World News Desk – November 21, 2008
Posted/Updated: 2008-11-21 21:40:30
INTERNATIONALThe World in Review
A snapshot of events around the world | Updated each Friday
1. Canada: “More than 100 police officers across Canada were involved in the arrest of 46 men…for alleged involvement in an international cocaine smuggling ring” (UPI).
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2. United States:
- U.S. influence in world issues will decline during the next two decades as powers such as China and India gain sway, the U.S. National Intelligence Council reported (UPI).
- Firefighters finally controlled three wildfires in Southern California after the blazes burned about 42,000 acres, destroyed nearly 1,000 houses and forced thousands of citizens to evacuate.
- “Online dating site eHarmony will create a service for same-sex matching in a settlement of a 2005 complaint that the company’s failure to offer such a service was discriminatory” (CNN).
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a five-year low, falling below 8,000 points.
3. Colombia: Ties to the U.S. could be severely damaged if Congress does not approve a planned free trade deal, Colombia’s Vice President Francisco Santos Calderon warned. He told the BBC that a U.S. failure to approve the pact, signed by leaders of both nations two years ago, would be a “slap in the face” to a strong ally (BBC).
4. Peru: Peruvian President Alan Garcia Perez signed a free-trade agreement with Chinese President Hu Jintao that will eliminate roughly 90% of the tariffs on goods shipped between the two nations.
5. Iceland: Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark agreed to lend Iceland $2.5 billion to help its troubled economy. The International Monetary Fund also approved a $2.1 billion support package for Iceland.
6. United Kingdom:
- A study by Cancer Research UK and the National Cancer Director reported that up to 11,000 cancer deaths in the UK could be prevented each year with improved early diagnoses and by educating citizens of the warning signs of cancer.
- The Home Office reported that prostitution in Britain was a ₤1 billion business, with about 80,000 prostitutes. The government has been pushing for a ban on paying for sex, but the report said prohibiting it would be unpopular, citing a MORI poll that showed only 36% of the population thought it should be criminalized.
7. Spain: Doctors from four European universities claim to have performed the first successful transplant of a donor windpipe by decreasing the chance of rejection using stem cells from the patient’s bone marrow.
8. Democratic Republic of Congo: With increased violence and broken ceasefire agreements, as well as worsening conditions for internally displaced refugees, the UN approved an additional 3,000 peacekeeping troops for the nation, bringing the total force number to about 30,000.
9. Somalia: “Pirates who seized a Saudi supertanker loaded with $100 million in crude anchored the ship within sight of impoverished Somali fishing villages…while other bandits took control of an Iranian cargo ship — the seventh vessel hijacked in 12 days” (AP). The AFP reported the group is demanding a 25 million ransom.
10. United Arab Emirates: Property prices for Dubai’s manmade island, Palm Jumeirah, home to the newly opened $1.5 billion Atlantis Hotel, have dropped as much as 40% during the global credit crisis. Reuters reported that a 10-room villa on the island now costs about $2.7 million USD, down from $4 million in September.
11. India: In its first lunar mission, India became the third Asian nation to land a probe on the moon, after China and Japan.
12. China: Six months after the Sichuan earthquake, only around a quarter of the 70,000 victims have been identified, according to a Chinese official (The Guardian).
13. Australia: Two storms slammed into Eastern Queensland with heavy rainfall, damaging hail and cyclone-strength winds, forcing evacuations and cutting power to homes. “About 10,000 insurance claims worth 95 million dollars (60 million U.S. dollars) have been lodged so far but insurers say the total damage bill including infrastructure could be 500 million dollars” (AFP).
International: The United Nations reported that greenhouse gas emissions for industrialized nations rose 2.3% from 2000 to 2006. Canada and eastern European nations saw the greatest increases.
