the U.S. role in the overthrow of Iran’s democratically elected government in 1953, and Iranian “acts of hostage-taking and violence against U.S. troops and civilians” since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. “Any nation—including Iran—should have the right to access peaceful nuclear power if it complies with its responsibilities under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty,” Obama said. However, he said it was in the U.S. and the world’s interest to prevent “a nuclear arms race in the Middle East that could lead this region and the world down a hugely dangerous path.” [See p. 361D3] Iran maintained that its nuclear program was only for civilian power generation, but the U.S. and its allies had accused it of attempting to develop nuclear weapons.

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Afghanistan War Seen As Necessary—

Obama said he recognized that “no single speech can eradicate years of mistrust” between the U.S. and Muslims. He said the “enormous trauma” of Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S. had led the country “to act contrary to our traditions and our ideals” in some cases, referring specifically to examples of detainee abuse at the U.S. prison camp for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and elsewhere. “We are taking concrete action to change course,” Obama said. He described the war in Iraq as a “war of choice that provoked strong differences in my country and around the world.” He said that although he believed that deposing former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s regime had been for the best, the war also reinforced the need “to use diplomacy and build international consensus to resolve (Continued on p. 369A1) 367

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EXCERPTS FROM U.S. PRESIDENT OBAMA’S SPEECH IN CAIRO

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Following are excerpts from U.S. President Barack Obama’s June 4 address to Muslims of the world in Cairo, Egypt [See p. 367B2]: Thank you very much. Good afternoon. I am honored to be in the timeless city of Cairo…I’m grateful for your hospitality, and the hospitality of the people of Egypt. And I’m also proud to carry with me the goodwill of the American people, and a greeting of peace from Muslim communities in my country: Assalaamu alaykum. We meet at a time of great tension between the United States and Muslims around the world—tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate.… Violent extremists have exploited these tensions in a small but potent minority of Muslims. The attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and the continued efforts of these extremists to engage in violence against civilians has led some in my country to view Islam as inevitably hostile not only to America and Western countries, but also to human rights.… I’ve come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, one based on mutual interest and mutual respect, and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles—principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings. I do so recognizing that change cannot happen overnight. I know there's been a lot of publicity about this speech, but no single speech can eradicate years of mistrust, nor can I answer in the time that I have this afternoon all the complex questions that brought us to this point.… I’m a Christian, but my father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims. As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the azaan at the break of dawn and at the fall of dusk. As a young man, I worked in Chicago communities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith. As a student of history, I also know civilization’s debt to Islam. It was Islam—at places like AlAzhar—that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe’s Renaissance and Enlightenment.…And throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality. I also know that Islam has always been a part of America’s story.…So I have known Islam on three continents before coming to the region where it was first revealed. That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn’t. And I consider it part of my responsibility as President of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear. But that same principle must apply to Muslim perceptions of America. Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire. The United States has been one of the greatest sources of progress that the world has ever known.… Freedom in America is indivisible from the freedom to practice one’s religion. That is why there is a mosque in every state in our union, and over 1,200 mosques within our borders. That’s why the United States government has gone to court to protect the right of women and girls to wear the hijab and to punish those who would deny it. So let there be no doubt: Islam is a part of America. And I believe that America holds within her the truth that regardless of race, religion, or station in life, all of us share common aspirations—to live in peace and security; to get an education and to work with dignity; to love our families, our communities, and our God. These things we share. This is the hope of all humanity.… Afghanistan and Iraq The first issue that we have to confront is violent extremism in all of its forms. In Ankara, I made clear that America is not—and never will be—at war with Islam. We will, however, relentlessly confront violent extremists who pose a grave threat to our security—because we reject the same thing that people of all faiths reject: the killing of innocent men, women, and children. And it is my first duty as President to protect the American people.

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The situation in Afghanistan demonstrates America’s goals, and our need to work together. Over seven years ago, the United States pursued Al Qaeda and the Taliban with broad international support. We did not go by choice; we went because of necessity. I'm aware that there’s still some who would question or even justify the events of 9/11. But let us be clear: Al Qaeda killed nearly 3,000 people on that day.… Now, make no mistake: We do not want to keep our troops in Afghanistan.…It is agonizing for America to lose our young men and women. It is costly and politically difficult to continue this conflict. We would gladly bring every single one of our troops home if we could be confident that there were not violent extremists in Afghanistan and now Pakistan determined to kill as many Americans as they possibly can. But that is not yet the case.… Let me also address the issue of Iraq. Unlike Afghanistan, Iraq was a war of choice that provoked strong differences in my country and around the world. Although I believe that the Iraqi people are ultimately better off without the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, I also believe that events in Iraq have reminded America of the need to use diplomacy and build international consensus to resolve our problems whenever possible.… And finally, just as America can never tolerate violence by extremists, we must never alter or forget our principles. Nine-eleven was an enormous trauma to our country. The fear and anger that it provoked was understandable, but in some cases, it led us to act contrary to our traditions and our ideals. We are taking concrete actions to change course. I have unequivocally prohibited the use of torture by the United States, and I have ordered the prison at Guantanamo Bay closed by early next year.… Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process The second major source of tension that we need to discuss is the situation between Israelis, Palestinians and the Arab world. America’s strong bonds with Israel are well known. This bond is unbreakable. It is based upon cultural and historical ties, and the recognition that the aspiration for a Jewish homeland is rooted in a tragic history that cannot be denied. Around the world, the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries, and anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust.…Threatening Israel with destruction—or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews—is deeply wrong, and only serves to evoke in the minds of Israelis this most painful of memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve. On the other hand, it is also undeniable that the Palestinian people—Muslims and Christians—have suffered in pursuit of a homeland.…They endure the daily humiliations—large and small—that come with occupation. So let there be no doubt: The situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. And America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own.… The only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security.… Palestinians must abandon violence. Resistance through violence and killing is wrong and it does not succeed. For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America’s founding.… Now is the time for Palestinians to focus on what they can build. The Palestinian Authority must develop its capacity to govern, with institutions that serve the needs of its people. Hamas does have support among some Palestinians, but they also have to recognize they have responsibilities. To play a role in fulfilling Palestinian aspirations, to unify the Palestinian people, Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, recognize Israel’s right to exist. At the same time, Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel’s right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine’s. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop.… And finally, the Arab states must recognize that the Arab Peace Initiative was an important beginning, but not the end of their responsibilities. The Arab-Is-

raeli conflict should no longer be used to distract the people of Arab nations from other problems. Iran’s Nuclear Program The third source of tension is our shared interest in the rights and responsibilities of nations on nuclear weapons. This issue has been a source of tension between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran. For many years, Iran has defined itself in part by its opposition to my country, and there is in fact a tumultuous history between us. In the middle of the Cold War, the United States played a role in the overthrow of a democratically elected Iranian government. Since the Islamic Revolution, Iran has played a role in acts of hostage-taking and violence against U.S. troops and civilians.… It is clear to all concerned that when it comes to nuclear weapons, we have reached a decisive point. This is not simply about America’s interests. It’s about preventing a nuclear arms race in the Middle East that could lead this region and the world down a hugely dangerous path. I understand those who protest that some countries have weapons that others do not. No single nation should pick and choose which nation holds nuclear weapons. And that’s why I strongly reaffirmed America’s commitment to seek a world in which no nations hold nuclear weapons. And any nation—including Iran—should have the right to access peaceful nuclear power if it complies with its responsibilities under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.… Democracy and Human RIghts The fourth issue that I will address is democracy. I know—I know there has been controversy about the promotion of democracy in recent years, and much of this controversy is connected to the war in Iraq. So let me be clear: No system of government can or should be imposed by one nation by any other.… That does not lessen my commitment, however, to governments that reflect the will of the people. Each nation gives life to this principle in its own way, grounded in the traditions of its own people. America does not presume to know what is best for everyone, just as we would not presume to pick the outcome of a peaceful election. But I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn’t steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose. These are not just American ideas; they are human rights. And that is why we will support them everywhere.… The fifth issue that we must address together is religious freedom. Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance.…This tolerance is essential for religion to thrive, but it's being challenged in many different ways. Among some Muslims, there’s a disturbing tendency to measure one’s own faith by the rejection of somebody else’s faith. The richness of religious diversity must be upheld—whether it is for Maronites in Lebanon or the Copts in Egypt. And if we are being honest, fault lines must be closed among Muslims, as well, as the divisions between Sunni and Shia have led to tragic violence, particularly in Iraq.… The sixth issue—the sixth issue that I want to address is women’s rights.…I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal, but I do believe that a woman who is denied an education is denied equality. And it is no coincidence that countries where women are well educated are far more likely to be prosperous.… Finally, I want to discuss economic development and opportunity. I know that for many, the face of globalization is contradictory.…But I also know that human progress cannot be denied. There need not be contradictions between development and tradition.… We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning, keeping in mind what has been written. The Holy Koran tells us: “O mankind! We have created you male and a female; and we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another.” The Talmud tells us: “The whole of the Torah is for the purpose of promoting peace.” The Holy Bible tells us: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” The people of the world can live together in peace. We know that is God’s vision. Now that must be our work here on Earth.

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(Continued from p. 367G3)

our problems whenever possible.” [See p. 379D3] However, Obama said continued military operations in Afghanistan were necessary. “We would gladly bring every single one of our troops home if we could be confident that there were not violent extremists in Afghanistan, and now Pakistan, determined to kill as many Americans as possible,” he said. “But that is not yet the case.” [See p. 381A1] International Response—A spokesman for Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas June 4 called the speech “a good start and an important step towards a new American policy.” However, some observers complained that it did not set out any new proposals or establish a timeline for Israeli-Palestinian talks. Ahmed Youssef, the deputy foreign minister in the Gaza Strip government of the militant Islamist group Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement), said Obama was wrong to demand Palestinian recognition of Israel without accepting the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their former land in Israel. The Israeli government issued a statement saying, “We share President Obama’s hope that the American effort heralds the beginning of a new era that will bring about an end to the conflict and lead to Arab recognition of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people.” But it added that Israel would keep “protecting its interests, especially its national security.” Israeli commentators on the political left praised the speech, while conservatives there and in the U.S. criticized Obama for making what they viewed as a false comparison between the suffering of Jews in the Holocaust and that of Palestinians under Israeli occupation. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, June 4 said Muslims would continue to “hate America from the bottom of their heart” because of the country’s “aggressive actions,” despite Obama’s “beautiful speeches.” He also said Iran only wanted to use nuclear technology for civilian power generation, because he had issued a fatwa, or religious edict, in 2005 prohibiting in the name of Islam the production, stockpiling or use of nuclear weapons. Obama’s speech was broadcast live by many television networks around the world. In an effort described by U.S. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs as “far broader” than previous ones, the U.S. government was broadcasting the speech live on the White House Web site, sponsoring links to its text on social networking Web sites and providing real-time excerpts via text messages in English, Arabic, Farsi and Urdu. Obama Meets With Saudi King Abdullah—

Obama June 3 had arrived in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, on the first leg of his trip to the Middle East and Europe. On arriving, he said, “I thought it was very important to come to the place where Islam began.” Obama met with Saudi King Abdullah on issues that the two leaders afterwards said included Israeli-Palestinian reJune 4, 2009

lations, the Iranian nuclear program, the instability in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Obama’s upcoming speech in Egypt. Obama June 4 traveled to Cairo, where he met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Obama after the speech flew on to Germany. He was also due to visit France to commemorate the 1944 D-Day landings during World War II. Bin Laden Tapes Released—Qatari satellite television channel Al Jazeera June 3 broadcast an audiotape attributed to Osama bin Laden, leader of the international terrorist network Al Qaeda, in which bin Laden said Obama had “planted new seeds to increase hatred and revenge.” He accused Obama of instigating Pakistan’s recent military campaign against militants in that country’s Swat Valley, which he said had displaced “one million Muslims.” Bin Laden warned, “The American people should get ready to reap the fruits of what the leaders of the White House have planted throughout the coming years and decades.” [See pp. 382B2, 13G2] Al Jazeera June 4 played new excerpts of the tape, in which bin Laden told Muslims to “brace yourselves for a long war against the world’s infidels and their agents.” A tape released June 2 had featured Ayman al-Zawahiri—bin Laden’s Egyptian deputy—calling on Egyptians to boycott Obama’s speech. (Al Jazeera March 14 had broadcast a previous tape attributed to bin Laden. In it, the Al Qaeda leader argued that moderate Arab leaders were complicit in the deaths of Palestinians during Israel’s January invasion of the Gaza Strip, and said he would dispatch supporters to the region in order to “liberate Palestine.”) [See p. 209F3] n

Aviation Air France Flight Crashes in Atlantic Ocean.

Air France flight AF 447, traveling May 31– June 1 from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Paris, France, disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean after sending out several automated signals indicating a loss of pressure in the cabin and an electrical failure. Brazilian Defense Minister Nelson Jobim June 2 said a military plane participating in the subsequent searchand-rescue operation had spotted several clusters of wreckage about 800 miles (1,300 km) off Brazil’s coast that were thought to be from the Air France jet. He said all 216 passengers and 12 crew members aboard the flight were presumed dead, which would make it the world’s deadliest aviation disaster since 2003. [See 2008, p. 575E2; 2007, p. 466G3] The flight had departed from Galeao Airport in Rio around 7:00 p.m. local time May 31. The last verbal communication from pilots was received around 10:30 p.m. An Air France spokeswoman June 1 said the plane had flown into a severe electrical storm with heavy turbulence about 30 minutes later. The automated signals were sent about 14 minutes after the storm was encountered. The plane had been scheduled to land at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle International Airport around 11:10 a.m. local time June 1.

Air France officials said it was possible that the plane, an Airbus A330-200, had been hit by lightning, but that the cause of the crash remained unknown. All jets were built to standards allowing them to continue flying in extreme turbulence and to withstand a lightning strike. The Brazilian air force said the plane was traveling at 521 miles per hour (840 kmph) at 35,000 feet (10,700 m) before contact was lost. Investigators remained puzzled over the failure of the crew to send out any emergency signals before contact with the plane was lost. Much of the information surrounding the plane’s crash would remain uncertain unless its digital flight-data and cockpit recorders, or “black boxes,” were recovered. However, investigators said the likelihood of recovering the black boxes from the ocean remained slim, as the waters in the area the wreckage was found in were deep, and the sea floor was mountainous. Brazilian military officials June 3 said they had discovered new clusters of wreckage about 55 miles south of the first site. Jobim June 4 said a 12-mile-long oil slick found at one of the wreckage sites indicated that the plane had not exploded in the air. However, aviation experts said using wreckage to determine when a plane had broken up was a difficult task. Jobim June 4 said there were “no signs” that terrorism had been involved in the crash. The Brazilian air force June 4 said it had recovered a piece of floating debris from one of the wreckage sites which it believed to be a support piece that might have made up part of the structure of the plane’s cargo hold. However, air force officials later that evening said an analysis of the recovered debris indicated that it had not come from the plane, but might have originated from a ship. The revelation threw into doubt whether the spotted debris fields were in fact wreckage from the plane. French Transportation Minister Dominique Bussereau cautioned against jumping to conclusions regarding debris recovered from the sea. “Our planes and naval ships have seen nothing,” he said. A memorial for the people aboard the flight was held June 3 at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Air France said the passengers included 61 French nationals, 58 Brazilians, 26 Germans and people from 29 other countries. n

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AIDS News in Brief. U.S. President Barack Obama April 27 said he planned to nominate Eric Goosby to head the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Goosby, 56,

was a professor of medicine at the University of California at San Francisco who had also worked on AIDS policy during the presidency of Bill Clinton. PEPFAR had been criticized for stressing methods of halting the spread of HIV promoted by social conservatives, such as abstinence, over family planning programs and condom distribution. [See 2008, p. 535E1] Researchers April 6 reported on the Web site of the journal Annals of Internal Medicine that PEPFAR had reduced the death toll 369

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from AIDS in several African countries by 10% between its inception in 2003 and 2007, but had not substantially prevented new HIV infections. The study tracked the effectiveness of PEPFAR in 12 countries over four years. The study was led by Eran Bendavid of the U.S.’s Stanford University School of Medicine. The U.S. Congress in 2008 had authorized $48 billion for the program over the next five years. n

Other International News Al Qaeda Affiliate Kills British Hostage.

The North Africa–based radical Islamic terrorist group Al Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) June 3 said in a statement posted on an Islamist Web site that it had killed Edwin Dyer, a British tourist who had been abducted in January in a remote region near the border between Niger and Mali. AQIM was loosely affiliated with the international terrorist network Al Qaeda. [See p. 326E1] Dyer had been abducted along with three other European tourists while attending a cultural festival in the region. They were reportedly held in northeastern Mali. Two of the tourists, a Swiss woman and a German woman, were released in April, along with two Canadian diplomats who had been held since December 2008. AQIM continued to hold the fourth tourist, who was a Swiss man. AQIM had demanded the release from British custody of Abu Qatada, a Jordanian-born Palestinian Muslim cleric linked to Al Qaeda. The British government was seeking to deport Qatada, who was also known as Omar Uthman Abu Omar, to Jordan, where he had been convicted in absentia of terrorism. Qatada had challenged the deportation order in British courts, alleging that he would be tortured if he was returned to Jordan. [See 2007, p. 371E1] AQIM had set a deadline of May 30 for Britain to release Qatada. When Britain failed to comply, it killed Dyer May 31, according to the Internet statement. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called the killing “a barbaric act of terrorism,” adding that it “strengthens our determination never to concede to the demands of terrorists.” n Iran Hosts Afghanistan, Pakistan at Summit.

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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari May 24 met in Tehran, Iran’s capital, for a summit on regional issues, including combating the Taliban Islamic fundamentalist group and the flourishing illegal drug trade across their countries’ borders. It was the first trilateral meeting held between the three heads of state. [See pp. 382A2, 381A1] The leaders signed an agreement pledging to cooperate in battling Islamic extremists and drug smugglers. Ahmadinejad said problems in the region had largely been caused by “others who are alien to the nations and culture of our nations.” That was thought to refer to the U.S., which was combating the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and was allied with those countries. n 370

U N I T ESTATES D S TAT E S UNITED

Crime Gunman Kills Kansas Abortion Doctor.

George Tiller, a physician who performed late-term abortions, May 31 was shot and killed while serving as an usher at the Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kan., the church that he and his wife attended. Tiller, who had been subject to antiabortion protests and harassment for more than 20 years, was the first abortion provider killed since Barnett Slepian of Buffalo, N.Y., was fatally shot in his home in 1998. A suspect in the killing, Scott Roeder, was arrested in Kansas later May 31. [See 2006, p. 1008D1; 1998, p. 774F3; 1994, p. 329D3] Four abortion doctors and four others had been killed in antiabortion violence since abortion was legalized in the U.S. in 1973. According to the National Abortion Federation, an abortion rights advocacy group, antiabortion activists had carried out more than 6,100 acts of violence against abortion clinics, doctors and staffers since 1977, including bombings, arson, vandalism, death threats and the mailing of fake anthrax letters. Tiller’s clinic, Women’s Health Care Services, specialized in terminating pregnancies in which the fetus suffered from catastrophic or fatal birth defects. It was one of a handful of U.S. facilities that performed abortions on women who were more than 21 weeks pregnant, leading it to become one of the main targets of antiabortion protests. The clinic had been bombed in 1986 and Tiller had been shot and wounded in both arms by an antiabortion protester in 1993. Tiller had often worn a bulletproof vest and was driven to and from his clinic in an armored car. Tiller and his clinic had been subject to multiple investigations, including two grand-jury probes authorized under a Kansas law that allow citizens to petition the government to investigate alleged wrongdoing. Kansas law barred abortions of fetuses viable outside the womb without certification by two doctors that bringing the pregnancy to term would cause “substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function” in the mother. Tiller had been acquitted in March on charges that he had had an improper financial relationship with a doctor who had approved medical certifications for requested abortions at Tiller’s clinic. Suspect Charged With Murder—The prime suspect in the case, Roeder, June 2 was charged at a court in Wichita with premeditated murder and two counts of aggravated assault in connection with the shooting. If convicted on all charges, Roeder faced a sentence of life in prison, but prosecutors said the circumstances of the crime would render him ineligible for the death penalty under Kansas law. Roeder May 31 had been arrested by Kansas police after being pulled over in a car matching descriptions of the one seen fleeing the scene of the shooting. Roeder

had reportedly attended at least part of Tiller’s trial earlier in the year and had been upset by Tiller’s acquittal. Roeder reportedly suffered from untreated schizophrenia and had links to several right-wing organizations, including the Freemen, an antitax organization that denied U.S. sovereignty. He had been convicted on explosives charges in 1996 after being arrested with bomb components in the trunk of his car; his conviction was later overturned on appeal. The office manager at Tiller’s clinic, June 2 said that a man resembling Roeder and driving the car that Roeder had been apprehended in had vandalized the clinic on May 23 and May 30. The manager said that the license number of the car and photos of the man had been given to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), but that no agents had followed up on the information prior to Tiller’s death. At the time of Roeder’s arrest, a slip of paper was found in his car with the phone number of an official at Operation Rescue, a prominent antiabortion group that had carried out six weeks of mass protests against Tiller’s clinic in 1991. The official, Cheryl Sullenger, who had been convicted of plotting to bomb an abortion clinic in 1988, said that she had not spoken to Roeder recently and that he had initiated all their conversations. Roeder had posted a number of messages on a Web site operated by Operation Rescue, in one instance reportedly calling for other protesters to join him in confronting Tiller at church. However, Kansas police said they believed that Roeder had carried out the murder on his own. [See 1991, p. 676D1] Obama Condemns Shooting—President Barack Obama May 31 said in a statement that he was “shocked and outraged” by the attack. He also said that “however profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence.” In May, Obama, who favored abortion rights, had given a high-profile speech dealing with abortion at the University of Notre Dame, a Roman Catholic university in South Bend, Ind. [See p. 338D2] Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. May 31 described Tiller’s murder as “an abhorrent act of violence” and announced that he was dispatching the U.S. Marshals Service to provide additional protection to abortion providers. Operation Rescue head Troy Newman May 31 called the shooting a “cowardly act” and said that while the group had strongly opposed Tiller, it had used legal methods, rather than violence, in its efforts to see Tiller “brought to justice.” Randall Terry, the founder and former leader of Operation Rescue, in statements May 31 and June 1 called Tiller a “mass murderer” who “reaped what he sowed,” and expressed concern that “the Obama Administration will use Tiller’s killing to intimidate pro-lifers into surrendering our most effective rhetoric and actions.” It was not immediately clear if Tiller’s clinic would reopen. n FACTS ON FILE

Civil Rights

Federal Budget

New Hampshire Legalizes Gay Marriage.

Fed Chief Bernanke Urges Deficit Reduction.

New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch (D) June 3 signed into law a bill legalizing gay marriage in the state, making it the sixth to do so. The state Senate earlier in the day had approved the measure, 14–10, along party lines, with all 14 Democrats endorsing it. Hours later, the state House passed the legislation, 198–176. The law was set to take effect Jan. 1, 2010. Those couples in civil unions would automatically become married on Jan. 1, 2011. [See p. 353C1] A similar bill had been passed by the state legislature May 6, but was never formally submitted to Lynch, who had said he would veto it unless it was revised. Lynch had raised concerns that the law would force religious groups opposed to same-sex marriage to participate in gay marriage ceremonies. A second version of the bill was rejected by the state House on May 20, but House and Senate members afterwards agreed to create a committee to reach a consensus on the bill’s language. The committee reached a compromise May 29. The law granted religious organizations and groups “exclusive control” over their “doctrines, teachings and beliefs.” It also allowed charity and education groups affiliated with religious institutions to abstain from providing same-sex marriage services. Lynch had previously expressed support for same-sex civil unions, but said he believed that marriage was defined as being between a man and a woman. However, Lynch in a statement June 3 said his mind had been changed by “compelling arguments that a separate system is not an equal system.” He added, “Today we are standing up for the liberties of same-sex couples by making clear that they will receive the same rights, responsibilities and respect under New Hampshire law.”

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke in testimony before the House Budget Committee June 3 warned that the government would put financial stability at risk unless it showed that it was serious about reducing the budget deficit over the long term. His comments came after a sharp increase in long-term interest rates, despite the Fed’s efforts to keep rates low. Bernanke said bond investors’ “concerns about large federal deficits” appeared to be a factor driving the rates higher. “Maintaining the confidence of the financial markets requires that we, as a nation, begin planning now for the restoration of fiscal balance,” he said. [See pp. 372F1, 321G3] Bernanke said that recent legislation authorizing heavy economic stimulus spending had been a justified response to the current recession and a global financial crisis. He said, “Congress and the administration face formidable near-term challenges that must be addressed.” However, he added, “Unless we demonstrate a strong commitment to fiscal sustainability in the longer term, we will have neither financial stability nor healthy economic growth.” The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in May had estimated that the deficit would rise to $1.84 trillion, a record in dollar terms, in fiscal year 2009, which had begun Oct. 1, 2008. The OMB projected that the deficit would drop to about $900 billion by 2011, but independent analysts viewed the OMB’s economic assumptions as overly optimistic and forecast higher long-term deficits. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected that the deficit would still exceed $1 trillion in 2019. Bernanke said the increased government borrowing required by the surging deficit would push the national debt to 70% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2011, from 41% at the end of fiscal 2008. That would take the debt to its highest level since World War II. Bernanke said, “We cannot allow ourselves to be in a situation where the debt continues to rise. That means more and more interest payments, which swell the deficit, which leads to an unsustainable situation.” The national debt May 16 had surpassed $11 trillion for the first time. It had risen by nearly $4.9 trillion under President George W. Bush, and by more than $400 billion in Obama’s first two months in office. The CBO estimated that the debt would rise to 65% of GDP by the end of fiscal 2010, and to more than $17 trillion, or 82% of GDP, by 2019. Bernanke noted that over the next decade, the retirement of the post–World War II baby-boom generation was expected to put a heavy strain on federal programs such as Social Security and Medicare. “We will not be able to continue borrowing indefinitely to meet those demands,” he warned. Raising the possibility that tax increases might be necessary, he said, “Tax rates must ultimately be set at a level sufficient

Nevada Domestic Partnership Approved—

The Nevada state Assembly May 31 voted, 28–14, to override a May 25 veto by Gov. Jim Gibbons (R) of a bill that would allow domestic partnerships for same-sex and straight couples in the state. The Assembly barely garnered the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto. The state Senate May 30 had also voted to override the veto, 14–7. [See 2002, p. 856B2] The law, scheduled to take effect Oct. 1, gave couples in domestic partnerships many of the same benefits, rights and protections afforded married couples. Couples in domestic partnerships would have the same community property and debt rights as those who were married, and would be protected from discrimination. However, the law specified that domestic partnerships did not qualify as marriages, in accordance with a 2002 state constitutional amendment defining marriage as being between a man and a woman. Gibbons, after vetoing the bill, had said it conflicted with the amendment. n June 4, 2009

to achieve an appropriate balance of spending and revenues in the long run.” 10-Year Treasury Rates Rise Sharply—

The yield on 10-year Treasury notes had risen to its highest level in five months, 3.55% as of June 3, after peaking at 3.76% the previous week, up from a record low of 2.09% in December 2008. That was the sharpest rise in 15 years. Analysts said that along with concern over federal borrowing, another factor in the increase was lower demand, as more investors regained confidence in the economy and left the safe haven of government bonds to buy higheryielding corporate debt and stocks. The rising bond yields increased borrowing costs both for the government and for private-sector borrowers, including corporations and consumers, since yields served as a benchmark for other key interest rates, such as mortgage rates. The Fed had kept its own benchmark rate at near zero since December 2008. The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage had risen to 5.25% the previous week, from 4.81% the week before, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported June 3. The MBA said the rate increase had led to a 16.2% drop in mortgage applications. Bernanke said the Fed would not increase its purchases of Treasury bonds in an attempt to drive yields lower. The Fed was already purchasing large amounts of

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June Financial Update (Close of trading June 1 except where indicated)

Stocks and Bonds Dow Jones Industrial Average

8,721.44

Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index Nasdaq Composite Index London Stock Exchange

942.87 1,828.68 4,506.19

Tokyo Stock Exchange

9,677.75

(see box, p. 372A1)

(Financial Times-Stock Exchange 100) (Nikkei index)

Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX Composite Index)

U.S. 10-Year Treasury Note (yield) U.S. 6-Month Treasury Bill (yield)

10,604.06 3.71% 0.25%

Currencies (late New York trading) Australia (dollar) (in U.S. dollars) Britain (pound) (in U.S. dollars) Canada (dollar) (in U.S. dollars) European Union (euro) (in U.S. dollars) Japan (yen) (per U.S. dollar) Mexico (peso) (per U.S. dollar) Switzerland (franc) (in U.S. dollars)

$0.8109 $1.6443 $0.9165 $1.4158 96.62 13.2240 $0.9341

Commodities Gold (per troy oz.)

$975.27

Silver (per troy oz.)

$15.8600

(N.Y. Comex spot price) (London fixing spot price)

Oil (per barrel)

(Nymex crude future)

Gasoline (per gallon)

(nationwide weighted average price at the pump; Lundberg survey released May 31)

Wheat (No. 2 hard, per bushel) (Kansas City market)

$2.49 $7.2900

-0.7%

Unemployment rate

8.9%

(April 2009; see p. 323C2)

Gross domestic product growth

-5.7%

Prime rate

3.25%

(annualized first-quarter 2009 rate, preliminary report; see p. 372E1)

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$68.58

Recent U.S. Data Inflation

(consumer price index 12-month increase through April 2009; see p. 355E2)

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Dow Jones Industrial Average Trading on the New York Stock Exchange

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Closing

May 1 4

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8,212.41 8,426.74 8,410.65 8,512.28 8,409.85 8,574.65 8,418.77 8,469.11 8,284.89 8,331.32 8,268.64 8,504.08 8,474.85 8,422.04 8,292.13 8,277.32 Holiday 8,473.49 8,300.02 8,403.80 8,500.33

Volume (in millions of shares) 1,284.7 1,699.6 1,526.9 1,867.3 1,960.0 1,873.4 1,481.1 1,605.6 1,756.0 1,517.7 1,475.4 1,415.7 1,342.0 1,559.3 1,393.6 1,054.4 Holiday 1,369.3 1,330.3 1,363.4 1,774.1

housing market remained in a deep slump. The median price of a new single-family home sold in April was reported to be $209,700. [See p. 292F1] n Existing Home Sales Rose 2.9% in April.

The National Association of Realtors May 27 reported that sales of existing homes rose by 2.9% in April, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.68 million units. That was down from the revised 4.55 million units rate in March. The median sale price for existing homes in April was $170,200, down 15.4% from a year earlier. [See p. 292D1] n Durable Goods Orders Rose 1.9% in April.

The Commerce Department May 28 reported that the value of durable goods orders in April was $161.5 billion, an increase of 1.9%, or $3.0 billion, from the previous month. Durable goods were socalled big-ticket items designed to last three years or more. [See p. 292E1] n

Financial Markets GM, Citigroup Removed From Dow Index.

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both government and corporate bonds in a program designed to encourage a return to normal lending in credit markets that had frozen in the financial crisis. Critics warned that Fed bond purchases, of up to $300 billion by September, could cause inflation. [See p. 163A3] Bernanke said there were signs of a recovery from the recession, but cautioned, “We expect that the recovery will only gradually gain momentum.” He added, “Businesses are likely to be cautious about hiring, and the unemployment rate is likely to rise for a time, even after economic growth resumes,” which he predicted would happen by the end of the year. The unemployment rate stood at 8.9% in April. [See p. 323B2] n

Economy GDP Shrank at 5.7% Rate in First Quarter.

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The Commerce Department May 29 reported that gross domestic product (GDP) shrank at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.7% in the first quarter of 2009. That was a slower contraction rate than the department’s “advance” estimate of 6.l%, reported in April. The new figure was based on revised data showing that businesses had not depleted inventory as rapidly as originally reported. The department also said exports had not fallen as much as previously thought. The latest data was “preliminary” and would be revised once more. [See p. 291C3] n New Home Sales Rose 0.3% in April. The Departments of Commerce and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) May 28 reported jointly that sales of new single-family homes rose 0.3% in April from the previous month. The new seasonally adjusted annual rate was 352,000 units, up from the revised March rate of 351,000 units. However, the April figure was 34% below the figure for April 2008, indicating that the 372

Dow Jones & Co., a unit of media conglomerate News Corp., June 1 said it would remove auto maker General Motors Corp. (GM) and banking giant Citigroup Inc. as components of the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average, the country’s oldest indicator of general stock performance. Dow Jones said the two companies would be replaced by computer-network company Cisco Systems Inc. and insurer Travelers Cos., effective June 8. [See pp. 365A1, 319A1; 2008, p. 955D1] Dow Jones’s announcement came on the day that GM—which had been a component of the Dow for 83 years—filed for bankruptcy. Citigroup, which had sustained massive losses in the past year due to the financial crisis, could see the government take a 34% stake in the company as part of a bailout package. The government’s ongoing involvement with the company was the reason it had been dropped from the index after 12 years, according to a statement by Robert Thomson, who as managing editor of the Wall Street Journal—a Dow Jones division—was the ultimate arbiter of the index’s composition. Thomson said the addition of Travelers, which Citigroup had once owned, was intended to round out the financial sector’s representation on the index, after the removal in 2008 of insurer American International Group Inc. (AIG), another victim of the financial crisis. n

Space Shuttle in Final Hubble Maintenance Flight.

The U.S. space shuttle Atlantis May 11–24 carried out a mission to repair the Earth-orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. It was the fifth and final Hubble mission for the shuttle fleet, which was scheduled to be retired in 2010, and the mission’s five space walks were the last opportunity to carry out maintenance of the telescope. The Hubble, which had been put into orbit by the shuttle Discovery in 1990, had sent back to Earth dra-

matically detailed images of never-beforeobserved depths of space, advancing the study of the origins of the universe. It was originally intended to have a working life of 15 years, but the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said that with the work carried out by the shuttle crew, it was expected to operate for another five to 10 years. [See p. 239A2; 2008, p. 121D1] Atlantis launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., at 2:01 p.m. Eastern daylight time May 11. It was the 126th space shuttle flight, and the 30th for Atlantis. The mission commander was retired U.S. Navy Capt. Scott Altman, 49, and the pilot was retired U.S. Navy Capt. Gregory C. Johnson, 54. The mission specialists were John Grunsfeld, 50, who was on his third Hubble repair flight; Michael Massimino, 46; Michael Good, 46; Andrew Feustel, 43; and Megan McArthur, 37. Atlantis May 13 reached the Hubble, which had last been serviced in 2002, and McArthur used the shuttle’s robot arm to maneuver the telescope into a berth in its open cargo bay. On the first space walk, the following day, Feustel and Grunsfeld installed a new camera on the telescope, called the Wide-Field Camera 3. The new camera would capture ultraviolet and nearinfrared light as well as visible light, allowing it to take images that would reveal more about the universe’s deeper past. (In the expanding universe, the wavelength of light traveling greater distances stretched into the redder range of the spectrum.) Feustel and Grunsfeld also replaced a data router and instrument command box on the Hubble in the May 14 space walk. (The failure of the router in 2008 had delayed the repair mission while a replacement was readied.) The following day, Massimino and Good replaced the six gyroscopes that kept the Hubble properly oriented, three of which were currently not functioning, and replaced three telescope batteries. The astronauts had difficulty installing two of the new replacement gyroscopes, leading them to use instead two backups that had been in use from 1990 to 1999 and had since been refurbished. On the third space walk, May 16, Feustel and Grunsfeld carried out delicate repairs to the Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. The instrument had not been designed to undergo the kind of in-orbit disassembly required, but the operation was declared a success. Massimino and Good May 17 repaired another instrument, the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph. In the final space walk, May 18, Grunsfeld and Feustel installed more replacement batteries and orientation equipment, as well as insulating sheets to protect the Hubble from radiation and extreme temperatures. Reentering the shuttle after the last space walk, Grunsfeld suggested that the Hubble was “the most important scientific instrument ever created.” NASA May 21 said it had cleared Atlantis for landing. Hubble’s orbit was higher than that of the International Space Station, FACTS ON FILE

which shuttles routinely visited. Space debris was more common at the Hubble’s altitude, raising the risk that a collision with an object might damage the shuttle. That had led NASA to keep a backup orbiter, Endeavour, at the ready during the mission, in case it was needed to rescue the crew from a damaged Atlantis. Atlantis landed May 24 at Edwards Air Force Base in California, at 8:39 a.m. Pacific daylight time (11:39 a.m. Eastern). The landing had been delayed and then diverted from Cape Canaveral due to weather conditions.

considered by the administration. Nelson was also a former astronaut and had flown on a 1986 shuttle mission under Bolden’s command. Bolden, 62, was currently chief executive officer of JackandPanther LLC, a military and aerospace consultancy in Houston, Texas. His lobbying and other connections to the aerospace industry would reportedly require the Obama administration to grant him a waiver of its conflict-of-interest rules. [See p. 29B1] If confirmed, Bolden would become NASA’s first black administrator. n

Dispute Aired Over Space Servicing—

The Hubble’s senior project scientist, David Leckrone, at a news conference May 19 and in an interview published May 23 by the Washington Post, suggested that NASA was abandoning the maintenance of orbiting scientific equipment with the end of the shuttle program. NASA officials countered that astronaut servicing was costly, but that in any case, they had not ruled out designing future spacecraft to be serviced. Plans adopted under former President George W. Bush called for the shuttles to be replaced by a craft, called Constellation, more oriented to human space exploration and the goals of sending manned missions to the International Space Station, the moon and Mars. However, President Barack Obama had ordered a review of that plan, and NASA had been without a permanent administrator since January, amid a reported sense of uncertainty within the agency over its future priorities. [See p. 373F1] Launching a shuttle mission to service the Hubble had long been a subject of debate at NASA. Plans to do so were canceled in 2004 as too risky, drawing an outcry from scientists touting the telescope’s unique value. The plan was restored in 2006. [See 2006, p. 879C3] NASA planned to launch a successor orbiting telescope, called the James Webb Space Telescope, in 2014. The European Space Agency May 14 launched an orbiting telescope, the Far Infrared and Submillimeter Telescope (FIRST), from Kouru in French Guiana. Known also as Herschel, it was the largest telescope ever put into space. n Shuttle Veteran Nominated to Lead NASA.

President Barack Obama May 23 nominated retired Marine Maj. Gen. Charles Bolden Jr., a four-time space shuttle astronaut, to become administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Administrator Michael Griffin had stepped down upon Obama’s inauguration Jan. 20, and the agency was currently overseen by an acting administrator, Chris Scolese. [See 2005, p. 281B1; 1994, p. 100A2] Bolden, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, had served as a Marine aviator in the Vietnam War and the 1991 Persian Gulf war, and retired from the corps in 2004. He became an astronaut in 1981 and commanded two shuttle missions. His nomination was reportedly promoted by Sen. Bill Nelson (D, Fla.), chairman of the Senate Commerce space subcommittee, over other candidates June 4, 2009

Obama Administration N.Y. Congressman Picked for Army Secretary.

President Barack Obama June 2 announced that he was nominating Rep. John McHugh (R, N.Y.) for the post of Army secretary. It was the latest of several nominations of moderate Republicans to positions in the Obama administration. Obama continued the trend the next day, naming former Rep. James Leach (R, Iowa) as his nominee for chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Two weeks earlier, Obama had nominated Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman (R) as ambassador to China. [See p. 353E3] Obama had pledged to include Republicans in his administration as proof that he took a bipartisan approach to governing. But the string of nominations was also viewed as part of a political strategy to reduce the numbers of remaining Republican moderates in office and confine the GOP mainly to its Southern conservative base, making the Democrats the party with broader appeal. McHugh, 60, was the senior Republican on the House Armed Services Committee. He had served in the House since 1993, representing the 23rd Congressional District in northern New York State. The district’s biggest employer was Fort Drum, home of the Army’s 10th Mountain Division. McHugh had worked to secure federal funding for the base and protect it from closure. If McHugh was confirmed as Army secretary and resigned his House seat, that would trigger a special election, giving the Democrats a chance to win the seat. Obama had won 52% of the district’s vote in the 2008 presidential election. [See p. 292B2] Losing the seat would further reduce the dwindling number of Republicans in New York’s 29-member congressional delegation to just two. It would also continue the steady decline of the Republicans in the northeastern U.S., a trend exemplified by Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter’s switch to the Democratic Party in March. Leach, 66, had crossed party lines to endorse Obama in the 2008 presidential election, and spoke in a prime-time slot at the Democratic National Convention. He had served in the House for 30 years, but lost his 2006 reelection bid. He had been chairman of the House Banking and Financial Services Committee, as well as founder of the Congressional Humanities Caucus.

Since leaving Congress, he had taught at Princeton University and headed the Institute of Politics at Harvard University. [See 2008, p. 587E1; 2006, p. 859A1] n

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2009 Elections GOP’s Christie to Face N.J. Gov. Corzine.

Former federal prosecutor Christopher Christie June 2 won the New Jersey Republican primary for the party’s nomination to challenge Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine in the November general election. New Jersey and Virginia, where Gov. Timothy Kaine (D) was barred by law from running for a second term, were the only two states holding gubernatorial elections in 2009. [See 2005, p. 797D2] Christie won 55% of the vote in the primary, staving off a more conservative rival, Steven Lonegan, former mayor of the town of Bogota, who took 42%. Corzine faced no serious challengers in the Democratic primary and won 77% of the vote. (Results were based on 99% of precincts reporting.) Christie, 46, had served as U.S. attorney in New Jersey from 2001 to 2008. President George W. Bush had named Christie to the post after he emerged as a leading New Jersey supporter and fund-raiser for Bush’s 2000 presidential campaign. As U.S. attorney, Christie crusaded against political corruption in the state, winning 130 convictions and guilty pleas. Vice President Joseph Biden June 2 joined Corzine at a rally in West Orange, declaring that he and President Barack Obama were “committed to Jon Corzine’s reelection.” In his speech at the rally, Corzine repeatedly linked Christie to Bush. Christie led Corzine in public opinion polls and sought to become the first Republican to win the New Jersey governorship since Christine Todd Whitman won reelection in 1997. Corzine, 62, had lost popularity after pushing for tax increases and budget cuts to fix the state’s financial problems. In a victory speech in Whippany, Christie said Corzine was “well-intentioned” but “simply wrong for this job.” [See 2006, p. 547C1] Despite his unpopularity, Corzine retained a major financial advantage. He had made a fortune as a cochairman of investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc., and spent more than $40 million of his own money on his 2005 campaign. Christie, by accepting public campaign financing, was limited to $10.9 million in spending, while Corzine could spend an unlimited amount of his own money. n

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Supreme Court Suspect Questioning Rules Eased. The Su-

preme Court May 26 ruled, 5–4, that police officers could initiate an interrogation of a suspect even if the suspect’s lawyer was not present. The ruling overturned Michigan v. Jackson, a 1986 decision that had forbidden the practice with suspects who had invoked their right to counsel or had obtained the services of a lawyer. The cur-

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rent case before the court was Montejo v. Louisiana. [See p. 48G2; 1986, p. 229C3] The plaintiff in the case, Jesse Montejo, had been found guilty in 2005 of a 2002 murder. After Montejo’s arrest, the judge at his hearing had assigned him a lawyer. Afterward, police took Montejo to locate the murder weapon, and during that time he was questioned. He also wrote a letter to the victim’s wife incriminating himself. Montejo’s court-appointed lawyer took issue with the fact that Montejo had been questioned without a lawyer present, and argued that detectives had pressured him into writing the letter, which was later used as evidence against him at the trial. Justice Antonin Scalia, writing the Supreme Court’s opinion, said Michigan had had a “considerable adverse effect” on “society’s ability to solve crimes and bring criminals to justice,” and that its benefits were “marginal.” He wrote that the court’s decision to overturn Michigan would have a “minimal” impact on suspects’ rights. The court’s decision in Montejo would not remove a suspect’s right to remain silent or have a lawyer present during questioning. Scalia was joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Anthony M. Kennedy. The Obama administration had urged the court to overturn Michigan. In a brief filed with the court, Solicitor General Elena Kagan said the decision “serves no real purpose,” and provided “meager benefits.” Justice John Paul Stevens, who had authored the Michigan decision, read the minority opinion from the bench, which was traditionally done to express a justice’s strong objection to a ruling. Stevens wrote that the court had undermined Montejo’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel, and his Fifth Amendment protections against selfincrimination. Stevens wrote, “Such a decision can only diminish the public’s confidence in the reliability and fairness of our system of justice.” He was joined by Justices David H. Souter, Stephen G. Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. n News in Brief. The Supreme Court June 1 accepted Bilski v. Doll, in which it was expected to determine what kind of business methods were eligible for patent protection. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., which resolved patent disputes, in October 2008 had ruled that only those business methods “tied to a particular machine or apparatus” or those that transformed “a particular article into a different state or thing” qualified for patent protection. The original plaintiffs in the case had argued that their method of hedging investments in the commodities market was patentable. [See 2008, p. 411B2] The Supreme Court June 1 ruled unanimously that the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio, had been too hasty in throwing out the death sentence of a convicted murderer who could be mentally retarded. Ohio state courts had deter-

mined that the convict, Michael Bies, was retarded, leading the appellate court to 374

throw out his death sentence, in light of the Supreme Court’s 2002 ruling Atkins v. Virginia, which barred executions of the retarded. But Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, writing for the Supreme Court, said that the state courts had not adequately investigated the retardation claim, and that state prosecutors should have another chance to prove that Bies was not retarded. The current case was Bobby v. Bies. [See 2002, p. 473A1] n

Terrorism Detainees Guantanamo Prisoner Commits Suicide.

The U.S. military June 2 announced in a statement that a terrorism detainee held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, had died on June 1 in an apparent suicide. The detainee, Muhammed Ahmad Abdallah Salih, also known as Al Hanashi, had been one of about 240 detainees still held at the prison, which President Barack Obama had ordered closed by January 2010. The military did not release details on how Salih died, but said that personnel at Guantanamo had attempted to revive him after he was discovered. [See 2008, p. 657A2] Salih, 31, had been held at Guantanamo without charge since 2002. He was one of 96 Yemeni detainees still at the prison, the most of any nationality. The U.S. was reportedly reluctant to return detainees to Yemen, which was seen as a center of terrorist activity. The U.S. reportedly was negotiating an agreement with the governments of Yemen and Saudi Arabia intended to send some of the remaining Yemeni detainees to a rehabilitation program in Saudi Arabia. Salih was the fifth detainee to commit suicide at Guantanamo and the sixth to die there. One detainee had died of cancer in 2007. Salih reportedly had been held with six other detainees in the prison’s psychiatric ward and had been force-fed in a restraint chair while on a hunger strike that ended in mid-May. He had reportedly dropped to a weight of 87 pounds (39 kg) during his hunger strike. Salih was one of only eight current detainees who had never met with an attorney about their detention. The Miami Herald reported June 4 that, prior to his death, the U.S. government had not determined whether he would have been freed, tried on terrorism charges or detained indefinitely. The military said Salih had admitted to fighting for the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban regime in Afghanistan in 2001 and to staying at guest houses linked to the international terrorist network Al Qaeda. He was captured during the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in response to Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S. Mohammed Albasha, a spokesman for the Yemeni embassy in Washington, D.C., June 3 said that the government of Yemen had requested a full inquiry into Salih’s death. Military pathologists June 3 conducted an autopsy. Yemen reportedly sent a representative to the prison to make sure that Salih’s remains were treated according to Islamic law. n

Terrorism Convictions, Acquittal in Sears Tower Case.

A jury in U.S. District Court in Miami, Fla., May 12 convicted five men and acquitted one of attempting to conspire with the Al Qaeda international terrorist network to carry out terrorist attacks inside the U.S., including a proposed attack on the Sears Tower, in Chicago, among others. The verdict followed two previous mistrials in the case, in 2007 and 2008. Prosecutors had said that they would not retry the case a fourth time if it ended in another mistrial. [See 2008, p. 519C2] The six defendants were involved with the Moorish Science Temple, an obscure religious group that combined aspects of Islam, Judaism and Christianity. They were arrested after an undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) informant posing as a member of Al Qaeda led the defendants in the recitation of a loyalty oath. However, no explosives or other physical evidence of terrorist plotting were found by the police during their searches of the religious group’s headquarters and the defendants’ residences. Defense attorneys had argued that the defendants had been entrapped by the informant and had simply been attempting to cheat him out of $50,000 by pretending to support terrorism aims. Prosecutors argued that the men posed a threat to national security, noting that one of the defendants, Narseal Batiste, who ran the Moorish Science Temple, had proposed destroying the Sears Tower and other targets during his conversations with the informant. The defendants had been charged with waging war against the U.S. government through a seditious act, conspiracy to destroy buildings with explosives, conspiracy to provide materials support to terrorists and conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Batiste was convicted on all four charges and faced up to 70 years in prison. The other four convicted defendants—Patrick Abraham, Stanley Grant Phanor, Rotschild Augustine and Burson Augustin—were convicted on some of the charges and acquitted of others, and each faced 30 years of imprisonment or more. All five men were scheduled to be sentenced July 27. The sixth, acquitted defendant was Naudemar Herrera. (Another member of the group, Haitianborn Lyglenson Lemorin, who had been acquitted during the initial 2007 trial, was currently being held on immigration charges related to the accusations against the group.) During jury deliberations, which had initially appeared deadlocked, Judge Joan Lenard had rejected a defense request for a mistrial, and ousted a juror who had been accused by others on the jury of refusing to deliberate. However, the Miami Herald reported May 16 that the dismissed juror had denied refusing to participate and accused other jurors of attempting to control or oust her because she differed with them about the correct verdict in the case. n FACTS ON FILE

News in Brief. Police in New York City

May 20 arrested four men on charges that that they had plotted to shoot down military planes and bomb two synagogues in New York’s Bronx borough. The men, who were Muslim converts, had been targeted by a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) sting operation, and were arrested after planting deactivated bombs they had received from an informant outside the synagogues. The men were charged with one count of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and one count of conspiracy to acquire and use anti-aircraft missiles, and faced life in prison if convicted. Critics argued that the men would not have had the will or the ability to plot an effective attack without FBI assistance, and suggested that the sting could have constituted entrapment. [See 374A3; 2008, p. 937E3] Former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative Luis Posada Carriles April 8 was charged in U.S. District Court in El Paso, Texas, with 11 criminal counts, including perjury and obstructing a terrorism investigation, in connection with his alleged role in 1997 terrorist bombings in Cuba. Posada, 81, had been charged in 2007 with immigration fraud, among other charges, and was wanted on terrorism charges in Cuba. The new charges accused him of lying to an immigration judge and other immigration officials in connection with his role in the 1997 bombings. His trial was scheduled to start in August. [See 2007, p. 331C2] n

Consumer Affairs News in Brief. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) April 14 named David Vladeck

as director of the agency’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. Vladeck was a law professor at Georgetown University, in Washington, D.C. The post had oversight on a range of consumer issues, including identity theft and marketing practices. Judge Paul Gardephe of U.S. District Court in New York City Feb. 5 ruled that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) could not allow toys containing toxic chemicals to be sold after stricter regulations took effect Feb. 10. The CPSC, under pressure from manufacturers, had argued that toys produced before the Feb. 10 deadline containing high levels of lead or phthalates—which were hormone-disrupting chemicals banned by a 2008 law—could still be sold. Toy manufacturers and retailers were reportedly left with millions of dollars worth of merchandise that they would not be able to sell in the U.S. [See 2008, p. 635A1] The CPSC Jan. 30 voted to delay by one year more rigorous testing requirements

for toys and other children’s products, until February 2010. While the commission’s decision did not affect the implementation of new phthalate and lead standards in products, companies would not have to test their products to ensure compliance with the rules. Consumer advocates criticized the move, arguing that the new standards were useless without enforcement. [See 2008, p. 635B1] n June 4, 2009

AFRICA

Kenya White Landowner Convicted of Manslaughter.

Kenyan High Court judge Muga Apondi May 7 found Thomas Cholmondeley, a descendant of one of the first white settlers in Kenya, guilty of manslaughter for the May 2006 shooting death of a black man, Robert Njoya, on his family’s vast ranch in the central Rift Valley. Cholmondeley alleged that Njoya had been poaching on the ranch. Apondi May 14 sentenced him to eight months in prison, saying he was factoring in the nearly three years that Cholmondeley, 40, had been jailed before and during the trial. [See 2006, p. 1012F2] Cholmondeley was the great-grandson of the third Baron Delamere, who in 1903 had been one of the first Britons to settle in Kenya. (Kenya obtained independence from Britain in 1963.) His trial, which had begun in September 2006, heightened long-standing tensions over the issues of race and land distribution in Kenya, where a small minority of descendants of white settlers—as well as black elites—owned much of the farmland. In 2005, Cholmondeley had shot and killed a black, plainclothes wildlife ranger on his farm. However, he claimed that he thought the man was a thief, and charges against him for that shooting were dropped for lack of evidence. The incident had angered Kenya’s black majority, especially members of the Masai tribe, to which the ranger had belonged. Cholmondeley was originally charged with murder for the 2006 killing. In his initial interviews with police, he had claimed that he fired at Njoya’s dogs in self-defense and accidentally hit Njoya. However, in testimony before the court in 2008, he insinuated that a friend who was with him at the time, Carl Tundo, had fired the shot that killed Njoya. Apondi rejected that testimony as an “afterthought,” but ultimately found Cholmondeley guilty of manslaughter, rather than the more serious charge of murder, saying he had not shown “malice aforethought to kill the deceased.” Cholmondeley could have been sentenced to life in prison. His eight-month sentence sparked protests from members of the Masai, who held long-standing grievances over the appropriation of their land by white settlers in the colonial period. Apondi, in announcing the sentence, said, “This court understands the undercurrents, but I believe the executive is dealing with the issues of land and other inequalities.” The judge added that he had taken into account efforts made by Cholmondeley to give first aid to Njoya after the shooting, calling them the actions of a “compassionate and concerned soul.” n

Sudan International Criminal Court Charges Rebels. The International Criminal Court (ICC) in

The Hague, the Netherlands, May 7 issued a sealed ruling—made public May 17—

that charged three rebel leaders based in Sudan’s western Darfur region with war crimes. The charges came in connection with a September 2007 attack by rebels on a base housing African Union (AU) peacekeepers in Haskanita, in South Darfur state, that killed 12 and seriously injured eight. [See p. 196E2; 2008, p. 531E3] They were the first rebels to be charged by the court in connection with the Darfur conflict. The ICC in March had issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes charges in connection with atrocities committed during the six-year-old conflict in Darfur; warrants were also currently outstanding against two others connected to the government. The Sudanese government, however, had refused to cooperate with the court, denying the charges and refusing to recognize its authority. About 300,000 people had died and some 2.7 million others had been driven from their homes since the Darfur conflict began in 2003, amid fighting between rebel factions and government forces allied with Arab militias known as the Janjaweed. In late 2007, a joint United Nations–AU peacekeeping force, known as the U.N.AU Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), had taken over for the AU force. However, only about half of the 26,000 peacekeepers mandated by the U.N. Security Council had been deployed in Darfur. One of the three rebels charged, Bahr Idriss Abu Garda, May 18 appeared in court in The Hague, becoming the first person connected with the Darfur conflict to face the ICC. The names of the other two rebel leaders were not made public, although they reportedly had also agreed to appear before the court. Garda, 46, led the United Resistance Front, a splinter faction of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), one of Darfur’s main rebel groups. Garda earlier that day had turned himself in to the court, in response to a summons to appear. (The ICC did not issue a warrant for his arrest.) At the hearing, which lasted just 35 minutes, he was read the charges against him: murder, pillaging and attacking peacekeepers during the raid on the Haskanita camp. Garda had reportedly denied the charges. According to analysts, it was the first time that charges had been brought in an international court for attacks on peacekeepers. One of Garda’s representatives, Tadjadine Niam, May 17 had contrasted Garda’s voluntary appearance at the ICC with the actions of Bashir’s government, saying, “We want to set an example to the Sudanese leadership and others accused in Sudan,” adding, “We believe the court is independent and impartial. Let the others also come to the court.”

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Talks Held in Qatar; Clashes Continue—

The Sudanese government and JEM May 6 resumed peace talks, hosted by Qatar, that had originally been agreed to in February. In March, JEM had suspended its participation in the talks after Bashir’s government—in response to the ICC indictment—expelled most foreign aid agencies from Darfur. The talks were mediated by Qatari officials as 375

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well as envoys from the U.N. Security Council and the European Union. JEM had agreed to release 60 Sudanese army troops that it was holding hostage, it was reported May 29. Meanwhile, fighting between government forces and the rebels continued in Darfur. The Sudanese army had recaptured the towns of Kornoi and Umm Baru, in North Darfur near the border with Chad, after JEM had taken control of them in recent weeks, it was reported May 29. Both towns were the site of Sudanese military bases. JEM claimed that it had withdrawn voluntarily in order prevent further aerial bombardments by government forces, which had already killed scores of civilians. However, JEM June 2 said Sudanese military aircraft the previous day had bombed another town in the region, Furawiya, killing two people and deliberately destroying water wells. Bashir, in a May 12 interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC), had denied that the Sudanese military had attacked civilians in the Darfur conflict. Instead, he claimed that “what happened in Darfur was an insurgency. The state has the responsibility to fight the rebels.” He also asserted that the actual number of deaths in the conflict was “less than one tenth of what has been reported.” Chad Alleges Attack by Sudan—Chad’s government May 5 alleged that rebels backed by Sudan had launched an attack in the east of the country, just two days after the two countries had signed the latest of numerous peace agreements in Doha, Qatar. Chadian Communications Minister Mahamat Hissene said, “While the ink has yet to dry on the Doha accord, the [Sudanese] regime has just launched several armored columns against our country.” Sudan denied the allegation. Chad and Sudan had long traded accusations that each was supporting rebels in the other’s territory. According to the BBC May 7, Chad’s government had claimed to have defeated the rebel assault, which the rebels denied. Chad’s interim defense minister, Adoum Younousmu, May 17 said Chad over the previous two days had conducted air and ground raids against Chadian rebels just over the border in Darfur, and that “seven pockets of groupings of mercenaries” had been destroyed. Report: Rape Prevalent Among Refugees—

U.S.-based human rights group Physicians for Human Rights May 30 issued a report that found that many of the Darfuri women living in a refugee camp in eastern Chad had been victims of rape and sexual violence. Researchers conducted a survey of 88 women at the Farchana camp, about 35 miles (55 km) from the Sudanese border, and found that 29 of them had made “confirmed or highly probable” rape allegations. The group said more than half of the rapes had occurred while the women were still in Darfur, and the rest had taken place in Chad, often when they left the camp to search for firewood. The Farchana camp was being guarded by Chadian soldiers. n 376

AMERICAS

Cuba U.S. Immigration Talks to Resume. U.S. State Department officials May 31 said the Cuban government the previous day had agreed to resume negotiations with the U.S. on the legal immigration of Cubans to the U.S. Former U.S. President George W. Bush in January 2004 had suspended twiceyearly immigration discussions that had served as the highest-level talks between the two countries. In a note sent to the U.S. on May 30, Jorge Bolanos, the head of the Cuban Interests section in Washington, D.C., also agreed to open talks on reestablishing direct mail service between the two countries, and expressed an interest in coordinating with the U.S. on antiterrorism efforts, drug trafficking prevention and hurricane preparedness. [See p. 248A3] U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton May 31 said the talks were “part of our effort to forge a new way forward on Cuba, that advances the interests of the United States, the Cuban people and the entire hemisphere.” She also said the resumption of direct mail would strengthen ties between Cubans living in the U.S. and cititzens of Cuba. However, she added that the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama would “continue to press the Cuban government to protect basic rights, release political prisoners and move toward democratic reform.” The U.S. State Department May 22 had proposed resuming the immigration talks. In April, Obama had ended long-standing restrictions on the ability of Cubans living in the U.S. to visit Cuba and send money to relatives there. However, the overtures had been criticized by some members of Congress. Three Cuban-American Republican House members from Florida—Lincoln Diaz-Balart, his brother Mario Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen—May 22 issued a statement that said the offer was “another unilateral concession by the Obama administration to the dictatorship.” The immigration discussions grew out of accords struck in 1994 and 1995 intended to facilitate orderly migration between Cuba and the U.S., and were initiated after thousands of Cubans had attempted to leave Cuba in the summer of 1994, often in unsound vessels. The 1995 agreement allowed at least 20,000 Cubans to receive U.S. visas annually. The Bush administration had withdrawn from participation in it after claiming that the Cuban government had withheld exit permits from Cubans holding the U.S. visas, in addition to refusing to engage in discussions. Human trafficking from Cuba to the U.S. had reportedly grown dramatically since Bush’s 2004 decision. OAS Votes to Readmit Cuba—In an unforeseen move, the Organization of American States (OAS) June 4 unanimously voted to end the 1962 suspension of Cuba’s membership, ending a U.S. effort, dating to the onset of the Cold War, to keep the country diplomatically ostracized in Latin

America. (The U.S. was the only country in the region that had not restored full diplomatic ties with Cuba.) The vote was made during a June 3–4 OAS annual general assembly meeting in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, attended by the foreign ministers or secretaries of state of 34 countries in the region, among them Clinton. Honduras President Manuel Zelaya June 4 said, “The Cold War has ended today here in San Pedro Sula.” [See p. 271A2; 2008, p. 942D1; 2007, p. 384C2; 1962, p. 58B2] The OAS’s reversal was considered a largely symbolic move, since former Cuban President Fidel Castro Ruz had several times denounced the group as a tool of the U.S. government, and pledged that Cuba would never join it. The U.S. delegation had debated extensively with fellow members over a resolution that would allow Cuba to rejoin the OAS. Clinton June 3 had pressed the group to admit Cuba only if it agreed to abide by several elements of the OAS charter that required member nations to embrace democratic principles, including a free press and open elections. Clinton late that day left Honduras for Cairo, Egypt, where Obama was scheduled to deliver a speech to the Muslim world the following day. Before leaving, she said, “There is no consensus, there is no agreement to take any action.” [See p. 367A2] Despite the apparent impasse, OAS members June 4 were able to reach a consensus after the delegations from Venezuela and Nicaragua retreated from their insistence that Cuba be admitted to the group without any preconditions. Under the readmittance procedure, Cuba would have to formally request that it be allowed to rejoin the OAS, and would have to participate in talks focused on its human rights. The vote was viewed by some as a diplomatic defeat for Clinton. But Dan Restrepo, Obama’s top adviser for Latin American issues, said, “For Cuba to return, the OAS has to agree that Cuba is abiding by the same rules as everyone else.” An unidentified diplomat said several pro-Cuba hard-liners had backed away from their stance after considering threats by U.S. lawmakers to suspend contributions to the OAS, which accounted for about 60% of the group’s budget. Still, the move was criticized by several anti-Castro U.S. lawmakers as an appeasement of Cuba. n

Guatemala President Accused of Murder in Video. A

videotape of murdered lawyer Rodrigo Rosenberg Marzano, in which Rosenberg accused Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom Caballeros of orchestrating his death, May 11 was distributed at Rosenberg’s funeral. Rosenberg had been gunned down May 10 while riding a bicycle in Guatemala City, the country’s capital. [See 2008, p. 38G3] In the videotape, Rosenberg said, “If you are hearing or seeing this message, it is because I was assassinated by President Alvaro Colom.” Rosenberg alleged that FACTS ON FILE

Colom’s private secretary, Gustavo Alejos; Colom’s wife, Sandra Torres de Colom; and Gregorio Valdez, a businessman with ties to the government, had also played roles in planning his murder. Rosenberg also said that he believed his life was at risk because of work he had done on behalf of Khalil Musa, a wealthy coffee and textile exporter, and his adult daughter, Marjorie Musa. The Musas April 14 had been shot and killed by assailants on motorcycles while driving in Guatemala City. Rosenberg in the tape alleged that the Musas’ deaths had also been planned by Colom and the others because Khalil Musa had refused to engage in corruption after being offered a place on the board of the Banco de Desarrollo Rural (Banural), a quasi-state-run bank that was one of the country’s largest. Rosenberg said the bank was run by “a den of robbers, drug traffickers and murderers.” He also said bank officials had engaged in illegal activities “ranging from money laundering to the embezzlement of public funds and nonexistent programs operated by first lady Sandra de Colom, as well as the financing of front companies used by drug traffickers.” He claimed that he had confronted Colom and the others with evidence of their involvement in the Musas’ deaths. Colom Denies Charges—Colom in a televised address May 11 denied that he had any link to any of the killings, and asserted that the claims were part of a plan to “create a political crisis” aimed at destabilizing his government. Colom said he had asked the U.S. ambassador to Guatemala, Stephen McFarland, to enlist the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to investigate Rosenberg’s murder in order to clear his name. Colom also said he had asked a United Nations body established in 2008 to address organized crime in the country, the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), to also investigate Rosenberg’s death. Otto Perez Molina, a former army general who headed the opposition right-wing Patriotic Party, May 11 called on Colom to step down while he was being investigated. About 150 copies of the 18-minute video were distributed at Rosenberg’s funeral. It had reportedly been recorded May 6 in the offices of right-wing journalist Mario David Garcia. n

A S I A - PA C I F I C

Mongolia Former PM Elected President. Mongolian election officials May 25 announced that former Prime Minister Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj had won a presidential election held the previous day, narrowly defeating incumbent President Nambariin Enkhbayar. Elbegdorj won about 51% of the vote, to Enkhbayar’s 47%, according to preliminary results. Enkhbayar May 25 conceded defeat even before the results were announced, reportedly to help forestall any outburst of election-related violence. Elbegdorj was scheduled to take office in June. [See 2008, p. 454E3; for facts on Elbegdorj, see p. 377A2] June 4, 2009

FACTS ON ELBEGDORJ

Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj was born March 30, 1963, in the village of Zereg in western Mongolia. After graduating from secondary school in Erdenet in 1981, he went to work for a copper mining company before joining the military. He won a scholarship to study Marxism and journalism at a military college in Lvov in the Soviet Union, and graduated in 1988. Elbegdorj then worked for the Mongolian army newspaper, but in 1989 left to found an independent paper, Democracy, becoming a leader in the movement to oust the country’s long-ruling communist regime. He was elected a member of parliament in the country’s first multiparty elections in 1990, and in 1992–94 served in the restructured unicameral Great Hural (parliament). In 1996 elections, his opposition Democratic Union Coalition unseated the former-communist Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP), and he was elected to the Great Hural again. Elbegdorj became prime minister in 1998, but resigned later that year amid controversy over a bank merger. In 2002, he recieved a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in the U.S. [See 1998, pp. 723D1, 313D2] Elbegdorj from 2004 to 2006 was prime minister in a coalition government with the MPRP. [See 2006, p. 117D3; 2004, p. 1089B1] Elbegdorj, the Democratic Party’s candidate in Mongolia’s May 24 presidential election, defeated incumbent President Nambariin Enkhbayar of the MPRP. [See p. 377F1]

In 2008, after Enkhbayar’s Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP) was declared the winner of June parliamentary elections, supporters of Elbegdorj’s Democratic Party had rioted, claiming electoral fraud. Authorities had banned alcohol sales on the day of the presidential election in a move to curb new disorder. International observers praised the presidential election as free and fair, and people who gathered May 25 in the capital, Ulan Bator, to celebrate Elbegdorj’s victory said it was a vindication of the country’s young democratic system after the events of 2008. (Mongolia had been a one-party Communist state until 1990.) Both candidates had pledged to obtain favorable terms for the country in negotiations with foreign companies seeking to exploit Mongolia’s mineral resources. A proposed contract with Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. of Canada and Rio Tinto PLC of Australia had been tied up in contentious debate in Mongolia’s parliament. Mongolia’s economy had suffered from a fall in the prices commanded for its copper and other minerals, due to the economic slowdown worldwide, and particularly in neighboring China. Elbegdorj had also campaigned on an anticorruption platform. n

EUROPE

UNITED STATES

Azerbaijan Gunman Kills 12, Self, at University. A gun-

man April 30 killed 12 people and injured 13 others at the Azerbaijan State Oil Academy in Baku, the capital, before killing

himself. Farda Gadirov, 29, a Georgian citizen of Azerbaijani origin, used a semiautomatic pistol during the rampage, and turned the gun on himself after police surrounded the building. Media reports described the mass shooting as the first such attack in Azerbaijan’s history. Police did not release any information about the killer’s suspected motive. [See p. 206A3] Police the following day detained Nadir Aliyev on suspicion of being an accessory to the attack. The interior ministry May 4 said, “Armed, Aliyev went to the crime scene together with Gadirov and participated in committing the crime,” but did not elaborate on whether Aliyev was responsible for any killings. Officials said Aliyev and Gadirov were from the same region of Georgia. Two more people May 4 were arrested in connection with the shooting. Gafur Kazymov, an Azerbaijani citizen, was arrested in the far eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, where he worked in construction, and was transported to Baku. Gadirov’s mobile phone had reportedly been registered in Kazymov’s name. Dzhavidan Amirov, another ethnic Azerbaijani from Georgia, was also arrested in connection with the shooting. The interior ministry said Amirov had regularly spoken with Gadirov on the telephone prior to the attack. Police had reportedly found ammunition in Amirov’s house. n

Croatia War Criminal’s Sentence Increased. An ap-

peals panel of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, the Netherlands, May 5 increased former Serb army officer Veselin Sljivancanin’s five-year sentence to 17 years, after it found that he had aided and abetted the execution of 194 prisoners during the Yugoslav civil war. The fiveyear sentence had been handed down in September 2007. The new sentence came in response to appeals by both the prosecution, which said the initial sentence was too lenient, and the defense, which argued for Sljivancanin’s acquittal. He had been provisionally released in December 2007 after serving four years in detention. [See 2008, p. 366A2; 2007, p. 673C1] Sljivancanin’s sentence was linked with one of the most notorious events of the Yugoslav civil war. In 1991, hundreds of prisoners being housed in a hospital in the Croatian town of Vukovar, along the Serbian border, were rounded up by the Serb army and transported to a farm where they were killed and buried in a mass grave. The appellate judges found that since Sljivancanin’s superior, Mile Mrksic, had ordered him to evacuate the Vukovar hospital, Sljivancanin had been legally responsible for the prisoners’ protection. The court said his “failure to act pursuant to his duty under the laws and customs of war substantially contributed to the murder of the prisoners of war.” Judge Theodor Meron said, “A five years’ imprisonment sentence does not adequately reflect the level of gravity of the crimes committed by Mr. Sljivancanin.” 377

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The appellate panel’s verdict was viewed as significant because the ICTY, for the first time, had focused exclusively on victims who were considered prisoners of war and thus granted protections under the Geneva Conventions. The appeals panel the same day upheld Mrksic’s 20-year prison sentence. Mrksic had been tried alongside Sljivancanin in 2007, and was found guilty of torture and aiding and abetting 194 murders. n

Czech Republic Ex-KKK Leader Ordered to Leave. Former

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Louisiana state Rep. David Duke (R), a former Ku Klux Klan (KKK) leader who once ran for U.S. president, April 25 left the Czech Republic on orders from Czech police, a day after he had been detained on suspicion of denying the Holocaust. Holocaust denial carried a penalty of three years in prison in the Czech Republic, but police said Duke would not be charged. [See 2008, p. 910G1; 2006, p. 964F1] Duke had traveled to the Czech Republic to give three speeches promoting the Czech translation of his 1998 book, “My Awakening,” which contained sections denying the Holocaust. He was invited to the country by the far right group Narodni Odpor (National Resistance). n

Georgia Thousands Call for President’s Ouster. As many as 60,000 people attended an antigovernment rally at the national football stadium in Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, on Georgia’s independence day May 26. The government was forced to call off a military parade planned for that day because protesters for weeks had blocked Tbilisi’s main avenue, which the parade was supposed to travel along. Protesters had set up hundreds of mock prison cells there, some of which were occupied by homeless people. Supporters of Georgia’s political opposition had been holding regular protests against President Mikheil Saakashvili in Tbilisi since April, accusing him of poor leadership, curtailing rights and power grabs, and calling for his resignation. Saakashvili maintained that he would serve out the remainder of his term, which ended in 2013. [See pp. 336F3, 327D3] Patriarch Ilia II, head of Georgia’s influential Orthodox Church, May 28 called for “early elections or the immediate start of negotiations” between the government and the opposition, calling the political stalemate “explosive.” The U.S. and the European Union, in a May 25 joint statement, had also called on Georgians to “end the current stalemate on the streets and begin negotiations immediately.” Protesters and police May 28 clashed at a rally outside Georgia’s parliament building. The interior ministry said as many as five police officers had been injured by protesters armed with knives and sharpened sticks. The opposition said about 20 men attacked protesters with batons in a separate incident. Opposition leader Nino Burdzhanadze claimed that the attackers 378

were plainclothes police officers. Also, about 300 protesters June 1 blocked Tbilisi’s city hall, reportedly because they believed lawmakers were meeting there instead of at the parliament building. Other News—In other Georgia news: o An explosive device June 2 detonated on a section of railroad near the de facto border with the Russian-aligned Georgian breakaway region of Abkhazia. No injuries were reported, and the railway was repaired without major transit delays. Local officials said the explosion was a terrorist attack, but did not accuse any group of planning it. Officials also said the targeted route was not one of the country’s oiltransporting rail lines. o One suspect was killed and two were injured in a May 21 firefight between Georgian police and three men they were attempting to detain, who were suspected of participating in a mutiny at a tank battalion outside Tbilisi in May. Police claimed that the three men, all current or former members of the Georgian military, were planning to flee to the Russian-aligned Georgian splinter region of South Ossetia. Officials May 23 said Georgian police had arrested 33 people in connection with the mutiny. [See pp. 378D2, 311F1] n South Ossetia Holds Elections. South Ossetia, a Russian-aligned splinter region within Georgia’s internationally recognized borders, May 31 held parliamentary elections. Officials the following day said the ruling Unity Party won with about 44.6% of the vote. Three of the four parties competing for places in the 34-seat parliament supported South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity, 44, a former wrestler. The opposition Fatherland Socialist Party, which finished last, had accused Kokoity of silencing dissent and stealing Russian funds meant to rebuild South Ossetian infrastructure, which had been heavily damaged in a 2008 war between Russia and Georgia over the region. [See pp. 378D1, 327D3] Kokoity June 1 said the elections were a test of the region’s independence, and added, “We have proved it. We deserve to live as an independent state.” The U.S. and the European Union June 1 said they rejected the election as illegitimate, as did the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) June 2. South Ossetia’s independence was recognized only by Russia and Nicaragua. n

Russia Amnesty for Rebels Nixed After Bombing.

Ramzan Kadyrov, president of the southern republic of Chechnya, May 16 said he would end arrangements under which rebel fighters could receive amnesty if they declared loyalty to his government. He made the announcement one day after a suicide bomber had blown himself up near the republic’s interior ministry, killing four people, including himself. Kadyrov said, “There is only one way for [rebels]: either turn themselves in to law enforcement agencies and sit out a sentence and live, or

find themselves three meters under the ground.” [See p. 310C3] Chechen Interior Minister Ruslan Alkhanov May 15 said two men earlier that day had tried to enter the interior ministry building in Grozny, Chechnya’s capital, but were stopped by police. One of the men then blew himself up, killing himself, two policemen and another man who was reportedly his taxi driver. Several other people were wounded. The Chechen interior ministry May 16 said police had killed four militants in Grozny. They allegedly belonged to the same rebel faction as the suicide bomber, and had been planning attacks. The bombing came about a month after Russian President Dmitri Medvedev had declared an official end to strict counterterrorism rules in Chechnya, which was located amid several other southern Russian republics that experienced sporadic violence stemming from local feuds, rampant corruption and an ongoing Islamic insurgency. [See below] Other News—In other southern Russia news: o The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, May 28 ordered Russia to pay settlements to three Chechen families who said their relatives had disappeared after being illegally held by Russian troops in 2002. The families received payments of as much as $74,000 each. [See 2006, p. 917B1] o Akhmed Tagayev, deputy mufti, or Muslim religious leader, in the republic of Dagestan, May 25 was shot dead by an unknown assailant in Makhachkala, the capital. Tagayev was known as an opponent of Islamic extremism. [See p. 274A1] o Four Chechen police officers were killed May 25 by a land mine explosion in the republic of Ingushetia’s Sunzha region. [See p. 274D1] o Seyfudin Kaziakhmedov, deputy chief of the prosecutor’s office in Dagestan, May 21 was shot dead in Makhachkala by an unknown assailant. Kaziakhmedov prosecuted violent crimes and had reportedly received death threats over his investigations of local militants. o Two police officers and one civilian were killed May 13 in Chechnya by an explosive device that officials believed might have been attached to the victims’ car. The attack occurred in the southern Chechen region of Vedeno, where Russian officials in April had reinstated counterterrorism measures eight days after Medvedev announced the end of those operations across Chechnya. n News in Brief. Russian prosecutors June 2 confirmed that Mikhail Stavsky, the 19year-old son of Russian state oil company OAO Rosneft’s vice president of the same name, had been kidnapped April 13 in Moscow and was being held for a 50 million euro ($71 million) ransom. The kidnapping had been reported the previous day by newspaper Novaya Gazeta. [See p. 329B1] FACTS ON FILE

Mikhail Fridman, 45, chairman of the board of directors at TNK-BP, a Russianbased energy company owned jointly by BP PLC of Britain and several Russian billionaires, May 27 was appointed by BP to serve as TNK-BP’s interim chief executive officer

(CEO). The previous CEO, Robert Dudley, had stepped down in December 2008, several months after Russian authorities refused to renew his visa, and Tim Summers, chief operating officer of TNK-BP, had served as interim CEO since. Summers’s contract expired June 1. Observers said the move to appoint a Russian interim CEO was a blow to BP, which owned 50% of the company. [See 2008, pp. 740E2, 639B3] Riot police May 16 forcibly broke up an unsanctioned gay rights demonstration in Moscow, Russia’s capital, and arrested as many as 40 people. The demonstration, which coincided with the Eurovision music competition final, which was being held in Moscow that day, had been banned by authorities on the grounds that it was morally unacceptable. Authorities reportedly manhandled demonstrators into police vehicles, and one woman’s shirt and bra were reportedly torn off by police as they detained her. [See 2007, p. 367G1] Opposition politician Boris Nemtsov May 14 filed a lawsuit in the southern city of Sochi’s municipal court in an attempt to annul the results of April’s mayoral election there. Nemtsov claimed that numerous election violations had skewed the poll’s results in favor of Anatoly Pakhomov, the candidate of the pro-government party United Russia. [See p. 328C2] n

Ukraine News in Brief. Viktor Baloha, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko’s chief of staff, resigned May 19, and said Yushchen-

ko had “no moral right to stand in the presidential elections…I will not be your associate in this.” He added that Yushchenko had not implemented promised reforms and was “irretrievably wasting” voters’ time. Yushchenko’s approval rating was currently measured in single digits. Baloha, during his tenure, had spearheaded criticism of Yushchenko’s ally-turned-rival, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who was expected to challenge Yushchenko for the presidency in 2010. Baloha also called on Tymoshenko to quit politics. [See p. 274F1] Yushchenko May 13 won an appeal to have Ukraine’s presidential election moved to late January 2010. The Ukrainian parliament in April had voted to move the election up to Oct. 25, but the country’s Constitutional Court agreed with Yushchenko’s argument that the Ukrainian constitution said presidential elections should be held the last month of the last year of the president’s five-year term, which in Yushchenko’s case was January 2010. [See p. 227D1] n

Other European News U.S.’s Biden Visits Balkans. U.S. Vice Presi-

dent Joseph Biden May 19–21 visited Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Kosovo, where he voiced encouragement for the June 4, 2009

countries’ common goal of joining the European Union. Biden also emphasized that nationalist extremism in the region, where bloody ethnic wars had followed the fall of communism and breakup of Yugoslavia, would deter the countries’ path to the EU and modernization. [See pp. 343B1, 318E1, 110C1] Biden was welcomed by many citizens and regional politicians, but his visit also drew protests from hard-liners who opposed increased U.S. involvement in the Balkan region. Prominent among the protesters were Serb nationalists who recalled the 1999 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) bombing campaign to drive Serbian forces from Kosovo, a majority ethnic-Albanian region that eventually declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Serbia was currently disputing Kosovo’s declaration of independence, which the U.S. had accepted, in the United Nations International Court of Justice. [See 1999, p. 679A3] Biden had supported both Kosovo’s independence and the NATO bombing campaign. He also had supported arming Muslim Bosniaks against ethnic Serbs during the 1992–95 Bosnian civil war. [See 1995, p. 757A1] Begins Visit in Bosnia—Biden May 19 began his trip in Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of the poorest countries in Europe, where he warned leaders of the ethnically fractured country that ultranationalism “must stop…let me be clear: Your only real path to a secure and prosperous future is to join Europe. Right now, you’re off that path.” Following the 1992–95 Bosnian civil war, the country had been divided into two republics as a result of the U.S.-negotiated Dayton accords—the Muslim-Croat Federation, populated mostly by Muslim Bosniaks and Catholic Croats, and the mainly Eastern Orthodox Christian Serb Republic, or Republika Srpska. The republics were united under a weak central government. Bosnia’s economic progress had been stalled for years due to disagreements between the country’s ethnic groups. Bosniak and Croat groups had pushed for greater centralization, but ethnic Serbs argued for more local powers under the federal government. Parliament Speaker Beriz Belkic said Biden’s visit highlighted “the importance U.S. foreign policy-makers place on Bosnian and Herzegovina’s stability, security and ultimately its integration into NATO and the European Union.” Meets With Serbian President— Biden May 20 arrived in Belgrade, Serbia’s capital, where he appeared at a joint conference with Serbian President Boris Tadic. At the conference, Biden said that the U.S. did not “expect Serbia to recognize the independence of Kosovo,” and added that recognition of Kosovo was “not a precondition for our relationship or our support for Serbia becoming part of the European Union.” Tadic said, “It is Serbia’s legitimate right to defend its territorial integrity through the use of peaceful, diplomatic and legal means.” He added, “Serbia does not and will never recognize Kosovo.”

Hard-liners in Serbia’s parliament acknowledged Biden’s visit with banners in the parliament that read, “Biden, you Nazi scum, go home.” Affirms Kosovo’s Independence—Biden May 21 arrived in Pristina, Kosovo’s capital, where he affirmed that Kosovo’s independence was “irreversible.” He added, “the success of an independent Kosovo is a priority for our administration.” Kosovo’s ethnic Albanians, who composed about 90% of its population, welcomed Biden, but several hundred of Kosovo’s ethnic Serbs protested his visit in the divided northern Kosovar town of Mitrovica. Biden said the current challenge in the Balkans was “real integration, not just the elimination of carnage and brutality, but there is where it gets really hard and it’s going to take time.” He said the situation there was “drastically” better than in 1993, when he last visited as a senator, but added that the region had “a long way to go.” Biden that day also told reporters that the Dayton Accords, which had ended Bosnia’s civil war, did not need to be revised to address that country’s problems, warning that revising the pact might play into the hands of nationalists. “Dayton,” Biden said, “imperfect, was necessary, and at least in the forseeable future is the only sort of guarantor for the continuation of nonviolence.” n

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Iraq Ex–Trade Minister Arrested for Corruption.

Iraqi security forces May 30 detained former Iraqi Trade Minister Abdul Falah alSudani on corruption charges, after Sudani had resigned earlier in the month. The arrest warrant charged Sudani with mismanaging the trade ministry and stealing public funds by employing relatives—including one brother who was arrested on corruption charges in early May and another who was wanted but was still at large—and importing expired food for the rations program run by the ministry. [See p. 362B2] Iraq was considered to be one of the most corrupt countries in the world, and the trade ministry was thought to be particularly graft-ridden. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri alMaliki had highlighted corruption-fighting efforts ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for January 2010. However, probes by both Maliki’s government and opposition legislators in parliament were accused of being aimed at political rivals. Sudani was a member of Maliki’s Dawa Party. Sudani had been on a United Arab Emirates (UAE)–bound airliner when Iraqi authorities ordered the jet to turn around, and arrested him once it landed in Baghdad, the Iraqi capital. A Dawa legislator said Sudani had obtained permission from Maliki to leave the country with his wife, whom he said was seeking medical care in the UAE. However, other officials claimed Maliki had said Sudani could not leave Iraq, and that the prime minister’s office had ordered his arrest. 379

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Legislators allied with Sudani also said the judge who had issued the arrest warrant did not have the jurisdiction to arrest a minister. May Had Fewest Deaths on Record—

Iraqi officials June 1 said May had been the least violent month since they started keeping records, with at least 134 Iraqi civilians and 31 Iraqi security forces members killed. April had been the bloodiest month of 2009, with 290 civilians and 65 security forces members killed. However, there were at least 24 U.S. military deaths in May, up from April’s 19 and the highest number since September 2008. There were still several attacks across the country. A bombing in a market in Baghdad’s Dora neighborhood June 1 killed four people, according to Iraqi police. Another bomb June 3 exploded in an outdoor cafe in a Shiite Muslim area of southwestern Baghdad, killing nine people, according to the Iraqi interior ministry. In the northern city of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province and one of the few remaining urban centers of the Sunni Muslim insurgency, a grenade attack on a U.S. patrol May 29 killed one U.S. soldier, and two Iraqi soldiers were killed in a separate attack. The same day in Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad, a bomb in a minibus exploded at a bus depot in the city of Khalis, killing at least three people, and another car bomb on the outskirts of Khanaqin killed two people. Man Convicted in Aid Worker’s Killing—

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A Baghdad court June 2 convicted a Sunni Iraqi man, Ali Lutfi al-Rawi, of involvement in the 2004 kidnapping and killing of British aid worker Margaret Hassan. Rawi was convicted of kidnapping, murder and extortion after a one-day trial, and was sentenced to life in prison. He had been arrested in 2008 after demanding $1 million from the British embassy in exchange for information on the location of Hassan’s remains. [See 2006, p. 442D3] n

Lebanon Biden Visits Ahead of Election. U.S. Vice

President Joseph Biden Jr. May 22 visited Beirut, the Lebanese capital, ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for June 7. 380

Biden in a speech implied that U.S. military aid to Lebanon would be contingent on the outcome of the election; an alliance led by the Shiite Muslim militant group Hezbollah, which the U.S. considered a terrorist organization, was considered likely to win by some analysts. [See p. 297A3] “The election of leaders committed to the rule of law and economic reform opens the door to lasting growth and prosperity, as it will here in Lebanon,” Biden said. He added that U.S. policy would be reviewed “based on the composition of the new government and the policies it advocates.” Biden said the U.S. would not interfere with the elections, although he said he would “urge those who think about standing with the spoilers of peace not to miss this opportunity to walk away from the spoilers.” He reportedly signaled his support for the March 14 Movement coalition of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora in a private meeting. During his visit, he met with Siniora; Michel Suleman, the nonpartisan president of Lebanon; and parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who was allied with Hezbollah. Hezbollah officials May 27 said they had talked to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union about continuing aid to Lebanon if the Hezbollah-led coalition won the elections. The IMF provided $114 million a year in aid to Lebanon, while the EU gave $84 million. [See p. 156D3] Hezbollah May 24 denied a report published May 23 in the German magazine Der Spiegel that a Hezbollah special operations group had been responsible for the 2005 bombing that killed former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others. The article alleged that Hezbollah’s involvement had been discovered by investigators of the United Nations Special Tribunal for Lebanon, but was not being publicized by the court. Hezbollah said the allegation was a ploy to harm its chances in the election. [See p. 312B2] n

Other Middle East News U.S., Israel in Dispute Over Settlements.

