World

War Against Gaddafi Hits His Family

LIBYA

A NATO air strike in Tripoli hit a Gaddafi family residence, killing one of the leader’s younger sons (Saif al-Arab, 29) and three of his grandchildren. Muammar Gaddafi and his wife were inside the house–al-Arab’s villa, which NATO describes as “a command-and-control building”–during the attack but were unharmed. The strike came just hours after Gaddafi called for a cease-fire and offered to negotiate; NATO dismissed his promises as unreliable. After the attack, government forces retaliated by shelling once more the port of Misratah. Gaddafi supporters poured into the streets of Tripoli, where they attacked U.S., Italian and British embassies.

World by the Numbers

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

96.7% U.S.

Percentage of American homes with TVs, down from 98.9% last year, the first time the number has dipped in 20 years

12%

AUSTRALIA

Percentage of men surveyed from ages 16 to 24 who say they want less sex in their lives

$10 million

JAPAN

Last sale price of a Stradivarius violin to be put on auction to benefit earthquake victims

593,832

CHINA

Number of foreigners residing in China, whose growing clout is leading to a rising expatriate population

$960 million

SWITZERLAND

Money frozen in Swiss bank accounts that allegedly belongs to Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi and the ousted former rulers of Egypt and Tunisia

Assad Clamps Down As Protests Swell

SYRIA

In the southern town of Dara’a, the scene of weeks of antigovernment protests, security forces arrested 500 people in house-to-house raids to try to prevent ever growing demonstrations against the government of President Bashar Assad. Human-rights groups estimate that 560 Syrians have been killed so far. The regime continues to blame terrorists and radical elements for the unrest, even as Assad makes vague promises for reform.

Nuclear Adviser Resigns

JAPAN

Like apologies, resignations are a delicate art in Japan. But the resignation of Toshiso Kosako, chief nuclear adviser to Prime Minister Naoto Kan, stood out for its bluntness. Kan’s government is still battling the actual and political fallout from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, crippled during the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Kosako blinked back tears and accused the Japanese leadership of ignoring his advice on how to handle the nuclear crisis, particularly the setting of radiation limits for schools. He claimed the government had not fully complied with the law in its response to the nuclear disaster. “There is no point for me to be here,” he said. Many Japanese feel the same about Kan.

A Smoking Ban Without Teeth

CHINA

A ban on smoking in indoor public places took effect May 1, but the lax regulations don’t include penalties for those who light up. Few think the ban will have any real effect on the country’s 300 million smokers, many of whom don’t fully understand the health risks. Cigarette smoking is a grave problem in China, taking the lives of an estimated 3,000 people every day. Some experts blame the lenient regulations on the influence of the powerful China National Tobacco Corp. The combined profits earned and taxes paid by the state-owned cigarette monopoly, the world’s largest tobacco company, account for roughly 7% of the government’s revenues.

China’s smoking habit has led to a growing public-health disaster

NUMBER OF TOBACCO-RELATED DEATHS IN CHINA

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

1.2 million IN 2010

3.5 million BY 2030 (PROJECTED)

SMOKING WILL KILL ABOUT A THIRD OF ALL YOUNG CHINESE MEN (UNDER AGE 30)

300 MILLION

NUMBER OF CHINESE SMOKERS, EQUAL TO THE ENTIRE U.S. POPULATION

1 OUT OF EVERY 3 CIGARETTES CONSUMED WORLDWIDE IS SMOKED IN CHINA

SOURCES: WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION; CHINA CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL

Arab Spring Goes South

UGANDA

Following the upheaval in the Maghreb, the first glimmers of Arab Spring–style protests stirred in sub-Saharan Africa. More than three weeks of demonstrations against the government of Yoweri Museveni have led to at least eight people being killed and more than 250 injured. The brutal beating of leading opposition figure Kizza Besigye transformed what were meant to be marches against rising food and fuel prices into a full-fledged challenge of Museveni’s regime, in power since 1986. The government has banned demonstrations, but activists say they will continue their protests.

Flames on A Troubled Border

PAKISTAN

As the Afghan Taliban declared the onset of the fighting season, gunmen on the other side of the border, toting AK-47s and rockets, killed four policemen and set ablaze six NATO trucks (left) carrying supplies to coalition troops in Afghanistan. The U.S. presence in the region is deeply unpopular, and the NATO supply routes through Pakistan are under constant threat of attack.

Conservatives Win Big; Liberals Crash

CANADA

The Conservative Party of Prime Minister Stephen Harper swept back to power on its platform of lowering taxes and encouraging government decentralization, winning a parliamentary majority in national elections. The polls dealt severe blows to Quebec nationalists as well as to the hopes of the Liberals, once the dominant force in Canadian politics, led by longtime Harvard and Oxford intellectual Michael Ignatieff. Harper’s Conservatives now have the New Democratic Party, a leftist party that surged ahead of the Liberals, as their chief political opponents.