World

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Mounting protests pushed the embattled regime of Bashar Assad to declare that it would repeal an emergency law that has been in effect since 1963, when the country's ruling Baath party seized power. But there was little letup in the government's brutal suppression of dissent: arrests of opponents continued, along with a violent crackdown on protests in towns across the country. In the industrial city of Homs, police fired live ammunition to disperse thousands of protesters attempting to hold a sit-in at a major public square. A day later, angry funeral processions for the 14 protesters allegedly killed shook the city. More demonstrations are planned, as opponents of the regime sense that the Assad family--Bashar's father Hafez ruled from 1971 till his death in 2000--may be vulnerable to the same sort of popular uprising that toppled long-standing regimes in Egypt and Tunisia.

A Year Later, Thousands Wait for Help

U.S.

April 20 marked the first anniversary of the explosion at the Deepwater Horizon rig that caused 4.9 million barrels of oil to spill into the Gulf of Mexico. BP, the petro giant blamed for the disaster, created a fund of nearly $20 billion to compensate those whose livelihoods were rocked by the spill. But less than 20% of the fund has been paid out; thousands complain that the compensation process is too bureaucratic.

[The following text appears within a chart. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual chart.]

$3.9 BILLION

Payments breakdown by state

Louisiana $1.2 BILLION

Mississippi $307 MILLION

Texas $106 MILLION

Others $164 MILLION

Alabama $616 MILLION

Florida $1.4 BILLION

Payments breakdown by industry

Food, beverage, lodging $1.1 BILLION

Retail, sales, service $1.3 BILLION

No industry designation $23 MILLION

Multiple industries $44 MILLION

Tourism and recreation $121 MILLION

Seafood processing $199 MILLION

Rental property $377 MILLION

Fishing $616 MILLION

SOURCE: GULFCOASTCLAIMSFACILITY.COM

Storm In Three Teacups

PAKISTAN

Greg Mortenson, whose best-selling 2006 book, Three Cups of Tea, won him international renown, struggled to save his reputation after a searing exposé on CBS's 60 Minutes reported inaccuracies in the book and alleged misuse of funds raised by Mortenson's NGO, which helps build schools in Pakistan's tribal areas. The controversy, instigated by Jon Krakauer, a climber and writer who has traveled in the same region, shocked many who had cheered Mortenson's school-building effort--considered as effective as bombs in countering jihadism. Mortenson has denied the accusations.

Hope Amid the Wreckage

JAPAN

Cherry blossoms bloom in earthquake-ravaged Miyagi prefecture. As engineers struggled with the threat of radioactive material leaking from the Fukushima nuclear plant, many in Japan continued the slow, painful work of reclaiming their lives from the rubble. Officials say the cleanup will take months, maybe years in some areas.