The Fact Of The Day

British Helicopters Destroy Libyan Targets

2011-06-04T12:43:00.002+02:00

British combat helicopters have destroyed a radar installation and military checkpoint during their first operation in Libya - despite coming under fire.

The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that RAF Apaches successfully completed their mission of hitting the targets near the town of Brega overnight.

Forces loyal to leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi fired at one of the choppers, but they both returned safely to the Royal Navy helicopter carrier, HMS Ocean, which is stationed off the Libyan coast.

A variety of weapons were used, including hellfire missiles.

Major General Nick Pope, the communications officer for the Chief of the Defence Staff, emphasised that UK and Nato forces have been clear that their mission was to protect Libyan civilians under threat of attack.

He described it as "appropriate to employ attack helicopters to help intensify the effect that Nato can deliver at key points against regime forces which continue to threaten their own people."

Lieutenant-General Charles Bouchard, Nato's commander of the operation in Libya, said: "This successful engagement demonstrates the unique capabilities brought to bear by attack helicopters.

Apache Attack Helicopters are operated by Royal Navy crews

"We will continue to use these assets whenever and wherever needed, using the same precision as we do in all of our missions."

The attack helicopters have been brought in because they provide more flexibility to track and engage pro-Gaddafi forces who deliberately target civilians and attempt to hide in populated areas.

Commander of the UK task group, Commodore John Kingwell said the attack helicopters are unique because they can "identify and engage targets with huge precision".

"That enables us to provide protection to civilians in Libya," he added.

Both Apache helicopters returned safely to HMS Ocean after the operation

The Evening Standard's defence correspondent, Robert Fox, said the attack will send a strong "psychological message" to Col Gaddafi that his forces are being "pinned down".

He said: "I have noticed in Whitehall that people are very clear about the way things are going in Libya."

Prime Minister David Cameron confirmed last month four Apaches would be deployed in an attempt to "ratchet up" the pressure on Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

Twelve French attack helicopters are also being used in Libya.

Earlier this week, Defence Secretary Liam Fox acknowledged the "increased risk" attached to the deployment of attack helicopters, but stressed they would play a key role in bringing a halt to the dictator's attacks on his own people.

The use of Apaches has alarmed some MPs about the prospect of an escalation in the conflict and the danger to British lives.

Deadly E.coli Is 'New Super Toxic' Strain

2011-06-03T09:54:00.000+02:00

The E.coli which has struck down four more people in the UK after killing 17 across Europe is an "entirely new super-toxic" strain, scientists have said.

News that researchers may be narrowing down the strain causing the outbreak came as it emerged three suspected cases of the bug had been found in the US.

A statement from the Beijing Genomics Institute said the bacteria contained several genes that were resistant to antibiotics.

Analysis shows the bacterium is an enterohemorrhagic E.coli (EHEC) O104 strain, but is a "new serotype - not previously involved in any E.coli outbreaks".

More than 90% of the bacterium is the same as a virulent strain that causes serious diarrhoea, but the new strain has "also acquired specific sequences", the statement said.

Hilde Kruse, a food safety expert at the World Health Organisation, said earlier: "This is a unique strain that has never been isolated from patients before."

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) confirmed the new cases in the UK as it urged British families to wash their fruit and vegetables.

It takes the number of infections in Britain to seven after three other cases surfaced soon after the outbreak in northern Germany in mid-May.

The HPA said three of those infected in the UK had been struck with the more severe hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) - a rare and lethal complication arising from infection associated with E.coli.

The agency said the seven cases - three British nationals and four Germans; two living and one holidaying in England - are linked to recent travels in Germany.

Britons have been urged to wash fruit and vegetables before eating

It sent a strong message to people travelling to Germany to follow the advice of authorities and avoid eating raw tomatoes, cucumbers and leafy salad including lettuce, especially in the north of the country.

And it urged anyone returning to the UK from Germany with illness, including bloody diarrhoea, to seek urgent medical attention, ensuring they mention their recent travel

As the Food Standards Agency confirmed there was no evidence to suggest the deadly bug had contaminated salads being sold in Britain, the HPA told consumers they should still be cautious when preparing food.

"It is a good idea to wash fruit and vegetables before you eat them to ensure that they are clean, and to help remove germs that might be on the outside of them," it said.

Health experts have said more people are expected to be infected as researchers work to try and pinpoint the cause of the outbreak.

Some have said it could take months before the origin is found, while others say it may never surface.

The deadly E.coli bacteria has infected more than 1,500 people across Europe with cases reported in Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, Norway and Switzerland as well as the UK and Germany.

With no relief in sight, Russia is doing everything possible to ensure it remains infection free and has extended its ban on vegetable imports to all of the EU.

Viktor Semenov, MP and head of Greenhouses of Russia Association, criticised the decision, saying the measures were "too large scale and too sudden".

The EU Commission has also called for the immediate withdrawal of Russia's ban.

But Dmitry Bobkov from the Russian agriculture ministry defended the move saying it would benefit local farmers.

He added: "The EU share in imported vegetable is not that big. For example, cucumbers from EU are only 5% of the imported cucumbers at the Russian market."

Spain's cucumber exports were stopped after they were initially blamed

And days after Spain's organic cucumbers were cleared of carrying the infection, its government has vowed it will seek compensation from Germany, who wrongly linked its produce to the E.coli outbreak.

Spanish farmers were forced to stop exports and destroy thousands of tons of cucumbers with losses expected to run in to the millions.

In Valencia, farmers dumped some 300kg of cabbage, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and other produce outside the German consulate in protest.

The outbreak is already considered the third-largest involving E.coli in recent world history.

Twelve people died in a 1996 Japanese outbreak that reportedly originated in radish sprouts and made more than 12,000 ill - and seven died in a 2000 Canadian outbreak traced to drinking water.

Google In New 'Chinese Hacker' Attack

2011-06-02T11:54:00.002+02:00

Computer attacks originating in China tried to break into the email accounts of US government officials, military personnel and Chinese political activists, Google says.

Google traced the "spear phishing" emails to Shandong Province in central China.

But the country's foreign ministry has rejected the claims, saying "blaming these misdeeds on China is unacceptable".

Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said: "Hacking is an international problem and China is also a victim.

"The claims of so-called support for hacking are completely unfounded and have ulterior motives."

Shandong province was also the origin of a cyber attack on Google’s computer systems in 2009 - an assault that soured the company's relations with the Chinese government, and prompted Google to move its Chinese-language site to Hong Kong.

More recently, a company in Shandong was linked to a cyber attack on several of the world’s biggest oil companies.

According to internet security company Symantec, China is the source of nearly 30% of the world’s malicious emails.

Though it is impossible to prove conclusively that the attacks are linked to the Chinese government, experts have long suspected official involvement in hacking activities originating in the country.

