News

Over 100 Activists Killed in Syrian Protest

2011-03-24T07:18:00.000-07:00

More than 100 have been killed in the Syrian protest city Deraa, rights activists told Al Arabiya TV on Thursday, hours after medics said the local hospital had received 25 bodies of protests.

A witness reportedly told Al Arabiya that hundreds of protesters took to the streets on Wednesday in the towns of Jasim, Enkhil, al-Hara, and al-Harrag "in support for their brothers in Deraa,", adding the they demanded the end of a security siege on the city.

Syria, which has also been hit by the popular unrest sweeping the Middle East, was taken by surprise and amid an attempted failure to quell the protests by force, in the second apparent concession to protesters since the uprising, President Bashar al-Assad sacked provincial governor of Deraa aisal Kalthoum on Wednesday.

There were also reports that a number of local security officials reviled by people had been reassigned or suspended.

In first vocal western response to the events France urged Syria to carry out political reforms without delay and respect its commitments to human rights.

Ffrench foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero told reporters: "France calls on Syria to follow its international commitments to human rights, to which it has signed up especially with regard to freedom of expression and opinion".

"Political reforms must be put in place without delay to meet the aspirations of the Syrian people," he said.

In its reaction, the US Obama administration called on the Syrian Government to “exercise restraint” against its peaceful protesters. The State Department spokesman, Mark Toner said that the United States was deeply troubled by violence and civilian deaths in Deraa at the hands of security forces.

"We are concerned by the Syrian Government's use of violence, intimidation and arbitrary arrests in Deraa to hinder the ability of its people to freely exercise their universal rights," he said.

Two Fukushima Nuclear Plant Workers Hospitalised

2011-03-24T07:16:00.000-07:00

Tokyo Electric Power Co. workers outside the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Japan's nuclear safety agency says that two workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant were taken to hospital on Thursday after being exposed to high-level radiation at the Number 3 reactor, NHK reports. The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says the workers were standing on a flooded basement floor while working to reconnect power lines in the turbine building adjacent to the reactor. As a result, their feet were exposed to 170 to 180 millisieverts of radiation. The workers were taken to a local hospital before being moved to the National Institute of Radiological Sciences for treatment. A third worker was also exposed to the higher-level radiation but apparently did not require treatment. The maximum level of radiation exposure allowed for nuclear plant workers in Japan is normally 100 millisieverts. But the health and labor ministry has recently raised that limit to 250 millisieverts for emergency crews at the Fukushima plant. High radiation levels detected 30km off nuke plant Meanwhile, Japan's science ministry says levels of radioactive substances up to twice recommended limits were detected in waters 30 kilometres off the quake-damaged Fukushima nuclear plant. The ministry conducted a survey on Wednesday in 8 locations over a distance of 70 kilometres from north to south in the Pacific Ocean. Radioactive iodine-131 and radioactive caesium-137 were detected at all locations. Levels of radioactive iodine-131 were from 1.05 to 1.92 times higher than the limit. Readings for radioactive caesium-137 were all below the limit, but about 10,000 times higher than a similar survey last year. Another survey conducted by the Tokyo Electric Power Company on Wednesday detected radioactive iodine-131 at 146.9 times the limit, 330 metres away from a water outlet of the nuclear plant. The same substance was detected at a level 19.1 times higher than allowable limits on the coast 16 kilometres south of the plant. The science ministry says it will continue analysing the impact of the radioactivity on marine resources and the environment. A senior consultant at the Marine Ecology Research Institute, Jun Misonoo, says contamination decreases further off the coast. He says radioactive iodine-131 levels fall by half in 8 days, and the impact on fish fades away. Misonoo says that although radioactive caesium is unlikely to affect human health, monitoring should continue to assess its Tokyo lifts advice against tap water In other developments, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government says it has lifted its advice against using tap water for consumption by infants in Tokyo's 23 wards and 5 adjacent cities. The government said the level of radioactive iodine-131 in water at the Machinate purification plant on Thursday morning had dropped to 79 becquerels per litre - below the recommended limit of 100 for infants under one year old. The government added that the level has been falling for three days. The advisory had been issued after levels above the limit were detected at the plant on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Friday, the government plans to continue testing the level at the plant and distribute 240,000 bottles of water to households with infants, following similar distribution on Thursday. impact inside fish.

Breaking News: French Fighter Downs Libyan Warplane, reports

2011-03-24T07:15:00.001-07:00




French fighter jets have reportedly shot down a Libyan jet that tried to violate the country's UN-sanctioned no-fly zone Thursday. ABC News reported the attack happened in the skies over the embattled rebel city of Misurata. This is the first challenge of the allies aerial supremacy and it comes after five days of bombing runs against pro-Al Qathfi positions. Earlier French military officials said at a press conference in Paris that its fighter jets attacked an air base 240 kilometesinland from the Mediterranean coast overnight. Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Thursday coalition air strikes against Libya had been a "success."

Al Qathafi's Forces Roll On Despite Coalition's Strikes; Government Accuses Allied Forces of Targeting Civilians

2011-03-24T07:13:00.000-07:00

Dead bodies of civilians that the Libyan government says were victims of the coalition's airstrikes

Despite a fifth night of airstrikes, the Libyan regime's forces kept up their shelling of rebel-held cities by the use of tanks and heavy artillery, particularly at Misurata, Ajdabijah and Zintan, and with Libyan state television accusing the coalition forces of striking at civilians in the capital, Tripoli, and Jaafar, “killing dozens of civilians”.

Libyan television reported UN-sponsored forces, calling them “colonialist crusaders”, as attacking military and civilian targets. Eight explosions were reported heard in the east of the capital late night on Wednesday, but US military officials denied any civilians had been killed.

Government officials accompanied some journalists to a hospital early Thursday morning showing them 18 charred bodies, which the regime said, were military personnel and civilians killed in the air strikes.

State television showed pictures of casualites arriving at a hospital, reportedly injured, or victims of the airstrikes by the coalition forces.

At the same time, addressing journalists, the Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim addressing journalists, refused to admit that libyan forces are conducting offensive operations of any sort.

“There are no attacks from Libyan forces from the air or from the ground. There are no military operations on the ground in Misurata,” he said. He added that the situation is, only confined to pockets of violence scattered in different areas of Misurata

Meanwhile, the US military said it had successfully established a no-fly zone over Libya's coastal areas and had moved on to attack Al Qathafi's rremaining tanks. It has been reported that the coalition forces flew 175 sorties in 24 hours, with the US accounting for 113 of those, according to a US commander.

The French defence minister, Gerard Longuet, said that France had destroyed about 10 Libyan armoured vehicles over three days. But these losses to the Al Qathafi forces, and the airstrikes have kept them from pressingg on with their assaults and their efforts to completely take control of the towns of Misurata,Ajdabiyah and Zintan.

Under the cover of darkness, the pro-government forces used their tanks to push forward deep into the towns, particularly Misurata, the third largest city in the country around 200km east of Tripoli and home to a major oil refinery. According to reports Thursday, the loyalist troops shelled a residential area close to a hospital

Government snipers carried on firing indiscriminately, and tanks were closing in on Misurata hospital, residents told Reuters news agency, while an opposition spokesman was quoted saying the snipers had killed 16 people.

Contrary to what a resident in Zintan, 106km southwest of Tripoli told Al Jazeera, that is, that Al Qathafi's forces were bringing up more troops and tanks to bombard the opposition-held town, the Libyan government vehemently denies its army is conducting any offensive operations and says troops are only defending themselves when they come under attack.

In the east, at Ajdabiyah, around 160km south of Benghazi, opposition fighters were reportedly pinned down outside the strategic junction after more than three days of trying to recapture the city. Despite coalition air strikes targeting the regime's forces along the road between Benghazi and Ajdabiyah, rebel forces have been unable to retake the town.

