Capriles cruises to victory in Venezuela's Primary Election

State Governor Henrique Capriles has garnered 62% of the vote in the primary elections for the Venezuelan Presidency and is set to run against Hugo Chavez. He's appealing to the voters across a wide range and is currently running as a follower of the left-center philosophy. Regardless of who won the primary, all the candidates have stated that they will support whoever wins the primary, meaning that Chavez is going to possibly have a tough race on his hands if the people can get behind Capriles. Constituents are saying that Chavez, who is running for his fourth term, says that he will fix the problems that have been around since his first term, and that if the candidates want to stand any chance of defeating him, they have to be united.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/12/world/americas/venezuela-primary-analysis/index.html?hpt=wo_c2
Jim Michalik

Risks of Afghan War Shift From Soldiers to Contractors

Parallel with Iraq, where contractor deaths exceeded military deaths since 2009, more civilian contractors working for American companies deaths than American soldiers died in Afghanistan last year. There, American employers have no obligation to publicly report the deaths of their employees and frequently do not. As a result, most of the contractors die unheralded and uncounted and even their survivors were left uncompensated. The bulk of the known contractor deaths are concentrated among a handful of major companies providing interpreters, drivers, security guards and other support personnel who are particularly vulnerable to attacks.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/world/asia/afghan-war-risks-are-shifting-to-contractors.html?_r=1&hp

Sophia Park

Pakistan Prime Minister charged with contempt, faces jail

The Pakistani Prime Minister has been charged with contempt by the Supreme Court at the beginning of week in Asia. Mr Yousuf Raza Gilani has been accused of not conducting corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari who had been accused of laundering bribes through a Swiss bank account. The PM argues that the president "has the immunity as the head of State." Along with this, the president has said that the charges against him is politically motivated.

Mr Gilani will face being jailed and barred from office if convicted.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17008521

Yen Do

Pentagon draws up 'internal review' as US searches for way to stop Syria killing

As the oppression in Syria continues to escalate, the Obama administration has been going through an internal review in order to come up with contingency plans for how to best intervene in the situation to end the killings. With the recent China and Russia veto in the UN security council, there have been increasing calls for American intervention. While military action is being considered, Obama has made it clear that he has no intention for a Libya-like intervention. However, they are not taking any plans off the table yet.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/08/pentagon-internal-review-syria-killing

By:
Kaitlyn Gordon

Bali bombing suspect Umar Patek on trial in Indonesia

Assumed to be a victory for Indonesia's anti-terror forces, Umar Patek, the man behind the 2002 Bali bombing which killed 202 people is now facing trial. Patek is allegedly a member of Jemaah Islamiah (JI). This group has been linked to terrorist attacks and may be connected to al-Qaeda. In fact, Patek was found hiding in the same town as the al-Qaeda leader Bin Laden. After discovered, Patek was brought back to Indonesia. The JI and other terrorist groups in Indonesia have been carrying out attacks with the intention of making Indonesia an Islamic state. These attacks have been against foreigners, officials, and minority groups. The attack in which Patek is being tried for producing the bombs, ended up killing people from over 21 countries, including 38 from Indonesia. It will be interesting to see what Indonesia's next move will be, with attacks still occurring there soon might be a cry for international help... But will the world answer???

To read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17008398

-Kathleen Fultz

Greek MPs pass austerity plan amid violent protests

After a lot of hard work Greece's parliament passed a package of austerity measures in complacence with the eurozone and the IMF demands. The package was passed 199 to 74 while parliament was voting mass protests were taking place outside the parliament building. Several buildings were set a blaze and the police had to use tear gas to put the crowd down. The public is outraged at the governments action and more violence is expected in the coming weeks. The austerity package includes huge cuts in public sector jobs as well as a large scale down of minimum wage and other conditions. This all came about when Greece was unable to pay back its loans and fear of a default could throw off the entire eurozone and increase financial instability across Europe.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17007761

Nicole LeDonne

New Governmnet in Romania

Violent protests that erupted in January in opposition to proposed health care reforms led Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc to step down this year to alleviate social unrest. Mr. Boc's Democratic Liberal party has also lost control of the Senate and fallen to 15 percent approval rating. Austerity measures conditional to the IMF bailout Romania needs are at the root of the turmoil, but Romania's GDP is growing supposedly by 1.5% this year. This would seemingly put Romania in a considerably better situation that (say) Greece. However, instability in the government and low approval ratings are sure to make any foreign investor nervous and are bad for domestic business too.