Google has had an uneasy relationship with the Chinese regime

A series of incidents - including the Google attacks of 2009, and the discovery of the Ghostnet cyber espionage network in the same year - have targeted foreign governments, Beijing-based diplomats, Chinese political activists and journalists.

The Tibetan government-in-exile has also been a repeated victim.

A recent investigation revealed murky connections between hackers and the Chinese Government.

A conference organised by hackers in a Beijing hotel was sponsored by an internet security firm with connections to the Chinese military, and was attended by Chinese police officers.

"Phishing" attacks work by sending an email containing a link or attachment that, when opened, installs "malware" on the target’s computer, allowing the hacker to steal information.

To succeed, the victim must believe that the email is authentic. Google says the subject line of one of the emails sent in the recent attack was "Fw: Draft US-China Joint Statement".

The latest attack comes following an announcement from American officials that deliberate infiltration of vital US information networks may be considered an "act of war".

Earlier this week, a Pentagon spokesman told the Wall Street Journal that the US would consider "all appropriate options" in response to foreign cyber attacks.

"If you shut down our power grid, maybe we will put a missile down one of your smokestacks," he said.

Britain is also a major target for foreign hackers. Cybercrime and internet espionage are now estimated to cost the UK £27bn a year.

Japan 'Underestimated' Tsunami Nuclear Risk

2011-06-01T12:06:00.002+02:00

Japan underestimated the risk of tsunamis to its coastal nuclear power plants, a British-led UN safety team has concluded.

The report also said Japan needs to closely monitor public and workers' health after the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant, as a result of the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.

The report, from an International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) team, was led by Britain's top nuclear safety official Mike Weightman.

It highlighted some of the well-documented weaknesses that contributed to the crisis at the Fukushima facility, 150 miles north of Tokyo.

The plant was hit by a massive earthquake and then a tsunami in quick succession on March 11.

Fukushima was swamped by the huge tsunami waves

Among the criticisms was a failure to plan for a tsunami that would overrun the 19ft break wall at Fukushima and knock out back-up electric generators to four reactors.

This occurred despite multiple forecasts from a government agency and operator Tokyo Electric Power company's own scientists that such a risk was looming.

The IAEA team said Japan's crisis offered several lessons for the nuclear industry globally, including that plant operators should regularly review the risks of natural disasters.

It also recommended that "hardened" emergency response centres should be established to deal with accidents.

"The tsunami hazard for several sites was underestimated," the report's three-page summary said.

Local residents were put at risk by nuclear radiation

"Nuclear plant designers and operators should appropriately evaluate and provide protection against the risks of all natural hazards."

Goshi Hosono, an aide to Prime Minister Naoto Kan, accepted the report, marking the first step in an effort by Japanese officials to show that the lessons learned from Fukushima can be applied to make its remaining reactors safe.

Hosono said the government would need to review its nuclear regulatory framework.

The IAEA team will submit its findings to a ministerial conference on nuclear safety in Vienna from June 20-24.

"We had a playbook, but it didn't work," said Tatsujiro Suzuki, a nuclear expert and vice chairman of Japan's Atomic Energy Commission.

Pro-Mladic Serbians Clash With Riot Police

2011-05-31T11:21:00.000+02:00

Protesters have clashed with riot police in Belgrade after several thousand Serbian nationalist supporters of jailed war-crimes suspect Ratko Mladic rallied to demand his release.

More than 100 people were arrested after rioters overturned bins, broke traffic lights and set off firecrackers in the city centre on Sunday night.

Doctors said six police officers were among 16 people taken to hospital with injuries.

The clashes began after a rally that drew at least 7,000 demonstrators, many singing nationalist songs and carrying banners honouring Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb military commander.

The protest came hours before an expected appeal by the legal team for the alleged war criminal to appeal extradition to the UN war crimes court in The Hague, Netherlands.

Bosnian Serbs have also gathered to pray for Mladic

Some chanted right-wing slogans and a few gave Nazi salutes, and supporters of the extreme nationalist Serbian Radical Party were bussed in to attend the rally.

Right-wing extremists and hooligan groups also urged followers to appear in large numbers, creating the biggest test of Serbian sentiment and the government's resolve since Mladic's arrest last Thursday.

The demonstrators, who consider Mladic a hero, said Serbia should not hand him over to the war crimes court.

"Cooperation with The Hague tribunal represents treason," Radical Party official Lidija Vukicevic told the crowd.

Mladic's wife Bosiljka attended court in Belgrade

"This is a protest against the shameful arrest of the Serbian hero."

Demonstrators demanded Serbian President Boris Tadic, who ordered Mladic's arrest, should quit along with his government. A sign on the stage read, "Tadic is not Serbia."

More than 3,000 riot police were deployed around government buildings and Western embassies, and riot police tried to block small groups of extremists from reaching the rally.

Nationalists are furious that the Serbian government apprehended Mladic, 69, after nearly 16 years on the run, at a relative's home in a northern Serbian village.

Pro-Mladic graffiti has appeared in Serbia

Mladic stands accused of masterminding the 44-month siege of Sarajevo and the 1995 massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica.

His arrest is considered critical to Serbia's efforts to join the European Union, and for reconciliation in the region after a series of ethnic wars of the 1990s.

Some 3,000 supporters also arrived by bus from other parts of Bosnia to a rally at Kalinovik on Sunday, the area where Mladic grew up.

Many wore black T-shirts with Mladic's picture and the words "Serbia in my heart" and said they would fight under Mladic again.

The Kalinovik protesters headed afterward to the shack Mladic was born in at the end of a steep, muddy road in the village of Bozanici, turning the shabby house into a pilgrimage site where his relatives addressed the crowd.

Mladic's family and lawyers have been fighting his extradition, arguing the former general is too ill to face charges.

However, a judge ruled on Friday the former Bosnian Serb military general could be extradited to The Netherlands.

The family plans to appeal the extradition and to demand an independent medical check-up - moves described by the authorities as a delaying tactics.

His lawyer Milos Saljic said that Mladic above all keeps demanding that he be allowed to visit the grave of his daughter, who committed suicide in 1994.

"He says if he can't go there, he wants his daughter's coffin brought in here," the lawyer said. He added: "His condition is alarming."

South African Leader In Libyan Mission

2011-05-30T11:18:00.002+02:00

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma is expected to arrive in Tripoli today to attempt to broker a peace deal with the Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi

It is expected that Mr Zuma will meet face to face with Col Gaddafi - who hasn't been seen publicly for weeks and whose own officials admit is 'on the move' fearing Nato is trying to kill him.

The meeting may give some sense of whether or not Col Gaddafi accepts that the time for talk has arrived - and it could be a significant indicator as to the dictator's thinking.

Publicly regime officials insist Col Gaddafi will not accept a deal which involves stepping aside, but privately some are starting to voice the view with me that he must step aside in order for the country to hold new elections.