Libya Mission Uncertain, Clouded by Confusion

2011-03-24T07:11:00.000-07:00




United States President Barack Obama said he was setting clear and unmistakable terms for the U.S. role in Libya: It would be limited, lasting days, not weeks, and its purpose was to protect Libyan citizens. However, analysing the current situation, news agency Associated Press says that's not the way it's turning out. Less than a week later, the mission has been clouded by confusion and questions about who's in charge and who's doing what - all while the killing of civilians is going on, it said. AP goes on to say that the Pentagon claims success in establishing an effective no-fly zone over much of Libya that has grounded Col. Muammar Al Qathafi's ageing air force. But the Libyan leader's tanks and troops are still targeting civilians on the ground. Yet the administration seeks to minimise current disputes over the reins of leadership, suggesting everything will fall in place quickly, ideally by this weekend. It quotes Aaron David Miller, a former top State Department Mideast negotiator in Republican and Democratic administrations and now with the Woodrow Wilson Centre, a foreign-policy think tank saying that, “ it could still all come around very quickly in our favour. But if that's to happen, we will have to apply much more intensive military power in an effort to make this succeed." He goes on to say: "But it doesn't appear to me, given the constraints acting upon us and our own reservations, that we're prepared to do that. Right now, it appears to be settling into a stalemate which isn't terribly hurting on the Al Qathafi side." Meanwhile, U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates said he couldn't predict when the international military enforcement of a no-fly zone over Libya might end - but suggested the U.S. could turn over control of the operation as soon as Saturday. Gates said no one thought the assault would last only two or three weeks, but he could not say how the coalition operation might be resolved. For now, at least, the U.S. remains the ad hoc boss of the operation, now in its fifth day, with no certainty about who will take over or when. Talks are continuing in Brussels, headquarters of the North American Treaty Organisation, AP reports. The U.S. wants NATO to take the command and control lead in overseeing coalition forces. U.S., European, Arab and African officials have been invited to a meeting in London next Tuesday to discuss outstanding political and logistical issues. On his part, Richard Downie, an Africa expert at the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said the United States' lead role in the operation was lasting longer than he'd expected. Obama has ruled out U.S. troops on the ground, and did so again Wednesday in an interview with the Spanish-language network Univision. Wrapping up a Latin American trip, Obama said a land invasion of Libya was "absolutely" out of the question.

Libyan minister claims Gaddafi is powerless and the ceasefire is 'solid'

2011-03-19T21:56:00.001-07:00

Libyan minister claims Gaddafi is powerless and the ceasefire is 'solid'
One of Libya’s most senior politicians risked ridicule by claiming that a ceasefire was being respected and Colonel Gaddafi holds no power in the country.

Khaled Kaim, the country’s deputy foreign minister, tried to argue that the Libyan leader has been no more than a symbolic figurehead for the last 35 years.

In an interview with Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday, he also insisted that there was a “real, credible and solid” ceasefire even though reports were coming through as he spoke of heavy fighting in the rebel-held city of Benghazi.

The exchange was reminiscent of the farcical comments made by the Iraqi Information Minister, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, who came to be known as Comical Ali after he declared on live television that US troops were defeated and committing mass suicide as American tanks advanced behind him.

Asked whether Colonel Gaddafi would consider standing down, Mr Kaim replied that the Libyan leader had not held executive power since 1977.

“Gaddafi has said it by himself.,” he said

“He said that 'I’m just playing a symbolic role here in the country because I was the leader of the revolution’...

“The role of the leader is symbolic and the national dialogue will talk about the constitution and the constitution might deal with all these issues.”

The minister even denied that anyone in Libya is asking for Colonel Gaddafi to stand down, but rather they are pouring onto the streets to shout his name.

“There is no power for any government organisation to enforce people to go out into the street, chanting. This is not fabricated by the government,” he said.

“The leader is still popular. I know there are maybe some elements in the society don’t like him or don’t like his role.

“This is obvious, but the majority of the Libyans are supporting the leader. This is obvious as well.”

Mr Kaim also declared that Gaddafi’s forces are only made up of loyal Libyans despite widespread reports of a significant number of mercenaries involved in trying to crush the rebels.

“I challenge anyone in the world to give us a single proof that there are mercenaries from abroad. They are all Libyans. You know the Libyans are black and white. They are not white as you. But the Libyan society is composed of black and white,” he said.

“We are ready to give you a different version of the truth.

“One of the people who was killed in Benghazi is a black.

“He’s from my own village. We have the proof to tell you that.”

The full interview:

Justin Webb: To your knowledge is there now a ceasefire in place?

Khaled Kaim: Yes, there is a ceasefire in place.

JW: Yet we’re having reports within the last few hours of explosions in the city of Benghazi and the sound of a warplane in the air.

KK: No not at all because all of the Libyan airforce are out of operation now because we are respecting decision 1973 and as I said earlier the ceasefire is real, credible and solid.

We are willing to receive observers as soon as possible, even today those countries are invited to send observers. We will come them and take them there to whatever they want in the country.

JW: Is Colonel Gaddafi willing to stand down now

KK: This is I think not the question because Gaddafi has no executive power since 1977

JW: But that’s a shame isn’t it. Everyone knows he’s in charge and I’m just wondering whether he might be willing now to go.

KK: Let the national dialogue decide that.

JW: Are you saying it’s possible now that Colonel Gaddafi will step down?

KK: No one here in libya is asking that question

JW: But they are aren’t they with resepct. Surely all the rebels and man
y

Libyan people want him to go and that’s pretty obvious isn’t it. That’s why you’ve got into this situation. I’m just wondering whether he’s willing to consider it now.

KK: No no, Gaddafi has said it by himself. He said that ‘I’m just playing a symbolic role here in the country because I was the leader of the revolution and I’m not holding any’..

JW: But he’s obviously not playing a symbolic role, he’s obviously playing a very important role and i just wonder whether this might be the moment he considers stepping down.

KK: I told you the role of the leader is symbolic and the national dialogue will talk about the constitution and the constitution might deal with all these issues.

JW: Can I ask you for the reasons why you are putting in to place this ceasefire if that turns out to be what happens? Is it that you understand that the international community is too powerful for you to do anything about?

KK: No. Just to keep our credibility to the international community considered as the court verdict. We have to respect it. We have to implement it and then we will tell the international community the reservation we have on that...

JW: Can I ask you about the composition of the forces that have been supporting you and Col Gaddafi. It’s true isn’t it that they’re not really made up of libyans? They’re actually mostly mercenaries from abroad

KK: I challenge anyone in the world to give us a single proof that there are mercenaries from abroad. They are all Libyans. You know the Libyans are black and white. They are not white as you. But the Libyan society is composed of black and white.

JW: But countless, countless foreign reporters have come across people who are very obviously foreign. That’s well known isn’t it?

KK: We are ready to give you a different version of the truth. One of the people who was killed in Benghazi is a black. He’s from my own village. We have the proof to tell you that. We can give it to your correspondent tomorrow - the whole document and the pictures proving he’s a Libyan and he’s from one of the coastal villages in Libya, not even from the south.

JW: So you’re telling me that there are no foreign mercenaries being used by Col Gaddafi’s forces?

KK At all. And we’re ready to allow anyone to investigate that...

JW: You don’t genuinely believe Col Gaddafi is popular do you?

KK: He is. By the way, there is no power for any government organisation to enforce people to go out into the street, chanting. This is not fabricated by the government.

JW: Do you think he’s still going to be in charge in a year’s time?

KK: It’s up to the Libyan people. The leader is still popular. I know there are maybe some elements in the society don’t like him or don’t like his role. This is obvious, but the majority of the libyans are supporting the leader. This is obvious as well.

source : www.telegraph.co.uk

Libya: it's the coalition of the willing – but can it hold?

2011-03-19T21:45:00.000-07:00

As he strode into the Elysée Palace in a dark blue suit and regally purple tie, David Cameron could rightly take pride in his key role in the formation of a powerful coalition ready and willing to take military action against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s Libyan regime

In the words of a British Government source, the phone lines out of Whitehall were “red hot” for the past fortnight as the Prime Minister and William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, led a diplomatic drive whose prize was the unexpectedly strong and united Resolution 1973, passed by the United Nations Security Council, which authorised “all necessary measures” to protect Libyan citizens.

For the first time in more than a decade, Britain and France were singing from the same diplomatic hymn sheet while the strength of opposition to Gaddafi among Arab nations was crucial in providing the necessary regional support for action.

