Today is Monday, Dec. 30, the 364th day of 2013. There is one day left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Dec. 30, 1813, British troops burned Buffalo, N.Y., during the War of 1812.
On this date:
In
1853, the United States and Mexico signed a treaty under which the U.S.
agreed to buy some 45,000 square miles of land from Mexico for $10
million in a deal known as the Gadsden Purchase.
In 1860, 10 days after South Carolina seceded from the Union, the state militia seized the United States Arsenal in Charleston.In 1903, about 600 people died when fire broke out at the recently opened Iroquois Theater in Chicago.
In 1922, Vladimir I. Lenin proclaimed the establishment of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
In
1936, the United Auto Workers union staged its first "sit-down" strike
at the General Motors Fisher Body Plant No. 1 in Flint, Mich. (The
strike lasted until Feb. 11, 1937.)
In 1940, California's first
freeway, the Arroyo Seco Parkway connecting Los Angeles and Pasadena,
was officially opened by Gov. Culbert L. Olson.In 1948, the Cole Porter musical "Kiss Me, Kate" opened on Broadway.
In 1965, Ferdinand Marcos was inaugurated for his first term as president of the Philippines.
In 1972, the United States halted its heavy bombing of North Vietnam.
In
1993, Israel and the Vatican agreed to recognize each other. Hollywood
agent Irving "Swifty" Lazar died in Beverly Hills, Calif. at age 86.
In
1994, a gunman walked into a pair of suburban Boston abortion clinics
and opened fire, killing two employees. (John C. Salvi III was later
convicted of murder; he died in prison, an apparent suicide.)
In
2006, Iraqis awoke to news that Saddam Hussein had been hanged; victims
of his three decades of autocratic rule took to the streets to
celebrate.
Ten years
ago: The Bush administration announced it was banning the sale of
ephedra, and urged consumers to immediately stop using the herbal
stimulant linked to 155 deaths and dozens of heart attacks and strokes.
Author John Gregory Dunne died in New York City at age 71.
Five
years ago: A defiant Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (blah-GOY'-uh-vich)
named former state Attorney General Roland Burris to Barack Obama's
Senate seat, a surprise move that put the governor's opponents in the
uncomfortable position of trying to block his choice from becoming the
Senate's only black member. (Burris was sworn in as a U.S. senator the
following month.) Israeli aircraft kept up a relentless string of
attacks on Hamas-ruled Gaza, smashing a government complex, security
installations and the home of a top militant commander. Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev signed a law extending presidential terms from
four years to six.
One year ago: Recalling the shooting rampage
that killed 20 first graders in Connecticut as the worst day of his
presidency, President Barack Obama, in an interview on NBC's "Meet the
Press," pledged to put his "full weight" behind legislation aimed at
preventing gun violence. A bus crashed on an icy Oregon highway, killing
nine passengers and injuring almost 40 on Interstate 84 east of
Pendleton.
Today's
Birthdays: Actor Joseph Bologna is 79. Actor Russ Tamblyn is 79.
Baseball Hall-of-Famer Sandy Koufax is 78. Actor Jack Riley is 78. Folk
singer Noel Paul Stookey is 76. TV director James Burrows is 73. Actor
Fred Ward is 71. Singer-musician Michael Nesmith is 71. Actress Concetta
Tomei (toh-MAY') is 68. Singer Patti Smith is 67. Rock singer-musician
Jeff Lynne is 66. TV personality Meredith Vieira is 60. Actress Sheryl
Lee Ralph is 58. Actress Patricia Kalember is 57. Country singer Suzy
Bogguss is 57. "Today" show co-host Matt Lauer is 56. Actress-comedian
Tracey Ullman is 54. Rock musician Rob Hotchkiss is 53. Radio-TV
commentator Sean Hannity is 52. Sprinter Ben Johnson is 52. Actor George
Newbern is 50. Singer Jay Kay (Jamiroquai) is 44. Rock musician Byron
McMackin (Pennywise) is 44. Actress Meredith Monroe is 44. Actor Daniel
Sunjata is 42. Actress Maureen Flannigan is 41. Actor Jason Behr is 40.
Golfer Tiger Woods is 38. TV personality-boxer Laila Ali is 36. Actress
Lucy Punch is 36. Singer-actor Tyrese Gibson is 35. Actress Eliza Dushku
is 33. Rock musician Tim Lopez (Plain White T's) is 33. Actress Kristin
Kreuk is 31. Folk-rock singer-musician Wesley Schultz (The Lumineers)
is 31. NBA player LeBron James is 29. Pop-rock singer Ellie Goulding
(GOL'-ding) is 27. Pop-rock musician Jamie Follese (FAHL'-es-ay) (Hot
Chelle (shel) Rae) is 22.
