2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team, Reactions, Others
The West Indies Cricket Board made a statement through president Julian Hunte and said "It was a sad day for International Cricket", and gave their full sympathy to the Sri Lankan players and the umpires.


2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team, Reactions, Others
Indian and New Zealand players wore black armbands while playing their next One Day International as a show of solidarity towards the Sri Lankan players injured in the attack, as did Australia and South Africa while playing their next test.


2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team, Reactions, Other countries
Australia – Prime Minister Kevin Rudd also condemned the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team, calling it "shameful and cowardly". He demanded answers from Pakistan after claims that police left Australians travelling with Sri Lanka's cricket team in the lurch as the bus was attacked. "I am sufficiently concerned about what has been said by the Australians that we need an explanation and we intend to get one." Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said the attack demonstrates that there is a persistent threat to Pakistan's very existence and showed the need for a tougher war against extremists.


2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team, Reactions, Other countries
China – Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said that the Chinese government expressed deep condolences to the victims and sincere sympathy to the wounded.


2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team, Reactions, Other countries
France – French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs expressed solidarity with the Pakistani people and authorities at this "testing time".


2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team, Reactions, Other countries
India – Home Minister P. Chidambaram expressed shock over the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan: "We condemn the incident. We are sorry for the Sri Lankan team. We hope that the players ... I read two, three names ... Samaraweera, Mendis ... I hope they are safe and will recover. We are shocked by that incident." Further he said that Pakistan could become a failed state and it was not clear who was in control of the country.


2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team, Reactions, Other countries
New Zealand - Prime Minister John Key was outraged over the attack. He called it a "despicable terrorist act" while condemning the attack. He further said that he intends to convey "a message of condolence to the Sri Lankan Government and Sri Lankan cricket team".


2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team, Reactions, Other countries
Turkey – Foreign Minister Ali Babacan called Pakistan's Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi and offered his condolences personally and on behalf of the government and the people of Turkey.


2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team, Reactions, Other countries
United Kingdom – Prime Minister Gordon Brown, commenting on the attacks, said that Pakistan must clamp down on such perpetrators in its midst and said that a vast majority of Al-Qaeda fighters were in Pakistan, adding the government must make arrests to show it is "fulfilling its role in the world community". Foreign Secretary David Miliband stated that Pakistan was facing a "mortal threat" from internal militancy.


2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team, Reactions, Other countries
United States – President Barack Obama expressed deep concern over the attack. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called these attacks an "eerie replica" of the Mumbai attacks and said Pakistan was facing a serious internal security threat. Ambassador to Afghanistan Christopher Dell mused that Pakistan potentially posed a bigger security problem for the rest of the world than Afghanistan.


2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team, Criticism
Politician and ex-Pakistan cricket captain Imran Khan criticised the security arrangements and said that the security provided was 10 times less than what is provided to government officials such as Rehman Malik.


2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team, Criticism
Match referee Chris Broad was also critical of the security provided. He stated that he and his colleagues were left like 'sitting ducks' in the trailing minivan during the attack. He also accused the security personnel of fleeing the scene. He questioned why the Pakistan team which usually travelled with the Sri Lankan team was delayed by seven minutes that day and avoided being attacked. Javed Miandad was critical of Broad's comments and demanded that International Cricket Council ban him for life.


2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team, Criticism
Pakistan Cricket Board lodged a formal complaint against Chris Broad with the International Cricket Council on 9 March 2009. Ijaz Butt, the head of Pakistan Cricket Board accused Broad of lying. Umpire Simon Taufel also said that the umpire's minibus was abandoned while the players' bus was moved to the ground to evacuate the players. Criticising the security entourage for abandoning them and inability of the police to arrest the attackers Simon said, "You tell me why no one was caught. You tell me why. Supposedly 25 armed commandos were in our convoy, and when the team bus got going again, we were left on our own."


2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team, Criticism
Co-umpire Steve Davis said "he felt let down" by the security. International Cricket Council umpires performance manager for East Asia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, Peter Manuel told Dawn that the minivan carrying the umpires was basically abandoned by the security personnel: "It was unbelievable. Bullets were raining on us and not a shot was fired in our defense by the Pakistan security officials." Sri Lanka coach Trevor Bayliss backed the comments made by Simon Taufel, Chris Broad and Steve Davis criticising the security.


2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team, Criticism
Intikhab Alab, Pakistan cricket team's coach, asked Chris Broad to apologise to his country and team due to the remarks he made against Pakistani police security. English cricketer Dominic Cork who was commentating in Pakistan on the series and who himself was caught in the attack later criticised the security and Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ijaz Butt.


2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team, Criticism
Sri Lankan bowler Muttiah Muralitharan said the security arrangement was the worst he had ever seen, and vastly inferior to that provided in Sri Lanka. He said "The security people we had didn't even seem to fight back. Were they professionals with enough training? They didn't seem to know what to do. I was surprised the terrorists were able to just reload the magazines and keep firing, and they never got caught. It was shameful. If this had happened in Colombo they would never have got away."


2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team, Criticism
Eyewitness Habib Akram, bureau chief of SAMAA TV news channel, said that the gunmen were very calm as they moved and fired by turns and that there was hardly any fire returned by the police. His office overlooks the traffic circle where the incident took place. Closed-circuit television footage of the event reported by Geo TV showed four of the attackers walking or jogging away unchallenged from the site, into a marketplace while no policemen are seen.


2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team, Criticism
Former president and former army chief Pervez Musharraf criticised the police commandos inability to kill any of the gunmen, saying "If this was the elite force I would expect them to have shot down those people who attacked them, the reaction, their training should be on a level that if anyone shoots toward the company they are guarding, in less than three seconds they should shoot the man down." Governor of Punjab province where the attack took place in Pakistan, gave medals and awards to honour valour and bravery of police officials for fighting the terrorists during the attack.


2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team, Aftermath
Insurance cost for cricket matches in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka rose.


2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team, Aftermath
The New Zealand team cancelled its December 2009 tour of Pakistan. Bangladesh also put off a scheduled tour by Pakistan to Bangladesh.


2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team, Aftermath
The Union Home Minister of India, P. Chidambaram, said that the Indian Premier League should consider postponing the forthcoming T20 league matches due to be held over 45 days from 10 April to 24 May 2009 in 9 Indian cities, since in the light of these attacks, security forces would be stretched too thin between the league matches and the five phases of the forthcoming general elections in India. The elections were slated to be held between 16 April and 13 May and it was impossible to reschedule them while IPL organizers appeared to be unwilling to postpone the tournament.


2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team, Aftermath
Former England coach Duncan Fletcher said that English players contracted to the IPL would now be more concerned for their safety. The 2009 Indian Premier League was hosted by South Africa between 18 April and 24 May 2009. Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly said after these attacks Pakistan was not a safe venue to play cricket.


2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team, Aftermath
The 2011 Cricket World Cup was to be co-hosted by Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, but in the wake of this attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team the International Cricket Council (ICC) stripped Pakistan of its hosting rights due to security concerns. The headquarters of the organising committee were originally situated in Lahore, but was then shifted to Mumbai. Pakistan was supposed to hold 14 matches, including one semi-final. Eight of Pakistan's matches were awarded to India, four to Sri Lanka and two to Bangladesh.


2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team, Aftermath
The Sri Lankan Foreign minister has said the Sri Lankan cricket team "will give highest consideration to the invitation extended to it to undertake visit again. Sri Lanka will not allow Pakistan's isolation in cricket." In October 2017, the Sri Lankan cricket team returned to Pakistan for the first time since the attack to play a Twenty20 International match at the Gaddafi Stadium. In September 2019, the Sri Lankan team toured Pakistan, playing a 3-match One-Day International series in National Stadium, Karachi and a 3-match Twenty20 International series in Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.


2009 auction of Old Summer Palace bronze heads
In February 2009, two bronze sculptures taken from the Old Summer Palace during the Second Opium War in 1860 were auctioned by international auction house Christie's. On 25 Feb 2009 the disputed 18th-century fountainheads — heads of a Rat and a Rabbit — were sold to Cai Mingchao (蔡銘超) for 28 million euros as part of an auction of art works owned by the late French designer Yves Saint Laurent. Cai is an adviser to the PRC's National Treasures Fund, which seeks to retrieve looted treasures by foreign invaders during the Qing dynasty. He then refused to pay the sum bid, claiming that he was bidding on moral and patriotic grounds.


2009 auction of Old Summer Palace bronze heads, Auction
China's State Administration of Cultural Heritage had condemned the sale of the two bronzes and said it would affect Christie's interests in the country, ordering tighter inspections of all cultural relics that the auction house seeks to bring in or out of mainland China. It stated that the auction of the bronzes "goes against the spirit of relevant international conventions and the international common understanding that cultural relics should be returned to their country of origin."


2009 auction of Old Summer Palace bronze heads, Auction
A press conference was held in Beijing by Cai Mingchao, in which Mr. Cai told reporters that:


2009 auction of Old Summer Palace bronze heads, Auction, Reactions in France
The then owner of the bronze relics, Pierre Berge told reporter over a French radio interview: "All they (Chinese) have to do is to declare they are going to apply human rights, give the Tibetans back their freedom and agree to accept the Dalai Lama on their territory," "If they do that, I would be very happy to go myself and bring these two Chinese heads to put them in the Summer Palace in Beijing." Ma Zhouxu, a Foreign Ministry spokesman ridiculed Mr. Bergé’s remarks "To infringe upon Chinese people’s cultural rights on the pretext of human rights is just ridiculous. In modern history, Western imperial powers have looted a lot of Chinese cultural relics. These cultural relics should all be returned."


