MARCH 2009 WIKI NEWS

March 1

• Thousands take part in protests across US against government's financial policy
  
• Record number of failed banks reported in US for February
  
• Australian football: Melbourne Victory win A-League grand final
  
• Obama sets deadline to withdraw troops from Iraq
  
• Afghan protestors shot after mosque raid sparks anger
  

 

March 2

• President of Guinea-Bissau assassinated
  
• Wikinews interviews the Socialist Alliance about the upcoming Queensland State election
  
• Broadcaster Paul Harvey dies at age 90
  

 

March 3

• Two-time Eurovision entrant Edsilia Rombley discusses music, love, and her contrasting Contest experiences
  
• Seven killed in gun attack on Sri Lankan cricket team
  
• India announces Lok Sabha elections for 2009
  

 

March 4

• Raúl Castro shakes up cabinet in Cuba
  
• International Criminal Court in The Hague issues arrest warrant for leader of Sudan
  
• Politicians begin campaigns for Flint, Michigan replacement mayor
  
• Scientists say study proves chimps create termite gathering tools
  
• Football: FSV Mainz 05 advance to semi-final of DFB Pokal
  

 

March 5

• California Supreme Court defers ruling on same-sex marriage ban
  
• US stock markets reach 12-year lows
  
• Michael Jackson to make last public concerts
  
• Schiphol airliner crash blamed on altimeter failure, pilot error
  
• Eurovision '09 competitor Chiara talks about her current song "What If We" and her past accolades
  
• Wikinews Shorts: March 5, 2009
  
• Marine jet crash into San Diego house attributed to string of errors
  
• Football: Leverkusen, Bremen, HSV proceed in DFB Pokal
  

 

March 6

• Mahathma Gandhi's items auctioned for $1.8 million
  
• Mauritania cuts ties with Israel, expels Israeli diplomats
  
• US unemployment rate reaches 8.1%
  
• Brawn GP take over Honda Formula One team
  
• Philippines is culling 6500 hogs after Reston ebolavirus outbreak
  

 

March 7

• NASA successfully launches Kepler Telescope
  
• California man convicted of murdering five firefighters by starting wildfire
  
• NASA sets launch date for Space Shuttle Discovery
  
• Six vehicle pileup disrupts traffic on highway in British Columbia
  
• Earthquake strikes Melbourne, no reports of injuries
  

 

March 8

• Explosion in Baghdad claims 28 lives
  
• Real IRA claims responsibility for gun attack
  
• Two killed in gun attack in Northern Ireland
  
• Windows 7 will allow users to disable Internet Explorer
  

 

March 9

• Number of cholera deaths in Zimbabwe surpasses 4,000
  
• Canadian teams vie for spot at the World Curling Championship
  
• Wolfram Research's new product Alpha to compete with Google and Wikipedia
  
• Sunshine Coast Regional Council can't challenge legal appeal by McDonald's Australia
  

 

March 10

• Philippine exports plunge to eight-year low
  
• Pennsylvania cop on trial for allegedly murdering girlfriend's estranged husband
  
• Community Television consortium urges Australian government to increase funding for channels
  
• Continuity IRA gunmen kill policeman in Northern Ireland
  
• North Korea warns airlines over satellite fears
  

 

March 11

• Jury considers Curt Dagenais court case
  
• Feud between CNBC and The Daily Show continues to escalate
  
• Ten dead in Alabama shooting
  
• Teenage gunman kills 15 in south-west Germany
  

 

March 12

• Madoff jailed after pleading guilty to $50 billion fraud scheme
  
• Shin wins Singapore HSBC Womens Golf Classic
  
• Apple reveals new iPod shuffle with voice
  
• Space debris threatened International Space Station, astronauts temporarily evacuated
  
• Fundraising to keep Avro Vulcan flying succeeds
  
• Cricket: West Indies regain Wisden Trophy
  
• Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery further delayed
  

 

