The world at a glance . . . International

Sochi, Russia

Attack on Kremlin critic: A candidate for mayor of Sochi, the designated site of the 2014 Winter Olympics, had ammonia thrown in his face this week and blamed the attack on the Russian government. The incident took place the same day that the candidate, Boris Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister under Boris Yeltsin, published an open letter criticizing Russia’s Olympic plans as too expensive and environmentally damaging. Nemtsov said a person with a deep voice, but dressed in women’s clothes, distracted him with a bouquet of flowers, while an associate splashed ammonia in his face. Nemtsov, who was not seriously injured, is the co-founder of the Union of Right Forces, a party strongly opposed to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Tokyo

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Victim of two A-bombs: For the first time, the government of Japan has officially certified a citizen as a survivor of both atomic bombs dropped on the country at the end of World War II. Tsutomu Yamaguchi, 93, had previously been recognized as a victim of the bombing of his hometown of Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945, qualifying him for medical treatment and a monthly stipend. Now Japan has confirmed that three days earlier, Yamaguchi had been in Hiroshima on a business trip, when the first bomb hit. He spent one night in Hiroshima with serious burns on his upper body, then made his way home just in time for the second strike. “It’s such an unfortunate case,” said Nagasaki city official Toshiro Miyamoto, “but it is possible there are more people like him.”

Lajia, China

Crackdown on Tibetan monks: Nearly 100 ethnic Tibetans, mostly monks, have been detained by Chinese paramilitary forces following a pro-independence riot in the town of Lajia, near the border of Tibet. Witnesses said protestors last week threw rocks at a barricaded police station and smashed the windows of police cars before the People’s Armed Police arrived. “Order has been restored here,” a local official said. China has been keeping a tight grip on the region as the 50th anniversary of a failed Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule approaches. In the past few weeks, several government targets have been attacked with small bombs.

North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan

Strikes hobble al Qaida: An accelerated campaign of Predator missile strikes inside Pakistan has seriously damaged the al Qaida terrorist network, U.S. officials say. Since August, the CIA has launched nearly 40 attacks by unmanned Predator drones in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier, up from 10 in all of 2006 and 2007. At least nine al Qaida leaders have been killed, authorities report, and the rest have begun fighting among themselves out of panic and suspicion. “If you were to continue on this pace,” counterterrorism consultant Juan Zarate told the Los Angeles Times, “al Qaida is dead.” The gains have persuaded President Obama to continue the Predator attacks, despite frequent civilian casualties.

Tehran

Obama rebuffed: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has coldly dismissed an extraordinary diplomatic overture from President Barack Obama. “They chant the slogan of change, but no change is seen in practice,” Khamenei said in a television address. “Have you lifted oppressive sanctions? Have you given up unconditional support for the Zionist regime?” Khamenei was responding to a Persian New Year message from Obama last week, in which he greeted the Iranian people in Farsi and pledged “engagement that is honest and grounded in mutual respect.” Obama also used the phrase “Islamic Republic” in referring to Iran, apparently signaling that the U.S. accepts the legitimacy of the current regime. Analysts said Khamenei’s dismissive response reflected Iran’s determination to maintain a position of strength in any future negotiations.

Jalawla, Iraq

Violence spikes: A suicide bomber killed 25 Kurdish mourners and wounded scores of others inside a crowded funeral tent this week—one of a series of deadly attacks that have set the country on edge. “We went inside the tent, and just a moment later, I heard a huge explosion and everything went black,” said Riyadh Kamil al-Qaisi, who was wounded in the blast. The bombing came shortly after nine people were killed by a bomb near Fallujah, including two leaders of the Sunni Awakening movement who had been helping the U.S. fight insurgents. Suicide attacks earlier in March left more than 70 people dead. Despite the string of bombings, Iraq is still experiencing its lowest levels of violence since 2003.

Sydney

Biker mayhem: A brawl broke out this week between rival motorcycle gangs inside a crowded concourse at Australia’s largest airport, leaving one man dead. The incident began when members of the Hells Angels and the Comancheros gangs found themselves on the same flight from Melbourne to Sydney and exchanged words. Gang members apparently phoned their comrades on the ground for reinforcements, and several were waiting in the terminal armed with knives and brass knuckles when the plane landed. A melee broke out, during which the 29-year-old brother of a Hells Angel member was fatally bashed in the head with a metal pole. “This is a new low,” said New South Wales Premier Nathan Rees. “Where once they kept these things between themselves, this has now overlapped into the public domain.”

Makumbaya, Gambia

Witch crackdown: Gambian security forces have detained up to 1,000 people on suspicion of being witches, Amnesty International has charged. The Gambian police have denied the claim, but Amnesty officials say they have heard firsthand accounts of victims being held in secret detention camps and forced to drink hallucinogenic substances, which have killed at least two people. The rights group says the roundups began earlier this year after Gambian President Yahya Jammeh blamed the death of his aunt on witchcraft. In 2007, Jammeh claimed he had found a cure for AIDS and began treating people inside the presidential palace, using herbs and incantations.