Tuesday, October 5, 2010

NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Leadership Change in China, Patrick London

Monday marked a big day for leadership change in China when Vice President Xi Jinping was elected to the position of Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission. This move places VP Jinping as next in line for presidency after President Hu Jintao steps down and retires. Hu Jintao was also given this position three years prior to his promotion; therefore this position is thought of as the next place in line for the presidency. Read more…

Nigerian Government Bans Mining Due to Poisoning, Luke Bucciarell

The Nigerian government has temporarily banned mining as the number of lead poisoning cases continues to mount. Throughout northern Nigerian towns, soil that was extracted from gold mines was often carelessly dumped near water sources and areas where children played causing 18,000 known cases of lead poisoning and 400 child deaths. Read more…

Arab League Postpones Direct Negotiations, Miles D.

After meeting Friday to discuss the Israeli/Palestinian peace talks, the Arab League has voted to postpone direct negotiations for one month while the United States attempts to solidify an agreement with Israel that extends settlement construction. Many had feared that the Arab League would advise President Abbas to walk out on the talks as he had previously promised, but the move taken by Arab leaders furthers the relative sense of ambivalence both sides seem to have concerning the talks. Read more…

Russia: The Promise of Oil, Samantha Hartford

In the last week, Russia made international news in the deals it is brokering over oil – both with foreign companies and foreign countries. The agreement with China presents a complete turnaround of policy from recent times, which saw China and Russia as implacable adversaries. The countries seem to have set such feelings aside, however, in favor of a new pipeline from Russia to China which, Russia boasts, could fulfill much of China’s oil need over the next 20 years. The agreement was recently signed during President Medvedev’s two-day visit to Beijing. Read more…

India Earns Seat on UN Security Council, Nicolas Duncan

Five new members have been voted onto the UN’s Security Council for the next two years. India being one of the countries to earn one of the non-permanent seats. The other four countries voted in included: Germany, Portugal, South Africa, and Colombia. The five permanent members of the council are China, Russia, France, Britain, and the US. Every year, five of the non-permanent members step down after completing two years, and other countries battle to fill the seats. Read more…

France Paralyzed by Strikes, Gian Sexsmith

France is currently experiencing huge union strikes, with some workers off the job for more than fifteen days already. Many of these workers are striking because they are trying to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62. The people of France are striking because of the government pension reforms; this is going to be the third strike in one month for France. “Police say Tuesday's protests in Paris are the biggest so far, estimating a turnout of 330,000,” according to the BBC. Due to all the different jobs that are striking it is causing complete chaos for France. Airline flights are being cancelled; one out of three are being cancelled from the Charles de Gaulle Airport. In Paris, the Eifel Tower was shut down because there weren’t enough staff to operate it. Read more…

British Aid Worker Killed by Friendly Fire, Alex Dainos

On Friday US troops tried to free British aid worker Linda Norgrove who has been held hostage in Afghanistan since September 26. Norgrove died in the attempt. US commander General David Petraeus has called for an investigation into whether or not troops trying to rescue her killed her. Linda Norgrove was abducted around September 26 with three other British nationals. They were kidnapped in a remote part of Afghanistan, so remote that a farmer who witnessed the abduction was unable to report the incident for over two hours. Read more…

Friendly-Fire Mishap in Afghanistan, Suradee Thongkiattikul

A British aid worker, Linda Norgrove (36), was taken hostage by the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan on September 26. Ms. Norgrove was working for an American aid organization called Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI). She left in an unarmored car to go to Kunar to review a project with three Afghan men; two drivers and a DAI employee. All were held hostage but the three Afghans were released while Ms. Norgrove was still being held in the remote and mountainous area. She was killed in a failed American rescue. The cause of her death is still being determined by autopsy, as well as a joint U.S.-U.K. investigation Officials had earlier reported that Ms. Norgrove was killed by her captors with a suicide bomber’s vest. Read more…

American Tourist Murdered Along Mexico Border, Marshall Serzen

Falcon Lake has been the topic of many news headlines and articles in the past two weeks. On September 30, David and Tiffany Hartley were riding jet skis on Falcon Lake, which is located on the US border with Mexico, when several boats full of armed men drove up and started shooting at the American couple, striking David in the back of the head. Tiffany was left with the decision of whether to try and drag his body back on top of her jet ski or try and save her own life and ride off. Tiffany jumped off of her machine and tried unsuccessfully to save him before she realized it was hopeless. The investigation into the incident continues. Read more…
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