March 13

• US stock markets have their best week since November
  
• Obama administration drops use of term "enemy combatant"
  
• Billionaire philanthropist Leonore Annenberg dies at 91
  
• Canadian jail inmates used nail clippers to escape, report finds
  
• Egyptian treasures found in ancient tomb
  
• Wikinews interviews Brenton Clutterbuck, candidate for the electorate of Maroochydore at the upcoming Queensland election
  
• "Mrs. Hockey" Colleen Howe is laid to rest
  
• Canadian helicopter with 18 onboard crashes into Atlantic Ocean
  

 

March 14

• British TV presenter Rico Daniels tells Wikinews about being 'The Salvager'
  
• Colonel Sanders statue lost in 1985 recovered from river in Japan
  
• Saskatchewan places moratorium on boar farming, says escaped boars should be killed
  
• US, UK investigators seek 777 engine redesign to stop repeat of London jet crash
  
• 7 killed, 50 injured in Bangladesh shopping mall fire
  

 

March 15

• Space Shuttle Discovery successfully launches after a month of delays
  
• Recovery planned for crashed Canadian helicopter
  
• Obama calls food safety system a 'hazard to public health'
  
• 3 dead, 4 missing after Vietnamese cargo ship sinks in South China Sea
  
• Oil spill hits Australia's Sunshine coastline
  

 

March 16

• Coup in Madagascar; opposition leader backs army
  
• Search for survivors of Canadian helicopter crash ends, recovery mission focuses on victims
  
• US Fed chairman Bernanke says recession could end this year
  
• Maldives to become the world's first carbon-neutral country
  

 

March 17

• The Simpsons episode to premiere on Sky1
  
• All bodies recovered from Canadian helicopter crash
  
• FIFA receives eleven bids for 2018 and 2022 World Cups
  
• British actress Natasha Richardson reportedly brain dead after skiing accident
  
• Namibia struck by floods, president declares state of emergency
  
• Five dead in murder-suicide in Miami, Florida
  
• Madagascar President resigns, unclear rule in Antananarivo
  
• Seattle's oldest newspaper to become online-only
  
• Wikinews previews the 2009 Queensland state election
  
• Latin America suffers drop in remittances
  
• Australian Senate to decide sport footage ownership
  
• Fossilized remains of small dinosaur rediscovered in Canada
  
• Austrian man who imprisoned daughter pleads guilty at start of trial
  
• Two women in North Carolina arrested for allegedly using Family Dollar variety store as marijuana ring
  
• El Salvador elects leftist president Funes
  

 

March 18

• US president Obama, Congress call for blocking of executive bonuses at AIG insurance company
  
• Former Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Fumo convicted of fraud, corruption
  
• Madoff prosecutors want assets from wife and children
  

 

March 19

• US supports UN gay rights declaration
  
• Harlan Ellison sues CBS-Paramount, WGA over Star Trek royalties
  
• North Korean military detains two American journalists
  
• 7.9 magnitude earthquake strikes near Tonga, tsunami generated
  
• Wikinews interviews Patricia Petersen, independent candidate for the electorate of Bundamba in the 2009 Queensland election
  
• Monty Python's "Holy Hand Grenade" sparks bomb scare
  
• Pennsylvania Amish farmer jailed for outhouse violations
  
• Usain Bolt to run 150 metre race in Manchester
  
• British actress Natasha Richardson dies at age 45
  

 

March 20

• New Jersey real estate investor charged with $2 million theft
  
• Canadian PM announces funding for US-Canada bridge crossing
  
• Bomb blast damages buildings in Athens
  
• Portions of Wikileaks, Wikipedia blocked in Australia
  
• Bangladesh security tightened following Pilkhana massacre and Bashundhara City fire
  
