How Britain courted, armed and trained a Libyan monster

 

Printed on gilt-edged card embossed with the Royal coat of arms, the invitation from Britain’s man in Tripoli was to the social highlight of the diplomatic calendar. “On the occasion of the Birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Her Britannic Majesty’s Ambassador… requests the pleasure of the company of His Excellency Captain Khamis al Qadhafi at a reception on Wednesday, 16 June, 2010.” This was how Britain’s then ambassador to Libya, Richard Northern, extended the VIP treatment to Colonel Gaddafi’s feared fifth son at last year’s annual party in the ambassador’s residence overlooking Tripoli’s palm-lined seafront. With 32 other invitees from the cream of the Libyan military, Khamis would have mixed with guests on the well-kept lawn, and been offered wine or Pimm’s — a rare diplomatic perk in a land whose ruler banned alcohol as a threat to “revolutionary society”. Yet the rolling out of the red carpet to Col Gaddafi’s security establishment was no routine diplomatic courtesy. Documents found by The Sunday Telegraph in the now-abandoned embassy building show that Khamis and his sidekicks were on the guest list not at the behest of Mr Northern, but at the suggestion of the United Kingdom Trade and Industry Defence and Security Organisation (DSO), a Government unit dedicated to promoting British arms exports. The Khamis Brigade, named after its commander-in-chief and staffed by hard-core Gaddafi loyalists, had proved a lucrative customer. In 2007, on the sidelines of the infamous “tent deal” between Tony Blair and Col Gaddafi in the Libyan desert, which paved the way for the Lockerbie bomber’s release, the Brigade signed an £85 million contract for a state-of-the-art command and control system from General Dynamics UK, which installed a similar one for the British Army. The contract, which had Mr Blair’s personal backing, went through despite Khamis being a man whose company generally brought very little “pleasure” to anyone, save, perhaps, for arms dealers.  Rebels certain that Khamis Gaddafi is dead 04 Sep 2011 Like the rest of Gaddafi’s immediate clan, he was a figure of fear among ordinary Libyans, who saw him as a hard man being groomed to take over from his father. Diplomats, meanwhile, had long known that his 10,000-strong unit — far better equipped than the rest of Libya’s army — was there to keep the First Family in power at all costs. That assessment proved horrifyingly accurate when the Libyan uprising began in February, as the Khamis Brigade led attempts to crush rebellions in the cities of Benghazi and Misurata. As the fighting spread to Tripoli last month, the brigade appears to have resorted to all-out terror, culminating in the summary execution of at least 45 prisoners at a warehouse near its barracks on Aug 23. “Four soldiers climbed on the top of the warehouse, and another soldier opened the door. They started shooting at us,” said Abdulrahim Ibrahim Bashir, who escaped while the brigade reloaded. “The guy at the door was throwing in grenades. After I escaped, I saw one of the soldiers finish off anyone who was wounded.” Khamis eventually had a taste of his own medicine: after fleeing south from Tripoli, he is thought to have been killed when an Apache helicopter fired a rocket at his armoured car near the town of Bani Walid. Had he remained on the run, the next organisation seeking the pleasure of his company would have been The Hague war crimes court, which is already investigating the warehouse massacre and several other mass graves found near his brigade’s HQ. In the course of that inquiry, there may be questions about why Britain deemed it fit to equip a unit whose name suggested it was a private militia. Last week, a spokesman for the DSO insisted it “did not export equipment where there is a clear risk it could be used for internal repression”. But critics allege that, just as in the case of the Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, whose release in 2009 was linked to lucrative oil deals, the rush to do business with Gaddafi’s regime overrode ethical concerns. Correspondence found in the embassy, which was ransacked and torched by a pro-Gaddafi mob in May, shows the extraordinary extent to which Britain courted the unit. The General Dynamics contract opened up a new era of close co-operation with the Libyan military, including SAS training for the Khamis Brigade, plans for courses at Sandhurst, trips by British generals to meet Khamis in Libya and taxpayer-funded invitations to the Farnborough Air Show for other Gaddafi military chiefs, with accommodation in five-star London hotels. The documents even show that civil servants advised Khamis on how to block a Freedom of Information request about an invitation to a British arms fair. Nowhere is the eagerness to please more apparent on the British side than in touting the services of the SAS. As with nearly every strongman regime in the Middle East, Britain’s Special Forces long had an appeal for Libya’s elite, who appear to have been as seduced as anyone by their “Who Dares Wins” reputation. Documents show that within a year of signing the General Dynamics contract, MoD officials at the highest rank were fielding queries from Gaddafi’s second son, Saif, about Libyan servicemen attending the SAS’s notoriously tough “selection” course. In a June 2008 letter marked “Restricted — UK/Libya Eyes only”, Maj Gen Robin Searby, the Prime Minister’s defence coordinator to Libya, informed Saif that “regrettably” the course was off-limits to foreigners, and offered him a proposal from a private firm, Arlington Associates, run by two ex-SAS officers. By January 2009, though, clearance had been given for the SAS to train 50 Libyans, including members of the Khamis Brigade, in weapons skills, field craft and “counter-terrorism”. Last week, Maj Gen Searby defended the programme. “There was no reason for the British Government not to be involved with Libya at the time, as it was felt that it was better to have them inside the tent rather than outside,” he told The Sunday Telegraph. He said it had been justified on the basis that the Libyans were woefully behind in counter-terrorism tactics. Yet “terrorism” was always a rather loose term in Gaddafi’s Libya; during first month of the uprising, he branded the rebel movement “al-Qaeda agents”. Maj Gen Searby added that the programme was eventually abandoned, as the Libyan soldiers “were not up to it”. Yet the high-level contacts continued nonetheless. Another military delegation was scheduled to see Khamis in April last year, this time including the chief executive of the DSO, Richard Paniguian, who reported to the then business secretary, Lord Mandelson. Mr Paniguian’s previous job was as vice-president for the Middle East and Africa for BP, which has admitted lobbying for the prisoner transfer agreement that led to Mr Megrahi’s release. In a private speech in September 2009, obtained by the Campaign Against Arms Trade under the Freedom of Information Act, Mr Paniguian boasted that “high-level political interventions” had enhanced the prospect of arms sales to Libya. In general, though, the DSO seems to have been adept at keeping its Libya dealings secret — in particular, an invitation sent to Khamis Gaddafi to attend the 2009 Defence and Security Exhibition in London. A letter from Graham Inett, the embassy’s defence attache, warned Tripoli that the Campaign Against Arms Trade had requested the names of all overseas delegates under an FOI request, and asked if Khamis was “content for this information to be disclosed”. Mr Inett added: “If you are not content, I would ask that you provide me with a formal statement with the reasons, as this will help strengthen the case against release.” It is perhaps no surprise to learn that the FOI request was turned down, on the basis that naming delegates without their approval “could prejudice Government’s ability to conduct similar business with them in future”. Only as the “Arab Spring” blossomed this year did relations between the Libyans and their British quartermasters wilt. In a letter to Tripoli in February, Dr AD Wilson, the head of General Dynamics, railed against a letter of complaint from 32 Brigade, which accused his firm of being behind schedule. A clue for 32 Brigade’s impatience may lie in the date of its letter: January 15. The day before, the president of neighbouring Tunisia, Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, had fled: the first casualty of the revolt that then crossed into Libya. Soon British planes would be flying sorties against the very units that the British government had helped to train and arm. Share:     inShare 4 Libya News News » World News » Africa and Indian Ocean » Colin Freeman » IN LIBYA NEWS    Battle for Gaddafi's stronghold Sirte    First footage of 'dead' Gaddafi daughter    NTC taking time 'to do the right thing'    Gaddafi: Libyan National Transitional Council is 'void and illegitimate'    Anti-Gaddafi fighters gather near Sirte

The marine biodiversity of the Maltese Islands is constantly being revised with new species additions being continuously recorded.

