Tens of thousands of trade unionists marched through the capital yesterday in protest at high food prices and corruption.
At least 40,000 people took part, according to Delhi police, though organisers put the number at about 100,000. Marchers came from trade unions linked both with the opposition Communist Party and with the governing Congress Party.
Society's Child
Foreigners escape Libya and disclose accounts of the "frightening situation" describing the violent scenes they witnessed
Two ships braved churning seas Thursday to whisk 4,500 Chinese workers away from strife-torn Libya to the island of Crete, while rough weather further west left hundreds of Americans stranded on a ferry in Tripoli.
As tens of thousands of foreigners sought to flee the turmoil in Libya, Britain pondered whether to send in its military to evacuate oil workers stranded in remote sites by fierce fighting in the North African nation.
Those who made it out of Libya described a frightening scene - with bodies hanging from electricity poles in Libya's eastern port of Benghazi and militia trucks driving around loaded up with dead bodies. One video showed a tank apparently crushing a car with people inside.
Two ships braved churning seas Thursday to whisk 4,500 Chinese workers away from strife-torn Libya to the island of Crete, while rough weather further west left hundreds of Americans stranded on a ferry in Tripoli.
As tens of thousands of foreigners sought to flee the turmoil in Libya, Britain pondered whether to send in its military to evacuate oil workers stranded in remote sites by fierce fighting in the North African nation.
Those who made it out of Libya described a frightening scene - with bodies hanging from electricity poles in Libya's eastern port of Benghazi and militia trucks driving around loaded up with dead bodies. One video showed a tank apparently crushing a car with people inside.
© Google maps
The EU is " very concerned" about the possible exodus of some 750,000 Libyan citizens and sub-Saharan Africans from the country towards Europe as a result of the turmoil, according to European Commission sources.
The sources said Frontex, the EU's border agency, was working on a plan involving all 27 member states to be put into action in case this exodus starts.
" We all know there is the potential of a massive exodus of asylum seekers from Libya and the fact that certain parts of the country now seem to be out of control may accelerate this influx," a Commission source said.
© Associated Press/Vahid Salemi)
A cameraman films Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's car, as it is displayed at an auto show for auction for a charity in the city of Abadan, 600 miles (1000 kilometers) southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011. Iran's populist president is putting his 33-year-old Peugeot up for auction for a charity that funds housing projects for young people. Ahmadinejad's move is seen as a bid to appeal to the young and attract attention to housing projects he espoused during his campaigns, promising to put a roof over the head of every poor Iranian.
A cameraman films Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's car, as it is displayed at an auto show for auction for a charity in the city of Abadan, 600 miles (1000 kilometers) southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011. Iran's populist president is putting his 33-year-old Peugeot up for auction for a charity that funds housing projects for young people. Ahmadinejad's move is seen as a bid to appeal to the young and attract attention to housing projects he espoused during his campaigns, promising to put a roof over the head of every poor Iranian.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose own country resorted to violence to disperse an opposition rally earlier this month, also condemned Libya's use of force against demonstrators, calling it "grotesque."
Iran's hard-line leaders have sought to claim some credit for the uprisings in Arab nations, saying they are evidence that its 1979 Islamic Revolution, which ousted the U.S.-backed shah, is being replayed.
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Above: a Libyan airforce pilot walks next to his Mirage F1 fighter jet after landing at Malta International Airport outside Valletta today.
Two Libyan fighter jets and two civilian helicopters landed unexpectedly. The office of Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said at the time it was not clear whether the two fighter pilots intended to ask for asylum - they later did. They initially had asked to refuel. (REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi)
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Libyans prepare to bury their dead after 1,000 pro-democracy protesters were killed in airstrikes on Monday.
Libyans prepare to bury their dead after 1,000 pro-democracy protesters were killed in airstrikes on Monday.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said Wednesday that the 27-member bloc has decided to suspend talks with Libya on the EU-Libya Framework Agreement and promised to "take further measures" in response to the brutal violence against Libyan civilians.
The UN Security Council has also condemned Libya's deadly crackdown on the pro-democracy protesters and demanded an immediate end to the violent repression of peaceful demonstrations against Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi's regime and expressed "deep regret for the death of hundreds of civilians."
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Protesters are seen close from the sea port of Benghazi city, Libya, February 23, 2011.
Protesters are seen close from the sea port of Benghazi city, Libya, February 23, 2011.
Reports say the revolution flag is now flying over Tajuraa city close to Tripoli. The western cities of Zwaara and Azzawiya are also under the control of the protesters.
This comes as more and more soldiers are now joining the popular revolution.
Anti-government protesters have also overrun the eastern province of Cyrenaica. This follows the fall of the second largest city of Benghazi.
Soldiers in the coastal town of Tobruk say Gaddafi's forces have lost control of the region. They say they no longer back the Libyan ruler. Tobruk lies close to the Egyptian border.
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A Libyan airforce pilot, after having landed in Malta
A Libyan airforce pilot, after having landed in Malta
Malta International Airport denied landing rights to a Libyan Arab Airlines aircraft, reported to be carrying Libyan tyrant Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's daughter, Ayesha, on Wednesday.
The plane circled for 20 minutes before heading back to Libya, Reuters reported.
A plane carrying several family members and Gaddafi's wife to her home country of Lebanon was also denied a landing permission.
The pilot of the ATR42 turboprop aircraft provided the airport with details from a previous flight, supposed to have landed in Malta on Tuesday, reports said.
© Wikipedia
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
unless discrimination and military occupation ended, he predicted.
"Instead of killing people, listen to them," Ahmadinejad said in comments aired on state television. He did not mention Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi by name.
"How is it possible that a state leader uses bombers, tanks and cannons to kill his own people and afterwards warns that whoever says something will be killed. That is really ugly," Ahmadinejad added.
© Thanassis Stavrakis / AP
A passenger passes a covered ticket machine with a plastic bag during a protest by PAME, a Communist Party-backed labor union, at the Syntagma Metro station in Athens.
A passenger passes a covered ticket machine with a plastic bag during a protest by PAME, a Communist Party-backed labor union, at the Syntagma Metro station in Athens.
Athens, Greece - They blockade highway toll booths to give drivers free passage. They cover subway ticket machines with plastic bags so commuters can't pay. Even doctors are joining in, preventing patients from paying fees at state hospitals.
Some call it civil disobedience. Others a freeloading spirit. Either way, Greece's "I Won't Pay" movement has sparked heated debate in a nation reeling from a debt crisis that's forced the government to take drastic austerity measures - including higher taxes, wage and pension cuts, and price spikes in public services.
What started as a small pressure group of residents outside Athens angered by higher highway tolls has grown into a movement affecting ever more sectors of society - one that many say is being hijacked by left-wing parties keen to ride popular discontent.
A rash of political scandals in recent years, including a dubious land swap deal with a rich monastery and alleged bribes in state contracts - has fueled the rebellious mood.
