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UNITED KINGDOM 1 Apr 2010 Mandatory national carbon trading system in effect

Thu, 01 Apr 2010
A mandatory national trading system for emissions of carbon dioxide that is related to energy consumption, rather than energy production, comes into effect in Apr 2010. Called the Carbon Reduction Commitment, it applies to non-energy intensive sectors not already covered by climate change agreements and the European Union Emissions Trading System. The threat of heat waves and floods with climate change has prodded the United Kingdom to push harder against the problem.
full story read full story: UNITED KINGDOM 1 Apr 2010 Mandatory national carbon trading system in effect


ABU DHABI 31 Mar 2010 Government introduces taxi service just for women

Wed, 31 Mar 2010
Women in Abu Dhabi will soon have taxis available for their exclusive use and for their children under 10. The emirate's taxi regulator, TransAd, promised in January that a fleet of so-called ladies' taxis will be on the streets by the end of March. The 70 pink-and-lavender taxis will be driven by women. Women passengers had complained about taxi drivers trying to strike up unwanted conversations during a trip, according to reports about the new service in Zawya and The National.
full story read full story: ABU DHABI 31 Mar 2010 Government introduces taxi service just for women


UNITED STATES 25-27 Mar 2010 Hollywood vintage glamor photography auctioned

Thu, 25 Mar 2010
Profiles in History bills its March auction in Calabasas, California, as the "world's largest" collection of original vintage glamour photography. It includes iconic photographs and art prints of yesterday's and today's Hollywood stars by Richard Avedon, Robert Mapplethorpe, George Hurrell, Man Ray, Herb Ritz, Harry Langdon, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol and others. The stars include Greta Garbo, Jean Harlow, Angelina Jolie (at 15), Halle Berry, Cher, George Clooney and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
full story read full story: UNITED STATES 25-27 Mar 2010 Hollywood vintage glamor photography auctioned


BRUSSELS 25-26 Mar 2010 EU holds first general post-Lisbon Treaty summit

Thu, 25 Mar 2010
This first general European Union summit of the post-Lisbon Treaty epoch will be smaller than its predecessors. The first full-time EU president, Herman Van Rompuy, vows to shut ministers out of the meeting. He argues that leaders will accomplish more if they are eyeball-to-eyeball, a situation made possible by keeping summit numbers small. Economic growth and climate change will be summit priorities, with Haiti's needs a likely addition to the agenda. Demonstrators are expected.
full story read full story: BRUSSELS 25-26 Mar 2010 EU holds first general post-Lisbon Treaty summit


ENGLAND 22-25 Mar 2010 Big Bang telescope astronomers meet

Mon, 22 Mar 2010
The scientists and engineers of the Square Kilometre Array radio telescope project hold their annual meeting in Manchester, and will continue discussing where to site the array. The candidates are down to two - South Africa and Australia. The announcement about the winner is due in 2011. Fifty times more sensitive than any other telescope and one of the most ambitious science projects ever, the SKA will give astronomers a way to look back to the Big Bang. Construction starts in 2014.
full story read full story: ENGLAND 22-25 Mar 2010 Big Bang telescope astronomers meet


SOUTH AFRICA 21 Mar 2010 South Africans mark 50th anniversary of Sharpeville killings

Sun, 21 Mar 2010
Apartheid police gunned down unarmed protesters in the Transvaal township of Sharpeville on 21 Mar in 1960, killing 69 and injuring 180 others. The event popularly known as the Sharpeville Massacre is regarded as a watershed in the country's liberation struggle. The Pan Africanist Congress and African National Congress, both of which are in the news as houses divided, are likely to be leading the observances at Sharpeville and elsewhere on the 50th anniversary.
full story read full story: SOUTH AFRICA 21 Mar 2010 South Africans mark 50th anniversary of Sharpeville killings


