A current issue in the Middle East that is generating a lot of debate and controversy is the nuclear power issue in Iran. Are they developing nuclear capabilities for power generation only, or are they looking to develop nuclear weapons? How should the international community respond to this? Right now we are participating in economic sanctions against Iran, but some people feel there should be military action as well.

One challenge is the challenge of what to do about the near-total collapse of Zimbabwe's economic and political system.  Sadly, there is not much being done about this.  The country that is in the best position to put pressure on Mugabe and his people is South Africa.  Yet Zuma and the ANC do not seem to be inclined to push Mugabe to respect his people's political and economic rights.

Perhaps the most important issue that African nations face is pervasive poverty. A very significant proportion of the world's poorest people live in Africa. African nations have attempted to deal with the issue by exploiting the continent's considerable natural resources and inviting foreign investment, among other solutions. The effectiveness of these solutions has been compromised by instability in government, corruption, civil war, and other problems in many African nations. All of these problems, to varying degrees, are legacies of colonial exploitation, which may, in the final analysis, be understood as the fundamental underlying issue faced by Africans.