 

The marine biodiversity of the Maltese Islands is constantly being revised with new species additions being continuously recorded. As the Mediterranean warms up, an increasing number of non-indigenous marine species coming through the Suez Canal or the Straits of Gibraltar colonise the basin. While the influx through the Suez Canal – the so-called Lessepsian migration – is much publicised, the Atlantic ‘invasion’ through the Straits of Gibraltar, though more subtle, is still very evident. In the central Mediterranean region alone, for example, at least 13 exotic (non-indigenous) species of Atlantic origin have been recorded in recent years. Recently, a new fish species – the African hind (Cephalopholis taeniops) – has been observed and photographed in two different locations; in Cirkewwa (January 2011 − at a depth of ca. 35m) and off Exiles Point in Sliema (August 2009 − at a depth of ca. 40m). Such a species belongs to the grouper family and have a very flamboyant and distinctive livery (body colouration) consisting of a red/orange and green body peppered with blue spots. It is native to the tropical Atlantic waters off the western coast of Africa, and is known as ‘Carnaval’ in Cape Verde due to its gaudy colours. Such a fish can reach a maximum length of 70cm, but rarely exceeds 40cm, and is recorded from depths ranging from 20m to 200m. The discovery comes in the wake of other fish novelties recorded in recent years (e.g. spotted scat – Zammit & Schembri, 2011; barred knifejaw – Schembri et al., 2010; African moonfish – Vella & Deidun, 2008) and of other marine species, aside from fish, reported for the first time, such as the upside-down jellyfish (Schembri et al., 2009) and the nomadic jellyfish (Deidun et al., 2011). The author is grateful to Shaun Arrigo (Planet Sea) and to Edward Scicluna (Atlam) for sharing their African hind records. The new record of the African hind in the Maltese Islands is being published in The Journal of the Black Sea/Mediterranean Environment

NTC forces assault Gaddafi city

 

Fighters for Libya's interim rulers entered Muammar Gaddafi's hometown Sirte on Saturday in a surprise assault that NATO said it backed to halt brutal acts by followers of the ousted regime. National Transitional Council (NTC) chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil said an interim government would be announced next week and that the new authorities had control over Gaddafi 's internationally "banned weapons". Misrata military council spokesman Abdel Ibrahim said seven NTC fighters were killed and 145 injured in what appeared to have been a pincer movement launched from the south and east. Using tanks and pick-up trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns, the NTC forces cleared away roadblocks set up by Kadhafi forces and drove toward the city centre before putting up their own defences in advanced positions. On a beach road surrounded by craters and pock-marked buildings, a 106mm anti-tank cannon repeatedly pounded Gaddafi positions, backed by a barrage of mortars and multiple rocket-launchers. "We are pushing them back" after a "surprise" order to attack issued by the NTC's military top brass, commander Mohammed al-Aswawi said in a radio truck monitoring units on the front. "First we get the families out, and then the order is to attack and free Sirte," he told AFP. "There is also an advance from the south," he added, as the Misrata Military Council said that front was being reinforced by NTC fighters who had taken part in "the liberation of Al-Jafra." Frontline fighters in Sirte are convinced that one of Gaddafi's sons, Mutassim, is holed up in the city's southern outskirts. "Mutassim is in there. We hear him on the radio giving orders," NTC operations commander Osama Muttawa Swehly told AFP on Saturday. As the battle raged into the evening, another commander, Hassan Tarhar Zaluk, said NTC forces would have to resume the fight for Sirte on Sunday. "We're going to stop for the evening. There's no light in there. We'll start again tomorrow," he said. NTC fighters also came under heavy fire as they advanced inside Sirte's eastern gates, another AFP correspondent reported. "Our troops went seven kilometres inside through the eastern gate and there were sporadic to sometimes heavy clashes with Gaddafi's forces," said commander Mohammed al-Marimi of the Fakriddin Sallabi Brigade. The assault was launched after reports of a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in the city of around 75,000 inhabitants. NATO forces struck at Gaddafi forces after reports they had moved against civilians there, endangering "hundreds of families", a statement from the alliance said. "Among the reports emerging from Sirte are executions, hostage-taking, and the calculated targeting of individuals, families, and communities within the city," it added. Heavy fighting also raged in Bani Walid, the only other remaining pro-Gaddafi bastion. Medics reported a total of 30 NTC troops killed so far on that front. A pro-Gaddafi radio station called for a gathering at one of Bani Walid's squares, after a similar call from Gaddafi's most prominent son, Seif al-Islam, for people to rise up for the town's "liberation". On the political front, the NTC held talks on forming a new government amid doubts over whether disagreements that prevented a deal last week could be immediately overcome. "Differences in views" between members of the NTC and the executive council had delayed a deal, Abdel Jalil told reporters, but the composition of the interim government would be announced in the coming week. That had been due to be set up last Sunday, but was postponed indefinitely because of haggling over portfolios. Abdel Jalil said the new authorities had control over internationally "banned weapons" from Gaddafi's regime, when asked about the presence of such weapons in the south. The International Atomic Energy Agency on Friday confirmed the existence of raw uranium stored in drums at the southern city of Sabha. "These weapons are between Waddan and Sabha," said Abdel Jalil, referring to the other central town. "We will call for Libyan technicians and the international community to get rid of these weapons safely," he said. While Libya's new authorities do not know where Gaddafi is, they are focusing on taking Sirte and Bani Walid, two places where some think he might be. Reports have also emerged that he may be in the south. "General Belgasem al-Abaaj, who we captured on Monday, said that Gaddafi had contacted him by phone about 10 days ago, and that he was moving secretly between (the oases of) Sabha and Ghat," an NTC commander, Mohammed Barka Wardugu, told AFP. Abaaj had said Gaddafi "is helped by Nigerian and Chadian mercenaries who know the desert routes," added Wardugu, spokesman for the Desert Shield Brigade. Friday's statement from Gaddafi's daughter Aisha that said her father was well and fighting on the ground -- and denouncing the new administration in Libya as traitors -- got a sharp reaction from the Algerian authorities. Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Mdeleci described her comments as "unacceptable", the country's APS agency reported. Her telephone message was broadcast by Syria-based Arrai television. Algeria received Aisha Gaddafi, her mother and other members of their family when they fled Libya in August. Algeria, which after criticism from the NTC in Libya defended its decision to receive the Gaddafis on humanitarian grounds, on Friday said it was willing to work with the new administration. In New York, NTC prime minister Mahmoud Jibril told the United Nations General Assembly that a new Libya was coming to life. But he added: "The asset freeze on our funds must be lifted as urgently as possible."

