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Prince William salutes and his wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, bows her head, as they approach the Cenotaph, the memorial to Britain's war dead, following their wedding in London's Westminster Abbey.
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LONDON — Prince William and Catherine Middleton sealed their wedding vows with a traditional kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace Friday as millions in London and around the world roared their approval.
The short peck — and a slightly longer smooch a couple of minutes later — followed a glittering service at Westminster Abbey in which the prince and the newly created Duchess of Cambridge were pronounced husband and wife.
The kisses were followed by a traditional fly-by of vintage and modern planes from Britain's Royal Air Force.
About two hours later, the couple surprised crowds gathered outside the palace by emerging in a blue convertible Aston Martin and driving around for a few minutes. The car was decorated with a multicolored ribbon across the hood and dragged what appeared to be tin cans, a traditional British touch.
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The couple took their vows at about 11:15 a.m. (6:15 a.m. ET) with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, officiating.
The prince, 28, dressed in the resplendent red tunic of the Irish Guards, appeared to initially struggle to get the wedding ring, made of Welsh gold, onto the elegant, tiara-bedecked Middleton's finger.
William said "I will" in a clear confident voice, when asked if he would "love, comfort, honor and keep" Middleton, 29. She appeared slightly emotional as she repeated her vows.
The prince was spotted winking at his new bride — the first "commoner" to marry a prince in close proximity to the throne in more than 350 years — after they exchanged vows.
Slideshow: Latest images of the royal wedding (on this page)Middleton had arrived at the abbey on time at 11 a.m. and, as soon as she did, Buckingham Palace issued the long-awaited details of what she was wearing: a long-sleeved lace gown and veil, designed by Sarah Burton, creative director for Alexander McQueen.
According to the U.K.'s Press Association, Prince William told a joke at the altar before the ceremony, saying: "We were supposed to have just a small family affair."
Video: Prince William shakes off nerves with humor (on this page)The line was spotted by Tina Lannin, lipreader for O'Malley Communications, the Press Association said. She also spotted Prince Harry, William's best man, nervously comment "Right, she is here now," as Middleton arrived.
An estimated million well-wishers — as well as some protesters — flooded into the areas surrounding Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey and other London landmarks.
Some were up at dawn waving flags for television cameras under steely gray skies and cool temperatures.
Cheers erupted as huge television screens showing the service began broadcasting at Trafalgar Square and Hyde Park.
'She is beautiful' Brenda Hunt-Stevenson, a 56-year-old retired teacher from Newfoundland, Canada, said there was only one thing on her mind.
"I want to see that kiss on that balcony. That's going to clinch it for me. I don't care what Kate wears. She is beautiful anyway," she said.
Even astronauts on the International Space Station offered best wishes to the couple in a video posted on YouTube.
Police officers arrest a man as he tries to get into London's Westminster Abbey in London on the day of the royal wedding of Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Some 8,000 reporters and support staff have descended on the capital to capture the occasion in words and images, and, while some question a British government estimate of a global audience of two billion, hundreds of millions are certain to tune in.
Security was tight and as of 11 a.m. local time, police reported 18 arrests had been made for a variety of offenses including, possessing an offensive weapon, sexual assault, assault, criminal damage, a drug offense and being drunk and disorderly, NBC News reported.
Ecstatic crowds The ceremony ended at about 12 noon (7 a.m. ET) and the newly wed couple traveled along street lined with even more ecstatic crowds in an open carriage.
Both smiled and waved as they made the journey, surrounded by cavalry soldiers in dress uniforms to Buckingham Palace. | AdChoices
The palace announced early Friday that the couple would be known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Middleton will now be "Her Royal Highness" and also Princess William of Wales, but the latter title will not be used.
The second duke of Cambridge, Prince Adolphus Frederick, was the seventh son of King George III. Defying the Royal Marriage Act, he married his mistress, Sarah Louisa Fairbrother, an actress and a commoner, in 1847. Since the marriage wasn't legal, his children were all illegitimate.
Video: Queen Elizabeth reigns over royal nuptials (on this page)In contrast to the clamor outside, inside the abbey all was airy and calm during the service. The long aisle leading to the altar was lined with maple and hornbeam trees as light streamed in through the high arched windows.
