World News Today Recap

We here in America are feeling the pressure of financial hardship. Everyday another story arises that brings us a little closer to depression. It is however not just the United States that is suffering. There is hardship worldwide. World news today shows us these hardships felt around the world.

Today at least 23 people have died after a fire engulfed a nursing home in Northern Russia. Three people were rescued while as of this article only seven bodies have been found.

Thousands protest in Russia at rallies across the nation. Why are they protesting? The mismanagement of the Russian Government is what has spurred these protests. Protesters in Vladivostok are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

China reports today a sharp rise in the numbers of babies being born in that country with birth defects. Jiang Fan a member of The National Population and Family Planning Commission says that it may be caused from environmental pollution. This statement made because China's coal rich Shanxi province has the highest number of babies born with defects. China is now struggling to put into force a high-level prevention plan.

Germany reports that Porsche has scaled back its production line due to a fall in demand for their luxury cars. They will cut production by 19 days between January 30 and April of 2009. This is not just due to the US drop in vehicle sales as Germany has seen a 26% decline in sales last year. We will need to wait till March for the final figures out of Stuttgart.

Sri Lankan fighting has caused a rise in the number of children killed over the last 10 days. This is being report by Unicef. The government of Sri Lankan is asking that the Tamil Tiger rebels give priority to the safety of these nations children. President Mahinda Rajapaksa has ruled out a ceasefire even in light of the evidence that the death of these countries children is on the rise.

Recently scientists worldwide met in Monaco and voiced concern over the changes in acidity of our planets oceans. The "Monaco Declaration" warns that the oceans acidity is accelerating. They have clear proof that the ph levels are changing 100 times faster than natural variability. It is believed that the C02 problem will make most oceans inhospitable to coral reefs by 2050 if this continues to occur.

France's prime minister states that economic problems in Europe if left as they are now will quickly reach a crisis status in the near future. Prime Minister Christine Lagarde states that action needs to be taken by the G20 summit-taking place in London in April. She indicates they are facing two major risks, one is social unrest and the other is protectionism. She is hoping that they will be able to restore confidence in the systems and at large. Today Saturday, January 31, 2009 hundreds showed up to demonstrate in Geneva and Davos to protest against the World Economic Forum.

These are just a few of the worldwide issues occurring on our planet in the last 24-hours. Although it is our first priority and is necessary that we here in the United States correct our countries own financial problems we must remember that after we reach that point we must then realize it will be necessary for us to branch out and reach out to the other countries of this world. If we as human beings are going to continue to survive on this planet we need to group together all Nations and conquer these financial, economical, environmental and humanitarian issues as a group.

Source: BBC World News