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Also Try Archives Democracy and Corporate Power Democracy and Media Lesson Plans Nuclear Standoff With Iran (PBS.org) "This lesson summarizes international concern over Iran's nuclear program and the mounting suspicions that Iran is developing nuclear weapons. Students examine concerns about Iran's past and most recent actions and a gain a perspective on Iran's reasons for developing a nuclear program. Then as students work in small groups role playing one of the countries involved in the dispute, they examine several possible options for addressing Iran's actions and develop a policy for consideration by the U.N. Security Council." 03-06 Propaganda and Censorship During Wartime (British Library - Words Alive) Helps students explore different points of view regarding censorship and propaganda of newspapers during wartime. Note - British spelling of English words is sometimes different from American spelling. 2-02 Lists Consequences of Global Warming (Awesome Library) "Our greatest challenge today is to move the fresh, melting water in our polar caps and Greenland to safe land basins and water tables." 04-08 Countries - Search Engines by Country (Search Engine Colossus) Provides search engines from within many countries in both the language of the country and English. 3-00 Globalization Issues (Awesome Library) Provides sources that discuss the pros and cons of globalization and "Americanization." 8-02 Leaders by Country (Peoplespot.com) Provides six sources of information on of leaders by country. leaders, rulers, Presidents, and Prime Ministers 9-00 Materials News Feeds (BBC News) "If you run your own website, you can use RSS feeds to display the latest headlines from other websites on your site." 04-08 Multimedia Happy People Dancing Across the Earth (NASA.gov) "Many humans on Earth exhibit periods of happiness, and one method of displaying happiness is dancing. Happiness and dancing transcend political boundaries and occur in practically every human society. Above, Matt Harding traveled through many nations on Earth, started dancing, and filmed the result. The video is perhaps a dramatic example that humans from all over planet Earth feel a common bond as part of a single species. Happiness is frequently contagious -- few people are able to watch the above video without smiling." 07-08 News -01-09-07 Chavez to Nationalize Electric and Telecom Firms (USA Today) "President Hugo Chavez announced plans Monday to nationalize Venezuela's electrical and telecommunications companies, pledging to create a socialist state in a bold move with echoes of Fidel Castro's revolution in Cuba." 01-07 -01-09-07 International Court in Crisis (Guardian Unlimited) "The newly established international criminal court risks being 'fatally damaged' by demands that it cancel its first ever war crimes indictment because it is an obstacle to ending Uganda's 20-year civil war." 01-07 -01-12-07 Red Crystal Now Available to Protect Medics (USA Today) "The 'Red Crystal' debuts Sunday as an emblem that can be used to protect its relief workers, part of an agreement for Israel's admission to the Red Cross movement after more than half a century of exclusion." 01-07 -01-24-07 Report: Global Warming Cause and Effects (CBS News) "The study traces global temperatures and so-called greenhouse gases going back thousands of years. It shows a gradual variation until the Industrial Revolution begins, when fossil fuel use skyrockets, as do temperatures, CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips reports." 01-07 -02-26-07 Lifestyles of Women in Iran (Time Magazine) "These girls came of age in the same culture as my friend's little girl, into a society whose middle-class value system was being transformed, where laws forced religious observance, and the lines between an individual's private values, the force of habit, and social background blurred. But rather than turning out uniformly devout or predictably rebellious, they are more independent than any generation before them, negotiating their way through society, and around hejab, with great competence." 02-07 -02-27-07 Scientists Offer Plan to Combat Global Warming (RedOrbit.com) "To head off the worst of climate change, governments must pour tens of billions of dollars more than they are into clean-energy research and enforce sharp rollbacks in fossil-fuel emissions, an expert scientific panel reported to the United Nations on Tuesday." 02-07 -02-27-08 World's Growing Food-Price Crisis (Time.com) "With relief agencies struggling to feed the hungry and the shelves in Pakistan, Burkina Faso, Senegal and many other countries in the developing world stocked with food many locals can no longer afford, the prospects for chaos are steadily growing." 2-08 -03-03-07 Girls at U.N. Urge Global Action (ABC News) "A 16-year-old Nepalese girl burst into tears describing her work in a match factory to help support her mother. A Jordanian teen spoke out about violence against girls in rural areas. A former child soldier from Congo cried when she recalled her suffering as a sex slave." 03-07 -03-05-07 U.N. Forsees Boom in Afghan Poppy (ABC News) "A 'cancer of insurgency' in southern Afghanistan could drive the 2007 opium poppy harvest to record levels, the U.N. drug agency chief said Monday." "The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime predicted that last year's harvest record would be broken by an increase in 15 provinces, including Helmand the world's largest poppy-growing region and the scene of a growing number of attacks by Taliban fighters who use opium to fund their insurgency." 03-07 -03-12-07 Swiss Man Faces 75 Years in Prison for Defacing Picture of Thai King (CBS News) " 'In every Thai constitution, the king is revered and worshipped, and he cannot be insulted,' [prosecutor] Bhanu said. 'Thai people cannot accept this act of insulting the king.' 03-07 -03-13-07 Mexico's Carlos Slim, Third Richest Man in the World (ABC News) "The world's third-richest man, Carlos Slim, is gaining rapidly on Bill Gates and Warren Buffett with a fortune that grew $19 billion last year the largest wealth gain in the past decade tracked by Forbes magazine." 03-07 -03-14-07 Opposition Leader Assaulted by Police in Zimbabwe (CNN News) "Zimbabwe main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was in intensive care Wednesday with a suspected skull fracture sustained in a violent attack in police custody, his spokesman said." 03-07 -03-20-07 Japan Vows to Lead in Fight Against Global Warming (USA Today) "Japan aims to play a leading role in the post-Kyoto battle on global warming and will seek the full engagement of the USA and China, the world's top two polluters, officials said Tuesday." "Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will ask his cabinet ministers to develop a package of proposals to present to next year's Group of Eight summit of world leaders which Japan will host, they said." 03-07 -03-20-07 Malaria-Resistant Mosquito Developed (CBS News) "Researchers have developed a malaria-resistant mosquito, a step that might one day help block the spread of an illness that has claimed millions of lives around the world." 