ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast — Soldiers backing Ivory Coast’s defiant leader shot and killed six women yesterday as they protested his refusal to leave power. The attack shocked a nation where women’s marches have long been used as a last resort against an unrestrained army.
Women had decided this week to organize women-only marches in the nation’s commercial capital, assuming soldiers would be too ashamed to open fire.
But at least six of the thousands of women who were demonstrating yesterday were killed on the spot, said Mohamed Dosso, an assistant to the mayor of Abobo who said he saw the bodies.
The three-month-old conflict in Ivory Coast has entered a new level of intensity. With each passing day, the regime of Laurent Gbagbo is proving it is willing to go to any length to stay in office after an election that international observers say he lost.
Sirah Drane, 41, who helped organize the march, said she was holding the megaphone and preparing to address the large crowd that had gathered at a traffic circle in Abobo.
“That’s when we saw the tanks,’’ she said. “There were thousands of women. And we said to ourselves, ‘They won’t shoot at women.’ . . . I heard a boom. They started spraying us. . . . I tried to run and fell down. The others trampled me. Opening fire on unarmed women? It’s inconceivable.’’
The attack prompted an immediate rebuke from the United States, which like most governments has urged Gbagbo to step down and has recognized his rival as the country’s legitimate president.
Nearly 400 people have been killed in the country, including 32 in the last 24 hours, according to UN figures and combined with deaths confirmed by the Associated Press.
Last week, Gbagbo’s forces entered the Abobo neighborhood and began shelling it with mortars, an escalation indicating the army is willing to use war-grade weapons on its citizens.
Friday, 4 March 2011
Thursday, 3 March 2011
Beyonce returns Gaddafi's Money, Dutch soldiers taken prisoners and African mistaken as mercenaries
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Libya's embattled leader Muammar Gaddafi have discussed plans for an international peacekeeping mission to mediate the crisis in Libya, say officials.
"We do confirm that Comandante Chavez had a conversation with Gaddafii yesterday (Tuesday) on a Peace Commission for Libya proposal," Communications Minister Andres Izarra tweeted.
Izarra did not offer more details on the talks between the close allies.
Gaddafi's government has been rocked by two weeks of bloody clashes with protesters seeking to topple his 41-year-old regime.
Chavez on Monday proposed creating an international peace mission with forces from friendly nations to try to mediate the unrest gripping the North African nation and avoid civil war.
As rebels repulsed a fierce onslaught by Gaddafi's forces on a key oil town, the longtime leader warned earlier that "thousands" would die if the West intervened.
The United States and its allies meanwhile cooled talk of imposing a no-fly zone over his country amid growing global calls for action to stop Gaddafi from using warplanes against his own people and to protect refugees scrambling to escape.
Chavez claims the United States is "exaggerating things and twisting things to justify an invasion" of Libya.
Both leaders regularly make public condemnations of US "imperialism" and have exchanged visits in recent years. Ties are so close that Gaddafi was rumoured at one point to have fled to Caracas, claims later denied.
Dutch soldiers taken prisoner
In other developments, three Dutch soldiers were taken prisoner at the weekend by armed men during an operation to evacuate civilians from Libya, the Dutch defence ministry said today.
"We confirm it," a navy official told AFP when asked about the capture of three marines reported by Dutch daily De Telegraaf.
The paper said the three marines were helping with the evacuation from Sirte of two civilians, one Dutch and another European, in a helicopter that crashed.
The marines were attacked by armed men loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi who captured them. The two civilians were handed over by the Libyans to the Dutch embassy and have since left Libya, according to De Telegraaf.
Thousands of Africans fear being mistaken for mercenaries
In the rush to get foreigners out of Libya, thousands of migrant Africans are being left behind, holed up at home terrified as insurgents mistake them for mercenaries fighting for Muammar Gaddafi's regime.
Rumours that Gaddafi has hired fighters from south of the Sahara to quash a popular revolt against him have made hordes of Africans targets of popular anger, many from poor countries unable to organise their evacuation.
Libyan border crossings were overwhelmed on Wednesday by tens of thousands of hungry, fearful people fleeing its burgeoning civil war.
Egypt and a handful of European nations launched emergency airlifts and sent ships to handle the chaotic exodus.
UN refugee agency spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said over 180,000 refugees have reached the border.
Beyonce donates Gaddafi fee
Beyonce says she donated money she received for performing for the Gaddafi clan to Haiti relief efforts more than a year ago.
The superstar made the revelation in a statement on Wednesday to The Associated Press. Her announcement comes days after singer Nelly Furtado tweeted that she had gotten $US1 million from the Gaddafi clan to perform in Italy in 2007. Furtado says she's donating that money to charity.
