Must-Reads from Around the World, June 18, 2012

In today's required reading: evidence of Iranian subterfuge, power plays in Pakistani and more communal clashes in Nigeria's divided Kaduna state.

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Reuters

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attends an unveiling ceremony of new nuclear projects in Tehran in this February 15, 2012 file photo

Collateral Damage — As talks over Iran’s nuclear program resume in Moscow Monday, the Guardian reports a multinational probe into bomb plots targeting Israeli diplomats earlier this year has produced “the clearest evidence yet” of Iranian involvement. Its implication: “With Israel refusing to rule out military action if diplomacy fails, intelligence officials fear the volley of attacks carried out by Iranian operatives show Tehran is capable of an asymmetric response.”

Judges and Journalists — The New York Times analyzes the latest scandals in Pakistan denting the credibility of its TV news. “For a week, the country has been gripped by a drumroll of revelations: lurid corruption accusations against the family of the populist chief justice; dramatic television appearances by his billionaire accuser; angry judges threatening legal action against a major television station; and a leaked video exposing sham journalism at its worst,” it says.

Sectarian Strife — The Christian Science Monitor covers rising violence in Nigeria as Christians launched deadly reprisals Sunday after repeated attacks on religious sites by Islamist militant groups, including church bombings Sunday which killed 23 people. “The reprisal attack is wrong because the solution to the country’s insecurity is by ensuring dialogue with the sect members who are attacking the Christians and even Muslims,” said analyst Ignatius Kasuwa.

Greek Drama  The Independent takes a philosophical turn over the latest election, drawing parallels between the unfolding drama and that of a Greek tragedy. “Greece was threatening to act like Antigone, giving priority to the norms of her “private” sphere and ignoring the norms of the “public” sphere, those of the EU,” it writes.

A Family Affair  Jean-Marie Le Pen’s 22-year-old granddaughter, Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, has made history by becoming France’s youngest MP in modern times, reports the Daily Telegraph. But it was a day of mixed emotions, as his daughter, Marine Le Pen, “lost a bitterly close battle in the constituency of Hénin Beaumont in the northern Pas de Calais.” Despite her defeat, the far-right leader praised her niece’s victory as a “huge success” for the party.

Mental Health ‘Scandal’ — A damning report published in the U.K. on Monday reveals the extent to which the National Health Service (NHS) has neglected mental health, the Guardian reveals. The report, published by the London School of Economics, states that “only a quarter of those who need treatment are getting it.” The authors also commented that “the under-treatment of people suffering from mental illnesses is the most glaring case of health inequality in the NHS” and that the problem is so severe that it warrants having its own cabinet minister.