Washington, D.C.
Dangerous duty: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last week tried to quell an extraordinary rebellion by Foreign Service officers angry about being forcibly assigned to Iraq. After the pool of volunteers had dried up, the State Department recently took the rare step of ordering diplomats to serve in Iraq, prompting protests. But Rice, in a cable to State Department employees worldwide, said career officers should not only consider their duty to the country but their obligation to those who have already served. About 200 diplomats have until Nov. 13 to present medical or other compelling reasons to spare them a tour in the sprawling new Baghdad Embassy. Those who refuse may be fired. Of 1,200 Foreign Service officers who have served in Iraq, three have been killed.
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Villahermosa, Mexico
Overwhelmed by floods: Tropical Storm Noel has unleashed Mexico’s worst floods in decades, leaving up to 1 million people homeless in the Gulf states of Tabasco and Chiapas. A dozen bodies have been found so far, and the death toll could climb higher. Several days after the deluge, thousands of people were still trapped on their roofs by filthy floodwaters, pleading for food and water. A cathedral built on high ground in Villahermosa became an impromptu refuge for more than a thousand evacuees, who packed into the pews, slept on the altar, and prayed for relief. Authorities feared that survivors awaiting rescue may fall prey to looters and crocodiles.
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
Shuttle mission accomplished: The space shuttle Discovery touched down in Florida this week after a 15-day flight that included a hazardous space walk to repair a solar energy panel on the International Space Station. Shuttle commander Pamela Melroy admitted she was extremely concerned as she watched astronaut Scott Parazynski work on the panel. You may have heard me at one point kind of squeak out, ‘Be careful!’ as I saw the solar array coming toward him, she said. Parazynski said he could barely reach the stray wires that prevented the panel from fully extending. Among the passengers on the return trip was astronaut Clayton Anderson, heading home after five months aboard the space station. He said he was looking forward to cold drinks and ice cream.
Washington, D.C.
A budding romance: French President Nicholas Sarkozy paid his first official visit to Washington this week and awarded the Legion of Honor, France’s highest civilian award, to six American veterans of World War II, including Hawaiian Democratic Sen. Daniel Inouye. Signaling a thaw in Franco-American relations, Bush feted Sarkozy and a large entourage of French officials at a black-tie dinner at the White House. Relations between the U.S. and France have improved markedly since Sarko l’Américain was elected president earlier this year. Although Sarkozy has maintained France’s opposition to the Iraq war, he has endeared himself to the White House with tough rhetoric aimed at Iran.
São Paolo, Brazil
Money laundering bust: Brazilian authorities investigating a massive tax-avoidance scheme arrested 19 people this week, including an employee of banking multinational UBS. Investigators said they had been tracking illegal monthly cash transfers by several Brazilian companies into Swiss bank accounts, where the money was used to buy goods from the U.S. and China. The goods were then shipped back to Brazil. Officials say the scheme enabled Brazilian companies to avoid as much as $588 million in local sales taxes over the past 18 months. A judge said the companies involved in the transactions included UBS, Credit Suisse, Cisco Systems, and U.S. insurer AIG. The companies declined comment. In addition to the arrests, authorities seized more than $4 million in Brazilian and U.S. currency.
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