AK47 terror of Brit builder fleeing Libya - mirror.co.uk

AK47 terror of Brit builder fleeing Libya - mirror.co.uk: "British builder fleeing Libya’s violent uprising told last night how he cheated death at the hands of gun-wielding anti-Gaddafi rebels.

Dad-of-two Paul Lynch, 54, was shot at as a violent mob attacked a building site where he was working. Bleeding from a head wound, he was helped to a nearby village and eventually made it to the Egyptian border.

But just 100 yards from safety he was stopped by anti-Gaddafi protesters and had a rifle pointed at his head. “The guy cocked his gun inches from my face,” said Paul, now back home in Birmingham. “I’ll never forget that sound. I thought, ‘This is it.’ I’ve never been as afraid in my entire life. I don’t know how we got out alive.”

Paul’s ordeal began last Saturday at the building site where he and a fellow Brit were overseeing construction of a luxury hotel and penthouse for Colonel Gaddafi’s second son Saif, near the city of Tobruk."

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Somali Pirates Release One Ship, Capture Two | News | English

Somali Pirates Release One Ship, Capture Two | News | English: "Somali pirates are reported to have freed one ship while capturing two others.

The European Union's anti-piracy force said Monday that pirates released a Japanese cargo ship, the MV Izumi, after four-and-a-half months of captivity. A statement said the vessel and its 20-member, all-Filipino crew were freed February 25 and are believed to be headed for a safe port.

The EU force also said pirates have seized a Greek-owned cargo ship off the coast of Oman, an area where Somali pirates have struck in the past. The MV Dover is said to have 23 crew members on board, including 19 Filipinos, three Romanians and one Russian.

Meanwhile, Denmark's foreign ministry said Monday that pirates have captured a yacht carrying seven Danish nationals, three of them children. It says pirates hijacked the yacht in the Indian Ocean late last week and are now sailing it toward Somalia"

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Libyan Rebels Win Backing of U.S., EU as Qaddafi Says `My People Love Me'

Libyan Rebels Win Backing of U.S., EU as Qaddafi Says `My People Love Me'"The U.S. and European nations solidified their support for Libya’s opposition, promising humanitarian aid and planning for a no-fly zone, as leader Muammar Qaddafi declared that “my people love me” and suggested that the U.S. wants to occupy his country.

The European Union today imposed an arms embargo and other sanctions, and the U.S. said it has frozen $30 billion in Libyan assets. The U.S. said refugee-aid teams were sent to Libya’s borders while U.S. American naval and air units were being repositioned in the Mediterranean.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with ministers from the E.U. and Russia in Geneva. The actions by the U.S. and Europe, a major consumer of Libyan oil, were designed to pressure Qaddafi to quit. He has “lost the legitimacy to govern and it is time for him to go without further violence or delay,” Clinton said.

Middle East shares tumbled, sending Dubai’s stock index to the lowest level in almost seven years, as political unrest in the region spread to the Sultanate of Oman and reignited in Tunisia, prompting investors to trim riskier assets."

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Banks must comply with sanctions against Libya: OSFI - Industry news - News Investment Executive

Banks must comply with sanctions against Libya: OSFI - Industry news - News Investment Executive: "The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions has told Canadian banks and other financial institutions that they must comply with sanctions against Libya as soon as possible.

OSFI said Monday that it has advised all federally regulated financial firms that the UN Security Council and the Canadian government are implementing financial sanctions against Libya, including an asset freeze against Moammar Gadhafi and members of his family.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that Canada would go beyond the UN measures and also impose an asset freeze on, and a prohibition of financial transactions with, the government of Libya, and its institutions and agencies, including the Libyan Central Bank.

“These actions will help restrict the movement of, and access to money and weapons for those responsible for violence against the Libyan people,” Harper said.

Canada’s regulations are expected to be posted Monday, and OSFI is in process of preparing a notice regarding implementation, which will be posted on its Web site soon. In the meantime, the federal regulator says that financial firms should note that Canada’s regulations came into effect on February 27, so firms should implement searching, asset freezing and reporting processes immediately."

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EBRD May Be Able to Invest 1 Billion Euros in Egypt, Morocco

EBRD May Be Able to Invest 1 Billion Euros in Egypt, Morocco "The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development may be able to invest as much as 1 billion euros ($1.4 billion) in Egypt and Morocco, according to the bank’s president, Thomas Mirow.

It would take as long as nine months to get full agreement on the loans, Mirow told reporters today in Brussels.

The EBRD, which has fostered the building of market economies in eastern Europe in the past two decades, stands ready to help nations in North Africa and the Middle East, adding to the 29 countries where it invests, Mirow said Feb. 23.

EBRD shareholders approved an increase in the London-based lender’s capital by 50 percent to 30 billion euros last May. That enables it to invest about 52 billion euros until 2015, more than the total investment since it was founded in 1991.

Egypt, a founding shareholder of the EBRD, filed a request in May to be included in the bank’s target region. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was toppled Feb. 11 after anti- government protests."

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chemical weapon fears,West ready to use force against Col Gaddafi

Libya: West ready to use force against Col Gaddafi amid chemical weapon fears - Telegraph: "The Prime Minister disclosed that he would not rule out “the use of military assets” as Britain “must not tolerate this regime using military forces against its own people”. Britain and America are also thought to be considering arming rebel forces in Libya.
Adding to growing concern about the crumbling regime’s ability to commit last desperate acts of mass murder, British sources have disclosed that Libya still has stocks of mustard gas chemicals.
Mr Cameron told MPs that Britain and its allies were considering using fighter jets to impose a no-fly zone over Libya, patrolling and shooting down Libyan aircraft ordered to attack protesters.
The Pentagon announced that the Americans had begun “repositioning forces” around Libya to provide “flexibility”. The French also announced that they would back a possible military intervention with Nato partners.
The warnings were sounded after Gaddafi was accused of ordering Libyan aircraft to attack a radio station being used by rebels in the city of Benghazi. An arms depot being used by anti-government forces was also blown up in the town of Ajdabiya, 100 miles further south."

