- March 4
- China announces it will increase military spending by 14.9 percent this year to 480.6 billion yuan (US$70.2 billion). The increase is the 19th double-digit boost in defence spending in the last 20 years. [57]
- The US government launches a US$75 billion foreclosure relief plan, part of a US$275 billion housing stimulus program announced last month. [35]
- The International Criminal Court (ICC) issues an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. Al-Bashir is the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the ICC since its establishment in 2002. [398]
- March 5
- The Bank of England announces it will create 75 billion pounds (US$106 billion) of new money in an attempt to revive lending and the economy. Chancellor Alistair Darling gives the bank permission to extend this to up to 150 billion pounds. The central bank also reduces lending interest rates from 1 precent to a new record low of 0.5 percent. [57]
- March 7
- NASA launches from Cape Canaveral in Florida the unmanned Kepler telescope to orbit the Sun to search for Earth-like planets with the potential to host life. [57] [398]
- March 9
- American pharmaceutical company Merck & Co announces it will acquire Schering-Plough for US$41.1 billion. [35]
- US President Barack Obama signs an executive order restoring funding for stem cell research. [314.A9]
- March 11
- French President Nicolas Sarkozy announces France will return to NATO's military command, after President Charles de Gaulle pulled France out in 1966. [57]
- March 12
- Swiss drugmaking company Roche Holding announces it will acquire the remaining 44 percent of American biotechnology company Genentech stock for US$46.8 billion. [35]
- Bernard Madoff, former Nasdaq stock market chairman, pleads guilty to eleven charges of running a US$171 billion worldwide Ponzi scheme, the biggest investment fraud in Wall Street history. [35]
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- March 13
- The Galeras volcano in southern Colombia erupts, blanketing the area with ash, forcing evacuation of 3000 people. [315.A13]
- March 14
- A copy of the first Superman comic (Action Comics, Number 1, June 1938) sells at an auction for US$317,200. [105]
- March 17
- Space shuttle Discovery docks with the International Space Station, delivering the last set of solar wing panels. [35]
- The President of Madagascar, Marc Ravalomanana, is overthrown in a coup d'état, following a month of rallies in Antananarivo. The military appoints opposition leader Andry Rajoelina as the new president. [398]
- March 18
- A new constitution is adopted by Bolivia, changing the country's official name from Republic of Bolivia to Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia (Multinational State of Bolivia). [415.50]
- The US Federal Reserve, for the first time since the 1960s, announces it will buy up to US$300 billion of government Treasury bonds. The Federal Reserve also announces it will expand an existing program to buy debt and securities to US$1.45 trillion. [35]
- In England, Sean Hodgeson is released after spending 27 years in jail for the murder of Teresa De Simone, which new DNA tests prove he did not commit. [57]
- March 19
- The Pearl Carpet of Baroda, that was commissioned in India 150 years ago to decorate the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad in Medina, sells for US$5.458 million at an auction in Doha, Qatar. [57]
- March 20
- A 7.9 magnitude earthquake about 200km south-east of Tonga triggers a tsunami in the South Pacific, but little damage results. [35]
- March 23
- Suncor Energy announces it will buy Petro-Canada for CDN$18.43 billion (US$15.1 billion) to create Canada's biggest oil company. [35]
- March 26
- Mount Redoubt volcano in Alaska erupts, shooting a plume of ash and smoke into the atmosphere, up to 20,000m. [317.A9]
- March 27
- A dam bursts near Jakarta, Indonesia, killing at least 58 people, engulfing hundreds of homes. [57] [317.A9]
- A bomb explodes at a mosque near Jamrud in north-west Pakistan, killing at least 50 people. [57] [318.A15]
- March 28
- NASA's space shuttle Discovery lands at Kennedy Space Center in Florida after a 13-day mission to the International Space Station. [57] [336.A11]
- Earth Hour is observed at 8:30 PM local time around the world, as lights are turned out to raise awareness of climate change. [57]
- March 29
- At least 15 people die after a passenger train ploughs into a stationary cargo train in Tanzania. [57]
- March 30
- General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner is ordered to step down by US President Barack Obama. [57]
- March 31
- A boat carrying about 250 African migrants sinks off the coast of Libya in stormy seas and high winds. 23 are rescued. [57]
- In Moscow, Russia, six volunteer "astronauts" are locked inside a mock spacecraft, to see if they can stand the simulated conditions of a manned flight to Mars, which would take over 100 days. Those who last more than 100 days experiencing the same isolation and claustrophobia as astronauts will earn a US$20,000 reward. [57]
- March (month)
