The consensus constitution was praised by presidents of France, “Senegal, Gabon, Lebanon, Mauritania and Chad, the Algerian prime minister, Spanish Crown Prince Felipe, and several European parliamentary leaders. Conspicuously absent was any representative from fellow Arab Spring nation Egypt” …
- Tunisia Basks in Praise Over Its New Constitution (AP / abc News)
… and the U.S. walked out when Iran’s “Ali Larijani slammed the U.S. and Israel for working against Arab Spring revolutions”:
- US Pulls out of Tunisia Event During Iran Speech (AP / abc News)
As international aid groups express alarm that the Israeli destruction of Palestinian home sis reaching a new high, a bill to force New Yorkers to do business with the apartheid state fails — for now:
- Israeli Demolition of Palestinian Homes at Five-year High: Aid Groups (Reuters)
- Bill Targeting Academic Groups that Boycott Israel Halted in New York Assembly (Mondoweiss)
Will President Abdullah Gul do the right thing and veto the threat to free press in Turkey?
- Turkey Passes Strict Internet Law as PM Erdogan Battles Corruption Leaks (Christian Science Monitor)
Better late than never, a “week after the situation in Homs was discussed at peace talks in Geneva, the state news agency, Sana, said agreement had been reached to allow aid in and safe passage out for civilians”:
“The IAEA’s investigation is focused on the question of whether Iran sought atomic bomb technology in the past and, if it did, to determine whether such work has since stopped…. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful and that it is Israel’s assumed atomic arsenal that threatens peace”:
With the violence reaching what Doctors with Borders calls “intolerable and unprecedented levels” …
… exemplified by “[t]housands of Muslims fled for their lives from the capital of Central African Republic on Friday, with Christian crowds cheering as the truckloads of Muslim families made their way out of town. One man who fell off a truck was subsequently killed and his body mutilated” …
- Muslims Flee Capital of Central African Republic (AP / abc News)
.. the ICC is moved to to action and will likely result in an extension of the French deployment:
- Prosecutor to Investigate Central African Republic (AP / abc News)
- France Likely to Extend Central African Republic Patrols, Minister Says (Christian Science Monitor)
- Egypt Militant Group Growing in Capabilities in Sign of Support from Region’s Jihadis (AP / US News and World Report)
“Although Swiss voters have in the past approved various measures loosening immigration rules, pundits have been wary of predicting which way referendums on the issue will go since being caught by surprise in 2009 when voters approved a plan to ban the construction of new minarets”:
- Swiss to Vote on Plan to Limit Immigration (AP / Herald Tribune)
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