Recently in International News Category

by Bailey Haack

Police in China detained more than 30 worshippers who belong to the unregistered Shouwang church in Beijing as they gathered for an Easter service Sunday.

The worshippers were stopped near a plaza in the city's university district, according to The Independent, which said that the Shouwang members have been trying to meet at the plaza since the congregation was evicted from its place of worship three weeks ago.

Chinese Christians are required to worship in state-controlled churches, The Independent said.

More than 50 million worshippers refuse to submit to this regulation, and worship at "house churches," according to the Irish Times. The Shouwang congregation is one of Beijing's biggest "house" congregations.

The growing influence of such unregulated churches has unsettled authorities in China, who are suspicious of independent groups who could challenge Communist authority, said The Independent.

The pressure on the church is seen as part of a crackdown on dissent in China, which has affected religions other than Christians, according to the Irish Times.

by Bailey Haack

A recently passed French law banning face-concealing veils caused controversy this week as it was implemented the first time, with the arrest of a woman Monday evening.

The woman, a 31-year-old of Moroccan descent who requested her name not be released, was allowed to leave the police station without a fine, according to the Sunday Times Zimbabwean Edition. She was originally told she would have to pay a fine when she was brought to the station.

The new law carries a fine of $210 for wearing a burka or a niqab, according to the Times. It was implemented as a barrier against Islamic extremism that ministers say "is threatening the secular nature of the French Republic."

The law also applies to people who force women to wear the veils. According to BBC News, this offense carries a larger fine and a prison sentence of up to two years.

France is the first country in Europe to publicly ban Muslim women from wearing face veils, according to BBC.

by Bailey Haack

The UK and Dutch governments are planning to bring Iceland to court in a dispute over billions of dollars lost in the bank system's collapse.

This potential action followed a referendum in Iceland, which, according to BBC News, rejected a proposed repayment plan.

The UK and Netherlands bailed out their depositors after the Icesave savings bank collapsed. The BBC said the governments are now demanding their money back.

Iceland's referendum this weekend ended with six of ten voters opposing the law, which CNN said was aimed at solving the dispute.

The British government will continue to pursue a way to regain their lost money. Danny Alexander, the chief secretary of the Treasury, said the vote was "disappointing." According to CNN, he said, "We have a very difficult financial position as a country ... This money would help."

by Bailey Haack

Chinese artist and activist, Ai Weiwei, 53, was stopped by authorities Sunday in Beijing while trying to board a plane to Hong Kong.

Authorities also conducted a raid on Weiwei's studio on the outskirts of Beijing, taking his wife, nephew, and multiple employees into custody, according to a New York Times report.

WeiWei is an internationally known artist and architect, who also makes documentaries, according to the Times. He helped to design the Olympic Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing.

The Communist Party in China has been cracking down on rights lawyers, bloggers, and dissidents for the past six weeks, the Times said.

There has been no word yet on where Weiwei was taken or why he was not allowed on the flight. BBC News said he is a controversial figure in China, and security forces have been monitoring him for a while.

At least 20 activists and government dissidents have been taken into custody in recent weeks, according to BBC.

by Bailey Haack

Countries around the world turned off lights at major landmarks on Saturday to support Earth Hour 2011, part of a global campaign that highlights climate change.

The World Wildlife Fund, an environmental group, began Earth Hour in 2007 in Australia, according to BBC News. Around 2.2 million homes and businesses around Sydney went dark for an hour in support of the cause.

This year, WWF said that 2,800 towns and cities in over 80 countries participated in the event. According to a Reuters article, the London Luton Airport turned off its lights, even switching off the lighted logo on the front of the terminal building.

Scotland was a big supporter of the event this year, shutting down landmark lights at Eilean Donan Castle, Inverness Castle, and Stirling Castle, among other places, according to BBC.

WWF hopes that the public support of the event will help to convince governments around the world to start taking action against climate change, said BBC.

by Bailey Haack

Beginning in Baghdad, parts of Iraq are beginning the process of removing the tall concrete blast walls that were used to tighten security along roads and in neighborhoods around the city.

