Libyan Dictator Moammar Gadhafi is Dead

Moammar Gadhafi

Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, the most wanted man in the world, has been killed on Thursday, 20 October 2011.


Muammar Gaddafi – the dictator who ruled Libya with an iron fist for nearly 42 years before being driven from power in a bloody uprising.
Gaddafi has been killed as he tried to flee his hometown of Sirte. He was ousted by rebels in a bloody civil war.


The flamboyant tyrant who terrorized his country and much of the world during his 42 years of despotic rule was reportedly cornered by insurgents in the town of Sirte, where Gadhafi had been born and a stronghold of his supporters.


There were conflicting reports of how he was killed – there were initial reports that he was killed in a gun battle, but NATO has since confirmed it hit a convoy of Gaddafi loyalists fleeing Sirte on Thursday. It could not say whether the former Libyan leader was in the convoy.


Al Jazeera television showed footage of a man resembling the 69-year-old leader lying dead or severely wounded, bleeding from the head and stripped to the waist as fighters rolled him over on the pavement. Witnesses said his body was put on display in the nearby city of Misrata.


Initial reports from fighters said Gaddafi had been holed up with the last of his fighters in a furious battle with revolutionary forces. At one point, a convoy tried to flee the area and was blasted by NATO airstrikes, though it was not clear if Col Gaddafi was in the vehicle.


His body, bloodied, half naked, Gaddafi's trademark long curls hanging limp around a rarely seen bald spot, was delivered, a prize of war, to Misrata, the city west of Sirte whose siege and months of suffering at the hands of Gaddafi's artillery and sniper made it a symbol of the rebel cause.


A quick and secret burial was due later on Friday.

Libyan rebels

Libyans rejoiced as news of his death spread. Car horns blared in Tripoli as residents poured into the streets to celebrate. In Sirte, revolutionary forces fired endless rounds into the sky and sang the national anthem.


"We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Moammar Gadhafi has been killed" Jibril said at a news conference in Tripoli.


"It's time to start a new Libya, a united Libya" Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril declared. "One people, one future."


Word of Gadhafi's death triggered celebrations in the streets of Tripoli with insurgent fighters waving their weapons and dancing jubilantly.


The White House and NATO said they were unable to confirm reports of his death.


U.S. President Barack Obama, in a veiled dig at the Syrian and other leaders resisting the democrats of the Arab Spring, declared "the rule of an iron fist inevitably comes to an end."


Al Jazeera aired video of what appeared to be the dead leader, which showed Gadhafi lying in a pool of blood in the street, shirtless, and surrounded by people.


Gadhafi had been on the run for weeks after being chased out of the capital Tripoli by NATO bombers and rebel troops.


He had been believed to be hiding in the vast Libyan desert while calling on his supporters to rise up and sweep the rebel "dogs" away, but his once fearsome power was scoffed at by Libyans who had ransacked his palace compound and hounded him into hiding.

Gadhafi - the man who ruled Libya for 42 years.

Gadhafi, 69, ruled Libya with an iron fist for almost 42 years. He seized control of Libya in Sept., 1969 in a bloodless coup when he was just 27 years old. The then young and dashing army captain and his small band of military officers overthrew the monarch King Idris, setting up a new Libyan Arab Republic that over the years became increasingly isolated from the rest of the world.


Gadhafi took over the top spot as the world's most wanted man after Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. troops in Pakistan.


At the height of his ability to threaten terrorism, President Ronald Reagan dubbed Gadhafi the "mad dog of the Middle East."


He was accused of backing the 1986 bombing of a Berlin disco popular with American soldiers, reportedly funding the hijacking of the cruise ship Achille Lauro in 1985, and the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which resulted in the U.N. and United States imposing sanctions on Libya.


For years, Gadhafi refused to take responsibility for the bombing, but that changed in 2003 when he acknowledged his role and tried to make amends.


The eccentric leader, who amassed power and wealth by controlling the nation's oil industry, held the title of being the longest-serving leader in Africa and the Arab world.


Over the years, Gadhafi earned an international reputation for his outlandish apparel and much-ridiculed phobias and proclivities.


His killing, which came swiftly after his capture near Sirte, is the most dramatic single development in the Arab Spring revolts that have unseated rulers in Egypt and Tunisia and threatened the grip on power of the leaders of Syria and Yemen.


Following his death, Libya's new leaders are expected to declare the country's "liberation". They face the challenge of healing divisions and holding credible elections in a country wracked by months of fighting.

