Pham,+Lina

February 19, 2010
 * __China anger at Dalai Lama-Obama meeting__**

The visit by the Dalai Lama "seriously undermined" relations between US and China. China had already warned the US before the meeting the president had with the Dalai Lama. The US rejected it and now China is mad. Washington had kept the meeting low-key to show that it was private instead of political.

BBC <"http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8523319.stm"> AL JAZEERA <"http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/02/20102192182809493.html">

There were many similarities and differences in BBC's and Al Jazeera's article. Both the articles mentioned how Washington tried to make the meeting "low-key". Both the articles also had the same quote which is, "The behaviour of the US side seriously interferes in China's internal politics and seriously hurts the national feelings of the Chinese people". A difference between the two articles is BBC's article had a video of Dalai Lama talking about his meeting with President Barack Obama, while Al Jazeera's article did not have that. BBC's article also had a box with a list of US and China tensions. For example, China denies being behind the Google cyber attack and Al Jazeera's article did not have a list of US and China tensions.

My opinion is that BBC had the better article because it had way more information compared to Al Jazeera. I think China should stop being mad about this because according to one of the articles, the Dalai Lama has met every sitting US president since 1991. Also, China should stop thinking the Dalai Lama is a "separatist" and forget about the past. February 13, 2010 __**MORE MISSLE TESTS**__

In South Korean they have said that North Korea has declared a naval exculsion zone off on the West Coast. It means that North Korea might be testing missle launches. The Zone is near a sea but in November there was a short rival between South Korean ships and North Korean ships. The testing zone might also signal military signals. North Korea and South Korea also has connections between each other. Between 1950 to 1953, the Korean War was ended by a truce and not with a peace treaty.

AL JAZEERA <"http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/01/20101269175540407.html"> NEW YORK TIMES <"http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/world/asia/13north.html?_r=1">

In both articless they describe the importants parts of the situation and what South and North Korea said. There weren't that may similarities. Some differences in both articles are Al Jazeera had a picture of the missles they were going to launch and New York Times didn't have a picture. Also some of the information was scattered in different places than it was in the other article, therefore the information was in different places for each artcle.

My opinon on this is that i think it's good for them to ask South Korea if they could do missle testing off the West Coast. It's also a good idea because there taking pre cautions so that no one would get hurt and there warning South Korea incase an accident happens. I also think that it's kind of a bad idea to settle things using truce because what if you break that truce then more and more problems would happen but if you have a treaty then it's harder to break it.

January 30, 2010
 * __VIETNAM DEMOCRACY ACTIVIST JAILED__**

Author and democracy activist, Pham Thanh Nghien, has been jailed by Vietnam for four years because she has been found guilty of "spreading propaganda against the state." However, she is on three years probation. She has criticised the communist of government and is the fourteenth democracy activist to be jailed within the past three months in Vietnam. Her hearing was on Friday, January 29th in Haiphong. In the past, Nghien has been charged with numerous other accounts relating to government protesting.

In both the BBC and Al Jazeera article, it states that Pham Thanh Nghien had a hearing in Haiphong which resulted in a four year jailing time. Both of these articles also mention that she was jailed before in September 2008 for critising Vietnam's government policies against China. Another similarity I found was that both articles mentioned a man named Le Cong Dinh, who was a lawyer that was of trying to overthrow the government policies. Differences I found between these two articles was that Al Jazeera included information about previous democracy activists that have been convicted for similar reasons to prove Nghien was not the only one. Al Jazeera also included quotes from her lawyer about the hearing, which BBC does not have. The same article also included the day of the hearing, which is an important piece of information to know when it was held that BBC also didn't include.

BBC: <"http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8486647.stm"> AL JAZEERA: <"http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/01/201012952639939714.html">

My opinion on this is that the Vietnamese government is being too harsh. People should be allowed to protest out of their own free will. They should have a right to speech and their own actions since it's not doing any physical harm to others. I'm glad, however, that Nghien's punishment is not that harsh. I prefer the Al Jazeera article rather than the BBC, because it was more informative and had more important details that BBC left out.