03-07 -03-25-07 Blair: Iran's Capture of British Sailors "Very Serious" (MSBC News) British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Sunday that 15 British sailors and marines captured by Iran as they searched for smugglers off the Iraqi coast had been outside Iranian waters, and warned that Britain viewed their situation as 'very serious.' " 03-07 -03-27-06 Is It Too Late to Stop Global Warming? (ABC News) "A prime example: decayed vegetation in the Arctic, which contains massive amounts of carbon, used to be protected by the perpetual cold. As the climate warms — sped along by human beings burning fossil fuels that release carbon dioxide — scientists say the vegetation will dry out and break down, releasing even more carbon dioxide." " 'Humans are putting about 6 or 7 billion metric tons of carbon in the atmosphere a year, and we're standing on 200 billion tons here," says [biologist Walter] Oechel. 'Any significant portion comes out, that's worse than current human injection into the atmosphere. And once that runaway release occurs, there would be no way to stop it.' " 03-06 -03-28-07 Iran TV Shows Captured British Sailors (BBC News) "Iranian state television has broadcast an interview with captured British female sailor Faye Turney and footage of the 14 servicemen seized with her." 03-07 -04-20-06 East African Disaster Deepens (ABC News) "Over the last three years, about 3 million people have fled their homes and nearly 200,000 people have died as Sudan's government and pro-government Arab militias have attacked, pillaged and raped the black African population in what many have called genocide." 04-06 -04-22-06 Russia Controls Much of Western Europe's Fuel Supply (Washington Times) "Russia, which has demonstrated its willingness to use energy as a political weapon, is tightening its grip on supplies to Western Europe, with projections showing it will provide 70 percent of the region's natural gas by 2025." 04-06 -04-29-06 Worst Draught in 20 Years Hits East Africa (ABC News) "The Horn of Africa is facing its worst drought in two decades, and nearly 6 million people in Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti and Kenya are at risk of dying. In recent days the much-anticipated seasonal rains have arrived in some parts of the region, but it's not nearly enough and in many places the sudden rains have led to flash flooding." 04-06 -05-01-07 Venezuela Takes Over Private Oil Fields (PBS News) "In a move meant to advance and fund his nationalism agenda, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday nationalized the remaining privately operated oil fields valued at $30 billion." "Chavez, meanwhile, described the turnover as the end of the era of U.S.-oriented policies that opened up oil reserves to foreign investment." "Chavez still will need outside investment to develop the Orinoco region, which could help Venezuela surpass Saudi Arabia as the country with the most reserves, the AP reported." 05-07 -05-03-06 Earth's Danger Point. Scientists Now Say It Will Happen (CNN News) "The world will warm by 3C (5.4F) even under emissions projections for 2050 that leading scientists consider optimistic, the United Nations group that studies global warming has said." "The increase, which would cause drought and famine for 400 million people and devastate wildlife, is predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its most confident assessment yet of how greenhouse gases are affecting global temperatures." 05-06 -05-11-07 British Prime Minister Announces Resignation (PBS News) "British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced Thursday that he plans to resign next month from the office he has held for the past decade. Foreign policy analysts look at Blair's record and relations with the United States." 05-07 -05-11-07 Gordon Brown's Personality (Time.com) "What are the qualities demanded of a leader? Wisdom? Integrity? Experience? Perhaps. But what really counts may be pubbability — an elusive X factor that makes voters want to share a pint with a politician. And on that front, Gordon Brown — the 56-year-old Scot who is expected to replace Tony Blair as Britain's Prime Minister this summer — has a problem." 05-07 -05-12-07 International Editor of the Year Award (World Press) "In recognition of enterprise, courage and leadership in advancing the freedom and responsibility of the press, enhancing human rights and fostering excellence in journalism, our 2005-2006 choice honors three Mexican journalists posthumously." "Raúl Gibb Guerrero, Dolores Guadalupe García Escamilla and Alfredo Jiménez Mota gave the ultimate sacrifice in their pursuit of journalistic excellence and freedom of press. Their courage, tenacity, and dedication in covering sensitive subjects, especially drug trafficking, caused them to live in a danger zone of threats and violence, which ultimately led to their murders. They led three very separate lives, but had the love of their country and press freedom in common." 05-07 -05-13-07 Taliban Military Leader in Afghanistan Killed (MSNBC News) "The Taliban’s most prominent military commander, a one-legged fighter who orchestrated an ethnic massacre and a rash of beheadings, was killed in a U.S.-led military operation in southern Afghanistan, officials said Sunday." 05-07 -05-17-07 Minorities Now One-Third of U.S. Population (Financial Times) "Paul Wolfowitz announced his resignation as president of the World Bank shortly after 6pm on Thursday, bringing to an end a turbulent two-year tenure as chief of the world’s leading development institution." "This follows the publication of a devastating report Monday into his handling of a secondment package for Shaha Riza, a bank official with whom he was romantically involved. "The report found that Mr Wolfowitz had broken the bank’s code of conduct, three staff rules and the terms of his contract." 05-07 -05-17-07 Missing Child Shows Differences in Parenting (CNN News) "The disappearance of 4-year-old Madeleine McCann, the British girl who vanished from her hotel room in southern Portugal while her parents dined just 50 meters, has captivated hearts and triggered debate around the world." 05-07 -05-18-07 World Bank After Wolfowitz (MSNBC News) "The political firestorm at the World Bank that cost President Paul Wolfowitz his job Thursday was sparked by a promotion he arranged for his girlfriend. But some of the real issues behind his ouster have been festering since his first day on the job in 2005, when he embarked on a mission to change the way the 60-year-old institution manages its task of fighting global poverty." 05-07 -06-03-06 Four Nations, Including USA, Warned to Back Off Nuclear Weapons (CBS News) "Six world powers agreed Thursday on a package of incentives in a bid to persuade Iran to halt its nuclear program and said U.N. Security Council action against Tehran would be suspended if it agrees to stop enriching uranium." " 'Hans Blix pointed his finger today at Iran, Israel, North Korea and the U.S., with a plan to back the world off nuclear brinksmanship,' said Falk from the U.N. 'His comprehensive plan to reduce weapons and bring about a nuclear free Middle East carries particular weight because he appears in hindsight to have been right in his assessments of pre-war Iraq.' " 06-06 -06-05-06 EU Nations Make Ocean "Land Grab" (Guardian Unlimited) "A vast tract of the Atlantic seabed more than 200 miles off shore is being claimed by a coalition of four European countries eager to expand their oil and gas prospecting rights." "No country may claim any part of the seabed more than 350 miles from its shore. Once rights are established, states may extract the minerals and natural gas or oil discovered in the annexed seabed." 06-06 -06-17-07 Palestinian Split Poses Quandary for USA (New York Times) "With the two Palestinian territories increasingly isolated from each other by a week of brutal warfare between rival factions, Israel and the United States seem agreed on a policy to treat them as separate entities to support Fatah in the West Bank and squeeze Hamas in the Gaza Strip." 