Thought
for Today: "Work is a dull thing; you cannot get away from that. The
only agreeable existence is one of idleness, and that is not,
unfortunately, always compatible with continuing to exist at all." —
Rose Macaulay, English poet and essayist (1881-1958).
LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Friday
welcomed FBR decision to withdraw Capacity Tax on two beverage
companies.LCCI President Engineer Sohail Lashari in a statement said
that the FBR decision would enable the small and medium players in the
beverage industry to continue their businesses as the capacity tax was
hitting hard the low-profile international and local brands.The FBR is
expected to take away the new tax regime of 'capacity tax' before
January, 2014 by rescinding rules relating to the capacity tax.He said
that following rescinding the Capacity Tax Rules, the FBR will restore
old sales tax and FED collection mechanism for the beverage
manufacturers to check shortfall in the said sector.`It is recommended
that before imposition of any such tax, the government should seek
recommendation and input from all of the stakeholders of that industry',
he added. Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2013 ...
ISLAMABAD: Exports of surgical goods and medical instruments from the
country during first five months of current financial year grew by 5
percent as compared to the corresponding period of last year.Surgical
goods and medical instruments worth US$ 133.27 million exported during
the period from July-November, 2013 as against exports of US$ 126.92
million of same period last year, said data of Pakistan Bureau of
Statistics.During the period under review, cutlery exports from the
country ...
ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan's ambassador to Turkey Mushtaq Ahmad Mehar
has said that Pakistan, Turkey has always enjoyed good ties with each
other .Talking to Radio Pakistan, he said Turkey supports Pakistan
politically in the region and therefore, lot of foreign investment is
coming into Pakistan from Turkey.He said back in 1970s Turkey was
passing through the same situation as Pakistan is passing through
currently.He said that Turkey made huge development and at present is
one ...
ISLAMABAD: The textile exports from the country increased by 6.02
percent during the first five months of current fiscal year against the
exports of same period of last year.On year-on-year basis, textile
exports during November 2013 increased by 0.93 percent when compared to
the exports of November 2012.The overall textile exports during
July-November (2013-14) were recorded at $5.684 billion against the
exports of $5.361 billion during July-November (2012- 13), according to
Pakistan Bureau of Statistics ...
BENGHAZI: Libya's eastern Hariga port will resume oil exports within
days after protesters agreed to end a four month blockage, an oil
official said on Friday. A reopening would be a victory for Prime
Minister Ali Zeidan who has been trying to end such blockades, which
have reduced Libya's oil output to 250,000 bpd from 1.4 million bpd in
July, cutting much needed revenue for rebuilding the state. The
protesters in the east, which was the cradle of the revolt that ousted
veteran leader Muammar Gaddafi, also have their own victory, of sorts,
as Libyan authorities are building a new oil headquarters there, moving
it from the capital Tripoli in the west, to appease their calls for
greater autonomy. Tribesmen and other protesters have occupied Hariga,
located in Tobruk in the far east of Libya, since August to press their
financial and autonomy demands despite several government attempts to
reopen ...
MUMBAI: The Indian government did not have any outstanding loans with
the central bank as on Dec. 20, the Reserve Bank of India said in its
weekly statistical supplement on Friday. It also did not have any
outstanding loans in the previous week. State governments had loans of
3.42 billion rupees outstanding with the central bank in the week to
Dec. 20, as against 7.73 billion rupees in the week earlier. Copyright
Reuters, 2013 ...
MUMBAI: Indian banks borrowed 274.25 billion rupees from the central
bank's marginal standing facility (MSF) window on Dec. 24 for two days,
lower than the 316.30 billion rupees borrowed on Dec. 23 for one day.The
Reserve Bank of India cut the MSF rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 8.75
percent on Oct. 29. It had raised the rate by 200 bps to 10.25 percent
in mid-July.Banks usually tap the MSF rate during acute cash ...
MOSCOW: Russia will provide Belarus with up to $2 billion in additional
loans in 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday, to
shore-up the neighbouring country's stuttering growth. Belarus,
Russia's staunchest ally among the former Soviet republics, was forced
to devalue its rouble by 65 percent against the dollar in 2011 to curb a
current account deficit brought on by excessive government spending.
"The Russian government has decided to help ...
