World Watch: The Long Arm of the Law

* Ivory Coast: Ex-president Laurent Gbagbo was arrested and flown to the Netherlands where he awaits trial in front of the International Criminal Court.

* Britain: Hundreds of thousands of public employees took to the streets to protest against government-backed austerity measures.

* Pakistan: The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff “publicly and categorically” rejected accusations that NATO purposely killed 24 Pakistani soldiers over the weekend.

* Palestine: Iceland became the first western European country to recognize Palestine as an independent state.

Image Source – Flickr via Alkan de Beaumont Chaglar (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Online Sources- Reuters, USA TODAY, MSNBC, Herald Sun

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

World Watch: Eyes on the prize

* U.S.: Rest in peace Dorothy Height; the civil rights pioneer whose world spanned about seven decades died Tuesday at the age 98.

* Spain: Ex-International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch is in a Barcelona hospital and in “very serious” condition.

* Iran: A Pentagon report claimed that Iranian officials sold weapons to Hezbollah and views the rebels as “an essential partner for advancing its regional policy objectives''.

* World: The havoc wrecked on European travel by the erupting Eyjafjallajokull volcano has had effects around the world including tourism in South Asia.

Image – Washington Post
Online Sources- NPR, NBC Sports, The Age, BBC News

World Watch: Fly me away

* Europe: Restrictions on air travel in Europe will be gradually lifted starting on Tuesday though massive ash from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano continues to be up in the sky.

* Iraq: The Iraqi army has been credited with killing two senior Al-Qaeda leaders over the weekend.

* U.K.: Could Liberal Democrat candidate Nick Clegg provide an upset in upcoming elections for British Prime Minister?

* Zimbabwe: On the thirtieth anniversary of Zimbabwean independence President Robert Mugabe tossed aside irony and called for his countrymen to refrain from violence.

Image – The Telegraph (“The departures board at Heathrow Airport.”)
Online Sources- Xinhua, Christian Science Monitor, Guardian UK, CNN

World Watch: Stranded

* Europe: Over 11,000 flights have been cancelled and clouds have blanketed several European countries due to the massive plumes of ash spewed by Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano.

* Pakistan: Was there some form of government complicity behind the 2007 assassination of Benazir Bhutto?

* China: The death toll from a massive Chinese earthquake has climbed to at least 1144 while over 400 people have been reported missing.

* World: Whaling hunting countries like Japan and Norway and opponents including Australia and Germany may soon come to an agreement over the controversial practice.

Image – New York Times (“A computer enhanced image of the volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland taken by the TerraSAR-X satellite on Thursday evening.”)
Online Sources- CNN, Reuters, AP, BBC News