Video: Royal groom, best man arrive for nuptialsGbagbo negotiating surrender, Ivory Coast foreign minister says
Abidjan residents flee the main Ivory Coast city Tuesday as incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo negotiated a surrendeTORYst
(CNN) -- After days of heavy fighting, forces loyal to Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo laid down their arms Tuesday and the self-declared president was negotiating the terms of his surrender, his foreign minister said.
Calm was reported Tuesday afternoon in Abidjan, the West African nation's largest city and the center of the battle between Gbagbo's military and those loyal to his rival, Alassane Ouattara, who is recognized internationally as the legitimate president.
"We must now do what we can do to have lasting peace, said Alcide Djedje, the foreign minister, who participated in talks at the French ambassador's residence in Abidjan.
Two of Gbagbo's generals were in "the process of negotiating a surrender," French Prime Minister Francois Fillon told parliament Tuesday.
Ouattara's camp said it was sticking to a demand it has made all along: that Gbagbo recognize Ouattara's victory at the polls, said spokesman Patrick Achi.
"I think it is something very important," Achi told CNN. "The military fight is almost over. As soon as he surrenders, all the fighting will stop."
CNN could not verify Gbagbo's whereabouts but it was widely believed that he was in his Abidjan residence.
U.S. President Barack Obama called Tuesday for Gbagbo to "stand down immediately."
"Tragically, the violence that we are seeing could have been averted had Laurent Gbagbo respected the results of last year's presidential election," Obama said. "To end this violence and prevent more bloodshed, former President Gbagbo must stand down immediately, and direct those who are fighting on his behalf to lay down their arms."
Ouattara's forces entered Abidjan last Thursday after an offensive that swept them across the country. Since then, the sporadic post-election violence that had plagued Abidjan for four months escalated into war.
By Tuesday, they had surrounded the presidential palace.
"We do not see why he shall not surrender," Achi said earlier, adding the new government may seek trial for Gbagbo in the International Court of Justice.
An Abidjan resident said state-run television, which has serves as a powerful mouthpiece for Gbagbo, went dark Monday, a sign that Ouattara's forces had overrun the building.
Gbagbo's forces suffered a setback Monday when United Nations helicopters fired on one of its camps to prevent the use of heavy weapons against civilians and U.N. peacekeepers.
Djedje said the U.N. attack prompted Gbagbo's forces to stop fighting.
"Since there was no more ammunition and weapons they decided to lay down the arms and negotiate a cease-fire," he said.
U.N. Peacekeeping Director Alain Le Roy told reporters the global body was not taking sides in the conflict, but had to act after three days of fire from Gbagbo forces left four U.N. peacekeepers seriously injured.
"We are shooting at heavy weapons. We are not shooting at the presidency," Le Roy said.
France also sent 350 peacekeepers to the country over the weekend and took control of the airport in Abidjan, according to the French Ministry of Defense. The new French troops joined the U.N. peacekeeping mission of about 7,500 troops already in the country.
The political chaos and violence has claimed hundreds of lives in Ivory Coast. In one of the bloodiest incidents yet, the International Committee of the Red Cross reported the killings of 800 people in the western cocoa-producing town of Duekoue
CNN
Weakeleakse -Mauritania
09NOUAKCHOTT308 Date29/04/2009 05:26 Origin
Embassy Nouakchott Classification
CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN Header
Excerpt from document summary
(C/NF) Summary: Senator Sylla stated he and a group of
anti-coup activists are determined to stop Aziz and derail
upcoming elections, through violence if necessary. To this
end, he wants to obtain arms and logistical support from the
Israelis, and have Post serve as an intermediary between the
two parties to facilitate contact.
Full Document
VZCZCXRO2442
PP RUEHPA RUEHTRO
DE RUEHNK #0308/01 1191726
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 291726Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY NOUAKCHOTT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8384
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUCNMGH/MAGHREB COLLECTIVE
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0619
RUEHDO/AMEMBASSY DOHA 0556
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0966
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID 2161
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0634
RUEHPG/AMEMBASSY PRAGUE 0191
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 0281
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RHMFISS/COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHDS/USMISSION USAU ADDIS ABABA
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 0634
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1075
Content
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NOUAKCHOTT 000308
NOFORN
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/29/2019
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PINR, MR
SUBJECT: SENATOR SYLLA: OUR RECURRING VIOLENT BIT ACTOR
REF: A. NOUAKCHOTT 215
B. 08 NOUAKCHOTT 739
C. 08 NOUAKCHOTT 582
D. NOUAKCHOTT 220
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Dennis Hankins for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).