January 22, 2010
 * __CHINA CONDEMNS 'GROUNDLESS' US CRITICISM OF WEB CONTROL__**

Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, called China on Thursday to lift their internet restrictions. Clinton also tells Beijing to investigate cyber attacks that have been led back to China. The Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu wants for the US to stop making accusations against China. These accusations and criticism is now harming the relationship between these two countries. On January 12, Google says that hackers were trying to infiltrate their system from China. Clinton wants for the complaint from Google to be searched out. She has encouraged for companies in China to take a stand against censorship. Chinese officials have said that Google and other foreign internet companies can take place in China just as long as they follow the country's rules and laws.

Both of the articles state that Clinton had placed a call on Thursday for China to investigate cyber attacks at Google. They also include information about Google warning China that they will shut down their operations in China. Another similarity was that these two articles provided quotes from the same people- Hillary Clinton and the Foreign Ministry Spokesman. One difference I saw between these two articles was that BBC included a internet row timeline which shows the date and events of what happened between Google, China, and the US. This timeline helps to understand more fully what is going on. Another difference is that the two articles used different quotes from each other. In addition, the Al Jazeera article provided information about Google's chief executive, Eric Schmidt, and what their next actions would be from Google. This is important imformation, because it helps tell what will happen as a result.

AL JAZEERA: <"http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/01/2010122133456273710.html"> BBC: <"http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8474011.stm">

I agree that this conflict between China, US, and Google, is definately creating some tension between the two countries. I think that China is being stubborn and should change their rules on their internet restrictions. And instead of telling the US to stop their accusations, maybe they should investigate beforehand so that they can prove Google wrong about the cyber attacks. I definately perferred the BBC article, because I found it easier to understand since they included a timeline table. That helped me get a better idea of what was happening and in what order.

December 10, 2009
 * __GUINEA JUNTA ARRESTS 60__**

Just last week on Thursday, Guinea's junta leader Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara was shot in the head at his aide de camp. He is now recovering from the bullet wound in Morroco. The military government is now hunting for the alleged plotters involved in this assasination attempt. So far 60 have been arrested, and Junta officials are saying Lt Aboubacar Toumba Diakite carried out this attack, but he hasn't been caught.

Similarities between these two articles were that they included quotes from Idrissa Cherif that help to back up the article's information. These two articles also gave the basic information of who was shot and where they currently are. They also provided pictures as a visual aid. Differences between these two articles were that THT article was mainly about Camara's injury, and the BBC article focused on what is being done to find the alleged plotters. The BBC article also provided some background information on Camara's rule and previous events caused by the military which helps inform readers and give them a better understanding on the situation. BBC also provided statistics and the name of the main suspect, which THT article did not include.

BBC: <"[]"> The Himalayan Times: <"http://thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Shot+Guinea+junta+head+stable&NewsID=198217">

My opinion on this is that I think the military is taking it too far with searching for the people that were behind Camara's attack. Camara didn't even die, so they shouldn't freak about who did it too much. They just need to find their main suspect, and stop hurting everyone in their way. I think they went too far because they arrested 60 people so far and I don't think that all of them could've even been involved. I think the BBC article was better because it provided a lot more information and evidence than the THT article did. It provided background information so the reader could have an easier way of understanding who was involved.

December 3, 2009
 * __MINISTERS KILLED IN SOMALIA ATTACK__**

On December 3, 2009 in Modadishu, Somalia, at least nineteen people, including three government ministers, were killed in an explosion in the Shamo Hotel. This took place while graduation ceremony for medical students was in progress. The ministers killed in this attack were Qamar Aden Ali (the health minister), Ibrahim Hassan Adow (the minister for higher education), and Ahmen Abdullahi (the minister for education). News reports say that a man dressed as a woman went into the crowd of the graduation and activated the bomb. It is believed the reason for this attack was aimed to target the government officials, and the al-Shabab group is suspected to behind this mess.

A similarity between the Al Jazeera and BBC article was that they both explained all the details and events that happened, and basically contained the same information. In both articles they included the names of the ministers that died as well. One difference between these two articles was that Al Jazeera stated that three government ministers had died, but BBC stated there were four government ministers that died. They included the same ministers, but BBC had mentioned the sports minister as well. Another difference was that the Al Jazeera article stated around 40 people were wounded, but BBC concluded that it was at least 60 people. These two articles provided many quotes, but they were all from different sources and people.

