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Libyan PM freed after kidnap Libyan PM Ali Zeidan (C) arrives at the government headquarters in Tripoli on Thursday. — Reuters
Egypt flays US aid cuts
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Canada’s Alice Munro wins literature Nobel
Malala wins top EU human rights award
Taliban chief open to ‘serious talks’ with Pak
Musharraf rearrested
in Lal Masjid case US shutdown: Republicans offer temporary deal
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Libyan PM freed after kidnap
Tripoli, October 10 The PM was expected to give an account shortly of his six hours or so in captivity. Gunmen associated with the fragmented Libyan security apparatus had hauled him at dawn from the luxury hotel where he lives under heavy guard. Zeidan had distanced his government from US assertions it had cooperated in Saturday’s capture of Abu Anas al-Liby, wanted for the Al-Qaida bombing of the US embassy in Kenya in 1998. But the group which seized Zeidan appeared to hold him responsible for helping Washington’s operation. His brief detention was the latest of many incidents that demonstrate Libya’s post Gaddafi turmoil. Its vulnerable central government and nascent armed forces are struggling to contain rival tribal militias and Islamist militants who control large parts of the country. The militia, which was hired by the government to provide security in Tripoli, said it "arrested" Zeidan after US Secretary of State John Kerry said Libya had a role in the capture of Liby, whose real name is Nazih al-Ragye. "His arrest comes after ... (Kerry) said the Libyan government was aware of the operation," a spokesman for the group, known as the Operations Room of Libya's Revolutionaries, said. Last month, on a visit to London, he appealed for more Western support to rein in the former rebels. Geoff Porter of North Africa Risk consulting said: “His kidnapping clearly indicates that his government is not cohesive, and that not only is his government not in control of the country, but that he is not in control of his government.” — Reuters Seizure over US raids
* Ali Zeidan was released unharmed several hours after being seized from a Tripoli hotel by former rebel militiamen *
His seizure came five days after US commandos embarrassed and angered the Libyan government by capturing senior Al-Qaida suspect Abu Anas al-Libi off the streets of Tripoli and whisking him away to a warship *
Former rebel militiamen hold him responsible for helping the US in its secret raid in Libya |
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Washington, October 10 “As a result of the review directed by President Barack Obama, we have decided to maintain our relationship with the Egyptian government while recalibrating our assistance to Egypt to best advance our interests,” State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said yesterday. The new Egyptian government, a senior administration official later told reporters on the condition of anonymity, has made decisions inconsistent with inclusive democracy, which sort of leads the US to take such a decision. The official confirmed that this includes suspension of $260 million of cash transfer to Egypt. “We will not provide cash assistance to the interim government...We’ve decided to hold delivery of certain of the large-scale military systems. These would include, for instance, as Senior Administration Official Number One already mentioned, the F-16s. It also includes the M1A1 tank kits, Harpoon missiles, and Apaches,” the official said. “We're going to continue to fund some of the Egyptian- American Enterprise Fund which we're doing, which is focused on supporting the private sector.” — PTI Decision criticised |
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Canada’s Alice Munro wins literature Nobel
Munro, 82, is the 13th woman to win the award. “Some critics consider her a Canadian Chekhov,” the Swedish Academy said, comparing her to the 19th-century Russian short story writer in a statement on its website. Munro, in a phone interview with Canadian CBC Television, said she hoped the award “would make people see the short story as an important art; not just something you played around with until you get a novel written”. The 82-year-old, who revealed in 2009 that she had undergone coronary bypass surgery and been treated for cancer, said however that she did not think winning the prize would change her decision announced early this year to stop writing. She said “She was just terribly surprised — and delighted — to learn that she had won the Nobel Prize for Literature. I knew I was in the running, yes, but I never thought I would win.” — Agencies Canadian Chekhov
* Alice Munro is the 13th woman and second Canada-born author to win Nobel literature prize *
She wanted to show short story is important and has published many collections, including Who Do You Think You Are? (1978), The Moons of Jupiter (1982), Runaway (2004), The View from Castle Rock (2006) and Too Much Happiness (2009) |