1. (C/NF) Summary: Senator Sylla stated he and a group of
anti-coup activists are determined to stop Aziz and derail
upcoming elections, through violence if necessary. To this
end, he wants to obtain arms and logistical support from the
Israelis, and have Post serve as an intermediary between the
two parties to facilitate contact. President Abdallahi
previously distanced himself from Sylla's agenda -- an agenda
that is likely delusional Post plans to cut off contact.
End summary.
2. (C/NF) PolAsst met with Senator Youssef Ould Tijani Sylla
of M'Bout, at his request, on April 29. A well-known visitor
to the Embassy (Refs A, B, and C), in previous meetings Sylla
has frequently called for more radical opposition to the
coup. Sylla began this meeting by summarizing his recent
trip to Portugal, Spain, and France, rattling off the various
figures he met with. He also held interviews with Portuguese
TV and radio "to explain the Mauritanian situation." (Note:
Sylla speaks Portuguese fluently. End note.) He then cut to
the real point of the meeting. "We have a problem," he said
gravely. General Aziz has threatened to cut ties with the US
after he is elected, and after that, the Europeans may be
next, he stated. This would leave the anti-coup activists
out in the cold, subject to "being killed or put in prison,"
and the junta free to fully embrace Libya and Iran. Aziz
must be stopped, he said, and to do that "We need arms
through the support of Israel." Money was of no interest, he
said; "we are ready to sacrifice our lives" to stop the coup.
When asked to clarify what he meant by "stopping" Aziz, he
said "capture or liquidate him." PolAsst noted that the USG
did not support violent resistance, even if it were in the
name of restoring democracy and overturning a coup, but Sylla
was undeterred.
3. (C/NF) As for logistics, Sylla said all they would need
is "four or five cars, some AK-47s and machine guns." Fifty
men at most would be sufficient he said, remarking that he
had three sons of his own, and could discreetly assemble a
"good team" in his home district of M'Bout. Noting that Aziz
was not well protected these days, he would be easy to take
out, he reasoned. (Note: Indeed, Aziz has been spotted
several times around various parts of Nouakchott with minimal
or no visible personal protection. End note.) PolAsst asked
what his plan would be after Aziz was removed -- "Abdallahi
will come back as President" and there would be no more
constitutional problems, he said. When pressed about what
Generals Ghazouani, Hadi, and others in the military and
security services would do if Aziz were eliminated, Sylla
said they would do "nothing." Sylla stated that this course
of action had already been decided upon; "now we just need
the means." He said if there were no political consensus
found soon, his group would want to be ready to act by the
start of the official campaign. (Note: The campaign starts
officially on May 21 and ends on June 4. End note.) Sylla
reasoned that during the campaign would be the easiest time
to make an attempt on Aziz, as he will be meeting with people
constantly. "It would be very easy for someone wearing a
boubou (customary Mauritanian dress for males) to conceal a
weapon and infiltrate a meeting," he said.
4. (C/NF) Sylla asked for Post to provide him with contact
information for the Israeli ambassador for Mauritania so he
could make initial contact. Noting that time was of the
essence given the compacted electoral calendar, he stated
several times that this was "very urgent." (Note: Sylla
stated that he had not/not met with any Israeli diplomats
during his recent trip to Europe. End note.) He said he
would prefer contact with the Israelis to be initiated by the
NOUAKCHOTT 00000308 002 OF 002
US Embassy and stated the necessity of having a "logistical
plan in place to aid this group of Mauritanian democrats who
want your support."
5. (C/NF) Sylla said he had recently met with National
Assembly President Messaoud Ould Boulkheir to discuss the
current situation. When PolAsst asked if Boulkheir was in
agreement with this plan to obtain arms, Sylla replied "If he
isn't in agreement, he is almost in agreement."
6. (C/NF) Comment: A serial name dropper, Sylla frequently
cites others (e.g., Abdallahi, Boulkheir, etc.) in
conversations in an attempt to lend legitimacy to his own
plans. During Charge's last visit to President Abdallahi in
Lemden (Ref D), Charge asked about Sylla, since he often
boasted of meeting with Abdallahi and liked to suggest he was
acting on behalf of the President and/or the FNDD leadership.