One such wall in Sadr City was built about three years ago to help prevent attacks on passing military vehicles, said the New York Times. The wall was three miles long, and surrounded businesses and homes, causing them to be abandoned.

Quassim Karim, 50, said that before the walls were built, he was selling between 200 and 300 tons of flour from his warehouse per month. He told the Washington Post that when the barriers went up, his sales dropped as low as 110 tons a month.

The walls, many of which were built by American troops, were disliked by many Iraqis.
Karim told the Post, "We're delighted with this. At least it will give us a feeling that the security crisis we have lived through is finished."

Another woman from Sadr city told the NY Times that she is very happy that the walls are being removed. "From the bottom of my heart; I hope they'll give orders to lift them all."

by Bailey Haack
Torrential rainfall in the La Paz area has caused a landslide of accumulated mud that destroyed over 300 homes over the past weeks.

Authorities were able to evacuate the Kupini II area shortly before it was smashed by the collapsing hillside, according to a BBC News report.

Weeks of heavy rain in Bolivia have caused at least 40 deaths in the area, said the Malaysia Sun, and left over 10,000 people homeless in La Paz.

On Tuesday, the Bolivian government declared a national emergency, according to the Malaysia Sun, which reported heavy rains across most of Bolivia.

Officials told BBC News that this was one of the worst landslides that the city has seen. Troops have been helping with the evacuation and recovery efforts.

by Bailey Haack

A fire swept through a home for disabled children Sunday, killing 10 children, in Haapsalu, Estonia.

37 children and nine adults were inside the building when the fire started around 12:30 p.m. local time according to Viktor Saamets, a spokesman for the Western Estonia Rescue Services Center.

Saarmets told CBS News that "by the time rescue workers and firefighters arrived at the scene three or four minutes later the building was completely in flames."

Estonian government declared that Monday will be a nationwide day of mourning, according to CBS News.

Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves expressed his condolences, telling CBS News that "the tragic accident in the Haapsalu orphanage shocked the whole of Estonia today."

The orphanage was opened as a home for disabled children in 1950, according to BBC News, which reports that the cause of the fire has not yet been established.

by Bailey Haack
After appeals from the gay community, the partner of a man killed in a shooting in Tel Aviv will be allowed to remain in Israel.

Thomas Schmidt, a native of Germany, has been living in Israel since 2004. His partner, Nir Katz, was killed in a shooting at the Tel Aviv LGBT Center on Aug. 1, 2009 according to the Dallas Voice.

Schmidt's visa recently expired, and the Israel government denied his request to remain in the country. He had begun the process of registering as the partner of an Israeli citizen in 2008, said an AP News article, but hadn't finished before his visa expired.

The Katz family took Schmidt in after Katz's death, and Schmidt wishes to stay with them.

The country originally denied his request, but decided Thursday to reverse their decision and allow Schmidt to stay.

Nitzan Horowitz, an openly gay lawmaker in Israel wrote a letter, according AP News, saying, "There would be no damage to the state of Israel if such a positive person as Thomas Schmidt, in light of the difficult and extraordinary circumstances, would stay with us here."

by Bailey Haack

Three American hikers accused of spying are being tried Sunday in Iran after being detained for 18 months.

The three hikers, Joshua Fattal, Shane Bauer, and Sarah Shourd, were hiking in Iraq in July 2009, when they "inadvertently crossed into Iran," said a New York Times report.

The trial, originally scheduled to begin in Novermber, was postponed when Shourd was allowed to return to the United States for medical reasons. She did not appear at the trial on Sunday, but a not guilty plea was entered for her, as well as the other two hikers.

The families of the hikers, according to the L.A. Times, have created a video that will be translated into Farsi. The video includes family members making appeals for the hikers' release.

A diplomatic conflict between Iran and the United States may create problems for Bauer and Fattal. Last month, talks regarding Iran's nuclear program ended when the major points of contention could not be resolved, according to the New York Times.

The lawyer for the hikers, Masoud Shafiee, told the Times that no decisions have been made in the case, and that the trial will continue at a date that has not yet been announced.

Shourd told the L.A. Times that "This whole thing has been a huge misunderstanding."