06-07 -06-18-07 World's Priciest Cities (Time Magazine) "The survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting ranked 143 cities around the world, measuring the comparative cost of more than 200 areas such as housing, transportation and food. The findings are designed to help multinational employers determine compensation for their expatriate workers." 06-07 -06-26-06 The Perfect Storm (ABC News) "Not one scientist of any credibility on this subject [of global warming] has presented any evidence for some years now that counters the massive and repeated evidence — gathered over decades and come at in dozens of ways by all kinds of professional scientists around the world — that the burning of fossil fuels is raising the world's average temperature." "Or that counters the findings that the burning of these fuels is doing so in a way that is very dangerous for mankind, that will almost certainly bring increasingly devastating effects in the coming decades." "One small group of special interest businesses leaders — those of some fossil fuel companies — have been well documented by journalist Ross Gelbspan and others to have been fighting a PR campaign for 15 years to keep the American public confused about the wide and deep scientific consensus on this." "They've aimed, as Gelbspan explains, to keep us thinking that (to borrow the president's words this morning) 'There's a debate over whether it's manmade or naturally caused' — though no open and thorough journalism this reporter knows of can find any such thing." 06-06 -06-27-07 British Prime Minister Resigns (CBS News) "Tony Blair has resigned from his post as British prime minister, and his long-time political ally and Treasury chief Gordon Brown has assumed the country's top office. 06-07 -06-27-07 China Becomes Leader in Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Wikipedia.org) "On June 19, 2007, the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency announced that a preliminary study indicated that China's greenhouse gas emissions for 2006 had exceeded those of the United States for the first time." 06-07 -08-09-08 Georgia Declares War With Russia (CNN News) "Georgia's parliament Saturday approved a request by President Mikhail Saakashvili's to impose a 'state of war,' as the conflict between Georgia and Russia escalated, Georgian officials said." "Saakashvili accused Russia of launching an unprovoked full-scale military attack against his country, including targeting civilian homes, while Russian officials insist their troops were protecting people from Georgia's attacks on South Ossetia, a breakaway Georgian region that borders Russia." 08-08 -08-11-07 Race for Arctic Seabed Is On (CBS News) "Canada's prime minister announced plans Friday for an army training center and a deepwater port on the third day of an Arctic trip meant to assert sovereignty over a region, while Denmark said it was staking its own claim with a scientific expedition." "Global warming has raised the stakes in the scramble for sovereignty in the Arctic because shrinking polar ice could someday open up resource development and new shipping lanes." "As global warming melts the passage — which is navigable only during a slim window in the summer — the waters are exposing unexplored resources, and becoming an attractive shipping route. Commercial ships can shave off some 2,480 miles from Europe to Asia compared with the current routes through the Panama Canal." 08-07 -08-11-08 Why Africa Is Still Starving (Time.com) "Over time, sustained food aid creates dependence on handouts and shifts focus away from improving agricultural practices to increase local food supplies. Ethiopia exemplifies the consequences of giving a starving man a fish instead of teaching him to catch his own. This year the U.S. will give more than $800 million to Ethiopia: $460 million for food, $350 million for HIV/AIDS treatment — and just $7 million for agricultural development. Western governments are loath to halt programs that create a market for their farm surpluses, but for countries receiving their charity, long-term food aid can become addictive. Why bother with development when shortfalls are met by aid? Ethiopian farmers can't compete with free food, so they stop trying." 08-08 -08-12-07 How U.S. Credit Problems Went Global (Time.com) "Anyone who clinged to the notion that the risks lurking in America's mortgage pool were a local concern has now been proven wrong. The U.S. subprime mortgage market — turned sour by borrowers with poor credit struggling to meet payments as interest rates rise — is fast becoming a global worry. With huge chunks of this debt packaged up and sold to financial companies across the world, bad loans are roughing up banks and markets just about everywhere." 08-07 -08-16-07 The Growing Role of China in the World (US News) "After years focusing on its own economy, China has begun to go global in influence as well as economics. With growing interests around the globe—from mines in Peru to peacekeepers across Africa to pipelines into Central Asia—China is finding it can no longer live by its doctrine of "nonintervention." In Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East, China is beginning to use its influence in ways that may prove problematic for the United States." 08-07 -08-25-07 Pollution Reaches Deadly Extremes in China (MSNBC News) "No country in history has emerged as a major industrial power without creating a legacy of environmental damage that can take decades and big dollops of public wealth to undo." "But just as the speed and scale of China’s rise as an economic power have no clear parallel in history, so its pollution problem has shattered all precedents. Environmental degradation is now so severe, with such stark domestic and international repercussions, that pollution poses not only a major long-term burden on the Chinese public but also an acute political challenge to the ruling Communist Party. And it is not clear that China can rein in its own economic juggernaut." 08-07 -08-25-08 Pakistan's Government Falls Apart (Time.com) "Pakistan's five-month-old coalition government has fallen apart a week after it forced Pervez Musharraf to step down as President. Dispelling any hope that Musharraf's departure would inaugurate an era of political stability, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced today that his minority party, the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), would pull out of the troubled government, retreating into opposition of the majority, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), led by Asif Ali Zardari." 08-08 -08-26-08 Russia Recognizes Georgian Rebels (BBC News) "President Dmitry Medvedev has declared that Russia formally recognises the independence of the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia." "Earlier, the US and France called the Russian move regrettable, while the UK said it categorically rejected it. Nato said the declaration violated numerous UN Security Council resolutions that Russia itself had endorsed." "However the leaders of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which have had de facto independence since the early 1990s, thanked Russia." 