Boc might have saved the country from collapse by essentially turning the government over to the opposition party. The decision to privatize some sort of emergency medical system, which was unpopular enough to prompt fires in the streets and fighting with police, might have been better presented to the Romanian people, or possibly could have been implemented incrementally.

Bob Hartzer
http://www.economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches/2012/02/romanian-politics

Admiral of Special Forces Wants More Power

The Admiral that leads the Special Operations forces is wanting to move his forces faster and outside of normal deployment channels. Being the admiral that oversaw the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, William H. McRaven believes he deserves more of a say in what happens with his forces. The Special Operations forces usually are involved in American foreign policy but McRaven wants his forces to be deal with other areas as well. The plan is to involve the forces where there is more of a chance of war.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/13/us/admiral-pushes-for-freer-hand-in-special-forces.html?_r=1&ref=world
Jessica Connor

Seizure of 15 tons of meth by Mexican forces.

The Mexican Army seized 15 tons of methamphetamine during a raid on Tuesday, February 7. The raid took place at a hidden laboratory in a remote portion of the state of Jalisco. Also taken during the raid was 2.5 tons of caustic soda and other drug making supplies. This was the seventh raid in the area in the last year. This shows the ongoing attempts by the Mexican government to combat the presence of drug cartels in Mexico.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/09/world/americas/mexico-amphetamines/index.html?hpt=hp_bn2

Cody Follis

Greek Parliament Passes Austerity Package

Greece's parliament finally passed the austerity measures that the European Union and the IMF required for Greece to receive the €130 billion bailout money. The package includes 15,000 public-sector job cuts, liberalization of labor laws, and lowering minimum wage by 20% among other things. This sparked demonstrations in Athens in which some estimates claim that the demonstration was around 80,000 people strong. Several buildings had caught fire as a result of violent protesters hurling flares. Hopefully the passing of the austerity package will prevent a financial collapse that will most likely spread to other parts of Europe and the world.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17007761

by Matthew Draper

Mexico Presidential Candidate

Last week Mexicos National Action Party announced their presidential candidate, who happens to be a women, and the first woman at that, to run for the mexican presidency. She won 55% of the vote compared to her opponent who only received 38% of the vote. What is different about mexican presidencies is that only party members vote in the primaries. Vasquez is not the front runner but she is only 20 points behind in national polls. Her accomplishments and credentials fo the job include minister of education and social development and is the head of her party in the lower house. If elected it will be a huge turning point for the country, mainly because she would be the first woman to be president in Mexico. I think this is particularly interesting because woman leaders are said to be more nurturing and using less action and more cooperation as their leadership styles and it would be interesting to see how a woman deals with the dug cartels, etc.

http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/137086/shannon-k-oneil/vazquez-mota-and-the-2012-mexican-election

Katie Kruse

American Women Deported From Bahrain

Two American women were deported from Bahrain on February 11 on the grounds that they were aiding anti-government activists. They were arrested at a protest in Manana, Bahrain's capital, and ordered out of the country. They have been accused of violating the rules of their tourist visas by joining protests to report on them. The protests are created by Shiites that want greater political and security power, they demand that the monarchy gives up some of its power. In the unrest, at least 40 people have died.

Tristan Hunter

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/11/bahrain-americans-deported_n_1270648.html

Al Qaeda Encouraging Muslims to Help Syrians

Over the weekend, Ayman al-Zawahri, the leader of Al Qaeda, released a videotape of him calling on Muslims of all nations to assist the Syrian rebels in overturning the government. Syrian President Bashar al Assad has been cracking down on the civil uprisings that have been occurring, resulting in more than 6,000 deaths in less than a year. What is interesting is that Al Qaeda has been relatively out of the news as of late, especially with all of the unrest in the Middle East. A meeting is scheduled for today to address the unrest in Syria, along with the possibility of Muslims attempting to cross Syrian borders in order to help the rebellious natives.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/02/12/leader-al-qaeda-calls-on-muslims-to-help-syrian-rebels/?test=latestnews

Lucas Habeeb

Peruvian Extreme Leftist, Drug Dealer Finally Captured.

