1. Queen Elizabeth Visits Ireland. In the first visit to Ireland by a British monarch in over 100 years, Queen Elizabeth began a four-day trip to the United Kingdom’s closest neighbor on May 17. During her visit, Queen Elizabeth visited the site of the infamous “Bloody Sunday” massacre, when British soldiers killed 14 civilians, and a memorial to Irishmen who fought against the British in their war of independence. Many in Ireland have expressed opposition to the royal visit, and offshoots of the Irish Republican Army have threatened violence against the Queen. There is also ongoing tension regarding the political status of Northern Ireland, currently under United Kingdom governance.
2. IMF Leader Under Arrest in New York. The world’s most powerful financier, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, is at New York City’s Rikers Island jail awaiting trial for attempted rape. In addition to being in charge of the International Monetary Fund, which loans money to nations in danger of going bankrupt, Strauss-Kahn was seen as a viable and popular candidate in the French presidential election. Strauss-Kahn is charged with attempted rape for allegedly assaulting and trying to rape a maid at a Manhattan hotel. He is considered a flight risk due to the fact that he was arrested aboard an Air France jet just prior to its departure.
3. Al-Qaeda Appoints Acting Leader. Saif al-Adel, an Egyptian, has been selected to replace Osama bin Laden as the head of al-Qaeda. The terrorist leader was killed earlier this month in an American special forces raid in Pakistan. The decision is expected to dissatisfy Saudi and Yemeni members of al-Qaeda, who are less comfortable with an Egyptian running the operations of the terrorist organization. Al-Adel aided the Mujahidin in their fight against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s, where he is believed to have made contact with anti-American groups in Afghanistan. It is not known who will take over al-Qaeda permanently.
4. U.S. to Impose Sanctions on Syria. As the situation in Syria continues to deteriorate, the U.S. government announced on May 18 that targeted sanctions would be put into place against the Syrian president. The efforts are intended to increase pressure on the Syrian leadership as it continues to crack down on protests in the country. The United Nations reports that about 850 people died in the protests. The government has recently been using elements of the military, including artillery and armored vehicles, to disperse and end protests in cities throughout Syria.
5. Spanish Protesters Decry High Unemployment. Protesters in Spain took to the streets in protest of the nation’s staggering 21 percent unemployment rate. Spain has seen a record 4.9 million people without jobs as a result of the financial crisis. The protests come as European nations are implementing debt-reducing austerity measures. Ireland, Portugal and Greece have already been “bailed out” in European Union economic rescue plans, but there are concerns that the worsening economic crisis could weaken the euro and cause economic instability across the “Eurozone,” the countries in Europe who have adopted the euro as the official currency.
All information gathered from cnn.com.
