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WORLD NEWS FORECAST PREVIEW
FRANCE 16-17 May 2012 Hollywood in line-up for honors at 65th Cannes Film Festival
Director Lars Von Trier was expelled from the 2011 Cannes Film Festival for making Nazi jokes at a press conference. Officials are hoping that the blend of Hollywood and cosmopolitan star power will help the world’s biggest film festival recover from the Von Trier controversy. The poster for the 65th Festival features Marilyn Monroe, who killed herself 50 years ago, and Brad Pitt, Twilight co-stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart and Nicole Kidman are among the Hollywood stars walking the famed red carpet.
THE HAGUE 16 May 2012 Ratko Mladic trial date reset
The trial of Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic in the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was set for Mar 27, but his lawer won a delay until May. Mladic is accused of 11 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes that killed some 100,000 people. His lawyer, Branko Lukic, had wanted the trial postponed until October. He argued that it would take at least until then to read through "hundreds of thousands of pages" of documents.
UNITED STATES 19-20 May 2012 President Obama hosts G8 summit
The United States, 2012 president of the Group of Eight industrialized countries, hosts the G8 leaders at the presidential retreat of Camp David in Maryland. It was moved from Chicago. The NATO summit, originally back-to-back with the G8 in Chicago, President Barak Obama's home town, will stay there. With Camp David too remote to lend itself to mass demonstrations, protesters, possibly in "Arab Spring" numbers, appear set to rally in Chicago against both summits. International aid, a touchy subject, and peace and security appear likely to carry over from the French G8 presidency to the 2012 G8 agenda. Security is expected to unprecedented.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 20 May 2012 Dominicans elect president
The 2012 Dominican presidential vote won't be re-electing the incumbent: President Leonel Fernández has bowed out. It will see a close fight between Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD) presidential candidate Hipólito Mejia, a social democrat who mishandled a banking crisis when president in 2000-04, and Danilo Medina, candidate of the ruling center-right Dominican Liberation Party (PLD). A former president, Mejía lost to Fernández in 2004.
TIMOR LESTE 20 May 2012 Fragile country turns 10
Timor Leste (East Timor) achieved formal independence on 20 May 2002 and became the 191st United Nations member on 27 Sep in the same year. Since then, it has become a member of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and major regional forums. Despite their embrace, plus economic growth and substantial oil revenue, the new country remains poor and politically frail. It passed a major test in 2012 with a peaceful transfer of the presidency. The next is the parliamentary election in July.
SPACE 20 May 2012 First solar eclipse of 2012 a big draw
On May 20 the Sun will grow dark as the Moon passes in front of it. This annular eclipse of the Sun is noteworthy for the potential size of its audience: China, Japan, the Pacific and western United States will be treated to the sight. Annular eclipses are the second best kind because, unlike total eclipses, they do not turn day into night. A bright ring of sunlight visible around the Moon’s silhouette prevents total darkness.
UNITED STATES 20-21 May 2012 Another NATO leap forward?
The 28 NATO leaders in Chicago might need another leap forward. The last leap produced the 2010 Strategic Concept, changing NATO from a Cold War relic to a global force to fight anywhere and deal with problems as diverse as nuclear and cyber-threats. New demands on NATO could trigger the next leap. The Alliance sees China's economic and military thrust as a looming issue, and is knee-deep in Afghanistan. Security will be unprecedented. Huge protests are expected.
GENEVA 21-26 May 2012 65th World Health Assembly meets
Representatives of the 193 member states of the World Health Organization gather to set priorities, hear reports on programs and elect a Director-General. As the nominated candidate, Dr. Margaret Chan can count on re-election, and the member states can expect a reminder from her that priorities and programs require proper funding. The WHO reports that the shortfall threatens gains in its tobacco and malaria fights and in efforts to deal with emerging drug and insecticide resistance.
BAKU 22-26 May 2012 Azerbaijan hosts annual Eurovision Song Contest
Ell/Nikki’s song at the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest in Düsseldorf, “Running Scared,” won Azerbaijan the honor of hosting a broadcasting phenomenon. As a sign of the times, Azerbaijan’s İctimai TV will broadcast the contest live on the Internet as well as on television, and contest visitors arriving at Heydar Aliyev International Airport will be welcomed by robots.