IRAN 21 Mar 2010 Reuters: Russia could start up Iran's nuclear power station

Sun, 21 Mar 2010
Reuters reports that Russia plans to start up Iran's first nuclear power station to coincide with the Iranian New Year on 21 Mar. The agency's sources say testing is under way. Start-up dates for Bushehr have been set several times and have come to nothing. It remains to be seen whether the start-up, if it happens, escalates or cools Iran's dispute with the West over uranium enrichment. The United States and several other Western powers suspect Tehran of seeking to build a nuclear weapon.
full story read full story: IRAN 21 Mar 2010 Reuters: Russia could start up Iran's nuclear power station


WORLD 17 Mar 2010 Parades, greening of iconic buildings mark St Patrick's Day

Wed, 17 Mar 2010
Much of the world is Irish on St. Patrick's Day, and countless parades and parties mark the occasion. Dublin plans to outdo the rest with a festival that lasts several days. New York's Empire State Building, the London Eye, the Sydney Opera House and the CN Tower in Toronto will turn green for the day, a colorful ad campaign for Ireland tourism. In Washington DC, leaders of Northern Ireland's main political parties will celebrate the day with President Barak Obama. They can count on applause.
full story read full story: WORLD 17 Mar 2010 Parades, greening of iconic buildings mark St Patrick's Day


VIENNA 16-17 Mar 2010 OPEC holds Ordinary Meeting

Tue, 16 Mar 2010
Oil ministers of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meet to set quotas and to continue devising stragegies to address a reduced demand for oil in the producers' traditional markets. The Ministerial Monitoring Sub-Committee meets on Mar 16 to begin the process. The decisions are likely to reflect a new reality for oil producers - that China and other developing nations will lead both the global economic recovery and the demand for oil in 2010, not the world's richest countries.
full story read full story: VIENNA 16-17 Mar 2010 OPEC holds Ordinary Meeting


AUSTRALIA 15-19 Mar 2010 Negotiations begin for Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership

Mon, 15 Mar 2010
Melbourne hosts a meeting of trade ministers of the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership (TPP) at which the first formal round of negotiations for aspiring members of the bloc will be conducted. A regional free-trade agreement, the TPP started small with New Zealand, Singapore, Chile and Brunei Darussalam and entered into force in May 2006. Now the United States, Australia, Peru and Vietnam want to join it.
full story read full story: AUSTRALIA 15-19 Mar 2010 Negotiations begin for Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership


COLOMBIA 14 Mar 2010 Colombians vote for Senate and House lawmakers

Sun, 14 Mar 2010
Colombia votes for Senate and House of Representative members on Mar 14. President Alvaro Uribe's high approval rating in his country is likely to keep the three parties in the right-leaning governing coalition on top, but Uribe's bid for a third term as president and a growing spying scandal could cut into the top parties' lead and help opposition parties increase their representation in the legislature.
full story read full story: COLOMBIA 14 Mar 2010 Colombians vote for Senate and House lawmakers


FRANCE 14 & 21 Mar 2010 Regional elections a first test of ruling party

Sun, 14 Mar 2010
France's regional election will signal whether the French left is recovering. It overwhelmingly won the last regional elections, but lost the presidency in 2007 because of chronic internal squabbling: Nicolas Sarkozy, the candidate of the center-right Union for Popular Movement Party, defeated S gol ne Royal of the Socialist Party. If the left loses again, it will mirror a trend. Germany recently re-elected a right-leaning government, and Britain seems poised to elect a Tory government.
full story read full story: FRANCE 14 & 21 Mar 2010 Regional elections a first test of ruling party


DOHA 13-25 Mar 2010 Qatar hosts meeting of parties to Endangered Species Convention

Sat, 13 Mar 2010
The 15th meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species brings together experts from participating countries to consider proposals for tighter trade controls on Atlantic bluefin tuna, polar bears, sharks, corals and elephant ivory. CITES meets every three years to change trade rules through amendments to the CITES Appendices. Controversially, Monaco wants the large tunas on Appendix 1, the category that prevents all commercial international trade in the species.
full story read full story: DOHA 13-25 Mar 2010 Qatar hosts meeting of parties to Endangered Species Convention


