Headlines from around the world: 9/24/12

The National Football League has lax guidelines regarding what types of helmets players are required to use, according to a new report by the New York Times. Even with the ever-increasing number of head injuries occurring every year in the NFL, no specific rules have been put in place the require a player to use the newest and most protective helmets available.

Last week saw the deaths of Americans in the attacks on embassies in many parts of the Arab world. One story details the account of an ambush on the American Mission in Benghazi, Libya, that took place after the initial attack was over. The ambush resulted in the deaths of two more Americans, and was precise and well-executed. Those on the scene during the attack commented that the mortars were placed very accurately, indicating that the ambushing militants knew what they were doing.

The attack on the American diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya, has been branded a “terrorist attack” by the White House. Press secretary Jay Carney said that it was self-evident that the attack was terrorism. The attack resulted in the deaths of four Americans total, one of whom was the U.S. Ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens.

The Palestinian nation is returning to the U.N. in an attempt to gain “nonmember” status, which is primarily symbolic. The Palestinians lost their bid for full member status last year, but are returning with what many analysts are calling a long-shot approach to regaining public attention.

The Pew Research Center has released a new study that shows that restrictions on religion were at their peaks in North Africa and the Middle East at the end of 2010, shortly before the Arab Spring erupted across much of the region in 2011. The government restrictions on the practice of religion included limitations on preaching, conversions, and other religious practices.

Pakistani protesters continued to rally against the anti-islam film released last week. The violence surrounding the film has left at least 30 people dead across the globe. In an attempt to quiet some of the violence and salvage U.S. reputation in the Islamic world, President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have aired television ads condemning the film and denouncing its message.

Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, has put a surprising amount of effort into reversing many of the laws the former president Dmitri Medvedev put into place. One of the laws Medvedev enacted was the retirement age for high-level officials in the Russian government. Medvedev had dropped the mandatory retirement age to 60 or 65, in an attempt to bring more youth into the government. Putin raised the retirement age to 70, where it was before Medvedev took office.