Portal:Current events/2009 February 24

Current events of February 24, 2009 (2009-02-24) (Tuesday)

United States President Barack Obama addresses a joint session of Congress. (BBC) The U.S. Senate confirms Hilda Solis as the Secretary of Labor. (USA Today) Two people are killed and 28 injured in an apartment-building fire in New York City's Chinatown. (UPI) Iraq's National Museum reopens for the first time since being looted during the U.S. Armed Forces' invasion in 2003. (Al Jazeera) Six people and an infant are injured in a shooting during Mardi Gras in New Orleans, United States. (San Francisco Chronicle) (BBC) Sweden's government announces the engagement of Crown Princess Victoria and personal trainer Daniel Westling. (The Local) The National Front marches on Thailand's Government House, demanding an early election. (Bloomberg) The Taliban announces a ceasefire in its war in northwest Pakistan's Swat Valley. (Reuters) NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory lands in the Pacific Ocean near Antarctica after failing to reach Earth's orbit. (Sky News) Ireland's Stock Exchange falls to its lowest level since 1995. (RTÉ) Gardaí from Ireland's Criminal Investigation Bureau conduct a search for illegal documentation at the Anglo Irish Bank headquarters in Saint Stephen's Green, Dublin. (RTÉ) Iraq's Police Service kills an Iraqi interpreter and injures at least three U.S. soldiers in Mosul. (BBC) At least 15 people are killed and 90 injured in heavy fighting in Mogadishu, Somalia. (BBC) U.S. President Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso pledge to cooperate in stimulating economic demand and combating protectionism. (BBC) Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and French President Nicolas Sarkozy agree to cooperate in reviving nuclear power in Italy. (BBC) Teachers in Zimbabwe will end their strike action upon receiving government aid. (BBC)