Portal:Current events/2009 January 15
January 15, 2009 (Thursday)
- British Member of Parliament John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington) is suspended after manhandling the ceremonial mace during House of Commons proceedings. (BBC News)
- President George W. Bush bids farewell to the United States in a 15-minute televised address, during which he touted his record and warned his successor, Barack Obama, to maintain an aggressive stance against terrorism. (AP via Google News)
- Sweden's National Bank announces that all 1-krona coins minted in 2009 will carry a new motif on their reverse to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Finland's separation from Sweden. (Riksbanken)
- The International Year of Astronomy's opening ceremony is held at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. (France 24)
- US Airways Flight 1549, an Airbus A320 carrying 155 people, ditches into New York City's Hudson River. (CNN) (New York Times)
- A sprinkler incident at a Toronto, Ontario, Canada hydro power station sparks a major power outage in a huge swath in the City's west end affecting more than 250,000 people. (The Globe and Mail)
- NASA announces that methane in Mars' atmosphere "could be produced either by geological activity or by life." (BBC)
- China's gross domestic product grew 13 percent during 2007, overtaking Germany to become the world's third largest economy. (BBC)
- 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict:
- Hamas 'in principle' accepts the United Nations' call for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. (Jerusalem Post)
- An Israeli airstrike kills Palestinian National Authority Interior Minister Said Seyam. (Sky News)
- Pakistan arrests 124 people in a crackdown on terrorism. (Sky News)
- Late 2000s recession:
- Japanese machine orders decrease 16.2 percent from October, the largest percentage drop since April 1987 and more than twice the expected rate. (MarketWatch)
- Jobless claims in the United States rise 54,000 to 524,000, the first increase in three weeks. (Wall Street Journal)
- Hawaii becomes the first U.S. state and the second media market after Wilmington, North Carolina, to convert to digital television. (Honolulu Star Bulletin)
- Despite the corruption scandal surrounding Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, the United States Senate confirms Roland Burris as a member. (Boston Globe)
- Indie 103.1 says farewell to radio listeners.