The World

10 ESSENTIAL STORIES

  • 1 | New York City

    U.N. Security Council Elections

    The U.N. General Assembly elected Germany, India, South Africa, Colombia and Portugal to the 15-member decisionmaking Security Council on Oct. 12. Canada had been vying for one of the Western-bloc seats but withdrew when it failed to win enough votes. Starting in January, the new nonpermanent members will serve two-year terms, making the 2011 Council one with several major emerging powers in its lineup.

    Seats on the U.N. Security Council

    PERMANENT MEMBERS

    China

    U.S.

    U.K.

    Russia

    France

    NONPERMANENT MEMBERS

    • PJoining in 2011

    Portugal

    South Africa Colombia

    Germany

    India

    • PLeaving at the end of 2011

    Bosnia and Herzegovina

    Lebanon

    Gabon

    Brazil

    Nigeria

    • PLeaving at the end of 2010

    Austria

    Mexico

    Uganda

    Japan

    Turkey

    2 | London

    Aid Worker's Death to Be Probed

    U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron and U.S. President Barack Obama ordered a joint investigation into the death of British aid worker Linda Norgrove, 36, who was killed Oct. 8 as U.S. special forces attempted to rescue her from the Taliban in Afghanistan. Though initial reports claimed her death was caused by an exploding suicide vest worn by one of her captors, Cameron revealed Oct. 11 that she may have been killed by a grenade thrown by an American soldier.

    3 | Lebanon

    Mahmoud Pays a Visit

    On Oct. 13, thousands filled the streets of Beirut to greet the arrival of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose government has extensive ties to the influential Lebanese Shi'ite group Hizballah. Ahmadinejad's visit came in the midst of a U.N. investigation that some say may indict Hizballah members in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.

    4 | Kyrgyzstan

    After the Violence, an Election

    Kyrgyzstan held perhaps the first free, competitive elections in Central Asia on Oct. 10. The parliamentary polls came six months after a coup ousted the country's ruling autocrat, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, and four months after weeks of rioting led to 400 deaths and the displacement of 400,000 ethnic Uzbeks. Though ballots are to be recounted and no party won a majority, early results showed success for Bakiyev's supporters, leaving the fragile interim government on uncertain ground.

    5 | Israel

    Loyalty Oath Approved

    On Oct. 10, the Israeli Cabinet approved a new law requiring non-Jewish immigrants to pledge loyalty to Israel as a Jewish state. While some think the oath discriminates against non-Jewish Israelis, the move is seen by others as an attempt by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to appease the hard-right-wingers in his ruling coalition to get their sanction for his peace talks with Palestinians.

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