Tunisia Arrests Libyan Premier

 

Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, a spokesman for the National Transitional Council said the detention of former Libyan Prime Minister Al Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi was of great importance towards efforts to suppress the Qaddafi regime on Thursday because he is a symbol of the old regime. He said,"The news regarding the arrest of Al Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi, the former prime minister of Qaddafi's regime is very good news, considering the fact that he is a symbol of the former regime. He is wanted in Libya for crimes not only during the revolution months but also before the revolution broke out. Of course it is really important news for revolution and for the effort to suppress Gaddafi." Ghoga extended his warm greetings to the Tunisian authorities, after a Tunisian court on Thursday found Mahmoudi guilty on charges of illegally entering the country on Wednesday evening. In the highest profile detention of a Qaddafi associate to date, the Tunisian court sentenced Mahmoudi to six months in jail. The justice minister in Libya's new government said Tripoli would request that the former prime minister be extradited to stand trial in Libya. Meanwhile, Ahmed Bani a military spokesman for Libya's interim rulers told reporters on Thursday that they controlled 90 percent of the southern part of the country despite facing continued struggles in Muammar Qaddafi's last strongholds. Qaddafi loyalists have been holding out in Jufra and Sabha along with the bigger strongholds of Bani Walid, southeast of Tripoli, and Qaddafi's hometown of Sirte, since the fall of the capital in August. Poorly-organized fighters with the National Transitional Council were still struggling to make inroads in Bani Walid, and commanders were trying to stop chaotic weapons handling that has already killed several fighters in "friendly fire" incidents. In the eastern city of Benghazi, an NTC spokesman warned that a humanitarian crisis was unfolding in the south.

Muammar Gaddafi has fled Sabha

 

The National Transitional Council are investigating an unconfirmed report that Muammar Gaddafi has fled from Sabha, NTC spokesman reports.  NTC spokesman also states that Libyan government forces now control most of Sabha with small pockets of resistance from pro-Gaddafi snipers.

Gadhafi spotted as rebels capture parts of south Libya town

 

Fugitive Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi was spotted in the southern city of Sabha a few days ago, the regional daily Asharq al-Awsat reported on Tuesday, citing an eyewitness. The witness claimed that Gadhafi was living in the city, located around 750 kilometers south of the capital Tripoli. Anti-Gadhafi fighters firing a cannon near Sirte, the hometown of deposed leader Muammar Gadhafi, September 17, 2011. Photo by: Reuters Gadhafi's whereabouts have been unknown since rebels took over Tripoli in August. However, he continues to send statements and voice messages through the Syria-based al-Rai channel. The report comes after the anti-Gadhafi rebels said they took over parts of Sabha city as well as its airport. "The airport of Sabha has been liberated by our fighters," a military spokesman, Colonel Ahmed Bani, said in Tripoli on Monday. "Also two villages near Sabha have been liberated." For around a week the rebels have been fighting pro-Gadhafi fighters, who have put up stiff resistance in his birthplace of Sirte and the desert town of Bani Walid, south-east of Tripoli. Almost a month after they overran Tripoli, the rebels are at pains to take control of the two strongholds before their leaders can declare all of the North African country "liberated."

66 year-old Daniel Healy was found by police to have 100kg of cannabis resin, said to be worth £500,000, hidden in the water tank of the campervan he was driving

 

66 year-old Daniel Healy – or ‘Mad Danny’ as he is known in Ardfern in Mid Argyll – was arrested last week, as he went to drive across the border between Morocco and Ceuta, a Spanish owned city enclave. Healy was travelling under the false name of John McLeish and was found by police to have 100kg of cannabis resin, said to be worth £500,000, hidden in the water tank of the campervan he was driving, protected in metal containers. Since his arrest he has been held in the Moroccan prison of Tetouan, said to be worse than Guantanamo.

Battle in Gaddafi bastion ends in chaotic retreat

 

Libyan interim government forces fled on Sunday in a chaotic retreat from the town of Bani Walid, after failing in yet another attempt to storm the final bastions of loyalists of ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi. Since taking the capital Tripoli last month, motley forces of the ruling National Transitional Council have met stiff resistance in Bani Walid and Gaddafi’s birthplace Sirte, which they must capture before they can declare Libya “liberated.” Anti-Gaddafi fighters have tried many times to storm Bani Walid, 150 km southeast of Tripoli, only to retreat in disorder under fire from defenders. Sunday’s failed attempt appeared to be among the worst yet, setting off angry recriminations among attackers. NTC fighters said they had planned for tanks and pickup trucks with anti-aircraft guns and rocket launchers to lead Sunday’s attack, but foot soldiers had piled in first. “There is a lack of organisation so far. Infantry men are running in all directions,” said Zakaria Tuham, a senior fighter with a Tripoli-based unit. “Our commanders had been told that heavy artillery units had already gone ahead, but when we advanced into Bani Walid they were nowhere to be seen. “Gaddafi forces were hitting us heavily with rockets and mortars, so we have pulled out.” A Reuters reporter saw fighters withdraw around two km (more than a mile) after they had stormed into the town. Anti-Gaddafi fighters from Bani Walid blamed comrades from elsewhere in Libya for being unwilling to coordinate. Those from elsewhere accused some local fighters of being traitors and passing information to Gaddafi loyalists. “Commanders who are from the Warfalla tribe, they tell us one thing and then commanders from the other cities say something else. We do not understand anything,” said pro-NTC fighter Mohamed Saleh. “So we are just going in and pulling back without a single purpose. It’s impossible to take this city this way. It will continue like this until they send more experienced troops....”

Tony Blair flew to Libya for 'secret meetings' with Colonel Gaddafi

 

former prime minister arranged to fly to Tripoli on Colonel Gaddafi's private jet for secret talks in June 2008 and April 2009. Tony Blair insists his talks with Colonel Gaddafi were not about Abdelbaset al-Megrahi (Getty Images) The Scottish government released Megrahi - the man convicted of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 - on compassionate grounds in August 2009 as he was suffering from prostate cancer. It is known the then Libyan dictator threatened to cut trade ties with the UK in 2008 unless Megrahi was freed. Emailed exchanges between Mr Blair's office, Libya's embassy in London and Sir Vincent Fean, the former British ambassador in Tripoli, suggested the ex-prime minister met officials from the Libyan Investment Authority, as well as Colonel Gaddafi. A spokesman for Mr Blair said there was nothing untoward about the meetings and that he played no part in the release of Megrahi. 'The subjects of the conversations during Mr Blair's occasional visits was primarily Africa, as Libya was for a time head of the African Union; but also the Middle East and how Libya should reform and open up,' he said. 'Of course the Libyans, as they always did, raised Megrahi. Mr Blair explained, as he always did, in office and out of it, that it was not a decision for the UK government but for the Scottish Executive.' The spokesman added the former prime minister had no commercial relationship with the Libyan government.

