The World

By Alex Altman, Harriet Barovick, Gilbert Cruz, Adam Goodman, Kate Pickert, Tiffany Sharples, M.J. Stephey, Claire Suddath

1 | Malaysia A Scandal Revived Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim emerged from the Turkish ambassador's residence in Kuala Lumpur on June 30, a day after he sought sanctuary there following accusations that he sodomized a 23-year-old male aide. Anwar vehemently denied the allegations, which he denounced as political smear tactics fabricated by a coalition government in danger of losing power for the first time since Malaysia gained independence, in 1957. The charges, which have sidetracked Anwar's plans to re-enter Parliament, echo those preceding his 1998 imprisonment for sodomy. That conviction--overturned in 2004--came after his falling-out with then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad over leadership of the ruling umno party. Sodomy is punishable in the Muslim-majority nation by up to 20 years behind bars.

2 | Texas Hero or Killer? On June 30, a Houston-area grand jury declined to indict Joe Horn after he fatally shot two burglars in the back as they fled his neighbor's house, an episode captured in a chilling recording of a 911 call between Horn and a police dispatcher. The case tested Texas' so-called castle-doctrine law--which states that people threatened in their home have a right to use deadly force--and triggered accusations of vigilantism and ethnic bias in the criminal-justice system. Horn, who expressed remorse over the killings, is white, while the victims were illegal Colombian immigrants.

3 | Istanbul Coup Plotters Arrested In the latest skirmish between Turkey's secular establishment and its Muslim leadership, authorities arrested 21 people--including two retired generals and a newspaper editor--on July 1 for allegedly planning to overthrow the pro-Islamic government. The government accused them of belonging to an ultranationalist group that it says has been collecting weapons for a military coup.

4 | Bogota Freedom for FARC Hostages Former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt was rescued in a Colombian military-intelligence operation July 2, ending her six years as a hostage of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. The most famous of FARC's estimated 750 captives, Betancourt, who holds French citizenship, was liberated along with 14 others, including three U.S. military contractors.

5 | India Pride Parades Find Footholds In the nation's largest show of gay pride to date, hundreds marched for the first time ever in Bangalore and Delhi on June 29. Homosexuality has been illegal in India for more than 100 years, though few are prosecuted under the law.

6 | Jerusalem Coming Home Israel and Hizballah agreed to a prisoner-exchange deal in which Israel will release a long-held Lebanese terrorist, Samir Kuntar, for the bodies of two Israeli soldiers, Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, whose capture in July 2006 triggered the month-long war between Israel and Hizballah that summer. Hizballah captured the soldiers with the intention of using them as bargaining chips for Kuntar's release and is citing the deal as proof of the group's regional influence. Israel is still trying to negotiate with Hamas to win back Gilad Shalit, who is believed to be alive. Shalit is the third soldier at the center of a fierce national debate over the balance between security and Israel's commitment to retrieving those captured in the field.

7 | North Korea Disarm-Twisting On June 27, Pyongyang demolished the cooling tower at its Yongbyon nuclear reactor after the U.S. said it would remove North Korea from a list of terrorism-sponsoring countries if it continues dismantling its nuclear program.

8 | California FIRE WITH FIRE A firefighter uses a flare to light a firebreak as hundreds of blazes crackled across Northern California, scorching about 570 sq. mi. (1,475 sq km) of land and threatening the tourist enclave of Big Sur. With the weather expected to remain dry, officials said some of the wildfires could burn for months. Devastating fires last October caused more than $1 billion in damage.

9 | Maryland Attack of the Killer Tomatoes II The U.S. Food and Drug Administration still hasn't found the source of the largest produce-linked salmonella outbreak in the nation's history, and officials now say it's possible that tomatoes aren't even the culprit. So far, 869 people across 36 states have become sick. According to the National Restaurant Association, reduced tomato consumption has cost the food industry at least $100 million.

10 | Paris Making eBay Pay for Fakes A French court ruled on June 30 that auction website eBay must pay nearly $63 million to a group of luxury brands, including Louis Vuitton, Dior and Givenchy, after finding that the company wasn't doing enough to deter the sale of fake handbags, perfume and other knockoff goods. Weeks earlier, another French court ordered eBay to pay nearly $32,000 to the luxury retailer Hermes. Meanwhile, in the U.S., eBay awaits a ruling in a similar case brought by jeweler Tiffany & Co.

What They're Wearing in Texas A group of mothers from the Yearning for Zion polygamist ranch are enjoying a new type of media attention--by selling their prairie-style clothing online. Available at fldsdress.com the children's apparel, including overalls and "princess dresses," retails for $20 to $70. The group originally launched the site to provide proper outfits for the nearly 400 children taken during the April 3 raid on their compound.