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Residents of Yamoussoukro, the country's small political capital, reported scenes of jubilation in the streets, as Ouattara's Republican Forces took control of the city on the third day of an all-out offensive.
"Yamoussoukro is under the control of the Republican Forces, a jubilant crowd is cheering them, they are parading through town," one resident said.
Ouattara's forces were also pushing closer to San Pedro, the world's largest cocoa exporting port.
Meanwhile in New York, the UN Security Council on Wednesday unanimously ordered sanctions against Gbagbo over his refusal to hand over power.
Resolution 1975 made the first explicit call by the 15-nation Security Council for Gbagbo to stand down in favour of Ouattara, who the United Nations and virtually all countries say won a presidential election last November.
A travel ban and assets freeze were ordered against Gbagbo, his wife Simone, and three of his closest associates.
The European Union and United States have already imposed sanctions against Gbagbo and his leadership.
Gbagbo was expected to address the nation Wednesday night amid mounting pressure as Ouattara's forces move towards the economic capital, the coastal city of Abidjan.Find <a href="http://www.brandshoes2trade.com/" title="brand shoes">brand shoes</a> to
Gbagbo has called for a ceasefire, but Ouattara's camp dismissed this as a "diversion".
"It is up to Gbagbo to lay down arms," Ouattara's spokeswoman Anna Ouloto told AFP.
Election-linked violence has left at least 460 people dead with as many as one million fleeing their homes, according to UN agencies.
Weary of failed diplomatic efforts four months after the vote, Ouattara's camp has declared all peaceful solutions "exhausted."
"Gbagbo has only a few hours to leave, otherwise we will march on Abidjan," the country's economic hub, Ouattara's prime minister Guillaume Soro told the France24 news channel.
"It will become a lot more complicated for him," he warned.
In Abidjan, shooting could be heard in several northern suburbs. Panicked citizens rushed to their homes, AFP correspondents reported.
The pro-Ouattara fighters, after seizing the town of Tiebissou earlier in the day, pushed south to Yamoussoukro, home to 150,000 people.
"Everything is okay, the station, the gendarmerie are occupied by the Republican Forces. We no longer see the FDS," a resident said, referring to Gbagbo's Defence and Security Forces.
"We see the Republican Forces circulating in 4X4's across town," a resident told AFP by phone.
Several witnesses said the fighters had left only a small detachment in Yamoussoukro before continuing south towards the coast.
A resident of Toumodi, 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of the capital, reported shooting in the town. Toumodi lies 200 kilometres from Abidjan. <a href="http://www.brandshoes2trade.com/" title="2011 nike running shoes online">2011 nike running shoes</a> online
In the past three days Ouattara's fighters have rapidly moved south of a traditional ceasefire line that has split the country in two since 2002.
A failed coup against Gbagbo nine years ago left pro-Ouattara rebels in control of the north and the strongman holding the south.
Also Wednesday, two French police assigned to the French embassy were wounded when pro-Gbagbo forces fired on their car, a foreign ministry spokesman said in Paris, condemning the incident as "unacceptable."
Ally Coulibaly, Ivory Coast's ambassador to France appointed by Ouattara, said his camp controlled "three quarters" of the country.
In Abidjan, thousands of fervent Gbagbo supporters who had been urged to enlist in the army if they were "willing to die for their country" were called up on Wednesday.
The attack in Tikrit Tuesday, which lasted more than five hours, killed at least 55 people and wounded at least 96 others, including top police officials, three provincial council members and three journalists.
The attack on the provincial government building was carried out by an unknown number of men dressed in Iraqi army and police uniforms, an Interior Ministry official said.
They fired mortars before overcoming the security detail and entering the building. Top provincial police officials were killed, and a number of others were taken hostage by the attackers, the official said.
A car bomb near the entrance was detonated as other security forces arrived.
Nearby U.S. forces responded to the initial incident but didn't get directly involved, according to Col. Barry Johnson, a U.S. military spokesman.
"Our assistance has been limited to providing aerial surveillance of the scene and keeping our soldiers on site to receive further requests for assistance if needed," Col. Johnson said.cheap nike mens acg sandals 2011
The siege ended when Iraqi forces entered the building, supported by U.S. helicopters, and killed all of the insurgents, the Interior Ministry official said.
The northern provinces of Salahadin, Diyala and Ninewa continue to be a place of frequent attacks by insurgents, including those linked to al Qaeda in Iraq.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the siege in Tikrit, the hometown of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
It follows months of high-profile and coordinated attacks throughout the country that have included killings and assassination attempts on government officials, politicians and security forces.
U.S. forces are due to withdraw from Iraq at the end of 2011, posing a further challenge to Iraqi security.
Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for a siege on a church in Baghdad in October and an attack on a police recruiting center in Tikrit in January, which killed more than 50 people. Iraqi police also blame al Qaeda for the Feb. 26 bombing of the Beiji oil refinery and a separate attack on an export pipeline, both located in Salahadin province.
While violence has decreased in Iraq since the high point in 2007, when the daily death toll often reached into the hundreds, Iraq still faces huge challenges. off, Find brand shoes to trade
More than a year after national elections, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki retains the interior, defense and national security portfolios, having yet to appoint ministers to those positions.
Political factions managed to put together a fragile coalition government, but it remains subject to sectarian and ethnic in-fighting.
Iraqis still complain of a lack of basic services, and checkpoints and concrete blast walls are pervasive in a country still incapable of fully beating back insurgent groups and armed militias.
King Abdullah expressed his stance via a phone call with the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in which the Saudi king stressed his country's standing along with Syria to "foil the plot".
Syria has been in unrest for more than a week due to anti- government demonstrations broke up in the southern province of Daraa. The protest has spread to several other Syrian cities, leading to dozens of protesters and policemen killed.
The ruling Baath party of Syria, which ruled the country for decades, has announced a package of reforms, including the increase of salary and release of political detainees. fashion 2011 nike running shoes
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DAMASCUS, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Syrian presidential advisor Buthaina Shaaban said here on Sunday that the country's 48-year-long emergency law terminates, the local Syrian News Station website reported.
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The reports said that most of the detainees were Islamists and Kurds, which were not confirmed by the government.
Through experiencing earthquakes in the past, Eric Holden felt the need to start preparing for a big one. He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which promotes emergency preparedness. nike running shoesLast year, he ran an earthquake preparedness booth at the church's emergency preparedness fair. He feels rewarded by the piece of mind being prepared brings. He recently shared what he feels are ways to get prepared and stay safe during a big earthquake.
Q: What are some supplies you should have on-hand?
A: The first thing you need to worry about is water. You need to have food and clothing. The most important are food, shelter, warmth, change of clothing, batteries, flashlights, candles and glow sticks. For the home, you need pliers, a wrench, things you can use to shut things down. Plastic and duck tape in case you need to repair a broken window.
Q: Are there steps you can take to prepare your house?
A: Definitely. One of the first things you need is to make sure the water heater is secure. You can buy seismic straps. If it falls over, it will break the gas line. Make sure you know where the gas line is and how to shut it off. Know where your electrical panel is to shut off. Don't put heavy objects up high where they can fall.
Q: What should a person do right after an earthquake?
A: The first thing is to assess their own persons to make sure they are safe, if you have children and other family members. If you're in your home, assess the damage. Make sure gas lines are not broken, that the house is not off the foundation. Keep broadening your assessment of danger.
Q: What should a person do if they are trapped after an earthquake?
A: First thing to do is assess your situation and your surroundings. Are you injured? Are there things for first aid that can help? Are you trapped in an area that is going to be dangerous that is going to collapse on you? Can you move to a safer situation? Don't panic. That is the first thing you want to do.
Q: What is the biggest earthquake you have been in?
A: The one in Loma Prieta in 1989. That was probably the biggest one I was in but I was not anywhere near the epicenter. Throughout my life, I remember earthquakes but that one was the biggest shake I felt.2011 nike running shoes online
Q: What are the types of food you should have in your kit?
A: It needs to be food that can last six months to a year without being changed. One of the best foods is Top Ramen. It's easy to prepare, it's lightweight and it lasts forever. You just need hot water and you can mix it up. Also, peanut butter. It's a good source of protein and it's satisfying. Another thing is hard candies. The reason is because if you're in a stressful situation, sometimes being able to suck on candy can relax you. If you have small kids, it can help cope with the problem. Another one is Kraft Mac and Cheese. It's lightweight and lasts forever. You can also buy backpacking foods that are freeze dried.
Q: How do you cook things like the mac and cheese?
A: In my kit, I have a small fold-up stove where you can put a sterno can on top to cook the water. You don't need milk or butter. You will have your cheese that you can add to it. Also, another thing is you can take a new one-quart paint can and buy a roll of toilet paper. Take the cardboard out and put the toilet paper in the can and fill the middle with rubbing alcohol. If you light it, it fires up heat you can cook over. It will burn about 10 hours. It acts basically like a wick. The toilet paper doesn't burn. It's the alcohol burning.
Q: What is the best way to make sure your family is OK if they are not with you?
A: Put in your kit all the names, addresses and phone numbers of everyone to contact. You want to have an out of the area person to contact so that everyone can contact that person and say they are OK. If there is no phone service, have a place where you can meet up together. It could be a park.Reebok EasyTone
Q: What is the biggest earthquake preparation tip you can provide?
A: Get started would be the best thing. Most people are overwhelmed. Get a backpack and get stuff together. Be familiar with your home. Get online and start researching. We never know when there is going to be one.
