World

Sister Act Wins Election

THAILAND

With barely more than a month as a professional politician under her belt, Yingluck Shinawatra stood poised to become Thailand's first female Prime Minister after her party scored a resounding victory in national elections. The result was not all that surprising: Yingluck had the political machinery of her brother Thaksin Shinawatra, the controversial former Prime Minister who was deposed in a 2006 coup. Despite living in self-imposed exile, Thaksin cuts a long shadow across Thai politics, and political battles between forces aligned with and against him have paralyzed the country in recent years, making his sister a curious figure for reconciliation.

World by the Numbers

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

SPAIN

Number of people treated for injuries during the first day of the running of the bulls in Pamplona

197

SUDAN

Number of migrants, many fleeing drought in Somalia, killed when their boat sank in the Red Sea

$22 billion

INDIA

Estimated value of newly discovered treasure inside a Hindu temple

JAPAN

Weeks the Minister for Reconstruction held his job; he resigned after making insensitive remarks

5.26 sec.

GEORGIA

Time taken by President Mikheil Saakashvili's 15-year-old son to type the English alphabet on an iPad, setting a world record

Tabloids, Makers of Their Own Scandal

U.K.

The Rupert Murdoch--owned tabloid News of the World came under fire for reports that it hired a private investigator who allegedly hacked the mobile phone of slain 13-year-old Milly Dowler after her disappearance in 2002. In addition to listening to voice mails, the investigator reportedly deleted some messages, prompting police and Dowler's family to hold out hope that she was alive. The revelations prompted public furor, further stoked by claims that NOTW may have hacked the phones of relatives of 7/7 bombing victims.

Faces of Controversy

Rupert Murdoch's planned acquisition of British Sky Broadcasting could be hurt by the scandal

Murdoch's U.K. chief Rebekah Brooks, who headed NOTW during the alleged hacking, is under fire

NOTW's former chief Andy Coulson resigned as the Prime Minister's director of communications amid royal phone-hacking allegations

When actor Hugh Grant played journalist and recorded a conversation with a former NOTW reporter, he uncovered widespread hacking

Actress Sienna Miller reportedly settled with NOTW for $160,000 after her phone was hacked

He's Back, But for How Long?

VENEZUELA

Marking the bicentennial of his country's liberation from Spain, President Hugo Chávez made a dramatic return home after weeks spent recovering from cancer surgery in Cuba. Secrecy surrounding the populist leader's health has sparked concerns over a struggle for succession, though el comandante was all smiles during his brief July 5 cameo.

An Explosive Moment