Posted on 02/21/2011 7:44:33 AM PST by SE Mom
Ongoing live thread for developments in North Africa and the Middle East.
Twitter:
Libyan justice minister resigns in protest at 'excessive use of violence against protesters,' Quryna newspaper says - Reuters 6 minutes ago via breakingnews.com
Group of Libyan Muslim leaders says rebelling against Libyan regime is everyone's divine duty - Reuters 33 minutes ago via breakingnews.com
Anti-government protests break out in Libyan oil town of Ras Lanuf, Libya's Quryna newspaper says - Reuters about 1 hour ago via breakingnews.com
Police station in suburb of Libyan capital of Tripoli is on fire, according to a Reuters reporter on the scene about 2 hours ago via breakingnews.com
Europe plans for Libya evacuation: EU foreign ministers discuss plans to transport citizens out of Libya, as vio... http://aje.me/dMmkVb 4 minutes ago via twitterfeed
Wake up folks, Sharia is not just a name or even a religion but a way of very stunted life according to brutal archaic laws.
http://noiri.blogspot.com/2011/02/look-at-plague-oba-hussein-has.html
Good morning all...it’s Friday and it appears there will be demonstrations across the region- including Baghdad:
1031: Reports from Paris say that anti-Gaddafi protesters - calling themselves the “children of revolution” - have occupied the Libyan embassy in France. “We’ve taken over the embassy,” a spokeswoman for the group told the AFP. Police are stationed outside the embassy, preventing anyone else gaining access to the building.
1025: Italy is preparing a “military operation” to rescue some Italian nationals stranded in south-eastern Libya whose food supplies have run out, Defence Minister Ignazio La Russia is quoted as saying by the AFP.
1023: An eyewitness in one of the suburbs of Tripoli tells BBC World Service that his neighbour has been killed. He says that the neighbour stuck her head out of the window, and was shot in the crossfire. He says his brother has seen workers cleaning up the streets and painting over anti-Gaddafi graffiti “to make it seem like nothing has happened”.
1014: Libya’s food supply chain is “at risk of collapsing”, the UN’s World Food Programme warns, according to the AFP.
1010: The BBC’s Jim Muir on the Tunisia-Libya border reports that people are continuing to leave Libya. He says they are mainly Tunisians, but there are also a number of Egyptians. The Libyans are not letting anyone into the country, our correspondent says.
1001: Street protests are planned in a number of Arab countries later on Friday. In Iraq, two people are reported to have been killed and 20 wounded in clashes between demonstrators and security forces in the town of Hawija, north of Baghdad. Rallies are taking place in a number of Iraqi cities against corruption and a lack of basic services.
0953: Oil deals that are legal and in the interest of Libyan’s citizens will be honoured, a member of the anti-Gaddafi coalition which says it is now running Benghazi is quoted as saying by Reuters.0948: Prominent Egyptian blogger Wael Ghonim tweets: “Praying that Libya brothers and sisters put an end to the dictator today. Reminder: Qaddafi, It’s Friday!”
0941: CNN reporter in Benghazi bencnn tweets: “Heard in Benghazi: “Ben Ali of #Tunisia fell on a Friday, Mubarak of #Egypt fell on a Friday, Qaddafi will fall this Friday.”
0930: The UN human rights chief says a violent crackdown on peaceful demonstrators in Libya is “escalating”, and that some sources indicate that thousands may have been killed or injured, the AFP news agency reports.
0925: A Tripoli resident, who hasn’t been named for his safety, tells the BBC that “people are locked in, the city is under siege”. He says that “people are scared and the panic is spreading”.
0913: Nato ambassadors are to hold an emergency meeting in Brussels at 1530 on the situation in Libya. Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says he has called the meeting to consult on what he described as a fast-moving situation.0908: Government opponents in Tripoli have said they are planning to protest in Green Square after Friday prayers at 1000.
0905: Army units which remain loyal to Col Gaddafi have been fighting back against the rebels trying to force him from power, the BBC’s Jon Leyne in the eastern city of Benghazi reports. He says that one of the colonel’s sons is said to be in command of special forces who tried to dislodge rebels from a town near Tripoli.
Be safe- keep us posted if you can..
1058: Al-Jazeera’s Jane Arraf reports that the situation in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square is very tense. She says some 3,000 people are gathered in a small space, throwing rocks at riot police, who are armed with plastic shields and batons. There are so many people on the bridge leading to the square that there could easily be a stampede.
http://hotair.com/archives/2011/02/24/rumor-of-the-day-qaddafi-shot/
A resident of the increasingly violent Libyan capital of Tripoli told CBS Radio News Thursday that armed supporters of Muammar Qaddafi, the country’s longtime leader, have stormed into hospitals to shoot wounded demonstrators and take dead bodies to an unknown location.
“They go in with guns into hospitals,” said the resident, identified only as Adel to protect his safety. “They take the bodies that are dead. In some hospitals, they have shot the wounded. This is true. I know it’s very strange for the States, but this is happening today in Tripoli.”…
That’s not the only action being taken to cover up what is happening in the capital, Adel said. Armed pro-government supporters Thursday were forcing people to help clean up parts of downtown Tripoli and paint buildings.
“There are some streets where he’s using the people in the houses; if they don’t go out, he will shoot them with gunpoint to do that,” Adel said.
not our Ike, but IKE
Morning Everyone. And not too long ago, I always looked forward to Fridays. Not so much anymore. Having a small smile in the midst of sorrow is comforting for the smile receivers’ soul. (small smile for everyone)
not certain of location (Baghdad’s Tahrir Square), may — maynot be same, report of five dead.
