Light links at the end of this week, apologies!

East and South Asia

Pervez Musharraf goes to court.

Things are getting real on the Korean peninsula.

Via Tyler Cowen, a defense of the Chinese political system.

North America

It’s a fool’s errand to stand in the way of this, but here’s the meat-and-potatoes argument against same-sex marriage in the United States.

Venezuela

A former Bush administration Latin American official argues that United States actually tried to save Hugo Chávez’s life, and Foreign Policy prints it.

Latin America / Caribbean

Bolivia is about to become the Saudi Arabia of lithium.

Chilean student protests become heated.

Argentina tangoes one step closer to a sovereign default.

Perú controversially reinstates a military draft.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Kenya awaits a Supreme Court ruling Saturday.

Fallout from the CAR coup.

Can you imagine Barack Obama on a trip like the one Xi Jinping is now finishing — in Congo?

Europe

No new government in Italy after a day of talks headed by president Giorgio Napolitano.

Banks reopened in Cyprus.

Felix Salmon wonders if Cyprus will take the Ecuadorian path.

Middle East and North Africa

A comeback for Najib Mikati as Lebanon’s prime minister?