The last piece of the jigsaw to fall into place was the United States. Only on Tuesday night, at the end of an extremely tense meeting of his national security staff, did President Barack Obama finally come down on the side of military intervention. Some 48 hours later, UNSCR 1973 was passed.

It was nearly a month since Libyans had taken to the streets, less than a week since President Nicolas Sarkzoy of France had recognised the authority of the rebel council in Benghazi and a fortnight since Mr Cameron had told the Commons he would seek a no-fly zone against Col Gaddafi’s air force.

Yesterday’s summit in Paris was in the first instance, according to Whitehall sources, about “a public demonstration of resolve” by members of the coalition. However, it also represented the first intriguing opportunity to study how the grouping’s disparate members, each with their own separate political imperatives, would hang together

While British diplomats are relieved that the UK and France – in stark contrast to the lead-up to the Iraq War – are working so closely together, tensions remain.
Some close to Mr Cameron have spoken of a “grandstanding tendency” in the French president which led to his insistence on hosting yesterday’s summit, three years after giving Gaddafi the red-carpet treatment in Paris, while editorials in French newspapers hailed a “tricolor victory”.
It was also pointed out that Mr Sarkozy – like Mr Obama but unlike Mr Cameron – faces a re-election fight next year. A French diplomat said yesterday: “If all goes well it will be a great achievement and show he is the man to have in a crisis.” Mr Cameron is content to play second fiddle, for the moment at least.
The position of Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, is different. Germany’s 20th century history and the make-up of her ruling coalition were the main reasons behind Germany’s abstention from the Security Council vote – a decision which attracted criticism. Mrs Merkel’s party faces three crucial state elections in the coming weeks and British
officials said they had not expected a vote in favour.
“Things will be OK if the Germans remain active on the issues in the European Union,” one source said, “including stressing the appalling nature of Gaddafi’s regime and pointing up the humanitarian crisis he is causing.” However, the same source revealed that the Germans and the Turks were the “slowest moving ships in the convoy” when it came to Nato planning for action on Libya – another source of tension.
Although some in the British Government thought Mrs Merkel would not come to Paris, she did so, joining other leaders in viewing TV footage of the jet downed yesterday morning over the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.
Despite President Obama’s pledge not to put American boots on the ground in Libya, a strong US presence in the coalition, summed up by the enthusiastic greeting offered by Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, to President Sarkozy yesterday, was obviously critical.
Mr Obama, who is trying to recast America’s role as the world’s policeman after the traumas of the President George W Bush era, kept his pistol in his holster until the last moment – as a range of former senators, generals, senior officials and other experts opposed a no-fly zone as a vague, open-ended and burdensome commitment.
Within the administration, Robert Gates, the Defence Secretary, mocked “loose talk” about a no-fly zone. His views were supported by Thomas Donilon, the national security adviser, and others.
However, the top-level figures in favour of action were Vice President Joe Biden and Mrs Clinton. They had been reminded by Bill Clinton of his eternal regret at not saving hundreds of thousands of lives by intervening in Rwanda, and his failure at not policing Serb killers from the air earlier on in Bosnia.
It was that moral argument for liberal interventionism, backed up by urging from Britain and France, that proved decisive for the US President.
When Mr Hague spoke to The Sunday Telegraph last week he said any move towards military action needed three main pillars: it should be broad based, be legally valid and enjoy regional support. Last weekend’s key decision by the Arab League to support the no-fly zone ensured that the third of these criteria would be met.
Yesterday’s Elysée summit was attended by ministers from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates - both of which were understood to be ready to participate in the first wave of military action - as well as Iraq and Morocco. Gaddafi’s long-standing unpopularity among other leaders in the region – one British source described him as “the Billy no-mates of the Arab world” – proved decisive too.
When Resolution 1973 was passed on Thursday night, staff at 10 Downing Street staged a muted celebration with cans of Coca-Cola and takeaway pizza. The Prime Minister told them to get a good night’s sleep with a hectic day ahead.
He rose before dawn on the Friday, having been woken, according to aides, at 5.30am by his youngest child, Florence. The six-month-old spent some moments on the Prime Minister’s lap during his early-morning preparations for his 11am statement to MPs. Before entering the Commons, Mr Cameron and Mr Hague received plaudits at a specially-arranged cabinet meeting around 9am where, nevertheless, Downing Street sources admitted, “a lot of questions” were asked about impending military action.
In contrast to the build up to the war in Iraq, the Paris gathering represented an international community united – at least on the surface – and determined to take action against Gaddafi. All of those present, however, including Mr Cameron, know that the really hard work of removing a tyrant has only just started.

source : www.telegraph.co.uk

Libya: Sarkozy and Gadaffi before they fell out

2011-03-19T21:43:00.000-07:00

Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, met world leaders in Paris at exactly the same place he had welcomed Colonel Gaddafi more than three years ago.

What a difference the passing of time can make.

Just over three years ago, in December 2007, President Nicolas Sarkozy was welcoming Gadaffi to Paris and insisting to a French newspaper: “Gaddafi is not perceived as a dictator in the Arab world.”

“He is the longest serving head of state in the region,” Mr Sarkozy explained as he rolled out the red carpet.

“And in the Arab world, that counts,”

As Gadaffi was allowed to pitch his Bedouin tent in the elegant gardens of an official guest residence near the Elysee Palace, Mr Sarkozy denounced “those who excessively and irresponsibly criticised the Libyan leader’s visit”.

“If we don’t welcome those who take the road to respectability, then what do we say to those who take the opposite road?”
True, the French president conceded “he has his personality, his temperament”.
Sarkozy’s closest aide, the Elysee Palace secretary-general Claude Gueant, said the six-day visit had produced sales of fighter jets and Airbuses worth 10 billion euros, “which means 30,000 jobs in France”.
The figure was later revised to 3 billion euros and officials admitted that it was mainly “memorandums of intent to negotiate” that had been signed.

Perhaps fortunately for the French planes flying over Libya this weekend, a fresh delivery of fighter jets was not delivered, or even ordered.
In August 2007 Mr Sarkozy had to deny there was any link between France brokering the release of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor from Libya, and the Gadaffi regime’s subsequent decision to buy £200 million of anti-tank missiles and radio systems from a largely French owned company.
A French-Libyan agreement over a civil nuclear energy programme also had “absolutely nothing to do” with the prisoner affair.
“The contract was not linked to the release of the nurses,” insisted the French President. “What do they criticise me for? Getting contracts? Creating jobs for French workers?’’
A nuclear reaction in Libya would help deal with “terrorism and fanaticism” because it would help economic development, he said, pouring scorn on critics who said it would simply let the Libyan dictator gain nuclear weapons.
He is hardly the only world leader with embarrassing pictures linking him to Gaddafi.
Tony Blair was pictured embracing the dictator in his tent in the so-called “deal in the desert” which brought the regime in from the cold.

source : www.telegraph.co.uk

Libya: top quotes from around the world

2011-03-19T21:41:00.000-07:00

David Cameron, the Prime Minister

“What is absolutely clear is that Gaddafi has broken his word, broken the ceasefire and continues to slaughter his own civilians. This has to stop. We have to make it stop.”

Barack Obama, US president

“Our consensus was strong, and our resolve is clear. The people of Libya must be protected and in the absence of an immediate end to the violence against civilians, our coalition is prepared to act and act with urgency.”

Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State
“If the international community is to have credibility … then action must take place.”

Ban Ki-Moon, UN Secretary-General
“Gaddafi has lost all legitimacy. He cannot remain in power in Libya any longer. Whatever happens, he must go.”
Stephen Harper, Canadian prime minister
“The parameters of our mission are clear. They are wide ranging and they do not include on-the-ground action.”
Col Muammar Gaddafi in a letter to Barack Obama
“To our son, his excellency, Mr Baracka Hussein Obama. I have said to you before, that even if Libya and the United States of America enter into a war, god forbid, you will always remain a son.” -
Mustafa Abdel Jalil, head of the rebel National Libyan Council
“Now there is a bombardment by artillery and rockets on all districts of Benghazi. The international community is late in intervening to save civilians from Gaddafi’s forces. We appeal to the international community, to all the free world, to stop this tyranny from exterminating civilians.” -
Libyan Government spokesman Mussa Ibraham quoting Col Gaddafi
“You will regret it if you take a step towards interfering in our internal affairs.” -
Ed Miliband, the Labour leader
“To stand by, to do nothing, would be totally wrong.”

source : www.telegraph.co.uk

Libya: US admiral brings the fight to Gadaffi

2011-03-19T21:36:00.000-07:00

The Pentagon said that 110 Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAM) fired by British and US forces were supported by a French air strike on tanks and armoured vehicles in what has been described as the “kinetic” phase of the operation – bombing to take out Libya’s anti-aircraft defences.

