A kinkajou, 1886. A prison fire in Honduras killed 359 people, making it the deadliest such fire on record. An inmate was reported to have started the fire after phoning the state governor’s office and saying he was going to burn down the prison, then lighting his bedding on fire. The facility officially housed 857 prisoners, more than double its intended capacity, and was being supervised by 12 guards, who prevented firefighters from entering while the fire spread. “The guards first thought they had a prison break,” said the director of Honduras’s prison system, “so they followed the law saying …

An American cattleman. Francesco Schettino, captain of the Costa Concordia cruise liner whose capsizing off the Italian island of Giglio killed at least 15 people, was revealed to have deviated from the ship�??s authorized route in order to salute a former captain who lived on the island. The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera released an audio recording in which Schettino, speaking to the Coast Guard from a lifeboat, defied commands to return to the ship and direct the evacuation of passengers. “Listen Schettino, you saved yourself from the sea,” says the Coast Guard captain, “but I am going to… I …

A kinkajou, 1886. Tunisia commemorated the first anniversary of the Arab Spring�??and of the ousting of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali�??by pardoning 9,000 prisoners and commuting 122 death sentences. BBCMyanmar released 651 political prisoners, leading the U.S. State Department to move toward restoring full diplomatic relations with the country for the first time in 21 years.New York TimesNobel Peace laureate Mohammed ElBaradei ended his bid for the Egyptian presidency, citing his country�??s military autocracy as an insurmountable obstacle to legitimate elections. “The regime did not fall yet,” he said.Wall Street JournalHundreds of Saudis gathered to protest the killing of a …

Silvio Berlusconi, who during the 17 years since he was first elected prime minister has been accused of tax fraud, mafia collusion, bribery of law-enforcement officials, and solicitation of an underage prostitute, stepped down after Italy�??s parliament passed austerity measures seeking to contain the impact of the country�??s $2.6 trillion debt, which he had been denying was a problem. Italians shouted “Fool! Fool!” outside Quirinale Palace, where Berlusconi submitted his resignation, while a makeshift orchestra played the “Hallelujah” chorus from Handel�??s “Messiah.” “He leaves an Italy that is more poor,” said Democratic Party politician Livia Turco, “and was made a …

Greek prime minister George Papandreou agreed to step down following a week in which he proposed a referendum on EU measures to save his country’s collapsing economy, narrowly won a confidence vote, retracted his referendum proposal, and signed a coalition deal to approve the bailout. “I am not tied to my chair,” said Papandreou. ReutersCNNReutersGuardianAmid sex scandals and corruption allegations, and ahead of a key budget vote, Silvio Berlusconi denied rumors he would step down as Italian prime minister. Berlusconi was also reported to have delayed the release of his Greek-folk-influenced album, “True Love,” over concerns about the European financial …

A kinkajou, 1886. Libyan forces shot and killed deposed leader Muammar Qaddafi after finding him hidden in a drainage pipe in Sirte. Upon being discovered, Qaddafi reportedly raised his hands and begged, “Don’t kill me, my sons.” Video footage showed him being taunted, beaten, and sodomized with a weapon, possibly after he had been shot in the head and stomach. His body was mounted on a truck and paraded around Misrata before it was placed in a shopping-center freezer. Crowds said, “We want to see the dog!” as they lined up to view the corpse. “The dark shadow of tyranny …

A Christian martyr. Two American citizens, Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan, were killed by a CIA drone in Yemen. Awlaki, a cleric whose speeches purportedly inspired young Muslim radicals, had been added to the CIA�??s list of terrorist targets in early 2010. According to the U.S. government, Awlaki, who has never been tried or convicted of a crime in the United States, directed several failed terrorist plots. Khan, who edited a jihadi magazine, was never an official U.S. target. “Make no mistake,” said President Barack Obama, “this is further proof that Al Qaeda and its affiliates will find no safe …

Mahmoud Abbas went before the United Nations General Assembly in support of Palestine�??s bid for UN membership, saying his was a “defenseless people, armed only with their dreams, courage, hope, and slogans.” “Yeah,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his UN address. “Hopes, dreams, and 10,000 missiles.” Abbas returned to cheering crowds in Ramallah, though some Palestinians were skeptical of his quest. “We are not against a peaceful solution, but we don�??t believe it,” said one West Bank resident.BBCUnited NationsUnited NationsNY Times In what it called an expression of Islamic mercy, Iran released a pair of American hikers detained …

A Small Family. While being questioned about his abuses of power, ousted 82-year-old Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak reportedly suffered a heart attack and was rushed to a hospital in the beach resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. GuardianMubarak’s sons, Gamal and Alaa, were taken for questioning from the hospital, in a police van that was pelted with stones, bottles, and flip-flops; they joined former Egyptian ministers in Tora Farm prison. “Bear in mind they are very broken,” said a prison officer of the influx of inmates, who added that Tora Farm was known as a “five-star prison” only because “those who come …

A Small Family. Seventeen days after protests began in Egypt’s Tahrir Square, after more than 300 fatalities, and with hundreds of protesters thought to have been secretly detained by the military, President Hosni Mubarak gave a seventeen-minute speech in which he talked in great detail about the changes he planned to make to Egypt�??s constitution, causing thousands of protesters to wave their shoes in the air and shout “Get out!” and “We’re not happy!” He stepped down the following evening. “I have friends on anti-depressants who, over the last 20 days, forgot to take their pills and have now thrown …

A suicide bomber struck Moscow’s Domodedovo airport, killing as many as 34 people and leaving at least 168 injured. “From the preliminary information we have, it was a terror attack,” said Russian president Dmitry Medvedev in a televised briefing. Former Department of Homeland Security official Stephen A. Baker noted, “They�??d like to be bombing planes and they can�??t, so they�??re bombing airports.” Artyom Zhilenkov, a taxi driver, claimed he was about 10 yards from the bomber, a short, dark man carrying a suitcase. “How did I manage to save myself? I don�??t know,” he said. “The people behind me on …

A gunman opened fire on a “Congress on Your Corner” event held by Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D., Ariz.) in a mall in Tucson, killing six people and wounding more than a dozen. Representative Giffords, the primary target of the attack, was shot at point-blank range in the head but survived and remained in critical condition. Among the dead were U.S. District Court Judge John Roll and nine-year-old Christina Taylor-Green, who was born on September 11, 2001 and attended the meet-up after being elected to her elementary school’s student council. The gunman, Jared Lee Loughner, was apprehended and charged with numerous …

A Small Family. One of the 250,000 American diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks revealed that, after Googling themselves, China�??s leaders pressured Google to censor its Internet search results last year. Other cables revealed that U.S. diplomats believe Canadians feel “condemned to always play �??Robin�?? to the U.S. �??Batman,’” and refer to Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin as Batman to President Dmitry Medvedev’s Robin. It was also disclosed that Putin has a close financial and personal relationship with Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, a revelation that prompted Berlusconi to fly to the Black Sea to see him. French president Nicolas Sarkozy …

An American cattleman. Republicans took control of the House after picking up 60 seats in midterm elections, the largest gain in the House since 1948. Democrats maintained control of the Senate (though they lost six seats), and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid did not lose to Tea Party candidate Sharron Angle. “Harry Reid isn’t just Dracula. He isn’t just Lazarus; he’s our leader,” said Senator John Kerry. “Our whole caucus is thrilled that he’s unbreakable and unbeatable.”TimeNew York TimesThree Iowa Supreme Court judges who ruled in favor of same-sex marriage were voted out of office, and exit polls suggested that …