The World

10 ESSENTIAL STORIES

By Harriet Barovick, Ishaan Tharoor, Alexandra Silver, Claire Suddath, Frances Romero, Kayla Webley and Nate Rawlings Monday, Aug. 02, 2010

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    After 10 years on the run, Jose Figueroa Agosto--the Caribbean's biggest drug lord, likened to Colombian Pablo Escobar-- was caught in Puerto Rico's capital, San Juan. Authorities had been searching for Figueroa ever since he walked out of a prison using a forged release order; at the time, he was serving 209 years for murder.

    7 | China

    HIGH WATERS

    Violent rainstorms have been battering central and southern China for weeks, killing hundreds of people and destroying property in nearly a dozen provinces. On July 20, fast-flowing floodwater from the Yangtze River tested the soundness of the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydroelectric structure, as authorities evacuated more than 16,000 people from nearby towns and villages. So far, an estimated 200,000 people have been affected by the storms, said to be the worst China has seen in more than a decade.

    8 | Israel

    White Out

    In an effort to reduce the number of civilian casualties in future conflicts, the Israeli military announced plans to halt the use of white phosphorous, which ignites when it comes into contact with air, sticks to skin and burns until its oxygen supply is cut off. The chemical was used during Israel's 22-day assault on Gaza in 2008, which left at least 1,100 Gazans dead.

    9 | North Carolina

    More Than Just a Heat Wave

    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirmed what many might have suspected from their own recent experiences: this past June was the warmest on record. The combined global land and ocean temperature was 1.22°F (0.68°C) above the 20th century average. According to NOAA's National Climatic Data Center, 2010 is well on its way to becoming the warmest year worldwide since 1880, the earliest date for which global data is available. Not every place was hotter, though: Spain marked its coolest June since 1997.

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

    Average global temperature in June

    1910

    59.3° THEN

    2010

    61.1° NOW

    Source: NOAA

    10 | Washington

    New Rules for Wall Street

    President Obama signed an extensive financial-reform bill into law on July 21, marking a policy triumph for his Administration. The legislation--meant to prevent another financial crisis--broadens federal regulation of Wall Street firms. Among the law's provisions is the establishment of both an independent consumer bureau, which will act as a watchdog when it comes to products like mortgages and credit cards, as well as a council to keep track of risky activity. Republican critics fear an expanded bureaucracy will stifle growth.

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