Must-Reads From Around the World: May 30, 2012

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Aaron Tam / AFP / Getty Images

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi prepares to depart from Thailand from the Yangon International Airport on May 29, 2012.

Suu Kyi’s World Tour – Armed with her passport and the freedom to travel without restrictions or fear, Burmese opposition leader and iconic democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi embarked on her first international trip in 24 years, TIME’s Hannah Beech reports. Her first stop in a long summer of travel is Thailand where Suu Kyi met with Burmese refugees and migrants, giving them hope with the words, “I will try my best for you,” says the Guardian.

The Kill List – In an extensive article that sheds light on the White House’s anti-terrorism strategy – particularly, its controversial and widely debated use of drones for the “targeted” killing of suspected terrorists in countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen – the New York Times reveals how President Barack Obama put himself at the helm of the decision making process to kill or capture, approving every new name on a secret and ever-expanding “kill list.” And Foreign Policy collates information about U.S. air bases abroad from which its strike and spy drones fly, from Incirlik in Turkey to Zamboanga in the Philippines.

Syrian Massacre – At least 12 nations, including the U.S., Britain, Turkey and Germany, have expelled Syrian diplomats after last week’s massacre near Houla left 108 dead, nearly half of them children, the Washington Post reports. A vast majority of those killed were stabbed or shot in their homes, the U.N. has found, and witnesses have ascribed the killings to pro-government militiamen, according to the BBC.

Web of Accusation – In breaking news Wednesday, the Daily Telegraph reports that Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder and whistle-blower, has lost his latest attempt to avoid extradition to Sweden, over allegations of rape and sexual assault by two of his former volunteers. The piece describes WikiLeaks supporters demonstrating outside the central London courtroom. Assange’s lawyers suggest they may try to reopen the case, and have 14 days to lodge a claim.

War Time – The Financial Times analyses the sentencing of Charles Taylor, the former Liberian president convicted of aiding war crimes last month in the Hague, as 50 years imprisonment. The decision was reached Wednesday by the International Criminal Court, although the prosecution had asked the court for a sentence of “no less than 80 years.” It is most likely that Taylor will eventually serve this sentence in a British jail, as the U.K. has been the only country so far to be willing to house him.

Alleged Perjury – The Associated Press reports that British Prime Minister David Cameron’s former chief media adviser, Andy Coulson, has been arrested. It’s been reported by the BBC that he’s being held on suspicion of committing perjury at the trial of former MSP Tommy Sheridan in 2010 rather than linked to the phone hacking scandal (Coulson is an ex-editor of the now shuttered News of the World). He quit Downing Street in 2011 when revelations over phone hacking hit his former paper.