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World News Once a Week |
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| Published Thursday, February 21, 2008 |
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| Reuters/Goran Tomasevic: A man adjusts election posters in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. |
Issue 87
In: breakaway nations. Out: military leaders. This week, Kosovo freed itself from Serbia's control, Pakistan squirmed out of Musharraf's grasp, and Castro loosened his hold on Cuba. Meanwhile, Armenian voters elected to tussle with Azerbaijan over a contested region. While the wikis hustle to update their pages, these historical
happenings still spawn more questions than answers.
In Germany, a juicy tax scandal involving secret bank accounts and mystery informants has been tearing through the society pages. A small city in Japan known
as "Little Beach" has gone mad for an American of the same name. HD DVD joined Commodore 64, Betamax, and Netscape as an industry has-been, bested by bigger-is-better Blu-ray. And, in another story
where size matters, we defer to a newly discovered amphibian ancestor the size of a bowling ball.
- Catherine New |
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 A Note on
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| Top Stories |
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Kosovo hopes to become world’s newest nation
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Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi declared independence for Kosovo on Sunday, sparking celebrations across the region long-contested
by Serbia. While the Serbian government is vehemently against Kosovo's independence, international reaction has been decidedly split. The US and most of Europe are pro-independence, while
Russia — historically Serbia's strongest ally — and China stand opposed.
In 1989, the late Serbian dictator Slobodan Milošević annulled Kosovo's autonomy, steamrolling over the area's ethnic Albanian majority in a gesture of militant nationalism. This set the stage for a guerilla war in the mid-'90s, which led to thousands
of deaths. In 1999, a NATO bombing campaign swept the territory, forcing Serbia out. Since then, Kosovo has been a UN protectorate. (BH)
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Castro to resign Cuban presidency
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Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro announced his retirement this week, after leading the western hemisphere's only Communist government for nearly half a century. Anticipation
of Castro's impending exit has grown since ill health temporarily forced El Jefe from his daily duties in 2006. His then-replacement as acting president, brother Raúl Castro, is likely to assume official
control again this week — at least, until a younger leader is chosen.
Although skepticism abounds over the potential for democracy on the island, many see Raúl Castro as open to modest economic reforms. With the
US embargo entering its 46th year, this power shift may prompt a long-overdue return to US-Cuba diplomacy. (ED)
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Rogue satellite destruction rankles Russia, China
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The US Department of Defense shot down a free-falling American spy satellite, in order to destroy its potentially killer load of hydrazine. The Kremlin — already tense over plans for new US missile bases in central Europe — has slagged the maneuver as an excuse
to test space weapons. China also criticized the plan, citing threats to its own satellites. The Defense Department targeted USA193, defective since its
launch in 2006, with a Navy cruiser-mounted missile fired from the northern Pacific.
Pentagon officials said the satellite was successfully hit by the missile, but added it would take another day or two to know
if the fuel tank had been destroyed. Critics suggest failure to destroy the satellite could derail the US government's controversial
missile-defense program. (CN)
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| Newswire |
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Allies of Pakistan prez voted out
President Pervez Musharraf's loyalists were shown the door in Monday's Pakistani parliamentary elections, which restored some
credibility to the country's electoral process. Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto's parties — which may join forces — led in votes, while Islamic factions lost seats. (CN)
| Christian Science Monitor | Pakistan Dawn |
Armenia votes to stay the course
Armenians elected current prime minister Serzh Sarkisian to the presidency on Tuesday. Many viewed the vote as a referendum on the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh, located inside neighboring Azerbaijan. Sarkisian's rival, former president Levon Ter-Petrosian, had advocated compromise
to resolve the conflict. (ED)
| Radio Free Europe | Al Jazeera |
Hillaryland mood goes from grim to grimmer
Barack Obama's landslide victories in Wisconsin and Hawaii were bad enough news for Hillary Clinton. But by winning over his
rival’s base of women and lower-income white voters, Obama also bettered his chances in the Texas and Ohio primaries on March
4. (BH)
| New York Times | US News & World Report |
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German tax scandal rocks wealthy
Hundreds of A-listers in Germany are under investigation for tax evasion, charged with illegally squirreling away billions
of euros in Liechtenstein banks. The investigation began last week, based on financial records covertly purchased by German
intelligence agents in 2006. (CN)
| Der Spiegel | Deutsche Welle |
Toshiba surrenders in format war
Toshiba halted production of its next-generation DVD players and discs on Tuesday, ending a battle between Blu-ray and Toshiba's HD DVD. Tech players from Sony to Wal-Mart have sided with Blu-ray as the format of the future. (BH)
| CNET | PC World |
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New frontiers in search for alien life
Scientists studying our galaxy's outer reaches have found that up to 60% of sun-like stars support planetary bodies similar to Earth — some of
which may have life-hosting potential. New observations also identified analogues of Jupiter and Saturn. (CN)
| National Geographic | Guardian |
The frog of war: prehistoric beast uncovered
Scientists in Madagascar unearthed the fossil of a nine-pound frog that roamed the earth 70 million years ago. It likely feasted
on insects, lizards, or even baby dinosaurs — but its girth would have been a disadvantage in an ancient game of Frogger. (BH)
| Scientific American | BBC |
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| The Week in Pictures |
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Click to see the full-size image and caption.
 Jim Young
 Yves Herman
 Parth Sanyal
 Stringer
 Ina Fassbender
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*Unless otherwise noted, all photos are courtesy of Reuters.
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| Local Stories |
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JFK papers made public
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| Reuters/Mike Stone |
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On Monday, Dallas' district attorney released a plethora of documents connected to the death of John F. Kennedy. Conspiracy
theorists have particularly zeroed in on the transcript of a widely discredited conversation between presumed assassin Lee Harvey Oswald and his killer, Jack Ruby. (BH)
| Dallas Morning News | ABC News |
Japan’s Obama town has campaign fever
Barack Obama is big in Japan: the candidate shares his name with a Japanese city. Obama's mayor hopes to transform the US presidential contender's success into much-needed tourist dollars. Townsfolk are
hawking everything from bean cakes to dolls with the senator's picture. (CN)
| New York Times | ABC News |
Winter storms blast Tajikistan
The UN requested $25 million in aid for Tajikistan on Monday, as the worst winter in decades continues unabated. With limited electricity,
dwindling supplies, and temperatures well below freezing, the Tajik government is warning of an impending humanitarian crisis. (ED)
| New York Times | Voice of America |
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| Masthead |
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Editors
Anna Balkrishna
Eli Dvorkin
Benjamin Hart
Doug Levy
Catherine New
Contributors
Mark Mangan
Production
Anjuli Ayer
Morgan Croney
Andrew Steinmetz
Design
Nicholas Feldman
Jessica Bauer-Greene
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