Moroccan cops seize Scot caught with £500k of cannabis resin

 

holidaymaker is being held in a hell-hole Moroccan jail after being caught in a camper van with £500,000 of hashish. Daniel Healy, 66, was arrested last week as he tried to drive across the border from Morocco to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. The police discovered the 100kg stash of cannabis resin hidden in aluminium boxes stashed in a water tank. Since then, Healy – who is from Glasgow – has spent six nights in the violent and cramped Tetouan prison. Friend Graham Boszormenyi, 46, claimed that Healy was unaware of the hidden drugs. Ex-Royal Navy submariner Graham said: “Daniel is a good friend of mine and I know that he had no knowledge of what he was carrying. “I spoke to him a couple of days ago and he said he plans to plead guilty because he’s been told he’ll only get one year. “But I know the system in Morocco and I don’t believe it for a minute. “I’ve been through this before. Twice they’ve had me in Morocco and I think he could end up getting four to six years – and he’s too old for that. “He’s in the worst prison possible, where there are 60 people in a cell with one shared toilet. “He’s a harmless old man who is known by lots of people around the world. He’s a noisy drunk but he’s not any kind of criminal. “I know the people who are behind this and I think they will help by coming forward to the UK authorities and telling them that he knew nothing about it. “I have spoken to his family in Scotland and they are understandably very worried. “He has been sucker-punched. He had no idea that these people had just used him. It’s backfired on everyone, especially him. “He was travelling under a different name, John McLeish. I don’t know why. He’s due to be tried on Tuesday.” Healy was driving the Spanish- registered camper van when he was stopped on the border between Morocco and Ceuta. He had been expected to get a ferry from Ceuta across the Mediterranean to the Spanish city of Algeciras. Healy’s daughter Siobhan is a celebrated glass artist with a studio in Glasgow’s Dennistoun. The 34-year-old – whose clients include the Scottish government, the BBC and many councils – said: “I don’t know anything about this. “It doesn’t sound like the kind of thing my dad would be involved in.” Officials from the British embassy are expected to make the 215-mile trip from the Moroccan capital Rabat to offer Healy assistance. A US state department report on Moroccan jail conditions said: “They generally did not meet international standards. “Prisons were overcrowded, resulting in poor hygienic conditions and are prone to violence.” A Moroccan police spokesman said: “We arrested a Scottish man and he is now in prison. We can’t tell you anything else.” A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are aware of the arrest of a British national in Morocco."

Libyan Forces Capture Sirte Airport

 

Libyan opponents of Muammar Qaddafi captured the Al-Gurdabia airbase south of Sirte as fighters faced fierce resistance from loyalist forces in his remaining strongholds. The airbase outside Qaddafi’s birthplace on the Mediterranean coast was captured yesterday, the opposition’s military council in Misrata said in a statement. At least 18 soldiers have been killed and 51 wounded in fighting around Sirte since Sept. 15, the council said. Libyan National Transitional Council forces have also faced stiff resistance from Qaddafi loyalists in Bani Walid. National Transitional Council forces were forced to pull back yesterday from the mountain town under heavy shelling, Al-Jazeera television reported, citing its correspondent. The fighting continued as the opposition’s ruling council worked to establish its authority in Libya and improve ties with other countries. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was greeted yesterday in the capital, Tripoli, by Mustafa Abdel Jalil, chairman of the National Transitional Council. Erdogan said Turkey would aid Libya militarily and politically, and offered help with building a parliament, telling a crowd, “Libya belongs to Libyans.” Erdogan’s trip follows a visit on Sept. 15 by U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the first foreign leaders to visit Tripoli since helping the rebel forces oust Qaddafi last month. U.S. President Barack Obama will meet Abdel Jalil at the opening of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Sept. 20. The military council in Misrata, one of the main rebel strongholds during the seven-month conflict, said on Sept. 15 that its fighters took control of the entrances to Sirte, and began searching for officials loyal to Qaddafi. They deployed 900 armed pickup trucks: the largest fleet assembled by the forces for a single operation against Qaddafi’s supporters since the uprising began in February.

Muammar Gaddafi forces strike back against rebels

 

LIBYAN rebels loyal to the National Transitional Council (NTC) are struggling to regroup outside Bani Walid after being driven back by fierce resistance from followers of Muammar Gaddafi. There were no signs of anti-Gaddafi forces mobilising for another assault on the mountain enclave, about 140km southeast of Tripoli. The NTC fighters withdrew after facing sniper fire and shelling from pro-Gaddafi units holding strategic positions above the valley entrance to the town. Meanwhile, more families fled Bani Walid. The fighting coincided with another NTC offensive into Gaddafi's hometown Sirte on the Mediterranean coast, where there were stiff counterattacks by backers of the old regime. Dubai-based broadcaster al-Arabiya said Gaddafi supporters were still holding out in Sirte and there was no sign yet of a rapid end to a siege which has been dragging on for weeks. Related Coverage Libyan fighters blitz Gaddafi strongholds Herald Sun, 1 day ago Cameron, Sarkozy plan Libya visit Herald Sun, 2 days ago Rebels close in on Gaddafi holdouts The Australian, 5 days ago Libyan rebels delay assault on Bani Walid Herald Sun, 5 days ago Gaddafi forces ambush NTC fighters The Daily Telegraph, 5 days ago TNC forces seized the airport on the outskirts of Sirte and moved towards the centre of the city. Gaddafi's troops were stationed between houses and dozens of snipers were positioned on the roofs, according to rebel fighters quoted by al-Arabiya. Gaddafi's spokesman Moussa Ibrahim was prompt in praising the setback their forces had inflicted on the rebels. "We gathered arms and equipment in preparation for a long war,'' he told Syria-based Al-Rai television. "The battle is far from over,'' Ibrahim continued. "We assure everybody that the Sirte and Bani Walid fronts are strong, despite the heavy, unbelievable and merciless NATO bombardment on hospitals, families and schools.'' Gaddafi has not been seen in public since the rebels captured Tripoli in August, although his spokesman has repeatedly claimed that he is still in Libya.

Sahel drug gang battle - 4 dead

 

Four people were killed when drug traffickers clashed in the desert zone between Mali and Algeria, over the spoils from a massive drug sale, officials said on Monday. A source from the governor's office in Timbuktu in northern Mali said the deceased were from Mali and Niger. "Four people were killed during a fight between drug traffickers which is under way in the Sahel. It is about the haul from a ton of  Indian hemp [dagga] and cocaine," the source said on condition of anonymity. The information was confirmed by an advisor to the governor. "The battle is going on at the moment on the border between Mali and Algeria between an armed group of drug traffickers from Mali and Niger, and another group aligned with the Polisario Front," the independence movement in the Western Sahara, said the advisor. "They don't agree on how to share the sale of a ton of drugs."

