1. For each of the 5 countries, give the following information:  (Include special notations for all information on the Ivory Coast)
a) the continent on which it is located
b) the name of the capital city
c) the type of government
d) the chief of state (and head of government if different) [If monarch, since what date has he/she ruled? - include name of heir apparent]
e) the population

[Find the answers at the CIA World FactBook website. For each country: type of government, capital and executive branch (chief of state/head of government) can be found under the "Government" heading; population is listed under the "People" heading.  Go to worldatlas.com for a list of continents.]

2. For India:
a) list the who, what, where and when of the news item
b) Why aren't India and Pakistan allies? (see "Background" below the questions for the answer.)
c) Were you surprised to read that both India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons? Explain your answer.

3. For Australia:
a) list the who, what, where and when of the news item
b) Which proposed solution to pay for the massive flood damage do you think would be better for Australians:
-Prime Minister Gillard's proposal to raise taxes (PM Gillard belongs to the Labor Party, which supports more liberal positions)
-the opposition's proposal to cut foreign aid to Indonesia (the opposition supports conservative/libertarian positions)
Explain your answer.
c) People are usually very generous after catastrophic natural disasters. Should the Prime Minister attempt to ask for donations first, before proposing a tax forcing Australians to contribute to reconstruction in Queensland? Explain your answer.

4. For China:
a) list the who, what, where and when of the news item
b) The Chinese government is known for hacking (or paying hackers) to infiltrate the websites of the U.S. government, as well as private companies. Chinese officials deny any allegations of such behavior. What do you think the U.S. government should do to prevent/end the Chinese from hacking into our confidential information?

5. For Ivory Coast:
a) list the who, what, where and when of the news item
b) Wikipedia defines incumbent as follows: incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. Read the bullet points on Ivory Coast under "Background" below the questions. Why do you think the news brief on Ivory Coast referred to Gbagbo as the incumbent?

6. For Russia:
a) list the who, what, where and when of the news item
b) Read the additional information under Russia under "Background" below the questions. Do you think using beautiful women to draw attention to social problems is a good idea? Explain your answer.
c) Do you think people will take them seriously?  Explain your answer.