The world at a glance . . . International

Istanbul

Secularists accused: Turkey has charged 86 people, many of them prominent activists, with plotting to overthrow the Islamist-leaning government and replace it with a secular, ultranationalist regime. The suspects include professors, politicians, and ex-military officers. They are accused of belonging to Ergenekon, a clandestine hard-line group that the government has labeled terrorist. The indictment is the latest blow in a battle between the Islamic-oriented ruling party and the secular community, which includes the military. Turkey’s highest court is also considering a case in which prosecutors contend that the ruling party is an illegal entity that has violated the country’s constitution by introducing religion into politics.

Rosh Hanikra, Israel

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Bodies for prisoners: Israel this week turned over a notorious terrorist to the militant group Hezbollah, in exchange for the bodies of the two Israeli soldiers whose capture in 2006 sparked a war between Israel and Lebanon. It was the first confirmation that the men, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, were dead. The bodies were handed over in a U.N.-brokered deal in exchange for the release of five Hezbollah prisoners, including Samir Kantar, who was responsible for one of the most brutal murders in Israeli history. In 1979, Kantar murdered a man in front of his 4-year-old daughter, then killed the girl; the mother, hiding in another room, accidentally smothered a 2-year-old daughter while trying to stifle her cries. Kantar had been held in Israeli prisons for 29 years.

Islamabad, Pakistan

Yankee stay out: No Americans or other foreigners will be allowed to enter Pakistani territory to search for Osama bin Laden, Pakistan’s foreign minister said this week. Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the new Pakistani civilian government would not tolerate foreign military activity. “Our troops, paramilitary forces, and our regular forces are deployed in sufficient numbers. Any foreign intrusion would be counterproductive,” he said. “Questions of sovereignty come in.” Pakistanis were angry about an incident last month, when Pakistan said U.S. aircraft killed 11 of its soldiers at a border post. British and Pakistani newspapers reported that U.S. troops in Afghanistan have been massing at the Pakistani border in preparation for raids in Pakistan’s tribal provinces, where al Qaida and Taliban militants are now based. NATO denied the reports.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Topless tourists arrested: Dubai police are cracking down on indecent exposure at the bustling Muslim state’s posh beach resorts. Authorities said they began the campaign earlier this month, after police detained a British couple for allegedly having sex on the beach. Since then, nearly 80 people have been arrested for offenses ranging from showing too much skin to public displays of affection. Dubai is installing signs warning tourists in Arabic, English, and other languages not to sunbathe topless, and it has added undercover officers to patrol the shore. Natives make up only about 20 percent of the population of Dubai; the rest are expatriates from Asia, Europe, and elsewhere.

Mount Kumgang, North Korea

Tourist shot dead: North Korea this week refused to discuss the killing of a South Korean woman who was vacationing in the Stalinist country. Park Wang-ja, 53, was shot by soldiers when she wandered from the Mount Kumgang resort into a North Korean military zone nearby. North Korea has insisted that Seoul apologize for the “incursion” before it will release details of the shooting. An angry South Korea has canceled tours to the resort, which has been open to foreign tourists since 1998. Relations between the two countries have worsened in recent months, as South Korea’s new president, Lee Myung-bak, has taken a tougher line with the North. After Lee tied foreign aid to North Korea to progress in talks over its nuclear program, North Korea called the change in policy “an intolerable insult.”

Sydney

Condoms for Catholics: Australian activists gave out free condoms at a massive rally for Catholic youth this week, after a court struck down a law aimed at stopping the anti-church protest by giving police the power to arrest anyone who “annoys” religious pilgrims. More than 250,000 young Catholics from 176 countries were in Sydney for World Youth Day, a weeklong annual event attended by the pope. The New South Wales state government had hoped to head off protests by passing the anti-annoyance edict, but the law was ruled unconstitutional. Youth Day coordinator Bishop Anthony Fisher said the condom distribution didn’t bother him. “We have had this before at other events,” he said. “Our pilgrims just drop them to the ground and ignore them.”

Khartoum, Sudan

President charged with genocide: The International Criminal Court this week charged Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir with genocide against ethnic African tribes in Darfur and formally requested his arrest. It is the first time the world’s permanent war-crimes tribunal has indicted a sitting head of state. Al-Bashir was charged with mobilizing Arab militias to attack black villages in 2003, after black rebels took up arms against the state. Some 300,000 people have died from the conflict in Darfur and more than 2 million people have fled their homes. Sudan’s Arab-dominated government requested an emergency meeting of the Arab League to discuss how to react. One league member, Yemen, has already called the indictment “a grave and unacceptable interference” in Sudan’s internal affairs. The court has no power to make arrests, so al-Bashir is presumably safe as long as he stays in Sudan.