A large majority of responses to our question 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 France:
a) list the who, what, where and when of the news item
b) What type of government does the opposition want, according to Ali Zeidan?
c) Visit the website for Libya's leading opposition group Libyan National Transitional Council. Read the post under "About the Council" on the homepage. What does the Council say is its aim?

3. For Germany:
a) list the who, what, where and when of the news item
b) What has the zoo done for people who want to acknowledge Knut's death?
c) Knut fan Eveline Litowski, who came to the zoo to find out more about Knut's death said "I can't comprehend what happened there. He was happy before, there were no signs of anything - it's so shocking." Ms. Litowski was among those who crowded around Knut's empty compound Sunday, laying down red roses and white stuffed polar bears, lighting candles or putting up pictures of Knut with personal messages for him. Many children had drawn pictures of Knut or written farewell poems for their beloved bear. What do you think about a society/people (Knut had fans worldwide) who has this type of reaction to an animal's death?

4. For Israel:
a) list the who, what, where and when of the news item
b) What appears to be the motive for Israel's action?
c) Read about the Russian Compound and Sergei's Courtyard at the link under "Resources" below. How was Sergei's Courtyard/The Russian Compound used by Russia?