Must Reads: Small business, bombs and the post-bimbo era

This week, our reporters brought you tales from Tahrir Square in Egypt, a nail salon in Cuba and a bomb-making workshop in Syria. Here are our picks for five stories you shouldn't miss from this week:

Intrigue enters Chinese politics

Ready for post-bimbo era in Italy

Outgunned Syria rebels turn to homemade bombs

In Egypt's Tahrir Square, die-hard revolutionaries linger

Yes, they're abierto: Cubans open their doors to small business

-- Emily Alpert in Los Angeles

Photo: Cuba is slowly moving toward allowing private enterprise. Olga Lidia Garcia owns and operates a nail salon on a busy street in Havana. Credit: Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times