World

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On the eve of Afghanistan's traditional fighting season, the Taliban boosted its forces by springing more than 480 of its members from a jail in Kandahar. The prisoners escaped through a tunnel that stretched 1,050 ft. (320 m) to a safe house near the jail. Guards discovered the jailbreak at 4 a.m., 30 minutes after the Taliban boasted about it in a press release. The convenient timing, along with the fact that the drilling of the tunnel had gone unnoticed for five months, fueled suspicion that the inmates had help from guards or government officials--or both. This is not the first time large numbers of Taliban have escaped from the prison: some 900 fled in a 2008 jailbreak. Afghan and NATO forces have set up checkpoints to search for the escapees; 65 were captured within two days.

Saleh's Fate Sealed?

YEMEN

A council of Gulf states has brokered a deal with the Yemeni opposition for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to be granted immunity if he steps down within 30 days. In March, Saleh, who has ruled the impoverished country for 32 years, promised to step down but only on his terms. The new deal, if signed, calls for an election 60 days after his departure. After months of violent protests, Saleh would be the third leader forced from power in the Arab Spring.

Chernobyl Still Taking Its Toll

UKRAINE

A quarter-century has passed since the meltdown at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant unleashed a radioactive cloud across the northern hemisphere. A new study estimates that 27,000 people have died worldwide as a result of the worst nuclear accident in history, in large part from cancers stemming from the release.

Open Borders? Not for Everyone

ITALY

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his Italian counterpart, Silvio Berlusconi, called for an overhaul of the Schengen treaty, which currently allows for open borders between 25 E.U. nations. Italy panicked over an influx of 25,000 migrants (mostly Tunisians) fleeing the troubles in North Africa and provided many with permits allowing them to travel to neighboring France--to Sarkozy's dismay. For all of Europe's anxiety about refugees, African nations have borne the brunt of the recent exodus from Libya.

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

ITALY AND MALTA 5,182

TUNISIA 285,074

ALGERIA 14,126

NIGER 54,209

CHAD 17,218

SUDAN 2,800

EGYPT 237,330

615,939 Number of people who have fled violence in Libya as of April 21

SOURCE: INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MIGRATION