U.S. President Barack Obama May 28 reiterated his administration’s calls for Israel to suspend construction of its settlements in the West Bank, after meeting with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas at the White House in Washington, D.C. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—who had taken office in March and met with Obama earlier in May—had opposed stopping settlement growth completely. Obama backed the creation of a Palestinian state as an eventual resolution to Israeli-Palestinian issues, but Netanyahu had not stated support for a two-state solution. [See pp. 367A3, 345F1, 336D1] Obama after the meeting with Abbas called for fast progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, saying, “We can’t continue with the drift and the increased fear on both sides, the sense of hopelessness that we’ve seen for too many years now.” He added, “In my conversations

with Prime Minister Netanyahu, I was very clear on the need to stop settlements.” Obama June 1 in an interview with the U.S.’s National Public Radio (NPR) restated his support for a “freeze on settlements” as a prerequisite for successful peace talks, and also said he would be “honest” with Israel about policies he considered counterproductive. However, he did not clarify how the U.S. would respond if Israel continued construction of settlements. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton May 27 had bluntly expressed the Obama administration’s opposition to settlements, in comments to reporters after meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit in Washington. Obama “wants to see a stop to settlements—not some settlements, not outposts, not ‘natural growth’ exceptions,” Clinton said. “That is our position. That is what we have communicated clearly.” (Outposts were small unauthorized settlements, while “natural growth” exceptions referred to the Israeli government’s policy of allowing existing settlements to expand in response to population growth from births and adoptions.) Netanyahu June 1 said Israel could not “freeze life” in settlements, indicating that it would continue to allow construction to accommodate natural growth. He added, “There are reasonable requests and unreasonable requests.” In what was seen as a gesture to the U.S., Israel in past weeks had demolished buildings in several small settlement outposts. However, settlers had begun rebuilding immediately afterwards, and critics said the demolitions were not significant. Additionally, settlers June 1 attacked Palestinians and their farms in the West Bank after one such demolition. PA Security Forces Clash With Hamas—

PA security forces May 31 clashed with militants affiliated with the militant Islamist group Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement) in the West Bank town of Qalqilyah. According to a PA spokesman, the PA forces had surrounded a house occupied by the Hamas militants after taking fire from the position. After the militants killed three PA security officers with gunfire and a grenade during negotiations, PA forces stormed the house, killing both militants and the owner of the house. It was the deadliest battle in two years between members of Hamas, which controlled the Gaza Strip, and the PA, which controlled the West Bank and was dominated by Hamas’s rival Fatah movement. Thousands of Hamas supporters protested after the clash in Gaza, and Hamas reportedly arrested Fatah supporters in its territory. In other violence, Israeli forces May 28 killed Abed al-Majid Dudin in the south Hebron hills in the West Bank. Dudin was a Hamas leader who had allegedly planned fatal suicide bombings against Israelis in the 1990s. n FACTS ON FILE

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Afghanistan U.S. General Says Casualties to Increase.

U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal June 2 said conflict-related casualties in Afghanistan were likely to increase in the coming year, as the U.S. sent an additional 21,000 troops to the country to combat a growing insurgency by the Taliban Islamic fundamentalist group. McChrystal in May had been nominated to be the top commander for U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces in Afghanistan, and made his remarks at a confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee. [See p. 317A1] McChrystal said, “Success will not be quick or easy,” but added that he believed it was possible. He warned that failure could plunge Afghanistan into civil war, and turn the country into a safe haven for the Taliban and the international terrorist network Al Qaeda. McChrystal said his definition of “success” in the region included the “complete elimination of Al Qaeda” from Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan, and a reduction of the Taliban’s influence. Pakistani branches of the Taliban were currently fighting against the Pakistani army, and Al Qaeda members took sanctuary in Pakistan’s lawless tribal areas on the Afghan border. [See p. 382B2] McChrystal, an expert in counterinsurgency strategy, had been selected to lead the war effort in Afghanistan by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who had said a fresh approach was needed to reverse the deteriorating security situation there. McChrystal told the committee that part of his new, “holistic” strategy would be an emphasis on protecting the civilian population. He said a central criterion for success “will not be the number of enemy killed, it will be the number of Afghans shielded from violence.” He said that would reduce the influence of the Taliban and eventually make the group “irrelevant.” Civilian casualties had become a major point of controversy between allied forces and the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who had accused the U.S. of conducting air strikes and ground raids with little regard for the damage done to the civilian population. Gates and other U.S. officials had acknowledged that civilian casualties alienated the local population from both the coalition forces and Karzai’s government, and had pledged to take greater care in their use of such tactics. [See below] McChrystal also said the size of the Afghan national army would have to expand beyond the 134,000-troop goal that had been announced previously. [See 2008, p. 735B1] McChrystal Questioned on Tillman—

Senators on the Armed Services Committee June 2 questioned McChrystal about the circumstances surrounding the 2004 death of Cpl. Pat Tillman, who had been killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire. McChrystal at the time was the head of the Joint Special Operations Command, overJune 4, 2009

seeing Tillman’s Ranger unit, and he had recommended that Tillman receive a Silver Star, which inaccurately implied that Tillman had been killed by enemy troops. An ensuing Pentagon investigation had led to disciplinary action for seven officers— but not McChrystal—for publicizing false information about Tillman’s death in what critics had described as a cover-up. Tillman was a former National Football League (NFL) player. [See 2007, p. 510F1] The investigation had found that McChrystal at the time did not have direct knowledge of the actual cause of Tillman’s death, and had no reason to question the recommendations of lower officers. The Pentagon also said McChrystal quickly notified his superiors once he learned that Tillman could have been killed by friendly fire. McChrystal told senators that his recommendation of the Silver Star “produced confusion at a tragic time, and I’m very sorry for that.” Sen. Carl Levin (D, Mich.), the committee chairman, also asked McChrystal about harsh interrogation techniques used on suspected terrorism detainees by U.S. Special Operations forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. McChrystal said troops under his command had employed some of the techniques that had been approved in 2002 by then–Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, including the use of stress positions, forced nudity and intimidation by attack dogs. But McChrystal said the use of such techniques was reduced in 2003, when he took over the Special Operations. He also claimed that all allegations of abuse were investigated, and that all proven cases of abuse led to disciplinary reprimands. Civilian Death Toll Disputed—The U.S. military May 20 claimed that 20 to 30 civilians had been killed in a battle in Afghanistan’s western province of Farah in early May, far less than the death toll of 140 civilians claimed by Afghan officials. According to “interim findings” of an investigation into the battle, the U.S. military said 60 to 65 Taliban insurgents had been killed, more than Afghanistan’s claim of 25. [See p. 317E2] The U.S. military said Afghan army and police forces had been ambushed by 200 to 300 insurgents in the Bala Baluk district of Farah. The Afghan forces reportedly called in U.S. reinforcements, which were provided in the form of ground troops and F18 fighter jets. The jets then bombed insurgent targets to “suppress the enemy fire.” The U.S. did not specify at what point the civilian casualties occurred, but powerful air strikes had been the cause of a large majority of civilian deaths in the war. Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission May 26 released the findings of its investigation into the incident, claiming that 97 civilians had been killed in the attack, including 65 children and 21 women. The New York Times June 3 reported that, according to an unidentified U.S. military official, U.S. army forces had made errors during the battle that could have led to unnecessary civilian deaths. Retired Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, the new U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, May 19 had met with survivors of the Farah battle. Appearing with Karzai, he expressed

his condolences for any loss of civilian life, and pledged that coalition forces would cut down on the number of civilian casualties. (U.S. President Barack Obama had nominated Eikenberry to the post March 11, and he was confirmed by the Senate in an April 3 voice vote. Eikenberry had twice served as an army commander in Afghanistan.) [See 2007, p. 38A1] Karzai that day said, “All those people who wear a turban and have local clothes are not Taliban,” a criticism suggesting that U.S. forces could not tell civilians apart from insurgents, who wore no uniforms and blended in easily with village populations. NATO officials May 20 said an air strike the previous day in the southern province of Helmand had killed eight civilians. NATO said the Taliban had used the civilians as human shields, an accusation that coalition forces had long leveled against the group. Other Developments—In other developments in Afghanistan: o The Associated Press June 3 reported that 65 U.S. soldiers had died so far in 2009, up from the 36 reported from the same period in 2008. Analysts expected levels of violence to spike as Afghanistan’s winter season came to a close. The winter season, with its heavy snowfall, made transportation difficult in the underdeveloped country, traditionally leading to a lull in military activity. [See 2008, p. 989C1] o British military officials June 2 claimed that a helicopter strike in Helmand had killed Mullah Mansur, whom they described as “one of the most dangerous Taliban leaders” in southern Afghanistan. Mansur was thought to have orchestrated numerous Taliban attacks, including a suicide bombing in March that killed nine Afghan policemen in Helmand. However, Afghan officials claimed that the strike had killed a lower-level Taliban official who also went by the name Mullah Mansur. [See p. 195B3] o U.S. and Afghan army officials May 28 released a joint statement saying coalition forces earlier that day had engaged in a “fierce firefight” with the Taliban in a remote area of eastern Afghanistan, on the Pakistani border, that killed 29 insurgents. The officials reported no coalition or civilian deaths. They said the purpose of the operation had been to capture Mullah Sangeen, a deputy to warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani. Sangeen had reportedly used the remote region as a staging ground for attacks on Afghanistan’s Paktika province. [See 2008, p. 798G2] o Afghan army troops May 28 killed 35 insurgents in the southern province of Zabul, according to U.S. military officials. o A suicide bomber May 26 killed three U.S. soldiers and three Afghan civilians in Kapisa province, just north of Kabul, the Afghan capital. o The U.S. military May 23 said U.S. and Afghan army forces had seized 101 tons (92 metric tons) of narcotics from the Taliban, following a four-day battle in Helmand that began May 19. Officials described the load 381

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of heroin, poppy seeds, opium and hashish as a record seizure that would likely disrupt the Taliban’s ability to depend on drug smuggling as a main source of revenue. The operation in the town of Marja reportedly led to the deaths of some 60 insurgents, and the seizure of 30 tons of bomb-making equipment. [See 2008, p. 777E2] n

India PM Singh Sworn in for Second Term.

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh May 22 was sworn in for a second term, following his Congress party’s strong performance in national elections that had been held in April and May. Singh took the oath of office that day along with 19 cabinet members, and an additional 59 cabinet members were sworn in May 28. According to election results announced in mid-May, Congress had won 206 out of the 543 seats in Parliament’s lower house. Soon after, the party formed a ruling coalition comprised of 322 lawmakers. [See p. 345B2] Among the major shifts in the cabinet, Pranab Mukherjee, the former foreign minister, became the new finance minister, assuming a post that had been held by Singh since November 2008, and that Mukherjee himself had held in the early 1980s. S.M. Krishna, a former chief minister of Karnataka state, replaced Mukherjee as foreign minister. [See p. 158C2] Kamal Nath—the former commerce and industry minister, who in that role was also India’s international trade representative— was named the head of the transportation and highways ministry, in what was considered a demotion. Nath had reportedly displeased Congress leaders by taking a tough stance against the so-called Doha round of trade talks, which sought to reduce international trade barriers. Anand Sharma, a former official in the foreign ministry, replaced Nath at the commerce and industry post. [See 2008, p. 513D2] Rahul Gandhi—the son of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and slain former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi—reportedly declined a cabinet post to continue working with the party’s youth wing. Rahul Gandhi’s energetic campaigning was thought to have been a driving force in the party’s electoral success. [See p. 346C1] n Economy Grows at 5.8% Rate. India’s gross domestic product (GDP) had grown at a 5.8% annual rate in the first three months of 2009, according to government data released May 29. That was slower than the 8.6% annual rate recorded during the same time period in 2008, but stronger than what analysts had expected. The result was attributed to increased government spending, and strong growth in the construction, financial-services and agricultural sectors. While the economy’s growth had slowed markedly due to an ongoing global downturn, India had fared better than many other leading economies, some of which were in recession. [See p. 157E3] In addition to government spending programs, the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank, had also steadily 382

cut its benchmark repurchase rate—the interest rate on loans it made to other banks—to stimulate lending. The Reserve Bank April 21 lowered the rate to 4.75%, from 5%. Since October 2008, the rate had been cut by 4.25 percentage points. [See p. 157G3] n

Pakistan Army Regains Control of Main City in Swat.

Pakistani military officials May 30 said the army had regained control of Mingora, the main city in the Swat Valley region in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). Swat and other areas of the NWFP had been overrun by the Taliban Islamic fundamentalist group, whose territorial reach by late April extended to within 60 miles (100 km) of Islamabad, the Pakistani capital. The army in early May began a major offensive to expel the insurgents. [See p. 346F1] Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, a military spokesman, May 30 told reporters that Taliban fighters remained on the outskirts of Mingora. He said the militants at first had heavily resisted the army offensive, but that they backed off soon afterward. He claimed that “when they realized that they were encircled and the noose was tightening, they decided not to give a pitched battle.” Abbas said regaining control of Mingora was a “great accomplishment,” but that the army would have to engage in “much more” fighting to secure all of Swat. Abbas said more than 1,200 Taliban fighters and 81 soldiers had been killed in the army’s offensive so far, but did not release details on whether any civilians had died. Reporters were barred from the conflict zone, making casualty numbers difficult to independently verify. Civilian casualties were a major concern for Pakistan’s civilian government, since public support for the NWFP operation could erode if it was perceived that civilians were bearing the brunt of the fighting. The government of President Asif Ali Zardari, who was widely unpopular, was currently relying on a growing public backlash against the Taliban to continue the NWFP offensive. According to Pakistani and United Nations officials, as many as three million civilians had been displaced by the fighting in the NWFP, with up to 250,000 of them forced to take shelter in government-run camps. Clashes between army forces and the Taliban May 30 left at least 25 militants and two soldiers dead in the northwest tribal area of South Waziristan. Pakistan’s tribal belt—a lawless region wedged between the NWFP and Afghanistan—was a stronghold for the Taliban and members of the international terrorist network Al Qaeda. It was widely reported that the government was considering expanding its offensive to South Waziristan and the tribal area of North Waziristan after Swat was secured. Abducted Students Rescued by Army—

Abbas June 2 said 71 students and nine staff members from a military college had been rescued by the army, after they were abducted by the Taliban the previous day. The hostages had been part of a 30-vehicle

convoy that was traveling from Razmak Cadet College in North Waziristan to the NWFP’s Bannu district. Taliban fighters intercepted the convoy and seized some of the vehicles. Initial reports said as many as 500 people had been abducted, a number that military officials said was exaggerated. Abbas said army troops later stopped the seized vehicles at a checkpoint, and rescued the hostages after a brief firefight with the Taliban kidnappers. Analysts said the kidnapping could be part of a Taliban strategy to distract the army from the NWFP military operation. Powerful Blast Kills 24 in Lahore— A group of gunmen May 27 detonated a van filled with 220 pounds (100 kg) of explosives in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, killing at least 24 people and injuring 200 more. Their intended target was thought to have been the local headquarters of Pakistan’s military spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). However, after the gunmen clashed with guards outside the headquarters, the van exploded near an emergency-response unit run by the police. At least 12 policemen and one ISI officer were among the dead. The Taliban the following day claimed responsibility for the attack. Hakimullah Mehsud, deputy to Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, May 28 said the attack was in retaliation for the army’s offensive in the NWFP. He said, “If the government continues to carry out activities at the behest of America, we will continue to hit government installations.” The U.S. had urged the Pakistani government to confront the Taliban militarily, and many within Pakistan viewed the government as a U.S. puppet. The attack coincided with an official visit to Islamabad by Gen. David Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command. However, Mehsud did not specify whether the Taliban had intended to attack the ISI building. ISI had a complex historical relationship with militant groups in Pakistan, having supported and funded many of them to fight in proxy battles in Afghanistan and the disputed territory of Kashmir. Mehsud denied that a group calling itself Tehreek-e-Taliban Punjab was behind the attack, as it had claimed the previous day. Pakistani officials said three suspects in the attack had been arrested. It was the third attack in Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province, since March. Analysts said it was possible that the Taliban was teaming up with other Islamic extremist groups based in Punjab, such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, which was thought responsible for a November 2008 terrorist attack on Mumbai, India’s commercial capital, that killed 170 people. [See below, pp. 228B3, 137D3] Shortly after Mehsud’s threat to carry out more attacks, suspected Taliban militants carried out three bombings in the NWFP capital of Peshawar, and one bombing in the NWFP town of Dera Ismail Khan, killing a total of at least 11 people. In one attack, militants on rooftops opened fire on a Peshawar bazaar after a suicide bombing. Two militants were reportedly killed, and two arrested. FACTS ON FILE

Suspected Militant Leader Released—

The Lahore High Court June 2 ordered the release of Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, a founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba who had been under house arrest since December 2008 for his alleged connection to the Mumbai attack. Saeed’s lawyer said the court had ruled that his detention was unconstitutional, and that there was not enough evidence to keep him under house arrest. [See pp. 275E3, 103C2] The Indian government quickly condemned his release, saying it showed that the Pakistani government did not have the political will to prosecute extremist leaders, many of whom had a large public following. Indian Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said, “Pakistan has not shown the degree of seriousness and commitment it should have to bring justice to the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks.” India’s foreign ministry that day released a statement saying that Saeed’s “professed ideology and public statements leave no doubt as to his terrorist inclinations.” Pakistani officials said the court had made its decision independently, and that they had no control over its decisions. However, Pakistan had a long history of detaining militant leaders accused of orchestrating terrorist attacks, only to release them a short time later. Saeed was the leader of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, an Islamic charity that was accused of being a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba, which had been founded in the 1980s to carry out insurgent attacks in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir. The U.N. in December 2008 had added Jamaat-ud-Dawa to a list of organizations that had links to Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Since then, the group was thought to have adopted a new name, Falah-i-Insaniat, and had reportedly offered assistance to the three million displaced civilians from the NWFP. Like other Islamist organizations in Pakistan, Jamaat-ud-Dawa had built its following by providing aid and social services to the poor and marginalized, many of whom reportedly felt ignored by the civilian government, which was widely viewed as weak and corrupt. Analysts said Saeed’s release could complicate U.S. efforts to develop a rapprochement between India and Pakistan. The U.S. reportedly desired a normalization of relations so that Pakistan could focus on the Taliban and Al Qaeda, rather than on India, its historical rival. Sharif Election Ban Lifted—A five-member panel of Pakistan’s Supreme Court May 26 overturned a February ruling by the court that had banned former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, from running for elected office. The February ruling had been perceived as the work of Sharif’s rival Zardari, and led to widespread protests for an independent judiciary. The episode drastically diminished Zardari’s public support, while boosting Sharif’s popularity. [See p. 228C2] The latest ruling paved the way for Sharif, head of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N) party, to reJune 4, 2009

turn to government. National elections would not be held until 2013, but analysts said Sharif could run in a Lahore by-election for which a date had not yet been set. n

Other South Asia News Cyclone Kills 300, Leaves 500,000 Displaced.

Cyclone Aila May 25 made landfall near the Bangladeshi-Indian border, triggering landslides and flooding that killed as many as 300 people and left about 500,000 homeless. Aila reached speeds of 60 mph (97 kmph) before losing strength May 26. Military and civilian relief operations were launched in Bangladesh and the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, but officials said they were struggling to provide displaced civilians with safe drinking water and shelter. Bangladesh May 31 said it would need emergency foreign assistance to help rebuild homes and roads. [See 2007, p. 773E2] The brunt of the cyclone was borne by the Sundarbans delta, an area of mangrove forests that encompassed southwestern Bangladesh and southeastern West Bengal. The region was home to one of the world’s few populations of Royal Bengal tigers, and experts feared that the cyclone could substantially reduce their small numbers. About 250 tigers were believed to live on both sides of the border. n

SPORTS

UNITED STATES

Boxing Pacquiao Dismantles Hatton. Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines May 2 easily defeated Britain’s Ricky Hatton to capture the International Boxing Organization (IBO) light-welterweight title in Las Vegas, Nev. Referee Kenny Bayless stopped the match in the second round following a left hook from Pacquiao that laid out Hatton in the middle of the ring. Pacquiao, 30, had also knocked Hatton down twice in the first round. [See 2008, p. 993F3] With the victory, Pacquiao had earned world titles in six different weight divisions, while improving his record to 49 wins, three losses and two draws. After successive wins against Oscar De La Hoya of the U.S. and Hatton, many boxing analysts called Pacquiao the best pound-forpound fighter in the world. Hatton, 30, lost just his second bout out of 47 professional fights, but the decisive nature of the defeat had many speculating that his 12-year career might be over. Other News—In other boxing news: o Floyd Mayweather Jr. of the U.S., who had retired with an undefeated record in June 2008, May 2 announced his return to boxing. He was scheduled to face the lightweight world champion, Juan Manuel Marquez, on July 18. Mayweather, 32, had not fought since his December 2007 victory over Hatton. [See 2008, p. 994F1; 2007, p. 903A1] o De La Hoya, 36, April 14 confirmed the speculation following his loss to Pac-

quiao by officially announcing his retirement from the ring. He finished his career with a record of 39 wins and six losses, having earned 10 world titles in six different divisions. His company, Golden Boy Promotions, had teamed up to present some of the highest-grossing fights in recent years, including his own bouts against Pacquiao and Mayweather. n

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Polo Overdose Seen in Deaths of 21 Horses.

Florida state investigators April 28 linked the deaths of 21 polo horses scheduled to compete in the U.S. Open Polo Championship to an overdose of selenium from an incorrectly mixed vitamin supplement. The horses, all part of the Lechuza Caracas team from Venezuela, had fallen ill April 19, shortly before a match scheduled for that day in Willington, Fla. By the next day, 21 of the horses had died, sparking the statewide probe. Following an internal investigation, Franck’s Pharmacy, based in Ocala, Fla., April 23 admitted to an incorrect dosage in the mixing of the vitamin supplement that was later administered to the horses. Veterinarian James Belden had ordered the compounding of an equivalent of a Frenchmanufactured supplement, Biodyl, which was widely used in international equestrian competitions but not approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Compounding pharmacies, such as Franck’s Pharmacy, were commonplace in veterinary medicine, due to the lack of manufactured drugs approved for animals. [See 2008, p. 404F1] The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services April 28 concluded that the improperly mixed supplement had likely caused the deaths, citing the high levels of selenium found in the toxicology tests. Selenium, a mineral needed in minuted quantities for life in animals as well as humans, was toxic in large doses. The Lechuza Caracas team officials had confirmed that only the horses treated with the supplement had died. n

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People U.S. television personality Jay Leno, 59, May 29 bowed out as host of the NBC network’s “Tonight Show,” a job he had held since 1993. Among the guests on his 3,775th and final show was his designated successor, Conan O’Brien, 46. O’Brien began hosting the show June 1, with actor and comedian Will Ferrell, 41, as his openingnight guest. [See p. 211G3; 2008, p. 912G2] Scottish amateur singer and church volunteer Susan Boyle, who May 30 had been favored to win the final round of the “Britain’s Got Talent” television contest, instead finished second that night, losing out in an audience poll to an 11-member group of street dancers called Diversity. Boyle, 48, had become an international sensation after her April 11 performance, in a preliminary round of the show, of the song “I 383

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Publishers Weekly June 1 listed the following hardback and paperback best sellers [See p. 316A1]:

Top-Rated Programs. The following were the most-watched prime-time nation-

Fiction Hardback 1. Gone Tomorrow, by Lee Child (Delacorte) 2. Dead and Gone, by Charlaine Harris (Ace) 3. Wicked Prey, by John Sandford (Putnam) 4. Cemetery Dance, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Grand Central) 5. The 8th Confession, by James Patterson (Little, Brown)

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General Hardback 1. Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment, by Steve Harvey (Amistad) 2. Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto, by Mark R. Levin (Threshold Editions) 3. Master Your Metabolism: The 3 Diet Secrets to Naturally Balancing Your Hormones for a Hot and Healthy Body!, by Jillian Michaels and Mariska van Aalst (Crown) 4. Outliers: The Story of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown) 5. Resilience: Reflections on the Burdens and Gifts of Facing Life’s Adversities, by Elizabeth Edwards (Broadway) Mass Market Paperback 1. Angels & Demons, by Dan Brown (Pocket) 2. My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Picoult (Pocket) 3. Sail, by James Patterson (Vision) 4. Phantom Prey, by John Sandford (Berkley) 5. Say Goodbye, by Lisa Gardner (Bantam)

Music Best-Selling Singles and Albums. Billboard magazine in its May 30 issue list-

ed the five most popular singles (as determined by air play and sales) and the five best-selling albums in the U.S. as the following [See p. 316C1]:

Singles

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1. “Boom Boom Pow,” The Black Eyed Peas (will.i.am/Interscope) 2. “Poker Face,” Lady Gaga (Streamline/KonLive/Cherrytree/Interscope) 3. “Blame It,” Jamie Foxx featuring T-Pain (J/RMG) 4. “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho),” Pitbull (Ultra) 5. “Day ’N’ Nite,” Kid Cudi (Dream On/G.O.O.D./Universal Motown)

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1. 21st Century Breakdown, Green Day (Reprise/Warner Bros.) 2. Hannah Montana: The Movie, soundtrack (Walt Disney) 3. Crime Pays, Cam’Ron (Diplomatic Man/Asylum) 4. The Fame, Lady Gaga (Streamline/KonLive/Cherrytree/Interscope/IGA) 5. Unstoppable, Rascal Flatts (Lyric Street)

Dreamed a Dream” from the musical Les Miserables. That performance, which stunned viewers because of the sharp contrast between her homely appearance and the purity of her voice, got as many as 90 million hits after being posted on the YouTube video Web site. After being beaten by Diversity, Boyle May 31 was reportedly taken by ambulance to a London clinic. Producers of the talent show described her as “exhausted and emotionally drained.” n

O B I T UA R I E S

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DEAN, Millvina (Elisabeth Gladys), 97, British national who, at roughly nine weeks of age, was the youngest passenger on the ill-fated luxury liner the Titanic, which sank off Newfoundland in April 1912; the disaster claimed more than 1,500 lives, including that of her father, Bertram Dean; she, her mother and her twoyear-old brother were among the 705 survivors of the disaster, whose wreckage was found in 1985; since October 2007, she had been the last of the Titanic survivors; born Feb. 2, 1912, in London; died May 31 at a nursing home in Southampton, England. [See 2004, p. 955B3; 1985, p. 694B3] ELON, Amos Dan, 82, Austrian-born Israeli journalist, author, historian and public intellectual; fluent in Hebrew, English and German, he wrote for period-

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al television shows May 4–31 as determined by A.C. Nielsen Co. (Series marked with an asterisk * had at least one other episode during the period that outranked some of the other programs listed.) Figures in parentheses are rating points; each point represents 1% of the 114.5 million television households in the U.S. [See p. 316A2]:

1. “American Idol” (Fox), May 20 (16.1)* 2. “Dancing With the Stars” (ABC), May 4, 19 (12.6)* 3. “Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC), May 14 (11.0) 4. “NCIS” (CBS), May 5 (10.4) (tie) “The Mentalist” (CBS), May 5, 19 (10.4)

Films Top-Grossing Films. The following were the top-grossing films in the U.S. for the week of May 22–28 according to Variety. Figures in parentheses were each film’s cumulative domestic box-office total and number of weeks in release to date. Information on cast and director is included when a film first appears on the list. [See p. 316B2]:

1. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, 20th Century Fox ($80.0 million, 1) Directed by Shawn Levy. With Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Hank Azaria and Robin Williams. 2. Terminator Salvation, Warner Bros. ($74.5 million, 1) Directed by McG. With Christian Bale, Helena Bonham Carter, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin and Moon Bloodgood. 3. Star Trek, Paramount ($196.7 million, 3) Directed by J.J. Abrams. With Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, John Cho, Ben Cross and Bruce Greenwood. 4. Angels & Demons, Sony ($93.6 million, 2) Directed by Ron Howard. With Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor and Ayelet Zurer. 5. Dance Flick, Paramount ($14.3 million, 1) Directed by Damien Dante Wayans. With Damon Wayans Jr., Craig Wayans, Shoshana Bush, Essence Atkins and Affion Crockett. 6. X-Men Origins: Wolverine, 20th Century Fox ($167.0 million, 4) Directed by Gavin Hood. With Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Tim Pocock, Troye Sivan and Tahyna Tozzi. 7. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Warner Bros. ($48.1 million, 4) Directed by Mark Waters. With Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Breckin Meyer, Lacey Chabert and Robert Forster. 8. Obsessed, Sony ($66.8 million, 5) [See p. 312B2] 9. Monsters vs. Aliens, Paramount ($194.1 million, 9) [See p. 312D2] 10. 17 Again, Warner Bros. ($60.9 million, 6) [See p. 312C2]

icals in all three languages and was a longtime correspondent for Israel’s Haaretz newspaper; in one of his best-known books, The Israelis: Founders and Sons (1971), he explored the development of the Zionist movement and its failure to adequately address the plight of the Palestinian Arabs; in the 1970s and 1980s, he grew increasingly critical of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip; having long owned a vacation home in Italy, he sold his Jerusalem apartment in 2004 and moved to Italy for good; born July 4, 1926, in Vienna; died May 25 in Italy’s Tuscan region, of leukemia. [See 1974, p. 906A2; 1971, p. 644E2] ERICKSON, Arthur Charles, 84, Canadian architect who in the 1960s acquired an international reputation for his strikingly integrated design for the campus of Simon Fraser University in the Vancouver, British Columbia, suburb of Burnaby; he designed other notable structures in and around Vancouver, his hometown, including the Museum of Anthropology on the campus of the University of British Columbia; among his wellknown buildings outside the Vancouver area were Toronto, Ontario’s Roy Thomson Hall, a circular concert hall; San Diego, Calif.’s convention center; and the Canadian embassy in Washington, D.C., completed in 1989; born June 14, 1924, in Vancouver; died May 20 in a nursing home there; he had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. [See 1989, p. 316D1] FURCHGOTT, Robert Francis, 92, one of three scientists awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine in 1998 for discovering that the gas nitric oxide played an important role in various biological processes; their work helped lead to the development of the impotence drug Viagra; born June 4, 1916, in Charleston, S.C.; died

May 19 in Seattle, Wash.; no cause of death was reported. [See 1998, p. 760B2–D2; 1997, p. 739E2] GANS, Danny (Daniel Davies Gans), 52, impressionist who had been a mainstay of the Las Vegas, Nev., entertainment scene since 1996, despite having only a minor background in film and television; born in October 1956 in Torrance, Calif.; died in his sleep May 1 at his home in Henderson, Nev. GRANGER, Clive W(illiam) J(ohn), 74, Nobel Prize–winning economist; he and Robert Engle were awarded the 2003 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science for developing pioneering statistical techniques for measuring investment risk and tracking economic trends; the two were honored for research done independently at the University of California at San Diego, where Granger, a native of Wales, taught from 1974 until his retirement in 2003; born Sept. 4, 1934, in Swansea; died May 27 in San Diego, reportedly of a brain tumor. [See 2003, p. 820D2–F2] KATZIR, Ephraim (born Ephraim Katchalski),

93, president of Israel, 1973–78; before being elected to the largely ceremonial post, he had achieved an international reputation as a biophysicist; his research included work on proteins that contributed to the human genome project; he was the younger brother of another leading Israeli scientist, Aharon Katzir-Katchalski, a chemist slain in a terrorist attack at Israel’s Lod International Airport in 1972; both men were founders of Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot; born May 16, 1916, in Kiev, in what was then the Ukrainian region of czarist Russia (now Ukraine); died May 30 at his home on the Weizmann Institute campus. [See 1978, p. 418C2; 1977, pp. 889B1, D2, 850G2–C3, 474G1, 450C2, 8C2; Indexes 1972–75] n

June 4, 2009

Bankrupt U.S. Automaker Chrysler Completes Partnership Deal With Italy’s Fiat Smaller Chrysler Emerges From Bankruptcy.

Auburn Hills, Mich.–based automaker Chrysler LLC June 10 completed a partnership deal with Italy’s Fiat SpA, and emerged from bankruptcy restructuring as a new, leaner company called Chrysler Group LLC. Chrysler since 2008 had received $9 billion in U.S. government financing, and in April was forced into Chapter 11 bankruptcy by the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama. The government June 10 loaned the new company $6.6 billion in exit financing. [See pp. 367G1, 365A1] Chrysler Group was headed by Fiat Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sergio Marchionne, who was known for reviving an ailing Fiat after he took over the company in 2004. Marchionne, in a June 10 note to Chrysler Group employees, lauded the new company’s “healthy balance sheet, a competitive cost structure, a leaner and more efficient dealer network, sound supplier agreements and significantly improved product quality and operational efficiency.” Under the terms of the cashless deal, Fiat received a 20% stake in Chrysler Group, with the option to increase it to 35% after the government loans were repaid. In return, Fiat, known for its small, efficient vehicles, would share billions of dollars worth of technology with Chrysler Group, which would also gain access to Fiat’s global distribution network. Ownership of the rest of Chrysler Group was divided between a health trust administered by the United Auto Workers (UAW) labor union, which owned a 55% stake, and the U.S. and Canadian governments, which owned 8% and 2%, respectively. Chrysler Group’s board would be composed of four directors appointed by the U.S. Treasury, three appointed by Fiat, one by the Canadian government and one by the UAW. The new company’s headquarters would remain in Auburn Hills. Most factories that were idled during Chrysler’s bankruptcy proceedings were expected to quickly resume production. Chrysler Group would produce three car brands—Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge—and operate spare-parts maker Mopar, with each slated to have its own CEO. Fiat models were expected to become available in the U.S. by early 2011. The unprofitable parts of Chrysler would remain in bankruptcy court, where they would be liquidated. Among Chrysler’s financial liabilities were eight major factories that would be shuttered. Hundreds of dealerships would also be closed. [See below, p. 338D3] Chrysler’s trip through bankruptcy court took 42 days. Many observers said its rapid restructuring was a political victory for Obama, who had pledged swift, orderly bankruptcy proceedings. Dissident Bondholders Lose Appeals—

The Chrysler-Fiat deal came one day after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 9 that a small group of dissident Chrysler bondholders had not “carried the burden” of

proving that the court should examine its appeal of a debt-for-cash swap that had been brokered by the government in April. The group, which was mainly composed of three Indiana pension funds for policemen and teachers, owned $42.5 million of Chrysler’s $6.9 billion in secured debt. The Indiana bondholders had purchased their holdings for 43 cents to the dollar in July 2008, but under the government’s swap, in which Chrysler bondholders split a total cash return of $2 billion, they would collect a payout of just 29 cents to the dollar. The bondholders argued that the government was violating long-established bankruptcy laws by giving the UAW, a more junior debtholder, a better return on its debt than senior debtholders. They also claimed that the government had illegally used funds from the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), which were earmarked to support financial institutions, not the U.S. auto industry. The bondholders June 4 had appealed the approval of the Chrysler-Fiat deal by a U.S. bankruptcy judge in May, but the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City upheld the deal June 5. However, the appellate court also put a hold on the deal that would expire at 4:00 p.m. June 8. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who oversaw the 2nd Circuit, minutes before that deadline issued a one-sentence order staying the Chrysler-Fiat deal “pending further order.” The court the following day dismissed the bondholders’ appeal, saying the group had not effectively carried the burden of “showing that circumstances justify an exercise of [judicial] discretion.” It noted that its verdict was “not a decision on the merits of the underlying legal issues.” The group’s lawyer, Thomas Lauria, was also reportedly in discussions with dissident bondholders of Detroit, Mich.– based General Motors Corp. (GM), which had also received billions of dollars in government loans before it was forced into bankruptcy June 1. A number of analysts pointed out that Chrysler’s bankruptcy proceedings could be used as a model for those of the much larger GM. Judge Approves Dealership Closures—

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Arthur Gonzalez June 9 approved Chrysler’s plan to drop about 25% of its sponsored dealerships. Dealerships that lost Chrysler sponsorship were required to get rid of promotional materials bearing the Chrysler logo, such as billboards, and would no longer be able to offer repair services as authorized Chrysler dealers. [See below] The dealerships received some congressional support. The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, chaired by John (Jay) Rockefeller 4th (D, W.Va.), the same day sent letters to GM CEO Fritz Henderson and Chrysler President Jim Press (who June 10 was named Chrysler Group’s deputy CEO), asking them to explain the dealers’ “unwarranted” treatment. Legislation seeking to protect

Facts On File

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World News Digest With Index ©2009 by Facts On File News Services An imprint of Infobase Publishing

Volume 69, No. 3573 June 11, 2009

B shuttered dealerships June 10 was introduced in the House. Senators Probe U.S. Ownership Plans—

Ron Bloom, a senior adviser to the government’s auto task force, June 10 appeared before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee to answer questions about government ownership of parts of Chrysler and GM. He told senators, “Amid the worst economic crisis in threequarters of a century, the administration’s decisions avoided a devastating liquidation and put a stop to the long practice in the auto industry of kicking hard problems down the road.” Bloom also said there was a “reasonable probability that we can get most if not all of our money back,” and asserted that the government was not “going to get into micromanaging [the automakers’] decisions.”

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MAJOR STORIES IN THIS ISSUE Bankrupt U.S. automaker Chrysler completes partnership deal with Italy’s Fiat; smaller Chrysler emerges from bankruptcy. PAGE 385

U.S. President Obama marks Holocaust in Germany, D-Day in France. PAGE 386

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World Health Organization declares swine flu pandemic, first since 1968. PAGE 386

10 U.S. banks to repay government rescue funds. PAGE 387

Unemployment rate rose to 9.4% in May. PAGE 388

Gabonese President Bongo dies after 42-year rule. PAGE 393

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20th anniversary of China’s Tiananmen crackdown marked. PAGE 395

North Korea sentences U.S. reporters to 12 years’ labor. PAGE 395

Center-right parties win European Parliament elections. PAGE 396

Lebanon’s pro-West coalition bests Hezbollah at polls. PAGE 397

Federer, Kuznetsova French Open.

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REFERENCES in brackets give location of background information in this & preceding volumes.

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However, when asked, Bloom declined to offer a deadline for the government to sell its stakes in Chrysler and GM. (The government held a 60% stake in GM.) Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D, Conn.) said, “My hope is whatever we like or dislike about the present configuration, I want to see us get out of this business as quickly as we can.” Sen. John Thune (R, S.D.) the following day called on Congress to set a July 2010 deadline for the government to sell its shares in the automakers. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R, Texas) at the hearing said, “There are profitable dealers that are being closed…when the dealer buys the car, the dealer provides the real estate, the dealer provides the showroom and the repairs, and rents the signs. How is it a drag on the company?” Sen. Jim Bunning (R, Ky.) asserted, “It seems pretty clear to me that taxpayers will never get back their money.” n

Obama Marks Holocaust in Germany, D-Day in France Visits WWII Sites in Buchenwald, Normandy.

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U.S. President Barack Obama June 5 visited the site of the Nazi death camp in Buchenwald, Germany, where he rebuked those who still denied the historical fact of the Holocaust. Obama the next day spoke at a ceremony in Normandy, France, marking the 65th anniversary of D-Day, the World War II amphibious offensive in which Allied troops crossed the English Channel and fought their way ashore to liberate France from Nazi Germany. [See pp. 367B2, 213A1; 2004, p. 420C1] Obama was joined at Buchenwald by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and author Elie Wiesel, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who was a survivor of the camp and whose father had died there, one of some 56,000 Jews and other prisoners who were killed at Buchenwald. Noting that U.S. troops had thoroughly documented the Nazi death camps they liberated, Obama said, “We are here today because this work is never finished,” adding, “To this day, there are those who insist that the Holocaust never happened—a denial of fact and truth that is baseless and ignorant and hateful.” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was the most prominent such Holocaust denier, and had repeatedly called for Israel’s destruction. [See pp. 261F3, 179C1; 2006, p. 964E1] Obama’s visit to Buchenwald was viewed partly as a reaffirmation of the U.S.’s commitment to Israel, balancing a speech he had given the previous day in Cairo, the Egyptian capital. In Cairo, Obama had appealed to Muslims around the world to view the U.S. in a better light, and called on Israel to stop building settlements in occupied Palestinian territory. He also criticized Holocaust denial in that speech. Obama and Merkel earlier June 5 had met in the city of Dresden in eastern Germany. Merkel expressed support for Obama’s push to renew the Arab-Israeli

peace process. But she reportedly told Obama of her concerns that the U.S.’s large budget deficit could endanger the international financial system. Obama reportedly told her he planned to reduce the deficit once the U.S. economy recovered from the current recession. [See p. 371A2] Obama and Merkel visited the restored Frauenkirche cathedral in Dresden, which, like much of the city, had been destroyed by Allied bombing in 1945. [See 2005, p. 964B1] Obama June 6 commemorated the DDay anniversary at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Collevillesur-Mer, where 9,387 soldiers were buried on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach, one of the key landing sites of the invasion. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper took part in the ceremony. Obama said, “D-Day was a time and a place where the bravery and selflessness of a few was able to change the course of an entire century.” He said his late maternal grandfather, Stanley Dunham, “arrived on this beach six weeks after D-Day and marched across Europe” with Gen. George Patton’s army. On behalf of France, Sarkozy thanked D-Day veterans on hand for the ceremony. “We owe you our freedom,” he said. Britain’s Charles, Prince of Wales, also attended, after his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, expressed displeasure that she had not been invited. She had served as an auxiliary driver in the British army during World War II. Obama was joined by his family for some sightseeing in Paris June 6, before they returned to the U.S. the next day. n

funds for use by developing countries fighting to combat the virus. WHO officials warned against widespread panic, noting that the pandemic designation only referred to changes in the way the disease was being spread, and not to an increase in its lethality. The WHO said the virus was only “moderate in severity.” WHO Director General Margaret Chan said, “We are seeing a moderate pandemic.” She added, “We are satisfied that this virus is spreading to a number of countries and is not stoppable.” Virus Found in All 50 States— Officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) June 1 reported that the swine flu virus had been confirmed in all 50 U.S. states. It also said the number of confirmed cases likely only represented 5% of the country’s total number of cases. As of June 11, there were 13,217 cases of confirmed swine flu in the U.S., with 27 deaths from the disease. Also, the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, a bipartisan panel of U.S. federal legislators, June 7 said a plan by U.S. President Barack Obama to use funds assigned to protect the U.S. from biological attack to instead combat the swine flu outbreak would weaken the country’s defenses against a terrorist attack. Obama the previous week had requested the U.S. Congress to spend up to $9 billion for swine flu vaccine and other preparations, $3 billion of which might come from the Project BioShield Special Reserve Fund. The fund had been established in 2004 to pay for responses to chemical, nuclear and biological attacks. [See 2006, p. 1008G1] n

Swine Flu WHO Declares Pandemic, First Since 1968. The World Health Organization (WHO) June 11 declared an A(H1N1) swine influ-

enza virus pandemic, raising its alert system to phase six, the highest, for the first time since 1968. The designation meant that a global epidemic of swine flu was under way. The WHO reported 28,774 laboratory-confirmed cases of swine flu in 74 countries, 144 of which had resulted in death. [See p. 351F2] The WHO raised the alert level at an emergency meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. Under the organization’s guidelines, a pandemic consisted of widespread person-to-person transmission of an infectious disease in two distinct geographical regions of the world. The last time a pandemic had been declared was during an outbreak of the so-called Hong Kong flu that killed an estimated one million people. The WHO’s declaration was unlikely to have a substantial effect in industrialized countries, many of which had already been behaving as if a pandemic had been declared. However, the phase six designation would activate contracts that called for a flu vaccine to go into production in the event of a pandemic.The raising of the alert level also freed medicine supplies and

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Accidents and Disasters Air France Flight Bodies Recovered. Bra-

zilian Air Force Col. Jorge Amaral June 6 said search teams had discovered bodies and other wreckage from Air France Flight 447, an Airbus 330 jet that had crashed into the Atlantic Ocean during an overnight flight from Brazil to France the previous week. The objects were confirmed to be from the flight. (The Brazilian military the previous week had reported that it had discovered wreckage from the flight that turned out to be from other sources.) It remained unknown exactly why the flight, which might have encountered strong turbulence from storms, had crashed. [See p. 369D2] The wreckage and bodies had been spotted about 680 miles (1,100 km) off Brazil’s northeastern coast. However, it was thought that ocean currents had dispersed corpses and wreckage over a wide area of ocean. Brazilian officials June 11 said a total of 41 corpses had been recovered, and that French search teams had spotted several more bodies floating in the water. All 228 people aboard the flight were presumed dead. France’s Accident Investigation Board (BEA) June 6 said Air France had failed to replace air sensors that the downed jet’s manufacturer had recommended replacing in that particular model. The investigators said the plane had registered inconsistent air speeds and sent out a series of 24 error messages before crashing. Air France pilots’ union representatives June 9 said the company had decided to replace all of the questionable sensors, called Pitot tubes, on its Airbus 330 and 340 model jets. Brazilian divers June 8 recovered the tail section of the aircraft, a finding that might aid in the discovery of the digital flight-data and cockpit recorders, also known as “black boxes,” that were stored in that area of the plane. A French nuclear submarine June 10 arrived at the site of the wreckage to join in the search for the black boxes. n

AIDS World Bank Programs’ Failure Reported.

The World Bank’s Independent Evaluation Group, the organization’s internal watchdog, April 30 reported that the majority of the bank’s programs to combat HIV and AIDS had failed. According to the report, eight of 10 AIDS projects in Africa funded by the World Bank did not have satisfactory results, as did seven of 10 projects in other parts of the world. The report said the failures were caused by ineffective bureaucracies that failed to deliver aid where it was needed most, and the complexities of working with governments and nongovernmental organizations. The watchdog group had investigated programs on health, nutrition and population that were funded with $17 billion between 1997 and 2007. [See 2004, p. 256A2] n June 11, 2009

U N I T ESTATES D S TAT E S UNITED

Mortgage & Credit Crisis 10 Banks to Repay Government. The Trea-

sury Department June 9 said 10 of the country’s largest financial institutions would be allowed to repay a total of $68 billion in aid that they had received from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), a $700 billion financial industry rescue fund. The development was the latest indication of increased stability in the financial sector, which had undergone a severe crisis in the fall of 2008 stemming from bad investments in the U.S. housing market. [See p. 318A2] However, government officials warned that the financial system remained fragile. President Barack Obama said, “This is not a sign that our troubles are over.” Banks continued to utilize lending programs that had been established by the Federal Reserve, and also relied on guarantees from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) to sell corporate bonds. Financial institutions were still saddled with mortgage-backed assets that had turned toxic after the housing market entered a deep slump in 2006. The 10 companies were J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley, U.S. Bancorp, BB&T Corp., American Express Co., Capital One Financial Corp., Bank of New York Mellon Corp., Northern Trust Corp. and State Street Corp. With the exception of Morgan Stanley and Northern Trust, the companies possessed adequate levels of capital to weather an ongoing recession without federal aid, according to results of government “stress tests” that had been published in May. Morgan Stanley was allowed to return its TARP aid with the condition that it raise more money. Northern Trust had not been required to undergo a stress test. The companies had clamored to return the money, since participants in the TARP program were subject to government restrictions, such as caps on executive pay. Additionally, recipients of TARP aid were perceived as being unstable, and analysts said allowing some institutions to return the money, while denying that option to others, divided the financial industry into weak and strong companies, which could further undermine those that continued to struggle. Some of the country’s largest banks—including Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. and Citigroup Inc.— were not yet eligible to repay the TARP aid. With the $68 billion in repayments, the government would get back about one third of the $199 billion it had spent buying preferred shares in 600 of the country’s financial institutions. The $68 billion would be at the Obama administration’s disposal to prop up smaller companies or other sectors of the economy. The government would continue to hold warrants from the 10 companies, which could be converted into common stock. Analysts said it could cost the companies some $4.5 billion to buy the warrants back. Executive Pay Czar Appointed—The Treasury Department June 10 announced that Washington, D.C.–based lawyer Kenneth Feinberg would be the “special master” in

charge of determining compensation for top executives and the 100 highest earners at seven companies that had received “exceptional assistance” from the government. The companies were Bank of America and Citigroup; insurer American International Group Inc. (AIG); automakers General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC; and autoloan-financing companies GMAC LLC and Chrysler Financial. [See pp. 365A1, 91A1] The announcement was the latest attempt by the government to regulate compensation at companies that had received TARP aid, following a public outcry earlier in the year over TARP participants that continued to dole out lavish compensation to executives. The Obama administration in February had capped executive salaries at $500,000 for companies that had received exceptional assistance. Obama later that month, under pressure from Congress, signed legislation that limited yearly bonuses at those companies to one-third of an executive’s salary. Analysts said the Obama administration was concerned that the two plans in combination placed excessive restrictions on executive pay, and could compel companies to leave the TARP program at a time of financial instability. The installation of a compensation master replaced the original $500,000 cap. Feinberg had previously overseen a government program to compensate families of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S. He would also be responsible for creating a compensation structure for other companies that had received less government aid. [See 2004, p. 1041D2] In addition to the creation of Feinberg’s post, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner June 10 said the Obama administration would push Congress to pass so-called “say on pay” legislation that would allow shareholders to vote on the compensation packages of executives. While the votes would be nonbinding, administration officials said the purpose of the legislation was to encourage executives to work in the long-term interests of shareholders, as opposed to narrowly focusing on risky bets that could result in personal bonuses. Geithner also said the administration would ask Congress to strengthen the independence of corporate compensation committees. Geithner said, “This financial crisis had many significant causes, but executive compensation practices were a contributing factor. Incentives for short-term gains overwhelmed the checks and balances meant to mitigate against the risk of excess leverage.” Toxic Loan Plan Postponed—FDIC Chairwoman Sheila Bair June 3 announced that a pilot program designed to help banks sell toxic loans—known as the Legacy Loans Program (LLP)—would be postponed. Bair claimed that the newfound stability in the financial sector had led to the postponement, saying, “Banks have been able to raise capital without having to sell bad assets through the LLP, which reflects renewed investor confidence in our banking system.” [See p. 177A1] 387

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However, it was also reported that investors were reluctant to participate in the program, over fears that they would be subject to greater government oversight. The LLP was part of the government’s $1 trillion Public-Private Investment Program, which had been unveiled in March, and would allow the government to finance private investor purchases of toxic loans and securities. The second part of the plan, the Legacy Securities Program, was still in development. Citigroup Launches Stock Conversion—

Citigroup June 10 launched an initiative to convert $58 billion worth of preferred shares into common stock, a move intended to bolster the company’s capital reserves. The bank said the conversion would be completed around July 30. The conversion had been announced in February, when the government agreed to convert $25 billion of its $45 billion in preferred shares into common stock, which would see it take a 34% stake in Citigroup. [See p. 319A1] The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times June 5 reported that Bair was pushing behind the scenes to replace Citigroup Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Vikram Pandit and other executives. The newspapers also reported that Bair wanted to put Citigroup on a confidential government “problem list” of banks that were at risk of failure. Bair was reportedly concerned that Citigroup had not sold its toxic assets fast enough, and was vulnerable to losses from defaults on consumer loans. Bair reportedly thought that the company’s senior management did not have adequate experience in commercial banking to turn the bank around. Pandit—who had taken the reins of Citigroup in December 2007, when it had already suffered massive losses on the mortgage market—had a background in investment banking. [See 2007, p. 825B2] Bank of America–Merrill Hearings Held—

Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis June 11 testified to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that he would have “strongly considered” pulling his company out of a proposed merger with struggling investment bank Merrill Lynch & Co., were it not for the government’s involvement. However, he maintained that no government official had behaved improperly during the merger, saying, “They strongly advised and they spoke in strong terms, but I think it was with the best intentions.” [See p. 291G1] The hearing was part of an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the January merger, which had raised questions of whether Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and then–Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. had unduly pressured Bank of America to acquire Merrill Lynch in December 2008, while knowing that Merrill Lynch was in bad financial shape. At the time, the financial system was in disarray, and officials reportedly feared that a dissolution of the deal could exacerbate panic in the markets. Once the merger was completed, Merrill Lynch reported a massive $15 billion loss for the fourth quarter of 2008, leading the government to provide the combined com388

pany with an additional $20 billion in TARP money. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo was also conducting an investigation into the case, and shareholders of Bank of America had brought lawsuits against the company. The House committee June 9 had subpoenaed the Fed to release internal e-mails and memos related to the merger. Some of the e-mails, presented at the hearing, appeared to show that Fed officials had been aware in December 2008 that Merrill Lynch was poised to post large losses, but pushed Bank of America to complete the merger anyway. When asked whether Bernanke had advised him to withhold Merrill Lynch’s problems from shareholders, Lewis said Bernanke had “never said we should not disclose something that should be disclosed.” Lawmakers appeared skeptical of Lewis’s claim that Bernanke and Paulson had not behaved improperly, even after they threatened to oust Lewis and Bank of America’s board if the deal fell through. They suggested he was protecting the two so as not to anger government regulators. Bernanke and Paulson were expected to testify before the committee in the coming weeks. n Mortgage Lender CEO Charged With Fraud.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) June 4 charged Angelo Mozilo, former chief executive officer (CEO) of mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp., with securities fraud and insider trading. The civil complaint was filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, and included fraud charges against former Chief Operating Officer and President David Sambol and former Chief Financial Officer Eric Sieracki. Mozilo and his deputies were the highest-ranking executives to be charged for abuses in the mortgage market that played a major role in the current global financial crisis. [See p. 264G2; 2008, pp. 412A2, 158A3] Countrywide had once been the largest mortgage lender in the U.S. Along with other mortgage lenders during the housing boom, Countrywide increased the number of mortgages it issued to borrowers with poor credit, known as subprime borrowers, and engaged in other risky lending practices, such as approving loans without a down payment or proof of income. To mitigate its risk exposure, Countrywide sold the mortgages on its books to investors on Wall Street and around the world. Despite those measures, Countrywide’s profits were hit by a fall in housing prices from 2006 to 2008, and an accompanying spike in loan defaults. (It was eventually acquired by Bank of America Corp. in 2008.) Defaults in the U.S. housing market led to massive losses for banks and other financial institutions that had invested in mortgages underwritten by Countrywide and others, leading to a freeze in credit markets and a severe slowdown in global economic growth. The SEC charged that between 2005 and 2007, Mozilo, Sambol and Sieracki had been aware that Countrywide was increasing the number of risky loans it approved, but hid that fact from investors by claiming

that Countrywide’s lending practices remained of the highest standard. The SEC cited as evidence internal e-mails that Mozilo had written to Sambol and Sieracki, one of which described a particular kind of subprime Countrywide loan as “the most dangerous product in existence and there can be nothing more toxic.” Another read, “We have no way, with any reasonable certainty, to assess the real risk of holding these loans on our balance sheet.” The SEC also accused Mozilo of selling $139 million worth of Countrywide stock between 2006 and 2007 based on nonpublic knowledge that the company was exposed to a high level of risk in the mortgage market. The SEC was seeking financial penalties against the executives, and a restitution of the $139 million. Lawyers for all three executives claimed that their clients were innocent of wrongdoing, arguing that Countrywide had been up front with investors about its lending practices. A lawyer for Mozilo said the stock sales had been part of a legitimate plan that allowed Countrywide executives to sell their stock holdings at predetermined times. n

Economy Unemployment Rate Rose to 9.4% in May.

The unemployment rate in May rose to 9.4% after seaUnemployment sonal adjustment, 2009 9.4% up from its April May Previous Month 8.9% level of 8.9%, the Year Earlier 5.5% Labor Department reported June 5. It was the U.S.’s highest unemployment rate since February 1983, but analysts noted that the pace of job losses had declined dramatically from recent months, and there was optimism that the economy could be recovering from a deep, ongoing recession. [See p. 323A2] However, with job losses continuing to mount, Republicans said the report was evidence that a $787 billion stimulus package signed by President Barack Obama in February was failing to revive the economy. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R, Ohio) said, “Washington is hanging middle-class Americans out to dry.” Christina Romer, chairwoman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, countered that the report was a “sign that we are making progress,” even if the overall rate of unemployment was “incredibly distressing.” Vice President Joseph Biden said that despite showing a slower rate of job losses, the report was “tough.” He said, “Less bad is not how we’re going to measure success.” In reaction to the report, investors June 5 sold U.S. government bonds on projections that a recovering economy could lead to a rise in inflation. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes—which went upward as prices fell—climbed to 3.83%, from 3.71% the previous day. An estimated 345,000 nonfarm jobs were cut in May, bringing the total number of jobs lost to 6 million since the recession began in December 2007. The May job loss figure was the smallest since September FACTS ON FILE

2008, and significantly less than the revised 504,000 figure for April. While the pace of losses abated in many major sectors, manufacturing continued to shed jobs at a fast clip, losing another 156,000 jobs. Manufacturing stood to lose even more jobs as automakers Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp. went through the bankruptcy process and shut down dealerships. [See pp. 385A1, 365A1] The unemployment rate was 16.4% when it included “discouraged” workers who had stopped looking for work, and were therefore no longer considered part of the workforce, and those who had accepted only part-time employment even though they sought full-time work. 141 Million Jobs Held in May—According to a household survey, 140.6 million people held jobs in May, the Labor Department reported June 5. The department counted 14.5 million people as unemployed. The department counted 792,000 workers as discouraged in May. About 9.1 million people who sought full-time employment were working part-time instead. The average manufacturing workweek was 39.3 hours in May, down slightly from 39.5 in April. Factory workers’ average overtime was 2.7 hours, remaining unchanged from the previous month. The average hourly wage for production workers rose two cents, to $18.54. The unemployment rate among whites in May was 8.6%, up from 8.0% in April. The jobless rate for blacks was 14.9%, down from 15.0% the previous month. For Hispanics, who could be of any race, the rate was 12.7%, up from 11.3% in April. For men age 20 and over, May unemployment was 9.8%, up from 9.4% in April. For adult women, it was 7.5%, up from 7.1% the previous month. The teenage rate was 22.7%, up from 21.5% in April. For black teenagers it was 39.4%, up from 34.7% the previous month. n Trade Deficit Rose to $29.2 Billion in April.

The Commerce Department June 10 reported that the Trade Deficit seasonally adjust(in billions) ed U.S. trade def- April 2009 $29.16 icit in goods and Previous Month $28.53 Year Earlier $62.14 services for April was $29.2 billion, up from a revised $28.5 billion in March. Both imports and exports fell in April, suggesting that trade continued to be hampered by an ongoing global economic slowdown. [See p. 323A3] Exports in April fell to $121.2 billion, a $2.8 billion decrease from the preceding month. The change was led by decreased exports of industrial supplies and materials, and capital goods. Imports decreased by $2.2 billion in April, to $150.3 billion. The change was led by decreased imports of capital goods and industrial supplies and materials. Imports of crude oil increased by $1 billion in April. Oil prices had made strong gains in recent months, following a decline in prices in 2008 that had come as a result of the global financial crisis. The price of crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange June 11, 2009

MERCHANDISE TRADE DATA Deficit/Surplus* April March 2009 2009

Country/ Region China Japan Canada European Union Mexico NICs†

-16.75 -3.22 -1.22 -5.34 -4.12 -0.25

-15.62 -2.61 -0.77 -4.42 -3.91 -0.15

*Bilateral trade figures in billions of dollars unadjusted for seasonal variations. The data—except figures given for Canada—do not include revisions of month-earlier figures. †Newly industrialized countries—Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea.

(Nymex) June 10 reached $71.33 a barrel, its highest price since October 2008. n Federal Reserve Issues ‘Beige Book.’ The Federal Reserve June 10 issued its “beige book” survey of economic data covering the previous six weeks, finding that economic conditions had “remained weak or deteriorated further” during that time. The survey was compiled eight times a year on a rotating basis by the Fed’s 12 regional banks. [See p. 241B1] However, there were some bright spots in the economic landscape, with eight of the 12 districts reporting “an uptick in home sales.” Additionally, some districts reported that economic projections were growing more optimistic. Manufacturing remained weak, while lending activity was described as “stable or weak.” The survey found that “prices at all stages of production were generally flat or falling,” and that retail prices were “very soft,” indicating that inflationary pressures remained subdued. n

Supreme Court Sotomayor Confirmation Hearings Set.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D, Vt.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, June 9 said confirmation hearings for the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court would begin July 13. President Barack Obama in May had nominated Sotomayor, a judge on the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City, to replace retiring Associate Justice David H. Souter. If confirmed, Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic and the third woman in the court’s history. [See p. 349A1] Republican senators criticized the schedule, saying it did not give them enough time to comb through all the decisions Sotomayor had written in her 17 years as a federal judge. Sen. Jeff Sessions (Ala.), the ranking Republican on the committee, said, “I don’t think it’s a good way to begin the proceedings.” Sotomayor’s decisions, along with a filled-out Senate questionnaire and a collection of her speeches, had been submitted to the committee June 4. But Leahy noted that the Senate took only 72 days to confirm Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. in 2005 after he was nominated by Republican President George W. Bush, and argued that Sotomayor should

undergo an equally expedient confirmation process. Leahy said he aimed to have the full Senate vote on her confirmation before a monthlong congressional recess began Aug. 6. He also said, “Indeed, given the attacks on her character, there are compelling reasons to proceed even ahead of this schedule. She deserves the earliest opportunity to respond to those attacks.” Leahy was referring to criticisms of Sotomayor that had been made by prominent conservatives on the Internet, radio and television. Much of the criticism centered around a comment from a speech delivered at the University of California at Berkeley in 2001, in which Sotomayor addressed the role that a judge’s personal background played in reaching decisions. She had said, “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.” Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R, Ga.) had said the comments showed that Sotomayor was a racist, but June 3 retracted his accusation, saying his word choice had been inappropriate. Conservative radio talkshow host Rush Limbaugh had compared her to David Duke, former leader of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) white supremacist group. Former Rep. Tom Tancredo (R, Colo.) said the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic advocacy group that Sotomayor had supported, was “a Latino KKK without the hoods and nooses.” [See p. 378B1] Senate Republicans had attempted to tamp down such rhetoric. Sen. John Cornyn (R, Texas), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, said such remarks were “terrible” in an interview with National Public Radio (NPR) broadcast May 29. “This is not the kind of tone any of us want to set when it comes to performing our constitutional responsibilities of advise and consent,” he said. Analysts said Republican lawmakers were concerned that accusations of racism and other harsh criticisms could alienate Hispanics, an important voting bloc. Obama in an interview broadcast by NBC News May 29 said Sotomayor regretted the remark, in what was seen as an attempt to defuse the controversy surrounding it, which she had repeated with similar wording in at least two subseqent speeches. He said, “I’m sure she would have restated it,” but added, “If you look in the entire sweep of the essay that she wrote, what’s clear is that she was simply saying that her life experiences will give her information about the struggles and hardships that people are going through—that will make her a good judge.” He said her comment was “the exact opposite” of racist. Sotomayor June 2 began a series of meetings with senators on Capitol Hill. In a day of meetings June 8, she was compelled to use crutches after breaking her ankle earlier that day at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport. Obama administration officials said the break was a small fracture. n Election Contributions Can Require Recusal.

The Supreme Court June 8 ruled, 5–4, that judges must recuse themselves from cases involving individuals who had made unusually large contributions to their election 389

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campaigns. The court ruled that in “extreme” cases, contributions to a judge’s campaign could lead to a “serious risk of actual bias” that undermined the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of due process. The case was Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co. [See 2008, pp. 432D1, 19C3] While federal judges were appointed, 39 states allowed some judgeships to be determined by election. In recent years, judicial elections had become increasingly expensive, and a spike in campaign contributions had stoked concerns that state judges could use their position to rule in favor of donors, whether they were lawyers or parties in a case. But defenders of the practice argued that campaign contributors were simply exercising their free speech rights. The judge in the current case before the Supreme Court, West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Chief Justice Brent Benjamin, in 2007 and 2008 had voted with the majority in two 3–2 decisions that overturned a $50 million 2002 verdict against Massey, which had been convicted of pushing smaller coal companies out of business through fraud. Massey Chief Executive Officer Don Blankenship spent $3 million in 2004 to support Benjamin, a Republican, in his bid to unseat incumbent Justice Warren McGraw, a Democrat. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, writing the Supreme Court’s opinion, said, “Not every campaign contribution by a litigant or attorney creates a probability of bias that requires a judge’s recusal, but this is an exceptional case.” Kennedy noted that Blankenship’s $3 million contribution was “more than the total amount spent by all other Benjamin supporters and three times the amount spent by Benjamin’s own committee.” Kennedy wrote that state ethics rules would suffice for most questions of judicial bias, but that the current case ran afoul of the Constitution. He said the court was not determining whether Benjamin had shown bias. Rather, Kennedy emphasized that “objective standards” of probable bias were at issue. He was joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David H. Souter, John Paul Stevens and Stephen G. Breyer. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., writing the minority opinion, said the court’s decision would engender an overwhelming number of recusal motions that would inevitably hamper the judicial process. Roberts also said the ruling was vague, and posed 40 questions that lower courts were likely to ask, such as “How much money is too much money,” and “What if the case involves a social or ideological issue rather than a financial one?” Roberts was joined by Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. n ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Case Declined. The Supreme Court June 8 declined to hear Pietrangelo v. Gates, a case challenging the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that banned gays from serving openly in the military. The administration of President Barack Obama had asked the court to decline the case, arguing that the policy was “rationally related to the government’s legitimate interest in military discipline and cohesion.” Obama during 390

his presidential campaign had suggested that he would repeal the policy, but since his January inauguration had made no moves to do so, angering those who viewed the policy as unconstitutional discrimination. [See p. 392D2; 2007, p. 362G1] n

Legislation Senate Passes FDA Regulation of Tobacco.

The U.S. Senate June 11 approved, 79–17, a bill that gave the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) widely expanded powers to regulate tobacco products. The House in April had passed a similar measure; President Barack Obama had previously pledged to sign a tobacco regulation bill into law. The bill, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, differed in minor way from its House counterpart, and required approval by the House before it could be sent to Obama. [See p. 221G1] The bill would require cigarette manufacturers to reveal the ingredients of their products. It also granted the FDA the power to ban some ingredients, as well as to regulate the amount of nicotine, a highly addictive compound, in tobacco products. New restrictions on tobacco companies’ marketing practices would also be instituted, prohibiting the use of words such as “light,” “low,” or “mild” to describe products, unless they were shown to be less harmful. Health warnings included on packaging would also be enlarged, and several types of flavored cigarettes would be banned. The measure would also establish an office within the FDA devoted to tobacco regulation, to be funded by fees imposed on tobacco companies. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the fee revenue would reach $500 million annually by 2013. n

Medicine & Health Democrats Unveil Insurance Reform Bills.

Sen. Edward (Ted) Kennedy (D, Mass.) June 9 publicly released a health care reform bill drafted by Democrats on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which Kennedy chaired. The measure would overhaul the U.S. health care system by mandating that everyone obtain health insurance, while establishing subsidies and a new government-run health care plan in order to provide coverage to those who could not afford it. The legislation, titled the Affordable Health Choices Act, would also prohibit insurers from charging higher rates to those with preexisting medical conditions, or refusing to provide insurance for health reasons. [See p. 339G2] A draft of the measure had first been circulated among lawmakers June 5. Anthony Coley, a spokesman for Kennedy, said the draft did not represent “final policy,” and that Democrats involved in writing the bill were still discussing it with each other and Republicans. The most contentious element of Kennedy’s plan was the government-run health care option, which Republicans argued would unfairly compete with privately run insurance plans. (Although

the bill was most closely associated with Kennedy, he had largely been absent from the Senate while undergoing treatment for brain cancer. Sen. Christopher Dodd [D, Conn.] had been leading much of the committee’s work.) Kennedy’s bill was one of at least three health care reform plans being formulated by Democratic legislators. Sen. Max Baucus (Mont.), chairman of the Finance Committee, was leading an effort by that committee to formulate legislation that was intended to be combined with Kennedy’s bill before going to the Senate floor for a vote. Baucus was working closely with Sen. Charles Grassley (Iowa), the Finance Committee’s ranking Republican, and their plan was thus seen as more likely to reflect Republican preferences than Kennedy’s. Also, a draft version of a reform bill being written by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (N.Y.), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (Calif.) and House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (Calif.) June 9 was presented to House Democrats at a party meeting. So far none of those drafting the various reform plans had spelled out how they would be paid for. Rangel June 9 backed away from an earlier stance in which he had said that he would not support a tax on employer-provided health benefits in order to pay for coverage for the uninsured. Obama Expands Reform Campaigning—

President Barack Obama at a June 2 meeting with Democratic senators from the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the Finance Committee reaffirmed his support for a government-run health insurance plan. Baucus said Obama expressed willingness to consider a tax on employer-sponsored health benefits, a reversal from the stance he had taken during the 2008 presidential campaign. Obama at that time had argued that such a tax would place an unfair burden on the middle class. However, White House officials said Obama still preferred raising revenues through other means, such as reducing some tax deductions. The White House Council of Economic Advisers June 2 released a report which found that reducing health care spending growth to 4.5% per year, from 6% per year, would yield savings of $2,600 per year over 10 years for the average family of four. Obama June 3 sent a letter to Baucus and Kennedy which said that he would consider proposals that mandated health insurance and required that employers contribute to the cost of paying for it. “If we do end up with a system where people are responsible for their own insurance, we need to provide a hardship waiver to exempt Americans who cannot afford it,” he said, adding that small employers “should be exempted” from paying for health benefits. Obama in the 2008 presidential campaign had opposed a universal coverage mandate. Obama in the letter also urged lawmakers to reduce Medicare and Medicaid payments by $200 billion–$300 billion over FACTS ON FILE

the next 10 years to help pay for a public health insurance program. Those cuts would be in addition to a $309 billion reduction in Medicare funding that Obama had included in his budget proposal. Obama June 11 held a “town hall” meeting in Green Bay, Wis., to promote Democratic health care reform efforts. Obama rejected Republican claims that he solely wished to expand the government’s role in health care. “I think it’d be great if the health care system was working perfectly and we didn’t have to be involved at all,” Obama said. Opponents Warn on Public Plan—A group of fiscally conservative House Democrats known as the Blue Dog Coalition June 3 said a public insurance plan should exist only as a fallback to private insurance. “We cannot create a public option that stacks the deck against a system that currently provides coverage to more than 160 million Americans,” said Rep. Mike Ross (Ark.), a Blue Dog leader. The American Medical Association (AMA), a group representing doctors, stated its opposition to a government-run insurance plan in comments submitted to the Senate Finance Committee, the Times reported June 11. n

2009 Elections Matchup for Virginia Governor’s Race Set.

State Sen. Creigh Deeds June 9 won a threeway Virginia Democratic primary election for governor, and would face former state Attorney General Bob McDonnell in the November general election. McDonnell, a social conservative and former protege of the evangelical leader Rev. Pat Robertson, faced no opposition in the Republican primary. In 2005, McDonnell had beaten Deeds in the election for attorney general by just 323 votes out of some two million cast. [See p. 373A3; 2005, p. 797E1] Incumbent Gov. Timothy Kaine (D) was barred by state law from seeking reelection. Virginia and New Jersey were the only two states holding gubernatorial elections in 2009. Democrats had won the last two governor’s races in Virginia, and the state had voted Democratic in the 2008 presidential election, despite its former status as a reliably Republican state. In the Democratic primary, the centrist Deeds won 50% of the vote. He beat two more liberal and better financed opponents: former National Democratic Committee (DNC) Chairman Terry McAuliffe, who took 27%, and former member of the Virginia House of Delegates Brian Moran, the brother of U.S. Rep. James Moran (D, Va.), who took 24%. Turnout was low, with just 6% of registered voters casting ballots. McAuliffe, a New York native, was known as a top fund-raiser for former President Bill Clinton and chairman of the 2008 presidential campaign of his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. He raised $7.5 million for his own first campaign for elected office, but drew criticism over the fact that much of the money came from outside Virginia. June 11, 2009

McDonnell, who had raised about $9 million, started the general election campaign with a sizable financial advantage over Deeds, who raised about $3.7 million. n

Terrorism Detainees Bermuda Accepts Four Detainees. The Justice Department June 11 announced on its Web site that four terrorism detainees previously held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, had been transferred to Bermuda, a British overseas territory, earlier the same day. The four detainees sent to Bermuda were part of a group of 17 Muslim detainees who belonged to the Uighur ethnic group native to China’s Xinjiang region. The announcement came after the Pacific island nation of Palau June 10 had announced it was willing to temporarily accept the 17 Uighur detainees. [See below, p. 305B3] The U.S. government had previously found that the men were not enemy combatants, and in 2008 had been ordered by a federal judge to release them into the U.S., a ruling later reversed on appeal. The U.S. refused to return the Uighur detainees to China because of concerns that the Chinese government, which said that the men were part of an antigovernment extremist group, would torture or kill them. Five other Uighur Guantanamo detainees had been resettled in Albania in 2006, and the Justice Department said none of them had since shown themselves to represent a criminal or terrorist threat. President Barack Obama had ordered the closure of Guantanamo by January 2010, and had established task forces responsible for determining which detainees could be safely released from the prison, which had been set up under the administrationof President George W. Bush. The U.S. government had cleared 50 prisoners at Guantanamo for release; at least 230 prisoners remained at Guantanamo following the transfer. A total of about 100 countries had reportedly been contacted by the U.S. government regarding their willingness to accept detainees. The U.S. government June 11 also transferred two other detainees out of Guantanamo. One, Mohammed el Gharani, had been ordered released by a federal judge in January and had been sent to Chad, where he was a citizen. The other, Iraqi Jawad Jabber Sadkhan, was returned to Iraq. [See p. 20G2] U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. June 11 said in a statement that the U.S. government was “extremely grateful to the government of Bermuda for its assistance” in the matter and argued that “by helping accomplish the president’s objective of closing Guantanamo, the transfer of these detainees will make America safer.” Sir Richard Gozney, the British governor of Bermuda, June 11 said he had been informed only that day that Bermuda would accept the four Uighur detainees, and that the territory’s agreement with the U.S. had been “done without permission” from the British government. He asserted that “the government of Bermuda should

have consulted with us” because the decision to accept the detainees carried “with it foreign policy ground areas and security issues.” Bermuda Premier Ewart Brown June 11 said he had decided to accept the detainees because he thought the men had been the victim of “tragic events” and felt moved to help them.

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Palau Agrees to Accept Uighurs—

Johnson Toribiong, the president of Palau, June 10 announced that his government had agreed to temporarily accept the 17 Uighur detainees. He said that Palau had made the offer as a “humanitarian gesture” and described his government as “honored and proud” to be of assistance. It was unclear how many of the 17 detainees would be sent to Palau or how long they would be allowed to remain there. The U.S. government June 4 had reportedly asked the government of Palau to accept the Uighurs. Palau, a former U.S. territory that had gained its independence in 1994, was an archipelago about 4,600 miles (7,400 km) west of Hawaii and about 500 miles east of the Philippines. The country was still heavily dependent on U.S. aid. Analysts noted that Palau did not have diplomatic relations with China, and suggested that its resulting ability to resist political pressure from China had likely played a role in its decision. The U.S. government was reportedly considering $200 million in new aid to Palau, which had received nearly $900 million in U.S. aid since becoming independent. However, U.S. officials denied that the aid payments were linked to the country’s acceptance of detainees. First Detainee Arrives in U.S.— Former Guantanamo detainee Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani June 9 pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in New York City to charges that he had assisted terrorists connected with the Al Qaeda international terrorist network in preparations for 1998 attacks against U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people. Ghailani, who arrived in the U.S. from Guantanamo earlier the same day, faced the death penalty if convicted on all charges. [See p. 337E1; 2008, p. 291G1] Prosecutors in New York had previously charged Ghailani in 1998, along with four other men who were later convicted and given life sentences. Ghailani, who had been at large at the time of the original indictment, had been captured in 2004 and held in a system of secret prisons operated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) until he was transferred to Guantanamo by the Bush administration in 2006. He was charged in 2008 in connection with the 1998 attacks under Guantanamo’s military commissions system; the military charges against Ghailani were dropped May 29. n

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Crime One Killed in Holocaust Museum Attack.

An 88-year-old gunman known for his white supremacist and anti-Semitic views June 10 opened fire inside the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., fatally 391

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wounding a security guard. The shooter, James von Brunn, was wounded by security guards during the shooting and was listed in critical condition at the city’s George Washington University Hospital. Officials reportedly believed that von Brunn had planned and carried out the attack by himself. [See pp. 375A1, 370A2, 262F3] According to witnesses, von Brunn began firing immediately after entering the museum, triggering a response by the museum’s security guards as well as from an off-duty police officer who had responded to the attack. The slain guard, Stephen Johns, 39, and von Brunn were the only people shot during the attack. A bystander was reportedly injured by broken glass during the incident. Following von Brunn’s arrest, local police searched his car and found a list of locations in the city and a list of politicians. It was unclear what the purpose of the lists was, but bomb squads were sent to at least 10 of the locations. Von Brunn June 11 was charged in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., with first degree murder and carrying a firearm at a federal facility. He faced the death penalty if convicted of murder. The Holocaust Museum, which received an average of about 1.7 million visitors a year, required all visitors to pass through metal detectors and to allow their bags to be searched as part of its security measures. Officials said that there had been no advance warning of von Brunn’s attack; however, the museum security guards had reportedly been trained to respond to such attacks. The museum was closed June 11 in tribute to Johns, who had worked as a guard there for six years. President Barack Obama June 10 said in a statement that he was “shocked and saddened by today’s shooting at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.” He added, “This outrageous act reminds us that we must remain vigilant against anti-Semitism and prejudice in all its forms.” Von Brunn had been arrested in 1981 after attempting to take then–Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker and other members of the Federal Reserve board hostage in order to protest their stewardship of the U.S. economy. He was convicted of assault and attempted kidnapping, among other charges, in 1983 and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. Von Brunn had written on a Web site that he operated that he had been unfairly convicted by a legal system that he saw as dominated by blacks and Jews. He was released from prison in 1989. The Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit civil rights advocacy group, June 10 said that von Brunn had “a long history of associations with prominent neo-Nazis and Holocaust deniers” and described him as racist and anti-Semitic in his views. Von Brunn’s attack followed two other recent incidents related to anti-Semitism, including the May 6 killing of a Wesleyan University student in Middletown, Conn., allegedly by a man who had written in his journals that it was “okay to kill Jews,” and and an alleged plot to bomb two synagogues in New York City. [See p. 375A1] 392

It also followed another killing linked to right-wing extremism, the May killing of abortion provider George Tiller in Wichita, Kan. [See p. 370A2] n

Armed Forces Soldier Killed at Recruiting Station. A Muslim convert June 1 shot two soldiers standing outside an Army recruiting booth in Little Rock, Ark., killing one and wounding the other. The shooter, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, was arrested immediately after the incident, and June 2 pleaded guilty in state court to one count of capital murder and 15 counts of terroristic acts. Muhammad said he had converted to Islam in his teens and was previously known as Carlos Bledsoe. The arrest report said Muhammad had admitted that he shot the soldiers because “he was mad at the U.S. military because of what they had done to Muslims in the past,” and that “he would have killed more soldiers if they had been on the parking lot.” [See 2008, p. 238D1] Law enforcement agents June 2 said Muhammad had been imprisoned in Yemen in 2008 for possessing forged Somali documents. They added that a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) probe into whether he still had contacts with extremist groups had been inconclusive. Muhammad’s lawyer June 4 said the defendant had had taught English in Yemen and and was imprisoned there for overstaying his visa. The lawyer said Muhammad claimed he had been tortured while in jail. n ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Ruling Accepted.

The Obama administration May 3 let pass without action a deadline to appeal to the Supreme Court a court ruling blocking the dismissal of a lesbian Air Force officer under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” ban on gays serving openly in the military. The government had previously asked for two extensions to file an appeal of the 2008 ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, Calif. That ruling said the government had to specifically prove why the presence in the military of former Maj. Margaret Witt was disruptive, rather than use a blanket application of the policy. [See p. 390G1] Witt had been decorated many times. Her relationship with a woman had been uncovered in 2004 by an Air Force investigation. She was discharged less than a year before she would have become entitled to a full pension after 20 years of service. Obama administration officials said they would continue to defend “don’t ask, don’t tell” in district court, and that the decision not to appeal was “a procedural decision made because the case is still working its way through the regular judicial process.” President Barack Obama during his campaign had pledged to repeal the policy, but had taken a more cautious approach since assuming office. Separately, Army National Guard Lt. Dan Choi wrote an open letter dated May 11 to Obama asking not be dismissed after

he announced March 19 that he was gay on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show.” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs May 12 indicated that Obama would not keep Choi from being dismissed, and added that new legislation was the best way to change the policy. Choi was the latest of several service members dismissed under the policy who were fluent in Arabic, a rare and in-demand skill in the military. n

Intelligence Two Charged With Spying For Cuba. The

Justice Department June 4 arrested former State Department analyst Walter Myers, 72, and his wife, Gwendolyn Myers, 71, on charges that the couple had worked as spies for Cuba since 1978. An indictment released June 5 charged them with working as illegal agents of a foreign power, as well as with wire fraud and conspiracy. They faced more than 35 years in prison if convicted on all charges. [See pp. 271A2, 132E1] Walter and Gwendolyn Myers were reportedly recruited as spies by Cuban intelligence following a 1978 trip to Cuba. Walter Myers subsequently attempted to join the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) at the behest of the Cuban government but was rejected. He was later hired as an analyst by the U.S. State Department and was first given a security clearance allowing him to see “top secret” government materials in 1985. The couple was reportedly not compensated by the Cuban government, except for the reimbursement of travel expenses and other costs related to their spying. Prosecutors suggested that Walter and Gwendolyn Myers had been motivated to become spies by their support for the Cuban government and frustration with U.S. policies that they viewed as perpetuating oppression in the U.S. and around the world. The couple was arrested following a three-year investigation into Walter Myers’s activities at the State Department. The investigation was reportedly triggered when State Department investigators discovered that Myers, who had served as the State Department’s senior analyst on Europe from 2001 until his 2007 retirement, had accessed more than 200 secret reports on Cuba during his final year of employment. In April, Walter and Gwendolyn Myers were approached by an undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent who was posing as a Cuban operative. The couple reportedly told the agent that they had used a shortwave radio and encrypted emails, among other methods, to pass secret information to the Cuban government and had met Cuban operatives in countries including Brazil, Jamaica and Ecuador. The couple also reportedly told the undercover agent that they had met then–Cuban President Fidel Castro during a secret 1995 trip to Cuba. Castro June 6 said that he was unsure if the charges against Walter and Gwendolyn Myers were accurate, but said that if they were, he admired “their disinterested and courageous conduct on behalf of Cuba.” n FACTS ON FILE

Media ‘Boston Globe’ Closing Averted, Pay Cut.

The New York Times Co. May 4 said it would not shut down the Boston Globe as it had previously threatened, because it had reached agreements on concessions with six out of the seven unions representing newspaper employees. However, members of the seventh union, the Boston Newspaper Guild—which represented 670 Globe newsroom staffers and other employees, and was the largest union at the newspaper—June 8 voted, 277–265, to reject a package that included pay and benefits cuts, as well as an end to lifetime employment guarantees for many employees. [See p. 168E1; 2006, p. 931E3] The Globe April 3 had reported on its Web site that the Times Co. had threatened to close the newspaper unless it could achieve $20 million in savings, $10 million of which would come from Newspaper Guild members. The Times Co. June 8 said it would unilaterally impose a 23% salary cut, because negotiations between it and the guild were at an impasse. The Newspaper Guild June 9 filed a complaint with federal regulators challenging the cut, and called on the Times Co. and the Globe to return to negotiations. The Times Co. had purchased the Globe in 1993 for $1.1 billion, the most money ever paid for a single U.S. newspaper. The Globe was highly profitable through the 1990s, but circulation and advertising revenue then steeply declined, as it did in the rest of the newspaper industry. The Globe, which was the leading newspaper in Boston, Mass., and throughout New England, had lost $50 million in 2008, and was projected to lose $85 million in 2009. The Times Co. had recorded a net loss of $57.8 million in 2008, and $74.5 million in the first quarter of 2009. Members of the Newspaper Guild at the company’s flagship newspaper, the New York Times, May 4 had voted to accept a 5% temporary pay cut for the rest of the year, which management said was the alternative to about 80 layoffs. Other News—In other news: o The 138-year-old Tucson Citizen, Arizona’s oldest continuously published daily newspaper, May 16 printed its final issue, after its owner, Gannett Co., could not find a buyer. The Citizen would continue to publish opinion and analysis pieces on its Web site, but would not provide news coverage. Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard May 15 filed a complaint charging that the closure violated federal and state antitrust laws. The Citizen had a joint operating agreement with its competitor in Tucson, the Arizona Daily Star, owned by Lee Enterprises Inc. [See p. 167C3] o Newspaper holding company SunTimes Media Group Inc., which owned the Chicago Sun-Times and a chain of smaller Chicago-area newspapers, March 31 filed for bankruptcy protection. Unlike many other newspaper companies that had filed for bankruptcy, Sun-Times did not have a crushing debt load, but it had run a $344 million June 11, 2009

operating loss in 2008, on revenue of $324 million. It owed the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) at least $510 million in unpaid taxes from 1996–2006. During that period, the company—then known as Hollinger International Inc.—was run by Conrad Black, who was convicted of mail fraud and obstruction of justice in 2007. [See p. 168A1; 2008, p. 260A2; 2004, p. 1050F3] n

Business Time Warner, AOL to Split by End of 2009.

Media conglomerate Time Warner Inc. May 28 announced that it would spin off its American Online Inc. (AOL) Internet-services subsidiary by the end of the year. The announcement heralded the end of what had once been the most expensive merger of all time. [See 2000, p. 18A1] Analysts said the $100 billion merger had been doomed shortly after it was announced in 2000, when the so-called dotcom bubble burst. AOL was one of many Internet companies that had seen its stock price soar on unrealistic expectations in the 1990s, only to crash in the early 2000s, which led it to weigh down on the combined company’s market value. Additionally, AOL had largely stuck to its roots as a provider of dial-up Internet services, failing to claim a stake in the profitable realm of online advertising, which was now dominated by Google Inc. and others. [See 2008, p. 309F1] n

Anthrax Investigation Science Behind FBI Case to be Reviewed.

The National Academy of Sciences May 8 announced that it had agreed to carry out a 15-month review of the science used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in its investigation into 2001 anthrax mailings that killed five people and infected an additional 17. The investigation had been requested by the FBI as part of its efforts to bolster its conclusion that late U.S. Army scientist Bruce Ivins had been responsible for the mailings. [See 2008, pp. 959B1, 592F3] The academy was expected to examine the reliability of the FBI’s use of microbial forensics to genetically and chemically match the strain of anthrax found in the mailings to that found in Ivins’s laboratory. However, the review would not touch on the FBI’s detective work in the case, or its claim that Ivins alone was responsible for the mailings. The FBI had agreed to fund the review. n

Accidents & Disasters Wildfire Hits Southern California. A wildfire near Santa Barbara, Calif., May 5–9 consumed some 80 homes and forced the evacuation of at least 30,000 people. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) May 6 declared a state of emergency, which would qualify California for federal disaster aid. It was the first major fire of the year in California, which frequently experienced wildfires and was in its third year of drought. [See 2008, p. 853B3] n

AFRICA

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Gabon President Bongo Dies After 42-Year Rule.

