Daily Headlines: August 1, 2016

* Poland: Pope Francis spent several days in Poland that included a visit to the former Nazi death camp at Auschwitz and also declaring Panama as the site of the next World Youth Day.

* Puerto Rico: Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla signed into a law a proposal allowing municipalities to share administrative services in order to cut costs at the heavily indebted commonwealth.

* Nicaragua: Nicaraguan electoral officials unseated twenty-eight opposition members of the federal legislature in a move critics view as consolidating the power of President Daniel Ortega.

* Cuba: JetBlue could become the first air carrier to regular schedule commercial flights to Cuba but the move first requires permission from the island’s government.

YouTube Source – France 24 English 
 
Online Sources – Refinery29, NPR, Vatican Radio, Business Insider, Yahoo7 News

World Watch: Don’t copy that floppy!

* World: The end of the floppy disk seems to be forthcoming after Sony said that it would stop sales of the 3.5-inch version of those devices in Japan by 2011.

* Sudan: President Omar Hassan al-Bashir may’ve won reelection yet Human Rights Watch claimed that the elections were “marred by widespread irregularities and gross human rights violations.”

* Poland: The twin brother of recently deceased president Lech Kaczynski said that he would run for the presidency.

* Japan: Protestors in Okinawa rallied on Sunday against the massive Kadena air base that is run by the U.S. military.

Image – BBC News
Online Sources- CBC, Voice of America, ABC Online, Al Jazeera English

Weekend World Watch: Pożegnanie

* Poland: Approximately 100,000 people filled Warsaw's Pilsudski Square in remembrance of President Lech Kaczynski and 95 others killed in a plane crash one week ago.

* Sudan: International electoral observers severely criticized the lack of “standards” in Sudan’s first multi-party elections since 1986.

* U.S.: It’s never too early to speculate on who will be selected to succeed John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court.

* Pakistan: At least 41 people died after a pair of suicide bombers detonated explosives near a Pakistani food distribution area.

Image – MSNBC (“People wait for the start of a commemoration service for late Polish President Lech Kaczynski and the other plane crash victims at the Pilsudski square in Warsaw on Saturday.”)
Online Sources- MSNBC, ABC Online, Reuters, BBC News

World Watch: Still mourning in Poland

* Poland: Investigators are leaning towards human error as the cause of Saturday’s plane crash that killed 95 people including Polish president Lech Kaczynski and “dozens of Polish political, military and religious leaders.”

* Ukraine: According to White House officials Ukraine pledged to get rid of its stockpile of weapons-grade nuclear material.

* Thailand: The goal of anti-government “Red Shirt” protestors to hold new national elections is closer to becoming a reality.

* South Africa: The murder of white supremacist Eugene Terreblanche has taken a turn towards the weird.

Image – The Telegraph (“A Russian serviceman stands guard near the engine of the crashed Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft.”)
Online Sources- Al Jazeera English, BBC News, MSNBC, CBS News

Weekend World Watch: Mourning in Poland

* Poland: A national week of mourning has been declared in the wake of a Saturday plane crash that killed President Lech Kaczynski, his wife, and 95 others.

* Thailand: At least fifteen protestors died in Bangkok during clashes between police and anti-government protestors.

* U.S.: The death toll rose to 29 due to a West Virginia mine explosion described as the worst coal mining accident in forty years.

* South Africa: The funeral was held for infamous white supremacist leader Eugene Terreblanche who was killed in a pay dispute with two of his workers.

Image – Los Angeles Times (“Mourners stand amid a flood of candles and flowers outside the presidential palace in Warsaw.”)
Online Sources- MSNBC, BBC News, CNN, Voice of America

Daily Headlines: April 24, 2009

* Europe: To some the image of Che Guevara is that of a revolutionary icon; to Polish equality minister Elzbieta Radziszewska his image may be whitewashed and banned.

* Latin America: Despite all the exaggerated criticism surrounding Barack Obama’s recent encounters with Hugo Chavez, the U.S. leader’s presence at the Summit of the Americas may’ve boosted his ratings on foreign policy.

* Peru: Lawyers for ex-President Alberto Fujimori filed an appeal to overturn his recent conviction for human rights abuses.

* Venezuela: The mystery behind the deaths of 21 Venezuelan polo ponies in Florida may’ve been solved.

Image- Time (1962 photo of Che Guevara)
Online Sources- The Telegraph, The Latin Americanist, BBC News, MSNBC, csmonitor.com