Worldwatch

By Penny Campbell Sunday, Nov. 14, 2004

An Unwelcome Return
A simmering civil war in Ivory Coast turned into a battle against foreign occupation last week, as Ivorians confronted French peacekeepers, accusing them of seeking to place the country under neo-colonial rule.

MEANWHILE IN ITALY ...
Plea for Enlightenment
Roman tour guides, weary of answering questions from clueless tourists, have launched an educational campaign to persuade visitors to brush up on the city's history and culture before arriving. The guides can no longer remain polite in the face of queries such as "Where is Christ's grave?" and "Was the Colosseum built as a ruin?" When we all know it was made for the set of Gladiator.

GRIGORY IMAGESTATE/ALAMY

The violence began with early November air strikes and counterstrikes between Ivorian and French air forces, then spiraled out of control as clashes between French troops and armed supporters of Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo left scores dead in Abidjan, the country's economic center. Toussaint Alain, an adviser to Gbagbo, told Time: "We deplore the lethal brutality of a French army behaving like an occupying force." Hundreds of British, American, Belgian, Dutch and Lebanese nationals, as well as more than 3,000 French residents were evacuated. "We are ready to fight for our freedom, to fight for our rights and liberty of Ivorians," vowed local evangelical preacher Cissé Abdou at an anti-French demo last week. French President Jacques Chirac — with the U.N.'s blessing — sent 4,600 troops to Ivory Coast in late 2002; they are trying to enforce a fragile 2003 peace agreement between government forces in the south and insurgents controlling the north. Combatants will be given until mid-December to restore the cease-fire and prepare power-sharing arrangements under the 2003 accord. — By Bruce Crumley and Carrie Giardino

Stablity Pact
EUROPEAN UNION The crisis over the incoming European Commission appeared resolved, as leaders in the European Parliament indicated they would endorse Commission President José Manuel Barroso's new lineup in a vote set for this week. Italy's Silvio Berlusconi nominated Foreign Minister Franco Frattini to replace Rocco Buttiglione, who had angered parliamentarians with his comments on gays and women. The Latvian government replaced its much-criticized nominee, Ingrida Udre, with diplomat Andris Piebalgs. Amid a minor reshuffle that saw Hungarian Laszlo Kovacs moved from energy to tax, Neelie Kroes — the embattled Dutch candidate for Competition Commissioner — kept her post.

History Lesson
ROMANIA President Ion Iliescu acknowledged his country's responsibility for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Jews and Roma during World War II. His comments came after he received a report on the Holocaust in Romania from an international commission headed by Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel.

First Step
LITHUANIA Parliament voted to ratify the new E.U. constitution, making Lithuania the first country to approve the charter, due to come into force in 2007. All 25 member states must approve the constitution by the end of 2006.

High-Seas Hunt
JAPAN Tokyo demanded an apology from Beijing after concluding that a Chinese nuclear submarine had violated its territorial waters. The vessel sparked a two-day sea chase after being spotted 300 km from Okinawa. China had no comment.

Witness to Atrocity
CHILE President Ricardo Lagos hailed the completion of an official report on torture and political detention during General Augusto Pinochet's 1973-1990 dictatorship as "a historic step" for a nation coming to terms with its past. The study, based on testimony from 35,000 victims, will be made public in December.