The World

10 ESSENTIAL STORIES

By Harriet Barovick, Alexandra Silver, Claire Suddath, Frances Romero, Kayla Webley and Nate Rawlings Monday, July 12, 2010

    • 1 | Kyrgyzstan

    A Step Toward Stability

    Just weeks after its southern provinces were racked by ethnic clashes that killed as many as 2,000 people and uprooted some 400,000 ethnic Uzbeks, the former Soviet republic overwhelmingly voted to adopt a new constitution. The referendum, supported by more than 90% of eligible voters, paves the way for the embattled Central Asian country to become the first parliamentary democracy in the region by shifting power away from its strong executive toward a European-style legislative body.

    A People Divided

    KYRGYZS

    The nation's majority ethnic group. Organized mobs of Kyrgyz men swept violently through the southern provinces in early June, carrying out well-planned attacks

    UZBEKS

    The minority ethnic group, which makes up 15% of the country's 5.5 million people. The Uzbek population, concentrated in the south, has been targeted with violence

    2 | China

    Trade Pact Signed

    China and Taiwan signed a major trade deal on June 29, bridging at least some of the distance between the mainland and the self-ruled island. Though China still considers Taiwan one of its provinces, it is also the island's biggest trading partner. The Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement will lower tariffs on hundreds of products and break down barriers to service sectors like banking. Despite substantial opposition, including a demonstration by tens of thousands of pro-independence Taiwanese the weekend before it was signed, the deal is expected to pass the Taiwanese legislature.

    3 | Greece

    Protesting Austerity Measures

    Protesters clashed with riot police in Athens as nearly 12,000 people marched through the Greek capital. The protest, which shut down local services and transportation, was the fifth (and smallest) strike against government austerity measures meant to reduce Greece's debt following a $135 billion bailout by the E.U. and the International Monetary Fund in May.

    4 | Mexico

    Political Candidate Murdered

    Rodolfo Torre, the leading gubernatorial candidate in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas, was killed on June 28 when gunmen ambushed his campaign convoy. His death, which came just days before the July 4 election, is the highest-profile political murder since President Felipe Calderón's war on drug cartels began in 2006. More than 23,000 people have been killed since Calderón took office, including a record 96 on June 14.

    [The following text appears within a chart. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual chart.]

    Mexico's drug-related killings

    2007 2,837

    2008 6,844

    2009 9,635

    2010 (Jan.-June) 5,004

    1 coffin = 1,000 murders

    SOURCES: MEXICAN NATIONAL SECURITY CABINET; EXCELSIOR

    5 | Belgium

    A Tumultuous Week for The Catholic Church

    2. Previous Page
    3. 1
    4. 2
    5. 3