World Watch: Chen’s Destiny

* China: U.S. and Chinese officials are reportedly close to reaching a deal that would grant political asylum to escaped Chinese legal activist Chen Guangcheng.

* Burma: U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the easing of sanctions against the government while opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, said her party will agree to swear the parliamentary oath this week.

* U.S.: According to a new study published online in Nature Neuroscience, the way in which the brain is wired may explain why some people engage in risk-taking behavior such as smoking or experimenting with drugs.

* France: With days to go before the country’s presidential election, President Nicolas Sarkozy said that he will sue a news website that claimed that he received accepted a multi-million euro campaign donation from late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

Video Source– YouTube via Associated Press

Online Sources – New York Daily News, Voice of America, The Telegraph, CBS News

Daily Headlines: February 8, 2012

* Brazil: Carnival celebrations in Rio de Janeiro could be threatened by police officers that may reportedly join their comrades in Bahia state and go on an illegal strike.

* Mexico: A judge dropped some of the charges against two people accused of trying to smuggle members of former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi's family into Mexico.

* U.S.: A preliminary deal over state and federal redistricting in Texas might not reflect the state’s growing Latino population according to some local legislators.

* Latin America: Drought conditions in several Latin American countries could lead to a global spike in the prices of corn.

Video Source – YouTube via euronews

Online Sources- NASDAQ, CBS News, Bloomberg, CBC News

World Watch: Ciao Silvio

* Italy: The Senate is poised to approve a series of austerity measures that will likely lead to the resignation of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

* China: The country’s inflation rate decreased for a third consecutive month as the government is supposedly trying to “cool economic growth.”

* Iran: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Iran would not back down from its nuclear program despite a U.N. report indicating “serious concern” over developing nuclear arms.

* Libya: International Criminal Court Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said that he was close to completing an investigation regarding hundreds of rapes allegedly overseen by officials under former leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Video Source – YouTube user euronews

Online Sources- BBC News, Reuters, Voice of America

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: Beyond Gadhafi

Note: The major news headline of today was the death of deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi. There have been other important pieces of news from around the world, however, which we will highlight in today’s “World Watch”.

* Spain: Representatives of militant Basque separatist group ETA claimed that they will halt their decades-long armed campaign.

* Afghanistan: At least 115 suspected insurgents were reportedly killed over the past week by NATO and Afghan forces.

* Philippines: Colleagues of the late Father Fausto Tentorio have accused the army of killing the “great advocate for disadvantaged people.”

* Denmark: A study by Danish researchers has raised doubts over the rumored links between cell phone use and brain cancer.

Video Source – YouTube user europapress

Online Sources- Reuters, MSNBC, Al Jazeera English, ABC News

World Watch: Eradicating malaria

* Africa: Preliminary results of an experimental vaccine against malaria showed that the vaccine cut the risk of disease in infants roughly in half.

* Middle East: Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit was freed as part of a prisoner exchange that also liberated 477 Palestinians.

* Libya: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Libya today and is expected to meet with rebel leaders who helped in the ouster of former leader Moammar Gadhafi.

* Cambodia: The trial of four ex-members of the Khmer Rouge accused of crimes against humanity and genocide is scheduled to begin next month.

Image – Via Flickr user US Army Africa (“U.S. Army medical researchers in Kenya mark World Malaria Day 2010.”)

Online Sources- Voice of America, MSNBC, ABC News, The Guardian

Daily Headlines: October 3, 2011

* Cuba: According to the Miami Herald’s website the first member of a group of convicted spies known as the “Cuban Five” will be released from prison on Friday.

* Latin America: U.S. President Barack Obama could send stalled free trade pacts with Colombia and Panama to Congress today, while Human Rights Watch warned that Colombia has made "virtually no progress" in getting convictions against killers of labor activists.

* Venezuela: President Hugo Chavez claimed that he prayed to “God to protect the life of our brother Muammar Gaddafi” and also expressed solidarity with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.

* Argentina: Los Pumas qualified to the quarterfinals of the Rugby World Cup but they will face the daunting task of trying to beat host country and heavy favorites New Zealand.

Online Sources - NPR, MiamiHerald.com, Reuters, CBC News

Image –BBC News (Supporters of the “Cuban Five” claim that they were wrongly convicted of spying on the U.S. government and have been mistreated while imprisoned).

