United Nation Ended the Ivory Coast Conflict, How About Libya

Since the United Nations doesn't have a formal military, the country of France put on the United Nation Sticker and ended the carnage in the Ivory Coast. Therefore, why couldn't the United Nation put ground forces and end the Libyan conflict? If NATO can't do it under their flag, let the UN have a shot at it. Remember, the 28 countries that comprises NATO are also members of the 113 countries that comprises the United Nation. It only makes sense. It will stop further bloodshed and wasted expense to this stupid Libyan war. Go in and get Gaddafi. How hard is that?

(Reuters) - Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo was arrested on Monday after French armoured vehicles closed in on the compound where the self-proclaimed president had been holed up in a bunker.

A column of more than 30 French armoured vehicles moved in on Gbagbo's residence in Abidjan after helicopter gunships attacked the compound overnight in bid to end a months-long political standoff that had descended into civil war.

Gbagbo refused to step down when Alassane Ouattara won last November's presidential election, according to results certified by the United Nations, reigniting a civil war that has claimed more than a thousand lives and uprooted a million people.

"Yes, he has been arrested," Affoussy Bamba, a spokeswoman for Ouattara, told Reuters.

Gbagbo's spokesman in Ivory Coast, Ahoua Don Mello, told Reuters: "President Laurent Gbagbo came out of his bunker and surrendered to the French without offering resistance."

French officials said Gbagbo had been arrested by Ouattara's forces backed by the United Nations and the French military.

A French Defence Ministry official said: "It's not French forces who arrested Laurent Gbagbo ... It was Ouattara forces supported by UNOCI (the U.N. mission) and Licorne (French forces)."

Christian Dominated Southern Sudan Secede from Radical Islamic Northern Sudan

Southern Sudan is now an independent nation. The mostly populated Christian state, southern Sudan can now claim its sovereignty.

KHARTOUM (AFP) — Southern Sudan was well on track to become the world’s newest state on Monday after final results of its historic independence referendum showed that 98.83 percent of its people had voted for succession.

The results — displayed at an announcement ceremony in Khartoum — revealed that, out of 3,837,406 valid ballots cast, only 44,888 votes, or 1.17 percent, favoured the status quo of unity with the north.

The definitive outcome of the January 9-15 referendum emerged soon after Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir said Khartoum accepted the south’s widely anticipated landslide vote for sovereignty.

“We respect the people of south Sudan’s choice and we accept the result of the referendum according to what the commission announces,” the Sudanese leadership said in a statement broadcast on state television.

“South Sudan has chosen secession. But we are committed to the links between the north and the south, and we are committed to good relations based on cooperation,” Bashir himself said earlier, in a speech at the headquarters of his ruling National Congress Party.

The referendum defied expectations by taking place on time and largely without incident, despite the major logistical challenges facing the organisers and fears that the Khartoum government might try to block a process certain to split Africa’s largest nation in two.

The vote was the centrepiece of a 2005 peace deal that ended a devastating 22-year conflict between the largely African Christian south and the mainly Arab Muslim north that killed around two million people.

Algeria tries Christians for opening place of worship

Christianity is being hijacked by a secular minority group. These Muslims putting four converted Christians through trial believes it is okay, but calls us intolerant when we protest the mosque at Ground Zero. I call it hypocrisy and a double standard.

ALGIERS (AFP)- Algeria will put on trial four converts to Christianity Sunday for “illegally opening a place of worship”, one of their lawyers told AFP.

“The defendants, who are between 35 and 45 years old, have been charged with setting up a Protestant church in the region without authorization by authorities,” said lawyer Mohamed Ben Belkacem.

The trial will be held in Larbaa Nath Irathen, east of Algiers.

One of the accused has also been charged with illegally accommodating a French pastor who had travelled to Algeria to make a speech before members of the Christian community.

The trial was originally scheduled to open on October 10 but put off after the court insisted it needed witnesses to give evidence.

Under a 2006 Algerian law Muslims or non-Muslims can only practice their religion after authorities agree to a place of worship.

Over the past months several trials have opened in the north African country where Islam is the state religion for violation of Islamic precepts, notably involving converts to Christianity