08-08 -08-26-08 Russia's Game Plan in Georgia (BBC News) "As far as Moscow is concerned, the Russian army has completed its pullout from Georgia." "Russia says its 'peacekeepers' are sticking around to prevent further bloodshed and to protect the people of South Ossetia and Abkhazia." "By keeping troops in Georgia, Russia is also sending an unambiguous message to the West: that the former Soviet republic remains part of Russia's sphere of influence." "Today - buoyed by massive oil and gas revenues - Russia feels more confident to flex its muscles, restore lost influence and defend its interests close to home." 08-08 -08-28-05 Simulation Results: Temperature Rise Caused a Mass Extinction (BBC News) "A computer simulation of the Earth's climate 250 million years ago suggests that global warming triggered the so-called 'great dying'." "A dramatic rise in carbon dioxide caused temperatures to soar to 10 to 30 degrees Celsius higher than today, say US researchers." "Some 95% of lifeforms in the oceans became extinct, along with about three-quarters of land species." 8-05 -08-28-08 Narrowing World Health Disparities (Time.com) "On average, a black man living in Washington, D.C., does not live as long as a man in India, and he certainly doesn't live as long as a white man in his hometown. The reasons — just like the reasons that the Japanese and Swedes live longer than the Ukrainians, and why aborigines in Australia on average die 17 years earlier than non-aborigines — are almost entirely social, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) released today." 08-08 -08-28-08 Study: Lifespan Depends on Where You Live (MSNBC News) "Major inequalities in health and life expectancy persist worldwide, according to an independent World Health Organization commission which on Thursday called for all countries to offer universal health care." " 'Between countries we have life expectancy differences of more than 40 years. A woman in Botswana can expect to live 43 years, in Japan 86 years.' " 08-08 -09-12-07 Putin Replaces Prime Minister (MSNBC News) "President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday replaced his long-serving prime minister with an obscure Cabinet official — a surprise move that could put him in the running to succeed Putin in next year’s presidential election." 09-07 -09-12-07 The World's Energy Hotspots (WorldPress.org) "The volatile Middle East is still the center of the globe when it comes to energy policy, which has consequences for the rest of the world. For example, according to the Institute for International Economics, the United States faces a probable economic recession, estimated at 30 percent due to a sudden increase in the hydrocarbon price index. Moreover, the Center for Global Energy Studies in London estimates that the geopolitical turmoil in Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, and Venezuela, coupled with the emergence of "energy nationalism," has reduced the daily supply of oil—from 2000 onward—by 7.8 million barrels. This is a substantial decrease, comparable with the daily consumption of Germany and France combined. For the time being, there are five hotspots where the 21st century's energy game is unfolding, which will affect the economy worldwide for the coming years." 09-07 -09-13-07 UN Aopts Treaty on Native Rights (BBC News) "The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a non-binding declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples after 22 years of debate. The treaty sets down protections for the human rights of native peoples, and for their land and resources. It passed despite opposition from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. They said it was incompatible with their own laws." "There are estimated to be up to 370 million indigenous people in the world." 09-07 -09-15-07 $100 Computer for Every Child Becomes $188 Computer (CNN News) "Leaders of the nonprofit One Laptop Per Child that was spun out of MIT acknowledged Friday that the devices are now slated to cost $188 when mass production begins this fall. The last price the nonprofit announced was $176; it described $100 as a long-term goal." 09-07 -09-25-06 Global Warming Nears "Dangerous Levels" (MSNBC News) "Global temperatures are dangerously close to the highest ever estimated to have occurred in the past million years, scientists reported Monday." 09-06 -09-25-07 Candidate Match Game (USA Today) "Polls suggest Americans are concerned primarily with a few key issues in the 2008 presidential election. USA TODAY researched candidate positions on those top issues — Iraq, immigration and health care — as well as a few others that may influence the election. We then came up with 11 multiple-choice questions that would help differentiate the candidates and their stances." 09-07 -09-25-07 Perilous Passage to Pakistan (Christian Science Monitor) "With Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf in an unusually vulnerable political position, one of that nation's most popular opposition leaders, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, is pledging to return home from self-exile on October 18." 09-07 -09-26-07 Bloody Clashes in Myanmar (CBS News) "Security forces in Myanmar opened fire Wednesday on demonstrators, and witnesses said police beat and dragged away dozens of Buddhist monks. The government said at least one person was killed, while dissident groups and media reported up to eight dead." 09-07 -09-27-07 China and Others Running Out of Water (New York Times) "The North China Plain undoubtedly needs any water it can get. An economic powerhouse with more than 200 million residents, the region has limited rainfall and depends on groundwater for 60 percent of its water supply. Other countries have aquifers that are being drained to dangerously low levels, like Yemen, India, Mexico and the United States. But scientists say the aquifers below the North China Plain may be drained within 30 years." "'There’s no uncertainty,' said Richard Evans, a hydrologist who has worked in China for two decades and has served as a consultant to the World Bank and China’s Ministry of Water Resources. 'The rate of decline is very clear, very well documented. They will run out of groundwater if the current rate continues.' " 09-07 -10-03-07 "The Elders" Visit Sudan (CBS News) "The visit by 'The Elders,' which is headed by Nobel Peace laureates Carter and Desmond Tutu, is largely a symbolic move by a host of respected figures to push all sides to make peace in Darfur." 10-07 -10-08-06 NATO Chief: Afghans Will Likely Switch Allegiance to Taliban (ABC News) "NATO's top commander in Afghanistan warned on Sunday that a majority of Afghans would likely switch their allegiance to resurgent Taliban militants if their lives show no visible improvements in the next six months." 10-06 -10-08-06 North Korea Tests a Nuclear Bomb (USA Today) "North Korea said Monday it had performed its first nuclear weapons test, an underground explosion that defied international warnings but was hailed by the communist nation as a 'great leap forward' for its people." 