The World

10 ESSENTIAL STORIES

By Harriet Barovick, Alexandra Silver, Frances Romero, Kayla Webley, Dan Fastenberg, Nate Rawlings and Katy Steinmetz Monday, July 19, 2010

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    Mumbai's normally hectic roadways were deserted July 5 when taxi drivers participated in a dawn-to-dusk protest organized by opposition parties against a recent government-enacted fuel hike. Nationwide strikes closed airports, markets and other businesses as Indians expressed anger over a gasoline-price increase of 3.5 rupees per liter (or about 30¢ a gallon). The move is part of a government effort to reduce the country's budget deficit by, among other things, cutting subsidies; state-run fuel companies alone stand to lose more than $11 billion this fiscal year.

    7 | London

    Torture Inquiry

    On July 6, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced a yearlong probe into charges that British intelligence, alongside the CIA, was involved in the torture of terrorism suspects. Cameron, who took office in May, had pledged during his campaign to look into claims of abuse related to terrorism cases. Formerly detained British nationals are driving the effort behind the investigation.

    8 | Mexico

    Voters Turn Out Despite Threats

    Mexicans voiced their independence July 4 as they headed to the polls to elect governors and local leaders in the face of weeks of drug-cartel-led intimidation. The violence continued on election day itself, when voters awoke to find four bodies hanging from bridges. Undeterred, they handed the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) nine of 12 gubernatorial seats, though an alliance between Felipe Calderón's National Action Party and a leftist faction picked up three states the PRI had held for eight decades.

    9 | Paris

    Ex-Dictator Sentenced

    Panama's former military leader Manuel Antonio Noriega was sentenced by a Paris tribunal to seven years in jail for laundering millions from Colombian drug cartels in the 1980s through international banks and into French accounts. Noriega, who was extradited from the U.S. in April, served two decades in a Florida jail for drug trafficking.

    10 | Gulf of Mexico

    Oil Continues to Spread

    Nowhere along the Gulf Coast can the threat of oil reaching shore still be considered an imaginary threat. Residents of the southeastern Texas coast and the greater New Orleans area (including along Lake Pontchartrain) marked the July 4 holiday weekend with news that tarballs originating from the BP gusher had crept into their waters. All five states in the Gulf region--Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida--have been touched by the spill.

    HOW TARBALLS FORM

    [This article consists of 4 illustrations. Please see hardcopy of magazine.]

    1 An oil spill occurs when a tanker leaks or a rig explodes

    2 The oil spreads into a thin slick and then breaks into smaller patches

    3 Oil mixes with water and is emulsified into a thick, sticky substance

    4 Wind and waves form tarballs that can travel hundreds of miles

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