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Malala wins top EU human rights award
Brussels, October 10 The 16-year-old was attacked last year while on a school bus in northwestern Pakistan, but recovered after medical treatment in Britain. She is a favourite among experts to be named the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday. “She is an icon of courage for all teenagers who dare to pursue their aspirations,” said the chairman of the centre-right European People’s Party. — Reuters |
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Taliban chief open to ‘serious talks’ with Pak
The top Taliban commander, Hakimullah Mehsud, has said he is “open to serious talks” and asked the government to send a “jirga” to initiate the process. “We believe in serious talks, but the government has taken no steps to approach us. The government needs to sit with us, we will present our conditions,” Hakimullah Mehsud told BBC in a video interview on Wednesday. Hakimullah had stepped into the shoes of Baitullah Mehsud following his death in 2009. He now heads the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, an outlawed conglomerate of more than 30 militant groups, which has been blamed for most acts of violence in the country. For any ceasefire to be credible, the TTP chief told the BBC, “It is important for drone strikes to be stopped.” Govt ready for Dialouge: Sharif Peshawar: The Pakistan government is serious about holding talks with the Taliban in keeping with a mandate given by all political parties, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Thursday. "The government has decided to hold talks with the militants in order to avoid more bloodshed in the country," he said. — PTI
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Musharraf rearrested
in Lal Masjid case
Islamabad, October 10 “He (Musharraf) has been arrested,” said Aasia Ishaque, spokesperson for Musharraf’s All Pakistan Muslim League party. “The SSP of Islamabad and the chief of the Aabpara Police Station went to his house and arrested him,” she said. The rearrest came after he had been granted bail in three other cases and his lawyers said on Wednesday he was cleared to leave the country. They said this was the last case in which he was still under arrest and he had been granted bail in other cases. A complaint against Musharraf in the Lal Masjid case was registered two weeks ago on the orders of a judge. Musharraf was forced out of office after trying and failing to fire the country’s chief justice. On September 2, the police filed a case against Musharraf over the killing of cleric Abdul Rashid and his mother during the 2007 military operation against extremists holed up in the Lal Masjid. The court issued the order in response to a petition filed by Haroon
Rashid, the son of Abdul Rashid, against Musharraf for his alleged involvement in the killing of the hardline cleric and his mother. The former president and head of the army went into exile in 2008 but returned earlier this year in an abortive attempt to launch a political career. — Agencies |
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US shutdown: Republicans offer temporary deal Washington, October 10 House Speaker John Boehner said the measure to allow the US to borrow money would advance if Obama agrees to negotiate over reopening the government and begins to deal with America's pressing problems. "Listen, it's time for leadership," Boehner said after meeting his Republican party colleagues."What we have discussed as a conference is a temporary extension of the debt ceiling. In exchange for a real commitment by this president and the Senate majority leader to sit down and talk about the pressing problems that are facing all the American people. That includes a broad array of issues," he said. The offer came as US lurches close to an October 17 deadline to raise the government's statutory borrowing limit. Republicans said the debt default deadline could be extended till November 22 under their offer to Obama. Boehner hoped that Obama will choose negotiation over crisis, leadership over inaction, and dialogue over silence. "It's time to solve our problems," he said. — PTI
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10 killed, 60 injured in
blasts across Pakistan
Taliban open to ‘serious talks’ with Pak Father in Moscow to meet Snowden N Korea replaces hard-line military chief Ex-Liberia Prez to serve jail term in UK Top Tibetan monk killed in China |
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Libya’s Prime Minister was seized and held for several hours on Thursday by former rebel militiamen angry at the weekend capture by US special forces of a Libyan Al-Qaida suspect in Tripoli. Ali Zeidan was freed unharmed but the incident underlined the anarchy prevailing in the oil-rich North African state, two years after the Western-backed overthrow of Muammar
Gaddafi.
Stockholm, October 10
