1. For each of the 3 countries, give the following information:
a) the countries that share its borders
b) the religious breakdown of the population
c) the type of government
d) the chief of state (and head of government if different) [If monarch or dictator, since what date has he/she ruled? - include name of heir apparent for monarch]
e) the population

[Find the answers at the CIA World FactBook website. For each country, answers can be found under the "Geography" "People" and "Government" headings.  Go to worldatlas.com for a list of continents.]

2. For Finland:
a) list the who, what, where and when of the news item
b) Why won't members of the Eurozone that are in financial trouble receive a bailout as a result of the election in Finland?
c) Read the information on Finland under "Background" below the questions. How do the majority of Finnish people feel about contributing their money to bail out fellow Eurozone member countries?

3. For Japan:
a) list the who, what, where and when of the news item
b) Why are the Japanese crews using the robots to go into the reactors?
c) The Japanese are famous for some of the robots they have developed. Why are they relying on an American company for robots to use at the damaged nuclear plant?
d) Read the "Background" below and visit the iRobot company links under "Resources." What do you think of the American ingenuity used to develop these robots for military and disaster use?

4. For Ukraine:
a) list the who, what, where and when of the news item
b) Why has the Ukrainian government cut benefits originally given to the workers of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster by the now-collapsed Soviet government?
c) The news blurb does not specify how many of the original 600,000 workers are still receiving compensation/benefits, and if so, what amount. If all 600,000 were receiving the $212 per month, how much would the Ukrainian government pay out each year?
d) The government says it does not have the money to make payments at the original rates. What do you think: should they have made the cuts to workers' payments, or should they have done something else to keep payments the same? Explain your answer. Be specific.
e) Watch the video of the workers protesting under "Resources" below the questions. Think about news clips you've see of other protests recently around the world. How is this Ukrainian protest different?