Col Gaddafi is trying to avoid death by Nato air strike

I was first here at the end of February and to hear something like that then would have been unthinkable.

Mr Zuma and Gaddafi are old friends.

The South African is widely reported to have accepted financial assistance from Gaddafi during his serial trials for fraud and rape, but has never confirmed this himself.

Mr Zuma's officials say he is visiting in his capacity as a member of the African Union High Level Panel for the Resolution of the Conflict in Libya.

South Africa is a member of the UN Security Council and despite voting for UN Resolution 1973 has criticised the bombing campaign.

Nato has started day raids against the regime in Tripoli

Mr Gaddafi has a circle of advisors but notoriously after nearly 42 years in power he is a political island.

There are several key factors which will make attempts to force Col Gaddafi out of the country more difficult.

He may see it as betraying the memory of his son Saif al-Arab and three grandchildren who were killed in a Nato air strike.

And it has to be remembered that the International Criminal Court is seeking arrest warrants for Col Gaddafi and his son Saif al-Islam.

British Apache helicopters are also trying to oust regime forces

Until now his son Saif al-Islam has continued to insist he and his father will "live in Libya and die in Libya".

Government officials insist the regime can weather the continuing and increasing Nato air strikes.

Over the last week the military actions has intensified and there've been daytime bombings for the first time over the long weekend.

This may signal a change in strategy by Nato sending a message to the dictator that they will continue to strike at the heart of his regime whenever they want.

Joy As Egypt Opens Gaza Border Crossing

2011-05-29T10:56:00.000+02:00

Palestinians are delighted. Egypt's opening of the Rafah crossing, its border with the Gaza Strip, is literally the opening of the prison doors on the enclave after a four-year sentence.

The move has created deep unease in Israel.

More than 1.4 million people have relied on food aid handouts from the UN, limited supplies through Israel, and goods smuggled under the crossing to survive an Israeli blockade which was imposed when Hamas drove the Palestinian Authority from power in Gaza in 2007.

The blockade was largely a reprisal for attacks on neighbouring Israeli towns by Hamas, and other Islamist groups, using home-made rockets.

The siege had been condemned in the UN, by the International Committee of the Red Cross and by the European Union.

Human rights groups argued that it was a massive example of collective punishment.

A Hamas policeman checks the passport of a Palestinian passenger

The first vehicles to cross into Egypt were ambulances taking patients for much-needed treatment to Cairo.

Soon, ordinary citizens began to flow across the border, although men between 18 and 40 will need a visa to enterEgypt, after undergoing a security check to ensure that they don't have links to terrorist groups.

Trade will not yet be allowed through the crossing - that will have to continue through the dozens of illegal tunnels dug to move weapons, food and people between Gaza and Egypt.

Israel will continue to have a stranglehold on what goods go in and out of Gaza - a grip, it says, is essential to prevent the importation of the raw materials for rockets.

But the opening of the crossing has a powerful political force behind it which, in the long term, may cause Israel more problems than Gaza's rocketeers.

Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak agreed to join Israel's siege of Gaza to prevent the growth of Hamas power in a move the new Egyptian foreign minister told al Jazeera, was a "disgusting matter".

Israel accuses Gaza residents of being behind rocket attacks

With the ousting of Mubarak, Egypt's new military council has bowed to public pressure to get more closely involved with the Palestinian cause.

First Cairo mediated a unity agreement between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority after five years of open conflict.

Then came the opening of Gaza's border.

"This new Cairo spring is bearing fruit such as the Rafah opening and efforts to end the blockade," said Nabil Shaath, a senior Palestinian official.

Small wonder that the Jewish state's home front defence minister Matan Vilnai told Israeli public radio that the ending of the siege is a "a very problematic situation".

Much like the so-called Arab awakening itself.

The Arab street in countries with peace agreements with Israel, like Jordan and Egypt, has been inflamed by coverage of Israel's siege and its attacks inside Gaza, in which 1,400 Palestinians have been killed.

The street does not appear to understand the economic and strategic advantage of peace deals struck between Israel and Arab autocrats.

But across the Middle East it is on the streets where the agenda is being set.

Meanwhile, the Arab League announced it will seek full UN membership for a Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

It said in a statement it would make the request at the UN General Assembly's meeting in New York in September.

Final Moments Of Air France Crash Revealed

2011-05-28T12:23:00.000+02:00

The pilots of Air France flight AF447, which plunged into the Atlantic killing 228 people, saw conflicting speeds on their instruments as the Airbus A330 stalled.

That is one of the findings of France's BEA aviation safety agency which has analysed the black box flight recorder for the 2009 accident.

"We have no valid indications," one pilot of the Rio to Paris flight was quoted as saying as the aircraft dropped towards the sea, three minutes before it hit the water.

The 58-year-old captain, who had left the cockpit to take a routine rest, returned but did not retake control of the plane.

"There was an inconsistency between the speeds displayed on the left side and the integrated standby instrument system," BEA said in a statement following its study of the recovered flight data recorders.

The investigating authority said it was too early to give the cause of the crash

"This lasted for less than one minute."

According to the chronology of the flight provided by BEA, the two co-pilots decided at two hours and eight minutes into the flight to turn slightly to the left to avoid an area of turbulence.

Two minutes later the autopilot disengaged, the instruments began showing that the speed had slowed dramatically and the engine stall warning began to sound.

"During the following seconds, all of the recorded speeds became invalid and the stall warning stopped," said the BAE preliminary report.

All 228 people on board the Air France airbus died in the crash

"So, we've lost the speeds," it quoted the second of the two co-pilots as saying. The responses by the co-pilot flying the aircraft "were mainly nose-up" and "the airplane climbed to 38,000ft".

BEA said: "The descent lasted 3 min 30, during which the airplane remained stalled. The engines were operating and always responded to crew commands."

The last data on the recorder showed that plane's nose was up at a sharp angle as it plunged at 10,912ft (3,300m) per minute.

BEA director Jean-Paul Troadec said: "These are so far just observations, not an understanding of the events."

A fuller report into the cause of the tragedy is expected to be released in a few months time.

Mladic Tested For Fitness To Stand Trial

2011-05-27T11:35:00.000+02:00

Former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic will undergo a medical evaluation later to see if he is fit enough to appear in court.

The process to extradite Mladic to the war crimes tribunal in The Hague is expected to continue today, after his poor health cut short questioning on Thursday.

Mladic is accused of masterminding appalling acts of violence against Muslims during the Bosnian conflict of the early 1990s.

The 69-year-old was arrested in the early hours of Thursday, ending a 16-year long manhunt.

Photos of Mladic in 1995 and after his arrest

But his first appearance before a Serbian court was cut short after his lawyer said he was unable to communicate.

"The investigative judge tried to question Ratko Mladic but he failed because he (Mladic) is in a difficult psychological and physical condition," his lawyer Milos Saljic told reporters.