- The U.S. unemployment rate reaches 8.5 percent, a 25-year high, as employers cut 663,000 jobs. [35] [564.120]
- January-March
- Spain's gross domestic product falls 2.9 percent compared to the first quarter of 2008, the steepest loss seen since 1959. [57]
- The economies of the 16 countries that make up the eurozone decline by 2.5 percent in the first three months of 2009, a drop of 4.6 percent over the same period a year ago. The German economy fell 3.8 percent in the quarter. [57]
- April 1
- Israel's parliament swears in Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister and approves the new coalition cabinet by 69 votes to 45. [57]
- Albania and Croatia join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). [398]
- April 2
- In his closing news conference of the G20 summit in London, England, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announces the member nations will inject US$1 trillion into the world economy in an effort to curb the global financial crisis. [57] [398]
- The U.S. House of Representatives passes a federal budget for fiscal 2010 starting October 1, voting 233-196 to pass the US$3.45 trillion budget. [35]
- Cunard opens worldwide sales of the October 2010 Maiden Voyage for new ocean liner Queen Elizabeth, and sells out in a record 29 minutes. [339]
- April 3
- (to April 4) The 21st NATO Summit is held, 60 years after the founding of the organization. Former Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen is appointed as the new Secretary General of NATO. [398]
- April 4
- In Binghampton, New York, USA, a gunman kills 13 people in the American Civic Association building after taking dozens hostage, then kills himself. [57]
- Ivan Gasparovic wins re-election after the second round of voting in Slovakia's presidential election. [57]
- April 5
- In Pakistan, a suicide bomber detonates a device at the entrance to a Shia mosque south of Islamabad, killing at least 20 people. [57]
- North Korea launches a Kwangmyongsong-2 rocket over Japan, prompting an emergency meeting of - but no official reaction from - the United Nations Security Council. [398] [426.42]
- April 6
- An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale in central Italy kills 281, injures 1500, and leaves about 17,000 homeless. The quake flattened houses, ancient churches and other buildings in 26 cities and towns. The damage is estimated at US$4 billion. [35] [57] [398]
- Somali pirates seize British-owned cargo ship Malaspina Castle in the Gulf of Aden, and a Taiwanese ship near the Seychelles, after capturing a French yacht, a Yemeni tugboat, and the 20,000-ton German container vessel Hansa Stavanger on the past two days. [57]
- Japan announces it will spend a further 10 trillion yen (US$99 billion) to fight the recession. [57]
- Six bomb blasts in Baghdad, Iraq, kill more than 34 people and injure about 110. [57]
- April 7
- Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori is sentenced to 25 years in jail for ordering killings and kidnappings by security forces. [57] [398]
- April 8
- Pulte Homes in the USA announces it will buy rival Centex Corp in a US$1.3 billion all-stock deal to create the largest U.S. homebuilder. [35]
- The NASA Kepler satellite begins its 3.5-year mission of taking pictures in the Cygnus-Lyra region of space, comprising about 4.5 million stars. Scientists will look for dips in starlight indicating passing planets in front of parent stars. [524.18]
- April 9
- General election in Indonesia, a win for the Democratic Party of president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. [425.7]
- Algeria's President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is re-elected to his third consecutive term in office, with 90 percent of votes. [57]
- April 10
- Japan's Prime Minister Taro Aso unveils a record 15.4 trillion yen (US$150 billion) stimulus package to revive its economy. [57]
- A political crisis begins in Fiji when President Josefa Iloilo suspends the nation's Constitution, dismisses all judges and constitutional appointees and assumes all governance in the country after the Court of Appeal rules that the government of Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama is illegal. [398]
- April 11
- (to April 12) The Fourth East Asia Summit is postponed after Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva declares a state of emergency in Bangkok and surrounding areas. [398]
- April 16
- General Growth Properties, the second-largest U.S. mall owner (over 200 malls), files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the biggest real estate failure in U.S. history. The 55-year-old company, based in Chicago, listed total assets of US$29.56 billion and total debts of $27.29 billion. Company share value dropped to 60 cents from a high of US$67 in 2007. [35]
- US President Barack Obama confirms that CIA interrogators who used interrogation methods not considered torture by legal opinion of the previous administration on suspects will not face prosecution. The approved techniques including waterboarding (simulated drowning), week-long sleep deprivation, nudity and putting insects in with a tightly confined prisoner. [35]
