A large majority of responses to our question last week about whether we should reduce the number of Tuesday News Briefs from 5 countries to 3 countries were in favor of three.  We'll try this out for a few weeks.  Let us know how this works for you. Send your thoughts to editor@StudentNewsDaily.com.

1. For each of the 3 countries, give the following information:
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 Russia:
a) list the who, what, where and when of the news item
b) Why were the regional elections in Russia significant?

3. For India:
a) list the who, what, where and when of the news item
b) What reasons are given for India's push to import a large amount of weapons?

4. For New Zealand:
a) list the who, what, where and when of the news item
b) A reader to a New Zealand newspaper commented: "[The Chinese government wants us to give extra compensation to the families in China?] Does that mean we then can make a claim against the Chinese government for job losses due to cheap Chinese imports, a direct result of Chinese government policy unlike the earthquake which is an act of God? I do feel for the Chinese families but believe the Chinese government should care for their own." Do you agree with this reader? Why or why not?
c) Families of all of the victims will receive compensation. Do you think New Zealand's government should give extra money to the parents of Chinese students who were at school in New Zealand because they only had one child?  Explain your answers.