2009 auction of Old Summer Palace bronze heads, Auction, Reactions in China
China's State Administration of Cultural Heritage has condemned the proceedings of the auction. The SACH issued a statement condemning Christie's auction of the sculptures and saying it would have "serious effects" on Christie's development in China." On 27 February, the Chinese government issued tighter customs rules against Christie's in response to the auction. Meanwhile, the incident has caused uproar within Chinese people, bearing sentiments in regards to the history of British imperialism in China. Ren Xiaohong, a lawyer for the Association for the Protection of Chinese Art in Europe (APACE), has pressed charges against the auction taking place.


2009 auction of Old Summer Palace bronze heads, Auction, Reactions in China
The Government of the People's Republic of China has not made plans to purchase the artifacts, as doing so would acknowledge that the bronze heads were taken legally. Niu Xianfeng, deputy director of the Lost Cultural Relics Recovery Program said "Though it hurts to pay for something that belongs to you, if we want to recover relics sometimes we have to buy them." Xie Chensheng, the doyen of Chinese cultural relics scholars, said "If your belongings are stolen and you see them in the market the next day you do not buy them back. You call the police." The bronze heads owned by the Chinese are on display at the Poly Art Museum in Beijing.


2009 auction of Old Summer Palace bronze heads, Return to China
The Rat and Rabbit bronze heads were eventually returned to China, donated by François Pinault in a ceremony on June 28, 2013. The bronze heads are housed in the National Museum of China.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia
Hungarian president László Sólyom was not allowed to step on Slovak soil on August 21, 2009, as he was about to attend the unveiling of a statue of St. Stephen, the first king of Hungary (1000–1038), in Komárno, Slovakia (Hungarian: Révkomárom), a town near the Hungarian border, where ethnic Hungarians form the majority of the population.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia
The only official reason given for the denial was that the Hungarian president's visit might have constituted a security risk. Slovak prime minister Robert Fico had claimed that police would be unable to prevent Slovak extremist groups from disturbing the ceremony.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia
In the two days preceding the visit, Slovakia had raised four other objections to the planned trip:


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia
Declaring the Hungarian head of state an unwelcome person (essentially persona non grata, although this term was not used) created additional diplomatic conflict in already tense Hungary–Slovakia relations.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Purpose of the planned visit
László Sólyom was invited by a civic association, Szent István Szobor Bizottság ("St. Stephen Statue Committee"), to a statue unveiling ceremony in Komárno, Slovakia (Hungarian: Révkomárom).


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Purpose of the planned visit
Both the Catholic and the Orthodox churches regard King Stephen as a saint for his role in converting the peoples of his kingdom to Christianity. Pope Gregory VII canonized him, his son and a bishop; August 20, 1083, the day of the canonization, is a public holiday in Hungary, regarded as the foundation of Hungarian statehood. In his Admonitions to his son, he declared, as cited in the planned speech of Sólyom for the unveiling:


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Purpose of the planned visit
[ A] kingdom with only one language and having only one custom is weak and frail.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Purpose of the planned visit
The Komárno statue was due to be unveiled on the day after this anniversary, that is, on August 21, 2009.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Purpose of the planned visit
The erection of the statue itself was criticized in February 2009 by the extremist and nationalist Slovak National Party (SNS), one of the parties in Slovakia's governing coalition, because the town had not erected statues of Saints Cyril and Methodius, two Byzantine Greek missionaries among the Slavic peoples of Great Moravia and Pannonia. The statue was consequently placed only on the balcony of the Matica Slovenská, a cultural and scientific institution focusing on Slovakia-related topics.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Objections of Slovakia against the visit, Security risk
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on August 19 that he could not prevent Sólyom from entering the country and sent a letter to the Hungarian embassy warning of potential security risks, saying that his Direction – Social Democracy party government would not prevent extremists of the nationalist Slovenská pospolitosť (Slovak Brotherhood) from going there to demonstrate.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Objections of Slovakia against the visit, Security risk
“We will not check the Slovak Republic and we cannot know whether someone will try to use the visit of the president in Komárno in some sensitive questions.”


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Objections of Slovakia against the visit, Security risk
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, there were no real security risks involved around the ceremony:


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Objections of Slovakia against the visit, Security risk
[T]here was only a small number of protesters at the location of the ceremony, which the Slovak police were - by the usual means of the police -  able to keep under control.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Objections of Slovakia against the visit, Date
Two days before the planned visit, the Slovak parliamentary foreign affairs committee called the trip "a diplomatic provocation" because of the August 21 date, although the date was chosen by the mayor of Komárno, not by Sólyom. August 21 is the anniversary of the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia led by the Soviet Union after the 1968 Prague Spring. Being a Warsaw Pact state, the People's Republic of Hungary also sent troops into Slovakia; Poland and Bulgaria also took part in the Soviet putsch.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Objections of Slovakia against the visit, Date
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico compared László Sólyom to the soldiers invading Czechoslovakia: "In 1968 Hungarian tanks were coming to Slovakia. Now it's someone in a fancy limousine."


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Objections of Slovakia against the visit, Date
Hungarian prime minister Bajnai telephoned his Slovak counterpart on the phone to reassure him that the visit was unconnected with the 1968 events and reminding him that in 2008, the 40th anniversary of the Prague Spring, Sólyom had made a speech officially expressing his regret at the 1968 invasion.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Objections of Slovakia against the visit, Date
"I feel necessary - as the head of state of the free and democratic Republic of Hungary - to express my deep regret for the peoples of then-Czechoslovakia, that the Hungarian troops took part in the oppression in 1968. Can we even conceive what happened, twelve years after the Soviet Army attacked Hungary to crush its revolution in a war of bloodshed? The Kádár-system ["the communist era in Hungary"] had driven Hungary into a situation where we attacked a country that wanted greater freedom.”


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Objections of Slovakia against the visit, Date
However some in the Slovak press questioned if Fico were truly troubled by the date; the Slovak paper SME wrote:


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Objections of Slovakia against the visit, Date
“Can anyone take it seriously that our successors of communism [i.e., the governing coalition]) led by the one [Fico] who didn't notice November 17 [date of the 1989 Velvet revolution], are troubled by the date marking the beginning of "normalization", which jump-started their career?"


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Objections of Slovakia against the visit, Late notification
On June 19, 2009, Sólyom had notified Peter Weiss, Slovakia's ambassador to Hungary, of the planned visit, regarded as the "highest level of official notification" in diplomacy. Sólyom's office stated that Slovakia had mentioned no objections to the trip until the week of the planned visit. :


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Objections of Slovakia against the visit, Late notification
“There were no indications of any objections against the ceremony, its date or any other circumstance around the presence of László Sólyom until the press releases of August 19.”


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Objections of Slovakia against the visit, Late notification
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico called this statement a lie, claiming that Hungary only informed Slovakia on August 13. Foreign Minister of Hungary, Péter Balázs retorted that the named date, August 13, was the start of the technical preparations and not the notification, which had happened on June 19.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Objections of Slovakia against the visit, Stressing Hungarian statehood in inappropriate circumstances
The three main leaders of Slovakia Ivan Gašparovič (President of the Republic), Robert Fico (Prime Minister) and Pavol Paska (Chairman of the Parliament) stated in a common declaration that the visit is a "deliberate provocation against Slovakia".


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Objections of Slovakia against the visit, Stressing Hungarian statehood in inappropriate circumstances
“The president, the chairman of parliament and the prime minister of Slovakia have condemned the circumstances in which the Hungarian president chose to stress Hungarian statehood on sovereign Slovak soil.”


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Objections of Slovakia against the visit, Stressing Hungarian statehood in inappropriate circumstances
“He will want to show: it is an area where 'we' [meaning the Hungarians] are the lords and 'we' will decide about our things. What Hungary - especially through their president - does in the recent days and months is very dangerous.”


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Objections of Slovakia against the visit, Stressing Hungarian statehood in inappropriate circumstances
Hungary respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries. It considers important to have an unobstructed contact with each other's minorities. Hungary sees: with the Slovak step, the freedom of speech, one of the fundamental political rights, has also been violated.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Objections of Slovakia against the visit, No plans of meeting Slovak leaders
Slovaks have criticised Sólyom for not inviting Slovak leaders to the ceremony or meeting them somewhere else, even though Sólyom was not the organizer of the ceremony, as it was organized by the town of Komárno. Previously, the Slovak diplomacy informed the Hungarian diplomacy that Ivan Gašparovič Slovak Head of State will be on vacation on the day of the visit. Gašparovič declared earlier that he would only accept any invitations if the town also erects statues about Saints Cyril and Methodius. Neither Gašparovič nor Fico distanced themselves from government party leader Ján Slota for his earlier comments disparaging Saint Stephen, the king portrayed by the Komárno staue, as a "clown on a horse". Fico made further attacks on Saint Stephen and also said Slovaks should not consider him as their king.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Timeline of events, June 19
On June 19, László Sólyom met the new ambassador of Slovakia to Hungary, Peter Weiss. On this meeting Sólyom informed Weiss about the planned ceremony he was invited to, and that he intends to go there.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Timeline of events, August 13
On August 13, the bilateral technical preparations to the ceremony began.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Timeline of events, August 19
Two days before the planned visit, on August 19, the committee of foreign affairs of the Slovak Parliament called the trip a diplomatic provocation because of the date August 21, anniversary of the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Timeline of events, August 19
Ivan Gašparovič, President of the Slovak Republic called the visit an "inconsiderate decision", stating to the press that he is not surprised because he knows Sólyom "likes to prowl around" in the countries that are in the area of the pre-1920 Kingdom of Hungary.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Timeline of events, August 19
Back then, Fico said they can not and will not prevent Sólyom from entering the country.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Timeline of events, August 20
On August 20, Miroslav Lajčák, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia officially informed Antal Heizer, ambassador of Hungary in Bratislava that László Sólyom is not recommended to cross the border on the next day. He also called Péter Balázs, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs on the phone about the issue.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Timeline of events, August 20
“We have reasons to think that this visit will harm the Slovak-Hungarian relations. If László Sólyom would not like this to happen, then the visit will not take place.”


