World

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Artist Detained In Growing Crackdown

BEIJING

Ai Weiwei, China's most prominent dissident after imprisoned Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, was detained April 3 at the Beijing airport as he tried to board a flight to Hong Kong. Perhaps best known for co-designing the 2008 Beijing Olympic stadium known as the Bird's Nest, Ai is an outspoken critic of the government and has been detained several times. During one period in custody, he was allegedly beaten so badly that he required brain surgery. This arrest comes amid a widespread crackdown touched off by online calls for a Tunisian-style "jasmine revolution." Over the past several weeks, at least 26 activists have been detained, 200 have been put under house arrest, and more than 30 have disappeared.

Gaddafi Hangs On, and the War Grinds On

LIBYA

Control over a cluster of strategic oil towns seesawed between rebel fighters and troops loyal to Muammar Gaddafi as the conflict bogged down into a smaller-scale war of attrition. After the defections of key aides and generals, reports claimed that elements within the Gaddafi regime were in negotiation with European leaders over a possible cease-fire. But Gaddafi's forces continued to shell the rebel-held city of Misratah, prompting rebel leaders to vent their frustration over NATO's perceived inaction.

LIBYA: A REBELS' GALLERY

ALI AL-ESSAWI

Formerly ambassador to India, al-Essawi was one of the first prominent figures in the government to quit and join the opposition. Since then, he's become the main foreign envoy of the rebels' Transitional National Council (TNC)

MAHMOUD GEBRIL

The acting Prime Minister, Gebril is a U.S.-educated academic who pushed for reform and privatization while serving as a technocrat in the Gaddafi regime

ABDUL FATTEH YOUNES

One of Gaddafi's top-ranking generals and a former Interior Minister, Younes defected in February and has since spearheaded the rebel war effort. His experience is invaluable, though some rebels resent his previous affiliation with the regime

KHALIFA HEFTAR

A military commander who defected to the U.S. more than two decades ago, Heftar has returned to find himself pitted in a power struggle with Younes

MUSTAFA ABDUL JALIL

The chairman of the TNC, Jalil is a religious conservative and a respected jurist. He was formerly Justice Minister, in which capacity his efforts to clamp down on arbitrary arrests won the praise of foreign diplomats. Jalil is one of the main architects of the rebel government

Caught in The Storm

ITALY

As many as 250 people were missing after a fishing boat overloaded with refugees and migrants from North Africa sank near the Italian island of Lampedusa, located about 70 miles (110 km) off the Tunisian coast. The island has been overwhelmed by more than 20,000 people fleeing turmoil in Tunisia and Libya.

For Now, the Only Endgame Is Bloodshed

YEMEN