The World in Review

1. Canada:

Gas dipped to a four-year low across the nation. According to Calgary-based consulting firm MJ Ervin & Associates Inc., the average price of gas decreased 1.4 cents since last week. “‘I don't think in the decades of data that we’ve been looking at pump and crude prices, we’ve seen such a dramatic drop in such a short period of time ever,’ said Michael Ervin, president of MJ Ervin & Associates Inc.” (CBC News).

The country’s internal political turmoil has most likely ended and Prime Minister Steven Harper will remain in power for now, said David Wilkins, the outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Canada. Mr. Harper and his government are set to introduce a new budget when Parliament resumes on Jan. 26. (See related article: “The Great Canadian Shift”)

A new Alberta study revealed that the rate of pregnant women smokers in the province exceeds the national average, with up to a third of women developing the habit once they become pregnant. (See related article: “The Truth About Smoking”)
“The economy retreated slightly in October, giving yet another strong indication that Canada has entered a recession expected to last the better part of a year” (The Canadian Press).

2. United States:

New York Times reported that its advertising revenue dropped 20% in November. (See related news brief: “The Future of Newspaper, Magazine Industry Grows Dim”)

“The United States has fallen deeper into recession…with the number of people filing unemployment claims reaching a 26-year high and consumers cutting spending for the fifth successive month” (Reuters).

“Crude prices tumbled Wednesday following a raft of economic news that painted an ugly picture of the nation’s economy, suggesting demand for energy will continue to erode…It was the ninth straight day that crude has fallen” (Associated Press).
A recently divorced California man dressed as Santa Claus opened fire at a Christmas Eve party hosted by his former in-laws, then set the house on fire, killing nine people. He later committed suicide at his brother’s residence. (See related article: “And the Earth was Filled with Violence…”)

“Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages have fallen to a record low for the second consecutive week, a month after the Federal Reserve pledged to channel billions to prop up the sinking U.S. housing market…Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Wednesday that average rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped to 5.14 percent this week, down from the previous record of 5.19 percent, set last week. The rate was the lowest since Freddie Mac's weekly mortgage rate survey began in April 1971 and the eighth week in a row of declines” (San Jose Mercury News). (See related news brief: “U.S. Housing Market Riddled With Uncertainty”)

New research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that sleep deprivation could be a factor in the onset of heart attacks. According to researchers, the hours one spends sleeping protect against calcium build up, or the hardening of the arteries, thus allowing blood to move more effectively to the heart muscle.

Thiery Magon de La Villehuchet, co-founder of Access International Advisors, one of the companies that invested $1.4 billion with Bernard Madoff, the billionaire investor accused of orchestrating a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, reportedly committed suicide in his office in Manhattan. Mr. de La Villehuchet was one of many investors that lost millions in funds as a result of Mr. Madoff’s financial hoax. (See related article: “Corruption – A Worldwide Scourge Soon to End!”)

U.S. authorities arrested 39 people accused of forming part of a smuggling ring responsible for the yearly transportation of up to 200 tons of marijuana to Arizona from the Mexican state of Sinaloa since 2003. The arrests included the seizure of other drugs including cocaine and methamphetamine, and thousands of dollars in U.S. currency, firearms and stolen vehicles.

3. Mexico: Mexican authorities found eight bodies in black garbage bags in the southeastern state of Chiapas, near the Guatemalan border. Since the beginning of 2008, President Felipe Calderon has deployed thousands of troops to combat the violence as gangs routinely battle for drug routes into the United States. This year alone there have been close to 5,400 deaths—a 117% increase over last year. (See related news brief: “Police Killings Mark Increase in Mexican Drug Violence”)

4. Honduras: “Mexican drug gang violence is spilling over into neighboring Honduras, driving up murder rates as cartels fight over routes used to smuggle cocaine to the United States, a UN-backed study said on Monday…The number of homicides in Honduras jumped by one-fourth to 3,262 between January and September of 2008, including execution-style group killings committed by cartels, according to a report by the National Autonomous University of Honduras sponsored by the United Nations Development Program” (Reuters).

5. Brazil: Brazil has signed an 8.6 billion euros ($12 billion USD) defense deal with France to buy 50 helicopters and five submarines, one of which will be nuclear. French President Nicolas Sarkozy signed the deal at the end of a two-day visit to Brazil. The deal includes transfers of technology intended to help Brazil develop its own arms industry (BBC).

6. Guinea: After 24 years of rulership, President Lansana Conte died after a long illness, presumably linked to chronic diabetes and leukemia. He was 74. Hours later, a military officer appeared on television and announced that the government, the courts and the parliament had been dissolved and the “National Council for Democracy” was taking over.

7. United Kingdom:

“Public buildings in England and Wales are pumping out 11m tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, more than Kenya’s entire carbon footprint,” the Guardian revealed.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors predicted house prices would drop an additional 10% in 2009. This means a total of a 25% decrease since prices peaked at an all-time high in 2007.

8. Italy: In his end-of-the-year speech, Pope Benedict III incensed homosexual activists by remarking that protecting humanity from homosexual and transgender behavior was equally important to preserving the environment.

9. Egypt: An Australian man was arrested at Cairo airport after security staff found ancient Egyptian 2,000-year old animal mummies in his luggage (BBC).

10. Israel: Hamas formally announced the end of its truce with the Israeli government, with Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip firing four rockets into southern Israel. Hamas said it was Israel that had ended the truce by imposing an economic blockade on Gaza, carrying out military strikes and hunting down Hamas operatives in the West Bank. Thousands of Gazans rallied in Khan Yunis in support of the militant group Islamic Jihad (New York Times).

11. Tanzania: At Arusha, a senior Rwandan military officer charged with being one of the masterminds of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda was convicted by a United Nations court in Tanzania of genocide and sentenced to life in prison (New York Times).

12. Somalia: After being appointed to replace Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein, whom the president had dismissed, Mohamoud Mohamed Gouled has resigned, “so that I am not seen as a stumbling block to the peace process which is going well now,” he said (BBC).

13. Russia: “Britain was given a sharp reminder of the dangers to its energy supplies...when Gazprom warned Western Europe could be hit by gas shortages. The Russian gas provider said a long-running row with Ukraine could disrupt supplies to Europe this winter” (Guardian).

14. Kashmir Region: The contested state was relatively peaceful during polls, which ended Dec. 24, largely due to a new generation using technology, not weapons, to protest Indian control (Christian Science Monitor).

15. North Korea: The country will receive 21,000 metric tons of U.S. food aid this month as part of an assistance agreement, the State Department said (Bloomberg). (See related article: “Can We Solve the Global Food Crisis?”)

16. Japan:

Toyota, Japan’s biggest carmaker, forecast its first annual loss in 71 years due to plummeting sales and a surge in the value of the yen (BBC).

“Beset by economic worries and loneliness, elderly Japanese are turning to petty crime in increasing numbers, the nation’s Justice Ministry reports” (CNN).

The government approved a record high budget, vowing to take “unprecedented” action to weather a painful recession which it expected would only get worse in the New Year (ABC News).

17. Australia:

The drug “Grievous Bodily Harm,” also known as GBH, was blamed for 30 life-threatening collapses at a dance party in Melbourne.

“A federal Nationals MP is worried the Commonwealth Government will allow live samples of the foot-and-mouth virus into Australia for research purposes” (ABC News).

18. Marshall Islands: A state of emergency was declared as widespread flooding displaced hundreds of people (BBC).