10-06 -10-14-07 The Myanmar Clampdown (Internationl Herald Tribune) "The anonymity of these people is part of their story. Neither the foreigner nor the speakers can be identified for fear of retribution against those who speak out. Two teachers, a young man, a housewife, an abbot, a businessman - all tell the same story in their different ways. It is the story of a people ruled by terror, stripped of freedom, who do not know when their suffering will end." 10-07 -10-28-07 After the Myanmar Crackdown (PBS.org) "TOM MALINOWSKI, Human Rights Watch: Well, it's a stage of siege in Burma. There's no question about that. We don't know what the numbers are, because the country is closed. No one has access to the prisons. There's no way of getting a true picture of the death toll right now." "But it is a state of siege: The monasteries are occupied by the military; the troops are in the streets; there are nighttime raids in which security forces go neighborhood by neighborhood, pull people out of their homes who they believe, based on their video footage, participated in these demonstrations. People are very, very much afraid." "But I think it's interesting the government is also afraid and has some reason to fear what might happen next." 10-07 -11-03-07 Musharraf Suspends Pakistan's Constitution (US News) "President Gen. Pervez Musharraf suspended Pakistan's constitution and deployed troops in the capital Saturday, declaring that rising Islamic extremism had forced him to take emergency measures. He also replaced the nation's chief justice and blacked out the independent media that refused to support him." 11-07 -11-14-06 Report: USA, China, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia Are the Worst Offenders (CBS News) "Sweden, Britain and Denmark are doing the most to protect against climate change, but their efforts are not nearly enough, according to a report released Monday by environmental groups." "The United States — the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases — ranked at 53, with only China, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia doing worse." 11-06 -11-21-07 U.S. Presidential Candidates Protest Saudi Court Ruling (CNN News) "U.S. presidential candidates Wednesday condemned Saudi justice after a rape victim was sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in jail." 11-07 -11-23-07 Imran Khan Ends Hunger Strike in Pakistan (Daily Express) "Drawn and haggard, former cricket superstar Imran Khan ended his hunger strike yesterday." "He had vowed to fast to death after his arrest last week in a round-up of political protesters in Pakistan." 11-07 -11-26-06 Yemen Editor Jailed Over Cartoons (BBC News) "A court in Yemen has sentenced a newspaper editor to a year in jail for reprinting Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad." 11-06 -11-26-07 Pakistan's President to Step Down as Army Chief (MSNBC News) "Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf, under pressure to end a state of emergency that critics say he is using to keep his grip on power, is to quit as army chief and take an oath of office for a third presidential term on Thursday." 11-07 -11-27-06 North Korea and U.S. Agree to Talks (ABC News) "North Korea is prepared to return to six-country talks on its nuclear weapons program at any time now that it has "completed defensive steps" with a nuclear test, a senior envoy of the communist state said on Tuesday." "U.S. and South Korean officials have said the new round of talks must make substantive progress on implementing an agreement in principle reached last year or risk losing credibility." 11-06 -11-27-06 Toxic Cottonseed Becomes Food (Christian Science Monitor) "Dr. Rathore and his colleagues have figured out how to make poisonous cottonseeds fit for human consumption. The new, nontoxic seeds could give 500 million people an additional source of high-quality protein, the team estimates, if the genetically engineered plant is approved for cultivation." 11-06 -12-03-07 Venezuela Votes "No" on Extending Term for President Chavez (MSNBC News) "President Hugo Chavez suffered a stunning defeat Monday in a referendum that would have let him run for re-election indefinitely and impose a socialist system in this major U.S. oil provider." 12-07 -12-23-06 Holocaust Infrastructure Much Larger Than Previously Thought (USA Today) "Couched in patronizing and dehumanizing language, documents from the earliest camps foreshadow a system that would define the word "genocide." They show that years before the mass-scale killings began at death camps such as Auschwitz, the intellectual groundwork of viewing categories of humanity as subhuman was already in place." 12-06 -12-23-06 Raul Castro Speaks About Cuba Food Woes (ABC News) "Acting president Raul Castro complained to lawmakers about inefficiencies in the island's economy, telling them in comments made public Saturday that there is no excuse for the transportation and food production problems that anger many Cubans." 12-06 -12-30-06 Reactions to Saddam Hussein's Execution (Bloomberg News) "Iran and Kuwait, both attacked by Saddam Hussein, welcomed his execution today, while Libya mourned his death, and the Arab leaders of Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia remained mum on the hanging of a former colleague." 12-06 -12-30-06 The Haj Begins Without Incident (ABC News) "More than two million Muslim pilgrims began a symbolic devil-stoning ritual on Saturday, putting to the test new safety measures at a stage of the haj that has seen tragedy in the past." 12-06 -Current Events (Wikipedia.org) Provides world news each day in a variety of topics, especial politics. 11-04 -Editorial: Innovation and Education Needed to Head Off Water War (WorldPress.org) "For 2ie's dean, Paul Ginies, Africa's water shortage needs money to be thrown at it. But Africa also needs trained people to manage that influx of cash, he says. 'The main problem here is the lack of capacity of governance and the under-capacity of companies to respond,' he said." "Ginies estimated one trained engineer should be in place to manage every $1 million invested in a country's infrastructure. In Burkina Faso, because of austerity measures imposed on the civil service, if there is not a major new recruitment drive natural attrition will mean there are no trained engineers in the Ministry of Agriculture and Water within 10 years, according to 2ie's calculations." 09-07 -Editorial: It's Too Late for "Later" (New York Times) "There was a chilling essay in The Jakarta Post last week by Andrio Adiwibowo, a lecturer in environmental management at the University of Indonesia. It was about how a smart plan to protect the mangrove forests around coastal Jakarta was never carried out, leading to widespread tidal flooding last month." "This line jumped out at me: 'The plan was not implemented. Instead of providing a buffer zone, development encroached into the core zone, which was covered over by concrete.' " "You could read that story in a hundred different developing countries today. But the fact that you read it here is one of the most important reasons that later has become extinct. Indonesia is second only to Brazil in terrestrial biodiversity and is No. 1 in the world in marine biodiversity. Just one and a half acres in Borneo contains more different tree species than all of North America — not to mention animals that don’t exist anywhere else on earth. If we lose them, there will be no later for some of the rarest plants and animals on the planet." "Indonesia is now losing tropical forests the size of Maryland every year, and the carbon released by the cutting and clearing — much of it from illegal logging — has made Indonesia the third largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the world, after the United States and China. Deforestation actually accounts for more greenhouse gas emissions than all the cars and trucks in the world, an issue the Bali conference finally addressed." 12-07 -Finding the World's Happiest Places (CNN News) "It may take a lot of frequent-flier miles, a penchant for cold places, a tolerance of taxes and regular doses of chocolate, but happiness could be within reach. However, it's not where most people might expect." 