1. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. CEO Lloyd Blankfein will testify today on the company’s role in the subprime mortgage crisis before the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a civil fraud lawsuit against Goldman Sachs. The company has denied the accusation that it misguided investors on the purchasing of complicated mortgage-related items.
2. NATO troops in Afghanistan killed four Afghan civilians in eastern Khost Province last week. The troops opened fire on the civilians in a vehicle, which held a police officer, two shopkeepers and a 12-year-old boy. NATO claimed the victims were insurgents but offered no proof. A week prior to this incident, U.S. troops in Kandahar killed five civilians and wounded 18 who were traveling in a passenger bus.
3. During a meeting last week, French President Nicolas Sarkozy ordered legislation banning Islamic veils that hide the face in some public places and in the street. French citizens were surprised by the suggested full ban of the burqa-like veils because of a recent six-month parliamentary inquiry that found it would raise constitutional and enforcement issues. The French Parliament will discuss and lay out a non-binding resolution toward women keeping their faces uncovered in public on May 11. A similar law in nearby Belgium which bans face-covering veils in public is predicted to be passed in July.
4. At least six people were arrested in Washington, D.C. last week for protesting the government policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” which bans those who are openly gay or lesbian from serving in the military. Protesters handcuffed themselves to a fence outside of the White House. The protest happened the day after President Barack Obama told citizens in a speech in Los Angeles that he would repeal the policy. Among the protesters was Lt. Dan Choi, an openly gay member of the military who has been discharged and arrested for speaking out against “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”.
5. Last week, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme religious leader, said that Obama’s “Nuclear Posture Review” was the equivalent to “atomic threats against Iranian people.” Khamenei’s comment was directed at the segment of Obama’s review that stated the U.S. would never strike a non-nuclear nation judged to be in compliance with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Despite sanctions imposed by the United Nations, and the U.S.’s demands for Iran to halt uranium enrichment and allow inspections, Iran is continuing with its nuclear program. The U.S. is now advocating for stricter sanctions on Iran.
6. An oil rig performing exploratory drilling nearly 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana exploded last Tuesday, leaving four critically injured and 11 missing. A lawsuit is being filed against the companies associated with the explosion, including BP and Transocean Ltd., for negligence. The exact cause of the explosion is being investigated. The incident is one of America’s deadliest offshore drilling accidents within the past 50 years.
8212;Compiled by Staff Columnist Sally Schilling
