What in the World?

Greetings! And welcome to another edition of What in the World? Here’s your weekly dose of world news.

The. U.S.

First of all, a happy belated Fourth of July! Did everyone (who celebrates the holiday, that is) go out and see some fireworks? I hope so! It’s not an American holiday without some explosions.

Live in NYC? Then keep your eyes peeled today, because The Queen is in town. Yes– THE Queen, England’s Queen Elizabeth II. She just spent nine days in Canada, and is popping into New York today to address the U.N. and express her desire for world peace. It’s her first visit to the U.S. in over 30 years, and her first time speaking to the United Nations in over half a century. Last time she spoke to them, it was four years after she became England’s top fancy-hat-wearing lady.

The oil spill in the Gulf is (can you guess?) still going on. (I can’t wait until the week I can report that it’s finally stopped.) Over the weekend, small tar balls reached Texas beaches, meaning the oil is now officially affecting every single Gulf state. BP has spent over $3 billion on cleanup so far — and that’s not including the $20 billion they’re putting into a fund for those whose lives and livelihoods have been affected by the gusher. The “good news,” BP says, is that the relief wells being drilled are still on-track to be finished by early- or mid-August. Hopefully the wells will stop the out-of-control flow, beacause… well, those wells are kind of the only real fix. Don’t get your hopes up though — experts are only giving the first two wells a 70-80 percent chance of immediate success. It could take months for the crude to stop flowing, and more wells may need to be drilled. I guess only time will tell.

Not sure whether to put this under The U.S. or Russia, but did you hear about the Russian spies that got arrested last week? 11 people were arrested in the U.S. on suspicion (okay, it was way more than suspicion) of being Russian spies. (Russian spies still exist?!? I feel like I’m watching an episode of “Alias.”) It doesn’t seem like any of these spies were pulling off any James Bond shenanigans, however. In fact, it doesn’t look like they were stealing very many “secrets” at all. But they’re still spies. And we don’t like spies.

The Middle-East

On Monday, Israel finally agreed to somewhat ease the blockade its been enforcing for over three years in Gaza. Travel and exports will still be restricted, but Israel has agreed to allow more aid, materials and “luxury” items deemed “safe” into Gaza. For example, things like washing machines and mattresses were finally delivered on Monday. Up until now, those had both been no-nos. Critics of the blockade aren’t very impressed with Israel’s latest move, though, especially since building materials are still going to be restricted. It’s estimated that 86,000 homes need to be built or rebuilt, due to population increases and the destruction of many buildings during last year’s war. But a small step is better than no step at all.

Europe

Today in France, parliament begins debating a bill that would ban women from wearing Islamic veils that cover the whole body — such as the burqa. Supporters of the bill say the traditional attire is demeaning to women. While I’m all for freedom, I do have to wonder how the Islamic community feels about this. It seems like a dangerous mix of government regulating religion, if you ask me.

South America

Researchers in Peru looking for whale skeletons in a desert stumbled across something unexpected — the skeleton of a gigantic “sea monster,” three times the size of a modern-day killer whale. (Yes, I know you’re probably confused as to why they were looking for whale bones in a desert… well it used to be underwater at some point.) At first, they thought the beast’s teeth sticking up out of the sand were elephant tusks, they were that big. Meaning this would have been one big, mean creature of the deep. Pretty cool, huh?

Also, if you’ve been following the World Cup, you’ll know that nearly all of the South American teams have now been bumped out. After the Round of 16, it looked like S.America was going to dominate — Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Argentina all looked strong. But they all lost their next games, and now it’s a battle between European teams (Spain, Germany, the Netherlands) and the one lone South American team left in the running — Uruguay. Who do you think is going to win it?

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Lastly (and not related to What in the World?), I just want to give a shout out to the 1st edition of the Gen Y Travel Blog Carnival, hosted by Maiden Voyage. It’s a great collection of interesting blog posts and features from around the world. And I’m even featured! Check it out.

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