The World

10 ESSENTIAL STORIES

By Harriet Barovick, Ishaan Tharoor, Alexandra Silver, Claire Suddath, Frances Romero, Kayla Webley and Josh Sanburn Monday, Oct. 18, 2010

    • (2 of 3)

    U.N.-backed talks made little progress as developing countries accused rich nations of making insufficient strides to cut carbon emissions. China, meanwhile, pushed against strict international oversight of its efforts. The summit, attended by 177 nations, aims to hammer out a global successor to the Kyoto Protocol.

    5 | U.K.

    Benefit Cuts Are Too Deep

    Despite an angry public response, British Prime Minister David Cameron defended his government's decision to end, by 2013, a child subsidy for families in which at least one person earns $70,000 a year. The subsidy was provided after World War II to encourage childbearing; scrapping it will save $1.6 billion as the government plans to cut $130 billion in spending by 2014.

    6 | Pakistan

    BORDER CROSSING UNDER FIRE

    Militants torched at least 10 fuel tankers bound for Afghanistan on Oct. 6 in the southwest city of Quetta. The attack--the fourth on tankers in six days--highlighted the vulnerabilities of the southern supply chain into Afghanistan, further worsened by the Pakistani government's closure of a major border crossing in protest over air strikes carried out by NATO helicopters. About 50% of the supplies for coalition troops in Afghanistan move through Pakistan.

    7 | Afghanistan

    Talking with The Taliban

    Taliban leaders and President Hamid Karzai's government have reportedly entered into secret negotiations to end the war in Afghanistan, although Kabul is quick to point out that discussions are in a preliminary phase. Karzai named a 70-member High Peace Council to engage his militant foes. The U.S. supports the talks but will not participate in them as long as the Taliban maintains its relationship with al-Qaeda.

    8 | Brazil

    Heading to Round Two

    Candidates ran for offices across Brazil on Oct. 3, but the spotlight was on the nation's presidential race, which hasn't ended. Despite being the chosen candidate of popular President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Dilma Rousseff failed to win an absolute majority. Rousseff, once Lula's chief of staff, received 47% of the vote and will face former São Paulo governor José Serra--who managed 33%--in a runoff Oct. 31.

    9 | New Jersey

    Predatory Loans Target Minorities

    A study by two Princeton University scholars shows that the mass of foreclosures that fueled the housing crisis was triggered by predatory lenders who targeted minorities in low-income neighborhoods. The study, published in the American Sociological Review, found that African Americans were more likely to receive subprime loans than white borrowers with similar credit.

    10 | Iraq

    Maliki Once More the Man

    3. 1
    4. 2
    5. 3