Tag: Six In The Morning

Gadhafi’s forces break through Libya rebel lines



Opposition appear to be losing in Zawiya in west, but their flag flies over new city in east

NBC, msnbc.com and news services  

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s forces broke through rebel defenses at the city of Zawiya Saturday, witnesses said after a battle in which dozens of people were killed.

The attack on the city, about 30 miles west of Tripoli, saw an improvised force of rebels armed with hunting rifles and swords take on troops from the elite Khamis Brigade – named after the son of Gadhafi who commands it.

The witnesses said that forces loyal to the regime had overcome rebel positions with tanks, heavy mortar shelling, machinegun fire.

The rattle of gunfire and explosions could be heard as they spoke to The Associated Press by phone. They did so on condition of anonymity because of fears for their safety.

‘Gaddafi’s men had heavier weapons but we had more to fight for’



Rebel forces have repelled attacks by troops.

By Kim Sengupta on the front line of a civil war, and Catrina Stewart in Brega  Friday, 4 March 2011

Rebels pursuing the retreating troops of Muammar Gaddafi have set up a new frontline in regime-held territory in preparation for an offensive which they claim will significantly change the course of the conflict.

After repulsing an attack on Brega, a strategic town and oil production centre, the revolutionary forces have moved on to Agheila, 40 miles further west towards Sirte, Colonel Gaddafi’s birthplace and a loyalist stronghold.

Although the outcome of what is now a civil war is far from certain, the failure of the regime to take Brega and push on to Benghazi, the capital of “Free Libya”, has provided a great boost to the morale of the dissident movement.

US says Gaddafi is ‘delusional’ and unfit to lead



A senior US diplomat says Gaddafi’s behaviour ‘underscores how unfit he is to lead and how disconnected he is from reality’

Ben Quinn and agencies

guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 1 March 2011

Muammar Gaddafi is “delusional”,  “unfit to lead” and “disconnected from reality”, according to the US ambassador to the UN.

Susan Rice made the comments following an interview Gaddafi gave in which he insisted the people of Libya love him and denied that there have been any demonstrations against his regime.

“All my people love me. They would die to protect me,” the Libyan leader said, speaking to news organisations including the BBC, laughing off international pressure to step down.

“As if anyone would leave their homeland,” he replied, accusing western leaders of betrayal and of having “no morals.”

Rebel government tries to bring order to the shattered streets of Benghazi

By Kim Sengupta in Benghazi  Monday, 28 February 2011

Libya has taken its first steps towards a new future following four decades of dictatorship with the formation of a new administration in the half of the country which is out of Colonel Gaddafi’s control.

The National Council set up in Benghazi, the “capital of Free Libya”, will present itself for recognition by the international community as emissaries of the people who will be representing the country from now on.

Former justice minister Mustafa Abdel-Jalil announced that he would head an interim government with the suggestion that it has the backing of the US.

African mercenaries in Libya nervously await their fate

Mercenaries captured in Libya are facing an uncertain future, writes Nick Meo in Al-Bayda.



By Nick Meo, Al-Bayda, Libya 7:30AM GMT 27 Feb 2011  

Crowded into an empty classroom which was stinking of unwashed bodies and reeking of fear, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s defeated mercenary killers awaited their fate.

A week earlier the men – Libyan loyalists of the dictator and black African recruits – had been landed at airports throughout eastern Libya and sent out into the streets to shoot protesters in a murderous rampage. They killed dozens before they were overwhelmed by anti-Gaddafi militias.

The survivors were exhausted, filthy, far from home, and fearful of execution, even though they had been assured of good treatment. Fifty of them lay on mattresses on the floor in one classroom alone, with nearly 100 more in the same school building which was being used as a temporary prison. Most looked dazed. Some were virtually children

Rebels lay siege to Gaddafi stronghold



Desperate dictator tells faithful: ‘We can crush any enemy’

By Donald Macintyre, Terri Judd and Catrina Stewart in Benghazi  Saturday, 26 February 2011

The beleaguered  Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi defiantly appealed to his hardcore supporters to “defend the nation” against an uprising which was last night closing in on Tripoli after thousands of protesters braved gunfire to try to march through the capital.

Standing on the ramparts of a fort overlooking the city’s Green Square, Colonel Gaddafi pumped his fist and told 1,000 pro-regime demonstrators: “We can crush any enemy. We can crush it with the people’s will. The people are armed and when necessary, we will open arsenals to arm all the Libyan people and all Libyan tribes.”

New Zealand earthquake: ‘slim chance’ of further survivors

Emergency services continue earthquake rescue efforts but no survivors found in last 24 hours

• Toby Manhire in Christchurch

• The Guardian, Friday 25 February 2011



As the death toll from Tuesday’s earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, continues to rise, the authorities have admitted that the chances of finding further survivors are increasingly slim.

With 113 people confirmed dead, including two babies, and more than 200 people still missing, civil defence minister John Carter said: “We’re still hopeful, but it’s getting less and less likely.”

The bleak warning came as one of two Britons confirmed dead in the quake was named as Gregory Tobin, 25, a chef, from Tadcaster, North Yorkshire. Tobin had been on a round-the-world trip and was believed to have been working temporarily at a garage in Christchurch. One tribute on his Facebook page read: “Such a nice guy and at such a young age.”

Tripoli: a city in the shadow of death



Gunfire in the suburbs – and fear, hunger and rumour in the capital Thousands race for last tickets out of a city sinking into anarchy

Robert Fisk, with the first dispatch from Libya’s war-torn capital, reports



Thursday, 24 February 2011  

Up to 15,000 men, women and children besieged Tripoli’s international airport last night, shouting and screaming for seats on the few airliners still prepared to fly to Muammar Gaddafi’s rump state, paying Libyan police bribe after bribe to reach the ticket desks in a rain-soaked mob of hungry, desperate families. Many were trampled as Libyan security men savagely beat those who pushed their way to the front.

Among them were Gaddafi’s fellow Arabs, thousands of them Egyptians, some of whom had been living at the airport for two days without food or sanitation. The place stank of faeces and urine and fear. Yet a 45-minute visit into the city for a new airline ticket to another destination is the only chance to see Gaddafi’s capital if you are a “dog” of the international press.

Assange to be extradited to Sweden



Wikileaks founder Julian Assange should be extradited to Sweden to face sexual assault allegations, a judge has ruled.

‘We may be witnessing New Zealand’s darkest day’: PM says 65 killed in quake

 



February 22, 2011  

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key says 65 people died in the earthquake that devastated Christchurch today.

”The death toll I have at the moment is 65 and that may rise. So it’s an absolute tragedy for this city, for New Zealand, for the people that we care so much about,” Mr Key told TVNZ. ”It’s a terrifying time for the people of Canterbury.”

He said: “We may be witnessing New Zealand’s darkest day.”

As thousands of shocked people wandered the rubble-strewn streets of Christchurch after today’s devastating and deadly earthquake, emergency workers were searching for survivors.

Four American hostages killed by pirates



All of the pirates were killed or captured by U.S. forces

Gaddafi regime: We will fight to the end

 

Dictator’s son warns of civil war during rambling TV address as violent protests spread to Libyan capital

By Catrina Stewart and Kim Sengupta  Monday, 21 February 2011

In a a sign that the first cracks are starting to show in the Libyan regime, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s son warned in a lengthy and rambling address broadcast live last night that the overthrow of the regime would lead to civil war and the break-up of the country.

The address by Saif Gaddafi, who is viewed as reform-minded in the West, came as the first major anti-government protests spread to the capital, Tripoli, striking at the heart of the regime and making Colonel Gaddafi’s 42-year hold on power appear increasingly precarious.