The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- Gaddafi defiant, govt said talking with rebels
- Pakistan let China see crashed U.S. "stealth" copter - FT
- Egypt's ex-president Mubarak to return to court
| Gaddafi defiant, govt said talking with rebels Posted: 14 Aug 2011 09:11 PM PDT TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi urged his people early on Monday to "liberate Libya" from NATO and traitors, a day after rebels captured a key town on the road west to Tunisia, severing Tripoli's main supply route.
Late on Sunday, representatives of Gaddafi's government were holding talks with rebels at a hotel on the southern Tunisian island of Djerba, a source with direct knowledge of the talks said -- though the government spokesman denied it. The talks followed a dramatic advance by the rebels that won them control of the town of Zawiyah, 50 km west of Tripoli on the coast, enabling them to halt food and fuel supplies from Tunisia to Gaddafi's stronghold in the capital. Tripoli was not under immediate threat from a rebel attack, but rebel forces are now in their strongest position since the uprising against 41 years of Gaddafi's rule began in February, controlling the coast both east and west of Tripoli. The rebels are helped by NATO aircraft which, under a U.N. mandate to protect civilians from Gaddafi's forces, are bombing military facilities and equipment that are trying to crush the rebel fighters. Gaddafi's speech on Monday, delivered over a poor quality telephone line and broadcast by state television in audio only, was his first public address since rebel fighters launched their latest offensive, the biggest in months. "The Libyan people will remain and the Fateh revolution (which brought Gaddafi to power in 1969) will remain. Move forward, challenge, pick up your weapons, go to the fight for liberating Libya inch by inch from the traitors and from NATO," the Libyan leader said. "Get ready for the fight ... The blood of martyrs is fuel for the battlefield," he said, in what state television said was a live speech. In Djerba late on Sunday, security staff turned away a Reuters reporter from the hotel where the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the talks between rebel and government representatives were being held. Lights were on inside the hotel and a man in jeans and t-shirt, a list in his hand, was standing outside with hotel security staff. In Tripoli, government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim blamed Western leaders and the media for the spread of rumours that the government was engaged in talks on the leader's departure from Libya. "This information is absolutely incorrect and it is part of a media war against us. Their target is to confuse us, break our spirit, and shake our morale," he said. "The leader is here in Libya, fighting for the freedom of our nation. He will not leave Libya," Ibrahim said. Gaddafi's characteristically defiant speech followed a day of action across a swathe of northwest Libya during which rebels said they had seized the town of Surman, next door to Zawiyah, there was fighting in the town of Garyan that controls the southern access to Tripoli, and shooting could be heard near the main Libyan-Tunisian border crossing. REBEL FLAG Rebels from the Western Mountains region to the south advanced into Zawiyah late on Saturday, and early on Sunday, about 50 rebel fighters were milling around near the central market, triumphantly shouting "Allahu Akbar!" ("God is greatest"). The red, black and green rebel flag was flying from a shop. At the point where it passes through Zawiyah, the main highway linking Tripoli to Tunisia was empty of traffic. Rebel fighters told Reuters there were still forces loyal to Gaddafi in the town, including snipers on tall buildings. Bursts of artillery and machinegun fire could be heard. One rebel fighter said Gaddafi's forces controlled the oil refinery on the northern edge of Zawiyah -- a strategic target because it is the only one still functioning in western Libya and Gaddafi's forces depend on it for fuel. The fighting was spreading west from Zawiyah along the coastal highway towards the main Ras Jdir border crossing with Tunisia. A rebel spokesman called Abdulrahman said rebels had seized Surman, the next town west along the coast from Zawiyah. But at the border crossing to Tunisia, Libyan customs and immigration officers were operating as usual, despite reports of clashes between rebels and pro-Gaddafi forces in the area late on Saturday. On another front in Sunday's fighting, heavy gunfire could be heard from the town Of Garyan, a Reuters reporter in the area said. A rebel fighter told Reuters "We control 70 percent of Garyan. There is still fighting taking place at the moment." Government spokesman Ibrahim said Zawiyah and Garyan were "under our full control" but that there were small pockets of fighting in two other locations in the area around Tripoli. The coastal highway between Tripoli and Tunisia had not been blocked by the fighting, Ibrahim said in a telephone interview on Sunday, but foreigners were not being allowed to use the route "to save them from any bullets here or there". Rebels, backed by NATO warplanes, have been trying since February to end Gaddafi's rule in the bloodiest of the "Arab Spring" uprisings convulsing the Middle East. After a period of deadlock, the rebels' advance to the Mediterranean coast near Tripoli represents a major shift in the balance of forces. Gaddafi says the rebels are armed criminals and al Qaeda militants, and has described the NATO campaign as an act of colonial aggression aimed at stealing Libya's oil. (Additional reporting by Ulf Laessing in Ras Jdir, Tunisia, Tarek Amara in Tunis, Hamid Ould Ahmed in Algiers; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Tim Pearce) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. | ||
| Pakistan let China see crashed U.S. "stealth" copter - FT Posted: 14 Aug 2011 08:40 PM PDT ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan gave China access to the previously unknown U.S. "stealth" helicopter that crashed during the commando raid that killed Osama bin Laden in May despite explicit requests from the CIA not to, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. The disclosure, if confirmed, is likely to further shake the U.S.