South America
Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez returned to work recently after a successful surgery to remove a lesion from his pelvis. Chavez was flown to Havana for the operation, where he was operated on by two Cuban surgeons. It has not been confirmed if the lesion was malignant or not. However, Chavez has had two previous surgeries in the last year removing a malignant tumor in the same area. There are some doubts among the Venezuelan people that Chavez is healthy enough to manage the government, and this operation could take a toll on his chances at re-election this coming October. Chavez has been in power since 1998, and has always maintained an image of strength and energy throughout his term. The opposition believes that Chavez’ health is much worse than he is letting the people know, and many have trouble trusting the president after he said that his cancer was cured last year.

Europe
Recent public spending cuts in Spain have sparked protests by students in several cities. The budget cuts are a result of deficit reduction mandates issued by Brussels in order to ensure that Europe is on the right track to recovery and to secure investors around the continent. Many classrooms around the country were left without heating due to the lack of funding, leading students to head to the streets in protest. Although the movements have been peaceful in Madrid and Valencia, incidents of violence have occurred in Barcelona, with reports of broken windows and fires. The protesters numbered at 60,000 to 70,000, depending on the city, although local police reported around half of those numbers. The unrest will most likely continue as cuts in education and health care continue.

Africa
Costa Cruises, a subdivision of the Carnival Cruise Company, has had another mishap following the recent capsizing of the Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy. The Costa Allegra, a much smaller ship than the Concordia, was stranded in the Indian Ocean north of Madagascar without power, running water or hot food. The loss of power was caused by a fire in one of the diesel generators, and although the fire was put out within an hour, the other two engines failed as well. The engine failures left the crew and all 627 passengers stranded in pirate-infested waters near Somalia. A small generator was hooked up, but could only be used to power communication equipment for the rescue efforts. Carnival has reserved over 600 airplane seats and 400 hotel rooms in order to apologize to disgruntled customers. The Allegra has been towed to the nearby Seychelles islands capital, Victoria, in order to repair the engines.

Australia/Oceania
Google has begun photographing the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of northeastern Australia in order to create a version of Google Street View featuring underwater life. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef in the world, and will be photographed in its entirety by 360 degree cameras and robotic technology. Once the project is completed, Google will upload the photographs to its Panoramio site for use on Google Maps and Google Earth. People will now be able to explore one of the largest underwater ecosystems from the comfort of their own homes. The team of scientists conducting the project hope to capture the 1,500 species that live in the reef and to show this beautiful landmark in its full glory.

Middle East
A conflict in Afghanistan has escalated with around 30 people killed in protest of the recent Quran burnings. The burnings of the Islamic holy book occurred outside of a NATO base, and has spurred Afghani government officials and U.N. representatives to call for disciplinary action for those involved. President Obama has issued a letter of apology to Afghanistan’s president, Hamad Karzai, calling the incident an “error.” Karzai is requesting that the burners of the book be put on public trial and punished. There are two separate investigations underway as of now, by both NATO officials and Afghan authorities. More protests are speculated to occur if the authorities go “too soft” on the accused, according to U.N. officials.

Asia
In recent talks with the United States, North Korea has agreed to suspend several parts of its nuclear program and has reopened the opportunity for nuclear disarmament talks. In the past, North Korea has been secretive about its nuclear activities and has rejected any peace talks or international inspections on its weapons programs. This breakthrough comes just two months after the death of former leader Kim Jong-il, and is one of the first major decisions made by his 28 year-old son and new leader, Kim Jong-un. The agreement will open up the possibility of six-party talks, which include North and South Korea, Japan, Russia, China and the United States. These talks were halted back in 2008, with Korea expelling nuclear inspectors from the country and putting up a wall of secrecy surrounding its nuclear program. So far, North Korea has agreed to halt nuclear tests, long-range missile launches and enrichment of Uranium at its Yongbyon facility and will also allow nuclear inspectors back in the country.

Harry Hutter is the Advertising Editor for The Spartan Speaks