World Watch: Battle of Tripoli

* Libya: The almost 42 years of rule under Muammar Gaddafi are close to over as rebels battle loyalists in Tripoli though reports that one of his sons, Saif al-Islam, was detained seem to be premature.

* India: Support seems to be growing for Anna Hazare, an anti-corruption social activist who has been on a hunger strike for over a week.

* U.S.: Prosecutors in New York have requested that a court drop sexual assault charges against ex-International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

* Syria: According to the U.N. over 2200 people have died in a government crackdown against dissidents and protesters since early March.

Image – Sergey Ponomarev/AP via The Guardian (“An artist paints a caricature of Muammar Gaddafi on a wall in Benghazi. The once-ubiquitous Libyan dictator is nowhere to be seen.”)
Online Sources- Al Jazeera English, MSNBC, CSMonitor.com, BBC News

World Watch: Another Shinawatra in power?

* Thailand: Yingluck Shinawatra, younger sister of disgraced former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, could be the winner in Thailand’s national elections on Sunday.

* Canada: Residents of 27 countries including Honduras, China and Belarus were sworn in as Canadian citizens on Canada Day.

* U.S.: Bail conditions against former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn were dropped though he still faces charges of an alleged sex assault.

* Morocco: Voters overwhelming backed a series of political reforms designed to limit the power of the monarchy but also prevent that “Arab Spring” protests take place in Morocco.

Image – AFP (“A picture of fugitive former leader Thaksin Shinawatra is displayed at the entrance of a Red Shirt village in Khon Kaen.”)
Online Sources- The Independent, CTV News, Bloomberg, Reuters

World Watch: Strings attached

* U.S.: Could the arrest of International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn serve as a prime opportunity for “increasingly rich developing countries” to seek greater power in the organization?

* Israel: Israeli officials are preparing for possible civilian uprisings similar to those that took place in nearby countries like Bahrain and Egypt.

* Libya: International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said he was seeking arrest warrants against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and two others.

* Vatican: Catholic Church officials urged bishops to cooperate with police and report possible cases of child and sexual abuse.

Image – Reuters via The Guardian (“Dominique Strauss-Kahn sits behind court officers at Manhattan criminal court, New York.” The IMF head was arrested on Sunday night and was accused of sexually assaulting a hotel maid.)
Online Sources- MSNBC, The Guardian, The Telegraph, AP