Libya: Gaddafi clings to power

Libya: Gaddafi clings to power

This video has been circulating on the Internet over the past few days. We see one of the Libyan leader’s sons, Saïf al-Islam Gaddafi, brandishing an assault rifle and addressing a group of men who are thought to be police officers who have remained loyal to the regime. He promises them weapons to confront, in his words, the riff raff and drug addicts that have taken part in the anti-government protests.

The Gaddafi clan refuses to give into growing support for the protest movement. The authorities are struggling to maintain control in Tripoli where protests have been harshly repressed. These images were posted online on Monday and are thought to show security forces open fire to disperse a rally in the streets of the capital.

The regime is trying to regain control in cites that have been taken over by protesters. This video is believed to have been filmed during a helicopter attack on Misratah’s local radio station, around 200 kilometers away from Tripoli.

The attack was reportedly thwarted by protesters. These sequences are believed to show rebels celebrating their victory following a battle with armed forces over control of the air base in this strategic port city.

And in this video, protesters who have taken control of the city of Kufra in south eastern Libya, say they intercepted a plane sent by the regime, carrying 18 million Libyan dinars and 2 000 rifles. They say the money has been shared amongst banks so they can give people their salaries and the weapons have been distributing among the revolutionaries in the region.

Iranian opposition under pressure

The authorities in Iran appear to be concerned that the wave of protests currently sweeping through the Arab world is to spread to the Islamic Republic. After having repressed multiple forbidden rallies over the past few weeks, the authorities have now reportedly jailed Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, the two main pro-reform opposition leaders, who had been living under house arrest for days. Certain pro-government bloggers are defending this clear declaration that protesters will be dealt with harshly.

This is notably the case for Omid Hosseini who explains in this post that the events in Egypt and Tunisia have nothing to do with what is happening in his country, events he sees as simple passing disruptions. He says that most people in Iran do not support a revolution and in reality it is only the leaders of the Green Movement who want to reform the system.

Mehdi Fatemi Sedr hails the crackdown on protesters who are defying the ban on demonstrations. Here, he even admits to having taken part in tracking down protesters in Tehran during the rallies on the 14th of February. He says he is sorry that the Basij, the paramilitary volunteer militia that works for the authorities, did not carry out more forceful interventions.

Members of the militia are still particularly busy preventing rallies, as illustrated in these pictures filmed on the 20th of February in the city of Shiraz. We see protesters flee when the Basij arrive on motorcycles. Despite the authorities’ crackdown, opponents continue to upload videos like this, intent on proving that there is most definitely a protest movement taking place in the country.

Bahia carnival on YouTube

Experience the Bahia carnival in Brazil as if you were actually there. The festivities will be broadcast live on YouTube using webcams placed in the streets of Salvador, where floats from the region’s most prestigious samba schools will pass through. And in the run up to the start of the festivities on Thursday, the channel will be showing the dance rehearsals.

Pixwoo, a social network for video gamers

Pixwoo is a rather special social network, as it is entirely devoted to the world of video games. The site hopes to connect enthusiasts, developers, editors and critics so they can share information and debate diverse subjects. All video games are approached, those that are developed for consoles and for smart phones. Sector professionals will even be able to run their own games pages, organize discussion forums and post job offers for developers and creators who are members of the network.

Video of the day

You can now change your living room interior without having to buy new furnishings, using 3 dimensional video mapping techniques as we can see in this demonstration. A whole host of decors are projected onto the walls and elements in a room, transforming your living room for example in just a few clicks. This original idea could quickly catch on.