Gabonese Prime Minister Jean Eyeghe Ndong June 8 confirmed reports that President Omar Bongo Ondimba had died earlier that day of a heart attack at the Quiron clinic in Barcelona, Spain. Bongo, 73, had been the world’s longest-serving head of government and Africa’s longest-serving ruler, having led Gabon, an oil-rich nation in West Africa, since 1967. [See p. 400E2; 2008, p. 441G1; 2005, p. 879B1] Bongo May 6 had temporarily given up the day-to-day running of the country, and was hospitalized in Spain May 21. Mystery had surrounded his medical condition, with official sources saying he was taking time off to mourn his wife, Edith Lucie Bongo Ondimba, who had died March 14. (Edith Bongo was the daughter of Denis SassouNguesso, the president of neighboring Congo Republic.) However, it was widely reported that he was being treated for cancer. Ndong earlier June 8 had denied reports that Bongo was dead. After the president’s death was confirmed, Gabonese authorities declared 30 days of mourning, closed the country’s borders and cut off Internet access for most of its 1.4 million citizens. Also, in Libreville, the capital, security forces patrolled the streets, large gatherings were banned, and bars and nightclubs were ordered closed. Bongo’s son, Defense Minister Ali Ben Bongo, June 9 appealed for calm on national television. Gabon’s borders reportedly were reopened June 10, as fears of instability in the wake of Bongo’s death eased. The president of the Senate, Rose Francine Rogombe, June 10 was sworn in as Gabon’s interim head of state, as mandated by the constitution. Her appointment had been confirmed by Gabon’s constitutional court the previous day. Under the constitution, Rogombe—an ally of Bongo from the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG)—was required to organize presidential elections within 45 days. Among the main contenders to succeed Bongo were his 50-year-old son, Defense Minister Bongo; Vice President Didjob Divungi Di Ndinge; and Foreign Minister Paul Toungui, who was married to the late president’s daughter and chief of staff, Pascaline Bongo Ondimba. Bongo’s body June 11 was returned to Gabon, from Spain.

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Bongo came to power in 1967 after the death of President Leon Mba, who had helped lead Gabon to independence from France in 1960. (Bongo had been vice president at the time of Mba’s death.) He converted to Islam in 1973, changing his name from Albert Bernard Bongo to El Hadj Omar Bongo. He oversaw a one-party state for more than two decades, using the wealth from Gabon’s oil resources to coopt many of his opponents. [See 1967, p. 581E3] 393

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In the early 1990s, Bongo implemented some democratic reforms, and the country’s first multiparty elections were held in 1993. Bongo won that vote, and subsequent elections in 1998 and 2005, although opposition parties alleged that the elections were unfair due to vote rigging as well as Bongo’s dominance of the media and his extensive patronage system. Despite the lack of political freedoms, Gabon under Bongo’s rule had been relatively free of the violence and instability that wracked many other resource-rich African nations. Known as a skilled political operator both domestically and internationally, he was considered the last of Africa’s so-called “Big Men” of the 1960s era: autocratic leaders who styled themselves as traditional chiefs, placating their citizens and cultivating a power base with handouts, while enriching themselves. He was also known for his charismatic personality and diminutive stature; he stood only about five feet tall, and often wore platform shoes to enhance his height. Gabon had a relatively small population, and it had a per capita income of $14,900 in 2008, which was high for West Africa. However, the wealth was not distributed equally, with an estimated onethird of the population living in poverty. Bongo himself reportedly amassed a vast fortune, including extensive properties and several bank accounts in France, and was said to have been among the world’s richest leaders. However, there were no accurate accounts of the extent of his fortune. [See below] Bongo cultivated a strong relationship with Gabon’s former colonial ruler, France, maintaining close economic and military ties with the country as well as personal relationships with successive French leaders starting with President Charles de Gaulle in the late 1960s. (France had also established a similar relationship, often referred to as Francafrique, with its other former colonies in Africa.) France currently had about 1,000 troops in Gabon. The office of French President Nicolas Sarkozy June 8 issued a statement paying tribute to Bongo, saying, “We have lost a great and faithful friend of France, a great figure of Africa and a head of state who won the esteem and respect of all his peers, notably through his numerous initiatives in favor of peace on the African continent.” Other world leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama and South African President Jacob Zuma, also paid tribute to Bongo. French Corruption Case to Proceed—A French magistrate May 5 ruled that an embezzlement lawsuit filed by anticorruption watchdog Transparency International’s French office and French jurist association Sherpa against Bongo, Sassou-Nguesso and Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo could proceed. Britain’s Financial Times June 8 reported that the case against Bongo included allegations that he had acquired 39 luxury properties in France, nine vehicles worth some $2 million, and 70 French bank ac394

counts, in his name and under family members’ names. It was alleged that Bongo and his family could not have accumulated those assets based on their official salaries. [See 2003, p. 1070A1] All three leaders had denied any wrongdoing. In a related development, a French court Feb. 26 had frozen nine of Bongo’s French bank accounts that held more than four million euros ($5.1 million). The move came in connection with a case involving a French plaintiff who alleged that he had paid Bongo more than $500,000 in 1996 to obtain the release of his father from prison in Gabon. n

AMERICAS

Canada GDP Falls 5.4% in First Quarter. Federal

agency Statistics Canada June 1 reported that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) had contracted in the first quarter of 2009 at an annualized rate of 5.4%. It was Canada’s fastest GDP contraction rate since 1991. [See p. 83A1] The announcement meant that Canada had experienced two successive quarters of declining real GDP, the accepted definition of a recession. (Statistics Canada the same day said the country’s GDP had shrunk by a revised annualized rate of 3.7% in the fourth quarter of 2008.) Statistics Canada May 8 had reported that unemployment in April stood at 8%, unchanged from the previous month. The unemployment level was the highest in seven years. The Bank of Canada, the country’s central bank, April 21 cut its benchmark interest rate—the target rate on overnight loans between commercial banks—by 25 basis points, to 0.25%, a historic low. In an unprecedented move, the bank announced that it would maintain the rate for 14 months. n

El Salvador Funes Sworn In as President. Former tele-

vision journalist Mauricio Funes Cartagena of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition founded by former Marxist rebels, June 1 was sworn in as president of El Salvador in San Salvador, the capital. The inauguration of Funes, 49, ended two decades of rule by the conservative National Republican Alliance (Arena) party, which had been a staunch ally of the U.S. Funes succeeded President Elias Antonio (Tony) Saca of Arena. [See p. 170C2] The FMLN had fought a 1980–92 civil war against a series of right-wing governments backed by the U.S., before the United Nations brokered a peace treaty in 1992. Funes in his inauguration speech said, “I take over the presidency extending the call for national unity that I made during and before the campaign.” He added, “El Salvador’s people have walked a long road to

get to this day. It’s time to take a new road together in democracy.” Funes also said that “diplomatic, cultural and trade relations” with Cuba would resume immediately. El Salvador had cut off ties with Cuba when Fidel Castro Ruz came to power in a 1959 revolution. With Funes’s order, El Salvador became the last Latin American country to normalize relations with communist Cuba. The ceremony was attended by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who heralded Funes’s election as a sign of the country’s strong democracy. Analysts said Clinton’s presence was a sign of U.S. President Barack Obama’s desire to maintain strong ties with El Salvador amid the “pink tide” of elected leftist leaders, some of whom were openly hostile to the U.S., in Latin America. El Salvador relied heavily on remittances from its citizens living in the U.S., and sold about half of its exports in the U.S. n

Peru At Least 31 Dead in Indigenous Clashes.

At least 22 members of indigenous Amazonian groups and nine policemen June 5 were killed during clashes in Peru’s Bagua province, about 600 miles (1,000 km) north of Lima, the capital. Another 50 people were reported injured, and ransacking and burning of buildings in the area was reported. [See 2008, pp. 978F1, 539C2] Indigenous groups over the past two months had blockaded roads, ports, and oil and gas pipelines in the region in protest of oil, mining and hydroelectric programs in the Amazon. Peruvian President Alan Garcia Perez May 9 had declared a state of emergency in areas where the blockades had led to trade and supply disruptions. Police said the violence had been triggered when they attempted to remove protesters blockading the Fernando Belaunde Highway, a main road in the country’s northern Amazon region. Protesters disputed that account, and said policemen in helicopters had fired on them with live ammunition and tear gas. Alberto Pizango, a leader of the umbrella indigenous group Asociacion Interetnica de Desarrollo de la Selva Peruana (AIDESEP), June 5 blamed police for inciting the violence, saying the protest had been peaceful. A military force June 6 attempted to rescue a group of 38 policemen who had been captured during the previous day’s fighting and held at a pumping station owned by state-run oil company Petroperu that had been occupied by protesters. Police said nine captured policemen were killed in the operation, 22 were freed, and the whereabouts of seven others remained unknown. Police said those killed had been shot by the protesters. Government officials June 6 said they were seeking Pizango’s arrest on charges of sedition, conspiracy and rebellion. Peruvian Prime Minister Yehude Simon June 8 said Pizango had sought political asylum in the Nicaraguan embassy in Lima. Pizango FACTS ON FILE

the following day was granted asylum by the Nicaraguan government. Champion Nonimgo took over as AIDESEP’s leader. Protesters June 7 said several dozen of their comrades had disappeared since the violence, putting the number of dead or missing protesters at 100. Indigenous groups accused police of covering up the mass killing of protesters, allegations that the government rejected. Garcia June 7 suggested that the leftist governments of Venezuela and Bolivia, where similar uprisings had occurred previously, had influenced the unrest in Peru. n

Venezuela Chavez Seizes Oil Assets. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias May 7 said his government would seize the assets of several foreign- and domestic-owned oil contractors. The announcement followed the National Assembly’s approval earlier in the day of a bill that “reserves for the state, the goods and services connected to primary hydrocarbon activities.” Several companies reported that armed soldiers late May 7 had begun assuming control of oil installations in the Lake Maracaibo region of western Venezuela. The government said at least 39 oil terminals, 13 drilling rigs and some 300 boats would be seized. [See pp. 270C2, 204G2] Several foreign companies that held minority stakes in joint operations with the state-run oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), said they were owed millions of dollars by PDVSA. Some said they had stopped operations earlier in the year out of concerns that they would never be paid. PDVSA had accrued an estimated $14 billion in debt to oil service companies, much of it resulting from a decline in oil prices stemming from the global economic crisis. In recent years Chavez had expanded state control of Venezuela’s oil sector, which accounted for about 93% of its export earnings, by seizing foreign operations and instituting higher taxes. [See 2008, p. 263D3] Other Takeovers Ordered—Chavez May 21 announced the nationalization of several steel and iron companies. Among those affected were subsidiaries of Venezuelan company International Briquettes Holding SA (IBH), which made iron briquettes used in steel production. Also targeted in the nationalizations was a local unit of steelmaker Tenaris SA. [See 2008, p. 263E2] The Venezuelan government May 22 signed an agreement to pay Spain’s Grupo Santander $1.05 billion for Banco de Venezuela BVL, the country’s fourth-largest bank by assets. Under the agreement, Venezuela would make an initial payment of $630 million for the bank July 3, with the balance to be paid in two installments scheduled for October and December. The bank’s acquisition would give the government 20% of the country’s banking market share. n June 11, 2009

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China Tiananmen 20th Anniversary Marked. Tens of thousands of people gathered in Hong Kong June 4 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of China’s violent crackdown on pro-democracy student demonstrators in Beijing, China’s capital, in 1989. After years of declining attendance of the annual Tiananmen vigil in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park, the gathering was the largest since the one held in 1990, on the first anniversary of the crackdown. Organizers estimated the crowd at 150,000 people, while police put it at fewer than 63,000. [See p. 144E3; 2007, p. 403G3; 1999, p. 424B3] The autonomous Chinese territory of Hong Kong, with a separate political system extending greater protections of free expression, was the only part of China where open discussion of the Tiananmen events was possible. In Beijing, the square June 4 was the site of a heavy police presence, culminating measures taken in recent weeks to forestall any public marking of the anniversary. Some small demonstrations were reportedly broken up elsewhere in the capital. Chinese authorities, who regularly restricted access to Internet sites deemed politically subversive, reportedly blocked several foreign news media sites, as well as communications and social-networking sites such as Twitter and the photo-sharing site Flickr, in the days before the June 4 anniversary. Numerous veterans of the 1989 protest movement, as well as activist relatives of those who died or disappeared, and other dissidents, were reportedly taken into custody or put under house arrest or intensive surveillance. One of the most prominent former student leaders, Wu’er Kaixi, June 3 was detained upon arrival at the airport in the Chinese territory of Macao from Taiwan, where he lived. Wu’er, 41, said in a statement that he wanted to return to China and face a trial as a form of “dialogue” with the government, as well as to try to see his parents, from whom he had been separated since 1989 because they were not permitted to travel abroad. Wu’er was deported to Taiwan June 4. Two other former protest leaders, Xiong Yan (now a U.S. Army chaplain) and Tong Yi, were permitted to enter Hong Kong for a conference on the 1989 events, while others were turned away. Foreign reporters and analysts noted a decline in awareness of the Tiananmen events among younger Chinese, as well as less interest in political reform among college students in comparison with the student-centered 1989 movement. Observers suggested that China’s continued rapid economic development had helped contain dissatisfaction with the country’s political system. A different brand of political protest had emerged in recent years, focused more on specific complaints over wrongdoing by authorities than on broad demands for democracy.

U.S. Calls for ‘Public Accounting’—

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton June 3 issued a statement urging China to “examine openly the darker events of its past and provide a public accounting of those killed, detained or missing.” She also called on China to release those still imprisoned in connection with the 1989 demonstrations. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman June 4 expressed “strong dissatisfaction” with Clinton’s statement, calling it groundless “interference” in China’s internal affairs. Ousted Official’s Memoir Released—A memoir by the late Zhao Zhiyang, who was forced out as secretary general of China’s ruling Communist Party over his opposition to the violent crackdown on the students in 1989, was published May 19 in the U.S. and May 29 in Hong Kong. The book, Prisoner of the State, contained reminiscences that Zhao, while held under house arrest, had secretly dictated on audiocassettes and entrusted to friends and associates who smuggled them out of the country. The book was banned in mainland China. [See 2006, p. 682F3; 2005, p. 88D3] Among its revelations was Zhao’s contention that the decision to declare martial law had been made at a gathering of the Politburo Standing Committee, the top party body, at the house of paramount leader Deng Xiaoping on May 17, 1989, but without a formal vote, which he said made it illegal. Other accounts had indicated that a vote was taken. [See 1989, p. 369A1] Zhao also portrayed himself as having had greater responsibility for devising the liberalization of China’s economy associated with Deng than was acknowledged by China. Bao Tong, Zhao’s onetime aide, who had been the most senior party official imprisoned in the crackdown, was reportedly forced to leave Beijing ahead of the Tiananmen anniversary. Last ‘Hooliganism’ Prisoner Freed—Liu Zhihua, the last person known to be imprisoned by China on charges of “hooliganism” in connection with the protests, had been released in January, the U.S.-based Dui Hua Foundation human rights group said May 18. Liu had originally been given a life sentence for allegedly delivering subversive speeches as an organizer of a strike in solidarity with the protests at an electrical-machinery factory in Xiangtan, in Hunan province. (The ill-defined crime of hooliganism had been removed from Chinese law in 1997.) Dui Hua May 12 had reduced its estimate of the total number of people incarcerated on charges stemming from the protests to 30, from a previous estimate of 50–60. n

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North Korea U.S. Reporters Sentenced to 12 Years’ Labor.

North Korean state news media June 8 announced that two U.S. reporters arrested in March along North Korea’s border with China had been convicted of illegally entering the country and other, unspecified “grave” offenses, and sentenced to 12 years 395

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of “reform through labor.” The U.S. State Department that day said it was working “through all possible channels” to secure the release of the reporters, Euna Lee and Laura Ling. However, North Korea was expected to use the journalists as bargaining chips in trying to force concessions from the U.S. in ongoing disputes over North Korea’s nuclear and other weapons programs. [See p. 350A3] Lee, 36, and Ling, 32, worked for Current TV LLC, a media company cofounded by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. They had been reporting a story about North Korean refugees in China when they were arrested, although the exact circumstances of the arrest were not clear. The U.S did not have diplomatic relations with North Korea, and had made contacts on the issue through Sweden’s embassy in North Korea and the North Korean mission to the United Nations. North Korea June 5 announced the opening of the trial of Lee and Ling in the country’s highest court, the Central Court in Pyongyang, the capital. The trial was held in secret, and no details of it were released. Ling and Lee had reportedly been permitted to meet three times with Swedish diplomats, and both had spoken by telephone with their families in the U.S. (Ling’s sister, U.S. television journalist Lisa Ling, in 2007 had reported from North Korea in the guise of a medical worker for the National Geographic Channel.) North Korea had a system of labor reeducation camps that were notorious for brutal conditions, including inadequate food and systematic mistreatment. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who had previously called the charges against the reporters “baseless,” June 8 called for their release “on humanitarian grounds.” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said, “Their detainment is not something we’ve linked to other issues, and we hope the North Koreans don’t do that, either.” The Obama administration was reportedly considering sending a special envoy to North Korea to discuss the matter. Possible envoys included Gore and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D), who in 1996 had secured the release of a U.S. citizen detained after illegally entering North Korea. However, any talks were thought to be potentially complicated by uncertainty about North Korea’s leadership, amid reports that supreme leader Kim Jong Il had suffered a stroke in 2008 and was in the process of establishing his youngest son as his designated successor. [See 1996, p. 925B3] n

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Center-right Parties Win Parliament Elections.

Center-right parties won elections for the European Parliament, the legislative body of the European Union, held June 4–7 in the EU’s 27 member nations. A record low of 43% of eligible voters turned out to vote in the elections for the parliament’s 736 396

seats, as turnout dropped for the seventh formed well in the European elections, takstraight time. (The number of seats was ing 12% of the vote. [See p. 361E1] In France, President Nicolas Sarkozy’s reduced from 785 in the outgoing parliament.) Voters elected representatives from Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) won their own countries, who would serve five- 28.5% of the vote, while the Socialist Party year terms. Most of the seats were allocat- took just 17%, just ahead of the Greens, ed by proportional representation, based on who surged to 16%. In Britain, Prime Minister Gordon the percentage of the vote that parties got in each country. [See 2004, p. 444A2; for Brown’s Labour Party won just 15.3% of election results by parliamentary groups, the vote, its worst result in a nationwide election since 1910. The opposition Consee table p. 396F2] According to nearly final results, the Eu- servative (Tory) Party won 28.6% of the ropean People’s Party (EPP) and European vote. Labour finished third, behind the Democrats (ED), an umbrella grouping of U.K. Independence Party (UKIP), which center-right parties, won 264 seats, and opposed British membership in the EU, would remain the biggest group in the Euro- and took 17.4% of the vote. Brown had pean Parliament. Center-left Socialist parties been damaged by a scandal over expenses won 161 seats. Centrist parties in the pro- claims in the British Parliament, and was market Liberal grouping won 80 seats. The fighting off calls for his resignation, with a environmentalist Greens won 53 seats. Far- general election due to be held in Britain right and nationalist parties also made gains. within a year. [See p. 397D1] The EPP was expected to try to form a The Tories, who won 25 seats in the parliamentary majority with the Liberals European Parliament, planned to withdraw and other conservative parties. Such a from the EPP and create a new group with majority would allow the center-right to Polish and Czech center-right parties, control the chamber without having to reg- aimed at reducing the powers of the EU ularly resort to consensus and compromise over the governments of member nations. In Italy, Prime Minister Silvio Berluscowith the Socialists, which had previously ni’s center-right People of Liberty party been the norm. The results were seen in part as a re- won 35% of the vote, short of his goal of sponse to the global economic crisis, which 40%, while the center-left opposition Demhad hit Europe hard. The unemployment ocratic Party took 26%. The campaign had rate in the EU had risen to 9.2% in April, been overshadowed by a scandal over Berthe highest since 1999, it was reported June lusconi’s personal life, including his rela2. Observers said center-right leaders in tions with an 18-year-old woman, and his Germany, France and other countries had wife’s filing for a divorce. [See p. 328C1] In Spain, the conservative opposition managed to avoid political fallout from the crisis by adopting rhetoric and policies tra- Popular Party won 42% of the vote, beating ditionally associated with the left, favoring Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zagovernment intervention to preserve jobs patero’s Socialist Party, which took 38.5%. and restraints on capitalism. [See pp. The result was seen as a reflection of the country’s economic straits: Spain had en366F1, 206D3] tered a deep recession and had the highest Notable Results— Center-right parties that held power in national governments in unemployment rate in Europe, 17.4% at the Germany, France, Italy and Poland defeat- end of the first quarter of 2009. In Poland, the ruling center-right Civic ed their center-left rivals in the European elections. In Britain, Spain, Portugal and Platform party won handily with about Hungary, the conservative opposition par- 45% of the vote, trailed by the conservative, anti-EU Law and Justice Party ties beat the ruling center-left parties. In Germany, Chancellor Angela Mer- (PiS)—the British Tories’ partner in the kel’s center-right Christian Democratic planned new bloc—with 30%, and the leftUnion won 38% of the vote, down 6.5 per- ist Social Democratic Alliance, with 12%. Far Right Gains—The success enjoyed centage points from 2004, while the centerleft Social Democratic Party (SPD) took by far-right parties in a number of countries 21%, its worst result in any nationwide in the European Parliament elections was election since World War II. attributed in large part to increasing antiThe results were viewed as a test run for immigration sentiment, linked both to the national parliamentary elections EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ELECTION RESULTS scheduled for September. The two Party Groupings Seats in Parliament OutWon in parties shared powgoing 2009 er in Germany in a so-called grand co- European People’s Party and European Democrats 288 264 alition govern- (EPP-ED) 217 161 ment, but a strong European Socialist Party (PES) of Liberals and Democrats for Europe 100 80 showing by the Alliance (ALDE) CDU in the national Greens/European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA) 43 53 elections could al- Union for Europe of the Nations (UEN) 44 35 22 18 low it to jettison the Independence/Democracy Group (IND/DEM) 41 32 SPD and form a new European United Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) coalition with the Non-Attached/Others 30 93 pro-business Free Democratic Party Total 785 736 (FDP). The FDP perFACTS ON FILE

economic crisis and to fears of Islamic extremism. In Italy, the anti-immigration Northern League, which was allied with Berlusconi, more than doubled its share of the vote, to 10%, winning eight seats. In the Netherlands, the Freedom Party, led by Geert Wilders, won four seats. Wilders had emerged as a leading voice for anti-Islamic views. [See p. 136C3] In Britain, the British National Party (BNP) won two seats, capitalizing on the ethics scandal that had tarnished the mainstream British parties. It was the first time the BNP, which opposed Britain’s membership in the EU, had won seats in the European Parliament. The BNP had never won a seat in the British Parliament. It campaigned on an anti-immigration and antiIslamic message, in a shift from the openly racist and anti-Semitic platform it had been known for in the past (although it still had a whites-only membership rule). [See 1993, p. 712E3] In Hungary, the anti-Roma (or Gypsy) Jobbik party won three seats, compared with 14 for the center-right opposition party Fidesz and just four for the ruling Socialist Party. Jobbik and the BNP said they had agreed to form a new parliamentary group, and were asking other far-right parties to join them. However, the extreme nationalist views of such parties had impeded cooperation among them in the past, causing the collapse of a far-right bloc in the European Parliament in 2007. n

Great Britain Brown Reshuffles Cabinet After Resignations.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown June 5 announced a reshuffle of his cabinet, insisting that he would stay in office despite a string of resignations by cabinet ministers that week and a crushing defeat for his Labour Party in June 4 local elections. Labour’s worst-ever result in European Parliament elections, whose results were reported June 7, added to the pressure on Brown to show that he could revive the party before the next general election in Britain, due to be held within a year. The Conservative (Tory) Party easily beat Labour in both the local and European elections, and was widely seen as likely to win the coming general election. Eleven ministers, including six cabinet members, left their posts in the reshuffle and the preceding resignations. [See pp. 396G1, 343D2] Health Secretary Alan Johnson, seen as Brown’s most formidable potential rival for the Labour leadership, accepted a promotion to home secretary, in charge of law and order issues. Johnson said he backed Brown “to the hilt.” He replaced Jacqui Smith, who had resigned June 2 after being caught up in a parliamentary expenses scandal. The scandal had tarnished members of all parties, but was seen as most damaging to Labour, since it had been the party in power for 12 years. Business Secretary Lord Peter Mandelson, a close ally of former Prime Minister June 11, 2009

Tony Blair who had previously been seen as a sharp critic of Brown, received expanded powers in the reshuffle. Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling and Foreign Secretary David Miliband both kept their posts after reportedly resisting requests from Brown to step aside. Environment Minister Jane Kennedy and Europe Minister Caroline Flint both announced their resignations June 5. In an open letter, Flint accused Brown of using her and other women in the cabinet as mere “female window dressing,” while Kennedy accused Brown of “bullying” rival Labour members. Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell had resigned June 4, calling on Brown to “stand aside to give our party a fighting chance of winning” the general election. Purnell was seen as a rising star in the party. Defense Minister John Hutton and Transportation Secretary Geoff Hoon also resigned that day. Communities Secretary Hazel Blears resigned June 3. Brown at a closed-door meeting June 8 reportedly won the support of Labour members of Parliament (MPs), avoiding the possibility of being immediately overthrown. He was said to have pledged to pursue a more collegial style of governing. Brown June 10 announced a broad slate of proposals for political reforms, including a legally binding code of conduct for MPs and a debate on possible changes to the electoral system. Tory leader David Cameron dismissed the proposals as a “distraction strategy,” reiterating his demand that Brown call an election at once. n

Moldova Parliament Fails to Elect President. Outgoing President Vladimir Voronin’s preferred presidential candidate, Prime Minister Zinaida Greceanii of the Communist Party, June 3 was unable to win the required 61 votes in Moldova’s 101-seat parliament in the second and final round of presidential elections. (The first round had been held May 20.) While all 60 Communist members of parliament (MPs) voted for Greceanii, 41 liberal, pro-European MPs of various parties boycotted both polls, twice leaving Greceanii just one vote short of winning the presidency. Moldova had been governed by the Communist Party since 2001. [See p. 273A2] Under Moldovan law, if a president could not be elected after two rounds of parliamentary voting, the entire parliament must be dissolved and snap parliamentary elections held. A general election was mandated to be held within 45 days of the dissolution of parliament. The political deadlock followed April riots in Chisinau, the capital. Violence had broken out after the Communist Party won a majority of parliamentary seats in general elections. The opposition had accused the government of rigging the elections. Voronin, a Communist who had served two terms and was set to step down due to term limits, would remain president until new parliamentary elections were held.

Greceanii June 10 won a parliamentary confidence vote that allowed her to continue to serve as prime minister in the interim. Despite another boycott by the opposition, she and her new cabinet, which was nearly identical to the previous one, were approved with 59 votes, seven more than were necessary. That step completed, Voronin was expected to dissolve the parliament and schedule early elections. Also, former parliament Speaker Marian Lupu June 10 announced that he was leaving the Communist Party. Lupu, according to a June 4 report in Britain’s Financial Times, had said the party needed to change its “behavior and values. It needs to become more democratic.” n

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Lebanon’s Pro-West Coalition Bests Hezbollah at Polls Turnout High, Christian Vote Seen as Key.

The pro-Western March 14 Movement June 7 slightly widened its majority in Lebanese parliamentary elections, holding off an opposition coalition led by the Shiite Muslim militant group Hezbollah. According to official results released June 8 by Lebanon’s interior ministry, the March 14 Movement won 71 seats in the 128-seat parliament, raising its total by one seat, while Hezbollah and its allies won 57 seats. Turnout was higher than expected, at 54.8%, and far exceeded the 28% turnout in 2005 elections. [See p. 380G1] Prior to the elections, many analysts had predicted that Hezbollah’s coalition would make gains in areas that had been redistricted after the 2005 elections, and possibly pick up a majority. However, it was thought that Christian voters, who made up some 40% of Lebanon’s population, were driven to vote for the March 14 Movement by Hezbollah’s ties to Iran and Syria; the specter of another war like that between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006; and Hezbollah fighters’ armed takeover of neighborhoods of Beirut, the capital, in 2008, which recalled Lebanon’s 1975–90 civil war. Among those of Hezbollah’s allies that failed to make expected gains was the Free Patriotic Movement, a secular Maronite Christian party led by retired Gen. Michel Aoun. Other Lebanese Christian parties were members of the March 14 Movement, which was also composed of Sunni Muslim and Druze parties. The elections were free of serious violence. However, there were allegations that political parties had bought votes and paid to fly thousands of Lebanese expatriates back to their hometowns to vote. Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah June 8 conceded defeat in a televised message. March 14 Movement leader Saad Hariri—the son of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was assassinated in 2005— said he would invite Hezbollah to join a governing coalition, but would seek to remove the veto power over most govern397

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ment decisions that the opposition currently wielded. [See p. 312B2] U.S. President Barack Obama hailed the election’s outcome, and said, “The high turnout and the candidates—too many of whom know personally the violence that has marred Lebanon—are the strongest indications yet of the Lebanese desire for security and prosperity.” Some analysts said Obama’s recent speech to the Muslims of the world, and his efforts to engage Syria and Iran with diplomacy, had helped the March 14 Movement. U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden in May had visited Lebanon, and had implied that U.S. military aid might be cut off if Hezbollah won the elections. [See p. 367B2] n

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bomb May 28 exploded in a mosque in southeastern Iran, killing 25 people and wounding more than 100. The blast hit the second-largest Shiite Muslim mosque in Zahedan, the capital of Sistan-Baluchistan province, on Iran’s border with Pakistan. (Although Iran was mainly Shiite, the southeast had a large population of Sunni Muslims.) The attack was one of several that took place in the run-up to presidential elections scheduled for June 12. [See p. 362E1; 2008, p. 987G1] The Sunni militant group Jundullah claimed responsibility for the blast, and said it had been a suicide bombing aimed at members of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard Corps who it said had been secretly meeting in the mosque. Jundullah, whose name meant God’s Brigade and which Iran said had links to the international terrorist network Al Qaeda, had often attacked Iranian targets, claiming that it was fighting against official discrimination against Sunnis by the Shiite government. However, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli insinuated that the U.S. and Israel were behind the attack. Iranian authorities May 30 hanged three men who they said had procured explosives used in the attack, as well as participated in past attacks. Jundullah that day said the three men had not been involved in the attack. Other Attacks—Gunmen May 29 attacked a campaign office of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Zahedan, injuring three people. Supporters of Ahmadinejad and opposition candidates had also reported other incidents of violence against them throughout the country. A bomb May 30 was found aboard a jetliner shortly after it had taken off from the southern city of Ahwaz; the plane was forced to turn around, and the bomb was defused. Former President Mohammad Khatami—who had dropped out of the current presidential race but was assisting in the campaign of another opposition candidate, former Prime Minister Mir Hussein Moussavi—had flown out of Ahwaz hours before. The Iranian newspaper Sarmayeh June 1 reported that Khatami had originally been scheduled to take the flight on which 398

the bomb was found. A judiciary spokesman June 2 said two people had been arrested in connection with the attempted bombing. A bank in Zahedan June 1 was set ablaze, killing five people. The bank was reportedly linked to Iran’s paramilitary Basij force, which often carried out crackdowns against dissidents. Rebels June 2 fired on a bus west of Zahedan, killing one passenger. Also that day, a judiciary spokesman said that unrest over the past days in Zahedan had killed six people, and that dozens had been arrested. n

Iraq Rare Car Bomb in South Kills 28. A car bomb June 10 exploded in a crowded market in the southern Iraqi town of Al Batha, killing at least 28 people, according to Iraqi officials. Al Batha was 20 miles (32 km) west of the largely Shiite Muslim city of Nasiriyah, the capital of southern Dhi Qar province. The bombing was the first aimed at civilians in the area in two years, although there had been fighting between Shiite militias. [See p. 380C1] Iraqis after the blast threw stones at the police, claiming that they had failed to provide adequate protection. Police fired their guns to disperse the crowd, injuring at least one person by some accounts. The provincial governor afterward fired Al Batha’s police chief for negligence. In other violence, a minibus June 8 exploded in the mostly Shiite Abu Dshir neighborhood of Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, killing at least nine people, according to Iraqi authorities. The U.S. military June 6 released a statement saying insurgents were increasingly using children to carry out attacks, citing three cases in recent weeks in which young teenagers had attacked U.S. troops with grenades. It said children were used because they attracted less attention than adults, and because U.S. troops were less likely to fire on them. [See p. 331F2] Insurgent Freed in Cease-fire Deal—

The New York Times June 9 reported that, according to senior Iraqi and U.S. officials, the U.S. military had freed a senior member of the Shiite militant group Asa’ib alHaq in exchange for the group’s declaring a cease-fire. The deal was seen as a move to promote political reconciliation between the Iraqi government and extremists. However, a spokesman for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said the government had not been aware of it. The freed militant, Laith al-Khazali, and his brother, Qais al-Khazali—the group’s leader—had been captured in March 2007; Qais al-Khazali remained in U.S. custody. Laith al-Khazali was accused of masterminding the January 2007 killing of five U.S. soldiers in Karbala. [See 2007, p. 57G1] Two unnamed Shiite leaders reportedly said Khazali’s release was the first step in an agreement that could lead to the freeing of five British hostages who had been kidnapped in May 2007. [See p. 189D3]

Contractors Arrested in Murder— Iraqi officials June 7 said Iraqi security forces had arrested five U.S. contractors in connection with the death of another U.S. contractor. Jim Kitterman in May had been found bound and stabbed to death in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone. If prosecuted, the contractors would be the first U.S. nationals to face Iraqi courts since a U.S.-Iraqi security agreement had made them eligible for prosecution, starting Jan. 1. [See p. 362G3] U.S. officials said the arrests were made with the help of U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents. They said the contractors had not actually been arrested for the murder, but as a result of “possible evidence on an unrelated matter” found during the search. Iraqi government spokesman Ali alDabbagh June 10 said all five men had been freed due to a lack of evidence. However, other reports said that all or most of the contractors remained in custody. n

SPORTS

UNITED STATES

Federer, Kuznetsova Win Tennis’s French Open Federer Ties Sampras’s Grand Slam Record.

Second-seeded Roger Federer of Switzerland June 7 defeated 23rd-seeded Robin Soderling of Sweden, 6–1, 7–6, 6–4, to win the men’s title at the French Open in Paris. Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, the seventh seed, June 6 had defeated countrywoman Dinara Safina, the top seed, 6–4, 6–2, to claim the women’s title. [See 2008, p. 422D1] It was the first French Open victory for Federer, after losing the previous three finals to Rafael Nadal of Spain, who in 2008 had taken over Federer’s top spot in the world rankings. Nadal, the four-time defending French Open champion, May 31 had been upset by Soderling, 6–2, 6–7, 6– 4, 7–6, in the fourth round, ending his record 31-match winning streak at the tournament. Federer’s win at the French Open gave him 14 career titles in Grand Slam tournaments, tying the all-time record set by the legendary Pete Sampras of the U.S. (Sampras, who had retired in 2002, had never won the French Open, the only Grand Slam played on a clay surface.) In addition to his French Open victory, Federer, 27, had won the Australian Open three times, Wimbledon five times and the U.S. Open five times. He became the sixth man in tennis history to win all four tournaments—a socalled career Grand Slam. [See 2002, p. 699A3] Federer dominated Soderling in the final, taking the first set in just 23 minutes. Soderling, playing in his first Grand Slam final, rallied in the second set, forcing a tiebreak. However, Federer won that 7–1, serving four aces. In the third set, Federer broke Soderling’s serve in the first game, and then held serve at 5–4 to claim the championship. FACTS ON FILE

In the semifinals, Federer June 5 had defeated Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro, the fifth seed, 3–6, 7–6, 2–6, 6–1, 6–4. Soderling that day beat 12th-seeded Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, 6–3, 7–5, 5– 7, 4–6, 6–4. Kuznetsova Defeats Safina— With her victory in the women’s final June 6, Kuznetsova, 23, won her second career Grand Slam, after claiming the U.S. Open title in 2004. With Safina apparently suffering from nerves, Kuznetsova won the final handily in just 73 minutes. Safina, the younger sister of former top men’s player Marat Safin, had also lost in the 2008 French Open final, as well as the Australian Open final in January. [See p. 70G3; 2004, p. 719A3] In the semifinals, Kuznetsova June 4 had defeated Samantha Stosur of Australia, the 30th seed, 6–4, 6–7, 6–3. Safina that day beat the 20th seed, Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia, 6–3, 6–3, to advance to the final. Doubles Results—In the men’s doubles final, Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic and Leander Paes of India June 6 defeated Dick Norman of Belgium and Wesley Moodie of South Africa, 3–6, 6–3, 6– 2, to take the title. The Spanish team of Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual June 5 had won the women’s title, beating Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and Elena Vesnina of Russia, 6–1, 6–1. The mixed doubles title went to the U.S. team of Bob Bryan and Liezel Huber, who June 4 beat Marcelo Melo of Brazil and Vania King of the U.S., 5–7, 7–6, 10– 7 (tiebreak). Other News—In other tennis news: o Federer May 17 beat Nadal, 6–4, 6–4, to win the men’s title at the Madrid Open in Spain and snap Nadal’s 33-match winning streak on clay. Earlier that day, Safina had defeated Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, 6–2, 6–4, to claim the women’s title. o Safina May 9 won the Italian Open in Rome, beating Kuznetsova, 6–3, 6–2. [See 2008, p. 422A3] o Nadal May 3 beat Novak Djokovic of Serbia, 7–6, 6–2, to win the Rome Masters for the fourth time in his career. [See 2008, p. 422B3] o Kuznetsova May 3 defeated Safina, 6– 4, 6–3, to win the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany. o Nadal April 26 won the Barcelona Open for the fifth consecutive year, beating Spain’s David Ferrer, 6–2, 7–5. [See 2008, p. 422C3] o Nadal April 19 defeated Djokovic, 6– 3, 2–6, 6–1, to win the Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco. [See 2008, p. 422C3] o Andy Murray of Britain April 5 beat Djokovic, 6–2, 7–5, to win the men’s title at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Fla. The previous day, Azarenka had defeated Serena Williams of the U.S., 6–3, 6–1, to claim the women’s title. [See 2008, p. 422D3] o Nadal March 22 beat Murray, 6–1, 6– 2, to win the men’s title at the BNP Paribas June 11, 2009

Open in Indian Wells, Calif. In the women’s final, Vera Zvonareva of Russia that day defeated Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, 7–6, 6–2. [See 2008, p. 422D3] n

Horse Racing Summer Bird Wins Belmont Stakes. Summer

Bird, an 11–1 shot ridden by Kent Desormeaux, June 6 won the 141st running of the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of U.S. thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown, at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. [See p. 347C1; 2008, p. 403F3] The race did not include the Preakness winner, Rachel Alexandra, after owner Jess Jackson May 29 had announced that the filly would forgo the Belmont. Jockey Calvin Borel was seeking a personal Triple Crown, having ridden Mine That Bird to a Kentucky Derby win, before switching to Rachel Alexandra for the Preakness. Borel returned to Mine That Bird for the Belmont, attempting to become the first jockey in history to win all three races on two different horses. However, Mine That Bird, the favorite, placed third in the Belmont, just behind second-place finisher Dunkirk, ridden by John Velazquez. The victory for Desormeaux aboard Summer Bird helped to erase the jockey’s previous bad memories at the Belmont. Just one year earlier, he had eased up the prerace favorite, Big Brown, who was seeking the Triple Crown after already having won the 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, and finished in last place. Desormeaux had also been aboard Real Quiet in 1998, when that horse lost its Triple Crown bid by a nose at the Belmont. [See 1998, p. 399C3] Dunkirk set the pace from the beginning stages of the race, emerging as the early leader. Dunkirk remained in the lead until the homestretch, when Mine That Bird made a push from the outside and appeared to briefly take the lead. At that point, Summer Bird made an even stronger surge, rushing ahead of the leaders in the final 300 yards to win the Belmont by two and threequarter lengths. (Summer Bird and Mine That Bird were both offspring of Birdstone, winner of the Belmont in 2004.) [See 2004, p. 432F1] Summer Bird, a winner in just one race out of four career starts, ran the one-anda-half mile race in two minutes, 27.54 seconds. Summer Bird paid $25.80 on a $2 bet and earned owners K.K. and Devi Jayaraman $600,000 in prize money. The colt’s trainer, Tim Ice, had been in the position for just about a year, having spent most of his career thus far in an apprenticeship. Sea the Stars Wins English Derby—Sea the Stars, ridden by Mick Kinane, June 6 won the one-mile English Derby at Epsom Downs racetrack in England. Sea the Stars, winner of the 2,000 Guineas in May, finished one-and-three-quarter lengths ahead of his nearest competitor, Fame and Glory. Masterofthehorse placed third. [See p. 347A3; 2007, p. 408A1] n

Lacrosse Syracuse Repeats as NCAA Champions.

The Syracuse University Orange May 25 defeated the Cornell University Big Red, 10–9, to win the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men’s lacrosse championship, in Foxborough, Mass., for the second straight year. Syracuse added another title to its record tally of 11, which also included the vacated 1990 title. [See 2008, p. 439E3] Syracuse senior attackman Kenny Nims, who was named the most outstanding player of the tournament, scored a game-tying goal with just 4.5 seconds remaining in regulation in the final. Junior attackman Cody Jamieson scored the game-winning goal in overtime for the Orange.

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Lady Wildcats Win Fifth Straight Title—

The Northwestern University Wildcats May 24 won the NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse title for the fifth straight year, beating the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, 21–7, in Towson, Md. n

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UNITED STATES

Theater ‘Billy Elliot’ Wins 10 Tonys. The Broadway League and the American Theater Wing June 7 presented their 63rd annual Antoinette Perry (Tony) Awards in a ceremony at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The ceremony was hosted by actor Neil Patrick Harris. [See 2008, p. 440A1] The awards were dominated by the musical Billy Elliot, which premiered in London in 2005 and had been on Broadway since November 2008. The show, which was based on a film about a British coal miner’s son hoping to become a ballet dancer, captured 10 Tonys, including the award for best musical. It was the most Tonys won by a single show since 2001, when the Mel Brooks musical The Producers set an all-time record by winning 12. [See 2008, p. 997B3; 2001, p. 443E1] The Tony for best actor in a musical was shared by the three teenage boys who took turns playing Billy Elliot’s title character: David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kulish. They had been the only performers ever to have been jointly nominated for a Tony for playing the same role. The show also won Tonys in such key categories as best director of a musical—Stephen Daldry—best featured actor in a musical— Gregory Jbara—best book of a musical— Lee Hall—and best choreography—Peter Darling. However, in the category of best original score, lyricist Hall and composer Sir Elton John were beaten by the creative team behind the musical Next To Normal, composer Tom Kitt and lyricist Brian Yorkey. Next to Normal, about a housewife with bipolar disorder, won two other Tonys. Its lead actress, Alice Ripley, was named best actress in a musical, while its orchestrators, Kitt and Michael Starobin, 399

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shared the Tony for orchestration with Billy Elliot’s Martin Koch. [See p. 348C2] Another show that won three Tonys was French dramatist Yasmina Reza’s comedy God of Carnage, adapted into English by Christopher Hampton. Like Billy Elliot, it had triumphed in London before reaching Broadway. Besides being named best new play, God of Carnage netted Tonys for director Matthew Warchus and lead actress Marcia Gay Harden. An earlier Reza comedy, Art, had won the Tony for best play in 1998. [See p. 256A1; 1998, p. 400E1] Warchus had also been nominated in the play-directing category for The Norman Conquests, a revival of an Alan Ayckbourn trilogy that had reached Broadway in April, after a 2008 London run. Warchus had been the first dual nominee in the same directorial category since A.J. Antoon in 1973. The Norman Conquests ended up winning the Tony for best play revival. [See p. 348D2; 1973, p. 322A1] Actress Angela Lansbury, 83, won the Tony for best featured actress in a play for her role as the medium Madame Arcati in a revival of Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit. It was her fifth Tony, but only her first for a nonmusical role. She had won her first Tony in 1966, for the musical Mame, and her fourth in 1979, for the musical Sweeney Todd. Her Blithe Spirit win made her only the second performer to win five acting Tonys, joining actress Julie Harris, who, however, had also received an honorary award in 2002. [See p. 255F3; 2002, p. 452F1; 1979, p. 292C3; 1966, p. 360C3] The major winners were: Best Play: God of Carnage Best Musical: Billy Elliot Best Play Revival: The Norman Conquests Best Musical Revival: Hair Best Actress, Play: Marcia Gay Harden, God of Car-

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Elliot

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Broadway Revenue Tops $940 Million.

Broadway box-office revenue for the 2008–09 season, which ended May 24 and saw 43 shows open, including 10 musicals, was estimated to have hit a record $943.3 million, according to data reported May 26 by the Broadway League. The previous record had been the $938.5 million tallied for the 2006–07 season; the 2007–08 figure had been $937.5 million. The 43 openings were the most since the 1982–83 season, when 50 shows opened. Paid attendance in 2008–09 compared to 2007–08 was reported to have dropped slightly, from 12.27 million to 12.15 million. The slight decline was viewed as evidence that Broadway had weathered the current economic recession. [See 2008, p. 440B2] n 400

People New York City’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts June 8 named real estate executive Katherine G. Farley, 59, to succeed Frank A. Bennack Jr. as its chairman, as of June 2010. Bennack, 76, had held the post since 2005, but had resumed his former position as chief executive officer of the Hearst Corp. in 2008. He would help ease Farley into the post over the coming year. Lincoln Center, which was currently in the midst of a $1.2 billion redevelopment project, had been chaired by only one other woman, soprano Beverly Sills, who died in 2007. [See 2007, p. 440F3; 2005, p. 998A3] n

O B I T UA R I E S ALBURY, Charles Donald, 88, World War II aviator who copiloted the B-29 Superfortress that dropped the atom bomb on Nagasaki, Japan, on Aug. 9, 1945, six days before Japan’s surrender; the Nagasaki mission’s other pilot, Charles Sweeney, died in 2004; born Oct. 12, 1920, in Miami, Fla.; died May 23 at a hospital in Orlando, Fla., of congestive heart failure. [See 2005, p. 999D1; 2004, p. 576G3] BARKER, Bernard Leon, 92, one of five men arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters at Washington, D.C.’s Watergate complex in June 1972; their arrest triggered a chain of events that culminated in the 1974 resignation of U.S. President Richard Nixon; it later emerged that Barker had also been involved in a 1971 break-in at the Los Angeles office of the psychiatrist then treating Daniel Ellsberg, the military analyst who leaked the “Pentagon papers,” a secret U.S. government history of the Vietnam War; both break-ins were masterminded by longtime Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative E. Howard Hunt Jr., who died in 2007; all five Watergate burglars served brief prison sentences; one of them, Frank Sturgis, died in 1993; four of the five Watergate burglars, including Barker and Sturgis, were Cuban-Americans who had been involved in the CIA-sponsored Bay of Pigs operation, an ill-fated attempt to overthrow Cuban leader Fidel Castro in 1961; born March 17, 1917, in Havana, Cuba; died June 5 at a Miami, Fla., hospital, of lung cancer. [See 2007, p. 56E3; 1993, p. 944D3; Indexes 1972–77] BONGO Ondimba, El Hadj Omar (born Albert Bernard Bongo), 73, authoritarian ruler of the African

nation of Gabon since 1967, and the world’s longestserving nonmonarchical ruler since Fidel Castro Ruz stepped down as Cuba’s president in 2008; born Dec. 30, 1935, in Lewai, Gabon, at a time when Gabon was part of French Equatorial Africa; died June 8 at a clinic in Barcelona, Spain, after a heart attack; it had recently been reported that he had cancer. [See p. 393A3; 2008, pp. 969F3, 441G1–A2; Indexes 2005–06, 2003, 1996– 98, 1993, 1989–90, 1987, 1967–78] CABRAL, Luis de Almeida, 78, first post-independence president of the African nation of GuineaBissau, which won its freedom from Portugal in 1974, after years of guerrilla warfare; he had been a key figure in that armed struggle, which had been led by his half-brother Amilcar Cabral until 1973, when the latter was assassinated; Luis Cabral’s presidency ended in 1980, when he was overthrown in a coup by his then– prime minister, Joao Bernardo Vieira; Vieira would remain in power for most of the time since 1980, before being assassinated in March; born April 11, 1931, in Bissau, then the capital of Portuguese Guinea and now Guinea-Bissau’s capital; died overnight May 30 in Lisbon, Portugal, of a heart attack. [See p. 133C3; 2005, p. 691D2; Indexes 1980, 1976, 1974]

CARRADINE, David (born John Arthur Carradine), 72, actor who attracted a cult following as the

star of the television series “Kung Fu” (1972–75); in it, he played a Shaolin monk roaming through the 19thcentury American West; he also appeared in many films, notably as Bill, the villainous title character in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004); he came from a prominent acting family, whose patriarch was character actor John Carradine, who died in 1988; born Dec. 8, 1936, in Los Angeles; found dead June 4 in a hotel room in Bangkok, Thailand, where he was staying while making a French action film; his death was being probed, but it was reported June 5 that he had been found with

a rope tied around his genitals and another tied around his neck, and that Thai police were leaning toward the theory that he had accidentally suffocated. [See 2004, p. 336C2; 2003, p. 884D2; Indexes 1990, 1988, 1986, 1982–83, 1978, 1974, 1965] HANEY, Paul Prichard, 80, director of public affairs at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s control center in Houston, Texas, whose voice could be heard on broadcast coverage of NASA’s Gemini and Apollo space flights of the 1960s; however, clashes with other NASA officials, including astronaut Deke Slayton, over public accountability issues led to his resignation in 1969, months before Apollo 11’s historic moon landing in July of that year; born July 20, 1928, in Akron, Ohio; died May 28 at a nursing home in Alamagordo, N.M., of melanoma that had spread to his brain. [See 1993, p. 456D3; 1969, p. 465A1] La RUE, Danny (born Daniel Patrick Carroll), 81, female impersonator who in his heyday, in the 1960s and 1970s, was one of Britain’s highest-paid entertainers; he set new standards for glamor as a drag performer, wearing lavish, sequined dresses; his London nightclub, Danny La Rue’s, which opened in 1964, attracted many celebrities before it folded nearly a decade later; he was well known to British television audiences and often appeared on the London stage, including in a 1984 production of the musical Hello, Dolly, in which his performance as the title character, Dolly Levi, made him reportedly the first male in recent times to play the female lead in a high-end theatrical production; born July 26, 1927, in Cork, Ireland; died May 31 at his home in Tunbridge Wells, England; he had been battling cancer. [See 2002, p. 464F3] MALOOF, Sam(uel Solomon), 93, maker of wooden furniture who was a key figure in the crafts movement that emerged in the U.S. after World War II; in 1985, he became the first craftsman to receive a MacArthur Fellowship, or “genius grant”; born Jan. 24, 1916, in Chino, Calif.; died May 21 at his home in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. [See 2008, p. 711G1] NIMEIRY, Gaafar Mohammed el-, 79, president of Sudan, 1969–85; he seized power in a military coup, and ruled the country in an authoritarian manner until being ousted in a military coup led by his defense minister, Gen. Abdel Rahman Siwar el-Dahab, two years after his imposition of Islamic law, or sharia, refueled tensions between the country’s mainly Muslim north and largely Christian and animist south; those tensions had led to a civil war that raged from 1955 to 1972; after his 1985 ouster, Sudan was under civilian rule for a few years, before its current president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, seized power in 1989; Nimeiry returned to Sudan in 1999, after 14 years of exile in Egypt, and ran unsuccessfully against Bashir in Sudan’s 2000 presidential election; born Jan. 1, 1930, in Omdurman, Sudan; died May 20, after a long illness. [See 2000, p. 1049G2; 1999, p. 925E3; Indexes 1981–89, 1969–79] O’BRIEN, (Michael) Vincent, 92, Irish racehorse trainer; he first made his mark as hurdles trainer, winning Britain’s Grand National three years in a row (1953–55), before turning his attention to flat racing; in that domain, his many successes included six wins in the Epsom Derby and three in France’s most prestigious thoroughbred race, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe; born April 9, 1917, in Churchtown, Ireland; died June 1 at his home in Straffan, Ireland. PLANCHON, Roger, 77, French director who for many years was based in the Lyon suburb of Villeurbanne, where he established a reputation as one of the most innovative figures in European left-wing theater; in 1972, the French government moved the Theatre National Populaire from Paris to Lyon for him to co-direct, after he refused to relocate to Paris; he was also an actor, a film director and an author of semidocumentary plays; born Sept. 12, 1931, in Saint-Chamond, France; died May 12 in Paris, of a heart attack. [See 1978, p. 1030F2] TAYLOR, Koko (born Cora Walton), 80, Chicago-based singer known as the “queen of the blues”; her biggest hit was “Wang Dang Doodle,” released as a single in 1966; it became her signature song; born Sept. 28, 1928, in Bartlett, Tenn.; died June 3 at a Chicago hospital, of complications following surgery for gastrointestinal bleeding. YORK, Herbert Frank, 87, physicist who served as the first director of the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory at the University of California before heading the Pentagon’s Advanced Research Projects Agency in the late 1950s; from 1961 to 1964, he was the founding chancellor of the University of California at San Diego, and was also acting head of that campus from 1970 to 1972; in his later years, he vigorously campaigned for arms control; born Nov. 24, 1921, in Rochester, N.Y.; died May 19 at a San Diego hospital, from complications of radiation treatments for prostate cancer. [See 1976, p. 115D3; 1972, p. 763E3; Indexes 1970–71, 1959, 1957] n

June 11, 2009

Ahmadinejad Declared Winner of Disputed Iranian Election Opposition Protesters Defy Bans With Large Rallies for Moussavi Supreme Leader Agrees to Fraud Probe.

Iranians June 12 went to the polls in record numbers to vote in a presidential election. Both President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his main adversary, reformist former Prime Minister Mir Hussein Moussavi, said they had won the election, but the interior ministry later declared that Ahmadinejad had won an overwhelming victory. Hundreds of thousands of Moussavi supporters protested what they said was Ahmadinejad’s fraudulent victory in Tehran, the Iranian capital, and throughout the country, and clashed with Iranian security forces. After first endorsing Ahmadinejad’s victory, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, June 15 said he would review fraud allegations, and an influential clerical council June 16 agreed to recount some votes. [See p. 362E1; for facts on Iran’s government, see p. 403A1] The dispute over the election results appeared to inflame existing tensions within the clerical-dominated Iranian regime that had come to power in the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, in which a number of representative institutions overlapped with powerful clerical bodies. Khamenei, rather than the president, wielded ultimate authority in the country, and he had been seen as generally backing the policies of the Ahmadinejad government against the range of more moderate currents represented by Moussavi and former Presidents Mohammad Khatami and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a powerful figure who headed the Assembly of Experts, which appointed the supreme leader. In the 1980s, Khamenei had been Iran’s president at the time that Moussavi was prime minister. The run-up to the election had been unexpectedly hard-fought, with huge rallies numbering in the tens of thousands snarling Tehran June 10. Ahmadinejad and Moussavi June 3 clashed sharply in a televised debate. In a rare criticism of Iran’s supreme leader, Rafsanjani—who supported Moussavi—

June 9 wrote an open letter faulting Khamenei for not correcting Ahmadinejad’s “insults, lies and false allegations.” Many analysts had expected Moussavi to win the election, which was seen as a referendum on Ahmadinejad’s economic and foreign policies and restrictions of civil liberties. Moussavi and the other two opposition candidates—Mehdi Karroubi, a reformist cleric and former parliament speaker; and conservative Mohsen Rezai, who had headed Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps—had promised to relax strictures on public behavior and give women increased freedom, and to decrease Iran’s international isolation, which had increased in recent years as it was accused of pursuing a nuclear weapon. Election Sees High Turnout—The election June 12 saw a huge turnout, and the government repeatedly extended voting hours. Moussavi late that night said he had won “by a very large margin” and alleged that there had been balloting “irregularities.” However, Iranian state media early June 13 said Ahmadinejad had won, with 69% of the vote to Moussavi’s 28%. The interior ministry later June 13 released the official results. It said Ahmadinejad had taken 62.6% of the vote, while Moussavi had won 33.8%. Rezai reportedly won 1.7%, and Karroubi won 0.9%. Turnout was placed at a record 86% of Iran’s 46.2 million eligible voters. Opposition critics questioned the speed with which the results were tallied, and pointed to local results that appeared politically improbable. Moussavi in a statement posted on his Web site said he would not “surrender to this manipulation,” and called on Khamenei to intervene. However, Khamenei in a televised statement declared that Ahmadinejad had won the election. Ahmadinejad said his victory represented a “divine assessment” and a “new beginning” for the country, and dismissed the fraud complaints, saying, “They spent a lot

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Volume 69, No. 3574 June 18, 2009

B of money on propaganda, so it is natural they are disappointed.” Huge Crowds Protest Alleged Fraud—

The announcement of the election results June 13 triggered protests among Moussavi’s supporters in Tehran and several other cities throughout Iran. Demonstrators clashed with police, who used batons and tear gas against them and reportedly shot to death at least one person. Violence continued June 14, with protesters being attacked by police and by the Basij, a paramilitary group that enforced adherence to religious rules and had been used in the past to crack down violently on student demonstrations. Moussavi called on his followers to keep demonstrating, and said the government should grant permits for “massive” protests in order to stop people from rioting. The same day, Ahmadinejad held a victory rally in Tehran at-

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MAJOR STORIES IN THIS ISSUE Ahmadinejad declared winner of disputed Iranian election; opposition protesters defy bans with large rallies for Moussavi. PAGE 401

Netanyahu supports Palestinian state in foreign policy address. PAGE 403

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G-8 finance leaders call for ‘exit strategy’ for crisis policies.

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Global climate treaty talks held. PAGE 405

Obama proposes financial regulatory reforms. PAGE 407

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Gay federal workers’ benefits expanded. PAGE 708

Kennedy health care plan estimated to cost $1 trillion. PAGE 408

Pakistani military prepares operation in tribal areas. PAGE 418

Lakers beat Magic for NBA title. PAGE 419

Penguins defeat Red Wings to win Stanley Cup. PAGE 419 Protesters in Tehran, Iran’s capital, June 18 demonstrate against alleged manipulation of the results of Iran’s June 12 presidential election, in which incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the victor over reformist challenger Mir Hussein Moussavi. REFERENCES in brackets give location of background information in this & preceding volumes.

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Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hussein Moussavi at a rally June 15 Tehran, Iran’s capital, protesting results he claimed were rigged in favor of incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

tended by tens of thousands of people, at which he scorned opposition protesters as “dirt and dust.” Moussavi called on the Guardian Council—the clerical group that certified election results—to nullify the election results and hold a new vote. That call was echoed by Karroubi and by the Association of Combatant Clergy, a moderate group of clerics that issued a statement warning that election fraud could damage “the republican aspect of the regime.” Hundreds of thousands of Moussavi supporters June 15 demonstrated in Tehran in defiance of an official ban, in the largest unofficial protest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Moussavi spoke briefly at the protest, making his first public appearance since the election. Many of the protesters wore green, the color used in Moussavi’s campaign, and shouted Revolutionary-era slogans denouncing Ahmadinejad and the alleged voter fraud. The demonstration proceeded in a largely peaceful fashion, but later in the day shots were fired from a Basij compound, apparently killing a protester and wound several others. State radio June 16 reported that seven people had been killed the previous day by security forces after protesters “tried to attack a military location” in western Tehran.

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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a June 14 victory rally in Tehran, after he was declared the winner of the June 12 election.

Parliament speaker Ali Larijani and more than 50 members of parliament June 16 called for an inquiry into an unverified incident June 14 in which Basij members had forced their way into the dormitory of Tehran University and attacked students, reportedly killing five people. The interior ministry June 17 ordered an investigation.

Guardian Council Orders Recount—

Khamenei June 15 ordered the Guardian Council to investigate the alleged voter fraud, in what was seen as a reversal from his earlier support of Ahmadinejad’s victory. The council June 16 said it would recount the votes in areas disputed by opposition candidates, although it did not give details on the recount. However, the Guardian Council was closely aligned with the government, and opposition activists dismissed the proposed recount as inadequate. The Guardian Council June 18 invited all four presidential candidates to an “emergency meeting” June 20 to discuss allegations of election fraud. Protests continued June 16–18, although Moussavi June 16 warned his supporters to stay at home in order to protect themselves. Protesters numbered in the tens of thousands rather than hundreds of thousands. Police and Basij attacks on protesters in Tehran and in other cities continued, often intensifying at night while protesters fought back and burned security force vehicles. Moussavi June 17 urged his followers to commemorate those who were “wounded or martyred” in protests by gathering in mosques or participating in peaceful protests the following day. Although increasing restrictions on foreign journalists made it difficult to report fully on those demonstrations and their size, it appeared that hundreds of thousands of people again gathered in Tehran, and Moussavi again addressed them. The government June 14 had reportedly arrested more than 100 opposition politicians and activists, and by June 17, some 500 people had reportedly been arrested throughout Iran, although some of those were subsequently released. Authorities had suppressed many information sources within the country, censoring opposition newspapers and blocking foreign media such as the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) and Voice of America, Internet service, and social-networking Web sites and text-messaging services that demonstrators were using to organize themselves. There were reports of journalists being beaten by security forces, and the government June 16 banned them from reporting from the streets. The Web site Twitter, which allowed users to send out short messages, emerged as a major way for opposition sup-

porters to disseminate information about protests and government crackdowns. Ahmadinejad June 16 traveled to Russia to attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). [See p. 406C3] International Response—U.S. President Barack Obama in his first public comments on the Iranian election June 15 said he was “deeply troubled by the violence” and that the protesters had inspired the world with their actions, and called for Iran’s government to respect “the democratic process, free speech, the ability of people to peacefully dissent.” However, he did not denounce the election results, and repeated his offer to hold direct talks with Ahmadinejad. Senior U.S. officials had previously expressed worries about election irregularities, although they also took a cautious tone. Obama June 16 said on CNBC, “Although there is amazing ferment taking place in Iran, the difference between Ahmadinejad and Moussavi may not be as great as has been advertised.” He added that the U.S. would still have an interest in stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons, no matter who won the election. Obama was criticized by U.S. Republicans and other observers for not showing enough support for the Iranian opposition. However, he June 17 said it was important for the U.S. not “to be seen as meddling,” and choosing a president “is something ultimately for the Iranian people to decide.” The Iranian government June 17 charged that the protests had been orchestrated by foreign media outlets. The same day, the Iranian foreign ministry summoned the Swiss ambassador, who represented U.S. interests in Iran, and the Canadian charge d’affaires to complain of Western “meddling.” Several European

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FACTS ON FILE

FACTS ON IRAN’S GOVERNMENT

The supreme leader was Iran’s political and military leader and the commander-inchief of its armed forces. He had control over defense and major foreign policy decisions. The president was the head of the executive branch and Iran’s second-highest ranking official, and was elected by popular vote. His authority mainly encompassed domestic policy, and was circumscribed by the supreme leader and Iran’s clerical bodies. He could serve a maximum of two consecutive fouryear terms. The president chose the members of his cabinet, and could draft legislation without approval from the Guardian Council. The Guardian Council was a group of 12 theologians, clerics and jurists, six of whom were appointed by the supreme leader and the others nominated by the judiciary and approved by parliament. The Guardian Council vetted candidates for the presidency, the parliament and the Assembly of Experts, and could veto legislation passed by parliament. The Assembly of Experts was an 86member body of clerics that appointed the Supreme Leader, and also monitored his performance and could remove him if he could not fulfill his duties. The Expediency Council was a body of prominent political, religious and social figures that advised the supreme leader and adjudicated disputes between parliament and the Guardian Council. Its members were appointed by the supreme leader. The 290 members of the parliament were elected by popular vote to four-year terms. The parliament could introduce and pass laws, summon and impeach ministers and the president, approve cabinet appointments and budgets and ratify treaties, but its actions had to be approved by the Guardian Council.

ambassadors had been summoned June 16 over similar allegations. Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and Chinese President Hu Jintao at the SCO summit congratulated Ahmadinejad on his reelection. Hamid Karzai, the U.S.-backed president of neighboring Afghanistan, June 14 congratulated Ahmadinejad, and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias June 17 issued a statement of solidarity with the Iranian government against what he called a foreign campaign to “destabilize” it. n

Netanyahu Supports Palestinian State in Foreign Policy Address Palestinians Criticize Stringent Conditions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu June 14 for the first time backed the creation of an independent Palestinian state, as the U.S. and the international community had called upon him to do. However, he said a two-state solution would depend on Palestinians accepting several stringent conditions, among them the Palestinian state’s demilitarization, recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and relinquishment of control of its airspace. The speech, which Netanyahu gave at Bar-Ilan University outside Tel Aviv, Israel, had been billed as a major foreign policy address, and was seen in part as responding to U.S. President Barack Obama’s speech to the Muslims of the world earlier in June. [See pp. 380E2, 367C2] June 18, 2009

“A fundamental prerequisite for ending the conflict is a public, binding and unequivocal Palestinian recognition of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people.” said Netanyahu. “If we receive this guarantee regarding demilitarization and Israel’s security needs, and if the Palestinians recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish people, then we will be ready in a future peace agreement to reach a solution where a demilitarized Palestinian state exists alongside the Jewish state.” Netanyahu said Israel would not build any new settlements in the West Bank or expropriate more Palestinian land for their expansion, but stipulated that “normal life” in the settlements would continue. That referred to existing settlements’ expansion to accommodate “natural growth” due to births and adoptions. The Obama administration in recent weeks had pressed Netanyahu to totally freeze settlement construction. Additionally, Netanyahu said Israel would not give up sole control of Jerusalem, the eastern part of which Palestinians wanted as the capital of a future state, and rejected a so-called right of return for Palestinian refugees. Netanyahu said he was willing to meet with leaders of Arab countries for peace talks. Additionally, he called on the Palestinian Authority (PA), which controlled the West Bank, to reestablish its authority in the Gaza Strip and overcome the militant Islamist group Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement) there. Netanyahu in his speech also warned against Iran’s nuclear program, which Israel and the U.S. said was aimed at building nuclear weapons. He called it “the greatest threat facing Israel, the Middle East, the entire world and the human race.” International Response— U.S. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama considered Netanyahu’s speech an “important step forward.” Obama in a statement expressed his support for a Palestinian state and affirmed the importance of U.S. ties with Israel. PA President Mahmoud Abbas said the conditions Netanyahu had placed on the creation of a Palestinian state had “sabotaged” talks, and other Arab leaders had similar comments. Saeb Erekat, the senior Palestinian negotiator, said Netanyahu “spoke about negotiations, but left us with nothing to negotiate as he systematically took nearly every permanent status issue off the table,” referring to central issues such as the status of Jerusalem and refugees. European Union foreign ministers said Netanyahu’s support for a Palestinian state was a positive development, but added that they would delay an upgrade in trade ties between Israel and the EU until he took more concrete steps, such as freezing settlement growth and easing a blockade of the Gaza Strip. U.S. Envoy Visits Israel, West Bank—

Obama’s special envoy to the Middle East, former Sen. George Mitchell (D, Maine), June 9 traveled to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, where he met with Israeli officials including Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres. He

said afterwards that it was “beyond any doubt that the United States’ commitment to the security of Israel remains unshakable,” but added that Israel and the Palestinians were both obligated to expedite peace talks. Mitchell also attempted to minimize the appearance of an Israeli-U.S. rift over Israel’s settlement policy, saying, “These are not disagreements among adversaries.” Mitchell June 10 met with Abbas in Ramallah, in the West Bank. Erekat afterwards said the U.S. had “made clear its intention to reinvigorate Middle East peace talks.” U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton June 5 rejected arguments made by Israeli officials in the previous days that the administration of former President George W. Bush had secretly agreed that Israel could expand settlements in the West Bank under certain conditions. “We have the negotiating record, that is the official record, that was turned over to the Obama administration by the outgoing Bush administration,” Clinton said. “There is no memorialization of any informal and oral agreement.” Violence—Israeli forces June 8 killed four Palestinian gunmen who had attacked an army patrol near the Nahal Oz fuel terminal on the Gaza Strip border. The gunmen were part of a group that had approached the border fence with explosives, according to the Israeli military. It was one of the biggest Palestinian raids against Israeli forces since a war between Israel and Hamas ended in January. Israeli security forces June 5 killed a Palestinian demonstrator during a protest against the construction of a security barrier that divided the West Bank from Israel, in the West Bank village of Bilin, near Ramallah. An Israeli spokesman said security forces had opened fire with nonlethal weapons after Palestinians began throwing rocks, but Palestinian witnesses said the victim had been hit while helping another wounded protester. [See p. 313D3] A gunfight in the West Bank city of Qalqilyah June 4 killed one PA policeman and two Hamas militants. A similar fight between Hamas and PA forces had occurred the previous week in Qalqilyah. [See p. 380E3] n

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North Korean Nuclear Dispute Security Council Adds New Sanctions.

The United Nations Security Council June 12 unanimously approved a resolution condemning, “in the strongest terms,” a nuclear test carried out by North Korea in May, and instituting new sanctions against North Korea. The measure, Resolution 1874, banned the sale of most arms to or from North Korea, cutting off one of the country’s few major sources of export revenue. It called on U.N. member nations to request permission to inspect any ships they had “reasonable grounds” to suspect were carrying banned arms to or from North Korea. However, it did not require states to do so, and it specifically did not authorize the use of force to carry out such inspections. [See p. 350A3] North Korea in April had conducted an intercontinental ballistic missile test, followed by the nuclear test, after proclaiming 403

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its withdrawal from six-nation negotiations in which it had previously agreed to abandon its nuclear programs. The agreement by the council on imposing new sanctions was seen as reflecting increasing impatience with North Korea on the part of China and Russia, the two permanent Security Council members that frequently opposed calls by the U.S., South Korea and Japan for stronger measures against North Korea. However, China and Russia insisted that the ship inspections not be mandatory, and that the resolution clearly refrain from authorizing the use of force. Due to those stipulations, it was unclear how effective the resolution would prove in interdicting banned weapons shipments. Under the measure, if the nation under whose flag a suspect ship was sailing did not permit an inspection by an intercepting ship, it was instructed to divert the ship to a nearby port for inspection. If that was not done, the incident would be reported to a special Security Council committee. The ban on weapons sales to or by North Korea excepted small arms sold to North Korea, an exception that benefited China, North Korea’s principal supplier of such weapons. North Lashes Out—North Korea’s foreign ministry in a statement June 13 vowed “retaliation” for the new sanctions, saying it regarded “an attempted blockade of any kind by the United States and its followers” as an “act of war.” North Korea said it would resume the processing of plutonium into fuel for nuclear weapons at its Yongbyon nuclear complex. North Korea had recently reopened Yongbyon, after sealing and beginning to dismantle it under the sixnation agreement. The statement said North Korea would also start to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons. Prior to the passage of the U.N. resolution, it had been reported May 30 that intelligence satellites had detected signs of possible North Korean preparations for a new long-range missile launch, possibly within weeks. A commentary published in North Korean state news media June 9 declared that the country’s “nuclear deterrent” was “a merciless offensive means to deal a just retaliatory strike to those who touch the country’s dignity and sovereignty even a bit.” The threat of an “offensive” nuclear attack was a departure from North Korea’s customary description of it as a necessary deterrent against U.S. and South Korean aggression. Obama Meets South’s Lee—U.S. President Barack Obama June 16 hosted South Korean President Lee Myung Bak at the White House in Washington, D.C. In a joint news conference after their meeting, the two leaders stated their agreement that a nucleararmed North Korea was not acceptable and that Resolution 1874 should be vigorously enforced. Obama also affirmed the U.S.’s standing promise that its nuclear deterrent “umbrella” would be extended to South Korea in case of a North Korean attack. Obama said there was “another path available to North Korea…through peaceful negotiations” leading to “denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” The U.S.’s 404

special envoy on the issue, Stephen Bosworth, June 11 had expressed the U.S.’s desire for North Korea to return to negotiations. However, the Obama administration, which had conducted a review of policy toward North Korea after taking office in January, had reportedly shifted against a resumption of the strategy of offering incentives for the incremental dismantling of North Korea’s nuclear facilities. Obama June 6 had said, “We are going to take a very hard look at how we move forward on these issues” rather than “simply continue down a path in which North Korea is constantly destabilizing the region and we just react in the same ways.” Lee, in an interview June 12 with the Wall Street Journal, suggested the need for a departure from the six-party framework, saying North Korea had “bought a lot of time” with it. He said North Korea should be excluded from the talks. North Korea was also currently holding two U.S. reporters arrested on its border with China and sentenced to 12 years’ hard labor, whom it was expected to use as bargaining chips with the U.S. [See p. 395G3] May Nuclear Test Analyzed—The office of U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair June 15 issued a brief statement assessing North Korea’s nuclear test, saying, “North Korea probably conducted an underground nuclear explosion” with a yield of “approximately a few kilotons.” That would represent an advance over North Korea’s first nuclear test, in 2006, which had not been seen as an unqualified success, with an estimated yield of less than a kiloton. But the U.S. estimate was smaller than one issued by Russia soon after the test, which put it at 10–20 kilotons. Link to North’s Succession Seen—

South Korea June 10 released a statement made by Defense Minister Lee Sang Hee to the country’s armed forces, saying that North Korea’s nuclear test, missile launches and other recent bellicose actions were aimed at “creating tension in order to build the basis for hereditary power transfer to his successor.” Kim Jong Il, 67, was widely reported to have suffered a stroke in 2008, and there were reports that he was preparing his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, to become his officially designated successor. (Kim Jong Il had succeeded his father, Kim Il Sung, North Korea’s founder, in 1994.) Unidentified U.S. officials cited in news reports had also suggested recently that the nuclear test was intended to establish North Korea’s status as an acknowledged nuclear power before the end of Kim’s reign. South Korea’s intelligence agency June 2 had reportedly told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing of signs that Kim Jong Un was being designated the heir to North Korea’s leadership. Intelligence reports said that messages sent to North Korean diplomats abroad had instructed them to pay allegiance to Kim Jong Un, and that patriotic songs had been revised to include lyrics in praise of him. Little was known about Kim Jong Un, variously reported to be 26 or an uncertain age in his 20s. Some accounts claimed that

he had attended boarding school in Switzerland under an assumed name. The North Korean leader was known to have two other sons. The next-older brother, Kim Jong Chul, was 28. While the two younger brothers were reportedly born to the same mother, the eldest, 38-year-old Kim Jong Nam, had a different mother. He had been detained in Japan for traveling on a false passport in 2001, and was variously reported to reside in or frequently visit China’s Macao territory. Interviewed there by a Japanese broadcaster June 6, he said he had learned of the possible elevation of Kim Jong Un from foreign news reports, adding that he thought it was likely “true.” [See 2001, p. 362F1] Even if Kim Jong Un was designated Kim’s heir, foreign analysts suggested that there were other centers of political power within the government and military that might compete for control of the country upon Kim Jong Il’s death or incapacitation. n

Global Economy G-8 Finance Leaders Call for ‘Exit Strategy.’

Finance ministers from the Group of Eight (G-8) industrialized nations June 13 asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to prepare an “exit strategy” that would allow governments to wind down emergency policies that had been implemented to address the global economic crisis. Since the crisis began in 2008, G-8 countries had introduced spending programs and other stimulative measures to boost economic growth, and in the process had run up sizable deficits that could lead to inflation and strain their ability to borrow money. The request followed two days of meetings in Lecce, Italy. [See pp. 407A1, 283A2] In a joint communique released June 13, the G-8 said, “There are signs of stabilization in our economies, including a recovery of stock markets, a decline in interest rate spreads [and] improved business and consumer confidence.” Those improved conditions would allow the G-8 to consider an exit strategy, but only “once the recovery is assured.” The G-8 warned that “significant risks remain to economic and financial stability,” and several individual finance leaders, including U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, said it was too early to roll back spending programs. Of the G-8 countries—which included the U.S., Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, Canada and Japan—Germany and France were the most concerned about rising inflation. The two countries and the U.S. had sparred over the issue in previous international economic forums, with U.S. officials charging that Germany and France had not done enough to stimulate their economies. German and French officials countered that the U.S. was not taking the threat of inflation seriously enough. It was widely viewed that France and Germany had not been as aggressive as the U.S. in stabilizing their banking systems, and that they were in the midst of recessions that were more severe than the one in the U.S. FACTS ON FILE

G-8 Agrees to Regulatory Reform—In its June 13 communique, the G-8 pledged to cooperate in reforming financial regulations, in order to prevent a similar global financial crisis from occurring in the future. The G-8 said it would work through a process it called the Lecce Framework, which would see the countries abide by “a set of common principles and standards regarding the conduct of international business and finance.” However, it was widely reported that there remained substantial disagreements between G-8 members on what form the reforms should take. The European Union in recent months had moved aggressively to reform financial regulations, making several proposals that were seen as being more radical than what had been envisioned by officials in the U.S. and Britain. The EU had proposed strict limits on credit-rating agencies, hedge funds and companies that sold securitized assets. U.S. President Barack Obama June 17 unveiled his administration’s plan to overhaul the U.S. regulatory system, which in some aspects was seen as being a more moderate approach to regulatory reform. n Emerging Economies Meet at Summit.

Leaders from Brazil, Russia, India and China—the so-called BRIC countries, which represented the world’s largest emerging economies—June 16 met in Yekaterinburg, Russia, for their first summit. The BRIC countries accounted for 40% of the world’s population and about 15% of its economy. In a statement released after the summit, the countries said, “The emerging and developing economies must have greater voice and representation in international financial institutions.…We also believe there is a strong need for a stable, predictable and more diversified international monetary system.” They also called for “comprehensive reform” of the United Nations. [See pp. 406E2, 283A2, 193A1] Russia expressed concern over the U.S. dollar’s dominance in world currency reserves, saying it could potentially destabilize global currency markets. However, China, which held $767.9 billion in U.S. Treasuries, did not directly criticize the dollar. In the weeks prior to the meeting, China, Brazil and Russia had indicated that they would buy tens of billions of dollars worth of bonds from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which was preparing to issue them for the first time. Observers suggested the countries were seeking to diversify their reserves. Some analysts suggested that the BRIC partnership would face difficulties acting as a cohesive unit because its members’ economies were vastly different. Brazil’s economy was supported mainly by agriculture, Russia’s by energy exports, India’s by services and China’s by manufacturing. n Former Soviet States Set Joint WTO Bid.

The prime ministers of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus, in a joint statement released June 9, said they would seek to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) as a single customs union. The countries’ partnership was expected to be formalized at the start of 2010, when a common customs tarJune 18, 2009

iff would take effect. At that point, according to Russian officials, the union would begin official accession talks with the WTO. Russian President Dmitri Medvedev said Russia, which had been in WTO accession negotiations since 1993, was not shunning the organization, “even though the [accession] process dragged out and in recent years was more like a feast of promises.” [See p. 193F2; 2008, p. 590F1] Russia was the world’s largest economy without WTO membership. Analysts suggested that the new strategy of joining as part of a three-country customs union could delay Russia’s membership by several years. Some observers had previously expected Russia to join the WTO by the end of 2009. n

cluded without the two countries reaching an agreement. Japan Sets Emissions Targets— Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso June 10 announced that the country planned to reduce its greenhouse emissions to 85% of their 2005 levels by 2020. Environmentalists criticized the target for being too conservative, saying it equaled an 8% reduction from 1990 emissions levels and therefore did not constitute a significant change from the country’s Kyoto Protocol target. Japan had the world’s second-largest economy, but was only the fifth-largest greenhouse gas emitter. n

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Other International News Shell Settles Nigerian Human Rights Suit.

Global Environment Global Climate Treaty Talks Held. Represen-

tatives from 183 countries June 1–12 attended a session of continuing United Nations–backed talks in Bonn, Germany, aimed at creating a draft of an international treaty to address global climate change. Attendees formulated a 200-page draft of an agreement intended to replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which required 37 industrialized countries to reduce their total emissions to 95% of 1990 levels by 2012. The Kyoto Protocol’s main provisions were set to expire in 2012. A final treaty was hoped to be agreed upon at a December meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark. [See 2008, p. 915E3] Yvo de Boer, the executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, said he believed that a treaty could be reached by December. However, environmental activists and some politicians criticized the discussions as too slow. “We see no political breakthrough. Instead, delegates are just preparing themselves for battles to be fought at later meetings,” said Kim Carstensen of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) environmental group. Also, developing countries, such China and India, had criticized industrialized nations for setting inadequate emissions reduction goals at the meeting. A Chinese policy-making body May 20 had called on developed countries to reduce emissions by 40% by 2020, and set aside 1% of their gross domestic product to aid poorer countries in reducing emissions. The U.S. had offered to cut emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, while the European Union had said its members would cut emissions to 80% of 1990 levels by the same deadline, or by 70% if other industrialized countries joined them. China, U.S. Meet on Emissions—Senior U.S. and Chinese officials June 8–10 met in Beijing, China’s capital, in an attempt to broker an agreement over emissions reductions. The two countries were responsible for generating about 40% of the world’s greenhouse gases. Each had called on the other to reduce emissions in ways that were “measurable, verifiable and reportable.” But neither government wished to institute emissions regulations that might make its economy less competitive. The talks con-

Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell PLC June 8 agreed to a $15.5 million settlement of a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in New York City by relatives of nine Nigerian ethnic Ogoni human rights activists and government critics from the oilrich southern Niger Delta region who had been hanged in 1995 by the government of former Nigerian military leader Gen. Sani Abacha. The plaintiffs had alleged that Shell actively supported the Abacha regime’s persecution of the Ogoni people and the execution of the nine activists, after mass protests in Ogoniland had forced Shell to shut down its operations there in 1993. [See 2000, p. 1045E3] All nine of the executed activists belonged to the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni Peoples (MOSOP), a group that was fighting for political and environmental rights for the more than 500,000 Ogonis who lived in the Niger Delta. The most prominent among those executed was Ken Saro-Wiwa, an Ogoni activist and writer. The executions, which came after the activists were convicted on spurious charges of the murder of four Ogoni leaders in 1994, had sparked international condemnation of Abacha’s regime. They had also highlighted the role of multinational oil companies such as Shell in environmental and human rights abuses in the Niger Delta. Unrest had continued in the region, and, since 2006, a separate, armed group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), had been attacking oil installations and kidnapping foreign workers in an effort to win a greater share of the region’s oil wealth for its people, which, along with the Ogoni, included the ethnic Ijaw. [See p. 358G1] Suit Based on 1789 Law—The families of the activists had filed the U.S. suit under the 1789 Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA), which allowed non-U.S. citizens to pursue civil suits against individuals or entities that had allegedly violated international law, even if the violation had occurred outside the U.S. [See 2008, p. 972E2] The settlement of the suit ended a 13year campaign by the families to hold Shell responsible for its role in the activists’ deaths, and avoided a trial. Shell, which had unsuccessfully sought to have the charges dismissed, did not admit wrongdo405

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ing or accept liability in the settlement, instead calling it a “humanitarian gesture” in “recognition of the tragic turn of events in Ogoni land, even though Shell had no part in the violence that took place.” Of the $15.5 million, $5 million would be placed in a trust to fund education and other programs for the Ogoni people, with the rest going to the families of the plaintiffs (including toward their legal fees). Representatives of the plaintiffs June 8–9 praised the agreement. Judith Chomsky Brown, an attorney for the U.S.-based nonprofit Center for Constitutional Rights, which helped file the case for the families, said, “One of the reasons defendants settle is so there won’t be a finding that they did what they’re accused of. I take their payment of a significant settlement as a recognition that they could well be found liable of these abuses by a jury.” Saro-Wiwa’s son, Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr., said, “From a legal perspective, this historic case means that corporations will have to be much more careful.” However, some said Shell was still responsible for continuing environmental damage in the Niger Delta, including pollution caused by the practice of gas flaring. Also, many rivers and farms in Ogoniland reportedly remained polluted by oil spills that Shell had yet to clean up. n Russia Vetoes U.N. Abkhazia Mission.