Peru has captured one of the leaders of what remains of the extreme left movement. "Comrade Artemio" was the leader of the "Shining Path" group and was seriously injured in a firefight in the remote reaches of the Peruvian jungles. Florindo Eleuterio Flores, better known as "Artemio" was also involved in drug trafficking, as "Peru is the world's top grower of coca, the raw ingredient for cocaine". Peruvian President Ollanta Humala has fought against the group since he was in the military in the 1990's. The U.S. State Department had offered up to five million dollars ($5,000,000) for his capture or hints to his arrest for drug trafficking and terrorist attacks on Lima, the capital city of Peru.

The U.S. State Department page on "Artemio"

http://www.state.gov/j/inl/narc/rewards/144800.htm

Article on the topic:

http://news.yahoo.com/peru-says-shining-path-rebel-leader-found-dead-163537682.html

Erik Brown

Irans nuclear capabilities

Irans presdident Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is to announce what he calls "great nuclear achievements" in the coming days. This idea is very scary noting the stance that he has taken with the world. He claims that the west will no longer push Iran around and will continue what Iran is doing in accordance with its nuclear program. Mahmoud also argue that they will not be influenced by the wests finiancial embargos placed on their bank and country. It will be interesting to see what he announces Iran has done with there nuclear program in the days to follow, and what Iran plans to do with this nuclear capabilities.

Dan Vogrin

US trade panel approves probes on imports that may lead to steep import duties.

On Friday, February 10^th, US trade panel approved probes on imports from South Korea, Mexico, Vietnam, China, and Taiwan. According to the International Trade Commission, imports from these countries are harmful to American producers. American manufactures of washing machines accuse their Asian rivals in undercutting fair market prices on their products by significant amounts. American Wind Tower Trade Coalition faces the same problem and alleged that China and Vietnam sell their wind towers at prices 200 and 140 percent below those of American producers. Such investigations may lead to imposing duties on imports from China, Vietnam, Mexico, Taiwan, and South Korea. However, there is a fear that these duties may harm international trade cooperation as well as cooperation in the clean energy sector. 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/10/us-usa-trade-probe-idUSTRE8191NZ20120210 

Oksana Vernygora

Somalia's al-Shabab join Al-Qaeda

The leader of the Islamist militant group that controls much of Somalia released a video in which he pledges obedience to al-Qaeda. The al-Shabab is facing pressure from African Union troops, as well as Ethiopian and Kenyan forces, who are trying to push the islamists out of control. They have succeeded in taking back the capital of Mogadishu, but the al-Shabab still controls much of the southern and central areas of the failed country. The al-Shabab have recently begun losing support because of the poorly handled drought, which although over, has left a third of the population in need of immediate feeding. Analysts say that al-Qaeda is trying to gain back power and influence lost after bin Laden was killed. The UK government is holding a conference later this month to try to find solutions for Somalia's problems including piracy and extremism.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16979440

Jill Laumbacher

Syria Unrest: Aleppo Bomb Attacks ‘Kill 28’

Two bombs targeting security compounds in Aleppo, Syria’s second city, have killed 28 people and wounded another 235. Nevertheless, the nation is once again grieving considering the fact that one of the bombs went off near a park where several children were killed and “martyred”. According to state television programs the death toll includes both members of the security forces and civilians. “Armed terrorist gangs” are being blamed for the attacks; however, the rebel Free Syrian Army, who was operating in the region during that time, is claiming that it is not responsible for the bombing. Col Makil al-Kurdi, the FSA’s deputy leader, believes that it was the work of the regime attempting to suppress the operation of the FSA. The article also goes on to discuss previous attack in Aleppo due to terrorist bombing attacks.

