Russia

A meteor weighing about 10 tons struck west of the Chelyabinsk region of Russia, near the town of Chebarkul. The strike point is about 1000 miles (1700 km) to the East of Moscow and about 640 miles (1000 km) Northwest of Astana, Kazakhstan (the capital).  Read More

North Korea

North Korea, slightly smaller than Mississippi, lies on the Korean Peninsula between China and South Korea. Following World War II, Korea was split with the northern half coming under Soviet-sponsored Communist control. After the Korean War (1950-53), North Korea's founding President, Kim Il Sung, adopted a policy of ostensible diplomatic and economic "self-reliance" as a check against outside influence. The US was demonized as the ultimate threat.  Read More

Algeria

Algeria, the largest country in Africa, encompasses 2,381,741 sq. km. and is more than three times the size of Texas. It is located in Northern Africa and is situated along the Mediterranean Sea, bordered by Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Tunisia, and Western Sahara. Algeria is formally known as the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria. Algiers is the capital; other major cities include: Oran, Constantine, Batna, and Annaba. Based on a July 2012 estimate, Algeria’s total population is 37,367,226 million people.  Read More

Mali

France began actions against Islamist forces in Northern Mali. From 1960 to 1991, Mali was ruled by dictatorship; that ended with a military coup and democratic rule. The first democratically elected president won election in 1992 and 1997. The next president was also elected to two consecutive terms 2002 and 2007. In January 2012, a Tuareg rebellion started in the north.  Read More

Syria

The combined death toll of Syrian government forces, opposition forces, and civilians amid unrest in October 2012 topped 30,000. Lakhdar Brahimi, current Joint Special Representative of the United Nations and the League of Arab States on the Syrian crisis, in October 2012 began meeting with regional heads of state to assist in bringing about a cease-fire.  Read More