Tom's Take

[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/11/16/christianetom.jpg caption caption="Sr. Writer for Amanpour, Tom Evans, works on scripts with Christiane"]

On AMANPOUR. today, Christiane speaks with Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive about how he plans to lead his country forward post-quake. Christiane will also look at how Haiti’s next generation, its future, is being educated.  Less than half of school-age children were being educated before the earthquake and there was no real standardized curriculum.  Can Haiti now fix its broken school system?  And Christiane speaks with two leading development economists who have differing views on how Haiti should handle the huge influx of money headed its way. There are also some other headlines resonating around the world today. Here are some perspectives on those.

Tom Evans; Sr. Writer, AMANPOUR.

YEMEN – How deep is U.S. involvement in war against al Qaeda in Yemen?

–         Washington Post: U.S. heavily involved in aiding Yemen on strikes that in past six weeks have killed six of 15 top leaders of the regional al Qaeda affiliate

–         Post: American advisers do not take part in raids in Yemen, but help plan missions, provide intelligence, and weapons and munitions

–         U.S. has stepped up its role in Yemen, particularly since Christmas Day alleged plot to bomb an airliner over Detroit which President Obama linked to Al Qaeda in Yemen

QUESTION:  Will the growing U.S. role in the war in Yemen undermine the position of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh who has tried to play down American participation?

SRI LANKA – Is Sri Lanka on the brink of a crisis after Monday’s presidential election?

–         State television says Sri Lanka voted decisively to give President Mahinda Rajapaksa a second term in country’s first peacetime presidential election in more than two decades

–         Opposition candidate former army chief General Sarath Fonseka refusing to concede, accusing his rival of rigging the poll, and saying he fears arrest

–         Sri Lankan security forces are surrounding the hotel where Fonseka was staying. Government says troops there as a “protective measure”

QUESTION: Will the showdown over the election lead to street protests, unleashing a new wave of violence less than a year after the 25-year civil war ended?

KOREAN PENINSULA – How tense are relations between the North and South after both sides fired artillery?

–         South Korean state media says armies of South and North fired artillery into the air today in area of disputed coastal waters

–         North Korea says its artillery opened fire as part of an annual training drill. South fired warning shots. No casualties or damage on either side were reported

–         Navies of both countries fought a brief battle last November that reportedly left one North Korean sailor dead

QUESTION: Is this incident another example of North Korea’s efforts to highlight its agenda, particularly its desire for a formal peace treaty to officially end the 1950-53 Korean War?