Visblog

Former Congo dictator Mobutu Seseseko’s mansion is now home to rats, bats, snakes and birds. Lesson to greedy rulers  This is the House of the former Zaire [now DRC] dictator, Field Marshal Mobutu Sese Seko Kukungbendu Wazabanga. The magnificent structure constructed on a large expanse of land [equivalent to a minimal game park] was built in his home village called Gbadolite at the cost £100m. It was considered the "epitome of decor and elegance" in Zaire and beyond. The super structure was decorated with Italian marble, Katangese high-karate gold plated doors and windows, Spanish floor tiles, automatic American air conditioning, Isreali state-of-the-art communication systems, king-size swimming pool, a private airport control tower, 3-4 inch bullet-proof glassware, 5 presidential suites, 6 Jacuzzis and surrounded by a mini game park full of all kinds of wildlife, including Indian tigers. The structure, which at the time of Mobutu's death was ranked one of the most magnif...

Nine Israeli soldiers have been killed in a series of ambushes and a double bombing in the single biggest loss of life for the country’s armed forces since the start of the ground invasion of Gaza. The soldiers were killed in what appeared to be a well-coordinated surprise attack in the Shujaiyah neighbourhood in the north of the Gaza Strip. The troops there were in an “advance stage” of sweeping up the area and dismantling Hamas capabilities, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The deaths late on Tuesday night included the most senior Israeli commander killed so far, and come as Israel faces intense international and domestic pressure to wind down its military campaign, which has killed some 15,000 people. Patience is running thin among key allies, such as the US, while families of hostages held in Gaza are also demanding a ceasefire. The death toll of Israeli soldiers passed 100 this week.