Afghanistan – U.S. officials announced that the brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been on the CIA payroll for the last eight years. Ahmed Wali Karzai has received pay from the CIA for recruiting paramilitary servicemen that combat the Taliban in the troubled south. Ahmed Karzai is suspected of being a major trafficker of opium. That suspicion raises questions about U.S. policy with the Karzai administration, as well as their commitment to eradicating opium poppy in the region. Ahmed Karzai has long been suspected of being a major participant in opium trafficking.
Somalia-
Prime Minister Omar Sharmarke of Somalia declared that his country would eradicate piracy by 2011. Somali pirates have been a rising problem and currently are holding at least seven ships in the Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden, and elsewhere. Sharmarke has stated that eradicating the pirates would take not only civil action, but also military action by the Somalis. In addition, Sharmarke has called on the international community for assistance. Skeptics claim that because the central government controls a very small portion of the country, the eradication of piracy seems unlikely.
Switzerland-
The Swiss government has begun drafting legislation that would restrict, or even ban, assisted suicide. Hundreds of terminally-ill foreign nationals have come to Switzerland to commit assisted suicide, causing the nation to be informally known as a “suicide tourism” spot. The restrictions would include banning those with non-terminal illnesses from getting the treatment. The proposal also requires documentation that states a terminal illness, and a prognosis of only a few months to live. Part of the government concern is to prevent the legal assisted suicide from becoming profit-driven.
China-
China has executed 4 people for their roles in violent riots in Tibet in 2008, according to a Tibetan exile group. The riots killed at least 18 people and were directed at the Han Chinese, a rising minority group in Tibet. While the Chinese government didn’t announce the executions, the group claims that Tibetans are often killed while in police custody. These alleged executions come amidst a tense political climate with the Dalai Lama, the leader of the Tibetans, and the Chinese government.