• Pink elephant spotted in Botswana
  
• US lawmakers approve bill taxing executive bonuses
  
• Documents show U.S. knew of Guatemalan human rights abuses
  
• England and New Zealand vie for Women's Cricket World Cup
  
• Pennsylvania state trooper found guilty of first-degree murder
  
• New Jersey to consider bikini waxing ban
  

 

March 21

• "The Dark Knight" film director's brother arrested for murder, kidnapping
  
• Four Oakland, California police officers shot, all in critical condition
  
• Thousands evacuated after chemical truck overturns in Pennsylvania
  
• New Zealand pilots receive bravery awards for foiling airliner hijack
  
• Emergency directive for Sikorsky S-92A helicopters
  
• Rock music church in Pennsylvania allowed concerts under court settlement
  
• US says Zimbabwe government has "a long way to go" before sanctions are lifted
  
• Pennsylvania lost 41,000 jobs in February, a 13-year high
  
• UK's BAA forced to sell three airports
  
• Emirates jet tail strikes runway during takeoff at Melbourne airport
  
• Google removes some street view images
  
• Australian Labor Party reelected to Queensland government: Australian Broadcasting Corporation
  
• Obama apologizes for Special Olympics comment on The Tonight Show
  
• Queensland election candidates on Gold Coast back daylight saving
  
• New Jersey backpedals on proposed bikini waxing ban
  
• Two US Navy vessels collide in the Strait of Hormuz; 15 lightly injured
  

 

March 22

• Western Canadian justice officials to press for criminal code changes
  
• Canadian Minister of National Defence withdraws from NATO candidacy
  
• Four police officers shot in Oakland, California die
  
• New Jersey woman identified after fifteen years in psychiatric home
  
• Canadian PM seeks to abandon gun registry
  
• New findings suggest AIG executive bonuses were larger than previously thought
  
• "Lost" actress Elizabeth Mitchell cast in ABC's "V" pilot
  
• England wins women's cricket World Cup
  
• Madagascar's former opposition leader sworn in as president
  
• Bouncer stabbed to death in Atlantic City brawl
  
• Early morning fire kills four New York group home residents
  

 

March 23

• Australian Football League: Clubs threaten to take home games interstate
  
• Longtime New York radio reporter found stabbed to death
  
• US stock markets soar after bailout plan
  
• Suncor makes bid to take over Petro-Canada
  
• Son of poet Sylvia Plath commits suicide
  
• Clashes in France after anti-condom speech by Pope
  
• Air France-KLM interested in acquiring Czech Airlines
  
• Alaskan Mount Redoubt volcano erupts
  
• FedEx cargo jet crashes in Narita, burns
  
• British celebrity Jade Goody dies of cervical cancer at age 27
  
• Plane crashes in Montana, 17 killed
  

 

March 24

• Kangaroos escape in France
  
• IDF soldiers' account of Gaza incursion sparks new war crimes investigations
  
• Obama considers 'comprehensive' exit strategy from Afghanistan
  
• EPA proposes using Clean Air Act to fight global warming
  
• Youth charged with murdering Northern-Irish police officer
  
• TV late night show host David Letterman marries girlfriend of 23 years
  
• Fargo, North Dakota, prepares for record flooding
  
• Japanese ship escapes after pirates open fire in Somalia
  
• World's cheapest car launched in India, will go on sale in April
  
• "Twilight" DVD sells 3 million copies in first day
  

 

March 25

• Czech PM calls Obama's rescue plan a 'road to hell'
  
• U.S. Postal Service running out of money
  
• New Jersey files lawsuit against federal sports betting ban
  
• Priests jailed for $8.6 million theft
  
• Canadian annual seal hunt begins amid controversy
  
• Canada commits C$127.4 million to fighting tuberculosis
  
• Comedian Stephen Colbert wins NASA space station name contest
  
• Authorities search home of owner of German Wikileaks domain
  
• Four-storey building collapses in Lagos, Nigeria; two dead
  
• WHO says Zimbabwean cholera epidemic 'past its peak'
  
