Gaddafi's mercenaries paraded at gunpoint

The price of war: Gaddafi's mercenaries paraded at gunpoint as rebels continue to seize Libyan cities : "The town of Zawiya, just 30 miles west of Tripoli, is marvelling at the miracle of its own liberation. In the town square today, thousands were chanting 'Down, Down with the regime!' - the same chant which helped topple dictatorships in neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt. Posters of Libya's leader have been torn down, the police station is a smouldering...

End this official silence on the SAS

End this official silence on the SAS | Richard Norton-Taylor | Comment is free | The Guardian: "The letters SAS conjure up exotic, dangerous, and covert operations. This week the media had every reason to highlight the role played by Britain's special forces in supporting the missions...

UK rescue plane had a 'narrow escape'

 Libya unrest: UK rescue plane had a 'narrow escape': "Disaster was narrowly averted when small arms fire entered the cockpit of a RAF C130 Hercules evacuating Britons and foreign nationals from Libya, it has emerged. One round bounced off the pilot's helmet but he was unscathed...

Welsh oilmen tell of Libya rescue by British forces

Welsh oilmen tell of Libya rescue by British forces: "Two oil workers from south Wales have told how British forces rescued them from Libya. Marsden Sims, 63, a civil engineer from Tonyrefail, was among 218 British and foreign nationals taken to Malta on board HMS Cumberland on...

Libya and Tunisia prompt France foreign policy changes

 Libya and Tunisia prompt France foreign policy changes: "Stung by criticism they were slow to react to the crises in Egypt and Tunisia, the French are moving to regain the initiative in north Africa. On Sunday night came the widely expected resignation of Foreign Minister Michelle Alliot-Marie, embroiled in weeks of controversy surrounding her handling of the Tunisian crisis. Now comes a French move to win hearts and minds in the new Libya:...

International Pressure on Qaddafi Intensifies

International Pressure on Qaddafi Intensifies : "An international campaign to force Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi out of office gathered pace on Monday as the European Union adopted an arms embargo and other sanctions, the opposition showed increasing signs of organization in the east, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton bluntly told the Libyan leader to surrender power “now, without further violence or delay...

Former SAS troops put their skills on private market in hotspots like Libya

Former SAS troops put their skills on private market in hotspots like Libya .YOU find them wherever there is conflict, civil war, domestic terrorism, major organised crime or a natural disaster. Members of The Circuit are drawn to danger zones not for money or romance, but because it’s the job they know bes...

Mohamed Bouazizi set fire to himself on December 17

Mohamed Bouazizi set fire to himself on December 17, he ignited a revolution across the entire Arab region. The 26-year-old Tunisian died of his injuries on January 5 and the impact of his self-immolation has since spread far beyond the borders of his own country. Few nations have remained immune, with full-scale uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen and Libya. To date, the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt have resigned. The absolute monarchy...

Libyan rebels set for battle with troops

The regime, eager to reinforce its view that Libya was calm and under its control, took visiting journalists to Zawiya, 30 miles west of the Tripoli yesterday. But the tour merely confirmed that rebels controlled the centre of the city of 200,000 people. The charred hulks of cars...

Libyan rebels set for battle with troops - Africa, World - The Independent

Libyan rebels set for battle with troops - Africa, World - The Independent: "The regime, eager to reinforce its view that Libya was calm and under its control, took visiting journalists to Zawiya, 30 miles west of the Tripoli yesterday.But the tour merely confirmed that rebels controlled the centre of the city of 200,000 people.The charred hulks of cars littered the city, many buildings were pockmarked by bullets, and most streets were blocked by...

Apology for a solution to crisis management

"Those Britons still stranded in Libya can take comfort: their Prime Minister is “extremely sorry”. David Cameron is about as sorry, in fact, as it is possible for a prime minister to be before the word abject springs to mind. His compatriots are just sorry they’re not Dutch, German,...

Libya was the Coalition's first big test - and they failed it

Libya was the Coalition's first big test - and they failed it - mirror.co.uk: "How right he was! And now we see what happens when you put boys in men’s jobs. A Tory-led government of bumbling amateurs, in total confusion, life-and-death danger facing Britons caught up the Libyan...

RAF planes rescue 150 from Libya

 RAF planes rescue 150 from Libya: "Two RAF Hercules have rescued about 150 workers from the Libyan desert, Defence Secretary Liam Fox has said. The planes, carrying Britons and other foreign nationals, have reached Malta. Fears had been growing for British citizens left in...

Qaddafi Vows More Deadly Attacks as Army Units Defect

Qaddafi Vows More Deadly Attacks as Army Units Defect: "Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi vowed to fight a growing rebellion until his 'last drop of blood,' as parts of the capital of Tripoli resembled a war zone and some of his followers and troops defected to the opposition. In Tripoli,...