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Russia, at a June 15 meeting of the United Nations Security Council, vetoed a U.S. and European-supported draft resolution that would have extended for 15 days the U.N. Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG), a security force of 131 military observers and 20 police that monitored the Russian-aligned Georgian splinter region of Abkhazia. UNOMIG’s mandate expired that day. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon ordered the mission to shut down by June 16. UNOMIG began in 1993 to monitor a tenuous cease-fire that ended a bloody separatist war between ethnic Abkhazis and ethnic Georgians. [See pp. 378D1–F2, 311B1] Russia objected to the Western-supported mission because of its title, which affirmed that Abkhazia was a part of Georgia. Russia said it would not approve the mission unless its name reflected Abkhazia’s independence from Georgia. Russia proposed an alternative extension of the observer mission that omitted any references to Georgian sovereignty over Abkhazia, but the Security Council did not consider it. Only Russia and Nicaragua recognized Abkhazia as independent. Russia’s ambassador to the U.N., Vitaly Churkin, said the observer mission was “based on old realities,” and that the Georgian government had lost its moral authority to govern Abkhazia and another Russian-aligned Georgian splinter region, South Ossetia, as a result of its 2008 invasion of the latter. The Russian military had crushed the invading Georgian forces, and the brief war ultimately served to solidify Russia’s presence in the breakaway regions. [See p. 378D2] Of the 15 nations on the U.N. Security Council, Russia cast the only dissenting vote on the motion to extend UNOMIG. Chi406

na, Libya, Vietnam and Uganda abstained, saying they would not vote because the main council members were in disagreement. A 225-member European Union–sponsored observer mission would remain in Georgia, but, unlike UNOMIG, it was not allowed to enter Georgia’s separatist regions. As many as 60,000 ethnic Georgians lived in Abkhazia. Reaction—Georgia and its Western allies expressed concern that the expiration of UNOMIG’s mandate would leave Abkhazia’s ethnic Georgian population vulnerable. Rosemary DiCarlo, the U.S.’s thirdranking ambassador to the U.N., June 15 said the U.S. “deeply regrets” Russia’s veto, and added that “it is the civilian population that suffers by facing a tenuous security environment without an international presence in Abkhazia, Georgia.” The Georgian foreign ministry, in a June 16 statement, said, “By ending UNOMIG, Russia removed the international community’s final instrument designed for maintaining peace and stability in Abkhazia.” Georgian Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze blasted Russia for its veto, saying, “Russia does not need witnesses to register the results of ethnic cleansing. Russia does not need monitors and observers to register their daily crimes and Russia does not need any international presence because Russia is in principle against international law.” The Russian foreign ministry, in a June 16 statement, said the proposal to extend UNOMIG was “burdened with unacceptable references and terminology which, as our partners well know, we cannot accept since Abkhazia as an independent state does not figure in it.” It added that the “responsibility for the withdrawal [of the mission]…lies with western states which have been demonstrating over-ideologized stubbornness for months now.” Sergei Shamba, Abkhazia’s separatist president, June 15 said, “Abkhazia and Russia wanted the U.N. mission to continue working in Abkhazia on condition that it was issued a new mandate and got a new name and new wordings, which would not tie Abkhazia to Georgia.” n Russia Hosts Regional Summit. Leaders from China, Russia and the Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan June 15–16 met in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg for the ninth summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a regional body that promoted economic and cultural partnerships between its member countries, and served as a forum to discuss regional issues. The group was also seen as a counterweight to U.S. interests in the region. [See pp. 405C1, G1, 404C3; 2008, p. 591B1] Leaders from India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan, which had observer status to the SCO, also attended the summit, as did Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who attended as a guest. Chinese President Hu Jintao June 16 said China would offer a $10 billion loan to the four Central Asian SCO members to help bolster their economies amid the cur-

rent global economic slowdown. Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, which had few natural resources, had been hit especially hard by the downturn. The group jointly condemned recent threats made by North Korea concerning its nuclear program, and expressed strong support for current arms control negotiations between Russia and the U.S. Also, Karzai heard SCO members’ concerns about drug smuggling from Afghanistan, as well as the terrorism threat posed by Islamic fundamentalist group the Taliban. He attributed Afghanistan’s problems to decades of war and instability. [See below, pp. 403E3, 381A1] Russian President Dmitri Medvedev proposed “the idea, which is supported by our colleagues, of using a kind of unit of account within the SCO. In the future such a unit could also perform more serious functions.” He compared the proposed unit to the European currency unit (ECU), the precursor to the euro. He added, “The current set of reserve currencies and the main reserve currency—the U.S. dollar—have failed to function as they should.” Medvedev again criticized the dollar later that day at a meeting of the so-called BRIC nations—Brazil, Russia, India and China. Ahmadinejad Attends Summit—Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad June 16 attended the SCO meeting despite massive antigovernment rallies that had broken out across Iran in the preceding days. The protesters were disputing the initial results of Iran’s June 12 presidential election, which indicated that Ahmadinejad had won reelection handily over his more moderate rivals. Ahmadinejad at the summit made no mention of the Iranian protests. A spokesperson for Medvedev said the “SCO member states congratulated Ahmadinejad on his reelection.” [See p. 401A1] At the summit, Ahmadinejad said the U.S. was “enveloped in an economic and political crisis, and there is no hope that they will be resolved.” He added that “the age of empires has ended,” and pointed to unresolved conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as ongoing tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, as proof that a unipolar world headed by the U.S. was not feasible. Medvedev, Putin Meet With Hu—Hu June 17–18 remained in Russia following the conclusion of the SCO summit, and met with Medvedev and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. In a joint statement released June 17, the three leaders called on North Korea, which had conducted its second nuclear test in May, to return to U.N.sponsored talks on its nuclear program. They said, “Russia and China are ready to foster the lowering of tension in Northeast Asia and call for the continuation of efforts by all sides to resolve disagreements through peaceful means, through dialogue and consultations.” Both countries June 12, along with the other members of the U.N. Security Council, had approved new sanctions against North Korea. n FACTS ON FILE

U N I T ESTATES D S TAT E S UNITED

Obama Proposes Financial Regulatory Reforms Prompted by 2008 Financial Crisis. President Barack Obama June 17 proposed far-reaching reforms to the financial regulatory system, which he described as “a transformation on a scale not seen since the reforms that followed the Great Depression.” The reforms were designed to prevent a reoccurrence of the severe financial crisis that struck in 2008, which helped push the U.S. economy into a deep recession. [See pp. 387A2, 354A2, 320C1] In making the case for reform, Obama said, “Millions of Americans who have worked hard and behaved responsibly have seen their life dreams eroded by the irresponsibility of others and the failure of their government to provide adequate oversight.” He added, “Our entire economy has been undermined by that failure.” The central reforms included empowering the Federal Reserve to regulate any financial institution that could pose a risk to the financial system as a whole; creating a new oversight council to monitor regulatory bodies and identify systemic risks; establishing a financial consumer protection agency; increasing the government’s authority to take over and liquidate financial institutions that posed a risk to the economy; and strengthening oversight of markets and financial institutions that had been only lightly regulated in the past. [See below] The Obama administration’s proposal was the result of months of behind-thescenes debate between administration officials, consumer protection groups, banking industry representatives and members of Congress. Many of the recommendations would need congressional approval, and Democratic lawmakers pledged to pass legislation reforming financial regulations by the end of the year. The proposal was criticized by business groups for expanding the government’s influence in the private sector. Proponents of greater government oversight complained that the reforms were too timid, and did not address fundamental instabilities in the system. They argued that the government should prevent financial institutions from becoming so large that they posed a risk to the broader economy, and that the government should ban certain complex financial instruments that could spread risk throughout the system. Obama said the proposal was a balance between free-market principles, which he described as a “source of prosperity that’s unrivaled in history,” and reforms that were necessary to change a “culture of irresponsibility.” He said his administration had ruled out overhauling the regulatory system in a wholesale fashion, preferring to “pinpoint the structural weaknesses that allowed for this crisis.” The financial industry for the most part appeared to accept the reform proposals, which were not as strict as some had June 18, 2009

feared. However, industry groups were expected to vigorously lobby members of Congress to limit increased regulation. Fed Powers to Increase—Under the Obama administration’s plan, the Fed would become the most powerful regulatory body in the financial system, with the ability to monitor any financial company that could pose a threat to the system as a whole, including banks, insurers and large companies with significant financial operations. The Fed could require those institutions to possess a certain level of capital to offset potential losses. Companies could also be required to limit their levels of debt, to prevent the emergence of the type of asset bubble that led to the financial crisis. The plan was immediately controversial, with critics arguing that such a high degree of authority should not be centralized with the Fed, which they said had been a poor watchdog of the industry in the past. Sen. Christopher Dodd (D, Conn.), chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, June 17 said lawmakers did not have “a lot of confidence in the Fed at this point.” Critics accused the Fed of failing to detect problems in the mortgage market during the housing boom, which saw mortgage lenders underwrite increasingly risky loans to consumers. Those loans were converted into securities that were purchased by financial institutions on Wall Street. After the housing market entered a deep slump in late 2006, those securities plummeted in value, leading to huge losses at financial institutions and a severe contraction in credit markets. The Fed had also been accused of feeding the housing bubble during the early 2000s by steeply lowering its benchmark interest rate. The effect was to make loans cheaper, and to flood the market with easy credit, leading to an asset bubble. Furthermore, critics said entrusting the Fed with two broad missions—setting monetary policy through interest rate adjustments, and ensuring that an asset bubble did not emerge—posed complications, since a particular monetary policy designed for the broader economy could have the unintended effect of encouraging an asset bubble. The Fed also had been accused of failing to detect problems at large bank-holding companies that it currently regulated, including Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc., which had received tens of billions of dollars in federal aid. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner June 17 responded to those criticisms, arguing that the lack of a centralized oversight authority was one of the leading causes of the financial crisis. He said, “The president believes there is not a better way to prevent and manage a future crisis without putting the authority in one place,” adding, “I do not believe there is a plausible alternative that provides accountability, credibility and gets to the core of the problem.” It was reported that the financial industry largely approved of the proposal, since it saw the Fed as better versed in financial matters than other government agencies.

New Oversight Council Called For—

The Obama administration’s plan would see the creation of what it called the Financial Services Oversight Council, which would be tasked with coordinating the efforts of various regulatory bodies in the financial system. Obama said the council would ensure that systemic risks did not accumulate unnoticed, and “tackle issues that don’t fit neatly in an organizational chart.” The Obama administration had rejected a proposal pushed by some economists to consolidate the competing regulatory bodies into a single agency. Advocates of that approach said the current system was confusing, since different bodies had overlapping duties. Additionally, they said, each financial institution had a primary overseer, and each overseer had weaknesses that an institution would exploit. Under Obama’s plan, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) would be merged to form a new regulatory agency, the National Bank Supervisor, which would oversee national banks. The OTS had been accused of overlooking major problems at companies it oversaw, such as IndyMac Bancorp, Washington Mutual Inc. and American International Group Inc. (AIG). [See pp. 319C2, 32D2; 2008, p. 671C3]

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Greater Authority to Seize Companies—

Under the Obama administration’s plan, the government would have the authority to seize and dismantle any financial institution whose potential collapse posed a broad risk to the economy. The Treasury would be given the authority to decide whether such a move was necessary, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) would carry out the company’s orderly liquidation, with the exceptions of brokerages or securities firms, which would be handled by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The government was currently limited in its ability to exert such authority, which had complicated its efforts to handle a wave of near failures in the financial industry in the fall of 2008. The government was forced to inject massive amounts of money into companies to prop them up, or pressure them into merging with healthier companies. [See p. 388E1]

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Consumer Protection Agency Proposed—

The Obama administration’s plan would see the establishment of what it called the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, which would be tasked with protecting consumers from predatory financial practices. The agency would have the power to write rules determining how financial institutions issued consumer loans, such as mortgages and credit cards, and would be able to fine institutions that broke those rules. Analysts said the agency could require companies to make the details of financial transactions clearer, so that a consumer fully understood the implications of a given contract. The agency could also ban penalties and fees that were deemed exploitative. Additionally, the agency would likely push mortgage lenders to offer loans that were more straightforward, as opposed to the exotic loans that flourished during the housing boom. Those loans featured vary407

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ing interest rate levels and repayment schedules that eventually increased the cost to the borrower substantially, and often required no proof of income or employment from the borrower, leading to a spike in loan defaults. The financial industry was expected to push aggressively to limit the agency’s powers. Industry representatives claimed that restrictive rules could push up costs for all consumers, leading to a dearth of credit. As detailed in a separate part of the proposal, mortgage lenders would be required to hold at least 5% of the loans they sold as securities, to ensure that they had an incentive to sell loans that performed well. Greater Oversight of Derivatives— Under the Obama administration’s plan, the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission would have the authority to regulate the trade of credit derivatives. Credit derivatives were contracts that were devised to allow financial institutions to minimize their exposure to risk, but their proliferation in recent years had worked to spread risk throughout the financial system. The market for credit derivatives was currently unregulated. Credit derivatives would have to be traded in clearinghouses or other public venues. Parties that traded credit derivatives would also be subject to capital-level and disclosure requirements. Privately owned financial companies that had only been lightly regulated in the past—such as hedge funds, private-equity firms and venture capital funds—would have to register with the SEC. The SEC would also bolster its regulation of credit-rating agencies. Critics of Obama’s plan said credit-rating agencies should have been placed under greater scrutiny, since they had played an integral role in the financial crisis by rating highly risky mortgage-backed assets as safe investments. Critics said the credit-ratings system—in which agencies were paid to rate assets by financial institutions that bought and sold those assets—presented a clear conflict of interest. [See 2008, p. 954F3] Senators Urged to Pass Reforms—

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Geithner June 18 testified before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, where he urged senators to pass Obama’s financial regulations reform plan. He said, “Our economy has been brought too close to the brink for us to let this moment to pass.” However, senators appeared skeptical of some aspects of the plan, especially the proposal to increase the oversight powers of the Fed. Dodd said it was like “a parent giving his son a bigger, faster car right after he crashed the family station wagon.” Sen. Richard Shelby (Ala.), the committee’s ranking Republican, said, “I personally believe this represents a grossly inflated view of the Fed’s expertise.” Geithner defended the proposal, saying the Fed has “a greater knowledge and feel for broader market developments” than other agencies, and claiming that the new powers it would receive were “actually quite modest.” 408

Senators were more supportive of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, and Dodd defended it against industry representatives that had criticized it, saying, “The very people who created this damn mess are the ones now arguing that consumers ought not to be protected.” n

Civil Rights Gay Federal Workers’ Benefits Expanded.

President Barack Obama June 17 signed a presidential memorandum that extended some health care benefits to domestic partners of civil service employees, a move that would for the first time allow partners of gay and lesbian federal employees access to such benefits. The memo granted both same-sex and opposite-sex partners of civil service employees access to a long-termcare insurance plan, and would allow employees to take sick time to care for ill partners or children whom they were not related to or had not adopted. [See pp. 371A1, 150B1] Partners of civil service employees would also gain access to medical facilities at overseas government posts and would be included in calculations used to determine housing allocations. However, the memo did not fully extend health insurance to same-sex partners of civil service employees. Obama claimed that the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) banned the extension of those benefits to gay couples, an assertion that some gay rights activists disputed. DOMA also precluded gay couples from receiving the same immigration status as spouses, filing a joint tax return or receiving Social Security survivor’s benefits. Leaders of gay and lesbian rights groups quickly assailed the Obama administration’s move as inadequate, and renewed calls for the federal government to extend full health care benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. Obama defended the memorandum, arguing that he was limited by existing law from providing “same-sex couples with the full range of benefits enjoyed by heterosexual married couples.” He also said the memo was the first step in further extending rights to gay couples. Justice Dept. Supports Marriage Act—

Obama had also come under fire from gay rights groups after the Justice Department June 12 filed a legal brief supporting the constitutionality of DOMA, which Obama had promised to attempt to overturn during the 2008 presidential campaign. The brief was filed in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, Calif., in the case Smelt v. United States. The plaintiffs in the case, Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer, were a gay couple who had been married in California in 2008 before the adoption of a ballot initiative that amended the state constitution to define marriage as between a man and woman. They argued that DOMA violated the U.S. Constitution by denying them benefits granted to heterosexual married couples, including access to federal benefits and out-of-state recognition of their marriage. [See p. 352A3] In its brief, the Justice Department argued that Hammer and Smelt needed to first

attempt to gain out-of-state recognition or file for federal benefits before seeking redress through the courts. The department, in a statement, said, “Until Congress passes legislation repealing the law, the administration will continue to defend the statute when it is challenged in the justice system.” Gay rights advocates quickly criticized Obama for failing to adhere to his campaign promise to reverse DOMA. Joe Solmonese, the president of advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, in a June 15 letter to Obama said, “This brief would not have seen the light of day if someone in your administration who truly recognized our humanity and equality had weighed in with you.” Gay rights activists also criticized Obama for moving slowly on other issues, such as the right of gays and lesbians to openly serve in the armed forces. (Obama had previously stated his opposition to the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that prohibited openly gay people from serving in the military.) [See 2007, p. 362F2] n

Medicine & Health Kennedy Plan Cost Estimated at $1 Trillion. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

June 15 released a preliminary analysis of a health care overhaul plan proposed by Sen. Edward (Ted) Kennedy (D, Mass.), which concluded that the measure would cost $1 trillion over 10 years. The report said the plan would provide coverage to 39 million uninsured people through “insurance exchanges,” through which insurers with a variety of plans would compete for enrollees. However, an estimated 23 million people would also lose their insurance during the same period, resulting in a net decrease of 16 million uninsured people. [See p. 390E2] The CBO’s analysis threw into chaos Democratic-led efforts to reform health care by lowering costs and extending coverage to the uninsured. President Barack Obama had expressed a desire to have a health care reform bill approved by October; the cost revelations were thought to make achieving that deadline extremely difficult. The CBO report also exposed fissures within the Democratic Party over how to pay for health care reform. The analysis was quickly cited by Republicans opposed to Democrats’ reform attempts. “The health care proposal being put together is not only extremely defective, it will cost a fortune,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R, Ky.) said June 16. White House officials reacted to the report by stressing that the Kennedy plan was only one of several proposals. Sen. Christopher Dodd (D, Conn.), who was leading discussions on Kennedy’s reform plan while Kennedy received treatment for brain cancer, June 16 said the CBO had based its analysis on an incomplete version of the plan that did not include several costsaving measures. Obama had proposed establishing a government-run health insurance program funded in part by cutting the cost of the Medicare program and by eliminating some itemized tax deductions. However, such FACTS ON FILE

eliminations had little hope of securing Republican support, leading some Democrats to call for a tax that would receive greater bipartisan backing. Republicans also opposed Obama’s plan for the creation of a government-run insurance plan, arguing that the government plan would likely drive private insurers out of business. Cost Estimate on Baucus Plan Detailed—

Sen. Max Baucus (D, Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, June 16 said a CBO assessment of his separate, but related, health care reform plan estimated that it would cost $1.5 trillion over 10 years. Baucus said he would delay the release of details of his plan, scheduled for that week, in order to work on lowering its cost. He said the final version of his legislation would cost less than $1 trillion over a decade. Baucus supported funding a reform bill by taxing some employer-provided health care benefits, a move that some Democrats strongly opposed. Dodd June 17 opened debate on the Kennedy bill in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which Kennedy chaired. The measure was immediately met with criticism from Republicans, who chastised Democrats for failing to work with them on a reform bill. Several Republican senators questioned Democrats’ plan to pass the reform bill in a short period of time and with incomplete information. (Dodd had said he hoped to have the committee approve a bill by June 26.) Obama Addresses Physicians’ Group—

Obama June 15 delivered a speech at the annual meeting of the American Medical Association (AMA) physicians’ organization, which the previous week had stated its opposition to his plan for a government-run insurance provider. Obama implored the organization’s members to support a public insurance program, and described health care costs as “a ticking time-bomb for the federal budget.” He said reducing malpractice lawsuits would help bring health care costs down, but that he did not support caps on malpractice damage awards, earning boos from some audience members. n

Medicare Panel Suggests Cost-Cutting Measures.

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), an independent panel that advised Congress on Medicare, June 15 released a report containing nonbinding suggestions for reining in the program’s growing costs. Medicare expenses totaled $468 billion in 2008, and a fiscal forecast released in May estimated that the program would become insolvent by 2017. “Part of the problem is that Medicare’s fee-for-service payment systems rewards more care— and more complex care—without regard to the quality or value of that care,” the report concluded. [See p. 323G3] MedPAC suggested that the government keep track of both Medicare payments and the quality of care provided by groups of health care providers, and reward those that provided high-quality care at a low June 18, 2009

cost. It also said Medicare should discourage doctors from ordering unnecessary diagnostic and imaging tests that were often expensive. The commission also criticized socalled Medicare Advantage plans, which were privately run plans paid for by the government, as being more expensive than traditional Medicare. The report estimated that the cost of Medicare Advantage plans in 2009 would be $12 billion more than equivalent care provided through traditional Medicare. President Barack Obama had made reducing Medicare costs an integral part of his plans to reform health care in the U.S. [See pp. 408C1, 391A1] n

Environment Report Details U.S. Climate Change Effects.

The U.S. Global Change Research Program, which coordinated federal research on climate change from various agencies, June 16 released a report which concluded that the U.S. was already suffering ill effects resulting from global climate change. (The program had formerly been known as the U.S. Climate Change Science Program.) [See 2008, p. 620C3; 2007, p. 629G3] The report said the U.S. was currently experiencing higher sea levels, more severe droughts, heavier rainfall, decreased agricultural production and hotter temperatures in various regions as a result of climate change. “The projected rapid rate and large amount of climate change over this century will challenge the ability of society and natural systems to adapt,” the report stated. The 196-page document was the first climate report produced by the Obama administration, and satisfied the requirements of a 1990 law that mandated regular updates on climate change–related issues in the U.S. It based its conclusions on published research on climate change, including 21 reports published by government agencies under Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush. Jane Lubchenco, the administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), said time still remained to offset climate change resulting from man-made emissions, but that action must be taken soon. “The report demonstrates that climate change is happening now, in our own backyards, and it affects the things that people care about,” she said. Climate Bill Advances in House—The report was issued as Rep. Henry Waxman (D, Calif.) and Rep. Edward Markey (D, Mass.) led House efforts to draft a climate bill mandating emissions reductions in the U.S. Markey and Waxman in March had introduced the bill. The House Energy and Commerce Committee May 21 voted, 33– 25, to advance the measure, which still required the approval of several other committees before it could be brought before the full House. [See p. 201E2] As approved by the committee, the bill was modified somewhat from the original

proposal. A target to reduce the U.S.’s greenhouse gas output by 20% from 2005 levels by 2020 was changed to 17%. In another compromise, under the bill’s “cap and trade” emissions permit system, utilities would initially be given 35% of the total permits for free, rather than having to purchase them. Democratic leaders June 3 said they had established strict deadlines for the House’s various committees to consider the legislation, in the hopes that it could be passed more quickly. n

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Energy Bush-Era Oil Leases Struck Down. A three-

judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit April 17 ruled that the Interior Department under the administration of former President George W. Bush had failed to conduct legitimate environmental reviews before deciding to open up land in and around Alaska for oil and gas lease sales. The court ordered the department to review the effects of oil and gas exploration and drilling on the environment in the region. The ruling came in response to lawsuits filed by three environmental advocacy groups. [See 2008, p. 108F1] According to the court, Interior Department environmental assessments carried out in 2005 on the impact that new leases would have on the region, which included the Chukchi, Beaufort and Bering seas off Alaska’s coast, were “irrational” and failed to address major potential problems, including the effect of underwater noise on nearby wildlife, such as polar bears, whales and seals. The assessments were precursors to a five-year plan intended to allow renewed oil exploration in the region between 2007 and 2012. The Interior Department in 2008 had held a sale for oil and gas leases in parts of the Chukchi Sea, and had accepted bids totaling $2.6 billion. However, the court’s ruling was expected to complicate any future lease sales in the area and to make it more difficult for oil companies to carry out planned exploration and drilling. The Interior Department under the Obama administration had previously announced that it would institute a five-year delay in the sale of leases in the region to allow more inquiries into the environmental effects of oil and gas exploration.

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Shell Suspends Beaufort Sea Plan— Anglo-Dutch giant Royal Dutch Shell PLC,

one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, May 6 told the Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) that it had shelved until 2010 its plans to carry out oil exploration on leases it had purchased in the Beaufort Sea. The company said it would also scale down its exploration in the region, lowering the number of oil wells and drilling rigs, as well as the length of the planned drilling program. [See 2008, p. 956E2] The decision followed a November 2008 ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, Calif., that had invalidated the 409

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company’s 2008 lease purchases in the region. That ruling also struck down its 2007–09 drilling plan on the grounds that Shell had failed to consider how its activities would affect nearby native communities and the area’s bowhead whale population. However, the full 9th Circuit Court of Appeals March 6 had vacated the ruling, creating ambiguity about whether Shell would be allowed to drill in the area. n

Politics Nevada GOP Sen. Ensign Admits Affair.

Sen. John Ensign (R, Nev.) June 16 held a news conference in Las Vegas, Nev., to admit that he had conducted an extramarital affair with a woman who had worked on his campaign staff and was married to one of his Senate aides. Ensign, who had recently signaled that he might run for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, read a prepared statement and did not take questions from reporters. He said, “Last year I had an affair. I violated the vows of my marriage. It is the worst thing I have ever done.” [See 2008, p. 554A1; 2006, p. 853E3] A statement issued by Ensign’s office said the affair took place between December 2007 and August 2008. He did not name the woman or her husband, but said they were close friends and neither one had worked for him since May 2008. The senator’s wife, Darlene Ensign, did not join him at the news conference, but she issued a statement saying that they had “come to a reconciliation.” Cynthia Hampton, the former treasurer of Ensign’s political committees, in a statement issued by her lawyer June 17 said she was the woman Ensign had the affair with. The lawyer, Daniel Albregts, said, “It is unfortunate the Senator chose to air this very personal matter, especially after the Hamptons did everything possible to keep this matter private.” Albregts also represented Hampton’s husband, former senior Ensign aide Douglas Hampton. Ensign June 17 resigned as chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, the fourth-ranking position in the Republican Senate leadership team. He was serving his second term in the Senate, and would come up for reelection in 2012. Ensign had chaired the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the caucus fund-raising wing, during the 2008 election cycle. The Hamptons’ son, Brandon Hampton, reportedly had worked for the committee in 2008, during the period of the affair. Ensign, 51, was a former veterinarian and the son of a casino magnate. He had three children and was known as a social conservative. In 1998, while a member of the House, he had called on President Bill Clinton to resign over his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. n

Intelligence Warrantless Wiretapping Lawsuits Dismissed.

Judge Vaughn Walker of U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Calif., June 3 ruled 410

that a July 2008 law granting immunity from lawsuits to telecommunications companies that had assisted the Bush administration with its warrantless wiretapping program had not violated the constitution. Walker ordered the dismissal of more than 30 lawsuits filed by civil liberties and privacy advocates. The law had also expanded the government’s ability to use wiretaps and other surveillance without court authorization. The Bush administration had backed the law, and President Barack Obama had voted in favor of it while a member of the Senate. [See p. 243E3] Lawyers for the plaintiffs had argued that the law violated the Constitution by allowing Congress and the Bush administration to determine the constitutionality of actions of the telecommunications companies, a role usually reserved for the courts. They also suggested that upholding the law’s immunity provisions would make it difficult for the public to learn more about the origins and nature of the wiretapping program. Walker noted that Congress had broken new ground by granting “retroactive immunity for past, completed acts committed by private parties acting in concert with government entities that allegedly violated constitutional rights.” But he wrote that since Congress had clearly decided “to create an immunity that will shield the telecommunications company defendants from liability in these actions,” he saw no grounds under which the lawsuits could continue. The plaintiffs in the lawsuits were led by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) privacy advocacy group. The first suits had targeted AT&T Inc., but most of the U.S.’s major telecommunications companies had been added as defendants. Tussle Over Secret Document Continues—

In a separate case related to the warrantless wiretapping program run by the National Security Agency (NSA), Walker June 3 declined to sanction the government for refusing to follow his January order to craft a protocol that would allow him and plaintiffs’ lawyers to examine a classified document central to a civil lawsuit. Walker May 22 had demanded that the government respond within a week justifying its refusal, saying he was considering a summary judgment in the plaintiffs’ favor. The plaintiffs in the case, the defunct U.S. division of the Saudi Arabian Al Haramain Islamic Foundation, an Islamic charity, and its former attorneys, said that they had accidentally received a document from the government in 2004 that proved that they had been under surveillance that violated their rights. The government had later seized the document, complicating the plaintiffs’ case. Walker had ruled in January that he and plaintiffs’ attorneys should be allowed to privately review the document, and ordered the government to turn it over to the court, which it had done. However, the government had refused to formulate a plan to allow the attorneys to view the document under necessary security clearances, and had suggested that it might seize the document

from the court if it appeared the document was about to be examined. The Justice Department May 29 argued in a brief that lawyers for the plaintiffs did not have a legitimate need to see the document, and suggested that allowing anyone to view it would threaten national security. Walker June 3 rejected a Justice Department request that the case be suspended. He scheduled a hearing for Sept. 1, and ordered attorneys for the plaintiffs to submit a motion for summary judgment that would lay out their evidence, without the use of the classified document, that the plaintiffs had been illegally wiretapped. n

Homeland Security Cybersecurity Recommendations Released.

The Obama administration May 29 released a report that called for the creation of a “cybersecurity czar” to help guide new security policies for government and private computer networks within the U.S., among other recommendations. The report, which was overseen by acting White House cybersecurity chief Melissa Hathaway, followed a 60-day policy review. Its public release had reportedly been delayed by disagreements within the Obama administration over how much authority the cybersecurity czar should hold, as well as over the role to be played by the National Security Agency (NSA), a military body, in guarding government computers as a whole. [See p. 342B1; 2007, p. 589C1] The proposed czar would help develop legislative proposals and coordinate the White House response to cyberattacks. However, the report argued that the position should not be given unilateral authority to determine U.S. cybersecurity policies. The report called on the federal government to establish guidelines regarding what role it would play in protecting highvalue, privately held national infrastructure, such as dams and power plants, from infiltration by hackers, as well as other cyberattacks. It also suggested examining the use of tax incentives and regulations to encourage improved security practices among private companies and organizations, and whether to require such groups to report all cybersecurity breaches to law enforcement agencies. President Barack Obama May 29 said he would create a White House cybersecurity office overseen by such a czar, which would report to both the White House’s National Economic Council and National Security Council (NSC). Obama stressed that “our pursuit of cybersecurity will not include—I repeat, will not include—monitoring private sector networks or internet traffic.” Military Cybersecurity Branch Planned—

The Wall Street Journal reported April 22 that the Defense Department was planning to create a special “cyber command” tasked with centralizing responsibility for responding to cyberattacks against U.S. military networks, and for developing the military’s ability to use computer and electronic means to attack enemy systems. The FACTS ON FILE

command reportedly would begin as a subdivision of the military’s Strategic Command before potentially being spun off as an independent unit. National Security Agency (NSA) Director Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander, who was reportedly likely to head the new command, May 5 said in testimony before the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities that additional training and resources were needed to prepare for future military conflicts involving the use of hacking and other cyberattacks. Alexander April 21 had called for a coordinated approach to government cybersecurity in an appearance in San Francisco, Calif. He said that he favored a system in which the NSA was responsible for military security and the Homeland Security Department protected civilian government networks and computer systems, and stressed that the NSA did “not want to run cybersecurity for the U.S. government.” The NSA had been widely criticized by privacy and civil liberties advocates in 2005 after then–President George W. Bush admitted that he had authorized the agency to conduct warrantless wiretaps and surveillance of terrorism suspects within the U.S. [See 2008, p. 237E3; 2005, p. 905A1] Under the Bush administration, plans were reportedly drawn up to entrust the NSA with the protection of computer systems maintained by the nonmilitary branches of the U.S. government, prompting concern from lawmakers and civil liberties advocates that the NSA’s role in cybersecurity could lead to civil liberties abuses. NSA experts had also been dispatched to assist the Homeland Security Department with its cybersecurity activities. Separately, the National Research Council, a division of the National Academy of Sciences, April 29 issued a report on U.S. policy concerning cyberwarfare that found that the U.S. military lacked clear policies on the subject and warned that its unpreparedness could lead to poor decision-making during a crisis. Fighter Jet Information Stolen—The Journal April 21 reported that hackers based in China had infiltrated computer systems holding information about the Defense Department’s classified Joint Strike Fighter attack jet program. The hackers were thought to have stolen information related to maintenance of the program’s planes, but it was unclear exactly what data had been compromised. The most sensitive information related to the project was reportedly kept on computers with no connection to the Internet, preventing their infiltration. The project had been developed by Lockheed Martin Corp. with the assistance of other defense contractors and foreign governments. Some of the data had reportedly been stolen from computers located in Turkey, a U.S. ally, as well as another unidentified foreign country. Bruce Tanner, the chief financial officer of Lockheed Martin, April 21 confirmed that the project had been under regular assault by hackers but said there had never been a successful June 18, 2009

theft of classified information related to the project. U.S. Power Grid Infiltrated— The Journal reported April 8 that a number of hackers based in China and Russia had infiltrated parts of the U.S. electrical grid and had activated software within the system that could potentially be used to create blackouts or other disruptions in service. Most of the infiltrations were reportedly discovered by U.S. intelligence agencies, rather than by the power companies and regulatory organizations that oversaw the U.S. electrical system. Both China and Russia denied any involvement in the cyberattacks. Separately, the North American Electric Reliability Corp., an independent nongovernmental organization charged with overseeing the U.S. electrical grid, April 7 said that U.S. utility companies had failed to put into place sufficient security measures to counter potential cyberattacks. n

Republic. Kassir, who was scheduled to be sentenced in the case Sept. 2, had been extradited to the U.S. in 2007. Another defendant in the case, British militant Islamic cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri, was currently in British custody awaiting extradition to the U.S. [See 2007, p. 716B2] The U.S. government Feb. 26 deported convicted terrorist Khalid Danham AlJawari, also known as Khaled Mohammed el-Jassem, to Sudan following his Feb. 19 release from prison. Jawari, who arrived in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, March 3, had been a member of the Palestinian Black September terrorist group and had been convicted in 1993 of plotting a failed 1973 bombing attack in New York City. The U.S. had sent Jawari, who was in his 60s, to Sudan after Jordan and Algeria refused to accept him; Jawari reportedly had family in Jordan. [See 1993, p. 311A1; 1973, p. 267A2] n

Terrorism

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Watch List Problems Widespread. The office

Bible Quotes Found on Iraq Invasion Reports.

of Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine May 6 reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had erroneously kept almost 24,000 people on the U.S. terrorist watch list maintained by its Terrorist Screening Center, and had failed to add some terrorism suspects to the list in an effective and timely manner. According to the report, the FBI’s lapses had endangered U.S. national security and had led to needless delays for thousands of U.S. citizens and residents. [See 2008, pp. 958E1, 503C3; 2007, p. 610E1] The watch list, which was compiled from separate lists overseen by various government agencies, included about 400,000 people as of September 2008. The list consisted of a total of about 1.1 million names, including aliases. The FBI had submitted about 68,000 names for inclusion on the list since 2004. The report found that nearly 24,000 people added to the list by the FBI had been kept on the list even though they were no longer the subject of terrorism investigations or had been investigated in cases unrelated to terrorism. The report reviewed 216 terrorism investigations carried out by the FBI in Minneapolis, Minn., Miami, Fla., and Los Angeles, and found that the bureau failed to promptly place at least 35 suspects linked to those cases on the watch list. FBI Assistant Director John Miller May 6 said the bureau had already implemented 16 recommendations included in the report. He said the FBI remained “committed to improving our watch list policy and practices to ensure the proper balance between national security protection” and effective watch list policies. n News in Brief. A jury in U.S. District Court in New York City May 12 convicted Oussama Abdullah Kassir, a Lebanese-born Swedish citizen, of founding a short-lived terrorist training camp in Oregon in 1999 and operating Web sites instructing others on how to build explosives and create poisons prior to his 2005 arrest in the Czech

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GQ magazine May 17 reported on its Web site that, during the opening days of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, the cover sheets of intelligence reports prepared for then–Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other top Defense Department officials contained biblical quotations linked to pictures of U.S. troops and military equipment. Media reports warned that the quotations could stoke fears among some Muslims that the U.S. was waging a Christian crusade against Islam in Iraq and Afghanistan. [See p. 367C2; 2006, p. 815C3] The reports were daily briefings known as the “Worldwide Intelligence Update” and were prepared by Maj. Gen. Glen Schaffer, a top-level intelligence officer under Rumsfeld. GQ published several cover sheets, including one showing U.S. troops praying in Iraq, in conjunction with a Biblical quotation from the Book of Isaiah: “Their arrows are sharp, all their bows are strung; their horses’ hoofs seem like flint, their chariot wheels are like a whirlwind.” Schaffer had reportedly overruled a Muslim staffer who was offended by the quotations, and others who warned that if the reports were leaked, the resulting bad publicity could harm military operations. GQ suggested that Rumsfeld, who was not known as religiously motivated, used the quotations on the report to gain favor with then-President George W. Bush, who frequently quoted from the Bible. However, former Bush officials cast doubt on that interpretation in a May 18 New York Times article, saying that Bush most likely would not have seen the reports. n News in Brief. Ashton Carter, the undersecretary of defense for acquisitions, May 15 signed a memorandum formally ending a contract with Lockheed Martin Corp. to produce a new line of presidential helicopters. The projected cost of the 28 helicopters had risen to almost $13 billion. The Obama administration had cut the program from its budget proposal as part of an effort 411

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to trim unnecessary defense expenditures, but some lawmakers had criticized the decision, saying it would cost jobs and waste the $3.2 billion already spent on the project. [See p. 321E3] The Defense Department inspector general’s office May 4 reported that the department had frequently failed to seek reimbursement for medical care provided by military clinics to private contractors in

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Iraq and Afghanistan. The report said the Defense Department often had not sought compensation for all medical costs from private insurers, as it was required to do by law, in part because there was no unified reimbursement system. A survey of nine military clinics had found a total monthly average of $1.2 million in care provided to contractors. More than 31,000 contractors had reported injuries and 1,400 had been killed since the U.S.-led invasions of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003; the report said caring for them had put a strain on facilities meant to treat military personnel. [See p. 126F1] n

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military veterans’ group, the Colorado Veterans Alliance, May 14 announced that it was disbanding after it had discovered that its founder was a fraud. The founder, who had been known as Rick Duncan, had said he was a former Marine captain who had been wounded in Iraq. He had been involved in efforts since 2007 to help veterans receive benefits and to gain better treatment for homeless veterans. In the guise of an openly gay veteran who opposed the Iraq war, he had campaigned for Colorado Democratic political candidates. However, he was discovered to actually be Richard Strandlof, a drifter with no record of military service and a history of mental illness and petty crime. [See p. 244C3] The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) May 12 had detained Strandlof after being alerted by the Colorado Veterans Alliance, which had grown suspicious about discrepancies in his story. He was turned over to the Denver, Colo., police and arrested on an outstanding warrant for driving without a license. The FBI was reportedly investigating whether Strandlof had stolen money from organizations with which he had worked, or had otherwise violated federal law. n

Telecommunications Digital TV Transition Goes Smoothly.

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Television stations across the U.S. June 12 switched to digital-only broadcasts and stopped broadcasting analog signals, ahead of a midnight deadline. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) officials said the transition went relatively smoothly, with about 970 stations making the switch June 12. Some 800 stations, mostly in smaller markets, had already switched in February; the deadline had previously been Feb. 17, but Congress had 412

delayed it in order to give the government and viewers more time to prepare. [See p. 62G3] Television viewers who relied on free over-the-air broadcasts had to buy a digital television or a converter box in order to continue watching, and in some cases also needed to upgrade their antenna. The government had handed out millions of coupons to offset the cost of a conversion box. (Satellite and cable television subscribers were not affected by the switch.) However, the Nielsen Co. estimated that 2.8 million households—out of some 20 million in the U.S. that relied on free over-the-air broadcasts—were unprepared for the switch as of June 10; it was unclear how many lost service when their broadcasters turned off analog broadcasts. Digital broadcasts delivered clearer pictures than analog. Some of the old analog airwaves would be used for a nationwide public-safety communications system, while others had been auctioned off by the government to telecommunications companies to be used for new wireless services. However, critics said the transition hit minorities, the poor and other marginalized communities the hardest, and that interruptions in service deprived viewers of a primary way to receive vital information in emergencies. Also, digital broadcasts were more susceptible to being blocked by tall obstacles than analog, resulting in some viewers having access to fewer channels than before. n

Consumer Affairs Weight-Loss Supplement Warning Set. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

May 1 advised consumers to stop using dietary weight-loss supplements sold under the brand name Hydroxycut after the products were linked to at least one death from liver damage and other serious health problems. Iovate Health Sciences USA Inc. the same day recalled 14 Hydroxycut product lines. The FDA said it had received 23 reports of liver damage, heart problems and a type of muscle damage that could lead to kidney failure from people who had used the products. An estimated nine million packages of Hydroxycut had been sold in 2008. [See 2007, p. 419D3; 2004, p. 327C1] n

Agriculture Annual Corn Planting Decreases. The Department of Agriculture (USDA), in a Pro-

spective Plantings report released March 31, said farmers planned to sow 85 million acres (34.4 million hectares) of corn in 2009, a 1% decrease from 2008. The department attributed the slight decrease in part to lower corn prices. However, the 2009 figure would still be the third-largest corn acreage since 1949, after 2007 and 2008. [See 2008, p. 238C2] The USDA said farmers would plant a record 76 million acres of soybeans, up from 75 million acres in 2008. Farmers were expected to plant 58.6 million acres of wheat, a 7% decrease from 2008, when

63.8 million acres were planted. About 8.8 million acres were expected to be planted with cotton, a 7% decrease from the previous year and the lowest cotton acreage since 1983. The largest declines in cotton production were in Arkansas, California, Louisiana and Mississippi. Farmers were expected to plant 1.1 million acres of peanuts, down 27% from 2008. The USDA attributed the decline to “concerns about future demand” following a recent salmonella outbreak at a major peanut plant. Farmers were also expected to plant 375,000 acres of lentils, a 38% increase from 2008. [See p. 63E1] n

Accidents & Disasters News in Brief. Three workers died and more than 40 people were injured June 9 when a powerful explosion ripped through a Garner, N.C., factory owned by ConAgra Foods

Inc. The federal Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board June 18 said the explosion was probably caused by a cloud of natural gas that had been released while a contractor cleaned a gas line, but said it was unclear how the gas had ignited. Investigators were also trying to determine why ammonia, a flammable gas, was also released at the time of the explosion. [See 2008, p. 128D2] The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) May 26 cited Wal-Mart Stores Inc. for failing to implement effective crowd control measures.

The citation carried a fine of $7,000, and came in response to the 2008 trampling death of a New York Wal-Mart employee, who was killed when a crowd of thousands knocked him to the ground while pushing through the store’s entrance to get to discounted items. The accident happened on Nov. 28, 2008, or “Black Friday,” the day after Thanksgiving when retailers traditionally held major sales. [See 2008, p. 470E2] The federal Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board April 23 released a report that said an Aug. 28, 2008, explosion at a chemical plant that killed two employees was an avoidable accident that came as a result of poor management decisions and human error. It concluded that an explosion at Bayer CropScience, an Institute, W.Va., chemical plant owned by German-based Bayer AG, could have been avoided if managers and employees had not deviated from a number of proper procedures. Separately, the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations April 21 had said managers at Bayer Cropscience had improperly used U.S. antiterrorism laws to withhold information about the accident from federal agents. [See 2007, p. 192G2] The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) April 2 said accidents on charter flights, which included medical helicopters, tour flights and air taxis, killed 66 people in 2008, the most since 2000. Of those deaths, 15 had been the result of medical-evacuation helicopter accidents. [See 2007, p. 465C2] n FACTS ON FILE

AMERICAS

Canada Soldiers Cleared of Afghan Prisoner Abuse.

Canada’s Defense Department June 9 reported that a three-member board of inquiry had found that Canadian troops had not abused three Afghan detainees captured in 2006. The investigation had been initiated in 2007 after allegations surfaced that Canadian soldiers had abused three men captured in separate incidences near Kandahar, Afghanistan. (Some 2,700 Canadian soldiers were deployed in Afghanistan as part of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO] force fighting the Taliban Islamist fundamentalist group.) [See 2007, p. 83B2] The inquiry board found that one of the detainees had suffered visible injuries while being subdued during his capture, but that the man had received medical care afterwards. n News in Brief. A 21-year-old Canadian man convicted in 2008 of participating in an Islamist plot to attack Parliament and behead Prime Minister Stephen Harper

May 22 was freed after a sentencing hearing. The man, who could not be identified under Canadian law since he was a juvenile at the time of his 2006 arrest, was sentenced to a prison term of two and a half years, and was released on time served. Ontario Superior Court Judge John Sproat had concluded during the trial that the 18 defendants accused of planning the attack did not seem competent enough to succeed. [See 2008, p. 728A1] Canadian company AbitibiBowater Inc., the world’s largest newsprint manufacturer, April 16 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, and the following day in Montreal. A series of mergers and acquisitions in recent years had left the company with $8.78 billion in debt. That, coupled with a falling demand for newsprint, was blamed for the company’s financial troubles. AbitibiBowater controlled about 45% of the North American newsprint market, and owned or operated 30 wood-products facilities and 24 pulp and paper facilities worldwide. The company had been formed in October 2007 through the merger of the U.S.’s Bowater Inc. and Canada’s AbitibiConsolidated. [See 1998, p. 360F2] Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney March 20 said British member of Parliament (MP) George Galloway would be denied entry to Canada because he presented a national security threat. Kenney said Galloway had “bragged about providing financial support” for the militant Islamist group Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement), which was considered a terrorist group by Canada. Galloway, a staunch critic of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories, had donated money and vehicles to the Hamas-led government in the Gaza Strip. Galloway had been scheduled to give a speech on March 30 in Toronto. [See 2005, p. 774A3; 2003, p. 378C3] A helicopter carrying two crew members and 16 oil worker passengers March June 18, 2009

12 crashed off the coast of the province of Newfoundland en route to offshore oil rigs. Officials March 13 said 17 people had died in the accident, and one person had been rescued. Investigators March 23 said they had discovered damaged equipment in the wreckage of the helicopter that might have led to a sudden loss of oil. [See 1998, p. 722C2] n

and flooding and ordered about 5,000 residents of the town of Lismore and another 9,000 people in nearby Grafton to evacuate to higher ground. Both towns were reportedly hit by floodwaters at least 8 meters (26 ft) deep as a result of the storms. The same day, a man was found dead in the New South Wales town of Raleigh, after his car was submerged in flood waters. n

Venezuela

Cambodia

Chavez Talk Show Special Halted Early. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias May 28–29 hosted two days of his talk show “Alo Presidente,” which was originally scheduled to be broadcast for four consecutive days to mark its 10th anniversary. However, the show May 30 did not air at its scheduled time, with no official explanation given. The government May 31 said the fourth scheduled day of the show had been canceled for “technical reasons.” [See p. 326A2] Chavez was known for hosting marathon sessions of the show, some of which had lasted as long as eight hours. On the show, he had previously taken phone calls from former Cuban President Fidel Castro Ruz, announced new state programs, fired government officials and even ordered troop movements. Critics of the government said the program was a tool for propaganda and an abuse of state media. During the first two days of the four-day special, Chavez discussed corruption, the global economic crisis and energy conservation, among other topics. Chavez May 29 had traded insults with Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa, who had traveled to Venezuela to attend a conference of critics of Chavez’s government. During that day’s broadcast, Chavez challenged Vargas Llosa to debate a group of Latin American academics supportive of Chavez. Vargas Llosa said he would agree to a debate only if it were between him and Chavez only. n

Ex-Prison Chief’s Detention Ruled Illegal.

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Australia Storms, Flooding Kill Two, Strand Thousands.

Major storms in Australia’s Queensland and New South Wales states May 19–24 caused heavy flooding that stranded more than 20,000 people and resulted in at least two deaths. The flooding was thought to be the heaviest in the region since 1974. [See 1999, p. 119F1] Queensland Premier Anna Bligh May 20 declared a state of emergency in the southeast section of the state in response to the storms and flooding. At the time of the announcement, more than 28,000 residences and businesses in the state had lost power due to the storm and at least 240 schools had been temporarily closed. The same day, a man in Queensland’s Surfers Paradise was killed when storm winds blew a piece of sheet metal through his window. The government of New South Wales May 22 declared a state of emergency in six afflicted areas in response to the storms

A joint tribunal run by the United Nations and the Cambodian government June 15 ruled that the Cambodian military had illegally detained a Khmer Rouge prison chief for more than eight years following his 1999 arrest, and ordered that any sentence handed down by the tribunal compensate him for time served. The tribunal had been established to prosecute crimes against humanity carried out during the 1975–79 rule of the Khmer Rouge, which was thought responsible for the deaths of some 1.7 million people. [See p. 98E1] The defendant, Kang Kek Ieu, also known as “Duch,” had overseen the regime’s infamous Tuol Sleng prison—also known as Security Prison 21 (S-21)— where more than 14,000 prisoners were thought to have been executed without trial. A spokesman for the tribunal said Duch’s sentence would be reduced by at least 10 years. According to the tribunal, which was known as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), Duch’s imprisonment had violated a Cambodian law that allowed for only three years of provisional detention. The ruling made it impossible for Duch, 66, to be sentenced to life in prison. However, the tribunal rejected a request from Duch’s attorneys to free him on bail for the duration of his trial. Tribunal Expected to Try Others—The tribunal was also expected to charge former Khmer Rouge ideological head Nuon Chea and three other surviving Khmer Rouge leaders with war crimes and other crimes against humanity. Other high-ranking leaders, including Khmer Rouge head Pol Pot, had died before they could be prosecuted. The tribunal was only authorized to investigate and prosecute atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge between 1975, when the regime took power, and 1979, when it was ousted by a Vietnamese invasion. However, the group was thought to be involved in numerous other killings before and after that period. The tribunal was expected to cost $143 million through 2010, up from an initial budget of $60 million; about $100 million had been raised from donors. However, corruption allegations against the ECCC’s Cambodian staff had complicated further fund-raising efforts. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, a former mid-level member of the Khmer Rouge who later abandoned the group, March 31 announced that he would oppose any additional indictments of other members of the group, suggesting that added 413

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prosecutions might cause civil unrest. He said, “If as many as 20 Khmer Rouge are indicted to stand trial and war returns to Cambodia, who will be responsible for that?” Analysts said his comments were an attempt to control the purview of the trials to minimize the possibility of a wide-ranging investigation into the actions of former Khmer Rouge members, some of whom were prominent members of the Cambodian government. Testimony in Duch’s Trial Begins—

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Prosecutors March 30 read out their indictment against Duch, which included details from confessions he had made, as well as other evidence against him. According to prosecutors, inmates at Tuol Sleng had been presumed guilty, and prisoners who were known to have been accidentally sent there had been executed to keep the activities at the prison secret. Prisoners were regularly subjected to torture, which included the removal of fingernails and toenails, the use of electric shocks, bag-induced suffocation and beatings. Separately, prosecutors March 31 alleged that Duch had personally overseen “the torture and execution” of Chay Kim Huor, his former mentor. Duch March 31 told the tribunal, “I am responsible for the crimes committed at S21, especially the torture and execution,” but asked the court to “leave an open window for me to seek forgiveness.” He also claimed that he had been ordered to carry out the atrocities by higher-ranking members of the Khmer Rouge, and said he had not dared to disobey their orders because he feared retribution against him and his family. Lawyers for Duch noted that Tuol Sleng was only one of the Khmer Rouge’s 196 prisons and suggested that it was unfair of the tribunal to prosecute him while failing to pursue overseers of the other prisons. Duch Testifies to Executions—Duch June 17 testified that he had personally witnessed only one of the thousands of executions that took place in and around the prison, and that he had visited a notorious so-called “killing field” near Tuol Sleng only once, when directly ordered to do so by his superiors. He said, “I tried to avoid seeing such killing and I turned my back to executions.” He denied claims that he had taught the executioners how to kill, saying, “I did not have to teach the crocodiles how to swim, because crocodiles already know how to swim.” Despite claiming that he had seen only one execution, Duch was able to describe various execution methods, testifying that prisoners were clubbed to death, stabbed in the neck, had their necks stepped on and had been subjected to fatal medical experiments. Duch said Nuon Chea and Khmer Rouge Defense Minister Son Sen, who had died in 1997, had ordered the arrest and execution of more than 100 prison employees—as well as their wives and families— during his time overseeing the prison. He said most of the arrests were in response to small infractions by the prison workers. Duch also testified that Pol Pot had person414

ally ordered the execution of four Western nationals who had been held at the prison. The Associated Press June 17 reported that as many as 11 Westerners could have been killed there, including citizens of the U.S., Britain, Australia and New Zealand. n

China U.S. Treasury Secretary Geithner Visits.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner May 31–June 2 made his first visit to China since assuming his post in January. In meetings with Chinese leaders and in public appearances, Geithner focused on areas of bilateral cooperation in addressing the current world financial crisis and economic slowdown, rather than on the confrontation over trade-related disputes that had often characterized talks under the previous administration of U.S. President George W. Bush. [See p. 283B3; 2008, p. 897F1] Chinese officials had recently expressed concern that the U.S.’s soaring federal deficit might lead to inflation and a decline in the value of the U.S. dollar, eroding the value of China’s vast holdings of U.S. government securities. In a speech at Beijing University in Beijing, the capital, June 1, Geithner pledged that the U.S. would vigorously tackle its deficits once the current need for stimulative government spending had passed. In response to an audience questioner about China’s investments in the U.S., he called them “very safe.” Geithner also repeated U.S. calls for a more “balanced” economic relationship between the two countries. He said China would have to rely more on domestic consumption, rather than exports, to grow its economy, as U.S. consumers reduced their indebtedness by increasing their saving. He said “exchange-rate flexibility” would aid this shift to domestic demand, touching on a topic of regular discord between the two countries: the U.S.’s contention that China kept its currency, the yuan or renminbi, at an artificially low level to boost its exports. However, he did not dwell on the subject, in contrast to the stir created before he was confirmed as Treasury secretary, when he suggested China was guilty of “manipulating” its currency. The following day, after meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, Geithner, speaking to reporters, said the Chinese government had taken initiatives to increase domestic consumer spending, and also that it had exhibited “confidence” in the U.S.’s longrange fiscal stability. n Censoring Software Required for PCs.

The Chinese government June 8 made public an order issued in May requiring makers of personal computers sold in China to be shipped with an Internet-filtering software for blocking material deemed inappropriate by authorities, beginning July 1. The company that developed the software, called Green Dam Youth Escort, said its purpose was limited to blocking pornography. But the order raised concerns among human rights advocates that it could be used by the government, which regularly

censored Internet content, to restrict a wider range of news and information, or to monitor computer users’ activities. [See p. 327B2] The Wall Street Journal June 8 had first reported the order, which had been issued to computer makers May 19. Representatives of several U.S. computer makers June 8 met with U.S. officials to discuss the implications of the order, whose requirements had not been spelled out in detail. A spokeswoman for the U.S. embassy in Beijing, China’s capital, that day expressed concern over “any attempt to restrict the free flow of information.” Compliance by some U.S. Internet companies, including Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp., with Chinese restrictions on online material had previously raised controversy in the U.S. [See 2006, p. 331C3] Following initial uncertainty over whether computer makers would be required to preinstall the software, or simply include a disk containing it in a computer’s packaging, an official newspaper June 16 quoted an official saying that preinstallation was not compulsory. Human rights activists and technology experts who had studied the Green Dam software code said they found that it included politically related terms on its blacklist, including references to the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators and to Tibet. That was denied by Bryan Zhang, founder of Green Dam’s main developer, Junhui Computer System Engineering Co. An analysis carried out in the U.S. reportedly found that the software could compromise a computer’s defense against malicious external attacks. A U.S. company, Solid Oak Software Inc., June 12 said Green Dam consisted partly of stolen portions of its own CyberSitter filtering software, and that it would seek to legally prevent U.S. companies from including the software on computers they made. Zhang denied Solid Oak’s allegations. n

Japan First-Quarter GDP in Record Fall. Japan’s fi-

nance ministry June 11 said the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) had declined at a rate of 3.8% in the first quarter of the year from the previous quarter, or at an annualized 14.2% rate. That was a revision of the initial first-quarter GDP report released May 20, indicating a 15.2% annualized decline. However, even the marginally improved figure was the worst quarterly GDP showing on record. [See p. 252F1] The revision was mainly accounted for by a reduction in the estimated decline in capital expenditures. A 26% plunge in Japanese exports recorded in the original GDP report was unchanged in the new one. More recent economic indicators gave hints of a slightly improving picture. The ministry May 27 reported that exports had risen by 1.9% in April over March, and the economy ministry May 29 reported that industrial production had risen by 5.2% in April over March, the highest rate since 1953. FACTS ON FILE

However, also May 29, the government reported that unemployment in April had reached 5%, its highest level since November 2003. [See 2008, p. 573E3] Extra Budget Passed for Stimulus— Japan’s Diet (parliament) May 30 enacted a 13.93 trillion yen ($144 billion) supplementary budget for the current fiscal year, which had begun April 1, to fund the government’s latest stimulus package, unveiled in April. It was the largest such stimulus plan ever in Japan, and followed two packages enacted in the previous fiscal year. n

Malaysia Perak State Political Dispute Triggers Protest.

Malaysian police May 7 forcibly removed Perak state’s speaker of the assembly, V. Sivakumar, from the assembly building in a dispute over political control of the Perak government. Lawmakers and others inside the legislature building used computers and cell phones to photograph and post blog entries about the expulsion of Sivakumar—a member of the People’s Alliance Coalition—as it occurred. Police that day arrested about 60 protesters, as well as eight People’s Alliance members of the Malaysia’s national parliament, who had gathered outside the Perak legislature. [See p. 223E2] The dispute had been triggered by the February defections of state legislators in Perak from the ruling People’s Alliance to the opposition National Front Coalition, which gave the National Front a majority. The National Front was led by Prime Miniser Najib Razak’s United Malays National Organization (UNMO), and controlled Malaysia’s national parliament. Planning of the defection was attributed to Najib, who was then deputy prime minister. Following the defections, Azlan Shah, the sultan of Perak, dissolved Perak’s government and allowed the National Front to form a new state government. People’s Alliance leaders argued that the sultan had overstepped his constitutional role and said new elections should be held in the state. Sivakumar and other members of the People’s Alliance subsequently refused to give up control of the Perak assembly, triggering Sivakumar’s forcible removal. Courts Weigh In On Dispute—Judge Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim of the Malaysian High Court May 11 ruled that the sultan’s Feb. 5 decision to oust Perak’s chief minister, Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, was illegal, and ordered his immediate reinstatement. Abdul Aziz said that installation of the National Front government in the state had been illegitimate and found that the People’s Alliance should have been allowed to hold a vote of no confidence following the defections. A three-judge panel of the Malaysian Court of Appeal May 22 found that Aziz Abdul had failed to consider all appropriate evidence in the case and overturned his ruling, ordering that Nizar be stripped of his title as chief minister and replaced by Zambry Abdul Kadir, who was affiliated with the National Front. The panel ruled that the June 18, 2009

sultan had acted correctly by appointing Zambry after discovering that the balance of power in the state legislature had changed. n

Myanmar 4,000 Refugees Flee to Thailand. More than 4,000 ethnic Karen June 5–10 fled Myanmar for Thailand, reportedly to escape fighting between the Karen National Union (KNU) rebel group and Myanmar’s military. About 100,000 Karen refugees lived in Thailand, mostly in government camps set near the Myanmar border. The influx of Karen refugees was thought to be the largest since 1997. [See 2008, p. 151E2] The KNU had been at war with Myanmar (then known as Burma) since it gained independence from Britain in 1948. The KNU, which was made up predominantly of Christian Karens, had been weakened in the 1990s by the loss of a group of Buddhist Karens, who had left the KNU and formed the Democratic Buddhist Karen Army (DBKA). The DBKA later allied itself with Myanmar’s military, and was assisting it in its current offensive against the KNU. Analysts suggested that the military’s offensive, which began June 3, was part of a government attempt to quash rebellions and pro-democracy movements in the runup to planned 2010 legislative elections. Myanmar’s government June 18 said it had overrun three KNU positions in eastern Myanmar, and was preparing to attack two nearby KNU bases. It also suggested that the Karen refugees arriving in Thailand were fleeing members of the KNU, and not civilians. KNU military commander Kyaw Ny June 18 announced that the group planned to pull back from one of its bases near the border area in order to minimize losses and put troops to more effective use. The KNU had previously maintained that it had suffered only minimal losses during the fighting. n

Philippines Hostage Rescue Attempt Ambushed. Philippine police officers attempting to rescue a hostage held by the Abu Sayyaf Islamic terrorist group on the island of Jolo May 7 were ambushed by gunmen, resulting in the deaths of four people, including a Philippine police chief, and the wounding of at least three others. The police were reportedly given a false tip about the location of the hostage and then attacked unexpectedly while en route to that location. The gunmen were thought to be linked to Abu Sayyaf; however, media reports differed on whether the ambush was led by members of the group. [See p. 205F2] In January, Abu Sayyaf militants had kidnapped three employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) during a visit to Jolo, which was part of the Philippine province of Sulu. The militants had released one hostage on April 2 and a second hostage on April 18. The remaining hostage, Eugenio Vagni of Italy, was reportedly suffering from hypertension and needed surgery to correct a hernia.

Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan April 22 announced that he had ordered troops in the area to carry out an armed rescue of Vagni “at the first opportunity,” after judging that the risks to Vagni of such a rescue were less than those posed by Vagni’s untreated health problems. A group of about 1,000 soldiers were thought to have encircled the group of militants holding Vagni; however, the military had been unable to confirm his exact location or to force the militants to surrender. Local police May 11 said more than 20 alleged Abu Sayyaf militants had been killed in clashes with government forces following the May 7 ambush. n

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Taiwan Ruling Party Leader Visits China. Wu Pohhsiung, the leader of Taiwan’s ruling Nationalist Party (Kuomintang), May 25– June 1 visited China, in the latest manifestation of the two sides’ improved relations under Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou. Wu met May 26 with Chinese President Hu Jintao, and two days later signed a series of business agreements with the Chinese city of Chongqing valued at 38.3 billion Chinese yuan (US$5.6 billion). Also that day, a delegation to Taiwan from the southern Chinese province of Guangxi signed contracts for purchases in Taiwan valued at US$281 million. [See p. 309C3] Taiwan in April had agreed to allow a wider range of investments from China, and it was reported May 28 that Taiwan planned to begin considering applications for permission to invest from Chinese companies in July, in sectors including manufacturing, travel services and telecommunications companies that did not own infrastructure in Taiwan. The bar on Chinese investment in infrastructure-owning companies was based on national security concerns, and officials said it would preclude the approval of a proposal by China Mobile Ltd., a mainland company, to take a stake in Taiwan’s Far EasTone Telecommunications Co. Leaders Mark Year in Power—Ma May 20 held a news conference marking the first anniversary of his taking office, and highlighting the improvement in cross-strait ties since he succeeded Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The DPP advocated steps toward Taiwanese independence, which infuriated China, which regarded Taiwan as a breakaway province. Ma had emphasized pursuing areas of cooperation with China, particularly on economic matters, leaving more sensitive questions about Taiwan’s political status to the side for the time being. Ma May 20 said his administration had “transformed the strait from a dangerous flashpoint to a conduit of peace and prosperity,” and praised China’s “sophistication and flexibility in policy.” However, he also called on China to remove the numerous missiles it currently deployed targeting Taiwan. Taiwanese Prime Minister Liu Chaoshiuan, in an anniversary interview published May 20 by the Financial Times, said 415

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the government intended to proceed cautiously in accepting new investment from China, noting that it was a politically sensitive issue. Critics of opening up to mainland investment said it would create excessive economic dependence on China and undermine Taiwan’s autonomy. Thousands of DPP supporters May 17 had marched in Taipei, the capital, and the southern city of Kaohsiung, demonstrating against Ma’s policies toward China. n GDP in First-Quarter Record Decline. Taiwan’s gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 10.24% in the first quarter of 2009 from the year-earlier period, the government reported May 21, the third consecutive quarterly GDP contraction. The decline was the biggest since 1961, when the government began keeping records, and was due largely to a 36.6% fall in exports from the first quarter of 2008. [See p. 135G1] Government officials said the slowdown was worse than they had forecast, but said they believed the economy had reached its bottom, and would soon show some improvement. n

Thailand Gunmen Kill 11 in Mosque Attack. A group

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of masked gunmen June 8 shot and killed 11 people and wounded another 19 in an attack in a mosque in Thailand’s southern Narathiwat province. The shootings, which took place while about 50 people were inside the mosque for evening prayers, were thought to be part of an ongoing Islamist insurgency in Thailand’s predominantly Muslim southern provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala. More than 3,500 people had been killed in the region by Muslim militants or the Thai military since the renewed insurgency began in 1994. [See p. 52A1; 2008, p. 981G3] Thai officials June 8 gave conflicting reports about whether two or as many as five gunmen had been involved in the shooting. There were reportedly few witnesses to the attack, as the gunmen had opened fire while standing behind the people praying in the mosque. Gen. Anupong Paoginda, the head of Thailand’s military, June 9 visited the region in response to the attack and denied rumors that the killings had been carried out by members of the military. The attackers were thought to have targeted the mosque so as to suggest that the military was behind it. Officials said that no group had taken responsibility for the attack, as was common in such incidents. Separately, suspected insurgents June 6 had gunned down a teacher in nearby Pattani province, and two men June 7 in Narathiwat. Insurgents were also suspected in connection with a June 7 car bombing that killed one and injured 19 as well as a roadside bomb attack June 8 that injured nine Thai soldiers. Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported June 8 that a total of 27 people had been killed in insurgent attacks in the area since the beginning of June. Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva June 8 traveled to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital, to discuss the state of Thai416

land’s three southern provinces with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. The three provinces had been incorporated into Thailand in 1902 but maintained strong cultural links to nearby Malaysia. Najib and Abhisit reportedly discussed measures to improve the economic condition of the region and its residents, including a plan in which Malaysia would fund scholarships for Thai Muslim students in the three provinces. Separately, Abhisit’s cabinet June 9 approved a bill that would provide 1.5 billion Thai baht ($42 million) for funds to compensate victims of the insurgency and to increase the compensation of government officials in the area. n

EUROPE

UNITED STATES

Italy Libyan Leader Qaddafi Visits Rome. Libyan

leader Muammer el-Qaddafi June 10–12 visited Rome, the capital of Italy. It was Qaddafi’s first visit to Italy. He had made a handful of visits to Western Europe since international sanctions on Libya were lifted in 2003. In that year, Libya had agreed to give up its nuclear weapons program, renounce terrorism and pay $1.5 billion in compensation to families of victims of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988. [See p. 262G1; 2008, p. 976E1; 2007, p. 821B1] Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi greeted Qaddafi at Rome’s Ciampino airport. Qaddafi made a statement about Italy’s colonial rule of Libya from 1911 to 1943. He wore, pinned to the chest of his military uniform, a photograph of Libyan nationalist leader Omar al-Mukhtar, who was executed by the Italians in 1931. Berlusconi and Qaddafi in Tripoli, the Libyan capital, in August 2008 had signed an agreement under which Italy would pay Libya $5 billion in reparations over 20 years for the colonial occupation, for which Berlusconi made an apology. In return for the reparations, Libya had agreed to give Italian companies priority in contracts for Libyan infrastructure projects. Libya also agreed to accept the return of African migrants caught in the Mediterranean Sea by Italian naval patrols. Human rights groups had criticized the agreement, saying Italy was using it to avoid its humanitarian obligations. Italian and Libyan officials during Qaddafi’s visit discussed possible investments in Italian companies by Libya’s $70 billion sovereign wealth fund, the Libyan Investment Authority. Italy was Libya’s largest trading partner. Qaddafi June 12 addressed members of Italy’s main business association, Cofindustria. He said, “Italian companies will have priority in Libya and we will not favor the supply of oil and gas to other countries at the expense of Italy.” Qaddafi’s visit drew protests over his human rights record from some Italian opposition politicians, and from the Jewish community. Libya in the 1960s and 1970s had expelled its Jewish citizens and seized

their property. Many Libyan Jews had resettled in Italy. Left-wing senators June 11 blocked Qaddafi from speaking in the Senate chamber. Students at Rome University jeered him at an event that day. At Qaddafi’s request, the Italian government organized a meeting between him and several hundred Italian professional women, hosted by Italian Equal Opportunities Minister Mara Carfagna. Qaddafi’s rambling remarks on the subject of gender equality and differences drew both applause and boos. As was his custom while traveling abroad, during his visit to Rome Qaddafi stayed in his own large Bedouin tent, pitched in a public park. As usual, his entourage included dozens of female bodyguards. n Berlusconi Visits Obama, Accepts Detainees.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi June 15 visited U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House in Washington, D.C. Berlusconi agreed to accept three detainees from the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for transfer to Italy. It was not disclosed whether they would be released for resettlement in Italy or kept in prison there. Italian newspapers reported that the three detainees were Tunisians. [See pp. 416C2, 391B2] The European Union that day had announced an agreement with the U.S., under which the EU’s 27 member nations, including Italy, would be free to decide for themselves whether to accept Guantanamo detainees. Obama had pledged to close Guantanamo, but had found it difficult to persuade European allies to accept some of the 230 remaining detainees for resettlement. Obama and Berlusconi also discussed preparations for a Group of Eight (G-8) summit of leading economic powers to be held in July in L’Aquila, a city in the central Abruzzo region of Italy, which had been hit by a severe earthquake in April. [See p. 253C3] n

Moldova Parliament Dissolved, Elections Scheduled.

Outgoing Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin of the Communist Party June 15 dissolved the country’s 101-seat parliament and scheduled fresh parliamentary elections for July 29. The move came after Communist members of parliament had twice fallen a single vote short of electing Voronin’s preferred successor, Zinaida Greceanii, to the presidency. (Under Moldovan law, the president was elected by the parliament.) Voronin had served two presidential terms, the maximum allowed under Moldovan law. [See p. 397D2] Opposition lawmakers had boycotted both rounds of the presidential election because they claimed parliamentary elections conducted in April had been rigged to favor the Communist Party. Riots had followed those elections, in which government buildings were set on fire and at least one protester was killed. FACTS ON FILE

Voronin said, “The atmosphere for this election is much worse than it was before the April election. The opposition wants destabilization, chaos and the defeat of Moldova.” Moldova had been governed by the Communist Party since 2001. n

o Isa Tochiev, head of the internal affairs department of Ingushetia’s antinarcotics office, June 3 died after his car exploded in Nazran. n

Russia

Koenigsegg to Acquire Saab from GM.

Three Caucusus Officials Killed. Three senior officials June 5–13 were assassinated in separate incidents in southern Russia’s restive Caucasus region. Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, at a June 9 meeting of the Russian Security Council in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, a republic in the Russian Caucasus, blamed the violence on “freaks” who had traveled to Russia from other countries, and added that the Caucasian region’s instability was exacerbated by endemic corruption, unemployment and poverty. Medvedev said that since the beginning of 2009, 308 terrorist acts had occurred in the Russian Caucasus, and 75 police officers and 48 civilians had been killed. Police in turn had killed 112 alleged “bandits.” Violence in the Russian Caucasus was mainly perpetrated both by militant Islamists and feuding locals. [See p. 378F2] The Security Council meeting followed the June 5 assassination of Dagestani Interior Minister Adilgirey Magomedtagirov, who was known for his hardline tactics against Islamist militants. He was shot dead by a sniper while attending a wedding at a Makhachkala restaurant. Abdurazak Abakarov, administrative head of Dagestan’s interior ministry, was also killed in the attack, and eight police officers were wounded. Medvedev, at the Security Council meeting, said the assassination was a “gauntlet thrown down to authority,” and urged police to “find the criminals and bring them to justice.” In Ingushetia, another republic in the Russian Caucasus, Aza Gazgireyeva, deputy chief justice of the Ingush Supreme Court, June 10 was shot dead as she dropped off her children at school in Nazran, the region’s main city. At least five other people were wounded in the attack, including a one-year-old girl. Also in Nazran, former Ingush Deputy Prime Minister Bashir Aushev June 13 was shot dead outside his home. Other News—In other southern Russia news: o Dagestani officials June 12 said the police chief of the Sovetsky district in Makhachkala had been shot dead that morning as he drove to work. Separately, officials the same day said one police officer and two militants were killed in a shootout in Makhachkala. o The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, June 11 ordered Russia to pay $224,000 to relatives of five Chechen men who had disappeared in 2001 after being detained by members of the Russian military. Chechnya was a republic in the Russian Caucasus. [See p. 378C3] o Timur Ugurchiev, a court bailiff, June 5 was shot dead in Nazran while driving to work. June 18, 2009

Sweden Bankrupt U.S. automaker General Motors Corp. (GM) June 16 said it had agreed to sell its Swedish unit, Saab Automobile AB, to small Swedish sports car maker Koenigsegg Group AB. Saab had been unprofitable for several years, and had declared bankruptcy in Sweden in February. [See p. 365A1] GM earlier in June had agreed to sell its largest European unit, Germany-based Adam Opel, to a group that was led by Canadian auto-parts supplier Magna International Inc. and included major Russian companies. The completion of the Saab deal would depend on a $600 million loan from the European Union’s European Investment Bank, to be guaranteed by the Swedish government. GM pledged additional financing and technological assistance. Some analysts questioned whether the planned merger was a good fit. Koenigsegg employed just 45 people and made fewer than 20 high-performance cars a year, selling them for at least $1 million each. Saab had sold nearly 94,000 cars in 2008 and employed about 3,400 people, most of them at a factory in Sweden. n

European Business News More Bank Losses Forecast. The European Central Bank (ECB) June 15 said it expect-

ed that banks operating in the 17 countries that used the euro currency, known collectively as the eurozone, would have to write down another $283 billion in losses by the end of 2010. The ECB, in its Financial Stability Review, estimated that eurozone banks would lose a total of $649 billion due to the global financial crisis, noting that $365 billion in losses had already been reported. [See pp. 404C3, 311B2] The report said, “Hard-to-value assets have remained on bank balance sheets and the marked deterioration in the economic outlook has created concerns about the potential for sizeable loan losses.” The ECB forecast was less pessimistic than a report in April by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which had estimated that eurozone banks would lose another $750 billion by the end of 2010. The IMF projected that total bank losses in the U.S., Europe and Japan could reach $4.1 trillion. [See p. 283A2] The ECB encouraged banks to accept emergency funds from their national governments in order to build up capital reserves that would allow them to withstand further write-downs and resume normal lending. Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, meeting June 13 in Lecce, Italy, with counterparts from other member nations of the Group of Eight (G-8) economic powers, urged European officials to require

banks to undergo “stress tests” to determine whether they had sufficient capital to absorb heavier losses. The U.S. Treasury had conducted such tests for U.S. banks and publicly announced how much more capital each bank should raise. But European officials, including German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck, opposed stress tests, saying that it would be wrong to impose one set of standards on banks from different countries, and that disclosure of adverse results could worsen the crisis. The ECB projected that the eurozone’s combined gross domestic product (GDP) would contract by about 4.6% in 2009, and by 0.3% in 2010, with growth starting to resume only in mid-2010. n

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India News in Brief. The Lok Sabha, India’s lower house of Parliament, June 3 elected its first female speaker. Meia Kumar, 64, had

been nominated by the ruling Congress party, and received support from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She had been elected to Parliament five times and had also served as a minister of social justice. She was a dalit, a member of a lower Hindu caste whose members were also known as untouchables. Analysts said Kumar’s election as speaker would strengthen Congress’s image as a supporter of gender and caste equality. [See p. 382A1; 2007, p. 487D1] Indian paramilitary troops May 25 were deployed to the northern state of Punjab to quell riots sparked by the killing of a Sikh religious leader the previous day in Vienna, Austria. At least one person was killed in the riots, and a curfew was imposed in several towns in Punjab. The Sikh leader, Sant Rama Nand, died after gun- and knifewielding assailants stormed a Sikh temple, clashing with worshippers and leaving at least 15 injured, including another leader, Sant Niranjan Dass. The assailants were thought to belong to a rival Sikh sect, and Viennese officials said six suspects had been arrested. Nand was a member of the Ravidass sect of Sikhism, which had historical connections to Hinduism’s dalit caste. [See 2008, p. 667C2] Muhammad Ajmal Kasab May 6 pleaded not guilty to 86 terrorism-related charges stemming from a November 2008 attack that killed 170 people in Mumbai, India’s commercial capital. Kasab was the sole surviving member of a group of 10 men accused of carrying out the attack. The trial had begun April 17, when prosecutors charged that Kasab, a Pakistani citizen, and his partners were members of Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, and had received support from Pakistani military and intelligence agencies. Pakistan had acknowledged that the attack had been partly hatched on its soil, but denied that military or intelligence officials had aided the attackers. Kasab faced the death penalty if convicted of the charges, which included 417

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murder and waging war against India. [See pp. 383A1, 158D1] Automaker Tata Motors Ltd. March 23 launched the sale of the Tata Nano, which had been billed as the cheapest mass-produced car in the world when it was first unveiled in 2008. The company said a Nano without amenities would sell for the equivalent of about $2,000, and that a lottery system would be used to determine which customers received the first 100,000 cars produced. The Nano sale launch had been eagerly anticipated in India, where an expanding middle class had created a great demand for affordable vehicles. Tata also said it was considering launching a version of the Nano in the U.S. and Europe as early as 2011. [See 2008, p. 778D2] n

Pakistan Military Prepares Operation in Tribal Areas.

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Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, a spokesman for the Pakistani military, June 16 said the army had been given orders to prepare an operation against Islamic fundamentalist group the Taliban in the northwestern tribal area of South Waziristan. The military since April had deployed 22,000 troops to battle Taliban militants in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), and since then had been expected to expand the operation to the Taliban’s stronghold in the tribal areas, a lawless region wedged between the NWFP and Afghanistan. [See p. 382A2] One of the military’s central targets was Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of Tehreek-eTaliban, an umbrella organization for various Islamic militant groups in Pakistan. Mehsud was thought to be the mastermind behind dozens of terrorist attacks in Pakistan in recent years, including the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. [See pp. 382C3, 228E3; 2007, p. 857A1] Mehsud also had ties to international terrorist network Al Qaeda and Afghanistan’s Taliban, which was currently battling U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces in that country. The U.S. had long pressured Pakistan to go after Mehsud, since his fighters conducted cross-border raids against U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, and he allowed the Afghan Taliban and other extremists to use the tribal areas as a safe haven. The Pakistani government had resisted U.S. pressure, but changed course following the Taliban’s incursions into the NWFP, which led to a strong public backlash against the group. The Taliban in recent weeks had also intensified a violent campaign that it described as a retaliation for the NWFP operation, further angering the public. The Taliban June 13 claimed responsibility for a June 9 truck bombing in the NWFP capital of Peshawar, and the June 12 killing of a moderate Sunni Muslim cleric in the eastern province of Punjab. [See below] Prior to Abbas’s announcement, areas in South Waziristan had been shelled by the military, in what were described as isolated retaliations for the recent terrorist attacks. A suspected U.S. Predator drone aircraft 418

June 14 killed as many as five militants in South Waziristan. Analysts said the military would face challenges conducting a full-scale operation in the tribal areas, a mountainous terrain that was not conducive to traditional means of warfare. The government said it would set up refugee camps near South Waziristan to house as many as 200,000 civilians who could be displaced by the fighting there. Military Sees Success in Swat— Abbas June 16 said a military operation in the Swat Valley region of the NWFP had largely succeeded in expelling Taliban insurgents from populated areas. Many militants had fled the NWFP, and there were reports that they were streaming into South Waziristan and other tribal areas. President Asif Ali Zardari June 12 had said the army would establish a permanent garrison in Swat to ensure the region’s long-term security. As many as 2.5 million civilians had been displaced by the fighting in the NWFP. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, in an interview published June 15 by Britain’s Financial Times, said Pakistan would need $2.5 billion in foreign aid to provide emergency relief to civilians, and rebuild Swat and other NWFP areas. The military June 10 said it had killed 70 militants in fighting the previous day in the NWFP district of Bannu, which bordered South Waziristan. Anti-Taliban Cleric Killed in Punjab— A suicide bomber June 12 detonated his charge at a mosque in Lahore, the capital of Punjab, killing Sarfraz Ahmed Naeemi, a moderate Sunni Muslim cleric who had been an outspoken opponent of the Taliban. Six others were also killed in the blast. A separate suicide bomber that day killed at least three people and injured dozens more at a mosque in the NWFP town of Nowshera. Naeemi had condemned the use of suicide bombers and other violent tactics of the Taliban. He had described the Taliban as a “stigma on Islam,” and had been a supporter of the military operation in the NWFP. Following his death, hundreds of Naeemi’s supporters protested at his mosque and chanted, “Death to the Taliban.” There were protests the next day in Lahore and the southern city of Karachi. Zardari June 13 in a televised address denounced Naeemi’s killing and pledged to defeat the Taliban. Bombing at Luxury Hotel Kills 18— A powerful truck bomb June 9 exploded outside the Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar, killing as many as 18 people and wounding more than 50. The truck was preceded by a gang of armed Taliban militants, who had opened fire on hotel security guards to clear a path for the truck, which was carrying an estimated 1,000 pounds (540 kg) of explosives. [See p. 382B3; 2008, p. 685B3] The Pearl Continental was one of Peshawar’s few five-star hotels, catering to foreigners and affluent Pakistanis. At the time of the bombing, as many as 30 United Nations aid workers were residing in the hotel, part of a delegation sent to the NWFP to assist civilians displaced by the military

operation in Swat. The U.N. said two foreign employees had been killed, a Serbian and a Filipino. The method of attack recalled a May truck bombing at the Lahore headquarters of Pakistan’s spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence, in which a group of Taliban gunmen were followed by a truck packed with explosives. The attack was also similar to a 2008 bombing at the luxury Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital. Villagers Take up Arms Against Taliban—

As many as 3,000 villagers in the Upper Dir district of the NWFP June 5 formed a tribal militia, known in Pakistan as a lashkar, to combat Taliban militants in the area. As of June 17, at least 25 militants had been killed, and 20 militant hideouts eliminated, news agency Agence-France Presse reported that day. The lashkar was formed following a suspected Taliban suicide bombing June 5 at a mosque in Upper Dir that killed at least 30 people. [See 2008, p. 798F1] Tribes in the past had formed lashkars to fight Taliban militants, who were known to force villagers to provide them with shelter and food. But local efforts to combat the Taliban rarely received military support, and the lashkars were often crushed or intimidated into backing down. Additionally, the Taliban had taken to bombing large assemblies of villagers, known as jirgas, that were called to debate the establishment of a lashkar. The military reportedly provided the Upper Dir villagers with air support. It was reported that villagers were debating whether to invite more military involvement, which could help them banish the Taliban, but could also exact a higher civilian death toll due to the army’s use of blunter tactics, such as shelling and bombing. Other Developments—In other developments in Pakistan: o Zardari June 16 met with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Yekaterinburg, Russia. It was the first time they had met since a November 2008 terrorist attack on Mumbai, India’s commercial capital, that killed 170 people. India had blamed Pakistani groups for the attack, which had stalled a peace process between the two historical rivals. Singh reportedly told Zardari, “I am happy to meet you, but my mandate is to tell you that the territory of Pakistan must not be used for terrorism.” However, that the meeting was held at all was seen a step toward reconciliation. [See p. 406E2] o The U.S. House June 11 voted, 234– 185, to pass legislation that would see the U.S. provide Pakistan with $1.5 billion a year in nonmilitary aid over the next five years. The bill also included $300 million in counterinsurgency aid for 2010, which came on top of the $400 million included in a different war-funding bill moving through the U.S. Congress. The House bill put some restrictions on the aid, including a requirement that U.S. President Barack Obama annually certify that Pakistan was cooperating to prevent nuclear proliferaFACTS ON FILE

tion, and that it was making gains against terrorist groups. The Obama administration reportedly opposed those restrictions. [See p. 355A2] o Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan, June 5 ended a three-day visit to Pakistan, during which he toured refugee camps in the NWFP. At a press conference June 5, he emphasized the importance of allowing refugees to return home quickly and safely, in order to “consolidate the gains” of the military operation. Holbrooke had argued that keeping the refugees at the camps for an indefinite period of time could breed resentment against the government. n

SPORTS

UNITED STATES

Lakers Beat Magic for NBA Title Bryant Named MVP; Jackson Wins 10th.