Aleksandra Ruseva

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16978803

Pakistan Supreme Court to hold a hearing for the ISI

A hearing that was scheduled to take place Thursday was postponed to Friday due to other hearings taking much of the day. The ISI was ordered to bring seven that it was accused of holding since 2010 and to explain why four other men died while detained. The lawyer for the ISI, who was present, did not bring the men however.

Rohaifa Bibi is taking on the ISI due to the death of her son, Abdul Saboor. Few people actually take on the ISI due to its reputation and no one from the agency has ever been put on trial. The involvement of the Supreme Court could change this. The Court ordered the ISI to explain why the 11 were arrested and why 4 of them died.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/09/world/asia/pakistan-spy-agency/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

DJ Willey

Iran parliament summons President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

It appears that Iranian President Ahmadinejad is in some hot water with the Iranian Parliament.

This is the first summons of an Iranian President since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The main reason behind this summons is the current state of the Iranian economy. Leading officials and clerics have questions for Ahmadinejad as to why the economy has deteriorated to the point that it has and also some of the reasoning behind his foreign and domestic policy decisions.

It is also no secret that there are mounting disagreements between Ahmadinejad and higher officials. According to the article,

"Although they focus on the economy - seeking explanations for perceived failures to enact legislation, tackle unemployment and pay subsidies - some delve into the rift between Mr Ahmadinejad and Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which has been widening for some time."

This could mean a shake up in upcoming elections and could certainly weaken Ahmadinejad, though he cannot stand for a third term. May of the Presidents decisions have been questioned and/or reversed by the Iranian Parliament over the last year. It will be interesting to see which direction this trend will take.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16928642

Post by: Rima Gungor

Syria crisis: Gulf Arab states expel Syrian ambassadors

As we can see, the situation in Syria continues to deterioate.

The United States closed its embassy as of Monday and several European countries have recalled their ambassadors. This comes from the Syrian government's decision to push its assault on Homs and the Russian delegation's visit to Damascus earlier this week.

However, Russia has made an odd shift in its position in this issue just days after it vetoed the UN Resolution with China. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov has called for a solution based on solutions presented by the Arab League.

"Mr Lavrov called for a solution to the crisis based on initiatives put forward by the Arab League on 2 November 2011 to end the violence, though he has given no indication that Russia supports the league's more recent call for Mr Assad to step down.

He said Damascus was ready for a larger Arab mission to monitor peace efforts, and would set a date for a constitutional referendum."

Lavrov also commented that the West's reaction to Russia's veto vote bordered on "hysteria."

Meanwhile the deathtoll is rising. The number has reached 7,000, however, no one can really confirm.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16932556

Post by: Rima Gungor

Citigroup to launch credit cards in China

The banking regulator of China approved a move by Citigroup, a U.S. based bank, to offer credit cards to Chinese individuals. This Chinese sect of Citigroup will be the first non-Asian bank to launch credit cards in China. The bank is hoping to capitalize on the recently booming consumer culture in China. Citibank branches are already operating in thirteen Chinese cities. The bank views this step as a big milestone in the business between Citigroup and China.

Meghan Steinbeiss
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16920746

Queen Elizabeth Celebrates 60 years on the Throne

It has been sixty years on Monday that the Queen of England has held the throne. The celebration of this is called the Diamond Jubilee, which started on Monday and goes until June. It began with a 41- gun salute in Hyde Park in London, and then a 21- gun salute in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Queen is the oldest British monarch, but she is not the longest reigning one. Her great-great grandmother, Victoria was. Originally, Queen Elizabeth was not in line to get the throne. Her Uncle Edward advocated the throne to marry the American divorcee, Wallis Simpson, which allowed Elizabeth's father to become the King, and her the Queen when he passed away in 1952, when she was 25 years old. The Queen has no political power, but is a powerful figurehead and the Head of State for the sixteen countries that were once part of the British Empire.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/06/world/europe/uk-queen-diamond-jubilee/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

