Red Cross: At least 800 dead in Ivory Coast

'This incident is particularly shocking in its scope and brutality,' Red Cross official says 

GENEVA — At least 800 people were killed in intercommunal violence in one town in Ivory Coast this week, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Saturday, as rival forces continued to battle for power in the country. 

Fierce fighting appeared to be continuing in Ivory Coast's main city of Abidjan Saturday with troops loyal to its iincumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo fending off attacks by forces supporting Alassane Ouattara's rival claim to the presidency.
ICRC officials visited the Carrefour area of Duekoue on Thursday and Friday to assess needs and gather testimony, the Red Cross said in a statement said.
"We have information that at least 800 persons were killed on March 29 (Tuesday) in Duekoue in intercommunal violence," ICRC spokeswoman Dorothea Krimitsas told Reuters. "Our colleagues saw hundreds of bodies ... We strongly suspect that was the result of intercommunal violence."
On Monday, the town was taken by the fighters vying to install the democratically elected Ouattara.
Ouattara's government Saturday denied those fighters were involved.
ICRC officials evacuated 28 bodies to the local morgue and will continue in this work.
Since Monday or so, tens of thousands of people have fled the area.
"This incident is particularly shocking in its scope and brutality," Dominique Liengme, head of the ICRC delegation in the country, said in a statement.

These Homes Will Really Float Your Boat

 

Houseboat living offers the comforts of home without a lawn to mow & with the best water access

Houseboat havens

There are many ways to live on the water, including living in sailboats, yachts, cabin cruisers, houseboats and more conventional-looking homes built on floats.
The National Marine Manufacturers Association's Discover Boating website says that a vessel qualifies as a residence under tax rules if it has basic living accommodations that include a place to sleep (berth), a toilet (head) and a place to cook (galley).
Here's a look at modern and traditional houseboats, as well as where they reside.
around.

   

  

Did You Know These Celebrity Secrets?

Which starlet was born in prison? Who was the muse for a favorite song? We've dug up the dirt for you.

 

 

 

Search: Unbelievably Weird State Laws

 

Regulations against minors playing pinball, lying on city sidewalks, prank-calling pizza orders & other codes that go from fairly odd to all-out legal lunacy.

Search: Weird state laws

Check out this array of crazy codes of conduct from across the nation. Some are no longer on the books (thank goodness), some might be urban legends and others are truly letter-of-the-law lunacy.

 

Ssssearch is over: Missing Bronx Zoo cobra found

Snake that has become a Twitter phenom is in good condition, resting after adventure .

The venomous Egyptian cobra that vanished from her quarters at the Bronx Zoo last week was found on Thursday, safe, sound and all coiled up in a dark corner of the zoo’s reptile house. 

 

The adolescent female snake is in good condition after her weeklong foray into cageless freedom.
“We’re really happy to announce that cobra missing for seven days has been found,” Jim Breheny, director of the Bronx Zoo, said at a press conference Thursday afternoon. “She’s alive and well ... resting comfortably and secure.”

Emergency landing after hole in fuselage

     

 Southwest Airlines passengers describe the drop in cabin pressure after a rupture in the ceiling.

Fuselage hole forces Southwest emergency landing

PHOENIX – A "gunshot-like sound" woke Brenda Reese as her Southwest Airlines flight cruised at 36,000 feet. Looking up, she could see the sky through a hole torn in the cabin roof.
The Boeing 737 lost cabin pressure after the hole developed Friday, prompting frightened passengers to grope for oxygen masks as the plane made a terrifying but "controlled descent."
A passenger called it "pandemonium." Another watched as a flight attendant and another passenger passed out, apparently for lack of oxygen, their heads striking the seats in front of them.
Officials said Flight 812 lost pressure because of a fuselage rupture. Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said the pilot made a "controlled descent from 36,000 feet to 11,000 feet altitude."
His safe emergency landing at a military base in Yuma, about 150 miles southwest of Phoenix, drew applause from relieved passengers.
No serious injuries were reported among the 118 people aboard but a flight attendant was slightly hurt, according to Southwest Airlines. The cause of the hole was not immediately known. The FBI called it a "mechanical failure," not an act of terror or other foul play.