Libyan sues Nato over family deaths

A Libyan sought damages against Nato in a Belgian civil court yesterday, accusing the alliance of killing his wife and three children in an air strike, his lawyer said yesterday.

Khaled Hemidi says his wife and children were killed in a bombing west of Tripoli on June 20 that had targetted his father, Khuwildi Hemidi, who is close to the regime of Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi and escaped unharmed.

Nato said at the time that warplanes had struck a high-level command and control centre in Sorman, 70 kilometres from Tripoli.

The regime charged that 15 people, including three children, were killed, but Nato insisted that the target was of military nature and that it goes to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties.

US Senate confirms Locke as China envoy

Former US commerce secretary Gary Locke won unanimous Senate confirmation yesterday as ambassador to Beijing, becoming the first Chinese-American to hold the prestigious and difficult diplomatic post.

Locke, whose grandfather came from China to the United States on a steamboat, promised during his smooth confirmation hearings to be a forceful advocate for human rights and for US businesses.

The new envoy, 61, succeeds Republican former Utah governor Jon Huntsman, who left Beijing some three months ago and has mounted a run against former boss President Barack Obama in the November 2012 elections.

Locke takes over at a time of tensions in US-China relations, which have been fraught over a range of disputes including on Beijing's export-driven economic policies, growing military spending and human rights record.

And US lawmakers, locked in a angry debate over cash-strapped Washington's debt, have increasingly painted China's status as the country's largest foreign creditor as a source of concern.

Senators approved Locke by voice vote.

He grew up in Seattle's public housing projects and worked his way through Yale University, eventually becoming a prosecutor and the governor of Washington state. He had been commerce secretary since 2009.

He said during his senate confirmation hearings that he would use his personal story to reach out to China's people, but not shy away from sensitive issues like his "vigorous disagreement" with Beijing's leaders on human rights.

"The protection and the promotion of liberty and freedom are fundamental tenets of US foreign policy, and if confirmed, I will clearly and firmly advocate for upholding universal rights in China," Locke said.

Locke, pointing to his work in Obama's cabinet, said he would also fight for US businesses by pressing for protection of intellectual property and for the right of foreign firms to compete for government contracts.

Under questioning by senators, Locke said he would put a top priority on non-proliferation and that Beijing "can, definitely, and must do more" to rein in North Korea -- whose reclusive leader Kim Jong-Il recently visited China.

Senators also voiced concerns about China's military strength against Taiwan and the value of its currency, which critics accuse Beijing of keeping artificially low to boost exports.

Libya condemns UK’s recognising rebels

Tripoli has condemned the UK for recognising the rebels as Libya's "sole governmental authority" after similar moves by France and the US.
Khaled Kaim, deputy foreign minister in Muammar Gaddafi's government, told reporters the decision was unprecedented and irresponsible.
Libya would seek to reverse the decision through the courts, he said.
Britain has ordered the expulsion of all eight remaining Gaddafi diplomats in the UK.
The rebel leadership, the National Transitional Council (NTC), has put forward Mahmud al-Naku, a writer and journalist, as the new Libyan ambassador in London.
He told the BBC he has been in exile for 33 years because of his opposition to the Gaddafi regime.
Foreign Secretary William Hague said the NTC had shown its commitment to a "more open and democratic Libya... in stark contrast to Gaddafi whose brutality against the Libyan people [had] stripped him of all legitimacy".
The green flag of the Gaddafi government was still flying outside the Libyan embassy in Knightsbridge on Wednesday afternoon as protesters carrying the red, green and black flag of the rebels gathered outside.
Following the US decision to recognise the NTC two weeks ago, the BBC has been told the US has now received an "official request" from the rebels to reopen the Libyan embassy in Washington.
US officials say they are "reviewing" the request.
Libyan rebels and pro-Gaddafi forces are still locked in battle, five months after an uprising began against Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule, as Nato continues to enforce a UN-backed no-fly zone over the country.
'Surprise decision'
Kaim said the British decision was "unprecedented in diplomatic history".
"It's illegal, it's irresponsible and for us it was a surprise to happen from the British Government because, I mean, if other countries will [follow] Britain, then the international diplomacy will be chaos," he told reporters in Tripoli.
"Of course it both violates national British laws and international law. Specifically the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations of 1961," he said.
"I personally consider it a stain on the forehead of Britain," he added. Libya, he added, would try to reverse the decision by taking legal action in both British courts and the International Court of Justice.
The deputy foreign minister also condemned Britain and France for supporting the rebels in eastern Libya. They were, he said, "flogging a dead horse".
Col Gaddafi's charge d'affaires, Khaled Benshaban, is being given three days to leave while his colleagues' fate will be decided on a "case-by-case basis", the Foreign Office said.
Hague told reporters in London that a recent meeting of the Libya contact group in Istanbul had decided to treat the NTC as the legitimate government authority in Libya - and he was outlining the UK's response.
The UK previously said it recognised "countries not governments" but the British foreign secretary argued it was a "unique situation" and recognising the NTC could help "legally in the unfreezing of some assets".
The British government will now be able to unfreeze £91m ($149m, 102m euros) in assets from a Libyan oil company but not other Libyan assets frozen in the UK, which total about £12bn.
Libya's rebels have been saying for weeks that they need more money from the international community to pay for salaries and food supplies.
In the rebel stronghold Benghazi, NTC chairman Mustafa Abdul-Jalil praised the British decision as an economic and political boost.
The new ambassador to London, Mahmoud al-Naku, told the BBC Col Gaddafi could not stay in Libya once he was overthrown.
"Thanks to the brave men on the ground who now surround the main cities, we hope in a few weeks [the rebels] will arrive to Tripoli," he said.
Meanwhile, outside the embassy in London, about 20 demonstrators chanted, "We want to say thank you UK".
"I was so happy I cried," one of them, 57-year-old Muftah Abdelsamad, told AFP news agency.
"We have been wanting this for six months now. It will put pressure on Gaddafi to leave the country because there is no other way for him. Soon we will have freedom and democracy in Libya."

