World Watch: Austerity or Not?

* Europe: Voters in countries like Greece and France are apparently disillusioned over the push for austerity while dozens of protesters were arrested during the presidential inauguration of Vladimir Putin.

* Malawi: Stores are reportedly running out of “staple foods such as sugar, cooking oil and bread” due to a consumer “panic” over the devaluation of the country’s currency.

* U.S.: Intelligence officials supposedly thwarted a plot by Al Qaeda's Yemen-based affiliate to destroy a U.S.-bound plane around the one-year anniversary of the death of Osama bin Laden.

* Israel: The country's Supreme Court turned down an appeal for the release of two Palestinian prisoners who have been on a hunger strike for more than two months.

Video Source– YouTube via EUX TV

Online Sources – USA TODAY, CNN, BBC News, Huffington Post, Reuters

Weekend World Watch: Tragedy in India

* India: Investigators found the black box from the debris of Saturday’s Air India plane crash that killed 158 people.

* Thailand: “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives” was the surprise winner of the Palme d'Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

* South Korea: President Lee Myung-bak is expected to announce on Monday what actions South Korea will take on its northern neighbor over March’s sinking of the navy ship Cheonan.

* Malawi: Crowds jeered a gay couple that was sentenced to fourteen years in jail due to their homosexual relationship.

Image – ABC Online
Online Sources- The Telegraph, BBC News, Voice of America, MSNBC

World Watch: Under siege

* Thailand: Shortly after negotiations failed Thai troops began a crackdown of anti-government protesters by breaking through a fortified camp in Bangkok run by the “Red Shirts”.

* Malawi: A gay couple was convicted of “unnatural acts” and may face a maximum jail sentence of fourteen years.

* Afghanistan: Seven Afghan militants were killed in an attack on troops stationed at the Bagram military base.

* Israel: Citing the “complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”, musician Elvis Costello cancelled a pair of planned concerts later this year.

Video Source– YouTube
Online Sources- BBC News, MSNBC, New York Times, Voice of America

World Watch: Justice for Darfur

* Sudan: President Omar al-Bashir is one step closer to being put on trial for the roughly 200,000 victims of the Darfur genocide.

* U.S.: Former secretary of state Colin Powell publicly backed the repealing of the U.S. military’s "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

* Malawi: On a more discouraging note, police arrested a Malawian who put up gay rights posters while the government keeps unjustly cracking down against homosexual activity.

* Sri Lanka: Approximately 5000 protestors took to the streets of Colombo claiming that last week’s presidential elections were rigged.

Image – Huffington Post (“Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir attends a graduation ceremony at an air force academy near Khartoum, Sudan, Wednesday, March 4, 2009.”)
Online Sources- Worldfocus, CNN, Guardian UK, BBC News