W O R L D

Libyan rebels make rapid retreat
Flee oil town of Ras Lunuf, seek help from allied powers
Tripoli/Washington, March 30
Capitalising on a slowdown in coalition air strikes, Muammar Gaddafi’s troops pounded rebels in the oil towns of Ras Lanuf and Brega, forcing them to retreat as world powers debated arming the ragtag fighters.

Libyan rebels flee from Ras Lanuf on Wednesday. — AFP

Junta rule ends in Myanmar
But members of old regime dominate cabinet
Yangon, March 30
Myanmar’s military handed power to a nominally civilian government after almost half a century of army rule today, as the junta was disbanded and a new President appointed.

A TV grab shows newly- appointed President, former PM Thein Sein (centre), during his swearing-in ceremony in Naypyidaw on Wednesday. — AFP

US actor George Clooney(left) and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. — AFP

Japan Quake & Aftermath
4 stricken reactors to be decommissioned
Tokyo/Fukushima, March 30
Battling to contain its atomic crisis, Japan today said it would scrap four stricken reactors at its Fukushima nuclear plant, as radiation seeping into seawater reached its highest level yet, 3,355 times the usual amount, and the president of the quake-hit facility’s operator hospitalised.

Temple attacked in Australia
Melbourne, March 30
Australia’s oldest Hindu temple in New South Wales was attacked by some masked gunmen who fired several shots at it, triggering panic among the community members.

Libyan rebels make rapid retreat
Flee oil town of Ras Lunuf, seek help from allied powers

Gaddafi is welcome in Uganda Kampala: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is welcome to live in the East African nation of Uganda, the President’s spokesman told The Associated Press on Wednesday, in what appears to be the first country to offer him refuge. An intense diplomatic effort is under way to find a country where Gaddafi can go, as an international military effort against Gaddafi’s forces continues. The spokesman for Uganda’s president, Tamale Mirundi, told the AP that Gaddafi would be welcome in Uganda. He said Uganda’s policy is to accept asylum seekers, especially because so many Ugandans fled the country during the longtime rule of dictator Idi Amin. — AP

Tripoli/Washington, March 30
Capitalising on a slowdown in coalition air strikes, Muammar Gaddafi’s troops pounded rebels in the oil towns of Ras Lanuf and Brega, forcing them to retreat as world powers debated arming the ragtag fighters.

Using tanks, heavy guns and rockets, Libyan forces retook the rebel-held Ras Lanuf even as a string of explosions rocked Tripoli. The momentum of coalition air attacks tapered off somewhat with the US and the allied forces unwilling to expose their own forces to the bombardments.

The outgunned and unorganised rebels faced the heat from Gaddafi’s forces determined to regain control over the eastern towns.

Having halted the rebels’ march 100 km from their leader’s hometown of Sirte, Gaddafi’s armoured columns chased the rebels right into Ras Lanuf, 370 km west of the opposition stronghold of Benghazi, Al Jazeera reported.

Faced by a heavy barrage of shells exploding all round them, the rebel fighters fled on board pickup trucks. “We can’t fight tanks with our machine guns,” the Arab channel quoted opposition fighters as saying, as they beseeched for quick and strong intervention by allied warplanes.

“Tell Sarkozy and Cameron that we need help and without air strikes Gaddafi will massacre us,” the rebel fighters said as Obama administration did not rule out the possibility of arming the rebels.

“I’m not ruling it out. But I’m also not ruling it in. We’re assessing what Gaddafi is upto,” US President Barack Obama said. The US President said though the “noose” was tightening around Gaddafi, but they were still no signs that the Libyan leader was seeking to negotiate an exit from Libya. “Our expectation is that as we continue to apply steady pressure, not only militarily but through other means, Gaddafi will step down,” Obama said.

Al Jazeera said several explosions were heard in Tripoli and that rebels were under renewed attack in the western town of Misurata from pro-Gaddafi forces.

Rebels have been forced to retreat from Bin Jawad, 150 km from Gaddafi’s home turf of Sirte, the Arab channel said.

Correspondents on the frontline reported the rout of rebels illustrating how much they rely on international power policy. — PTI

Junta rule ends in Myanmar
But members of old regime dominate cabinet

Yangon, March 30
Myanmar’s military handed power to a nominally civilian government after almost half a century of army rule today, as the junta was disbanded and a new President appointed.

But the army hierarchy retains a firm grip on power in the resource-rich Southeast Asian country, and many analysts believe Senior General Than Shwe will attempt to retain some sort of control behind the scenes.

The handover came after controversial elections last November, the country’s first in 20 years, which were marred by the absence of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and claims of cheating and intimidation. Quoting an order signed by strongman Than Shwe, Myanmar state television reported the junta’s State Peace and Development Council “has been officially dissolved”.

Than Shwe, who has ruled with an iron fist since 1992, is apparently no longer in the hitherto most powerful position of head of the army.

But Myanmar analyst Aung Naing Oo said: “Everyone will be required to report to him for quite some time.” He added the handover was similar to the slow withdrawal of Than Shwe’s predecessor, late dictator Ne Win.

Former PM Thein Sein, a key Than Shwe ally, was sworn in as President today. He is among a slew of generals who shed their army uniforms to contest the elections and are now civilian members of Parliament, which also has a quarter of its seats kept aside for the military. — AFP

Japan Quake & Aftermath
4 stricken reactors to be decommissioned

Tokyo/Fukushima, March 30
Battling to contain its atomic crisis, Japan today said it would scrap four stricken reactors at its Fukushima nuclear plant, as radiation seeping into seawater reached its highest level yet, 3,355 times the usual amount, and the president of the quake-hit facility’s operator hospitalised.

Authorities also said that they were mulling plans to cover the damaged reactor buildings with special fabric sheets to limit radiation, days after plutonium was found in the soil of the crippled nuclear plant, situated 220 km northeast of Tokyo.

Trade and Industry Minister Banri Kaieda ordered a check of all nuclear reactors in the country to prevent a recurrence of the atomic crisis triggered by the March 11 monster magnitude-9 quake and tsunami that left nearly 30,000 persons dead or unaccounted for in Japan’s northeast.

Radioactive iodine-131 at a concentration of 3,355 times the maximum allowable level under the law was detected yesterday in a seawater sample taken near the crisis-hit Fukushima plant, the government’s nuclear agency said. — PTI

Temple attacked in Australia