As the week galloped along, the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico took on cataclysmic proportions as news of grossly underestimated amounts of oil flowing from the accident site came to light. On the other side of the world, the crackdown in Thailand continued and word that former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra would be speaking in Paris on May 31st brought fresh anxieties of more protests. And finally, a Late Night Live sit-down interview with Christopher Hitchens at ABC Radio National in Australia. Some week.

(The storm, the quiet, the crackdown in Bangkok)

From ABC Radio National's PM daily news roundup, word that the ongoing Thai crackdown on redshirt protesters also netted an Irish/Australian responsible for delivering some flaming rhetoric during the height of the protests. Also on this May 25th broadcast, news of an Israeli diplomat expelled from Australia and the criticism because of it.

(Stumping a new book on a visit to Sydney with a surprisingly civil chat)

However you feel about Christopher Hitchens (and I know there is probably an equal number of you hating his guts for various reasons), having the chance to sit and listen to a civil interview with him being conducted in a civil articulate manner as it happened on the ABC Radio National program Late Night Live was somewhat refreshing. Maybe it's our media . . . who knows? Anyway, here is an hour long interview done live on the 26th.

(If the finger being used to point blame could plug this hole . . .)

The saga of the Gulf Oil Spill seems to have no end in sight. It has already surpassed the infamous Exxon Valdez disaster of the late 80's in sheer magnitude and amounts of oil spewing out and destroying mile after mile of coastline. Now the Blame Game is in full engagement. But as this May 27th installment of the BBC World Service program Newshour asks, what is the political price going to be?

( . . and all he got was a lousy T-shirt)

From Radio France International's English Service, their program Focus On France from this past Friday (May 28th)talks about the upcoming visit of former Thai Premier Thaksin Shinawatra and fears that he will refuel the fires of protest back in Bangkok and how the French feel about that as he prepares to deliver his speech on May 31st.

(New Ethiopian leader Meles Zenawi - some folks aren't happy)

And finally, from The BBC World Service Africa Service comes This Week In Africa, a roundup of events taking place the past week and broadcast earlier today (May 29th). Among the news items is the report of the recent elections in Ethiopia and the victory of Meles Zenawi and how the opposition is crying foul and demanding a recount . . .how unusual or maybe how unusual if they didn't?

So that's it from the rest of the world. As always, if you thought this week sucked, there's always next week and it should be coming up shortly.

May 14, 1978 saw the world in a state of threatened discontent. There were grumblings of a war developing between Ethiopia and Somalia. Border clashes between China and Russia brought a call from Beijing for intense training of its armed forces, citing a war between the two Communist powers was inevitable. Three Cambodian soldiers were killed in a clash with Thai Border police. And Yassar Arafat let everyone know Cuba offered to send troops to Lebanon if the PLO asked.

Meanwhile, a group of military experts was slated to accompany National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski on his upcoming trip to China. It was viewed as a slap in the face to Taiwan and further evidence the Taipei government was losing favor with the White House.

Speaking of Capitol Hill; the big push was on to win over votes in the Senate for Jimmy Carter's F-15 Fighter jet sales package to Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The bill was in threat of being vetoed and Carter pledged to override the veto if push came to shove.

A Russian language newspaper published in Manhattan was bombed by a Pro-Israeli group calling themselves The Jewish Resistance. No injuries, but a lot of damage, and phone calls claiming credit also demanded Russian Jews be allowed to emigrate to Israel.

In Zimbabwe Rhodesia. Abel Muzorewa threatened to pull out of the bi-racial transitional government of Ian Smith over the recent dismissal of a Black judge.

And American companies operating in Iran were told to restrict the movements of their employees because of intensified anti-government violence against the Shah.

Supposedly a quiet news day, since May 14th in 1978 was a Sunday.

All that, as reported by Neil Strawser on the 7:00 am (PDT) CBS Hourly News.

No end to conflicts and potential hot spots, this February 23rd in 1975. Southeast Asia eruptions were continuing with the Mekon river blockade now effectively cutting off Phnom Penh and rebel fighting throughout Cambodia. Likewise in South Vietnam where terrorist attacks were inching closer to Saigon. All this activity triggered calls from President Ford to send military aid to the region. Congress wasn't thrilled. We'd been there. We'd done that. We got the bloodstains to prove it. Still, there were some such as Strom Thurmond who thought we should pour nothing but money into the region in exchange for their oil, if and when they found some.

Elsewhere in the Lovely Neighborhood - Secretary of State Henry Kissinger returned from a tour of the Middle East, saying he was "optimistic" that talks-about-talks-about-talks were looking up. Senator Ted Kennedy introduced legislation asking for a cut-off of military aid to the oil producing Persian Gulf nations, saying instability in the region begged for a hold-off on ordinance for at least six months. His crystal ball, it appears, was in much better shape than a lot of his colleagues.

Ethiopia was asking the U.S. for arms in the wake of increased tensions coming from the northern province of Eritrea and the separatist movement gathering steam there. New tensions in Cyprus between Greek and Turkish elements were springing up. Spain, despite a law prohibiting strikes handed down by the somewhat creaky Franco regime, went on strike over dissatisfaction with the decades-old authoritarian rule.

And back home - Judge Sirica handed down sentences for convicted Watergate figures. It went like this: Mitchell, Haldeman and Ehrlichman all got 2 1/2 years in jail and Robert Mardian got 10 months.

All that and a lot more for news ending the week of February 23rd, 1973 as reported on CBS Radio's The World This Week.

Feel better about your day now?