Death of a Tyrant
Jon Kyl
The recent death of the brutal North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il is welcome news. Kim was a murderer and cruel oppressor who inhabited a bizarre alternate universe -- sipping on expensive cognac, taking in deleted scenes from Caddyshack while simultaneously banning even the simplest of pleasures for his own people, imposing unimaginable misery upon them.

China, South Korea Hold Talks on North
China and South Korea held strategy talks in what they promise will be increased communication aimed at ensuring the peninsula's stability. And two South Korean delegations have returned home after delivering personal condolences in Pyongyang to new North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the death of his father Kim Jong Il.

UN Concerned About China’s Clampdown on Human Rights Defenders
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, condemns the harsh prison sentences given to Chinese pro-democracy activists Chen Xi on Monday and Chen Wei on Friday. She says these convictions, which follow that of Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng in mid-December, represent another serious setback for the protection and promotion of human rights in China.

Christmas Day Bombings Sweep Nigeria, At Least 39 Dead
It was a bloody Christmas in Nigeria where at least four bomb blasts killed 39 people, including dozens at a Catholic church near Abuja. The radical Islamic group Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sinful," claimed responsibility for what appeared to have been coordinated attacks.

Year In Review: War On Terror Shifts To Pakistan
"We know that there are those who believe that in America's fight against Al-Qaeda we have imposed a war upon Pakistan. But violent extremists are a threat not just to the United States but to Pakistan as well, and indeed to the entire civilized world." These comments by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, made during a visit to Islamabad in January, were intended to assuage concerns in Pakistan and to set the tone for further cooperation in stamping out extremism.

China, Japan Urge Stability on Korean Peninsula
The leaders of China and Japan have reaffirmed their commitment to stability on the Korean peninsula, as Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda Monday ended a two-day visit to Beijing. Discussions Monday between Chinese President Hu Jintao and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda focused on two main topics - bilateral relations and the situation on the Korean peninsula.

Honor Killings On The Rise In Pakistan
Pakistan has taken steps to counter the troubling rise of "honor killings," but recently enacted laws were not enough to save 675 women. That is the number of women who died in honor killings in the first nine months of 2011, according to Pakistan's leading human-rights watchdog, putting the county on track to exceed the record number of such killings recorded in 2010.

North Korea’s Dynastic Succession Prompts Questions, Concerns
The death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il appears to leave his third and youngest son in charge of the Stalinist, nuclear-armed state. The official KCNA news agency has lauded Kim Jong Un as "the great successor" and "the outstanding leader of our party, army, and people," after the announcement that his father had died on December 17.