Must Reads: Coconut pickers, trademark squatters and thieves

From disappearing coconut pickers to Chinese trademark squatters, here are five stories you shouldn't miss from this week in global news:

To Britain's metal thieves, nothing is sacred

Mideast upheaval knocks Saudi Arabia off balance

In India, lots of coconuts but a dwindling crop of pickers

Syria's capital is calm despite revolt, but life has changed

Trademark squatting in China doesn't sit well with U.S. retailers

-- Emily Alpert in Los Angeles

Photo: Hindu devotees offer coconuts as they pray in the Alopi Devi temple in Allahabad, India, on  March 23, 2012. Credit: Rajesh Kumar Singh / Associated Press