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Timeline of events, August 21
On Friday, August 21, Ivan Gašparovič, President of the Slovak Republic asked László Sólyom to think over the visit.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Timeline of events, August 21
“I'd be glad if he [Sólyom] took this message very seriously.”


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Timeline of events, August 21
He said if despite the message, Sólyom decides to visit the unveiling, Slovak authorities must do everything to protect him.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Timeline of events, August 21
László Sólyom sent a message to Gašparovič in which he indicated that he maintains his intentions about unveiling the statue. He wrote in the message that he informed Slovakia in time and no objections have been raised earlier about the date. He also made clear that he already expressed his regret about the aggression against Czechoslovakia in a public speech on the 40th anniversary in 2008.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Timeline of events, August 21, Denial of entry
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico announced in the afternoon, hours before the unveiling that Sólyom will be not allowed to enter the territory of Slovakia. The document stating this was sent to the Hungarian embassy in Bratislava.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Timeline of events, August 21, Denial of entry
“The private trip, with a planned public speech, is considered a provocation, and, in such circumstances, the Hungarian president is an unwelcome person in Slovakia on August 21.”


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Timeline of events, August 21, Denial of entry
Fico also told the press that Slovak authorities would not prevent the president from crossing the border by physical force, but they will consider it as a serious provocation if he still enters Slovakia. Miroslav Lajčák, Slovak Minister of Foreign Affairs said the relations of Hungary and Slovakia have already been harmed by this issue.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Timeline of events, August 21, Denial of entry
On the border Ján Packa, executive of the police of Slovakia and a great number of policemen were waiting.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Timeline of events, August 21, Denial of entry
President Sólyom did not enter Slovakia, after the embassy received a document stating that Sólyom is refused entry into Slovakia:


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Timeline of events, August 21, Denial of entry
“[...] in consideration of the risk to security, the responsible bodies of the Slovak Republic, under Directive 2004/38/EC dated 29 April of the European Parliament and the European Council as well as Act 48/2002 Z.z. of the National Council of the Slovak Republic on the presence of foreigners and its further specifications, and under Act 171/1993 of the National Council of the Slovak Republic on the Police Force and its further specifications, it deny admission to the territory of the Slovak Republic to the president of the Republic of Hungary, Mr. László Sólyom on 21 August”


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Timeline of events, August 21, Denial of entry
He walked to the middle of the bridge over the Danube leading from Hungarian Komárom to Slovak Komárno and held a press conference about the events on the Hungarian side of the border. He stated:


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Timeline of events, August 21, Denial of entry
“I turn back because they can not rouse me into a deliberate law infringement as I am a lawyer and a head of state. However, I hope the people of Komárom will remember this visit in their hearts, and that I will come back.”“In a relation of two allied states, this step is unexplainable and inexplicable, with particular attention to the given reason of the ban stating that my presence constitutes a security risk.”“I hope the hysteria of the highest state levels in the last days does not reflect the feelings of the Slovak nation.”


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Ceremony in absence of Sólyom
The news stating that Sólyom is not allowed to enter Slovakia, was received with loud whistling among the gathered 2000-3000 people on the square where the statue was about to be unveiled.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Ceremony in absence of Sólyom
The speeches before the unveiling were about the needed cooperation, and encouraged peace between the two countries, which was received with applause by the mainly Hungarian celebrators.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Ceremony in absence of Sólyom
A few Slovak protesters attended the ceremony, with signs saying among others "Sólyom, go home".


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Ceremony in absence of Sólyom
Antal Heizer, ambassador of Hungary in Bratislava read the planned ceremonial speech of László Sólyom to the crowd.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Ceremony in absence of Sólyom
Hungarian politicians of Slovakia took part in the ceremony, among others the mayor of the town, Tibor Bastrnák.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Reactions of the Hungarian diplomacy
The government of Hungary called the ban "unexpected", "unfounded" and its justification "deplorable" and "unacceptable".


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Reactions of the Hungarian diplomacy
Péter Balázs Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs - cutting his vacation short - called in the Slovak ambassador Peter Weiss and protested the unprecedented act coming from an EU and NATO member state. Péter Balázs asked for explanation.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Reactions of the Hungarian diplomacy
We see it as unprecedented and unacceptable that an EU and NATO member state bars the Head of State of the Republic of Hungary from their territory.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Reactions of the Hungarian diplomacy
The chairman of the Committee of Foreign Affairs of the Parliament of Hungary, Zsolt Németh declared:


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Reactions of the Hungarian diplomacy
“This is the result of a long process, that raised anti-Hungarianism to a government level in the last three years, the main reason of which is that Prime Minister Robert Fico has put an extremist party into the government.″


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Reactions of the Hungarian diplomacy
He also claimed that it is the duty of the international community to find a way of driving Slovakia back to the road of respecting human rights and minority rights.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Reactions of the Hungarian diplomacy
The political parties of Hungary have also protested against the Slovak decision. The governing Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) said, it is definitely Slovakia who is responsible for the worsened relations, who as a young nation state seek their identity, which sometimes turns into fierce nationalism.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Reactions of the Hungarian diplomacy, Legal disputes
According to Péter Balázs, the ban was not lawful, because the already given international permissions haven't been withdrawn and so the embassy just got an "unfriendly" document, which would in theory have allowed Sólyom to enter Slovakia. He also said the Slovak diplomacy has turned international law "upside down" by leaving the international permissions while banning Sólyom personally, as a civilian. He stated that Hungary plans to inform the EU and a broader international public about this "rude" political action.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Reactions of the Hungarian diplomacy, Legal disputes, Legality confirmed
On 6 March 2012 Advocate General at the European Court of Justice Yves Bot gave an opinion on the legality of the ban. He concluded that the visit was not a private but an official one and as such was not covered by the free movement provisions of the EU law. Diplomatic relations are governed exclusively by the member states and follow the international law under which visits by the heads of states depend on the consent of the host state. The court, dismissing the action brought by Hungary, followed the general line of reasoning of the Advocate General.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Media coverage, Slovakia
In the Slovak press, the opinions were divided about the move of the Slovak government. Those sympathizing with the government have generally agreed with the move. Dag Daniš of Pravda wrote:


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Media coverage, Slovakia
“The trip of Hungarian president to Komárno has failed miserably. For Hungary and Slovakia as well. The only one responsible for it, however is Sólyom. He could've missed out on this diplomatic mess-up. Provided he hadn't been stubborn and arrogant.”


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Media coverage, Slovakia
More liberal and less pro-government papers have also condemned the Slovak reaction, not only Sólyom. As Peter Morvay of SME wrote:


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Media coverage, Slovakia
“Insinuations about deliberate provocation from beyond Danube [i.e. Hungary] is just plain nonsense. Even Hungarian infatuation doesn't justify such an excessive reaction from Fico & Co. unheard of in civilized parts of Europe. Can anyone take it seriously that our successors of communism [i.e. the governing coalition]) led by the one [Fico] who didn't notice November 17 [day of the Velvet revolution in 1989], are troubled by the date marking the beginning of "normalization", which jump-started their career?”


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Media coverage, Slovakia
Most of these media empires are regularly accused of being the sole advocates of the opposition (fueled mostly by the prime minister's attacks on the media). Yet numerous members of the opposition have agreed with the ban. Mikuláš Dzurinda, president of the leading opposition party SDKÚ has been quoted to say that Sólyom is instigating conflicts. Pavol Abrhán, member of the opposite KDH has suggested that a diplomatic note should be sent to Hungary.


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Media coverage, Czech Republic
The Czech media was amongst the first comment on the topic blaming both sides for the situation that arose. Mladá Fronta Dnes columnist Magdalena Sodomková wrote:


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Media coverage, Czech Republic
“ It was not only the provocateur Solyom [...] who acted tragicomically. The actions of the Slovak politicians are embarrassing as well. With all heart, connecting the celebrations of (a foreign, but still holy) King Stephen I with the anniversary of the occupation (of the Warsaw Pact) is a bit far-fetched.[ ... ]”


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Media coverage, Czech Republic
Another daily, Lidové noviny wrote an article in a similar tone:


2009 ban of Hungarian President from Slovakia, Media coverage, Czech Republic
“If we (i.e. the Czechs) would interpret history the same way as today's rulers of Slovakia, then we'd have to rename Charles Bridge and also Rudolfinum, which bears the name of the successor to the oppressing Austrian throne.[ ... ] Shocking is also the fact that the Slovaks are unsettled by the reason of the visit itself, that is the inauguration of the statue of King Saint Stephen (in Komárno).[ ... ]”


2009 bombing of Indian embassy in Kabul
The 2009 Kabul Indian embassy bombing was a suicide bomb attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan on 8 October 2009 at 8:30 am local time. The bombing killed 17 people and wounded 63.