Beyonce's publicist says she performed at a private party on the island of St Barts on New Year's Eve in 2009. Once it was revealed that the performance was linked to the Gaddafi family, she gave the money and commissions to earthquake relief in Haiti.
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is being investigated for possible war crimes.
"We do confirm that Comandante Chavez had a conversation with Gaddafii yesterday (Tuesday) on a Peace Commission for Libya proposal," Communications Minister Andres Izarra tweeted.
Izarra did not offer more details on the talks between the close allies.
Gaddafi's government has been rocked by two weeks of bloody clashes with protesters seeking to topple his 41-year-old regime.
Chavez on Monday proposed creating an international peace mission with forces from friendly nations to try to mediate the unrest gripping the North African nation and avoid civil war.
As rebels repulsed a fierce onslaught by Gaddafi's forces on a key oil town, the longtime leader warned earlier that "thousands" would die if the West intervened.
The United States and its allies meanwhile cooled talk of imposing a no-fly zone over his country amid growing global calls for action to stop Gaddafi from using warplanes against his own people and to protect refugees scrambling to escape.
Chavez claims the United States is "exaggerating things and twisting things to justify an invasion" of Libya.
Both leaders regularly make public condemnations of US "imperialism" and have exchanged visits in recent years. Ties are so close that Gaddafi was rumoured at one point to have fled to Caracas, claims later denied.
Dutch soldiers taken prisoner
In other developments, three Dutch soldiers were taken prisoner at the weekend by armed men during an operation to evacuate civilians from Libya, the Dutch defence ministry said today.
"We confirm it," a navy official told AFP when asked about the capture of three marines reported by Dutch daily De Telegraaf.
The paper said the three marines were helping with the evacuation from Sirte of two civilians, one Dutch and another European, in a helicopter that crashed.
The marines were attacked by armed men loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi who captured them. The two civilians were handed over by the Libyans to the Dutch embassy and have since left Libya, according to De Telegraaf.
Thousands of Africans fear being mistaken for mercenaries
In the rush to get foreigners out of Libya, thousands of migrant Africans are being left behind, holed up at home terrified as insurgents mistake them for mercenaries fighting for Muammar Gaddafi's regime.
Rumours that Gaddafi has hired fighters from south of the Sahara to quash a popular revolt against him have made hordes of Africans targets of popular anger, many from poor countries unable to organise their evacuation.
Libyan border crossings were overwhelmed on Wednesday by tens of thousands of hungry, fearful people fleeing its burgeoning civil war.
Egypt and a handful of European nations launched emergency airlifts and sent ships to handle the chaotic exodus.
UN refugee agency spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said over 180,000 refugees have reached the border.
Beyonce donates Gaddafi fee
Beyonce says she donated money she received for performing for the Gaddafi clan to Haiti relief efforts more than a year ago.
The superstar made the revelation in a statement on Wednesday to The Associated Press. Her announcement comes days after singer Nelly Furtado tweeted that she had gotten $US1 million from the Gaddafi clan to perform in Italy in 2007. Furtado says she's donating that money to charity.
Beyonce's publicist says she performed at a private party on the island of St Barts on New Year's Eve in 2009. Once it was revealed that the performance was linked to the Gaddafi family, she gave the money and commissions to earthquake relief in Haiti.
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is being investigated for possible war crimes.
