1. French minister steps down

    French Budget Minister Jerome Cahuzac resigned on March 19. Prosecutors announced an investigation into a Swiss bank account Cahuzac allegedly used to hide assets from the tax authorities.

    The prosecutors’ preliminary investigation had been under way since January. It made Cahuzac’s position untenable* as he was the government minister in charge of combating tax evasion*.

    2. IT guy turns Syria’s rebel leader

    The opposition Syrian National Coalition has chosen U.S.-educated former businessman Ghassan Hitto as provisional* prime minister to administer the areas rebels have seized from Syrian government forces.

    At a meeting of the Syrian National Coalition in the Turkish city of Istanbul on March 19, Hitto received 35 votes of around 50 cast by coalition members.

    3. Cyberattack suspected in S. Korea

    Computer networks at major South Korean banks and top TV broadcasters crashed on March 20, paralyzing* bank machines across the country and prompting speculation of a cyberattack* by North Korea.

    Screens went blank at 2 p.m., with reports of skulls popping up on some computer screens. Some computers came back online more than two hours later.

    Police and South Korean officials couldn’t immediately determine the cause, but experts said a cyberattack orchestrated by Pyongyang was likely to blame. The two countries have exchanged threats following U.N. sanctions meant to punish North Korea over its nuclear test last month.

    4. NATO plans to end Syria civil war

    The top U.S. military commander in Europe said NATO countries were working on plans for military action to end the two-year civil war in Syria.

    The claim came on the same day that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime accused U.S.-backed Syrian rebels of using chemical weapons.

    A U.S. official said there was no evidence that either Assad forces or the opposition used chemical weapons in an attack in northern Syria.

    5. Al-Qaida claims attacks

    Al-Qaida* in Iraq on March 20 claimed responsibility for a wave of bombings and suicide attacks that killed around 60 people on the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion.

    Car bombs and suicide blasts hit mainly Shiite districts in Baghdad and other cities. Suicide attackers have struck nearly twice a week since January, a rate Iraq has not seen for several years.

    6. U.S. Senate passes 1 budget in 4 yrs

    The U.S. Senate on Saturday narrowly passed its first federal budget in four years, a move that will bring a relative peace to Washington’s fiscal wars.

    The budget plan passed 50-49 at about 5 a.m. after a marathon voting session in the Democratic-controlled chamber. Four Democratic senators joined all the Senate Republicans in opposing the measure, which seeks to raise nearly US$1 trillion in new tax revenues by closing some tax breaks* for the wealthy.

    7. Russian tycoon dead at U.K. home

    Russian oligarch* Boris Berezovsky, whose body was found in the locked bathroom of his luxury mansion near London over the weekend, died by hanging, British police said on Monday.

    An autopsy* showed no signs of a violent struggle but further tests are expected to be carried out.

    Once known as the gray cardinal of Kremlin politics, the former billionaire power broker* helped Vladimir Putin come to power. He fled to Britain in 2000 after a clash with Putin.(SD-Agencies)