23 Killed in Egypt Clashes

The Protest in Egypt

At least 23 people were killed and 193 injured Sunday in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, when a protest by Coptic Christians over the recent burning of a church escalated into rioting against military rule.


Twenty three people were killed in Cairo on Sunday, the health ministry said, when Christians, some carrying crosses and pictures of Jesus, clashed with military police in the latest sectarian flare-up in a country in political turmoil.


Christians protesting against an attack on a church say they were marching peacefully when thugs attacked them, drawing in military police who used what activists described as unnecessary force.


Protesters used firebombs, set army vehicles alight and battled with security forces in Egypt's most violent clashes since the February uprising that ousted former president Hosni Mubarak.


More than four vehicles were set ablaze and television footage showed army personnel carriers driving full speed towards crowds of protesters.

Flag of Egypt

Christian demonstrators said a peaceful rally in the mostly Coptic neighborhood of Shubra turned deadly when the group marched to Egypt's Radio and Television Building where plainclothes police attacked them. The protests later spread to Tahrir Square, the focal point of the February revolution.


Protesters threw rocks and petrol bombs and set cars on fire, as thick smoke wafted through the streets in some of the most violent scenes since the uprising that ousted Mubarak.


In the past few weeks, riots have broken out at two churches in southern Egypt, prompted by Muslim crowds angry about church construction.


One clash took place near the city of Aswan after church officials agreed to a demand by local ultra-conservative Muslims, known as Salafis, that a cross and bells be removed from the church building.


The protesters want the government to fire the governor of Aswan Province, Mostafa al-Sayed, after the partial demolition of the church on Friday. Egyptian media said Muslims were accused of attacking the church after talk spread in the town that the building did not have legal authorisation.


Egyptian officials said they would investigate the causes of Sunday's violence, calling for calm.

Map of Egypt

Christians make up about one-tenth of Egypt's 80 million people and often face attacks from Islamic extremists. Copts joined with Muslims during the protests that ousted Mr. Mubarak, but sectarian troubles have since intensified.


Egypt has been considering new laws designed to stem sectarian violence, including banning protests at places of worship and the use of religious slogans to incite hatred.


In May, 12 people were killed in sectarian clashes between Christians and Muslims after rumors spread that Christians were holding a woman who had converted to Islam.

14 Killed From Suicide Bombing in Pakistan

Map of Pakistan

A suicide bombing in southwestern Pakistan left 14 people dead and 20 others injured Wednesday, police said.


Wednesday's blast took place in the city of Quetta, a militant hotspot close to the Afghan border.


Abdullah Afridi, a senior police official in the city of Quetta, said a suicide bomber tried to enter in the residence of a senior official of the Frontier Corps - a paramilitary force - and blew himself up when the soldiers fired at him.


Police officer Hamid Shakil says the target was a group of Frontier Corps soldiers standing outside a government building in the city. City commissioner Quetta Nasim Lehri says there were soldiers among the 14 people killed.


Quetta is the capital of Balochistan province, which has been a hotbed for militancy.


Recently, Pakistan's military announced it apprehended three al-Qaeda leaders from the suburbs of Quetta with the help of paramilitary forces.


The military said the Frontier Corps helped nab the three al-Qaeda leaders.


Islamist militants are waging war against the Western-allied Pakistani state. Several thousand people have been killed since 2007.

Strong Quake Jolts Japan

Map of Japan

A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.1 jolted central and eastern Japan on Monday, but it did not issue a tsunami alert.

Series of earthquakes keep jolting the earth! Two weeks ago we wrote about quake that hit Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan.


The quake, which occurred at 11:58 p.m. (10:58 a.m. EDT), was also felt in Tokyo. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The focus of the tremor was 20 km (12 miles) below the surface of the earth, off the coast of Shizuoka prefecture, about 200 km west of Tokyo, the Meteorological Agency said.

All reactors at Chubu Electric Power's Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Shizuoka are shut after Prime Minister Naoto Kan called for its closure, citing research showing that the area is at particularly high risk for a major earthquake within the next few decades.

No abnormalities have been reported from the Hamaoka plant, public broadcaster NHK reported, citing the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.

This is another strong earthquake that jolted Japan after the destructive quake hit on March 11.
It was one of the most powerful and massive earthquakes in the last years.
An earthquake with magnitute around 9 (Richter) jolted the east cost of Japan, causing great damages, triggering an enormous tsunami and killing hundreds. This earthquake will be remembered as the most destructive quake in Japan's history. Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant was badly damaged after the earthquake, followed by the tsunami. 