Wednesday, 2 March 2011
Longest ruling presidents and advances of Gadafi of libia
List of longest ruling non-royal leaders
The list of longest ruling non-royal leaders of all time details leaders of countries who ruled for more than 30 consecutive years, and were not royalty, names in bold are still ruling:
No. Name Country Office Tenure Began Tenure Ended Length of Tenure
1. Fidel Castro
Cuba
First Secretary/Prime Minister/President 16 Feb 1959 24 Feb 2008 49 years, 8 days
2. Chiang Kai-shek
Republic of China
Director-General/Premier/President 10 Oct 1928 5 Apr 1975 46 years, 177 days
3. Kim Il-sung
North Korea
General Secretary/Prime Minister/President 9 Sep 1948 8 Jul 1994 45 years, 302 days
4. Omar Bongo
Gabon
President 2 Dec 1967 8 Jun 2009 41 years, 188 days
5. Muammar al-Gaddafi
Libya
Prime Minister/Leader and Guide of the Revolution 1 Sep 1969 Present 41 years, 182 days
6. Enver Hoxha
Albania
First Secretary 22 Oct 1944 11 Apr 1985 40 years, 171 days
7. Khalifa ibn Salman Al Khalifa
Bahrain
Prime Minister 16 Dec 1971 Present 39 years, 76 days
8. Francisco Franco
Spain
Prime Minister/Head of State 1 Oct 1936 20 Nov 1975 39 years, 51 days
9. Gnassingbé Eyadéma
Togo
President 14 Apr 1967 5 Feb 2005 37 years, 297 days
10. Josip Broz Tito
Yugoslavia
Prime Minister/President 29 Nov 1943 4 May 1980 36 years, 157 days
11. António de Oliveira Salazar
Portugal
Prime Minister 5 Jul 1932 25 Sep 1968 36 years, 82 days
12. Todor Zhivkov
Bulgaria
First Secretary/President 4 Mar 1954 17 Nov 1989 35 years, 258 days
13. Paul Biya
Cameroon
Prime Minister/President 30 Jun 1975 Present 35 years, 245 days
14. Félix Houphouët-Boigny
Cote d'Ivoire
Prime Minister/President 1 May 1959 7 Dec 1993 34 years, 220 days
15. Alfredo Stroessner
Paraguay
President 15 Aug 1954 3 Feb 1989 34 years, 172 days
16. Ali Abdullah Saleh
North Yemen/ Yemen
President 18 Jul 1978 Present 32 years, 227 days
17. Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal
Mongolia
Prime Minister/Head of State 26 Jan 1952 23 Aug 1984 32 years, 210 days
18. Dawda Jawara
Gambia
Prime Minister/President 12 Jun 1962 22 Jul 1994 32 years, 40 days
19. János Kádár
Hungary
General Secretary/Prime Minister 25 Oct 1956 27 May 1988 31 years, 214 days
20. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo
Equatorial Guinea
President 3 Aug 1979 Present 31 years, 211 days
21. Habib Bourguiba
Tunisia
Prime Minister/President 11 Apr 1956 7 Nov 1987 31 years, 210 days
22. Lee Kuan Yew
Singapore
Prime Minister 5 Jun 1959 28 Nov 1990 31 years, 176 days
23. José Eduardo dos Santos
Angola
President 10 Sep 1979 Present 31 years, 173 days
24. Mobutu Sese Seko
Zaire
President 24 Nov 1965 16 May 1997 31 years, 173 days
25. Hastings Banda
Malawi
Prime Minister/President 1 Feb 1963 21 May 1994 31 years, 109 days
26. Suharto
Indonesia
President 12 Mar 1967 21 May 1998 31 years, 70 days
27. Joseph Stalin
Soviet Union
General Secretary/Prime Minister 3 Apr 1922 5 Mar 1953 30 years, 336 days
28. Robert Mugabe
Zimbabwe
Prime Minister/President 18 Apr 1980 Present 30 years, 318 days
29. Abdou Diouf
Senegal
Prime Minister/President 26 Feb 1970 1 Apr 2000 30 years, 35 days
30. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom
Maldives
President 11 Nov 1978 11 Nov 2008 30 years, 0 days
Forces loyal to the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi are moving into rebel territory in the east, taking an oil installation in the town of Brega.
The BBC's John Simpson in the nearby city of Ajdabiya says the 100-vehicle convoy is expected to head towards it, and an arms dump there has been bombed.
The city's defenders are in a high state of excitement and expecting an attack, our correspondent says.
In two weeks of unrest Col Gaddafi has lost control of large parts of Libya.
The violence has led to a major humanitarian crisis on the Tunisian border, with tens of thousands of foreigners, most of them Egyptian, stranded and unable to get home.
The UN says a mass evacuation is needed and thousands of lives are at stake.
Meanwhile in the capital Tripoli, where Col Gaddafi is still in charge, a fuel tanker overturned causing several large explosions.
It is not clear whether the incident was an act of sabotage.
Rebels determined
Our correspondent says Brega was defended by a handful of lightly armed rebels, but Ajdabiya is a more important target.
It has a large arms dump which has been bombed several times by pro-Gaddafi forces.
The loyalists are now only a couple of miles from Ajdabiya, the defenders say.
The rebels are determined to put up a fight but it remains to be seen whether this translates into an organised defence of the city.