Further attacks by British Tornado GR4 ground attack aircraft, based at RAF Marham in Norfolk, were expected over the night. RAF Marham is home to 9 and 31 Squadrons, which are equipped with air-launched anti-radiation missiles, which home in on the radiation emitted by enemy radar, and Storm Shadow missiles, used to target command and control bunkers and radar stations.

Detailed targeting of Libya’s military infrastructure has been taking place all week using satellite imagery and sorties flown by British and US surveillance aircraft, which have been monitoring movement and communication between Gaddafi’s forces. The commander of the multi-national operation was last night named as Adml Samuel Locklear, pictured, the commander of the Allied Joint Force based in Naples, Italy. Adml Locklear gave the order to crush Col Muammar Gaddafi’s military machine and enforce a no-fly zone after a summit of world leaders in Paris. Striking at Libya’s radar systems and anti-aircraft defences is the first phase of the attack.

During this part of the operation, combat sorties will also be flown by US Navy aircraft, including F-18 Super Hornets from the carrier USS Enterprise, which is in the Red Sea, and by aircraft from the French carrier Charles de Gaulle, which was in the port of Toulon.

USS Mason, the guided missile destroyer, and USS Providence, a submarine also armed with TLAMs, and a range of anti-radiation missiles, are expected to be called into action during this phase of the operation, shortly before the RAF goes in.

Once the Libyan air defence system has lost its capability to “see” Nato jets, a process that could take several hours, the ground attack will begin.
There are many options open to Adml Locklear as to how far and deep he prosecutes the ground attack aspect of the campaign. One option might be to destroy Col Gaddafi’s ability to manoeuvre his forces by attacking tank and armoured infantry regiments. In this scenario, it is also likely that the regime’s long-range artillery and mobile rocket launchers would also be targeted.
Once the ground phase of the operation has been completed, the air policing will begin. It is during this stage that Typhoons, which are based at RAF Leuchars, in Fife, and RAF Coningsby, Lincs, will play their part.
The enforcement of the no-fly zone is where the multinational nature of the operation will be seen when Denmark, Qatar, Canada and the United Arab Emirates – and possibly more countries – take part. Coordinating the sorties from different countries, each of which operates differently and with the obvious language barriers, will be one of the main challenges of the operation.

source : www.telegraph.co.uk

Libya — The Protests

2011-03-19T21:24:00.000-07:00

Libya, an oil-rich nation in North Africa, has been under the firm, if sometimes erratic, control of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi since he seized power in 1969. But in February 2011, the unrest sweeping through much of the Arab world erupted in several Libyan cities. Though it began with a relatively organized core of antigovernment opponents in Benghazi, its spread to the capital of Tripoli was swift and spontaneous. Colonel Qaddafi lashed out with a level of violence unseen in either of the other uprisings, but an inchoate opposition cobbled together the semblance of a transitional government, fielded a makeshift rebel army and portrayed itself to the West and Libyans as an alternative to Colonel Qaddafi's four decades of freakish rule. Momentum has seemed to shift, however, and the rebels face the possibilty of being outgunned and outnumbered in what increasingly looks like a mismatched civil war. As Colonel Qaddafi’s troops advanced to within 100 miles of Benghazi, the United Nations Security Council voted to authorize military action, a risky foreign intervention aimed at averting a bloody rout of the rebels by loyalist forces.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
March 18 Hours after the United Nations Security Council voted to authorize military action and the imposition of a no-flight zone, Libya performed what seemed a remarkable about-face after weeks of defiance, saying it would call an “immediate ceasefire and the stoppage of all military operations” against rebels seeking the ouster of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. But the United States, Britain and France pushed forward, declaring that the cease-fire announcement was not enough, at least for now, to ward off military action against his forces. President Obama ordered Colonel Qaddari to implement the cease-fire immediately and stop all attacks on Libyan civilians or face military action from the United States and its allies in Europe and the Arab world.
The Libyan announcement had come shortly after French and British officials said that military action would start soon. News reports said warplanes from the two countries would spearhead the attack. On the ground, forces loyal to Colonel Qaddafi unleashed a barrage of fire against the rebel-held town of Misurata in the west of the country, news reports said, while one of the colonel’s sons, Seif el-Islam, was quoted as saying government forces would encircle the rebel stronghold of Benghazi in the east.
March 17 The rebels seeking to oust Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi claimed minor victories in some of their last footholds at both ends of the country’s coast as they battled to hold off the Qaddafi forces’ superior firepower. After days of often acrimonious debate, played out against a desperate clock, the Security Council authorized member nations to take “all necessary measures” to protect civilians, diplomatic code words calling for military action. Benghazi erupted in celebration at news of the resolution’s passage. Timeline: Qaddafi
March 16 A day after routing a ragtag army in an eastern town near the rebel capital of Benghazi, forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi launched attacks on the city of Misurata, the last rebel stronghold in western Libya, about 125 miles east of the capital, Tripoli. Government forces fired artillery, bombarding the city of several hundred thousand as tanks moved in preparation for a ground advance.
March 15 In Ajdabiya, forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi routed an army of insurgents and would-be revolutionaries holding the last defensive line before the rebel capital of Benghazi. There were no signs of preparations for a vigorous defense in Benghazi itself. As diplomacy faltered over the question of outside intervention, France said there had been no agreement at a meeting of the Group of 8 powers on the contentious issue of enforcing a no-flight zone to ground the loyalist air force.
March 14 Following a brutal, weeklong battle that recaptured — and nearly demolished — the strategically important town of Zawiya, forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi cranked up military and psychological pressure against rebels on two fronts, offering an amnesty to those who surrendered their weapons while bombing Ajdabiya, a strategic linchpin in the east, and surrounding a rebel-held town in the west.
March 12 The Arab League asked the United Nations Security Council to impose a no-flight zone over Libya in hopes of halting Colonle Qaddafi’s attacks on his own people, providing the rebels a tincture of hope even as they were driven back from a long stretch of road and towns they had captured in the three-week war. The extraordinary move by the 22-nation bloc increases the pressure on the Obama administration, which has been reluctant to intervene in a war that could turn out to be prolonged and complex.
March 11 Forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi advanced on the strategic oil town of Ras Lanuf, a day after battering the rebels in a sustained assault by land, air and sea. The attack sent the rebels into a chaotic retreat, changing the momentum in the three-week old uprising and providing a stark illustration of the asymmetry of the conflict. The White House announced a five-point program of steps to isolate Colonel Qaddafi and ultimately drive him from power, all stopping well short of military action.
March 10 Rebel fighters fled the strategic refinery town of Ras Lanuf under ferocious rocket attacks and airstrikes by forces loyal to the Libyan leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. Bold plans of a westward drive to Tripoli by the undermanned and ill-equipped rebel army were dashed by the superior Qaddafi forces, which are seeking to retake several eastern oil cities that slipped from the government’s control in the first days of the uprising. Morale among the fighters seemed to be weakening, even as Agence-France Presse reported that the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, had recognized the opposition Libyan National Council.
March 9 As world powers debate measures against Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, including the creation of a no-fly zone, the Libyan leader vowed that his countrymen would take up arms to resist such measures. Rebels were dealt military setbacks in Zawiyah and Ras Lanuf, part of a strengthening government counteroffensive, as the opposition’s calls for foreign aid amplified divisions over the need for intervention. Provisional leaders warned that a humanitarian crisis may loom, as people’s needs begin to overwhelm fledgling local governments.
March 8 Forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi renewed their onslaught on both the eastern and western fronts, apparently establishing control of the western city of Zawiyah and conducting airstrikes in Ras Lanuf, taunting rebels with flyovers and bombing runs near the coastal city’s oil refinery. The attacks came amid reports of a possible peace offer from the Qaddafi camp and growing debate in Western capitals about imposing a no-flight zone over Libya.
March 7 Government forces began a new air attack on rebels in the coastal town of Ras Lanuf. The rebels had withdrawn to the town after troops loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi attacked them in the coastal town of Bin Jawwad using tanks, helicopters and fighter planes, and pushed them east, stalling, for the moment, hopes by the antigovernment fighters of a steady march toward Tripoli.
March 6 Militia forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi launched a second day of attacks on the rebel-held city of Zawiyah, 30 miles west of the capital, and the rebels won control of the oil port of Raz Lanuf. The rebels appointed a three-member executive committee, including leaders in charge of the military and foreign affairs.
March 5 Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s forces fired on unarmed protestors in Tripoli and Zawiyah, and fought with rebels for control of Zawiyah and Ras Lanuf, an eastern oil town. At least 35 people were killed in Zawiyah.
March 4 Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s government widened its counterattack on its rebel opponents, waging fierce battles to wrest control of the town of Zawiya from rebel troops, attacking an eastern oil town and firing on peaceful protesters after Friday prayers in Tripoli, witnesses said. At least 35 people were reported dead, more than 100 wounded and 65 missing in Zawiya, 25 miles west of Tripoli.
BACKGROUND
Colonel Qaddafi took power in a bloodless coup in September 1969 and has ruled with an iron fist, seeking to spread Libya’s influence in Africa. He has built his rule on a cult of personality and a network of family and tribal alliances supported by largess from Libya’s oil revenues.

