World Week Ahead: Yemeni President Leaves Country; Presidential Nail-biter in Peru
YEMEN | Crowds celebrated the departure of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who sought medical treatment in Saudi Arabia over the weekend from shrapnel when his presidential compound came under attack by tribal rivals.
Pro-democracy protesters, seeking Saleh’s removal after nearly 33 years in power, rushed into a part of the capital Sana’a they call “Change Square,” cheering and lighting fireworks. British and U.S. diplomats reportedly were urging Saudi Arabia to convince Saleh to step down, as U.S. Ambassador Michael Feierstein met with Saleh’s replacement, deputy Abed-Rabbo Mansour Hadi, Al-Arabiya TV said.
Saleh has so far resisted an Arab Gulf agreement to leave office in exchange for immunity.
Watch: A video on YouTube showing the celebrations in Change Square
Additional stories we’re tracking:
PERU | Left-leaning candidate Lt. Col. Ollanta Humala emerhed as the victor in Peru’s presidential run-off election Monday. His opponent was right-leaning Congresswoman Keiko Fujimori, daughter of jailed former President Alberto Fujimori.
Humala’s economic policies will likely be a sharp break from the programs of President Alan Garcia (who cannot run for a second term), and he has promised to increase state control over natural resources. Although the country is experiencing economic growth, Peruvians — particularly in rural areas — are not feeling the effects and were expected to show their discontent at the polls, according to analysts. Humala has insisted he will follow the path of Brazil’s former president Lula de Silva, and not that of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez.
View: The Christian Science Monitor’s photo essay of the tight race
SYRIA | More deaths were reported in Syria over the weekend and on Monday as protesters of Syrian leader Bashar Assad clashed with security forces in the northwestern region of Jisrash Shughur, according to human rights groups. Foreign journalists are severely restricted in Syria, making it difficult to verify information.
Assad has made some political concessions, but protesters say they are not enough and want him to go.
Read: More about Assad and other embattled leaders in the Arab spring.
SUDAN | Khartoum has dismissed calls from the U.N. Security Council to remove its troops from the central oil-rich town of Abyei. President Omar al-Bashir’s forces took over the town on May 21, and tens of thousands of residents have since fled.
The move comes ahead of the July 9 division of Northern and Southern Sudan. One of the issues still in need of a resolution is how the two countries will share oil revenues.
Read: A New York Times report on the actions of Bashir and his supporters ahead of the South’s secession
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(Source: newshour.pbs.org)
