Current+World+Updates

=**News/Current Events** = **Most recent news at the top.**


 * Country || Issues to Know ||
 * Great Britain || Scottish devolution/Autumn 2012 independence referendum, current coalition government (hung parliament) ||
 * Russia || Six-year term limit, Putin's reelection ||
 * China ||  ||
 * Mexico ||  ||
 * Nigeria || Goodluck Jonathan succeeded presidency after the death of a president, Boko Haram related issues ||
 * Iran || Ahmadinejad's nuclear policy, Iran/Israel/USA nuclear triangle ||

=Iran Oil Exports Fall In April As Sanctions Tighten-IEA= The Wall Street Journal, May 11th, 2012 http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120511-708007.html

__Summary:__ Article details the impact of American sanctions upon an increasingly belligerent Iranian nation and Iran's actions in response.

=An Inauguration on the Morning After= The New York Times, May 10th, 2012 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/11/opinion/an-inauguration-on-the-morning-after.html?ref=russia

__Summary:__ Op-Ed Article in the New York Times discusses the political reality in Russia after an emptied street inauguration ride through Moscow following a day of protests of Vladmir Putin's election as President of Russia

Blind justice
=An activist’s fate overshadows a vital relationship = The Economist, 5/5/12 http://www.economist.com/node/21554257

Summary: An article discussing a blind Chinese dissident's escape from house arrest, and how the United States came into play.

Mexico's falling birth rate and population control:
Since we only really talk about Iran and China for population control policies and their implications (probably because the policies are deemed to be more sexy - no pun intended), this information about Mexico is pretty interesting to compare those two other countries to. []

Medvedev Versus the Stalin Modernization
[]

Can an authoritarian government bring Russia into a new age of glory or must democratic values foster for innovation?

=My teacher, the billionaire? Russians see a teachable moment.= Christian Science Monitor; 12/13/2011

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2011/1213/My-teacher-the-billionaire-Russians-see-a-teachable-moment

__Summary:__ Russia looks for ways to reform its public education system.

China trade reshapes the world
Christian Science Monitor; 12/19/2011

http://axcessnews.com/index.php/articles/show/id/22301

__Summary:__ An analysis of how the Chinese economy has changed global economics 10 years after China's entry in the WTO.

Fixed five-year parliamentary term will tie both leaders' hands
The Guardian, May 12th 2010 http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/may/12/fixed-five-year-parliamentary-term

__Summary:__ Article summarizes the consequences of a fixed five-year term for parliamentary elections on Prime Minister David Cameron (head of the Conservative Party) and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg (head of the liberal democrats).

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**Chinese Tycoon Jailed for Bribery**
Mr Huang's vast personal wealth put him in the authorities' spotlight

BBC; 5/18/2010

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8688623.stm

__Summary:__ The BBC reported on the jailing of the richest man in China, Mr. Huang Gyuangu. Mr. Huang's large personal wealth, attributed to not only competitive economic policies that were recently established in China, but also undercover government dealings led to his arrest in Beijing.

__Concept__: Political Legitimacy--The Chinese State knows that popular discontent with corruption of public officials can lead to an undermining of its political legitimacy. Therefore, it occasionally cracks down on high-profile business leaders and political leaders to show the state taking action against known corruption. These crack downs can include the death penalty for some acts of corruption.

__Update:__ Huang is currently serving a 14-year prison sentence.