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Rebels roar in Gaddafi’s den
Protesting Killings |
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Iran unveils new cruise missiles
Indian globe-trotter stuck at China border awaiting permit
Murdoch paper paid Cameron aide: BBC
All sexual assault charges dropped against DSK
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Rebels roar in Gaddafi’s den
Tripoli, August 23 The defenders had fled, and there was no immediate word on the whereabouts of Gaddafi or his family after the insurgents breached the defences as part of a massive assault that began in the morning. "Rebels breached the surrounding cement walls and entered inside. They have taken Bab al-Azizya. Completely. It is finished," an AFP correspondent said. "It is an incredible sight." The seizure of the compound sparked celebrations by the rebel fighters, who fired their weapons in the air before raiding the armoury and seizing ammunition, pistols and assault rifles. "It is an incredible sight," the correspondent said, adding that the bodies of a number of apparent Gaddafi fighters were lying inside, as were wounded people. Amid reports that ordinary citizens were beginning to stream into the complex of several hectares (acres), rebel television Al-Ahrar called on people to stay away so that insurgent fighters could mop up inside. It also urged police in Tripoli to remain at their posts in order to guarantee security. A rebel official in the western city of Misrata said that "at the same house used by Gaddafi before to describe the Libyan people as rats, today the independence flag is flying on its roof." He was referring to a speech by Gaddafi soon after the rebellion was launched in mid-February in which he referred to those rising up against him as "rats." The fighting for Gaddafi's nerve centre was the most intense in the city since rebel fighters in their hundreds came surging through its gates three days ago. The sky in the afternoon was filled with the sound of heavy and light machine guns as well as mortars, with the overhead roar of NATO jets, though it was unclear if they carried out air strikes. Rebel leaders said fighters from their western bastion of Misrata, renowned for their prowess after breaking a months-long siege of the port city by Gaddafi's forces, had joined Tripoli rebels in the assault, which also saw the deployment of tanks captured from loyalist forces. On the eastern front, Libyan rebels overran the eastern oil hub of Ras Lanuf on the road to Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, their military spokesman Colonel Ahmed Omar Bani said. "We are now in Ras Lanuf," Bani told AFP, adding he hoped insurgents would soon reach Bin Jawad, a hamlet just east of Sirte and almost halfway between the rebel-held cities of Benghazi and Misrata. Bab al-Azizya had been the site chosen very early on Tuesday by Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, to make an appearance before journalists to refute reports that he had been arrested by the rebels. "Tripoli is under our control. Everyone should rest assured. All is well in Tripoli," Seif said at the compound, smiling broadly and flashing the V-for-victory sign. "I am here to refute the lies," the 39-year-old said about reports of his arrest, and accused the West of waging a "technological and media war to cause chaos and terror in Libya." — AFP Libyan ruler still untraceable
Cairo: Forty-eight hours after rebel forces stormed into Libyan capital, Tripoli, the country’s strongman Muammar Gaddafi remained untraced despite NATO powers deploying a “full array” of surveillance sensors to pinpoint his hideout. The whereabouts of the 69-year-old man, who exalted himself as brother leader of his nation, remained unknown with speculation rife over his exit strategy. Arab media reports said Gaddafi could be in neighbouring Algeria or in his remote stronghold of Sirte in southern Libya. Al-Jazeera said other options floating around were Angola or Zimbabwe, which are both his close regional allies. But Pentagon believes he is still holed up in his Tripoli stronghold Bab al-Aziziya, on whose fringes a fierce battle was raging which could decide his fate.
— PTI Gaddafi and family in Tripoli: Saif
Tripoli: Muammar Gaddafi and his family are still in Tripoli, where his troops were engaged in fierce fighting with rebels outside his compound today, his son Saif al-Islam said. “Gaddafi and the entire family are in Tripoli,” Saif told reporters at the Rixos hotel in the capital where many foreign journalists are housed. He declined to give the precise location of the embattled strongman but his comments mark the first indication by the family of his whereabouts since rebel forces surged into the capital on Sunday. Saif also said that the regime’s forces had deliberately not tried to prevent the rebels from entering the capital. “Allowing the rebels to enter Tripoli was a trick,” he said, without elaborating. NATO, meanwhile, said Gaddafi was “not a target” for the military alliance.