World Watch: Presidential problems

* World: Clashes broke out at the trial against former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak while ex-president Jacques Chirac of France faces a maximum ten-year prison sentence if convicted of corruption.

* Africa: The U.N. warned that as many as 750,000 people could die in the upcoming months due to a famine that originated in Somalia.

* Libya: Authorities in China denied a report by Canada's The Globe and Mail newspaper alleging that Chinese firms were planning to sell $200 million in weapons to deposed Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

* Japan: At least 34 people died as a result of one of the worst typhoons to hit Japan in recent years.

Image – Reuters via The Guardian (“Riot police clash with anti-Mubarak protestors on the first day of the former Egyptian president's return to trial.”)

Online Sources- Voice of America, euronews, MSNBC, CNN, BBC News

World Watch: Deadline

* Libya: Rebels gave besieged leader Muammar Gaddafi a deadline of the Saturday to "peacefully surrender."

* Asia: The Food and Agriculture Organization warned of a possible resurgence of the H5N1 avian flu virus in several Asian nations.

* South Africa: Police in Johannesburg clashed with backers of Julius Malema, the head of the African National Congress' youth wing.

* India: A court ordered the postponement of the execution of three people convicted of participating in the 1991 assassination of ex-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Image Source - AP via MSNBC ("Libyan rebel fighters prepare to patrol the village of Heisha on Tuesday.")
Online Source - BBC News, Al Jazeera English, Sydney Morning Herald, CNN

World Watch: Famine

* Africa: Donors at the African Union summit pledged $351 million in aid to combat a spreading famine though some activists expressed doubts over the figure.

* World: Typhoon Nanmadol is expected to bring heavy rains and whipping winds to Taiwan and the Phillipines while the East Coast of the U.S. is bracing for Hurricane Irene.

* Libya: The search continues for Moammar Gadhafi while rebels continue to make progress in Tripoli against loyalist forces.

* Sri Lanka: President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced that he would end the country's emergency wartime laws that have been in the books for nearly three decades.

Online Sources - Voice of America, CBS News, MSNBC, Bloomberg, Reuters
Image Source - AP via The Guardian ("Muslim clerics walk along a dirt road outside Dadaab, eastern Kenya. A forthcoming interactive will look at the relief effort in the area.")

World Watch: Battle of Tripoli

* Libya: The almost 42 years of rule under Muammar Gaddafi are close to over as rebels battle loyalists in Tripoli though reports that one of his sons, Saif al-Islam, was detained seem to be premature.

* India: Support seems to be growing for Anna Hazare, an anti-corruption social activist who has been on a hunger strike for over a week.

* U.S.: Prosecutors in New York have requested that a court drop sexual assault charges against ex-International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

* Syria: According to the U.N. over 2200 people have died in a government crackdown against dissidents and protesters since early March.

Image – Sergey Ponomarev/AP via The Guardian (“An artist paints a caricature of Muammar Gaddafi on a wall in Benghazi. The once-ubiquitous Libyan dictator is nowhere to be seen.”)
Online Sources- Al Jazeera English, MSNBC, CSMonitor.com, BBC News

World Watch: Strings attached

* U.S.: Could the arrest of International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn serve as a prime opportunity for “increasingly rich developing countries” to seek greater power in the organization?

* Israel: Israeli officials are preparing for possible civilian uprisings similar to those that took place in nearby countries like Bahrain and Egypt.

* Libya: International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said he was seeking arrest warrants against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and two others.

* Vatican: Catholic Church officials urged bishops to cooperate with police and report possible cases of child and sexual abuse.

Image – Reuters via The Guardian (“Dominique Strauss-Kahn sits behind court officers at Manhattan criminal court, New York.” The IMF head was arrested on Sunday night and was accused of sexually assaulting a hotel maid.)
Online Sources- MSNBC, The Guardian, The Telegraph, AP

World Watch: Under the surface

* Italy: While the E.U. continues to debate over immigration, rescuers keep searching the Mediterranean for survivors of a capsized boat that carried over 200 migrants from North Africa.

* Libya: Documents revealed that Moammar Gadhafi waged a PR campaign to improve his image that included favorable opinion pieces in major U.S. dailies and a failed book project on his "ideas on democracy".

* Ivory Coast: French troops and opposition forces are reportedly knocking at the presidential palace’s door yet besieged leader Laurent Gbagbo continues to bunker and not cede power.