The Los Angeles Lakers June 14 defeated the Orlando Magic, 99–86, in Orlando, Fla., to capture the National Basketball Association (NBA) title. The Lakers, coached by Phil Jackson, won the best-of-seven Finals series, four games to one. [See p. 331G3; 2008, p. 439A1] Lakers guard Kobe Bryant was named the most valuable player (MVP) of the NBA Finals. Bryant averaged 32.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game during the series. Bryant’s latest award capped a year of accolades for the 30-year-old superstar that also included the 2007–08 league MVP, a 2008 Olympic gold medal and the 2009 All-Star Game co-MVP. [See p. 159B1] The victory brought the Lakers franchise its 15th NBA championship, second only to the Boston Celtics’ 17 titles. Both Bryant and Jackson had been part of the Lakers’ championship run earlier in the decade that saw the team capture three straight titles from 2000 to 2002. The duo of Bryant and Jackson had also returned twice to the NBA Finals in the Lakers’ unsuccessful bids of 2004 and 2008. [See 2002, p. 467A2] Jackson, having led the Chicago Bulls to six titles, won his 10th career championship, surpassing legendary Celtics coach Red Auerbach to become the most decorated NBA coach of all time. Todd Musburger, Jackson’s agent, shot down speculation that the 63-year-old Hall of Fame coach was planning to retire by announcing that Jackson planned to return to the Lakers for the final season in his contract. [See 2007, p. 815D3] The Magic, coached by Stan Van Gundy, were still seeking the franchise’s first NBA title. The team was part of the league’s expansion in 1989, and had appeared in the Finals once before, in 1995, when they were swept by the Houston Rockets. [See 1995, p. 436A3] Lakers Take Two Overtime Contests—

Behind a 40-point performance from Bryant, the Lakers June 4 easily defeated the Magic, 100–75, in game one of the Finals at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif. The Lakers dominated in nearly every facet June 18, 2009

of the game, including a 55–41 advantage in rebounding, typically a category of strength for Orlando, who had the defensive player of the year, Dwight Howard, starting at center. Orlando’s performance improved on June 7 in Los Angeles, but the Magic still lost, 101–96, in overtime. With the game tied at 88 and 0.6 seconds remaining in regulation, the Magic had a chance to win, but rookie guard Courtney Lee missed a difficult layup off an inbounds pass from forward Hedo Turkoglu. The Lakers’ big men took control in overtime, with forward Pau Gasol scoring five straight points and center Lamar Odom sealing the win with two free throws. The Magic June 9 earned the franchise’s first win in the NBA Finals, with a 108–104 victory over Los Angeles at Amway Arena in Orlando, Fla. The Magic set a Finals record by shooting 63% from the field during game three. Howard and forward Rashard Lewis led the team with 21 points each. Los Angeles June 11 won again in overtime, 99–91, in game four at Amway Arena. Lakers veteran point guard Derek Fisher hit a three-pointer to tie the game at the end of regulation, as well as a key three-point shot in overtime to take the lead. Fisher, who had been a teammate of Bryant on the Lakers during the 2000–02 title run, had earned a reputation for making clutch shots in the playoffs throughout his career. The Lakers took a 10-point lead over the Magic into the locker room at halftime of game five June 14 in Orlando. Lakers forward Trevor Ariza sank two three-pointers during a 16–0 run that closed out the first half. The Magic could only briefly cut into the double-digit deficit during the third quarter. Bryant contributed 30 points in the game. The Lakers won, 99–86, to clinch their Finals victory. Victory celebrations in Los Angeles that night turned violent, as revelers threw debris at police officers, injuring five. Several small fires were lit and vehicles were vandalized outside the Staples Center. Police said they made about 25 arrests for various infractions, including arson and disturbing the peace. Western Conference Playoffs—The Lakers May 29 beat the Denver Nuggets, 119– 92, in Denver, Colo., to capture the Western Conference title, four games to two. The physical play of the Nuggets tested Los Angeles for much of the series, but in the end Bryant delivered a 35-point, 10assist performance in the clinching game to lead the Lakers to the Finals for the second straight season. The Lakers had struggled with the injury-ridden Houston Rockets in the secondround of the playoffs, before finally finishing them off, 89–70, in game seven May 17. The Lakers April 27 had defeated the Utah Jazz, 107–96, to easily win their firstround series, four games to one. Eastern Conference Playoffs—The Magic May 30 beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 103–90, in Orlando to win the Eastern

Conference title, four games to two. Howard’s 40 points in the deciding game, along with the three-point shooting accuracy of his teammates, proved too much for the top-seeded Cavaliers. League MVP LeBron James June 4 was fined $25,000 for skipping a post-game press conference following the loss in game six. Orlando May 17 had defeated the Celtics, 101–82, in Boston, Mass., in the deciding game seven of the second-round series to eliminate the defending champions. The visiting Magic April 30 had defeated the Philadelphia 76ers, 114–89, to win the first-round series, four games to two. Howard was forced to sit out the clinching game, because he was serving a suspension for an elbow thrown during game five. Other News—In other NBA news: o Former Washington Wizards coach Eddie Jordan June 1 was named head coach of the 76ers. Interim coach Tony DiLeo May 11 had stepped down and returned to his front office responsibilities. [See 2008, p. 994D3] o The Cavaliers May 24 agreed to sell a minority ownership stake in the franchise and its arena to a Chinese investment group, led by JianHua Huang, who had brokered sponsorship deals with several other U.S. sports franchises, including the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). The agreement was subject to approval from the NBA board of governors. o Bulls director of player personnel Gar Forman May 20 was promoted to general manager, taking over the job from John Paxson, who kept his position as executive vice president for basketball operations. [See 2003, p. 336E1] n

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Penguins Defeat Red Wings to Win Stanley Cup Pittsburgh Triumphs in Seven Games. The Pittsburgh Penguins June 12 won the Stanley Cup, the championship of the National Hockey League (NHL), defeating the Detroit Red Wings, 2–1, in Detroit, Mich. Pittsburgh won the best-of-seven series, four games to three, avenging its loss to Detroit in the 2008 Stanley Cup finals. [See 2008, p. 403A2] The young Penguins team, captained by 21-year-old Sidney Crosby and coached by Dan Bylsma, claimed the franchise’s third Stanley Cup, after victories in 1991 and 1992. (Those teams had been led by the legendary Mario Lemieux, who was currently a co-owner of the team; he became the first person to win the Stanley Cup as both a player and owner.) Penguins center Evgeni Malkin, who led all scorers with 14 goals and 22 assists in 24 playoff games, won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player (MVP) of the postseason. Malkin, 22, had led the NHL in scoring in the regular season. [See p. 299E2] Bylsma had taken over as Penguins coach in February, when the team was in 10th place in the Eastern Conference. In his first NHL head-coaching stint, he turned the team around and led them to the fourth 419

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seed in the conference playoffs. He became just the second rookie coach to win a Stanley Cup after taking over in the middle of the season; Al MacNeil of the Montreal Canadiens had done so in 1971. [See p. 299F2] Detroit, coached by Mike Babcock, had been vying for the team’s 12th Stanley Cup, and its fifth in 11 seasons. Red Wings Take First Two Games—The Red Wings May 30 won the first game of the series, 3–1, in front of a hometown crowd. Detroit defenseman Brad Stuart opened the scoring with six minutes and 22 seconds left in the first period, with a shot the deflected into the net off the skate of Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. Pittsburgh tied the score when forward Ruslan Fedotenko beat Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood with a backhand shot. However, Red Wings forward Johan Franzen restored his team’s lead with a goal late in the second period, and rookie forward Justin Abdelkader beat Fleury early in the third period to give Detroit a 3–1 lead. The Red Wings May 31 took a twogames-to-none series lead with a 3–1 victory in Detroit. Malkin gave the Penguins an early lead with a power-play goal late in the first period, but Detroit took the lead in the second period with goals by rookie defenseman Jonathan Ericsson and center Valtteri Filppula. Abdelkader sealed the victory with an early third-period goal. As the series moved to Pittsburgh, Pa., for games three and four, the Penguins rallied. The Penguins June 2 defeated the Red Wings, 4–2, to win the third game. Unheralded Penguins center Maxime Talbot opened the scoring 4:48 into the game, but then the Red Wings gained a 2–1 advantage with goals from center Henrik Zetterberg and Franzen. Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang evened the score at 2–2 at 15:57 of the first period. After a scoreless second period, veteran Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar scored the go-ahead goal 10:29 into the third period. Talbot added an empty-net goal at 19:03 after Osgood was pulled for an extra attacker. The Penguins June 4 claimed game four, winning 4–2. The score was tied, 1–1, after the first period. Stuart scored for Detroit in the first minute of the second period, but Pittsburgh then broke out with three goals in just under six minutes, by center Jordan Staal, Crosby and center Tyler Kennedy. The series returned to Detroit for the fifth game June 6, with the Red Wings welcoming the return of their top scorer, Pavel Datsyuk, who had missed seven games after bruising a foot in the conference finals. Detroit trounced the Penguins, 5–0. After a goal by forward Daniel Cleary in the first period, Filppula, defensemen Niklas Kronwall and Brian Rafalski, and center Henrik Zetterberg scored for Detroit in the second. Bylsma then removed Fleury and replaced him with little-used backup Mathieu Garon. The Penguins June 9 staved off elimination with a 2–1 victory on home ice. Staal gave Pittsburgh a 1–0 lead 51 seconds into the second period. Kennedy increased the lead to 2–0 5:35 into the second period, but 420

Detroit forward Kris Draper cut the deficit in half at 8:01. The Penguins then fended off a furious onslaught by the Red Wings for the remainder of the game, which included several remarkable saves by Fleury and a goal-line stop by Penguins defenseman Rob Scuderi. The Penguins’ win in game seven June 12 was the first road victory for either team in the series. After a scoreless first period, Talbot beat Osgood to put his team ahead 1:13 into the second. Crosby suffered a leg injury about five minutes later, and was unable to play for all but 32 seconds of the rest of the game. Talbot beat Osgood again at 10:07 of the second period, after a twoon-one break. The Red Wings cut their deficit in half with a goal by Ericsson with 6:07 remaining in the third period. But Detroit could not get the tying goal past Fleury, who made 23 saves, including several in the waning minutes of the game to preserve the Penguins’ lead. Earlier Eastern Conference Results—

The Penguins May 26 defeated the Carolina Hurricanes, 4–1, in Raleigh, N.C., to sweep the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals. Pittsburgh May 13 had easily defeated the hometown Washington Capitals, 6–2, to win the Eastern Conference semifinals, four games to three. The series featured a marquee matchup between Crosby and Malkin for the Penguins, and 2008 NHL MVP Alexander Ovechkin for the Capitals. In the first round of the playoffs, the visiting Penguins April 25 beat the rival Philadelphia Flyers, 5–3, to win the series, four games to two. Earlier Western Conference Results—

The Red Wings May 27 beat the visiting Chicago Blackhawks, 2–1, in overtime to win the best-of-seven Western Conference finals, four games to one. In the Western Conference semifinals, Detroit May 14 had defeated the Anaheim Ducks, 4–3, at home to win the series, four games to three. In the first round, the Red Wings April 23 beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 6–5, in Columbus, Ohio, to sweep the series. n

ARTS & SCIENCES

UNITED STATES

People Malawi’s highest court June 12 overturned an April ruling by a lower court judge denying pop singer Madonna’s application to adopt a second Malawian child, three-yearold Chifundo “Mercy” James. The high court ruled that Madonna’s charitable aid to Malawian orphans qualified her as a resident of the country, enabling her to meet the residency requirement for adoption. [See p. 231D2] Choreographer Merce Cunningham, 90, whose New York City–based Merce Cunningham Dance Company continued to introduce new work by him decades after its founding, June 9, through his Cunningham Dance Foundation, announced plans to set up a trust to protect his legacy. Those plans, however, called for the dissolution

of his company after his death, or if he became permanently incapacitated. His dances would thereafter be licensed to, and performed by, other troupes. [See 2000, p. 880F2] n

O B I T UA R I E S BERNSTEIN, Peter L(ewyn), 90, investment adviser and economic historian; his books included Capital Ideas: The Improbable Origins of Modern Wall Street (1991) and Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk (1996); born Jan. 22, 1919, in New York City; died June 5 at a New York hospital, of pneumonia contracted after he broke a hip. BOGLE, Bob (born Robert Lenard), 75, original lead guitarist of the Ventures, the influential 1960s instrumental rock band whose hits included “Walk— Don’t Run” (1960) and a 1969 version of the “Hawaii Five-O” television show theme; the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008; born Jan. 16, 1934, in Wagoner, Okla.; died June 14 at a hospital in Vancouver, Wash., of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. [See 2008, p. 172C1] BRINKER, Norman Eugene, 78, Dallas, Texas– based restaurateur; after he bought Chili’s, a mediumsized Texas restaurant chain, in 1983, he transformed it into Brinker International Inc., one of the world’s largest restaurant companies, with well over a thousand eateries in the U.S. and abroad; in the 1960s, as the owner of the Steak and Ale chain, he was credited with the introduction of the salad bar as a casual-dining option; in the 1970s, he developed the Bennigan’s Grill and Tavern chain, known for its “fern bars”; born June 3, 1931, in Denver, Colo.; died June 9 at a hospital in Colorado Springs, Colo., of a form of pneumonia linked to his having aspirated food days earlier while dining out with his wife. [See 1995, p. 125C2] COLESCOTT, Robert Hutton, 83, figurative painter who represented the U.S. in a solo exhibition at the prestigious Venice Biennale art fair in 1997, becoming the first African American artist to do so; he was known for reworking famous paintings by substituting black figures for white ones; perhaps his most famous such work was George Washington Carver Crossing the Delaware: Page From an American History Textbook (1975), his remake of an 1851 painting by Emmanuel Leutze in which he replaced Revolutionary War hero George Washington with pioneering black scientist George Washington Carver; born Aug. 26, 1925, in Oakland, Calif.; died June 4 at his home in Tucson, Ariz., after battling a Parkinsonian syndrome. COWLES, Fleur (born Florence Freidman), 101, journalist, author and socialite who numbered celebrities from all walks of life among her friends and acquaintances; while married to publishing magnate Gardner Cowles Jr., the third of her four husbands, she created and edited Flair magazine, a short-lived publication (1950–51) that incorporated such lavish and innovative features as fold-outs, pop-ups and removable reproductions of artworks; a limited edition of an anthology of work from the magazine, The Best of Flair, appeared in 1996; she herself wrote a number of books, including two memoirs, Friends and Memories (1975) and She Made Friends and Kept Them (1996); she was also an accomplished painter; born Jan. 20, 1908, in New York City; died June 5 at a nursing home in Sussex, England. [See 1985, p. 520B3; 1955, pp. 388G3, 356B3, 236F3; Indexes 1952–53, 1950] JOIS, Krishna Pattabhi, 93, founder and popularizer of the school of yoga known as Ashtanga, or “eight limbs”; introduced to the West in the 1960s, it was known for its increasingly difficult physical demands, with its sixth and highest level reportedly having been mastered by only a handful of people at most; he ran a yoga school in Mysore, India, for decades, and continued to teach there until 2008; born July 26, 1915, in Kowshika, India; died May 18 at his home in Mysore; he had been having trouble swallowing food because of a throat ulcer, and shortly before his death had contracted a urinary infection and pneumonia. MAY, Ernest Richard, 80, longtime Harvard University historian whose work focused on international relations; he served as a senior adviser to the independent, bipartisan panel created to investigate the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S, and helped prepare the panel’s lengthy final report, which was released in 2004; born Nov. 19, 1928, in Fort Worth, Texas; died June 1 at a hospital in Boston, Mass., of cancer-surgery complications. [See 2004, p. 553A1; 1970, p. 324C3] n

June 18, 2009

Iran Suppresses Mass Rallies Against Election Results Supreme Leader, Top Council Reject Fraud Allegations Moussavi Vows to Persevere. Iranian secu-

AP Photo/Hayat News Agency, Meisam Hossieni

rity forces June 20–25 were heavily deployed across Tehran, the capital of Iran, clamping down on massive demonstrations that had begun the previous week to protest alleged fraud in the country’s June 12 presidential election. Incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had been declared the winner in a landslide showing that his main opponent, former Prime Minister Mir Hussein Moussavi, said had been flagrantly rigged. The crackdown, in which the police and the Basij paramilitary force engaged in violent clashes with protesters, followed a strongly worded sermon June 19 by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, unequivocally backing the election results and warning that opposition leaders would be held responsible for any violence resulting from continued unrest. [See p. 401A1] The Guardian Council, a senior 12-member clerical body, June 23 rejected the demands of Moussavi and another reformist presidential candidate, Mehdi Karroubi, that the election be nullified and a new vote held. Iran had placed restrictions on foreign journalists’ movements that prevented them from observing firsthand the violence unfolding. (The British Broadcasting Corp.’s correspondent was expelled from the country June 21, and the detentions of reporters for Newsweek and the Washington Times were confirmed June 21 and 23, respectively.) However, eyewitness accounts, video footage and photographs, the authenticity of which were often unverified, continued to be disseminated by Internet and cellular telephone, even as the government restricted telecommunications networks and police reportedly targeted citizens attempting to record clashes with mobile phones. The messages and images indicated that smaller groups of protesters continued to gather before being scattered by security forces wielding clubs, tear gas, water can-

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivering a sermon June 19 in Tehran, Iran’s capital, in which he defended the results of a June 12 presidential election and warned against continued protests. Incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had been declared the election winner.

nons and guns. The demonstrators were often clad in green, the adopted color of the movement and a symbol of Islam. They chanted, “Death to the dictator” and, reviving a practice from Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, “Allahu akbar” (“God is great”). Some confrontations appeared to result in running battles between demonstrators and police or the Basij. With reporting restricted, it was uncertain to what degree protests and clashes were occurring outside the capital. As of June 25, the government put the number killed since the election at 17, many of whom had reportedly been killed June 20. State media June 24 said 627 people had been arrested in connection with the violence. Opposition supporters and human rights groups said many other figures who had not necessarily participated in demonstrations but were linked to the reformist trend in Iranian politics—including journalists, politicians and former government officials—had also been detained. Moussavi had not made a confirmed public appearance since June 18, but issued a series of statements through affiliated Web sites vowing to press his campaign for the annulment of the election. In a June 25 statement, he said he had been subjected to “pressures” aimed at forcing him to withdraw his challenge to the election. He said, “My access to people is completely restricted.” It was unclear how durable the protest movement would prove under the pressure of the government crackdown, as Moussavi did not command an organized political structure to compare with Ahmadinejad’s deep base of support in the Basij and the Revolutionary Guard, the country’s elite military force. The government in the days after Khamenei’s June 19 address intensified its effort to paint the protest movement as fomented by foreign countries, particularly Britain and the U.S., invoking those countries’ earlier history of intervention in Iranian affairs. Khamenei Warns on Protests— Khamenei, who appeared infrequently in public, June 19 led the Friday prayer service at Tehran University, where senior clerics frequently preached. Khamenei declared that “the Islamic republic does not betray people’s votes” and that its “legal structure does not allow for fraud to take place.” He said the scale of Ahmadinejad’s majority, put officially at 63% to Moussavi’s 34%, was too great to have been the result of tampering. Khamenei said “riots” would put Iran’s “democracy at risk,” and warned, “If there is any bloodshed, leaders of the protests will be held responsible.” The address was attended by Ahmadinejad, defeated conservative presidential candidate Mohsen Rezai, and Ali Larijani, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, who was generally seen as a hard-line ally of Khamenei. Moussavi and Karroubi— who in a letter to the Guardian Council that day called for a nullification of the election

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World News Digest With Index ©2009 by Facts On File News Services An imprint of Infobase Publishing

Volume 69, No. 3575 June 25, 2009

B results—did not attend. Also absent was Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former president and a powerful figure as the head of two important bodies: the Assembly of Experts, which appointed and nominally oversaw the supreme leader, and the Expediency Council. Rafsanjani was believed to have been instrumental in the elevation of Khamenei to the post of supreme leader in 1989, but their relations were thought to have devolved into a rivalry during Rafsanjani’s two terms as president from 1989 to 1997. Rafsanjani, a vocal supporter of Moussavi, was considered likely to be playing an important behind-the-scenes role in the regime’s internal conflict over the election. Rafsanjani was extremely wealthy, and he and his family had often been accused of corruption, including by the reformists he was now aligned with. But Khamenei in his

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MAJOR STORIES IN THIS ISSUE Iran suppresses mass rallies against election results; supreme leader, top council rejects fraud allegations; Moussavi vows to persevere. PAGE 421

South Carolina Gov. Sanford admits affair with Argentine woman. PAGE 424

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Obama signs bill funding Iraq, Afghanistan wars. PAGE 424

Supreme Court upholds Section 5 of Voting Rights Act. PAGE 425

Democrats issue health care reform plan. PAGE 426

Obama signs tobacco regulation bill. PAGE 428

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Somali president declares emergency. PAGE 430

Peru repeals development laws after indigenous protests. PAGE 431

U.S. Gen. McChrystal takes reins as top commander in Afghanistan. PAGE 434

Golfer Glover claims rain-delayed U.S. Open. PAGE 435

Singer Michael Jackson dies at age 50. PAGE 436

REFERENCES in brackets give location of background information in this & preceding volumes.

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address emphasized Rafsanjani’s role as a veteran of the country’s 1979 revolution, and chastised Ahmadinejad for the extremity of his attacks on Rafsanjani during the election campaign. Khamenei said foreign forces were behind the disturbances, contending that they had sought to promote a Western-oriented “velvet revolution” of the kind seen in numerous former Soviet states. He singled out Britain as “most evil.” Police Crack Down on Protesters— The day after Khamenei’s address, thousands of demonstrators June 20 converged in Tehran—smaller in number than the hundreds of thousands who had rallied in the week after the election—amid conflicting reports about whether a rally set for that day had been called off by Moussavi. Security forces clashed with demonstrators around the city, particularly in the vicinity of Enghelab (Revolution) Square. State media initially reported that 10 people had died, a toll later raised to 13, and news reports said hospitals had reported receiving some 60 patients with injuries from the clashes. Authorities said 457 people were arrested. Footage was posted that day to the videosharing Web site YouTube showing the death of a woman, bleeding profusely in the moments after she was apparently shot near Enghelab Square. The woman was identified as Neda Agha-Soltan, 26, and her image was quickly adopted as an icon for denunciations of the government’s violent crackdown. Witnesses said the shot had been fired by a person in plain clothes whom they suspected of being a Basiji or other security agent. The government in official news media suggested that a “terrorist” member of the exiled opposition group Mujahedin e-Khalq was responsible, or, alternately, that the video footage was a hoax. Also June 20, official news media said a suicide bomber had struck at a shrine to Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of the 1979 revolution, in southern Tehran. The Guardian Council had invited the losing presidential candidates to a meeting June 20 to discuss their complaints, but only Rezai attended. State television said he claimed to have received at least 3.5 million votes, compared with the 680,000 the official results showed. (However, Rezai withdrew his objection June 24, saying in a letter to the council that the unfolding security situation in the country was “more important than the election.”) The council reiterated an offer to recount 10% of the ballot boxes, picked at random, as a test of the results. Moussavi, who had rejected the partial recount, that day issued a letter to the body reiterating his demand for a complete annulment, and further spelling out his suspicions about the vote tally. He cited in particular the widespread use of truck-mounted mobile polling stations, which he said had been employed to evade oversight. Rafsanjani Kin Held—Following the June 20 crackdown, Tehran was reportedly mostly quiet June 21. State media reported the arrests that day of five relatives of Rafsanjani, all women, including his daughter

Faezeh Hashemi, who had been seen addressing crowds of protesters the previous week. She and the other relatives were released several hours later. Moussavi June 21 issued another statement proclaiming Iranians’ “right” to protest, and speaking of a “turning point” in Iranian history. Former President Mohammad Khatami, also a reformist, called the official accusations that the protests were foreign-instigated an “insulting portrayal of our people.” Guardian Council Sees Vote Errors—

The Guardian Council, which had said it was examining 646 complaints of vote irregularities, June 22 said it had found that in 50 cities, the total votes cast had exceeded the number of registered voters, by a total of some three million votes. It was the first acknowledgment by the council of possible significant problems with the vote tally. However, the council noted that the total was not enough to change the outcome of the election, which it said had seen a total of at least 34 million votes cast. It also claimed that such excess votes could have occurred legitimately, since voters were not required to cast their ballot in the district where they were registered. The Guardian Council June 23 said it had concluded that there had not been a “major breach” and that therefore “there is no possibility of an annulment.” However, Khamenei that day extended the Guardian Council’s deadline for certifying the election by five days, to June 29. Larijani, although seen as allied with Khamenei, June 21 had criticized “certain members” of the Guardian Council for siding with Ahmadinejad, and asserted that a majority of Iranians believed the election results did not reflect the actual votes cast. A British-based research group, Chatham House, June 21 had released a detailed analysis of the official results, carried out in conjunction with St. Andrews University in Scotland, that the researchers said cast doubt on claims that the results were not tampered with. Among other things, the study pointed to several regions in which Ahmadinejad, to achieve the reported result, would have had to have captured an improbably large share of voters who had supported his opponents in the 2005 election and its runoff, as well as all voters newly registered since then. The Revolutionary Guards June 22 issued a statement warning of a “revolutionary confrontation” in the event of continued protests. That day, some 1,000 protesters reportedly gathered at Tehran’s Haft-e-tir Square but were quickly dispersed by police, who also that day reportedly broke up gatherings intended to memorialize Agha-Soltan. (Her family had reportedly been ordered not to hold any kind of memorial service.) The chief of the Iranian parliament’s judiciary committee, Ali Shahrokhi, June 22 described Moussavi’s calls to protest as “criminal acts,” the first suggestion from the government that Moussavi could be liable for criminal prosecution in the dispute. Little protest activity was reported June 23. State television broadcast footage of

what it said were confessions by arrested protesters that their actions had been inspired by foreign broadcasters. Reports emerged of continuing arrests of reformistaligned figures, including former senior government officials. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran June 24 said about 240 people had been detained, including a number of politicians who had served in government under Khatami. Protesters June 24 gathered in the area around Iran’s parliament and clashed with police, with reports of beatings of demonstrators. His wife, Zahra Rahnavard, who had played a prominent role in his campaign, issued a statement likening the government’s response to the demonstrations to “martial law.” A victory celebration for Ahmadinejad June 24 was attended by only 105 of the 290 members of Iran’s parliament. Some observers suggested that was a deliberate display of opposition to the president that extended beyond the approximately 50 reformist lawmakers who would not have been expected to attend. Among those absent was Larijani. Defiant

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Moussavi June 25 posted on his Web site a message of defiance, stating, “I am not ready to stop demanding the rights of the Iranian people,” and vowing not to “back down even for a second because of personal threats and interests.” Karroubi, in contrast, that day moderated his stance on the election, pledging to pursue his claim against the election’s legitimacy through normal legal channels. Moussavi’s Web site said 70 academics who had recently met with him had been arrested, an allegation denied by official media.

Facts On File World News Digest With Index (ISSN 0014-6641) Publication #183680 EDITOR IN CHIEF: Jonathan Taylor MANAGING EDITOR: Jennifer Dunham SENIOR EDITOR: Joshua Lustig EDITORS: Rahul Chadha, Ian McGullam, Ryu Spaeth ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Todd Grennan, Shannon O’Toole DATABASE COORDINATOR: Ben Miller INDEX EDITOR: Jonathan Leith COPY EDITOR: Walter Kronenberg

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Grand Ayatollah Ali Montazeri, the country’s most prominent dissident cleric, June 25 issued a statement warning that a failure to respect Iranians’ “legitimate rights” threatened to “uproot the foundations of the government.” Obama Denounces ‘Unjust Actions’—

U.S. President Barack Obama at a June 23 news conference at the White House said, “The United States and the international community have been appalled and outraged by the threats, beatings and imprisonments of the past few days” in Iran, adding, “I strongly condemn these unjust actions, and I join with the American people in mourning each and every innocent life that is lost.” He referred to the “heartbreaking” images of Agha-Soltan’s death. Obama’s remarks were widely perceived as more forceful than his previous statements on the subject, although he said at the news conference that his approach had been consistent in declaring that the Iranian government’s use of “violence was unacceptable.” While some U.S. Republican lawmakers had said Obama should express more overt support for the demonstrators’ cause, the president and other administration officials had said that to do so would do little but appear to vindicate the Iranian government’s contention that the protests were the result of foreign plotting. They said the regime could use that appearance to justify a more violent crackdown on protesters. Following the first wave of the crackdown on the protests June 20, Obama had issued a statement saying, “We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people.” He also quoted slain U.S. civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in saying, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Obama had previously stated his willingness to open a direct dialogue with Iran, with which the U.S. had not had diplomatic relations since 1980. At the June 23 news conference, he did not entirely rule out talking with Iran over its disputed nuclear activities, saying the U.S. had “core national security interests” in addressing the issue. U.S. officials, however, suggested that the turmoil over the election made such engagement unlikely in the near future. The Washington Times June 24 reported that Obama had sent a letter to Khamenei in early May, before the election, seeking “cooperation in regional and bilateral relations.” The U.S. State Department June 24 ordered its embassies to withdraw invitations it had extended May 29 to Iranian diplomats to attend U.S. July 4 Independence Day celebrations. Ahmadinejad June 25 at the ceremonial opening of a petrochemical plant said Obama had “made a mistake” in his remarks at the news conference, and fallen “into the same trap” as his predecessor, George W. Bush, who had branded Iran part of an “axis of evil.” He urged Obama to “avoid interfering in Iran’s affairs” and to “express your regret in a way that the Iranian people find out about it.” June 25, 2009

Britain, Iran Expel Diplomats—Iran June 22 ordered two British diplomats out of the country, accusing them of activity “incompatible with their status,” terms ordinarily employed to refer to espionage. The following day, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Iran’s action had been unjustified, and ordered the expulsion of two Iranian diplomats in retaliation. In other international reaction, the Czech government, acting as the current holder of the European Union presidency, June 23 summoned Iran’s charge d’affaires in Prague to object to the Iranian government’s claims that the EU was interfering. German Chancellor Angela Merkel June 21 had suggested that Iran stage a transparent recount, while French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner condemned Iran’s “brutal repression.” Also June 23, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon called on Iran to “respect fundamental civil and political rights” and for the election dispute to be resolved peacefully. Soccer Players Banned—A pro-government Iranian newspaper June 23 reported that four of six Iranian national soccer team players who had worn green wristbands in apparent solidarity with the protests, during a June 17 World Cup qualifying match against South Korea, had been “retired” from the sport. The game, played in Seoul, South Korea, had been widely watched in Iran. (Iran’s 1–1 draw with South Korea meant that it would not qualify for the World Cup.) n

Other International News Russia Hosts Regional Security Summit.

Russia June 14 hosted a meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a seven-member security alliance between Russia and six other former Soviet states, in Moscow, the capital. Five of the seven CSTO members—Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan— signed an agreement that established a rapid-reaction force that could be deployed to fight terrorism, drug trafficking and domestic conflicts. The remaining two members, Belarus and Uzbekistan, refused to join the accord. [See below, p. 336F3; 2008, p. 786C1; 2002, p. 1058D1] The summit was marked by the absence of Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, who boycotted it over Russia’s June 9 ban on almost all Belarusian dairy products. Belarus had been slated to take on the CSTO’s rotating presidency. Instead, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, in Lukashenko’s absence, temporarily assumed the presidency of the group, which was intended as a counterweight to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). [See below] Belarusian officials said any decisions made at the CSTO meeting would be invalid because in the absence of a Belarusian delegation, new mandates would not be approved by consensus. The Russian foreign ministry June 15 asserted that the rapid-reaction force agreement was valid, and said Belarus had misinterpreted the CSTO charter. Medvedev June 14 had said, “I hope

that these milk hysterics do not in the end spoil work on the collective rapid reaction force,” and indicated that both Belarus and Uzbekistan could sign the accord later. Belarus’s economy was closely linked with Russia’s. Despite the recent tension between the two countries, Belarus was currently seeking to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) as part of a customs union with Russia and Kazakhstan. [See p. 405G1] Lukashenko had also made recent overtures toward the West. In 2008, he released opposition figures that the U.S. and the European Union had deemed political prisoners. In May, Lukashenko led Belarus into membership in the Eastern Partnership, a new economic partnership agreement between the EU and six former Soviet republics. [See 2008, p. 755B3] Russia-Belarus Loan Talks Falter—Russia’s ban on Belarusian dairy imports followed a May 28 breakdown in loan negotiations between the countries. (Belarus’s dairy industry was heavily dependent on exports to Russia, which consumed about 95% of its output.) Lukashenko that day had met with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Russian Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin in Minsk, the Belarusian capital, to discuss the terms of a $500 million loan installment, but the two sides were unable to reach an accord. The following day, Lukashenko, in an address to his cabinet, said, “If things go wrong with Russia, do not bow down, do not whine and weep, seek fortune in a different part of the globe.” The $500 million in dispute was the final disbursement of a $2 billion loan from Russia to Belarus, which the countries had agreed on in 2008. [See 2008, p. 783B3] Lukashenko June 5 claimed that Russian officials had stipulated that as a condition of the loan, Belarus would have to recognize the independence of two Russian-aligned Georgian splinter regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Lukashenko said Belarus did not “sell issues and positions.” Russia denied the claim. [See p. 406B1] Russia June 17 lifted the dairy ban, although the loan dispute remained unresolved. n NATO Cuts Kosovo Mission by 4,000. Defense ministers from North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states June 11 agreed to reduce NATO’s peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, called Kosovo Force or KFOR, to 10,000 troops, from 14,000. The 4,000 departing troops were expected to leave by January 2010. Analysts expected the ministers to further reduce KFOR to a force of about 2,500 by 2011. Observers suggested that the drawdown of forces in Kosovo was linked to a need for more NATO troops in Afghanistan. KFOR was initially deployed as a force of 50,000 in 1999. [See pp. 434A1, 379A3] Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Its independence, which Serbia vehemently rejected, was recognized by 60 United Nations member states and all of the NATO states except Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain. n 423

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South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) June 24 held a news conference at the statehouse in Columbia, S.C., to admit that he had been conducting an extramarital affair with a woman in Argentina. His whereabouts over the previous week had been unknown, causing controversy. He had disappeared after telling his staff that he planned to be hiking on the Appalachian Trail, leaving state officials complaining that they were unable to contact him. [See pp. 410B1, 111B2; 2002, p. 854D3] Questioned earlier June 24 at the international airport in Atlanta, Ga., by a reporter from a South Carolina newspaper, the State, Sanford acknowledged that he was in fact returning from Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. But he did not then disclose the purpose of his trip, saying only that he had “wanted to do something exotic.” Sanford’s spokesman June 22 had told reporters that the governor was hiking somewhere on the 2,100-mile (3,350-km) Appalachian Trail. His wife, Jenny Sanford, that day told the Associated Press that she did not know where he had been over the Father’s Day weekend. At his June 24 news conference, several minutes into a rambling, emotional confession, Sanford said, “The bottom line is this, I’ve been unfaithful to my wife.” He apologized to her and their four sons, none of whom joined him at the news conference. Sanford, 49, said he had met the woman eight years earlier, but their friendship had not become romantic until about one year earlier. They had met three times since then, he said. He did not directly answer a question about whether he had ended the affair. He also apologized to his staff for misleading them about his journey, saying, “At no time did anyone on my staff intentionally relay false information to other state officials or the public at large.” Sanford said he had no plans to resign. He had 18 months remaining in his term. He said he had told his wife about the affair five months earlier, and that she and their sons were living apart from him. Jenny Sanford later June 24 issued a statement saying that she had asked him to move out two weeks earlier. “This trial separation was agreed to with the goal of ultimately strengthening our marriage,” she said. Newspaper Obtained E-Mails—The State June 25 reported that it had obtained e-mail messages between Sanford and the woman in Argentina, from an anonymous source in December 2008, but was unable to verify their authenticity. The paper said it received another anonymous tip that Sanford would be on a flight from Argentina June 24. After its reporter interviewed Sanford at the Atlanta airport, the newspaper contacted his office and said it possessed the emails. Sanford then scheduled his news conference for later that day. 424

The State June 24 posted on its Web site several e-mails between Sanford and the Argentine woman, identified as “Maria.” In an e-mail dated July 10, 2008, Sanford praised her “gentle kisses” and “erotic beauty.” Sanford June 25 admitted that he had met his mistress during a June 2008 official trade mission to South America. Sanford said the stopover in Argentina was “very legitimate,” but that he would repay the South Carolina government for that leg of the trip. Sanford said he paid for his latest visit with his own money. Was Seen as Presidential Contender—

Sanford had been seen as a potential candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Another Republican presidential prospect, Sen. John Ensign (Nev.), had admitted to an affair with a staff member the previous week. The sex scandals were widely seen as fatal to such ambitions, and a setback to the Republican Party at a time when it was looking for new leadership in a period of Democratic control of both the White House and Congress. Sanford June 24 said he would resign as chairman of the Republican Governors Association. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, who had recently sent signals of his own interest in a 2012 presidential bid, took over the post. Sanford’s second term in office would end in January 2011. He was barred by law from seeking a third term. Previously, he had served three terms in the U.S. House, from 1995 to 2001. His wife, who inherited a family fortune from the Skil Power Tools company, had been a key campaign adviser. Known as a social conservative who often alluded to his Christian faith, Sanford had called on President Bill Clinton to resign and voted for his impeachment over his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Sanford was also known for his frugality as a congressman, sleeping on a futon in his office and returning his housing allowance. Fought White House on Stimulus Funds—

Sanford had drawn national attention in recent months by engaging in a dispute with the Obama administration over $700 million that South Carolina had received as part of a $787 billion federal economic stimulus package enacted in February. Sanford resisted spending funds mostly designated by Congress for education and public safety programs, which he said would be fiscally irresponsible. Instead, he said he wanted to use the money to pay off part of the state’s debt. Opponents in South Carolina, including fellow Republicans who controlled the state legislature, said the stimulus funds were needed to prevent further job losses, and accused Sanford of political posturing to boost his national profile at the expense of the state’s interests. South Carolina had the second-highest unemployment rate in the nation, at 11%; only Michigan’s was higher. Although several other Republican governors expressed reluctance about taking the stimulus funds, Sanford held out the longest. In March, White House Office of

Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag twice rejected Sanford’s requests for permission to use the funds to pay down debt. Sanford refused to file a request for the stimulus funds with the U.S. Education Department, saying he would not do so unless the state legislature agreed to spend an equal amount on debt payments. But he gave in after the South Carolina Supreme Court June 4 ordered him to request the funds, ruling in response to lawsuits filed by students and school administrators. n

Fiscal 2009 Spending Bills Obama Signs War Funding Bill. President Barack Obama June 24 signed into law a $106 billion supplemental appropriations bill, $80 billion of which would be used to finance the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through Sept. 30, the end of the 2009 fiscal year. The Senate June 18 had voted, 91–5, to pass it. The House June 17 had also voted, 226–202, to pass the measure, which was a compromise between competing versions passed separately by the two chambers in May. [See p. 355D1] Obama had said it would be the last time that war funding was authorized in a supplemental bill, and that from now on it would be included in the regular budget. Since 2001, Congress had approved $882 billion worth of war funding in what were described as “emergency” funding bills. House Democrats included a provision requiring the Obama administration to provide lawmakers with formal policy goals for the war in Afghanistan, as well as benchmarks that could be used to measure the U.S.’s success in stabilizing the country and its neighbor, Pakistan. The administration would submit a progress report to Congress twice a year, starting in 2010. The bill included $10 billion in development aid for the two countries and Iraq. [See pp. 434A1, 418C1] Only five House Republicans voted for the bill, over objections to the inclusion of $5 billion to finance $100 billion in loans to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). (The Congressional Budget Office had projected that most of the $100 billion would be paid back, resulting in an overall cost of $5 billion.) The provision’s supporters said it was necessary to help stabilize the global economy, but House Republicans said it was a “global bailout.” [See p. 193A1] The bill also included $7.7 billion to prepare for a possible swine flu pandemic, and $1 billion to fund a so-called “cash for clunkers” program, in which consumers would be given vouchers worth up to $4,500 to trade in older cars for ones that were more fuel-efficient. [See pp. 386E2, 365A1] The bill did not include $80 million the Obama administration had sought to close down the U.S. military prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The funding had been stripped after Republicans complained that the closing of Guantanamo could lead to the release of suspected terrorists in the U.S., or their incarceration in FACTS ON FILE

U.S. prisons. The final bill forbade the administration from transporting detainees to the U.S., except to stand trial. The bill also omitted a provision that would have banned the release of photographs showing abuse of detainees at U.S. prison camps. Senate Republicans threatened to pull their support for the bill over the provision’s exclusion, but were placated after the Senate June 17 passed by voice vote a separate bill preventing the publication of such photos. The Obama administration had also assured senators that it would work to prevent their release. [See p. 330G3] n

Supreme Court Section 5 of Voting Rights Act Upheld.

The Supreme Court June 22 ruled, 8–1, to uphold Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which required nine states, and parts of seven others, to gain federal approval before changing voting procedures. However, the court said the original plaintiff in the case—a utility district in Austin, Texas, that had challenged Section 5’s constitutionality—was eligible to apply for an exemption from Section 5 oversight. The case was Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One v. Holder. [See pp. 166G3, 33A1] The decision was widely seen as a narrow one designed to avoid addressing the constitutionality of Section 5, the purpose of which was to prevent states from imposing measures that could limit the voting rights of minorities. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., writing the court’s opinion, said Section 5 raised “serious constitutional questions,” but “the importance of the question does not justify our rushing to decide it.” Instead, the court struck down a lower court ruling that said the Austin utility district was not eligible to seek an exemption—known as a “bailout”—from Section 5, since it was not a county or agency that conducted voter registration. The district had been conducting elections for its utility board, and had objected to Section 5’s requirement that it receive federal approval before moving its polling place. In its appeal to the Supreme Court, it had asked the court to consider whether it was eligible for the bailout, and if not, to strike down Section 5 as unconstitutional. Roberts said the current case required “a broader reading of the bailout provision,” and ruled that any political subdivision could seek a bailout. The nine states where Section 5 was in effect statewide were Alaska, Arizona and seven southern states: Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Virginia and Texas. Critics said the federal government—which in 2006 had reauthorized the provision for another 25 years— was using evidence gathered from elections in the 1960s and 1970s to determine which states should be subject to Section 5 oversight. They said the provision was no longer necessary to guarantee the voting rights enshrined in the Fifteenth Amendment, and hence was a violation of state sovereignty. June 25, 2009

Observers had expected the Supreme Court to strike down the provision, given the skepticism regarding its constitutionality voiced by the more conservative members of the bench—including Roberts— during oral arguments April 29. Roberts addressed those concerns in his opinion, saying the court had “serious misgivings about the constitutionality of Section 5.” Roberts wrote, “The historic accomplishments of the Voting Rights Act are undeniable,” but that “things have changed in the South” since 1965. “Voter turnout and registration rates now approach parity. Blatantly discriminatory evasions of federal decrees are rare. And minority candidates hold office at unprecedented levels,” he wrote. He added, “The statute’s coverage formula is based on data that is now more than 35 years old, and there is considerable evidence that it fails to account for current political conditions.” Roberts’s opinion was seen as a challenge to Congress to update the law. The lone dissenter was Justice Clarence Thomas, who deemed the provision unnecessary and unconstitutional, writing, “The violence, intimidation and subterfuge that led Congress to pass Section 5 and this court to uphold it no longer remains.” n Strip Search of Girl Ruled Unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court June 25 ruled, 8–1, that the 2003 strip search of a 13-year-old girl by school employees had violated her Fourth Amendment protections against “unreasonable searches and seizures.” The decision allowed Savana Redding, now 19, to proceed with her suit against the school district in Safford, Ariz., but struck down the suit’s claims against Kerry Wilson, the assistant principal who facilitated the search. The case was Safford Unified School District v. Redding. [See p. 48F3; 2007, p. 415F2] Wilson had brought Redding to his office after another student said Redding had given her prescription-strength ibuprofen drugs, which would have been a violation of school policies. Wilson conducted a search of Redding’s bag, and when he did not find any drugs, called in two female employees to conduct a strip search of Redding. Justice David H. Souter, writing the court’s opinion, said that once Redding had taken off her clothes, she “was told to pull her bra out and to the side and shake it, and to pull out the elastic of her underpants, thus exposing her breasts and pelvic area to some degree. No pills were found.” Souter said the search violated Redding’s constitutional rights, because ibuprofen, which was commonly used to treat pain and inflammation, would not have presented a “danger to the students.” He added that there was no “reason to suppose Savana was carrying pills in her underwear.” Souter suggested that the court’s decision might have been different if the drugs in question had been narcotics, or if the search had been limited to her outer garments. However, Souter said Wilson could not be sued, since the law at that time had not

“clearly established” that such a search was unconstitutional. He wrote, “Parents are known to overreact to protect their children from danger, and a school official with responsibility for safety may tend to do the same.” Souter was joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., and Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy, Stephen G. Breyer and Samuel A. Alito Jr. Souter was joined only in part by Justices John Paul Stevens and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who agreed that the search was unconstitutional, but argued that Wilson should be held liable as well. Ginsburg in a separate opinion noted that, after the strip search, Wilson kept Redding outside his office for two hours, and “at no point did he attempt to call her parent.” She added, “Abuse of authority of that order should not be shielded by official immunity.” Stevens in his opinion wrote, “This is, in essence, a case in which clearly established law meets clearly outrageous conduct.” The lone dissenter was Justice Clarence Thomas. He wrote, “Judges are not qualified to second-guess the best manner for maintaining quiet and order in the school environment.” Thomas added that the decision would encourage students to hide drugs in their undergarments, since it had deemed them “the safest places to secrete contraband in school.” n

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Inmate Right to DNA Testing Rejected.

The Supreme Court June 18 ruled, 5–4, that convicts did not have a constitutional right to DNA testing, in the case District Attorney’s Office for the Third Judicial District v. Osborne. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., writing the court’s opinion, said it was up to Congress and individual states to determine which convicts were eligible for DNA testing. [See p. 389G3; 2006, p. 471A3] The original plaintiff, William Osborne, had argued that Alaska’s decision to deny him DNA testing violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of due process. Osborne in 1994 had been convicted of kidnapping, raping, beating and shooting a prostitute in 1993. The victim, left to die on a snowbank near Anchorage International Airport, survived the ordeal, and Osborne was eventually sentenced to 26 years in prison. Osborne requested that Alaskan prosecutors test the DNA of semen found in a condom near the crime scene, but his request was denied. Prosecutors said the evidence against Osborne—which included his confession—was overwhelming, and that DNA testing was unwarranted. Alaska was one of three states—along with Massachusetts and Oklahoma—that did not have a law addressing convict rights to DNA testing. (Alabama had recently enacted a DNA testing law that had yet to take effect.) Since the 1980s, DNA testing had led to the exoneration of some 240 convicts, according to the Innocence Project, an advocacy group that represented Osborne. The group said a significant number of exonerated convicts had confessed to their crimes for tactical reasons. Osborne claimed that he had confessed to win eligibility for parole. 425

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idence unlike anything known before.” But he noted that the technology was a relatively new one, and that nearly all the states now had a law addressing the issue. He said, “To suddenly constitutionalize the issue would short-circuit what looks to be a prompt and considered legislative response.” He added, “Federal courts should not presume that state criminal procedures will be inadequate to deal with technological change.” Roberts also addressed other constitutional aspects of the case, saying, “A criminal defendant proved guilty after a fair trial does not have the same liberty interests as a free man.” He said the advent of DNA testing did not mean that “every criminal conviction involving biological evidence is suddenly in doubt.” He added, “The dilemma is how to harness DNA’s power to prove innocence without unnecessarily overthrowing the established system of criminal justice.” Concurring,

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Roberts was joined by Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Anthony M. Kennedy and Samuel A. Alito Jr. Alito wrote a concurring opinion, signed by Thomas and Kennedy, saying convicts who had waived the opportunity to conduct DNA testing at trial should be deprived of the right to request DNA testing after their conviction. Osborne’s attorney had declined such an opportunity during trial, reportedly fearing that the results would lead to a guilty verdict. Justice John Paul Stevens, writing the minority opinion, said, “On the record before us, there is no reason to deny access to the evidence and there are so many reasons to provide it, not least of which is a fundamental concern in ensuring that justice has been done.” Stevens noted that Osborne had been willing to pay the costs of the DNA testing, but was still “rebuffed at every turn” by Alaskan authorities, behavior that he described as “arbitrary” and “wholly unjustified.” Stevens also questioned why Alaska would not agree to a request that would “ascertain the truth once and for all.” Stevens was joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer, and in part by Justice David H. Souter. Souter wrote a separate dissenting opinion, in which he said Alaska’s handling of the request for DNA testing had been unfair and a violation of due process, but that DNA testing was not a convict’s constitutional right. n Special Education Reimbursements Upheld.

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The Supreme Court June 22 ruled, 6–3, that special-education students were entitled to seek reimbursement for privateschool tuition from public school districts, even if the students had never utilized special-education services offered by the districts. The case was Forest Grove School District v. T.A. [See 2007, p. 332E1] At issue in the case was a 1997 amendment to the 1975 Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The law man426

dated that public school districts provide a “free and appropriate” education to disabled students. Students who required services beyond the capabilities of the public school system could seek reimbursement from the system for private-school tuition. However, the 1997 amendment said only those students who had “previously received special-education” services from public schools would be eligible for reimbursement. The student in the case, identified in court papers as “T.A.,” had attended a public school in Oregon’s Forest Grove school district until the eighth grade. Forest Grove had determined that he was not eligible for special-education services, but T.A. was later privately diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other learning disabilities. His parents then enrolled him in a private school, and requested that Forest Grove reimburse them for the tuition. Forest Grove argued that the 1997 amendment prevented T.A. from applying for reimbursement, since T.A. had never utilized Forest Grove’s special-education services. Forest Grove was supported by other public school districts, which argued that a ruling in favor of T.A. would strain their resources. An estimated 90,000 of the country’s six million special-education students were enrolled at private institutions at public school districts’ expense. Justice John Paul Stevens, writing the court’s opinion, said a verdict in favor of Forest Grove would protect a school district “in the more egregious situation in which the school district unreasonably denies a child access to such services altogether.” Stevens said such a ruling would border on the “irrational.” Stevens was joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., and Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr., Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer and Anthony M. Kennedy. Justice David H. Souter, writing for the minority, noted the high cost of funding special education, saying it amounted “to tens of billions of dollars annually and as much as 20% of public schools’ general operating budgets.” He argued that IDEA was meant to encourage cooperation between parents and school districts to devise an appropriate education for a special-education student, saying, “Given the burden of private school placement, it makes good sense to require parents to try to devise a satisfactory alternative within the public schools.” He was joined by Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. n Dumping Waste in Alaska Lake Allowed.

The Supreme Court June 22 ruled, 6–3, that Coeur Alaska Inc., a gold-mining company, could dump slurry waste in Lower Slate Lake near Juneau, Alaska. Environmentalists said the waste would kill all the life in the lake. The case was Coeur Alaska Inc. v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council. [See p. 307E1] Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, writing for the majority, said the Army Corps of Engineers had been correct in determining that the waste was fill material, and issuing a waste permit to the company. Fill materi-

al was not subject to the stricter regulations imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on substances defined as pollutants under the Clean Water Act. Kennedy wrote, “We conclude that the corps was the appropriate agency to issue the permit and that the permit is lawful.” The definition of fill material had been expanded in 2005, under the administration of then-President George W. Bush. The waste produced by Coeur Alaska at the Kensington gold mine was comprised of metals that were left after gold ore was extracted. Kennedy was joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., and Justices Stephen G. Breyer, Anthony M. Kennedy, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, writing the dissent, said it was “neither necessary or proper” to allow mines “to bypass EPA’s zero-discharge standard by classifying slurry as fill material.” Ginsburg was joined by Justices John Paul Stevens and David H. Souter. n

Medicine & Health Democrats Issue Health Care Reform Plan.

Three House Democratic leaders June 19 released a proposal for health care reform that called for the establishment of a government-run insurance program and mandated that all Americans obtain coverage. The draft bill was written by Rep. Henry Waxman (Calif.), chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee; Rep. George Miller (Calif.), chairman of the Education and Labor Committee; and Rep. Charles Rangel (N.Y.), chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. [See p. 408C3] The proposal was the third being considered by Democrats; Sen. Edward (Ted) Kennedy (Mass.), chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Sen. Max Baucus (Mont.), chairman of the Finance Committee, were each working on separate reform proposals. President Barack Obama had made an overhaul of the U.S. health care system a high priority of his administration, and had called for the creation of a government-run insurance program. Republicans and some fiscally conservative Democrats had opposed a public option, arguing that such a system might put private insurers out of business and would have too high a cost, at an estimated $1.5 trillion–$1.6 trillion over 10 years. The House plan called for the creation of a new federal agency to oversee health care, headed by a health choices commissioner to be appointed by the president. The bill called for people without health insurance to be taxed as an incentive to obtain coverage. However, an exception from the requirement would be provided for those who could show financial hardship. The plan also called for the expansion of Medicaid benefits, which were given to those with low incomes, and an increase in Medicare payments to health care providers. Employers would be required to provide health care coverage to employees, or else FACTS ON FILE

pay a tax that would be used to fund coverage for workers. Individuals and small businesses seeking coverage plans would be able to do so through “health insurance exchanges,” in which insurers would compete with each other for enrollees. The draft bill did not include a cost estimate, or specifics on how the plan would be paid for. However, House Democrats said the new programs could be paid for with new taxes, and by curbing Medicare’s growth. Baucus Draft Circulated—Baucus June 18 circulated a draft version of his plan among members of the Senate Finance Committee. Baucus earlier in the week had delayed releasing his proposal after a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report estimated its cost to be around $1.5 trillion over 10 years, saying that he would work to bring the plan’s cost down. The plan also called for employers who did not provide insurance coverage to pay 50% of Medicaid costs incurred by their workers, or 100% of the cost if workers used federal subsidies to obtain coverage on an insurance exchange. The draft differed notably from the others being offered by Democrats in its lack of a government-run health care plan. Instead, it proposed the establishment of a series of nonprofit health care cooperatives, owned and run by coalitions of small businesses and residents, and established with federal money. Sen. Kent Conrad (D, N.D.) June 10 had initially offered the idea of cooperatives, based on similarly structured utility co-ops, as a compromise between Democrats who supported a public health care option and Republicans. The co-ops were viewed as an attempt to address Republican concerns that a government-managed plan would have an unfair advantage over private insurers. Baucus June 18 also met with several Democratic and Republican colleagues, including Sen. Charles Grassley (Iowa), the Finance Committee’s ranking Republican, in an effort to reach a bipartisan consensus on health care reform. Baucus June 25 said the Finance Committee had reached an agreement to cut the costs of a reform measure to $1 trillion, and said that it could be paid for without increasing the federal budget deficit. Committee aides said the plan would provide insurance to 97% of Americans, excluding undocumented immigrants.

Medicare and eliminating some tax deductions. Obama June 24 hosted a “town-hall” meeting at the White House as part of his continued efforts to garner support for health care reform. He also met with a bipartisan group of state governors, who expressed support for the reform effort, but asked that any changes not impose new costs on states, or eliminate new health care programs they had put in place.

Obama Continues Reform Lobbying—

Fed Keeps Interest Rate Target Near Zero.

Obama during a June 23 press conference continued to support a public health insurance option, a major element of his health care reform proposal. He said a public option would serve to “discipline insurance companies,” and argued that it was “not logical” to conclude that it would drive private insurers out of business. However, he did not say that he would refuse to sign a reform bill that did not contain a government-run plan. “It’s too early to say that. Right now, I will say that our position is that a public plan makes sense.” Obama had proposed funding new health care provisions by cutting the cost of

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the policy-making board of the Federal Reserve, June 24 voted unanimously to leave its benchmark federalfunds interest rate target on overnight loans between banks at between zero and one quarter of a percentage point. The Fed that day said the “pace of economic contraction is slowing,” and that government policies enacted to combat an ongoing recession would lead to a “gradual resumption of sustainable economic growth.” However, the Fed warned that “economic activity is likely to remain weak for a time.” [See p. 291F3]

June 25, 2009

Drug Companies Agree to Price Cuts—

Obama June 22 announced that he had reached an agreement with the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) drug trade group to provide up to $80 billion worth of discounts on drugs bought under government programs, including Medicare. The tentative agreement was expected to have an especially beneficial impact on Medicare enrollees who used the program’s prescription drug program, also known as Part D. [See 2006, p. 3D2] The reduced drug costs would help offset the so-called doughnut hole coverage gap. Part D paid drug costs when the bill totaled no more than $2,700 in a year. But the next $3,400 of incurred costs were paid by enrollees out of their own pockets (the doughnut hole). When the total bill reached $6,100, Medicare again assumed the costs. PhRMA agreed to give most Medicare enrollees their drugs at half price when they were in the doughnut hole. Polls Show Support for Reform—A Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted June 18–21 and reported June 24 found that 62% of respondents supported the general idea of a government-run health plan. However, when those polled were told such a plan would put some private insurers out of business, support fell to 37%. According to the poll, 58% of respondents thought government reform was needed to stop the rising cost of health care, and provide insurance to all. A New York Times/CBS News poll conducted June 12–16 and reported June 21 found that 85% of respondents thought that wide-ranging reform of the health care system was warranted. The poll found that 72% of respondents supported a public health plan. n

Economy

The Fed noted that while “conditions in financial markets have generally improved in recent months,” consumer spending remained “constrained by ongoing job losses, lower housing wealth and tight credit.” The Fed acknowledged that energy prices had risen in recent months, but said it expected inflationary pressures to remain “subdued for some time.” [See pp. 428A1, 427D3, 388C3] The Fed said it would continue its previously announced programs to buy $1.25 trillion in mortgage-backed securities and $300 billion in U.S. Treasury securities, which, along with keeping the federalfunds rate low, was intended to lower interest rates and resolve ongoing problems in credit markets. The Fed so far had purchased $178.5 billion worth of Treasuries, and $456 billion worth of mortgagebacked securities. The Fed had also purchased $100 billion worth of bonds issued by government-controlled mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Some investors had expected the Fed to increase its purchases of government bonds, since Treasury prices had fallen in recent months, sending yields up. Analysts said investors were selling Treasuries over fears that the Fed’s policies would lead to an inflationary spike, while others said increased stability in financial markets had led investors to transfer their money to stock holdings. The Fed said it would “continue to evaluate the timing and overall amounts” of its purchases. n Consumer Prices Rose 0.1% in May. The Labor Department June 17 reported that its consumer price index (CPI), which tracked prices paid for Inflation (CPI) consumer goods May 2009 0.1% by all urban conPrevious Month 0.0% sumers, rose 12-Month Increase -1.3% 0.1% in May, with adjustment for seasonal variation, after neither rising nor falling in April. For the 12-month period through May, the overall unadjusted inflation rate was -1.3%, the fastest annual rate that prices had dropped since April 1950. The yearly decline was attributed to a 27% fall in the price of energy, as an ongoing recession led to depressed demand for gasoline and other petroleum products. [See p. 355E2] Energy prices rose 0.2% in May. “Core” consumer prices, which excluded volatile energy and food costs, rose 0.1% in May. For the 12-month period through May, core consumer prices climbed 1.8%. n Producer Prices Rose 0.2% in May. The Labor Department June 16 said that according to its producer price index (PPI), prices charged by manufacturers and producers of finished goods in May rose 0.2% after seasonal adjustment. “Core” producer prices, which excluded volatile energy and food prices, fell 0.1% in May. Energy prices rose 2.9%. [See p. 355B3] The finished goods index, before seasonal adjustment, stood at 170.8% of its 1982 base average. That meant that a basket of goods that had cost $100 in 1982 would have cost $170.80 in May. Prices for intermediate, or partially processed, goods 427

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rose 0.3% in May, and prices for crude goods climbed 3.6%. n New Home Sales Fell 0.6% in May. The Departments of Commerce and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) June 24 reported jointly that sales of new single-family homes fell 0.6% in May from the previous month. The new seasonally adjusted annual rate was 342,000 units, down from the revised April rate of 344,000 units. The median price of a new single-family home sold in May was reported to be $221,600. [See p. 372F1] n Durable Goods Orders Rose 1.8% in May.

The Commerce Department June 24 reported that the value of durable goods orders in May was $163.9 billion, an increase of 1.8%, or $2.8 billion, from the previous month. Durable goods were so-called bigticket items designed to last three years or more. [See p. 372B2] n Housing Starts Rose 17.2% in May. The Departments of Commerce and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) June 16 reported jointly that the rate of housing starts in May was 532,000 units, annualized and adjusted for seasonal variation. That was up 17.2% from the April revised rate of 454,000. However, the report noted that the May rate was 45.2% below the May 2008 rate of 971,000, indicating that the housing market remained weak in historical terms. [See p. 355E3] n Business Inventories Down 1.1% in April.

The Commerce Department June 11 reported that the value of business inventories at the end of April was $1.4 trillion after seasonal adjustment, down 1.1% from the revised value at the end of March. The ratio of inventories to sales—a measure of how long it would take businesses to unload their inventories at the current sales pace—was 1.43. [See p. 356A1] n Retail Sales Rose 0.5% in May. The Commerce Department June 11 reported that the value of retail sales in May was $340.0 billion, after seasonal adjustment. That was 0.5% above the revised figure for April. [See p. 323F3] n

Terrorism Detainees Padilla Suit Against Yoo Moves Forward.

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Judge Jeffrey White of U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Calif., June 12 ruled that a civil lawsuit filed by convicted terrorist conspirator Jose Padilla against former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo could proceed, rejecting the majority of Yoo’s claims to immunity in the case. Analysts said the case could lead to a ruling on the legality of specific elements of the antiterrorism detention and interrogation programs carried out under the administration of President George W. Bush following Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the U.S. [See p. 129F3; 2008, pp. 214D3, 36C3] Padilla, a U.S. citizen, had been held as an enemy combatant in a U.S. Navy brig in Charleston, S.C., for more than three years before being charged in 2006 in federal court with terrorism offenses. He was con428

victed in 2007 and was currently serving a 17-year prison sentence. Yoo, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley’s law school, had written memoranda that authorized policies for the detention of terrorism suspects, including Padilla, and the use of harsh interrogation tactics against detainees. Padilla had sued Yoo in January 2008, seeking damages of one dollar as well as a ruling affirming that his detention as an enemy combatant and his alleged mistreatment, which Padilla said was authorized by Yoo’s memos, violated the Constitution. The abuse Padilla claimed to have suffered included exposure to extreme temperatures, stress positions and death threats during interrogation. White said Padilla had “no alternative remedy” to his alleged mistreatment, other than the lawsuit, because President Barack Obama had opposed any broad investigation of the Bush administration’s antiterrorism policies. Most Immunity Claims Dismissed—Justice Department attorneys representing Yoo had argued in their motion to dismiss the lawsuit that Yoo was immune to suits related to his actions as a government official. White rejected that position, saying, “Like any other government official, government lawyers are responsible for the forseeable consequences of their conduct.” The Justice Department also asserted that the legality of Yoo’s memos should not be examined by the court, saying that such oversight was the responsibility of Congress and the executive branch. However, White ruled that the court had a legitimate interest in determining whether the treatment of detainees authorized by the memos was constitutional. The Justice Department argued that the government’s conduct toward Padilla was justified by the expanded powers granted to the government in a time of war. White also dismissed that argument and quoted the 2004 Supreme Court ruling in the case of Hamdi v. Ashcroft, which said that a “state of war is not a blank check for the President when it comes to the rights of the Nation’s citizens.” (The Supreme Court in Hamdi had ruled that U.S. citizens held as enemy combatants had the right to challenge their detention in court.) [See 2004, p. 471D2] Yoo’s government lawyers argued that the lawsuit should be dismissed because there were no legal precedents upholding the rights of U.S. citizens held as enemy combatants. White ruled that Padilla was not required to demonstrate legal precedents in a case alleging violations of his constitutional rights. “There has never been a case accusing welfare officials of selling foster children into slavery,” White wrote, but “it does not follow that if such a case arose, the official would be immune.” n

Legislation Tobacco Regulation Bill Signed. President Barack Obama June 22 signed into law a bill that gave the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wide-ranging powers to regu-

late tobacco and tobacco products for the first time. The House June 12 had cleared the bill in a 307–97 vote; it had been passed by the Senate the previous day. [See p. 390A2] At a signing ceremony held in the White House Rose Garden, Obama said, “Today, despite decades of lobbying and advertising by the tobacco industry, we passed a law to help protect the next generation of Americans from growing up with a deadly habit that so many of our generation have lived with.” Obama said the bill would help prevent teenagers from taking up smoking, as he had done. “I know how difficult it can be to break this habit when it’s been with you for a long time,” he said. An estimated 20% of people in the U.S. smoked, and about 440,000 died annually from smoking-related illnesses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Despite this, tobacco had been more lightly regulated by the government than either pet food or cosmetics. The measure mandated the creation of a new Center for Tobacco Products under the FDA to oversee the marketing, sale and production of tobacco. It would be funded with fees assessed on tobacco companies and importers. For the first time, tobacco companies would be required to disclose a list of ingredients of their products, and the FDA was given the power to regulate the amount of nicotine, a highly addictive component of tobacco, present in products. However, the FDA could not ban nicotine outright from tobacco products. The bill created strict new advertising rules, banning tobacco ads within 1,000 feet (300 m) of schools and requiring that most ads be in black and white, intended to minimize their effect on young people. Companies were also required to stop selling flavored cigarettes thought to appeal to youth. The New York Times June 16 reported that critics of the legislation planned to challenge it on the grounds that some of its provisions violated free-speech guarantees. Some legal analysts said that the ban on advertising within 1,000 feet of a school could effectively ban tobacco advertising in some cities. However, supporters of the law said it had been carefully crafted to adhere to existing laws. Obama at a June 23 press conference admitted that he occasionally smoked cigarettes. “Have I fallen off the wagon sometimes? Yes,” he said. “Am I a daily smoker, a constant smoker? No.” For weeks, Obama’s advisers had evaded questions about Obama’s smoking habits. n

Accidents & Disasters Nine Killed in D.C. Metro Train Crash.

Nine people were killed and 80 others were injured when a train on the Washington, D.C., area’s Metro system June 22 slammed into the back of a stationary train near Takoma Park, Md., around 5:00 p.m. local time. The accident occurred on an above-ground section of track that ran from downtown Washington, D.C., to suburbs north of the city, in Maryland. The colliFACTS ON FILE

sion’s impact left the first car of the moving train on top of the last car of the stationary train it had rear-ended. Jeanice McMillan, 42, the striking train’s operator, was among those who died in the accident, the deadliest in the Metro’s 33-year history. [See p. 357B3] Investigators were examining why computerized systems designed to prevent trains from colliding appeared to have failed. Investigators June 24 said they discovered “anomalies” in a circuit near the crash site that was part of a computerized safety system. Debbie Hersman, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), June 23 had said investigators found evidence indicating that, although the moving train had been controlled by an automated system at the time of the crash, McMillan had applied an emergency brake in an apparent attempt to avoid the collision. Also, the Washington Post June 24 reported that the two front cars on the moving train had been two months overdue for scheduled brake maintenance. The cars of the moving train had belonged to a family of cars purchased by the Metro system between 1974 and 1978, and unlike the cars in the stationary train, did not have data recorder boxes, which would have aided the NTSB’s investigation. Hersman said the NTSB in 2006, following a 2004 Metro accident, had recommended that the 1970s cars, which comprised more than a quarter of the total number of cars in the Metro system, be upgraded or taken out of service because they had a tendency to crumple in collisions. “Those concerns were not addressed,” Hersman said. Metro Board Chairman Jim Graham said replacing the cars would have cost $1 billion, which the system did not have. The Metro system was slated to receive $202 million in federal stimulus funds, and an additional $34 million federal grant to purchase new train cars. The grant was finalized June 24. Chris Zimmerman, another Metro board member, June 24 said the system needed “$11 billion over the next decade, and perhaps half of that is unaccounted for.” The first lawsuit related to the crash was filed June 24, and more were expected. n

Crime Student Arrested in ‘Craigslist’ Killing.

A Boston University medical student April 20 was arrested in connection with the April 10 armed robbery of a woman in a hotel in Boston, Mass., and the April 14 robbery and murder of another woman at a different Boston hotel. The student, Philip Markoff, had allegedly met both women after answering ads they had placed in the “erotic services” section of the popular Craigslist Web site, which hosted free classified ads. Markoff, 23, had been dubbed the Craigslist Killer, and was also being investigated in connection with an April 16 armed robbery at a Warwick, R.I., hotel. The victim was a stripper who had also June 25, 2009

been contacted through a Craigslist erotic services ad. Markoff Charged With Murder— Prosecutors April 21 charged Markoff in Boston Municipal Court with murder, kidnapping and armed robbery. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was held without bail. A grand jury in Massachusetts’s Suffolk Superior Court June 18 indicted him on charges of first-degree murder, armed robbery, armed kidnapping, armed assault with the intent to commit robbery and unlawful possession of a firearm. He was arraigned June 22 and pleaded not guilty. Police had begun investigating Markoff after discovering that cell phone records linked him to both Boston hotels. Police also discovered that the computer used to answer the Craigslist ad posted by the murder victim, Julissa Brisman, 26, was located in an apartment in Quincy, Mass., that Markoff shared with his fiancee. Markoff also matched images taken of the suspect by security cameras at both Boston hotels. Markoff was arrested while en route with his fiancee to the Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Conn. He was reportedly a regular gambler, and police suggested that his gambling and other expenses could have driven him to robbery. Separately, media outlets April 23 reported that Markoff had been placed on suicide watch after his jailers found marks believed to be from his shoelaces on his neck. Evidence Links Markoff to Crimes—

During an April 20 search of Markoff’s apartment, police discovered a semiautomatic pistol, plastic ties and a collection of women’s underwear in a hollowed-out medical textbook beneath Markoff’s bed. The plastic ties were reportedly the same kind used to restrain Markoff’s alleged victims. One of Markoff’s fingerprints was reportedly found on the plastic ties used on Brisman. Police April 22 said items belonging to Brisman and the surviving Boston robbery victim had been found in the apartment. An unidentified police official involved in the case April 24 had said a preliminary ballistics test had identified the gun found in Markoff’s apartment as the one used to kill Brisman, the New York Times reported April 25. Markoff’s fingerprints were also reportedly found on registration forms for the gun, which had been bought using another man’s driver’s license, as well as at the Rhode Island hotel. Police Seek Other Victims—Boston police April 23 posted an ad in the Craigslist erotic services section in an attempt to identify other possible victims in the case. Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley April 22 had encouraged other people who thought they had been robbed by Markoff to come forward, and said those who did would not be prosecuted for advertising sexual services online. Conley June 20 said no other alleged victims had come forward. Crimes Trigger Craigslist Criticism—

Jim Buckmaster, the chief executive officer (CEO) of San Francisco, Calif.–based Craigslist Inc., April 21 said the company

was doing “everything in our power to make use of the site as safe as possible, and to keep inappropriate activity of all sorts— especially criminal—from the site.” However, critics said the Web site’s erotic services section was monitored only by the site’s users, creating the possibility of abuse and illegal activity. Buckmaster May 5 attended a meeting with the attorneys general of Illinois, Connecticut and Missouri to discuss their concerns regarding illegal sexual activity solicited on Craigslist. In 2008, Craigslist had begun working with law enforcement to rein in abuses of its erotic services sections as part of an agreement with the attorneys general from 43 states. Buckmaster May 5 said in a posting on his blog that the partnership had decreased “misuse” of the site by about 90%. However, Craigslist, amid continued public pressure and the prospect of legal action, May 13 announced that it would shutter its erotic services section on May 20. It would be replaced with an “adult services” section that would be monitored by Craigslist employees. The company, which currently employed 30 people, said it would hire enough new employees to carry out effective oversight of the new section. Craigslist maintained that its decision was voluntary, and that Craigslist had not violated any laws under its previous policies. [See 2008, p. 451F2] n

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Capital Punishment News in Brief. The Colorado State Senate May 6 voted, 18–17, to reject a bill that would have repealed the state’s death penalty law and used the resulting savings to

fund new investigations into the state’s unsolved murders. The Colorado State House April 22 had voted, 33–32, in favor of repealing the death penalty; a similar bill had failed to pass the House in 2007. Colorado currently had two people on death row, and had executed only one prisoner since 1976. Supporters of the bill had argued that ending the death penalty in Colorado would save almost $4 million that could be used to investigate unsolved murders; critics argued that the potential savings were closer to $1.3 million. [See p. 167G1] The Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct Feb. 19 initiated proceedings against Judge Sharon Keller of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in connection with the 2007 execution of Michael Richard. Keller had gone home early on the day of Richard’s scheduled execution and had refused to keep the court offices open late after a computer problem made it impossible for Richard’s lawyers to meet its 5:00 p.m. appeal deadline; Richard was executed later the same day. The commission alleged that Keller had violated court procedures by leaving early and rejecting the defense’s request. The commission’s action was expected to lead to a trial before a special master, who had the power to censure Keller or oust her from her seat. Keller’s lawyers March 24 filed a brief arguing that Keller’s actions had not broken any court rules. [See 2007, p. 715A2] n 429

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terim President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed June 22 declared a state of emergency in the country, as pro-government forces battled an increasingly aggressive Islamist insurgency that had assassinated three officials of the transitional government in recent days. A rise in the already intense fighting in Mogadishu, the capital, and surrounding areas in recent weeks had killed an estimated 200 civilians, and prompted fears that the government would collapse and that the already dire humanitarian situation would worsen. [See p. 341C2] The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees had found that some 159,000 people had been forced to flee their homes in and around Mogadishu since May 7, when the latest upsurge in violence began, it was reported June 25. The U.N. also reportedly said some 3.2 million Somalis, nearly half the country’s population, were in need of humanitarian assistance, including food aid. The fighting pitted the transitional government, which was backed by the U.N. and supported by about 4,300 African Union (AU) troops, against radical Islamists led by the Al Shabab group and its ally, Hizbul Islam. (The U.N. Security Council May 26 had unanimously extended the AU mission’s mandate to Dec. 31.) Ahmed, a former leader of a more moderate Islamist group, had been elected Somalia’s interim president in January; however, Al Shabab refused to recognize his government. Ethiopian troops who had been aiding the transitional government had withdrawn in January. Intense opposition to the Ethiopian presence among Somalis had been seen as aiding the Islamists’ cause. There had been widespread reports in recent weeks that Ethiopian troops had reentered the country, which Ethiopia denied. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi June 24 said his country did not plan to conduct another full-scale, unilateral intervention. Al Shabab’s reported goal in the recent fighting was to push the government and the AU troops out of Mogadishu. Currently, the government controlled only a heavily fortified area around the presidential palace, and the airport. Al Shabab and its allies controlled much of the rest of the capital and southern Somalia. It was widely believed that hundreds of foreigners were fighting alongside Somali members of the Islamist insurgency. Somalia, the U.S. and other nations had accused Eritrea—a bitter enemy of Ethiopia—of aiding the Islamists. Security Minister, Other Officials Killed—

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Somali National Security Minister Omar Hashi Aden June 18 was killed along with at least 35 others, including many government officials, in a suicide bombing at a hotel in Beledweyne, a town some 250 miles (400 km) northwest of the capital, near the Ethiopian border. Al Shabab claimed responsibility for the bombing, 430

which was roundly condemned by the international community. The previous day, Mogadishu’s police chief, Col. Ali Said, had died in an early morning attack on an Islamist stronghold in a residential area of the capital. At least 17 others were killed in the fighting. Also, lawmaker Muhammad Hussein Addow June 19 was shot dead in Mogadishu. Reuters news agency June 24 reported that 288 members of Somalia’s 550-seat parliament had left the country, fearing for their safety. Many had fled to Nairobi, the capital of neighboring Kenya, since the upsurge in fighting in May. That left the body, which had not met since April 25, unable to meet a quorum. Sheikh Adan Mohamed Nur, Somalia’s parliament speaker, June 20 appealed for immediate foreign military assistance. “We are under attack by foreign terrorists,” he said, adding, “They are planning to destabilize the security of the whole region. We ask our neighbors, like Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Yemen, to militarily intervene in Somalia.” Other Somali officials had also called for foreign military aid. However, the government’s pleas largely went unheeded. Jean Ping, chairman of the AU Commission, the executive arm of the AU, June 22 said Somalia’s government “has the right to seek support from AU member states and the larger international community.” However, he did not say the AU would be sending any more troops. The mandate of the AU force in Somalia was limited to protecting government officials and buildings. Kenyan government spokesman Alfred Mutua June 22 said his country would not send troops to Somalia, its northern neighbor, but would assist the transitional government in unspecified “other ways.” Hizbul Islam leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys June 24 said the Islamists would fight any foreign troops that entered the country in support of the government. The Washington Post June 25 quoted an unidentified U.S. official as having said that the U.S. had sent a shipment of weapons and ammunition to the Somali government earlier that month. “A decision was made at the highest level to ensure the government does not fall and that everything is done to strengthen government security forces to counter the rebels,” the official said. The New York Times that day quoted an unnamed source who said the U.N. Security Council had agreed to a waiver for the U.S. arms shipment. (There was currently a U.N. arms embargo on Somalia.) Under the administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush, the U.S. had lent covert support to the transitional government and secular warlords, and launched targeted air strikes against suspected members of the international terrorist network Al Qaeda inside Somalia, as part of its worldwide effort to counter radical Islamic terrorism. The policy of current U.S. President Barack Obama reportedly was focused more on working with Somalia’s neighbors to stabilize the country, and strengthening the transitional government’s security forces. [See 2008, p. 313A2]

The Post also reported that the U.S. had recently given the Somali government $10 million toward resurrecting its police force and military, and that it had also shared intelligence with the government. Additionally, regional leaders May 20 had asked the U.N. Security Council to allow foreign navies, which were currently patrolling near Somali waters to combat an ongoing piracy problem, to impose a blockade of the southern port of Kismayo. That port was where the Islamists were believed to receive their supplies and weapons. Islamists Carry Out Public Amputations—

An Islamic court backed by Al Shabab June 25 cut off a hand and a foot of each of four young men, some reportedly teenagers, who had been found guilty of theft. They had been convicted June 21 of stealing mobile phones and guns from residents of Mogadishu. Al Shabab said it was implementing sharia, or Islamic law, in carrying out the amputations, which occurred in front of a crowd of several hundred people in Mogadishu. Al Shabab had imposed a strict version of sharia in the areas of Somalia under its control. Most Somalis practiced a more moderate form of Islam, and past attempts by Islamist groups to implement strict sharia reportedly had met with resistance from the population. n

Sudan Southern Peace Pushed as Clashes Erupt.

The United Nations June 1 declared that casualties from tribal clashes in the semiautonomous region of south Sudan had surpassed those from the conflict in the country’s western Darfur region in recent months. The latest string of ethnic violence in the war-ravaged country erupted ahead of national elections scheduled for February 2010, and a referendum set for 2011 on independence for the south. In response to the recent flare-up, the U.S. June 23 convened talks with representatives from 32 countries and international organizations in Washington, D.C., to salvage a fragile peace deal signed in 2005. [See pp. 375G2, 185E2] The 2005 accord had ended a two-decade civil war between the predominantly Muslim, Arab-dominated central government, based in the north, and the mainly black, Christian and animist forces in the south. The deal, known as the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), provided south Sudan with semiautonomous status, and gave southern officials representation in a unity government led by President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. With international and domestic attention mainly turned to the conflict in Darfur, the country had struggled to implement some aspects of the peace accord. Among the many issues of contention were the disputed results from a national census released May 21, as well as control over the oil-rich area of Abyei at the border between the northern and southern regions. The June 23 conference produced a communique vowing to “urgently address FACTS ON FILE

outstanding implementation issues.” Officials from both the north and south also agreed they would accept an expected ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, the Netherlands, on the status of Abyei. Allegations Fly Over Convoy Attack—

Gunmen from the Jikany Nuer tribe June 12 attacked boats carrying aid from the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) on a tributary of the While Nile river. The convoy was guarded by soldiers from south Sudan’s army. Local reports said about 40 people were killed in the attack. The incident led to a series of allegations between officials from the north and south, increasing tensions in the already hostile relationship. Pagan Amum, secretary general of the south’s ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), in a June 15 interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) accused the government, based in the capital, Khartoum, of distributing the arms used by the tribesmen in the convoy attack. Amum alleged that the government was attempting to destabilize the south ahead of the referendum in 2011. Tajussir Mahjoub, the strategic planning minister for the national government, the next day denied that the government had provided the weapons. The attack on the convoy came at the height of increased tribal violence that had left hundreds dead and more than 135,000 displaced thus far in 2009. The fighting between tribes revolved around long-running disputes over cattle and land. The U.N. Security Council May 1 had unanimously voted to extend by one year the mandate of the U.N. Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), which consisted of some 10,000 peacekeepers. Following an 11-day visit to Sudan, Sima Samar, the U.N. special representative on human rights in the country, June 4 urged the government to increase efforts to stem the ethnic clashes. Sudanese First Vice President Salva Kiir Mayardit, who was also the president of south Sudan, May 27 had announced a civilian disarmament campaign in the region. Such campaigns in the past had led to fighting between soldiers and tribesmen unwilling to surrender their weapons. Political Shake-ups Hit Ruling Party—

In a reshuffle of his southern cabinet, Kiir May 30 fired Finance Minister Kuol Athian for mismanaging public funds, after he was unable to account for several million pounds of grain purchased by the government. Kiir announced several other cabinet changes, including the appointment of the army chief of staff, Oyai Deng Ajak, as regional cooperation minister. Lam Akol, who was fired in 2007 as Sudan’s foreign minister, June 8 announced that he was leaving the SPLM to create his own splinter party, SPLM–Democratic Change. He accused his former party of mismanaging the south. Members of the SPLM called the move an attempt by Bashir to divide the region ahead of the 2010 national elections, in which Kiir was expected to challenge Bashir for the nation’s presidency. [See 2007, p. 880F1] June 25, 2009

The SPLM also accused Bashir’s National Congress Party (NCP) of manipulating the results of the national census released on May 21. The poll, conducted in 2008, recorded just 21% of the overall Sudanese population of 39 million as residing in the south. The SPLM asserted that the southern population was undercounted and northern groups loyal to Bashir were overcounted. The census results would be used to organize the national elections. The SPLM demanded a review of the census findings, but the request was denied by the government. n

AMERICAS

Mexico 18 Killed in Acapulco Gunfight. Mexican

soldiers and suspected drug traffickers June 6 engaged in a fierce two-hour gunbattle in the resort city of Acapulco, in an area known as Peninsula de las Playas. Sixteen suspected traffickers and two soldiers were killed in the violence, and at least nine people were wounded, including three bystanders. [See p. 359D1] Mexican Defense Secretary Guillermo Galvan Galvan in a June 7 statement said the military had received a tip alerting it to a group of armed men, believed to be members of the Beltran Leyva cartel, in a house in Peninsula de las Playas, the old hotel zone of the city. A force of about 200 soldiers attempted to storm the house, and were met with grenade and rocket fire, as well as automatic gunfire. Soldiers found 49 guns, two rocket launchers, 13 grenades and thousands of rounds of ammunition in the house. Mexican President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa in December 2006 had deployed some 40,000 troops across the country to combat the drug cartels. The resulting violence had left some 11,000 people dead. Government officials had attempted to woo tourists to vacation areas by arguing that drug violence had been localized in other areas of the country. 29 Local Police Officers Detained—

Federal agents and soldiers June 1 detained 29 local police officers in several cities in Nuevo Leon state, after finding evidence tying them to drug cartels. Corruption and drug cartel ties were considered endemic to much of Mexico’s local police forces and governments, and were thought to stymie Calderon’s efforts to battle the cartels. In many cities, federal forces had assumed local police duties. n 47 Killed in Day-care Fire in Old Warehouse.

A fire June 5 erupted in a day-care facility in a converted warehouse in Hermosillo, in northern Mexico’s Sonora state, killing at least 47 children. Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora June 10 said a damaged air conditioner in an adjoining warehouse had started the fire, which then spread to the day-care center. [See 2000, p. 863G1] The facility, which was privately operated but run under the auspices of the country’s social security administration, only

had two doors, one of which was padlocked shut. Parents and rescue officials arriving at the conflagration had reportedly attempted to free trapped children by knocking holes in the building’s walls, some using vehicles to ram them. Eduardo Bours, the governor of Sonora, June 7 said most of the fire’s victims had died of smoke inhalation. Sonora state Attorney General Abel Murrieta June 22 said seven state finance ministry officials had been arrested on charges of negligent homicide. Murrieta said those arrested were directly responsible for overseeing the day-care center. Two low-level federal officials were also arrested. Amid finger-pointing between state and federal officials, Interior Secretary Fernando Gomez Mont June 24 announced that the federal government was taking over the investigation of the fire, “to avoid any political disputes.” n

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Peru Development Laws Repealed After Protests.

Peru’s Congress June 18 voted, 82–14, to revoke two controversial decrees that had opened the country’s Amazon rainforest region to oil, mining and timber development. The laws had sparked widespread protests among indigenous groups, who since April had blockaded trade routes and taken over two airports during demonstrations. In early June some 2,000 protesters blocking a highway had clashed with a police force of 600 people. At least 34 people were killed during the fighting, but some indigenous leaders said dozens more had been kidnapped or killed by government forces. [See p. 394C3] Widespread protests by native groups had continued following the early June incident. An estimated 10,000 people June 12 marched in Lima, Peru’s capital, in an effort to reach Congress. They were met by police who tear-gassed them, leading to violent confrontations between the two sides. As part of a general strike called for that day, thousands of protesters also took to the streets in Iquitos, the country’s largest city in the Amazon. Peruvian President Alan Garcia Perez in a June 17 televised speech said he had erred by backing the Amazon policies without seeking greater input from indigenous groups. The two abrogated measures had been part of a package of 90 laws that had gone into effect in 2008 in order to meet preconditions for a Peru-U.S. free trade agreement, which went into effect in 2009. Indian groups had argued that the laws would infringe on their land access rights, and open the door to widespread illegal logging and oil development in the Amazon. Prime Minister Yehude Simon, who was also Garcia’s cabinet chief, June 16 said he would resign within weeks, after being criticized for his handling of the violent protests. Under Peruvian law, the entire cabinet would have to resign if the prime minister did so. Simon, after meeting with indigenous protesters, June 15 had 431

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said he would request that Congress repeal the controversial laws. Daysi Zapata, a leader of the umbrella indigenous group Asociacion Interetnica de Desarrollo de la Selva Peruana (AIDESEP), June 18 hailed the repeal of the laws as “a historic day for all indigenous people and for the nation of Peru.” Some indigenous leaders had pledged to call off protests if the laws were revoked. Peru June 16 had recalled its ambassador to Bolivia, Fernando Rojas, after Bolivian President Evo Morales Aima called the deaths of native people resulting from clashes with police a “genocide.” Peruvian Foreign Minister Jose Antonia Garcia Belaunde the same day called Morales an enemy of Peru for having made the remark. Alan Garcia had intimated several times that the governments of Venezuela and Bolivia had encouraged the uprising of Peruvian indigenous groups. Pollster Ipsos Apoyo June 21 reported that the president’s approval rating had fallen to 21%, from 30% in May, largely as a result of the fallout from the protests. Analysts said Garcia was likely to serve out the remaining two years of his five-year term, but that his political power had been significantly diminished. Also, James Anaya, the United Nations special rapporteur for indigenous people, June 19 called on Peru’s government to launch an investigation into allegations of abuse by security forces. Anaya said several people remained unaccounted for following the protests. n

EUROPE

UNITED STATES

European Union Summit Grants Treaty Concessions to Ireland.

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Leaders of the European Union’s 27 member nations June 18–19 held a summit meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. The leaders approved a set of assurances to Ireland that it would not be legally bound by the EU’s pending Lisbon Treaty on issues including abortion rights, taxation and military neutrality. The concessions were meant to help build support in Ireland to pass the treaty in a second referendum, after Irish voters rejected the treaty in a June 2008 referendum. The treaty, which would reorganize EU institutions, required ratification by all member nations before it could take effect. [See p. 188F2; 2008, p. 927D1] Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen said he expected that the referendum would be held in October. Public opinion polls in Ireland showed that support for the treaty had increased. Observers said Ireland’s economic recession had reduced resistance to closer EU integration. However, Czech President Vaclav Klaus June 18 said he would not sign the Lisbon Treaty unless the Czech parliament approved the guarantees granted to Ireland. He argued that the guarantees, to be set out in a separate formal protocol, altered the terms of the treaty. 432

Financial Regulations Set—The EU national leaders June 19 approved a plan to set up new financial regulatory bodies in response to the global financial crisis. The plan called for the creation of a European Systemic Risk Council. A second body would set EU-wide standards for the supervision of banks, insurers and other financial institutions by the EU’s national governments. [See pp. 417E2, 407A1] The risk council would have only an advisory role. National governments would retain final authority over whether to provide funds for rescuing banks. Britain, which had the largest financial industry in the EU, had opposed any stronger powers for the council, which had been supported by France. Barroso Backed for Second Term—The EU leaders June 18 unanimously agreed to back a second five-year term for Jose Manuel Barroso as president of the European Commission, the EU’s executive body. Barroso would have to win approval from the European Parliament, the EU’s legislative arm, for a second term. Earlier in June, center-right parties had increased their majority in the latest elections for the parliament, making the reappointment of Barroso, a former Portuguese prime minister, more likely despite opposition by center-left parties. [See p. 396G1; 2004, p. 487A3] Britain’s Conservative (Tory) Party June 22 announced that it had formed a new group in the European Parliament, breaking away from the main center-right bloc, the European People’s Party, to form the European Conservatives and Reformists Group. The group said it aimed to oppose the growth of EU federalism. It would be the fourth-largest group in the 736-seat parliament, with 55 members from eight countries. The Tories would have 26 members in the group; Poland’s Law and Justice (PiS) party, 15; and the Czech Republic’s Civic Democracy Party (ODS), nine. There would be one member each from parties from Belgium, Finland, Hungary, Latvia and the Netherlands. The Tories denied that the new anti-federalist grouping signaled that they would pursue an isolationist foreign policy if they won the next British parliamentary elections. Britain’s ruling center-left Labour Party said the Tories had aligned themselves with extremist parties, noting the PiS’s opposition to gay rights. n

France Sarkozy Says Burqa ‘Will Not Be Welcome.’

French President Nicolas Sarkozy in a speech to the French parliament June 22 condemned the burqa—a full-length, facehiding Islamic garment—as demeaning to the women who wore it. Throwing his support behind a drive to ban the burqa in France, he declared, “It will not be welcome on the territory of the French republic.” [See 2008, p. 983C1] Sarkozy said, “In the republic, the Muslim religion must be respected like other religions.” However, he argued, “The issue of the burqa is not a religious issue; it is a question of freedom and of women’s dig-

nity.” He insisted, “We cannot accept in our country women imprisoned behind bars, cut off from social life, deprived of identity.” He called the burqa a symbol of “enslavement.” The National Assembly, the lower chamber of parliament, June 23 set up a commission to investigate the issue of burqas and deliver a report in six months. A group of nearly 60 lawmakers from various parties had pressed for such a probe before Sarkozy endorsed it. Leaders of mainstream French Muslim groups said they also discouraged women from wearing the burqa, but warned that setting up the commission could stigmatize Muslims. In 2004, the French government had banned the wearing of religious garments or symbols in public schools. That ban was widely viewed as being aimed in particular at Muslim head scarves. France had the largest Muslim population in Western Europe, at about five million. In 2008, the Council of State, the highest administrative court, had denied French citizenship to a Moroccan woman living in France, finding that she wore a burqa and lived in “total submission” to her husband. Makes Historic Speech at Versailles—

Sarkozy’s June 22 speech was the first address to parliament by a French head of state in more than 130 years. He addressed a joint meeting of the Senate and the National Assembly at the palace of Versailles, outside Paris. Until a constitutional revision pushed through by Sarkozy in July 2008, a strict separation of powers had prevented the president from addressing parliament since the 1870s. The new reform called for the president to give an annual speech similar to the U.S. president’s State of the Union address. Sarkozy’s speech also focused on the current economic recession. He ruled out both tax increases and spending cuts to control the growing budget deficit, instead proposing new government borrowing to fund education and public services. Sarkozy, leader of the center-right Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), June 23 announced a reshuffle of his cabinet, two years into his five-year term in office. In the most notable appointment, he named author, filmmaker and television personality Frederic Mitterrand, nephew of former Socialist President Francois Mitterrand, as culture minister. It was the latest in a string of appointments by Sarkozy of figures from outside his own party. Justice Minister Rachida Dati left the cabinet after winning a seat in the European Parliament, the legislative body of the European Union, earlier in June. Dati, whose parents were immigrants from the former French colonies Algeria and Morocco, had become the first French cabinet member with North African origins. Most of France’s Muslim population had North African roots. Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie took over as justice minister, while Labor Minister Brice Hortefeux became interior minister. n FACTS ON FILE

European Business News Central Bank Lends Record One-Year Funds. The European Central Bank (ECB) June 23

loaned a record amount of 442 billion euros ($662 billion) in one-year funds to private-sector banks in the 16 countries that used the euro currency, known collectively as the eurozone. The offering, at the ECB’s benchmark rate of 1%, was its first of an unlimited amount of one-year funds. The ECB had scheduled more one-year fund auctions for September and December, but said it might increase its interest rate for those offerings. [See p. 417E2] The operation was part of the ECB’s efforts to counteract a eurozone recession and encourage banks to resume normal lending, after credit markets froze in the global financial crisis over the past year. The offer of unlimited short-term funds was aimed at driving down interest rates on loans between banks, which remained higher than the ECB’s official rate. The ECB had indicated that it was unlikely to lower its key rate below 1%, after cutting it repeatedly from 4.25% since 2008. In another move to respond to the financial crisis, the ECB had announced that it would buy 60 billion euros in low-risk corporate bonds. However, the ECB had drawn some criticism for taking less aggressive measures than the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, the British central bank, which had both cut their key rates to near zero and bought up larger amounts of both corporate and government debt. n

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Iraq Truck Detonates Near Kirkuk, Killing 82.

