The World

1 | Iraq

An Uncertain Future

Five months have passed since Iraqis voted in general elections, but a coalition government has yet to form, plunging the country into a profound impasse. The political wrangling has worsened unemployment and poverty within Iraq and led to an increase in violence. Civilian deaths rose sharply in July, and an Aug. 17 suicide-bomb attack killed at least 57 Iraqi-army recruits as they waited outside a recruitment center. Internationally, the uncertainty has exacerbated concerns about what will happen after the U.S. draws down its troops to 50,000 at the end of the month. Power-sharing talks between Sunni-backed Iyad Allawi, whose party won the most parliamentary seats, though by a slim margin, and Shi’ite incumbent Nouri al-Maliki fell apart on Aug. 16, further dashing hopes of reconciliation.

2 | Iran

Plans for New Nuclear Sites

In defiance of efforts by the international community to stem Iran’s nuclear advancement, Iran’s head of atomic energy, Ali Akbar Salehi, said Aug. 16 the nation has identified sites where it will begin building 10 new uranium-enrichment plants early next year. The announcement came as the country gears up for the Aug. 21 opening of its first nuclear power plant–a 1,000-MW facility built by Russia in the southern province of Bushehr. Iran says it needs 20 such large-scale plants to meet domestic energy demands over the next 15 years.

3 | California

Prop 8 Fight Continues

After a San Francisco judge struck down the gay-marriage ban known as Proposition 8 earlier this month, the case was immediately appealed. On Aug. 16, two days before gay marriages were due to become legal in the state, the Ninth Circuit Court issued a stay on such ceremonies until it decides the case in December. Widely expected to make its way to the Supreme Court, the case must first navigate several legal hurdles.

4 | China

The New No. 2

In what was simply a matter of time, China became the world’s second largest economy when its gross domestic product surpassed Japan’s in the second quarter of 2010. For several years, Japan has struggled to revive its economy and decrease its debt amid frequent turnover in its government. While the U.S. remains the world’s largest economy–with a GDP of about $14 trillion–some economists expect that China will overtake it in about 20 years. China’s growth rate for 2011 is projected at 9.6%, while the U.S. GDP is expected to increase only 2.4%.

How the three GDPs have fared recently

[The following text appears within 2 charts. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual charts.]

CURRENT, IN TRILLIONS

2009 GROWTH RATE

SOURCES: BLOOMBERG; IMF

5 | Tokyo

Shunning a War Shrine

On Aug. 15, the 65th anniversary of the end of World War II, Japan’s new Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, declined to visit a religious shrine that honors Japan’s war dead, including 14 Class A war criminals such as General Hideki Tojo, who is largely considered responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbor. Kan’s move marks a softer, more repentant approach to Japanese foreign policy–a contrast to the nationalism espoused by the Liberal Democratic Party, which sent at least one representative to the shrine each year until it fell out of power last summer. The snub–which came one day after a group of far-right European leaders visited the shrine on Aug. 14–followed on the heels of Kan’s apology to South Korea for Japan’s occupation and colonization from 1910 to 1945.

6 | Gulf of Mexico

BACK IN BUSINESS

The fall shrimping season began Aug. 16, even as concerns about Gulf seafood remained. While tests have deemed catches from the open waters safe, Louisiana’s seafood industry is by no means secure. Researchers from the University of Georgia and the University of South Florida have questioned the optimistic conclusions of the federal government, which announced earlier this month that most of the oil from the April 20 spill was gone.

7 | Taiwan

Trade Deal Approved

Taiwan’s parliament finalized a landmark trade deal with China on Aug. 17, sidestepping 60 years of enmity between the mainland and the island Beijing still views as a renegade province. The pact further binds the two countries’ economies, cutting tariffs on some 800 products and creating about 260,000 jobs. Despite improved relations, though, Taiwanese critics of the deal fear being swallowed by their far bigger neighbor.

8 | France

Cracking Down on Gypsies

The French government has dismantled 51 illegal camps and plans to deport 700 members of the Roma Gypsy minority following July clashes between police and Gypsies. While critics have accused President Nicolas Sarkozy of appeasing the anti-immigrant far right and contributing to xenophobia, the measures are widely popular across the nation.

9 | Chicago

Blagojevich Guilty on Single Count

After 14 days of deliberation in a federal trial that sought to convict former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich of corruption for attempting to sell President Obama’s vacated Senate seat, jurors convicted him on just one of 24 counts. With a mistrial declared on the 23 other charges, he will likely be retried.

10 | Afghanistan

Private Security Contractors Banned

Afghan President Hamid Karzai signed an Aug. 17 decree requiring all private security contractors in Afghanistan to disband by year’s end. With parliamentary elections scheduled for next month, Karzai has become increasingly critical of the foreign companies, which are viewed by many Afghans as abusive and overbearing. But most contractors protect Western-backed embassies and convoys, and U.S. officials are worried that the loss of roughly 30,000 armed guards will hinder aid and development work.

Guarding Afghanistan: A Breakdown

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

CONTRACTORS 30,000

FOREIGN TROOPS 150,000

AFGHAN SECURITY FORCES 249,000

SOURCES: WALL STREET JOURNAL; REUTERS; COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

* What They’re Tweeting in North Korea:

Seems as if everyone’s on Twitter these days, even isolated dictatorships. The Hermit Kingdom has taken to social media, apparently launching a Twitter account under the name uriminzok (“our nation”). Its tweets tend to be aimed at South Korea and the U.S. Of course, most North Koreans cannot access Twitter–or the various clips Pyongyang has begun to post on YouTube–because of censorship.

prostitute of the U.S.

–North Korea, commenting on its neighbor to the south