One of my favourite features on the archive is my portfolio.  I must confess that I am not a tidy person. My desk is always covered in numerous scraps of paper with pieces of information on: phone numbers, “To Do” list, and messages to give to people. Until recently, I was perpetually scribbling down page references when I was researching a topic on the archive, this was until I started to utilise the Portfolio feature.

In your personal portfolio you can select and store articles so that when you return to Keesing's you can find them again quickly, without having to conduct the search again.  The portfolio is a simple feature, but it makes a big difference when conducting research - try using it the next time you know you will want to return to an article.  To learn more about how to use the feature, please click here.

Today, the Pakistan government confirmed that Pakistan's upcoming presidential elections would not be affected by yesterday's twin bomb attack on the city of Karachi.  The attack targeted the homecoming procession of Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan.  Bhutto was returning to Pakistan after eight years in self-imposed exile.  Over 130 people were killed in the blasts. 

Benazir Bhutto links:

August 2007.  Representatives of President Pervaiz Musharraf continue negotiations in London with self-exiled former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and senior officials of her Pakistan People's Party (PPP) in an attempt to reach a power-sharing agreement that would allow her to return to Pakistan.

Nov. 5, 1996.  President Farooq Ahmed Leghari dismisses the Bhutto's government and dissolves the National Assembly.

Oct,  6, 1993.  Bhutto returns to the position of prime minister of Pakistan.  The national turnout for the election is low, at around 41 per cent, with voter apathy particularly marked in Sind province, the PPP's home base.

Aug. 6, 1990.  After 20 months in office, Bhutto is dismissed as prime minister by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan.  Khan accuses Bhutto 's government of corruption, abuse of power and of other acts "in contravention of the Constitution and the law".

Nov. 16, 1988. Bhutto becomes Pakistan's first female Prime Minister.

I am pleased to announce that the content of the July and August issues of Keesing's Record of World Events has now been added to the online archive.  Below are just some of the 249 new articles that are now live on the site.  Click on a headline to go straight to the article, or click here to sign up for a Keesing's account today. 

July

•       Sudan: agreement on UN-AU operation for Darfur

•         United States: calls for new strategy over war in Iraq

•         Pakistan: siege of Red Mosque

•         Turkey: general election

•         Palestine: Israeli support for Abbas administration

•         UN: Global Compact summit

August

•         Sierra Leone: presidential and legislative elections

•         United States: resignations of key Bush allies

•         India: nuclear agreement with USA

•         Russia: resumption of long-range bomber patrols

•         Iraq: civilian deaths in truck bombing

•         Arctic: claims of territorial rights

A new Breaking History is now live on the site: “USA: Credit Crisis”  The repercussions of the crisis are continuing to emerge, as EU finance ministers are set to meet tomorrow to review whether economic strategy needs to be altered to avoid repeating the economic problems the global markets have witnessed this summer.  The dynamics of international finance are obviously complex, but the article and timeline provide a concise overview of the history behind the current economic situation. 

To move away from new content and the complexities of global market forces for a moment, I would also like to direct you towards another article, as today is the 40th anniversary of the death of Ernesto Guevara de la Serna – “Che” Guevara.  Click here to read the contemporary Keesing's account of the life of the Argentinean-born, Cuban revolutionary.