March 18, 2009 (Wednesday)
- China's Ministry of Commerce rejects Coca-Cola's bid to acquire the Huiyuan Juice Group. (Xinhua News)
- Josef Fritzl of Austria changes his plea to guilty on all charges. (BBC)
- The Office for National Statistics reports that 2.04 million people in the United Kingdom are unemployed. (Sky News)
- Pope Benedict XVI denounces the use of condoms to prevent HIV/AIDS during a tour of Africa. (RTÉ)
- Twelve people are discovered dead in police custody in Nampula Province, Mozambique. (BBC)
- Madagascar's constitutional court supports the installation of Andry Rajoelina as President. (BBC)
- Governor Bill Richardson signs House Bill 285, repealing capital punishment in New Mexico. (ABQ Journal)
- Federal Reserve System Chairman Ben Bernanke caps United States Treasury Department yields. (Bloomberg)
- Somali pirates hijack an Iranian fishing vessel in the Gulf of Aden. (Horseed)