Ouattara “didn’t want to come to power this way, through the barrel of a gun…. He was elected fairly and freely. But this is the situation he was dealt. It’s going to be incredibly difficult for him to bring the country together” — Richard Downie (Center for Strategic and International Studies):
- Forces Capture Ivory Coast Strongman in Bunker (AP / abc News)
With civilians continuing to die in Misrata, the rebels reject the African Union’s call for a cease fire unless Gaddafi and his sons are shut out of any part of Libya’s political future:
- Libya: African Union Puts Truce Plan to Benghazi Rebels (BBC)
- Libyan Rebels Protest over African Union Peace Mission (Guardian)
“This trial sets a dangerous precedent at a time when Egypt is trying to transition away from the abuses of the Mubarak era” — Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director for Human Rights Watch:
- Egyptian Blogger Jailed for Three Years (AlJazeera)
What freedom of speech? French police admit to detaining a woman “not because of her veil but for taking part in an unauthorised protest against the ban“:
- Unveiling French Hypocrisy (AlJazeera)
Islamic legal scholars have condemned the traditional practice of “talaq” on which the text-based divorce is a high-tech twist:
- Muslim Authorities in Tajikistan Plan Ban on Divorce by Text Message (AP / Washington Post with Foreign Policy)
“A possible role for Turkey, the largest Muslim voice in NATO, in Afghan peace efforts would fit U.S.-backed initiatives to seek a political solution to the nearly decade-old insurgency amid a realization that military force alone is unlikely to end it”:
- Turkey Says It Is Ready to Host a Taliban Office as Part of Efforts to End Afghan War (AP / Canadian Press)
“The CIA is out of the detention and interrogation business” — unidentified U.S. official:
CIA Has Slashed Its Terrorism Interrogation Role (LA Times)
Saleh “welcomes” the proposal, but will he act on it?
- Yemen’s Saleh ‘Welcomes’ Gulf proposal (AlJazeera)
“Some 2,000 mourners chanting ‘Death is better than humiliation!’ turned out in Banias on Monday for a funeral for the four after Muslim noon prayers”:
- Syria: Student Protest at Damascus University Turns Violent While Thousands Attend Funerals in Banias (AP / Washington Post with Foreign Policy)
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