This series of massive quakes changed so many lives.

We are with you Japan! Stay strong!

Libyan Rebel Commander Abdel Fattah Younes Killed

Abdel Fattah Younes

BBC - The military commander of the Libyan rebels fighting to topple Col Muammar Gaddafi has been killed the, rebel National Council says.

General Abdel Fattah Younes was an ally of Col Gaddafi  for many years.

NTC head Mustafa Abdul-Jalil said Gen Abdel Fattah Younes was killed by assailants, and the head of the group responsible had been arrested.

He said Gen Younes was summoned for questioning about military operations, but never made it to the meeting.

Reports said Gen Younes was suspected of ties to pro-Gaddafi forces.

Two aides to Gen Younes, Col Muhammad Khamis and Nasir al-Madhkur, were also killed in the attack, Mr Jalil said, adding that there would be three days of mourning in their honour.

The exact circumstances of the killings were unclear, and Mr Jalil did not say directly that the assailants were allied with Col Gaddafi.

Gen Younes is a former Libyan interior minister who defected to the rebel side in February. He was also part of the group that helped bring Col Gaddafi to power in 1969.

Some unconfirmed reports said Gen Younes and two aides had been arrested earlier on Thursday near Libya's eastern front.

Shortly after the announcement of Gen Younes' death, gunmen entered the grounds of the hotel in the eastern city of Benghazi where Mr Jalil was speaking, reportedly firing into the air before being convinced to leave.

Earlier on Thursday, rebels said they had seized the strategically important town of Ghazaya near the Tunisian border, after heavy fighting with Col Gaddafi's forces.

They reportedly took control of several other towns or villages in the area.

The rebels are struggling to break a military deadlock five months into the uprising against Col Gaddafi's rule.

Rebels control most of eastern Libya from their base in Benghazi and the western port city of Misrata, while Col Gaddafi retains much of the west, including the capital, Tripoli.

Late on Thursday AFP news agency reported explosions shaking the centre of Tripoli, as state TV reported that planes were flying over the Libyan capital.

Nato, acting under a UN mandate authorising military action for the protection of civilians, has carried out regular airstrikes in the Tripoli area.

Meanwhile, the South African ambassador to the UN, Baso Sangqu, warned that supporters of the rebels were in danger of violating UN sanctions.

His comments came a day after Britain granted the rebels diplomatic recognition and said it would unblock £91 million ($149m) in frozen Libyan oil assets for the rebels.

"We have noted the calls for Gaddafi must go," Mr Sangqu said. "We maintain that such statements do not bring us any closer to a political solution."

The BBC's Barbara Plett reports from the UN that the growing trend to grant diplomatic recognition to the Libyan rebels is facing opposition on the Security Council, and that moves to back the rebels will further polarise Council members.

Portugal has become the latest of about 30 countries to have recognised the NTC.

You can learn more about Libya's past problems here and here.

Norway Terror Attack Suspect Faces Second Interrogation

The suspect - Anders Behring Breivik

CNN - Police are preparing to interview Anders Behring Breivik, the suspect in last week's terrorist attacks in Norway, for a second time on Friday.


Anders Behring Breivik is the suspect for the twin terror attacks in Norway. He's suspected of detonating a bomb outside governments buildings and opening fire at summer camp. Breivik appeared in court on Monday.


Breivik, who is being kept in solitary confinement at Ila Prison, near Oslo, was last interviewed Saturday, a day after a bomb blast outside government buildings in the Norwegian capital and a mass shooting on the island of Utoya claimed at least 76 lives. The prison held Nazi prisoners during World War II. "We are giving him pillow, sheet and shelter for a few weeks," the prison governor said.


Police attorney Pal-Frederick Hjort Kraby said police had since gained a considerable amount of new information and were ready to question Breivik again at police headquarters. He is likely to face more interrogations in the coming weeks.


Meanwhile, the search for more victims of Friday's shooting rampage on Utoya island has ended, Police Chief Johan Fredriksen said Thursday. However, later in the day, the police website said the search in the water around the island was ongoing. More than 50 investigators remained on the island and will likely remain there for several more weeks, officials said.