* India: Researchers found highly resistant “superbugs” in bacteria in water supplies of the capital city of New Delhi.

Video Source – euronews via YouTube
Online Sources- AFP, Reuters, Voice of America, Monsters and Critics, CNN

World Watch: Gbagbo give up?

* Ivory Coast: France and the U.N. have set out a conditions for embattled leader Laurent Gbagbo to hand over the presidency though that may not save him from possible prosecution by the International Criminal Court.

* Japan: India suspended food imports from Japan due to concerns over radiation while the U.S. and the E.U. are considering similar restrictions.

* Libya: Rebel commander Gen. Abdul Fattah Younis blasted NATO efforts as “not doing anything” to help civilians under attack by forces loyal to President Muammar Gaddafi.

* Italy: Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is not expected to appear in court on Wednesday when trial proceedings being in the “bunga bunga” sex scandal.

Image – Rebecca Blackwell/AP via CSMonitor.com (“New Forces soldiers loyal to Alassane Ouattara drive at a checkpoint at one of the principal entrances to Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Tuesday.”)
Online Sources- Xinhua, BBC News, Times of India, Reuters

Venezuela’s Chavez blasts intervention in Libya

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has appeared in plenty of headlines over the past 24 hours regarding his receiving of a journalism award from an Argentine university. Yet Chavez continues to be involved in a news story that has dominated the global news headlines for several weeks: the unrest in Libya.

Accompanied by his Argentine counterpart Cristina Fernandez, Chavez yesterday continued his staunch criticism of the U.S.-led military strikes against the Libyan government. “We don’t want outside strange elements in the region that come to alter the peace we need” said Chavez regarding the role the UNASUR bloc should play in preventing interventions similar to those in Libya.

His criticisms continued today during his visit to Uruguay where he claimed that the “imperial march for oil” was the reason behind the actions against Libyan president Muammar Gaddafi. “Why don’t you ask Obama where he stands: beyond Gaddafi or no Gaddafi?” Chavez said to a Uruguayan journalist.

On Monday the Venezuelan president claimed that there was a conspiracy to associate him and Gadhafi as “cruel dictators who go after their countrymen.” But despite the close ties between both leaders Chavez rejected today the notion that Venezuela could grant asylum to the embattled Libyan leader.

While Fernandez critiqued the military intervention in Libya as trying to “solve problems by dropping bombs”, one of their South American compatriots seemed to hesitate in backing Gadhafi:

President Evo Morales of Bolivia has called for human rights abuses in Libya to be 'judged' as he appeared to step back from his support for Gaddafi…

Morales said he still 'condemns' the international intervention in the north African nation but also maintained that 'those who violate human rights to defend their government must be judged (and) condemned.'

Coincidentally, Morales’ point seems to have been shared by Africa's highest court that have raised charges against Gadhafi for "massive violations of human rights."

Image- TRT/AP via CSMonitor.com (“This video image taken from Turkish television Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is seen during an interview with the TV channel TRT, in Tripoli, Libya, on March 8.”)
Online Sources- Press TV, El Universal, El Tiempo, Monsters and Critics, Two Weeks Notice, Sky News, The Guardian, Venezuela Analysis

World Watch: Radioactivity

* Japan: Authorities keep trying to control an ailing nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan while stocks worldwide tumbled due to fears over the Japanese economy.

* Libya: UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon called for an "immediate ceasefire" though intense fighting continues between factions loyal to and opposed to Muammar Gaddafi.

* Iran: Could boxing legend Muhammad Ali help free two U.S. hikers imprisoned in Iran?

* World: European police uncovered what is believed to be the world’s largest child pornography network with an estimated 70,000 members.

Image – AP via The Guardian (“The severely damaged unit 4 of the Fukushima nuclear complex in northeastern Japan. Behind it, white smoke billows from unit 3.”)
Online Sources- MSNBC, Reuters, BusinessWeek, Al Jazeera English

Libya green lights Venezuelan meditation

The armed conflict in Libya keeps escalating as hospitals run low on supplies and several towns surrounding the capital city of Tripoli are under a ‘state of siege”. The window for dialogue between the repressive government and opposition forces seemed to have passed a long time ago. Yet that hasn’t stopped one of Muammar Gaddafi’s few allies from taking a stab at meditation.

Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim said this afternoon that his country’s government would accept Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’ plans for an international mediation commission. According to Reuters, Kaim said the committee could "help the international dialogue and…help the restoration of peace and stability."

Kaim’s remarks were supported by foreign minister Mousa Kousa based on a letter read by his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduro. “We authorize (the Venezuelan government) to take all the measures necessary to select the members (of the commission) and coordinate participation in this dialogue” read the note from Kousa that was mentioned during a meeting of the ALBA bloc today.

Some ALBA members supported the Chavez plan as one that could help prevent foreign intervention through actions such as an outside military invasion. It remains to be seen how non-ALBA Latin American nations will react to the plan though several governments have been very critical of Gadhafi’s crackdown against protesters.

Chavez first brought up the notion of a “committee of peace” earlier this week after he reportedly communicated with the embattled Libyan leader. Though the Arab League was considering the plan several western countries like the U.S. and France rejected it. “It’s unclear what a commission could accomplish if (Gadhafi) has ignored numerous calls by the international community to resign” asserted State Department spokesman Philip Crowley yesterday.

Some analysts have expressed doubts over Chavez’ call for dialogue; blogger and professor Greg Weeks briefly noted how his attitude towards Libya differed from his reaction at the recent uprising in Egypt. Furthermore, according to this article from Al Jazeera English:

Some see a contradiction between human rights abuses in those regimes and Chavez’s "21st century socialism" ideology.

"While it's understandable that you’d want to build this multipolar world against western imperialism, if that multipolarism consists of Russia, China, and a bunch of authoritarian regimes then what use is a multipolar world?" (author Nicolas) Kozloff said.

Image- AP/Ben Curtis via CBS News (“Armed residents stand on top of a captured tank flying a flag of Libya's monarchy prior to Muammar Qaddafi's reign, in Zawiya, Feb. 27, 2011.”)
Online Sources- Al Jazeera English, EPA, Semana.com, Two Weeks Notice, The Latin Americanist, Agencia Venezolana de Noticias, Reuters

Daily Headlines: March 1, 2011

* Latin America: Could the recent unrest in the Middle East and North Africa hinder Latin America’s economic growth?

* Venezuela: On a related note Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez rejected condemning Moammar Gadhafi and also called for “prudency” regarding Libya.

* Bolivia: President Evo Morales vowed that homes would be built for approximately 4000 people left homeless after a massive landslide on Sunday.

* Brazil: Increased oil production was credited as the main reason why Petrobras’ latest quarterly profits grew by 38%.

Image – Ben Curtis/AP via The Guardian (“Soldiers from the Libyan military's elite Khamis Brigade take up positions east of Zawiyah.”)
Online Sources- UPI, MSNBC, CNN, Bloomberg

World Watch: Reef-er madness

* World: A World Resources Institute report concluded that climate change along with human activities like pollution and overfishing have severely threatened the world’s coral reefs.

* Libya: Muammar Gaddafi continues to remain defiant in the face of mounting domestic and international pressure.

* New Zealand: The official death toll from Tuesday’s 6.3-magnitude earthquake grew to 123 while survivors have had to endure numerous violent aftershocks.

* Ivory Coast: The country is at the brink of civil war according to the U.N. as battles between government forces and rebels have intensified this week.

Image – Mark Conlin/Alamy via The Guardian (“Reefs at Risk report says coral reef, like this one off Fiji are in danger. The consequences – especially for countries that depend of reefs for food – will be severe.”)
Online Sources- CNN Xinhua, Reuters, BBC News

World Watch: The final countdown

* Libya: Time appears to be running out for Moammar Gadhafi as opposition forces have taken over vast parts of eastern Libya.

* World: The price of oil crept past the $100 per barrel mark reportedly due to unrest in North Africa and the Middle East.

* New Zealand: The death toll from Tuesday’s 6.3-magnitude quake has reached 75 though it’s expected to climb as hundreds of people are still missing.

* India: Thousands of protesters gathered in the capital city of Delhi and called for the government to tackle rising food prices and unemployment.

Image – Alaguri/AP via The Guardian (“Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi portrayed in a graffiti caricature with writing in Arabic reading, 'The Monkey of Monkeys of Africa', a reference to Gaddafi's self-declared title, 'The King of Kings of Africa'.”)
Online Sources- BBC News, MSNBC, The Guardian, CSMonitor.com