“Jasmine Revolution”
Symbol of peace: Flowers placed on the barrel of a tank
in very much calmer protests than in recent days in Tunisia

'The Protester' - Time Person of the Year 2011

'The Protester' - Time Person of the Year 2011
Mannoubia Bouazizi, the mother of Tunisian street vendor Mohammed Bouazizi. "Mohammed suffered a lot. He worked hard. but when he set fire to himself, it wasn’t about his scales being confiscated. It was about his dignity." (Peter Hapak for TIME)

1 - TUNISIA Democratic Change / Freedom of Speech (In Transition)


How eyepatches became a symbol of Egypt's revolution - Graffiti depicting a high ranking army officer with an eye patch Photograph: Nasser Nasser/ASSOCIATED PRESS

2 - EGYPT Democratic Change / Freedom of Speech (In Transition)


''17 February Revolution"

3 - LIBYA Democratic Change / Freedom of Speech (In Transition)

5 - SYRIA Democratic Change / Freedom of Speech (In Transition)

"25 January Youth Revolution"
Muslim and Christian shoulder-to-shoulder in Tahrir Square
"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) -
(Subjects: Egypt Uprising, Iran/Persia Uprising, Peace in Middle East without Israel actively involved, Muhammad, "Conceptual" Youth Revolution, "Conceptual" (without a manager hierarchy) managed Businesses, Internet, Social Media, News Media, Google, Bankers, Global Unity,..... etc.)
"The End of History" – Nov 20, 2010 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll)
(Subjects:Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Muhammad, Jesus, God, Jews, Arabs, EU, US, Israel, Iran, Russia, Africa, South America, Global Unity,..... etc.) (Text version)

"If an Arab and a Jew can look at one another and see the Akashic lineage and see the one family, there is hope. If they can see that their differences no longer require that they kill one another, then there is a beginning of a change in history. And that's what is happening now. All of humanity, no matter what the spiritual belief, has been guilty of falling into the historic trap of separating instead of unifying. Now it's starting to change. There's a shift happening."


“ … Here is another one. A change in what Human nature will allow for government. "Careful, Kryon, don't talk about politics. You'll get in trouble." I won't get in trouble. I'm going to tell you to watch for leadership that cares about you. "You mean politics is going to change?" It already has. It's beginning. Watch for it. You're going to see a total phase-out of old energy dictatorships eventually. The potential is that you're going to see that before 2013.

They're going to fall over, you know, because the energy of the population will not sustain an old energy leader ..."



African Union (AU)

African Union (AU)
African Heads of State pose for a group photo ahead of the start of the 28th African Union summit in Addis Ababa on January 30, 2017 (AFP Photo/ Zacharias ABUBEKER)

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela
Few words can describe Nelson Mandela, so we let him speak for himself. Happy birthday, Madiba.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Zoo's new lions a 'sign' Ivory Coast is moving out of crisis

Yahoo – AFP, Cléophas Mosala, 1 April 2015

A child looks at a lion, donated by South Africa, in an enclosure at Abidjan Zoo, 
on March 10, 2015 (AFP Photo/Sia Kambou)

Abidjan (AFP) - The eyes of 30-odd uniformed schoolchildren light up at the sight of three magnificent lions brought to Abidjan zoo to replace the big cats that starved to death during post-election violence in 2010-2011.

For many Ivorians, the arrival this month of the South African felines -- two lionesses and a male -- shows that the country really is managing to get back on its feet.

"What do lions eat?" asks the guide as the children watch the two to three-year-old animals with a mix of fascination and terror.

For many Ivorians, the arrival this month
 of the South African felines -- two lionesses
 and a male -- shows that the country 
really is managing to get back on its feet 
(AFP Photo/Sia Kambou)
"Fufu!" shouts out a little girl aged no more than five, prompting a smile from the guide at her reference to the west African staple, a puree made from the cassava plant.

She is, after all, too young to remember the violence that erupted in the Ivory Coast at the turn of decade and the deprivations it brought.

But the deadly unrest is still fresh in the mind of zookeeper Alexis Oulaye.

"The lions died under our watch because we didn't have any food to give them. They only eat meat. We ourselves had no food to eat back then," he said.

More than 3,000 people lost their lives and tens of thousands more were forced to flee their homes in the trouble sparked by former president Laurent Gbagbo's refusal to hand over power, claiming electoral fraud in the 2010 presidential vote.

Since President Alassane Ouattara took over in 2011, the economy of the world's largest cocoa producer has been revitalised. After a decade of political and military crisis, it has expanded by nine percent between 2012 and 2014, with strong investment in the public sector.

The Abidjan zoo was situated at what was a flashpoint in fighting that gripped the country's main city at the height of the crisis.

When its food supplies ran out, the few guards and keepers stuck at the facility could not venture out for more. Some 40 animals died, among them six lions.

One of the fortunate survivors was CAN, an elephant named after the French acronym for the African Cup of Nations because she was born in 1992, the year the Ivory Coast won its first trophy.

A hippo, monkeys and snakes also made it, thanks to their dedicated keepers.

"We would come very early in the morning to prepare the herbs and banana rations for the animals. That's how we saved the herbivores," said Oulaye.

Feeding off rotten bread, two hyenas also survived.

"But the lions starved to death," Oulaye sighed.

Lala, an Ethiopian lioness, held on till the aftermath of the crisis, in April 2011. But she had already grown too weak to go on living, breathing her last as things started to get back to normal.

'No zoo without beasts'

The lion cages stood empty for nearly five years but the three new cats have brought with them a healthy dose of hope.

The Abidjan zoo was situated at what 
was a flashpoint in fighting that gripped 
the country's main city at the height of
the crisis (AFP Photo/Sia Kambou)
For zoo director Samouka Kane, they are "a symbol of recovery, of repopulating the zoo".

Beaming, he told AFP: "It's hugely significant. This will be used to turn the zoo's image around. There is no zoo without beasts."

Buying and transporting the animals cost some 50 million CFA francs ($80,000 or 76,000 euros), said Environment, Water and Forests Minister Mathieu Babaud, who added he hopes to see them produce some cubs before too long.

Other species are expected to follow, in a bid to create what Babaud called a "mini-safari" in the heart of the Ivorian economic capital.

Three zebras are due in April, followed by giraffes and other felines.

Abidjan is home to the country's only zoo, and one of the most important in west Africa, though in recent years it has looked more like a sad menagerie, director Kane said.

"It will become a zoo when we meet international standards, when the animals kept in cages can be released into semi-natural spaces that are closed but that don't make a chimpanzee feel like he is a prisoner," he added.

But even now, visitors are overjoyed at the sight of the lions.

Among the animal-lovers is young Honorine Outtara, who came to the zoo specially to see the jungle monarchs in person.

"I see lions on television all the time, but I've never seen them in real life before," she smiled.

"I am blessed."

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