Moroccan maids may ‘spell’ trouble, warn some women

 

Saudi women have voiced reservations against recruiting domestic helpers from Morocco as suggested by the chairman of the Saudi recruitment committee. This is due to an old belief that Moroccan women use black magic to lure men to marry them. Some Saudi women urged the Shoura Council to intervene, while others threatened to quit their jobs to look after their homes if housemaids from the country were brought in. Najla, a 32-year-old teacher at a private school, said she felt threatened by the news, pointing out that Moroccan women are known for being pliant and willing to adjust to varying situations, and this posed a threat to a working wife who is not at home most of the day. Raja is a housewife who hopes the move falls through. She said Moroccan women are known for their black magic and could use it in Saudi homes. “It is better to be safe than sorry,” Raja said. “It all depends on the upbringing of the man,” said Nuha, a physician and mother of three young children. She expressed support for the initiative to bring in Moroccan workers and pointed out that any threat can come from workers of any nationality and not only one. Sawsan, a 40-year-old housewife, sees no harm in the initiative as she believes Saudi women should have confidence in themselves. “If a woman knows how to keep her husband satisfied, nothing can threaten her home.” Sameer, a divorced businessman, believes that “black magic” is the key phrase frightening people. “However, other nationalities, as we have experienced in the Kingdom, use black magic to control families.” “I am against having a live-in domestic helper in general,” said Majed, a single lawyer, adding that having a stranger live in anyone’s home is not healthy and can cause many problems, especially in marriages. “It is like bringing in an alien seed and planting it in your garden. No one can predict the outcome.” Umm Fahad, a 27-year-old mother of three, has worked with a Moroccan maid for seven years, and she thought it was the best experience. “She was so clean, quiet and kind, and since she left I have been suffering with workers of other nationalities,” she said, adding that at least the maid spoke the same language and understood Saudi traditions. On the other hand, PR manager Abdullah saw no harm in recruiting from Morocco provided that a minimum age for workers is set and that watchdogs control visa allocations closely to prevent any foul play. Moneera, a single journalist, saw no point to the fuss surrounding this issue. “Many families have recruited Moroccan domestic workers for many years now and there might have been minor complaints about them, like any other nationality.” “It is a ridiculous fear that is without base,” said marriage counselor and psychoanalyst Hany Al-Ghamdi, pointing out that if a man has no respect for his family, nothing will stop him from having an affair and that any concerns about nationality are invalid.  It is a misconception, Al-Ghamdi points out, to stereotype in this way based on nationality. “If there is to be a reasonable analysis, we should ask why Moroccan women know how to attract and keep their men,” said Al-Ghamdi, suggesting that Saudi women who feel threatened should take a closer look at themselves. “There is no black magic in a relationship between a man and woman. But there is the magic of love, caring and tolerance,” said Al-Ghamdi, adding that some women do not know how to understand their men and show tolerance toward them. Tolerance, according to Al-Ghamdi, means being able to overcome problems and disputes and show love and femininity. Moroccan women, in his opinion, are feminine by default. “They feel and express their femininity and surrender to their husbands, which is in their nature, while other women might look at it as degrading,” said Al-Ghamdi, adding that marriages involving Moroccan women in the Kingdom are not a trend that could threaten Saudi women. Teaching love, Al-Ghamdi believes, is one way to reduce Saudi women’s fear of being threatened by other women. “Aisha, the wife of Prophet (peace be upon him), was the first to open a ‘school for women.’ She was teaching women about even the most intimate details of their lives with their husbands. We need more of this teaching, instead of the rigid curriculum we are teaching girls in schools,” said Al-Ghamdi, stressing that even Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said “there is no alternative for love but to marry.” In his opinion this is a clear sign that there is love before marriage or at least strong admiration and desire, on which homes should be built to dispel any such threats.

Pirates kill Brit David Tebbutt and kidnap wife

 

BRITISH tourist has been killed and his wife kidnapped after suspected Somali pirates stormed their villa at an exclusive Kenyan resort. They were attacked by at least five men as they lay in bed in their beachside villa at 2am yesterday. David Tebbutt, 58, is believed to have been shot trying to protect wife Judith, 56, from the raiders. They bundled her into a speedboat and vanished. The couple, from Bishop's Stortford, Herts, had been at the Kiwayu Safari Village just a few hours and were the only guests. The secluded resort is 18 miles from the border with war-ravaged Somalia, notorious for its pirates. Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said a massive search involving military boats, helicopters and ground forces had begun at dawn. He added: "We are hoping that we will be able to at least find the lady. "We believe it is a kidnap but we are yet to receive any communication from the alleged kidnappers." Pirates tend not to raid on land — and it is rare for them to harm any victims because they want to ransom them. That has led to speculation that the attack could be the work of local Islamic fanatics who wanted to make their mark on the 9/11 anniversary. But police commissioner Mathew Iteere said: "So far we are treating it as a bandit attack. We've not received any hint pointing at a terror group.

Saadi Gaddafi, third son of the former Libyan leader, has fled the country into neighbouring Niger,

Saadi Gaddafi in Sydney in 2005 Photo: REUTERS

 

His flight reduces the retinue of close family members sticking by Col Gaddafi to just two sons, Saif al-Islam and Mutassim, and his closest aide and brother-in-law, Abdullah Senussi.

Marou Amadou, the Niger justice minister, confirmed he had crossed the two countries’ Saharan border in a convoy of vehicles and been intercepted by local troops.

He said the convoy was continuing to the northern town of Agadez and from there to the capital Niamey, where a number of Touareg tribal leaders formerly loyal to Col Gaddafi have also sought refuge in recent weeks.

His flight will be a further blow to the confidence of those troops remaining loyal to the old regime. Earlier in the day, rebels made advances on the two remaining loyalist hold-outs in northern Libya after a string of Nato bombing raids.

Saadi was one of the more westernised of Col Gaddafi’s family, though no less capricious that the rest. A former footballer, he played twice for Italian Serie A teams, though he was banned for failing a drugs test.

 

 

Spanish warship rescues French hostage from pirates

 

Troops from a Spanish warship stormed a pirate skiff in the Gulf of Aden Saturday and rescued a French hostage missing from her yacht but found no trace of her husband, the EU anti-piracy mission said. As a helicopter kept watch overhead, naval commandos in a fast launch fired on the skiff to disable its engine. The boat sank, but the hostage was rescued and seven pirates were arrested unharmed, the Spanish defence ministry said. "She was the only hostage on board the skiff. Her husband was not on board," EU naval spokesman Captain Paul Gelly told AFP, confirming the rescued hostage was Evelyne Colombo, wife and crewmate of missing sailor Christian Colombo. "She is safe and sound," he said, explaining that Colombo and the detained pirates are now on board the Spanish ship. A German warship, the FGS Bayern, found the couple's catamaran the Tribal Kat, adrift in waters off Yemen on Thursday. There was no-one on board and the EU Atalanta naval command launched an air and sea search for the attackers. French officials said there were signs of a struggle on board the yacht, which was towed to Djibouti to be studied by agents from the DGSE spy agency. "It was like searching for a needle in a haystack," Gelly said. "Our priority was to search for any vessel that might have been leaving the area and heading for the coast of Somalia." The French frigate Surcouf detected a suspect vessel and on Saturday the Spanish warship SPS Galicia chased it down. The Spanish defence ministry said when the skiff ignored an order to stop, the commander of the Galicia ordered his men to open fire. "At that time, it was discovered that they had a hostage on board, who was a woman," it said. "The amphibious ship proceeded to intercept the pirate vessel. The operation involved a helicopter and naval warfare team, who fired on the engine of the boat, to disable it." Christian Colombo is a former French navy crewman and the couple were experienced sailors who wanted to see the world and were passing through the Gulf of Aden en route for the Indian Ocean and eventually Thailand. "They knew they were taking a risk and everyone advised them not to go," a relative told AFP. One of the couple's daughters, Emilie, posted a message of concern on the blog they were keeping of their high seas adventure. "The last I heard from Christian was around a month ago. He was south of Egypt and heading for Malaysia," said the skipper's friend Gerard Navarin, who once helped him set a catamaran speed record off Toulon. The waters between Yemen and Somalia are notorious for attacks by pirate gangs, and French yachts have been among the vessels seized in the past. A second yacht went missing at around the same time as the Tribal Kat. Somali pirates frequently seize crew from merchant ships and pleasure craft in the dangerous waters off the conflict-ravaged Horn of Africa and have taken millions of dollars in ransom for their release. According to the watchdog Ecoterra, at least 50 vessels and at least 528 hostages are being held by Somali pirates, despite constant patrols by warships from several world powers. A French couple was kidnapped from a yacht in September 2008 as it headed through the Gulf of Aden. A ransom was paid, but French commandos later ambushed the pirates, killed one, captured six more and recovered the cash. In April 2009, another French yacht was seized. This time special forces troops intervened when the boat was still at sea. In the ensuing gunbattle a French bullet accidentally killed the hostage skipper. In addition, a French DGSE agent is thought to have been held hostage by Islamist militants in the Somali capital since July 2009