A key question is whether Breivik acted alone. "At this moment in time we don't think there are more people involved in this action, and we don't know whether there are more bombs," said Janne Kristiansen, director of the Norwegian intelligence police. But she downplayed the possibility of further carnage. "We think, more than likely, he has been on his own and nothing is going to happen here," she said. "So people should go on living their lives."


Technicians and explosives experts were still trying to figure out how big the bomb was that rocked a government building in downtown Oslo, killing eight people. Authorities had not yet determined whether the building could be restored or would need to be rebuilt, Kristiansen said.


She said Breivik acted lawfully during his preparations, registering his weapons and using his farm as a front to collect the fertilizer that powered the bomb. His meticulousness extended to his communications with others, even in his Internet messages, which were "very moderate," she said. 
"He has been what we call a lone wolf," she added. "With a lone wolf, they always operate alone, having no accomplices anywhere, and this is, obviously, what he has done."
But, she added, "We believe that he might have had contacts in the rest of the world and we're investigating this."


His primary goal: "The focus from the world press, which he now has," Kristiansen said. "He's totally evil, and he's using us, and he's using you -- especially the media -- to bring forward his voice."


Sixty-eight people are confirmed dead in the attack on the island, where a summer camp for the Labour Party's youth movement was taking place. As of Thursday, authorities had released the identities of 41 of the dead.


Breivik has admitted carrying out the bombing in Oslo, in which eight people died, and the shootings on Utoya, his lawyer and a judge have said. He has also pleaded not guilty.


He currently has contact only with his lawyer and the prison staff who take him food, Kraby said. The investigation is complex and it will likely be months before Breivik comes to trial, the lawyer added.


The suspect had spent a lot of time and money preparing for the attacks, the lawyer said, so it was important to be careful.


A government spokesman on the Justice Committee, Jan Bohler, predicted Breivik would receive an unconditional sentence, meaning one that would extend well beyond the theoretical maximum of 21 years set by Norwegian law, thereby ensuring he does not ever get out of prison. Norway does not have the death penalty.

The Suspect for the Terror Attacks in Norway to Appear in Court

Anders Behring Breivik - the Norway terror attacks suspect

CNN - A man who authorities say confessed to Norway's terror attacks is expected to make his first court appearance Monday, where he says he wants to "explain himself," according to his attorney.


The court appearance comes the same day the Norwegian government called for a national moment of silence, ordering trains halted as part of a nationwide observance to remember the victims of Friday's bombing in downtown Oslo and shooting at a political youth retreat on Utoya island.


Police identified the suspect Monday as Anders Behring Breivik, just hours before he was to appear in court.


Attorney Geir Lippestad, who said he represented Breivik, told Norwegian TV2 that the suspect feels the terrorist attacks were "horrible," but "in his head (they) were necessary."


Police will ask the court to close the hearing because investigators have not ruled out that others were involved. There is a concern the suspect could try to send messages to others..


More than 60,000 people joined a Facebook page, titled "Shut the courtroom doors on Monday," urging the court to close the hearing.


Whether the suspect will be allowed to address the Norwegian court and under what, if any, circumstances are not immediately known.


Anders Behring Breivik has been charged with two acts of terror, one for the bombing and one for the mass shooting, Holtaas said.


Breivik, the 32-year-old Norwegian, has told investigators he acted alone and was not aided in the planning, acting National Police Chief Sveinung Sponheim told reporters Sunday. But authorities have not ruled out that others may have been involved or helped him along the way, he said.


Sponheim said there has been "no progress" in ascertaining what the suspect's motive might have been. But he said that investigators were studying a 1,500-page manifesto that authorities believe was published online the day of the attack.


The suspect told investigators during interviews that he belonged to an international order, The Knights Templar, according to Norwegian newspaper VG, which cited unnamed sources. He described this order as an armed, Christian, order, fighting to rid the West of Islamic suppression, the newspaper said. He also told investigators he had been in contact with like-minded individuals and said he counts himself as a representative of this order, it said.


In the manifesto, there are photographs of Breivik wearing what appears to be a military uniform that features an altered U.S. Marine Corps dress jacket with Knights Templar medals. The manifesto rants against Muslims and their growing presence in Europe and calls for a European civil war to overthrow governments, end multiculturalism and execute "cultural Marxists."


Authorities allege that Breivik killed seven people Friday by setting off a car bomb in downtown Oslo that targeted government buildings, then traveled 20 miles to Utoya island and killed at least 86 teens and young adults in an ambush at a political youth retreat.