CAIRO 12 Mar 2010 Ministers of Organization of the Islamic Conference meet about Darfur aid

Fri, 12 Mar 2010
Ministers of the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference meet in Egypt for an International Donors Conference for the Development and Reconstruction of Darfur. The International Criminal Court at The Hague appears to have backed away from its efforts to see Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir behind bars for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Sudanese province of Darfur, possibly as a result of the OIC's opposition to the ICC arrest warrant for Al-Bashir.
full story read full story: CAIRO 12 Mar 2010 Ministers of Organization of the Islamic Conference meet about Darfur aid


UNITED STATES 7 Mar 2010 Hollywood hosts 82nd Academy Awards

Sun, 07 Mar 2010
The 82nd Academy Awards ceremony will be held at a later date than usual in 2010, one of two changes for the 82nd Oscars by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The second change is described as the most radical revision of the Oscar-night ritual in recent memory. Aimed at winning back audiences for the live broadcast of the ceremony, it expands the pool of Best Picture nominees from five to 10.
full story read full story: UNITED STATES 7 Mar 2010 Hollywood hosts 82nd Academy Awards


NAIROBI 7-12 Mar 2010 Kenya hosts ICANN meeting

Sun, 07 Mar 2010
The recent approval of the use of non-Latin-character domain names eased one long-standing source of tension in the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, but it introduces technical issues that will need to be aired at the Nairobi ICANN meeting. The introduction of the new characters introduces the biggest technical change to ICANN since it was launched 40 years ago. The change comes a month after the United States released sole oversight of ICANN.
full story read full story: NAIROBI 7-12 Mar 2010 Kenya hosts ICANN meeting


IRAQ 7 Mar 2010 Iraq due to hold vital post-war parliamentary election

Sat, 06 Mar 2010
Iraq set a January date for an election for the country's 275-seat unicameral Council of Representatives, then changed it in December to March. Whenever the election happens, the potential for violence and boycotts is high. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Da'wa al-Islamiya Party and its allies made big gains in recent local elections, and is expected to do well again in this second post-Saddam legislative election. The new parliament will elect a prime minister and cabinet.
full story read full story: IRAQ 7 Mar 2010 Iraq due to hold vital post-war parliamentary election


GENEVA 4-14 Mar 2010 80th International Motor Show to see usual makers?

Thu, 04 Mar 2010
Geneva's 80th International Motor Show looks set to go ahead, with a possible boost from a big anniversary year and spillover from the cancellation of the British International Motor Show in 2010. The global economic crisis has slowed car sales, and makers are unwilling to commit to the cost of exhibiting. As in 2009, the news from the 2010 show in Geneva and the many other auto shows around the world is likely to be about the automakers who decided not to exhibit rather than those that did.
full story read full story: GENEVA 4-14 Mar 2010 80th International Motor Show to see usual makers?


UNITED STATES 3 Mar 2010 SpaceX plans maiden launch of commercial rocket

Wed, 03 Mar 2010
SpaceX plans to launch its Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Mar 3. A resoundingly successful launch of Falcon 9 threatens the future of NASA's Ares 1 rocket project, but might not silence critics of the private program. An independent advisory panel claims potential commercial crew transportation providers do not meet NASA safety standards for piloted vehicles.
full story read full story: UNITED STATES 3 Mar 2010 SpaceX plans maiden launch of commercial rocket


POLAND 1 Mar 2010 Fr d ric Chopin born 200 years ago

Mon, 01 Mar 2010
Polish-French composer and pianist Fr d ric Chopin was born on 1 Mar 1810, and plans are under way in Poland for a year of concerts, recitals and conferences marking the bicentennial of his birth. The country's parliament has declared 2010 the Year of Fryderyk Chopin. A Chopin Centre and renovated Chopin Museum will be inaugurated to honor the great Romantic composer, whose work is regarded as a Polish cultural treasure.
full story read full story: POLAND 1 Mar 2010 Fr d ric Chopin born 200 years ago


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