Portal:Current events/2008 November 24

November 24, 2008 (Monday)

United States President-elect Barack Obama announces his Treasury team, which includes Timothy F. Geithner as Secretary, Lawrence Summers as president of the National Economic Council, and Christina Romer as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers. (BBC News) Obama is also expected to announce Peter R. Orszag as director of the Office of Management and Budget. (CNN)
United Kingdom Prime Minister Gordon Brown outlines plans to raise the income tax rate for the first time since 1975. (AP via Google News)
Flooding in the Southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina causes at least 45 deaths and forces the evacuation of 20,000 people. (BBC News)
Bangladesh's Electoral Commission reschedules the date for the general election from December 18 to December 29. (BBC News)
Aftermath of the 2008 South Ossetia war:
- Georgian Interior Ministry claims "shots were fired" at a convoy including Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and Polish President Lech Kaczyński on the border of Georgia and South Ossetia. Several witnesses travelling with the convoy say they heard the automatic gunfire, though it was unclear from which direction it came. Polish Parliament spokesman later comments the incident was "not very serious at all", though "unfortunate" as it put the Polish president in an "awkward" situation.(CNN-IBN) (Washington Post) (Moscow Times)
- Georgian Parliamentary hearing into the 2008 South Ossetia war marred by "angry exchanges" after the commission member, and a supporter of Mikeil Saakashvili, throws a pen at a high-ranking Georgian diplomat, a former close ally of Saakashvili, in response to his testimony that the "Georgian leadership started the military action first" during the conflict. (Reuters UK)
People's Alliance for Democracy protestors surround Thailand's National Assembly as part of a "final push" against the government. (AFP via The Melbourne Age)
Global financial crisis of 2008:
- Citigroup receives US$32 billion from the United States Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. (News.com.au)
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation's annual summit ends in Lima, Peru, amid an ongoing economic crisis with a declaration of commitment with free markets and an openness of the economy, refrainment from raising trade barriers in goods and services over the next 12 months, the regulation and supervision of financial systems, and the ensuring of corporate social responsibility.