The list of longest ruling non-royal leaders of all time details leaders of countries who ruled for more than 30 consecutive years, and were not royalty, names in bold are still ruling:
No. Name Country Office Tenure Began Tenure Ended Length of Tenure
1. Fidel Castro
Cuba
First Secretary/Prime Minister/President 16 Feb 1959 24 Feb 2008 49 years, 8 days
2. Chiang Kai-shek
Republic of China
Director-General/Premier/President 10 Oct 1928 5 Apr 1975 46 years, 177 days
3. Kim Il-sung
North Korea
General Secretary/Prime Minister/President 9 Sep 1948 8 Jul 1994 45 years, 302 days
4. Omar Bongo
Gabon
President 2 Dec 1967 8 Jun 2009 41 years, 188 days
5. Muammar al-Gaddafi
Libya
Prime Minister/Leader and Guide of the Revolution 1 Sep 1969 Present 41 years, 182 days
6. Enver Hoxha
Albania
First Secretary 22 Oct 1944 11 Apr 1985 40 years, 171 days
7. Khalifa ibn Salman Al Khalifa
Bahrain
Prime Minister 16 Dec 1971 Present 39 years, 76 days
8. Francisco Franco
Spain
Prime Minister/Head of State 1 Oct 1936 20 Nov 1975 39 years, 51 days
9. Gnassingbé Eyadéma
Togo
President 14 Apr 1967 5 Feb 2005 37 years, 297 days
10. Josip Broz Tito
Yugoslavia
Prime Minister/President 29 Nov 1943 4 May 1980 36 years, 157 days
11. António de Oliveira Salazar
Portugal
Prime Minister 5 Jul 1932 25 Sep 1968 36 years, 82 days
12. Todor Zhivkov
Bulgaria
First Secretary/President 4 Mar 1954 17 Nov 1989 35 years, 258 days
13. Paul Biya
Cameroon
Prime Minister/President 30 Jun 1975 Present 35 years, 245 days
14. Félix Houphouët-Boigny
Cote d'Ivoire
Prime Minister/President 1 May 1959 7 Dec 1993 34 years, 220 days
15. Alfredo Stroessner
Paraguay
President 15 Aug 1954 3 Feb 1989 34 years, 172 days
16. Ali Abdullah Saleh
North Yemen/ Yemen
President 18 Jul 1978 Present 32 years, 227 days
17. Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal
Mongolia
Prime Minister/Head of State 26 Jan 1952 23 Aug 1984 32 years, 210 days
18. Dawda Jawara
Gambia
Prime Minister/President 12 Jun 1962 22 Jul 1994 32 years, 40 days
19. János Kádár
Hungary
General Secretary/Prime Minister 25 Oct 1956 27 May 1988 31 years, 214 days
20. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo
Equatorial Guinea
President 3 Aug 1979 Present 31 years, 211 days
21. Habib Bourguiba
Tunisia
Prime Minister/President 11 Apr 1956 7 Nov 1987 31 years, 210 days
22. Lee Kuan Yew
Singapore
Prime Minister 5 Jun 1959 28 Nov 1990 31 years, 176 days
23. José Eduardo dos Santos
Angola
President 10 Sep 1979 Present 31 years, 173 days
24. Mobutu Sese Seko
Zaire
President 24 Nov 1965 16 May 1997 31 years, 173 days
25. Hastings Banda
Malawi
Prime Minister/President 1 Feb 1963 21 May 1994 31 years, 109 days
26. Suharto
Indonesia
President 12 Mar 1967 21 May 1998 31 years, 70 days
27. Joseph Stalin
Soviet Union
General Secretary/Prime Minister 3 Apr 1922 5 Mar 1953 30 years, 336 days
28. Robert Mugabe
Zimbabwe
Prime Minister/President 18 Apr 1980 Present 30 years, 318 days
29. Abdou Diouf
Senegal
Prime Minister/President 26 Feb 1970 1 Apr 2000 30 years, 35 days
30. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom
Maldives
President 11 Nov 1978 11 Nov 2008 30 years, 0 days
Forces loyal to the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi are moving into rebel territory in the east, taking an oil installation in the town of Brega.
The BBC's John Simpson in the nearby city of Ajdabiya says the 100-vehicle convoy is expected to head towards it, and an arms dump there has been bombed.
The city's defenders are in a high state of excitement and expecting an attack, our correspondent says.
In two weeks of unrest Col Gaddafi has lost control of large parts of Libya.
The violence has led to a major humanitarian crisis on the Tunisian border, with tens of thousands of foreigners, most of them Egyptian, stranded and unable to get home.
The UN says a mass evacuation is needed and thousands of lives are at stake.
Meanwhile in the capital Tripoli, where Col Gaddafi is still in charge, a fuel tanker overturned causing several large explosions.
It is not clear whether the incident was an act of sabotage.
Rebels determined
Our correspondent says Brega was defended by a handful of lightly armed rebels, but Ajdabiya is a more important target.
It has a large arms dump which has been bombed several times by pro-Gaddafi forces.
The loyalists are now only a couple of miles from Ajdabiya, the defenders say.
The rebels are determined to put up a fight but it remains to be seen whether this translates into an organised defence of the city.
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