2009 bombing of Indian embassy in Kabul, Background
The bomb comes following a spike in such attacks in Afghanistan and amid debate in NATO countries about sending more ISAF troops to fight in "Operation Enduring Freedom".


2009 bombing of Indian embassy in Kabul, Background
India believed its longtime alliance with Afghanistan, as well as its political and cultural ties, made it less of a target than many Western powers. However, this confidence was shattered in an attack the previous year where a bombing at the embassy killed more than 50 people and injured more than 100.


2009 bombing of Indian embassy in Kabul, Bombing
The attacker struck at about 8:30 a.m. when the street—where the embassy and the Afghan Interior Ministry face each other—is normally busy with pedestrians. The Indian foreign secretary said that the attackers "came up to the outside perimeter wall of the embassy with a car loaded with explosives, obviously with the aim of targeting the embassy." However, blast walls built since the previous bombing deflected the force of the explosion. The bomb blew out doors and windows at the embassy but caused no loss of life inside. Though there was damage to the watch tower there was no damage to chancery premises. The bombing was said to be of the same intensity as the previous years bombing.


2009 bombing of Indian embassy in Kabul, Bombing
An Interior Ministry spokesman, Zemeri Bashary, said the explosion was a suicide bomb, without providing additional details. A bystander, Ahmadullah, said "We heard a big explosion, and smoke was everywhere. They pulled out several dead civilians and a few dozen wounded. One of my friends in [a nearby] house was injured by all the flying glass." Another witness, Nik Mohammad, who was driving in the area, said that the road shook violently and he saw at least four vehicles badly damaged.


2009 bombing of Indian embassy in Kabul, Casualties
All of the people killed were local people, there were a few Indians injured in the attack. India's ambassador to Afghanistan Jayant Prasad said that a few Indian security personnel were slightly injured. Reports suggest that Pakistan ISI was involved.


2009 bombing of Indian embassy in Kabul, Responsibility
Within hours of the attack the Taliban claimed responsibility confirming suspicions that the Indian Embassy was the target. A Taliban spokesperson said the attacker was an Afghan man who blew up his sports utility vehicle laden with explosives just outside the embassy.


2009 bombing of Indian embassy in Kabul, Responsibility
G. Parthasarathy, a former diplomat and analyst at the Centre for Policy Research, said that although it was too early to point fingers there was a clear indication that the Taliban sees Indian economic assistance as complementary to American strategic objectives. He said that "Therefore, Indians are targeted. Add to that, their Pakistani mentors are not too happy with our (sic) presence in Afghanistan."


2009 bombing of Indian embassy in Kabul, Responsibility
Phunchok Stobdan, a senior fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, also said that despite being the apparent target of the attack and some prior pressure from Washington to back off, given Pakistani sensitivities—India is still not likely to walk away from its Afghan commitments which include $1.1 billion in ongoing development projects. He said, "No one in India is willing to sacrifice Afghanistan for the sake of Af-Pak strategy. India-Afghan relations are very strong and very old, even during the British period."


2009 bombing of Indian embassy in Kabul, Responsibility
India's previous accusations against the Pakistani spy agency were again brought to fore as speculation started that the ISI may have been involved.


2009 cash for influence scandal
The 2009 cash for influence scandal (also cash for amendments or cash for laws) was a political scandal in the United Kingdom in 2009 concerning four Labour Party Life Peers offering to help make amendments to legislation for up to £120,000. The Lords Privileges Committee recommended the two men be suspended from the House for up to six months after an investigation into allegations made against four Labour peers. Lord Taylor of Blackburn was suspended as a Labour Party member pending the investigation while Lord Truscott quit the party. On 20 May, the House of Lords considered the report of the Privileges Committee and voted to suspend Lord Taylor and Lord Truscott for six months.


2009 cash for influence scandal
The suspensions were the first since Oliver Cromwell’s era in the 1640s. The previous member to be suspended from the House of Lords is believed to have been Thomas Savile, who was barred in 1642 for siding with King Charles I.


2009 cash for influence scandal, Allegations
The allegations were made by The Sunday Times Insight team in an article published on Sunday, 25 January 2009. In a series of covert interviews, the four peers stated that they could use their political influence to amend legislation. The individuals concerned were Lord Snape, Lord Moonie, Lord Taylor of Blackburn and Lord Truscott. Six other peers either declined to help or did not respond to the undercover reporters' approach.


2009 cash for influence scandal, Allegations
The newspaper claimed its reporters approached the four peers masquerading as lobbyists acting for an unnamed company. The firm, they said, wanted to set up a chain of shops in the UK and were seeking exemption from current laws on business rates.


2009 cash for influence scandal, Allegations
A recording was later released of Lord Taylor saying firms paid him up to £100,000 a year. Lord Taylor tells an undercover reporter: "Some companies that I work with would pay me £100,000 a year." When the reporter questions it, he adds: "That's cheap for what I do for them. And other companies would pay me £25,000."


2009 cash for influence scandal, Allegations
On 30 January, The Sunday Times released further material via their website containing audio and video purporting to show Lord Truscott describing how the passage of legislation in both the House of Commons and House of Lords could be influenced and what part he could play in successfully facilitating amendments on behalf of paying clients.


2009 cash for influence scandal, Allegations
Two of the fundamental principles set out in the Code of Conduct for the House of Lords are that members "must never accept any financial inducement as an incentive or reward for exercising parliamentary influence" and "must not vote on any bill or motion, or ask any question in the House or a committee, or promote any matter, in return for payment or any other material benefit (the "no paid advocacy" rule)."


2009 cash for influence scandal, Reaction
Following publication of The Sunday Times article, the Labour Party immediately promised an urgent investigation. The Leader in the House of Lords, Lady Royall said she had spoken to the four Labour peers concerned and would be "pursuing the matter with utmost vigour". She also said House of Lords members must "abide by its high standards."


2009 cash for influence scandal, Reaction
In a statement to the House of Lords on 26 January Lady Royall called the claims "deeply shocking". She pointed out that they were only allegations at this stage but said the claims had been "damaging not just to this House but to Parliament and politics". She said the matter had been referred to the Lords Interests sub committee (a sub committee of the Committee for Privileges), which had already met and investigations were underway. She said she believed "tougher sanctions" were needed to deal with peers who broke the rules and she had written to the chairman of the Committee on Standards and Privileges to ask him to review the matter.


2009 cash for influence scandal, Reaction
On 26 January, two of the four peers made statements in The House of Lords. Lord Snape told The House "As one of the people involved in this incident may I first of all apologise for bringing this House, if I have done so, into disrepute. But may I say that these are allegations in a Sunday newspaper and may I appeal to noble lords in all parts of the House to allow me the opportunity to refute these allegations before your lordships house and elsewhere."


2009 cash for influence scandal, Reaction
Lord Taylor stated "If I have done anything that has brought this House into disrepute I most humbly apologise. I feel within my own conscience I followed the rules and the directions that have been given in this House over the 31 years I have been a member."


2009 cash for influence scandal, Reaction
Lord Truscott told the BBC he did admit to having had "discussions" with a reporter, but said that "to suggest I would offer to put down amendments for money is a lie."


2009 cash for influence scandal, Reaction
Lord Moonie acknowledged discussing a fee of £30,000 but said he had not done anything "outside the rules".


2009 cash for influence scandal, Reaction
The Conservative Party leader in the Lords, Lord Strathclyde, said the allegations represented a "shocking and depressing moment" for the House of Lords. "This House has been mired in a grim torrent of criticism about a culture of sleaze," he told peers. "If these allegations are true those involved have shamed this House," he said, adding there were no "grey areas in the paid advocacy rules".


2009 cash for influence scandal, Reaction
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "It's important that we don't pre-judge these investigations but these are serious allegations and we are determined to get to the bottom of these allegations, and whatever action needs to be taken will be taken."


2009 cash for influence scandal, Reaction
The Liberal Democrats wrote to Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson asking for an investigation to take place.


2009 cash for influence scandal, Reaction
SNP MP Angus MacNeil, whose complaint started the "cash for honours" called for the four peers to be suspended, while an investigation is carried out.


2009 cash for influence scandal, Findings of House of Lords Committees
The House of Lords Sub-committee on Lords' Interests was asked to report on the matter. It found that Lord Moonie had not expressed a willingness to breach the code, but that Lord Snape, Lord Truscott and Lord Taylor had all done so. Truscott and Taylor were additionally found to have failed to act on their personal honour.


2009 cash for influence scandal, Findings of House of Lords Committees
The Lords' Privileges Committee considered the sub-committee's report and heard further evidence from Lord Snape. It published its findings on 14 May 2009. It found that Lord Moonie and Lord Snape had not breached the code, but that Lord Truscott and Lord Taylor had done, and recommended that they be suspended.


2009 cash for influence scandal, Police investigations
On 29 January 2009 it was confirmed that Police were looking at the allegations following the complaint by the Liberal Democrats. On 11 February 2009 the Metropolitan Police confirmed that no action would be taken, noting that "The application of the criminal law to members of the House of Lords in the circumstances that have arisen here is far from clear," and that "In addition, there are very clear difficulties in gathering and adducing evidence in these circumstances in the context of parliamentary privilege."


