United States- President Obama announced that his administration would miss a deadline to close the detainment center in Guantanamo Bay. The center, which has been the subject of much criticism from international human rights groups, houses several hundred suspected terrorists that were captured throughout the world. One of Obama’s first actions was to call for the closure of the facility in January, but legal complications, and questions on where to put the detainees, have derailed the plan. This announcement coincides with a controversial decision to try Khaled Sheik Muhammad, the alleged mastermind of 9/11, in New York.
Denmark- The United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 will be held in Copenhagen in December. The U.N. has recently called upon the international community to come up with major solutions to climate and global warming. Women in the developing world will bear the brunt of the adverse effects of climate change, according to a UN study. The study argues that women in developing countries do a majority of the agricultural work, and are therefore more affected by the adverse effects of climate change. Experts predict a big rise in temperatures in the next 100 years that could result in catastrophe for women, and the world at large. The U.N. calls for more reproductive education and a better understanding of gender relations as a way to combat these effects.

Russia- European leaders voiced their concern over the human rights record of the Russian government at the EU-Russia summit this week. The Russian government has been accused of being behind the murder of journalists, as well as murders of independence and opposition leaders in places like Chechnya and Ingushetia. In addition, members of the international community question Russia’s commitment to democracy, as well as their strong-arm economic and energy tactics against Eastern European countries, including occasional fuel cutoffs. The European Union and Russia had a falling-out over Russia’s war with neighboring Georgia in 2008, which analysts argue was an attempt to show Russian regional strength against the West.

South Africa- The shooting death of a child in South Africa has sparked a debate about a police policy. A three-year-old boy, Atlegang Phalane, was shot and killed outside Johannesburg after a bullet went through the window of the car he was sitting in. South Africa has one of the highest crime rates in the world and has enacted a policy where police officers are told to use lethal force if they or innocents are endangered. However, the police have been hit with several scandals concerning wrongful deaths. The death of Phalane comes at a time where South Africa is grappling with security concerns, as well as attempting to curb crime ahead of the World Cup in 2010.