The Bush administration never fully understood what we were telling them in 2003. The Obama administration does not appear toBuy nike running shoes have any better comprehension as it stumbles its way into war in Libya.
The time to intervene on behalf of the rebels in Libya, assuming that such intervention was going to take place, was at the high tide of the insurgency when Tripoli itself was threatened, military defections were at their peak and there was a sense that Gadhafi was about to be toppled. Even limited intervention at that point would have sent the key message that we would not tolerate Gadhafi remaining and that anyone standing by him would face our wrath.
A strong, decisive push at that point would likely have persuaded the key figures still supporting the existing regime to jump ship and brought a rapid end to the conflict.
Instead, we watched impotently for weeks while Gadhafi regained his footing and the rebels suffered defeat after defeat. Only when rebel-held Benghazi, Libya's second-largest city, was threatened did we step in.
Even at this stage, we acted not in a decisive fashion designed to defeat Gadhafi and overturn his regime, but in a seemingly deliberately ambiguous fashion, which could serve only to preserve hope amongst the colonel and his supporters that they would be allowed to survive.
Air and missile strikes were described as designed only for "the protection of civilians." President Barack Obama advised that it was U.S. policy that Gadhafi needed to go, but that despite this, the goal of our Reebok EasyTone online military intervention -- authorized in a U.N. Security Council resolution and carried out by a coalition including the United States -- was not to oust its leader. Obama then added that the U.S. would begin to transition into a supporting role in the operation "within days."
Gen. Carter Ham, commander of the U.S. forces involved in operations in Libya, stated that he could see completing the military mission assigned to him and leaving Gadhafi in power. He added that he had no mission to attack Gadhafi and, in fact, had very little idea where he was.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates admitted that there was no clearly defined end to the military action in Libya and suggested it might drag on for an undetermined period. When asked what would happen if Gadhafi hunkered down and seemed determined to remain in power, Gates had no answer.
War is a nasty, brutish business. We ought to pursue every other possible means for the resolution of conflict first before we rush to send young men and women to their deaths and to spend billions of dollars of the taxpayer's money. For the same reason, once we make the determination that we must go to war, we should act decisively and do everything in our power to bring it to a swift conclusion.
A decision to intervene on behalf of civilians in Libya against their own leader is of necessity a decision that this leader has lost any legitimacy he may have once had and must be removed. Reebok ZigTech The only sure way to protect Libyan civilians is to remove the madman who is directing his military to kill them. And the quickest way to remove Gadhafi from power is to make it immediately, unambiguously clear that we will not stop until he is gone.
Do that emphatically and convincingly enough, and it is likely that he will be removed by those around him who finally understand that they have no other choice.
You go to war to win. And in this case, we will win when those who continue to support Gadhafi are more afraid of us than they are of him
The first official damage estimates will serve to map out disaster relief plans and emergency budgets to fund recovery costs.
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Tokyo said the estimate covered damage to roads, homes, factories and other infrastructure, and eclipses the losses incurred by other natural disasters such as the 1995 Kobe quake and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The figure could go even higher, as the estimate does not include losses in economic activity from planned power outages or the broader impact of a crisis at a stricken nuclear power plant in Fukushima, which economists say pose the biggest risks to the economy.
"The impact from the planned power outages is likely to be significant," Fumihira Nishizaki, director of macroeconomic analysis at the Cabinet Office told reporters.
The upper end of the 16-25 trillion yen ($197-308 billion) estimate range would amount to about 6 percent of Japan's gross domestic product.
"This quake will cause the condition of Japan's economy and output to be severe," Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa told a parliamentary committee.
Speaking separately, central bank board member Ryuzo Miyao repeated the bank's pledge to take appropriate policy action if needed to support the world's third-largest economy.2011 nike running shoes
"We need to be mindful that the quake's negative impact on the economy, at least on the supply side, may be bigger than the Kobe quake 16 years ago, and be prolonged," he added.
In its initial response to the disaster, the central bank doubled the funds earmarked for purchases of a range of assets and started pumping record amounts of cash into the money market to prevent it from seizing up.
It later followed up by joining forces with other G7 central banks in a rare coordinated move to keep a rallying yen from inflicting further damage to the economy.
SPENDING PLAN NEXT
With interest rates near zero and banks' cash balances at records above levels seen in 2001-2006 when the BOJ sought to flood the banking system with cash to spur lending, there is not much more the central bank can do to help the economy. Reebok EasyTone online
"The ball is in the government's court," said Yasunari Ueno, chief market economist at Mizuho Securities in Tokyo. "Currency intervention was one thing. The next thing it needs to do is to come up with a credible fiscal spending plan."
Officials from the ruling coalition have said that at least two and perhaps more emergency budgets would be needed to pay for the reconstruction, with the first focused on immediate disaster relief, possible in April or May.