— AFP Zagreb (Croatia): Former Croatian President Stipe Mesic, who has close ties with Muammar Gaddafi, said on Tuesday that the Libyan leader told him that he was ready to step down from political life if NATO ended airstrikes. “I can confirm that Gaddafi is ready to retreat completely from political and public life with a firm engagement that we would impede the setting up of a multi-party system but on the condition that the NATO airstrikes cease,” Mesic said. The former president added that he had a “personal verbal message” from Gaddafi last week with the offer. “The authorities in Tripoli have tried to get this message out via all the available channels to countries that have played a crucial role in the organisation and the operations in Libya,” Mesic added.
— AFP
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Protesting Killings
Karachi, August 23 Five more persons were found dead in the country’s biggest city that has been a centre of unabated violence in which as many as 200 persons have been killed this month. Hardly any public transport was visible on the roads and even private vehicles were few as all shopping centres, markets and educational institutions remained shut. Attendance in offices was also sparse as businesses remained closed in response to a bandh call by Muttahida Qaumi Movement. MQM activists clad in black, hoisted black flags on buildings and squares and scenes of protests and tyre-burning were seen in different areas of Hyderabad and other interior areas of Sindh. Heavy firing was also reported from some parts of Karachi. Petrol pump and gas dealers associations also supported the MQM call, which was also being backed by other smaller religious and political parties. The police said five persons had been killed overnight in separate incidents of firing and torture talking the toll since Sunday night to 19. A man was shot dead at the old vegetable market, while police found two bodies stuffed in gunny bags near Qasba chowrangi and in the Gharibabad area. Senior police officials also paraded four arrested target killers, Shahnawaz, Mustafa, Rafiq and Naeem belonging to the restive Lyari slum area at a media conference. The arrests of a Lyari gang appears to have confirmed reports that separatists from an outlawed Baloch insurgent group are present in the troubled Lyari neighbourhood and are stoking the ongoing violence in the city.
— PTI
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Iran unveils new cruise missiles
Dubai, August 23 The missile called “Qader” (Able) is built indigenously by Iranian scientists and has a high destructive ability against coastal targets and warships, the state run TV said. It said that Ahmadinejad also made public a new torpedo system called “Valfair”, fired from submarine. Both the weapon systems were tested successfully. Iran now claims, it has an array of short and medium range ballistic missile capable of reaching targets at almost every end of the strategic Persian Gulf, including US bases of the region. Cruising at a low height with high precision in acquiring its targets are among other features of the relatively lightweight Qader missile, it said. Iran’s Defence Ministry manufactured Bonyan 1 marine engine to provide the country’s naval forces with the strategic product. The torpedo is one of the most complicated marine weapons, which plays a key role in promoting Iran’s naval capabilities and the efficiency of vessels and submarines. In January, Iran’s Defence Ministry delivered new cruise missile systems to the Navy, which are capable of spotting and destroying various targets at sea.
— PTI
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Indian globe-trotter stuck at China border awaiting permit
Beijing, August 23 G Venkataramana, a native of Andhra Pradesh, settled in Germany says he experienced no such problems while travelling from Germany to Kazakhstan, a distance of 7,000 km but he has been stuck at the Khorgos border point between China and Kazakhstan as he is unable to procure requisite papers to travel through China with his vehicle. “It is a frustrating experience. I knocked at doors of various Ministries of Chinese government including Foreign and Tourism but I am unable to secure travel permit,” he told PTI here. Though the traveller has a tourist visa to China but with no travel permit for his vehicle to go to Nepal through Tibet he is unable to move ahead for one and a half month. Venkataramana, a resident of Chennai who has specialised in the business of selling used caravans in Germany for over seven years, has made similar trips in Europe but this is the first time he has undertaken a trip through the European and Asian continents. He said he had a pleasant experience of travelling through the 7,000 km route covering Germany, Poland, Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan without encountering much problems. Initially, he wanted to travel through Turkey, Iran and Pakistan and enter India through the Wagah border. However, he had to abandon the idea after failing to get a Pakistani visa and travel permit for his vehicle. “Now I am stuck here as well,” he rues. He said he has approached Indian Embassy as well as several travel agencies so far but without success. The travel agents were demanding six to eight thousand Euros saying that they need permits from different Chinese Ministries, which he says is too much for him to spend. “I have offered to take a Chinese guard or take my vehicle on a truck by paying the necessary expenses, but I have not received any favourable response so far,” he said. — PTI
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Warne, Liz Hurley to tie the knot?