2009 cow head protests
The Cow head protests were held in front of the Selangor state government headquarters at the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Building, Shah Alam, Malaysia on 28 August 2009. The protest was called so because the act of a few participants who brought along a cow head, which they later desecrated. The cow is considered a sacred animal to Hindus.


2009 cow head protests
The protest was held due to Selangor state government's intention to relocate a Hindu temple from Section 19 residential area of Shah Alam to Section 23. The protesters were mainly Muslim who opposed the relocation because Section 23 was a Muslim majority area.


2009 cow head protests
On 28 August 2009, a group of 50 or so Malaysian Muslims marched from the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Mosque to the Selangor state government headquarters at the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Building with the head of a cow – an animal deemed sacred in Hinduism – and "stomped on the head and spat on it before leaving the site". The protest leaders were also recorded saying there would be blood if a temple was constructed in Shah Alam.


2009 cow head protests
The protest was caught on video by the popular Malaysian online news portal Malaysiakini.


2009 cow head protests, UMNO and Barisan Nasional response
Malaysia’s Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein defended the protest, arguing that building a Hindu shrine is unsuitable because the neighbourhood is Muslim, and that “the residents only wanted their voices to be heard [and] it was unfortunate that 'the publicity they received was negative because it was linked with racial and religious sentiments.'"


2009 cow head protests, UMNO and Barisan Nasional response
In response, Hishammuddin invited the protesters to a discussion. In a press conference later, Hishammuddin defended the actions of the protesters saying that they cannot be blamed. He cited several reasons:


2009 cow head protests, UMNO and Barisan Nasional response
The press conference which was also recorded by Malaysiakini, was almost as controversial as the protest; opposition politicians came out to denounce the Minister's actions and called for his resignation.


2009 cow head protests, UMNO and Barisan Nasional response
Embarrassingly for Hishammuddin, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), the government multimedia agency, sent a letter to Malaysiakini.com appealing for it to take down both videos of the cow head protests and the press conference by the minister. This has been interpreted by some as damage control by the government due to Hishammuddin's embarrassing press conference.


2009 cow head protests, Police response
Many criticised the response of the police who were seen to just been standing by the side and allowing the protesters to stomp and spit on the head of the cow. This can be seen from the video clip of the protest caught by the popular Malaysian news online portal Malaysiakini.


2009 cow head protests, Police response
This is in comparison to the 2007 HINDRAF rally where police brutality were obvious. Five thousand members riot police dispatched to the scene used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the crowds.


2009 cow head protests, Police response
Al-Jazeera's coverage of the 2007 HINDRAF rally showed police officers using tear gas to disperse the protesters in spite of the civil nature of the rally and the participants carrying life-size portraits of Queen Elizabeth II and Mahatma Gandhi, to indicate the nonviolent nature of their protest. The police arrested 240 people.


2009 cow head protests, Pakatan Rakyat response
Rodziah Ismail, who is the Selangor State Assemblywoman for Batu Tiga, which includes Section 23 Shah Alam was directly criticised and insulted by the protesters for not stopping the relocation of the temple. She is also the Welfare, Women's Affairs, Science, Technology and Innovation Committee Chairman in the Selangor State Executive Council which oversaw the relocation of the temple. Rodziah expressed her opinion that the relocation of the temple was guaranteed by freedom of religion and advised the protesters to respect other's beliefs and religions.


2009 cow head protests, Pakatan Rakyat response
The Selangor Pakatan Rakyat state government organised a townhall meeting following the incident but was forced to end it abruptly due to the meeting being hijacked by protesters believed to be from UMNO and became rowdy. Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim was forced to temporarily shelve the relocation of the 150-year-old Sri Mahamriamman temple following the failed town hall meeting.


2009 cow head protests, Pakatan Rakyat response
The Selangor state government has announced on 19 October 2010 to be proceeding with the relocation of the Sri Mahamariamman Temple from Section 19 Shah Alam to Section 23.


2009 cow head protests, Arrests and charges
In July 2010, 12 protesters were fined RM 1,000 each for illegal assembly by the sessions court in Shah Alam. Two of the protestors were fined RM 3,000 for sedition while one of the two was also ordered to serve a week in jail. Eyzva Ezhar Ramly, 31, was charged under the Section 4(1)(a) of the Sedition Act 1948 for “inciting racial animosity with carrying a cow-head”  along with the other accused, Mohd Azmir Mohd Zain. Mohd Azmir was also charged under the same act for carrying and stepping on a cow-head with “the intention to create racial tension” and was fined RM 3,000.


2009 cow head protests, Arrests and charges
Four others who were also originally charged under the Sedition Act were given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal after they pleaded not guilty to the charges.


2009 elections in India, Legislative Assembly elections, Andhra Pradesh
Praja Rajyam was a regional political party in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India, founded by Telugu cinema actor Chiranjeevi on August 26, 2008.On 2011, 6 February it was officially announced that the party would be merging into Indian National Congress. As announced, it was formally merged with Indian National Congress in August 2011


2009 elections in India, Legislative Assembly elections, Arunachal Pradesh
In a major political development, four Trinamool Congress (TMC) and five Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) legislators joined the ruling Congress on October 7, 2012, increasing its strength to 55 in the 60-member assembly. The four PPA MLAs had already switched over to the Congress on February 14, 2012. With this, the parties' positions in the assembly has changed to Congress 55 seats, BJP three seats, and TMC and Independents one seat each.


2009 elections in India, Legislative Assembly elections, Haryana
In the Haryana assembly elections, 2009 Indian National Congress could not get majority.


2009 elections in India, Legislative Assembly elections, Haryana
In a 90 members Haryana assembly Congress won 40 seats, 5 short of simple majority.


2009 elections in India, Legislative Assembly elections, Haryana
In 2009 vidhan sabha elections, Haryana Janhit Congress (BL) emerged winner on following six seats.


2009 elections in India, Legislative Assembly elections, Haryana
All 5 M.L.A from above list left Haryana Janhit Congress  and joined Indian National Congress with a merger, thus leaving Kuldeep Bishnoi as single legislator of the Party in Haryana Vidhan Sabha.


2009 elections in India, Legislative Assembly elections, Haryana
Thus the Indian National Congress achieved a simple majority. Independents members also gave support to Indian National Congress to form stable government.


2009 elections in India, Legislative Assembly elections, Maharashtra
The Indian National Congress& the Nationalist Congress Party alliance, the Democratic Front or the Aghadi scored a decisive victory over the Mahayuti alliance of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena. The Democratic front alliance secured 144 seats out of the possible 288. The Mahayutiended with a dismal 90 seats. The main reason for the dismal performance of the Mayavati alliance was the spoilsport played by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena of Raj Thackeray. They split the Marathi votebank, a traditional stronghold of the Shivsena


2009 electoral calendar
This electoral calendar 2009 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2009 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not included.


2009 end-of-year rugby union internationals
The 2009 end of year rugby internationals, also known as the Autumn internationals in the Northern Hemisphere, saw Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina, tour the northern hemisphere.


2009 end-of-year rugby union internationals
The headline event of the series was an attempted Grand Slam tour of the Home Nations by Australia. This year marked the 25th anniversary of the Wallabies' only previous Grand Slam tour, which saw the Wallabies sweep all four matches and saw David Campese, Mark Ella, Nick Farr-Jones, and Michael Lynagh achieve international prominence. Also, for the second consecutive year, a Bledisloe Cup match was contested by New Zealand and Australia outside of either country, this time in Tokyo. The final event of the series, the Barbarians' traditional Final Challenge, involved New Zealand, with the Barbarians winning over a mostly second-string All Blacks side.


2009 end-of-year rugby union internationals
For the first time since the inception of the IRB World Rankings in 2003, all of the top 20 teams in the rankings played matches in the November window. The only top-20 teams not playing in the November tours were Uruguay and the USA, which played a two-legged 2011 Rugby World Cup qualifying tie during November.


2009 end-of-year rugby union internationals
This year's series was also marked by more non-Test matches pitting Test teams with top-level club teams than in recent years. Matches of this type are often called "midweek matches" because they are traditionally played at midweek, most often on Wednesday, although they can also be scheduled on a weekend when the touring team has no Test scheduled. Australia and South Africa both scheduled two such matches; the Wallabies won both of their matches comfortably, while the Springboks lost both of theirs.


2009 end-of-year rugby union internationals, Matches, Week 1
Assistant referees:Craig Joubert (South Africa)Taizo Hirabayashi (Japan)Television match official:Akihisa Aso (Japan)


2009 end-of-year rugby union internationals, Matches, Week 2
Touch judges:Mark Lawrence (South Africa)Stuart Terheege (Wales)Television match official:Graham Hughes (England)


2009 end-of-year rugby union internationals, Matches, Week 4
Assistant referees:Christophe Berdos (France)David Changleng (Scotland)Television match official:Jim Yuille (Scotland)


2009 end-of-year rugby union internationals, Matches, Week 6
Touch judges:Romain Poite (France)David Changleng (Scotland)Television match official:Andrew Turner (England) / Graham Hughes (England)


2009 energy efficiency and renewable energy research investment
The 2009 energy efficiency and renewable energy research investment was a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and it increased federal funds in renewable energy. The package included $50 billion in spending and $20 billion in tax provisions. The research within the investment also increased; as a result $8.8 billion went into renewable energy research. The investment also included a boost for "green buildings". Federal buildings received $4.5 billion in renovations; public housing was also granted $4 billion in renovations. An additional $250 million was made out to energy-efficient affordable housing, in part by installing insulation. Environment America, an organization of state-based, environmental advocacy organizations, reviewed the final bill and stated there was $32.80 billion in funding for clean energy projects, $26.86 billion for energy efficiency initiatives and $18.95 billion for green transportation, totaling $78.61 billion just for "green" projects.


