Guantanamo Files — The story of the day is the leak of 700 documents related to the notorious American prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The disturbing details are, frankly, too many to list. To get you started, the Guardian has a useful summary and the New York Times’ multimedia package is worth a look. See the original documents, here.
Mixed Messages — The Economist writes a love letter to Singapore’s financial services sector (‘Singapore’s Financial Rise: Going Swimmingly’). The piece comes a week after they described how the country’s poor feel neglected by its old-school, undemocratic political system.
Assad, Unseated — Even with his own Alawite community thinking of a post-Assad Syria, says Rania Abouzeid, the embattled President is unlikely to be unseated so long as the military and the security forces remain on his side.
Becoming Barack —The New Yorker explores the intellectual and moral foundations of Barack Obama’s ever-shifting foreign policy. A long, but important, read.
After War— Sri Lanka’s civil war ended nearly two years ago, but women on either side of the former war divide are still battling hard to enjoy even the simple niceties of peace, writes Amantha Perera from Colombo.
Jail Break— About 500 Taliban fighters, including 106 commanders, tunneled their way out of a prison in Afghanistan this weekend. According to AJE, the 360-meter tunnel took 5 months to complete. “The first success of this year for the Taliban,” says their correspondent in Kabul.
The Restive West — On the anniversary of the Qinghai earthquake, I wrote about the tension brewing in western China’s Tibetan areas. Today, the AFP reports that two elderly Tibetans were killed in clashes with police outside the Kirti monastery. Meanwhile, Radio Free Asia says they’ve obtained video evidence of a crackdown.
Wedding, Shmedding — Some Brits ‘can’t care less’ about the royal wedding, finds TIME’s Eben Harrell in London.