SAS in Libya ready to help stranded Britons

SAS in Libya ready to help stranded Britons "THE SAS has flown a snatch squad into Libya as fears grew for the safety of hundreds of stranded British citizens. A source said: “We can no longer rest on our laurels. Everything is now being done to get our people home safely so...

Moamer Kadhafi set for battle

Moamer Kadhafi set for battle "Embattled leader Moamer Kadhafi offered to arm civilians to defeat a popular revolt that poses the worst threat to his four-decade rule. The UN Security Council called a special session to consider a sanctions resolution against the Libyan leader on top of those from President Barack Obama and the European Union in a clear attempt to weaken his teetering regime. The escalating revolt to overthrow Kadhafi, which...

Gaddafi threatens to 'burn all of Libya' if protesters do not cease

Gaddafi threatens to 'burn all of Libya' if protesters do not cease "Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi has threatened to 'burn all of Libya' if the citizens do not cease protests against him. In a surprise televised appearance, Gaddafi warned he was ready to unleash further bloodshed...

‘SAS swoop to rescue Aberdeen oil workers from Libya’

‘SAS swoop to rescue Aberdeen oil workers from Libya’ - Evening Express: "SPECIAL forces troops have been drafted in to rescue Aberdeen oil workers stranded in crisis-hit Libya, it was claimed today. It was understood the SAS is involved in the operation to recover expats from remote...

Libya: SAS return to land of its birth

Libya: SAS return to land of its birth |: "The places evoke past battles and names of celebrated commanders: Tobruk, Tripoli, Monty, Rommel, Wavell, Auchinleck. In some of the most significant battles of the second world war, British-led troops in the western desert pushed the axis...

SAS to rescue British oil workers stranded in Libyan desert

SAS poised to rescue British oil workers stranded in Libyan desert "SAS troops, with a unit of paras in support, are poised to help an estimated 150 British oil company workers stranded in isolated parts of the Libyan desert. They were believed to be on standby in Malta ready to...

Libya unrest: Britons urged to flee Tripoli

Libya unrest: Britons urged to flee Tripoli: "Any Britons still in the Libyan capital Tripoli have been urged to board the final government-chartered rescue flight due to leave the country later. Foreign Secretary William Hague said it was 'very important' to get on board as violent...

Libya revolt: Tripoli braced as Gaddafi arms supporters

 Tripoli braced as Gaddafi arms supporters: "People in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, are braced for further battles after the country's leader, Col Muammar Gaddafi, said he would open weapons depots to arm his supporters. Evacuations of thousands of foreign workers are continuing,...

Gunfire erupts in Libyan capital

Gunfire erupts in Libyan capital | Herald Sun: "Libya's third city, Misurata, just 160km east of the capital, was deserted by regime loyalists Friday, a resident said, although deadly clashes were still raging at a nearby air base. Al Jazeera reported that the western border with...

Libya Moves to Bribe Its People into Peace

 Libya Moves to Bribe Its People into Peace - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency: "In a desperate bid to hold on to power, the embattled Libyan government announced Friday it mulls a significant increase in wages and more food subsidies for its people. Libyan TV reports have...

Gadhafi has always threatened Libyans with annihilation

Mansour El-Kikhia: Gadhafi will stop at nothing to remain in power; Obama needs to do more – Parker Spitzer - CNN.com Blogs: "Gadhafi has always threatened Libyans with annihilation. He imprisoned tortured, and murdered at will without restraint. Hundreds of Libyans have died under...

US considers closing embassy in Tripoli-official

US considers closing embassy in Tripoli-official | Reuters: "United States is considering closing its embassy in Tripoli amid violence between supporters of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and anti-government protesters, a U.S. official said on Friday. The official, speaking on condition...

Libya unrest: Gaddafi's supporters carrying heavy arms don't want the people to gather. .

 Libya unrest: Eyewitness accounts: "people are just horrified. Gaddafi's supporters carrying heavy arms don't want the people to gather. They were just coming out in a crowd. They caused a massacre. They started even shooting at whoever wanted to check what happened to the...

Libyan Military Officers Defect : The Two-Way : NPR

Libyan Military Officers Defect : The Two-Way : NPR: "Eastern Libya appears to be controlled by forces and protesters who oppose embattled Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. NPR's Lourdes Garcia Navarro entered the region and tells Morning Edition the Libyans she's spoken to fear that...

Hungary: suspected Nazi war criminal Sandor Képiró to face trial - Foreign - The Sofia Echo

Hungary: suspected Nazi war criminal Sandor Képiró to face trial - Foreign - The Sofia Echo: "Former Hungarian gendarmerie officer Sándor Képíró has been indicted for alleged war crimes committed almost 70 years ago, the Budapest prosecutor’s office announced on February 14. Képíró,...

Serbia police search for Croatian Serb fugitive sought by UN war crimes tribunal

 Serbia police search for Croatian Serb fugitive sought by UN war crimes tribunal: "Serbian police are searching three locations as part of efforts to capture Goran Hadzic, one of the two remaining fugitives sought by a U.N. war crimes court. Interior Minister Ivica Dacic says...

