Peacekeepers unpopular
The week's news at a glance.
Abidjan, Ivory Coast
A machete-waving mob laid siege to France’s main military base in Ivory Coast this week, demanding that French peacekeepers leave so that government forces can crush the rebels. France shipped some 4,000 troops to its former colony in July to police a cease-fire in the country’s nine-month civil war. But a power-sharing deal between the government and the rebels has fallen apart, and pro-government demonstrators want to end the cease-fire. “I can understand why they are fed up,” President Laurent Gbagbo said of his supporters. “The French are between them and the rebels, and they want to finish the war.” Still, Gbagbo said, he invited the peacekeepers, and wants them to stay.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Citizenship: Trump order blocked again
Feature After the Supreme Court restricted nationwide injunctions, a federal judge turned to a class action suit to block Trump's order to end birthright citizenship
-
Loyalty tests: The purge at the FBI
Feature Kash Patel is conducting polygraph tests on FBI agents to weed out anyone speaking badly about him
-
The all-seeing tech giant
Feature Palantir's data-mining tools are used by spies and the military. Are they now being turned on Americans?