On May 21, Alassane Ouattara was finally sworn in as president of Cote d'Ivoire. Ouattara won the runoff election on November 28 last year, but former president Laurent Gbagbo refused to cede power before being captured last month. Ouattara cautioned citizens to be patient in their search for justice, but Amnesty International said that both sides committed and continue to commit war crimes. Comment: Initial votes were delayed over five years before being peacefully held to wide international praise on October 31. The runoff quickly devolved into a standoff when Gbabgo and Ouattara both claimed the presidency, leading to five months of violence. (Vanguard, RFI, AmnestyInternational)

Following the allegations against former International Monetary Fund (IMF) chairman Dominique Strauss-Kahn (DSK), world leaders are proposing new leadership. While European leaders call for a European replacement for DSK, former South African finance minister Trevor Manuel is being raised as an alternate candidate. Comment: The IMF leadership is traditionally European, but with the downfall of DSK much of the world is calling for an open process to appoint a new director. Manuel has not yet made a comment of whether he is or is not considering a nomination. (BusinessWeek, AFP, TheGuardian, WallStreetJournal)

Hostilities in Abyei, the disputed region on the border of northern Sudan and the new southern Sudanese state, erupted last week with attacks by southern Sudanese forces on a UN convoy. Forces from the north opened fire on UN helicopters, and up 40,000 civilians fled violence that devolved into looting throughout the region. Comment: the renewed violence between north and south threatens to jeopardize the independence of southern Sudan less than two months before scheduled independence ceremonies. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has said his forces will not withdraw from Abyei, and Ugandan president Yoweri Meseveni has stepped in to negotiate an end to hostilities. (AlArabiyaNews, SudanTribune, TheIndependent, DailyMonitor)

Last Friday, Kim Jong-Il began a tour of Northern China that was described by China's Premier, Wen Jiabao, as an, "opportunity to understand China's economic development." However, neighboring nations are suspicious of the true intentions behind the trip, especially since it closely follows Kim's August 2010 visit. The timing also carries significance because China, South Korea, and Japan are currently discussing a trilateral Free Trade Agreement in Tokyo. Premier Wen took the opportunity to comment on Kim's visit at the FTA meeting while reinforcing China's desire to renew the abandoned six party talks on North Korea's nuclear program. Comment: The unprecedented acknowledgement of Kim's presence in China before he returns home may be related to the trilateral FTA talks currently underway in Japan. This could be a move by China to portray a more stable image of North Korea since previous tensions in the region have significantly impacted the surrounding economies. (Daily Yomiuri, Korea Times, Joong Ang Daily, Reuters)  

On Wednesday, Filipino authorities interrupted the transit of 54 women to Syria and Qatar that would have been in violation of a travel ban to those specific countries due to armed conflict in the region. These women report being told they would receive compensation of U.S. $200 for their work as domestic helpers, half the nationally mandated minimum monthly wage of $400 for overseas workers. In lieu of this discovery, Filipino authorities request that citizens remain vigilant and not let themselves be taken advantage of. Comment: The Filipino government enforces strict adherence to the minimum wage requirements as a means of protecting their overseas citizens from exploitation in foreign job markets. It is also interesting to note that 10 percent of the Philippine's GDP is supported by remittances from overseas workers. (GMA News, ABS-CBN News, Phil Star, Inquirer)

As the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, Indonesia will send surveyors to the Thai-Cambodia border prior to "holding a General Border Committee meeting," said Tea Banh, Cambodia's Defense Minister. The GBC would be tasked with reaching a final solution to the border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia. Both countries have periodically engaged in deadly skirmishes over disputed territorial lines drawn by the International Court of Justice in 1962; especially in regards to a 4.6 square km area surrounding the Preah Vihear Temple. In the original ruling, Cambodia was granted ownership of the temple, while Thailand was given ownership of an adjacent piece of land that contains the temple's main entrance; therefore, both have been asserting their claim to the entire temple complex since. Comment: The military build-up and repeated conflicts along the Thai-Cambodian border have resulted in the loss of many lives and pose a significant threat to ensuring continued regional stability. ASEAN hopes to resolve this issue quickly because it is perceived as an impediment to reaching a 2015 goal of greater economic integration among the ASEAN nations. (MCOT, Xinhua, Huffington Post)