 

Norway Massacre

Norwegian domestic intelligence chief Janne Kristiansen has told the BBC no evidence has so far been found linking Anders Behring Breivik with far-right extremists in Norway or elsewhere.
But Kristiansen said she thought he had acted completely on his own. She also cast doubt on suggestions by Breivik's lawyer that he was insane.
Kristiansen, who heads Norway's Police Security Service, told the BBC: "We don't have indications that he has been part of a broader movement or that he has been in connection with other cells or that there are other cells."
But she added that the possible existence of accomplices was being investigated. "I don't think there is any limits to the evil in this person's head," she said. "We can't take any chance with this person."
About contacts with right-wing activists in the UK or other countries, she said: "We are in close contact with our sister services in Europe, America and elsewhere."
Denying suggestions that Breivik was insane, Kristiansen described him as calculating and someone who sought the limelight.
The bomb in the capital Oslo targeted buildings connected to Norway's Labour government, while the mass shooting occurred at an annual Labour Party youth camp on a small island, Utoeya.
Breivik has said he had wanted to inflict maximum damage on the party, which he accuses of failing the country on immigration, according to his lawyer.
The lawyer, Geir Lippestad, said it was too early to say if his client would plead insanity, even though "this whole case indicated that he is insane".
In her BBC interview, Kristiansen also defended the actions of Norwegian police - who have been criticised for taking 90 minutes to get to Utoeya after the shooting began.
She said the island was "quite a way away" from Oslo, and that officers had got there as quickly as they could.
The leader of Norway's Delta Force, a special-operations unit, said the breakdown of a police boat did not cause any significant delay.
Anders Snortheimsmoen told reporters that the team had immediately found an alternative boat to reach Utoeya.
Early on yesterday, parts of Oslo's central station were briefly evacuated after a suitcase was left on a bus. Police later said nothing suspicious had been found in it.
Meanwhile police say they have detonated a cache of explosives found at a farm north of Oslo which Breivik had rented.
Friday's massacre prompted up to a quarter of a million people to take to the streets of Oslo on Monday to commemorate the victims.
The names and addresses of the first four confirmed victims were published on Tuesday on the Norwegian police's website.
They were listed as Gunnar Linaker, 23; Tove Ashill Knutsen, 56; Hanna M Orvik Endresen, 61; and Kai Hauge, 32.
It is also known that Crown Princess Mette-Marit's stepbrother, Trond Berntsen, an off-duty police officer, was among those killed at the youth camp, as was Tore Eikeland, 21, who was named by Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg at a memorial service on Sunday.

Breivik

 

The no-kids-allowed movement is spreading

What's the matter with kids today and why doesn't anyone want them around? In June, Malaysia Airlines banned babies from many of their first class cabins, prompting other major airlines to consider similar policies.

Lately, complaints about screaming kids are being taken seriously, not only by airlines, but by hotels, movie theaters, restaurants, and even grocery stores.

Read more about restaurants around the country banning kids.
 Earlier this month, McDain's, a Pittsburgh area restaurant that banned kids under 6 became a mascot for the no-kids-zone movement.

According to a Pittsburgh local news poll, more than half of area residents were in favor of the ban. And now big business is paying attention.

"Brat bans could well be the next frontier in destination and leisure-product marketing," writes Robert Klara in an article on the child-free trend in AdWeek.

Klara points to Leavethembehind.com, a travel website for kid-free vacations, with a massive list of yoga retreats, luxury resorts and bargain hotels around the world that ban children.

