Foreign Current Event #5 - Nigeria Violence, Religious Tension Snaps

The division between the poor, Muslim north and the wealthier, Christian south in Nigeria is growing more and more clear under the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan. The radical Islamist sect from the north, Boko Haram, has been causing more violence than ever before. The reason is probably Boko Haram's strong disagreement with the president's Western-focused education and political beliefs. This weekend, a Catholic church along the north-south divide was targeted by a carbombing attack, which killed three and injured many others. In responce, many young citizens from the town hunted down and killed about ten people that they blamed for the attack. The catholic church never advocates violence, even in responce to an attack, which just shows how this battle has transended religious divides and has gotten to a point where many of the people fighting don't even know why.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/11/us-nigeria-violence-idUSBRE82A05A20120311

Foreign Current Event #4 - Great Britain - Scotish Politics News

Over the past few decades there have been many referenda in Scotland over the issue of independence from Britain. Each has had different results, but there has always been a fairly large support for Scotish independence. The main hang-up on gaining support has always been the issue of whether Scotland can support itself economically without Britain. Recently, the Scotish Finance Secretary has come out and said that "There can no longer be any argument over whether Scotland can afford to be independent." He has also used data to try to make the Scotish people realize that they aren't exactly getting a fair deal from Britain. Although Scotland makes up only 8.4% of Britain's population, they have been paying 9.6% of the country's taxes, with only 9.3% of the money comming back to them. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few years with this issue, and how it will effect Britain as a whole, as well as independence efforts in Wales and Northern Ireland.

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/300356-no-argument-that-scotland-can-afford-independence-swinney-insists/