Liberia's presidential palace burns (During Founding Celebration)

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/07/26/liberia.palace.fire.ap/index.html?section=cnn_topstories

A floor of the presidential palace in Liberia's capital caught fire Wednesday, the blaze coming as President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf played host to the leaders of Ghana, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone for celebrations marking the anniversary of her country's founding by freed American slaves.

The leaders were escorted out of the building by security personnel and were unharmed, said presidential spokesman Cyrus Badio. The heads of state included Ghana's John Kufuor, Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo and Sierra Leone's Ahmed Tejan Kabbah.

Firefighters put out the blaze in the six-story Executive Mansion. No damage was visible from the outside.

Authorities were investigating the cause of the blaze, which struck the fourth floor, where Sirleaf's office is, Badio said.

[eppur_se_muova]

1. Read the article to see what years of war will do for a country:

Earlier, Sirleaf had been joined by Ghana President John Kufuor to switch on streetlights in eastern Monrovia as a part of independence celebrations. Running water also was turned on in parts of the capital to mark independence, the first time such municipal services had been available in Monrovia since civil war ended three years ago.

Engineers had water flowing to 30 percent of war-shattered Monrovia and generator-powered street lights on one road, a major leap toward getting basic services running but short of an often-heard campaign promise made by Sirleaf, who was inaugurated in January pledging to restore electricity to the capital in six months.

"I just want to say how proud we are," Sirleaf said late Tuesday of the new waterworks, noting that the installation was done by an all-Liberian crew.

Monrovia has not had running water in 15 years. The city's water treatment plant was destroyed during years of fighting that began in 1989. Since then, people have relied on wells, hand-pumps and bottled water.
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Liberia, founded by freed American slaves in 1847, marked 159 years of independence Wednesday.
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