1. DAMASCUS, SYRIA

President Obama has dispatched an ambassador to Syria in an effort to aid diplomacy in the Middle East. The last US ambassador was withdrawn by the Bush regime in 2005 in protest of alleged Syrian links to the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. President Obama hopes that this will lead to improved relations between the US and Syria.

2. LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM

John Bercow has been appointed Speaker of the House of Commons and presided over his first debate on Wednesday. Bercow is MP for Buckinghamshire and, until his appointment as speaker, sat as a member of the Conservative Party. He took the chair wearing a lounge suit and tie under his black gown, shocking traditionalists.

3. BAGHDAD, IRAQ

More than 60 people have been killed by a bomb planted in a market stall in Baghdad. The bombing is the latest in a spate of incidents thought to be related to the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. The attacks have raised concerns about whether newly trained Iraqi security forces will be able to keep peace in the area once US troops move out. The deadline for US withdrawal is the 30th June and people remain hesitant about the potential vacuum that may be caused once US troops leave the country.

4. MOGADISHU, SOMALIA

The Somalian government has called in vein on neighbouring Ethiopia and Kenya for military aid in the fight against a jihadist insurgency. Neither country offered military assistance to Somalia although controversial evidence has arisen that the US is secretly providing the country with arms.

5. BISHKEKM, KYRGSTAN

The US has secured a deal with Kyrgyzstan which will allow them to continue using Manas airport to support essential military operations in Afghanistan. The base is very important to the US because it is the only airport in central Asia that the country can use for military means. In February the Kyrgyzstani government had said that American use of the air base could no longer continue.

6. LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES

Pop singer Michael Jackson has died of a heart attack. The 50 year old singer was declared dead at a Los Angeles hospital on Thursday afternoon after suffering from cardiac arrest. Jackson had recently passed a medical test which deemed him fit enough to perform a series of concerts in London.

7. TEHRAN, IRAN

Protests disputing the outcome of the Iranian election have spread from Tehran to other cities throughout the country. Anger escalated after Iranian authorities met a protest in Tehran with lethal force on 28th June. Millions of Iranians believe that the alleged victory of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over his opponent Mir Hosein Mousavi was fixed.

8. PARIS, FRANCE

President Nicholas Sarkozy has provoked controversy by saying that the Islamic Burka is “not welcome on French territory.” In a speech to both houses of the French parliament he described the garment as “a sign of subjugation…of debasement”. The idea of banning the garment in public places has been discussed and Sarkozy’s public condemnation makes such a ban much more likely.

9. ROME, ITALY

President Nicholas Sarkozy has provoked controversy by saying that the Islamic Burka is “not welcome on French territory.” In a speech to both houses of the French parliament he described the garment as “a sign of subjugation…of debasement”. The idea of banning the garment in public places has been discussed and Sarkozy’s public condemnation makes such a ban much more likely.

10. AFGHANISTAN

The USA has announced a change to the way it hopes to deal with growers of opium poppies in the country. Instead of destroying the crops, as is currently the strategy, the government plans to instigate a miro-economic plan that will provide substantial funds to encourage farmers to grow alternative crops and explore other venues for generating income.

11. CORFU, GREECE

After poor relations following the Georgia situation in 2008, Russia and NATO have agreed to resume cooperation on security issues. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described the agreement as ‘to a certain extent a positive development’, but went on to add that the decisions taken by Russia over the future of Georgia are ‘irreversible’.

12. SOMERSET, ENGLAND

Richard Dawkins helped to set up an atheist summer camp where children will be educated on radical scepticism and sing John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’.