Riot Police Breakup Protest Camps in Kiev

Riot police stormed opposition party offices, in Kiev, on Monday.

The heavily armed police forced entry into the offices of the Fatherland Party, and then left taking computers with them.

Led by former prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, the party is the largest and most vocal in it's opposition to President Viktor Yanukovych.

Other groups of police cleared out small protest camps, while more yet lined up near the bigger camps.

Protests have been going for most of a month and Sunday saw the biggest yet, with over one hundred thousand in the capital city.

The people are demanding that Yanukovych resign.

He angered the public when backed out of signing a trade agreement with the European Union, and instead announced that he would seek closer ties with Russia.

Many Ukrainians worry that Yanukovych is taking their country back under Russian influence and fear a loss of their independence from their former Soviet masters.

The protests have gained steam since three former presidents backed them, last week.

Putin Dissolves Russia's State News Agency

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin dissolved the state news agency, RIA Novosti.

In it's place he has created Rossiya Segodnya, or Russia Today.

Officially, the move was made to "save money" and "improve news service".

However, it was very clear that the new service will be a propaganda machine, similar to the Soviet Era APN.

In an outgoing statement, RIA's website said that, "The move is the latest in a series of shifts in Russia's news landscape which appear to point towards a tightening of state control in the already heavily regulated media sector."
  
RIA had more often been allowing statements and editorials critical of Putin and his government.

It now seems that doing so made them a target of the regime.

Putin now controls every single major Russian media outlet.

US Air Force Joins The Fight in Central African Republic

C17s from the United States will be joining efforts to stabilize the Central African Republic.

On Monday, it was announced that the US Air Force will be ferrying African Union troops in to CAR.

The AU troops will be joining French and CAR forces who are trying to bring peace to the country.

France came to the aid of it's former colony and has now twice increased troop levels.

The African Union pledged troops, but does not have the capabilities to bring them in, themselves.

US planes will help things proceed much more swiftly, and their involvement comes after the UN authorized international military aid, in CAR.

Train Crash and Explosion Kills 5 in Indonesia

Five people were killed and over one hundred were injured when a train struck a truck, in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Monday.

The truck had been carrying gasoline and the crash produced a large explosion.

Two train cars were derailed, in the accident.

Witnesses said that backed up traffic had left the truck stranded on the tracks, and the train was unable to stop in time.

More Than 100,000 Protest in Kiev

Thousands of protesters cheered in Kiev, Ukraine as a Lenin statue was pulled down and then hammered into pieces.

Protests have been taking place for weeks as the people demand that President Viktor Yanukovych resign.

He angered the public when backed out of signing a trade agreement with the European Union, and instead announced that he would seek closer ties with Russia.

Many Ukrainians worry that Yanukovych is taking their country back under Russian influence and fear a loss of their independence from their former Soviet masters.

The protests have gained steam as three former presidents have backed them.

Estimates are that more than one hundred thousand people showed up in Kiev on Sunday alone.

Tens of thousands more have been protesting in other cities, across the country.

Thailand to See New Parliamentary Elections

A new election is being called for in Thailand, after the opposition parties left the parliament.

They, as well as thousands upon thousands of the people are demanding that Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra resign.

Protests have been taking place for over a month.

The opposition's withdrawal from the parliament forced it to be dissolved.

New elections could bring a gain in seats for the opposition, however their leaders say that is not enough.

According to them, only the full removal of the prime minister and her family, which includes a former prime minister, from the country will satisfy them.

4.5 Quake Shakes Oklahoma

A 4.5 earthquake shook Oklahoma, on Saturday afternoon.

The quake struck near Arcadia, just fourteen miles north of Oklahoma City.

Minimal damage was reported, and no injuries.

Oklahoma has seen an increase in seismic activity, over the past few years.

Nelson Mandela, Dead at 95

On the night of Thursday, December 5, 2013 Nelson Mandela died, at the age of ninety-five.

Born on July 18, 1918 in Mvezo, Umtata, South Africa, he came from a royal family.

In college, he studied law and quickly became involved in anti colonial politics.

Mandela was repeatedly arrested for sedition, until 1962 when he was arrested for conspiracy to overthrow the government.

That conviction saw him sent to jail for twenty-seven years.

Upon his release, he became the foremost negotiator with the government as apartheid was abolished.

Then, in 1994, he successfully ran for president, of South Africa, and served one term, refusing the second.

During his time as president, he is credited as doing much to bring peace and healing to the country.

Many South Africans call him the father of the nation.

Hurricane Force Storm Xaver Kills 2 in The UK and 1 in Denmark

Three people have been killed by Storm Xaver.

Two of the deaths occurred in the UK, while the third happened in Denmark.

With winds near one hundred and forty miles per hour, the storm is all but a hurricane.

The winds are responsible for all three deaths.

Debris on train tracks forced all train service to be shut down, on Thursday, in Scotland and northern England.

Xaver also brought storm surges and flooding.

Officials warned that this could be the worst storm in sixty years.

Hamburg, Germany is dealing with a direct hit from the storm, and will be doing so through Friday.

Across the region, hundreds of flights were delayed or cancelled.

Suicide Attack on Hospital in Yemen Kills 52

Fifty-two people were killed when a suicide bomber struck a hospital, in Sanaa, Yemen.

The bomber drove his explosive filled car straight into the defense ministry's hospital.

One hundred and sixty-seven people were injured in the attack, nine of them seriously.

Seven of the dead were foreign medical personnel.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Al Qaeda is the leading suspect.