The United States withdrew its ambassador from Libya in 1972 after Colonel Qaddafi renounced agreements with the West and repeatedly inveighed against the United States in speeches and public statements.
After a mob sacked and burned the American Embassy in 1979, the United States cut off relations. But the relationship did not reach its nadir until 1986, when the Reagan administration accused Libya of ordering the bombing of a German discothèque that killed three people. In response, the United States bombed targets in Tripoli and Benghazi.
The most notorious of Libya's actions was the bombing in 1988 of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people. Libya later accepted responsibility, turned over suspects and paid families of victims more than $2 billion.
After a surprise decision to renounce terrorism in 2003, Colonel Qaddafi re-established diplomatic and economic ties throughout Europe. He had also changed with regard to Israel. The man who once called for pushing the ''Zionists'' into the sea advocated the forming of one nation where Jews and Palestinians would live together in peace.
Rather than trying to destabilize his Arab neighbors, he founded a pan-African confederation modeled along the lines of the European Union. On Feb. 2, 2009, Colonel Qaddafi was named chairman of the African Union. His election, however, caused some unease among some of the group's 53-member nations as well as among diplomats and analysts. The colonel, who has ruled Libya with an iron hand, was a stark change from the succession of recent leaders from democratic countries like Tanzania, Ghana and Nigeria.
The most significant changes had been the overtures Colonel Qaddafi has made toward the United States. He was among the first Arab leaders to denounce the Sept. 11 attacks, and he lent tacit approval to the American-led invasion of Afghanistan. To the astonishment of other Arab leaders, he reportedly shared his intelligence files on Al Qaeda with the United States to aid in the hunt for its international operatives. He had also cooperated with the United States and Europe on nuclear weapons, terrorism and immigration issues.
In August 2009, Colonel Qaddafi embarrassed the British government and drew criticism from President Obama with his triumphant reaction to the release from prison of Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, the only person convicted in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. Mr. Megrahi was given a hero's welcome when he arrived in Libya, and Colonel Qaddafi thanked British and Scottish officials for releasing Mr. Megrahi at a time that they were trying to distance themselves from the action.
Colonel Qaddafi, born in 1942, is the father of many sons who are now jockeying to succeed him. Experts say his eldest, Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, is the current leader. Educated in Britain, well-dressed and fluent in English, he has been a bridge between the Libya power centers and the West.
Prior to the 2011 unrest, the only hint of potential change in Libya came from Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, a son and possible successor to Colonel Qaddafi, who spoke of dismantling a legacy of Socialism and authoritarianism introduced by his father 40 years ago. Seif Qaddafi proposed far-reaching ideas: tax-free investment zones, a tax haven for foreigners, the abolition of visa requirements and the development of luxury hotels.
Seif Qaddafi liked to boast that his country could be “the Dubai of North Africa,” he said, citing Libya’s proximity to Europe (the flight from London to Tripoli is under three hours), its abundant energy reserves and 1,200 miles of mostly unspoiled Mediterranean coastline. Libya is wealthier than debt-ridden, oil-poor Dubai. Its $15,000 gross domestic product per person ranks it above Poland, Mexico and Chile, according to the World Bank. The government’s sovereign fund, a reserve of oil revenues, boasts $65 billion. And the government has announced plans to invest $130 billion over the next three years to improve infrastructure.
But the reality of daily life in Tripoli remained far removed from those lofty notions. The streets are strewn with garbage, there are gaping holes in the sidewalks, tourist-friendly hotels and restaurants are few and far between. And while a number of seaside hotels are being built, the city largely ignores its most spectacular asset, the Mediterranean.
Unemployment is estimated as high as 30 percent and much of the potential work force is insufficiently trained.
Uprising in Libya
In February 2011, protests broke out in several parts of Libya on a so-called Day of Rage to challenge Colonel Qaddafi's 41-year-old iron rule — the region’s longest. Thousands turned out in the restive city of Benghazi; in Tripoli; and at three other locations, according to Human Rights Watch. The state media, though, showed Libyans waving green flags and shouting in support of Colonel Qaddafi.
Trying to demonstrate that he was still in control, Colonel Qaddafi appeared on television on Feb. 22, 2011, speaking from his residence on the grounds of an army barracks in Tripoli that still showed scars from when the United States bombed it in 1986.
In the long, rambling address, he blamed the unrest on “foreign hands,” a small group of people distributing pills, brainwashing, and the naïve desire of young people to imitate the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. Without acknowledging the gravity of the crisis in the streets of the capital, he described himself in sweeping, megalomaniacal terms. “Muammar Qaddafi is history, resistance, liberty, glory, revolution,” he declared.
International condemnation of the violent crackdown continued to build. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton protested the violence in a statement. Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, said on Feb. 21 that he had spoken to Colonel Qaddafi and urged him to halt attacks on protesters immediately. The Security Council held an emergency meeting the following day to discuss the bloodshed.
The Colonel's Security Forces
Colonel Qaddafi, who took power in a military coup, has always kept the Libyan military too weak and divided to rebel against him. About half of Libya's relatively small 50,000-member army is made up of poorly trained and unreliable conscripts, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Many of its battalions are organized along tribal lines, ensuring their loyalty to their own clan rather than to top military commanders — a pattern evident in the defection of portions of the army to help protesters take the eastern city of Benghazi. Some Libyans and scholars outside the country say this system of tribal alliances, long Colonel Qaddafi’s most potent weapon, is now emerging as perhaps a potential vulnerability.
His own clan dominates the air force and the upper level of army officers, and they are believed to have remained loyal to him, in part because his clan has the most to lose from his ouster.
Distrustful of his own generals, he built up an elaborate paramilitary force — accompanied by special segments of the regular army that report primarily to his family. It is designed to check the army and in part to subdue his own population. At the top of that structure is his roughly 3,000-member revolutionary guard corps, which mainly guards him personally.
But perhaps the most significant force that Colonel Qaddafi has deployed against the current insurrection is one believed to consist of about 2,500 ruthless mercenaries from countries like Chad, Sudan and Niger that he calls his Islamic Pan African Brigade.
The Ongoing Conflict

On Feb. 25, security forces loyal to Colonel Qaddafi used gunfire to try to disperse thousands of protesters who streamed out of mosques after prayers to mount their first major challenge to the government’s crackdown in Tripoli. Rebel leaders said they were sending forces from nearby cities and other parts of the country to join the fight.
A bold play by Colonel Qaddafi to prove that he was firmly in control of Libya appeared to backfire as foreign journalists he invited to the capital discovered blocks of the city in open defiance. Witnesses described snipers and antiaircraft guns firing at unarmed civilians, and security forces were removing the dead and wounded from streets and hospitals, apparently in an effort to hide the mounting toll.
The ring of rebel control around Tripoli tightened, but in a sign that the fight was far from over, armed government forces massed around the city.
The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to impose sanctions on Colonel Qaddafi and his inner circle of advisers, and called for an international war crimes investigation into “widespread and systemic attacks” against Libyan citizens.
On March 2, rebels in the strategic oil city of Brega repelled an attack by hundreds of Colonel Qaddafi’s fighters. The daylong battle was the first major incursion by the colonel’s forces in the rebel-held east of the country since the Libyan uprising began.
Air power has proven to be Colonel Qaddafi’s biggest advantage, and rebels have been unable to use bases and planes they captured in the east. Planes and helicopters give the Qaddafi forces an additional advantage in moving ammunition and supplies, a crucial factor given the length of the Libyan coast between the rebel stronghold of Benghazi and Tripoli.
As Colonel Qaddafi’s forces tried to retake a series of strategic oil towns on the east coast of the country, which fell early in the rebellion to antigovernment rebels, the West continued to debate what actions to take, including the creation of a possible no-flight zone to ground Libyan warplanes.