• European Parliament agrees on unified airspace
  
• US Treasury Secretary: "We need the ability to seize firms"
  
• Morning-after pill to be made available to 17-year-olds, U.S. federal judge rules
  
• Pilots in 16-death crash jailed for praying instead of flying
  
• NATO soldiers honour fallen Canadians
  

 

March 26

• Girls in Florida sell pink lemonade, donate money to breast cancer research
  
• NATO and Iran talk for first time in 30 years
  
• Irish economy sees biggest contraction in decades
  
• Tornadoes rampage through Mississippi
  
• Judge refuses to dismiss charge against Barack Obama assassination plotter
  
• One day after attempted rescue, six stranded whales die on Australian beach
  
• US Air Force jet crashes in California
  

 

March 27

• Royal Commission recommends single council for Auckland
  
• Study of soft cheese wins oddest book title award
  
• US secretary of state Hillary Clinton says America helps fuel illegal drug trade
  
• North Korea missile launch looks imminent
  
• Turks and Caicos Islands Premier resigns
  
• New Jersey teen faces child porn charges for posting nude photos of herself online
  
• Preliminary investigation results released on Canadian helicopter crash
  
• Parts of US airplane fall from sky in Brazil
  
• Relics of 39 saints found by British Museum
  
• Businesses and individuals worldwide to turn lights off as part of Earth Hour 2009
  

 

March 28

• Manitoba residents receive evacuation flood alerts
  
• Somali pirates seize two European tankers, Seychelles yacht
  
• "Freedom Tower" renamed "1 World Trade Center"
  
• Dozens of cats removed from feces-ridden New Jersey house
  
• Wind-powered land vehicle breaks speed record
  
• 14 killed in Russian bus-truck collision
  
• Courts uphold firing of Pennsylvania cop who lost sense of smell
  
• Dam in Indonesia bursts, dozens killed
  

 

March 29

• Helicopter crash in Turkey kills six
  
• Stadium disaster claims lives at football World Cup qualifier match in Ivory Coast
  
• Spanish court considering torture criminal case against former U.S. officials
  
• Robber holds retired NYC police officer at gunpoint during convention
  
• Radioactive part mistakenly sold, melted with scrap metal in China
  
• New Jersey officials: Stimulus bill hurting Atlantic City casinos
  
• Space Shuttle Discovery lands in Florida
  
• Volcano near Anchorage, Alaska erupts, airport closed
  
• Canadian neighbourhood protected from bully for three years
  
• 'Recession gardens' replace victory gardens
  
• Utah legalizes homebrewing
  

 

March 30

• 'Killing Fields' trial for S-21 chief Duch underway in Cambodia
  
• Highly contagious Hand, foot and mouth disease killing China's children
  
• US sergeant pleads guilty to four murders in Iraq
  
• Chinese spy network infiltrated foreign affairs, embassies
  
• 4.3 magnitude earthquake strikes the San Francisco region
  
• Eurovision '04 winner Ruslana discusses her paths as singer, spokesmodel, stateswoman and source of inspiration
  
• Varun Gandhi charged for inciting community tensions
  
• Eight people dead after shooting in North Carolina nursing home
  
• Fugitive arrested in connection with January murder in Pennsylvania
  

 

March 31

• Volunteers and food needed for flooded Manitoba, Canada
  
• Jenson Button wins 2009 Australian Grand Prix, Brawn teammate comes second
  
• US home prices drop at record levels
  
• Shipwreck off coast of Libya; hundreds of African migrants feared dead
  
• 77 names added to fallen journalist memorial in Washington, D.C.
  
• Fireball lights up sky across Canadian prairies
  
• U.S. Congress considers lifting Cuba travel ban
  
• Forces capture Somali pirates who mistakenly attacked naval ship
  
• South Downs to get National Park status in UK
  
• New romantic comedy film to star Drew Barrymore, Justin Long