As many as 82 people died and more than 250 were wounded when a truck filled with explosives June 20 detonated near a Shiite Muslim mosque in Taza, a town in northern Iraq near Kirkuk. All of the victims were thought to be civilians. The bombing occurred in an oil-rich area where unresolved disputes simmered between Arabs, Turkmen and Kurds. [See below, pp. 398B2, 344E2] Hours before the attack, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had met in Baghdad, the capital, with Turkmen leaders to discuss instability in the areas around Kirkuk. He urged ethnic groups to work toward unity, and cautioned that there could be an uptick in violence following the scheduled June 30 withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Iraqi cities and towns. That move was part of U.S. President Barack Obama’s plan to reduce the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq, and was mandated by a U.S-Iraqi security agreement signed in 2008. Scores Killed in Marketplace Bombing—

At least 76 people were killed and more than 160 were injured when a bomb attached to a motorcycle and hidden under a load of vegetables June 24 detonated at a market in Sadr City, a predominantly Shiite June 25, 2009

neighborhood in Baghdad. Iraqi security forces reportedly did not arrive on the scene until about 20 minutes after the blast, angering some who lived in the area. [See p. 297A1] The bombing came four days after U.S. commanders had turned over to Iraqi forces an important base on the edge of Sadr City, as part of their withdrawal plans. Brig. Gen. Stephen Lanza, the senior U.S. military spokesperson in Iraq, hours before the blast had said violence in Iraq was less frequent than it had been in previous years. “There will be some challenges as we move out of the cities,” he added. He also said some U.S. combat forces would remain in certain urban areas after the deadline, but emphasized that they would be there to promote “stability” rather than to engage in combat operations. [See below, p. 330E3] Some observers suggested the recent violence was aimed at damaging Maliki’s reputation. Maliki had taken credit for reducing violence in Iraq in the prelude to parliamentary elections, which were scheduled for January 2010. Leading Sunni Politician Killed— Harith al-Obaidi, the moderate head of the Iraqi Accordance Front (known in Arabic as Tawafiq), the largest Sunni Muslim bloc in the Iraqi parliament, June 12 was shot dead just after he had finished giving a sermon at a mosque in Baghdad’s western Yarmouk neighborhood. The gunman also killed three of Obaidi’s bodyguards and an aide before reportedly throwing himself on top of an exploding grenade as security guards pursued him. Obaidi, who had served as deputy chairman of the Iraqi parliament’s human rights committee and was known as a campaigner against prison abuses, the following day was buried in a state funeral. His funeral was attended by lawmakers from all of Iraq’s major political parties. The attack came a day after Obaidi, 45, had announced his intention to summon the Iraqi ministers of defense, interior and justice to discuss extensive allegations of abuse and torture in Iraq’s prisons. Both U.S. and Iraqi officials had expressed concern that sectarian violence might spike near the June 30 deadline for the departure of combat troops. Iraqi forces June 17 arrested at least one man, Ahmed Abid Uwaid al-Luhaibi, in connection with the murders. Officials said Luhaibi was a member of the Awakening, a Sunni paramilitary force, as well as the Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella group for several terrorist elements. In a related development, a special committee June 18 began investigating complaints of systematic prisoner abuse, and was expected to submit a report on their findings to Maliki in two weeks. Iraq’s interior minister two days before had said more than 40 police officers would be charged with crimes after investigators found that prisoners had been abused or detained without warrants. Other News—In other Iraq news: o At least seven people were killed and 31 injured when an explosion June 25

ripped through a bus station in a Shiite neighborhood in southwest Baghdad. Two other people were killed in Baghdad that day by roadside bombs. Also, nine U.S. soldiers were wounded when two roadside bombs hit their convoy as it traveled through eastern Baghdad. o Dozens of people June 22 were killed in several attacks in and around Baghdad. As many as seven people were killed and 16 wounded when a suicide bomber detonated a car near municipal offices in Abu Ghraib, just west of the capital. Three U.S. soldiers were among the wounded. Three others were killed and 30 were wounded the same day when a bomb exploded near a market and a police patrol station in Shaab, in northeastern Baghdad. Also that day, five people were killed and 20 were injured when a car bomb exploded in Karrada, in central Baghdad. A roadside bomb in Sadr City detonated near a minibus carrying students to school, killing three students and wounding as many as 13 people. o British Foreign Secretary David Miliband June 20 announced that the “remains” of two men had been turned over to British officials in Baghdad. The British government the following day said the dead men had been tentatively identified as security guards Jason Creswell and Jason Swindlehurst. They had been kidnapped along with three other Britons by Shiite insurgents in May 2007. [See p. 189D3] o Iraq’s ambassador to the United Nations, Hamid al-Bayati, June 18 asked the U.N. Security Council to reduce the $25.5 billion Iraq owed in war reparations meant to rectify damages from the 1991 Persian Gulf war. Of that amount, $24 billion was owed to Kuwait. [See 2003, p. 240D2]

An audit released June 15 by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction and the U.S. State Department’s inspector general said the U.S. between 2004 and 2008 had overpaid the security contracting firm then called Blackwater Worldwide, and now known as Xe, by $55 million. The audit said the teams hired to protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq “did not maintain the required number” of several types of security specialists, leaving officials vulnerable to attacks. A spokesperson for Xe said the company had complied with all of the terms of its contract for the period examined in the audit. [See p. 208G3]

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o Two U.S. contractors who had been arrested by Iraqi security forces in connection with the death of another U.S. contractor in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone were released June 11. Another contractor detained on similar suspicions had been released the previous day. Two others who had been detained by Iraqi forces on those charges had been transferred to U.S. custody, U.S. officials said June 14. [See p. 398A3] n 433

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Afghanistan McChrystal Takes Reins as Top Commander.

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U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal June 15 formally took over as the top commander of U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces in Afghanistan, replacing U.S. Gen. David McKiernan in a ceremony in Kabul, the capital. In his remarks at the ceremony, McChrystal emphasized that protecting Afghanistan’s civilian population was crucial to defeating an insurgency by the fundamentalist Islamic group the Taliban. The U.S. Senate June 10 had unanimously confirmed McChrystal to the position. [See p. 381A1] U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates had tapped McChrystal to lead the coalition in May, saying a fresh approach was needed to reverse the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan. McChrystal was expected to tour the country over the next 10 days, meeting with military leaders and Afghan officials, and to submit a report to Gates in 60 days on how he was going to meet U.S. President Barack Obama’s goal of stabilizing the region. [See p. 194F2] During his Senate confirmation hearing in June, and in subsequent interviews with media outlets, McChrystal had stressed that protecting civilian populations would be the most effective method of reducing the Taliban’s influence. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal published June 12, he said he wanted to conduct a “classic counterinsurgency campaign” of using an influx of troops to boost security for local populations. Obama had authorized the deployment of an additional 21,000 troops to Afghanistan, which would bring the number of U.S. troops there to about 68,000, and the total number of coalition troops to about 100,000. In an interview with the Washington Post published June 16, McChrystal suggested that he was considering withdrawing troops from remote, sparsely populated regions that served as safe havens for hardcore Taliban fighters. Some of those areas had seen intense fighting in recent years, but had not resulted in significant territorial gains for coalition forces. McChrystal said those troops could be put to better use in regions more heavily populated by civilians, since increased security in those areas had a greater chance of leading to economic development and political integration. The U.S. was also expected to offer Afghan farmers economic incentives to cultivate crops other than poppy, which was used to make heroin, and was a major source of revenue for the Taliban. Prior to arriving in Afghanistan, McChrystal attended a June 11–12 meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, Belgium. The defense ministers agreed to change the command structure for coalition forces in Afghanistan, creating a new deputy post under the top commander that would oversee day-to-day military operations. That post would be filled by U.S. Lt. Gen. David Rodriguez, a counterinsurgen434

cy expert who had led troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer June 12 said European countries would send an additional 8,000 to 10,000 troops to provide security for the Afghan presidential election in August, but that they would be withdrawn soon after. The U.S. had long pushed its European allies in NATO to deploy more troops to Afghanistan, but had been unable to secure significant troop increases. Petraeus Sees Spike in Violence—U.S. Gen. David Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command, June 11 said insurgency-related violence in Afghanistan had spiked to its highest levels since 2001, when the coalition invaded Afghanistan and ousted the Taliban regime. Petraeus, speaking at the Center for a New American Security think tank in Washington, D.C., said coalition forces would need a “phenomenal understanding” of Afghan culture to win the allegiance of the civilian population. Petraeus said violence was likely to increase as more U.S. troops entered the country and engaged with the Taliban. Lt. Col. Erik Gunhus, a spokesman for Petraeus, later that day said there had been 400 militant attacks the previous week in Afghanistan, up from the average of 250 a week in June 2008. NATO that day reported that coalition deaths in the first three months of 2009 had increased by 78% compared with same period the previous year, and that the number of militant attacks had increased by 70%. U.S. Reports Errors Made in Air Strike—

The U.S. Defense Department June 19 said U.S. forces had made errors during a battle in early May in Afghanistan’s western province of Farah, which were the “likely” cause of at least 26 civilian deaths. That assessment of the civilian death toll was much lower than what had been reported by Afghan officials, who claimed that 140 civilians had been killed. The incident had stoked a popular outcry in Afghanistan against coalition forces and the U.S.backed government of President Hamid Karzai. [See p. 381D2] The Defense Department provided new details of the battle, reporting that U.S. fighter jets and bombers had been called in after an Afghan army operation against 300 heavily armed Taliban fighters went sour. The report said the bombing crews failed to follow guidelines for avoiding civilian casualties. One crew reportedly neglected to confirm that there were no civilians present in two buildings before dropping bombs on them, as it was required to do. The report also said 78 militants had been killed in the attack, and that militants from Pakistan and Chechnya were fighting alongside the Taliban. It was reported that McChrystal would soon release stricter engagement guidelines to reduce civilian casualties. The guidelines would reportedly limit the use of air strikes, and under certain circumstances would require soldiers to withdraw from firefights in which civilian lives were in danger.

Poll Shows Karzai’s Support Dropping—

The International Republican Institute—a U.S.-based nonprofit group with ties to the U.S. Republican Party—June 15 released a poll projecting that Karzai would receive 31% of the vote in the Aug. 20 presidential election, falling short of the 50% threshold required to avoid a runoff. Karzai had received 54% of the vote in the 2004 election. However, the poll’s 3,200 respondents were queried between May 3 and May 16, before many candidates had a chance to register for the election. Karzai’s leading competitors placed far behind him, with former Foreign Minister Abdullah (who went by only one name) projected to receive 7% of the vote, and former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani 3% of the vote. Karzai’s popularity had declined due to the increasingly perilous security situation, as well as rampant corruption in his government, but analysts said he was likely to prevail in the election. Karzai was one of Afghanistan’s few nationally recognized political figures, and had secured the support of powerful tribal leaders who were expected to push their followers to vote for him. [See p. 313F3] According to the poll, 30% of respondents said Afghanistan was heading in the right direction, compared with the 79% of respondents who believed it was on the right course in 2004. When asked if Afghanistan was more stable than a year earlier, 52% said it was less stable. The poll showed that 55% thought corruption was a “very serious” problem, and 26% thought it was “somewhat serious.” Reporters Escape From Taliban—A U.S. reporter with the New York Times and an Afghan colleague June 20 escaped from their Taliban abductors after seven months in captivity. The Times reporter, David Rohde, and the Afghan reporter, Tahir Ludin, as well as their driver, Asadullah Mangal, had been kidnapped on Nov. 10, 2008, in Afghanistan’s Logar province, southeast of Kabul. They were then reportedly held in several locations in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan, and eventually escaped from a compound in North Waziristan, a tribal area in northwestern Pakistan. [See 2008, p. 989A3; 1995, p. 882C2] The Times and other media outlets had agreed not to report the kidnapping over fears that the publicity would put the reporters’ lives in danger. The Times did not disclose any details of how it attempted to free the reporters, other than to say that no ransom money had been paid, and that no Taliban prisoners had been released in exchange for the reporters’ freedom. Times Executive Editor Bill Keller said the release of such details would offer “guidance for future kidnappers.” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had been the “lead agency” involved in efforts to free the reporters. Rohde in November 2008 had reportedly been researching a book on the U.S.’s involvement in Afghanistan. Ludin, who had worked with various Western media organizations, organized an interview with a FACTS ON FILE

Taliban leader who went by the name Abu Tayeb. The two reporters and Mangal were kidnapped soon after leaving Kabul en route to the interview. In an interview with the Times published June 22, Ludin said he and Rohde had sneaked out of the compound early June 20 while their guards were asleep, and used a rope to rappel down a 20-foot (6-m) wall encircling the compound. The two reporters then found a post run by Pakistani security forces, and later that day were transported to the U.S.’s Bagram Air Base, near Kabul. The Times wrote that Mangal “appeared to be overwhelmed by fear of his captors and had not participated in the planning of the escape.” Rohde was the latest foreigner to be kidnapped in Afghanistan, which had seen an increase in foreign abductions in recent years as the security situation deteriorated. The Taliban was thought to use hostages to raise ransom money, and as leverage over the coalition. Melissa Fung, a reporter with the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., had been kidnapped in 2008, and was freed a month later. That kidnapping also went unreported until her release. Rohde, 41, a winner of two Pulitzer Prizes (one in April as part of the Times’s team covering Afghanistan and Pakistan), had also been briefly held captive by Bosnian Serb forces in 1995 while reporting for the Christian Science Monitor in the former Yugoslavia. [See p. 279B3; 1996, p. 255F3] n

SPORTS

UNITED STATES

Golfer Glover Claims RainDelayed U.S. Open

the U.S. and Hunter Mahan of the U.S. were at two under. Top-ranked Tiger Woods of the U.S., despite finishing the round at one over par, was closely watched for a potential rally in the final round, which began late June 21. The leaderboard shifted soon after the final round resumed June 22. Barnes made five bogeys on the front nine, and Glover made three bogeys. At one point on the back nine, Glover, Duval and Mickelson were tied for the lead at three under par. But Mickelson bogeyed the 15th and 17th, and Duval’s par putt on the 17th lipped out, dropping both players from contention. After Mickelson and Duval posted scores of two under, Glover, at four under, took a two-stroke lead over playing partner Barnes into the 18th. Glover parred the hole, as did Barnes, giving Glover the victory. Glover shot a final-round 73 to finish the tournament with a 276, four under par. Mickelson, Duval and Barnes tied for second, at two under par. Woods finished tied for sixth, at even. Glover earned $1.35 million for the victory. Mickelson was a favorite of the rowdy crowd, many of whom voiced support for his wife, Amy Mickelson. The Mickelsons May 20 had announced that Amy had been diagnosed with breast cancer, and Mickelson suspended his season until June 10 as a result. Mickelson, a three-time major winner, had never won the U.S. Open, but had placed second five times. The second-place finish was seen as a comeback for Duval. In 1999, he had been ranked number one in the world, and he won the 2001 British Open. However, he had since lost form, and was ranked 882nd at the start of the 2009 U.S. Open. [See 2001, p. 584A1] n

Wins on Waterlogged Bethpage Black Course.

Lucas Glover of the U.S. June 22 won the U.S. Open, the second men’s major tournament of the year, at the Bethpage Black golf course in Farmingdale, N.Y. It was the first victory in a major for Glover, 29, who claimed the title on a Monday afternoon after outlasting his competitors in a tournament plagued by rain delays and difficult course conditions. [See 2008, p. 421C3] The U.S. Open had first been held at the Bethpage Black course—the most difficult course at Bethpage State Park—in 2002; that had been the first time that the tournament was played at a publicly owned golf course. [See 2002, p. 468C2] After most of the scheduled play June 18, the first day of the tournament, was washed out due to rain, players did not complete their first rounds until June 19. Canada’s Mike Weir, who was at six under par, led after the first round ended that day. The second round, which finished June 20, featured a 65 by little-known player Ricky Barnes, who ended the round in the lead at eight under. Glover completed the round in second place, one shot back. The third round ended the afternoon of June 21, with Barnes still in the lead at eight under, and Glover in second at seven under. David Duval of the U.S. and Ross Fisher of England were tied for third, at three under; and Weir, Phil Mickelson of June 25, 2009

Hockey Capitals’ Ovechkin Repeats as NHL MVP.

Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin June 18 was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the most valuable player (MVP) of the 2008–09 National Hockey League (NHL) season. Voting for the award was conducted by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. It was one of several handed out at a ceremony that night in Las Vegas, Nev. [See 2008, p. 760F1] Ovechkin, 23, won the award for the second straight year, making him the first player to repeat since goaltender Dominik Hasek had done so in 1997 and 1998. In the 2008– 09 season, Ovechkin had led the league with 56 goals, and came in second with 110 points. He also took home the Lester B. Pearson Award, as the MVP voted by the players. [See p. 299F2; 1998, p. 739C3] In other awards presented that night: o Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Steve Mason won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie. o Members of the Boston Bruins, who had the best record in the Eastern Conference, claimed three awards. Tim Thomas took the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender. Zdeno Chara won the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the top defen-

seman. Claude Julien was awarded the Jack Adams Trophy as the top coach. o Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings won his second straight Frank J. Selke Trophy as the top defensive forward. Also, for the fourth consecutive year, he took home the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for gentlemanly conduct. o Edmonton Oilers forward Ethan Moreau won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for his humanitarian contributions. o Nashville Predators forward Steve Sullivan was awarded the Bill Masterson Memorial Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. Future of Bankrupt Coyotes Mulled—Coyotes Holdings LLC, the parent company of the Phoenix Coyotes, May 5 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Phoenix, Ariz., after operating at losses of around $30 million for the previous three years. Two days later, the league challenged the filing, claiming that the team’s primary owner, Jerry Moyes, had signed over control of the Coyotes to the NHL in November 2008. The NHL sought to keep the Coyotes in Arizona, while a $212.5 million buyout offer from Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie would see the team move to Hamilton, Ontario. [See 2006, p. 1037E1] U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Redfield Baum June 15 rejected the proposed sale of the Coyotes to Balsillie to allow the league time to find a buyer who would keep the team in its current location. Balsillie had imposed a June 29 deadline for the completion of the sale, but the NHL board of governors had yet to vote on the team’s relocation, as required by league rules. Attorneys for the NHL argued that the bankruptcy filing was an attempt to circumvent both the league rules and the team’s current lease with the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Ariz. Four Elected to Hall of Fame—The Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Canada, June 23 elected four new members. The electees were center Steve Yzerman, defenseman Brian Leetch, and forwards Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille. All four retired players were elected in their first year of eligibility. They would be inducted in November. [See 2008, p. 994B3] Other News—In other NHL news: o The Minnesota Wild June 16 named former San Jose Sharks assistant coach Todd Richards the team’s head coach. He replaced the retiring Jacques Lemaire. [See p. 299E3] o New Jersey Devils coach Brent Sutter June 9 announced his resignation after just two seasons with the franchise. He cited family reasons for his early departure, but later accepted the head coaching position for the Calgary Flames on June 23. He replaced Mike Keenan, who had been fired on May 22 by Flames general manager Darryl Sutter, brother of Brent Sutter. [See 2007, p. 503G2] o Florida Panthers general manager Jacques Martin June 1 was named the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens. He took over the position from general manager Bob Gainey, who had finished the season as the interim coach for the team. [See p. 159C2] o The Dallas Stars June 1 named former Toronto Maple Leafs assistant to the general 435

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er and songwriter Michael Jackson, one of the world’s most famous entertainers, June 25 was pronounced dead at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles after apparently going into cardiac arrest at a house he had been renting in the city’s affluent Holmby Hills area. Paramedics responding to a 911 call reportedly found the 50-year-old Jackson not breathing when they reached the house in the early afternoon, and tried to revive him before rushing him to the hospital. Resuscitation efforts continued there for a little more than an hour before he was pronounced dead. An autopsy was to be performed to try to establish the cause of his death. [See p. 256B2] Born Aug. 29, 1958, in Gary, Ind., Michael Joseph Jackson had been in the limelight since the late 1960s, as the lead singer of the boy group the Jackson 5, whose other original members were his brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon. (Their youngest brother, Randy, replaced Jermaine in 1976.) The group had been organized in Gary by the boys’ father, Joe Jackson, a onetime steelworker. It was signed by Berry Gordy’s Detroit, Mich.– based Motown Records, a major showcase for black artists, in 1969, and made a memorable appearance that year on the “Ed Sullivan Show,” the leading television variety show of its day. [See 1974, p. 884E3] Also in 1969, the group released the first of its albums for Motown, Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5. As popular among whites as among blacks, the group even had its own Saturday morning TV cartoon show. And Michael Jackson, the group’s youngest member, drew the most attention, not only for his lead vocals but for his precocity as a dancer. Solo Career Follows Jackson 5—In 1971, Jackson began recording under his own name, while still performing with the Jackson 5. (The group left Motown in 1975 and subsequently performed and recorded as the Jacksons.) His first two solo albums, Got to Be There and Ben, were both released on Motown in 1972. His first major solo album, Off the Wall, came out in 1979 and eventually sold 20 million copies worldwide. The album had been produced jointly with Quincy Jones, whom he had met after being cast as the Scarecrow in the 1978 film musical The Wiz, and had four No. 1 singles, then an unprecedented feat. [See 1979, p. 800E3; 1978, p. 970F3] In 1982, Jackson released his album Thriller, his second Jones collaboration. It became the best-selling album in history, with over 100 million copies sold worldwide. Seven of its songs became Top 10 hits, including “Billie Jean,” “Beat It” and the title track. Its success was largely due 436

to the state-of-the-art videos used to promote its music. In 1983, while performing “Billie Jean” on a TV special viewed by 50 million people, he introduced what became his trademark “moonwalk” dance move, in which he seemed to be gliding forward while actually moving backward. In this phase of his career, he also came to be known for wearing a sequined white glove and other flashy articles of clothing. [See 1984, pp. 460E1–A2, 36E1] His later albums included Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and Invincible (2001); Bad was his last collaboration with Jones. All those albums sold millions of copies, but none came close to duplicating the success of Thriller. [See 2001, p. 968D1; 1991, p. 1016A1; 1987, p. 684F2] Convoluted Personal Life—As he grew older, his reputation for eccentricity also grew. In 1988, paid $17 million for his Neverland Ranch north of Los Angeles. He spent another $35 million to outfit the property with a menagerie, carnival-style rides and other attractions seemingly designed to appeal to children. He later was twice accused of having molested young boys—he himself claimed to have been beaten and otherwise badly mistreated by his father as a child—with the second set of allegations resulting in a 2005 trial that ended in his acquittal on all 10 counts. After the trial, he lived abroad for several years, including in Bahrain. In 2008, he narrowly avoided foreclosure on Neverland. [See p. 256B2; 2008, p. 998D3; 2005, p. 400A1; 1994, p. 720C2; 1991, p. 904B2–C2] He was also known for having undergone a number of plastic surgeries that led to his appearance changing dramatically over the years. His skin also became lighter and lighter, which some attributed to skinbleaching treatments, but which he claimed was due to vitiligo, a skin disorder. [See 1993, p. 108E2] He had a high-pitched, whispery voice and an androgenous look that led many to assume that he was gay or even asexual. Nevertheless, he was married twice. His first wife was Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of rock and roll legend Elvis Presley. That marriage lasted from 1994 to 1996. His second marriage, to onetime nurse Debbie Rowe, lasted from 1996 to 1999. It produced a son and a daughter, of whom Jackson was granted custody after his divorce from Rowe. He also had a second son, born in 2002 to a surrogate mother whose identity was never revealed. [See 1999, p. 788G2; 1997, p. 116B2; 1996, pp. 856C1, 44B2; 1994, p. 560B2; 1984, p. 997C3] Over the years, he made tens of millions of dollars—he at one time owned the company that controlled the copyrights to 251 songs by the British rock group the Beatles—and made major contributions to charity. However, his lifestyle was so lavish that he ended up being burdened with significant financial problems, some of which led to lawsuits. A number of these were pending, and it was thought that it might take years to settle his estate. (The Wall Street Journal and other media outlets reported that he was hundreds of millions

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manager, Joe Nieuwendyk, to replace co– general managers Hull and Les Jackson. o The Edmonton Oilers May 26 hired former Maple Leafs coach Pat Quinn as the team’s new coach. [See 2006, p. 335D1] n

Michael Jackson after winning eight Grammy Awards in 1984.

of dollars in debt at the time of his death.) [See 2006, p. 316G1; 1985, p. 656G1] To help bolster his finances, he had agreed to return to the stage, after last staging a world tour in 1996–97, by giving a series of 50 concerts at London’s O2 arena. Tickets for these shows, which had been set to begin in July, had quickly sold out, and he had reportedly passed a medical exam to determine if he was well enough to meet the grueling demands of such a performance schedule. Jackson was survived by his three children, his five brothers, as well as by three sisters, Janet, La Toya and Rebbie Jackson, all of them singers themselves. [See p. 307C1; 1996, p. 364F2] n FAWCETT, Farrah, 62, actress whose appearance on a swimsuit poster showing her with flowing blonde hair, followed by a role as one of three seductive female detectives in the television series “Charlie’s Angels,” made her a 1970s sex symbol; in those days, she was married to actor Lee Majors and was billed as Farrah Fawcett-Majors; although she left “Charlie’s Angels” in 1977, after only one season, and appeared on the show only a few times thereafter, she remained identified with it for the rest of her career, which included a number of more serious roles, both on TV and in Hollywood movies; after six years of marriage, she and Majors separated in 1979 and were divorced in 1982; during the last three years of her marriage, and for much of the rest of her life, she was romantically involved with actor Ryan O’Neal, with whom she had a son, Redmond O’Neal, born in 1985; she broke up with O’Neal in 1997, but was reunited with, and aided him after he was diagnosed with leukemia in 2001; he in turn aided her after she was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006; the cancer eventually spread to her liver, and she sought experimental treatment for it in Germany; her cancer battle was recounted in a TV documentary, “Farrah’s Story,” that aired in May; born Feb. 2, 1947, in Corpus Christi, Texas; died June 25 at a hospital in Santa Monica, Calif., of cancer complications. [See 2000, p. 835E2; 1998, p. 143D2; Indexes 1997, 1995, 1989, 1985–86, 1982–83, 1980, 1978] McMAHON, Ed (Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr.),

86, entertainer best known for his role as the announcer and sidekick on the NBC television network’s “Tonight Show” during the three decades (1962–92) that Johnny Carson hosted it; his trademark phrase in introducing Carson was “Heeeere’s Johnny!”; he and Carson had previously been paired on an ABC quiz show, “Who Do You Trust?” starting in 1958; over the years, he also made many TV commercials; after leaving the “Tonight Show,” he hosted the TV talent show “Star Search” for a dozen years; in 2008, his multimilliondollar Beverly Hills, Calif., home was nearly foreclosed on, an episode that was widely publicized; born March 6, 1923, in Detroit, Mich.; died June 23 at a hospital in Los Angeles; he reportedly had been battling bone cancer and had recently been hospitalized with pneumonia. [See 2005, p. 56C3; 1991, p. 412A2] n

June 25, 2009

U.S. Troops Withdraw From Iraqi Cities Bombings Underscore Fragile Security.

Iraq June 30 marked the official deadline under a 2008 U.S.-Iraqi security agreement for U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraqi cities and towns. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who had characterized the withdrawal as a “great victory” against foreign occupiers, declared a national holiday. The Iraqi government and media over the previous days had promoted festivals and parades, and disseminated patriotic messages and programming. However, while some Iraqis celebrated, many stayed home amid fears that insurgent attacks and sectarian violence would increase as presumably less-able Iraqi troops took over security tasks from the departing U.S. forces. [See p. 433E1] The U.S. had shut down more than 150 bases and outposts in Iraq since Jan. 1. About 130,000 U.S. troops were scheduled to remain stationed in Iraq until September, mainly in bases outside urban areas. U.S. President Barack Obama planned to withdraw all combat forces from Iraq by August 2010, and the 2008 security agreement required that all U.S. troops leave the country by the end of 2011. Some U.S. personnel would remain in cities after the June 30 deadline to train Iraqi troops and to perform tasks that they were not yet able to do, such as bomb disposal and emergency medical evacuation. In addition, U.S. forces would still go on joint patrols with Iraqi troops in some cities where violence remained high, such as Baghdad, the capital, and Mosul, the capital of the northern province of Nineveh. However, the Iraqi government had reportedly asked the U.S. military to curtail its activities over the first few days in July, in order to reinforce the appearance of an end to the U.S. occupation. Maliki in a nationally televised speech said the U.S. pullback was “an achievement made by all Iraqis.” He said, “The national united government succeeded in putting down the sectarian war that was threatening the unity and the sovereignty of Iraq,” but made no note of the role of the U.S. Obama said the withdrawal from cities was “an important milestone” and that “the Iraqi people are rightly treating this day as a IRAQ CASUALTIES

Following are tallies of casualties in Iraq since the beginning of a U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, as they stood July 2 [See pp. 437A1, 380A1]: U.S. military casualties:

Deaths Wounded

4,321 31,408

Allied military deaths: 318 Iraqi security forces deaths: 9,113 Iraqi civilian deaths: 92,485–100,964

(Range based on news reports of deaths) Sources: U.S. casualties: U.S. Defense Department. Allies and Iraqi security forces: www.icasualties.org. Iraqi civilians: www.iraqbodycount.org.

cause for celebration.” However, he warned that violence might increase in the near future. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, June 28 had said he believed that Iraqi security forces were ready to take over security responsibilities from the U.S. military. Izzat Ibrahim al Douri—a senior member of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s government and the de facto leader of Hussein’s banned Baath Party—and the Association of Muslim Scholars—a Sunni Muslim clerical group that had called for attacks on U.S. troops—July 1 released separate statements calling for insurgents to continue fighting the U.S. until it withdrew from Iraq completely, but warned against attacking Iraqis. Radical Shiite cleric Moqtada alSadr, whose Mahdi Army militia had been one of the primary factors in sectarian violence until a 2007 truce, July 1 also released a statement hailing the U.S. pullback but calling for a complete withdrawal, and warning that it might just be a “media announcement.” [See pp. 228C1, 57F1] Bombing in Kirkuk Kills 33—A suicide bomber June 30 attacked a market in a Kurdish neighborhood of the northern city of Kirkuk, killing at least 33 people. A bomb hidden in a motorcycle June 26 had killed at least 10 people at a market in Baghdad, while another motorcycle bomb in Baghdad the same day killed at least one person. The attacks underscored the fragility of Iraq’s security during the turnover. The U.S. military June 30 reported that four U.S. troops had been killed, and another U.S. soldier had been reported killed on June 28. Oil Companies Reject Auction Terms—

The Iraqi government June 29 attempted to auction off development rights for six oil and two natural gas fields to international companies. However, most of the companies that submitted bids were not willing to agree to the government’s terms, and only a single deal went through. Iraq had an estimated 9% of the world’s crude oil, second only to Saudi Arabia, but its fields had been underdeveloped due to decades of war and neglect. [See p. 362C3] The Iraqi government, which relied on oil revenue for over 90% of its budget, was seeking to increase Iraq’s total oil production to 4 million barrels a day, from the current 2.4 million. It had offered companies 20-year technical services contracts in which they would be paid a per-barrel bonus for boosting production, but would not receive an ownership stake as was typical elsewhere. Most of the bids submitted had stipulated bonuses several times higher than what Iraq said it was willing to pay. In the sole winning bid, a consortium of Britain’s BP PLC and the China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) agreed to accept a payment of $2 per barrel to increase the output of the giant Rumaila oil field in southern Iraq to 2.85 million barrels a day, from 1 million. It had originally submitted a bid of $3.99 per barrel. The Iraqi cabinet July 1 officially accepted the bid. n

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World News Digest With Index ©2009 by Facts On File News Services An imprint of Infobase Publishing

Volume 69, No. 3576 July 2, 2009

B Honduran President Zelaya Ousted by Military Disputed Referendum Preempted. The Honduran military early June 28 stormed the presidential palace in Tegucigalpa, the capital, and deposed President Manuel Zelaya Rosales. Zelaya said soldiers overcame the presidential guard, awakened him and placed him on an airplane to Costa Rica. In an interview in San Juan, Costa Rica’s capital, later that day, Zelaya, 56, rejected his ouster as illegal. “I am the president of Honduras,” he said, still dressed in his pajamas. The overthrow of Zelaya occurred hours before voting was to have been held on a national referendum that was the subject of a dispute between Zelaya and Honduras’s National Congress and Supreme Court. [See 2006, p. 150E1] The Congress later June 28 voted to accept what lawmakers claimed was a letter of

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MAJOR STORIES IN THIS ISSUE U.S. troops withdraw from Iraqi cities; bombings underscore fragile security. PAGE 437

Honduran President Zelaya ousted by military. PAGE 437

Iran’s Guardian Council certifies disputed presidential election results.

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Republican Coleman concedes Minnesota Senate election to Democrat Franken. PAGE 441

Disgraced financier Madoff sentenced to 150 years in prison. PAGE 441

Supreme Court ends term; continues rightward shift. PAGE 442

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House passes climate change bill. PAGE 445

Argentine president’s allies defeated in congressional elections. PAGE 446

China delays Internet filter requirement. PAGE 448

Britain sets Iraq war investigation. PAGE 449

Hariri named Lebanese prime minister. PAGE 450

Oklahoma’s Griffin tops NBA draft. PAGE 450

REFERENCES in brackets give location of background information in this & preceding volumes.

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resignation from Zelaya, who rejected the document as a forgery. The Congress named Roberto Micheletti, 63—the body’s president and, like Zelaya, a Liberal Party member—to serve out the remainder of Zelaya’s term, set to expire in January 2010. Micheletti was sworn in as president that afternoon. The Supreme Court, Honduras’s highest court, later said it had approved Zelaya’s dismissal because his attempt to hold the referendum was illegal, and asserted that the military had acted to uphold democracy. According to news reports, much of Tegucigalpa was left without power after Zelaya’s ouster, and the military patrolled the city’s streets and skies while guarding government buildings. Television and radio stations were taken off the air, and the government set a 9:00 p.m. curfew. Thousands of protesters supporting Zelaya clashed with the military outside the presidential palace, erecting a barricade with burning tires. Protesters supporting Zelaya June 29 again fought with troops in Tegucigalpa’s streets amid growing crowds, estimated in the thousands. The International Committee of the Red Cross reported that at least 30 people were injured after fighting with troops. Demonstrators armed with sticks and stones gathered around the presidential offices, and a domestic media blackout continued, leaving residents without access to the Internet or cable television largely uninformed of international condemnation of the coup d’etat. Thousands of others also gathered in the capital to denounce Zelaya, accusing him of attempting to subvert the country’s constitution. Constitutional Reform Sparks Conflict—

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Political tensions had arisen over an attempt by Zelaya to hold a public referendum June 28 on the creation of a constituent assembly to rewrite the country’s constitution. Under the current constitution the president was limited to one, four-year term in office; Zelaya’s term was to end in November. Zelaya’s critics said the proposed constitutional reform was an attempt to abolish the term limit, and questioned his ties to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias. Zelaya had been elected in 2005 with the support of the country’s poor and labor unions, and had taken office in 2006. The country’s middleclass and business interests reportedly feared that Zelaya sought to institute Chavez-style socialist reforms. The Congress June 23 had passed a law prohibiting public referenda from being held 180 days before or after a general election, in an attempt to halt Zelaya’s efforts. Zelaya June 24 said he had fired Gen. Romeo Vasquez Velasquez, the head of the country’s armed forces, after Vasquez said that he would not provide military support for the public referendum effort, in accordance with a Supreme Court order forbidding the military from doing so. The military traditionally distributed ballots for voting in Honduras. Zelaya June 24 also said he had accepted the resignation of Defense Minister Edmundo Orellana. The heads of the air force, navy and army had also resigned in a show

of support for Vasquez. The Supreme Court June 25 ordered Vasquez’s reinstatement, but Zelaya in a speech before his supporters said he refused to comply with the dictate. Unidentified senior U.S. officials said that U.S. diplomats in the days leading up to the coup had been working to negotiate a solution between Zelaya, federal legislators and the military, to no avail. International Response—U.S. officials initially referred to Zelaya’s deposition as a coup. But U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton June 29 said the U.S. would not formally declare the events a coup, as that would make Honduras ineligible for millions of dollars in aid from the U.S. Nevertheless, U.S. President Barack Obama later that day condemned Zelaya’s ouster as an illegal act. The U.S. had a long history of supporting the Honduran military, and aided in its training. Vasquez was among the Honduran officers who had received training from the U.S. at some point. The U.S.’s position was also complicated by its history of supporting coups and dictatorships in Latin America. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias, a staunch ally of Zelaya, June 28 said Zelaya’s ouster was orchestrated by “the bourgeoisie and the extreme right,” and pledged to help return him to power. Chavez that day also said he had put his troops on high alert, and that any act of aggression toward Venezuelan officials in Honduras would be considered an act of war. The Honduran military’s actions were also roundly condemned internationally, with most Latin American countries showing an unusual amount of unity in calling for Zelaya’s return to power. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said the events reminded her of “the worst years in Latin America’s history,” when violent transfers of power were more common, and often led to years of bloodshed. Zelaya June 29 met with several Latin American leftist leaders, including Chavez, Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega Saavedra. Zelaya at the meeting vowed to return to power in Honduras on July 2, and said he had accepted an offer from Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza to accompany him. He later said he would also be joined by Fernandez de Kirchner and Correa. Zelaya June 30 addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York City in an effort to bolster international support for his attempt to regain power in Honduras. The General Assembly unanimously passed a nonbinding resolution condemning the coup, and calling for Zelaya’s return to power. However, Micheletti that day said Zelaya would be arrested upon his return, tried on various charges and imprisoned. In a interview with the Wall Street Journal published June 30, Micheletti defended Zelaya’s overthrow as “within the law.” He added that Zelaya “is now suffering the consequences of having broken the law.” The OAS early July 1 passed a resolution calling for the interim Honduran govern-

ment to reinstate Zelaya within three days, or else face expulsion from the group. Zelaya that day delayed his planned return to Honduras to July 4, to coincide with the OAS’s deadline for the interim government to return him to power. However, leaders of the government headed by Micheletti remained adamant that they would not bow to diplomatic or economic pressure to return Zelaya to power. Micheletti July 2 told the Washington Post that he would consider moving up presidential elections scheduled to take place in November, in order to pacify his critics. n

Iranian Presidential Election Council Certifies Disputed Results. Iran’s Guardian Council, a senior 12-member body of Shiite Muslim clerics and jurists, June 29 dismissed complaints that the results of a presidential election held earlier in June were skewed by fraud, and certified that incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had won reelection. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians had taken to the streets after the election in Tehran, the capital, claiming that Ahmadinejad had rigged the results in order to beat his main opponent, reformist former Prime Minister Mir Hussein Moussavi. The Basij militia and other government security forces had attacked protesters, and the Iranian government said at least 17 protesters and eight Basijis had been killed. [See p. 421A1] The Guardian Council June 26 said it had created a special committee that would review the fraud allegations and recount a random selection of 10% of the votes. It said the committee would include representatives of Moussavi and Mehdi Karrou-

Facts On File World News Digest With Index (ISSN 0014-6641) Publication #183680 EDITOR IN CHIEF: Jonathan Taylor MANAGING EDITOR: Jennifer Dunham SENIOR EDITOR: Joshua Lustig EDITORS: Rahul Chadha, Ian McGullam, Ryu Spaeth ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Todd Grennan, Shannon O’Toole DATABASE COORDINATOR: Ben Miller INDEX EDITOR: Jonathan Leith COPY EDITOR: Walter Kronenberg

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bi, another reformist candidate who had protested the alleged fraud. However, Moussavi and Karroubi June 27 said they would not participate, claiming that the review would not be broad enough and the committee would not be independent. The Expediency Council—a body that advised Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—June 27 declared that Khamenei’s endorsement of Ahmadinejad’s victory was final, although it added that the government should “properly and thoroughly” investigate fraud allegations. The Expediency Council was headed by former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who had been a vocal supporter of Moussavi but since the election had not made any public statements in his favor. The Guardian Council June 29 announced that after recounting 10% of the votes, it had determined that the election results—which gave Ahmadinejad 62.6% of the vote, and Moussavi 33.8%—were valid, and that there had not been any significant fraud. It found that in several areas, Ahmadinejad had received more votes than had originally been counted. A massive security presence in Tehran stemmed protests that day, but many people chanted, “Allahu akbar” (“God is Great”) from their rooftops, continuing a protest tactic that had been revived from the 1979 Islamic Revolution. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, when asked whether the U.S. would recognize Ahmadinejad as president, June 29 said, “We’re going to take this a day at a time.” She added, “Obviously, they have a huge credibility gap with their own people as to the election process, and I don’t think that’s going to disappear by any finding of a limited review of a relatively small number of ballots.” Karroubi June 30 issued a statement calling Ahmadinejad’s government “illegitimate.” Authorities the next day shut down a newspaper linked to him. Moussavi July 1 released a statement renewing his objections to the election results. “It’s not yet too late,” he said. “It’s our historic responsibility to continue our complaint and make efforts not to give up the rights of the people.” Former President Mohammad Khatami, a Moussavi ally, that day issued a statement rejecting the results and criticizing the crackdown on protesters, demanding the release of those arrested. He accused the government of carrying out a “coup against the people and democracy.” Protests Revive After Lull—Several thousand protesters June 28 gathered in Tehran after several days of relative calm, but were attacked by the police. Moussavi June 26 had pledged to seek permits for his followers’ protests. The government had customarily denied requests for permits, but had granted Moussavi one for the June 28 gathering because he said it was to commemorate a founder of the Islamic Revolution. An influential cleric, Ayatollah Ahmed Khatami, June 26 had called for Iran’s judiciary to severely punish the protest leaders, possibly with execution, for waging war July 2, 2009

against God and the Iranian people. Ahmadinejad and senior clerics June 30 warned that further protests would not be tolerated. Police June 28 arrested nine Iranian employees of the British embassy who they said had organized demonstrations. (The Iranian government had claimed that the protests were primarily directed by foreign agitators, and especially the British government.) The European Union that day warned that Iranian “harassment or intimidation” of embassy staff of EU member nations, such as Britain, would “be met with a strong and collective EU response.” Eight of the embassy employees were released over the following days, but one was still being held for questioning as of July 2. The Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights June 28 reported that Iran had arrested more than 2,000 people since the election, with hundreds missing; Iran’s official media had said that the total arrested was more than 650. Several rights groups also warned that some detainees were at risk of being tortured. Ahmadinejad June 29 called for the justice ministry to investigate the killing of Neda Agha-Soltan, a woman who was shot during the protests and had become an icon of the opposition. He claimed that “opponents of the Iranian nation” were behind her killing. Protesters and a doctor who had gone to Soltan’s aid had said she had been shot by a Basiji. The commander of the Basij, Hossein Taeb, June 30 said Iran had arrested several impostors who had beaten protesters while wearing Basij uniforms. He also said one of the impostors was responsible for Soltan’s death. The Basij July 1 called on the judiciary to investigate Moussavi for offenses related to organizing the protests, including “disturbing the nation’s security,” which carried a maximum 10-year prison sentence. Obama Intensifies Criticism—U.S. President Barack Obama June 26 in a news conference at the White House with German Chancellor Angela Merkel rejected demands from Ahmadinejad issued the previous day that he apologize for criticizing the regime’s crackdown on protesters. Obama suggested that the Iranian government instead should apologize to the families of slain and beaten protesters. He said Moussavi had “captured the imagination or the spirit” of Iranians hoping for reform. Obama since the election had been criticized for what some viewed as hesitation to offer support to Moussavi and the protesters. Obama also said Iran’s reaction to the protests would affect “any direct dialogue or diplomacy” with the U.S. Obama had previously pledged to engage Iran in direct talks on issues including Iran’s nuclear program. A meeting of foreign ministers of the Group of 8 (G-8) industrialized nations in Trieste, Italy, June 26 also condemned Iran’s violent response to the protests, although it did not mention allegations of election fraud. Ahmadinejad June 27 dismissed Obama’s comments as “insulting,” and said Iran would deal with the West in a “harsh and more decisive” manner to punish it for its “meddlesome stance.” n

Accidents & Disasters Plane Crashes Near Comoros, Killing 152.

Yemenia Airways Flight IY626, an Airbus A310 with 142 passengers and 11 crew members on board, early June 30 crashed into the Indian Ocean as it approached its destination, Moroni, the capital of the Comoros. (Comoros was a three-island archipelago off Africa’s southeast coast, and Moroni was located on its largest island, Grand Comore.) The only survivor as of July 2 was a French-Comoran girl in her early teens. [See p. 387A1] The crash came about a month after 228 people were killed when an Air France Airbus A330 flying from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Paris, France, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. The Yemenia flight had originated in Paris June 29 on a different aircraft, an Airbus A330-200, and stopped in the southern French city of Marseille before continuing to Sanaa, Yemen’s capital. In Sanaa, many passengers and crew from the original flight transferred to another aircraft, the Airbus A310, for the final leg of the journey to Moroni. Contact with the flight was lost about four hours after it left Sanaa. Reports that the plane had crashed began to emerge early June 30. The cause of the crash, which occurred about 10 miles (15 km) north of Grand Comore, had yet to be determined, although officials said it had been flying though strong winds. The plane reportedly made two aborted landing attempts at Moroni’s airport prior to the crash. Most of the victims were said to be Comoran; 66 French nationals were also on board, as well as citizens of Canada, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Morocco, the Palestinian territories, the Philippines and Yemen. France was Comoros’s former colonial ruler, and strong ties continued to exist between the two nations. Many of the passengers held dual French and Comoran citizenship. The French and U.S. militaries reportedly took the lead in the search and rescue operation. (France had a military presence on the nearby islands of Mayotte and Reunion, which remained French possessions.) France’s transport minister, Dominique Bussereau, June 30 said the 19-year-old Airbus A310 that passengers and crew had boarded in Sanaa had been barred from French airspace after “numerous faults had been noted” during an inspection in 2007. Also, it was reported July 1 that residents of Comoros and Comorans living in France had long complained about safety problems on Yemenia flights on the leg from Sanaa to Moroni, including overcrowding and a lack of seat belts. In response, Yemenia, which was jointly owned by the Yemeni and Saudi Arabian governments, criticized what it called “false information and speculation about technical problems.” Yemen’s transport minister, Khaled Ibrahim al-Wazeer, said the aircraft had received a complete inspection in May. Yemenia’s chairman, AbdulKhaleq al-Qadi, said the airline had made a 439

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“preliminary decision” to pay families 20,000 euros ($28,300) per victim. Comoran Vice President Idi Nadhoim July 1 criticized France for not relaying its concerns about the safety of the plane to his government. After the crash, the French government and Airbus Industrie, the French-German company that manufactured the aircraft, dispatched teams to Comoros to aid the investigation. A French official July 1 said the flight’s “black box,” or flight data recorder, had been located during an aerial search, and that a team had been dispatched to retrieve it. However, the French government later retracted that statement, saying the signal they had believed was coming from the black box was actually a distress beacon from the submerged plane. The lone survivor July 1 was identified as Bahia Bakari, who lived in Paris. She reportedly survived by clinging to the wreckage of the plane for about 13 hours, despite having suffered a fractured collarbone. Bakari had been traveling with her mother, who was believed to be among the dead. n

International Trade U.S., EU Lodge Complaint Against China.

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The U.S. and the European Union June 23 lodged a joint complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over duties that China applied to exports of nine raw materials used in the manufacturing of steel, aluminum and other products. U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said the export duties amounted to a “conscious policy” to favor domestic industry “by making raw materials cheaper for Chinese companies to get” and make “goods more economical for them to produce.” [See p. 414A2] China contended that the duties were permitted under WTO rules for the purpose of protecting its exhaustible natural resources as well as the environment. In response to the complaint, China asked the WTO to investigate the legality of the U.S.’s existing ban on Chinese poultry imports, imposed in 2004 amid an avian influenza outbreak, pressing ahead with a previous complaint on that matter. The export-duties complaint was filed after more than two years of unsuccessful discussions on the dispute. It was the first WTO case filed against China by the U.S. since U.S. President Barack Obama took office in January. A 60-day “consultation period” would follow the filing, in which the two countries would seek a resolution through dialogue. If they failed, it could head to a hearing before a WTO panel. International tensions over allegedly protectionist trade policies had been on the rise during the current global economic downturn. China in June had made public a May 26 directive ordering that public spending under a recent economic stimulus program should favor domestic producers wherever possible. China, along with other countries, had criticized the U.S. for including an analogous “Buy American” clause in its recent stimulus package. China had also increased tax credits for ex440

ports of manufactured goods, and state lending to exporters had been increased. [See p. 91A2] A WTO panel Jan. 26 had issued a ruling in another U.S. filing against China, over China’s regime for protecting intellectualproperty rights. The panel said the U.S. had not shown sufficient evidence to support its contention that China’s laws made it too hard to make a case against counterfeiters. However, it endorsed the U.S.’s contention that China’s denial of copyright protection to media materials not approved by state censors was a violation of WTO rules, and that China should not permit the auction of seized counterfeit goods even if forged trademarks were removed. [See 2007, p. 220G3] Call Repeated for New Reserve Currency—

The People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, June 26 in its annual report on international financial stability called for countries’ foreign currency reserves to be denominated in a new international currency, replacing the current arrangement in which the U.S. dollar functioned as the world’s main reserve currency. The bank suggested that Special Drawing Rights, a financial instrument used for International Monetary Fund transactions and based on a basket of currencies, be adopted as the reserve currency. The paper formalized the bank’s endorsement of the idea, proposed by its governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, in March. [See p. 194D1] Chinese officials in recent months had expressed concern about the long-term value of the country’s extensive investments in U.S. government securities and other dollar-denominated investments. The bank’s report did not explicitly criticize the use of the dollar as a reserve currency, but commented on potential conflicts between a country’s domestic economic policy and its currency’s suitability as a holding for the rest of the world. n

World Poverty One Billion Worldwide Said to Go Hungry.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) June 19 published new world hunger estimates projecting that a total of 1.02 billion people worldwide suffered daily from lack of sufficient food in 2009, up from 915 million in 2008. The FAO defined someone as suffering from hunger if they were unable to consume an average of 1,800 calories per day; however, the exact number of calories used to calculate hunger differed between countries and age groups. (The world’s total population was currently estimated at more than 6.7 billion.) [See 2008, pp. 926D1, 371F3] FAO head Jacques Diouf June 19 said it would be “the biggest ever year-on-year increase” in hunger in world history, which the agency attributed in part to the worldwide financial crisis. The estimates were based in part on data collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). According to the FAO’s estimates, about 642 million people in the world’s Asia-Pacific region would suffer from hunger in 2009, an increase of 10.5% since 2008. The FAO also projected that the hunger rate in

Sub-Saharan Africa would rise 11.8%, to 265 million. The estimates suggested that the developed world would see the largest percentage increase—15.4%—but would continue to have the lowest total number of people suffering from hunger, 15 million. Diouf said, regarding the increases, that “no part of the world is immune,” adding that poor countries “must be given the development, economic and policy tools required to boost their agricultural production and productivity.” World Food Program Faces Shortfall—

U.N. World Food Program (WFP) Executive Director Josette Sheeran June 12 announced that the WFP would require $6.4 billion to fund its international food aid programs in 2009, but warned that decreases in the amount of money contributed by donors had already forced the program to halt some programs in North Korea and parts of eastern Africa. The WFP reportedly had funds totaling $1.5 billion as of June 5. n

Other International News U.S. Can Continue Using Kyrgyzstan Base.

Kyrgyzstan’s parliament June 24 unanimously voted to ratify an agreement that allowed the U.S. to continue to use an air base at Manas, Kyrgyzstan, as a supply and transit hub for its operations in Afghanistan. The move was a reversal of Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s February announcement that Kyrgyzstan would close the base. U.S. and Kyrgyz officials June 22 had agreed to the deal, saying the volatile situation in Afghanistan risked destabilizing Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian countries. [See pp. 434A1, 423D2, 58D3] Under the renewable one-year agreement, the U.S. would pay $60 million annually to lease the base, up from the previous $17.4 million. The U.S. would also spend $37 million to build more aircraft parking spaces and storage at the base, and another $30 million to upgrade the airport’s air traffic control systems. An additional $51.5 million would go toward anti–drug trafficking and counterterrorism programs in Kyrgyzstan, as well as infrastructure projects. U.S. President Barack Obama reportedly had recently sent a letter to Bakiyev, in which he had urged cooperation between the U.S. and Kyrgyzstan in fighting terrorism. Bakiyev in February had announced the planned closure of the U.S. base the same day Russia had announced a $2 billion loan to Kyrgyzstan, and analysts had suggested that Russia influenced Kyrgyzstan’s move. Kyrgyzstan denied those claims. Some analysts suggested that Kyrgyz officials never intended to evict U.S. forces, but instead wanted to raise the rent for the base. Unidentified Russian foreign ministry officials said Kyrgyzstan had betrayed Russia by reversing its decision on the base, Russian media outlet Kommersant reported June 24. However, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev June 25 said Russia and Central Asian states wanted to see the U.S. succeed in Afghanistan. n FACTS ON FILE

U N I T ESTATES D S TAT E S UNITED

Republican Coleman Concedes Minnesota Senate Election State Supreme Court Rules for Franken.

The Minnesota state Supreme Court June 30 ruled unanimously that Democrat Al Franken, a former comedian, should be certified as the winner of the state’s November 2008 U.S. Senate election, rejecting an appeal by the former Republican incumbent, Norm Coleman. Coleman conceded defeat two hours later, ending an eight-month legal battle over the election and giving Democrats their 60th Senate vote, reaching a threshold that could allow them to prevent Republican filibusters. [See p. 242F2] Franken’s final margin of victory stood at just 312 votes, out of a total of 2.9 million cast. Coleman had won the initial Election Day vote count by 206 votes. But Franken refused his calls to concede, and a statewide recount, automatically triggered by the narrow margin, in January put Franken ahead by 225 votes after including absentee ballots that had not been counted. Coleman had challenged the recount result, arguing that some absentee ballots had been unfairly rejected under inconsistent standards set by local officials. In April, after a seven-week trial, a special panel of three state judges rejected Coleman’s claim that several thousand ballots had been wrongly excluded. The panel ruled that about 300 additional absentee ballots should be counted, increasing Franken’s lead to 312 votes. The state Supreme Court ruled, 5–0, that Coleman had failed to prove that the threejudge panel’s “findings of fact are clearly erroneous or that the court committed an error of law or abused its discretion” in its April ruling in favor of Franken. At a news conference outside his home in St. Paul after the court ruled, Coleman said, “The Supreme Court of Minnesota has spoken, and I respect its decision and will abide by the result.” He added, “We have reached a point where further litigation would damage the state.” He could have chosen to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court or file a new challenge in federal court. Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) signed Franken’s election certificate later that day. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D, Nev.) said Franken would be sworn in as soon as possible once the Senate returned from its July 4th recess the next week. Franken to Boost Democratic Majority—

Franken would give the Democratic majority extra strength by providing its 60th vote in the Senate. That number, which included two independents who caucused with the Democrats, was the minimum of votes required to prevent the Republican minority from using filibusters to block legislation. Neither party had boasted such a large Senate majority since the Democrats in the 1977–79 95th Congress. After gaining several seats in the November elections, the Democrats had addJuly 2, 2009

ed their 59th seat when Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) joined them in May, switching from the Republican Party after 28 years in the Senate. [See p. 284A2] However, Democratic leaders could not be sure that they would be able to marshal 60 votes whenever they needed them. Two long-serving Democrats, Sens. Robert Byrd (W.Va.) and Edward Kennedy (Mass.), had missed most of the current session due to illness. Kennedy, 75, was undergoing treatment for brain cancer and Byrd, 91, had been hospitalized for a staph infection for several weeks until his release June 30. Also, the diversity of views in the Democratic caucus would make it difficult to maintain a united front on every issue. A group of centrist Democratic senators, whose numbers were bolstered in the November elections, had displayed a readiness to break party ranks on certain pieces of legislation. Franken held a news conference at his house in Minneapolis after Coleman’s concession, saying, “I won by 312 votes, so I really have to earn the trust of people who didn’t vote for me and all the people of Minnesota.” He played down the importance of his role in fortifying the Democratic majority, saying, “The way I see it, I’m not going to Washington to be the 60th Democratic senator, I’m going to Washington to be the second senator from Minnesota.” He would join Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D), who had carried a double load of constituent service responsibilities as the state’s sole senator since January. While waiting for a resolution of the court case, Franken had begun hiring Senate staffers, who had been working without pay. Democrats had reserved seats for Franken on a pair of key Senate committees. One of them, the Judiciary Committee, was to hold confirmation hearings for President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Sonia Sotomayor, starting in midJuly. The other, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, was in the process of writing a major health-care reform bill. [See pp. 426C3, 389E2] Franken, 58, was a former “Saturday Night Live” cast member. Since leaving the NBC television show in 1995, he had become a combative liberal political commentator. He wrote best-selling books such as Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot, which mocked the conservative talk show host, and hosted his own talk show on a liberal radio network, Air America. [See 2004, p. 969F3] Coleman, 59, had held the Senate seat for one term. He was viewed as a potential candidate for governor in 2010, but declined to answer questions about his political future at his June 30 news conference. Pawlenty June 2 had announced that he would not run for a third term as governor in 2010. He did not address any future political plans, but he was widely considered a possible candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. n

Disgraced Financier Madoff Sentenced to 150 Years in Prison

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Judge Hands Down Maximum Punishment.

Judge Denny Chin of U.S. District Court in New York City June 29 sentenced financier Bernard Madoff to 150 years in prison for his orchestration of a massive multibillion dollar fraud. Chin said the sentence, the maximum allowed under federal guidelines and one of the most severe given for a white-collar offense, was intended to match the “extraordinarily evil” nature of Madoff’s crimes. Madoff in March had pleaded guilty to 11 charges stemming from the fraud, which had resulted in losses for thousands of victims worldwide, including charities, banks, pension funds and individual investors, many of whom lost their life savings. [See p. 245D1] While the sentencing marked the end of the case against Madoff, much remained unknown about the fraud. Madoff had admitted to running a Ponzi scheme through the investment-advisory unit of his brokerage, Bernard L. Madoff Securities LLC. In the scheme, investors’ profits were actually funded by principal investments made by newer investors, not by investments in stocks and bonds. Madoff had claimed that the unit had lost some $65 billion in investor money, but it was reported that the amount could be much less than that. So far, investigators had identified $13.2 billion in lost money going back to 1995, in a fraud that they said had started in the 1980s. Prior to the sentencing, nine of Madoff’s victims gave testimony to the court, in which they detailed the hardships they had suffered since the fraud came to light in December 2008, and urged Chin to mete out a tough sentence. Victims described working as many as three jobs to survive, being unable to provide for disabled relatives and rummaging through the trash to find food. They used terms such as “mon-

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Dow Jones Industrial Average Trading on the New York Stock Exchange Closing

June 1 2

3 4 5 8 9 10 11 12 15 16 17 18 19 22 23 24 25 26 29 30

8,721.44 8,740.87 8,675.28 8,750.24 8,763.13 8,764.49 8,763.06 8,739.02 8,770.92 8,799.26 8,612.13 8,504.67 8,497.18 8,555.60 8,539.73 8,339.01 8,322.91 8,299.86 8,472.40 8,438.39 8,529.38 8,447.00

Volume (in millions of shares) 1,493.2 1,396.5 1,312.1 1,337.4 1,258.5 1,075.5 1,056.6 1,218.5 1,220.8 857.4 1,148.6 1,174.3 1,313.4 1,084.9 2,068.0 1,396.5 1,207.1 1,099.1 1,174.9 2,039.3 1,063.7 1,292.1

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ster” and “low life” to describe Madoff, and compared him to the damned souls depicted in Dante Alighieri’s Inferno. Madoff’s lawyer, Ira Lee Sorkin, asked Chin for a 12-year sentence. He said Madoff was a “deeply flawed individual,” but said “vengeance is not the goal of punishment.” Madoff himself made a statement to the court in which he acknowledged the impact of his crimes. “I am responsible for a great deal of suffering and pain. I understand that.” He added, “I live in a tormented state now, knowing of all the pain and suffering that I have created.” He then turned to face his victims and said, “I am sorry,” before adding, “I know that doesn’t help you.” In explaining his sentence, Chin noted the “staggering toll” the fraud had taken on its victims. He said not a single friend or family member had submitted a letter testifying to any redeeming qualities Madoff might possess. He also said, “I simply do not get the sense that Mr. Madoff has done all that he could or told all that he knows” about the fraud. Chin acknowledged that a lesser sentence would have likely resulted in Madoff, 71, spending the rest of his life in prison, but said the “symbolism” of the maximum sentence was important. Madoff’s wife, Ruth Madoff, that day for the first time released a public statement about the fraud, in which she said, “Like everyone else, I feel betrayed and confused. The man who committed this

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July Financial Update (Close of trading July 1 except where indicated)

Stocks and Bonds Dow Jones Industrial Average

8,504.06

Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index Nasdaq Composite Index London Stock Exchange

923.33 1,845.72 4,340.71

(see box, p. 441E3)

(Financial Times-Stock Exchange 100)

Tokyo Stock Exchange (Nikkei index)

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Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX Composite Index)

U.S. 10-Year Treasury Note (yield) U.S. 6-Month Treasury Bill (yield) Currencies (late New York trading) Australia (dollar) (in U.S. dollars) Britain (pound) (in U.S. dollars) Canada (dollar) (in U.S. dollars) European Union (euro) (in U.S. dollars) Japan (yen) (per U.S. dollar) Mexico (peso) (per U.S. dollar) Switzerland (franc) (in U.S. dollars)

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3.54% 0.31%

$0.8072 $1.6469 $0.8701 $1.4142 96.64 13.1148 $0.9303

Commodities Gold (per troy oz.)

$940.80

Silver (per troy oz.)

$13.6500

(N.Y. Comex spot price) (London fixing spot price)

Oil (per barrel)

(Nymex crude future)

Gasoline (per gallon)

(nationwide weighted average price at the pump; Lundberg survey released June 28)

Wheat (No. 2 hard, per bushel) (Kansas City market)

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9,339.93 10,374.91

Recent U.S. Data Inflation

(consumer price index 12-month increase through May 2009; see p. 427D3)

Unemployment rate

(May 2009; see p. 388C3)

$69.31 $2.66 $5.4575

-1.3% 9.4%

Gross domestic product growth

-5.7%

Prime rate

3.25%

(annualized first-quarter 2009 rate, preliminary report; see p. 372E1)

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horrible fraud is not the man whom I have known all these years.” SEC Charges ‘Feeder’ Fund With Fraud—

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) June 22 filed civil fraud charges against New York City–based brokerage Cohmad Securities Corp. and three of its executives, accusing them of funneling investor money to Madoff’s firm while “knowingly or recklessly disregarding” indications that his operation was a fraud. The Cohmad executives were Chairman Maurice (Sonny) Cohn, Chief Operating Officer Marcia Cohn and Vice President Robert Jaffe. Madoff held an ownership stake in Cohmad. [See p. 113B3] The SEC’s move was part of a broadening investigation targeting so-called “feeder” funds that had invested a significant portion of their clients’ money with Madoff, helping to supply new sources of cash that were necessary to continue the Ponzi scheme. The SEC said Cohmad had received $100 million in fees from Madoff, and had misrepresented itself to the SEC as a brokerage, when in fact almost all of its revenues came from directing client money to Madoff’s investment-advisory unit. The SEC that day also charged Stanley Chais, a Los Angeles–based investment adviser, with fraud. The SEC said Chais had told clients of three of his funds that he was a money manager, when in truth he was merely a conduit that channeled their money to Madoff, and made $250 million in fees by doing so. The SEC also said that between 1995 and 2008, Chais and members of his family had withdrawn $500 million more from Madoff’s firm than what they had originally invested. Lawyers for the Cohmad executives and Chais denied wrongdoing, and noted that they, too, had lost money in Madoff’s scheme. No criminal charges were filed against the money managers, and so far no one had been charged with direct complicity in the fraud itself. Madoff had consistently maintained that he acted alone, and without the knowledge of his family members, some of whom, including his brother and two sons, worked at his brokerage. The only Madoff associate who had been charged in a criminal complaint was his accountant, David Friehling. Scrutiny had also been placed on Ruth Madoff, who had claimed that she had no knowledge of the fraud. Ruth Madoff June 26 agreed to forfeit her possible claim to more than $80 million in assets in an agreement with prosecutors, which left her with more than $2.5 million in assets. Chin that day also said prosecutors could seize as much as $175 billion in assets from Bernard Madoff, the total amount of money that prosecutors said had been invested with him over the years. Spanish Bank to Pay Settlement—

Spain’s Banco Santander SA May 26 agreed to pay $235 million to avoid possible legal claims by Irving Picard, the courtappointed trustee of Madoff’s brokerage, who was responsible for liquidating the company and recovering investor losses. Picard was in the process of suing funds

that had withdrawn money from Madoff’s firm, in what were known as “clawback” suits. They were designed to compel those who had profited from the scheme to share the money with the fraud’s victims. Picard had also brought clawback lawsuits against Cohmad, Chais, hedge fund Fairfield Greenwich Group, and funds managed by financiers J. Ezra Merkin and Jeffrey Picower. So far, Picard had identified 1,341 accounts that had lost a total of $13.2 billion in assets, $1.2 billion of which had been recovered. Those who had invested with Madoff directly were eligible to receive as much as $500,000 in compensation payments from the Securities Investor Protection Corp., a group funded by the industry to protect investors against losses stemming from fraud. However, it was unclear how much money could be recovered by those who had invested with Madoff indirectly, through feeder funds and others. n

Supreme Court Ends Term Court Continues Rightward Shift. The Su-

preme Court June 29 formally ended its 2008–09 term, ruling that the city of New Haven, Conn., had discriminated against a group of white and Hispanic firefighters by throwing out the results of a promotion test after no blacks performed well on it. The ruling in Ricci v. DeStefano was the latest in a series of decisions in recent years to roll back civil rights protections that the more conservative side of the bench saw as examples of overreaching by the federal government. It was part of a broader rightward shift that began after Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. replaced Justice Sandra Day O’Connor in 2006. [See p. 443D2; 2008, p. 720C3; for a review of the major cases of the court’s 2008–09 term, see p. 443A1] The court decided 79 cases in the term, 74 of which carried signed opinions. The Ricci case was one of 23 to be decided on a 5–4 vote, affirming that the court remained deeply divided ideologically. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy continued to serve as the court’s swing vote, voting with the majority 92% of the time, and in 18 of the 5– 4 decisions. However, unlike the previous term, in which he sided with the liberal members of the bench in several significant rulings, Kennedy joined the conservatives on nearly all of the court’s ideologically controversial decisions, including those addressing racial discrimination, the treatment of suspected terrorists and prisoners’ rights. [See pp. 425C3, 337A3] Analysts said the court’s rightward shift had also been propelled by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who they said was making incremental steps to push the court in a conservative direction, and laying the groundwork for striking down laws championed by liberals. The most striking example of that approach was on display in a case involving a provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which required designated states to obtain clearance from the Justice Department for changes to voting procedures. Most observFACTS ON FILE

KEY RULINGS AND EVENTS IN THE SUPREME COURT’S 2008–09 TERM

Following are some of the major cases from the Supreme Court’s 2008–09 term, which ended June 29 [See p. 442C3]: Civil Rights

The Supreme Court June 29 ruled, 5–4, that the city of New Haven, Conn., had discriminated against a group of white and Hispanic firefighters by throwing out the results of a promotion test after no blacks performed well on it. The case was Ricci v. DeStefano. [See p. 443D2] The court June 22 ruled, 8–1, to uphold Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which required nine states, and parts of seven others, to gain federal approval before changing voting procedures. The case was Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One v. Holder. [See p. 425B1] The court March 9 ruled, 5–4, that protections designed to preserve a minority population’s voting power were only applicable in areas where the minority-group voter population exceeded 50% of the total voter population. The case was Bartlett v. Strickland. [See p. 166G3]

The court June 18 ruled, 5–4, that convicts did not have a constitutional right to DNA testing. The case was District Attorney’s Office for the Third Judicial District v. Osborne. [See p. 425D3] Campaign Finance

The court June 8 ruled, 5–4, that judges must recuse themselves from cases involving individuals who had made unusually large contributions to their election campaigns. The case was Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co. [See p. 389G3] Criminal Law

Defendants’ Rights

The court May 26 ruled, 5–4, that police officers could initiate an interrogation of a suspect even if the suspect’s lawyer was not present. The case was Montejo v. Louisiana. [See p. 373G3] The court Jan. 14 ruled, 5–4, that evidence collected after an illegal arrest was sometimes admissible in court, as long as the arrest resulted from “isolated negligence,” and was not part of a wider disregard for the law by police. The case was Herring v. United States. [See p. 20E3]

The court June 25 ruled, 5–4, that defendants had the constitutional right at trial to crossexamine lab analysts who had submitted forensic reports as evidence. The case was MelendezDiaz v. Massachusetts. [See p. 444E1]

The court March 4 ruled, 6–3, that pharmaceutical companies could be held liable by state courts for harm done to individuals who took drugs that carried federally approved

ers had expected Kennedy and the more conservative justices—Roberts, Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas—to strike down the provision as unconstitutional. However, in an 8–1 opinion penned by Roberts, the court issued a very narrow ruling that skirted the constitutional question, but also made it clear that the court would strongly consider repealing the provision if Congress did not revise it. [See p. 425B1] The term’s end marked the departure of Justice David H. Souter, who along with Justices John Paul Stevens, Stephen G. Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg formed the liberal side of the bench. Souter had announced his retirement in May, and President Barack Obama later that month nominated federal appellate court Judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace him. Sotomayor was expected to be a reliable liberal vote on the court. Roberts June 29 paid tribute to Souter, reading aloud a statement that referred to his widely reported desire to return to his home state of New Hampshire, and which quoted the poet Robert Frost: “We understand your desire to trade white marble for White Mountains, and return to your land of ‘easy wind and downy flake.’” He added, “We are grateful that the privilege of your sturdy friendship will endure long beyond your departure from the bench and tables we have shared.” Souter responded, also quoting Frost, “I will only try to leave you with some sense of what our common service has meant to me. You quoted the Poet, and I will, too, in words that set out the ideal of the life engaged, ‘where love and need are one.’” He added, “I will not sit with you at our bench after the court rises for the summer this time, but neither will I retire from our friendship, which has held us together despite the pull of the most passionate dissent.” n July 2, 2009

Federal Regulation

Other Supreme Court News Discrimination Found in Firefighter Case.

The Supreme Court June 29 ruled, 5–4, that the city of New Haven, Conn., had discriminated against a group of white and Hispanic firefighters by throwing out the results of a promotion test after no blacks performed well on it. The decision in the case, Ricci v. DeStefano, had been highly anticipated, since Judge Sonia Sotomayor—President Barack Obama’s nominee to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter— had been on a three-judge panel of the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City that sided with New Haven authorities in 2008. [See pp. 389E2, 33D1] The plaintiffs in the case were 17 white firefighters and one Hispanic firefighter who had qualified for a promotion in 2003, but then saw the results of the test nullified by the city. The group, which included one dyslexic firefighter who claimed to have spent considerable time and energy studying for the test, argued that New Haven’s actions were discriminatory. New Haven argued that it was protecting itself from potential legal challenges from black candidates who could claim that the disparate results showed that the test was discriminatory. The case centered around two provisions in Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. One provision banned discriminatory treatment on the basis of race, which was referred to as “disparate treatment.” The other banned ostensibly neutral practices that had an unintended “disparate impact” on racial groups. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, writing the court’s opinion, said employers could not throw out test results based solely on a disparate impact, but needed a “strong basis in evidence” showing that the test itself was

warnings. The case was Wyeth v. Levine. [See p. 130E2] The court Dec. 15, 2008, ruled, 5–4, that a federal law regulating cigarette marketing did not preempt challenges brought in state courts. The case was Altria Group Inc. v. Good. [See 2008, p. 921B2]

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Environment

The court June 22 ruled, 6–3, that Coeur Alaska Inc., a gold-mining company, could dump slurry waste in Lower Slate Lake near Juneau, Alaska. Environmentalists said the waste would kill all the life in the lake. The case was Coeur Alaska Inc. v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council. [See p. 426F2] The court April 1 ruled, 6–3, that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could use cost-benefit calculations to determine the kinds of technologies used to protect the environment. The case was Entergy Corp. v. Riverkeeper Inc. [See p. 307E1]

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Souter Retires

Justice David H. Souter May 1 tendered his resignation to President Barack Obama. Obama May 26 nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor to fill the vacancy. Sotomayor, a member of the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City, if confirmed by the Senate would be the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court, as well as the third female justice in the court’s history. [See p. 349A1]

discriminatory. He said the New Haven test was “open and fair,” adding, “The problem, of course, is that after the tests were completed, the raw racial results became the predominant rationale of the city’s refusal to certify the results.” He said that in attempting to avoid violating Title VII’s disparateimpact provision, the city had only succeeded in discriminating against the firefighters who had performed well on the test. Kennedy also addressed the city’s concerns about possible lawsuits, writing, “Fear of litigation alone cannot justify an employer’s reliance on race to the detriment of individuals who passed the examinations and qualified for promotions.” He was joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., and Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. The ruling was most likely to effect government employers, even though it applied to private employers as well. Some analysts said the ruling would lead to more lawsuits, arguing that Kennedy’s guideline of a “strong basis in evidence” was vague, and could confuse employers caught between violating Title VII or the Supreme Court’s ruling. Concurring, Dissenting Opinions— Alito wrote an opinion concurring with the majority, in which he was joined by Scalia and Thomas. Alito wrote that the court should also have recognized that the city had political motivations to throw out the results. He suggested that “a desire to please a politically important racial constituency” served as a greater motivation for the city than protecting itself from Title VII lawsuits. Scalia, also writing a concurring opinion, highlighted the potential conflicts between Title VII’s disparate-treatment and disparate-impact provisions. “The war between disparate impact and equal protection will 443

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be waged sooner or later, and it behooves us to begin thinking about how—and on what terms—to make peace between them.” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, writing for the minority, argued that the two provisions were “complementary.” She said, “Standing on equal footing, both provisions aim to end workplace discrimination and promote genuinely equal opportunity.” She said the firefighting profession in particular had a long history of discrimination, and that rigorous protections against such discrimination were still necessary. She said, “Congress endeavored to promote equal opportunity in fact, and not simply in form. The damage today’s decision does to that objective is untold.” Ginsburg read part of her dissent from the bench, a practice intended to convey a justice’s strong disagreement with the majority. She was joined by Justices John Paul Stevens, Stephen G. Breyer and Souter. Little Impact Seen on Sotomayor—Analysts largely agreed that the ruling was not likely to derail Sotomayor’s confirmation. Conservative groups attempted to paint the decision as a rebuke of Sotomayor’s judgment, while liberal groups pointed out that Souter, the justice she was to replace, voted in favor of New Haven. None of the justices who wrote opinions directly criticized the three-judge panel’s decision. However, Sen. John Cornyn (R, Texas), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the decision showed that “all nine justices were critical of the trial court opinion that Judge Sotomayor endorsed.” The White House rebutted that claim, arguing that the Supreme Court had clarified the status of the disparate-impact provision, and that Sotomayor had merely followed statutory precedent in siding with New Haven. The panel’s unsigned decision was a paragraph long, and mainly affirmed a lower court’s ruling. n Lab Analysts Can be Required to Testify.

The Supreme Court June 25 ruled, 5–4, that defendants had the constitutional right at trial to cross-examine lab analysts who had submitted forensic reports as evidence. Justice Antonin Scalia, writing the court’s opinion, said the Sixth Amendment, which gave defendants the right to confront witnesses, was applicable to lab analysts since their reports were a kind of testimony. The case was Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts. [See p. 307A3; 2008, pp. 721B2, 432C2] The original plaintiff in the case was Luis Melendez-Diaz, who had been charged with drug trafficking in 2001. The evidence against him included a lab report that identified a white powder allegedly in his possession as cocaine. The report was presented at trial accompanied only by a certificate from the analyst who prepared the report. The case came amidst a recent series of scandals involving faulty lab reports. Scalia said having the analyst testify at trial would “weed out not only the fraudulent analyst, but the incompetent one as well.” However, the central emphasis of his argument was that the Sixth Amendment gave a defendant the right to confront a witness, even if “all analysts always possessed the 444

scientific acumen of Mme. Curie and the veracity of Mother Teresa.” Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, writing for the minority, said the decision would place a “crushing burden” on the justice system. Kennedy noted that states were not equipped to make an analyst available for every trial, given that the number of analysts was usually much smaller than the number of lab reports submitted. He predicted, “Guilty defendants will go free, on the most technical grounds.” He also said the majority had disregarded a “century of jurisprudence.” Scalia in his argument acknowledged that the ruling would “make the prosecution of criminals more burdensome, but that is equally true of the right to trial by jury and the privilege against self-incrimination.” He added, “The sky will not fall after today’s decision.” However, prosecutors said the ruling would hamper their ability to get convictions. It was reported that defense lawyers began demanding a cross-examination of lab analysts the day that the court made its decision. Scalia was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David H. Souter and John Paul Stevens. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., and Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Stephen G. Breyer joined Kennedy in the minority. n States Can Sue Nationally Chartered Banks.

The Supreme Court June 29 ruled, 5–4, that state prosecutors under certain circumstances could sue nationally chartered banks that had allegedly violated state law. The court’s decision overturned provisions of the 1864 National Bank Act that said federal regulators were responsible for ensuring that national banks followed state laws. The case was Cuomo v. Clearing House Association. [See p. 49A1] Justice Antonin Scalia, writing the court’s opinion, said state prosecutors could bring cases against banks suspected of violating state fair-lending laws. Those included laws that prevented banks from discriminating against minorities seeking loans, or refusing to grant loans to residents of particular neighborhoods. Scalia was joined by Justices John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David H. Souter and Stephen G. Breyer. The case was based on inquiries sent to national banks in 2005 by then–New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer about their fair-lending practices. The banks and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the federal regulator for national banks, sued to stop Spitzer’s investigation. Banking groups had argued that multiple regulators would place an undue burden on business, and limit the flow of credit to consumers. Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the minority, sided with banks and the OCC, saying it was reasonable for the OCC to conclude that the federal government alone had the right to “enforce state fairlending laws against national banks.” Thomas was joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., and Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Anthony M. Kennedy.

After the decision was announced, current New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said, “The court has recognized that fair lending and consumer protection—the cornerstones of a sound economy—require the cooperative efforts of both the states and the federal government.” n Campaign Finance Case to be Reheard.

The Supreme Court June 29 said it would delay issuing a ruling on Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission, ordering a new hearing in a special session scheduled for Sept. 9. The court had been expected to decide whether the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act—which limited campaign spending by interest groups, with a focus on television advertising—applied to the medium of video-on-demand services. In ordering a new hearing, the court said the two sides in the case should argue the broader question of whether limiting corporate spending in elections was a violation of free speech rights. [See 2008, p. 432D1; 1990, p. 221F3] The case centered on a documentary critical of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton that had aired in 2008, when she was a U.S. senator representing New York and campaigning in the Democratic presidential primary. The 90-minute documentary, Hillary: The Movie, had been funded by the conservative group Citizens United. The court was expected to address the constitutionality of the 2002 law, also known as the McCain-Feingold Act, and reexamine Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce, a 1990 Supreme Court decision that prohibited corporations from using funds from their own treasuries to pay for campaign efforts. n Scope of Identity Theft Law Curbed. The Supreme Court May 4 ruled unanimously that the crime of “aggravated identity theft” applied only to those who had knowingly stolen another person’s identity. Immigration officials reportedly often used the threat of an aggravated identity theft charge—which could add two years to a sentence—to pressure illegal immigrants holding false Social Security cards to plead guilty to lesser document-fraud charges and agree to deportation. The case was Flores-Figueroa v. United States. [See 2006, p. 953G1] The plaintiff in the case, Ignacio FloresFigueroa, had been charged with aggravated identity theft when he was found with a Social Security card that contained another person’s number. Advocates for FloresFigueroa and other illegal immigrants said the cards were only bought or forged to secure work, and that it was pure chance if the fake cards contained numbers that matched real cards. Justice Stephen G. Breyer said the court had reached its decision by focusing on the language of the law governing aggravated identify theft, which said it could only be applied to a suspect who “knowingly transfers, possesses or uses, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person.” n FACTS ON FILE

Legislation House Passes Climate Change Bill. The

House June 26 passed, 219–212, a measure that for the first time would regulate the emissions of man-made greenhouse gases in the U.S. thought to contribute to global climate change. Forty-four Democrats voted against the bill, which was supported by the Democratic leadership and President Barack Obama, while eight Republicans voted for it. The measure called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a “cap-and-trade” system by 2012 through which the government would issue pollution permits that could be traded on the open market. The legislation was formally titled the American Clean Energy and Security Act. The Senate had yet to take up a version of such legislation. [See p. 409F2] The bill called for emissions to be reduced to 97% of 2005 figures by 2012, then to 83% by 2020, 58% by 2030 and 17% by 2050. It also required that 6% of the U.S.’s electricity be generated by renewable energy sources, such as solar or wind power, by 2012, and that 20% of energy come from such sources by 2020. The measure called for new residential and commercial buildings to be designed to use less power, and for an annual increase of 2.5% in overall energy efficiency in the U.S. from 2012 to 2030. Republicans criticized the bill for imposing new costs on U.S. companies that might hinder their competitiveness with foreign rivals. In seeking to build enough support for the bill to pass, the Democratic leadership added an amendment to address that concern, providing for tariffs on imports from companies that did not have comparable emissions restrictions, starting in 2020. Obama June 28 suggested that he did not favor the tariff measure. Opponents also warned that the bill would raise energy costs for consumers. The bill had split environmental groups as well as business interests. The National Association of Manufacturers had been joined by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in opposing the measure, while some utilities and companies with investments in alternative energy sources backed it. Obama had reportedly personally lobbied several members of Congress, joined by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R, Ohio) June 26 had attempted to delay a vote on the bill by reading parts of a 300page amendment for about an hour. n

Crime

D.C., of the National Task Force on Violence Against Reproductive Health Care Providers, a multiagency federal body. [See p. 370A2] The Justice Department said the probe would be carried out by the department’s Civil Rights Division and the Kansas U.S. attorney’s office and would be coordinated with the Sedgwick County district attorney’s office. It said that it would investigate “any potential violations” of federal laws, including the 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. (The FACE Act, which was enacted after the 1993 murder of abortion doctor David Gunn in Florida, had established federal penalties against people convicted of obstructing or attacking abortion clinics or their staffers.) [See 1994, p. 394A2; 1993, p. 186B2] Acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King June 5 said the department would “work tirelessly to determine the full involvement of any and all actors in this horrible crime, and to ensure that anyone who played a role in the offense is prosecuted to the full extent of the law.” Police officials had previously said that they believed that Roeder planned and carried out the murder without outside assistance. Tiller’s Clinic Closes Permanently—

Tiller’s family June 9 announced that his Wichita clinic would not reopen. The clinic, Women’s Health Care Services, had specialized in terminating pregnancies in which the fetus suffered from severe or fatal birth defects, and had been one of the country’s only clinics to provide abortions to women who were more than 21 weeks pregnant. The family said it would not be involved in running any other abortion clinics. The family promised to safeguard the privacy of all medical records associated with the shuttered clinic. A Nebraska doctor who had performed third-trimester abortions at Tiller’s clinic June 10 said that he intended to continue to perform such abortions in Kansas. The doctor, LeRoy Carhart, ran an abortion clinic in Nebraska, where state law prohibited the abortion of a fetus considered viable outside the womb. It was unclear if he would start his own clinic in Kansas or work out of an existing clinic. Troy Newman, the president of antiabortion group Operation Rescue, June 10 announced that the organization was considering attempting to purchase Tiller’s former clinic. Newman suggested that, if successful, the group might turn the building into a memorial for the fetuses aborted there. A representative of the Tiller family, which owned the building, dismissed Newman’s announcement as a publicity stunt. n

Federal Probe Set in Abortion Doctor Killing.

The Justice Department June 5 announced that it had launched a federal investigation into the May 31 murder of George Tiller, a Wichita, Kan., abortion doctor. The alleged killer, Scott Roeder, had been charged in Kansas’s Sedgwick County District Court with first-degree murder and aggravated assault. The department’s statement followed a meeting in Washington, July 2, 2009

Intelligence NSA Collection of U.S. E-Mails Widespread.

The New York Times reported June 17 that the National Security Agency (NSA) during the administration of President George W. Bush had set up a secret database, codenamed Pinwale, which contained a massive searchable collection of U.S. and foreign e-

mails. According to the Times, the database was still currently in use by the NSA and had captured the personal e-mails of former President Bill Clinton, among others. [See p. 243D2] The report followed an April story by the Times which said the NSA had violated U.S. intelligence laws in its data collection in 2008 and 2009. Under a 2008 update to the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the NSA was allowed to collect foreign e-mails without court approval, and to inadvertently capture U.S. e-mails if they were gathered while investigating people who were reasonably thought to be outside the U.S. However, the NSA reportedly had difficulty distinguishing between foreign e-mails and those sent from within the U.S., leading to the overcollection of domestic e-mails. The Times reported that the number of domestic e-mails captured by NSA data collectors had triggered privacy concerns among members of Congress and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a secret court tasked with overseeing the NSA’s surveillance of U.S. residents and citizens. According to the Times, the NSA was thought to have violated legal guidelines by capturing data on U.S. citizens or residents who were not linked to international terrorism. The NSA reportedly used between eight and 10 surveillance requests that had been approved by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The total number of people targeted by the orders was unclear. The Times report was based in part on multiple interviews with an unidentified former NSA analyst who said that he had been trained in the use of Pinwale in 2005 and claimed that analysts were allowed to examine e-mails from U.S. residents and citizens during their database searches as long as the U.S. e-mails did not constitute more than 30% of the total reviewed. According to the former analyst, he had been told that another analyst had been subjected to an internal investigation after using the database to access former President Bill Clinton’s e-mails. According to the Times, a notorious 2004 confrontation between Deputy Attorney General James Comey, White House counsel Alberto Gonzales and White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card over the NSA’s surveillance program had been caused largely by Justice Department concerns that the NSA was breaking the law by collecting U.S. e-mail and using it to trace patterns in e-mail traffic as part of its efforts to counter terrorism. [See 2008, p. 922C1] n

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Energy Clean Coal Project Tentatively Revived. Energy Secretary Steven Chu June 12 announced that the Energy Department had reached a “provisional agreement” with a consortium of private groups and utilities to restart the FutureGen Industrial Alliance Inc., an initiative to implement technology designed to capture and store carbon dioxide emissions produced by burning coal. Chu said in a statement that the agreement 445

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“reflects this Administration’s commitment to rapidly developing carbon capture and sequestration technology as part of a comprehensive plan to create jobs, develop clean energy and reduce climate change pollution.” [See 2008, p. 258A3] The FutureGen project, which would be the first major attempt to deploy socalled clean coal technology, had been developed under the administration of President George W. Bush, but was canceled in 2008 due to concerns that it had grown too expensive. However, a spokeswoman for the Energy Department May 15 had announced that the department had set aside $1 billion of the $2.3 billion it had received from a $787 billion stimulus package enacted by the federal government in February to pay for part of the FutureGen project if it was restarted. [See below] The FutureGen project was intended to fund the creation of a specialized coal power plant in Mattoon, Ill., where coal would be transformed into hydrogen-rich gas that would subsequently be used to produce electricity. All carbon dioxide produced by the transformation would be permanently stored underground as part of a process known as carbon sequestration. Experts suggested that, if successful, the technology could reduce carbon emissions linked to climate change. As part of the new agreement, the Energy Department agreed to begin in July the process that would lead to a definitive decision in 2010 about whether the project would go forward. The agreement called for the formulation of a new cost estimate for the project and a reworking of the project’s design, as well as an increase in the number of members of the FutureGen Industrial Alliance and the creation of a comprehensive plan to fund the project before a final decision was made. Members of Illinois’s congressional delegation, including Sen. Richard Durbin (D), praised the decision. They had reportedly lobbied for the project to be revived. The agreement was criticized by environmentalists, who questioned the environmental benefits of the project. Under the new plan, the FutureGen plant would initially capture only 60% of the carbon released by the process, rather than the 90% goal included in the project’s original plan. However, the agreement called for the capture rate to reach 90% over time. Math Error Led to Cancellation— The House Science and Technology Committee March 11 released two reports finding that the Energy Department had made mathematical errors that resulted in FutureGen’s 2008 cancellation. According to the reports, the Energy Department had erroneously concluded that the projected cost of the program had grown from $950 million in 2004 to approximately $1.8 billion in 2008, by failing to account for inflation; the correct projected total was put at $1.3 billion. A total of $174 million had been spent on the FutureGen project before it was canceled. n 446

AFRICA

Sudan Darfur Aid Groups Return Allowed. John Holmes, the United Nations undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs, June 11 told the U.N. Security Council that the Sudanese government had agreed to allow the return of four expelled aid groups. Thirteen foreign aid organizations working in the war-torn western Darfur region of Sudan in March had been ordered to leave the country, after war crimes charges were filed against President Omar Hassan al-Bashir by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the Netherlands. [See p. 185A1] The Sudanese government officially denied lifting the ban on any of the ousted groups. However, the government was viewed as creating a loophole for returning agencies, which were only required to slightly change their names and logos to gain reentry. Four groups had already completed the initial registration process: CARE International, Save the Children, Mercy Corps and PADCO (Planning and Development Collaborative International). Bashir had originally claimed that government services would fill the void created by the ejection of the foreign workers, but the quick reversal in policy led many to speculate that that had not happened. U.S. Stance Shift Mulled— U.S. President Barack Obama’s special envoy to Sudan, retired Air Force Maj. Gen. J. Scott Gration, June 17 held a Washington, D.C., press conference, in which he characterized the violence in Darfur as “primarily between rebel groups, and the Sudanese government.” The comments appeared to be a shift from the U.S.’s official stance on the Darfur conflict, that the government was coordinating an “ongoing genocide.” Gration said he still saw “the remnants of genocide,” but stopped short of categorizing it as “ongoing.” An official from the Sudanese foreign ministry hailed Gration’s remarks, interpreting them as a complete reversal of position by the Obama administration. The U.S. assistant secretary of state for public affairs, P.J. Crowley, issued a statement the following day to clarify that the administration still believed genocide had occurred since the beginning of the conflict in 2003. An estimated 300,000 people had died and some 2.7 million others had been driven from their homes, amid fighting between rebel factions and government forces allied with Arab militias known as the Janjaweed. Sima Samar, the U.N. special representative on human rights in Sudan, June 16 offered the U.N. Human Rights Council reports about ongoing violence against civilians in Darfur. In testimony, Samar said that “land and air attacks by government forces on civilians” had continued through the past year. The council June 18 voted to extend its monitoring of abuses taking place in Sudan. Peace Talks End, Little Progress Seen—

Qatari-brokered peace talks between the Sudanese government and one of Darfur’s

main rebel groups, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), ended June 19 without an agreement. The discussions fell apart over such issues as prisoner exchanges, as well as the inclusion of other rebel factions in the peace process, which had begun in mid-February. The two sides agreed to resume talks in two months. n

AMERICAS

Argentina President’s Congressional Allies Defeated.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s Front for Victory–Justicialist (PJ) wing of the Peronist party lost control of both houses of congress—the lower Chamber of Deputies and the Senate—in midterm elections June 28. A slate of candidates headed by Nestor Kirchner, Fernandez de Kirchner’s husband and predecessor as president, failed to garner a first-place finish in contested lower-house seats in Buenos Aires province. The elections had been seen as a referendum on the Kirchners, and the results indicated a staggering setback in their political standing. [See p. 204D1] Contested in the elections were 127 seats in the 257-seat Chamber, and 24 seats in the 72-seat Senate. The PJ and its allies finished with 112 seats in the Chamber and 36 in the Senate, a loss of 25 seats and four seats, respectively. Nestor Kirchner’s slate was outperformed by one headed by Francisco de Narvaez, the leader of a rival faction within the Peronist party, the Union PRO. De Narvaez’s candidates had garnered 34.6% of votes, compared with 32.1% for Kirchner’s. In Argentina, the number of candidates from a slate that were seated was proportional to the votes they won, meaning that Kirchner and some of his allies would receive seats in the Chamber. Nestor Kirchner had been elected in 2003, and in the 2007 presidential election had thrown his weight behind his wife, then a senator. Under Argentina’s constitution, a president was limited to two consecutive four-year terms, but could serve an unlimited number of nonconsecutive terms. Some analysts guessed that the couple planned to trade the presidency between them for as long as their political popularity held. The results were thought to effectively end the chances for such a scenario. [See 2003, p. 396A3] Fernandez de Kirchner’s popularity had plummeted in 2008 after she unsuccessfully attempted to impose an increase on grain import taxes paid by farmers, and again after she nationalized the country’s private pension funds. Both the Kirchners had been criticized for failing to pursue for a consensus on policy issues, instead trying to force their legislative goals through coercion. [See p. 203F3; 2008, p. 870D2] Kirchner June 29 resigned his post as leader of the PJ, and was replaced by Daniel Scoli, the governor of Buenos Aires. In addition to losing in Buenos Aires province, allies of the Kirchners were deFACTS ON FILE

feated in the provinces of Cordoba, Santa Fe, Mendoza and Santa Cruz, Kirchner’s home province. Emerging strengthened by the Kirchners’ setback were several figures considered possible candidates for the presidency in 2011: Senator Carlos Reutemann, who was reelected to his seat in Santa Fe; Vice President Julio Cobos of the opposition Radical Party; and Mauricio Macri, the conservative mayor of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina’s capital. n

Bermuda PM Brown Survives No-Confidence Vote.

