The World - March 18, 2010

THURSDAY

A group of more than 250 family farmers packed a town hall meeting in Iowa to press the U.S. Justice Department to crack down on concentration in the commercial seed business. Critics want to stop the practice of patenting seed germplasm, which limits the rights of farmers to save seed from their harvested crops and replant them.

A Swedish court decided it will extradite Anders Hogstrom to Poland where he faces charges of stealing the infamous “Work sets you free” sign from the former Auschwitz Nazi death camp. If convicted, he faces up to ten years in prison.

Glenn Close, star of such films as “Fatal Attraction” and “Dangerous Liaisons,” has paid $48,000 to have her genome sequence mapped by a San Diego research firm.

FRIDAY

The U.S. Court of Federal Claims dismissed a case brought by an Oregon family seeking reimbursement from vaccine makers for using a mercury-based preservative called thimerosal, which they believe caused their son’s autism.

The head of Germany’s Catholic Church apologized to victims of child abuse by priests in the face of more than 100 reports of abuse at Catholic institutions, including one run by Pope Benedict’s diocese in Bavaria.

Dozens were injured in northern Egypt when fighting broke out between Christians and Muslims. Christians make up about 10 percent of Egypt’s roughly 78 million people. The rest are mostly Sunni Muslim.

WEEKEND

Just as spring break begins at colleges across the nation, the U.S. State Department warns U.S. citizens about the dangers of traveling to Mexico. The announcement comes in the wake of several attacks and the murder of two U.S. citizens in the Durango, Coahuila and Chihuahua states.

Federal investigators begin looking into the account of James Sikes, a 61-year-old San Diego man who said his Prius had sped up to more than 90 miles per hour on its own. Initial investigation by California highway officials last week raised questions about Sikes’ account of the event.

He Pingping, the world’s shortest man at 75 centimeters tall, dies at age 21 in Rome.

The trial begins in a Dubai court where British couple faces up to a month in jail on indecency charges after they were allegedly spotted kissing each other in public and consuming alcohol.

MONDAY

Charles Antonucci, former president of Park Avenue Bank in New York, was arrested on charges he falsified information on the bank’s application for $11.2 million from the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Antonucci is the first person accused of attempting to steal bailout funds from the U.S. government.

The U.S. military handed over a $107 million prison and nearly 3,000 inm ates at Camp Taji north of Baghdad to the Iraqi government as it prepares to winnow down its detention forces after having taken into custody about 90,000 people since the 2003 invasion.

A herd of hungry baboons have begun terrorizing farmers in South Africa’s wine region, gobbling tons of Chardonnay grapes primed for harvest.

TUESDAY

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano cancelled a $3 billion Boeing-managed plan to build a virtual fence along the U.S. border with Mexico.

The Red River rose three feet at Fargo, North Dakota, prompting volunteers, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and National Guard troops to line the dikes of the city in anticipation of a second straight year of major flooding. The river has risen nearly 10 feet in three days as mild temperatures melted deep snowpack earlier than expected.

Lance Mackey became the first person to win four consecutive Iditiarod Trail Sled Dog Races after pulling into Nome. He covered the 1,125-mile course from Anchorage in 23 hours, 59 minutes and 9 seconds, the second-fastest time ever.

A U.S. drone aircraft fired missiles into the al Qaeda and Taliban stronghold of Pakistan’s North Waziristan region, killing 10 militants.

WEDNESDAY

With 80 percent of an estimated 12 million votes counted, Former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi edged past Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki by 9,000 votes in results from Iraq’s March 7 election. Final results are said to take weeks.

Palestinians clashed with Israeli forces in Jerusalem after tensions were sparked last week. Israel announced during a visit by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden it intends to build 1,600 more homes for Jewish settlers in the West Bank.

Compiled by staff from a variety of sources.