Though the regime of Colonel Qaddafi has clearly been undermined, it still retains significant strength, and enough support among critical tribes and institutions, including parts of the army and the air force, to retain power, if not superiority, for some time to come.

The Opposition

The question of the opposition’s capabilities is likely to prove decisive to the fate of the rebellion, which appears outmatched by government forces and troubled by tribal divisions that the government, reverting to form, has sought to exploit.
Rebel forces are fired more by enthusiasm than experience. The political leadership has virtually begged the international community to recognize it, but it has yet to marshal opposition forces abroad or impose its authority in regions it nominally controls.
While the mood remains ebullient in parts of eastern Libya, largely because few believe that Colonel Qaddafi can reconquer a region that long seethed under his rule, it is more sullen in Benghazi, a Mediterranean port and Libya’s second largest city, where security has begun to deteriorate.
With momentum seeming to shift, the rebels face the prospect of being outgunned and outnumbered in what increasingly looks like a mismatched civil war

source : www.topics.nytimes.com

What Are Tsunamis, and What Causes Them?

2011-03-18T04:55:00.000-07:00

Tsunamis are ocean waves produced by earthquakes or underwater landslides.a tsunami is actually a series of waves that can travel at speeds averaging 450 (and up to 600) miles per hour in the open ocean. In the open ocean, tsunamis would not be felt by ships because the wavelength would be hundreds of miles long, with an amplitude of only a few feet. This would also make them unnoticeable from the air. As the waves approach the coast, their speed decreases and their amplitude increases. Unusual wave heights have been known to be over 100 feet high. However, waves that are 10 to 20 feet high can be very destructive and cause many deaths or injuries. The word is Japanese and means "harbor wave," because of the devastating effects these waves have had on low-lying Japanese coastal communities. Tsunamis are often incorrectly referred to as tidal waves, but

Tsunamis are most often generated by earthquake-induced movement of the ocean floor. Landslides, volcanic eruptions, and even meteorites can also generate a tsunami. If a major earthquake is felt, a tsunami could reach the beach in a few minutes, even before a warning is issued. Areas at greatest risk are less than 25 feet above sea level and within one mile of the shoreline. Most deaths caused by a tsunami are because of drowning. Associated risks include flooding, water contamination, fires from ruptured tanks or gas lines, and the loss of vital community infrastructure (police, fire, and medical facilities).

From an initial tsunami generating source area, waves travel outward in all directions much like the ripples caused by throwing a rock into a pond. As these waves approach coastal areas, the time between successive wave crests varies from 5 to 90 minutes. The first wave is usually not the largest in the series of waves, nor is it the most significant. Furthermore, one coastal community may experience no damaging waves while another, not that far away, may experience destructive deadly waves. Depending on a number of factors, some low-lying areas could experience severe inland inundation of water and debris of more than 1,000 feet.

Learn whether tsunamis have occurred in your area by contacting your local emergency management office, National Weather Service office, or American Red Cross chapter. If you are in a tsunami risk area, learn how to protect yourself, your family, and your property.

Awareness Information

The West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center (WC/ATWC) is responsible for tsunami warnings for California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) is responsible for providing warnings to international authorities, Hawaii, and U. S. territories within the Pacific basin. The two Tsunami Warning Centers coordinate the information being disseminated.

All tsunamis are potentially dangerous, even though they may not damage every coastline they strike. Damaging tsunamis are very rare. Our coastlines are vulnerable, but tsunamis are infrequent. Understand the hazard and learn how to protect yourself, but don't let the threat of tsunamis ruin your enjoyment of the beach.

The WC/ATWC and PTWC may issue the following bulletins:

WARNING: A tsunami was or may have been generated, which could cause damage; therefore, people in the warned area are strongly advised to evacuate.
WATCH: A tsunami was or may have been generated, but is at least two hours travel time to the area in watch status. Local officials should prepare for possible evacuation if their area is upgraded to a warning.
ADVISORY: An earthquake has occurred in the Pacific basin, which might generate a tsunami. WC/ATWC and PTWC will issue hourly bulletins advising of the situation.
INFORMATION: A message with information about an earthquake that is not expected to generate a tsunami. Usually only one bulletin is issued.

Be familiar with the tsunami warning signs. A strong earthquake lasting 20 seconds or more near the coast may generate a tsunami. A noticeable rapid rise or fall in coastal waters is also a sign that a tsunami is approaching.

Tsunamis most frequently come onshore as a rapidly rising turbulent surge of water choked with debris. They are not V-shaped or rolling waves, and are not "surfable."

Tsunamis may be locally generated or from a distant source. In 1992, the Cape Mendocino, California, earthquake produced a tsunami that reached Eureka in about 20 minutes, and Crescent City in 50 minutes. Although this tsunami had a wave height of about one foot and was not destructive, it illustrates how quickly a wave can arrive at nearby coastal communities and how long the danger can last.

In 1957, a distant-source tsunami generated by an earthquake in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska struck Hawaii, 2,100 miles away. Hawaii experienced $5 million in damages from that tsunami.

Plan for a Tsunami

Develop a Family Disaster Plan. Please see the "Family Disaster Plan" section for general family planning information. Tsunami-specific planning should include the following:

Learn about tsunami risk in your community. Contact your local emergency management office or American Red Cross chapter. Find out if your home, school, workplace or other frequently visited locations are in tsunami hazard areas. Know the height of your street above sea level and the distance of your street from the coast or other high-risk waters. Evacuation orders may be based on these numbers.
If you are visiting an area at risk from tsunamis, check with the hotel, motel, or campground operators for tsunami evacuation information and how you would be warned. It is important to know designated escape routes before a warning is issued.

If you are at risk from tsunamis, do the following:

Plan an evacuation route from your home, school, workplace, or any other place you'll be where tsunamis present a risk. If possible, pick an area 100 feet above sea level or go up to two miles inland, away from the coastline. If you can't get this high or far, go as high as you can. Every foot inland or upwards may make a difference. You should be able to reach your safe location on foot within 15 minutes. After a disaster, roads may become impassable or blocked. Be prepared to evacuate by foot if necessary. Footpaths normally lead uphill and inland, while many roads parallel coastlines. Follow posted tsunami evacuation routes; these will lead to safety. Local emergency management officials can help advise you as to the best route to safety and likely shelter locations.
Practice your evacuation route. Familiarity may save your life. Be able to follow your escape route at night and during inclement weather. Practicing your plan makes the appropriate response more of a reaction, requiring less thinking during an actual emergency situation.
Use a NOAA Weather Radio with a tone-alert feature to keep you informed of local watches and warnings. The tone alert feature will warn you of potential danger even if you are not currently listening to local radio or television stations.
Talk to your insurance agent. Homeowners' policies do not cover flooding from a tsunami. Ask about the National Flood Insurance Program.
Discuss tsunami with your family. Everyone should know what to do in case all family members are not together. Discussing tsunamis ahead of time will help reduce fear and anxiety, and let everyone know how to respond. Review flood safety and preparedness measures with your family.