Soldiers may face Mousa prosecution

 

British soldiers could face a fresh prosecution over the brutal death of an Iraqi civilian after a scathing report condemned the "shameful" abuse of prisoners in UK custody. A landmark public inquiry concluded that father-of-two Baha Mousa, 26, died after an "appalling episode of serious gratuitous violence" meted out by members of 1st Battalion the Queen's Lancashire Regiment (1QLR). Inquiry chairman Sir William Gage said a number of British officers who could have stopped the abuse, including 1QLR's former commanding officer Colonel Jorge Mendonca, bore a "heavy responsibility" for the "grave and shameful events". He also strongly criticised the "corporate failure" by the Ministry of Defence that led to "conditioning" techniques banned by the UK in 1972, including hooding and making prisoners stand in painful stress positions, being used by soldiers in Iraq. The £13 million public inquiry, which has published its 1,400-page final report, condemned the "lack of moral courage to report abuse" within Preston-based 1QLR. It named 19 soldiers who assaulted Mr Mousa and nine Iraqis detained with him, and found that many others, including several officers, must have known what was happening. The damning report said the violence could not be described as a "one-off" because of evidence that 1QLR troops abused and mistreated Iraqi civilians on other occasions. Lawyers for Mr Mousa's family called for the soldiers responsible for his death to face charges in the light of the findings. Seven members of 1QLR, including Col Mendonca, faced allegations relating to the mistreatment of the detainees at a high-profile court martial in 2006-07. The trial ended with them all cleared, apart from Corporal Donald Payne, who became the first member of the British armed forces convicted of a war crime when he pleaded guilty to inhumanely treating civilians. Payne was acquitted of manslaughter. The legal team for Mr Mousa's relatives and the other detainees believe that evidence in the inquiry's report could form the basis for a new prosecution. Sapna Malik, from law firm Leigh Day and Co, said: "In light of the cogent and serious findings by Sir William Gage, we now expect that the military and civilian prosecuting authorities of this country will act to ensure that justice is done." The Crown Prosecution Service said the inquiry's report had not been referred to it. The Service Prosecuting Authority, which brings military prosecutions, was not available for comment.

NIGER'S FOREIGN MINISTER CLAIMS GADDAFI WAS NOT ON CONVOY

 

Neither Gaddafi nor any of his sons were on the convoy that arrived in Niger from Libya. The statement was made by Niger Foreign Minister, Mohammed Bazoum, on the microphones of Al Arabiya.& 13; The news was leaked by sources of the National Transational Council, according to which the 200-250 vehicle convoy that crossed the Fezzan desert to reach the ciy of Agadez, escorted by local security forces, carried an enormous load of gold and cash as well as several members of Gaddafi's family. "None of this is true", Bazoum said, cutting short, "it isn't Gaddafi and nor do I think that the convoy was as large as reported". In his opinion, the convoy carried former officials of Gaddafi's regime, although of intermediate ranking: this therefore also appears to deny the presence on the convoy of Mansour Daw, the chief of the Colonel's security forces. & 13; Also France, the former colonial power of the sub-Saharan Country, denied rumors concerning Gaddafi: "We have no information enabling us to think that Colonel Gaddafi is on that convoy", reiterated a spokesperson of the Elysee

The new Libya won't trust Britain so easily now | News

 

The documents revealing the cosy relationship between top British and Libyan intelligence officials are embarrassing not just because they confirm Britain's rendition of Islamist terror suspects, including Abdel Hakim Belhadj, the Transitional National Council's new security commander in Tripoli, but also because they lend credence to Britain's reputation as a slippery operator in the Middle East. David Cameron's support for the TNC was meant to gain souk cred by tying Britain's banner to the spirit of the Arab Spring. Cameron has said the new documents should be examined by the independent Detainee Inquiry, chaired by Sir Peter Gibson. They show how keen Tony Blair was to bring Gaddafi into the fold following Saddam Hussein's fall in April 2003 and to trade an end to Libya's pariah status in return for help in the war against terrorism. There was little wrong with that. What is sickening is the extent to which Britain sought to ingratiate itself by delivering up Gaddafi's opponents. No less disturbing is the manner in which Britain's cosying up to Gaddafi has been represented as a mistake by misguided individuals, for which institutions such as the London School of Economics have suffered. Perhaps the most fascinating new document was sent on March 18, 2004 to Musa Kusa, head of Libyan intelligence, by Mark Allen, MI6's director of counter-terrorism, who crowed about Belhadj's rendition while arranging a forthcoming visit by Blair to Libya. A week later Gaddafi welcomed the British PM in his Tripoli tent (as requested by Allen for publicity reasons). It is difficult to say who was the greater showman: the unctuous Blair or Gaddafi joking how his Third Universal Theory, the basis of his Green Book, paved the way for Blair's Third Way politics. Within two months, Allen was pipped as the next MI6 head by John Scarlett, who, two years earlier, as chief of the Joint Intelligence Committee, had backed Blair's argument that Saddam had dangerous weapons of mass destruction. Allen left the SIS shortly afterwards. For Middle East watchers, an interesting outcome has been these glimpses of intelligence machinations in this most secretive of regions. A Le Carré of the al Qaeda conflict will surely follow. It is Cameron who now has to deal with the practical consequences. The ultimate fate of Gaddafi and his family is out of his hands. But Britain has tough decisions to make about other players, including Musa Kusa, who defected from Libya in March, came to Britain, and was last heard of in a Qatar hotel. In 1980 he was expelled from Britain for advocating the murder of Libyan dissidents. For this and his wider role in Libyan terrorism, many powerful voices argue that he should be tried in Britain. But, even at this stage, it may be that he has too much to reveal. More immediately, the Prime Minister needs to assess the role of former Islamists such as Belhadj in the new regime and take appropriate measures. It will not be enough to kick the rendition issue into the long grass by referring it to the Gibson inquiry, which has yet to begin its work. If David Cameron hoped for an easy ride in post-Gaddafi Libya, these papers have disabused him of that notion.

talkSPORt to be broadcast to British troops stationed overseas

 

talkSPORT commentary on the Rugby World Cup 2011 is to be broadcast to British soldiers serving overseas, the British Forces Broadcasting Service has announced. Coverage commences on September 9 and will enable troops stationed in more than 20 countries; including Afghanistan, Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands, to keep up to date with all the games as they are played. England legend Brian Moore, aka The Pit Bull, will be heading up talkSPORT's coverage for the tournament alongside David Campese. He said: “The Rugby World Cup is a massive event and is sure to be a fantastic spectacle – I’m really pleased to be supporting our brave troops abroad.” BFBS Controller Nicky Ness said: “I am delighted that the BFBS and talkSPORT partnership now extends to Rugby World Cup coverage.  This tournament is really important to the armed forces community for whom sport is crucial part of life.  The fact that our troops will be able to listen on the front line and in far flung corners of the world will make a real difference to morale.

