Anatomy of an Intervention: Why France Joined the U.N. Action in Abidjan

The United Nations’ dramatic military operation in the Ivory Coast civil war came at a crucial juncture in the struggle between the country’s two Presidents. Over the weekend, forces supporting Allassane Ouattara, the man recognized as president by most of the international community, arrived at Abidjan, the city where both Ouattara and his rival Laurent Gbagbo, the incumbent, were holed out.

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Libya: Despite Air Strikes, Gaddafi Forces Outgun Rebels

Anyone expecting that the U.N.-mandated air campaign over Libya is going to enable the country’s rebels to deliver a knockout blow to the Gaddafi regime ought to visit the front line, around 10 km north of Ajdabiyah. That front line has barely moved in the four days since allied air strikes last weekend destroyed the regime’s armored column that had been advancing on the rebel capital of Benghazi.

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Arab Spring: Is a Revolution Starting Up in Syria?

Updated: March 20, 2011 Has the wave of popular revolts rocking the Arab world finally reached Syria, one of the region’s most policed states, a country its young president boasted was “immune” from calls for freedom, democracy and accountable government? Or were the unprecedentedly large protests on Friday just a one-off

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China Census Aims to Chart Shifting Population

China Census Aims to Chart Shifting Population China began tallying its population on Monday for the first time since 2000, an arduous task at best, likely to be made tougher by the need to count scores of millions of migrant workers in the nation’s big cities. The government said it has sent more than six […]

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