1 | China Going Back to the Land The ruling Communist Party announced a major initiative to overhaul the country's land-use policies, still hampered by the unwieldy collectivization policies of the Mao Zedong era. The plan, unveiled Oct. 19, is an attempt to jump-start agricultural productivity and promote prosperity among its restive farmers, who have largely been bypassed by China's economic boom. Currently, farmers are entitled to the proceeds from their sales but do not own the land--a system easily exploited by corrupt officials and developers. Beijing hopes the reforms--enabling farmers to lease, swap, subcontract and transfer land-use rights--will help double the average disposable income among the nation's 730 million rural residents, to more than $1,200 by 2020.
2 | Nebraska Children Left Behind Lawmakers have moved to close a loophole in Nebraska's safe-haven law that has seen 18 children--some as old as 17--abandoned at state hospitals since it went into effect in July. The law, which was intended to offer an alternative for those financially or emotionally unable to cope with newborns, never defined the word child--prompting some out-of-state parents to drive to Nebraska to take advantage of the oversight. The law will now apply only to babies 3 days old or younger, putting it on a par with safe-haven laws in other states.
3 | Turkey Coup Trial Gets a Shaky Start Chaos erupted at the opening of a trial for 86 people accused of plotting to overthrow Turkey's Islamic-leaning government, forcing a halt in proceedings and prompting a judge to be removed from the case. The defendants--including retired generals, journalists and lawyers--are charged with belonging to a secret group called Ergenekon, which prosecutors say planned a campaign of violence to oust a leadership it saw as threatening Turkey's secular constitution.
4 | Mexico Roadblock for Cuban Migrants Cuban refugees have long been allowed asylum in the U.S. only if they reach land--the so-called dry-foot policy. That's made the "dusty foot" route via Mexico far more popular than a risky sail to Florida. But under a new deal, Mexico will deport illegal Cuban migrants, in a policy that may signal warmer Cuba-Mexico ties.
[This article contains a complex diagram. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]
Cuban Migrants to the U.S. in FY 2007
Sea route to Florida: 971
Land route to Texas: 11,344
(SOURCE: U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION)
5 | Afghanistan Violence Escalates Amid growing concern over the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, both Taliban sources and Afghan police confirmed that dozens of passengers aboard a bus in Kandahar had been killed. Six of the recovered bodies had been beheaded. While the Taliban has claimed responsibility for the deaths of 27 passengers, contending that they were Afghan soldiers, police chief Matiullah Khan Qaneh maintained that the Taliban had killed some 40 civilians who were en route to Iran in search of work. On Oct. 20, aid worker Gayle Williams, who had British and South African citizenship, was shot dead in Kabul by two gunmen on a motorbike as she walked to work, another attack for which the Taliban claimed responsibility.