As I was thinking about what to write about today, I was conflicted about what deserved the attention of this (prestigious? sure why not) prestigious blog. What to talk about? Sadr's return to Iraq? the iPhone going on Verizon's network today? or South Sudan's imminent liberation from the rest of the country? Maybe a philosophical topic? With so much news to talk about, I've decided to condense all the global news I deem important into one blog post. Here we go...
1. Sudan: You're probably rolling your eyes thinking "Another messed up African country with more problems than people." but HALT, for this news is good news! Sudan is most known today for the genocide in Darfur. In the latest news related to this struggling African nation, there is a referendum being held from Jan 9-15. During this referendum, millions of Sudanese are flocking to the polls to vote on weather South Sudan should declare independence from the entire country. Quick background: Attempts to split in the past have led to Sudan's Second Civil War, which was Africa's longest running civil war. The fighting ended when the government and southern rebel forces agreed to create an autonomous state that governments itself,(South Sudan) has its own capital but remains part of the country. For more detail on South Sudan, click here for its Wikipedia page. How does this affect Darfur? It doesn't. That's a whole other conflict and the Darfur region will remain with the Sudanese government (this conflict is mainly between the Arab Muslims in power, massacring the non arab muslims non muslim tribes; also a very oil rich area). As the referendum progresses through these days, there are positive signs as everything seems to be going on peacefully. One of the reasons the North took so long to accept secession is because there are huge reserves of oil in South Sudan, which helped fuel the Civil war. To review Sudan's history, click here for an interactive Al Jazeera page on the country. The NYTimes has a Topic following the events in Sudan, click here and so does Al Jazeera, click here.
2. Al-Sadr Returns: If you aren't aware who Sayyid Muqtada Al-Sadr is, become aware. Here's his Wikipedia page. If you don't want to read it, I'll help you out. To make it short, he is a religious and political leader in Iraq; not just any leader, he literally pulls the strings of the government. As you may know, 60% of the Iraqi population is Shia Muslim. Under Saddam Hussein, a Sunni Muslim government was always in control (although his government was remarkably secular). When the U.S. invaded and replaced it with what's generally regarded as a democracy, the majority Shia population gained political power for the first time in decades. Al-Sadr first gained attention under the oppressive Hussein government, (but soon went into exile to neighboring Iran) as he opposed the rule. After being toppled by the U.S., the respected religious leader returned to Iraq under much fanfare. Upon return he openly spoke out against U.S. military presence as "the occupation" and soon his followers (in the millions) and what is called the "Mehdi Army" at once numbering in the tens of thousands effectively declared war on U.S. troops. The U.S. wanted to pursue him, however, he had great political power and the new Iraqi government couldn't form without his consent; he was vital to the creation of the new government, and responsible for Prime Minister Maliki's election. After years of pressure, U.S. and Iraqi forces moved into his strongholds and although they never fully controlled them, Al-Sadr called for a peace between the two sides. He followed his message, by advocating peaceful resistance to his followers (the idea was to wait for U.S. troops to leave, rather than fight them). 
Soon afterwards, still on the U.S. wanted list, Al-Sadr went into self-exile once again to Iran where he continued his religious studies in Qom, an Iranian holy city where most cleric go for learning. 1-2 years later (today) Muqtada returns to Iraq, and advocates for peaceful resistance. As the Iraqi government was struggling to create a new government after the elections, he helped tied the not once again. In other words, for better or worse, this guy has huge influence on the country, it's politics, religion, peace and war. Have you begun to notice him now? For the significance of his return, see here.
3. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords: I'm not one to jump on "live" news and post it on the blog for several reasons: 1. People don't come here to get the latest news, if they wanted that they would go to news sources and 2. I don't comment on live events unless I know the significance of the event after looking at it a few days later. A few days past what happened, I think it is worth review. On Jan 8th 2011, as the Representative was talking to constituents in a Shopping mall parking lot, an attacker came up to the crowd in an attempt to kill the Congresswoman. 6 people died (ranging from a young girl, to older women, and a federal judge) and 14 more were injured (including the Representative). Here is a show of those killed. After the shooting, Congress delayed all its work in the week following, and will pass a resolution upon return sending their condolences to the families and reinforcing their belief in peaceful assembly. The Rep. is known as a "Blue Dog" Democrat as had won re-election in the midterm 2010 elections despite being targeted by Tea Party members and Sarah Palin as a target to take out of Congress; the Rep. was constantly attacked her for stance on illegal immigration and her vote for health care reform. 
The shooter was mentally ill, so some doubt that the attack was politically motivated, but police do believe that the attack was planned to kill the Congresswoman. Many are starting to believe that it stems from his opposition to large government, slogans constantly changed by the right wing; however, in the link provided there is little evidence to support the claim that is spun by the media. Either way, most political analysts believe that this will help soften the criticism from the right-wing Republicans against supporters of controversial reforms like Obama's health care reform (including a local sheriff that has received national attention for his message)
4. Oil Spill Panel: The presidential panel released their findings and recommendations on how to prevent another disaster. As expected, the recommendations included new regulations and more spending to try to avoid it in the future, something both the voters, the president, the oil companies, and Congress seem to be weary of. To read more on this, click here.
There were some other stories, but for those, I want to post up as individual posts to delve deeper into them.
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