"He is aware that he is under arrest, he knows where he is, and he said he does not recognise The Hague tribunal."

Mr Saljic added that Mladic needs medical care and "should not be moved in such a state".

Mladic appeared in a Serbian court looking frail and haggard

Doctors will report later as to whether Mladic is capable of appearing in court again.

The Serb was indicted for war crimes in 1995 and became Europe's most wanted man.

He is accused of masterminding the massacre of some 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica in 1995.

He is also thought to be behind the 44-month siege of Sarajevo that left 10,000 people dead in the same year.

Judge Fouad Riad of the UN tribunal said there was evidence against Mladic of "unimaginable savagery".

A woman walks past a graffiti portrait of Mladic in Belgrade

The former general was found in a village 50 miles (80km) north of the Serbian capital Belgrade and was reportedly using the assumed name Milorad Komodic - an anagram of his true identity.

Serbian interior minister Ivica Dacic said Mladic had been armed with two guns "but he did not have the time to use them".

The international community has welcomed the news with Prime Minister David Cameron saying: "We should remember why the international community has been pursuing this man.

"He is accused of the most appalling crimes in both Srebrenica and Sarajevo."

The Bosnian-Serb wartime political leader Radovan Karadzic, Mladic's mentor was "sorry for General Mladic’s loss of freedom," his lawyer said.

Karadzic was captured in July 2008 and is himself fighting charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in The Hague.

100 Followers Reached

2011-05-26T16:32:00.001+02:00

I would like to thank all of you for following me during the first month of this blog, I promise to keep it updated and alive!

Here's a "funny" pic for the commemoration:

G8 Talks: Bid To Help 'Arab Spring' Nations

2011-05-26T10:07:00.000+02:00

Barack Obama and David Cameron travel to a two-day G8 gathering in France today where uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East are likely to top the agenda.

The Prime Minister and US President are expected to put forward plans to give more financial and political backing to countries experiencing an "Arab Spring".

On Wednesday the two leaders repeated their calls for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to step down.

Nato continued to bombard Tripoli in its campaign against Colonel Gaddafi and his forces.

Mr Cameron and Mr Obama reiterated their determination to keep up the military pressure on the Libyan regime.

But Nato's campaign in the country could cause tensions among the G8 leaders meeting in Deauville, as Russia has expressed concerns about the extent of the airstrikes.

There is also significant scope for friction over Syria, with Moscow resisting efforts to take action on the regime's brutal repression of protests.

Mr Obama and Mr Cameron again called for Muammar Gaddafi to stand down

A resolution is due to go before the United Nations Security Council later.

The US and UK are expected to urge counterparts to provide more concrete financial support for fledgling democracies.

Washington has been calling for "debt swaps", where wealthier nations agree to convert sums they are owed by countries that are implementing change - such as Egypt - into investments.

The G8 - made up of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and America - is also due to be briefed by the recently-installed prime ministers of Egypt and Tunisia, Essam Sharaf and Beji Caid el Sebsi.

The summit will begin with a session on nuclear safety in the wake of the crisis created by the earthquake in Japan.

Protests like those in Egypt earlier this year will be discussed

But discussions between the world leaders are also due to cover the situation in Afghanistan, global economic development and reform, nuclear safety and internet regulation.

And French president Nicolas Sarkozy has insisted he wants the internet to be at the heart of the summit.

A delegation of executives, including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Google chairman Eric Schmidt, are due to address the world leaders.

Although no Twitter representatives are thought to be on the guest list, the session could provide an opportunity for Mr Cameron to take the temperature on international internet regulation.

Mubarak To Face Trial Over Protester Killings

2011-05-25T10:05:00.000+02:00

Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak is to be put on trial on charges of corruption and conspiracy to kill protesters who called for him to step down earlier this year.

The country's prosecutor general said Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for three decades, would face a criminal court.

The announcement was made following a demand from Egyptians who have threatened a second revolution amid growing concerns about the slow pace of change under the country's new military rulers.

Adel el-Said, spokesman for the prosecutor general, said the charges could carry the death sentence.

Mubarak was forced to step down after an 18-day revolt by anti-government protesters that was met by a brutal security crackdown.

Over 800 people are believed to have been killed and thousands more injured.

Pro and anti-Mubarak protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square

But the prosecution of the 83-year old remained a sore point under the new leadership, which took control on 11 February.

Demonstrators demanded that Mubarak face justice, taking to the streets a number of times and criticising the military for stalling.

The statement from prosecutor general Mahmoud Abdel-Meguid, who also served under Mubarak, came ahead of a planned Friday protest that was to have focused on calls for him to be put on trial and for remnants of his regime to be uprooted.

It would be the first time in modern history an Arab leader is sent to trial solely by his people.

Police fire tear gas at demonstrators

"It is the first time that a living president is going to face victims of his abuse before an ordinary court in the region", said Hossam Bahgat, a human rights activist.

"It is precisely because of this unique and unprecedented nature that we need for this trial to be as credible as possible."

The charge sheet against Mubarak said he conspired with the former security chief and other senior police officers, already on trial in a criminal court, to commit premeditated murder, along with attempted murder of those who participated in the peaceful protests around Egypt.

Mubarak and his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, were charged with abusing power to amass wealth, enriching associates and accepting bribes, the prosecutor-general's office said.

The ousted leader's sons are being detained in a Cairo prison.

Earlier this month, Tunisia's toppled president Zine el Abidine Ben Ali was charged along with his wife of inciting violence in the bloody crackdown on the popular uprising there.

Ben Ali has fled to Saudi Arabia, which has not answered a Tunisian request to extradite him.

Airlines Facing Chaos As Ash Cloud Moves In

2011-05-24T11:00:00.000+02:00

There will be widespread disruption to flights to and from Scotland today as ash from an Icelandic volcano reaches Britain.

Eurocontrol, the European air traffic control agency, said a total of 252 flights - mostly affecting Scottish airports - have been cancelled to date.

British Airways have suspended all flights between London and Scotland until at least 2pm.

Budget airlines have also made cancellations - Easyjet have suspended services going in and out of Glasgow, Inverness, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

Flybe have cancelled 11 flights to and from Aberdeen and Inverness.

Met Office prediction of ash concentration by 6pm today

Meanwhile RyanAir have expressed its anger at having to cancel all services to and from Glasgow, Prestwick, Edinburgh and Aberdeen until 1pm today.

What may rile the airline a little more is that while BMI have made cancellations to their route to Aberdeen, they are still flying to and from Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Elsewhere, KLM and Eastern Airways have made cancellations to and from some airports in Scotland and Newcastle.

Aer Lingus has also cancelled 12 flights on various routes in and out of Scotland.

Arrivals board at Glasgow Airport shows a number of flight cancellations

Logan Air have also stopped flights until at least 1pm, although trips to and from Orkney are still operating.