The husband of a woman who fell to her death during a holiday in Morocco remained upstairs in their apartment while she lay dying in the street below

The husband of a woman who fell to her death during a holiday in Morocco remained upstairs in their apartment while she lay dying in the street below, according to a new witness.

His account deepens the mystery surrounding the death of Mathilde Lamb, 43, and that of her husband Roger, 47, who died in a separate fall four days later, leaving their four sons orphaned.

Mrs Lamb, known as Tilly, was killed after plunging three floors from the window of the family’s £30-a-night rented apartment in the coastal town of Essaouira during the early hours of August 17. 

Mystery: Mathilde and Roger Lamb whose four children have been orphaned after both of their parents died in separate falls

Speaking for the first time about the incident, witness Rashid Hamaini, an artist, said that no member of Mrs Lamb’s family came to her aid after the fall.

He said: ‘I was working late that night. It was about 12.30am and it was very quiet. Then I heard a scream outside – it was a woman’s voice. I ran straight outside and into the street.

 

More...

• 'I have been living in hell': Nurse accused of saline murder plot speaks after case is dropped and police prepare to interview FIVE HUNDRED more people
• Mounting money worries. A marriage under strain. And a mysterious text that made one friend fear the worst... What really drove the balcony couple to their deaths?

 

‘On the pavement was Mrs Lamb who was lying on her front. She was wearing a T-shirt and bikini bottoms and blood was coming from her head.

‘The scream that I heard was not from her but from a woman who had seen her fall from the window. She was standing in the street shaking and was very upset. I went over and comforted her.’

Mr Hamaini said he asked what had happened and the witness said she had just seen a woman falling.

Scene: The top floor window from which Mrs Lamb fell in Essaouira, Morocco

He added: ‘The entire street was deserted. It was absolutely quiet – not a sound from anywhere. There was no one in the street apart from the two of us.

‘Nobody came down to help the victim or to check her at all. Within ten minutes both the police and the ambulance had arrived and they took the woman away on a stretcher.’

Mr Hamaini said more police arrived 15 minutes later and took Mr Lamb and one of the boys away in a car.

Confusion has surrounded the horrific events which led to the couple’s deaths, with unconfirmed reports about them arguing over plans for the family to move abroad, and that they were experiencing financial worries.

Mrs Lamb’s family say she had been trying to remonstrate with revellers outside the flat but leaned out of the window too far and fell.

But witnesses said they had heard no raised voices prior to the fall.

Local police say they believe her death was a tragic accident caused by a wooden balustrade giving way. However, there are no signs of any damage to the barrier.

Window: The room from which Mrs Lamb fell

Witness Hasna El Akrab told the Sunday Times: 'I looked up immediately at the window. It was open but there was no light coming from it. I can say that the railing was in perfect order.'

Of the incident, Mr Lamb’s brother-in-law, Mark Rogerson, said: ‘Unfortunately because the awning downstairs was blocking her view, she couldn’t see what was going on and according to her son, she climbed up on to the balustrade to get a better view. 

‘She was leaning out when she overbalanced and fell. Roger ran straight outside and found Tilly in the street.’

He added: ‘We have heard a host of sometimes contradictory statements from witnesses. Further speculation can only be hurtful to the boys.’

Mr Lamb, a structural engineer, checked himself and his sons into the nearby Sofitel hotel after the incident and fell from a second-floor stairwell four days after his wife fell.

It has also emerged that the day after Mrs Lamb's death, her husband was admitted to Mohammed Ben Abdellah hospital by the couple's eldest son Angus, 16, after apparently trying to take his own life.

He was soaking wet, apparently having fallen into the sea, reported the Sunday Times.

He was released and the family checked into the Sofitel with Mrs Lamb's sister Charlotter and her husband Rupert who had arrived in Essaouira that day.

Tragedy: Roger Lamb with his four children and friends enjoy a campfire

A doctor was called after the hotel notified the hospital that he was unable to remember anything from the night his wife died.

Mr Lamb was given anti-depressants and a tranquilliser and the doctor advised the family to move from the second floor to the ground floor and monitor Mr Lamb 24 hours a day.

Staff were asked to inform the British consul so that Mr Lamb and the boys could be repatriated.

Mr lamb was seen sitting by the hotel pool, laughing with his children but the following day he had made another suicide attempt.

After eating breakfast with his children and Charlotte and Rupert, he leapt off a second-floor walkway overlooking an internal atrium.

He was rushed to hospital where he died soon after.

A family friend has also revealed that the police had been called to the couple's home in 2008 and Mrs Lamb begged officers to take away her husband's shotgun.

They came close to separating at the time, sources said.

The couple's children – Angus, Monty, 15, Henry, 11, and Felix, nine – are now back in Britain being cared for by relatives. The bodies of Mr and Mrs Lamb have been repatriated.

Muammar Gaddafi's son Saadi has blamed his high-profile brother for the collapse of talks with Libya's new rulers

Muammar Gaddafi's son Saadi has blamed his high-profile brother for the collapse of talks with Libya's new rulers, CNN television reported late on Sunday.

Saadi Gaddafi told CNN in a telephone interview that an "aggressive" speech broadcast by his brother, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, a few days ago had led to the breakdown in negotiations, paving the way for an attack.

The town southeast of Tripoli is one of the last strongholds of pro-Gaddafi fighters where at least one of the ousted despot's sons is thought to be hiding.

MI6 worked with Gaddafi government on rendition operation

 

senior officer in MI6 wrote a congratulatory letter to Moussa Koussa, then head of Libyan foreign intelligence and later foreign minister, on the safe arrival from Malaysia thanks to British and American intelligence of a man known as Abu Abdallah Sadiq. That is the nom de guerre of the leader of the then banned Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, Abdelhakim Belhadj, who is now head of the Tripoli Military Council in the post-revolutionary Libyan government and a key western ally. "This was the least we could do for you and for Libya to demonstrate the remarkable relationship we have built over recent years," the letter, from Mark Allen, head of counter-terrorism at MI6, said. "I am so glad. I was grateful to you for helping the officer we sent out last week." The documents, found by Human Rights Watch and circulated at the weekend, show the extraordinarily close relationship that developed between Libyan intelligence and MI6 and the CIA. The letters show that the CIA arranged the final delivery of both Mr Belhadj and his deputy, known by his nom de guerre of Abu Munthir, with their wives to Libya, but that in both cases Britain provided the original intelligence tip-off.MI6's letters, many written by Mr Allen, now Sir Mark Allen and an adviser to BP, are much more personal in tone that the CIA's, however.

suicide car bomber kills three policemen and injures seven at a checkpoint in the port city of Aden on the Arabian Sea.