Trial of Saidf Gadhafi looms near

Libya's interior minister has stated that the son of Moammar Gadhafi, Saif Gadhafi, could go on trial within the next few months. The trial comes after Saif's capture in November. Also of note are the military trials of those associated with Gadhafi's regime in Libya. It has been stated that even civilians that fought for the regime will be tried in military courts. All of these trials and other legal matters are happening concurrently with attempts on the part of the Libyan government to better unite the nation and build a security force of remnant militias and fighters from the revolt.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/05/world/africa/libya-gadhafi/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

Cody Follis

N. Korea Opens Door to Talks with S. Korea

North Korea has said it is open to immediate talks with South Korea in an effort to improve its relations with the international community. A US diplomat has stated that America is ready to negotiate the nuclear standoff with North Korea if the country will improve it relations with South Korea. However, North Korea has several preconditions. North Korea has a long list of "wrongs" committed by South Korea that they have demanded an apology for. Also, North Korea is also demanding that South Korea discontinue its military drills, stating "It does not make sense to sit face to face with (an) enemy carrying a dagger by the belt and talk about peace." South Korea is very willing to work with North Korea, but without all of the preconditions. South Korea is not taking North Korea very seriously with all of the preconditions and demands. Knowing this, North Korea is attempting to make South Korea look like the uncooperative country, saying that they are being the difficult ones. However, the international community definitely knows better.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2106086,00.html#ixzz1lZvevQJE

Rachel Foy

Cuban dictator Fidel Castro has released a document of one thousand pages on his rule of Cuba. I thought it was interesting noting the relevance to our class time discussion. The documents stem from the beginning in of the revolution in Cuba, to the last days as the dictator before he handed the dictatorship to his brother Raul. It should be very interesting getting his perspective and why he allowed what happened to occur! A significant third party's perspective is a very interesting thought.

-Dan Vogrin

Shootout at Sotuh Sudan Peace Meeting

Earlier today at least thirty-seven people were killed at what was supposed to be a peaceful resolution over a cattle dispute in South Sudan. During the meeting, four pickup turcks bearing armed men appeared and started firing upon the Mayendit County commisioners compound. The men are all to be from either SPLA or SSPS. One of the wounded was a U.N. officer, who is now in stable condition. This meeting is in response to a string of cattleraids, where one village will raid another for its cattle and kill defenssless civilians; mainly woman and children.

By:Tyler Lundquist
http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/04/world/africa/south-sudan-cattle-battles/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

China cut off internet in area of Tibetan unrest

China has cut off mobile phone and internet access in areas of Tibet that have seen protesters shot dead in the past few months. Officials claim that officers only opened fire in defense, after attempts at dispersing rioters with high pressured water guns and rubber bullets failed. Tibetan exiles however, are claiming that shots were fired on peaceful protesters. Internet access has been cut off in these areas due to the belief that external influences contributed to the protests. This is not the first time that China has done this, as they shut down access after riots in North Eastern Xinjiang in 2009 left over 200 dead.

By: Kaitlyn Gordon

Greece Agrees to Harsh New Spending Cuts as Lenders Ratchet Up the Pressure

During tough talks this weekend the Greek government agreed to sharp cut backs but failed to avoid default on massive loans. The three main branches of government agreed to cut spending by 1.5 of the GDP. As a part of this agreement lenders will reduce the debt by almost 70%. Between the three parties there is still a large divide over how the new system should be run that could possibly jeopardize the whole deal.

On an international level the heat was turned up by leaders in the IMF, the European Commission and European Central bank in order to get the slow moving Greek government moving. There conditions are that Greece remove over 15o,000 jobs from the private sector and cut supplemental pensions and introduce private-sector wage cuts in order to receive bailout money that Greece needs to avoid default in March.

Tense political talks continue as elections draw closer in Greece. With much of the country upset with current leadership due to the large cut backs required of international monetary aid. The Euro zone is preparing for a large overhaul in the Greek government this spring.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/06/world/europe/greece-fights-on-two-fronts-to-secure-new-bailout.html?_r=1&ref=world

Nicole LeDonne

19 Americans Facing Trial in Egypt

The thirty year alliance between the United States and Egypt has been shaken a problem over foreign funding in Egypt. Egypt's government said that they are putting 19 Americans and 24 others on trial for the foreign funding of nonprofit organization. There is already so much tension in Egypt with their people protesting in the streets, the country needs much foreign aid, and Islamist Parliament members are in negotiation with military leaders to set the country for a long time. This is a problem if these 19 Americans face trial because America was going to give $1.55 billion in aid to Egypt. If this trial happens to these Americans then the aid might not happen, but it would ruin an alliance that has lasted a while. So what will the United States choose? To ruin an alliance or let Egypt try American citizens?