Passengers have been advised to check with their airlines before travelling to airports.

The drifting ash cloud from Iceland's Grimsvotn volcano forcedUS President Barack Obama to alter his travel plans, arriving in London early for his state visit.

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said Britons "have got to learn" to live with chaos caused by volcanic activity in Iceland.

"My understanding is that we have gone through an unusually quiet period for volcanic eruptions in Iceland over the last 20-odd years and we are moving into a period when there is likely to be significantly more volcanic activity."

But he insisted there were now "much more robust systems" to "minimise the disruptive effect".

Last April hundreds of thousands of flights were cancelled and millions of people were either left stranded or forced to cancel their travel plans altogether when the Eyjafjallajokul volcanic erupted.

In addition, scientists in Norway have developed equipment that enables pilots to be able to 'see' ash particles up to 100km away and avoid them.

Mr Hammond said the authorities have since gained a "much better understanding" of the risk from ash clouds and are better able to assess the thickness of different patches as well as the possibility of flying over or below a cloud.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) all British aircraft can fly in medium density ash.

However, Met Office charts show that the levels are higher than this below 35,000ft, meaning planes could have to navigate around the plume.

A CAA spokesman said the cloud, as it is now, could "potentially" cause serious disruption.

Met Office prediction shows lower level of the cloud (in red) at midnight on Tuesday

But he said: "We are in a totally different world as far as procedures go now compared with last year.

"If we have the same level of ash as we did last year, there will not be the same problem.

"Airspace will not be closed and we will notify airlines when the Met Office predicts there are medium or high levels of ash present."

Yemen Peace Deal Fails As Saleh Backs Out

2011-05-23T10:17:00.002+02:00

Ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council have suspended mediation efforts in Yemen, after the country's president failed to sign a transition deal for him to leave office.

They made the decision after President Ali Abdullah Saleh refused to sign an agreement to step down, the third time such a deal has fallen through.

Mr Saleh said al Qaeda militants could fill a political and security vacuum if he is forced out and blamed the opposition for the deal's collapse.

Yemeni state TV showed several top figures from the country's ruling party signing the accord as the president and American ambassador watched.

But Mr Saleh said he would not sign unless opposition leaders came to the palace and signed it as well in public, not "behind closed doors".

"If (Yemen) is engulfed in a civil war, they will be responsible for it and the bloodshed," he said in a televised speech.

The deal would have given Mr Saleh immunity from prosecution, ensuring a dignified exit after nearly 33 years in power.

If he had signed it, he would have become the third Arab leader ousted by popular protests since January.

Hundreds of thousands of people have defied a bloody crackdown and called for the president to quit.

Anti-government protesters in the capital Sanaa

The US and Saudi Arabia, both targets of foiled attacks by al Qaeda's Yemen-based regional wing, are keen to end the Yemeni stalemate and avert a spread of anarchy that could give the global militant network more room to operate.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) bloc of Yemen's oil-rich neighbours and Western powers have exerted intense diplomatic efforts to secure a deal and end the violence in which more than 170 Yemeni demonstrators have been killed.

Last week President Barack Obama said that Mr Saleh needed to "follow through on his commitment to transfer power". European diplomats have also leaned on both sides to agree on a deal.

But in a move likely to infuriate the Gulf and Western countries, gunmen loyal to Mr Saleh surrounded the United Arab Emirates embassy on Sunday, trapping inside Gulf and Western ambassadors working to resolve the crisis and preventing them from going to the presidential palace to see the president.

The UAE urged Yemeni authorities to secure its embassy, and the diplomats were later reported to have been taken to the palace by helicopter.

Elections Kick Off In Spain Amid Protests

2011-05-22T17:44:00.000+02:00

Spaniards have gone to the polls following a wave of pre-election protests across the country.

Tens of thousands of Spaniards spent the week leading up to the elections demonstrating about high unemployment rates in the country.

Demonstrators filled the country's city squares in a wave of outrage over government austerity measures, marking a shift after years of patience over a long economic slump.

Witnesses said at least 20,000 people packed the Puerta del Sol plaza in the heart of Madrid on Friday night.

The Spanish prime minister and his wife cast their vote in Madrid

They were challenging a law against political events on the eve of elections, which went into effect at midnight.

The demonstrations continued on Saturday night and when the clock struck midnight signalling election day, the crowd gathered at the Puerta del Sol plaza erupted into chants of "This is how Madrid votes".

Police did not clamp down on the demonstrations despite the legislation which has been upheld by the supreme and constitutional courts.

Inma Moreno, 25, was among the protesters who gathered in the capital's main square.

"I'm protesting because I've got no job future in Spain even though I've finished my degree in tourism," she said.

"This should make the political classes aware that something is not right."

Analysts said that police action against the peaceful demonstrations would be disastrous for the Socialists.

Madrid's main square was packed on the eve of the elections

Prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who has failed to contain the highest unemployment in the European Union at 21.3%, said he respected the protesters, also signalling an unwillingness to crack down on the movement.

More than 34 million people are eligible to vote with the Spaniards electing 8,116 city councils and 13 out of 17 regional governments when they go to the polls.

Protesters called on people not to vote for the two main parties, the Socialists and the centre-right opposition Popular Party.

Demonstrators have camped out in Madrid all week

The Socialists are expected to suffer major losses.

In the past year, Spain has struggled to emerge from a recession.

The collapse of the construction sector and a decline in consumer spending have hit the young particularly hard with 45% of 18 to 25-year-olds being unemployed.

IMF Agrees 26 Billion Euro Portugal Bail-Out

2011-05-21T10:46:00.000+02:00

The International Monetary Fund has approved a 26 billion euro bail-out loan for Portugal to help the struggling eurozone member recover from its debt crisis.

The International Monetary Fund headquarters in Washington DC

The IMF, whose boss has quit amid a sex scandal, said it would immediately disburse 6.1 billion euros to ease investor concerns over the country's financial problems.

The organisation said total fiscal support to Portugal in 2011 will include about 12.6 billion euros from the IMF and another 25.2 billion euros from the European Union.

The funding is part of a 78 billion euro bail-out package by the IMF and European Union.

The Portugal deal follows a 110 billion euro package for Greece last May and an 85 billion euro programme for Ireland in November.

IMF managing director Strauss-Kahn resigned this week after being accused of sexual assault and attempted rape in a New York hotel.

"The financing package is designed to allow Portugal some breathing space from borrowing in the markets while it demonstrates implementation of the policy steps needed to get the economy back on track," an IMF statement read.

According to the agreement, Lisbon will have to make deep spending cuts, raise taxes, reform its labour and justice systems, and embark on an ambitious privatisation scheme.

"The Portuguese authorities have put forward a program that is economically well-balanced and has growth and job creation at its centre," IMF acting managing director John Lipsky said.