02-08 -Freedom Losing Worldwide (Christian Science Monitor) "A new report by Washington watchdog group Freedom House says a clampdown on political rights made 43 countries 'not free' in 2007." "A second consecutive year of freedom's decline – particularly in South Asia, but also in the region of the former Soviet Union, the Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa – is the main conclusion for 2007 of the annual survey by Freedom House, which monitors trends in political freedoms and advocates their expansion. This is the first time in 15 years the group has seen two consecutive years of decline." 01-08 -UN Calls Water Top Priority (Time.com) "U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the world on Thursday to put the looming crisis over water shortages at the top of the global agenda this year and take action to prevent conflicts over scarce supplies." 01-08 -World's Largest Companies (ABC News) "In total, the global 2000 companies now account for $30 trillion in revenues, $2.4 trillion in profits, $119 trillion in assets and $39 trillion in market value. Around the world, 72 million people work for these companies." 04-08 -Worst Food Crisis in a Generation (MSNBC News) "The globe's worst food crisis in a generation emerged as a blip on the big boards and computer screens of America's great grain exchanges. At first, it seemed like little more than a bout of bad weather." 04-08 01-15-07 Kuwaiti Royal Sentenced to Death (MSNBC News) "A court has convicted a member of Kuwait’s ruling family for drug trafficking and it condemned him to death, according to a ruling obtained Monday." "It is believed to be the first time that a member of a ruling family in one of the Persian Gulf Arab states has received the death sentence for a drug offense." 01-07 01-15-07 Recycling Queen China's Richest Person (Bloomberg.com) "U.S. trash has made Zhang Yin China's richest person." "Zhang in 1990 started collecting wastepaper in Los Angeles and shipping it to China to make the cardboard needed by growing export industries. Her company, Nine Dragons Paper Holdings Ltd., is now China's biggest packaging maker. Nine Dragon's stock has risen fourfold since its March initial public offering, pushing Zhang's fortune to $4.7 billion." 01-07 01-24-07 Afghan Poppy Crops Will Not be Sprayed (ABC News) "Afghanistan's heroin-producing poppies will not be sprayed with herbicide this year despite a record crop in 2006 and U.S. pressure for President Hamid Karzai to allow the drug-fighting tactic, a spokesman said Thursday." "Fueled by the Taliban, a powerful drug mafia and the need for a profitable crop that can overcome drought, opium production from poppies in Afghanistan last year rose 49 percent to 6,700 tons enough to make about 670 tons of heroin. That's more than 90 percent of the world's supply and more than the world's addicts consume in a year." 01-07 01-27-07 Melinda Gates in the Spotlight (MSNBC News) "Melinda Gates has traveled the world with her husband, meeting with the rich and powerful and visiting its poorest in remote African villages. She and her husband share top billing at the world’s richest foundation, but Bill Gates always dominated the spotlight — until this year." 01-07 09-14-06 U.N. Nuclear Agency Calls U.S. Report on Iran "Outrageous and Dishonest" (CBS News) " A recent House of Representatives committee report on Iran's nuclear capability is “outrageous and dishonest” in trying to make a case that Tehran's program is geared toward making weapons, a senior official of the U.N. nuclear watchdog has said." 09-06 11-14-06 Blair Proposes New Strategy for Iraq (USA Today) "Because much of the militancy in Iraq comes from outside its borders, [British Prime Minister Tony] Blair said what he called a 'whole Middle East strategy' was needed to counter it." "Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be the core of such an approach, he argued, followed by efforts to stabilize Lebanon and unite moderate Arabs and Muslims behind a push for peace in those countries and in Iraq." 11-06 12-24-06 Lawyer: Saudi Morals Police Use Religion to Oppress (MSNBC News) "Saudi human rights lawyer Abdul-Rahman al-Lahem said he had been waiting years for a case like this: A woman and her daughter, both accused of promiscuity, were followed by the morals police as they left a private residence on the outskirts of the capital." "The police assumed that the women had been visiting male friends. But the two had been at the home of female relatives. And unlike the thousands who had previously been intimidated into dropping their grievances, they insisted on taking their kidnappers to court." "Lahem, a 35-year-old father of two, contends that the police oppress people in the name of religion and act as if the rules don't apply to them. He wants to prove them wrong." 12-06 Editorial: Indian News Adherence to Cardinal Principles (WorldPress.org) "From the above, it seems that these news channels perhaps lack a definite focus and may have diverged from the cardinal principles of broadcasting to which they should be adhering." 03-07 European Union News (Awesome Library) Provides news about the European Union. 6-05 International News (Washington Post) Provides international news stories. New Prime Minister for Australia (Time.com) " 'Today Australia has looked to the future,' said the country's newly elected Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, claiming victory for his Labor Party for the first time since 1996. Poll after opinion poll had predicted a Labor triumph in national elections, but few had forecast its scale. Labor captured at least 22 seats from the ruling Liberal-National coalition — including, it appears, the northwestern Sydney seat held for the past 33 years by Prime Minister John Howard." 11-07 News Sources (Awesome Library) Provides sources of national and world news, by subject or country. 2-02 News on Nuclear Threat of North Korea (CNN) Provides news stories related to North Korea's nuclear threat. 2-03 North Korea (Awesome Library) Provides news and current events related to North Korea's relationship with the USA and the international community. Also provides background information on North Korea, such as history, economy, government, and more. 1-03 Papers -08-27-06 Israel's Targeted Killings (MSNBC News) "In Israel, targeted killing has become a select weapon. In Lebanon last month, Israel targeted a bunker that officials believed held Hezbollah's leadership, pounding it with 23 tons of explosives." 08-06 -Brazil, the World's Hottest Market (Newsweek.com) "The specter of rising food and fuel prices now threatens to destroy an era of unprecedented global prosperity, with two notable exceptions: Brazil and Canada. Both countries produce and export enough food and fuel not just to offset the worst of global inflationary pressures but even to turn the price spike from a menace to a boon. They are the only two major economies where prices have not burst the upper limit of the central bank's inflation target." 07-08 -Editorial: $40 Billion from Gates and Buffet May Change World Health (WorldPress.org - Akukwe) "The recent announcement by multibillionaire investor Warren Buffet that he will give a substantial part of his fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation has the makings of a watershed moment in global health. By giving what Fortune magazine estimates to be $37 billion in today's value, Buffet is beefing up the already deep pockets of the Gates foundation, which had more than $30 billion as of June 2006. Since more than 60 percent of the Gates foundation programming is in the area of global health, the implications of a steady source of funds for many years to come cannot be overestimated." 