Peshawar, Pakistan - On Wednesday, six employees of World Vision, an American Christian charity group that has been working in Pakistan since the earthquake in 2005, were shot and killed.
Others were also injured when an attack was launched on the group's offices in a small village in the northern part of the country.
After forcing workers out at gunpoint and robbing the building, the attackers set off a bomb in the building, completely destroying the offices. No group or militant organization has yet to claim responsibility for the attack, but World Vision said that it is the most extreme violence that the organization has ever experienced.
This is the latest event in an increase of violent activity in Pakistan aimed against the government and relief organizations.
Compiled from The New York Times
Amsterdam - Royal Dutch Shell Plc., the European oil company, announced on Wednesday in The Hague that it has ceased to sell gasoline to Iran. Other companies, such as other Dutch-Swiss trading groups, have been instigating similar business plans and not continuing or renegotiating trade contracts.
Reports say this is likely resulting from U.S.-promoted sanctions on goods going to Iran. Western countries such as the U.S. and its allies have been demanding harsher and more U.N. sanctions on products for Iran, intended as punishment.
This is a response to Iran's uranium nourishment program and the country's plants designed to bolster its nuclear program. Once again, America is trying to show that it stands tough on issues of nuclear proliferation and does not want these weapons in others' hands.
Compiled from The Associated Press
New Delhi, India - Political conflict has erupted in India due to a bill that was passed on Tuesday by the upper house of Parliament. This new provision amends the Constitution to reserving one-third of the seats in India's legislature for women representatives, leading to greater gender equality, but also greater competition for the remaining seats.
This vote is only the first step in formally amending the Constitution, but several small political parties are already brutally fighting its enactment, afraid of the loss of their own political power.
These parties have threatened to withdraw their support from The Congress Party, thereby endangering the Party's majority on other crucial matters such as the national budget. This bill has been on the table since the 1990s, but is always met with opposition from different castes, religions and races, all looking to maintain their own power.
One main criticism is that it will favor upper-class women at the expense of the lower castes and Muslim citizens. This step is only the first for this idea to become a full measure of law. It has yet to be seen if, after this political chaos that has emerged, the bill will make it all the way through.
Compiled from The New York Times
Rome - The Catholic Church finds itself facing the difficulties of trying to deal with a growing sex scandal. The Vatican made an announcement on Tuesday, saying it believes that the churches are handling these accusations and cases in a professional, timely and acceptable manner.
However, the sexual abuse scandals that have emerged recently in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, leave many people disagreeing. The Vatican is quick to point out that investigations of abuse should not be limited to the Roman Catholic Church, but because of its past indiscretions in this area, it are going to bear the brunt of the burden.
These recent scandals are even more complex because one case is close in proximity to Pope Benedict's brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger. Several of the accusations come from a boarding school in Germany and were connected to a choir that the Msgr. once led, causing some to question whether he was involved in or aware of the abuse.
More and more students are coming out of the woodwork to talk about their experiences with abuse and sexual harassment, prompting the Church to point out that none of these claims had been made previously, so the Church was not aware and never had the chance to stop it.
In Austria and Germany, investigations are being led, and the head of one monastery has already resigned, admitting to engaging in inappropriate behavior. The Church insists that it is determined to get to the source of the problem, and punish those responsible. However, it maintains that internal Vatican law is handling the situation well. It has yet to be seen whether the majority of Catholics will agree with this sentiment.
Compiled from The New York Times
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