"Call me a grinch, a misanthrope, a DINK (dual-income-no-kids), or the anti-cute-police, but I hate (hate a thousand times over) ill-behaved children/infants/screaming banshees in upscale restaurants (ok, anywhere, really, but I don’t want any death threats)," writes Charlotte Savino on Travel and Leisure's blog. She lists a slew of a popular destination restaurants with kid-free areas and policies for travelers looking for quiet vacation dining.

Traveling is one thing, but what about in kids' own hometowns? Should kids been banned from local movie theaters, like they were at a recent adults-only Harry Potter screening? In Texas, one cinema chain has even flipped the model, banning kids under six altogether, except on specified "baby days".

Even running errands with toddlers may be off limits.  This summer Whole Foods stores in Missouri are offering child-free shopping hours and in Florida, a controversy brews over whether kids can be banned from a condominium's outdoor area. That's right, some people don't even want kids outdoors.

When did kids become the equivalent of second-hand smoke? Blame a wave of childless adults with money to spare. "Empty nesters continue to wield a huge swath of discretionary spending dollars, and population dips in first-world countries mean more childless couples than ever," writes AdWeek's Klara.

Catering to the child-free community may be good for business but is it good for parents? It could help narrow choices and make kid-friendly environments even kid-friendlier.  And let's be honest, babies won't miss flying first class. They won't even remember it. But their moms and dads will.

Most parents with young children have self-imposed limits on spending and leisure. This new movement imposes limits set by the public. And the public isn't as child-friendly as it used to be.  As businesses respond to their new breed of 'first-class' clientele, are parents in danger of becoming second-class citizens?

 

Three stories of survival

The world is a dangerous place. Three amazing stories of survival in the face of bears, snakes, and a rogue kangaroo are sweeping the Web. We're happy to report that all three incidents have relatively happy endings.

Teenagers escape bear attack
 When 17-year-old Samuel Gottsegen traveled to Alaska to be part of an outdoor training program, he probably never dreamed that his survival training would be put to such a test. But that's exactly what happened.

While hiking with a small group about 120 miles north of Anchorage, Gottsegen came face-to-snout with a very angry bear. The group tried to run away, but the bear caught up to Gottsegen, bit into his head, and pierced his lung. In an interview with "Good Morning America," the teen explained that he and another student received the worst of the attack. He also mentioned that he had anti-bear spray, sort of like mace for bears, but there was no time to pull it out. The bear was just too fast. You can watch Gottsegen's interview in the video clip above.

Though the teens' injuries were severe, no one was killed. Again according to "Good Morning America," the bear eventually left the group of kids, who then signaled for help. They were rescued several hours later by helicopter. Gottsegen left with scary bite marks and a story we're sure he'll be telling his grandchildren.

Man survives three days in sewage pipe
 As horrible as a bear attack must be, it may not outrank getting stuck in a tight space with a bunch of snakes on the terror-meter. Kevin Gonterman spent three days trapped in a sewage pipe that was slithering with snakes. Gonterman had been missing for several days when he was finally found at the bottom of a 30 foot manhole.

Rescuers retrieved Gonterman, who after several days of being bitten by snakes and without food and water, understandably was said to be delirious. There was no immediate word on how Gonterman fell into the hole. Houston papers reported that the 25-year-old was immediately taken to the hospital.

Kangaroo attacks 94-year-old woman
 Phyllis Johnson was minding her own business, hanging up her laundry in her backyard in Queensland, Australia, when a rogue kangaroo attacked her. Johnson suffered some bruises and cuts and was taken to the hospital following her run-in with the angry marsupial.

Police responded to the call and subdued the kangaroo with pepper spray. After being sprayed the first time, the "Big Red" kangaroo hopped toward another officer, who sprayed it again. It is unusual, as MSNBC reports, for kangaroos to wander into urban areas. Fortunately, the police were prepared.

 .

Norway suspect deems killings atrocious but needed.

 A suspected right-wing fanatic accused of killing at least 92 people deemed his acts "atrocious" yet "necessary" as Norway mourned victims of the nation's worst attacks since World War Two.

Police were hunting on Sunday to see if a possible second gunman took part in the shooting massacre and bomb attack on Friday that traumatized a normally peaceful Nordic country.

In his first comment via a lawyer since he was arrested, 32-year-old Norwegian Anders Behring Breivik expressed willingness to explain himself in court at a hearing likely to be held on Monday about extending protective custody.

"He has said that he believed the actions were atrocious, but that in his head they were necessary," lawyer Geir Lippestad told independent TV2 news.

Police said Breivik gave himself up after admitting to a massacre in which at least 85 people died, mostly young people attending a summer camp of the youth wing of Norway's ruling Labour Party on an idyllic island.

Breivik was also arrested for the bombing of Oslo's government district that killed seven people hours earlier. Norway's toughest sentence is 21 years in jail.

