The world at a glance ... International

Cairo

Tut’s charming overbite: King Tutankhamen showed his face to the world this week, for the first time in 3,300 years. He has these beautiful buckteeth, and the tourists will see a little bit of a smile, said Zahi Hawass, head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities. Scientists removed the linen and resin wrappings from the mummified body of the teenage pharaoh so they could better preserve it. The tomb of Tutankhamen has been one of the most popular tourist attractions in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings since it was opened 85 years ago. The humidity and heat caused by the breathing of 5,000 people a day would have changed the mummy to a powder within a few decades, Hawass said. Tut, who ruled from age 9 to his death at 19, will now be displayed in a climate-controlled glass case.

Cairo

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Police convicted of torture: Two Egyptian police officers were sentenced to three years in prison this week for supervising the torture of an innocent man. Emad el-Kabir, 22, was arrested last year for coming to the support of his cousin, who was arguing with the cops. Police held el-Kabir down and sodomized him with a wooden pole, recording the abuse on video and telling him they would circulate it to his friends. The video ended up on YouTube, and el-Kabir became a cause célèbre for Egyptian humanrights activists. International experts say torture is common in Egyptian prisons, but perpetrators are almost never prosecuted. This ruling will not be as influential as hoped for, said Taher Abul Nasr of Egyptians Against Torture. The case is a special case—the first and almost the only case documented by video and audio.

Coast of Somalia

Pirates release ships: Somali pirates released three ships this week after holding them for months. Two South Korean ships and a Taiwanese vessel were freed after their governments reportedly paid a ransom. Piracy has been rampant off the coast of lawless Somalia for years but has increased since January, when the Islamists who controlled the south of the country were ousted in an Ethiopianbacked military operation. The U.S. Navy escorted the two South Korean ships to a port in Yemen at the request of the South Korean government—to protect them against any further act of piracy—and said it was ready to assist the Taiwanese ship as well.

Tbilisi, Georgia

Backlash against leader: Georgians massed in the streets this week for their biggest protests since the nonviolent 2003 Rose Revolution. This time, they are demonstrating against Mikhail Saakashvili, the pro-Western leader who led the democratic revolution and became the country’s president. Opponents are protesting a decision by Saakashvili to delay parliamentary elections until next fall, when the presidential election will also be held. Under the constitution, the parliamentary vote should be held next spring. We’re not going to demand the president’s resignation, said opposition leader Giorgi Khaindrava. We’re demanding that he comply with the constitution.

Pyongyang

Nuclear disablement begins: North Korea began disabling its nuclear facilities this week, in compliance with an international agreement. The Stalinist regime had shut down its single reactor last summer and promised to disable it by the end of this year, in exchange for energy aid. Disablement involves removing fuel rods and other equipment, rendering any restarting of the reactor expensive and time-consuming. It is not the same thing as complete dismantlement, though, which would involve totally destroying the facilities. That step will be discussed next year in talks involving the U.S., North and South Korea, China, Russia, and Japan. Pyongyang has already stockpiled enough enriched fuel to make several bombs.

Beijing

Hotline to Washington: China and the United States will set up a military hotline to avoid any misunderstandings should there be a crisis in the Pacific. The U.S. has been pushing for the hotline as a way to avert open warfare in case of a standoff over the status of Taiwan. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in Beijing on a three-day visit, said that he and Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan had formally agreed to set up the link. Cao, though, refused to commit to a date for when the hotline would become functional. China has boosted its military budget enormously in recent years, as the U.S. has increased arms sales to Taiwan.