The World

1 | Washington

A Return to Nuclear Power

President Barack Obama announced $8.3 billion in federal loan guarantees for the construction of two nuclear reactors at a plant in Georgia. It is the first new nuclear project to be green-lighted in the U.S. since the 1980s. Once online, sometime in 2017, the reactors will generate power for 1.4 million people. While most hailed the move–the White House said the reactors will prevent the emission of 16 million tons of carbon dioxide each year–critics say safety standards for storing the plant’s radioactive waste need to be improved.

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

Energy consumption in the U.S., by source

Coal 44%

Hydroelectric 7%

Natural gas 24%

Nuclear 20%

Other 5%

SOURCE: U.S. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION

2 | Iran

U.S. Steps Up Criticism

“Iran is moving toward a military dictatorship,” said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in Qatar on Feb. 15. It was the Obama Administration’s bluntest statement yet against Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, which many now believe to be the nation’s true power center. Her comments came as the U.S. continues to push for new U.N. sanctions against Tehran, which recently announced it would enrich uranium to higher levels, reinforcing suspicions that it intends to produce nuclear weapons. To prevent such an outcome, Clinton said, the U.S. is focused on both “engagement and political pressure.”

3 | Brussels

The Train Didn’t Stop

In Belgium’s worst railway crash since 1954, a commuter train sped through a red signal and hit an oncoming locomotive on Feb. 15, killing 18 people and injuring more than 100. While investigators have not yet determined the cause of the crash, which happened outside the capital, rail workers and train drivers quickly went on strike to protest poor working conditions that may have led to the collision.

4 | Egypt

King Tut’s Curse: Malaria

While it has long been known that the legendary Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamen died at age 19 around 1324 B.C., the cause of his death has remained a mystery since his tomb was unearthed in 1922. A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that King Tut most likely died after a severe bout of malaria and complications from a leg fracture. The evidence, obtained through DNA testing performed by Egyptian, German and Italian researchers, would explain the hundred or so walking sticks found in Tut’s tomb and contradicts earlier theories that he was murdered.

5 | Georgia

Standardized Cheating

Georgia state authorities have ordered an investigation into 191 public elementary and middle schools–more than half of them in Atlanta–after a Feb. 10 audit found that an unusually high number of wrong answers on students’ standardized tests had been erased and replaced with the correct ones. Of those schools, almost two dozen had suspicious erasure patterns on more than 50% of classroom tests, suggesting an orchestrated attempt to raise scores and improve school standing under the No Child Left Behind Act. Inquiries will be handled by individual school districts, raising fears that those investigating the problem may be the very ones who initially condoned it.

6 | West Bank

KIND OF BLUE

For the past five years in the West Bank village of Bil’in, there have been weekly rallies against the Israeli separation barrier, a section of which runs through the town. On Feb. 12, villagers protested while dressed as members of the Na’vi tribe from the 3-D blockbuster Avatar. The film, with its themes of oppression and resistance, has struck a particular chord with Palestinians, who now have cause to celebrate. The wall is being rerouted following the final implementation of a 2007 Israeli Supreme Court order; the move returns about 700,000 square meters of land to Bil’in residents.

7 | Syria

A Fresh Start

Ending a five-year diplomatic freeze, the White House nominated Robert Ford as ambassador to Syria on Feb. 16. The U.S. had removed its ambassador in 2005 to protest Damascus’ possible involvement in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. While the U.S. still disapproves of Syria’s support for Lebanese militant group Hizballah, Ford’s nomination indicates a renewed attempt at dialogue with the regime.

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

Incumbents are not running in 11 seats, as of Feb. 17

• Open Democratic seats

• Open Republican seats

• Democrat

• Republican

• Independent

8 | Indianapolis

Bye, Bayh

Two-term Indiana Democratic Senator Evan Bayh announced on Feb. 15 that he would not run for re-election this November. The popular centrist and former Hoosier State governor blamed increased partisanship, saying plainly, “I do not love Congress.” Bayh’s retirement, which caught his party’s leaders by surprise, brings the number of open seats in the upper chamber to 11–five Democratic and six Republican.

9 | Haiti

Missionaries Released

Three weeks after being charged with kidnapping for allegedly trying to transport 33 Haitian children–some orphans, others not–out of the country illegally, eight American missionaries were released on Feb. 17. Two others were kept in Haiti for further questioning. A lawyer for one of the released Americans said the move was a good indicator that the charges against those freed would eventually be dropped.

10 | Dubai

Costumed Killers

Authorities in Dubai issued international arrest warrants for 11 suspects alleged to be behind the Jan. 20 murder of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a top official in the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The suspects, believed to be members of a hit squad, entered the emirate using fake European passports and were captured in surveillance footage following al-Mabhouh to his hotel room disguised in wigs and tennis clothing. Hamas has accused the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad of orchestrating the assassination. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman refused to directly comment on the matter, explaining that when it comes to security issues, “Israel never responds, never confirms and never denies. There is no reason for Israel to change this policy.”

⋆ | What They’re Banning in Papua New Guinea: The 550,000 residents of Papua New Guinea’s Southern Highlands province better drink up quickly. In an attempt to quell the tribal strife that has long plagued the fractious region, alcohol will be banned there after May 11. In recent years, the island nation has seen escalating levels of domestic and sexual violence. Local police point to excessive intoxication as a culprit, though squabbles over a natural-gas-pipeline project have also contributed to the turbulence.