The suspect was carrying a considerable amount of ammunition when he surrendered to authorities, Sponheim told reporters.


Police said Sunday that the area around the blast site would remain cordoned off, but members of the public in the area were not at risk.

Double Terror Attacks Kill 91 in Norway

Norway after the terror attacks

FT.com - At least 91 people were killed in an apparent twin terrorist attack on Norway, after a large bomb was detonated outside government buildings in Oslo and a gunman opened fire at a summer camp attended by hundreds of young people.

Police said at least seven people were killed on Friday by the suspected car bomb. A Reuters report citing Norwegian police also said at least 84 were killed at the youth camp, organised by Norway’s ruling Labour party, on an island near Utoya, 40km north-west of Oslo.

Motivation for the devastating attacks – the most serious terrorist assault in Europe since 52 people were killed on the London transport system in 2005 by Islamist extremists – was unclear.

Police detained the suspect, a 32-year old, white “ethnic” Norwegian who was named by local media as Anders Behring Breivik, and charged him for the island killing spree and the Oslo bomb blast.

Roger Andresen, deputy police chief, would not speculate on the man’s motives but told a news conference: “He describes himself as a Christian, leaning toward right-wing Christianity, on his Facebook page.”

Jens Stoltenberg, Norwegian prime minister, told a press conference on Saturday: “What happened at Utoya is a national tragedy. Not since the second world war has our country seen a greater crime. Compared with other countries I wouldn’t say we have a big problem with right-wing extremists in Norway. But we have had some groups, we have followed them before, and our police is aware that there are some right-wing groups”.

Earlier, Mr Stoltenberg said the country had been “shaken by evil” but would not be cowed by terrorism.

“I have a message for whoever attacked us and those behind it. It’s a message from all of Norway: You will not destroy us. You will not destroy our democracy or our ideals for a better world.”

Hanne Skartveit, political editor at newspaper Verdens Gang, whose offices are across the street from the site of the Oslo bomb, said: “Norway’s lost its innocence. From today, this will be a different Norway. Both with respect to internal security, in an open and democratic country, and how we look at the world. It is a heavy day.”

US president Barack Obama led international condemnation of the attack. “It’s a reminder that the entire international community holds a stake in preventing this kind of terror from occurring,” he said.

TV2 said police raided a house where the detained suspect lived. The street was cordoned off because of fears of explosives at the property.

Thomas Hegghammer, terrorism expert at the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, a think-tank linked to Norway’s armed forces, said questions would now be raised as to whether the police had neglected the dangers of rightwing extremism, if the suspect proved to be part of such a network.

In an annual threat assessment published in January, the Norwegian security service said “far-right and far-left extremist communities will not pose a serious threat to Norwegian society in 2011”. However it said there had been an increased level of activity within some of these groups during 2010 and predicted this could rise further.

The Oslo blast, which was heard by people at least 7km away, caused extensive damage to a complex of government buildings housing the prime minister’s office and the ministries of finance and petroleum. Police said it was most likely a car bomb although this could not yet be confirmed.

Broken glass and other debris rained down on surrounding streets and many people could be seen afterwards receiving treatment for serious injuries.

Norway’s public broadcaster NRK quoted one of its journalists as saying: “The whole building shook. We thought it was an earthquake. There are people on the streets bleeding. There is glass everywhere. There is chaos here. The windows are blown out of all the nearby buildings.”

Another eyewitness reported seeing “a column of flames” rise as high as the fifth floor of surrounding buildings after the bomb detonated.

At Least 6 Killed in Pakistan

CNN - Militants in two vehicles fired a rocket and guns at people in southwestern Pakistan on Friday, leaving six dead and nine injured, a senior police official said.

The militants targeted a graveyard in Hazara area, said Muhammad Dawood Junejo, a Quetta police officer.
"Initially, they fired a rocket and then started firing on people in the graveyard" the officer said.
The officer said the incident seems to be an act of sectarian attack.

Quetta is the capital of the Balochistan province, which has had militant attacks in the past.

Last year, about 50 minority Shiites were killed when a suicide bomber struck an Al Quds rally in September.

28-hour Rampage in New York

BBC : A man accused of killing four people in a 28-hour rampage in New York City has made a brief court appearance.

Ukrainian-born Maksim Gelman, 23, was charged in Brooklyn with stabbing his stepfather, ex-girlfriend and her mother to death, before fatally running over a pedestrian.