"It addresses the fundamental problem in Portugal - low growth - with a policy mix based on restoring competitiveness through structural reforms, ensuring a balanced fiscal consolidation path, and stabilising the financial sector."

John Lipsky, the IMF acting managing director

The leader of Portugal's opposition Social Democrats, Pedro Passos Coelho, warned earlier this week that the country has no room for failure in meeting the austerity conditions of the programme.

The austerity measures included in the bail-out are expected to contribute to a contraction in the Portuguese economy of 2% both this year and next.

Mr Lipsky said the support from Portugal's main political parties for objectives and policies under the programme indicates a "resolve to tackle the Portugal's long standing problems".

Israeli PM Rejects Obama '1967 Borders' Speech

2011-05-20T12:41:00.000+02:00

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected calls from the US president for a Palestinian state based on the borders of 1967 - ahead of a highly anticipated meeting between the two leaders.

Mr Obama said in a major speech on Thursday that he supported the Palestinians' demand that their eventual state be based on borders that existed before the Six Day War, when Israeli forces occupied east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza.

It is the first time he has publicly endorsed such a policy.

But Mr Netanyahu criticised the comments ahead of his trip to Washington, saying it would leave Israel "indefensible".

He said he appreciated Mr Obama's "commitment to peace", but added: "The viability of a Palestinian state cannot come at the expense of Israel's existence.

"Those commitments relate to Israel not having to withdraw to the 1967 lines."

The leader said he expected Washington to let Israel keep major settlements beyond the 1967 lines in the occupied West Bank under any peace deal with the Palestinians.

Pressure is growing on the pair to answer the demands of the Palestinian people, after protests at Israel's borders this week in which at least 15 people were killed.

In his speech, Mr Obama expressed his frustration at the peace effort in the region and showed he is running out of patience and reasons to be subtle.

"The international community is tired of an endless process that never produces an outcome.

There have been clashes along the Israeli border in recent days

"At a time when the people of the Middle East and North Africa are casting off the burdens of the past, the drive for a lasting peace that ends the conflict and resolves all claims is more urgent than ever.

Palestinians, meanwhile, refuse to negotiate while Israel continues to expand Jewish enclaves in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want to be part of an eventual state.

Israel refuses to freeze settlement construction, saying the matter should be resolved through negotiations.

With talks at a standstill, the Palestinians are planning to take their bid for statehood to the United Nations in September, a step Mr Obama rejected in his speech.

Obama's Billions To Woo New Middle East Order

2011-05-19T09:33:00.000+02:00

Barack Obama is to offer Egypt and Tunisa aid packages worth billions of dollars as he tries to remodel America's relations with the Arab world.

The US President will use a major policy speech to outline a $1bn (£600m) debt relief scheme aimed at helping Egypt invest in employment and entrepreneurs.

Washington will also loan or guarantee loans worth $1bn for Cairo to finance infrastructure development and boost jobs.

It is thought Mr Obama's address will cover recent pro-democracy demonstrations in North Africa and the Middle East, as well as the death of Osama bin Laden, the influence of Iran and stalled peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

Senior government officials say the speech will focus on the opportunities presented by the Arab Spring uprisings, such as political and economic reform, as well as signalling a fundamental change in how America "does business" in the region.

Mr Obama has been criticised for apparent inconsistencies in his approach to the Arab world after his attempt to reboot relations during a visit to Cairo in 2009.

With Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo 2009

This year he was criticised for taking too long to call for the resignation of Egypt's then president Hosni Mubarak, while he was swift to side with protesters in Tunisia, a country which holds little strategic value for America.

The administration was also accused of soft-pedalling as the Syrian government killed hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators.

On Wednesday, President Obama significantly increased the pressure on Damascus by bringing sanctions against President Bashar Assad and six other ministers for human rights abuses.

But experts in the region caution against a one-size-fits-all approach to the region.

Aaron David Miller, a Middle East analyst and former negotiator, told: "This won't be an attempt to create an Obama Doctrine. We don't need one of those.

"That would be ideological rigidity which could come at the expense of flexibility."

He added: "It will be an effort to inject a certain measure of consistency, predictability and principles."

The speech, which is expected to last 45 minutes, is likely to set out the universal values and principles which America supports and suggest that the violent jihad waged by groups like al Qaeda should now be consigned to history.

He will begin his remarks at the US State Department just before midday on Thursday.

Tunisia Warns Libya Over Rocket Attacks

2011-05-18T10:55:00.002+02:00

Tunisia has said it will report Libya to the UN Security Council if it fires on border areas again amid claims rockets were fired by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's forces.

Pressure has been piling on the Libyan leader after an apparent defection by his oil minister and further Nato air strikes on Tripoli.

Now, a Tunisian foreign ministry source has warned the government would take diplomatic action over "continuing firing of rockets" towards Tunisian territory.

Earlier on Tuesday at least four Russian-made Grad rockets fired from Libya landed inside Tunisia, according to reports.

The attacks forced Libyan rebels to pull back briefly from the Dehiba-Wazin border crossing, but they kept control despite several rebel deaths and injuries.

A Tunisian government official has said oil minister Shukri Ghanem, a veteran of Col Gaddafi's regime, had left Libya at the weekend and was in neighbouring Tunisia.

Ghanem has been a key member of Gaddafi's regime

Ghanem, also chairman of Libya's national oil company, reportedly crossed the border by car on Saturday and checked into a hotel on the southern tourist island of Djerba.

A Libyan government spokesman denied the defection, but if confirmed Ghanem would be among the most senior officials to abandon the regime since the anti-government uprising began in February.

On Monday night, air strikes by Nato set fire to buildings near Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli.

Britain, one of the main powers enforcing the no-fly zone, confirmed attacks overnight in Tripoli by Tomahawk missiles and Royal Air Force Tornado aircraft, which it said struck intelligence agency buildings and a military training base.

Nato has denied claims on Libyan state TV that one of its warships was damaged by Libyan forces off the coast of the rebel-held city of Misratah.

Strauss-Kahn Held In Jail After Bail Denied

2011-05-17T12:29:00.002+02:00

Dominique Strauss-Kahn is being held at the notorious Rikers prison in New York after being denied bail.

The head of the International Monetary Fund is in a cramped 11ft-by-13ft cell - less than a week after staying in a $3,000-a-day hotel suite.

Instead of his marble bathroom, a king-sized bed and feather and down duvet from the Sofitel near Times Square, he has only the most basic supplies.

On arrival at the prison the economist was given rudimentary bedding, a drinking cup, soap, shampoo and toothpaste.

He was also physically and psychologically examined before being separated from other inmates in case he is attacked.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn at Manhattan Criminal Court

Mr Strauss-Kahn, 62, has been accused of sexual assaulting a hotel maid at the Sofitel on Saturday when she arrived to clean his room.

