International News for Nov. 30 - Dec. 13

This is not original reporting. All information has been compiled from the Washington Post, USA Today and CNN. Silver Chips Online posts this news summary to provide readers with a forum for discussion.

Denmark
Dec. 7 - United Nations (UN) officials are holding a two-week conference on climate control in Copenhagen, Denmark to address global warming and environmental sustainability. International officials in support of and against green policies will be present at the conference, representing countries such as China, Great Britain, the United States and Japan. On Dec. 9, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson announced that the United States will begin to formally address carbon emission issues this year. Another key U.S. leader who plans to attend the conference next week is Representative Shelley Moore Capito (R - W. Va.), a member of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. The congregation of international officials at the conference wants to outline a plan to transfer finances and available resources needed to combat climate change from rich to developing countries. One promising method calls for the transfer of money from developing countries' private investments to climate-control projects.

Italy
Dec. 4 - American student Amanda Knox was sentenced to a 26-year prison term on Dec. 4 for murdering her British roommate Meredith Kercher while the two were studying at Leeds University in Perugia, Italy. Her Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, was also convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Kercher's body was found on Nov. 2, 2007 in the room she shared with Knox. The prosecution alleged that Knox and Kercher began to argue and presented evidence suggesting that Knox and Sollecito, along with another man, Rudy Hermann Guede, launched a sexual assault that resulted in Kercher's death. However, Knox claimed she was not in the house at the time of the murder. Knox's family is currently appealing her sentence.

Venezuela
Dec. 8 - Venezuelan students and activists protesting President Hugo Chavez's alleged mistreatment of 40 political prisoners ended their 18-day hunger strike last Tuesday. The 21 protestors disbanded after a delegation from the Organization of American States (OAS), led by Antonia Orreogola, convinced strikers that the international community would lobby for the release of those held captive. Alleged prisoners include journalists, as well as other officials who voiced opposition to Chavez, including Metropolitan Police Commissioner Ivan Simmons and Cararcas official Richard Blanco.

Philippines
Dec. 12 - Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo repealed a declaration of martial law issued in the Maguindando province on Dec. 4 in response to the Nov. 23 massacre of 57 people. The massacre was an attempt to keep an opponent of the Ampatuan family from running for governor; the Ampatuans are the prime suspects in the mass killing, which included the murders of 30 journalists and their staff. Amnesty International pressured the Philippine government to revoke the law after troops arrested at least six members of the Ampatuan clan without court warrants. Although post-election violence is common in the Philippines, the Nov. 23 massacre has been the worst in the country's history.