Assemble a Disaster Supplies Kit

Please see the section "Disaster Supplies Kit" for general supplies kit information. Tsunami-specific supplies should include the following:

Evacuation Supplies Kit in an easy-to-carry contanier (backpack) near your door.
Disaster Suplies Kit basics.

How to Protect Your Property

Avoid building or living in buildings within several hundred feet of the coastline. These areas are more likely to experience damage from tsunamis, strong winds, or coastal storms.
Make a list of items to bring inside in the event of a tsunami. A list will help you remember anything that can be swept away by tsunami waters.
Elevate coastal homes. Most tsunami waves are less than 10 feet. Elevating your house will help reduce damage to your property from most tsunamis.
Follow flood preparedness precautions. Tsunamis are large amounts of water that crash onto the coastline, creating floods.
Have an engineer check your home and advise about ways to make it more resistant to tsunami water. There may be ways to divert waves away from your property. Improperly built walls could make your situation worse. Consult with a professional for advice.

Media and Community Education Ideas

If your community is at risk, build and publicize locations of tsunami evacuation routes. Post signs directing people to higher ground away from the coast.
Review land use in tsunami hazard areas so no critical facilities, such as hospitals and police stations; or high occupancy buildings, such as auditoriums or schools; or petroleum-storage tank farms are located where there is a tsunami hazard. Tsunami damage can be minimized through land use planning, preparation, and evacuation.
Publish a special section in your local newspaper with emergency information on tsunamis. Localize the information by printing the phone numbers of local emergency services offices, the American Red Cross chapter, and hospitals.
Periodically inform your community of local public warning systems.
Work with local emergency services and American Red Cross officials to prepare special reports for people with mobility impairments on what to do if an evacuation is ordered, and develop plans to assist them with evacuation if necessary.
Interview local officials and insurance companies about the proper types of insurance to cover a flood-related loss. Include information on the economic effects of disaster.

What to Do if You Feel a Strong Coastal Earthquake

If you feel an earthquake that lasts 20 seconds or longer when you are on the coast:

Drop, cover, and hold on. You should first protect yourself from the earthquake.
When the shaking stops, gather your family members and evacuate quickly.A tsunami may be coming within minutes. Move quickly to higher ground away from the coast. Leave everything else behind.
Be careful to avoid downed power lines and stay away from buildings and bridges from which heavy objects might fall during an aftershock.

What to Do When a Tsunami WATCH is Issued

Listen to a NOAA Weather Radio, Coast Guard emergency frequency station, or other reliable source for updated emergency information. As the energy of a tsunami is transferred through open water, it is not detectable. Seismic action may be the only advance warning before the tsunami approaches the coastline.
Check your Disaster Supplies Kit. Some supplies may need to be replaced or restocked.
Locate family members and review evacuation plans. Make sure everyone knows there is a potential threat and the best way to safer ground.
If you have special evacuation needs (small children, elderly people, or persons with disabilities) consider early evacuation. Evacuation may take longer, allow extra time.
If time permits, secure unanchored objects around your home or business. Tsunami waves can sweep away loose objects. Securing these items or moving them inside will reduce potential loss or damage.
Be ready to evacuate. Being prepared will help you to move more quickly if a tsunami warning is issued.

What to Do When a Tsunami WARNING is Issued

Listen to a NOAA Weather Radio, Coast Guard emergency frequency station, or other reliable source for updated emergency information. Authorities will issue a warning only if they believe there is a real threat from tsunami.
Follow instructions issued by local authorities. Recommended evacuation routes may be different from the one you use, or you may be advised to climb higher.
If you are in a tsunami risk area, do the following:

If you hear an official tsunami warning or detect signs of a tsunami, evacuate at once. A tsunami warning is issued when authorities are certain that a tsunami threat exists, and there may be little time to get out.
Take your Disaster Supplies Kit. Having supplies will make you more comfortable during the evacuation.
Get to higher ground as far inland as possible. Officials cannot reliably predict either the height or local effects of tsunamis. Watching a tsunami from the beach or cliffs could put you in grave danger. If you can see the wave, you are too close to escape it.

Return home only after local officials tell you it is safe. A tsunami is a series of waves that may continue for hours. Do not assume that after one wave the danger is over. The next wave may be larger than the first one.

What to Do After a Tsunami

Continue listening to a NOAA Weather Radio, Coast Guard emergency frequency station, or other reliable source for emergency information. The tsunami may have damaged roads, bridges, or other places that may be unsafe.
Help injured or trapped persons. Give first aid where appropriate. Call for help. Do not move seriously injured persons unless they are in immediate danger of further injury.
Help a neighbor who may require special assistance - infants, elderly people, and people with disabilities. Elderly people and people with disabilities may require additional assistance. People who care for them or who have large families may need additional assistance in emergency situations.
Use the telephone only for emergency calls. Telephone lines are frequently overwhelmed in disaster situations. They need to be clear for emergency calls to get through.
Stay out of the building if waters remain around it. Tsunami waters, like flood waters, can undermine foundations, causing buildings to sink, floors to crack, or walls to collapse.
When re-entering buildings or homes, use extreme caution. Tsunami-driven flood waters may have damaged buildings where you least expect it. Carefully watch every step you take.

Wear sturdy shoes. The most common injury following a disaster is cut feet.
Use battery-powered lanterns or flashlights when examining buildings. Battery-powered lighting is the safest and easiest, preventing fire hazard for the user, occupants, and building.
Examine walls, floors, doors, staircases, and windows to make sure that the building is not in danger of collapsing.
Inspect foundations for cracks or other damage. Cracks and damage to a foundation can render a building uninhabitable.
Look for fire hazards. There may be broken or leaking gas lines, flooded electrical circuits, or submerged furnaces or electrical appliances. Flammable or explosive materials may come from upstream. Fire is the most frequent hazard following floods.
Check for gas leaks. If you smell gas or hear a blowing or hissing noise, open a window and quickly leave the building. Turn off the gas using the outside main valve if you can, and call the gas company from a neighbor's home. If you turn off the gas for any reason, it must be turned back on by a professional.
Look for electrical system damage. If you see sparks or broken or frayed wires, or if you smell burning insulation, turn off the electricity at the main fuse box or circuit breaker. If you have to step in water to get to the fuse box or circuit breaker, call an electrician first for advice. Electrical equipment should be checked and dried before being returned to service.
Check for sewage and water line damage. If you suspect sewage lines are damaged, avoid using the toilets and call a plumber. If water pipes are damaged, contact the water company and avoid using water from the tap. You can obtain safe water from undamaged water heaters or by melting ice cubes.
Use tap water if local health officials advise it is safe.
Watch out for animals, especially poisonous snakes, that may have come into buildings with the water. Use a stick to poke through debris. Tsunami flood waters flush snakes and animals out of their homes.
Watch for loose plaster, drywall, and ceilings that could fall.
Take pictures of the damage, both of the building and its contents, for insurance claims.

Open the windows and doors to help dry the building.
Shovel mud while it is still moist to give walls and floors an opportunity to dry.
Check food supplies. Any food that has come in contact with flood waters may be contaminated and should be thrown out.

Produced by the National Disaster Education Coalition: American Red Cross, FEMA, IAEM, IBHS, NFPA, NWS, USDA/CSREES, and USGS. HTML formating By the Disaster Center

the tragedy of the Chernobyl nuclear

2011-03-13T06:48:00.000-07:00

Japanese Chief Minister Naoto Kan said Sunday (13 / 3) nuclear crisis in the West Sea of Japan is not the same as the Chernobyl tragedy in 1986. "Radiation has been released into the air, but no reports of large size have been off," he said as quoted by Jiji news. "It's a very fundamental difference from the Chernobyl accident."
The Japanese government is currently preventing it from spreading radiation. Currently, Japan is still struggling to stop the impact of the earthquake in Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor. After the quake, and there was an explosion, this time the reactor to overheat radiation leak. In fact, one of the reactor buildings at risk of exploding after an explosion damaged the roof on the first day of the earthquake in northern complex 240 km north of Tokyo

The crisis in Japan is reminiscent of the Chernobyl tragedy. This tragedy is the worst nuclear disaster in the history of human civilization. Ukraine's nightmare began on April 26, 1986, ie when one of four nuclear reactors at the Chernobyl power plant, in northern Ukraine, exploded.