He allegedly emerged from his bathroom naked, dragged the maid from the corridor and then attacked her.

The economist was located by police after he rang the hotel to say he had left behind his mobile phone and told staff he was at JFK Airport.

He was removed from a flight by two officers minutes before it was due to take off and returned to the city.

Mr Strauss-Kahn in court as the prosecutors outline the allegations

His legal team insist he is innocent of the charges which include attempted rape, sexual abuse and unlawful imprisonment.

They proposed a $1m bail and said he could wear an electronic tag.

But Judge Melissa Jackson, at Manhattan Criminal Court, denied bail - claiming there was a risk he might flee back to France.

She said: "When I hear your client was at JFK airport about to board a flight, that raises some concerns."

Judge Melissa Jackson denied bail on grounds the IMF chief could flee

The 32-year-old hotel maid, an African immigrant, claims Mr Strauss-Kahn dragged her from the hall into a bathroom, where she was made to perform oral sex on him.

She says she managed to free herself when the IMF chief started to remove her underwear and she then ran downstairs to raise the alarm.

Assistant district attorney John McConnell told the court: "The defendant restrained a hotel employee against her will.

"He sexually assaulted her and tried to rape her. When he was unsuccessful, he forced her to perform oral sex on him."

Mr McConnell said the alleged victim, who picked the IMF boss out of a police line-up, had given a "powerful account".

He added: "The crime scene unit has processed the hotel room. Preliminary evidence suggests there are findings that will support the victim’s version of events."

Prosecutors insisted that Mr Strauss-Kahn's "massive network of contracts" across the world and his wealth meant he was an "incurable flight risk".

Mr McConnell also told the court he had seen video of the defendant leaving the hotel and that "he appeared to be a man in a hurry”.

The IMF boss’s lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, insisted his client had ties to the US and his flight back to Europe was organised far in advance.

Mr Brafman described the charges as "defendable" and claimed the forensic evidence taken by police "will not be consistent with a forcible encounter".

Outside court, the lawyer added: "We believe we will prove that Mr Strauss is innocent of these charges.

"I think it's important that you all understand that this battle has just begun."

Mr Strauss-Kahn's lawyers William Taylor and Benjamin Brafman outside court

The lawyer successfully defended pop star Michael Jackson from child molestation charges in 2005.

Mr Strauss-Kahn looked tense and haggard during the court appearance. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.

He is being held on remand in Rikers jail and is due back in court on May 20 when his lawyers are expected to try to overturn the bail decision.

The IMF has still not decided whether to remove the economist from his job but has installed his deputy John Lipsky in his place temporarily.

A spokesman said after a meeting on Monday: "The IMF and its executive board will continue to monitor developments."

Caroline Atkinson, Director of External Relations at the IMF

Meanwhile in France, the Socialist Party has been left in disarray because Mr Strauss-Kahn was expected to win its nomination for next year’s presidential election.

The party’s leaders are meeting on Tuesday for crisis talks and try to map out a new plan for the contest.

In a further blow, a French author is now considering pressing charges against Mr Strauss-Kahn for allegedly trying to rape her nine years ago.

Tristane Banon, the daughter of a French socialist, consulted a lawyer in Paris about action against the economist who she describes as being like a "rutting chimpanzee".

She claims she physically had to fight off Mr Strauss-Kahn when he tried to seduce her in 2002, when she was 22.

Her mother Anne Mansouret said she talked her daughter out of taking action because he was such an influential figure.

ICC Requests Arrest Warrants For Gaddafi

2011-05-16T10:31:00.000+02:00

The chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court will today ask judges in The Hague to issue arrest warrants for three senior members of the Libyan regime.

There are concerns the arrest warrants could back the leader into a corner

Colonel Muammar Gaddafi is widely expected to be one of the people named.

The other two are thought to be the leader's son Saif al Islam, once seen as a moderate successor to his father, and Abdullah al Senussi who is the Libyan regime's head of espionage.

ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo is due to file a 74-page document with nine annexes.

It outlines allegations of systematic attacks against civilians by Col Gaddafi's forces since February.

Mr Moreno-Ocampo says he had concluded "there was enough evidence to present a request for arrest warrants for the commission of two categories" - crimes against humanity and persecution.

"The Office collected good and solid evidence to identify who bears the greatest responsibility; no political responsibilities but rather individual criminal responsibilities for crimes committed in Libya," he said.

Saif al Islam was once seen as his father's likely successor

The ICC has catalogued the allegations in just two-and-a-half months.

It has reviewed more than 1,200 documents, studied video and photographs and conducted interviews.

The information will now be handed to three judges, from Brazil, Italy and Botswana, in 'Chamber 1' of the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

They are expected to uphold the prosecutors charges against the three individuals, but any announcement could take several months.

Sources close to Col Gaddafi have expressed irritation that the ICC prosecutors team did not visit the country as part of their investigation.

But the ICC have defended their work. A spokeswoman explained why they had not conducted any research in Libya.

"We did not go to Libya because we did not want to put any witnesses at risk in Libya," a spokeswoman said.

"Once we see someone, we have a duty to protect them."

It is not yet at all clear how any potential arrests could be carried out or how they could affect the conflict in Libya.

The ICC was built on the 1988 Rome Statute. It states that the duty to arrest those named falls upon the national government in question.

However, given how long this conflict has now run, it seems unlikely that anyone within Col Gaddafi's inner circle will suddenly turn on the leader.

The arrests could be made by Nato, but this would require 'boots on the ground'.

Rebel fighters in the western area of Zintan

That could only happen after another UN resolution, which China and Russia would probably veto.

None of the Nato countries taking part in the action against Libya have shown any desire to send in ground troops.

There is a hope that the issuing of the warrants will encourage those close to Col Gaddafi to defect for fear of arrest themselves.

But it could also back the dictator into a corner. It could complicate the possibility of a deal in which he accepts exile as a way to end the conflict.

IMF Head Charged Over Alleged Sex Attack

2011-05-15T14:36:00.000+02:00

The head of the IMF has been charged with a criminal sexual act, attempted rape and unlawful imprisonment, following allegations made by a hotel maid in New York.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn was taken into custody at JFK airport after being pulled from the first-class cabin of a flight to Paris just minutes before take-off.

The 62-year-old married father of four is due to appear before a judge later today.

The lawyer representing Mr Strauss-Kahn, Benjamin Brafman, has indicated he "will plead not guilty" to the charges.

The incident is alleged to have happened in Mr Strauss-Kahn's luxury suite at the Sofitel hotel, not far from Manhattan's Times Square.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn was pulled off an Air France flight by the NYPD

A 32-year-old maid told authorities she was attacked when she went into clean the room.

Talks that had been due to take place today between Mr Strauss-Kahn and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were cancelled in the wake of the arrest, after the IMF said they would not be sending a replacement to Berlin.

The pair had been due to talk about the euro zone debt crisis.

