Portal:Current events/2008 February 20
February 20, 2008 (Wednesday)
Business and economy
- The United States Federal Reserve forecasts lower economic growth for the rest of the year with rising unemployment rates. (CNN)
Disasters and accidents
- Two United States Air Force F-15 Eagle fighter planes crash in mid-air over the Gulf of Mexico near Florida. (AFP via News Limited)
- The United States Geological Survey reports the occurrence of a 7.6 magnitude earthquake off the western coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. (USGS)
- Seven South Korean servicemen die in a military helicopter crash. (Reuters)
Law and crime
- The United States military imposes a curfew on all personnel on the Japanese island Okinawa following the arrest of a member of the United States Marine Corps on suspicion of rape. (AP via the International Herald Tribune)
- The government of Morocco arrests 23 alleged terrorists, including Mustapha Moatassim, the Secretary General of Alternative Civilization, a political party recognized by the state. (Middle East Online)
Politics and elections
- Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan is elected as President in a contest hailed as largely democratic by OSCE and international monitors. (BBC News)
Science and technology
- The Space Shuttle Atlantis lands at Kennedy Space Center following the conclusion of the STS-122 assembly mission to the International Space Station. (NASA)