THANKS.
Good morning, Mom, and everyone...
Thanks for the information data dump, Mom - almost too much to absorb before my first cuppa.. ;)
I dreamed last night that I went to my favorite gas station in Albuquerque (the one on the Indian Reservation that’s always 10-20 cents cheaper than anywhere else), and it was dark and empty, and there were dirty, ragged, Indian Blankets covering all the pumps...
I REALLY need that coffee.... ;)
What's weird is that this "Day of Rage" is supposed to be all these countries protesting for freedom and democracy and Iraq already has that.
But they see all the countries around them demonstrating, so they figure they should too. LOL
Also, (on a more serious note), I suspect Iran has a lot to do with the current pockets of unrest in Iraq. Iran does not want to see this democracy work and their nasty, meddling hands have been in here since '03.
Qaddafi may not ‘get’ “Democracy”, but he sure has a handle on “Democrat Politics”...
{cross-post}
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2679856/posts
Libya orders mass cash handouts in attempt to quell unrest($400)
Ha’aretz ^ | 02/25/11
Posted on Friday, February 25, 2011 5:36:43 AM by TigerLikesRooster
Libya orders mass cash handouts in attempt to quell unrest
State television says Muammar Gadhafi’s beleaguered regime to increases food subsidies, allowances as well as a sweeping cash grants.
By Reuters and DPA
Libya’s government, clinging to power after a popular revolt, has ordered massive cash handouts include wage increases, food subsidies and allowances, state television reported on Friday.
It said each family will receive 500 Libyan dinars ($400) to help cover increased food costs, and that wages for some categories of public sector workers would increase by 150 percent, the television station said.
(Excerpt) Read more at haaretz.com ...
side note: CBS reporting (this AM) ferry still at dock due to bad weather
Of course you’re right- Iran’s interest is that no democracy should succeed in Iraq. One good thing to come from all this is that it must be making the imams very nervous in Tehran.
Glad you’re not near Tahrir Sq (Baghdad)!
ABC just reported that a ferry carrying Americans has left, but I can’t find another source to confirm that yet.
I got yer global warming right here, Algore! Come and shove(l) it.
G’morning Uncle Ike! Always feels good to wake up from dreams like that- although reality these days seems as wild and bizarre as a dream.
Meanwhile:
From BBC:
1259: Eyewitnesses in Tripoli say that security forces are now shooting at protesters in the capital’s suburbs.
1253: Libya’s state TV shows footage of what it says is Tripoli’s “Green Square now”. There are about 50 demonstrators at most in the shot, carrying pictures of Col Gaddafi. Someone is heard shouting pro-Gaddafi slogans and chanting “Popular revolution” and “We are Libyans”.
1235: Egypt’s state TV is now reporting that the government is attempting to increase flights to Tripoli to evacuate Egyptian citizens stuck in Libya. A foreign ministry spokesman said Cairo would also send more planes and ships to Tunisia to evacuate Egyptians arriving there from Libya. He said that so far 38,000 Egyptians have been making their way by land to Egypt from Libya.
1232: More from the BBC’s Paul Danahar on the Tunisia-Libya border. He writes: “Suresh Kothia - an Indian who just arrived from Libya - told me that at the last checkpoint the Libyan army took everyone’s phone sim cards and computer hard drives to stop images of the uprising getting out. “They were broken and tossed to the ground. They think the world doesn’t know what’s going on here,” Suresh said.
From Twitter:
Doctors at Benghazi’s Al-Jala hospital told me many of the dead were shot by snipers in chest, neck and head. Shooting to kill. #Libya
2 minutes ago via web
Heard in Benghazi: “Ben Ali of #Tunisia fell on a Friday, Mubarak of #Egypt fell on a Friday, Qaddafi will fall this Friday.” #Libya
8 minutes ago via web
@cnnbrk: A U.S.-chartered ferry with at least 285 people on board leaves Lybia for Malta. http://on.cnn.com/i8l753
BreakingNews37 minutes agoWhite House aide urges Bahrain’s crown prince to ensure country’s security forces show restraint when dealing with protesters - NBC News
@NickKristof: Just spoke by phone to man in Tripoli. Heavy gunfire coming from Green Sq area where #Libya protesters had hoped to go.
3 minutes ago via web
@feb17voices: LPC: CONFIRMED Live ammunition being used on protesters in #Tripoli RIGHT NOW. #Libya #feb17
3 minutes ago via web
Oh dear :( I have all the windows open ..we’re expecting 80’s today.
Chaos Engulfs Libya as Crowds Chant for Another Friday Exit
...a British ferry with American on it has left, but another ferry with Americans on it has not left yet.
Wonder if some money is changing hands...
I know - it’s BofA....
{cross-post}
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2679871/posts
Libya oil production to shut down completely-BofA
Reuters ^ | 2/24/2011 | Staff
Posted on Friday, February 25, 2011 6:12:42 AM by FromLori
Oil production in Libya is expected to shut down completely and could be lost for a prolonged period of time, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said on Thursday.
“We expect Libyan production to be shut down completely and we might lose sweet crudes from Libya for a prolonged period of time,” Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Sabine Schels told Reuters.
Schels said that the world faced the prospect of real supply shock in which the loss of 1.6 million barrels per day of sweet oil could potentially trigger a steep rise in prices and force a sharp reduction in demand to balance the system.
“Some of the supply can be replaced with Saudi light crude and some from SPR, but if the disruption is prolonged, we will need demand to drop to balance the system,” Schels said.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
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