Public defender Michael Baum said Mr Gelman was now "calm" and "rational", but added he could not say anything about his mental state on Friday, when he is alleged to have committed the crimes.

Mr Gelman appeared in court wearing a white tracksuit, after his bloodstained clothing was kept by police as evidence. His wrists and ankles were in shackles.

The attacks are said to have begun around 0500 local time (1000 GMT) on Friday when Mr Gelman allegedly killed his stepfather, Aleksandr Kuznetsov, in Brooklyn's Sheepshead Bay neighbourhood.
The suspect had had a fight with his mother after she refused to allow him to use her car, a Lexus, and 54-year-old Mr Kuznetsov had intervened, police said.
Less than six hours later, at about 1030 local time, Mr Gelman went to his ex-girlfriend's home where he killed her 56-year-old mother, Anna Bulchenko. Yelena Bulchenko, 20, is said to have discovered her mother and called police. The attacker, who was still in the house, then chased her outside and stabbed her 11 times.
Police said he drove away in the Lexus, hitting another car in Brooklyn's Midwood neighbourhood. When the driver confronted him, Mr Gelman allegedly stabbed him three times in the chest. The victim survived and is in a stable condition. The suspect then allegedly hit a pedestrian, 62-year-old Stephen Tanenbaum, who died of his injuries.

At about 0100 local time on Saturday, the suspect confronted a cab driver in the Crown Heights area, stabbing him. He then approached a couple in a Nissan and stabbed the man in the hand several times before taking their car. Both men survived.
Later that morning, according to Commissioner Kelly's account, a passengers on an upper Manhattan train got off and told police officers a man fitting Mr Gelman's description had knocked a newspaper out of her hand and said: "Do you believe what they're writing about me?"
Police say Mr Gelman then got off the train, crossed the tracks and boarded a different train where he stabbed a passenger, Joseph Lozito. "He's two or three feet away from me, and he pulls this knife out, looks me in the eye and says, 'You're gonna die'," Mr Lozito told the New York Post.
Mr Gelman then made his way up to the driver's compartment and knocked on it, claiming to be police, Commissioner Kelly said. A police officer in the driver's cab opened the door and wrestled Mr Gelman to the ground, knocking a knife from his hand before he was taken into custody.

Police described Mr Gelman as an unemployed drug user with 10 previous arrests, mostly linked to graffiti and drugs.

He was born in Ukraine, and he and his mother became US citizens about five years ago, Commissioner Kelly said.

Facebook Killed Spam!

Facebook CTO Bret Taylor told Fast Company earlier this week that it's just those kind of messages the company focused on while looking to cut down on spam in the system -- way down.

Mission accomplished. Such spam was down 95% in 2010. That's an impressive achievement. But the backstory to how the company accomplished that feat reveals some of the internal thinking that could be key to Facebook's ability to continue to grow efficiently -- and become an all-around ever-stronger product -- in the years to come.

The spam Facebook was targeting were those annoying messages from the likes of FarmVille or Mafia Wars (about Rich and his corn or whatnot) that used to pollute users' NewsFeeds.
Game companies liked them, because they raised awareness and helped recruit new users. But, said Taylor at the Inside Social Apps conference on Tuesday, the company soon realized that that was just a bad experience for many Facebook citizens.

That was bad for Facebook -- it sucked up employee bandwidth -- and it was bad for developers, who felt like Facebook was micromanaging them. Interestingly, Facebook decided not to go the law and order route. They didn't start writing out long lists of rules about what kinds of messages would be allowed and what kinds wouldn't.
Instead, Taylor told Fast Company in an interview following the talk, they built an automated system that monitored each individual message -- and then took action, again, automated, against the specific messages that seemed to be bothering users.
Specifically, the system tracks whether recipients hide certain messages or mark them as spam, or whether they click "Like" on the message or comment on it, or whether they actually click through to see the application itself. If too many recipients hide a message or mark it as spam, Facebook automatically starts blocking it.

All of which bodes well for Facebook. The better experiences it can create while minimizing the demand on its own resources, the faster it will be able to grow, and the more loyalty it will get from its users and developers.

3 Dead After Thousands Protest in Rare Egypt Outpouring

Thousands of protesters spilled into the streets of Egypt on Tuesday, an unprecedented display of anti-government rage inspired in part by the tumult in the nearby North African nation of Tunisia.

Three people died in the clashes between protesters and police, according to Egypt's official MENA news agency. Two demonstrators died in the eastern city of Suez, and one policeman was killed in Cairo, it said. MENA reported that at least 49 people have been injured.

