Three things you must know this week…

1) On October 29th-30th, Hurricane Sandy battered the mid-Atlantic region of the United States with powerful storm surges. Coastal communities in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut were flooded. Fallen trees cut power lines for what officials say was several days. The storm has caused more than 70 deaths and a fire in Queens, a borough of New York, burned down more than 100 houses. New York City has begun a large-scale effort to distribute food and water to areas experiencing food shortages, notably in parts of Lower Manhattan, which have been without power since Monday. The subway resumed limited service on Thursday.

2) Last Friday, Syria’s Eid al-Adha ceasefire was marred by clashes throughout the country. The truce was proposed by UN envoy leader, Lakhdar Brahimi, who hoped that the cessation of violence on the holy day would lead to the beginning of peace processes. The government and rebel forces agreed to honor the ceasefire if the other side held their fire from October 26th to October 29th but a car bomb was reported to have gone off in Damascus early on the 26th. Clashes were also reported in Homs and Aleppo. Humanitarian agencies hoped the ceasefire would allow for relief to reach the Syrian people. The Eid ceasefire is one of several to have been proposed since the conflict began in the spring of 2011.

3) On Wednesday, the British Parliament passed a motion urging Prime Minister David Cameron to insist on cuts in the European Union’s trillion euro 2014-2020 budget, at a summit in Brussels later in November. The motion was passed when members of the Conservative Party joined the opposition Labour Party to vote for a deal they claimed was not good for taxpayers. While this vote is not binding, it is the most significant defeat for the Conservative-led coalition since it rose to power in 2010. Cameron has promised to veto any above-inflation increase of the EU budget, an issue that has become incredibly sensitive as austerity measures are affecting the continent. Cameron also stated that Britain can realistically expect a seven-year budget freeze, since most of the Union’s members support a budget increase. The European Commission wants to increase the budget 5% from the 2007 to 2013 budget but France, Germany and Britain have all insisted that the EU cannot expect to get more money in such a tough economy.