Daily Headlines: February 15, 2012

* Peru: Hundreds of women forcibly sterilized in the 1990s under a program created by then-President Alberto Fujimori continue to wait for to justice to be served.

* Nicaragua: The head of the central bank quit after a disagreement with President Daniel Ortega over how to pay for a regional bank for the ALBA bloc.
* Venezuela: Political opposition groups cried foul after the Supreme Court ruled against the destruction of lists of voters who participated in Sunday’s primary election.

* South America: Chilean president Sebastian Pinera received a “surprise phone call” from British Prime Minister David Cameron and they reportedly discussed the dispute between the U.K. and Argentina over the Falklands.

Video Source – YouTube via telesurenglish

Online Sources- Fox News, Bloomberg, News24, Mercopress

World Watch: Cameron’s Crow?

* Europe: British Prime Minister David Cameron defended his decision to veto an E.U. treaty aimed at preventing a worsening of the region's debt crisis.

* Canada: The country’s immigration minister announced the prohibition of the wearing of the burka during the citizenship ceremony.

* Syria: According to U.N. estimates nearly 5000 people including about 300 children have been killed as part of a brutal crackdown by the state.

* Democratic Republic of Congo: Electoral observers and opposition figures accused the government of vote rigging during recent elections.

Video Source – YouTube via euronews

Online Sources – The Guardian, CNN, BBC News

World Watch: From Yellow to black

* China: An emergency cleanup operation has been launched in order to contain over 11,000 barrels of crude oil that has spilled into the Yellow Sea.

* U.K.: BP’s alleged role in release of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi will reportedly be one of the main topics to be discussed during British Prime Minister David Cameron’s visit to the White House.

* South Africa: A three-year study conducted in South Africa found that an experimental vaginal gel cuts the HIV infection rates in 889 women by 50%.

* India: At least 61 people died and nearly 100 were injured after a pair of express trains collided in the eastern part of the country.

Image – MSNBC (“Oil covers the Yellow Sea coast near Dalian, China, on Monday.”)
Online Sources- MSNBC, Xinhua, Reuters, BBC News

World Watch: Tory time

* Britain: After thirteen years of Labour Party rule Conservative David Cameron became the new British Prime Minister and will now rule in a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats.

* Vatican: "The greatest persecution of the church doesn't come from enemies on the outside but is born from the sins within the church," said Pope Benedict XVI with regards to sexual abuse scandals.

* World: Some airports in Morocco, Turkey, and Spain will be closed at least through Wednesday as a result of ash from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokul volcano.

* Spain: Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is expected to outline budget cuts designed to improve one of Europe’s most weakened economies.

Image – ABC News (“Britain's Queen Elizabeth II greets David Cameron, the leader of the Conservative Party, at Buckingham Palace, London, in an audience to invite him to be the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, following last week's General Election, May 11, 2010.”)
Online Sources- Reuters, MSNBC, BBC News, Guardian UK