07-06 -Editorial: Is This Humanity's First Planetary Emergency? (ABC News) "Please don't shoot the messenger. Those of us who cover global warming already have enough to think about as we consider some of the latest assessments coming from established scientists." "And it's important to mention at the outset that most of these scientists say there may still be a chance for humanity to avoid the worst if we get our global act together immediately — though they do say we are in for at least some very rough times." 06-06 -Essay: How Peace May Be Achieved Between Tibetans and China (New York Times) "One signal is this: For the first time, the Dalai Lama is willing to state that he can accept the socialist system in Tibet under Communist Party rule. This is something that Beijing has always demanded, and, after long discussion, the Dalai Lama has agreed to do so." " 'The main thing is to preserve our culture, to preserve the character of Tibet,' the Dalai Lama told me. 'That is what is most important, not politics.' 07-08 -Former British Prime Minister Focuses on Faith (Time.com) "In two long conversations with Blair recently, I explored his conviction that religion matters—that it shapes what people believe and how they behave, that it is vital to understanding our world, that it can be used to improve the lot of humankind. But if not engaged seriously, Blair thinks, faith can be used to induce ignorance, fear and a withdrawal of communities into mutually antagonistic spheres at just the time that globalization is breaking down barriers between peoples and nations. 'Faith is part of our future,' Blair says, 'and faith and the values it brings with it are an essential part of making globalization work.' For Blair, the goal is to rescue faith from the twin challenges of irrelevance—the idea that religion is no more than an interesting aspect of history—and extremism. Blair and those working with him think religion is key to the global agenda. 'You can't hope to understand what's happening in the world if you don't know that religion is a very important force in people's lives,' says Ruth Turner, 37, formerly a top aide to Blair in 10 Downing Street, who will head the foundation. 'You can't make the world work properly unless you understand that, while not everyone will believe in God or have a spiritual life, a lot of people will.' Blair, she says, has been thinking about these issues 'for decades and decades and decades.' Over time, says Blair of the foundation's work, 'this is how I want to spend the rest of my life.' " 05-08 -Millennium Development Goals to Reduce Human Suffering (United Nations) The first goal is to "Reduce by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day" and to "Reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger." Editor's Note: The 191 UN member states agreeing to support the goals estimate that between 2000 and 2015 it would cost $40 billion dollars to achieve all of the goals to reduce suffering. Meanwhile, world spending on military was $956 billion last year alone. 5-05 -Research: Amazon Forest Crisis Can Create "Incalculable Consequences" for Earth (The Independent) "The vast Amazon rainforest is on the brink of being turned into desert, with catastrophic consequences for the world's climate, alarming research suggests. And the process, which would be irreversible, could begin as early as next year." "Scientists say that this would spread drought into the northern hemisphere, including Britain, and could massively accelerate global warming with incalculable consequences, spinning out of control, a process that might end in the world becoming uninhabitable." 07-06 -Study: Climate Problem the Top Concern Worldwide (USA Today) "Pollution and other environmental problems increasingly are seen as the leading threat the world faces, according to a massive survey of global public opinion released Wednesday. The United States is given much of the blame for those problems and the responsibility to respond to them." "In 34 countries, the proportion of those who said they had 'a lot of confidence' in Bush to 'do the right thing' was in single digits." 07-07 Africa's Future: Four Essentials (WorldPress.org) "As the Group of 8 nations prepare for the annual July 2005 Summit in Scotland, the dire development needs of Africa will again come into sharp focus. A recent report on development issues worldwide by the United Nations concludes that Africa is neither on course to meet goals of halving poverty rates by 2015 nor moving significantly to improve access to portable water and basic sanitation." "However, to provide assistance to more than 300 million Africans who live on extreme poverty, surviving on less than one dollar a day, Group of 8 nations at the July 2005 Summit have an urgent obligation to provide immediate, 100 percent debt relief for the poorest nations in Africa. Poor African nations should not have to choose between debt servicing and saving the lives of its citizens." 7-05 Ahmadinejad, Mahmoud - President of Iran (ABC News) "Until a few months ago, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was the mayor of Tehran. This son of a blacksmith was elected president of the country by promising to give poor people a share of Iran's oil wealth." "From his first days in office, he began to express a fervent belief in the Shiite prophecy that the 12th imam, or the messiah, would return to save the believers and kill the infidels. What really got many people's attention was that the new president said it would happen in the next two years." 01-06 Brazil Reacts to High Food Prices (New York Times) "Luciano Alves planted beans, corn and grain on about 7,500 acres of his farm in southern Brazil last year. This year, he is planting 8,600 acres. And he credits Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, with the increase." " 'The government is helping us finance the purchase of new machinery,' said Mr. Alves. 'They reduced the interest rates we pay and have given us more time to pay off the loans. It’s vital.' " 08-08 Bush Administration Blocks Plans to Reduce Global Warming (Guardian Unlimited) "While the aid-for-Africa element of the G8 discussions has progressed to the point where pledges of billions of dollars have been made, the greater issue of saving the planet is bogged in petty negotiation, largely because America's delegates still refuse to admit, in public, that global warming is caused by human activity." 6-05 Editorial: "No Government Can Justify Torture" (Bloomberg.com) "Iraq security forces are torturing detainees and the abuses are becoming 'routine and commonplace,' the Human Rights Watch said." " 'The Iraqi security forces obviously face tremendous challenges, including an insurgency that has targeted civilians,' Whitson said in the report published on the Human Rights Watch Web site. 'We unequivocally condemn the insurgents' brutality. But international law is unambiguous on this point: no government can justify torture of detainees in the name of security.' ''1-05 Editorial: Are Aid Agencies What Africa Really Needs? (Guardian Unlimited) "Ending poverty appears to have little to do with overseas aid or the activities of NGOs. It has to do with pragmatic governments that create a business-friendly environment and place a heavy emphasis on education." "By contrast, Africa has suffered from rulers who are parasites on their people, where the elites loot resources to line their own pockets and create an environment where investors fear to tread." 01-06 Editorial: Death of a Fighter for Truth (TimesOnline.co.uk) "As one of Iraq’s most gifted journalists, Atwar Bahjat covered many funerals, capturing the grief, indignation and fury of countless mourners struggling to comprehend their country’s descent into sectarian conflict." "Yesterday her own funeral made news when the procession through Baghdad was attacked, first by a gunman and then by a bomber." 