AL JAZEERA:  BBC: <[]>

I saw this event as a shame that so many people were killed an injured, and that most of those that were killed were medical students whose goals were to help others in life. I think it's wrong to take so many lives of innocent people that've never done anything wrong. I noticed that a lot of violent events take place in Somalia and a few of them have been caused by the al-Shabab group. I think both articles had great coverage and provided a lot of quotes from major political people and witnesses and evidence. They were very informative and easy to understand as well.

November 26, 2009
 * __SOMALI CAPTORS 'TORTURED' HOSTAGES__**

Amanda Lindhout, a Canadian freelancer, and Nigel Brennan, an Australian photojournalist, have been held for 15 months by kidnappers in Somalia when they were on their way to Afgoye. These two journalists were captured on August 23, 2008 and say that during this period of time, their captors tortured them until they were finally freed on Wednesday. It was said that they were shackled in windowless rooms and beat. Brennan says they were stripped and pistol-whipped. The two hostages were freed when a million dollar ransom was paid for their release. The original ransom wanted was $2.5 million in September 2008, but was demanded to be lowered by the local tribal chief in January 2009.

Both of these articles contained the same content and provided many quotes from Lindhout and Brennan, but Yahoo News also included quotes from Kellia Brennan and Joel Simon, an executive director from CPJ. Al Jazeera's and Yahoo New's coverage was mainly about what had happened while the journalists were captured, but Yahoo News was more informative and took things into a deeper aspect and went step by step of how everything went down. Al Jazeera's article was more like a quick to the point summary. Al Jazeera also included background information of Somalia about how many anti-government groups have a lot of control in Somalia and that there are frequent journalists and aid workers abductions.

AL JAZEERA:  YAHOO NEWS: <[]>

My opinion of this news is that it's so inhumane that people would kidnap those who aren't doing any harm and then torture them. All that those anti-government groups is money and for people to fear and know them. Those journalists are so lucky that they're still alive and survived everything after all that time in such harsh living conditions. If the ransom had been paid sooner, the journalists wouldn't have to gone through a longer ordeal, but it took longer than expected. Were the kidnappers even convicted or disciplined for their actions? Somalia seems like a really corrupted country and they need to do a better job of managing and controlling what goes on. The Yahoo News article had better coverage than Al Jazeera's because it was more explanatory and included details the other article did not have.

November 19, 2009
 * __SOMALI WOMEN STONED TO DEATH__**

A 20 year old Somlian woman in Mongadishu, Somalia was stoned to death. The judge from the Islamic militia group in Somalia says she was stoned for adultery and having an affair. The divorcee was exceuted Tuesday when she had confessed to having sex with an unmarried 29 year old man. This man was given 100 lashes for having the affair. The woman had also given birth to a stillborn child. The woman had been buried up to her waist before she was stoned. Sheikh Ibrahim Abdirahman says the woman was killed in front of a crowd of 200 people near the town of Wajid. Sheikh Ibrahim Abdirahman is a judge for a court that the rebel group al-Shabab created. This death was the second recorded stoning from the al-Shabab fighters. This group favors stoning as a consequence under their conception of the Islamic law.

Al Jazeera and AOL gave the same information that a 20 year old woman was stoned for an affair and gave birth to a stillborn child, and that the 29 year old man she had an affair with was lashed 100 times. These articles also stated the stoning had been caused by the accusation of adultery. The same quotes from Sheikh Ibrahim Abdirahman were used in both articles about the woman getting stoned in front of 200 people near Wajid. Differences between these two articles was that Al Jazeera said this case was the second recorded stoning, but AOL says that it was at least the fourth stoning that took place. Another difference was that the Al Jazeera article added in a section to the article titled "Sharia interpretation" which was about the al-Shabab group's understanding of the Islamic law and also included details of another stoning incident.

AL JAZEERA:  AOL NEWS: 

What's going on in Somalia by the al-Shabab group is wrong. The woman didn't even have a chance to be tried in court, which any accused person should have. Even though she admitted to the affair, she didn't really have a chance to tell her story. They rebels just jumped to conclusions and believed adultery was wrong in all ways and just went straight to killing her. Shouldn't there be an army stopping this? It's not like this was the first case to take place, and they had time to take action, but why hasn't anything been done yet? I also find it sad that the woman's baby had died. In my opinion, I found that the Al Jazeera article was more to my liking since it had more for me to read and analyze. The AOL article was quite low in content.