2009 energy efficiency and renewable energy research investment, Background
During his 2008 presidential campaign President Barack Obama stated to help and invest federal money into the green energy industry in the United States. President Obama stated that the plan would put 460,000 Americans to work on renewable energy projects and double the amount of renewable energy produced over the next three years. The plan provided funds to 2 million homes by improving things such as insulation problems. The government pledged to use federal funds to improve the efficiency of 75 percent of federal buildings.


2009 energy efficiency and renewable energy research investment, New green job market
President Obama made a plan that put 460,000 Americans to work on energy projects and doubled the amount of alternative energy produced over the next three years. The number of green energy jobs increased. In the short term, the plan would provide funds to improve 2 million homes by improving things such as insulation and leaky windows. The government also hired additional workers to improve the efficiency of 75 percent of federal buildings. $500 million was distributed as grants for training workers in their respected jobs markets. That sum includes $50 million for communities battered by job losses and restructuring the auto industry after the financial crisis of 2008. The energy, education and labor departments also started a partnership to help link the unemployed with jobs, training and education opportunities together.


2009 energy efficiency and renewable energy research investment, Capital requirements
The United States government’s need to have the capital market back up their initiatives was studied by University of Massachusetts Amherst economist Robert Pollin and was written in Nation magazine in February 2009. Bank, as he research stated, would be required to devote a percentage of loan portfolios to green investments in the next decade, he wrote, while larger tax credits could be provided to homes and businesses for installation of solar energy and other renewable energy. Funds from a cap-and-trade emissions program or a carbon tax could also be recycled back.


2009 energy efficiency and renewable energy research investment, Improvements to renewable energy programs, Wind energy
Wind farm developers had extended tax credits for every kilowatt hour of electricity they produce. Until now, the credit expired every year and investors were hesitant to put money into projects that could lose their favored tax status in a matter of months. The wind industry called for many of the swaps to the tax credits that the stimulus bill includes. That credit was extended for up to three years. The United States wind industry in 2008 installed about 42% of all the new electric generating space added that year and created 35,000 jobs, in construction and manufacturing. The renewable energy measures in the stimulus bill proposed to aid and sustain green energy as well as encourage additional clean energy job creation.


2009 energy efficiency and renewable energy research investment, Improvements to renewable energy programs, Solar energy
Solar energy developers were also included in the bill. The bill backed proposed statements in the stimulus package that would change the current system of tax credits for investing in the alternative energy project.


2009 energy efficiency and renewable energy research investment, Improvements to renewable energy programs, Solar energy
Since the recession has begun to effect the economy, many banks didn't have enough revenue and tax bills and weren't very interested in partnering to get tax credit. So the money to invest in alternative energy decreased significantly. In the stimulus package it shifted federal money directly to developers, in addition to keeping the original tax breaks for the renewable energy programs in America.


2009 energy efficiency and renewable energy research investment, Green buildings
Green building developers have to now get permits and rights-of-way to build lines across private property. The stimulus package doesn't address one big obstacle for green energy building, the cheap cost of burning coal. To make electricity renewable energy advocates are trying to persuade Congress to put a carbon price on carbon-heavy fossil fuels that contribute to global warming.


2009 flu pandemic table April 2009
This is a table containing the figures from the WHO Influenza A Situation Updates issued in April 2009 roughly once a day. Where more than one update was issued in a day, the figures are from the last update that day. The table can by sorted by country, date of first confirmed case or date of first confirmed case by continent.


2009 flu pandemic table April 2009
This presentation of the data in these and other tables shows the progression, peaks, and, eventually, decline of the epidemic in each country and continent.


2009 flu pandemic table August 2009
This is a table containing the figures from the ECDC Influenza A Situation Updates issued in August 2009 roughly three times a week. From 10 August, ECDC only published deaths totals outside its area. The table can by sorted by country, date of first confirmed case or date of first confirmed case by continent.


2009 flu pandemic table August 2009
This presentation of the data in this and other tables may show the progression, peaks, and, eventually, decline of the epidemic in each country and continent.


2009 flu pandemic table December 2009
This is a table containing the figures from the ECDC Influenza A Situation Updates issued in December 2009 roughly three times a week. From 30 September, ECDC only published deaths totals, and so the world cases table has not been maintained. The table can be sorted by country, date of first confirmed case or date of first confirmed case by continent.


2009 flu pandemic table December 2009
This presentation of the data in this and other tables may show the progression, peaks, and, eventually, decline of the epidemic in each country and continent.


2009 flu pandemic table July 2009
This is a table containing the figures from the WHO Influenza A Situation Updates issued in July 2009 roughly three times a week, and, since 15 July, figures from ECDC. The table can by sorted by country, date of first confirmed case or date of first confirmed case by continent.


2009 flu pandemic table July 2009
This presentation of the data in this and other tables may show the progression, peaks, and, eventually, decline of the epidemic in each country and continent.


2009 flu pandemic table July 2009
Note that no global report has been issued by WHO since 6 July - the data on 8 July was compiled from the reports of each of WHO's six regions, and since 15 July has been taken from ECDC.


2009 flu pandemic table June 2009
This is a table containing the figures from the WHO Influenza A Situation Updates issued in June 2009 roughly three times a week. The table can by sorted by country, date of first confirmed case or date of first confirmed case by continent.


2009 flu pandemic table June 2009
This presentation of the data in this and other tables shows the progression, peaks, and, eventually, decline of the epidemic in each country and continent.


2009 flu pandemic table May 2009
This is a table containing the figures from the WHO Influenza A Situation Updates issued in May 2009 roughly once a day. Where more than one update was issued in a day, the corresponding figures are from the last update that day. The table can by sorted by country, date of first confirmed case or date of first confirmed case by continent.


2009 flu pandemic table May 2009
This presentation of the data in this and other tables shows the progression, peaks, and, eventually, decline of the epidemic in each country and continent.


2009 flu pandemic table November 2009
This is a table containing the figures from the ECDC Influenza A Situation Updates issued in November 2009 roughly three times a week. From 30 September, ECDC only published deaths totals, and so the world cases table has not been maintained. The table can be sorted by country, date of first confirmed case or date of first confirmed case by continent.


2009 flu pandemic table November 2009
This presentation of the data in this and other tables may show the progression, peaks, and, eventually, decline of the epidemic in each country and continent.


2009 flu pandemic table October 2009
This is a table containing the figures from the ECDC Influenza A Situation Updates issued in October 2009 roughly three times a week. From 30 September, ECDC only published deaths totals, and so the world cases table has not been maintained. The table can be sorted by country, date of first confirmed case or date of first confirmed case by continent.


2009 flu pandemic table October 2009
This presentation of the data in this and other tables may show the progression, peaks, and, eventually, decline of the epidemic in each country and continent.


2009 flu pandemic table September 2009
This is a table containing the figures from the ECDC Influenza A Situation Updates issued in September 2009 roughly three times a week. From 10 August, ECDC only published deaths totals outside its area, and so the world cases table has not been maintained. The table can be sorted by country, date of first confirmed case or date of first confirmed case by continent.


2009 flu pandemic table September 2009
This presentation of the data in this and other tables may show the progression, peaks, and, eventually, decline of the epidemic in each country and continent.


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea
On March 17, 2009, North Korean soldiers detained two American journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, who were working for the U.S. independent cable television network Current TV (defunct since August 2013), after they crossed into North Korea from China without a visa. They were found guilty of illegal entry and sentenced to twelve years' hard labor in June 2009. North Korean leader Kim Jong-il pardoned the two on August 5, 2009, the day after former U.S. President Bill Clinton arrived in the country on a publicly unannounced visit.


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Background
Korean American Euna Lee and Chinese American Laura Ling were journalists for Current TV, based in San Francisco, California. Lee was the news editor of the channel and Ling was one of the agency's reporters. Laura Ling is the younger sister of Lisa Ling, a special correspondent for The Oprah Winfrey Show and CNN, who did a documentary in 2005 for National Geographic Explorer about North Korea which involved entry into North Korea without disclosing she was a journalist. The two reporters were accompanied by two men, an American cameraman (Mitch Koss ) and a guide who was an ethnic Korean citizen of China.


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Background
Pastor Chun Ki-won of refugee aid organization Durihana, who was interviewed in the 2005 National Geographic documentary Inside North Korea, had helped Lee and Ling organize their trip to China. After their arrival in China, Chun introduced Lee and Ling to Kim Seong-cheol (김성철), an ethnic Korean citizen of China who served as a guide and escort for the two reporters during their work.


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Arrest and trial
An unnamed diplomatic source was quoted by South Korea's Yonhap news agency on March 18 as stating: "Two reporters working for a US-based Internet news media outlet, including a Korean American, were detained by North Korean authorities earlier this week, and they remain in custody there." Reports said that the journalists were both warned several times by the soldiers of Korean People's Army about crossing the border. They were said to have been reporting on the trafficking of women and shooting video of the border region of China and North Korea when they were arrested at the Tumen River. They were caught by two Korean People's Army soldiers, Son Yong-ho and Kim Chol. Their guide Kim Seong-cheol and cameraman Mitch Koss evaded capture by running away faster but were later detained by officers of China's Public Security Bureau. Koss departed China soon afterwards.