02-06 Editorial: Iraq Must Deliver Oil to Sunnis in the Constitution (Christian Science Monitor) "Rather, the key to Iraq's near-term stability is quite simply the rights and prerogatives of the 20 percent of Iraqis who are Sunni Arabs." "It is this group that provides perhaps 90 percent of the insurgency's active fighters and most of its new recruits. It is this group amid which the insurgency lives, hides its arms, plots its attacks, finds its safe houses. And it is this group that is on the verge of being fundamentally marginalized, in political power as well as economics, by what is happening in the constitution-writing right now." "The Kurds want not only the land back for the Kurdish families who once owned it - a reasonable enough proposition - but virtually all the rights and revenue to the oil produced in its vicinity." 8-05 Editorial: Is Democracy Empowering Islamists? (Christian Science Monitor) "The Palestinian vote was a win for democracy - but also for a radical group the US rejects." "The 'irony,' Mr. Gerges adds, is that the Bush administration's championing of the Middle East's democratization has allowed the radical Islamists to 'flex their political muscle' - from Egypt and Saudi Arabia to Lebanon and Iraq." 'We're seeing that, for now, the only alternative to secular regimes in the Middle East are the Islamists,' says [Haim] Malka [a Middle East expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington]. 'They're the only ones who have legitimacy among the people.' " 01-06 Editorial: Water, a Dangerous Commodity (International Herald Tribune) "The latest World Water Forum just concluded in Mexico City is very far from being another international jamboree for jet-setting officials and ministers. Clean and abundant water, long taken for granted in parts of the world, is in fact a scarce and sometimes dangerous commodity for fully two-thirds of humanity. Poor-quality water or the lack of any water at all, kills 10 times as many people as are killed in all world conflicts." 03-06 How Young Is too Young to Be a Fighter? (ABC News) "As young girls and boys wildly kick and punch each other in rural rings across Thailand, spectators (farmers, trainers, families, friends) place their bets. Each child stands to change his or her family's fortune with a winning blow." 10-07 Illiteracy Increasing in China (MSNBC News) "Illiteracy is increasing in China, despite a 50-year-old campaign to stamp it out and a declaration by the government in 2000 that it had been nearly eradicated. The reasons are complex, from the cost of a rural education to the growing appeal of migrant work that draws Chinese away from classrooms and toward far-off cities." 04-07 Iran Ultra-Conservative Becomes President (BBC News) "Iran's new ultra-conservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been confirmed in office, following his surprise election victory in July." 8-05 Is Western-Style Democracy Good for Everyone? (BBC News) Asks readers to answer the question, "Is western-style democracy good for the world or is it just another example of cultural imperialism?" Provides samples of responses to the question. 11-03 Limits to Debt Relief to Poorest Nations (BBC News) "The deal to relieve 100% of poor country debts is historic - but it only sets the scene for a much bigger battle at Gleneagles over trade and aid." 6-05 News and Articles Related to Current Events (Council on Foreign Relations) CFR provides news and articles 05-07 Nuclear Risks Grow (Independent - Popham) "At least as damaging as North Korea's departure [from the non-proliferation ban] have been successive moves by Washington to distance itself from nuclear disarmament." "In the run-up to the Iraq war, the US President, George Bush, signed National Security Presidential Directive 17, which said: 'The United States will continue to make clear that it reserves the right to respond with overwhelming force – including potentially nuclear weapons....' " "This assertion, analysts say, undermined...the so-called 'negative security assurances'...not to use nuclear weapons against the non-nuclear weapon states." "The assurances were considered vital in discouraging states from developing their own nuclear weapons.""More and more states are likely to buy the argument that the only way to be secure in a unipolar world is to go down the nuclear road – 'to pre-empt pre-emption', one analyst said." 4-03 Peace and War (Waging Peace) Provides articles and news stories regarding peace and war. 5-02 Provides Key Documents Related to Democracy (Democracy Dialogues) Provides over two dozen documents. 03-06 Report: We Are Threatened (BBC News) "The most comprehensive survey ever into the state of the planet concludes that human activities threaten the Earth's ability to sustain future generations." "Two services - fisheries and fresh water - are said now to be well beyond levels that can sustain current, much less future, demands."7-05 Richest Nations Agree to Debt Relief to Poorest (ABC News) "The world's richest countries agreed Saturday on a historic deal to write off more than $40 billion of debt owed by the poorest nations." 6-05 Study: Hunger in Africa Growing (ABC News) "Tens of millions of Africans will continue to go hungry over the next 20 years unless major changes in trade and aid policies are enacted, a research institute said Thursday." 8-05 Study: World Is More Unequal Today (BBC News) "A UN report has found that the world is more unequal today than it was 10 years ago, despite considerable economic growth in many regions." "The report recommends expanding opportunities for productive employment, bringing marginalized groups into society and working to distribute the benefits of what it called the increasingly open world economy." 8-05 U.N. Resolves to Protect Children from War (BBC News) "The UN Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution aimed at protecting children in armed conflict." "The council agreed to monitor more than 50 governments and rebel groups accused of violating children's rights and punish those who did not stop." "Abuses include killing or maiming children, using child soldiers and sexual violence against children." 7-05 U.N.: World Can End Poverty by 2025 (MSNBC News) "Global poverty can be cut in half by 2015 and eliminated by 2025 if the world’s richest countries including the United States, Japan and Germany more than double aid to the poorest countries, hundreds of development experts concluded in a report Monday." "At stake is life or death for tens of millions of impoverished people, it said." 1-05 Where Abusing Women Is Normal (International Herald Tribune) "In few places on earth is violence against women more entrenched, and accepted, than in sub-Saharan Africa. One in three Nigerian women reported having been physically abused by a male partner, according to the latest study, conducted in 1993." 8-05 World Military Spending Tops $1 Trillion (USA Today) "Global military spending in 2004 broke the $1 trillion barrier for the first time since the Cold War, boosted by the U.S. war against terror and the growing defense budgets of India and China, a European think tank said Tuesday." "Led by the United States, which accounted for almost half of all military expenditure, the world spent $1.035 trillion on defense, equal to 2.6% of global gross domestic product, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said." 6-05

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