One major challenge facing the African nation is the Boko Haram terrorist group. Nigerian voters apparently felt that the nation's former military ruler, Muhammadu Buhari, would be more effective at fighting them. Buhari is set to replace outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan.

 

To Switzerland. A deadline came and went between Iran and six other countries, including the U.S. The goal? Reaching an agreement concerning Iran's controversial nuclear program. The deadline was extended to today. Talks on this issue have happened several times before in several cities. One sticking point, the international sanctions on Iran's economy. Iran wants those lifted, other countries don't want to lose their leverage in getting Iran to freeze its nuclear program.

 

U.S. sanctions against the Iran date back decades and include a ban on oil, weapons and, of course, anything that might further Iran's nuclear program. The long list essentially cuts off trade and investment between the two countries. In recent years, the United Nations and the European Union have joined the U.S. in pressuring Iran to halt its nuclear ambitions, targeting Iran's energy and financial sectors through a tightening web of sanctions. Since 2006, the U.N. Security Council has passed six resolutions targeting Iran's nuclear program, but perhaps the biggest impact on Iran came in 2012, when the EU agreed to stop buying their oil. Iran's oil exports dropped dramatically. Their currency plummeted in value and their economy lost hundreds of billions of dollars. 

 

All told, sanctions have deprived Iran of more than 200 billion dollars in lost revenue.

 

The sanctions don't stop there. Both the U.S. and EU limit Western firms from doing business in Iran and have increasingly isolated Iran's banks, denying them access to Western markets. Also, millions of dollars in assets from dozens of Iranian nationals, organizations and businesses have been frozen, including top members of Iran's government and military.