Bermudan Prime Minister Ewart Brown June 20 survived a no-confidence vote in Parliament, after coming under strong criticism for accepting from the U.S. four suspected terrorists previously held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Parliament voted, 22–11, to reject the noconfidence resolution, after 14 hours of debate that had begun the previous day. [See p. 391A2] The U.S. Justice Department June 11 had transferred the detainees, all members of China’s Muslim Uighur minority, to Bermuda. The U.S. said it had determined that the men were not terrorists, but was unable to return them to China, out of concern that they would face persecution as part of the government’s suppression of Uighur separatism. Brown quickly came under criticism from opposition members for failing to discuss the acceptance of the prisoners with other political leaders. The British government also expressed concern that it had not been consulted, and said Brown might lack the authority to accept the Uighurs. (Bermuda was a British territory.) Brown, leader of the Progressive Labor Party (PLP), during the debate said he had accepted the men on humanitarian grounds, and to improve relations with the U.S. Kim Swan, leader of the opposition United Bermuda Party (UBP), said the noconfidence resolution had been put forward because Brown had created an “international debacle.” Hundreds of protesters gathered in Hamilton, Bermuda’s capital, June 16 and June 18, calling on Brown to resign. n

Brazil News in Brief. The Brazilian government

statistics agency Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica (IBGE) June 9 reported that Brazil’s gross domestic product (GDP) had contracted by 0.8% in the first quarter of 2009, when compared with the previous quarter. The country’s GDP had shrunk 3.6% in the fourth quarter of 2008, when compared with the previous quarter, meaning that it met the traditional definition of a recession—two consecutive quarters of GDP contraction. However, the first-quarter GDP contraction was smaller than expected by analysts, who saw it as a potential sign of an impending recovery. [See p. 186A3] July 2, 2009

Brazilian officials May 26 said flooding caused by heavy rains over the past several

weeks in the northern part of the country had caused 49 deaths and left about 408,000 people homeless. The government said it had authorized $435 million in aid to those affected by the flooding, considered the worst in at least 20 years. [See 1985, p. 176B1] A three-judge panel in a court in Brazil’s northern Para state April 7 ordered new trials for two men accused of involvement in the 2005 murder of an environmental activist U.S. nun in the Amazon rain forest. The judges ordered a new trial for Vitalmiro Bastos de Moura, who in 2008 had been acquitted on charges of orchestrating the death of the nun, Dorothy Strang. They also voted to hold a new trial for Rayfran das Neves Sales, who had admitted to killing Strang and was sentenced to 28 years in prison in 2007. The judges cited what they called errors by the juries in both cases. Another man accused of participating in the murder, Regivaldo Galvao, had been arrested and charged in the case in December 2008. No trial dates had been set for any of the men. [See 2008, p. 416D1] Brazil’s Supreme Court March 19 voted, 10–1, to approve the creation of the Raposa Serra do Sol nature reserve in the country’s Amazon rainforest region. The reserve was planned to be 4.2 million acres (1.7 million hectares) in area, and home to about 19,000 native Indians. The court’s approval of the reserve, which had been endorsed by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2005, meant that police could evict rice farmers from the area. [See 2008, p. 941D2] n

Mexico News in Brief. Mexico’s

National Cargo Transportation Association (Canacar), a trade group representing about 4,500 trucking businesses, June 1 said it had filed

a $6 million claim against the U.S. government for failing to adhere to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

The claim was filed with the U.S. State Department. The terms of the 1994 trade agreement allowed Mexican truckers access to U.S. highways. The Mexican government in March had imposed retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. after Congress ended a 2007 pilot program allowing Mexican truckers to cross the U.S. border. [See p. 171F2] The New York Times May 15 reported that the immigration of Mexicans to other countries had fallen about 25% during the 12-month period lasting September 2007 to August 2008, when compared with the previous year, according to Mexican census data. The figure represented about 226,000 fewer immigrants. The overwhelming majority of emigrating Mexicans went to the U.S. Analysts said Mexicans who sought to settle in the U.S. had postponed their plans due to the decline in employment opportunities resulting from the U.S. recession. [See 2008, p. 677D1] n

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Australia Controversial E-Mail Found to Be Fake.

The Australian Federal Police June 22 announced that a controversial e-mail cited by the country’s political opposition as part of its attempt to force the resignation of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Treasurer Wayne Swan was likely fake. Police said that a “preliminary” investigation of the email indicated that it had been “created by a person or persons other than the purported author of the e-mail.” With the finding, opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull’s aggressive use of the e-mail to damage the ruling Labor Party backfired dramatically. [See 2007, p. 811A3] Treasury official Godwin Grech June 19 had testified before the Australian Senate about an e-mail he said he had received from Andrew Charlton, one of Rudd’s advisers, requesting special treatment for John Grant, a car dealer in Australia’s Queensland state who was a longtime supporter of Rudd. In December 2008, Swan had announced the formation of a A$2 billion ($1.6 billion) Treasury fund, dubbed “OzCar,” that was intended to provide ready credit to car dealerships during the credit freeze triggered by the global financial crisis. In the e-mail, Charlton had allegedly written that Rudd had inquired about the possibility of directing money from the fund to Grant. The car dealer had previously lent Rudd a two-seat pickup truck, known as a “Ute,” for use during campaigning, leading the Australian media to nickname the scandal “Utegate.” Both Swan and Rudd had denied in Parliament that they had attempted to misuse OzCar to benefit Grant, leading opposition officials, including Turnbull, to call for their resignations for lying to Parliament. Rudd Denounces Use of Forgery—

Rudd June 22 criticized the opposition Liberal Party–National Party coalition for attempting to exploit the fake e-mail for political gain, saying, “There can be no graver offense in public political life than to be in the business of communicating a document that is false... through the media, in order to bring your political opponent down.” Rudd had maintained that the e-mail was fake prior to the police announcement. Turnbull June 23 said the opposition coalition had not had a hand in the creation of the apparently forged e-mail. Following the police announcement, members of the opposition June 22 aimed the bulk of their criticism at Swan, who had reportedly received updates about Grant on his home fax machine despite testifying June 4 before Parliament that he had not sought special treatment for Grant. Swan June 23 testified before Parliament that he had not requested the documents and that Grech had chosen to send them to him, among other recipients, without prompting. Separately, the opposition June 26 blocked an attempt by members of the Labor Party to open an investigation into 447

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whether Liberal Party Senator Eric Abetz had violated his parliamentary privilege by making knowingly false statements in testimony before the body. Abetz June 19 had testified that he had first heard about the email from a journalist. However, the Melbourne Herald Sun newspaper June 25 reported that Abetz and Turnbull had both previously seen a copy of the e-mail. n

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Internet Filter Requirement Delayed. Chi-

na’s industry and information technology ministry June 30 announced that it was delaying a requirement that all new personal computers in the country be sold with software to block Internet material deemed inappropriate. Authorities had said the software, called Green Dam Youth Escort, was designed to block only pornography and other material harmful to children, but critics, including rights activists and foreign computer makers, said it would enable political censorship and threaten computers’ security. The requirement had been due to take effect July 1; the government did not specify the envisioned length of the postponement. [See p. 414F2] U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke June 24 had lodged formal complaints with China about the policy. Locke said Green Dam “appears to have broad-based censorship and network security issues,” while Kirk suggested that it might violate World Trade Organization free-trade rules. [See p. 440C1] Google Scolded, Blocked—Chinese officials June 18 met with executives of the Chinese subsidiary of U.S. Internet search company Google Inc., admonishing them over the fact that Google’s Chinese search engine site yielded links to pornographic Web sites. (Google in 2005 had established a Chinese site, Google.cn, that operated in compliance with the country’s restrictions on Internet content.) Authorities the following day appeared to have disabled a feature on Google.cn that suggested alternate search terms based on a user’s input. The government had criticized that feature for offering inappropriate suggestions. State media June 19 said that Google had also been ordered to prevent the site from searching for any foreign Web sites. However, the search engine continued to include foreign sites in its results, prompting continued criticism in official media. Access to Google was widely disrupted June 24–25. Also, China’s health ministry June 24 announced new restrictions on access to sites concerning sexual health, as part of the announced campaign against online pornography. A ministry spokesman said the new rules, which had reportedly been approved in March, were intended to “guarantee scientific and accurate information and prevent lewd content in disguise.” n News in Brief. Prominent Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, who had been in government detention since December 2008, June 23 was placed under formal arrest on 448

charges of “agitation activities aimed at subversion of the government and overthrowing of the socialist system,” according to state news media. Liu’s detention was believed to be connected to his endorsement of Charter ’08, a manifesto calling for major democratic reforms in China. International human rights organizations denounced the charges, as well as China’s frequent use of state-subversion charges against dissidents and human rights activists. [See 2008, p. 979F3] China and the European Union May 20 held a summit meeting in Prague, capital of the Czech Republic. The China-EU summit had originally been scheduled for December 2008, but was postponed by China in response to a meeting between President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, which then held the EU presidency, and exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama. (The Czech Republic had succeeded France in the rotating presidency.) Chinese President Wen Jibao and Jose Manuel Barroso, head of the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, reportedly discussed trade issues and climate change. [See p. 98C2] Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva May 19 visited Beijing, China’s cap-

ital, and met with Chinese President Hu Jintao. The two countries sealed an agreement in which China’s state-controlled China Development Bank would lend $10 billion to Brazil’s state oil company, Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras), to help it develop offshore oil fields. China in return would receive a guaranteed option to buy up to 200,000 barrels of oil a day from Brazil for 10 years. China also agreed to expand imports of Brazilian chicken and beef. The two countries’ trade relationship was thriving at a time when their exports to other countries were flagging. [See p. 197E1] n

EUROPE

UNITED STATES

Bosnia and Herzegovina High Representative Nullifies Serb Law.

Austrian diplomat Valentin Inzko, the High Representative (HR) for Bosnia and Herzegovina, June 19 annulled legislation passed by the Bosnian Serb National Assembly, which he said undermined the Dayton accords. The Dayton accords, which ended Bosnia’s 1992–95 civil war, had divided the country into two states: the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska, and the MuslimCroat Federation, comprised mainly of Catholic Croats and Bosnian Muslims, or Bosniaks. The two states had separate parliaments and were united by a weak central government. Under the Dayton accords, the HR was the highest authority on interpreting the country’s constitution. [See pp. 448C3, 379C2; 2007, p. 791F1] The annulled legislation had suggested that the Bosnian central government had taken over certain local powers from the Republika Srpska, such as control over the judiciary, police and customs collections, and that those powers should be returned. (Bosnian Serbs had long advocated for

greater autonomy for the Republika Srpska, but Croats and Bosniaks generally supported increased centralization.) Frane Maroevic, a spokesperson for Inzko, June 19 said the Republika Srpska was “trying to renegotiate Dayton through political means, and this is extremely dangerous for the country because it was the Dayton agreement that ended the war.” The government of the Republika Srpska, which had long argued that the HR should give up the so-called Bonn powers that allowed the holder of the office to override parliamentary decisions and sack officials, said Inzko’s move was “undemocratic and aimed at suppressing basic human and democratic freedoms.” European Union foreign policy head Javier Solana June 22 expressed support for Inzko’s decision to annul the legislation. n IMF Postpones $1.6 Billion Loan. Bosnian officials June 23 said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had not approved the country’s 2009 budget, and as a result a planned IMF loan of $1.66 billion was postponed. The IMF’s decision followed the MuslimCroat Federation’s June 18 move to cancel a planned 10% cut in welfare payments to veterans and other survivors of Bosnia’s 1992– 95 civil war. The IMF had required Bosnia to make deep budget cuts in order to qualify for the loan. Bosnia’s other state, the Serbdominated Republika Srpska, had met the IMF budget requirements, but nevertheless would not receive the expected IMF aid. [See pp. 448E2, 343B1] The Muslim-Croat Federation had canceled planned cuts to veterans’ payments after thousands of veterans and widows June 18 protested outside a government building in Sarajevo, the capital. Veterans comprised a significant part of Bosnia’s electorate. Britain’s Guardian newspaper June 23 reported that an unnamed Bosnian finance official had said, “The IMF made clear that the loan is possible only under the [previously] agreed terms…the government will have to re-address this issue or face bankruptcy.” European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer June 22 warned Bosnia that its bid to join both organizations was faltering. n

Bulgaria Thousands Protest Socialist Government.

Several thousand people June 16 gathered in central Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital, to voice their dissatisfaction with the country’s Socialist-led government, which the protesters accused of inaction amid a global economic crisis that had battered the country. They also protested a planned salary freeze for state employees, which was expected to affect as many as 400,000 people, as well government corruption and rising unemployment. The protest, which was organized by the country’s largest labor union, FACTS ON FILE

blocked busy intersections in Sofia, causing major traffic jams. [See p. 52B2] The protests preceded parliamentary elections planned for July. Opinion polls suggested that many citizens were deeply dissatisfied with Socialist leadership. Bulgaria was one of the poorest countries in Europe, with an average personal income of $420 per month.

weapons programs that was used to justify the invasion, June 18 told the House of Lords, the upper chamber of Parliament, “I reluctantly conclude that the form of the inquiry proposed by the government has been dictated more by the government’s political interest than the national interest and it cannot achieve the purpose of purging mistrust.” n

European Commission Releases Aid—

The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, June 18 said it was releasing $1.7 billion in aid to Bulgaria. The Commission in 2008 had frozen part of that aid package, which was meant to fund improvements to Bulgaria’s crumbling roads, due to concerns over corruption. Ivan Atanassov, head of Bulgaria’s National Road Infrastructure Agency, June 18 said the commission had released the money after the road agency had taken steps to fight corruption. The agency had reportedly removed allegedly corrupt officials and instituted protections against fraud. n

Great Britain Iraq War Investigation Set. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown June 15 said a government-appointed panel would begin an investigation into Britain’s involvement in the Iraq war. Brown’s insistence that the inquiry should not be held in public due to national security concerns drew sharp criticism. Brown backtracked in a June 18 letter to Sir John Chilcot, the chairman of the panel, saying that Chilcot would be able to decide whether to hold some hearings in public and require witnesses to take a legal oath. [See p. 437A1; 2004, p. 518G3] A motion by the opposition Conservative (Tory) Party to alter the rules for the inquiry June 24 was defeated by a vote of 299 to 260 in the House of Commons, the lower chamber of Parliament. The motion called for Parliament to set the rules for the inquiry. The Tories, joined by a smaller opposition party, the centrist Liberal Democrats, also called for changes to the composition of the panel, arguing that its members should have more military or political experience. The members named by Brown were civil servants and academics. Chilcot, 70, was a retired diplomat and civil servant. Brown also drew criticism for directing that the inquiry take at least a year to complete its work, which meant that it would not present its findings until after the next parliamentary elections, due to be held by June 2010. Tory leader David Cameron said both Brown and former Prime Minister Tony Blair, both members of the Labour Party, should be required to testify in public before the panel. The inquiry was expected to focus on Blair’s decision to have 40,000 British troops take part in the 2003 U.S.led invasion of Iraq. Only about 500 British troops currently remained in Iraq; 179 had been killed during the war. Lord Butler, who led an inquiry in 2004 into the faulty intelligence about Iraqi July 2, 2009

Greece Acropolis Museum Opens. The new Acro-

polis Museum June 20 opened in Athens, the Greek capital. The museum housed some 4,000 classical artifacts. It sat at the foot of the Acropolis, the hilltop center of ancient Athens crowned by the Parthenon temple. At the opening ceremony, Greek President Karolos Papoulias took the occasion to renew Greece’s long-standing demand for Britain to return the Elgin Marbles. Those were sculptural panels, dating from the 5th century B.C., which had been removed from the frieze of the Parthenon by an English aristocrat, Lord Elgin. In 1816, Elgin sold them to the British government, which placed them in the British Museum in London. [See 2002, p. 991C2] Papoulias said, “Today the whole world can see the most important sculptures of the Parthenon assembled, but some are missing; it’s time to heal the wounds of the monument with the return of the marbles which belong to it.” Earlier in June, the Greek government had refused an offer from the British Museum for a three-month loan of the Elgin Marbles, because the loan was conditioned on formal acceptance of Britain’s claim to legitimate ownership of the marbles. Elgin had been ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, which ruled Greece at the time. Britain claimed that Elgin’s removal of the marbles was legal because he had permission from the Ottoman rulers to take them, but Greek scholars disputed that. The British Museum had long dismissed calls for the return of the Elgin Marbles by claiming that Greece had no proper museum to house them. The new Acropolis Museum had been built to disprove that claim. It replaced a smaller museum that was built in 1874. Swiss architect Bernard Tschumi designed the museum, which was completed five years late and reportedly cost 130 million euros ($180 million). It was originally supposed to have opened during the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens. The museum’s display of the Parthenon frieze included only 36 of the original 115 panels. The panels held by Britain were represented by plaster casts, whose white color stood out clearly against the darker original marbles. n

Italy Freight Train Accident Kills 16. A freight

train carrying tanks of liquefied natural gas June 29 derailed and exploded while passing through the small coastal town of Viareggio in the region of Tuscany in northern

Italy. The accident caused fires and building collapses that killed 16 people and left several others in critical condition. Most of the dead had been in their homes when the accident occurred just before midnight. The train’s two engineers escaped with minor injuries. It was Italy’s worst rail accident since 2005, when 17 people died in the collision of a passenger train and a freight train near the northern city of Bologna. [See p. 253C3] Authorities said it was unclear what had caused the derailment, but reportedly were investigating such possibilities as a broken axle, a brake problem or damage to the tracks. The train was owned by GATX Rail Europe, a unit of U.S.-based GATX Corp. n

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Russia Ingush President Badly Injured in Bombing.

Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, president of Russia’s restive southern republic of Ingushetia, June 22 was seriously injured when a suicide bomber detonated a vehicle full of explosives near his armored car on the outskirts of Nazran, the republic’s main city. He was airlifted to a hospital in Moscow, Russia’s capital. Officials June 23 said Yevkurov remained in critical condition, with damage to his skull and internal organs. He had been appointed the impoverished Ingushetian republic’s president in October 2008. [See p. 417B1; 2008, p. 840C3] Russian President Dmitri Medvedev called the bombing a “terrorist act,” and said Yevkurov had been attacked because he had “done a lot to bring order and also to bring a civil peace to the region. The bandits actively dislike this, of course.” Ingushetia was located in the Russian Caucasus, where violence against officials was becoming increasingly common. Observers attributed the violence both to feuding local clans and radical Islamic militants. Ramzan Kadyrov, president of Chechnya, a neighboring republic long ravaged by separatist conflict, the same day said Medvedev had asked him to intensify antiinsurgent operations in Ingushetia. He said, “I will personally control the operations,” vowing “revenge” that would be “ruthless.” Violence in Chechnya had decreased since Kadyrov had taken power in 2007. However, rights activists accused him of violent repression. n

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Other European News Russia Begins War Games Near Georgia.

Russia June 29 began conducting largescale military exercises near its border with Georgia. Russia’s war games, the largest since the collapse of the Soviet Union, included about 8,500 troops, 200 tanks, and hundreds of armored vehicles and artillery units. The operation would end July 6, the day U.S. President Barack Obama was scheduled to arrive in Moscow, Russia’s capital, for a summit with President Dmitri Medvedev. Dmitri Rogozin, Russia’s ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), said Russia was running 449

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the exercises “to ensure the defensive capabilities of Russia in those areas where we see threats.” [See p. 406D1] The exercises came nearly a year after the Russian army had crushed a Georgian invasion of the Russian-aligned Georgian splinter region of South Ossetia. Following the brief war, Russia recognized South Ossetia, and another breakaway Georgian region, Abkhazia, as independent, stationed troops in both regions, and was in the process of building military bases in each. Georgia, backed by the U.S. and EU, vehemently disputed the Russian presence in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Nalbandov June 29 said the exercises were a “military provocation,” and that Georgia did “not rule out any threat of resumption of the [2008] war with Russia.” NATO had held military exercises in Georgia in May. OSCE Monitors Withdraw From Georgia—

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Observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) June 30 withdrew from Georgia. Despite months of negotiations, Russia, an OSCE member, had refused to agree to an extension of their mission, and Greece, which currently chaired the OSCE, had declined to circulate an alternative Russian proposal. The monitors had arrived in Georgia following the separatist wars of the 1990s, in which South Ossetia and Abkhazia had established de facto autonomy from Georgia. Russia had objected to extending the OSCE observer mission because other OSCE member states did not recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent. Russia earlier in June had vetoed an extension of a U.N.-sponsored monitoring mission that operated along the border between Abkhazia and Georgian-controlled territory, also because of the dispute over the regions’ independence. The U.N. monitors June 30 began their withdrawal, which was to be completed by July 15. The only remaining international presence in Georgia would be a European Union– sponsored monitoring mission that was not allowed to enter the breakaway regions. OSCE officials expressed serious concerns about Georgian stability following the monitors’ departure. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigori Karasin, according to a June 17 article in the Russian newspaper Kommersant, had said, “What happened with the OSCE mission to [Georgia]…is a supreme act of diplomatic cynicism.” NATO and Russia Resume Military Links—

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Representatives from NATO and Russia June 27 met on the Greek island of Corfu, where they formally resumed military links that had been severed following the 2008 war between Georgia and Russia. The two sides agreed to cooperate on issues including Afghanistan, counterterrorism and nuclear proliferation. [See p. 311B1] Georgia Leaves CIS—Georgia June 12 formally left the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a loose international confederation whose remaining members 450

were Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Moldova, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Ukraine was an unofficial member, and Turkmenistan held associate status. [See 2008, p. 786C1] n

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Lebanon Hariri Named Prime Minister. Lebanese President Michel Suleiman June 27 named Saad Hariri as the country’s prime minister, after 86 legislators of the 128-member parliament voted to nominate him. Hariri, 39, was the son of former President Rafik Hariri, who had been assassinated in 2005. He led the March 14 Movement, a pro-Western coalition that had bested the Shiite Muslim militant group Hezbollah and its allies in parliamentary elections earlier in June. Hariri would succeed Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, who was also a member of the March 14 Movement. [See p. 397B3; for facts on Hariri, see p. 450E2] Hariri said he would assemble a unity government including members of opposition parties, and he had met June 25 with Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah. However, it was not clear whether Hezbollah’s coalition would retain enough strength to keep the veto power over government decisions that it had held in the previous government. March 14 Movement candidates during the runup to the election had pledged to disarm Hezbollah’s militia, which was reportedly more powerful than the Lebanese army. However, Hariri seemed to back off that promise after the elections. It was also uncertain how an ongoing tribunal investigating the death of Rafik Hariri would proceed. Syria had been implicated in the assassination, and Hezbollah—which was supported by Syria—opposed the investigation. FACTS ON HARIRI

Saad Hariri was born April 18, 1970, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. His father, Rafik Hariri, was a Lebanese tycoon and politician who was Lebanon’s prime minister from 1992 to 1998, and again from 2000 until 2004. His mother, Nidal al-Bustani, was an Iraqi. Saad Hariri graduated from Georgetown University in the U.S. in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in international business. Hariri ran his father’s businesses in Saudi Arabia, including construction company Saudi Oger Ltd. and Omnia Holdings Ltd. After Rafik Hariri was assassinated in February 2005, Saad Hariri entered Lebanese politics. He took over control of his father’s Sunni Muslim party, the Movement of the Future, and the coalition of which it was the largest member, the March 14 Movement, and served as parliamentary majority leader. Hariri also inherited a large fortune from his father. [See 2005, p. 93A1] The March 14 Movement maintained its majority in June 7 parliamentary elections, besting an opposition coalition led by the Shiite Muslim militant group Hezbollah. President Michel Suleiman June 27 named Hariri prime minister. [See pp. 450A2, 397B3] Hariri and his wife, Lara Bashir alAdem, had three children.

The parliament June 25 had reelected Nabih Berri as its speaker, with the support of Hariri. Berri, the leader of the Shiite Amal movement, had been the parliament speaker since 1992. Amal was part of the Hezbollah-led opposition coalition. Supporters of the March 14 Movement and Amal, both armed with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, June 28 clashed in Beirut, the Lebanese capital. The fighting killed a bystander and wounded two other people. The Lebanese army reportedly deployed troops in the capital and warned that any armed men on the streets would be shot. n

SOUTH ASIA

India Technology Company Satyam Sold. Indian technology company Tech Mahindra Ltd. April 13 emerged as the winning bidder for a majority stake in competitor Satyam Computer Services Ltd., whose chairman, B. Ramalinga Raju, had confessed in January to artificially inflating Satyam’s profits and falsely claiming that Satyam had some $1 billion in assets. Tech Mahindra, a division of conglomerate Mahindra Group, bought a 31% stake in Satyam, and later would be entitled to buy an additional 20% stake. The deal, at 58 rupees ($1.16) a share, valued Satyam at $1.1 billion. [See p. 54F3] Following Raju’s admission of guilt and arrest, the government dismissed Satyam’s board and appointed a new board to organize a sale. The government’s intervention was seen as an attempt to prevent instability in India’s outsourcing industry, a booming sector that provided technology work and customer services to Western companies. The circumstances surrounding the deal were considered unique, since potential buyers could not rely on Satyam’s doctored accounting books to gauge the company’s health. Additionally, buyers would be responsible for paying legal costs associated with several pending lawsuits against Satyam. Government authorities April 7 had charged Raju and eight others with multiple counts of fraud. The accused included Raju’s brother, Rama Raju, who had been one of Satyam’s founders; former Chief Financial Officer Srinivas Vadlamani; and two employees of U.S. accounting company PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP, whose Indian unit had approved Satyam’s accounting records. n

SPORTS

UNITED STATES

Basketball Oklahoma’s Griffin Tops NBA Draft. The

Los Angeles Clippers June 25 selected University of Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin with the first overall pick in the National Basketball Association (NBA) draft. Griffin, who had just completed his sophomore year, was the consensus top pick in the 2009 class. The Clippers had announced their intention to draft Griffin FACTS ON FILE

2009 NBA DRAFT: FIRST ROUND

The teams that selected in the first round of the June 25 National Basketball Association draft, their selections, the projected professional positions of the players, and the players’ colleges, high schools or pre-NBA teams were as follows (players marked by an asterisk were traded; see story for details) [See p. 450G3]: 1.

L.A. Clippers: Blake Griffin, forward, Okla-

homa 2.

Memphis: Hasheem Thabeet, center, Con-

necticut 3.

Oklahoma City: James Harden, guard, Arizo-

na State 4. Sacramento: Tyreke Evans, guard, Memphis 5. Minnesota (from Washington): Ricky Rubio, guard, DKV Joventut (Spain) 6. Minnesota: Jonny Flynn, guard, Syracuse 7. Golden State: Stephen Curry, guard, David-

son 8. New York: Jordan Hill, forward, Arizona 9. Toronto: DeMar DeRozan, guard, USC 10. Milwaukee: Brandon Jennings, guard, Lot-

tomatica Roma (Italy) 11. New Jersey: Terrence Williams, guard, Louisville 12. Charlotte: Gerald Henderson, guard, Duke 13. Indiana: Tyler Hansbrough, forward, North Carolina

shortly after winning the lottery. [See 2008, p. 478A2; for a complete list of the firstround picks, see p. 451A1] University of Connecticut center Hasheem Thabeet was taken second by the Memphis Grizzlies. Following the first two selections, guards accounted for seven of the rest of the top 10. The Oklahoma City Thunder, with the third pick, took Arizona State University guard James Harden. University of Memphis guard Tyreke Evans was picked fourth by the Sacramento Kings. The Minnesota Timberwolves June 23 had traded guards Mike Miller and Randy Foye to the Washington Wizards for forwards Etan Thomas, Darius Songaila, Oleksiy Pecherov and the fifth pick in the draft. With back-to-back selections at fifth and sixth, the Timberwolves took a pair of guards in Ricky Rubio of Spain and Jonny Flynn of Syracuse University. The Timberwolves also dealt the rights to the 18th pick overall, University of North Carolina guard Ty Lawson, to the Denver Nuggets for a future first-round draft pick. The moves by the Timberwolves followed the June 17 firing of coach Kevin McHale, who had been with the organization for 15 years. In other trades involving picks on draft day, the Dallas Mavericks and the Thunder swapped the rights to the 24th and 25th picks overall, with center B.J. Mullens of Ohio State University going to the Thunder and the Mavericks securing guard Rodrigue Beaubois of France. The New York Knicks bought the rights to the Los Angeles Lakers’ first-round pick (29th overall), Florida State University guard Toney Douglas. O’Neal Dealt to Cleveland— The Phoenix Suns June 25 traded 15-time All-Star Shaquille O’Neal to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for center Ben Wallace, July 2, 2009

14. Phoenix: Earl Clark, forward, Louisville 15. Detroit: Austin Daye, forward, Gonzaga 16. Chicago: James Johnson, forward, Wake For-

est 17. Philadelphia: Jrue Holiday, guard, UCLA 18. Minnesota (from Miami): Ty Lawson, guard,

North Carolina* 19. Atlanta: Jeff Teague, guard, Wake Forest 20. Utah: Eric Maynor, guard, Virginia Com-

monwealth 21. New Orleans: Darren Collison, guard, UCLA 22. Portland (from Dallas): Victor Claver, for-

ward, Pamesa Valencia (Spain) 23. Sacramento (from Houston): Omri Casspi,

forward, Maccabi Electra (Israel) 24. Dallas (from Portland): B.J. Mullens, center,

Ohio State* 25. Oklahoma City (from San Antonio): Rod-

rigue Beaubois, guard, Cholet (France)* 26. Chicago (from Denver through Oklahoma City): Taj Gibson, forward, USC 27. Memphis (from Orlando): DeMarre Carroll,

forward, Missouri 28. Minnesota (from Boston): Wayne Ellington,

guard, North Carolina 29. L.A. Lakers: Toney Douglas, guard, Florida

State* 30. Cleveland: Christian Eyenga, guard, DKV Jo-

ventut (Spain)

guard Sasha Pavlovic, cash and a secondround draft pick in 2010. The deal secured another superstar for the Cavaliers, with O’Neal complementing the league’s reigning most valuable player (MVP), LeBron James. The team had finished the regular season with the NBA’s best record (66 wins and 16 losses), but was defeated in the Eastern Conference championship by the Orlando Magic. [See p. 419G2] The Magic quickly responded with a blockbuster trade of their own, dealing center Tony Battie and guards Rafer Alston and Courtney Lee to the New Jersey Nets for guard Vince Carter and forward Ryan Anderson. Another perennial playoff team, the San Antonio Spurs, added a top scorer to their roster with a June 23 trade. In the deal, the Spurs sent centers Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto and guard Bruce Bowen to the Milwaukee Bucks in return for forward Richard Jefferson. n

ARTS & SCIENCES

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Theater Openings Coraline. Musical based on a 2002 children’s novel by Neil Gaiman that was also the basis for a recently released animated film. Music and lyrics by Stephin Merritt; book by David Greenspan. Directed by Leigh Silverman. With Greenspan, Jayne Houdyshell and Julian Fleisher. In New York City, at the Lucille Lortel Theater. June 1. [See pp. 140C2, 56A1] Fever/Dream. Absurdist comedy adapted from a 17thcentury drama from Spain, Pedro Calderon de la Barca’s Life Is a Dream. By Sheila Callaghan. Directed by Howard Shalwitz. With Daniel Eichner, Drew Eshelman, Kate Eastwood Norris, KenYatta Rogers and Michael Willis. In Washington, D.C., at Woolly Mammoth Theater Co. June 7. Grasses of a Thousand Colors. Futuristic play inspired by a 17th-century French fairy tale. By Wallace Shawn. Directed by Andre Gregory. With Shawn, Miranda Richardson, Jennifer Tilly and Emily McDonnell. In London, at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs. May 18. [See 1996, pp. 1015B3, 439E3] The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism With a Key to the Scriptures. World pre-

miere of a sprawling family drama by Tony Kushner

serving as the centerpiece of a major festival devoted to his work. Directed by Michael Greif. With Michael Cristofer, Kathleen Chalfant, Linda Emond, Stephen Spinella and Ron Menzel. In Minneapolis, Minn., at the Guthrie Theater’s McGuire Proscenium Stage. May 22. [See 2008, p. 736D2] Kursk. Drama set on a fictional British submarine supposedly tracking the Kursk, a Russian submarine that sank in 2000, killing its entire crew. By Bryony Lavery. Directed by Mark Espiner and Dan Jones. With Ian Ashpitel, Bryan Dick, Tom Espiner, Gareth Farr and Laurence Mitchell. In London, at the Young Vic’s Maria Studio. June 8. [See 2002, p. 734D1] Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet. Third part of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s Brother/Sister Plays trilogy, paired in this production with the trilogy’s second part, The Brothers Size. Directed by Robert O’Hara. With Alano Miller. In Princeton, N.J., at the McCarter Theater Center’s Berlind Theater. May 22. [See 2008, pp. 248E1, 116B2] Phedre. Modern-dress version of a tragedy by 17thcentury French dramatist Jean Racine, as translated by poet Ted Hughes. Directed by Nicholas Hytner. With Helen Mirren, Margaret Tyzack, Dominic Cooper, Ruth Negga and Stanley Townsend. In London, at the Royal National Theatre’s Lyttelton Theatre. June 9. (This production’s June 25 evening performance was beamed by satellite to cinemas in Britain, continental Europe and the U.S., reportedly drawing a record number of people for a single live performance of a play.) [See 1998, p. 804G2] Sister Act. Musical adapted from a 1992 film comedy about a singer disguised as a nun. Music by Alan Menken; book by Cheri and Bill Steinkeller, based on Joseph Howard’s script for the film. Directed by Peter Schneider; choreographed by Anthony Van Laast. With Patina Miller, Sheila Hancock, Ako Mitchell, Nicolas Colicos and Julia Sutton. In London, at the London Palladium. June 2. [See 1992, p. 516G1] When the Rain Stops Falling. Family saga set in both England and Australia. By Andrew Bovell, in collaboration with visual artist Hossein Valamanesh. Directed by Chris Drummond. With Neil Pigot, Michaela Cantwell, Yalin Ozucelik and Carmel Johnson. In Sydney, Australia, at the Sydney Opera House Drama Theater. May 11. (A separate production of this play, directed by Michael Attenborough, opened May 21 at London’s Almeida Theatre.) n

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People Rhythm and blues singer Chris Brown, 20, June 22 in Los Angeles pleaded guilty to one count of felonious assault on pop singer Rihanna. The assault occurred hours before the Feb. 8 Grammy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, at which both artists, who were dating each other at the time, had been scheduled to perform. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Brown, 20, would receive five years of supervised probation and six months of community service. Brown, who was to be formally sentenced in August, was also ordered to stay away from Rihanna. [See p. 88E2] n

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BUSSI, Hortensia (Mercedes Hortensia Bussi Soto de Allende), 94, widow of Salvador Allende,

Chile’s socialist president from 1970 until 1973, when he apparently committed suicide at the presidential palace in Santiago, the capital, during a coup led by Gen. Augusto Pinochet; the ensuing military regime, headed by Pinochet, lasted until 1990; for most of the Pinochet era, she lived in exile in Mexico, campaigning for democracy and human rights in Chile and throughout Latin America; born July 22, 1914, in Valparaiso, Chile; died June 18 in Santiago. [See 1990, p. 664C2; 1988, pp. 726B3, 337A3; Indexes 1987, 1983, 1973–76; indexed under Allende before 1990] DAHRENDORF, Lord (Ralf Gustav), 80, German-born sociologist and political philosopher; during his youth in Nazi Germany, he was briefly imprisoned in a labor camp for campaigning against the regime; after become a leading liberal academic, he entered West German politics and served for four years (1970–74) as one of two West German members of the European Commission (the executive

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Publishers Weekly June 29 listed the following hardback and paperback best sellers [See p. 384A1]:

Top-Rated Programs. The following were the most-watched prime-time nation-

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1. KnockOut, by Catherine Coulter (Putnam) 2. Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Deception, by Eric Van Lustbader (Grand Central) 3. Relentless, by Dean Koontz (Bantam) 4. The Angel’s Game, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Doubleday) 5. Medusa, by Clive Cussler with Paul Kemprecos (Putnam) General Hardback 1. Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto, by Mark R. Levin (Threshold Editions) 2. Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan, by Doug Stanton (Scribner) 3. Outliers: The Story of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown) 4. The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion) 5. Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment, by Steve Harvey (Amistad) Mass Market Paperback 1. My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Picoult (Pocket) 2. Dead Until Dark, by Charlaine Harris (Ace) 3. Angels & Demons, by Dan Brown (Pocket) 4. Rogue, by Danielle Steel (Dell) 5. Living Dead in Dallas, by Charlaine Harris (Ace)

Music Best-Selling Singles and Albums. Billboard magazine in its June 27 issue list-

ed the five most popular singles (as determined by air play and sales) and the five best-selling albums in the U.S. as the following [See p. 384C1]:

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Singles 1. “Boom Boom Pow,” The Black Eyed Peas (will.i.am/Interscope) 2. “I Gotta Feeling,” The Black Eyed Peas (Interscope) 3. “Knock You Down,” Keri Hilson featuring Kanye West & Ne-Yo (Mosley/Zone 4/Interscope) 4. “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho),” Pitbull (Ultra) 5. “LoveGame,” Lady Gaga (Streamline/KonLive/Cherrytree/Interscope)

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1. The E.N.D., The Black Eyed Peas (Interscope/IGA) 2. Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, Dave Matthews Band (Bama Rags/ RCA/RMG) 3. Relapse, Eminem (Web/Shady/Aftermath/Interscope/IGA) 4. Chickenfoot, Chickenfoot (Redline) 5. The Last, Aventura (Premium Latin/Sony Music Latin) body of what became the European Union); in 1974, he was appointed the first foreign-born director of the London School of Economics (LSE), from which he had received a doctorate in sociology in 1956; he headed the LSE until 1986, before moving to Oxford University, where he served as warden of St. Antony’s College from 1987 to 1997; he became a British citizen in 1988, and was made a life peer in 1993; born May 1, 1929, in Hamburg; died June 17 in Cologne, Germany, of cancer. [See 1993, p. 547E1; 1978, p. 592D3; Indexes 1974, 1970–72] DAS, Kamala, 75, Indian poet, novelist, short-story writer, essayist, journalist and memoirist; she was the first major Indian woman writer in modern times to explore female sexuality in her work; she wrote most of her verse in English, but most of her fiction (under the pen name Madhavikutty) in Malayalam, a nonIndo-European language of southwest India; born into a Hindu family of note, she attracted much attention when she converted to Islam in 1999, at age 67; since then, she had been known as Kamala Suraiyya; born March 31, 1934, in Punnayurkulam, India; died May 31 in Pune, India, of pneumonia. DAUSSET, Jean Baptiste Gabriel Joachim, 92, French hematologist and immunologist; his discovery, in the late 1950s, of molecules on the surface of cells (which became known as HLA antigens) crucial to immune system functioning helped pave the way for “tissue typing,” to determine compatibility between potential donors and recipients of organ transplants; he shared the 1980 Nobel Prize for medicine with two other researchers in this field; born Oct. 19, 1916, in

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al television shows June 1–28 as determined by A.C. Nielsen Co. Figures in parentheses are rating points; each point represents 1% of the 114.5 million television households in the U.S. [See p. 384A2]:

1. “National Basketball Association [NBA] Finals Game 4” (ABC), June 11 (9.4) 2. “NBA Finals Game 3” (ABC), June 9 (8.6) 3. “NBA Finals Game 2” (ABC), June 7 (8.2) 4. “NBA Finals Game 5” (ABC), June 14 (8.0) 5. “NBA Finals Game 1” (ABC), June 4 (7.8)

Films Top-Grossing Films. The following were the top-grossing films in the U.S. for the week of June 26–July 2 according to Variety. Figures in parentheses were each film’s cumulative domestic box-office total and number of weeks in release to date. Information on cast and director is included when a film first appears on the list. [See p. 384B2]:

1. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Paramount ($214.9 million, 1) Directed by Michael Bay. With Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson and John Turturro. 2. The Proposal, Disney ($71.9 million, 2) Directed by Anne Fletcher. With Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Denis O’Hare, Malin Akerman and Mary Steenburgen. 3. The Hangover, Warner Bros. ($185.6 million, 4) Directed by Todd Phillips. With Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham and Justin Bartha. 4. Up, Disney ($252.4 million, 5) Directed by Pete Docter and Bob Peterson. With the voices of Peterson, Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer and Jordan Nagai. 5. My Sister’s Keeper, Warner Bros. ($14.5 million, 1) Directed by Nick Cassavetes. With Cameron Diaz, Abigail Breslin, Alec Baldwin, Jason Patric and Joan Cusack. 6. Year One, Sony ($33.6 million, 2) Directed by Harold Ramis. With Jack Black, Michael Cera, Oliver Platt, David Cross and Hank Azaria. 7. The Taking of Pelham 123, Sony ($54.1 million, 3) Directed by Tony Scott. With Denzel Washington, John Travolta, James Gandolfini, John Turturro and Frank Wood. 8. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, 20th Century Fox ($164.0 million, 6) [See p. 384B2] 9. Star Trek, Paramount ($246.8 million, 8) [See p. 384C2] 10. Away We Go, Focus Features ($4.3 million, 4) Directed by Sam Mendes. With John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Carmen Ejogo, Catherine O’Hara and Jeff Daniels.

Toulouse, France; died June 6 in Palma de Mallorca, the capital of Spain’s Balearic Islands; he had been living there for two years. [See 1996, p. 440E3; 1980, p. 889F3] ISHAM, Heyward, 82, career U.S. Foreign Service officer who was deputy chief and later acting chief of the U.S. delegation to the Paris peace talks that led to a January 1973 accord that ended direct U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War, two years before the war itself ended; from 1974 to 1977, he was U.S. ambassador to Haiti; born Nov. 4, 1926, in New York City; died June 18 in Southampton, N.Y.; he had suffered from pulmonary fibrosis and had been battling an infection. [See 1977, p. 626E2; 1973, pp. 1053D3, 9D1; Index 1972] KHAN, Ali Akbar, 87, virtuoso of the sarod, a 25string, lutelike instrument used in Indian classical music; like sitarist Ravi Shankar, his brother-in-law for a number of years, he was trained by his father, master musician Allaudin Khan, who died in 1972 at the age of 101; he and Shankar often performed together, including at two 1971 benefit concerts to aid victims of war and famine in newly created Bangladesh; those concerts gave rise to both a Grammy Award–winning album and a film; in later years, he was based in Northern California, where he taught Indian classical music to several generations of students; he also scored a number of films, including Bernard Bertolucci’s Little Buddha (1993), and was a a 1991 recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, or “genius grant”; born April 14, 1922, in Shibpur, in what was then the East Bengal region of British India (now

Bangladesh); died June 18 at his home in San Anselmo, Calif., of kidney disease. [See 1991, p. 472B2; 1973, p. 1000B1] KING, Allan Winton (born Allan Winton), 79, Canadian filmmaker best known for his feature-length documentaries, some of them filmed at Toronto, Ontario, institutions of various kinds; these included Warrendale (1967), set at a school for emotionally disturbed children, Dying at Grace (2003), filmed at a Salvation Army hospice, and Memory for Max, Claire, Ida and Company (2005), shot at a geriatric care facility with many residents coping with dementia; born Feb. 6, 1930, in Vancouver, British Columbia; died June 15 at his Toronto home, two months after being diagnosed with brain cancer. [See 1969, p. 232A3] LOW, Frank James, 75, astronomer who, beginning in the early 1960s, helped expand the horizons of cosmology by developing a variety of devices for detecting infrared, or “heat,” radiation from stars; he was a longtime faculty member at the University of Arizona; born Nov. 23, 1933, in Mobile, Ala.; died June 11 in Tucson, Ariz., after a long illness. MOTWANI, Rajeev, 47, Stanford University computer scientist who did pioneering data-mining research; among his students were Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the founders of the Google Internet search engine; born March 26, 1962, in Jammu, India; found dead June 5 at the bottom of the swimming pool at his Atherton, Calif., home, in an apparent drowning. [See 2004, pp. 641B3, 167A2] n

July 2, 2009

Group of Eight Meets in Italy, Agrees to Long-Term Greenhouse Gas Emissions Cuts No Short-Term Pledges Agreed. The Group of Eight (G-8) leading industrialized nations July 8 pledged to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050, on the first day of a three-day summit of the G-8 heads of state in L’Aquila, Italy. The G-8—comprised of the U.S., Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, Japan and Canada—addressed a wide range of issues at the summit, including an ongoing global economic slowdown and post-election violence in Iran. [See below, p. 404C3; 2008, p. 462C1] The G-8 for the first time July 8 announced that it would strive to prevent global temperatures from rising more than 2° Celsius (3.6° Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. Global temperatures since the 19th century had risen about 0.7° Celsius. However, the G-8 was criticized for failing to secure broader commitments to slow down the pace of global warming. For example, the G-8’s emissions target did not include a mandatory baseline year from which percentage reductions of emissions would be calculated. The G-8 was also unable to agree on short-term emissions targets. That prompted nine other countries— which along with the G-8 were known as the Major Economies Forum (MEF)—to back out of committing to a global emissions cut of 50% by 2050. India and China were reported to have led the charge to scuttle an emissions target from the MEF, which held a meeting on the sidelines of the G-8 summit July 9 that was chaired by U.S. President Barack Obama and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. India and China reportedly wanted to see more financial incentives from the G-8 countries, since the economic progress the two countries had made in recent decades could be blunted if they imposed environmental limits on growth. Additionally, it was widely reported that Chinese President Hu Jintao’s sudden decision July 8 to return to China precluded any chances for negotiation. Hu returned to China to address ethnic strife between Uighurs and Han Chinese that had left a reported 156 dead in the western province of Xinjiang. [See p. 460C3] White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs July 9 said Obama believed that an agreement on short-term targets could be reached before the United Nations hosted a climate change summit in December in Copenhagen, Denmark, which was intended to produce a successor to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. [See p. 405B2] G-8 to Unwind Emergency Policies—

The G-8 July 9 announced that its members would begin preparing strategies to unwind the emergency fiscal and monetary policies they had enacted to address the global economic crisis, such as spending packages and other stimulative measures. However, the G-8 said that “exit strategies will vary from country to country,” reflecting differences between G-8 members on when those policies should be rolled back. U.S. and British officials had said it was prema-

ture to end the policies, while Germany had argued that they could lead to a debilitating spike in inflation. The G-8 said there were “signs of stabilization” in the global economy, but that “risks remain.” The International Monetary Fund (IMF) that day had said the global economy would contract at a 1.4% annual rate in 2009, slightly faster than its April projection of 1.3%. However, the IMF said the economy would grow at a 2.5% rate in 2010, up from its April projection of 1.9%. [See p. 283D3] The G-8 that day was joined by what was known as the Group of Five, which comprised emerging economic powers Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa. The two groups pledged not to devalue individual currencies in order to gain an advantage in international trade. The G-8 that day also pledged to have a global trade deal in place by 2010, in what was seen as an attempt to revive the socalled Doha round of trade talks. The purpose of the talks had been to reduce international trade barriers. Analysts noted that a pledge to restart the talks had become a fixture at international summits, but had yielded little substantive process. G-8 Expresses ‘Concern’ Over Iran—

The G-8 July 8 released a statement expressing its “serious concern” over the Iranian government’s recent crackdown on demonstrators protesting the results of a June presidential election. Thousands of Iranian demonstrators took to the streets July 9, and were met by a heavy contingent of security forces. [See p. 463E3] The G-8 also said it would use a U.N. General Assembly meeting in September “to take stock of the situation” involving Iran’s controversial nuclear program. The G-8 did not go so far as to impose a deadline on Iran to halt the program, which many countries said was a covert operation to create nuclear weapons, a charge that Iran denied. The G-8 on July 10, the last day of the summit, was expected to announced a $15 billion program to aid poor farmers in developing countries. Summit Held in Quake-Stricken City—

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi hosted the three-day summit in L’Aquila, a city in the central Italian region of Abruzzo, which had suffered a severe earthquake in April that killed nearly 300 people and left more than 50,000 homeless. [See p. 253C3] Berlusconi had insisted on holding the summit in L’Aquila in order to showcase his government’s rebuilding efforts and encourage other countries to help finance reconstruction of historic buildings. He had visited the region 15 times since the quake, but tens of thousands of victims were still housed in tent encampments outside the city. Berlusconi had promised that permanent housing would be built for all of them before winter.

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World News Digest With Index ©2009 by Facts On File News Services An imprint of Infobase Publishing

Volume 69, No. 3577* July 9, 2009

B The decision to hold a summit in such a an earthquake-prone region drew questions about safety, especially after L’Aquila July 3 experienced a quake with a magnitude of 4.1 on the Richter scale of ground motion. The epicenter was less than a mile from the police barracks where the summit meetings were to be held. Offering reassurances, Italian officials said they had emergency plans to evacuate the G-8 leaders from L’Aquila by airplane in case of an earthquake measuring a magnitude of 4.0 or higher during the summit. n

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Obama Meets With Russian President Medvedev in Moscow Leaders Seal Several Military Accords. U.S. President Barack Obama traveled to Russia for a July 6 summit with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev. The leaders agreed to reduce their countries’ nuclear stockpiles

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MAJOR STORIES IN THIS ISSUE Group of Eight meets in Italy, agrees to long-term greenhouse gas cuts; shortterm-pledges avoided. PAGE 453

Obama meets with Russian President Medvedev in Moscow.

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Alaska Gov. Palin, former GOP vicepresidential candidate, to resign. PAGE 455

U.S. unemployment rate rose to 9.5% in June. PAGE 456

Ousted Honduran President Zelaya denied landing in return attempt. PAGE 459

Violence erupts in China’s Xinjiang region.

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Indonesian President Yudhoyono reelected. PAGE 461

North Korea fires banned missiles on U.S. holiday. PAGE 462

Iranian police disperse renewed election protests. PAGE 463

Federer, S. Williams win at Wimbledon. PAGE 467 *First of two sections Section Two is the Semiannual Index. REFERENCES in brackets give location of background information in this & preceding volumes.

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by as much as a third, and Obama won permission to use Russian airspace to transport troops and weapons to Afghanistan. The two countries also agreed to resume military cooperation, which had ground to a halt following Russia’s 2008 war with neighboring Georgia. [See pp. 406C1, 193C3] Despite the accords, sharp divides remained between the U.S. and Russia. No consensus was forged on topics of dispute such as Georgia and Ukraine, which the U.S. was ushering toward North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) membership despite strong Russian objections. Obama and Medvedev also made little progress toward settling differences over a planned U.S. missile defense system to be constructed in Poland and the Czech Republic. Russia was vehemently opposed to the system, which it said could undermine its defenses. Leaders Agree to Cut Nuclear Stockpiles—

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The July 6 agreement to slash nuclear stockpiles was widely described as the framework for an extension of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which was set to expire Dec. 5. The treaty, which had been struck in 1991 between then–U.S. President George H. W. Bush and then–Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, limited each country to 1,600 nuclear weapon delivery vehicles and 6,000 nuclear warheads. Under the new accord, the ceiling on nuclear delivery vehicles would fall within seven years to a number between 500 and 1,100, and the maximum number of nuclear warheads allowed would drop to somewhere between 1,500 and 1,675. Obama was expected to push for more cuts once the new START accord took effect. Obama said the fight against nuclear proliferation was “one in which the United States and Russia have to take leadership.” He added, “It is very difficult for us to exert that leadership unless we are showing ourselves willing to deal with our own nuclear stockpiles in a more rational way.” Medvedev asserted that reducing the number of nuclear weapons globally was “our common, joint responsibility, and we should do our utmost to prevent any negative trends there.” Also, Obama agreed to “talk not only about offensive weapons systems, but also defensive weapons systems.” The statement was a departure from the policy of former U.S. President George W. Bush, who had championed the proposed U.S. missile defense system and had declined to link it to wider arms control discussions. The U.S. was currently conducting a review of the proposed missile defense system, with a final report due later in the year. [See p. 208A1] While Medvedev did not mention Iran’s nuclear program specifically, he expressed concern over “negative trends in the world” that had come as a result of “new nuclear players.” The U.S. had said its system would defend against Iranian missiles. Obama that day also visited the tomb of Russia’s unknown soldier, and gave an in-

terview to opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta. Obama Meets Prime Minister Putin—

Obama July 7 met Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who was widely considered to hold the most political power in Russia, over a traditional Russian breakfast. The meeting, which lasted longer than scheduled, was described as sober and businesslike. Obama praised the “extraordinary work that you’ve done on behalf of the Russian people.” Putin said, “With you, we link all our hopes for the furtherance of relations between our two countries.” Putin reportedly dominated the first half of the meeting with a nearly uninterrupted monologue on Russia’s worldview. Obama, in an interview later that day with the U.S.’s Fox News, said, “Some of [Putin’s] continued grievances with respect to the West are still dated in some of the suspicions that came out of that period,” referring to the Cold War. He continued, “On areas where we disagree, like Georgia, I don’t anticipate a meeting of the minds anytime soon.” Obama described Putin as “tough, shrewd, very unsentimental, very pragmatic.” He also said that he thought Putin “genuinely” wanted to repair frayed relations with the U.S. In the days before his visit, Obama had praised Medvedev as a progressive leader, but criticized Putin as being mired in Cold War politics. In a July 2 interview with the Associated Press, Obama said Putin “has one foot in the old ways of doing things and one foot in the new.” Putin the following day rejected Obama’s criticism, saying Russians “stand solidly on their own two feet and always look into the future.” Also, Putin July 6, the day Obama arrived in Russia, sent George W. Bush a letter congratulating him on his 63rd birthday. He wrote that he valued Bush’s “openness and sincerity.” Most analysts concurred that U.S. relations with Russia had worsened during Bush’s presidency, despite a friendly personal relationship between Putin and Bush. Obama that day also met with Gorbachev, as well as with Russian business and opposition figures. Obama Gives Foreign Policy Speech—

Obama July 7, at Moscow’s New Economic School, delivered a speech that his administration billed as a continuation of major foreign policy speeches he had given earlier in the year in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, and Cairo, Egypt’s capital. Obama began by praising Russia’s contributions to science and the arts, and recalled the sacrifices it had made in World War II. He affirmed that “America wants a strong, peaceful and prosperous Russia.” [See p. 367B2] Obama then recalled views of global strategy in 19th and 20th centuries that had pitted the U.S. and Russia against each other. He rejected those traditions, and asserted that “in 2009, a great power does not show strength by dominating or demonizing other countries. The days when empires could treat sovereign states as pieces on a chess board are over.” He added, “Any world order that tries to elevate one nation

or group of people over another will inevitably fail. The pursuit of power is no longer a zero-sum game—progress must be shared. That is why I have called for a ‘reset’ in relations between the United States and Russia.” Obama then outlined four areas where the U.S. and Russia had common interests: preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, defeating extremism in Pakistan and Afghanistan, recovering from the global economic downturn and supporting “democratic governments that protect the rights of their people.” Obama said, “By no means is America perfect. But it is our commitment to certain universal values which allows us to correct our imperfections.” He lauded democracy as a system that had “allowed women, minorities and workers to protest for full and equal rights…busted monopolies, shut down political machines and ended abuses of power.” Obama did not explicitly criticize Russia’s government, which under Putin had clamped down on independent media and marginalized the opposition. But he praised the free press for exposing official corruption in the U.S., and added that “competitive elections allow us to change course and hold our leaders accountable. If our democracy did not advance those rights, I—as a person of African ancestry—wouldn’t be able to address you as an American citizen, much less a president.” Obama closed by declaring support for democratic systems and state sovereignty. He said, “States must have the right to borders that are secure, and to their own foreign policies…any system that cedes those rights will lead to anarchy. That is why this principle must apply to all nations—including Georgia and Ukraine.” Obama

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added, “NATO seeks collaboration with Russia, not confrontation.” While Obama’s speeches in Prague and Cairo had been enthusiastically received, his Russian audience was more reserved, which analysts said reflected a widespread perception of the U.S. as a rival of Russia. The speech was not broadcast on any of Russia’s four major television stations, which were state-controlled. n

Other International News Russia’s Medvedev Visits Egypt, Africa.

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev June 23–26 visited Egypt, Nigeria, Namibia and Angola. It was his first trip to Africa since assuming the presidency in 2008. [See 2006, p. 784A3] Medvedev led a trade delegation that included Russia’s ministers of natural resources, justice and energy; the chief of Rosatom, Russia’s nuclear regulatory agency; and business leaders such as the heads of energy giants OAO Rosneft and OAO Lukoil. Analysts said the trip to subSaharan African nations that were rich in natural resources represented an effort by Russia to strengthen its presence on the continent and counterbalance China and the West, both of which wielded greater economic and political influence in Africa. [See pp. 406F3, 170E1] In Cairo, Egypt’s capital, Medvedev June 23 met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and signed a 10-year strategic partnership between the two countries on energy, infrastructure and military cooperation. Later that day, he met with Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, and addressed a meeting of the Arab League. In his speech, Medvedev called for a summit to be held in Moscow, Russia’s capital, on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. He also praised the speech delivered by U.S. President Barack Obama in Cairo some three weeks earlier. [See pp. 453C3, 403F1, 367C2] Deals

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Medvedev June 24 arrived in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, where he met with President Umaru Yar’Adua. Also that day, representatives of OAO Gazprom, Russia’s stateowned energy company, and state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. signed a deal creating a joint venture, which would see the Russian company invest at least $2.5 billion in exploration and development of Nigeria’s oil reserves. [See p. 358G1] In Namibia June 25, Medvedev met with President Hifikepunye Pohamba in Windhoek, the capital, marking the first visit to the country by a Russian leader. Russian companies already had deals with Namibia to explore for uranium. Medvedev June 26 ended his trip in neighboring Angola. In a meeting with President Jose Eduardo dos Santos in Luanda, the capital, the two leaders discussed bilateral cooperation on developing Angola’s energy and mineral resources. n July 9, 2009

U N I T ESTATES D S TAT E S UNITED

Alaska Gov. Palin to Resign Departs With 18 Months Left in First Term.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, July 3 announced that she planned to resign as governor on July 26, some 18 months before the end of her first term. She said she would transfer power to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell (R). [See p. 160D2; 2008, p. 801A1] Palin, 45, was viewed as a potential candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Her unexpected resignation announcement left it unclear whether she intended to pursue a future in politics, although she hinted that she intended to remain a voice for conservative causes. Some commentators said her decision could prove to be a shrewd calculation that would leave her free to prepare for a presidential run. Others called it an abdication of responsibility that would make it hard for her to realize any higher ambitions. Palin’s resignation gave a new jolt to her party, following two weeks of scandals that had embarrassed a pair of other Republican presidential prospects, Sen. John Ensign (Nev.) and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, who had both admitted to extramarital affairs. Another potential candidate for the GOP nomination, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, had recently announced that he would not seek reelection to a third term in 2010. [See pp. 455D3, 424A1, 410B1] Palin made her televised announcement while standing on her family’s lakeside property in Wasilla, Alaska, flanked by her husband and children. She said she had first decided not to seek reelection, and then concluded that finishing her first term as a lame duck governor would be a waste of the state’s time and money. She said, “I thought about how much fun other governors have as lame ducks. They maybe travel around their state, travel to other states, maybe take their overseas international trade missions.” She added, “I’m not going to put Alaska through that. I promised efficiencies and effectiveness. That’s not how I’m wired. I’m not wired to operate under the same old politics as usual.” Palin also cited the cost of numerous state ethics investigations she had faced, most of them in response to complaints filed by Alaska residents under a reform law that Palin herself had signed. She said that she and her husband, Todd Palin, owed $500,000 in legal bills related to the probes, which had cost the state about $300,000. Most of them had been closed without finding any wrongdoing on her part. A Wasilla resident July 6 filed a new complaint accusing Palin of claiming $60 per day in travel expenses for days she spent at her home rather than in her office in Anchorage. Palin said that her five children backed her decision to resign, and claimed that her 14-month-old son, who had Down syndrome, had been “mocked and ridiculed by some pretty mean-spirited adults.”

Thrust Into Spotlight by McCain— Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, had thrust Palin into the national spotlight when he unexpectedly chose her as his running mate in August 2008. She became the first woman to join a Republican presidential ticket. Her selection was cheered by the social conservative wing of the Republican Party, which had been cool toward McCain, but admired her antiabortion stance. [See 2008, p. 605A1] However, Palin’s performance during the campaign was uneven and McCain’s staff tried to shield her from the media, raising questions about whether she was prepared for the national stage. The Republican ticket’s defeat in the November election led to recriminations among McCain advisers over Palin’s share of the blame. Since the campaign, Palin had continued to fuel controversy, clashing with the Republican-controlled Alaska state legislature. Her public approval ratings in the state, once as high as 90%, had fallen steadily. In June, she had accused David Letterman, host of CBS television’s “Late Show,” of making an offensive sexual joke about her 14-year old daughter, Willow. Letterman apologized June 15. Palin May 12 had revealed that she had signed a book contract with HarperCollins Publishers. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed, but the book was due to be published in 2010. n

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Other Politics News State GOP Censures S.C. Gov. Sanford.

The executive committee of the South Carolina Republican Party July 6 voted to censure Gov. Mark Sanford (R) over his recent confession that he had secretly traveled to Argentina in June to visit a woman with whom he was having an extramarital affair. The state party’s move to formally rebuke Sanford, rather than demand his resignation, was viewed as helping his chances of surviving the scandal and remaining in office. [See p. 424A1] The censure said Sanford had violated “the public’s trust and confidence in his ability to effectively perform the duties of his office.” A number of Republican members of the state legislature had called on Sanford to resign, particularly after he made new revelations in a June 30 interview with the Associated Press (AP). Sanford told the AP that he had “let my guard down” and “crossed lines” with a handful of other women during his 20-year marriage, but had “never had sex with another woman,” apart from his Argentine lover, who had been identified as Maria Belen Chapur. Sanford, 49, said he had seen Chapur five times over the past year. He called her his “soul mate,” but said he was determined to reconcile with his wife, with whom he had four sons. His wife, Jenny Sanford, July 2 issued a statement calling his actions “inexcusable,” but said she was willing to forgive him. Reginald Lloyd, the chief of the State Law Enforcement Division, July 2 said a review of Sanford’s travel and financial 455

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records showed that he had not improperly spent public funds on any of his rendezvous with Chapur, including three trips to New York City. Sanford had repaid $3,300 of the $8,000 cost of an official visit to Argentina in June 2008, when he said his affair with Chapur first became romantic after several years of friendship. Sanford June 26 had apologized to his cabinet at a televised meeting in the state capital of Columbia, in his first public appearance since admitting to his affair at a news conference two days earlier. He also apologized to Lloyd, who was responsible for his security, for concealing his whereabouts during his trip to Argentina. Sanford’s aides had said he was hiking on the Appalachian Trail. n

Economy Unemployment Rate Rose to 9.5% in June.

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The unemployment rate in June rose to 9.5% after seasonal adjustment, up from its May level of Unemployment 9.4%, the Labor June 2009 9.5% Department rePrevious Month 9.4% ported July 2. It Year Earlier 5.6% was the U.S.’s highest unemployment rate in 26 years. In addition, the pace of job losses picked up in June, after slackening somewhat in May, dampening hopes that the economy could soon recover from a deep, ongoing recession. [See p. 388C3] An estimated 467,000 nonfarm jobs were cut in June, up from the May figure of 322,000, bringing the total number of jobs lost to 6.5 million since the recession began in December 2007. All major sectors of the economy shed jobs, with the exception of health care and education. In reaction to the report, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stock index that day fell 223.32 points, or 2.6%, to close at 8,280.74. Republicans claimed that the job report was evidence that a $787 billion economic stimulus package signed into law by President Barack Obama in February was not working. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis acknowledged that the package had been slow to make an impact on the economy, saying, “Not all the recovery money has been put to work yet.” But she added, “We would have done much worse had we not put a recovery plan in place.” While there had been some encouraging economic news in recent months—including indications that the housing market was emerging from a slump—the unemployment report suggested that an economic recovery could be hindered for some time, since increasing job losses could lead consumers to rein in spending. There were other troubling signs, including a drop in the average workweek, to 33 hours, from 33.6 hours in May. It was the shortest workweek since the Labor Department began recording such data in 1964, and indicated that employed workers’ spending power was also being diminished. The unemployment rate was 16.5% when it included “discouraged” workers who had stopped looking for work, and were therefore no longer considered part of 456

the workforce, and those who had accepted only part-time employment even though they sought full-time work. 140 Million Jobs Held in June—According to a household survey, 140.2 million people held jobs in June, the Labor Department reported July 2. The department counted 14.7 million people as unemployed. The department counted 793,000 workers as discouraged in June. About 9.0 million people who sought full-time employment were working part-time instead. Factory workers’ average overtime in June was 2.8 hours, remaining unchanged from the previous month. The average hourly wage for production workers was $18.53, also unchanged. The unemployment rate among whites in June was 8.7%, up from 8.6% in May. The jobless rate for blacks was 14.7%, down from 14.9% the previous month. For Hispanics, who could be of any race, the rate was 12.2%, down from 12.7% in May. For men age 20 and over, June unemployment was 10.0%, up from 9.8% in May. For adult women, it was 7.6%, up from 7.5% the previous month. The teenage rate was 24.0%, up from 22.7% in May. For black teenagers it was 37.9%, down from 39.4% the previous month. n Final First-Quarter GDP Fall Set at 5.5%.

The Commerce Department June 25 reported that, according to its third and final estimate, gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter of 2009 had contracted at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.5% from the previous quarter. That was a revision from the department’s second, “preliminary” estimate, in May, that the GDP had contracted by 5.7%. [See p. 372E1] n Existing Home Sales Rose 2.4% in May.

The National Association of Realtors June 23 reported that sales of existing homes rose by 2.4% in May, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.77 million units. That was up from the revised 4.66 million units rate in April. The median sale price for existing homes in May was $173,000, down 16.8% from a year earlier. [See p. 372A2] n Leading Indicators Rose 1.2% in May. The Conference Board business research organization June 18 reported that its composite index of leading economic indicators, a gauge of future economic activity, rose 1.2% in May, to 100.2. Based on revised data, the index had increased 1.1% in April, the board reported. The index’s base level of 100 reflected conditions in 2004. [See p. 356B1] Seven of the 10 indicators in April were “positive” contributors, led by index of supplier deliveries and interest rate spread. Three indicators—led by average weekly manufacturing hours and average weekly initial claims for unemployment insurance —were “negative.” n

Mortgage & Credit Crisis Bernanke Denies Threatening Bank Chief.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke June 25 denied that he had ever threatened to oust top executives at Bank of America Corp. if the company did not complete a

merger with brokerage Merrill Lynch & Co. Bernanke’s testimony, which came at a hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, was at odds with statements to the committee made earlier in June by Bank of America Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kenneth Lewis. [See p. 388E1] The hearing was part of an investigation into whether government regulators had behaved improperly during the merger. Bank of America had agreed to purchase Merrill Lynch in September 2008, in the midst of a crisis that saw the near collapse of several financial institutions. However, Lewis in December 2008 told government regulators that he wanted to abandon the deal, after it became clear that Merrill Lynch was poised to post a massive loss for the fourth quarter of 2008. In his testimony to the committee, Lewis said officials from the Fed and the Treasury had threatened to oust him and other executives, as well as the bank’s board, if the deal fell through. The deal was completed in January, and Bank of America revealed later that month that Merrill Lynch had lost $15 billion in the fourth quarter. The government injected $20 billion into the combined company to offset those losses. When asked by committee members whether he had threatened Lewis, or ordered a subordinate to do so, Bernanke said, “I did not.” Bernanke also denied that the Fed had been involved in withholding Merrill Lynch’s woes from the public, or had kept the $20 billion injection secret from other government regulators. Bernanke said the Fed had “acted with the highest integrity throughout” the merger discussions. He emphasized that the Fed’s decisions in the fall of 2008 were made “in the face of grave threats to our financial system,” and that a failed merger would have posed “significant risks” to the economy. Lawmakers were openly skeptical of Bernanke’s assertions, saying they were contradicted by internal Fed e-mails obtained by the committee. One e-mail from Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Va., said Bernanke had conveyed to him that “management is gone” if Bank of America walked away from the deal. Bernanke said he did not recall saying those words to Lacker. Lawmakers were also critical of the Fed’s broader efforts to stabilize the financial system. Republicans said the Fed had unduly extended the government’s reach into the private sector, while Democrats said the Fed was not transparent enough and too close to big business. Analysts said such criticisms could hurt the Obama administration’s plan to enhance the Fed’s regulatory powers, which was part of proposed regulatory reform legislation that had been unveiled earlier in June. [See p. 407A1] However, Bernanke had drawn strong praise from prominent businessmen and financiers who said he had moved quickly and aggressively to combat a severe crisis. n Fed Reins in Emergency Lending Programs.

The Federal Reserve June 25 said it would scale back two emergency lending proFACTS ON FILE

grams that had been enacted in 2007 and 2008 to stabilize financial institutions embroiled in a severe credit crisis, and allow a third to expire. The announcement was the Fed’s first step to extract itself from the financial marketplace, which had been flooded with trillions of dollars in loans from the central bank. The Fed said the move came after markets “improved in recent months,” but warned that “market functioning in many areas remains impaired.” [See p. 427F2] The Fed said its Term Auction Facility— a program created in December 2007 to provide one-month loans to financial institutions—would reduce its maximum outstanding loan amount to $500 billion, from $600 billion. The current outstanding loans under the facility totaled $336.6 billion, down from a high of $493.1 billion in March. [See 2008, p. 715A1; 2007, p. 818B2] The Fed said its Term Securities Lending Facility would reduce its maximum outstanding loan amount to $75 billion, from $200 billion. The program had been implemented in March 2008 to allow financial institutions to borrow Treasury securities, while using risky corporate bonds and securities backed by mortgages as collateral. Current lending through that facility totaled $15.8 billion, down from $233.6 billion in October 2008. [See 2008, p. 158A1] The Fed said its Money Market Investor Funding Facility would be allowed to expire Oct. 3. The facility had been created in September 2008 to prevent mass investor withdrawals from money-market funds, but had never been used. [See 2008, p. 672B2] The Fed extended to Feb. 1, 2010, the life of five programs that had been due to expire Oct. 31. They included currencyswap lines with 14 central banks around the world, the first of which had been established in December 2007 to provide U.S. dollar liquidity to foreign banks. [See 2008, p. 781A1] n

Business Financier Pleads Not Guilty to $7 Billion Fraud.

Billionaire financier R. Allen Stanford June 25 pleaded not guilty to 21 charges stemming from a fraud that had allegedly robbed 30,000 clients worldwide of $7 billion. Three former executives at Stanford’s Houston, Texas–based Stanford Financial Group (SFG) joined Stanford that day in entering not-guilty pleas in U.S. District Court in Houston. [See p. 147C3] The charges against Stanford and the three executives included multiple counts of mail fraud and wire fraud, among others. The charges were part of a grand jury indictment that had been unsealed June 19, and accused the executives of using SFG’s affiliate in the Caribbean island nation of Antigua and Barbuda to lure clients with promises of extremely generous returns on certificates of deposit (CDs). CDs were considered to be safe investment vehicles, in which investors customarily received a relatively low, fixed interest rate for a determined period of time. July 9, 2009

However, prosecutors said the funds were “misused and misappropriated,” with as much as $1.6 billion diverted to Stanford in the form of personal loans. Prosecutors also said the Antigua affiliate—Stanford International Bank Ltd. (SIB)—had artificially inflated the value of its assets to $8.5 billion in December 2008, from $1.2 billion in 2001, partly by purchasing overvalued real estate owned by Stanford. Steven Tyrell, an attorney with the Justice Department, June 19 said $1.1 billion of SIB’s assets were “completely unaccounted for,” and that another $5 billion had been “lost,” although he did not specify what had happened to the money. The criminal charges against Stanford had been expected since February, when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil complaint accusing him of orchestrating the fraud. Stanford June 18 surrendered to authorities in Fredericksburg, Va. Judge David Hittner June 30 revoked the $500,000 bail set for Stanford June 25, saying he was a flight risk. Stanford faced up to 250 years in prison. His trial was expected to start Aug. 25. The three executives who also pleaded not guilty were Laura Pendergest-Holt, who had been SFG’s chief investment officer; Gilberto Lopez, the chief accounting officer; and Mark Kuhrt, the global controller. Pendergest-Holt May 12 had also been indicted on criminal charges of conspiracy and obstruction of justice. Another SFG executive, Chief Financial Officer James Davis, was named as a coconspirator in the June 19 indictment, but was not charged. He faced charges in a separate complaint, and was reportedly cooperating with investigators. Antigua Regulator Charged—The Justice Department’s June 19 indictment also included charges against Leroy King, the top regulator at Antigua’s Financial Services Regulatory Commission. The indictment said King had accepted $100,000 in bribes from Stanford to issue fake audits of SIB and file misleading reports to the SEC. King had also allegedly showed Stanford the SEC’s inquiries into SIB, allowing Stanford to “dictate the substance, and even the content” of King’s responses. The Antiguan government June 23 fired King from his position, and he was arrested June 25. U.S. prosecutors were seeking the extradition of King, a dual U.S.-Antiguan citizen. n

Medicine & Health Hospital Groups Agree to Cost Savings.

Vice President Joseph Biden July 8 said three hospital associations—the Catholic Health Association of the United States, the American Hospital Association and the Hospital Corporation of America—had agreed to institute changes that would save $155 billion over 10 years. The announcement was made amidst efforts by Democratic lawmakers to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system. President Barack Obama had also proposed a plan to extend health cover-

age to all Americans and offer a government-run health insurance program that would compete with private insurance. Three groups of Democratic legislators had also released drafts of separate versions of reform legislation. [See p. 426C3] Sen. Max Baucus (D, Mont.), chairman of the Finance Committee and architect of one of the reform bills, had brokered the cost savings agreement with the White House and the hospital groups. The savings would reportedly be accrued through reduced payments to hospitals from the Medicare program, as well as cuts in federal payments made to hospitals for treating those without insurance. However, sharp divisions remained among varied interest groups and within the Democratic Party itself over how to pay for the cost of a reform plan, and some lawmakers said they were not necessarily bound by the informal agreements reached by the White House and industry and interest groups. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D, Nev.) July 8 said he opposed the element of Baucus’s plan that called for health benefits to be taxed. Reid called on Baucus to find an alternative means of funding his overhaul plan, and that day met with a group of Republicans in an effort to seek a bipartisan compromise. White

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White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel July 6 said the administration was not wedded to the public insurance plan, as long as some other mechanism could be put into place that would “keep the private insurers honest.” However, Obama, traveling in Russia, July 7 corrected Emanuel in a press statement. “One of the best ways to bring down costs, provide more choices, and assure quality is a public option that will force the insurance companies to compete and keep them honest,” he said. White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod June 28 said the administration would not rule out taxing health care benefits in order to pay for its reform plan. Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign had pledged that families making less than $250,000 would not see any type of tax increase. Obama July 1 held a “town-hall” style meeting in Annandale, Va., to continue to promote his health care reform efforts. Revised Senate Plan Released—Democratic members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee July 2 released a revised version of their reform plan that they said reduced its estimated cost to $611 billion over 10 years. An earlier version of the bill in June was estimated by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to cost around $1.1 trillion dollars, while extending coverage to only 16 million people, out of the U.S.’s estimated 46 million uninsured. The revised plan required any business with more than 25 employees to offer insurance, or else pay a $750 fee per employee. The plan also reduced proposed subsidies to help poorer people purchase coverage. However, the CBO that day released an estimate showing that the revised 457

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plan would provide insurance to only about 21 million of the 54 million people expected to be uninsured in 2019. Efforts to formulate the plan were being led by Sen. Christopher Dodd (D, Conn.), who had taken a leadership position on the issue while Sen. Edward (Ted) Kennedy (D, Mass.), the committee chairman, received treatment for brain cancer. Wal-Mart Inc., the U.S.’s largest private employer, and the labor union Service Employees International Union (SEIU) June 30 issued a joint statement in support of requiring large businesses to provide health insurance to their employees. The announcement was thought to aid Obama’s efforts to push through a reform, as several other lobbying groups for large businesses had opposed the idea. However, the company added the caveat that the costs to businesses resulting from such a mandate must be contained. n

academy, face criminal charges. Johnson, a former All-Star player in the National Basketball Association (NBA), had been elected in November 2008, and was a supporter of Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign. Johnson, St. Hope and the U.S. attorney’s office in Sacramento had settled the case in April, agreeing to a repayment of nearly $424,000. It was reported June 17 that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was probing allegations of possible obstruction of justice related to the case. The Obama administration denied that Walpin’s firing was in retaliation for his AmeriCorps investigations. Instead, it cited complaints by staff at the community service corporation that Walpin had a history of inappropriate behavior, including a “confused, disoriented” appearance at a May 20 meeting. Walpin disputed those claims and said they did not, in any case, justify his dismissal. n

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Genachowski Confirmed as FCC Chairman.

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The Senate June 25 unanimously confirmed venture capitalist Julius Genachowski, 46, as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The Senate that day also unanimously confirmed Robert McDowell to serve a second term on the FCC. The White House had additionally nominated Meredith Baker, a former telecommunications official, and Mignon Clyburn, a South Carolina regulator, as commissioners. Genachowski and Clyburn were Democrats, and McDowell and Baker were Republicans. [See p. 145A2] If Baker and Clyburn were confirmed, it would be the first time the FCC had a full five members since President Barack Obama took office. Michael Copps, a Democratic commissioner, had been serving as acting chairman. n Firing of Inspector General Criticized.

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President Barack Obama June 11 dismissed Gerald Walpin, inspector general of the federal Corporation for National and Community Service, citing a lack of confidence in him. The firing drew criticism from both Republican and Democratic members of Congress who said Obama had failed to provide sufficient justification for the move. A 2008 law intended to protect the independence of inspectors general required that presidents inform Congress of their reasons for such removals. [See p. 355B1] Walpin, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, asserted that he had been fired because he had issued reports that criticized grants made by the AmeriCorps volunteer community service program. In April, Obama had signed a bill to triple the size of AmeriCorps. Walpin in May 2008 had reported to Congress on the misuse of AmeriCorps funds by the St. Hope Academy, a nonprofit group in Sacramento, Calif. Walpin recommended that Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson (D), the founder of the 458

Obama Backs Pay-As-You-Go Rules. President Barack Obama June 9 urged Congress to pass legislation that would codify so-called pay-as-you-go budget rules, which would require new federal spending or tax cuts to be offset by equal amounts of spending cuts or tax increases. Republicans had criticized Obama and the Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress for heavy spending that was expected to produce a budget deficit of $1.8 trillion in fiscal year 2009, a record in dollar terms. [See p. 371A2] Obama said, “The pay-as-you-go rule is very simple. Congress can only spend a dollar if it saves a dollar elsewhere.” He added, “It is no coincidence that this rule was in place when we moved from record deficits to record surpluses in the 1990s— and that when this rule was abandoned, we returned to record deficits that doubled the national debt.” Congressional pay-as-you-go rules, in effect from 1990 to 2002, had been credited with a role in the gradual elimination of the deficit during the administration of President Bill Clinton, who left the budget with a rare surplus when his second term ended in 2001. But Republicans, after taking control of Congress, allowed the law to expire in 2002, and large deficits returned during the administration of President George W. Bush. Under Obama’s proposal, the pay-asyou-go rules would apply to increases in mandatory spending on so-called entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare, but not to the discretionary spending in the annual appropriations bills passed by Congress. Some independent budget analysts criticized Obama’s proposal for including some other large exemptions from the rules that would allow for an estimated increase of $3.5 trillion in the deficit over the next 10 years. One such loophole would apply to an extension of an array of tax cuts enacted under Bush that were scheduled to expire in 2010. n

AFRICA

Guinea-Bissau Presidential Election Goes to Runoff.

Guinea-Bissau June 28 voted in a presidential election to select a successor to President Joao Bernardo (Nino) Vieira, who had been assassinated in March. The election commission July 2 announced that the top two vote-getters among the 11 candidates were former interim President Malam Bacai Sanha of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC), who received 39.6% of the vote, and former President Kumba Yala of the Social Renewal Party (PRS), who took 29.4%. Because neither received more than 50% of the vote, they would take part in a runoff election scheduled for late July. [See p. 133A3] Vieira was killed by troops just hours after the murder of his rival, army chief General Batista Tagme Na Waie. Parliamentary speaker Raimundo Pereira had been serving as Guinea-Bissau’s interim president since Vieira’s death. No arrests had been made in either murder. Guinea-Bissau was one of the poorest nations in the world, with a history of military coups and other meddling by the military in the country’s political affairs since it gained independence from Portugal in 1974. In recent years, it had become a popular transit point for the shipment of illegal drugs from South America to Europe by Colombian cartels, further destabilizing the country. Both Sanha and Yala in their campaigns had pledged to combat drug trafficking and provide peace and stability to the nation. The June 28 election was described as peaceful and well organized by a European Union observer mission. Turnout was estimated at 60%—low for Guinea-Bissau— which the EU mission said could have been caused by an atmosphere of “fear and intimidation.” The election campaign had been marred by violence. State security forces June 5 had shot and killed Baciro Dabo, an independent presidential candidate and former interior minister under Vieira. The security forces alleged that he was involved in a coup plot and was shot while resisting arrest; however, his family claimed that he was killed while sleeping in his home. The security forces that day also killed former Defense Minister Helder Proenca, and detained former Prime Minister Faustino Embali, also allegedly for involvement in the coup plot. Sanha, 62, had served as Guinea-Bissau’s interim president from 1999 to 2000, after the end of a two-year civil war. His PAIGC controlled 67 of the 100 seats in Guinea-Bissau’s legislature. Yala, 56, had defeated Sanha in a 2000 presidential election, but was ousted in a coup in 2003. Analysts predicted that in the runoff, Yala was unlikely to garner much more than the 30% of the vote that represented members of his Balanta ethnic group. Also, the third-place finisher, independent candidate and former FACTS ON FILE

interim President Henrique Rosa, was expected to endorse Sanha, who had also lost to Vieira in the 2005 presidential election. [See 2005, p. 545G1; 2003, p. 1094D2; 2000, p. 90D2] n

Other African News African Union Rejects ICC’s Bashir Warrant.