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US tightens military grip on Gaddafi | World news

US tightens military grip on Gaddafi | World news "The west is edging towards a possible military confrontation with Muammar Gaddafi's regime, as the US deployed naval and air force units around Libya, and David Cameron ordered contingency plans for a no-fly zone.

The prime minister said he had told the Ministry of Defence and the chief of the defence staff to draw up the plans in coordination with Britain's Nato allies and report back to him within days.

A no-fly zone would be designed principally to prevent attacks on Libyan people by the Gaddafi regime – mainly by his helicopter gun ships.

Cameron suggested the UK might even consider arming the Libyan opposition forces if Tripoli used more violence to crush demonstrations."

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: Gaddafi gangs go on crime spree in Tripoli

Gaddafi gangs go on crime spree in Tripoli: "Residents of its eastern Tajoura district spread concrete blocks, large rocks and even chopped-down palm trees as makeshift barricades to prevent the SUVs filled with young men wielding automatic weapons from entering their neighborhood -- a hotspot of previous protests, the Associated Press reported.

With tensions running high in Tripoli, scores of people in the neighborhood turned out at a funeral for a 44-year-old man killed in clashes with pro-regime forces. Anwar Algadi was killed Friday, with the cause of death listed as “a live bullet to the head,” according to his brother, Mohammed.

Armed men in green armbands, along with uniformed security forces check those trying to enter the district, where graffiti that says “Gaddafi, you Jew,” “Down to the dog,” and “Tajoura is free” was scrawled on walls.

Meanwhile dozens of people were severely wounded Saturday in western Libyan after security forces opened fire, the Quryna newspaper reported."

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Libya rescue: UK forces to continue mission

 Libya rescue: UK forces to continue mission: "Further rescue missions are planned to airlift an estimated 300 British nationals still stranded in Libyan desert camps.

Two RAF Hercules flew 150 oil workers, many of them British nationals, to the safety of Malta on Saturday.

Looters are known to operate in the territory south of Benghazi, controlled by opponents of leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Meanwhile, 53 Britons were among 100 on the last government-chartered flight out of Libya to Gatwick on Saturday.

The BBC's Europe editor Gavin Hewitt, who is in Malta, says the RAF flights on Saturday were into an area which was 'relatively safe' because the landing strip had been secured by local militia, and by oil company security.

He says 'there are much more complicated and difficult places where there are still British workers', and rescue plans for them are being worked out.

The Royal Navy frigate HMS Cumberland is also heading back to Benghazi to help with further evacuations.

The Foreign Office has revised upwards its original estimate of the number of British oil workers still in the desert."

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A glimpse into Gaddafi's palace - Africa - Al Jazeera English

A glimpse into Gaddafi's palace - Africa - Al Jazeera English

As pro-democracy demonstrators gain control of more cities in eastern Libya, Muammar Gaddafi's many properties in the hands of protesters have been ransacked and destroyed.
One such palace sits on the outskirts of Benghazi, Libya's second largest city and the de facto capital of the revolution.
Set in beautifully landscaped gardens, with a covered swimming pool, a sauna and a jacuzzi for Gaddafi and his guests, the palace offers a glimpse into the fortified world of a leader said to be suffering from paranoia.
With a fully equipped underground shelter designed to keep the leader safe for several months, in case of an attack involving use of unconventional weapons, the palace is more than just a luxurious castle.
The bunker in the palace has a fully serviced air filter system and is also equipped with emergency generators, fire alarm, water pumps, and a ladder fixed in what could have served as a back emergency exit to help the leader escape.

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Security Council Calls for War Crimes Inquiry in Libya

Security Council Calls for War Crimes Inquiry in Libya - NYTimes.com: "The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously on Saturday night to impose sanctions on Libya’s leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, and his inner circle of advisers, and called for an international war crimes investigation into “widespread and systemic attacks” against Libyan citizens who have protested against his government over the last two weeks."

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UN sanctions Libya, orders ICC probe

UN sanctions Libya, orders ICC probe - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation): "The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted an arms embargo against Libya, a travel and assets ban on Moamer Gaddafi's regime and ordered a crimes against humanity investigation into the bloodshed.

The council made a new demand for an immediate end to attacks on civilians by Mr Gaddafi's loyalists which it said had been incited 'from the highest level of the Libyan government.'

The UN says more than 1,000 people have been killed in the unrest.

The travel ban and assets will target the 68-year-old Libyan leader, seven of his sons and daughter Aisha, other family members and top defence and intelligence officials accused of playing a role in the bloodshed.

Sixteen names are on the sanctions list."

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Wheels have come off our 'Rolls-Royce' Civil Service. Cameron needs to fix it

Wheels have come off our 'Rolls-Royce' Civil Service. Cameron needs to fix it  "If the first duty of government is the protection of its citizens, then the Coalition came perilously close to failure this week. It got sand in its engine as it tried and failed to swiftly bring British nationals in Libya home to safety.

The Government has resembled little more than a budget airline as flights have been delayed, rescheduled and cancelled with those on the ground given scandalously
little information. To add insult to injury, those in peril have been left trying to make an international call from a country in chaos as the Libyan-based helpline number had been cut as part of a cost-saving exercise. Both the Prime Minister and the Foreign
Secretary have been left with nothing to say but sorry.

If this was not enough, the past few days have been characterised by a series of other blunders."

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