The World
By Alex Altman, Harriet Barovick, Joseph Becker, Gilbert Cruz, Andrea Ford, Kate Pickert, Frances Romero, M.J. Stephey, Claire Suddath, Lon Tweeten
1 | Israel Prime Minister Shuffle After the resignation of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is poised to become the nation's first female Premier since Golda Meir. Livni, a 50-year-old lawyer and former low-level Mossad agent with only about a decade of political experience, won her moderate Kadima party's elections on Sept. 17 and now has about six weeks to put together a majority coalition. She faces resistance from Benjamin Netanyahu's conservative Likud party, which opposes her recent peace talks with the Palestinians.
2 | Finland School Rampage A 22-year-old student killed 11 people, including himself, at a trade school in the town of Kauhajoki, some 180 miles (290 km) northwest of Helsinki, in the world's deadliest school shooting since gunman Cho Seung-Hui massacred 32 at Virginia Tech in April 2007. The incident bore eerie similarities to a killing spree that left nine dead at another Finnish school last November. In both cases, the perpetrator posted ominous videos on YouTube shortly before the attack. The Kauhajoki killer, identified as Matti Juhani Saari (below), had been interviewed by police in connection with the footage but was released.
3 | Tokyo A New Face for Japan On his fourth try for the Prime Minister's post, former Foreign Minister Taro Aso ascended to the top job on Sept. 24. A brash, freewheeling nationalist given to political gaffes (he has joked about Alzheimer's disease and said he wanted Japan to be an attractive destination for "rich Jews"), Aso, 68, cuts a sharply different figure from his dour predecessors, Shinzo Abe and Yasuo Fukuda--whose tenures were dogged, respectively, by scandal and partisan gridlock. A former Olympic sharpshooter and an avid fan of manga comics, he has stressed energizing Japan's flagging economy but must overcome voter disaffection with his long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
4 | New York Palin's New Friends Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin caused a media uproar Sept. 23 at the start of the U.N.'s 63rd General Assembly session. The McCain campaign allowed photographers (but not reporters) to sit in during her meetings with eight world leaders. After news organizations threatened to boycott coverage of the events, the campaign responded by allowing a CNN producer access. The campaign called the snafu a misunderstanding.
Hamid Karzai President of Afghanistan
Manmohan Singh Prime Minister of India
Viktor Yushchenko President of Ukraine
Asif Ali Zardari President of Pakistan
Mikheil Saakashvili President of Georgia
Henry Kissinger Former Sec. of State
Alvaro Uribe President of Colombia
Jalal Talabani President of Iraq
5 | Arkansas Child-Porn Raid More than 100 state and federal authorities raided the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries in Fouke, Ark., as part of an investigation of child pornography and abuse. Six girls ages 10 to 17 have been taken into custody by the Arkansas Department of Human Services. Alamo, a convicted tax evader, claimed that the investigation was part of a government push to legalize same-sex marriage and that when it comes to sex with young girls, "consent is puberty."
6 | England Brown Faces Down Critics Prime Minister Gordon Brown scored a reprieve from those within his party pushing for his ouster. In a heralded speech at Labour's annual meeting in Manchester on Sept. 23, Brown said the country's current financial turmoil--echoing credit-crisis woes in the U.S.--meant this was "no time for a novice." He went on to refer to Labour as a "rock of stability."
7 | China Milk Recall: How It Happened A manufacturer at the center of China's latest food scandal knew its milk was making babies sick months before the company went public, according to a recent report on state television.
DEC. 2007 Manufacturer Sanlu gets first reports that its baby formula is making infants ill
JUNE 2008 Sanlu finds melamine in its milk; the Chinese government is first informed of problems at the company
AUG. 2 Fronterra, a New Zealand dairy company and Sanlu shareholder, urges recall
SEPT. 5-8 New Zealand officials tell Chinese officials. Sanlu finally issues a recall on Sept. 11
SEPT. 16 Melamine is found in products from 22 powdered-milk companies, including Sanlu. Sanlu's general manager is fired
SEPT. 22 Premier Wen Jiabao apologizes; China's food-and-product-quality head resigns. Four babies have died; 53,000 are sick so far
SEPT. 23 Bans on Chinese milk products, including candy and ice cream, spread across Asia and Africa
8 | North Korea Just kidding After expelling U.N. inspectors on Sept. 24, North Korea announced that it would reactivate its Yongbyon nuclear plant. The nation began dismantling the complex last year but reversed its stance in August when the U.S. failed to remove North Korea from an official terrorism list. Meanwhile, speculation continues over the health of leader Kim Jong-Il, still absent from public events.
9 | Washington Immigration Slowdown New U.S. Census data reveal that while the U.S. foreign-born population--at 12.6%--is at its highest share since 1920, the influx has slowed sharply with the economy. The number of new immigrants declined from more than 1.8 million in 2006 to about 512,000 in 2007. On top of a changing job market, experts cite a crackdown on undocumented workers.
[This article contains a complex diagram. Please see hardcopy of magazine.]
Where they're coming from ...
NORTH AMERICA 2.2% EUROPE 13.1% ASIA 26.8% OCEANIA 0.6% LATIN AMERICA 53.6% AFRICA 3.7%
(SOURCE: U.S. CENSUS)
10 | South Africa Mbeki Steps Down After accusations that he interfered in the corruption case of rival Jacob Zuma, President Thabo Mbeki resigned Sept. 21 at his party's urging. Several members of his Cabinet subsequently quit, deepening fears of a political crisis. The shift could also slow the progress of neighboring Zimbabwe's power-sharing deal, which Mbeki helped negotiate. Deputy party leader Kgalema Motlanthe will serve until next year's election, which Zuma is expected to win.
* | What They're Listening to in Israel: In the Swinging Sixties, straitlaced Israel rejected the Fab Four's offer to perform. Four decades later, Beatlemania has gripped Tel Aviv, with a Sept. 25 Paul McCartney concert drawing at least 40,000 fans--who forked over as much as $1,500 a pop to see Sir Paul's performance despite death threats lodged against him by a Muslim extremist.