Must-Reads from Around the World

Kenya Elections – The landmark general elections have resulted in a high turnout and limited violence, reports the Guardian. The elections are seen as the most important in Kenya’s 50-year history, and had been nervously anticipated, considering they’re the country’s first since more than 1,000 people were killed in violence following the Dec. 2007 presidential election. Despite attacks on security forces leaving a dozen people dead on the coast, and reports of gunmen seizing control of two polling stations in Garissa, near the Somali border, voting was mostly carried out in peace, writes the Guardian. But a tight contest for the presidency could lead to a run-off vote and disputes in both the courts and on the streets, notes the daily.

Germany’s Homosexuality Laws — Despite Germany’s generally liberal populace, the government has failed to clear the police records of homosexuals who were arrested under Nazi-era homosexuality laws following World War II, notes the New York Times. Homophobia persisted in postwar Germany for decades and although Parliament officially apologized to victims in 2000, around 50,000 people have yet to have convictions of sodomy erased from their police records. Clearing the victims’ records requires Parliament to overrule a 1957 Constitutional Court decision, which, according to the Times, is “an especially contentious move in a country where there is deep respect for judicial authority.”

Turkish Secularism — VOA News examines if the Turkish model of democracy could work in Arab nations in the Middle East and Africa. Turkish politics is a balance of power between secular Islamists and secular liberals and the military defends the country’s secularism. Some experts said Turkey’s model will not necessarily work in Arab Spring countries like Egypt because secularism is often seen as anti-religion in those places. Tunisia, however, might be able to follow Turkey’s example because its constitution, unlike Egypt’s, makes no reference to Islamic law, reports VOA.

Falklands Dispute – Argentina will not give up its claim to the Falkland Islands, dismissing next week’s referendum on the territory’s sovereignty as “illegal,” reports the Daily Telegraph. Argentina argues that the Falkland Islanders have no right to self-determination. Alicia Castro, Argentina’s ambassador to London, called the referendum, which will ask Falkland Islanders if they want to remain British, a “public relations exercise.” She also argued that the dispute is detrimental to relations between Britain and Argentina and South America as a whole – obstructing oil exploration in the region, for example, reports Reuters. But a British Foreign Office spokesman said that in dismissing the referendum before it has taken place, the Argentine government has taken a stance “counter to the universal principles of democracy and self-determination,” writes Reuters.

China Congress – The biggest annual show of power by China’s ruling Communist Party, the National People’s Congress (NPC), starts Tuesday, reports CNN and TIME’s Austin Ramzy. The NPC finds the country’s top officials discussing the nation’s agenda for the years ahead, and this year marks the formal beginning of President Xi Jinping’s administration. Opening the NPC, outgoing premier Wen Jiabao touched on the disparity in wealth and opportunity between city dwellers and migrant workers from the countryside – something that many see as the biggest challenge facing the country. Details of defense spending for the coming year are also due to be released Tuesday, writes the Independent. In recent years, China has advocated its increasing defense budget, despite fears of aggression among its neighbors.