The aftermath of President Obama's Department of State speech last week brought about much criticism from the Middle East.  Israel, represented by Prime Minister Netanyahu, completely refused the notion of returning to the borders of 1967 with mutually agreed upon land swaps. Netanyahu asserted that those 44-year-old borders are now indefensible. On Monday, Obama spoke to a prominent Israeli lobby (AIPAC) and explained that this peace proposition was misinterpreted, and that a final border agreement would have to take the new demographic realities into consideration. Comment: For the Palestinian Authority, the borders of 1967 are an absolute condition to continued negotiations with the Israelis.  While Palestinian Authority leader Abbas has refrained from issuing an official statement in response to the U.S. position, Hamas raised the ante by demanding the borders of 1948. Hamas and Fatah have recently signed a power sharing agreement that hinders the peace process according to the U.S. and Israel.  Meanwhile, Russia has shown support for the Palestinian reconciliation, and promised to back a Palestinian bid for state recognition at the UN. (Alittihad, Beirutline, Arabnews, WashingtonTimes, Haaretz, Ynet)

The early hours of Tuesday marked the heaviest military offensive against Gadhafi's forces since NATO launched it's operations in Libya on March 19th. The bombing campaign struck at least 15 targets in central Tripoli mostly concentrated on an area around Gadhafi's command compound Bab al-Aziziya.  Over 21 airstrikes resulted in 19 deaths and many injuries.  As the conflict continues into its third month, thousands of Libyans have died and incurred serious injuries.  U.S Ambassador to Libya Gene Cretz estimates the death toll to between 10,000 and 30,000. Comment: Gadhafi forces have been losing ground and power as the NATO bombing campaign continues to aid the rebel forces.  Even though the rebels are the main ground forces combating Gadhafi, they are still not internationally recognized as an official authority for the Libyan people.  However, this week there was diplomatic progress for the rebels represented by the Transitional National Council (TNC) after they accepted an invitation to open a representative office in Washington D.C.  While the U.S. has not fully recognized the TNC, Jordan's Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said his country considers the council as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people. Before Jordan, only France, Italy, and Qatar have recognized the TNC. (Alarabiya, UPI, Libya Alyoum, BBC, nytimes, Forbes) 

   
QATAR: Emir criticizes ICC's role in bringing justice to Gaza

On Tuesday, Doha hosted the International Criminal Court's first regional conference.  During the inauguration of the two day event, Qatar's Emir, Sheikh Hamad Al Thani, addressed the importance of combating aggressive crimes such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.  In his speech, Al Thani critiqued the ICC's Rome Statue, which he deemed unable to accommodate serious crimes like the ones he believes Israel has committed against the people of Gaza. Fatu Bensouda, Deputy Prosecutor of the ICC, commented on Qatar's option to ratify the Rome Statue as a "voluntary sovereign decision," which the Qatari authorities will have to decide to opt in or out of.   Comment: Unlike Egypt and Tunisia, Qatar has not vowed to join ICC's current list of Arab members, which includes Comoros, Djibouti, and Jordan.  The ICC has 115 members from around the globe, yet is still missing notable countries such as the U.S., Russia, China, and Israel who have expressed concerns about handing sovereign power to a higher court. (TheNational, Gulf-Times, ThePeninsula, QNAOL, Aljazeera)  

On Wednesday, the State Department urged all Americans and ordered all nonessential diplomats, and families of all embassy staff to leave Yemen as the security conditions continue to deteriorate in the capital, Sana'a.  The U.S. fears that the violence may escalate further, and advised that the security threat levels are high due to the civil unrest and terrorist activities.  After the Yemeni government and opposition failed to reach a power transfer agreement on Sunday, clashes between the pro- and anti-government supporters increased, crippling the operation of a number of government institutions and shutting down the capital's airport.  Since Monday, dozens of military soldiers and armed tribesmen have been injured and more than 100 are reported dead.  Comment: The security situation is of great concern to the U.S. because of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's (AQAP) presence in Yemen.  Analysts fear that if Yemen loses its grip on the security situation, it will provide AQAP with an opportunity to take advantage of the security vacuum.  Even though President Saleh has been a close ally of the U.S. in the war on terror, President Obama urged President Saleh to follow through on his promise to peacefully transfer his power through a GCC initiative. (nytimes, Guardian, rttnews, Washington Post)