Need to know: Ahmed Wali Karzai, the Afghan president's half brother and one of the most powerful men in the country, has been killed. In what appears to be a planned assassination by a close associate, is another example of the worsening security and political situation in the country, just as U.S. troops begin planning for withdrawal. Wali Karzai was shot dead inside his house by a "dear" friend who visited him regularly, sources told Al Jazeera. At least 45 people have been killed in mutiple U.S. drone attacks in Pakistan's northern tribal region. It seems the United States has no intention of laying off the attacks despite growing public anger against them and deteriorating relations with the Pakistani government, which feels that its sovereignty is being threatened. Officials said that all of the people killed were "suspected militants." U.S. drone strikes, however, regularly kill civilians, creating deep public anger against the United States. |
| Want to know: The phone hacking scandal that brought down Rupert Murdoch's News of the World is now threatening several other Murdoch papers in London. New investigations have discovered that the Sunday Times had employed con men and others to steal personal information from former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, including news that his daughter was sick and his financial records. Violent riots erupted in Belfast on the eve of parades that celebrate a 1690 victory of a Protestant monarch over a Catholic one. Religious tensions had been simmering in Belfast for months. Religious leaders had tried to prevent the violence but when the night came 22 police officers were injured by flying gas bombs and bricks. Egypt continues to suffer from renewed protests and attacks on its infrastructure. For the fourth time this year, masked men destroyed a gas pipeline in northern Sinai that moves gas from Egypt to both Jordan and Israel. Israel, in particular, is dependent on the gas flowing from Egypt. |
| Dull but important: Another country is being threatened by Europe's debt crisis. First it was the smaller countries like Greece and Ireland, but it is now spreading to larger countries. This time, Italy. Although Italy had managed to avoid any financial crisis, it has all the makings for a perfect storm: high debt, slow growth and political dysfunction. A small group of Indonesian villagers in the country's northern Aceh province have won the right from a U.S. court to sue ExxonMobil. The villagers have claimed that Exxon is complicit in the torture and murder of Acehnese at the hands of Indonesian military personnel the company had hired to help ensure security at its sites in Aceh. |
| Just because: At first glance, it looks like a painting of the actress Marilyn Monroe, striking her iconic pose above a subway grate. Above the ballooning dress, however, sits the face of North Korea's "Dear Leader" Kim Jong Il, wearing his trademark dark sunglasses and grinning wildly. A group of what look like gold fish swim about the figure's feet. The comical work was unveiled in Seoul earlier this year as part of "Forever Freedom," the debut exhibition by the North Korean artist Song Byeok, who defected to the South in 2002. |
| Wacky: Ever wondered what Soviet condoms looked like, or what Vladimir Putin would look like with two penises? Welcome to Moscow's first sex museum. |
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