World Watch: Chen’s Destiny

* China: U.S. and Chinese officials are reportedly close to reaching a deal that would grant political asylum to escaped Chinese legal activist Chen Guangcheng.

* Burma: U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the easing of sanctions against the government while opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, said her party will agree to swear the parliamentary oath this week.

* U.S.: According to a new study published online in Nature Neuroscience, the way in which the brain is wired may explain why some people engage in risk-taking behavior such as smoking or experimenting with drugs.

* France: With days to go before the country’s presidential election, President Nicolas Sarkozy said that he will sue a news website that claimed that he received accepted a multi-million euro campaign donation from late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

Video Source– YouTube via Associated Press

Online Sources – New York Daily News, Voice of America, The Telegraph, CBS News

Weekend World Watch: Dam debate

* Asia: The Chinese Foreign Ministry proposed discussions with Burma after Burmese president Thein Sein suspended the controversial Myitsone dam project.

* Bulgaria: Approximately 2000 people in Sofia participated in a protest organized by nationalists against the Roma gypsy ethnic minority.

* Egypt: The country’s ruling military leaders proposed a timetable that would allow for a transition to civilian rule via presidential elections next year.

* U.S.: In the wake of the elimination of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays and lesbians in the military, defense officials will permit military chaplains to perform at some same-sex marriages.

Image – Reuters via The Guardian (“Burmese campaigners demonstrate in Malaysia against the Myitsone dam project.”)

Online Sources- Voice of America, BBC News, ABC News, USA TODAY