World News

Bahrain

• Four pro-democracy protesters have been sentenced to death.  The official charge was for killing two police officers, although it is quite likely that the actual crime was "being a pro-democracy protestor."

Cambodia

• After a week of fighting that killed fifteen people, Cambodia and Thailand have agreed to a truce along their disputed border.

China

• The human rights summit between the US and China ended this morning, with the US expressing "deep concerns" over China's "serious backsliding on human rights" and China committing to take our concerns under advisement and then do whatever they want, thank you very much.

India

• If you're concerned about inflation eating away at the value of your cash, it could always be worse.  Termites ate 10 million rupees (about $222,000) in bank notes held in a steel chest in a bank in Barabanki, India.

Israel

• Israel, in an effort to prevent a Palestinian campaign to win UN recognition of statehood, has dismissed the reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah as "a fatal mistake that will prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state and will sabotage chances of peace and stability in the region."  The Palestinians disagree, saying that Hamas is part of Palestine and needs to be included.

Japan

• This is probably not a surprise, but Japanese factory output fell by 15.3% in March, the largest single-month decline in their history.  On the heels of the report came the announcement from the Bank of Japan that they would leave interest rates unchanged at a target rate of 0% to 0.1%.

Libya

• The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control has taken steps to create a loophole in US sanctions against Libya which will allow oil companies to purchase oil from the Libyan rebels.
• Venezuelan President Hugo "the United States caused the Haitian earthquake with scalar weapons" Chavez is meeting with a delegation of Libyan officials to find "a political solution to the drama the Libyan people were living."  He also made the claim that the airstrikes in Libya were part of a US plot to "lay its hands on Libya's oil and water" and expressed support for Syria's tank-driven crackdown on protesters.
• At least 11 rebel fighters have been killed by NATO airstrikes in Misrata.

Spain

• A study of 800 heart attack patients in Spain indicates that heart attacks between 6 AM and noon are more likely to damage a large area of heart tissue.  So, if you're going to have a heart attack anyway, try to hold off until evening.

Syria

• 200 Baath Party members from southern Syria have resigned in protest over the brutal, tank-driven crackdown on democratic protests in Deraa.  Meanwhile, Syria has blamed the violence on Lebanon and expelled foreign correspondents to prevent any direct fact-checking of their claims.  Lebanon denies the claims, and nobody else takes them seriously.
• In what is no doubt the ultimate sanction,the United Kingdom has withdrawn the Syrian ambassador's invitation to the royal wedding.

United States

• Professor Ognjen Milatovic was arrested ay and removed from a US Airways flight after fellow passengers reported that he had a "suspicious package".  The package?  Keys, a bagel with cream cheese, and a hat.