The World

1 | Haiti

A Brutal Dictator Returns

Former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier unexpectedly returned to Port-au-Prince after almost 25 years in exile. But he was soon detained and formally charged with corruption and embezzlement stemming from his 15-year reign of terror that ended after a popular uprising in 1986. Duvalier is accused of ordering the kidnapping and murder of thousands of political opponents during his time in power. Yet the former strongman retains some support, and his visit coincided with an ongoing dispute over the results of the recent presidential election, prompting suspicion about his motives. Haiti is still trying to recover from last year’s devastating earthquake.

2 | Nigeria

Shoot-to-Kill Orders Issued

The army gave its soldiers permission to shoot to kill after a Christian mob attacked Muslims who were preparing to register voters for April’s presidential election. Residents of the city of Jos were warned that the army would fire on anyone engaging in violence or attempting to destroy a church or mosque. The area, on the fault line between Hausa Muslims and Berom Christians, has been a flash point of violence for years. A series of bombings and killings since late last year has left at least 100 dead. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has suffered additional setbacks in registering some 70 million people for April’s election.

3 | London

New Cache of Swiss WikiLeaks

Rudolf Elmer, a former Swiss-bank executive turned whistle-blower, gave WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange two computer disks that he said contain details of more than 2,000 individuals and companies (including some 40 politicians and other “pillars of society”) that evaded income taxes through offshore banking. On Jan. 19, Swiss police arrested Elmer, who for eight years ran Caribbean operations for Julius Baer, one of Switzerland’s top private banks, on charges of breaching bank secrecy laws.

4 | Lebanon

Hariri Inquiry Deepens Crisis

Heads of state from Turkey, Syria and Qatar met in an attempt to defuse growing tensions in Lebanon after the radical Shi’ite party Hizballah scuttled the nation’s coalition government. Hizballah members are likely to be named as suspects by a U.N. tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. The prosecutor in the case issued a sealed indictment Jan. 17 to a judge. But it may take as long as eight weeks until the names of the accused are revealed, which would occur only if the case went to trial.

5 | Washington

Health Care Returns To Congress

The new Republican majority in the House of Representatives voted to repeal the landmark health care reform law enacted last year, arguing that the legislation was too costly and “job killing.” The long-anticipated move was as symbolic as it was unsurprising, since the Democratic-controlled Senate is not expected to follow suit. But a full repeal is not the only potential threat to the Affordable Care Act. House Republicans plan to chip away at the law, many of whose provisions–including those that would expand coverage to some 30 million currently uninsured Americans–won’t take effect for several years. Elsewhere, legal challenges across the country are making it likely that the Supreme Court could eventually address the constitutionality of the law.

6 | Brazil

DEADLY RAINS

The death toll from the floods and mudslides that recently hit southeastern Brazil–resulting in one of the worst natural disasters in the country’s history–surpassed 700 and was expected to rise. Rescue workers continued to dig out bodies, and authorities warned residents of more landslides to come. The destruction, wreaked by heavy rains and exacerbated by inadequate planning, has left thousands homeless.

7 | Iraq

Bombings Target Iraqi Forces

A trio of bomb attacks, two of which were directed at Iraqi police, renewed fears that Sunni extremists may escalate efforts to undermine confidence in security forces ahead of the U.S.’s Dec. 31 withdrawal. In the first incident, a bomber in Tikrit blew himself up in a crowd of police recruits, killing at least 60. The next day, an ambulance exploded outside a training center in nearby Diyala province; at least 13 died. In a third, unrelated attack, a man blew himself up in Diyala near a convoy of a top provincial official, killing two.

8 | Yemen

Radical Cleric Sentenced

A Yemeni court sentenced U.S.-born militant cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in absentia to 10 years in prison for incitement to murder and belonging to a terrorist group. Officials in the U.S. and Yemen say al-Awlaki, who is in hiding, is in league with al-Qaeda and has inspired jihadists through his fiery Internet sermons. Many Yemenis see the verdict as a bid to placate the U.S. and boost efforts to capture al-Awlaki, who is on the CIA’s targeted-kill list.

9 | Somalia

Piracy Worse than Ever

Despite the presence of a fleet of international warships in the waters off Somalia, pirate attacks reached record levels in 2010, according to the International Maritime Bureau. The IMB reported 445 attacks, the vast majority linked to Somali pirates, many of whom evade the foreign navies patrolling the Gulf of Aden by traveling farther into the Indian Ocean aboard retrofitted “mother ships.” By some measures, piracy costs the global economy up to $12 billion a year.

10 | Italy

Silvio’s Sex Scandal

Prosecutors in Milan alleged that Premier Silvio Berlusconi engaged in sex with a “significant” number of prostitutes, a charge he denies. The Milanese inquiry, which is aimed at determining whether the 74-year-old paid to have sex with a 17-year-old Moroccan girl during a party at his villa last year, has shaken his already fragile grip on power. Prostitution is not illegal in Italy, but exploiting or aiding prostitution with a minor is.

Number of crew members taken hostage worldwide

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

188 2006

1,181 2010

SOURCE: IMB