Daily Headlines: July 2, 2015

* Cuba: U.S. President Barack Obama called on Congress to drop the trade embargo against Cuba as both countries fully reestablished diplomatic ties for the first time since 1961.

* Mexico: Mexican Supreme Court judge Olga Sanchez urged legislature in 29 of the 31 states banning gay marriage to overturn their restrictions.

* Venezuela: Venezuelan and U.S. representatives have reportedly undergone “quiet” negotiations since March in order to improve years of bitter relations.

* Argentina: Are comparisons between the current financial quagmire in Greece and Argentina's default in 2001 constructive or inappropriate? 

YouTube Source – Associated Press

Online Sources – Bloomberg, The Guardian, BBC News, Reuters

Puerto Rico's Governor Gets Key Support for Strategy Against Debt

Puerto Rican political and business leaders gave their support to austerity measures proposed by the debt-ridden commonwealth’s governor in order to prevent default.

“There must be a better environment in Puerto Rico if we want to promote job creation and have more laborers and salaried employees,” said local Chamber of Commerce president José Izquierdo Encarnación following a meeting with Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla on Tuesday.

He and other business group representatives proposed creating a special fiscal control board and labor reforms as part of Garcia Padilla’s five-year plan to attempt to reign in Puerto Rico's $73 million debt. Izquierdo Encarnación and company gave their backing to the governor’s idea for reinvesting savings in bond payments into “strategic” projects for economic development.

“(Garcia Padilla) is seeking support from the private sector to those suggestions made in the report by (ex-World Bank Chief Economist) Anne Krueger that are vital such as economic growth,” he emphasized.

In a separate set of discussions, the heads of Puerto Rico’s main political parties gave their conditional support to Garcia Padilla yet with numerous conditions. Partido Nuevo Progresista head Pedro Pierluisi called for the participation of the opposition in the government’s decision-making process. Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño chief Rubén Berríos Martínez, meanwhile, blasted the “neoliberal package” outlined by Krueger.

In a televised speech Monday evening, Garcia Padilla warned that the island’s massive debt is unpayable and proposed seeking a multi-year moratorium on debt repayment while austerity measures can go into effect.  He also urged Congress to change existing laws and allow Puerto Rico to declare Chapter 9 bankruptcy after the White House rejected a potential bailout.

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

World Watch: There Goes the Fear

* Indonesia: Officials called off a tsunami alert though that didn’t prevent some Indonesians from panicking after an 8.6-magnitude earthquake occurred on Wednesday.

* U.S.: A special prosecutor in Florida charged George Zimmerman with second-degree murder in the controversial killing of teen Trayvon Martin.

* Greece: Prime Minister Lucas Papademos resigned and called for a general election in the economically weakened country to take place on May 6th.

* Syria: Will the government comply with a UN-brokered cease-fire due to go into effect on Thursday morning?

Video Source– YouTube via Associated Press

Online Sources – The Guardian, Reuters, The Australian, BBC News

World Watch: Zambia’s Cinderella story

* Zambia: The Zambian men’s soccer team celebrated their first ever Africa Cup of Nations title by paying their respects to their comrades who died in a 1993 plane crash in Gabon.

* Syria: U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay accused Syrian officials of committing crimes against humanity as part of their brutal crackdown against civilian protesters.

* Greece: Stocks around the world rose after the Greek parliament approved a controversial austerity plan that was not well received by demonstrators in Athens.

* Middle East: The Israeli and Iranian governments have accused each other of a pair of bomb attacks at Israeli missions in India and Georgia.

Video Source– YouTube via swagsoccer7

Online Sources – CNN, Reuters, ABC News, Bloomberg

World Watch: Helping Ai Wewei

* China: Dissident artist Ai Weiwei has received thousands of donations that have covered at least one-third of a $2.4 million tax bill placed against him by the Chinese government.

* Iran: An upcoming International Atomic Energy Agency report will allegedly say that the Iranian government is very close to developing a nuclear arms program.

* Greece: A new interim government is expected to be announced on Tuesday as the country continues to struggle with a major debt crisis.

* U.S.: A federal judge temporarily blocked a rule that would've forced graphic images to be displayed on cigarette packs.

Image – Via Flickr user Daniel Lobo (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources- The Independent, CNN, Reuters

World Watch: Barely breathing

* Greece: Prime Minister George Papandreou barely won a confidence vote though he may have to soon step down due to the county’s economic crisis.

* Afghanistan: U.S Army Major General Peter Fuller was fired from his role in a military training program after he allegedly made “inappropriate” comments against the Afghani government.

* U.S.: Federal authorities are investigating a Texas family law judge who was secretly videotaped abusing his then-teenage daughter in 2004.

* Liberia: Opposition candidate Winston Tubman said that he would not participate in next week’s presidential runoff.

Image Source – Via Flickr user Πρωθυπουργός της Ελλάδας (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Online Sources- USA TODAY, Bloomberg, MSNBC, BBC News

World Watch: Split decision

* Israel: A poll taken of nearly 500 Israelis found an almost even split over whether Israel should attack Iran or not.

* Greece: Prime Minister George Papandreou scrapped plans for a referendum over a European bailout plan though pressure is mounting for him to resign.

* Antarctica: NASA researchers believe that a massive iceberg measuring roughly 340 square miles will break away from Antarctica later this year or in early 2012.

* Egypt: Popular discontent is growing against Egypt’s ruling generals who have submitted a proposal that would grant them greater political power.

Video Source – YouTube via Al Jazeera English (“On Thursday the Israeli army practiced evacuations near Tel Aviv. On Wednesday, it test-fired a long-range ballistic missile, its first in three years. And earlier in the week, the military was involved in joint exercises with the Italian air force near Sardinia.”)