Jessica Connor
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/06/world/middleeast/egypt-will-try-19-americans-on-criminal-charges.html?_r=1&ref=world

U.S. and Israel: Trying to gauge each other on Iran

According to reports, Israeli and U.S officials have met to talk about what the U.S response would be if Israel made a preemptive attack on Iran. These attacks could take place as early as this Spring. U.S officials believe that Iran would retaliate across possibly the whole region. The U.S wants Israel to wait some more time in order for the sanctions against Iran to be fully in effect. Israel has also made it seem, at least to U.S officials, that they would be willing to strike Iran without letting the U.S know ahead of time.

Jordan Tassio

http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/04/u-s-and-israel-trying-to-gauge-each-other-on-iran/

Munich Security Conference to Reassure Europe on Defense

The US Defense Secretary Panetta and Secretary of State Clinton participated in Munich Security Conference. It was the first time that the two American secretaries appeared jointly which was to designed to assure the purpose of the US to put emphasis on the relationship between Europe. The anxiety of Europe began from the defense cuts and the withdrawal of two American combat brigades. In the address of Ms. Clinton, especially, the US tried to convince Europe that the fundamental partership between the US and Europe continues, in spite of the US' focus more toward the Asia-Pacific region. However, many European officers said that "the changing American focus marked a major strategic shift," which begun with the Libyan war, where the US and Europe failed to understand each other's position. Now, the US has about 80,000 military personnel at 28 military bases in Europe. During the Cold War, the US had kept large troops in Europe to protect the region from the Red Army. For the recent decades, however, as the military focus of the US has moved, many of the forces also moved to another areas as needed such as Iraq or Afghanistan.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/world/europe/panetta-clinton-troops-europe.html?ref=world

Sophia Park

Obama Says He Deserves a Second Term

In a pre-Super Bowl interview, President Barack Obama said that he needs another term to allow the economy to fully recover, noting that he has created numerous jobs in the past two years. He stated that, although we've made progress, we need to "return to old-fashioned American values" and stay on course to keep our economy strong. Concerning Irna's nuclear development, he stated that they are going to try to resolve the issue diplomatically and that the top priority is the security of the U.S. and Israel. He declined to predict the winners of the superbowl, however.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/05/obama-super-bowl-matt-lauer-interview-second-term_n_1256053.html

Tristan Hunter

Anti-government protesters pack the center of Moscow

On Saturday, a third massive anti-government protest occurred in Moscow since the beginning of December. These demonstrations were set off by Parliamentary elections on December 4th, which were widely criticized as being fraudulent. These elections brought to light some of Russia's major frustrations over teacher salaries, health care and corruption. It is nearly certain that Vladamir Putin (whose extremely centralized style has angered many Russians) will once again win the presidential election coming up next month. The protest movement against Putin has not developed into a coherent political force, and lacks a leader strong enough to challenge Putin. But the message of the people is clear: Putin can't continue to rule the same way he has in the past. Urban, middle-class voters are anxious to see a more competitive political system, and Putin's rule seems to be an anachronism of Russia's past. It is interesting to note that the same day as the anti-government rally, the government set up a series of pro-government rallies for the media to focus on. Police stated that approx. 138,000 people showed up to support the government, but journalists say that estimate is exaggerated, and that several people interviewed refused to comment on the reason they showed up.

http://nyti.ms/wKpF4L

Jill Laumbacher

Iran Threatens to Hit Any Country That Attacks Its' Soil

In response to the oil ban and the statement that Israel will bomb Iran in the coming months in order to stop its' nuclear program, the clerical leader has stated that they will attack any country that allows attacks to land in Iran. Iran continues to state that the nuclear development is strictly for civilian purposes; however, they recently moved much of the materials into bunkers located in the mountains, raising suspicions around the world. The United States has said that if Iran attacks any countries that allow this to happen, they should be allowed to respond in kind, saying that they have a right to defend themselves. Outside sources have said that talks should be scheduled in order to avoid this as the oil ban will have a serious effect on the world economy.

