The densely wooded area of Russia’s Arctic Circle is home to a large population of bears. “Last summer was Russia’s hottest on record, with raging forest fires and droughts wiping out woodland and crops, forcing the bears to forage closer and closer to human settlements….” Two weeks ago, bears entered the village of Verkhnyaya Chova and began eating partially decomposed bodies in a local cemetery.

Russia continues to expand its territory and influence into satellite states of the former Soviet Union. It now maintains four separate air bases within Tajikistan and is planning for a fifth. Negotiations are underway between the Russian and Tajik governments to allow Russia “an open military contract with Tajikistan giving the Russian military the ability to move as if it were a domestic force—much like the relationship between Russia and Armenia.”

A recent London Times headline read, “Softly, softly a federal Europe draws nearer.” The Times article continued, “While British and US politics have dominated the headlines this year, the truly historic events have occurred in Europe… The EU has taken its most decisive step towards becoming a genuine unitary State, by shifting key policies on taxes and public spending from national to federal level. That one of the most controversial decisions in modern European history has been taken with almost no public awareness or debate is a tribute to the top-down

As if the devastating January earthquake was not enough, displaced Haitian families living in tent cities now face a new threat—cholera—a disease that kills within 24-48 hours of contact if not aggressively treated with rehydration therapy. As of Thursday, more than 4,000 Haitians had been treated for cholera—a disease not seen in Haiti in 50 years. Two hundred ninety people have died from the disease and another 174 cases are suspected in hospitalized victims.

Are you "well-read"? Have you read "the classics" by Plato, Homer, Chaucer—or books by famous authors like Austen, Bronte, Dickens, Hemingway, Shakespeare, etc.? Did you read the books on your high school summer reading list? Have you read the books listed in the New York Times best sellers list? What is the most important book you could read?