The African Union (AU) July 1–3 held its semiannual summit in the Libyan coastal city of Sirte. The meeting was hosted by Libyan leader Muammer el-Qaddafi, who currently held the rotating chairmanship of the AU. The summit was attended by about half of the continent’s leaders, with the rest of the members sending lower-level representatives. [See p. 82E1] While the official theme of the meeting was “investment in agriculture for economic growth,” the most significant development at the summit was a July 3 resolution that the AU would not cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the Netherlands, regarding the court’s outstanding arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. The ICC in March had issued a warrant for Bashir on seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity related to atrocities committed in the ongoing conflict in Sudan’s western region of Darfur. States that were party to the ICC were expected to execute its arrest warrants; analysts said the AU resolution meant Bashir would be able to travel freely throughout much of the continent. (Thirty African nations had signed the 2002 treaty establishing the ICC.) [See p. 446A2] Both the AU and the Arab League had called for the United Nations Security Council to postpone the case against Bashir, arguing that it hindered peace efforts in Darfur. Some African leaders had also alleged that the ICC was an attempt by a Western institution to meddle in the continent’s affairs, and criticized the court for thus far indicting only Africans. [See pp. 196D2, 42D3] However, it later emerged that not all African nations favored the AU resolution. Botswana’s vice president, Mompati Merafhe, in a July 7 statement on a government Web site criticized the resolution, saying, “The chair did not permit much debate on this matter and therefore we did not get an opportunity to put our opinion across.” He added, “It is our view that Africa should not try to undermine the work of the ICC simply because one head of state called Bashir has been indicted by the Court.” Merafhe also criticized the summit for spending too much time on the issue of creating an African federal government and failing to adequately address more pressing issues, such as the many conflicts and political instability across the continent. Botswanan Foreign Minister Phandu Skelemani July 5 indicated that his country would still carry out its ICC treaty obligations. [See below] The British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) July 3 reported that Chad and Benin were also dissatisfied with the ICC resolution. July 9, 2009

The ICC’s lead prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, July 5 told the BBC that the AU resolution would not affect the ICC’s work. Deal Reached on Continental Authority—

The summit attendees July 3, after a meeting that lasted into the early morning hours, reached a compromise on a plan, strongly advocated by Qaddafi, to take steps toward establishing an African federal government. Discussion of Qaddafi’s vision for a “United States of Africa” had dominated the AU’s previous summit in February. Under the compromise, the current executive arm of the AU, called the AU Commission, would be transformed into the African Authority, a stronger entity that would have the power to coordinate certain aspects of the continent’s defense, security and international relations. However, in order for the changes to be implemented, the AU constitution would have to be amended and ratified by all 53 members. The creation of an African federal government reportedly had been resisted by continental powers such as South Africa, Nigeria, Tanzania and Angola. Analysts suggested that the compromise represented an effort to appease Qaddafi without significantly changing the AU’s structure. Other Developments—In other major developments at the AU summit: o AU Commission Chairman Jean Ping July 1 opened the summit with a plea for the body to pay “special attention” to the worsening violence and humanitarian crisis in Somalia, where the internationally backed transitional government was battling Islamist insurgents. The AU currently had more than 4,000 Ugandan and Burundian peacekeeping troops in Somalia, with a limited mandate to protect the president and guard the airport and seaport in Mogadishu, the capital. Ping called for the size of the force to be doubled; however, analysts said the force’s limited resources and mandate made it unlikely that such an increase would have an impact on the situation in Somalia. Somalia’s main insurgent group, Al Shabab, July 3 said it would violently resist an increase in the AU force. [See p. 430A1] o The AU Peace and Security Council announced in a July 1 statement that it was lifting sanctions on Mauritania and ending its suspension from the body. The punishments had been imposed after an August 2008 military coup that overthrew Mauritania’s democratically elected president. The AU cited recent steps that had been taken by Mauritania to restore democracy, including scheduling elections for July 18. [See 2008, p. 972A1] o Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe July 2 met on the sidelines of the summit with Johnnie Carson, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs. Zimbabwe’s state-run Herald newspaper July 5 reported that Mugabe had described Carson as an “idiot” who “thinks he can dictate to us what to do.” Mugabe had also sharply criticized Carson’s predecessor, Jendayi Frazer. The country was currently governed by a shaky alliance between Mugabe’s longtime

ruling Zimbabwe African National Union– Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai of the former opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). [See p. 203C3] o Ramtane Lamamra, the AU’s peace and security commissioner, July 1 said international mediation would resume later in July in an effort to resolve the political crisis in Madagascar. The AU had suspended Madagascar after opposition leader Andry Rajoelina, with strong backing from the army, had ousted democratically elected President Marc Ravalomanana in March. A previous round of talks sponsored by the U.N. and the AU, which lasted from April 8–June 16, had failed to resolve the crisis. Ravalomanana attended the AU summit in an effort to drum up support for his return to power. [See p. 308A2] o Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad July 1 canceled his planned visit to the Libya to attend the AU summit. Ahmadinejad the previous day had confirmed that he would attend the meeting, after receiving an invitation from Qaddafi. The potential visit by the Iranian leader, who had recently been declared the winner of a disputed presidential election, had sparked protests from other African heads of state, and had threatened to overshadow the summit. [See p. 463E3] n

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Honduras Zelaya Denied Landing in Return Attempt.

Deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya Rosales July 5 attempted to return to the country by airplane, but was prevented from landing in Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital, after the airport’s runways were blocked by military vehicles. Zelaya had been forced at gunpoint to leave the country the previous week by the military, which had been backed by the country’s Supreme Court and its National Congress. [See p. 437B3] Those groups had opposed an attempt by Zelaya to hold a national referendum on constitutional reforms. Zelaya’s opponents had charged that he sought changes that would grant him too much power and abolish presidential term limits. Zelaya, a former timber tycoon, had been elected president as a member of the centrist Liberal Party in 2005, but had shifted sharply to the left after taking office. Zelaya, in a live interview from his plane with Venezuelan state-run television broadcaster Telesur, said that it was too dangerous to land, and called on U.S. President Barack Obama to take a stronger stance against the interim government. He also criticized the interim leaders over reports of violence against his supporters in Honduras. [See below] Zelaya, who was accompanied by United Nations General Assembly President Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann of Nicaragua, then diverted the plane and landed in Managua, Nicaragua’s capital, before flying to 459

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San Salvador, El Salvador’s capital. Another plane that had accompanied Zelaya’s—bearing Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa, Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo Mendez and Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza—also landed in San Salvador. Zelaya had initially boarded his plane, provided by the Venezuelan government, in Washington, D.C., earlier that day. Shortly before Zelaya’s aborted landing attempt, thousands of his supporters had clashed with troops stationed at the airport. Military forces had responded to the demonstration by firing tear gas and live ammunition into the crowd. There were conflicting reports about casualties, but at least one person was killed and several dozen others injured. Interim Honduran President Roberto Micheletti earlier July 5 had restated a pledge to arrest Zelaya on charges of treason and abuse of authority, among others, should he land. He also said he would order the military to block his plane’s arrival. Micheletti at a news conference held that day also said Nicaraguan troops had begun to amass at the Honduran border. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega Saavedra dismissed the claim as “totally false.” U.S. officials also said they were unaware of any troop movement on the border. OAS Suspends Honduras Membership—

The OAS’s 33 member nations July 4 had voted unanimously to suspend Honduras’s membership in the group in a resolution that stated “deep concern about the worsening of the current political crisis.” However, the group stopped short of calling on members to impose economic sanctions on Honduras, instead recommending that they “review their relations” with the country. The move underscored the diplomatic isolation coup leaders had faced after deposing Zelaya. Insulza June 3 had visited Honduras and met with leaders from the de facto government, including members of the Supreme Court, but did not meet with Micheletti. Insulza said he was unable to convince the government to allow Zelaya’s return, and described it as having an “inflexible attitude.” The de facto government late that evening said it would withdraw from the OAS. U.S. Agrees to Zelaya Meeting—The U.S. government July 6 said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton would meet with Zelaya, in the highest-level diplomatic contact by the U.S. government since Zelaya was ousted. Clinton had reportedly been working with diplomatic officials behind the scenes in an attempt to secure Zelaya’s peaceful return to power. The approach was reportedly part of efforts by the Obama administration to allow the OAS to take the lead in diplomatic negotiations, and to signal a less heavy-handed approach by the U.S. in Latin America. (The U.S. government had a long history of supporting coups d’etat and undemocratic governments in the region.) An unofficial Honduran delegation composed of lawmakers and former gov460

ernment officials who supported the de facto government July 6 arrived in Washington, D.C., to meet with U.S. officials and journalists. The U.S. government reportedly had no official contact with the group. Clinton July 7 met with Zelaya in Washington, D.C., and announced that the two sides in the dispute had agreed to talks brokered by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sanchez. Arias had won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his work achieving peace agreements in civil wars in both El Salvador and Nicaragua. Micheletti that day said he approved of Arias as a negotiator. “We are ready for dialogue,” he said. The U.S. July 8 said it had halted $16.8 million in military aid provided to the Honduran government, and that another $180 million in aid was at risk of being suspended. Talks Begin—Zelaya and Micheletti July 9 attended separate meetings with Arias in San Jose, Costa Rica’s capital, but did not meet face-to-face. Zelaya before the talks said he had traveled to the meeting to discuss the specifics of his return to power, and not to negotiate. Micheletti had said Zelaya would not be allowed to reassume the presidency under any circumstances. Despite the apparent stalemate, a spokeswoman for Arias said members of both men’s delegations had participated in discussions, in a sign of progress. n

Mexico Opposition PRI Gains in Midterm Elections.

Voters in Mexico July 5 returned the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) to a majority in the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Congress, and elected PRI party members to five of six governorships contested in the elections. Hundreds of mayorships were also decided in the balloting. The results were a political comeback for the PRI, which had controlled most aspects of Mexico’s government for 71 consecutive years, before losing the presidency in 2000 to Vicente Fox Quesada of the center-right National Action Party (PAN). The current president, Felipe Calderon Hinojosa, was also a PAN member. [See 2006, pp. 934E3, 534A1] The PRI won an estimated 237 seats in the 500-seat Chamber and took 37% of the popular vote, according to preliminary results. Its ally, the Green Party, finished with 7% of votes and an expected 21 seats, giving the PRI effective control of the Chamber. PAN finished with 28%, and an estimated 143 seats, down from the 206 it held before the election. The leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) garnered 12% and 65 seats. The PRD’s showing underscored the reversal in its political fortunes since 2006, when PRD candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador finished very close behind Calderon, and then led weeks of street demonstrations in protest of the results. The PRD had been damaged by infighting following Lopez Obrador’s defeat. The PAN had campaigned largely on the strength of Calderon’s attempt to eradicate entrenched drug trafficking cartels from Mexico, a fight that was popular despite

ensuing violence that had claimed some 12,000 lives. However, Calderon’s economic policies were largely unpopular, and Mexico’s economy had been hit particularly hard by the global economic slowdown, coupled with recent fears of a swine flu outbreak that had halted business and kept tourists away from the country. PAN President German Martinez July 7 resigned from his post, accepting blame for the party’s defeat. [See pp. 413B2, 351A3, 83E1] The PRI reportedly benefited from low voter turnout, estimated at 43% according to initial returns, and the work of its largely intact party machine at the local level. Though widely viewed as corrupt, the party had campaigned on a pledge of increased security in the wake of drug-related violence, and used the slogan, “Today’s PRI: Proven Experience. New Attitude.” As many as 7% of ballots were intentionally left blank as part of an organized movement protesting all political parties as corrupt and ineffective. n

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China Ethnic Violence Erupts in Xinjiang Capital.

A protest march by thousands of ethnic Uighurs in Urumqi, the capital of the western Chinese region of Xinjiang, July 5 erupted into large-scale rioting and clashes between Uighurs and ethnic Han Chinese. Government news media that day initially reported three people killed in the violence, but the next day put the death toll at 156. Although security forces locked down central Urumqi late July 5, groups of Uighurs July 7 gathered again, to protest the mass arrests that followed the riots, while groups of Han Chinese took to the streets with makeshift weapons, carrying out revenge attacks on Uighurs and their property. [See 2008, p. 979C2] The clashes were thought to be among China’s worst domestic unrest since the civil disturbances of the 1960s Cultural Revolution. Chinese President Hu Jintao July 8 returned to China from Italy, where he was to have attended a Group of Eight (G-8) economic summit that day, because of the unrest. The Politburo Standing Committee, the top-ranking body of the ruling Communist Party, July 10 issued a statement calling on law-enforcement to “isolate and deal a blow” to the perpetrators of the violence. [See p. 453A1] The Turkic language–speaking, predominantly Muslim Uighurs were the largest ethnic group in Xinjiang, where many complained of ethnic discrimination and accused the central government of repressing their religion, culture and political rights. Han Chinese, the predominant ethnic group in China as a whole, made up the majority in Urumqi, due in part to government policies encouraging Han migration to the region amid the development of the oil-rich province. Tensions over similar issues had erupted into violence in the neighboring region of Tibet in 2008. [See p. 327A1] China had long contended that Uighur unrest in Xinjiang was stoked by separatist FACTS ON FILE

terrorists, particularly the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, whose name referred to the independent state it sought to establish there, as well as to two short-lived republics that had existed there in the 1930s and then in the 1940s. The government had contended that the latest violence was premeditated and had been directed by separatist Uighur groups from outside China. They singled out exiled Uighur rights activist Rebiya Kadeer, who lived in the U.S. and denied the accusation. The initially peaceful Uighur demonstrators had been demanding a full investigation of the killing of two Uighur migrant workers at a factory dormitory in the southern Chinese coastal city of Guangdong in violence with Han workers June 25–26. That clash had reportedly been sparked by a false rumor that two Han women had been raped by a group of Uighurs there. As many as 3,000 protesters had gathered in the central market area of the Uighur quarter of Urumqi. Some protesters clashed with police when they arrived, and rioters smashed and burned businesses and buses and other vehicles. Authorities by the following day had locked down much of the city, set an evening curfew and curtailed Internet and mobile telephone services. Official news media July 6 put the death toll at 156, with 828 additional injuries; some foreignbased Uighur activists said the number killed was much higher. Some 1,400 people had reportedly been arrested. Hundreds of protesters reportedly gathered July 6 at China’s largest mosque in the Xinjiang city of Kashgar, near China’s western border, before being dispersed by police. Han Chinese Carry Out Reprisals—

Gangs of Han Chinese July 7 roamed the streets of Urumqi, attacking Uighur businesses and individuals with clubs, pipes, axes and shovels in revenge for the Uighur rioting. It was not immediately clear how many people were injured or killed in that violence. About 200 Uighurs, many of them women, that day confronted police in Urumqi, protesting the arrests of their male relatives. Those protests interrupted an organized tour for foreign journalists of the damage caused by the riots. Meanwhile, many Uighurs were reportedly fleeing Urumqi to elsewhere in Xinjiang. Officials Proclaim Order Restored— Li Zhi, the Xinjiang chief of China’s ruling Communist Party, and Urumqi Mayor Jerla Isamudin July 8 declared that authorities had reestablished control of the city. Some 20,000 members of China’s domestic security force had reportedly been deployed in the city that day. Li said those found responsible for the violence would be subject to the death penalty. Foreign Activists Blamed—State news media July 6 said that Kadeer, leader of the German-based World Uighur Congress, had masterminded the rioting, contending that she had been heard in recently intercepted phone conversations referring to an impending incident in Urumqi. Kadeer disJuly 9, 2009

missed the allegations, saying July 6 that China should “acknowledge that their failure to take any meaningful action” over the Guangdong killings “is the real cause of this protest.” Kadeer denied inciting the violence, and lamented what she called a “heavy-handed, brutal crackdown.” Kadeer, 62, had once been a prominent businesswoman in Xinjiang and enjoyed official favor. After her husband sought political asylum in the U.S. in 1996, she began speaking out about problems facing ethnic Uighurs and calling for greater self-determination, particularly after a 1997 crackdown on unrest in the Xinjiang city of Yining. In 2000, she was convicted of revealing state secrets and sentenced to eight years in prison, but was released and allowed to leave the country in 2005. [See 2005, p. 196C3] Before the announcement of Hu’s return to China, Kadeer urged the leaders gathered at the G-8 summit to press him to “resolve the East Turkestan issue in a peaceful manner.” United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon July 6 called on China to “exercise extreme care and take necessary measures to protect the lives and safety of the civilian population.” Robert Gibbs, press secretary to U.S. President Barack Obama, that day said, “We are deeply concerned” about the violence, urging “all in Xinjiang to exercise restraint.” Antiseparatist Campaign Intensifies—

The outbreak of violence followed a period in which authorities had tightened controls on the region, after declaring that Xinjiang separatists posed a terrorist threat to the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, and an August 2008 attack in Kashgar that killed 17 border troops. State news media Jan. 5 reported that 1,295 people had been arrested in Xinjiang in 2008 on charges of threatening state security, a dramatic increase from the previous year. The chairman of Xinjiang’s regional parliament, Nur Bekri, March 6 had warned of a possible increase in unrest in the region, and of the need for a “fiercer” struggle against “hostile forces from home and abroad.” Separately, U.S. government–sponsored Radio Free Asia April 2 reported that the government in February had launched a plan to redevelop an old quarter of Kashgar, once an important stop on the Silk Road trading route. The plan would entail the destruction of centuries-old traditional mud-brick Uighur homes built along narrow alleys. Preservationists called the area a unique example of a traditional Islamic Central Asian city. [See 2008, p. 454B1] Authorities said the program, which would force as many as 50,000 people to move, was necessary to rectify dangerous and antiquated living conditions in the old houses, and would feature reproductions of traditional architecture. n

Indonesia Yudhoyono Reelected President. Indone-

sian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono July 8 was reelected to a second five-year term, according to preliminary figures re-

leased July 9 by the country’s election commission. The commission reported that Yudhoyono had received 61.7% of the vote, while his opponents, former President Megawati Sukarnoputri and current Vice President Jusuf Kalla, received 28.7% and 9.8% of the vote, respectively. The commission was expected to release its final tally by early August. Yudhoyono was required to receive more than 50% of the national vote as well as at least 20% of the vote in all 33 of Indonesia’s provinces to avoid a run-off. [See p. 295A1; 2004, p. 739E1] Yudhoyono, a former general who had defeated Megawati in the 2004 presidential election, was popular because of his work fighting graft in Indonesia, which was seen as widely corrupt, and his effective stewardship of the economy. He had been heavily favored to win the election. Yudhoyono July 8 said that his administration would focus on addressing poverty and advancing the economy during his second term, and would continue to prioritize efforts to fight corruption. He said that he was “optimistic that in the next five years we will be doing many things for a better future.” Yudhoyono July 5 had announced that he intended to expand the country’s stock exchange by selling off state-owned corporations such as PT Garuda Indonesia, the national airline. His previous attempts to privatize state-owned businesses had been blocked by political opponents. The government had deployed about 25,000 soldiers and 250,000 police officers to protect polling places and to provide security during the election. A police outpost in Indonesia’s Papua region was reportedly attacked July 8 by an unidentified group during the voting. (Papua had had an active separatist movement for decades.) A reporter for Indonesia’s Sinar Harapan daily newspaper June 26 was left unconscious and later hospitalized after allegedly being attacked by a member of Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party while covering the campaigning of his running mate, central bank governor Boediono, in Papua. Journalists June 28 and July 1 marched in Jakarta, the capital, to protest the attack against the reporter, Odeadata Julia. The Jakarta Post newspaper reported June 30 that the Democratic Party had apologized to Odeadata and her family and had fired the man accused of attacking her. Expanded Voter Registration Allowed—

Indonesia’s Constitutional Court July 6 ruled that unregistered voters could use their national identity cards as proof of their eligibility to vote in the presidential election, potentially allowing millions of additional voters to participate in the election. A total of 176 million people in Indonesia were registered to vote; the nation’s population totaled about 235 million. The ruling followed complaints by Megawati and Kalla, who alleged that millions of Indonesian voters had been erroneously kept off the official voter registration rolls by the government. Megawati had reportedly made similar complaints about voter registration practices in Indonesia’s April legislative elections. 461

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Aulia Pohan, a former deputy governor of Indonesia’s central bank, June 17 was convicted in connection with illegal payments to lawmakers that totaled about 100 billion Indonesian rupiah ($10 million). He was sentenced to four years and six months in prison and ordered to pay fines totaling 200 million Indonesian rupiah. [See p. 342G1; 2008, p. 382E1] Pohan, whose daughter was married to Yudhoyono’s son, was found guilty of assisting the transfer of central bank funds to politicians in an attempt to exert influence over pending banking legislation. Three other former central bank officials were also convicted on the same charges and received sentences of between four and four and a half years in prison; they were also fined 200 million rupiah apiece. Former central bank Governor Burhanuddin Abdullah had been convicted Oct. 29, 2008, on corruption charges connected to the same payments, as well as additional charges linked to his use of central bank funds to hire lawyers to defend other former officials. He was sentenced to five years in prison in the case and fined 250 million rupiah. The Jakarta High Court Feb. 9 rejected Abdullah’s appeal of his sentence and added six months to it. n

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U.N. Secretary General Visits. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon July 3–4 visited Myanmar as part of a continued international effort to convince the country’s ruling junta to release detained prodemocracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was on trial for allegedly violating the terms of her house arrest. The trip was Ban’s first visit to Myanmar since May 2008, when he had played a major role in convincing Than Shwe, the head of the junta, to allow international aid into the country following Cyclone Nargis, which had killed at least 77,000 people. [See p. 359A3; 2008, p. 338A2] Ban June 29 had said he would focus his efforts on securing the release of the country’s political prisoners, resumption of talks between the government and its critics, and the creation of an atmosphere allowing elections to occur. Officials said Ban had weighed concerns, reportedly voiced by the U.S. and France, that his visit would be used by the junta as a validation of its rule and treatment of Suu Kyi. Ban July 3 met with Than Shwe and four of the junta’s other highest-ranking generals in Naypyidaw, Myanmar’s capital. He reportedly pressed Than Shwe to take concrete steps to ensure that the country’s planned 2010 legislative elections were fair and free of corruption. He urged the government to establish an impartial election commission and to allow opposition parties to campaign freely. Ban July 4 met Than Shwe for a second time and was told that he would not be allowed to meet with Suu Kyi, reportedly on the grounds that it would interfere with her trial. Ban told reporters he was “deeply dis462

appointed,” and said he had urged Than Shwe to “stop the persecution of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political leaders.” Ban July 4 met with representatives of the country’s ethnic minorities, as well as pro-democracy organizations including Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD). He also delivered a speech in Yangon to a group of diplomats and members of humanitarian organizations, arguing that the junta’s failure to engage with the political opposition as well as the rest of the world had had negative consequences for Myanmar’s economy by cutting it off from sources of foreign aid and investment. Ban described human rights abuses in Myanmar as “a matter of grave concern.” British Prime Minister Gordon Brown July 4 said he was disappointed by the junta’s lack of cooperation with Ban, and suggested that if Myanmar did not change how it treated its citizens and political opposition, “further sanctions” were a possibility. U.N. Envoy Visits— Ibrahim Gambari, the U.N. envoy to Myanmar, June 26–27 visited Myanmar for the eighth time, to prepare for Ban’s upcoming visit. Gambari had been criticized for the lack of progress on the treatment of Suu Kyi and other political prisoners despite his multiple meetings with high-ranking military officials. Gambari reportedly met with Nyan Win, Myanmar’s foreign minister, but not with Suu Kyi or other opposition figures. Continuation of Suu Kyi’s Trial Delayed—

A court controlled by Myanmar’s military government July 3 delayed the resumption of Suu Kyi’s trial, which had begun in May, until July 10, after documents related to the case were said to have been mislaid by government employees. Suu Kyi’s trial had repeatedly been delayed by the government with little or no explanation. Analysts suggested that the unusual length of the trial could be part of an attempt to forestall international criticism of the fairness of an eventual guilty verdict against Suu Kyi. Lawyers for Suu Kyi June 11 had filed an appeal requesting that two witnesses who had been barred by the court from testifying on Suu Kyi’s behalf be allowed to do so. The court had allowed only one of Suu Kyi’s four proposed witnesses to testify; an appeals court had later authorized the testimony of an additional witness. Myanmar’s Supreme Court June 29 ruled that the two barred witnesses had been correctly blocked from testifying on the grounds that both were critics of the military government and one was currently under house arrest. Suu Kyi’s Birthday Marked—Demonstrators June 19 convened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Geneva, Switzerland, as well as least 18 other cities around the world, in gatherings celebrating Suu Kyi’s 64th birthday that day and calling for her release. Suu Kyi was incarcerated in Myanmar’s notorious Insein prison, turned 64. She had been detained by the military government for 13 of the previous 19 years and was the only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate. n

North Korea Banned Missiles Fired on U.S. Holiday.

North Korea July 4 launched seven shortrange missiles that landed in the Sea of Japan. The launches, which followed the firing of four short-range missiles July 2, flouted United Nations Security Council resolutions that had barred ballistic missile launches by North Korea and imposed new sanctions that North Korea had angrily condemned. The July 4 firings were also seen as an act of defiance toward the U.S. on that country’s Independence Day holiday. [See p. 403E3] Missile launches had been anticipated as a likely response to a June U.N. resolution condemning North Korea’s second nuclear test and a previous series of missile firings. North Korea June 22 sent a warning to Japan’s coast guard that it would be conducting military exercises off its east coast June 25–July 10 and had banned shipping from the area. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates June 18 had said the U.S. had made preparations to intercept any long-range missile that North Korea might fire toward the U.S. The U.S., South Korea and Japan immediately condemned the launches. South Korea said cruise missiles appeared to have been used in the July 2 launches, which would not be a violation of the U.N. resolution’s terms. However, it said the July 4 launches appeared to involve five of a short-range type of Scud ballistic missile and two medium-range Rodong missiles, which were prohibited. The Security Council July 6 convened and condemned the launches. The U.S. State Department and Treasury June 30 announced that they had identified two more companies, one based in Iran and one in North Korea, as linked to North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs, and thus subject to U.S. sanctions. Suspect Ship Turns Back— South Korea July 6 said a North Korean ship being shadowed by the U.S. Navy on suspicion of carrying a cargo of illicit weapons had turned back to North Korea. A June U.N. resolution had banned most arms sales to or by North Korea, and called on nations to intercept North Korean vessels suspected of carrying banned weapons. Since leaving North Korea June 17, the ship, the Kang Nam 1, had been followed as it appeared to head toward Myanmar, which was thought to have been acquiring arms from North Korea. However, Myanmar June 25 said it was not the Kang Nam 1’s destination. South Korea Sees Uranium Activity—

South Korean Defense Minister Lee Sang Hee said at a June 30 parliamentary hearing that North Korea was proceeding with the enrichment of uranium, which could provide it with fuel for a nuclear weapon. North Korea had recently vowed to take steps toward reviving the plutonium-based nuclear program it had previously agreed to halt. n FACTS ON FILE

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Croatia PM Sanader Unexpectedly Resigns. Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, 56, July 1 unexpectedly announced his resignation. Sanader said, “My political life ends now.” He added, “I have decided to withdraw from active politics and not to run for the presidency.” He cited unspecified “personal reasons.” Sanader was credited with transforming his conservative Croatian Democratic Union party (HDZ) into a conservative party along mainstream European lines after taking over the party leadership in 2000, after the death of hard-line nationalist Franjo Tudjman in late 1999. [See p. 336D3] His resignation came amid a border dispute with neighboring Slovenia that had delayed Croatia’s accession to the European Union. In a July 4 speech to HDZ members, Sanader urged the EU to end “this insane theatre that Slovenia is trying to create,” and, addressing Slovenia, said, “You won’t get a centimeter of Croatian territory.” Slovenia was the only former Yugoslav country with EU membership. Also that day, the HDZ elected Deputy Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor, Sanader’s preferred successor, as its new leader. [See below; 2005, p. 37E3] Sanader had served as prime minister since 2003. He won reelection in 2007, and resigned with about two years left in his second term. Under his leadership, Croatia had joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and obtained a temporary seat on the United Nations Security Council. Kosor Elected New Prime Minister—

The Croatian parliament early July 7 voted, 83–45, to approve Kosor as the new Croatian prime minister. She and her cabinet, which retained most of the members of Sanader’s, were sworn in that day. Kosor, 56, was the first female prime minister of Croatia. [For facts on Kosor, see p. 463F1] FACTS ON KOSOR

Jadranka Kosor was born July 1, 1953, in Pakrac, in eastern Croatia. She earned a law degree from the University of Zagreb, and began working as a journalist for Radio Zagreb in 1972. In 1995, Kosor was elected to the Croatian parliament, and also became vice president of the Croatian Democratic Union party (HDZ), a position she held until 2002. She served in the parliament until 2000. In 2002, she was elected deputy president of HDZ, and in 2003 was appointed Croatia’s deputy prime minister, as well as minister of veterans’ affairs. She ran unsuccessfully for president in 2005. [See 2005, p. 37E3] Following the unexpected July 1 resignation of Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, Kosor, Sanader’s preferred successor, was tapped by President Stjepan Mesic to serve as the new prime minister. She received parliamentary approval July 7 and was sworn in alongside her cabinet later that day. [See p. 463A1, D1] Kosor had one son.

July 9, 2009

Kosor pledged to lead Croatia to economic recovery amid a global economic downturn, and to work toward EU membership. n

In his Chi interview, Berlusconi said he had no recollection of D’Addario, but alleged that she had been “very well paid” to make false claims about him.

Italy

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano June 29 called for “a truce in the controversies” during the run-up to the Group of Eight summit of world economic powers, which began July 8. Berlusconi hosted the threeday summit in L’Aquila, a city in the central Italian region of Abruzzo, which had suffered a severe earthquake in April that killed nearly 300 people and left more than 50,000 homeless. [See pp. 453A1, 253C3] Berlusconi June 29 welcomed Napolitano’s proposal for a truce, but he denied that the sex scandal threatened to topple his government or cause serious embarrassment to the nation. He boasted that polls showed him to be the “most popular head of government in all the West.” A Corriere della Sera poll in late June had found his public approval rating at 49%. n

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President Calls ‘Truce’ for G-8 Summit— Berlusconi Denies Hiring Escorts. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in an interview published June 24 denied claims that he had paid women to attend parties at his villas. He also denied a claim by one such escort that she had spent a night with him. The claims added to an ongoing controversy over Berlusconi’s personal life that had begun in May, when his wife announced that she was seeking a divorce, accusing him of unacceptable behavior with young women. His relations with one 18-year-old woman had since come under particular scrutiny. [See p. 328C1] Then, Spanish newspaper El Pais June 5 had published photographs of parties at Berlusconi’s Villa Certosa on the island of Sardinia in 2008, showing a number of topless women, as well as a nude man standing next to a pool, who was identified as then-Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek. Italian police had seized the files of the photographer, Antonello Zappadu, after Berlusconi’s lawyers brought a criminal complaint against him for invasion of privacy and blackmail. Topolanek June 5 claimed that the photo had been manipulated. Berlusconi’s interview appeared June 24 in Chi magazine, part of his media empire. In it, he declared, “I have never paid a woman,” adding, “I never understood what the satisfaction is when you are missing the pleasure of conquest.” Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera June 17 had published an interview with Patrizia D’Addario, a former actress and alleged escort, who claimed that she had been paid more than 1,000 euros ($1,400) to attend a dinner party hosted by Berlusconi at Palazzo Grazioli, his residence in Rome, in October 2008. D’Addario, 42, said soon after, in November 2008, she was paid to attend another dinner at the residence and had spent the night with Berlusconi, 72, at his request, because she wanted his help with obtaining a building permit. She claimed that she had secretly made recordings and taken photos during her stay at the palazzo. Another woman, Barbara Montereale, 23, said that she and a number of other women had been paid to attend both parties, and that D’Addario had told her that she had sex with Berlusconi after the second one. D’Addario was subsequently picked as a local candidate for Berlusconi’s centerright People of Freedom party. Berlusconi’s wife, Veronica Lario, had criticized him for choosing a number of models and actresses to be candidates for his party. Prosecutors in the southern city of Bari, where D’Addario lived, reportedly were investigating claims that a local businessman, Giampolo Tarantini, had procured prostitutes to attend Berlusconi’s parties.

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Montenegro Parliament Approves New Government.

The Montenegrin parliament June 10 voted, 48–22 with three abstentions, to approve a new government assembled by Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic. Djukanovic’s political bloc, the Coalition for a European Montenegro, had won snap parliamentary elections held in March after pledging to lead the country toward membership in the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Djukanovic’s government was composed of 20 cabinet members from four parties. [See p. 226B1; 2006, p. 460A3] Djukanovic, 47, had led Montenegro to independence from Serbia in 2006. The parliamentary vote of approval represented the beginning of Djukanovic’s sixth term as prime minister. He had also served as Montenegro’s president from 1998 to 2002. n

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Iran Police Disperse Renewed Election Protests.

Thousands of protesters July 9 gathered in front of Tehran University and other locations throughout Tehran, the Iranian capital, but were violently dispersed by riot police. Iran had been roiled by demonstrations after a June election in which protesters said incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had rigged the results in order to beat his main opponent, reformist former Prime Minister Mir Hussein Moussavi. Government security forces had repeatedly attacked the protesters, killing at least 20 people. The university demonstration was the first protest since the Guardian Council—a senior body of clerics and jurists—had certified Ahmadinejad’s victory in late June. [See p. 438B3] The protest at Tehran University occurred on the tenth anniversary of a violent confrontation between police and students there. The occasion served to renew Mous463

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savi supporters’ presence in the streets. Moussavi himself had not called for a demonstration that day, although he had said July 6 that protests would continue and questioned the government’s legitimacy. [See 1999, p. 501A1] Police belonging to the elite Revolutionary Guards Corps and members of the Basij militia, who had been instrumental in attacks on earlier protests, reportedly beat demonstrators severely and made arrests, although the number injured or arrested was unclear. Demonstrators burned dumpsters and shouted, “Allahu akbar” (“God is great”) and “Death to the dictator,” slogans that had been adopted by Moussavi’s supporters and echoed a protest tactic used during the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Morteza Tamaddon, governor-general of Tehran, said the protesters had not obtained a permit, and claimed that foreign broadcasters had organized the protest. Persianlanguage services of the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) and U.S. government-sponsored broadcaster Voice of America had been covering plans for the protest. Opponents of the government in previous days had resorted to more subtle forms of protest, in one case attempting to bring down Tehran’s electrical grid by calling on the city’s residents to all plug in their appliances at the same time. Tehran residents also continued to chant “Allahu akbar” and “Death to the dictator” from their rooftops at night. Cellular phone text message service July 6 had been blocked again by the government, after resuming July 1 for the first time since the election. The government had also ordered universities, businesses and government offices in Tehran closed July 7–8. The closure was ostensibly because of safety concerns due to a heavy dust storm and pollution; however, protesters said it was actually meant to disguise the impact of a strike scheduled for July 7– 9 by Moussavi supporters. Moussavi Documents Election Fraud—

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Moussavi July 4 released on his Web site documents which he said demonstrated fraud in the election. He claimed that Ahmadinejad’s supporters had printed millions of extra ballots and had handed out cash and food to voters. Moussavi; Mehdi Karroubi, another reformist candidate; and former President Mohammad Khatami, a supporter of Moussavi’s, July 6 released a joint statement calling for an end to the crackdown and arrests, which they said would “radicalize political activities.” They repeated their rejection of the election results. The same day, a reformist group, Servants of Reconstruction, also released a statement rejecting the election outcome. The group had close ties to former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who had supported Moussavi during the election but had not spoken out since. The Association of Researchers and Teachers of Qom—a respected group of Shiite Muslim clerics in the holy city of Qom—July 4 had called the election and Ahmadinejad’s presidency illegitimate. It criticized the government and Guardian Council for failing to adequately investigate 464

voter fraud and for the violent crackdown on protesters. It was the first statement from clerics in Qom since the Guardian Council had certified the elections; however, their lack of vocal support for Ahmadinejad after the election had encouraged protesters. Ahmadinejad Criticizes Interference—

Ahmadinejad in his first televised speech since the election July 7 blamed the West for instigating the protests, saying, “Our arrogant enemies tried to interfere in our domestic affairs in order to undermine these great elections.…What they did was very wrong, and some of our people were, unfortunately, hurt.” He said the elections were “the freest” and “healthiest” in the world, and warned politicians against questioning the results. However, in language seen as an attempt to mollify protesters, he said his government would respect Iran’s young people and focus on battling unemployment and improving the economy. He indicated that he might rein in the activities of the morality police, who were resented for arresting people deemed to be violating social mores. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, July 6 had also spoken out against foreign interference, saying, in a speech broadcast on state radio, that Iranians would be “unanimous in standing against the enemy and maintaining the independence of the country.” However, Khamenei warned against denouncing Moussavi, saying, “Friends should not be treated like enemies for the sake of a mistake.” Some Ahmadinejad allies had called for Moussavi to be arrested and tried for treason. The same day, Gen. Yadollah Javani, the political director of the Revolutionary Guards, said Iranians who did not support the government would be treated as enemies of the state. The Guards’ commander, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, also defended the Guards’ role in putting down the protests, saying it had been assigned to do so by the government and was not “meddling in politics.” Jailed Protesters to Face Trial—Iranian officials July 8 said that 2,500 people had been arrested after the elections. They said 2,000 had been released, but the remaining 500 would stand trial. Human rights groups said the government was still arresting people. The U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists July 7 reported that the arrest of two journalists the previous week had brought the number held by the Iranian government to 30, 24 of whom had been imprisoned since the election. That put Iran ahead of China as the country with the most journalists in jail. Iran July 5 said it had released Iason Athanasiadis, a freelance BritishGreek journalist working for the Washington Times who was believed to be the only non-Iranian reporter being held by Iran. The head of the Guardian Council, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, July 3 said a British embassy employee being held by Iran for fomenting unrest would be put on trial. Eight other embassy employees who had been arrested had been released.

U.S. Maintains Focus on Engagement—

The New York Times July 6 reported that, in separate interviews, U.S. President Barack Obama and U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden had confirmed that U.S. policy would still emphasize increasing diplomatic engagement with Iran, although they criticized the government’s crackdown on protesters. However, Biden, in an interview broadcast July 5 on ABC News’s “This Week,” said, “Israel can determine for itself” whether it was “existentially threatened” and should attack Iran’s nuclear installations. Obama later said that the U.S. remained opposed to an Israeli military strike on Iran. Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, July 7 said Iran was probably one to three years away from developing nuclear weapons. However, he added that while the U.S. would consider all options, including military action, a U.S. or Israeli strike on Iran would destabilize the region. The U.S. military July 9 released five Iranians it had been holding in Iraq since January 2007, when U.S. forces captured them in a raid in the Iraqi city of Erbil. The U.S. military said they were released at the request of the Iraqi government under a provision of a 2008 U.S.-Iraqi security agreement requiring the turnover of detainees to Iraqi custody, but did not give further details. Iran had repeatedly called for their release, saying they were diplomats. However, the U.S. had claimed that they were senior members of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force, and had been aiding Iraqi Shiite militias fighting against Iraqi and U.S. forces. [See 2007, p. 748F1] n

Iraq Biden Warns Against Sectarian Feuds in Visit.

U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden July 2–4 made an unannounced visit to Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, meeting with senior Iraqi and U.S. officials, including Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Gen. Raymond Odierno, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq. The visit came after U.S. troops had withdrawn from Iraq’s cities at the end of June. U.S. President Barack Obama had appointed Biden as his unofficial envoy to Iraq, amid concerns that his administration was paying less attention to Iraq than to other global hot spots like Afghanistan and Iran. Biden had last visited Iraq in January, before he took office. [See pp. 437A1, 214D3, 16C2] Biden July 3 after meeting with Maliki called on Iraqis to “use the political process to resolve their remaining differences and advance their national interest,” and said the U.S. would remain engaged in Iraq and would help if asked. However, unnamed U.S. officials said that in the meeting, he had warned Maliki that if Iraq fell back into sectarian violence, the U.S. would likely disengage from the country. Biden July 4 led a ceremony naturalizing 237 U.S. service members as U.S. citizens. He also visited a military unit that included his son, Capt. Beau Biden. FACTS ON FILE

Heavy sandstorms forced Biden to cancel a trip planned for July 4 to the city of Erbil, in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, where he was to meet with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Kurdish President Massoud Barzani. The previous day, the storms grounded Biden’s helicopter, forcing him to drive in a convoy through Baghdad’s Red Zone—which was secured by Iraqi troops—to the fortified Green Zone. The Iraqi government July 2 said it had reached a preliminary agreement to purchase weapons and military equipment from the French government. France had been a major military supplier of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s regime. Iraq also said it would sign contracts with French companies for various infrastructure projects. [See p. 101G2] Nineveh Attacks Kill 46—A twin suicide bombing in Tal Afar, in the northern province of Nineveh, July 9 killed at least 34 people. The first bomber attacked the house of a counterterrorism officer in a Shiite Muslim neighborhood, killing the officer and his family. When a crowd gathered, the second bomber set off his explosives, causing the majority of the casualties. At least one of the bombers was reportedly wearing a police uniform. The previous day, two car bombs had gone off on the outskirts of Mosul, Nineveh’s capital, killing at least 12 people. Nineveh was one of the remaining areas where the Sunni insurgency was still strong. The U.S. military had originally planned to keep troops in Mosul to bolster security, but had pulled them out days before the June 30 withdrawal deadline. In other violence, two roadside bombs July 9 exploded in a market in the Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City, killing seven people. The same day, two more roadside bombs exploded near a police patrol in a market in northern Baghdad, killing nine. Two people July 8 were killed in northern Iraq when their car exploded, and a suicide bomber attacked a wedding party in Baghdad, killing at least one person. Gunmen July 6 attacked a security checkpoint in Baghdad, killing two police officers and three soldiers. Officials in Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad, July 3 said police there had killed four people after coming under fire as they tried to arrest some men at a wedding. A police spokesman, however, said the shooting had killed two people and was under investigation. Alleged Insurgent Calls for Attacks—

An audio recording attributed to Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the purported leader of the Islamic State of Iraq, July 8 was released on an Islamist Web site, calling for the U.S. withdrawal from cities to continue and for Sunnis to attack U.S. forces and Iraqi Shiite Muslims. The Islamic State of Iraq was an umbrella group for several Sunni Muslim terrorist elements, including Al Qaeda in Iraq. [See p. 312F1] The Iraqi government in April had announced that it had captured Baghdadi, but insurgents had denied it. Additionally, the U.S. military had not confirmed the capJuly 9, 2009

ture; in the past, U.S. officials had claimed that Baghdadi was a fictional figure created to put an Iraqi face on the foreign-led Al Qaeda in Iraq. Hussein Interrogation Reports Released—

The National Security Archive, a private research group at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., June 29 published on its Web site summaries of interrogations of Hussein conducted between February and June 2004 by U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents. The summaries of 20 formal interrogations and five “casual conversations” were obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). [See p. 261A3] According to the summaries, Hussein told interrogators that he had not complied with United Nations demands to demonstrate that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction before the 2003 U.S.-led invasion because he was afraid that doing so would demonstrate Iraq’s weakness and increase the danger of an Iranian invasion. He also said Iraq did not have ties to the international terrorist network Al Qaeda. The U.S. had used claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and links to Al Qaeda as justification for the invasion, but U.S. intelligence agencies had later said no evidence had been found for either claim.n

tained via torture. Human Rights Watch researched the report from outside of Syria, because it was not allowed into the country. It said that of 237 cases it examined—which were tried from January 2007 to June 2008, when the court reportedly suspended operations—many involved people involved to varying degrees in radical Islamism, but that 153 activists, bloggers and other Syrians had been prosecuted on political charges. Syrian human rights activists praised the report, while the Syrian government dismissed it. [See 2008, p. 988F1] o The United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Feb. 19 reported that it was unlikely that uranium traces found at a Syrian site bombed by Israel in 2007 came from Israeli bombs, as Syria had claimed. The U.S. had charged that Syria had been building a clandestine nuclear reactor on the site for making fuel for nuclear weapons, a charge Syria denied. Ibrahim Othman, the head of Syria’s nuclear energy program, Feb. 24 reportedly told a closed IAEA meeting that Syria had built a missile facility on the bombed site. He claimed that that meant the site should not be open to full inspection, but the IAEA disagreed. [See 2008, p. 988C1] n

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SOUTH ASIA

Syria

Afghanistan

U.S. Set to Restore Ambassador. Unnamed

U.S. Marines Launch Major Operation.

senior U.S. officials June 23 said that U.S. President Barack Obama would send an ambassador to Syria for the first time in more than four years, Cable News Network (CNN) reported on its Web site. It was seen as a move to increase U.S. engagement in the Middle East; Syria was a major player in the peace process with Israel, and the U.S. had also sought its cooperation in order to increase security in Iraq. Analysts also suggested that the Obama administration sought to counterbalance Iran’s influence over Syria. [See pp. 344E3, 143B1] The U.S. State Department June 23 had reportedly notified the Syrian ambassador to the U.S., Imad Mustafa, of the decision. The officials said no one had yet been chosen for the post. The U.S. had withdrawn its ambassador to Syria in February 2005 to protest the assassination of former Lebanese President Rafik Hariri. Syria was suspected of involvement in the assassination, but denied the connection. The Obama administration’s envoy to the Middle East, former Sen. George Mitchell (D, Maine), June 13 had visited Syria and met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Other News—In other Syrian news: o The U.S.-based watchdog group Human Rights Watch Feb. 24 issued a report charging that Syria’s Supreme State Security Court did not observe due process and was used by the government to suppress dissidents, and called for it to be shut down. The report said the court did not adequately examine evidence or allow defendants sufficient access to lawyers, and failed to investigate confessions that were reportedly ob-

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About 4,000 U.S. Marines July 2 launched a major operation in Afghanistan’s southern province of Helmand, in what was seen as the first test of a new U.S. strategy to combat an insurgency by the Islamic fundamentalist group the Taliban. One Marine was killed that day in the fighting, but U.S. commanders said they had met relatively little resistance, indicating that Taliban insurgents had likely fled the province to regroup in more remote locations and plan a counteroffensive. [See p. 434A1] Operation Khanjar, which was Pashtun for “Strike of the Sword,” was designed to drive out Taliban militants and provide security to civilian populations. U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces in the past had cleared Helmand’s districts of militants, but they had lacked a sufficient number of troops to remain in the districts and provide lasting security. In Operation Khanjar, the Marines would establish new bases near Helmand villages, intended to ensure that the Taliban did not return. Increased security in the region was also meant to allow Helmand’s residents to safely participate in Afghanistan’s Aug. 20 presidential election. The 4,000 Marines were part of an additional 21,000 troops that U.S. President Barack Obama had authorized for deployment to Afghanistan by the end of 2009. A surge in troop levels, combined with an emphasis on protecting the civilian population, was the basis of a largely successful strategy employed by U.S. forces in 2006 to combat insurgents in Iraq. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the newly appointed top commander for U.S. and NATO forces in Af465

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ghanistan, had said he would use a similar strategy in Afghanistan. Operation Khanjar was being supported by 650 troops from the Afghan army. The U.S. and Afghan troops were working to secure the Helmand River valley in the districts of Nawa and Garmser, just south of Lashkar Gah, Helmand’s capital. The Pakistani army July 2 deployed troops to the Afghan-Pakistani border to prevent the Taliban from entering Pakistan through its Baluchistan province, which abutted Helmand. The Pakistani military was currently fighting separate Taliban groups in areas close to Afghanistan’s eastern border. [See p. 466E2] As part of its bid to build better relationships with civilians, U.S. commanders said they would limit their use of air strikes and long-range artillery fire, both of which had led to civilian casualties, a major grievance for Afghans. Afghan villagers in Helmand were reportedly highly suspicious of the U.S.’s intentions, and some had sided with the Taliban. U.S. officials maintained that increased security, economic development and integration with the government of President Hamid Karzai would win the villagers over. Operation Khanjar also aimed to deprive the Taliban of access to Helmand’s poppy fields, which accounted for half of Afghanistan’s opium production, and was a significant source of revenue for the militants. Afghanistan produced about 90% of the world’s opium. British Troops Begin Helmand Offensive—

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More than 350 British troops in Helmand June 19 began Operation Panchai Palang (Panther’s Claw) to secure areas north of Lashkar Gah. About 750 British troops July 3 began moving northward to Helmand’s main industrial city of Gereshk. The British troops had been the primary NATO force in Helmand since 2006, but had too few troops there to make any significant territorial gains against the Taliban. The British defense ministry July 2 said a roadside bomb in Helmand the previous day had killed Lt. Col. Rupert Thorneloe, one of the highest-ranking British officers in Afghanistan. Another British soldier was also killed by the bomb. Two British soldiers July 4 died in fighting near Gereshk. Seven U.S. Soldiers Killed—Seven U.S. soldiers July 6 were killed in Afghanistan, the deadliest day for U.S. troops in a year. Four troops were killed by a roadside bomb in the northern province of Kunduz; two were killed by a bomb in the southern province of Zabul; and one was killed in fighting in eastern Afghanistan. Three NATO soldiers—one from Britain, and two from Canada—died that day when a helicopter crashed in Zabul. Taliban Claims Capture of U.S. Soldier—

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The Taliban July 6 said in a Web site posting that it was holding a U.S. soldier captive, but did not offer evidence to back its claim. U.S. military officials July 2 had said they believed the unidentified soldier had been abducted by the Taliban after he left his base in a remote outpost in eastern Afghanistan on June 30. It was unclear 466

why the soldier left the outpost, which was reported to be in Paktika province. A U.S. military spokesman July 2 said, “We are exhausting all available resources to ascertain his whereabouts and provide for his safe return.” [See p. 434D3] U.S.-Linked Security Forces Detained—

Afghan Interior Minister Muhammad Hanif Atmar June 30 said 41 private security guards had been detained for allegedly killing the police chief of the southern province of Kandahar and five others in a gun battle the previous day. The guards reportedly formed one of many armed groups in Afghanistan that were enlisted by the U.S. and others to carry out security work. A spokesman for the U.S. military said the guards “frequently worked with the U.S. military operations,” but that the Kandahar battle did not happen “with the knowledge or support of U.S. forces.” The guards reportedly stormed a prosecutor’s office in Kandahar June 29, demanding the release of a prisoner. The police chief, Matiullah Qati, was called in, and was killed in the subsequent battle. Karzai that day said he “seriously condemns this action,” calling it a “blow to governance-building.” U.S. to Change Antidrug Policy—Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, June 27 said the U.S. would no longer pursue a policy of eradicating poppy fields in Afghanistan. Holbrooke said the U.S. would shift its focus to intercepting smuggled drugs, and creating incentives for Afghan farmers to switch to other crops. His comments came on the sidelines of a meeting between the foreign ministers of the Group of 8 (G8) industrialized nations in Trieste, Italy. The previous U.S. administration of President George W. Bush had vigorously pursued a poppy-eradication policy, which critics said alienated poor Afghan farmers. Holbrooke said, “The hundreds of millions of dollars we spend on crop eradication has not had any damage on the Taliban. On the contrary, it has helped them recruit. This is the least effective program ever.” n

Pakistan Suspected Drone Attacks Pound Tribal Area.

Two air strikes believed to be carried out by U.S. Predator drone aircraft July 8 hit Pakistan’s northwest tribal area of South Waziristan, killing as many as 50 members of Islamic fundamentalist group the Taliban. The attacks came a day after a presumed drone attack killed 16 Taliban militants in South Waziristan, and were thought to be part of a campaign targeting the stronghold of Taliban warlord Baitullah Mehsud. [See p. 418B1] The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was thought to have conducted at least six Predator attacks on South Waziristan since June 18, killing dozens of militants. More than 60 militants were killed June 23, in what was believed to be one of the deadliest drone attacks ever. Analysts said the strikes were meant to disrupt Mehsud’s militant network, and

could also be part of a broader strategy in which the U.S. was setting the stage for the Pakistani military to conduct a major ground offensive against the Taliban. Analysts said the precision of the latest strikes, one of which reportedly nearly hit Mehsud himself, suggested that the two countries were cooperating on drone operations. However, it was U.S. policy not to discuss the alleged strikes. Pakistani officials publicly denounced them, even as the army also bombed areas in South Waziristan and openly acknowledged that it was preparing for a large operation against Mehsud’s network. It was reported that Pakistan had privately encouraged the U.S. to continue its drone attacks. Mehsud was thought to be the mastermind behind dozens of terrorist attacks in Pakistan in recent years, including the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. He also had ties to international terrorist network Al Qaeda, as well as Afghanistan’s Taliban, which was currently battling U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces in that country. Militant Leader Reported Wounded—

Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, a spokesman for the Pakistani military, July 8 said he had “credible information” that an attack earlier that day in the Swat Valley region of the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) had injured Maulana Fazlullah, a Taliban leader. Fazlullah was the head of a Taliban faction in the Swat Valley, where Pakistani forces had been conducting a counterinsurgency operation since April. Abbas’s claim was not independently confirmed. Fazlullah—also known as Radio Mullah for his fiery radio broadcasts—had led his forces into the Swat Valley in 2007, and pushed for the establishment of sharia, or traditional Islamic law. It was the first time that Taliban fighters had extended their reach beyond the tribal areas, which lay between the NWFP and Afghanistan. Fazlullah cemented his grip on the region through violent tactics, including beheading civilians and torching girls’ schools. Abbas that day told reporters that 1,500 militants had been killed since the Swat operation began, and that the operation was almost complete. Discussing Fazlullah and other Taliban leaders, he said, “I want to assure you all and the people of Swat that there is absolute zero possibility of this leadership returning to the valley.” However, observers said the military had not met much resistance in the Swat operation, suggesting that the militants had fled the region for safe havens elsewhere. It was also reported that the army controlled Swat’s major urban areas, but that swaths of the valley were still held by militants. Some two million civilians had been displaced by the fighting, and it was suspected that some Taliban fighters had left Swat disguised as refugees. Taliban Leader Abandons Truce—Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a Taliban leader whose base of operations was in the tribal area of North Waziristan, June 30 ended a 2008 truce with the government, and said he would join forces with Mehsud. Bahadur said his FACTS ON FILE

followers would carry out attacks on Pakistani forces until the U.S. stopped its drone attacks, which he said had killed scores of innocent civilians in the past year. The previous day, militants in North Waziristan attacked a military convoy, killing some 30 soldiers. Analysts said the dissolution of the truce could hamper the military’s planned operation in neighboring South Waziristan. In another setback for the military, an assassin June 23 shot dead Qari Zainuddin, a South Waziristan tribal leader who had sided with the government. Zainuddin, a former ally of Mehsud’s, had been a vocal opponent of the Taliban in recent weeks, denouncing the group as a terrorist organization that killed innocent civilians. Zainuddin was reportedly killed in his house in Dera Ismail Khan, in an attack that was thought to have been orchestrated by Mehsud. The gunman, who escaped, was reportedly one of Zainuddin’s guards. Suicide Bomber Wounds 30—A suicide bomber July 2 rammed his motorcycle into a bus carrying workers from a nearby nuclear lab, killing himself and injuring 30 others in the garrison town of Rawalpindi, near the capital, Islamabad. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but analysts said it could have been conducted by militants in retaliation for the military’s anti-Taliban campaign. Some said the attack could carry symbolic significance, since the Taliban had expressed a desire to seize control of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons arsenal. The bus was reportedly carrying workers from Kahuta Research Laboratories, which produced weapons-grade uranium. n

SPORTS

UNITED STATES

Federer, S. Williams Win Wimbledon Titles Federer Tops Career Grand Slam List.

Roger Federer of Switzerland, the top seed, July 5 beat Andy Roddick of the U.S., the sixth seed, 5–7, 7–6, 7–6, 3–6, 16–14, to win the men’s singles title at the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club at Wimbledon, England. In the women’s final July 4, Serena Williams of the U.S., the second seed, had defeated her older sister and the two-time defending champion, third-seeded Venus Williams of the U.S., 7–6, 6–2. [See 2008, p. 477D3] With the victory, Federer, 27, claimed his 15th title in a Grand Slam tournament, surpassing the all-time record set by Pete Sampras of the U.S. (Sampras, who had retired in 2002, watched the Federer-Roddick match from the royal box at Wimbledon’s Centre Court.) Federer had won three Australian Opens, one French Open, six Wimbledons and five U.S. Opens. He attained his 15 titles in just six years, winning his first Grand Slam at Wimbledon in 2003. In contrast, it took Sampras 12 years to win his 14 titles, beginning in 1990 with a U.S. Open victory and ending with a win in the same tournament in 2002. [See p. 398C3] In the marathon men’s final, the 26year-old Roddick—who had won only two July 9, 2009

of his 20 career meetings with Federer— claimed an early lead, breaking his opponent’s serve in the final game to win the first set, 7–5. The second set went to a tiebreak, in which Federer fended off four set points before winning, 8–6. Federer also won the third set in a tiebreak, 7–5, but Roddick rallied to claim the fourth set, 6–3. The 30-game fifth set (under Wimbledon rules, the fifth set was not decided by a tiebreak) was the longest fifth set ever in a Grand Slam final. Federer broke Roddick’s serve for the first time in the match in the deciding 30th game. Federer served a career-best 50 aces in the final match, which lasted four hours and 18 minutes. In the semifinals, Federer July 3 had defeated Tommy Haas of Germany, the 24th seed, 7–6, 7–5, 6–3. Roddick that day advanced to the final by beating hometown favorite Andy Murray of Scotland, the third seed, 6–4, 4–6, 7–6, 7–6. The defending champion and the thentop-ranked men’s player, Rafael Nadal of Spain, who would have been the top seed at Wimbledon, June 19 withdrew just prior to the start of the tournament due to tendinitis in his knees. Federer July 6 regained the world’s top ranking from Nadal. S. Williams Avenges 2008 Loss—Serena Williams, 27, July 4 claimed her third Wimbledon title, in a rematch of the 2008 final, in which Venus Williams, 29, had won Wimbledon for the fifth time. Venus Williams entered the final as the favorite, after having not lost a set in the tournament. However, Serena Williams’s serve was dominant throughout the match, allowing her to take the first set in a tiebreak, which she won, 6–3. In the second set, Serena Williams broke Venus Williams’s serve twice on her way to claiming her 11th overall title in a Grand Slam. After the Wimbledon victory, Serena Williams held an 11-match-to-10 career advantage over Venus Williams, and had defeated her sister in six of eight Grand Slam finals. Serena Williams July 2 had advanced to the final by defeating fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia, 6–7, 7–5, 8–6. Venus Williams had an easier time in her semifinal that day, beating Russia’s Dinara Safina, the top seed, 6–1, 6–0. A June 29 match between Safina and France’s Amelie Mauresmo marked the first time in the history of Wimbledon— which had long been plagued by rain delays—that a match was played under a closed roof. The All England Club had installed a retractable roof in Centre Court prior to the 2009 tournament. It was closed when it began to rain in the middle of the second set of the Safina-Mauresmo match. Doubles Results—Venus Williams and Serena Williams, after competing in the women’s singles final, later July 4 teamed up to win the women’s doubles championship, defeating the Australian team of Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs, 7–6, 6– 4. In the men’s doubles final that day, Daniel Nestor of Canada and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia beat the U.S. twin-brother team of

Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, 7–6, 6–7, 7–6, 6–3. In mixed doubles, Mark Knowles of the Bahamas and Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany July 5 beat Leander Paes of India and Cara Black of Zimbabwe, 7–5, 6–3. n

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Football Former NFL MVP McNair Found Dead. Former National Football League (NFL) star

quarterback Steve McNair, who had been the league’s co–most valuable player (MVP) for the 2003 season as a member of the Tennessee Titans, July 4 was found shot dead in an apartment in Nashville, Tenn. McNair, 36, had retired after the 2008 season. [See p. 468B3; 2008, p. 319C3; 2004, p. 40B2] Also found dead in the apartment was 20year-old Sahel Kazemi, who reportedly was McNair’s girlfriend. According to Nashville police, McNair had been shot twice in the head and twice in the chest. Kazemi had a single gunshot to the head; it was later revealed that the gun that killed both victims was found under her body. Nashville police July 5 ruled McNair’s death a homicide, but did not classify the death of Kazemi at that time. Police revealed July 6 that Kazemi had purchased the gun used in the killings on July 2. Nashville police July 8 said they had concluded that Kazemi killed McNair, and then committed suicide. McNair was married to Mechelle McNair, the mother of two of his four sons. He had played 11 seasons with the Titans, leading the team to the Super Bowl in January 2000. He played for the Baltimore Ravens in 2006 and 2007, before retiring. The Titans July 8–9 opened LP Field, their stadium in Nashville, for fans to pay tribute to McNair, who had been highly popular with the public and fellow players, and had been also known for his charity work. n

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Arts Michael Jackson Memorialized in L.A. Pop

singer Michael Jackson, who died suddenly in Los Angeles on June 25 at the age of 50, July 7 was memorialized in a two-anda-half-hour public service at the city’s Staples Center, where Jackson had been rehearsing for a planned series of sold-out concerts in London. A gold-plated casket containing the singer’s body had been driven to the center from Los Angeles’s Forest Lawn cemetery for the occasion. More than 17,000 people attended the memorial, including nearly 9,000 members of the public, who had won free tickets to it in a lottery that about 1.7 million people had entered. The other attendees were described as “family friends.” About one billion people worldwide watched the service live on television, while millions more saw it on the Internet. Among the hundreds of journalists covering the event were the anchors for all the major U.S. TV networks. The event was covered in a manner reminiscent of the 1997 coverage of the funeral of Britain’s Princess Diana, who died in a car crash. [See p. 436A1; 1997, p. 637A1] 467

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dren to the singer’s mother, Katherine Jackson, 79. She was also named temporary executor of Jackson’s estate, believed to be saddled with extensive debt but nevertheless estimated to be worth some $500 million. At the time, it was thought that the singer had not left a will. However, on July 1, lawyer John Branca and music executive John McClain filed a will, dating back to July 2002, and naming them as co-executors of Jackson’s estate, while designating Katherine Jackson as the primary guardian of the three children, as well as the beneficiary of the trust set up by the will. (Singer Diana Ross was named successor guardian, in case Katherine Jackson was unable to care for the children.) A Los Angeles judge July 6 appointed Branca and McClain as temporary co-executors of the estate, pending an August hearing on the matter, and denied a petition by Katherine Jackson to continue to serve in that capacity. Michael Jackson’s father, Joe Jackson, about whom child abuse allegations had repeatedly been raised, was not mentioned in the will at all. [See p. 436C2] n

O B I T UA R I E S ARGUELLO, Alexis, 57, Nicaraguan boxer turned politician; as a professional boxer, he at one time or another held world titles in three weight classes: featherweight, junior lightweight (or super featherweight) and lightweight; at his peak, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, he was widely regarded as the top boxer in the world pound for pound; during the 1980s, he was affiliated with the contra movement that sought to overthrow Nicaragua’s leftist Sandinista regime; he later reconciled with Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega Saavedra and in 2008 was elected mayor of Managua, the Nicaraguan capital, as the candidate of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), although amid allegations that the vote had been rigged; born April 19, 1952, in Managua; found dead July 1 in his Managua home, of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest; as mayor, he had been accused of misusing public funds. [See 2008, p. 871B2; 1986, pp. 303E2, 103F2; Indexes 1982–83, 1978–80, 1974] BAUSCH, Pina (Philippine), 68, German choreographer whose work was known to dance audiences around the world; it was rooted in the German Expressionist movement exemplified by choreographer Kurt Jooss, with whom she studied as a teenager, and was marked by emotional intensity, strong theatricality and imaginative sets; she had been based in Wuppertal, a German industrial city, since the early 1970s; her dance troupe, the Tanztheater Wuppertal (Wuppertal Dance Theater), introduced such well-known pieces as Come Dance With Me (1977), set in a playground with a large slide, and Nelken (Carnations) (1982), in which the stage was strewn with pink carnations through which a scantily dressed woman roamed, playing an accordion; born July 27, 1940, in Solingen, Germany; died June 30 in Wuppertal, days after having been diagnosed with cancer. [See 1979, p. 432A3] KLEIN, Herbert George, 91, White House director of communications, 1969–73, under President Richard M. Nixon; he left the Nixon administration amid the Watergate scandal, which led to Nixon’s resignation in 1974; as a fledgling journalist, he had covered Nixon’s first run for Congress, in 1946, and he either covered or worked on all of Nixon’s subsequent political campaigns; after returning to private life, he was a vice president of the Metromedia Inc. broadcasting group from 1973 to 1980, and vice president and editor in chief of San Diego, Calif.–based Copley Newspapers from 1980 to 2003; born April 1, 1918, in Los Angeles; died July 2 at a San Diego hospital, after suffering a heart attack at his San Diego home. [See 1974, pp. 341E3, 176D1; Indexes 1968–74]

shy suitor of a Southern belle, catapulted its lead actor, Marlon Brando, to fame; he was reunited with Brando and Kazan in the 1951 film version of the Williams play, and won his only Academy Award, for best supporting actor, for his work in that film; Kazan also directed him and Brando in On the Waterfront (1954), in which Malden memorably portrayed a militant priest; two years later, in another Kazan-Williams film project, he starred as the dull-witted husband of a child bride in Baby Doll; after his film career subsided in the early 1970s, he portrayed a veteran police officer in the hit TV series “The Streets of San Francisco” (1972– 77); he also enjoyed a 21-year run as the pitchman for American Express traveler’s checks, with his signature line being “Don’t leave home without them”; from 1989 to 1992, he was president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; born March 22, 1912, in Chicago; died July 1 at his home in Los Angeles, of natural causes. [See 1992, p. 579G3; 1987, p. 944F2; Indexes 1983–84, 1979, 1970–71, 1967–68, 1962–64, 1959–60, 1951–57, 1946–47] McNAIR, Steve LaTreal, 36, quarterback who led the National Football League’s Tennessee Titans to their only Super Bowl appearance, in January 2000; born Feb. 14, 1973, in Mount Olive, Miss.; found shot to death July 4 at a condominium in Nashville, Tenn.; the body of a woman, later identified as Sahel Kazemi, was also found at the site; Nashville police July 8 said they had determined that Kazemi killed McNair before fatally shooting herself. [See pp. 467B3, 55B2; 2008, p. 319C3; Indexes 2006, 2000–04, 1994–95] McNAMARA, Robert Strange, 93, U.S. secretary of defense, 1961–68, who came to be vilified, rightly or wrongly, as the chief architect of the Vietnam War, in which U.S. forces continued to fight until 1973; the second-longest-serving defense secretary in U.S. history (only Donald Rumsfeld served longer), he served without a break during the presidencies of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson (Rumsfeld served discontinuously under Presidents Gerald Ford and George W. Bush) and was widely viewed as a technocrat who did more to reshape the U.S. military than any other 20th-century defense secretary; before becoming defense secretary, he had risen through the ranks at Ford Motor Co., and had been named the company’s first president from outside the Ford family weeks before being chosen to head the Pentagon; before he left the Pentagon to become president of the World Bank in 1968, he had concluded that the Vietnam War was a lost cause, but failed to change President Johnson’s mind as well; during his 13-year tenure at the World Bank, the bank’s lending to developing nations burgeoned, from about $1 billion a year to $12 billion a year; after retiring from the bank, he became an outspoken foe of the nuclear arms race; he published a self-critical memoir, In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam in 1995, and was the subject of a feature-length documentary, Errol Morris’s The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara, that won an Academy Award in 2004; born June 9, 1916, in San Francisco, Calif.; died in his sleep July 6 at his home in Washington, D.C., after a period of declining health. [See 2004, pp. 788F1, 148E2; 2000, p. 13E3; Indexes 1999, 1997, 1995, 1992-93, 1960–89] n AP Photo

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Among the speakers and performers at the event were luminaries from the world of popular music, including singers Smokey Robinson, Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder and Jennifer Hudson, and Motown Records founder Berry Gordy. Gordy, 79, had released Jackson’s earliest recordings decades earlier, when Jackson was the lead singer of the boy group the Jackson 5. Gordy told the crowd that he considered Jackson “simply the greatest entertainer that ever lived.” [See p. 436D1–E1] Two of Jackson’s brothers, Jermaine and Marlon Jackson, also spoke at the memorial, near its end. Earlier in the service, Jermaine Jackson had performed the song “Smile,” originally an instrumental theme composed by British comedian Charlie Chaplin for his 1936 film Modern Times. He came on to sing it after actress Brooke Shields, who had dated Michael Jackson when both were child stars, told the audience that it had been Michael Jackson’s favorite song. [See 1977, p. 1024B1] Two National Basketball Association (NBA) superstars, Kobe Bryant and Earvin “Magic” Johnson, also spoke at the memorial. Bryant had recently led the Los Angeles Lakers to their 15th NBA championship, while Johnson, who retired in 1991 after revealing that he was HIV-positive, had led the Lakers to five championships in the 1980s. [See p. 419C1; 1991, p. 870D1, F2] Another speaker was New York City– based civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton, who, addressing Jackson’s children, said “there wasn’t nothing strange about your daddy,” whose reputation for eccentricity had grown over the years and who had been tried and acquitted on child-molestation charges. Sharpton had come out in support of Michael Jackson in 2002, when the singer charged that the music industry was rife with racism. [See 2002, p. 548G2] In the final minutes of the service, one of Jackson’s three children, his daughter Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, 11, broke into sobs as she told the audience, “I just wanted to say, ever since I was born Daddy has been the best father you can ever imagine.” During Jackson’s lifetime, she, like her two brothers—Michael Joseph (Prince Michael) Jackson Jr., 12, and Prince Michael Jackson II, 7—had rarely been seen in public not wearing a mask. The cause of Jackson’s death had not yet been determined, and it was not yet disclosed where he would be buried. Use of Taxpayer Money Faulted—A spokeswoman for the city of Los Angeles July 8 said that the final cost to the city of the Jackson memorial service was $1.4 million; much of the money went for police protection. The money was spent at a time when both Los Angeles and the state of California as a whole were financially ailing. Consequently, many Los Angeles residents voiced the opinion that the bill for the Jackson memorial should have been partially or completely footed by the Jackson family itself. [See p. 340G1] Kids’ Temporary Guardian Named— A Los Angeles judge June 29 granted temporary guardianship of Jackson’s three chil-

MALDEN, Karl (born Mladen George Sekulovich), 97, character actor who brought a down-to-

earth quality to many stage, screen and television roles; his first major roles were in two 1947 Broadway plays directed by Elia Kazan, Arthur Miller’s All My Sons and Tennessee Williams’s A Streetcar Named Desire; the latter production, in which he played the

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara in 1967.

July 9, 2009

U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearings on Sotomayor’s Nomination to Supreme Court Faces Tough Questions on Impartiality.

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee July 13–16 held confirmation hearings on the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to become an associate justice of the Supreme Court. Sotomayor, a member of the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City, had been nominated to the position in May by U.S. President Barack Obama. If confirmed, Sotomayor, 55, would become the first Hispanic and the third woman to sit on the bench. [See p. 389E2; for excerpts from Sotomayor’s testimony, see p. 470A1] The committee, chaired by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D, Vt.), was composed of 12 Democrats and seven Republicans. Sotomayor was expected to win confirmation relatively easily, since there were 60 members in the Democratic Senate caucus, the number required to prevent a filibuster. Additionally, she was to replace retiring Justice David H. Souter, a reliable liberal vote, so her ascension to the bench was unlikely to change the court’s ideological balance. Republican committee members focused heavily on a remark from a speech Sotomayor had delivered at the University of California at Berkeley in 2001, in which she addressed the role that a judge’s personal background played in reaching decisions. She had said, “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.” Republicans said the remark suggested that Sotomayor was a biased judge who was unduly influenced by her gender and ethnicity. The hearings were also seen as a forum for Republicans and Democrats alike to present to voters their respective visions of the Supreme Court’s role in government. Republicans argued that justices should limit themselves to interpreting the letter of the law, behaving like baseball umpires who merely called “balls and strikes,” a trope made famous by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. during his confirmation hearings in 2005. [See 2005, p. 623E1] Democrats said the court should weigh the impact that decisions had on society at large, and Obama had described his ideal justice as one who had “empathy” for those who would be affected by court rulings. Liberal groups had said Sotomayor’s experiences as a woman and a Hispanic would bring a different and valuable perspective to the court, where seven of the nine justices in the 2008–09 term were white males. [See p. 301B3] Throughout the four days of hearings, Sotomayor largely avoided voicing direct opinions on controversial issues that could imperil her confirmation. Republican committee members were seen as being cautious in their questioning, which was attributed to fears that overly aggressive treatment of Sotomayor could alienate Hispanic voters, the country’s largest minority group. Sotomayor Pledges ‘Fidelity to the Law’—

Sotomayor July 13 delivered an opening statement to the committee that was seen as

an attempt to address suggestions by Republicans that she was not impartial and would use her position on the Supreme Court to further a liberal agenda. She told senators that her judicial philosophy was “simple: fidelity to the law.” She said, “The task of a judge is not to make law. It is to apply the law.” She elaborated, “My personal and professional experiences help me to listen and understand, with the law always commanding the result in every case.” Sotomayor described her humble upbringing in a housing project in the New York City borough of the Bronx, where her parents had moved after leaving Puerto Rico during World War II. She paid tribute to her mother, Celina Sotomayor, who raised her as a single parent after her father died. “The progression of my life has been uniquely American,” she said. Leahy that day touted Sotomayor’s 17 years of experience as a judge, saying, “She is the first nominee in well over a century to be nominated to three different federal judgeships by three different presidents.” Besides Obama, Sotomayor had been nominated as a U.S. District Court judge by Republican President George H.W. Bush in 1991, and as a U.S. appellate court judge by Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1997. Sen. Charles Schumer (D, N.Y.) said Sotomayor’s record was characterized by “judicial modesty,” and claimed that she “puts rule of law above everything else.” Sen. Jeff Sessions (R, Ala.), the committee’s ranking Republican, said, “I will not vote for, and no senator should vote for, anyone who will not render justice impartially.” He added, “Call it empathy, call it prejudice or call it sympathy, but whatever it is, it’s not law. In truth it’s more akin to politics, and politics has no place in the courtroom.” Sen. John Kyl (R, Ariz.) said, “She appears to believe that her role is not constrained to objectively decide who wins based on the weight of the law; but rather, who in her personal opinion should win.” He added, “The factors that will influence her decisions apparently include her gender and Latina heritage.” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R, S.C.) acknowledged that Sotomayor would likely be confirmed despite Republican objections. “Unless you have a complete meltdown, you’re going to get confirmed,” he said. The hearings were interrupted several times by antiabortion protesters who were swiftly removed by security guards. They included Norma McCorvey, who was the litigant “Jane Roe” in the 1973 Supreme Court ruling Roe v. Wade, which upheld a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion. She had since joined the antiabortion movement. [See p. 338A3; 1973, p. 58C3] Defends ‘Wise Latina’ Remark— In her first day of questioning, Sotomayor July 14 defended her “wise Latina” remark, after Republican committee members brought it up multiple times. Sotomayor said the

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B speech—variations of which she had delivered on several occasions—was meant to “inspire” female lawyers and “young Latino lawyers” to “believe that their life experiences would enrich the legal system.” She said the remark was “a rhetorical flourish that fell flat,” and maintained that she strived for impartiality in all her judgments. “I do not believe that any ethnic, racial or gender group has an advantage in sound judging,” she said. Republican senators questioned her about several similar public statements, saying they showed that Sotomayor viewed a judge’s particular life experience as inseparable from the decision-making process. They included one from the same 2001 speech at Berkeley, in which she said, “I willingly accept that we who judge must

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MAJOR STORIES IN THIS ISSUE U.S. Supreme Court justice nominee Sotomayor testifies at Senate hearings. PAGE 469

U.S. President Obama visits Ghana. PAGE 471

CIA halts secret program to kill Al Qaeda members.

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General Motors emerges from bankruptcy as smaller company. PAGE 475

U.S. House Democrats release health care reform legislation. PAGE 476

Former Liberian President opens war crimes defense.

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Peruvian President Garcia names new prime minister, cabinet.

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Japanese Prime Minister Aso calls for legislative elections. PAGE 482

Socialists ousted in Bulgarian parliamentary elections. PAGE 482

Passenger plane crashes in Iran, killing 168. PAGE 482

American League wins baseball AllStar Game. PAGE 483

REFERENCES in brackets give location of background information in this & preceding volumes.

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Following are excerpts from the Senate Judiciary Committee’s July 13–16 hearings on the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor as associate justice of the Supreme Court [See p. 469A1]: Sotomayor’s Opening Statement (July 13) In the past month, many senators have asked me about my judicial philosophy. Simple: fidelity to the law. The task of a judge is not to make law. It is to apply the law. And it is clear, I believe, that my record in two courts reflects my rigorous commitment to interpreting the Constitution according to its terms, interpreting statutes according to their terms and Congress’s intent, and hewing faithfully to precedents established by the Supreme Court and by my circuit court. In each case I have heard, I have applied the law to the facts at hand. The process of judging is enhanced when the arguments and concerns of the parties to the litigation are understood and acknowledged. That is why I generally structure my opinions by setting out what the law requires and then explaining why a contrary position, sympathetic or not, is accepted or rejected. That is how I seek to strengthen both the rule of law and faith in the impartiality of our judicial system. My personal and professional experiences helped me to listen and understand, with the law always commanding the result in every case. Past Speeches (July 14) Sen. Patrick Leahy (D, Vt.): Your critics have taken a line out of your speeches and twisted it, in my view, to mean something you never intended... You said that, quote, you “would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would reach wise decisions.” Sotomayor: ...No words I have ever spoken or written have received so much attention. I gave a variant of my speech to a variety of different groups, most often to groups of women lawyers or to groups, most particularly, of young Latino lawyers and students. As my speech made clear in one of the quotes that you reference, I was trying to inspire them to believe that their life experiences would enrich the legal system, because different life experiences and backgrounds always do. I don’t think that there is a quarrel with that in our society. ...I want to state up front, unequivocally and without doubt, I do not believe that any ethnic, racial or gender group has an advantage in sound judging. I do believe that every person has an equal opportunity to be a good and wise judge regardless of their background or life experiences. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R, Ala.): The task of a judge is not to make law; it’s to apply law....However, you previously have said the court of appeals is where policy is made. Sotomayor: ...With respect to judges making policy, I assume, senator, that you were referring to a remark that I made in a Duke Law student dialogue. That remark, in context, made very clear that I wasn’t talking about the policy reflected in the law that Congress makes. That’s the job of Congress to decide what the policy should be for society. ...Appellate judges...establish precedent. They decide what the law says in a particular situation. That precedent has policy ramifications because it binds not just the litigants in that case, it binds all litigants in similar cases, in cases that may be influenced by that precedent.

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Sessions: ...You have previously said this: “I am willing to accept that we who judge must not deny differences resulting from experiences and heritage, but attempt, as the Supreme Court suggests, continuously to judge when those opinions, sympathies and prejudices are appropriate.” So first, I’d like to know, do you think there’s any circumstance in which a judge should allow their prejudices to impact their decision-making? Sotomayor: Never their prejudices. I was talking about the very important goal of the justice system is to ensure that the personal biases and prejudices of a judge do not influence the outcome of a case. What I was talking about was the obligation of judges to examine what they’re feeling as they’re adjudicating a case and to ensure that that’s not influencing the outcome. Life experiences have to influence you. We’re not robots to listen to evidence and don’t have feelings. We have to recognize those feelings and put them aside. Judicial Philosophy (July 14) Sen. Lindsey Graham (R, S.C.): Do you believe the Constitution is a living, breathing, evolving document? Sotomayor: The Constitution is a document that is immutable to the sense that it’s lasted 200 years. The Constitution has not changed except by amendment. It is a process—an amendment process that is set forth in the document. It doesn’t live other than to be timeless by the expression of what it says. What changes is society. What changes is what facts a judge may get presented. Abortion (July 14) Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D, Calif.): The Supreme Court has decided on more than seven occasions that the law cannot put a woman’s health at risk... With both Justices [John G.] Roberts and [Samuel A.] Alito on the court, however, this rule seems to have changed, because, in 2007, in Carhart II [Gonzales v. Carhart], the court essentially removed this basic constitutional right from women. Now, here’s my question: When there are multiple precedents and a question arises, are all the previous decisions discarded, or should the court re-examine all the cases on point? Sotomayor: ...That was, I don’t believe, a rejection of its prior precedents. Its prior precedents are still the precedents of the court. The health and welfare of a woman must be—must be compelling consideration. Executive Authority (July 14) Feinstein: Now, the president in literally hundreds of signing statements affixed to a signature on a bill indicated part of a bill that he would, in essence, disregard. He didn’t veto the bill. He signed the bill and said, “But there are sections that I,” in so many words, “will disregard.” ...Does the Constitution authorize the president not to follow parts of laws duly passed by the Congress that he is willing to sign that he believes are an unconstitutional infringement on executive authority? Sotomayor: ...The president can’t act in violation of the Constitution. No one’s above the law. But what that is in a particular situation has to be looked at in the factual scenario before the court. Gun Control (July 14) Sen. Orrin Hatch (R, Utah): ...You identified the premise that a right to possess a gun is

not fundamental and the conclusion that New York’s ban on gun possession was permissible under the Second Amendment, but there’s not a word actually connecting the premise to the conclusion. Without any analysis at all, that footnote that you wrote leaves the impression that unless the right to bear arms is considered fundamental, any gun restriction is necessarily permissible under the Second Amendment. Is that what you believe? Sotomayor: ...The Supreme Court, in the opinion [District of Columbia v. Heller, 2008] authored by Justice [Antonin] Scalia, suggested that it was a question that the courts should consider. ...The question would be would the states have a rational basis for the regulation it has in place...even Justice Scalia, in the majority opinion in Heller, recognized that that was a rational basis regulation for a state under all circumstances, whether or not there was a Second Amendment right. Civil Rights (July 14) Sessions: ...Let’s look at the New Haven [Conn.] firefighters case, the Ricci [Ricci v. DeStefano, 2009] case. In that case, the city of New Haven told firefighters that they would take an exam, set forth the process for it, that would determine who would be eligible for promotion. ...But after the city saw the results of the exam, it threw out those results, because, quote, “not enough of one group did will enough on the test.” The Supreme Court then found that the city, and I quote, “rejected the test results solely because the higher scoring candidates were white.” ...So you stated that your background effects the facts that you choose to see. Was the fact that the New Haven firefighters had been subject to discrimination one of the facts you chose not to see in this case? Sotomayor: ...A variety of different judges on the appellate court were looking at the case in light of established Supreme Court and 2nd Circuit [Court of Appeals in New York City] precedent and determined that the city facing potential liability under Title VII [of the 1965 Civil Rights Act] could choose not to certify the test if it believed an equally good test could be made with a different impact on affected groups. The Supreme Court, as it is its prerogative in looking at a challenge, established a new consideration or a different standard for the city to apply. And that is: was there substantial evidence that they would be held liable under the law? That was a new consideration. Our [three-judge] panel [in 2008] didn’t look at the issue that way because it wasn’t argued to us in the case before us and because the case before us was based on existing precedent. So it’s a different test. Judicial Temperament (July 14) Graham: One thing that stood out about your record is that when you look at the Almanac of the Federal Judiciary, lawyers anonymously rate judges in terms of temperament...here’s what they said about you: “She’s a terror on the bench”; “She’s temperamental, excitable, she seems angry”; “She abuses lawyers”; “She really lacks judicial temperament;”... “She behaves in an out-of-control manner”; “She makes inappropriate outbursts”; “She’s nasty to lawyers.” Sotomayor: I do ask tough questions at oral arguments.

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not deny the differences resulting from experience and heritage but attempt, as the Supreme Court suggests, continuously to judge when those opinions, sympathies and prejudices are appropriate.” Sotomayor told the committee that the point of the comment was that judges should accept the presence of personal prejudices in order not to be swayed by them. “We’re not robots who listen to evidence and don’t have feelings. We have to recognize those feelings, and put them aside,” she said. Republicans noted that in the same speech, she had said, “I wonder whether by ignoring our differences as women or men of color we do a disservice both to the law and society.” She had also said, “In judging, I further accept that our experiences as women will in some way affect our decisions.” Sotomayor told the committee that those remarks were merely part of an “academic discussion,” and did not reflect her judicial philosophy. When asked by Republicans about the emphasis Obama had placed on a judge’s capacity for “empathy,” Sotomayor claimed that she disagreed with that view, saying, “We don’t apply feelings to facts.” Sotomayor was also asked about a comment Obama had made in 2005, during Roberts’s confirmation hearings. Obama, then a senator, had argued that “what is in the judge’s heart” was an important part of deciding the hardest cases. Sotomayor said, “Judges can’t rely on what’s in their heart,” adding, “The job of a judge is to apply the law.” The apparent contradiction between Sotomayor’s past statements and her testimony prompted Graham to remark, “Who are we getting here?” He added, “I listen to you today; I think I’m listening to Judge Roberts,” in reference to the conservative chief justice. Some liberals complained that by distancing herself from the notion that gender and ethnicity had a role in the decisionmaking process, and by consistently hewing to the assertion that the law must be applied as written, Sotomayor had only strengthened the legitimacy of the conservative approach to judging. Evades

Controversial

Questions—

Sotomayor July 14–16 faced tough questions on a variety of controversial issues, including gun control, racial discrimination and abortion. Like other recent nominees to the court, including Roberts and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., Sotomayor avoided voicing a direct opinion on those issues. She often said she simply respected Supreme Court precedent on a given issue, or that she could not answer abstract or hypothetical questions because she might have to make a ruling on the issue in the near future. Sotomayor July 15 said Obama had not asked her about her position on abortion before nominating her. The previous day, she had testified that she considered Roe v. Wade to be “settled law.” When asked about a 2007 Supreme Court decision that upheld a federal ban on a late-term abortion proceJuly 16, 2009

dure—Gonzales v. Carhart—she said she also considered that to be settled law, even though the federal ban did not make an exception for cases in which the mother’s health was in danger. Sotomayor said the 2007 decision was not “a rejection of prior precedents.” She said, “The health and welfare of a woman must be...a compelling consideration.” [See 2007, p. 242A1] Sotomayor July 14 also said she believed that the Constitution implied a right to privacy, an interpretation that lay at the heart of the pro-choice argument. Sotomayor’s views on abortion were not well known, since as an appellate court judge she had not ruled on whether the Constitution guaranteed a woman’s right to an abortion. Sotomayor July 15 defended a January decision by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a New York law banning the possession of nunchaku, a martial-arts weapon. She said the ruling did not run afoul of the Supreme Court’s 2008 decision District of Columbia v. Heller, which struck down a gun-control law as unconstitutional and affirmed that the Second Amendment protected an individual’s right to bear arms. Sotomayor, citing the majority opinion written by conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, said the ruling did not apply to state and city laws governing weapons controls. [See 2008, p. 429A2] Sotomayor July 15 also defended a 2008 decision by herself and two other judges on a panel of the appellate court that upheld a decision by the city of New Haven, Conn., to throw out the results of a firefighter promotion test after no blacks performed well on it. White and Hispanic fighters appealed the decision, and the Supreme Court in June ruled, 5–4, in their favor, saying that the city had discriminated against them. The case was Ricci v. DeStefano. [See p. 443D2] Sotomayor said she had merely been following past precedent by siding with New Haven. The appellate panel’s unsigned ruling was only a paragraph long, but she explained that the trial judge in the case had written a “78-page thorough decision” that did not need elaboration. Judicial

Temperament

Questioned—

Graham July 14 questioned Sotomayor’s temperament on the bench, citing anonymous reviews of her performance by trial lawyers in the Almanac of the Federal Judiciary, which rated judges. The reviews included such descriptions of Sotomayor as being “a terror on the bench,” acting “in an out-of-control manner,” and being “a bit of a bully.” Sotomayor did not directly address those criticisms, but conceded that she asked lawyers “tough questions” at oral arguments. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D, Calif.) that day told Sotomayor, “If there’s a test of judicial temperament, you pass it here with an A plus-plus.” No Republican Filibuster—On the last day of testimony, Sessions July 16 said Republicans would not attempt to filibuster Sotomayor’s nomination, meaning that she would only need a simple majority in the Senate for confirmation. Several Republicans on the committee said they had been

impressed by Sotomayor’s testimony, with Graham saying her “record as a judge has not been radical by any means.” Leahy said the committee would begin discussing her nomination July 21, and a vote was expected by July 28. A vote by the full Senate was expected in early August. The hearing ended with testimony from more than 30 witnesses, including Frank Ricci, the lead plaintiff in Ricci v. DeStefano. Ricci criticized the decision by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals panel, but refrained from criticizing Sotomayor directly. Ricci was joined by fellow firefighter Ben Vargas, a Hispanic who had also protested New Haven’s decision. Other witnesses included New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I), former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Louis Freeh and former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher David Cone, all of whom spoke in her favor. Cone said Sotomayor had been instrumental in ending a 1995 baseball strike, by ruling that MLB team owners could not unilaterally change the profession’s salary and free agency rules without consulting the players’ union. [See 2005, p. 259F2] The National Rifle Association (NRA) that day said it opposed Sotomayor’s confirmation because she did “not respect our God-given right of self-defense.” Analysts said the NRA’s opposition could compel Re