London, August 23 Liz, 46, has allegedly told pals: “He’s definitely the one. I didn’t know I’d ever feel this way about anyone.” Shane, 41, got down on one knee to propose to the British beauty, and then toasted the news with billionaire boat owner James Packer, his long-term friend, off Marbella. The Daily Star quoted a source as saying, “Shane and Liz flew in for a few days and looked so in love. It was just a beautiful moment when he proposed. Really romantic, and she said yes. There was no hesitation.” Liz and Shane’s love came to light in December when they were caught kissing outside a London hotel. She later admitted on Twitter that she had split from tycoon Arun Nayar months before. “Liz didn’t think she’d want to move on from Arun so quickly but she’s smitten with Shane,” the source added. — ANI
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Murdoch paper paid Cameron aide: BBC
London, August 23 The Labour opposition and political analysts have repeatedly questioned Cameron’s judgement in hiring Andy Coulson as his spokesman in 2007, shortly after the editor quit over the jailing of his royal reporter for phone hacking. The decision to appoint a man so closely associated with Murdoch to such an important position was proof, they say, that he was desperate to secure the News Corp chief’s support. Allegations now that Coulson maintained financial links to the owner of the influential Sun and Times newspapers is likely to cause further damage. The BBC said
Coulson, who was arrested earlier this year on suspicion of being involved in phone hacking, received several hundred thousand pounds from News International, the British newspaper arm of the News Corp media empire, as part of a severance package that ran in instalments until the end of 2007. He also received benefits such as healthcare for three years and kept his company car, the BBC said, quoting sources. A spokesman for the Conservative Party said senior party officials had not known about the severance arrangements. — Reuters
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Jerry Leiber who penned ‘Jailhouse Rock’ dies at 78
London, August 23 Leiber's career began in 1953 when Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton became the first artist to record Hound Dog, sending the song, then a rhythm and blues number, to the top of the charts. The song later became an even more successful hit record for Elvis Presley, who reinvented it as a rock and roll classic. The pair also crafted the enduring Ben E King hit Stand By Me, seen by critics as one of their most influential and enduring
songs. Leiber and Stoller's work as a songwriting duo earned 15 number one hits and secured them both entry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in 1987. "The music world lost today one of its greatest poet laureates," the BBC quoted Terry Stewart, president of the Hall of Fame and Museum, in Cleveland, Ohio, as saying. "Jerry not only wrote the words that everyone was singing, he led the way in how we verbalised our feelings about the societal changes we were living with in post-World War II life. "Appropriately, his vehicles of choice were the emerging populist musical genres of rhythm and blues and then rock and roll," he said.
— ANI
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All sexual assault charges dropped against DSK
New York, August 23 "I see no basis to deny," New York court Judge Michael Obus said ending an over three-month long saga that brought down one of the world's most powerful men and caused a global uproar. The prosecution, which had yesterday moved a motion for dropping all sexual assault charges against Strauss-Kahn, said the evidence collected in the case was "consistent with a non-consensual encounter" but decided to drop the case because they could not prove it was forced and the woman told too many lies. Strauss-Kahn, 62, was arrested on May 14 after being pulled from an Air France flight bound for Paris after Nafissatou Diallo, a 32-year-old maid working at Manhattan Sofitel hotel, said he chased her down and forced her to perform oral sex. He was charged with criminal sex act, attempted rape and unlawful imprisonment besides other violations. His arrest forced him to resign as head of the IMF on May 18 and abandon his bid for upcoming French Presidential elections. But the case against Strauss-Kahn had been considerably weakened after it emerged that the maid has been lying to prosecutors, including about a gang rape she said she suffered back in her home country of Guinea. In addition, she was said to have discussed his wealth in a telephone conversation with a Guinean friend currently held in a US prison. Earlier, the New York court had dismissed a plea of a lawyer of Diallo for the removal of the district attorney for mishandling the high-profile case. — PTI
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