-Pakistan relationship, which has been improving slightly after hitting its lowest point in decades following the killing of bin Laden. During the raid, one of two modified Blackhawk helicopters, believed to employ unknown stealth capability, malfunctioned and crashed, forcing the commandos to abandon it. "The U.S. now has information that Pakistan, particularly the ISI, gave access to the Chinese military to the downed helicopter in Abbottabad," the paper quoted a person "in intelligence circles" as saying on its website. It said Pakistan, which enjoys a close relationship with China, allowed Chinese intelligence officials to take pictures of the crashed aircraft as well as take samples of its special "skin" that allowed the American raid to evade Pakistani radar. One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters there was reason to believe Pakistan had allowed the Chinese to inspect the aircraft. But the official could not confirm it happened with certainty. No one from the Pakistani army was available for comment, but the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI), Pakistan's top spy agency, denied the report. The paper said Pakistan's top general, chief of army staff Ashfaq Kayani, denied that China had been given access. The surviving tail section, photos of which were widely distributed on the Internet, was returned to the United States following a trip by U.S. Senator John Kerry in May, a spokesman for the U.S. embassy told Reuters. Shortly after the raid, Pakistan hinted that it might give China access to the helicopter, given its fury over the raid, which it considers a grievous violation of its sovereignty. "We had explicitly asked the Pakistanis in the immediate aftermath of the raid not to let anyone have access to the damaged remains of the helicopter," the Financial Times quoted the source as saying. In an incident such as the helicopter crash, it is standard American procedure to destroy sophisticated technology such as encrypted communications and navigation computers. DISPLEASURE Pakistan is a strategic ally to the United States but the relationship has been on a downward spiral since the killing of the al Qaeda leader in the raid by U.S. forces. Islamabad was not informed in advance and responded by cutting back on U.S. trainers in the country and placing limits on CIA activities there. The fact that the al Qaeda chief lived for years near the Pakistani army's main academy in the northwestern garrison town of Abbottabad reinforced suspicions in Washington about Islamabad's reliability in the war against militant Islamists. There are also growing frustrations with Pakistan over its reluctance to mount offensives against militant factions in the northwest who are fighting U.S.-led foreign forces across the border in Afghanistan. In a show of displeasure over Pakistan's cutback in U.S. trainers, its limits on visas for U.S. personnel and other bilateral irritants, the United States has suspended about a third of its $2.7 billion annual defence aid to Pakistan. Despite this, both sides have tried to prevent a breakdown of relations. The head of Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Lieutenant-General Ahmad Shuja Pasha, visited the United States last month for talks with U.S. government and intelligence officials, which both sides said went well. Despite the billions in aid, Pakistan still considers China a more reliable ally than the United States. China is a major investor in predominantly Muslim Pakistan in areas such as telecommunications, ports and infrastructure. The countries are linked by a Chinese-built road pushed through Pakistan's northern mountains. Trade with Pakistan is worth almost $9 billion a year for Pakistan, and China is its top arms supplier. In the wake of attacks that left 11 people dead in the China's western region of Xinjiang in late July, Pakistan dispatched the ISI's Pasha to Beijing. (Writing and additional reporting by Chris Allbritton in Islamabad, Mark Hosenball and Phil Stewart in Washington; Editing by Rosalind Russell and Alison Williams) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. | ||
| Egypt's ex-president Mubarak to return to court Posted: 14 Aug 2011 08:40 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak returns to court on Monday to face charges of killing protesters, in a hearing that could decide if the head of the ruling military council will take the stand as a witness.
Defence lawyers say that any testimony by Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi on Mubarak's role in trying to suppress the 18-day uprising, in which more than 800 people were killed, could decide the fate of the 83-year-old. Tantawi, who was defence minister for two decades under Mubarak, heads the military council that took power when Mubarak was ousted on Feb. 11 by the mass protests. Mubarak, accused of corruption and ordering the killing of protesters, went on trial on Aug. 3 in a case that has gripped the Arab world, where leaders rule for life and are seldom held to account. The first Arab head of state to stand trial in person since popular uprisings swept the Middle East, the former air force commander faces charges that could carry the death penalty. Mubarak appeared on a hospital bed, behind the bars of a courtroom cage with his sons, Gamal and Alaa, who will also appear again on Monday. About 850 people were killed during the uprising and over 6,000 were wounded when security forces fired live rounds, rubber bullets and used water cannon and batons against the protesters. The prosecutor accuses Mubarak of authorising the use of the live ammunition to quell the protests. Mubarak denied all accusations during the opening session, which was aired live and counted as his first public appearance since he was toppled. FAMILIES In the first court session, defence lawyers asked for Tantawi, former intelligence chief Omar Suleiman and about 1,600 others to testify as witnesses. Defence lawyers said the accounts would be vital for either incriminating or exonerating Mubarak from involvement in killing protesters. "Tantawi's testimony would help the court determine whether Mubarak gave orders to Interior Minister Habib al-Adli to fire at protesters or whether Adli was acting independently," one member of the defence team, who asked not to be named, said. A judge on Sunday set the next hearing for Adli and six of his lieutenants for Sept. 5. Lawyers for the families of those killed have also demanded Tantawi testify in the trial. "It is important for the court to meet the requests of the defence team, especially the request to hear the accounts of Field Marshal Tantawi in court to determine whether Mubarak asked him to confront and fire at protesters or not," the lawyer said. "The defence team sees Tantawi as a compurgator, or a witness whose testimony would exonerate Mubarak. The plaintiffs' lawyers, however, expect him to testify that he received orders to fire, which is necessary to convict Mubarak," another lawyer handling the case said. Essam Soltan, one of the plaintiffs' lawyers, said Judge Ahmed Refaat would ask lawyers to justify their request to summon Tantawi to testify before ruling on it. The cases of the defendants are interlinked and each could accuse his superior of giving the orders to fire, thus weakening the case against Mubarak, Soltan said. The military said officers called in by the judge to give their testimony would attend. But a judicial source said even if Tantawi were asked to testify, his testimony would come later in the trial to shield the army from taking the heat in the controversial case. Tantawi's military council has promised a transition to democracy in the Arab world's most populous country -- a process far from complete. (Editing by Sami Aboudi and Alison Williams) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
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