November 12, 2009
 * __JUDGE SHOT DEAD IN SOMALIA__**

Sheikh Mohammed Abdi Aware was a judge known for jailing pirates and members of Somalia's anti-government group. He had been shot dead in Bossaso, a port in Somalia where many pirates are based. This area is known for criminal gangs and human traffickers. It was said he was shot several times in the head and chest by two masked men. Three suspects have now been arrested. Police are still investigating this incident and have more security in Bossaso. Abdulahi Jama believes gangs hated Mr. Aware for his justice, because he has jailed hundreds of pirates and people smugglers. He suspects one of the gangs had something to do with his assasination.

These two articles stated the same basic facts about who Aware was and what had happened to him. Anyhow, Al Jazeera added information about a local member of parliament and how his death may also be connected. It also talked about the region and history of Somalia, which BBC did not include. BBC's article was very short in length and did not provide as much detail. The BBC News article included quotes, which Al Jazeera did not have. However, Al Jazeera had statistics to back up their statement.

AL JAZEERA:  BBC NEWS: <[]>

I think it was wrong for the gangs/pirates to kill the judge because he hadn't done anything wrong. He was just doing his job by jailing those people, and it was their own fault for breaking the laws in the first place.​ Sooner or later they're going to get caught anyways. I like the Jazeera article more than the BBC article because it was more informative, had more in content, and was described in deeper detail. It also had other information to help back up their main idea.

November 5, 2009
 * __SOUTH AFRICA CANCELS AIRBUS DEAL__**

South Africa's government has canceled a multi-billion dollar contract to buy eight military Airbus aircrafts due to the rise in the cost and delivery delays. This contract was signed years ago, but the governing African National Congress thought the South African taxpayers would not favor going forward with the deal. The cost from when the planes were ordered was only 6.4 billion rand but now it has been raised to 47 billion rand. Also, the Airbus A400M planes were having technical problems which postponed the deal. However, the A400M recieved good news that seven other countries would be supporting it and awaiting new contracts for the plane.

Both of these articles were very short and generally provided the same information. BBC and The Seattle Times had provided quotes from Themba Maseko, but The Seattle Times has only provided only two words from him while BBC provided several different quotes. Both of these sources also provided statistics for the costs of the deals from when it was signed till now. The BBC news source also added information about 'new contracts' that are to be made, whereas The Seattle Times does not refer to anything else except the cancellation of the deal and why.

BBC NEWS: <[]> THE SEATTLE TIMES: <[]>

I think the government was smart for canceling the deal, because the tax payers would've probably wanted their money to go to better use than a couple of aircrafts. In addition, the cost of the deal went up drastically. Why would anyone want to pay more than what they agreed on before? I think the BBC article was better than The Seattle Times because it had more content and included information about the events happening after the cancellation.

October 29, 2009 __**GUINEA FORCES 'PLANNED CRACKDOWN'**__

On September 28, in the Conakry sports stadium in Guinea, unarmed protesters were shot by soldiers from Guinea's elite presidential guard. The eits to the stadium had been blocked by the soldiers. Many were shot or trampled to death, and the women were abused and raped. The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has now stated this whole incident was no accident. The HRW said that the deadly shoot out had been planned by the country's leadership. It was said this attack was an "organized operation" made in advance. The European Union has commanded an arms embargo on Guinea as a result of this crackdown.

Both the BBC News article and the VOA News provided information on the event that took place in Conakry Stadium and what the soldiers had done to the protestors. These two articles also stated how the EU had put an arms embargo act in action, and also provide information on junta military leader, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara. BBC and VOA both had quotes and information from Corrine Dufka from the HWR. However, VOA had also provided quotes from actual victims and witnesses. VOA had more detailed information of what took place in the stadium, but BBC had talked about the aftermath of the event and how they're having a strike to remember the victims.

BBC NEWS:  VOA NEWS: 

I think that is good that people are still investigating this event and that it isn't being forgotten. Many innocent people died due to the recklessness of the military. Their actions were wrong and were unnecessary. Those responsible for these numerous deaths should be tried in court. Captain Moussa Dadid Camara shouldn't even be allowed to stand in next year's presidential elections. Under his leadership, many more things could go wrong. In my opinion, the BBC article was better than the VOA article because it was more direct and simplified.