1. For each of the 3 countries, provide the following information:

a) capital:

b) location/the countries that share its borders:

c) the religious breakdown of the population:

d) the type of government:

e) 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]:

f) 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 maps and a list of continents.]

NOTE: Before answering the questions below, read the info under “Background” and “Resources.”

2. For SOUTH AFRICA:
a) list the who, what, where and when of the news item
b) What is unusual about this incident? (And what is not unusual about it?)
c) What obvious question would you ask after hearing that rivals trap each other in mines almost weekly?
d) What steps, if any, should the South African government require mining firms to take to prevent illegal mining? Explain your answer.

3. For BRAZIL:
a) list the who, what, where and when of the news item
b) Germany's Deutsche Welle reports:

Despite the widespread support for Snowden in Brazilian society and media, Virgilio Caixeta Arraes, a professor of international relations at the University of Brasilia, said he doubts the Avaaz petition will change the government's mind. "At the moment Brazil has no interest in picking a fight with the US," Arraes told DW.

Snowden is seen by many as people around the world as a whistleblower who drew back the curtain on egregious surveillance programs conducted by the NSA, while others regards him as a traitor who stole US state secrets.

Since mid-2013, Snowden has been in Russia, which has granted him temporary asylum. Petitions in his support have been run in various countries, including Germany, but so far none of the 21 countries that Snowden has appealed to has offered him permanent asylum. Most of them claim that the legal conditions for asylum have not been met.

Do you think Brazil should grant Snowden asylum despite Obama administration objections?

c) How do you think the U.S. should respond to any government that gives Snowden asylum? (ignore it, send a strongly worded letter of opposition, end trade deals with that country, other) Explain your answer.

4. For NIGERIA:
a) list the who, what, where and when of the news item
b) Nigeria's Borno state has been under emergency rule since May of last year in a bid to stop an Islamist rebellion that has claimed thousands of lives since 2009. A farmer who had escaped said there were no security forces in the town at the time of the attack. A military spokesman said: "We received report of the attack on Doron Baga, but we don't have details because the area falls under the operational jurisdiction of the Multinational Joint Task Force."
What obvious questions do you have about this situation?