Portal:Current events/2008 April 30
April 30, 2008 (Wednesday)
- Brazil's long-term foreign currency sovereign credit rating is raised to BBB− by Standard & Poor's, marking the first time the country's foreign currency debt receives an investment grade rating. (The International Herald Tribune)
- War on Terrorism
- The United States Department of State's annual report on terrorism states that al-Qaeda "has reconstituted some of its pre-9/11 operational capabilities" in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. (USA Today)
- The report also states that there has been a 16% increase in terrorist attacks in Afghanistan due to resurgent activity by al-Qaeda and the Taliban. (Fox News)
- Economy of the United States
- The Bush administration brings back the one year Treasury bill in order to cope with rising budget deficits. (AP via Google News)
- The economy of the United States expands by an annualized rate of 0.6 percent due largely to a growth in exports. (The New York Times)
- The Federal Reserve System cuts interest rates in the United States by a quarter percentage to 2 per cent. (The Telegraph)
- Two Taliban militants, a woman, and her child are killed after a siege by Afghan security forces in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Reuters)
- HP Labs announces the creation of the memristor, at times described as the fourth basic electronic element. The memristor was first predicted in 1971 by Leon Chua. The discovery may have a tremendous impact on computing and electronics, joining the other basic electronic elements the resistor, capacitor, and inductor. (Nature)