International News for Oct. 24 - Nov. 7

This is not original reporting. All information has been compiled from BBC and CNN. Silver Chips Online posts this news summary to provide readers with a forum for discussion.

Nov. 4 – People around the world congratulated Barack Obama on winning the U.S. presidency. Political leaders from Britain, Germany, China, France, Indonesia, Japan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel and Russia have spoken with optimism in reaction to Obama's win. Iran's Deputy Parliament Speaker Mohammad Hossein Abutorabifard spoke with slight optimism, saying, "If the United States takes into consideration the realities of the world and chooses suitable policies, America can play its (proper) role in the relations between the United States and the countries of the region and the world of Islam."

China
Oct. 31 – News outlets around the world reported that the addition of melamine, a toxic chemical that appears to increase protein content, to animal feed in China could be more widespread than previously expected. The scandal arose when Chinese babies started dying from contaminated milk. A large number of people are questioning the animal-based products that originate in China, as four brands of eggs have been found to contain melamine. The Chinese government has been criticized for originally attempting to hide the scare. Since then, China has launched a full-blown investigation to remove all melamine from Chinese products.

Russia
Nov. 5 – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in his first state-of-the-nation address that he will establish the Iskander missile system near Kaliningrad, located west of the Baltic Sea and positioned between Lithuania and Poland. Medvedev reasoned that these actions would be taken to counter a proposed U.S. anti-missile system that would bring ten missile silos to Poland and a radar scanning system to the Czech Republic. Medvedev has stressed that President-elect Obama must create better relations with Russia, as Medvedev believes that Russia is threatened by U.S. military activity.