ThailandBlood covered the sidewalk in front of the Thai parliament’s Government House on Tuesday, as protesters from the country’s leading opposition party, the Red Shirts, poured the bodily fluid from jugs filled in medical tents prior to the demonstration. Calling for a new set of elections, the Red Shirts (more formally known as the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship) have expressed resentment towards the current administration of Abhisit Vejjajiva since his party ousted their own in a 2006 coup. Although the UDD is popular among students, the movement fronts the interests of Thailand’s poor. Abhisit’s party, according to the BBC, draws its constituency mostly from the middle and upper-classes.

United States

The Federal Communications Commission announced to Congress Tuesday long term goals to expand wireless access and increase Internet speeds across the United States as part of its “national broadband plan.” Considered an essential step in maintaining the United States’ competitive edge in global communication and information technology, the plan, according to the NYT, includes proposals to auction off airspace used by the broadcast television industry, lower broadband expenses, and increase broadband use to 90 percent by the end of the decade. “Congress was right. We need a broadband plan,” said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski in a statement to Reuters, “We must act and will act with an urgency that meets the moment.”

Northern Ireland

In a St. Patrick’s Day sermon at Armagh Cathedral in Northern Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady — the head of the Irish Catholic Church — came forth to apologize for his failure to report on what has turned out to be 35 years of child abuse by Fr. Brendan Smyth. When the instances took place, in 1975, Brady, rather than disclosing the testimonies of two victims to the authorities, asked them to sign oaths of silence. The reason given by the Catholic Church was “to avoid potential collusion,” but with whom the minors would have “colluded” with remains unclear, as do the motives of Brady and his superiors.

“Looking back I am ashamed that I have not always upheld the values I profess and believe in,” said Brady to the BBC.

Morocco

Tired of the drain of foreign energy imports on its economy, the Kingdom of Morocco is now making a decisive shift to solar energy, which it hopes will provide 40 percent of its energy by 2020. Devoid of oil and gas resources of its own, the North African country, according to the Economist, started to consider developing a more self sufficient energy program when nearly 11 percent of its GDP disappeared into foreign energy investments in 2008. With the construction of a solar plant south of the Atlas Mountains well under way, the World Bank’s Clean Technology fund has agreed to invest $200m in the project. This support comes in spite of general apprehension amongst investors towards solar power’s economic viability.