Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on Twitter • Be a Facebook Fan • Tumble us!

02 Jan 2011 12:15

tags

World: Did mob attack on Ivory Coast’s Alassane Ouattara fizzle out?

  • Everything is calm at the hotel, we’re very serene.
  • Alassane Ouattara spokesperson Patrick Achi • Expressing relief that the planned mob attack of the Golf Hotel in Abidjan, where the Ivory Coast’s should-be leader is staying, seems to have fizzled out. We’re glad it did too, because it could’ve led to fresh civil war in the country. Fingers crossed it doesn’t happen. In other news, current leader Laurent Gbagbo unsurprisingly ignored a deadline to quit on New Year’s Eve. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Jan 2011 10:04

tags

World: Egyptian bombing attack targeted minority Christian sect

  • We heard a thunderous sound of explosion. I fell on the ground. I saw a car burning. You cannot imagine what we have seen there. … It was a horrible scene.
  • Eyewitness Nermin Nabil • Describing the scene near a church where a blast went off on Saturday, reportedly caused by a suicide bomber. The blast claimed at least 21 deaths and 79 injuries. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak expressed rage and retaliation at the bombing: “I would say with confidence, that we will chase the people who planned and committed this terrorism act, and we will chase the people involved with them.” The victims of the attack were Copts, who follow an Egyptian sect of Christianity. They make up nine percent of the country’s population – versus 90 percent Muslims. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Dec 2010 17:19

tags

World: Ivory Coast’s Laurent Gbagbo blames his problems on the West

  • The man of the hour: Here’s an interview Euronews got with Laurent Gbagbo, the Ivory Coast leader fighting for his political life and consequently pushing a civil war. Warning: The interview is in French (with translation). Key thing to take from this: “It’s not open to debate. What the West is arguing for is not legal. It’s imposing the will of the powerful on somebody else. I don’t agree with it.” So in other words, because the West (i.e. the United Nations) noticed that your electoral results are questionable, it’s all of a sudden invalid? Yeah, right. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Dec 2010 13:35

tags

World: Ivory Coast could celebrate new year by falling further into abyss

  • A few things happen on January 1st, guys. First of all, it’s the new year, which is always sort of a big deal. Secondly, it’s the site’s second anniversary, which means we expect cake, but probably won’t get it because nobody cares enough about this site to make a cake. But third, and most importantly, some really crazy stuff could go down in the Ivory Coast. See, supporters of opposition leader Alassane Ouattara are holed up in the Golf Hotel in Abidjan, but supporters of Laurent Gbagbo are talking about plans to “liberate” the hotel on the first of the year, leading the UN’s new envoy to the country to say things like “on the brink of genocide.” This could be extremely bad, and we’d rather have a crappy anniversary that everyone ignores than to see a country like the Ivory Coast, which has been through hell and civil war, fall into that trap again thanks to the current unrest being caused by Gbagbo’s controversial hold on power. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Dec 2010 20:52

tags

World: Not even peer pressure enough to get Laurent Gbagbo to resign

See this guy in the middle here? Well, he (along with two other African leaders) went to the Ivory Coast today to see if he could get Laurent Gbagbo to resign. Not so much. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Dec 2010 21:59

tags

World: Ivory Coast’s presidential instability leading to mass exodus

  • 14,000 people headed for Liberia, stat source
  • » To emphasize: This is not a trip one takes lightly. The people evacuating the country have been walking for hours and days to reach a river dividing the two countries. At that point, they have to make an arduous journey on a barge to reach Liberia. The level of work they’re putting in to leave the country suggests that something bad’s about to go down.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Dec 2010 21:43

tags

World: International pressure keeps up on Ivory Coast’s Laurent Gbagbo

  • He may very well be trying to ignore us and be hoping that we’ll forget and go away or focus on another issue. I can only remind him that this is a unanimous international community. We’re not going away, and we’re not going to forget this.
  • U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs William Fitzgerald • Pointing out that Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo picked the wrong international community to mess with. Fitzgerald’s words should have teeth, and so do American actions (we put strong sanctions on Gbagbo), but considering all of the human rights atrocities that have happened in Africa on the international community’s watch (Rwanda, Darfur, ZImbabwe, so on, so forth), can we really trust this? Seems like these words have a tinge of emptiness. Mind you, we hope things change this time, but where’s the evidence things will? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

19 Dec 2010 11:22

tags

World: Ivory Coast election: No, this situation still hasn’t been resolved

  • problem After the Ivory Coast’s recent election, two dudes are fighting for leadership of the country – which has led to violent protests and instability over the last few weeks.
  • cause Laurent Gbagbo doesn’t want to surrender his long-held power, but the international community recognizes Alassane Ouattara as the actual winner of the election.
  • solution Gbagbo had a great way of fixing this – he wanted to kick 10,000 UN peacekeepers out of the country. They said no. Great. This should escalate quickly. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Nov 2010 10:53

tags

Biz: Massmart deal: Wal-Mart looks to buy way into South African market

  • 51% the amount of Massmart Wal-Mart wants to make its own
  • $2.3B the amount they’re willing to pay for the South African chain
  • no the unions aren’t quite on board with this decision as of yet source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Nov 2010 10:27

tags

World: Suspicious device found on flight headed to Germany

  • OK, who tried to bring the bomb on the flight from Nambia to Munich? Germany, already on high alert after warnings of a potential terror attack, had good reason to worry: A suitcase with a fuse, clock and wires was found with the cargo on a plane headed from Windhoek, Nambia to one of Germany’s largest cities. Eventually, the 296 inconvenienced passengers were allowed to take their flight – but without their luggage in the cargo bin. Hope they brought most of their stuff on carry-on. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
<< newer 
top tags
older >>