There Will Be Blood— In a dispatch from Kabul, John Wendle explains how the actions of one extremist preacher in Florida sparked violence in Afghanistan; Elsewhere, the Wall Street Journal reconstructs last week’s attack on a U.N. compound and the subsequent murder of seven U.N. workers.
Missing Persons — To the list of lawyers, activists and advocates missing in China’s ‘Jasmine’ crackdown, add Ai Weiwei, one of the country’s most prominent artists. He’s been arrested before, but, says Austin Ramzy, it’s different this time around.
Banned Books — Over at the Daily Beast, Salil Tripathi weighs in on the Gandhi biography brouhaha, argues that this is just the latest in a long string of attempts to limit free speech in India. With pictures, too
The Departed —In Japan, the ever-rising death toll has disrupted the country’s mortuary rites and, in turn, the grieving process, reports Hillary Brenhouse. The latest from Japan, here.
Rubber Stamps — In Kazakh democracy, even the challenger votes for the incumbent, notes TIME’s Ishaan Tharoor. See a photo essay from Kazakhstan, here.
Broken Promises — Writing from Tripoli, TIME’s Aryn Baker outlines the latest (bizarre and infuriating) twists in the case of Eman el-Obeidi, the Libya woman who accused Gaddafi soldiers of rape, then disappeared.
Stranded at Sea — The Economist trashes Australia’s plan to use East Timor as a ‘processing center’ for would-be refugees. Read a recent cover story on refugees, here.
Paradise Lost — In Bali, rampant development, violence, traffic and trash have turned holiday heaven into hell, writes Andrew Marshall.