- Pregnancy Pact Investigated: Officials in Massachusetts are investigating why 17 teenage girls from the same high school have become pregnant [1], a number four times higher than the year before. Reports claim the girls, all under the age of 16, entered into a pact to have their babies together. No comment has been forthcoming from the girls or their families. Officials are investigating the ages of the fathers, as some are believed to be in their twenties — facing the possibility of being charged with having sex with minors. Birth rates for girls aged 15 to 17 rose by 3 percent in 2006, the first increase in the rate since 1991.
- Israel Shows Iran Attack: Israel has performed what appears to be a rehearsal for an attack [2] on Iran's nuclear facilities. More than 100 Israeli fighter jets conducted manuvers over the Mediterranean and Greece this month. Though Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, Israel sees Iran's development of the technology a threatening problem. The UN has demanded that Iran stop the enrichment of uranium, and approved a third round of sanctions against Iran over the issue in March 2008. A Pentagon official says of Israel's show of force, "they wanted us to know, they wanted the Europeans to know, and they wanted the Iranians to know."
- 22,000 Protest in Thailand: Several thousand protesters broke through a tight police seal [3] around Thailand's seat of government today, planning to occupy the compound until the prime minister resigns. The protesters claim that Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej's government is just a proxy for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup. Though he's facing criminal charges for corruption, Thaksin remains a powerful figure in Thailand. Despite the huge protest, there were no immediate plans to declare a state of national emergency or martial law. Police estimated that about 22,000 people were present for the protest.
