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1. For each of the 3 countries, give the following information:
a) location/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
NOTE: For Northern Africa, answer only a) b) and e). 

[For Mali and India, find the answers at the CIA World FactBook website. For each country, answers can be found under the "Geography" "People" and "Government" headings. 

For North Africa, find the answers at wikipedia under the "North Africa" entry.]

2. For MALI:
a) list the who, what, where and when of the news item
b) What led to the takeover of half of Mali (the North) by al Qaeda terrorists?
c) What plan has the U.N. Security Council approved to oust al Qaeda from its hold over half of Mali?

3. For NORTH AFRICA:
a) list the who, what, where and when of the news item
b) List the 5 countries that are in danger of being taken over partially or completely by al Qaeda.
c) Do you think the U.N. will be effective in destroying al Qaeda in these (or any) countries?  Explain your answer.
d) What do you think should be done to destroy al Qaeda?  

4. For INDIA:
a) list the who, what, where and when of the news item
b) Compare the population to the number/percent of bathrooms to cellphones in India.
c) How many homes in India do not have bathrooms?
d)  Brindeshwar Pathak, founder of the sanitation non-profit Sulabh International suggested that the government should offer cheap loans to help people build lavatories and going to the bathroom in the open "should be a punishable offense."  Do you think these two suggestions are a good way to solve the problem? Explain your answer.