World News

China

• Paleontologists announced the discovery of a 165 million year old spider with a 15 cm (about 7 inches) legspan.

European Union

• The European Commission has asked for a 4.9% budget increase.  The short version of the response from the UK, Germany, and France has been "no".

Japan

• The Japanese finance ministry has announced that exports are down 2.2% from a year ago in March, mostly due to the earthquakes and tsunami.

Libya

• Libyan rebel leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris today, with reports indicating that the talks will focus on how to bring about a democratic transition in Libya.
• In the spirit of peaceful democratic transitions, the French government has confirmed that it will send a small team of military officers to advise the Libyan rebels, and has promised to intensify air strikes.
• Libyan foreign minister Abdul Ati al-Obeidi has warned that the French and British plans to send military advisors to Libya will damage chances of peace in the country and prolong the conflict.

Nigeria

• In what is likely to be the first steps towards civil war, General Muhammadu Buhari has challenged the results of the presidential election that he lost.  International observers said that the election was reasonably free and fair, but he claims that his supporters were not allowed to vote in southern Nigeria.

Syria

• A draft law was passed by Syrian authorities overnight to end the nation's 48 year "state of emergency".  In celebration, Syria's political security division arrested opposition leader Mahmoud Issa by dragging him from his house at midnight.

United Kingdom

• Elisabeth Sladen, an actress most famous (at least to geeks like me) for her role as Sara Jane Smith in the BBC series Doctor Who, passed away yesterday at the age of 63.

United States

• Spot gold hit a high of $1,505.21 per ounce at 5:42 AM EDT, driven by news that Greece may have to restructure its debt and S&P's threat to downgrade the credit rating of the United States.
• The Federal Trade Commission has asked federal courts "to temporarily halt the allegedly deceptive tactics of 10 operations using fake news websites to market acai berry weight-loss products."  The FTC states that the websites "are meant to appear as if they belong to legitimate news-gathering organizations, but in reality the sites are simply advertisements."
• Wildfires in Texas have burned more than one million acres of the state in the past two weeks, and now cover over 100,000 acres.  The flames are now near Fort Worth.
• PFC Bradley Manning, arrested in May 2010 and held in solitary confinement since that time on charges of passing restricted material to WikiLeaks, is to be moved to a military prison in Kansas.
• Toyota has announced that it will cut production at its North American plants by 70% through June 3, due to parts shortages.  Employees have been asked to work only four-hour shifts during the period, but will remain on the payroll.  The company also announced that it will operate factories in China at 30% to 50% capacity.
• In response to videos showing unsanitary conditions and possibly illegal and inhumane treatment of animals in factory farms, the Iowa legislature is considering a bill which would make it a crime to produce, distribute or possess video or photos taken without permission at an agricultural facility.  Yes, that's right - their response to unsanitary conditions and inhumane treatment on farms is to make it illegal to tell anyone about the conditions or treatment.
• In the first use of Michigan's new emergency powers, Emergency Manager Joseph Harris has stripped the elected officials of Benton Harbor of all decision-making powers.
• The US Justice Department has intervened in a lawsuit filed against the Berkeley County Detention Center by the ACLU, which alleges that the prison does not allow prisoners access to any books except the King James translation of the Bible.