Earlier, Egypt's Interior Ministry said that 36 police officers had been hurt during the protests.
Throngs in the sprawling capital city marched from the huge Tahrir Square toward the parliament building.
Demonstrators threw rocks at police, and police hurled rocks back. Tear-gas canisters were shot at demonstrators, and the protesters threw them back.

Protest organizers said they hope to capture the regional momentum for political change set by Tunisians, who 10 days ago forced the collapse of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's 23-year rule.
The grievances were foreshadowed by several Egyptians who set themselves or tried to set themselves on fire this month, mirroring the self-immolation of a Tunisian man whose action spurred the uprising there.
The Tunisian uprising was the most successful revolt in the region since 1979, but it is anybody's guess whether uprisings will spread to other Arabic-speaking lands.

The United States and other governments are monitoring the demonstrations in Cairo and elsewhere closely. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged all people to "exercise restraint" and supported "the fundamental right of expression and assembly for all people."

To highlight the role of police corruption, the protest organizers in Egypt picked January 25 -- Police Day and a national holiday -- to hold protests.
The protests started off small, but they grew as people came to the center of the city from bridges over the Nile.
Police were restrained and at times were seemingly outnumbered by the protesters, who sang the national anthem and inched forward to express their ire toward the government.

Protesters had been expressing their anger over the rising cost of living, failed economic policies and corruption, but all those concerns were distilled into one overriding demand : the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, in power for three decades.

The outpouring included young and old, Christians and Muslims, students, workers and businesspeople.

At Least 61 Dead in Iraq Bombings

A wave of bombings targeting Shiites, a market in Baghdad and a neighborhood in Anbar province killed at least 61 people and wounded more than 100 others Friday, police said.

The strikes conjured memories of the bloodshed that once engulfed both the capital city and the vast province every day.

No one has claimed responsibility for the string of attacks, but authorities believe that such coordinated bombings bear the hallmarks of al Qaeda in Iraq.

The bombings come days after Iraqi and U.S. officials announced that they had killed the two most wanted al Qaeda leaders in the country. Although the deaths hurt the insurgents, military officials don't discount insurgents' continued ability to carry out attacks.

This week, Maj. Gen. Qassim Atta, spokesman for the Baghdad Military Operations Command, boasted about the killings of insurgent leaders Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi.

He said security forces must capitalize on this "great victory" but cautioned about the possibility of reprisals.

Of the Iraqi-U.S. joint operation Sunday that killed the two leaders, Atta said, "We had information that they were planning attacks that would target churches, Shiite mosques and bridges, and the security forces took precautions and prepared security plans specifically for this."

Former Deputy Minister of Health and Sadrist politician Hakim al-Zamili said he thinks Friday's bombings could be retaliation for the killing of the al Qaeda in Iraq leaders.

"This political and government vacuum led to such bombings and will lead to many disasters for the Iraqi people" he said.

The strikes occur during the delay in the formation of a government, and many observers fear that a political vacuum could portend an increase in violence, such as the sectarian bloodshed that took place in early 2006 while the government was being formed.

Among the string of attacks:
• Two car bombs targeted worshipers in Sadr City in eastern Baghdad, killing 39 and wounding 56 people. Also, a car bomb exploded outside one of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's offices there, wounding five people.

The attacks enraged Sadr City residents, who say the government is turning a blind eye to militants. Al-Sadr's office distributed a statement Friday afternoon calling for his followers to show restraint and called for three days of mourning. Al-Sadr has a political movement and a large grass-roots following.

• In southeastern Baghdad, eight people died and 23 were wounded when a car bomb and a roadside bomb detonated outside Muhsin al-Hakim mosque.

• In the northwestern Baghdad neighborhood of Hurriya, a car bomb explosion outside Hadi al-Chalabi mosque killed five people and wounded 10.

• A roadside bomb outside the Sadreen mosque in the Zafaraniya neighborhood in southeastern Baghdad killed two people and wounded seven.

• One person was killed and six people were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded in an outdoor market in the southern Baghdad district of Dora.

• A car bomb exploded outside a Shiite mosque in the Ameen neighborhood in southeastern Baghdad, wounding two people.

• West of Baghdad, in the Anbar province town of Khaldiya, six people were killed and 10 were wounded when six roadside bombs exploded in a residential area where a police officer and a judge lived. Authorities imposed a curfew.