READBOOK FOR FRIDAY, 30 MARCH 2012

DAILY BRIEFS: Boot Up (Guardian/Technology Blog).  Paper Clip (European Voice)The Rundown (RFE/RL). High Tide (WSJ/Corruption Currents). Daily Report (NYT/Bits). Morning Brief (FP/Passport). Middle East Daily Brief (FP/Middle East Channel). AfPak Daily Brief (FP/AfPak Channel).

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AFRICA: Self defence militias are the latest thing to fan the flames of Congolese war (New York Times). The Gambian political opposittion is boycotting ongoing parliamentary elections, saying that the ruling party is abusing the system (Al Jazeera).

ASIA: The cost of security in Afghanistan is set to rise sharply (Washington Post). The Turkish riot police were called out with their pepper spray and water cannons, cracking down on a crowd demonstrating for educational reform in Ankara (Hurriyet Daily News). The period of uprisings in Yemen has also seen a big increase in US attacks on militants there (The Bureau of Investigative Journalism).

EUROPE: Italy has seized over 1bn euros worth of former Gaddhafi assets (Guardian). Sweden's defence minister stepped down amidst uproar over leaked plans of a Saudi arms deal (Washington Post). Some dire predictions about British economic outlook (Financial Times).

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VIDEO: Yalda Hakim, a reporter for Australia's SBS network, is the first Western journalist to visit the Afghan town in which 16 people were massacred. She interviewed family members and Afghan guards on duty that night. Via CNN.