1 | Georgia Brandishing Sticks, Throwing Carrots More than 60,000 protesters converged on Tbilisi on April 9, calling for President Mikheil Saakashvili to resign over his mishandling of last year's conflict with Russia. The demonstrators, representing a wide range of opposition parties, criticized Saakashvili's lavish lifestyle and his defeat in the war over the breakaway region of South Ossetia. Some threw carrots and cabbage at the presidential residence, released a live rabbit (to represent, they said, his rabbitlike cowardice against Russia) and mocked him in political theater performances. But after a week, the number of protesters had dwindled to fewer than 20,000. Saakashvili has so far refused to step down.
2 | Washington Tax Day Tea Parties More than 235 years after a group of patriots dumped tea into Boston Harbor, thousands of protesters across the country turned out on April 15 for a series of "tea party" rallies. As many Americans hurried to beat the deadline for submitting their 1040 forms, demonstrators irked by what they consider high taxes and profligate government spending gathered in hundreds of locations. Sparked by CNBC commentator Rick Santelli's angry call for a Chicago Tea Party, the protests were organized on blogs and social-networking sites and backed by prominent Republicans.
3 | Fiji Trouble in Paradise A day after Fiji's court of appeal declared the regime of military chief Frank Bainimarama unlawful, his ally, President Ratu Josefa Iloilo, abolished the constitution, sacked Fiji's judges and reinstated Bainimarama as Prime Minister. Bainimarama, who seized power in a 2006 coup, wants to reform a political system he calls racist and corrupt. Critics, however, call him a dictator. Fiji's central bank has devalued its currency 20% to boost exports and tourism amid the turmoil.
Goldman Sachs' quarterly earnings (in billions)
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2007 2008 2009
SOURCE: GOLDMAN SACHS
4 | New York City A Rebound on Wall Street Goldman Sachs made a startling announcement on April 14 that for once had nothing to do with bankruptcy or federal intervention. The bank posted better-than-expected earnings--more than $1.8 billion. More strikingly, the firm revealed it had sold $5 billion in stock and plans to use the money to repay the $10 billion in TARP funds it borrowed in October 2008. In clearing its debt, Goldman hopes to free itself from the restrictions-- like those on executive pay--imposed on firms that received bailout money. Last year, 1 in 30 of its employees reportedly earned more than $1 million.
5 | Kabul Women's Rights Under Siege Shouting slogans like "You are a dog, not a Shi'ite woman!" a group of nearly 1,000 Afghan men and women surrounded protesters at a rally against the Shi'ite personal status law. Human-rights groups say the controversial legislation, approved in March, effectively sanctions marital rape and regulates when women may leave their homes. Some counter-demonstrators began throwing stones before police intervened. Though President Hamid Karzai has agreed to review the law, Mohammad Asif Mohseni, the country's top Shi'ite cleric, accused U.N. and U.S. critics of "cultural invasion." Meanwhile, on April 12, leading female politician Sitara Achakzai was assassinated in Kandahar, allegedly by Taliban gunmen.