World News!

Egypt

• The "transitional" Egyptian military government will permanently reopen the Rafah border crossing into Gaza to most Palestinians.  This crossing is the only passage into Gaza that bypasses Israel.

France

• The Group of Eight is meeting in Deauville to discuss their responses to the situations in Libya, Egypt and Tunisia, to look into ways to improve global nuclear safety, and to determine how to and how much to regulate the internet.

Georgia

• Echoing the ongoing events in north Africa, the Georgian capital of Tbilisi saw 40 people injured and two killed (one police officer, one civilian) as riot police cleared protesters demanding the resignation of President Mikheil Saakashvili.

Libya

• A leaked report, dated June 2010, shows multiple well-known banks holding and investing Libyan state funds.  The banks include Societe General ($1 billion), Nomura ($500 million), Bank of New York ($500 million), HSBC ($292.7 million cash, with a similar amount in a hedge fund), and Goldman Sachs ($43 million in each of three accounts).  The banks in question have refused to say whether they held or currently hold the assets.
• In a joint press conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron, President Obama said that "Gaddafi and his regime need to understand that there will not be a let-up in the pressure we are applying."  He did not address questions about the legitimacy of that objective, given that the attacks are being conducted under a UN mandate to protect civilians.

Pakistan

• The Pakistan government has asked the United States to remove half of the US special forces trainers currently stationed in the country.

Serbia

• General Ratko Mladic, accused of the massacre of 7500 Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica in 1995, has been arrested and sent to The Hague to stand trial for war crimes.

Spain

• In non-PIIGS news, Spanish police have arrested five Spaniards on charges of trying to export military aircraft to Iran, and have arrested three Iranians on charges of negotiating the purchase of military materials.  They also confiscated nine Bell-212 helicopters and spare parts.

Syria

• Suleiman al-Khalidi, a reporter for Reuters, provides a first-hand report of what happens to people arrested by the Syrian security forces.  Be aware that, while it is not intensely graphic, it is still unsettling.

United States

• Bank of America has agreed to pay $410 million to settle a lawsuit accusing the bank of manipulating debit transactions to maximize overdraft fees.  According to the plaintiffs' lawyers, BofA processed debit transactions from largest to smallest in order to deplete accounts faster and boost the total number of overdrafts, and then deceived customers by not disclosing that they could opt out of the overdraft plan (and just allow the debit to be denied) and by failing to clearly explain the payment hierarchy.
• Jared Loughner, the man accused of killing six people and wounding 13 others (including Representative Gabrielle Giffords) on January 9th, has been found incompetant to stand trial.  He has been remanded to a federal mental facility in an effort to restore competency, at which point the trial will proceed.
• The Wisconsin law restricting the collective bargaining rights of public sector unions has been struck down, on the grounds that the way it was passed violated the state's open meeting laws.  It is anticipated that the ruling will be appealed to the state Supreme Court.

Yemen

• More than eighty people have been killed since Monday in escalating violence in Sanaa, as Yemeni security forces battle members of the Hashed tribe trying to force President Saleh from office. 
• Leaders of the Group of Eight have called on President Saleh to resign his office in hopes of averting civil war.