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Arrest and trial
In an interview in March, Chun speculated that the two reporters might have entered into North Korean territory. However, other sources such as Reporters Without Borders, echoing reporting by South Korean television station YTN, claim that North Korean border guards crossed the Tumen to the Chinese side to detain Ling and Lee. On April 23, 2015, Laura Ling herself released a story on a YouTube channel called Seeker Stories. She mentions that she was filming North Korea on Northeastern China's borders to report a story about North Korean defectors. While she was filming along the frozen Tumen River with the other crew, they were chased by North Korean soldiers. She was eventually knocked unconscious and dragged into North Korea by the soldiers and then was imprisoned until her release.


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Arrest and trial
On March 30, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the state news agency of North Korea, reported that preparations were under way for indictments and a trial, saying, "The illegal entry of US reporters into the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and their suspected hostile acts have been confirmed by evidence and their statements." The two faced trial on June 4.


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Sentencing and imprisonment
On June 8, North Korean media reported that the two reporters had been found guilty of illegal entry and subsequently sentenced to twelve years of hard labor. Conditions in North Korea's prison camps are described as "extremely harsh". Defectors claim that prisoners in North Korean camps are subject to exposure, torture (including water torture), routine starvation, summary execution, daily beatings, and extended sentences without evidence. Following the trial, KCNA broadcast footage taken from Lee and Ling, which it claims showed them in the courtyard of a North Korean house.


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Sentencing and imprisonment
They reported that an investigation proved Lee and Ling to have crossed into North Korean territory with the intent to produce and broadcast a "documentary slandering the DPRK", and that the two admitted to committing "criminal acts". Lisa Ling read a statement on July 9 in which she stated her sister had indeed broken North Korean law; the two had recently spoken by telephone for the third time.


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Sentencing and imprisonment
Because the United States has no diplomatic relations with North Korea, the contact was handled through the Swedish ambassador in Pyongyang, Mats Foyer, who also visited the two reporters. Han Park, a professor of political science at the University of Georgia, went to North Korea to negotiate their release, but Hillary Clinton refused to say whether Park traveled on behalf of the U.S. government. Park stated that the two journalists were staying at a guest house and had not yet been transferred to prison.


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Sentencing and imprisonment, Reactions
Reporters Without Borders characterized the trial and sentencing as a "sham trial".


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Sentencing and imprisonment, Reactions
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at first that the charges against the journalists were "baseless". She had been considering sending an envoy to the country in an attempt to negotiate the journalists' release. However, it was later reported that the State Department would call on North Korea for "amnesty" for the two journalists; The Washington Post interpreted this as an admission by the U.S. government that the two are indeed guilty of an offense. The State Department had previously called for their release on "humanitarian" grounds. The co-founder of Current TV, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, was also considered for travel to North Korea.


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Sentencing and imprisonment, Reactions
According to Kim Tae-woo of the Korea Institute for Defense Analysis, a South Korean institute, "[t]he journalists considerably weakened their government's leverage against the North" in ongoing negotiations over the DPRK's nuclear program. William Stanton, the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in Seoul, reportedly expressed a similar but stronger view, calling the two journalists "stupid" and arguing that their arrest was "distracting from bigger issues" in April 8 remarks to several U.S. congressional staff visiting South Korea. One of Stanton's guests was so upset by his remarks that he wrote a memorandum of complaint to a member of Congress, which sparked wide discussion.


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Sentencing and imprisonment, Reactions
Other South Koreans, including religious and human rights figures, similarly blamed Lee and Ling for actually endangering the subjects of their reporting. Lee Chan-woo, a Christian pastor who ran various North Korean refugee aid programs in China, had his house searched by Chinese police on March 19 and was then deported from the country in April. Five refugee safe-houses he ran were also shut down.


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Bill Clinton's visit to North Korea
Former President Bill Clinton made an unannounced trip to Pyongyang on August 4, 2009. Clinton was accompanied by his personal physician Roger Band, Doug Band, Justin Cooper, David Straub, and former White House Chief of Staff John Podesta. Clinton and his delegation were coached to neither smile nor frown when photographed with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Bill Clinton's visit to North Korea
Although the official news agency of North Korea, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), did not announce the reason for Clinton's arrival, Western and South Korean media speculated that Clinton went to Pyongyang in order to negotiate the release of Euna Lee and Laura Ling. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs confirmed that Clinton was on a "solely private mission to secure the release of two Americans."


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Bill Clinton's visit to North Korea
Clinton spent twenty hours on the ground in North Korea and had a meeting with Kim Jong-il. According to KCNA, he conveyed a verbal message to Kim from President Barack Obama although Robert Gibbs denied that Clinton was carrying any message from the Obama administration. Clinton and Kim had "an exhaustive conversation" that included "a wide-ranging exchange of views on the matters of common concern," KCNA reported. KCNA also reported that the National Defence Commission of North Korea hosted a dinner in honor of Clinton, but did not go into detail about what was discussed at the reception. In the early morning hours of August 5, KCNA announced that Kim Jong-il had issued a pardon to Lee and Ling.


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Bill Clinton's visit to North Korea
The KCNA released the following statement purportedly describing the visit:


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Bill Clinton's visit to North Korea
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and his party visited the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from August 4 to 5. Kim Jong Il, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK, met with Bill Clinton and his party. During their stay Clinton and his party paid a courtesy call on Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly.


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Bill Clinton's visit to North Korea
Clinton expressed words of sincere apology to Kim Jong Il for the hostile acts committed by the two American journalists against the DPRK after illegally intruding into it. Clinton courteously conveyed to Kim Jong Il an earnest request of the U.S. government to leniently pardon them and send them back home from a humanitarian point of view. The meetings had candid and in-depth discussions on the pending issues between the DPRK and the U.S. in a sincere atmosphere and reached a consensus of views on seeking a negotiated settlement of them.


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Bill Clinton's visit to North Korea
Kim Jong Il issued an order of the Chairman of the DPRK National Defence Commission on granting a special pardon to the two American journalists who had been sentenced to hard labor in accordance with Article 103 of the Socialist Constitution and releasing them. Clinton courteously conveyed a verbal message of U.S. President Barack Obama expressing profound thanks for this and reflecting views on ways of improving the relations between the two countries.


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Bill Clinton's visit to North Korea
The measure taken to release the American journalists is a manifestation of the DPRK's humanitarian and peaceloving policy. The DPRK visit of Clinton and his party will contribute to deepening the understanding between the DPRK and the U.S. and building the bilateral confidence.


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Return and aftermath
After being released from custody by the North Koreans, Lee and Ling were flown back to Los Angeles with Clinton and his delegation in a Boeing 737 owned by Hollywood producer and Clinton friend Steve Bing's company Shangri-La Entertainment. They landed at Bob Hope Airport on August 5, shortly before 6:00 a.m. local time (UTC−7), where they were met by family and friends, as well as Al Gore. Ling spoke to the media, where she confirmed that they had not been sent to a hard labor camp, yet they lived in fear of being sent to one.


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Return and aftermath
Laura Ling spoke at the airport. In addition to thanking President Obama, President Clinton and Secretary Clinton, Vice President Gore, their loved ones, and others, she stated:


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Return and aftermath
Thirty hours ago, Euna Lee and I were prisoners in North Korea. We feared that at any moment we could be sent to a hard labor camp, and, then, suddenly, were told that we were going to a meeting. We were taken to a location and when we walked through the doors, we saw standing before us President Bill Clinton. We were shocked but we knew instantly in our hearts that the nightmare of our lives was finally coming to an end and now we stand here home and free ... We are very grateful that we were granted amnesty by the government of North Korea, and we are so happy to be home, and we are just so anxious right now to be able to spend some quiet, private time getting reacquainted with our families. Thank you so much.


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Return and aftermath
Gore told reporters that "President Obama and countless members of his administration have been deeply involved," in the effort to bring the journalists home. According to an unnamed Obama administration official, the trip had been in the works for months, and Lee and Ling told their families that the North Koreans specifically asked for Bill Clinton to come to North Korea, and that they would be freed if he made the trip. Ling's husband, Iain Clayton, confirmed that sending Clinton to Pyongyang was the idea of the North Koreans.


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Return and aftermath
Hillary Clinton, on a multi-nation trip in Africa when Lee and Ling returned to the U.S., said that the Obama administration was "extremely excited" to see the two journalists reunited with their families. However, she denied that Bill Clinton apologized on behalf of the U.S. government to the North Koreans for Lee and Ling's actions. The Obama administration has stressed that Bill Clinton's trip was private, and only about the two journalists, not about other issues such as Pyongyang's nuclear program. "We have been working hard on the release of the two journalists, and we have always considered that a separate issue," the Secretary of State said. The future of the United States' relationship with North Korea was "really up to them," she concluded.


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Return and aftermath
On August 6, 2009, Laura Ling's sister, Lisa, stated that her sister had told her subsequent to the return that the two former prisoners had entered North Korea without permission, but after about "thirty seconds", they were arrested by border guards. Lisa Ling indicated that her sister plans to write an editorial about their treatment while detained by the North Koreans subsequent to the arrest.


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Return and aftermath
The two North Korean soldiers who caught Ling and Lee, Son Yong-ho and Kim Chol, were reportedly treated like heroes by their government; in December 2009, the Pyongyang-based Korean Central Television broadcast aired a special program with them, in which they discussed their experience of arresting the two journalists. They received a special award from Kim Jong-il, as well as extra leave time.