- General election begins in India. [425.46]
- April 17
- In eastern Afghanistan, a 5.5 magnitude earthquake occurs, followed in two hours by a 5.1 aftershock. [35]
- Thirty-four heads of state and government meet in Port of Spain, Trinidad for the 5th Summit of the Americas. [398]
- April 20
- Oracle announces it will acquire Sun Microsystems for more than US$7 billion. [35]
- April 21
- UNESCO launches The World Digital Library. [398]
- April 22
- General and provincial elections are held in South Africa. The African National Congress wins 267 of 400 seats, the Congress of the People wins 28, and the Democratic Alliance wins 67. [426.49]
- April 23
- In Baghdad, Iraq, two suicide bombers blow themselves up in separate attacks, killing 76 people. [35]
- April 24
- In Baghdad, Iraq, two female suicide bombers blow themselves up outside the Imam Moussa al-Kadhim Shi'ite Muslim shrine, killing 60 people, wounding at least 125 people. [35]
- April 25
- The ruling African National Congress wins South Africa's general election, with 65.9 percent of votes, with the Democratic Alliance taking 16.66 percent, and the Congress of the People taking 7.42 percent. [57]
- The World Health Organization calls an emerging flu outbreak in Mexico and the United States a "public health emergency of international concern". Since the first case was discovered in March, about 80 have died, with over 1000 sick across Mexico. The virus is a combination of bird, swine and human influenzas. [105]
- China's state-owned Jiansu People's Publishig House acquires Beijing Republic Publishing. [529.67]
- Italy's MSC Cruises' cruise ship MSC Melody fends off a pirate attack near the coast of Somalia. Six people in a small boat fire about 200 shots at the ship, before being repelled by water cannons and shots fired by Israeli security guards. [57] [359.24] [379.8]
- April 26
- Iceland's leftist coalition of the Social Democratic Alliance and the Left Green Movement wins the country's general election, taking 34 of the 63 seats in parliament, defeating the Independence Party that many blamed for the collapse of the country's banking system. New Prime Minister is Johanna Sigurdardottir of the Social Democrats. [105] [426.52]
- Pakistani military launches attack on Taliban in North-West Frontier Province, in Lower Dir. [426.24]
- April 27
- The World Health Organization raises its global pandemic alert to Level 4 from Level 3, meaning the global health body feels the virus causing the H1N1 flu outbreak can easily transmit between people. [105]
- General Motors announces it will phase out the 82-year-old Pontiac brand by the end of 2010. [105]
- A 5.6 magnitude earthquake strikes central Mexico, centred near Chilpancingo, about 210 kilometres southwest of Mexico City. [105]
- April 28
- Pakistani military launches attack on Taliban in Buner valley. [426.24]
- April 29
- In Baghdad, Iraq, three car bombs kill at least 41 people and wound at least 70. [35] [426.7]
- NATO expels two Russian diplomats from NATO headquarters in Brussels over a spy scandal in Estonia. [398]
- (to May 1) Heritage Numismatic Auctions conductions coin auctions at the Central States Numismatic Society convention in Cincinnati, Ohio. Some highlights:
- US 1804 Draped Bust dollar, Adams-Carter specimen, Class III, PR-58 PCGS: US$2.3 million;
- US 1794 Flowing Hair dollar, AU-55 NGC: US$345,000;
- US 1795 Draped Bust, Small Eagle, Centered Bust dollar, MS-65 PCGS US$253,000;
- US 1870-S Seated Liberty dollar, one of ten known, EF-40 PCGS: US$503,125.
[495.4] [496.68] [525.79]
- April 30
- The World Health Organization raises its global pandemic alert to Level 5 from Level 4 due to the spread of H1N1 flu virus. In the USA, about 300 schools are closed. In Mexico, the death toll reaches 176, and President Felipe Calderon tells government offices and private businesses not crucial to the economy to stop work on May 1 for five days, to avoid further spreading the virus. [35]
- Chrysler files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and announces a deal with Fiat. The US government announces it will provide up to US$3.5 billion in debtor-in-possession financing and up to US$4.5 billion in exit financing. The company is expected to continue under a new ownershop arrangement: 55 percent United Auto Workers' healthcare trust fund, Fiat 20 percent, U.S. and Canadian governments with a combined stake of 10 percent. [5] [35]
- The United Kingdom officially ends its six-year military mission in Iraq. [57]
- April (month)
- The United States posts its first monthly deficit in 26 years, a record US$20.91 billion shortfall. The deficit for the first seven months of fiscal 2009: a record US$802.29 billion. [35]
- U.S. employers cut 504,000 jobs during the month, putting the unemployment rate up to 8.9 percent. [35]
- Canadian employers cut 35,900 jobs during the month. [35]
- United Kingdom employers cut 57,100 during the month, putting the unemployment rate up to 7.1 percent. [57]
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