World Watch: Seven billion and counting

* World: According to the U.N. Population Fund the global population is expected to reach the 7 billion person mark by the end of October.

* Israel: Israel’s Supreme Court approved the planned exchange of over 1000 prisoners for an Israeli soldier held by Hamas.

* U.S.: Questions over safety have been raised after the death of IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon who passed away in a massive accident while racing on Sunday.

* Spain: Several international delegates including ex-U.N. chief Kofi Annan and former Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern urged Basque separatist group ETA to lay down their arms.

Image – Via Flickr user storyvillegirl (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Online Sources – The Telegraph, Voice of America, SI.com, BBC News

Daily Headlines: April 4, 2011

* Colombia: The Obama administration implied that a subpoena should not be issued against former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe in a lawsuit accusing Drummond mining company of hiring paramilitaries.

* Brazil: In potentially bombshell allegations made by Veja magazine, militants linked to Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, and Hamas are supposedly hiding out in Brazil.

* Cuba: Ex-U.S. President Jimmy Carter ended his three-day visit to Cuba last week by criticizing the U.S. embargo on the island as well as calling for greater freedom of expression for anti-Castro dissidents.

* Nicaragua: Former U.N. General Assembly Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann of Nicaragua rejected rumors of becoming Libya’s envoy to the U.N.

Image – Zoe Selsky/AP via The Guardian (“Salvatore Mancuso (left) with paramilitary soldiers near Turbo, Colombia.” The former head of the AUC paramilitary umbrella group currently sits in a U.S. prison accused of drug trafficking).
Online Sources- MSNBC, Xinhua, Reuters

Weekend World Watch: Opening the gates

* Sri Lanka: International pressure and domestic “security concerns” were reportedly behind the Sri Lankan government's move to free 130,000 Tamil refugees kept in internment camps.

* China: At least 87 people have died and 21 are missing after an explosion at a northeastern Chinese coal mine.

* Middle East: Hamas and other Gaza-based rebel factions agreed to end rocket attacks against Israel yet warned that it would resume doing so “in the event of any Israeli incursions.”

* Vatican City: Pope Benedict XV met with the head of the Anglican Church as more conservative Anglicans are increasingly upset at the Church's wider of acceptance of gays and women.

Image – Guardian UK (“Tamil civilians peep over a fence at an internment camp in Vavuniya yesterday.”)
Online Sources- Al Jazeera English, MSNBC, Bloomberg, BBC News

World Watch: Remembrance

Our blog covers issues affecting Latin America and Latinos in the U.S., yet it’s about time that we focus on some of the news stories making headlines beyond the Americas. Our newest daily feature- World Watch- will examine some international articles of interest.

* Japan: Nearly 50,000 people gathered in Hiroshima to mark the 64th anniversary of the world's first atomic bomb attack and remembered the 260,000 killed from the blast.

* World: According to CNET News, a “pro-Georgian blogger” with several social network accounts was targeted in a denial of service attack that lead to massive delays in Twitter and Facebook.

* Palestine: Human Rights Watch criticized Palestinian militant groups including factions allied to Hamas for rocket attacks targeting Israel.

* U.S.: Rest in peace film director John Hughes; please say “hi” to Principal Vernon for us.

Image- AFP (“Smoke billows 20,000 feet above Hiroshima after the first atomic bomb was dropped on the city” in 1945.)
Online Sources- CNET News, Voice of America, CNN IMDB.com, Time