World Week Ahead: Libya's Revolt; Women's Issues; Guatemala Series

WORLD -- March 7, 2011 at 9:08 AM EDT

World Week Ahead: Libya's Revolt; Women's Issues; Guatemala Series

By: Larisa Epatko and Michael D. Mosettig

Libyan rebel fighter. Photo by Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images

Violence from nations as disparate as Libya and Guatemala will dominate the international week ahead for the NewsHour.

MONDAY: In Libya, we will continue full coverage the civil war between Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's forces and the opposition.

Read: Follow events in Libya in BBC's blog.

In Guatemala, Ray Suarez has a two-part Global Health series, on Monday a report on the shocking levels of violence against women in that Central American nation and on Tuesday on efforts to develop more family planning programs in a conservative and patriarchal society.

Read: Learn more about Guatemala's political conditions, people and history in the State Department's Background Note.

Watch: Ray's preview of the series:

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is in Afghanistan, meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and NATO commanders, ahead of a July target date to start withdrawing U.S. troops, contingent on security conditions on the ground.

Read: An Al Jazeera report on the visit.

TUESDAY: Celebrations around the world mark International Women's Day on March 8 and throughout the month. The day, first celebrated 100 years ago, has a theme this year of "decent work for women."

Resource: Look up your country's events on the International Women's Day website.

WEDNESDAY: On Wednesday and Thursday, we shift the focus slightly to the debate over efforts in Congress to make deep cuts in the U.S. overseas aid program. Former first lady Laura Bush, Melinda Gates of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which funds our Global Health unit, and Helene Gayle, president and CEO of CARE USA, will weigh in on aid programs for women's health. On Thursday, we'll hear from congressional Republicans on their aid priorities.

Read: A WorldPublicOpinion.org poll taken in November shows how Americans overestimated how much the U.S. spends on foreign aid.

THURSDAY: House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King, R-N.Y., has drawn criticism and kudos for his planned hearings on the threat of homegrown Islamic terrorism on March 10.

Listen: Learn more about the debate from two Muslim thinkers on public radio's Interfaith Voices.

Tell us @NewsHourWorld about the stories you're following or leave them in the comments section below.

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