Global Briefing, April 19, 2011: Surprise, Surprise!

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Rapprochement — The Economist notes the sudden silence on the notoriously deadly India-Bangladesh border. The neighbors still disagree on matters of trade, transportation and territory, but the drop in violence is good step forward, they say. Read TIME’s take on the border, here.

Revolving Doors—  French strike craft pummeling Libyan targets over the past month were allegedly on offer to the Gaddafi regime not long ago, writes Ishaan Tharoor on TIME’s new military intelligence blog, Battleland.

Surprise, Surprise — British oil firms were vying for Iraq’s oil the year before the country took a leading role in the invasion, according to memos obtained by the Independent. This, of course, contradicts much of what Shell, BP and Tony Blair said at the time.

No Vacancy— France’s decision to block trains arriving from Italy highlights the troubling anti-immigrant attitudes currently sweeping Europe, says TIME’s Bruce Crumley from Paris.

First the Hooch — Then, the pooch. Iranian lawmakers target a worrisome trend among the country’s rebellious upper-middle classes: dog owning, reports Azadeh Moaveni

Spilt Tea — What to make of this messy Mortenson stuff? The moral of the story, argues TIME’s Aryn Baker, is that merely building schools is not enough to make a change.

American Idols — Over at AJE, Cliff Schecter mulls The Donald’s presidential bid, labeling the candidate “the living embodiment of every degrading aspect of American culture.”

In Pictures — Light Box features Pulitzer Prize winning photography from Haiti and Los Angeles.