 

A suicide car bomber kills three policemen and injures seven at a checkpoint in the port city of Aden on the Arabian Sea. Gunmen firing their weapons drive through the checkpoint after the bombing on the road linking Aden to Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan, which has fallen under the control of Islamic militants affiliated with al-Qaida. Also, three soldiers and 12 militants are killed in clashes between Islamists and army units advancing on Zinjibar.

The leaders of Tunisia and the Libyan opposition discuss their shared security concerns,

 

The leaders of Tunisia and the Libyan opposition discuss their shared security concerns, vowing to support each other as they rebuild their countries following decades of authoritarian rule. Mahmoud Jibril, the deputy leader of Libya's rebels, said that he and Tunisian Prime Minister Beji Caid Essebsi talked about urgent security questions and long-term coordination.

Latest developments in Arab world's unrest

 

Syrian security forces searching for an alleged high-profile defector from President Bashar Assad's regime kill two people after storming a northern village Saturday, raising the death toll from the past two days to at least 19. The crackdown has drawn international criticism and sanctions. The European Union announced it was banning oil imports from Syria, which will cost the embattled regime millions of dollars each day. While Assad brushed off earlier condemnation as foreign meddling, the oil embargo is significant because Damascus gets about 28 percent of its revenue from the oil trade and sells fuel to France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.

Libya rebels say talks over Bani Walid have failed

 

NEGOTIATIONS aimed at peacefully ending a standoff outside one of Muammar Gaddafi's remaining strongholds southeast of Tripoli have failed and Libyan rebels are waiting for the green light to launch a final assault. Abdullah Kanshil, who was one of the rebel negotiators, said at a rebel checkpoint about 70 kilometres north of Bani Walid, talks had broken down overnight after Gaddafi's chief spokesman Moussa Ibrahim insisted the rebels disarm before entering the town. The rebels said hardcore loyalists are a small minority inside Bani Walid, but are heavily armed and stoking fear to keep other residents from surrendering. "We feel sorry for the people of Bani Walid," Mr Kanshil said, himself a Bani Walid native. "We hope for the best for our city." He said Moussa Ibrahim was inside the city with other regime loyalists and heavily armed supporters.

extraordinary extent of co-operation between MI6, the CIA and Libyan intelligence during the rule of Col Muammar Gaddafi was exposed on Saturday by the release of secret documents found in Tripoli.

cache of papers found at the intelligence headquarters dating from the time it was run by Moussa Koussa, who later became foreign minister and defected in March, showed Libya was handed Islamist opposition members as part of the CIA's "extraordinary rendition" programme.
MI6 also provided extensive information to the Libyan authorities of opponents living in Britain.
The British intelligence services seem to have been more circumspect than their American colleagues, however. Often the files, which were found by Human Rights Watch and shown to The Sunday Telegraph, suggest they restricted themselves to confirming information already known to the Libyans.
It also shows one reason for the co-operation - MI6's belief that Libyan Islamists were playing a central role in funding and supporting al-Qaeda, often via contacts in Iran.
MI6 and the CIA were instrument in the attempts by former Prime Minister Tony Blair to bring Col Gaddafi "in from the cold", started at the time the alleged Lockerbie bombers were handed over for trial in The Hague

 

CIA conducted “extraordinary rendition” in luxury aircraft

As part of its infamous “extraordinary rendition” programme, the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States kidnapped and covertly transported persons across various countries using luxury jets supplied with the connivance of major U.S. corporations, court documents in New York have revealed.

Although the case initially appeared to be an innocent billing dispute between the contractors involved in the transactions was revealed by a human-rights campaign group called Reprieve to be wrangling within a secret network of aviation companies over unsettled bills for flights that had carried CIA prisoners.

Among the CIA's victims, some of whom were said to have been subjected to torture techniques such as water-boarding, was Indonesian terror suspect Riduan Isamuddin. He was reportedly captured in Thailand around 2003 yet spent “the next three years being shuttled among secret prisons operated by the CIA.”

Court documents revealed that a series of “unusual flights” that occurred around the time of Isamuddin's capture included a Gulfstream IV aircraft carrying six passengers on August 12 2003, which flew from Washington DC's Dulles International Airport to Bangkok, “with fuelling stops in Cold Bay, Alaska, and Osaka, Japan.” Prior to its return to the U.S. the same aircraft made further stops in Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates and Ireland, reports said.

Ironically the company that sponsored the supply of aircrafts for this and other flights that touched down in places like Islamabad, Pakistan, was reportedly a one-man aircraft brokerage business on Long Island, New York, called Sportsflight.

When Sportsflight was sued for breach of contract by another company from which it obtained the aircraft, Richmor Aviation of Columbia County, New York, heretofore secret costs and itineraries of a range of CIA rendition flights were entered into the court record before the U.S. government could block it.

The CIA did, however, succeed in a few other cases, where it was said to have invoked “state secrets” as a privilege to shut down litigation over its kidnap-and-transport programme, the Washington Post reported.

Bringing the details of the programme to public scrutiny Reprive said, over 1500 operational and legal documents were uncovered in the New York court case, which was fought from 2007 to 2011. The campaign group said that it had evidence that “a complicated billing chain obscured the ultimate end user of the flights – the CIA... [and] the U.S. government used the same aircraft – tail number N85VM, owned by Liverpool FC owner Philip Morse – for over 55 flights to Guantanamo Bay, Kabul, Bangkok, Dubai, Islamabad, Cairo, Baghdad, Djibouti, Rabat, Frankfurt, Ramstein, Rome, Tenerife, the Azores and Bucharest.”

In what might be a major setback for the U.S. federal government the documents also suggested that the U.S. State Department had been directly involved by supplying a “letter of convenience” to cover all rendition flights.

Reprieve's Legal Director Cori Crider said in a statement, “These documents give us an unprecedented insight into how the government outsourced renditions, right down to the complicated paper-trail the CIA used to cover their tracks.”

 

Gaddafi Gang Rejects Rebel Deadline

Libya’s Gaddafi loyalists have rejected an ultimatum by rebels that called for their surrender or else threatened a major new attack on Sirte, Gaddafi’s birthplace and final stronghold. “No dignified honorable nation would accept an ultimatum from armed gangs,” a regime spokesman told the Associated Press on Wednesday. Instead, the spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim, offered to send Muammar Gaddafi as an intermediary, an idea that rebels swiftly rejected. An attack on Sirte is planned for Saturday if a truce is not reached.

 

Libya's National Transitional Council believes the fugitive former dictator Moamar Gaddafi is in the loyalist-held town of Bani Walid, southeast of the capital, Tripoli.

Libya's National Transitional Council believes the fugitive former dictator Moamar Gaddafi is in the loyalist-held town of Bani Walid, southeast of the capital, Tripoli.