Serbian police general guilty of Kosovo war crimes

Serbian police general guilty of Kosovo war crimes: "The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) Wednesday sentenced Serbian police general Vlastimir Djordjevic to 27 years in prison for war crimes in the Kosovo conflict. Djordjevic, 62, was found guilty...

Gaddafi 'will follow Hitler's footsteps' | Herald Sun

Gaddafi 'will follow Hitler's footsteps' | Herald Sun: "ONE of Muammar Gaddafi's former ministers has predicted that the Libyan leader will follow in Adolph Hitler's footsteps by committing suicide, rather than give up power. Mustapha Abdeljalil, justice minister until he quit over...

Yemeni Mine Blast Raises Tension - WSJ.com

Yemeni Mine Blast Raises Tension - WSJ.com: "A mine placed on the route of an antigovernment protest exploded prematurely, killing one and injuring two while raising tensions further in the country. The explosion occurred in Lawder, a town notorious for antigovernment feeling. No...

Gaddafi is ecccentric but the firm master of his regime, Wikileaks cables say

Gaddafi is ecccentric but the firm master of his regime, Wikileaks cables say: "Moammar Gaddafi, Libya's strongman ruler, is commonly portrayed as an egomaniacal buffoon - an autocrat with an affinity for incomprehensible speeches and a flair for the melodramatic. But as seen through...

Soldier faces international scrutiny, death penalty

Soldier faces international scrutiny, death penalty: "An Indiana soldier charged with murder is making international headlines. I-Team 8 investigated how the Indiana soldier is sitting within two of the more controversial aspects of the war in Afghanistan. It includes the controversy of the strained relationship between the U.S. and Afghan President Karzai and how the military treats soldiers with mental instability in the war zone. Indiana soldier...

Afghanistan violence to rise in 2011: U.S. military

Afghanistan violence to rise in 2011: U.S. military | Reuters: "The prediction by Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, signals an escalation in the nearly decade-old conflict even as the United States prepares to start withdrawing troops in July. 'We expect...

Exposed: The lie that led us into Iraq - The Week

Exposed: The lie that led us into Iraq - The Week: "IRAQ WAR Exposed: The lie that led us into Iraq The Iraqi defector who claimed Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction has finally confessed that he made the whole thing up. An instant guide POSTED ON FEBRUARY 16, 2011,...

Pregnant soldier on front line

The Press Association: Pregnant soldier on front line: "British soldier served on the front line in Afghanistan while she was seven months' pregnant, it has been revealed. Sources said Private Kayla Donnelly, 21, did not know she was carrying her baby while fighting in Helmand province from March to September last year. The machine gunner from 12 Logistic Support only discovered she was pregnant with her son Josh when her contractions began while...

Blast photographer wounds 'severe'

The Press Association: Blast photographer wounds 'severe': "The family of a London photographer blown up by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan have said in a statement that his injuries are 'severe and complex'. Giles Duley, 39, underwent multiple amputations after the blast in Kandahar on Monday last week, before being flown back to the UK. He had been embedded with US troops when he was critically injured by an improvised explosive device. He was brought...

UK soldier killed in Afghanistan blast named

BBC News - UK soldier killed in Afghanistan blast named: "A soldier killed in a blast in southern Afghanistan on Monday has been named by the Ministry of Defence. L/Cpl Kyle Cleet Marshall, of the 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, died after being caught in a roadside bomb blast in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province. The 23-year-old, from Newcastle upon Tyne, had been due to marry his fiancee, Hayley, in July. The UK death toll...

Army parade protesters lose appeal

The Press Association: Army parade protesters lose appeal: "The focus on minority rights 'should not result in overlooking the rights of the majority' when it comes to freedom of speech, the High Court has said. Two judges were rejecting appeals by five Muslim men who staged a protest as British soldiers who had recently returned from Afghanistan paraded through Luton. They ruled the protests, which included accusing the troops of being 'rapists,...

Villagers fear RAF cuts

Villagers fear RAF cuts: "One North Yorkshire community has expressed concerns about the impact of RAF cuts on their village. The RAF is facing a 25% cut in trainee pilots as part of the defence review. It is not known how many trainees at RAF Linton-on-Ouse will lose their jobs, but villagers say many local services depend on the base. Many customers in the village shop, the local pub and some of the children at the local school are from, or have...

Fire death soldiers in Afghanistan named

BBC News - Fire death soldiers in Afghanistan named: "Two British soldiers who died on Monday in a fire at Camp Bastion in southern Afghanistan have been named by the Ministry of Defence. Early signs suggested Pte Robert Wood and Pte Dean Hutchinson, both of The Royal Logistic Corps, died after a domestic fire at the base in Helmand. The cause is being investigated but it is not thought to be the result of enemy action, the MoD said." :Text may...