The World

By Alex Altman, Harriet Barovick, Gilbert Cruz, Tiffany Sharples, M.J. Stephey

1 | Iran

Taking Tehran to Task

A new report from the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency excoriated Iran for continuing to stonewall investigations into the country's nuclear program. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) accused Tehran of failing to disclose information about missile development, high-explosive testing and military involvement in the nuclear program--all of which could suggest a covert nuclear weapons program. The report provides ammunition for critics pressing Iran to stop uranium enrichment. Iran's parliament, meanwhile, elected as its speaker former nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani--who promptly denounced the report and said Iran may curtail its cooperation with the IAEA in the future.

2 | Israel

Olmert Under Fire

Pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to resign is mounting. On May 28, Ehud Barak, the current Defense Minister and a former Prime Minister, called on Olmert to step aside, saying he is too distracted by an ongoing corruption probe to effectively lead. On May 27, a U.S. businessman testified in a Jerusalem court that he gave Olmert $150,000 over 15 years ending in 2003--much of it in cash stuffed in envelopes. Olmert, who earlier had disclosed that Israel was in the midst of conducting peace talks with Syria, says the funds were legal campaign contributions and loans.

3 | Nepal

A REPUBLIC IS BORN Nepal's newly elected assembly voted on May 28 to abolish the nation's 240-year-old monarchy, turning the world's last Hindu kingdom into its newest republic, as jubilant citizens flooded the streets of Kathmandu to celebrate. Former Maoist insurgents will make up the largest political party in the fledgling government, which now must grapple with building a stable society after a decade of civil war. Outgoing King Gyanendra has been given 15 days to abdicate his throne.

4 | Stanford, Calif.

Putting a Price on Human Life

What's a healthy year of life worth? According to a study by Stanford and University of Pennsylvania researchers, about $129,000. Using Medicare records on treatment costs for kidney dialysis as a benchmark, the authors tried to pinpoint the threshold beyond which ensuring another "quality" year of life was no longer financially worthwhile. The study comes amid debate over whether Medicare should start rationing health care on a cost-effectiveness basis, as many other nations do. While the Stanford figure may seem low, it's actually an upward revision. The number most cost-benefit analyses use to determine whether to cover a new medical procedure is a mere $50,000.

5 | Italy

The Nuclear Option

Two decades after banning nuclear power, following the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, Italy announced it will begin building new nuclear facilities, spurred by surging oil prices and concerns over the effect of fossil fuels on the environment.

Percentage of electricity derived from nuclear power

E.U.-WIDE 35%

FRANCE 78%

LITHUANIA 70%

BELGIUM 56%

SLOVAKIA 56%

(SOURCES: EUROPEAN NUCLEAR SOCIETY; WORLD NUCLEAR ORGANIZATION)

6 | Chevy Chase, Md.

A Boost for Long-Term Research

Hoping to fill a need unmet by the National Institutes of Health's grant system, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute will give $600 million to 56 U.S.-based scientists studying long-term topics like global warming's effect on the spread of disease and the genetic basis of smell. Researchers will be free to adapt their projects and follow up new leads without scrounging for funding, an approach the institute hopes will lead to major medical breakthroughs decades from now.

7 | Winston-Salem, N.C.

Throwing Out the SAT

Joining a trend among smaller colleges, Wake Forest became one of the first major national universities to stop requiring standardized test scores.

How many accredited colleges awarding bachelor's degrees don't require the SAT or ACT for any applicants?

A 30 B 252 C 456 D 571

Schools have dropped standardized test requirements because they feel:

A that standardized tests deter some minority and low-income students from applying.

B that the SAT and ACT aren't an accurate measure of a student's ability.

C that high school classroom performance is a better predictor of success.

D All of the above.

ANSWERS: C, D

8 | England

Peacekeeper Predators

U.N. peacekeepers and aid workers from 23 organizations have sexually abused refugee children as young as 6 in Sudan, Haiti and the Ivory Coast, according to the charity Save the Children U.K. A yearlong investigation unearthed hundreds of incidents; many had gone unreported or the predators unpunished. The organization, which had fired several of its own staffers for sexual misconduct, has called for creation of a watchdog group to police such abuses.

9 | China

AMID AFTERSHOCKS, PARENTS PROTEST In the wake of the May 12 earthquake that killed at least 68,000 people--including an estimated 10,000 children--Beijing has announced that it will relax its strict one-child policy for parents left childless by the disaster. Grieving parents protested in the town of Mianzhu on May 25, as a local official pleaded with them to stop (above). The parents demanded that the government investigate why thousands of schools crumbled in the quake, amid claims that government corruption and shoddy construction left such "tofu dregs" buildings prone to collapse. Powerful aftershocks struck Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces on May 27, toppling 420,000 more houses.

10 | New York City

Should White Parents Adopt Black Children?

Social workers should take race into account in adoptions, according to a new report from the nonprofit Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute--despite a 1994 law that prohibits doing so. While supporters of the Multiethnic Placement Act say attempting to match black children with black parents lengthens the time kids spend in foster care, the report argues that white parents are often ill-prepared to handle race-specific identity issues. It recommends race-related training for white parents as well as a drive to get more black parents to adopt.

+1 | England

From London, Underground

Until June 15, New Yorkers and Londoners can stand at either end of a mysterious device called a Telectroscope and wave to each other across more than 3,000 miles (about 5,000 km) of ocean. British artist Paul St George, who designed the hulking Victorian contraption, spun the apocryphal yarn that the viewing locations are the endpoints of a tunnel dug beneath the Atlantic Ocean--the fulfillment of his eccentric great-grandfather's engineering dream. (In truth, the images are delivered via fiber optics.) Though St George concocted the story, the Telectroscope does underscore an economic reality: New Yorkers can use the scope for free, while better-bankrolled Londoners must fork over -L-1.