Tripoli/Naples, June 17
NATO warplanes today dashed into the Libyan capital Tripoli at midday, pounding a target in the south of the city and sending a thick cloud of black smoke rising high into the air.

A series of explosions rumbled across other parts of the city as fighter jets could by heard flying overhead. Fire engines raced through the streets, sirens blaring.

It wasn't clear what was hit or whether there were casualties. Today is the main day of rest in Libya, with many people off work. NATO has been ramping up the pressure on Muammar Gaddafi's regime. Though most airstrikes happen under cover of darkness, daytime raids have grown more frequent.

Friday's raids follow a barrage that struck multiple targets late yesterday night.

The fresh strikes blasted the capital as renewed diplomatic efforts to halt Libya's civil war appeared to be gaining momentum, though there are no signs a breakthrough is imminent. Yesterday, Russia's envoy to Libya met with senior government leaders in Tripoli, but not Gaddafi himself, in an effort to stop the fighting.

Last week, the envoy Mikhail Margelov visited the Libyan rebel stronghold of Benghazi and said that Gadhafi has lost his legitimacy. However, the envoy also said NATO airstrikes are not a solution to Libya's violent stalemate.

Meanwhile, Libyan rebel chief Mahmud Jibril today denied suggestions by a Russian envoy that the insurgents had been negotiating with Muammar Gaddafi's regime. "I can assure you there is and there was no negotiation between the NTC and the regime," the head of the rebel National Transitional Council told a press conference in Naples.

Speaking alongside Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, Jibril said that were negotiations to take place, the NTC would "announce it out of commitment to our friends all over the world".

"We pursue every means possible, whether political or military, to liberate our country and establish democratic government based on a constitution and equal rights," he said. Russian envoy Mikhail Margelov said in Tunis earlier today that representatives of Gaddafi had made contact with the rebels in a number of European capitals, including Berlin, Paris and Oslo.

Margelov said the Libyans needed an opportunity to negotiate, "a mechanism that brings them together and if the international community can provide such a mechanism that would be a great help". Frattini also questioned the possibility of talks between the two sides. — AP/AFP 

Children who regularly see their parents drink are twice as likely to binge on alcohol themselves, according to a survey. Youths who are left unsupervised are also more likely to drink, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report found. Researchers for Ipsos Mori questioned 5,700 teenagers in England, and found one in four 13-14-year-olds have been drunk more than once, compared to just over half of children (52%) who are 15-16-year-olds.

Those who said they had seen their parents inebriated were twice as likely to have been drunk several times. And the odds of a teenager having ever had an alcoholic drink are also greater if their parents do not know where they are on a Saturday night, or if they are allowed to watch 18-rated films unsupervised.

Claire Turner, from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: “This research shows that parents can have more influence on their teenagers' behaviour than perhaps many assumed. Both what parents say and how they behave have a strong impact on their teenagers drinking, drinking regularly, and drinking to excess.”

The survey found the influence of friends is the most significant factor in childhood drinking, as the likelihood of youths drinking to excess more than doubles if they spend more than two nights a week socialising. Spending every night with friends multiplies the odds of drinking heavily more than four times.

The report concluded that schools are key to distributing information about drinking. “The findings suggest that efforts to improve drinking behaviour among young people at a national policy-level are best directed at supporting and educating parents,” it said. “This should include positive messages for parents about how they can influence their child's behaviour and stress the importance of parents' own drinking and what their children see and think about this. Friends are another key area of influence. Schools could help here by challenging incorrect perceptions about the regularity and scale of heavy drinking by peer groups.”

“Schools could also be a channel for information, getting targeted messages to parents encouraging actions at specific times in their child's development.”

Diane Abbott, the Labour health spokeswoman, said: “There are concrete lessons to be learnt from overseas, where tried and tested programmes aim to reduce alcohol and substance abuse through classroom-based education.”

— The Independent

London, June 17
British surgeons have carried out what they claim is the world's first lung transplant on a 20-year-old woman patient, who was suffering from two fungal conditions, a media report said. A team at the University Hospital of South Manchester has successfully carried out the transplant on Becky Jones, who was suffering from multi-resistant Aspergillus, a common airborne fungus, and multiple fungal balls in her old lungs.

Lung transplant patients have never before been able to have the operation while suffering from either of these conditions. But, Jones is now able to breathe freely again, the 'Daily Mail' reported. “Becky's transplant brings together a remarkable set of expertises; in fungal infection, molecular testing, advanced transplantation techniques and intensive care, all under one roof,” Prof David Denning, director of the National Aspergillosis Centre, was quoted by the British newspaper as saying. — PTI 

BRIEFLY

2 Indian firms win Green Oscar
LONDON: Two Indian firms have won the prestigious Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy, considered as the “Green Oscar”. A cash prize of £20,000 each were also given to them at a ceremony held hereon Thursday. Pankaj Patel, Chief of the Abellon CleanEnergy, Gujarat, received the award for producing biomass pellets from crop waste to fuel Gujarat's industries. Gyanesh Pandey received the award on behalf of Husk Power Systems, Bihar, which has built 65 power plants across the state fired by gasified rice husks. — PTI

Ban gets UNSC approval for new term 
United Nations: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday received the crucial support of the powerful Security Council for a second five-year term, ahead of the voting by the 192-member General Assembly next week. In a closed door session, the 15-member Council voted by acclamation for 67-year old Ban's second term from 2012-2016.The General Assembly will vote on his appointment on Tuesday, which is the final step to his appointment. — PTI

Climate change may slow down after 2020
London: There could be sharp decline in global warming by 2022, as scientists claim to have unearthed evidence that the Sun is poised to enter its first period of "hibernation" since the Little Ice Age of the early 1700s The Sun goes through a regular cycle of activity that peaks every 11 years. If they the new claims are right, global warming caused by greenhouse gases could be less severe over the next few decades than predicted, the Daily Mail reported. — PTI

Indian held for murder in Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur: A 24-year-old Indian national has been detained by police here on the charges of hacking to death his employer. P Narayanan was charged with killing a prominent lawyer, R Anpalagan, an ethnic Indian, with a machete at a Hindu temple near Klang. He was charged under the country's penal code which carries the mandatory death sentence. No plea has been recorded and Magistrate Nadia Othman has set July 20 date for postmortem reports. — PTI 

'Sexting' scandal: US lawmaker quits 
New York: US Congressman Anthony Weiner resigned after confessing to having sent sexually explicit messages to several women. The 46-year-old Democrat made the announcement in his home district in New York after pressure mounted on him to resign from office. Weiner admitted to sending lewd messages and pictures to at least six women through the social networking sites over a period of three years. — ANI