Mr Strauss-Kahn took over as head of the International Monetary Fund in November 2007. The 187-nation lending agency is based in Washington and provides help in the form of emergency loans for countries facing severe financial problems.

Press outside the New York police station where the IMF chief was questioned

He won praise for his leadership at the IMF during the financial crisis of 2008 and the severe global recession that followed.

More recently, he has directed the IMF's participation in bailout efforts to keep a European debt crisis which began in Greece from destabilising the global economy.

Before taking the top job at the IMF, Mr Strauss-Kahn had been a member of the French National Assembly and had also served as France's Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry from June 1997 to November 1999.

He had been viewed as a leading contender to challenge the re-election of French president Nicolas Sarkozy for the Socialist Party.

Nato Says Colonel Gaddafi Is Losing Support

2011-05-14T14:29:00.000+02:00

Nato has said it does not need to find Colonel Muammar Gaddafi because there is growing evidence that his troops' loyalty will end.

The comment was given in response to the Libyan dictator's taunt that he had retreated to a place "you cannot reach".

In a recorded statement broadcast on government-run television Col Gaddafi said he was alive and had the support of millions of people.

But a Nato official said: "We don't need to find him because as we continue to strike his troops there is growing evidence that their loyalty will end and when that happens his dictatorship will end and the Libyan people will have the freedom they deserve."

The Libyan regime has claimed that 18 people were killed in a Nato airstrike on a guesthouse in the eastern town of Brega.

However, Nato said the building it hit was an underground bunker that had been "clearly identified as a command and control centre".

It said it was there to coordinate all the of the military activity in the east of the country.

It did not confirm that civilians were killed but said it "regrets any loss of life by innocent civilians" whenever it occurs.

The government said 11 Muslim imams were among those who died after they had gathered there to pray for peace and Col Gaddafi called the strike "cowardly".

"I tell the coward crusaders; I live in a place where you can't get to and kill me," he said. "I live in the hearts of millions."

Spokesman Mussa Ibrahim said: "This is the most horrendous, terrible attack so far. Last night Libyan TV were broadcasting live from a religious gathering of over 100 people in Brega town.

"After the gathering the religious leaders and civilians left and stayed in a guesthouse in Brega. Nato attacked the guesthouse at dawn today.

Graphic video broadcast on state television showed two rows of bodies partially covered in blankets.

All the dead appeared to be young men in civilian clothing. None appeared to be wearing religious garments.

A Dutch engineer has told he built a bunker in Brega in 1988 and confirmed that its coordinates match those of the area Nato targeted on Friday.

Pakistan: 80 Killed In Osama 'Revenge' Blasts

2011-05-13T22:07:00.000+02:00

At least 80 people have died after double suicide bomb blasts at a Pakistani paramilitary police training centre, said to be in revenge for Osama bin Laden's killing.
Pakistani Taliban militants have said they carried out the attacks, according to Reuters news agency.
"It's the first revenge for the martyrdom of... bin Laden. There will be more," Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said by telephone from an undisclosed location.
The atrocity has been condemned by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and British Foreign Secretary William Hague.

It was the bloodiest attack in the country since a US raid killed al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden earlier this month.
Police officer Liaqat Ali Khan said 66 of the victims were recruits for the Frontier Corps, who were about to be bussed home from the centre.
The explosions detonated as the newly trained cadets - all wearing civilian clothes - were getting into coaches to begin 10 days of leave after their course.
The attack came as Pakistan's military and civilian leadership deals with the fallout from the killing of bin Laden by US special forces.

It took place in the Charsadda area, around 19 miles north of northwestern city Peshawar.
The region has been subject to a series of attacks on government forces by militants linked to the Taliban and al Qaeda.
President Zardari expressed his condolences with the families of those killed.
"The government and people are determined to defeat terrorism and such gruesome acts cannot deter the resolve of the nation which remains united to defeat terrorists," he said.
The site of the suicide bomb attack
Mr Hague: "These attacks were cowardly and indiscriminate, killing many innocent bystanders and targeting those who serve to protect Pakistan."
The Pakistani Taliban last week threatened to attack security forces to avenge bin Laden's killing in a US helicopter raid north of the capital Islamabad on May 2.
A pile of items belonging to victims of the attack
More than 4,300 people have died in suicide and bomb attacks across Pakistan in the four years since government forces raided an extremist mosque in Islamabad in 2007.

Ten Killed As Earthquake Hits Spanish Town

2011-05-12T12:48:00.000+02:00

A rare earthquake has rocked the ancient town of Lorca in southeastern Spain causing homes to collapse, damaging historic churches and killing at least 10 people.

The 5.2 magnitude earthquake sent tremors through the popular tourist region of Murcia.

Part of the front of a badly damaged church in the small town collapsed hours after the quake, narrowly missing a television journalist reporting live from the scene.

"The population is scared and are very afraid to return to their homes," Rafael Gonzalez Tovar, from the central government in Murcia Rafael, said.

""There are thousands of very disorientated people. There are thousands of very disorientated people."

Television images showed shaken families and children gathering in a square in the town, seeking safety from collapsed buildings. Masonry and rubble were strewn across the streets.

"We were just sat here and everything began to move, pictures fell from the wall, the TV fell and (the quake) went on for ages. We looked out of the window and there were a lot of people running, an ambulance and the police," one woman told national radio.

The earthquake struck at 6:47 pm local time, according to Spain's National Geographical Institute data.

View Lorca, Spain in a larger map

British ex pat Martin Sayer told: "I felt a bit of a rumble at about 3pm then about two hours later there was a much bigger one.

"My house is about 9km away from Lorca and the house shook."

He added that the quake occurred during siesta time, and that the effects could have been much worse had the streets been busier.

Another ex pat, Michael Harris, who lives around 35 miles from the epicentre, said: "There was a rumbling like a train was going underneath us and we did not realise what it was at first.

"We thought it might have been caused by the air force who were doing trials flying past."

Many buildings have been damaged and some have collapsed

He added that by the second quake he was cleaning his swimming pool - and that the force of the quake caused the water to splash out.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the epicentre was about half a mile below ground.

A milder quake of 4.5 magnitude had hit the town, which is dependent on farming, shortly beforehand.

The last fatal earthquake to hit Spain was in 1997, when one person was killed, according to the USGS.

Many residents had to sleep outside after their homes were damaged

Deputy Prime Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba is to visit the town later to examine the damage.

The government mobilised a military task force of 200 servicemen and women to help secure the area, where an estimated 10,000 people have been affected by the quake.

Lorca, which has a population of about 90,000 people, dates back to the Bronze Age and probably gained its name from the Romans. The old part of the town is made up of a network of narrow alleyways.

Lorca is built in the shadow of a fortress. Its many architectural features include a Roman military column, the Church of San Francisco and medieval walls and gates of San Antonio.