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Claims regarding border crossing
Christian missionaries active among North Korean refugees in northeast China claim that the guide was involved in a scheme by North Koreans to set a trap and capture a "foreign prize" — a journalist. Chun also had warned the reporters to avoid the border area. However, in a statement made after their release, Laura Ling denies Chun ever having warned them, "Among other things, Chun claimed that he had warned us not to go to the river. In fact, he was well aware of our plans because he had been communicating with us throughout our time in China, and he never suggested we shouldn't go."


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Claims regarding border crossing
After their return to the United States, Ling and Lee claimed, in a written statement posted on Current TV's web site, that they had spent only a brief time in North Korean territory before crossing the river back into China, but were pursued by North Korean soldiers who dragged them once again onto North Korean soil.


2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea, Claims regarding border crossing
A statement released by the Chinese government rejected these claims and a report by North Korea alleges footage from the journalists' camera showed the two knowingly entered North Korea and even intended to take home souvenirs. Kim Chol, one of the North Korean soldiers who arrested the two journalists, claimed in interviews on North Korean television that they attempted to bribe him for their release after they were caught, but that he rejected their offer.


2009 in Afghanistan, Deaths
In overall 2009, 520 NATO soldiers killed. 317 US soldiers, 108 UK soldiers and 95 Other NATO soldiers killed in 2009.


2009 in Albania
The following lists events that happened during 2009 in Republic of Albania.


2009 in American soccer
The 2009 season was the 97th season of soccer in the United States. This season included playing in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup.


2009 in American soccer, National team, Men, Senior
The home team or the team that is designated as the home team is listed in the left column; the away team is in the right


2009 in American soccer, National team, Women, Senior
The United States Women's National Soccer Team was coached by Pia Sundhage.


2009 in American soccer, Major League Soccer, Table
(SS) = Supporters Shield winner; (E1) = Eastern Conference champion; (W1) = Western Conference champion


2009 in American soccer, Major League Soccer, Playoffs
1 Real Salt Lake earned the eighth and final playoff berth, despite finishing fifth in the Western Conference. They represent the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff bracket, as only three teams in the Eastern Conference qualified for the playoffs.


2009 in American soccer, USL First Division, Table
Purple indicates league title clinched. Green indicates playoff berth clinched. 1Austin was docked two points for fielding an ineligible player during a match against Montreal Impact on July 25, 2009.


2009 in American television
The following is a list of events affecting American television in 2009. Events listed include television show debuts, finales, cancellations, and new channel launches.


2009 in Australia
The following lists events that happened during 2009 in Australia.


2009 in Australian literature
This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 2009.


2009 in Australian television
This is a list of Australian television events and premieres which occurred in 2009. The year 2009 is the 54th year of continuous operation of television in Australia. It also marks the introduction of digital multichannels for the three commercial television networks (the Seven Network, the Nine Network and Network Ten), which were each able to launch an alternate standard-definition digital channel, separate from their primary channels, from 1 January. Network Ten launched their channel, One (later known today as 10 Bold), on 26 March, whilst the Nine Network launched kids and movies channel GO! (later known today as 9Go!) on 9 August, and the Seven Network launched catch-up channel 7Two on 1 November.


2009 in Australian television, Programming changes, Changes to network affiliation
This is a list of programs which made their premiere on an Australian television network that had previously premiered on another Australian television network. The networks involved in the switch of allegiances are predominantly both free-to-air networks or both subscription television networks. Programs that have their free-to-air/subscription television premiere, after previously premiering on the opposite platform (free-to air to subscription/subscription to free-to air) are not included. In some cases, programs may still air on the original television network. This occurs predominantly with programs shared between subscription television networks.


2009 in Australian television, Programming changes, Free-to-air premieres
Below is a list programs which made their premiere on free-to-air television that had previously premiered on Australian Pay TV, a program may still air on the original network.


2009 in Australian television, Programming changes, Subscription television premieres
This is a list programs which had their premiere on Australian subscription television that had previously premiered on free-to-air television. Programs may still air on the original network.


2009 in Azerbaijan
The following details notable events from the year 2009 in Azerbaijan. The Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to the south. The exclave of Nakhchivan is bounded by Armenia to the north and east, Iran to the south and west, while having a short borderline with Turkey to the northwest.


2009 in BAMMA
The year 2009 is the first year in the history of BAMMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United Kingdom. In 2009 BAMMA held 1 event, BAMMA 1: The Fighting Premiership.


2009 in BAMMA, BAMMA 1: The Fighting Premiership
BAMMA 1: The Fighting Premiership was an event held on June 27, 2009 at the Room by the River in London, England, United Kingdom.


2009 in BRACE
The year 2009 is the first year in the history of BRACE, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Australia. In 2009 BRACE held 2 events.


2009 in BRACE, BRACE 2
BRACE 2 was an event held on August 15, 2009, at Broncos Leagues in Brisbane, Australia


2009 in BRACE, BRACE 1
BRACE 1 was an event held on March 27, 2009, at Broncos Leagues in Brisbane, Australia


2009 in Bangladesh
2009 (MMIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2009th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 9th  year of the 3rd millennium, the 9th  year of the 21st century, and the  10th  and last year of the 2000s decade.


2009 in Bangladesh
The year 2009 was the 38th year after the independence of Bangladesh. It was also the first year of the second term of the government of Sheikh Hasina.


2009 in Bangladesh, Economy
Note: For the year 2009 average official exchange rate for BDT was 69.04 per US$.


2009 in Belgian television
This is a list of Belgian television related events from 2009.


2009 in Bellator MMA
2009 in Bellator MMA was the first installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships (Bellator FC)-produced series. It started broadcasting April 3, 2009, through an exclusive television agreement with ESPN Deportes. The episodes had a one-day tape delay.


2009 in Bellator MMA, Bellator 1
Bellator 1 was a mixed martial arts event by Bellator Fighting Championships. The event took place on Friday, April 3, 2009 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. It was broadcast nationally in the U.S. via tape-delay the following night on Saturday, April 4, 2009 through an exclusive television agreement with ESPN Deportes.


2009 in Bellator MMA, Bellator 1
The event featured quarter-final tournament bouts of the 2009 Featherweight (145 lb) and Lightweight (155 lb) Tournaments, along with a number of non-tournament bouts to be held in the organization's other weight divisions. All bouts were contested under the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts.


2009 in Bellator MMA, Bellator 2
Bellator 2 was a mixed martial arts event by the promotion Bellator Fighting Championships. The event took place on Friday, April 10, 2009 at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. It was then broadcast nationally in the U.S. via tape-delay the following night on Saturday, April 11, 2009 through an exclusive television agreement with ESPN Deportes.


2009 in Bellator MMA, Bellator 2
The event featured the final quarter-final bouts of the 2009 Featherweight (145 lb) and Lightweight (155 lb) Tournaments, as well as, the quarter-final round of the Welterweight (170 lb) Tournament. A number of non-tournament bouts to be held in the organization's other weight divisions also took place. The evening's main event saw undefeated former EliteXC Featherweight Champion Henry Martinez square off against rising star Wilson Reis. All bouts were contested under the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts.


2009 in Bellator MMA, Bellator 3
Bellator 3 and Bellator IV were two episodes of the  mixed martial arts promotion, Bellator Fighting Championships, created from a single event. The event took place on Friday, April 17, 2009 at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma.


2009 in Bellator MMA, Bellator 3
Bellator IV was originally scheduled for Montreal, however regulatory issues prevented the event from being held there. Each episode featured half of the bouts from the third Bellator event. Bellator III aired nationally in the U.S. via tape-delay the following night on Saturday, April 18, 2009 through an exclusive television agreement with ESPN Deportes. Bellator IV aired on Saturday, April 25, 2009.


2009 in Bellator MMA, Bellator 5
Bellator 5 took place on Friday, May 1, 2009 in Dayton, Ohio. It was broadcast nationally in the U.S. via tape-delay the following night on Saturday, May 2, 2009 through an exclusive television agreement with ESPN Deportes.


2009 in Bellator MMA, Bellator 5
Debuting for the promotion were heavyweight prospect Dave Herman and former UFC fighter Dan Evensen.


2009 in Bellator MMA, Bellator 5
All bouts were contested under the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts.


2009 in Bellator MMA, Bellator 6
Bellator 6 was an event of the mixed martial arts promotion, Bellator Fighting Championships. The event took place on Friday, May 8, 2009 in Robstown, Texas. It was broadcast nationally in the U.S. via tape-delay the following night on Saturday, May 9, 2009 through an exclusive television agreement with ESPN Deportes.


2009 in Bellator MMA, Bellator 6
All bouts were contested under the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts.


2009 in Bellator MMA, Bellator 7/8
Bellator 7/8 was an event of the mixed martial arts promotion, Bellator Fighting Championships. The events took place on Friday, May 15, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois. It was broadcast nationally in the U.S. via tape-delay the following night on Saturday, May 16, 2009 through an exclusive television agreement with ESPN Deportes.


2009 in Bellator MMA, Bellator 7/8
The card also featured the debut of former UFC heavyweight Eddie Sanchez.


2009 in Bellator MMA, Bellator 7/8
All bouts were contested under the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts.


2009 in Bellator MMA, Bellator 8
There were no fights scheduled for week 8. Instead, Bellator ran a "Road to the Championship" special highlighting tournament fights. This highlight show was considered Bellator 8.