The week at a glance...International

Moscow

They’re all spies: Any civic group that receives donations from abroad must now register as a “foreign agent,” under a law passed last week by the Russian parliament, where President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party has a strong majority. The law appears to be aimed at pro-democracy groups as well as the independent election watchdog group, whose reports on electoral violations sparked an anti-Putin protest movement. Putin has accused the U.S. of using “pseudo-NGOs” to “manipulate the public” and try to influence Russian elections. It’s just the latest in a series of measures squeezing the democracy movement: Putin has also jacked up the fine for protesting without a permit and raided the homes of protest leaders.

Pyongyang, North Korea

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Kim’s affair with pop star: North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un is apparently having an affair with a married pop singer. South Korean newspapers say that the woman who has appeared at Kim’s side in several recent official photos is Hyon Song-Wol, a former singer with the Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble—best known for the 2005 hit “Excellent Horse-Like Lady”; Hyon is reported to have been Kim’s girlfriend a decade ago. The two dated for some time until Kim’s father, the late Kim Jong-Il, ordered his son to break it off. Hyon was seen in public again early this year, when she performed—visibly pregnant, presumably with her husband’s child—at an event attended by Kim. If it’s all true, they could both be cheating: Rumors have swirled for years that Kim is married to a doctoral student.

Tel Aviv

No occupation: In defiance of multiple Israeli court rulings and international opinion, an Israeli government commission has declared that all Jewish settlements in the West Bank are legal because that land is not “occupied territory.” The three-member commission, chaired by retired Supreme Court Justice Edmund Levy, said that since Jordan never formally held the territory before Israel took it in the 1967 war, international laws of occupation do not apply. It recommended that the state grant approval for practically all of the unauthorized Jewish settlements in the West Bank. The decision is nonbinding, but it could provide legal cover if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decides to recognize the settlements.

Ramallah, West Bank

Was Arafat poisoned? Palestinian authorities have given the go-ahead for the body of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to be exhumed and tested. Arafat died in a French military hospital in 2004 at age 75, after a sudden illness, and aides have long suspected foul play. Arab cable channel Al Jazeera, which has been investigating since last year, reported that the Swiss Radiophysics Institute had found traces of polonium on Arafat’s belongings. Arafat’s widow, Suha, who cooperated with the Al Jazeera investigation, has now asked France to open its own investigation. Tawfiq Tirawi, intelligence chief under Arafat, said he believes Israel murdered Arafat with help from Palestinian collaborators.

Cairo

Power struggle: In a symbolic victory in his power struggle with the military, Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi this week reconvened the dissolved parliament. The Supreme Constitutional Court last month ordered the legislature, dominated by members of Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood, to disband because of electoral violations in about 30 percent of the races. The court also deemed Mursi’s convening illegal, but Mursi called that ruling “invalid,” and soldiers did not block the parliament’s members from entering the building. “The president is trying to restore his powers,” said Mustafa Labbad of Al Sharq Center for Regional and Strategic Studies. “We are now in a constitutional, legal, and political predicament.”