China sets up a rare earth body

     China produces 95% of the world's rare earth elements. These elements are significant in the production of various high-tech products. China's trading partners believe the China is trying to become the world's biggest producer of rare earths to benefit domestic manufacturers. They argued that by limiting exports, Beijing kept low prices for domestic buyers but international firms. They also claimed that Beijing tried pressuring international manufacturers to move to China.  China denied these claims and said they placed these restrictions to prevent environmental damage.  

Car Bomb Detonates in Nigeria

     On Sunday morning, a suicide car bomber detonated the explosives in his car on a busy road. The explosive killed at least 38 people. The reason for the explosion revolves around religious, ethnic and political violence in the nation.
     The explosion hit Kaduna, the capital of Kaduna state. It left charred motorcycles and debris all across a major road. Nearby buildings had windows blown out and roofs torn apart. It also damaged the nearby All Nations Christian Assembly Church and the ECWA Good News Church while people were there worshiping on Easter Sunday.
     No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but many suspected a radical Islamic sect that's been responsible for hundreds of killings. This invokes fear because of the turmoil revolving around a region on that's the dividing line between Nigeria's Christian south and Muslim north.

Opposition to Putin

     Putin has a pretty strong hold on Russia. In the city Duma, his United Party holds 33 of the 35 seats which is way more than just majority. But city voters have turned against Putin. Less than fifty percent voted him which opened many opportunities to his opponents. Putin rules by fiat which he calls the "vertical of power." This means that his loyalists dominate the law-making bodies.
     Mikhail Velmakin, an emerging politician, believes there is hope for new political faces in Moscow. he is using his philosophy which is a mixture of Gandhi and Tip O'Neill. In 208 when Velmakin was elected to an unpaid on one of Moscow's neighborhood advisory councils he was preparing himself to take protest from the streets into the halls of the government. He and others are organizing a nonpartisan Council of District Deputies providing networking in preparation for elections to the more powerful city Duma in 2014.