World News Issues: What's Making Headlines Today
By Bridget Johnson, About.com Guide to World News
Out of all the world news stories that pour across the wires and blogs each day, some key issues stand out as being especially newsworthy and having the most relevance on the world at large. In this age of globalization, these are some of the issues that affect not just their immediate regions, but reverberate across the globe.
- Battles and Standoffs: War and Conflict Around the Globe
- Freedom vs. Oppression: Human Rights in the Headlines
- Power Plays: Elections and Leadership Grabs
- Terrorism: Putting the World on Edge
- The Economy: Global Financial Crisis
Battles and Standoffs: War and Conflict Around the Globe
From the ever-turbulent Middle East to omnipresent rebellion in the heart of Africa, the world is continually faced with new challenges brought on by the threat of war and conflict or all-out battle. As countries are pitted against each other, and regional stakeholders as well as key international players are faced with taking sides or trying to wage peace, today's conflicts shape not just the headlines, but the future.
- Troop Levels in Afghanistan
- Why do Hutus and Tutsis fight?
- The U.N. Peacekeeping Mission in the Congo
- Russia vs. Georgia: Why the conflict in South Ossetia?
- The Bosnian Genocide
- Mexico: War zone for journalists
- The basics behind the Arab-Israeli conflict
- Israel strikes Hamas strongholds in Gaza
- The story behind Iraq's mass graves
- Most wanted Nazis sought decades after WWII
- Wanted for the Rwandan genocide
Freedom vs. Oppression: Human Rights in the Headlines
From the uproar over China hosting the Olympic Games to fears that Russia is slipping back into the authoritarian version of its former self, the news is full of stories about human rights violations, journalists and bloggers caught in the snare of restrictions on a free press, people trying to choose democracy over dictatorship, and more.
- Zimbabwe's future after Mugabe's re-election
- Crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Violence precedes Zimbabwe elections
- Pre-Olympic protests support Tibet
- Kenji Nagai: Japanese journalist killed in Burma
- Newspapers threatened for Muhammad references
- Solidarity movement rises again in Russia
- Iran holds American graduate student
- Women try to hold elected office in Kuwait
- Vietnam cracks down on bloggers
Power Plays: Elections and Leadership Grabs
The heart of world news focuses on the power that is continually changing hands around the globe. Whether a leader arrives at the top by the will of the people, or just assumes that role for himself, shifting administrations play a crucial role in global relations -- not to mention the cult of personality by which some leaders make news all on their own.
- Power Crisis in Honduras: The Ouster of Manuel Zelaya and Beyond
- Is Kim Jong-Il alive or dead?
- The world reacts to Obama's victory
- Discontent in the African National Congress
- Mugabe sworn in after sham vote
- Bhutan: A new democracy
- Japan's first Catholic prime minister
- Maoists gain upper hand in Nepal
- Pervez Musharraf steps down
- Sham elections in Turkmenistan
- Conservatives gain in Lithuania vote
- Observers call Belarus vote 'flawed'
- Putin playing with a full deck
- Spanish voters keep Socialist government
- Bolivian region votes for autonomy
- The 2008 Paraguayan presidential election
Terrorism: Putting the World on Edge
Terrorism existed long before the world changed on Sept. 11, 2001. From the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania to the explosion of a Pan-Am jet over Lockerbie, Scotland, attacks have been perpetrated on civilians in order to send messages to their representative governments. Terrorism will continue to shape policy -- and the headlines -- for many years to come.
- Bloodbath in Mumbai
- Lockerbie, 20 years later
- Afghanistan's top woman cop killed
- Bombing of the Marriott in Islamabad
- Explosions in Istanbul
- Al-Qaida healthy during financial crisis
- Jerusalem seminary slayings
- FARC hostages rescued
- Palestinian plows bulldozer through Jerusalem crowd
- Ecuador and Colombia fight over FARC
- Hezbollah: Crackdown is 'declaration of war'
The Economy: Global Financial Crisis
As Americans began to feel the weight of the economic downturn in 2008, it became clear that they were definitely not alone in the world when it came to a credit crisis and the need for government bailouts. How deeply the financial crisis is felt in different regions of the world remains to be seen, but few are immune from the crunch.
