Ticking Time Bomb. A soldier stands guard at the launch site of a North Korean rocket.
Liar, Liar, Portrait on Fire
1 | SYRIA
Forces loyal to President Bashar Assad continued to pound the country's cities with artillery fire, despite Assad's earlier assurances that hostilities in his conflict-ravaged nation would cease in accordance with the terms of a peace plan brokered by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Annan appeared to admit defeat April 10 when he conceded in a brief to the Security Council that the gestures toward peace expected from Assad's regime had "yet to be issued." On the same day, rights groups reported that over 100 people had been killed in the opposition stronghold of Homs alone. The stakes grow only higher. A number of Arab nations have started arming the rebels, while Russia and China continue to stymie tougher international action against Assad's attacks on his people.
TANZANIA
30,000
Number of people who turned up to mourn Steven Kanumba, Tanzania's most popular film star, who died after accidentally falling during an argument with his girlfriend; he was 28
Rumblings from the Past
2 | INDONESIA
A terrifying 8.6-magnitude earthquake struck April 11 off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The temblor and its aftershocks were felt far across Asia and rekindled memories of Dec. 26, 2004, and the cataclysmic Boxing Day earthquake and tsunami, which claimed 230,000 lives around the Indian Ocean littoral. Countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and India have since stepped up their tsunami-warning systems and established protocols, which whirred into action after the most recent tremors. This time, no deadly tsunamis followed, but Asia was ready.
TURKMENISTAN
'Can I take part?'
GURBANGULY BERDYMUKHAMMEDOV, President of Turkmenistan, asking a question no one could refuse, before the country's first major automotive race; he finished first
Hand Them Over
3 | U.K.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled that radical cleric Abu Hamza, along with four other U.K.-based terrorism suspects, can be extradited to the U.S. to stand trial. The court found that detention in a U.S. supermax prison did not constitute "inhuman and degrading treatment," despite the plaintiffs' contention that being held in such a facility would violate their human rights. The U.S. has given the court written assurances that Hamza, charged with aiding al-Qaeda and involvement in a fatal kidnapping in Yemen, will not face a military tribunal or the death penalty.
Ticking Time Bomb
4 | NORTH KOREA
A soldier stands guard at the launch site of a North Korean rocket. Despite mounting pressure, a defiant Pyongyang appeared set to launch its Unha-3 rocket, which would destabilize the already geopolitically fraught region. The U.S. says the act would be seen as a ballistic-missile test, a violation of the terms of U.N. resolutions aimed at curbing the rogue state's nuclear program.
Don't Be Afraid of The Dark
5 | AFGHANISTAN