Jim Michalik
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/05/iran-idUSL5E8D50FI20120205

US supports Bulgaria's energy independence from Russia

On Sunday, February 5, the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Bulgaria to become independent from Russian gas and oil supplies. After attending the international Security Conference, where Russia and China vetoed a UN resolution on Syria, Clinton came to Bulgaria and called on country’s energy independence. As Bulgaria almost entirely relies on Russian gas and oil supplies, this makes the country especially “vulnerable to “unhealthy” political pressure from Moscow”. Therefore Clinton indicated that United States are willing to help Bulgaria in advancing energy security by developing new energy sources and using new pipelines that bypass Russia. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/clinton-in-bulgaria-to-promote-democracy-energy-independence-from-russia/2012/02/05/gIQARZXKrQ_story.html

Oksana Vernygora

Russian-Chinese Veto: A Moral Stain on the UN

After an effort to end the violence in Syria the United Nations tried to pass a resolution that would condemn Bashar al-Assad regime. Unfortunately, Russia and China still vetoed the submitted resolution after it had gone through three drafts. With the escalating violence in the country action is essential to aid those being repressed and killed. The UK foreign secretary has expressed his outrage and disappointment from Russia and China’s veto. He added, “ It’s clear, given what happened, that Russia and China will be held responsible for this terrible situation.” Russia argued that the resolution solely targeted the government and not the armed opposition groups. Also, China defended its veto saying that it was not convinced that the resolution would help the issue. In the United States, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton thought this latest veto was a travesty. She went on to explain that the United States efforts would not end with the resolution veto but get stronger. The United States is looking at tightening is sanctions against Syria in an effort weaken the governments ability to use arms against protestors. The weapons being supplied to the regime must become a priority in stoping the violence. In a reflection of the Russian-Chinese veto the French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe called yesterday a “moral stain” on the United Nations.

-Kathleen Fultz

Read More:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-16895264

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16896783

Egypt Putting Foreigners on Trail

Reports coming out of Egypt are that they will place more than 40 foreign citizens on trial for funding Non-government Organizations, or NGOs. The ruling military has claimed these foreigners have funded street protests aimed at the military council. There are 19 Americans slated to stand trail, including the son of Transport Secretary Ray LaHood, Sam LaHood. The United States have said they will consider reviewing the aid they are currently giving to Cairo until they respect the NGOs. The NGOs offices were raided in December with prosecutors claiming the groups were breaking Egyptian laws.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16896018

Erik Brown

Russia and China veto UN resolution on Syria

The United Nation's draft resolution on Syria was turned down by Russia and China today. A wave of opposition, anger and condemnation has whipped through the West. US said the veto was "shameful." The US ambassador to the UN wrote on Twitter: "Disgusted that Russia and China prevented UN Security Council from fulfilling its sole purpose." Britain said that this has let Syrian people down, where as French President Sarkozy said he "strongly deplores" the veto.

The vote took place just hours after a horrific attack in Homs killing 61 people. Opposition groups received a big hinder in calling for serious actions: "We've been expected the U.N. to help us ... and they just left us like this," said an activist identified as Danny. "Now this regime is going to hit us harder." One of the opposition groups insist that they will call for two-day civil strike to start on Sunday in order to push pressure on the government. It will take time for extra efforts but the West will keep on diplomatic efforts.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/04/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html?hpt=wo_c1

Yen Do

Merkel urges China to use influence on Iran

German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged China to influence Iran to give up its its nuclear weapons program during her three day trip to China. Also during her visit she will be pushing for harsher sanctions on Iran and seeking support from China for Europe' debt crisis. Premier Wen Jiabao isnt very supportive of doing anything regarding Iran. However, he also said that China was considering getting more involved regarding the European debt issue.

Derald Willey

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/02/us-germany-merkel-iran-idUSTRE8110W620120202