It’s official. Pigs can fly. After weeks of faffing, the West has gone and surprised us all by intervening with the situation in Libya. Yesterday Gaddafi called a ceasefire and promised he’d stop shooting people. He didn’t. Apparently this was the catalyst for serious action. France took the lead by opening fire on Gaddafi’s tanks and armoured vehicles. The UK, the US, Canada and Italy have since got behind them. America has been keen to underline the fact that they are supporting the coalition but not instigating anything. Just in case anyone was wondering. David Cameron has released a statement saying that military action is necessary because: “We believe we should not stand aside while this dictator murders his own people.” Most people seem to agree with this statement, but many are asking why we have picked this particular dictator to tear down. There are plenty of dictators all around the world who murder their own people. Whichever way you look at it, this is a diplomatic minefield to navigate for everyone. China, India, Brazil, Germany and Russia have all refused to get involved on various grounds. So it’s a big deal for the countries that are pressing ahead.
Yemen too, has become the latest country in the Middle East to experience similar upheaval. Anti-government protesters have been making noise for a while and calling for their president (Ali Saleh) to step down. Today, over 50 protesters were killed as government forces apparently opened fire on them.
Over in Japan, it looks like the nuclear situation is stabilizing. By that I mean that it doesn’t look like it’s going to get as bad as it did in Chernobyl. Things are far from stable, however, for the 50 workers who agreed to stay behind at the plant and fix things. 5 are now believed to have died, 15 are injured and others have said they know the radiation will kill them. Meanwhile, the official death toll as a result of the earthquake and tsunami has hit 7,600 and more than 11,000 remain missing.
Grim. See you tomorrow.
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