Global Briefing, April 1, 2011: This Is No Joke

  • Share
  • Read Later

Tank vs. Kalashnikov —  For Libya’s rebels, the difference between victory and defeat may come down to weaponry, writes Abigail Hauslohner from Benghazi.

Taking Control —  As Japan’s nuclear crisis enters its fourth week, the government is considering taking over TEPCO, says Lucy Birmingham in a dispatch from Tokyo. But will the combination of an unpopular government and a beleaguered firm really please the people?  Full Japan coverage, here.

Spillover — About 100,000 Ivorian refugees have fled to Liberia, crossing paths with Liberian mercenaries flooding the other way, to fight in Ivory Coast. Many worry the unrest threatens Liberia’s heard-won peace, finds the New York Times.

We Are All Indian — Well, almost. Preliminary results from India’s census suggest that Indians now make up about 17% of the world’s population, reports the Guardian.

No Guns for You —   “It might not be illegal to arm the Libyan rebels at this stage,” argues Steve Coll in the New Yorker. “But it would be wrong, unnecessary, impractical, and self-defeating.”

Resource Wars — Over at the Atlantic, MG Zimeta explains how oil wealth threatens to Sudan.  Both the north and the south want to control Abyei, an oil-rich borderland. Read TIME’s account of recent violence there.

Women of War — The National profiles the women of Benghazi, who are “fighting, organizing, feeding and  healing.”

Less Naked, Please — A movie studio in Indonesia has hit on a winning formula: films staring fully-clothed porn stars. Full story, here.