The World

1 | Barcelona Stem Cell-ebration European physicians have announced the success of a breakthrough procedure in which a woman's windpipe was rebuilt using her own stem cells. The operation, performed on 30-year-old Claudia Castillo this past June, seeded a stripped-down segment of a donor's trachea with stem cells from Castillo's bone marrow, ensuring a perfect tissue match and reducing the likelihood of transplant rejection. The procedure has been championed as a milestone that could pave the way for radical improvements in organ transplants and the treatment of serious diseases.

2 | Managua Mayoral Vote Causes Chaos The contested outcome of Nov. 9's mayoral elections has sparked violent clashes in Nicaragua's capital, with supporters of President Daniel Ortega's victorious Sandinista Party hurling rocks, blocking roads and firing homemade mortars at demonstrators gathered to denounce alleged voter fraud. The opposition, led by Ortega's 2006 election rival, Eduardo Montealegre, vowed to continue its protests while appealing to international observers. The U.S. State Department and a U.S.-based election-monitoring group have expressed concern over reports of voting irregularities.

3 | Boston Finally, Gulf War Illness Recognized A congressionally mandated panel of scientists and veterans has validated in a Nov. 17 report the mysterious condition known as Gulf War illness (GWI). According to the study, the symptoms--which include memory loss, chronic muscle pain, fatigue, digestive problems and skin lesions--were likely caused by pills given to troops to protect against nerve gas and by the overuse of pesticides to ward off sand flies. Other factors include exposure to depleted uranium munitions, oil-well fires, nerve agents and vaccines. Nearly 25% of the 700,000 soldiers who fought in Operation Desert Storm are affected by GWI, and many of them have reported that their symptoms have worsened over time. The panel also noted unusually high rates of Lou Gehrig's disease and brain cancer among Gulf War veterans, arguing that more funding is needed to study GWI, for which there is no known cure.

4 | France Rwandan Assassination Arrest A week after German police arrested her, Rose Kabuye, chief protocol officer to Rwandan President Paul Kagame, was extradited to France under a warrant claiming she was complicit in the downing of a plane that killed Rwanda's then President and two French pilots. The attack helped spark the 1994 Rwandan genocide in which some 800,000 people perished. Kagame denounced the arrest, calling it "total contempt" for his nation.

5 | Washington Running on Empty Stomachs Even before 2008's economic turmoil, more American children had been going hungry in 2007 than at any other time in the past 10 years. A new Department of Agriculture report says money woes caused 323,000 households to cut back on food for children in 2007, up from 221,000 in 2006. Federal officials expect this year's data to paint an even worse picture.

In 2007: 1 in 25 U.S. households reduced their food intake owing to a lack of money 1 in 14 households filled out their diet by eating a smaller variety or by using federal food programs, food pantries or other coping strategies 1 in 6 households with children couldn't afford to buy enough food to adequately feed all its members

(SOURCE: USDA)