Online Sources – The Guardian, NPR, ABC News, BBC News

World Watch: A post-Gadhafi domino effect?

* Libya: The death of former Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi has reportedly “inspired” Yemeni and Syrian anti-government protesters, while questions continue over the circumstances behind the death.

* Iraq: U.S. President Barack Obama said that troops will be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of this year.

* Thailand: Floodwaters that inundated towns and villages throughout Thailand reached into the capital city of Bangkok.

* Greece: European countries approved an $11 billion bailout loan plan that may prevent the Greek government from defaulting.

Video Source – Via the YouTube page of the Associated Press. (“Inspired by the scenes of euphoria in Libya, Syrian protesters poured into the streets on Friday and shouted that President Bashar Assad's regime will be the next to unravel now that ousted Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi is dead.”)

Online Sources- The Globe and Mail, Bloomberg, BBC News, Reuters, CNN

World Watch: Speculating

* Sweden: Russian human rights figure Svetlana Gannushkina, the Wikileaks website and several “Arab Spring” activists are among the nominees that could win the Nobel Peace Prize that will be announced on Friday.

* World: Greece’s public sector was practically shutdown as a result of a general strike while more people joined demonstrators near Wall Street in New York City.

* U.S.: According to a Pew Research Center study one-third of post-9/11 veterans don’t believe that the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan were “worth fighting for.”

* Somalia: President Sharif Ahmed declared three days of mourning as a result of a suicide truck bomb that killed seventy-two people in Mogadishu.

Image – Flickr via user openDemocracy (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Online Sources- CNN, The Guardian, Monsters & Critics, CBS News, NPR

World Watch: War$

* U.S.: Spending on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as operations in Pakistan could cost nearly $4 trillion according to a study by Brown University researchers.

* China: A lawyer for recently freed artist Al Weiwei said that he would appeal a $1.85 million tax bill sent by authorities.

* Libya: French officials admitted that they’ve sent weapons to Libyan rebels despite the possibility that such actions would break a U.N. resolution.

* Greece: The parliament approved a staunch austerity plan that could lead to a joint E.U./International Monetary Fund bailout.

Image – Al Jazeera English
Online Sources- Voice of America, MSNBC, Reuters, The Guardian

World Watch: Withdrawal

* Afghanistan: President Barack Obama will reportedly announce tomorrow that 30,000 troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan by November 2012.

* Greece: The Greek parliament approved by a very narrow margin a vote of confidence in the government led by prime minister George Papandreou.

* Syria: The E.U. may extend sanctions against Syria while several people died during clashes between pro- and anti-government protesters.

* U.S.: In a rare unanimous vote all 100 members of the U.S. Senate backed Leon Panetta's nomination to become defense secretary at the end of this month.

Image – Ted Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images via The Guardian (“A US soldier from Viper Company (Bravo) on guard in Khost province in the east of Afghanistan on 21 June as President Barack Obama plans to withdraw troops.”)
Online Sources- CNN, Voice of America, Reuters, The Guardian

World Watch: Starving

* World: A study backed by Oxfam concluded that the global population “especially in the world’s poorest countries, are cutting back on the quantity or quality of the food they eat because of rising food prices.”

* U.S.: In a report to Congress, President Barack Obama claimed that the current mission in Libya doesn’t require legislative approval under the War Powers Resolution.

* Greece: Prime Minister George Papandreou brought up the possibility of stepping down in response to mass protests and a national economy in dire straits.

* Sudan: According to the U.N. and several aid workers, “dozens of people” were killed in an internal border area of Sudan.

Image – AFP via The Guardian
Online Sources- AFP, MSNBC, Reuters, Bloomberg

World Watch: Panic in the streets of Athens

* Greece: The Greek government signed off on an austerity plan yet at least 50,000 people went on strike and there have been violent protests in Athens.

* Nigeria: Acting president Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in as Nigeria’s new leader after his predecessor, Umaru Yar'Adua, died on Wednesday.

* Thailand: Anti-government protests continued in Thailand though a reconciliation deal proposed by the country’s Prime Minister could ease tensions.

* U.S.: The man supposedly behind a failed bomb attack in Times Square has reportedly been cooperating with investigators but has yet to reveal his precise motive.

Image – Guardian UK
Online Sources- BBC News, Guardian UK, Reuters, MSNBC

World Watch: Eenie, meenie, miney, moe

* Britain: On the eve of British parliamentary elections it’s a toss-up in the polls as to who will become the next Prime Minister.

* Middle East: According to the U.S. State Department indirect peace talks between Israel and Palestine could take place “within days.”

* Greece: Three people died in protests in Athens that included one group of marchers trying to storm the Greek parliament.

* Somalia: A “veteran” broadcaster was shot dead on Tuesday in a nation a Committee to Protect Journalists official deemed as “the most dangerous country in Africa to be a journalist”.

Image – Sydney Morning Herald (“The latest YouGov poll has Labour, lead by Gordon Brown, left, behind the Tories, lead by David Campbell, right, with Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrats in third spot.”)
Online Sources- MSNBC, Committee to Protect Journalists, BBC News, Reuters

World Watch: Hot Hot Heat

* Greece: Firefighters claim that a series of rampant wildfires on the Greek islands including near Athens are starring to be under control.

* Middle East: Will Israeli and Palestinian representatives soon return to the negotiating table? State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said that it’s moving in that direction.

* Scotland: Despite vociferous opposition, Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill defended the move to free Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi due to health reasons.

* U.S.: Lt. William Calley- who was convicted for the infamous 1968 My Lai massacre- reportedly gave his first public apology last week.

Image- AFP (“A firefighter works amid a thick smoke in Pikermi, an eastern Athens residential area on August 24, 2009”).
Online Sources- Xinhua, AFP, BBC News, Voice of America