The world at a glance . . . International

Moscow

Snow ban: Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov has promised to ward off snow this winter by hiring the Russian Air Force to seed approaching clouds before they reach the city. Every time “very big or serious snowfall” threatens, Luzhkov said, the air force will fly out to the clouds while they are several miles away and spray them with dry ice, cement particles, or silver iodine, causing crystallization and, theoretically, premature precipitation. The plan will cost the city about $6 million, but that’s cheaper than the $10 million the city normally spends on snow plowing. A typical winter buries Moscow under several feet of snow for months. The only objection to the snow plan has come from Moscow’s suburbs, which would be inundated with snow if it works.

Tokyo

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Gates talks tough: U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has slapped down the new Japanese government’s move to scrap an agreement on the relocation of the U.S. airbase on Okinawa. Japan has been taking a harder line with the U.S. since the August election of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who campaigned on a pledge to stand up to the Americans. Now, under pressure from Okinawans, Hatoyama says he may oppose moving the base to a less urban area, as agreed in 2006, and push to have it removed from the island altogether. At a meeting with Japanese leaders in Tokyo this week, Gates warned that if Japan reneged on relocation, the rest of the deal would also unravel—including elements that Japan wants, such as the withdrawal of 8,000 Marines and the return of several parcels of land. He said the Japanese proposal was “both politically untenable and operationally unworkable,” and that it was “time to move on.”

Asan, South Korea

Mass Moonie wedding: More than 45,000 people around the globe got married, many to strangers, in simultaneous ceremonies officiated last week by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon via live webcast. It was the largest mass wedding for the Unification Church in a decade, and it could be the last one for Moon, who turns 90 in a few months. Moon’s church, which many call a cult, picks spouses for its members, usually pairing people from different countries. “I pray that you become good husbands and wives, and men and women who can represent the world’s 6 billion humankind,” said Moon, speaking from South Korea to couples in Norway, Brazil, the U.S., and several other countries. Moon, a self-proclaimed messiah, says Jesus Christ called upon him to carry out his unfinished work.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Handguns for sale: Saudi Arabia legalized handgun ownership this week, in effort to curb a thriving black market. The Interior Ministry announced that it would begin licensing gun shops to sell handguns and other personal firearms; until now, only hunting rifles and sport shooting weapons were allowed to be sold. Some Saudis are skeptical of the new right to bear arms. “We can’t even adhere to traffic regulations,” business owner Lina Al-Ghamdi told Arab News. “How can we put guns in the hands of people who have no discipline?”

Jerusalem

Alone against the U.N.: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to challenge the conclusions of a U.N. report that said Israel committed war crimes in Gaza. The report, written by South African judge Richard Goldstone and adopted last week by the U.N. Human Rights Council, cites both Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas for war crimes during their January conflict, but finds Israel responsible for the lion’s share. It recommends international war-crimes trials if the two sides fail to conduct “credible” investigations into their abuses. Netanyahu said defending Israel against terrorism was not a war crime, and that the international laws of war should be changed to fit the war on terror. The three-week conflict killed some 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 13 Israelis.

Khartoum, Sudan

Nobody wins African prize: This year’s Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership goes to … nobody. The $5 million award, endowed by Sudanese-born mobile phone tycoon Mo Ibrahim, is given annually to an African leader who has exhibited the strongest commitment to democracy and good governance and, crucially, has left office within the last three years. (Many of Africa’s rulers have been in power for decades and show no signs of retiring.) Several notables were eligible this year, including former presidents Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria. But the committee that awards the prize said in a statement that “after in-depth review,” it simply “could not select a winner.”