Must-Reads from Around the World: March 28, 2012

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Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

News Corporation Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch listens to remarks while participating in the Wall St. Journal CEO Council on "Rebuilding Global Prosperity" in Washington in this November 16, 2009, file photo.

Mounting Pressure – Hot on the heels of allegations Monday by the BBC’s Panorama program that a News Corp. subsidiary company used a computer hacker to sabotage its biggest U.K. rival, the Australian Financial Review has now published details of a four-year probe into a secret unit within Rupert Murdoch’s company that it claims promoted a wave of high-tech piracy against its pay TV competitors. See more on Murdoch and the state of British politics in the latest piece by TIME’s Catherine Mayer.

Israeli Politics – The Jerusalem Post reports on the Kadima Party’s primary election Tuesday when Shaul Mofaz, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, bested incumbent Tzipi Livni, winning 61.7% of the vote – albeit on a low turnout of just 40% of the party’s 95,000 members. “From tonight, the path to unseating Netanyahu has begun,” Mofaz said in a victory speech. The next election must be held by October 2013.

African Lion – The Guardian details the energy boom’s impact upon Mozambique, which is poised to become the world’s biggest coal exporter within the next decade and recently discovered two massive gas fields in its waters that promise huge windfalls. “As African lions outpace Asian tigers, one of the world’s poorest states is moving from civil war bust to boom – but who will gain?” the newspaper asks.

Syrian PeaceForeign Policy notes the caution of the international community in response to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad acceptance of the same U.N. peace accord he rejected just two weeks ago. A diplomatic solution is beneficial for all involved, but the Syrian’s governments actions have not always matched its words was the tone of the article.

Retrofitting Community – The New York Times explores the urban renewal of the outskirts of Paris, where housing projects have been demolished in favor of parks, schools and low-rise housing. Architects Frédéric Druot, Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal see the limitation of improving communities by design. Architects couldn’t fix the neighborhood or provide 24-hour security guards, Lacaton tells the newspaper.

Crime and PunishmentLe Monde sits down with Geir Lippestad, defence attorney for Anders Breivik, to discuss his strategy for the trial, which begins April 16. Breivik admits to killing 77 people in a double attack in and around Oslo in July 2011. Lippestad reveals that unlike his other clients, the far-right Norwegian extremist wants to be found sane and accountable for the grizzly acts. “I feel I have lost my soul in this case. I hope to get it back once all this is over,” the lawyer tells the newspaper.