Radiation released explosion 100 times larger than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Regional Italian half wide spread of contamination and radiation in most parts of the former Soviet Union and most of northern Europe.

Tsunami in aceh

2011-03-12T05:55:00.000-08:00

The western coastal areas of Aceh, including the cities of Banda Aceh, Calang, and Meulaboh, were among the areas hardest-hit by the tsunami resulting from the Indian Ocean earthquake on 26 December 2004. While estimates vary, approximately 230,000 people were killed by the earthquake and tsunami in Aceh, and about 500,000 were left homeless. The tragedy of the tsunami was further compounded on March 26 when a second off-shore earthquake measuring 9.9 on the Richter scale struck the sea bed between the islands of Simeulue Island in Aceh and Nias in North Sumatra. This second quake killed a further 905 people on Nias and Simeulue, displaced tens of thousands more and caused the tsunami response to be expanded to include Nias.
The population of Aceh before the December 2004 tsunami was 4,271,000 (2004). The population as of 15 September 2005 was 4,031,589, a loss of almost 2% of the Indonesian population.
As of February 2006, more than a year after the tsunami, a large number of people are still living in barrack-style temporary living centers (TLC) or tents. Reconstruction is visible everywhere, but due to the sheer scale of the disaster, and logistical issues, progress is slow.

The ramifications of the tsunami went beyond the immediate impact to the lives and infrastructure of the Acehnese living on the coast. Since the disaster, the Acehnese rebel movement GAM, which had been fighting for independence against the Indonesian authorities for 29 years, has signed a peace deal (August 15, 2005). The perception that the tsunami was punishment for insufficient piety in this proudly Muslim province is partly behind the increased emphasis on the importance of religion post-tsunami. This has been most obvious in the increased implementation of Syariah law, including the introduction of the controversial 'WH' or Syariah police. As homes are being built and people's basic needs are met, the people are also looking to improve the quality of education, increase tourism, and develop responsible, sustainable industry. Well-qualified educators are in high demand in Aceh.
While parts of Banda Aceh, the capital, were unscathed, the areas closest to the water, especially the areas of Kampung Jawa and Meuraxa, were completely destroyed. Most of the rest of the western coast was severely damaged, and many towns completely disappeared. Other towns on Aceh's west coast hit by the disaster include Lhoknga, Leupung, Lamno, Patek, Calang, Teunom, and the island of Simeulue. Affected or destroyed towns on the region's north & east coast include Pidie Regency, Samalanga, and Lhokseumawe.
The area is slowly being rebuilt after the disaster. The government initially proposed the creation of a two-kilometer buffer zone along low-lying coastal areas, within which permanent construction is not permitted. This proposal was unpopular among some local inhabitants and proved impractical in most situations, especially fishing families that are dependent on living near to the sea.
Indonesian government has built special agency for Aceh reconstruction, called Badan Rehabilitasi dan Rekonstruksi (BRR/Agency of Rehabilitation and Reconstruction) headed by Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, former Indonesian Minister. This agency has ministry level of authority and incorporating officials, professionals and community leaders from all background.
Most of the reconstruction work is being performed by local people using a mix of traditional methods and partial prefabricated structures, with funding coming from many international organizations and individuals, governments, and the people themselves.
The Government of Indonesia estimated in their Preliminary Damage and Losses Assessment that damages amounted to US$4.5 billion (before inflation, and US$6.2 billion including inflation). Three years after the tsunami, reconstruction was still ongoing. The World Bank monitors funding for reconstruction in Aceh and reports that US$7.7 billion was earmarked for the reconstruction, whilst at June 2007, US$5.8 billion had been allocated to specific reconstruction projects, of which US$3.4 billion had actually been spent (58%).
In 2009, the government opened a US$5.6 million museum to commemorate the tsunami with photographs, stories, and a simulation of the earthquake that triggered the tsunami

Tragedy in japan

2011-03-12T05:48:00.001-08:00

More than 1,000 people are feared to have died after the sixth largest earthquake in recorded history devastated Japan yesterday. The massive earthquake - 8,000 times stronger than the one that hit New Zealand last month - sent a catastrophic 33 foot tsunami hurtling across the Pacific Ocean.
Last night the strength of the quake increased to a staggering 9.0 on the Richter scale. Thousands of people were also forced to flee for their lives as the wall of water bore down on them, sweeping away everything in its path.
Huge fires burned unabated across large parts of the country as damaged oil refineries and gas works billowed black smoke into the sky. Half the country was understood to be without power, with four million homes in Tokyo alone being cut off, while the army has been deployed to the quake-hit areas to help relief efforts.

However those relief efforts were hampered by a number of aftershocks, including a 6.6 magnitude tremor which hit Tokyo and caused already damaged buildings to shake further. Elsewhere, two high-speed bullet trains were missing alongside a cruise ship carrying 100 passengers that was swept away when the wave hit. One of the trains was reported to be carrying 400 passengers.
A state of emergency was declared at a nuclear power plant in Fukushima after the quake caused the cooling system to fail. Tonight, the Japanese government confirmed that they would release radioactive vapor to ease high pressure that had built up inside the reactor.
Between 200 and 300 bodies have been found in Sendai city, while another 151 were confirmed killed, with 547 missing. Police also said 798 people were injured.
Hundreds of Britons are believed to be in the country. Many have spoken of the terrifying moment that the quake struck. With the death toll rising, it is feared thousands more are at risk as the true scale of the devastation becomes apparent.
Kesennuma, a town of 70,000 people in Miyagi, burned furiously into the night with no apparent hope of being extinguished, Japan's public broadcaster NHK said. Tsunami warnings were also issued across the entire Pacific, as far away as South America, Canada, Alaska and the entire U.S. West Coast.
Hawaii and a number of low-lying islands including Guam were hit by the waves while The Red Cross has warned that the tsunami is higher than many of the islands themselves.
The first waves hit the island of Kauai at around 3.15am local time as the repercussions of the earthquake ripped through the ocean. Kahului, on the island of Maui, has been worst hit. It was struck by waves measuring at least eight feet.read here .(by english.kompas.com)

Earthquake

2011-03-11T10:44:00.000-08:00

earthquake in Japan is expected to spread to southeast asia and pacific countries, it is worrying people in asia and the pacific, the trauma that occurred several years ago to be a fear in itself, it is expected to be awarded the rescue efforts in tackling the disaster, hopefully this does not cause harm and damage to the larger, "we all hope that disaster does not happen", said chief executive arienews.blogspot
the things that makes the Japanese are always hit by the earthquake because the Japanese are included in the line of volcanoes

Earthquake in Japan

2011-03-11T09:30:00.000-08:00

INTERNATIONAL - ASIA
Friday, March 11, 2011, 18:41:00
Earthquake-Tsunami Victims Killed 32 People Japan

TOKYO - There is no certainty the number of victims of the earthquake and tsunami disaster that recently occurred in Japan, on Friday (11 / 3) afternoon. So far, reports from government officials Sakura Affairs, reported the Associated Press (AP), said that the recorded death toll of 32 people. Some degree, like any other disaster, the number is still very likely continue to grow, over the search process and the evacuation of the newspaper.

Report on at least 32 people were found TEWS, as quoted by AP, submitted by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency of Japan. Also included in their records, a major fire caused by the earthquake in a turbine building nuclear power plants in eastern Japan Sea.

AP also writes that an earthquake measuring 8.9 magnitude, at least reportedly followed by 19 aftershocks. Most of them measuring 6.0 Richter. Reportedly also, there are dozens of towns and villages along the 2100 km coastal quake and tsunami that affected it, which must come to feel the effects. Including Tokyo, a distance of hundreds of kilometers.

"The earthquake has caused widespread devastation in the region in the north of Japan," said Prime Minister Naoto Kan, in one of his press statement today.

"Our initial monitoring indicates that there has been major damage," said Japan's chief government spokesman, Yukio Edano too. "We will do our maximum reduction efforts based on the (data) assessment that," he continued.