The World

10 ESSENTIAL STORIES

By Harriet Barovick, Ishaan Tharoor, Alexandra Silver, Claire Suddath, Frances Romero, Kayla Webley and Josh Sanburn Monday, Oct. 11, 2010

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    President Dmitri Medvedev sacked Moscow's longtime mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, Sept. 28. Luzhkov, who was mayor for 18 years, oversaw Moscow's transformation into a glitzy 21st century city but is regarded as a politician cast in the old Soviet mold. His firing could be a sign of Medvedev's asserting his authority over Russia's elite.

    6 | Washington

    A U.S.-War-Crimes Case

    A hearing for one of five U.S. Army soldiers charged with murder for allegedly killing three Afghan civilians began Sept. 27 at a base in Washington State. If court-martialed and convicted, Specialist Jeremy Morlock (above) could face the death sentence. The five soldiers are said to have kept some body parts of Afghans as souvenirs.

    7 | Venezuela

    Opposition Gains Strength

    Though President Hugo Chávez's United Socialist Party (PSUV) won the most seats in Venezuela's Sept. 26 legislative elections, the outcome was widely seen as a victory for the opposition. With the nation facing rampant crime and high inflation, PSUV lost its two-thirds majority, meaning Chávez will no longer rule unchecked. The opposition--which boycotted the 2005 elections--won about half the popular vote, suggesting Chávez may face a challenge when he runs for re-election in 2012.

    8 | Nigeria

    Children Abducted

    The Sept. 27 kidnapping of 15 schoolchildren from prominent Nigerian families signaled a new level of lawlessness in a delta region often referred to as the country's kidnapping capital because of the frequency of abductions of foreign oil workers. A ransom of $130,000 was demanded. The country has seen a sharp increase in abductions of wealthy Nigerians and their relatives as security for oil workers has been improved.

    9 | New York City

    Soft Gun Laws Linked to Crime

    A nationwide coalition of 596 mayors, led by New York City's Michael Bloomberg, issued a report using previously unavailable federal data that links gun-control laws with interstate gun trafficking. According to Mayors Against Illegal Guns, in 2009 states with lax gun laws exported guns involved in crimes at significantly higher rates than states with strict regulations. Ten states supplied 49% of the 43,000 guns traced to U.S. crime scenes.

    Guns recovered in out-of-state crimes*

    NATIONAL AVERAGE

    14.1

    STATES WITH HIGHEST RATES

    (Miss., W.Va., Ky., Alaska, Ala., S.C., Va., Ind., Nev., Ga.)

    33.4

    STATES WITH LOWEST RATES

    (Mich., Ill., R.I., Minn., Calif., Mass., N.J., N.Y., Hawaii, D.C.)

    4.6

    *PER 100,000 INHABITANTS; SOURCE: BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, FIREARMS AND EXPLOSIVES

    10 | Spain

    PROTESTS IN EUROPE

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