Survivors, relatives of those killed and supporters planned a procession to mourn the dead at Sundvollen on Sunday, near the island where the massacre took place.

King Harald would attend a service in Oslo cathedral, a few hundred meters (yards) from where a bomb devastated government buildings including the offices of Labour Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.

Police said they were seeking several missing people and the toll could rise to 98, in the worst case.

Lippestad, speaking late on Saturday, did not give more details of possible motives by Breivik.

Breivik hated "cultural marxists," wanted a "crusade" against the spread of Islam and liked guns and weightlifting, web postings, acquaintances and officials said.

A video posted to the YouTube website showed several pictures of Breivik, including one of him in a Navy Seal type scuba diving outfit pointing an automatic weapon.

"Before we can start our crusade we must do our duty by decimating cultural marxism," said a caption under the video called "Knights Templar 2083" on the YouTube website, which took down the video on Saturday.

A Norwegian website provided a link to a 1,500 page electronic manifesto which says Breivik was the author. It was not possible to verify who posted the video or wrote the book.

"Once you decide to strike, it is better to kill too many than not enough, or you risk reducing the desired ideological impact of the strike," the book said.

Norway has traditionally been open to immigration, which has been criticized by the Progress Party, of which Breivik was for a short time a member. The Labour Party, whose youth camp Breivik attacked, has long been in favor of immigration.

About 100 people stood solemnly early on Sunday at a makeshift vigil near Oslo's main church, laying flowers and lighting candles. Soldiers with guns and wearing bullet-proof vests blocked streets leading to the government district.

"We are all in sorrow, everybody is scared," said Imran Shah, a Norwegian taxi driver of Pakistani heritage, as a light summer drizzle fell on unusually empty Oslo streets.

"At first, people thought Muslims were behind this," he said of some initial suspicions that the attacks might have been by Al Qaeda perhaps in protest at NATO-member Norway's role in Afghanistan or Iraq.

Some terrified survivors of the shooting rampage said bullets came from at least two sides.

"We are not at all certain" about whether he acted alone, police chief Sveinung Sponheim said. "That is one of the things that the investigation will concentrate on."

Police took almost 1.5 hours to stop the massacre, the worst by a single gunman in modern times. "The response time from when we got the message was quick. There were problems with transport out to the island," he said, defending the delay.

Witnesses said the gunman, wearing a police uniform, was able to shoot unchallenged for a prolonged period. He picked off his victims on Utoeya island northwest of Oslo forcing youngsters to scatter in panic or to jump into the lake to swim for the mainland.

"I heard screams. I heard people begging for their lives and I heard shots. He just blew them away," Labour Party youth member Erik Kursetgjerde, 18, told Reuters.

"I was certain I was going to die," he said. "People ran everywhere. They panicked and climbed into trees. People got trampled."

The bloodbath was believed to be the deadliest attack by a lone gunman anywhere in modern times.

The suspect, tall and blond, owned an organic farming company called Breivik Geofarm, which a supply firm said he had used to buy fertilizer -- possibly to make the Oslo bomb.

Home-grown anti-government militants have struck elsewhere in the past, notably in the United States, where Timothy McVeigh killed 168 people with a truck bomb in Oklahoma City in 1995.

The district attacked is the heart of power in Norway. But security is not tight in a country unused to such violence and better known for awarding the Nobel Peace Prize and mediating in conflicts, including the Middle East and Sri Lanka.

Whale Shark Swim

This diver was almost sucked into the mouth of a massive whale shark as it fed on plankton off Isla Mujeres, Mexico! 

Health group bashes high-calorie restaurant food

A pork belly-topped cheeseburger, a sandwich stuffed with mozzarella sticks, and a 1,540-calorie slice of cheesecake were among the dishes that a health advocacy group singled out on Tuesday for over-the-top fat and sodium content.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest unveiled the group of "honorees," including Denny's Corp, Cheesecake Factory Inc, Kahala Corp's Cold Stone Creamery, and DineEquity Inc's Applebee's and IHOP.
According to the group, the typical person should limit calorie intake to 2,000 a day, as well as keep saturated fat below 20 grams (0.7 ounce) and sodium below 1,500 milligrams.

Six year old girl.

A 6-year-old girl named Reagan Kennedy was playing golf with her family at a course in Bloomington, Ill., when the youngster knocked her tee shot on the 85-yard par-3 in the cup for an ace.

Milky Way(photo only)

Karzai's brother's death.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai was Wednesday to lead mourners at the funeral of his half-brother, gunned down a day earlier by his own head of security in the southern city of Kandahar.

Ahmed Wali Karzai, dogged for years by allegations of unsavoury links to the country's lucrative opium trade and private security firms, and reportedly on the payroll of the CIA, was the government's key powerbroker in the south.