Abdallahi praised Sylla for his "clear anti-coup position."
When Charge noted Sylla was the most radical anti-coup figure
he had met yet due to his advocacy of violence and plans to
obtain arms from Israel, Abdallahi chuckled and said, "We did
not discuss THAT, I can assure you." Abdallahi reiterated
that their struggle was a peaceful one, but conceded that
Sylla did have a "hot streak."
7. (C/NF) Comment continued: There are several problems
with Sylla's "plan," not the least of which is that should
his group succeed in killing Aziz, it is highly unlikely that
Ghazouani, Hadi, and others would sit by and do "nothing"
(particularly given the fact that Sylla and his associates
are not White Moor). Moreover, weapons can be obtained
relatively easily in Mauritania; if Sylla merely wanted to
assemble a cache of weapons, he would hardly need American or
Israeli assistance to do so. There is always the possibility
that Sylla is leading a false flag operation on behalf of
Aziz to goad the US into giving support to his plan,
whereupon the press would have a field day and Aziz could
trumpet "foreign interference" to rally support. End comment.
8. (C/NF) Next Steps: We have met Sylla enough times to
determine he is not worth meeting again. We have
consistently held a strong position against armed action but
he keeps coming back. We would have cut off contacts long
ago -- indeed, Charge passed on Sylla's most recent urgent
request for a meeting to PolAsst -- but for the fact that he
is a senator, does have some limited weight in
Afro-Mauritanian circles, and meets occasionally with
Abdallahi. Months old rumors of FNDD small arms procurement
indicated someone might be planning an armed response to the
coup. If that someone was Sylla, we wanted early warning.
If there is something behind Sylla's plots (we are
skeptical), the signs are that Sylla would prove someone
worse than Aziz.
-friday-11 : 03 :2011
The other face of the Mauritanian police today after a confrontation in dealing with the demonstrators brutallyWent out today in Nouakchott hundreds of young people to demonstrate against the poor conditions experienced by the people of Mauritania and in light of political blockages and congestion experienced by the Mauritanian street after slammed shut in his face all the means leading to the access to a reasonable level to ensure individual freedom and dignity
And achieve their ambition of young people in reaching a painful guarantees them the right to work and to participate constructively in nation-buildingThat the Mauritanian government had a different opinion is that the youth groups demonstrator is a group of troublemakers and hooligans should be silenced by intimidation and whose security forces carried out the blessing of the highest authorities of the country using the same traditional images, namely:Provocation, and the introduction of elements of Riot inserted in the form of small groups are hurled stones at passers-by and carsPrevent the demonstrators from entering a public square and the concentration of police and protesters near the Ntogahm from all sidesBaldhavp to many styles and the legacy of previous periods
Group of young people demonstrating in the center of the capital
Police receive tear gas to disperse protestersDemonstrations that came out today were largely peaceful and organized civilization, but out of control and turned into a real clashWhere the company intervened violently is not justified to prevent the demonstrators from authorized Square Ablokat and used tear gas and batons to disperse demonstratorsAs smoke billowed from the center of the city and ignited tiresAccording to the independent news agency, quoting a reporter at the scene Almnoaagdin: The Achardp experiencing a severe shortage of tear gas and that the shipment that you use today may be the last shipment available to it, and therefore wanted through the use of excessiveSend a message of force to intimidate the demonstrators.He added that the security management tried to import shipments of tear gas, but the international agencies that requested to do so may apologized for reasons of human rights not to exportWhich are used in the suppression of Almetzahreinn in Arab countries.
Police also arrested some young men about 5 of them and harassing them and has been stripped of their clothes and practiced them in front of the ugliest forms of torture in front of passers-by and representatives of international mediaDemonstrations also punctuated by acts Sbakamt by some criminal elements exploited the situation to which the practice of theft and bullying in broad daylight and attacked passers-by on the eyes and ears of the security forces did not move a finger and stood idly byAmong the most prominent sights on the presence of a group of white men loaded with weapons of Youth on Feb. 25.Some participants in the demonstration Achardt accused of complicity with thugs and said they sawIndividuals believed to be Kherpin disembark from a Mercedes I take the plateGlass and covered with black identities of them inside.Source: ahdsalem blogger
