Arab League puts sanctions on Syria
On Nov. 27 the Arab League approved economic sanctions on Syria to try and end its violent response to anti-government protesters. The sanctions were approved after Syria refused to let Arab League monitors into the country to assess the situation.
The sanctions include a travel ban against Syrian officials, a stop to dealings with the Syrian central bank, and an end to Arab financed projects.
Nineteen of the league’s 22 countries supported the sanctions. The Syrian economy is also being impacted by sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United States.
The Arab League suspended Syria earlier this month. Syria accepted a peace agreement on Nov. 2, but the violence that has killed an estimated 3,500 people since March has continued.
Hamad bin Jassem, foreign minister of Qatar, said the goal of the Arab League’s actions is to end the situation urgently.
Prince in rescue mission
A cargo ship sank in the Irish Sea off the coast of north Wales with a cracked hull in gale force winds on Nov. 27.
Prince William joined the rescue mission as the co-pilot of a helicopter that rescued two crew members and carried them back to his base on the Welsh island Anglesey.
The Swanland ship had eight people on board and was carrying thousands of tonnes of limestone when it sent out a mayday call.
One body was recovered from the sea, but the remaining crew members are still missing. Helicopters and the coastguard are still searching for them.
Anti-nuclear protesters block German train
Twelve arrests were made in Germany over the weekend when violent clashes broke out between police and protesters over a train carrying nuclear waste.
On board was 150 tonnes of uranium from France, on its way to Gorleben, Germany for storage. Anti-nuclear activists said it is too dangerous to move the nuclear waste.
Protesters tried to block the train, and the police had to clear thousands of them off of the tracks; 1,300 people were detained after the protest.
Twenty thousand police have been deployed on the train route in Germany, and riot police in France also removed protesters who tried to block the tracks.
Germany is planning to shut down all their nuclear plants by 2022.
