Thousands call for reforms in Morocco

A file photo of nationwide protests in Morocco

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/191776.html

Thousands of protesters have poured into the streets across Morocco, demanding better living conditions and social justice.

About 4,000 people protested in the country's biggest city Casablanca and about 5,000 in the northern city of Tangier on Sunday, local government officials said, Reuters reported.

The protesters also demanded that the power of the North African country's King Mohammed VI be further curbed.

Also in the capital Rabat, hundreds of protesters chanted slogans against King Mohammed, calling for a "change that marks a break with the past.”

The demonstrations coincided with the ceremony of allegiance with the king, where hundreds of regional representatives pledged their allegiance to the Moroccan monarch.

The protesters also challenged the newly amended constitution, arguing that the reforms proposed by the king don't go far enough.

Based on the draft of the new constitution that has been announced by the king -- and amended by a special committee chosen by the king himself -- more power has been given to the country's prime minister and the parliament.

Moreover, under the new constitution, the king, who has a “spiritual” position, is allowed to interfere in selecting ministers, military commanders, and other national figures.

The Sunday rallies came a day after King Mohammed called for speedy parliamentary elections, saying, “A new head of government can be named from the party which comes first."

"This protest is not meant to be a response to the allegiance ceremony. It is our response to the overall political climate in the country," said activist Mohamed al-Aouni.

Inspired by popular revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, tens of thousands of Moroccans have been taking part in protests in Casablanca, Rabat and other Moroccan towns since February 20, calling for political and social reforms.

Moroccans approve new constitution

Morocco's King Mohammed VI

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/187126.html

Moroccans have approved a new constitution that curbs the powers of King Mohammed VI, the interior minister has announced.

Moroccan Interior Minister Taib Cherkaoui said the referendum on a new constitution was approved by 98 percent of voters and the turnout was 72.65 percent at the 94 percent of the polling stations reporting so far, AFP reported on Saturday.

"The referendum went ahead in a normal atmosphere, and showed the degree of interaction between the people and the content of the constitutional project," Cherkaoui said.

Thirty percent of voters were under the age of 35, according to the Moroccan interior minister.

The constitutional referendum was the first under King Mohammed's 12-year rule.

The new constitution grants executive powers to a prime minister. However, the king remains the head of the military, religious authorities, and judiciary.

King Mohammed has described the reforms as a “decisive historic transition.”

Britain conspiring sanctions on Belarus

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/185494.html

The British government is pushing for fresh EU sanctions including a full arms embargo against Belarus on the pretext of violating human rights.

Foreign Secretary William Hague will outline the new set of sanctions at a meeting of the EU's Foreign Affairs Council in Luxemburg, the daily The Independent reported.

The sanctions include a full weapons embargo, a ban on visas and freezing the assets of close associates of Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko.

Britain's call for more sanctions against Belarus comes as the country is grappling with various internal woes, including deteriorating financial situation, bad human rights records and illegitimate and inhumane military interventions around the world.

Latest revelations show the UK government has been funding and training the forces of some of the world's despotic rulers including those of Bahrain and Yemen, whom are cracking down on their own people's call for freedom and reforms.

The British military has also been training Saudi Arabia's national guard, which is helping Bahraini regime in killing and silencing pro-democracy protesters in Manama and elsewhere in the tiny Persian Gulf island nation.

Saudi Arabia's regime, which enjoys the full support of the UK government, is internationally known to be one of the biggest violators of human rights as evidenced by several world's rights organizations.

Nonetheless, UK foreign secretary William Hague said it “was vital that the international community spoke with one voice against the Belarus regime”.

"The situation in Belarus is entirely unacceptable. We will not relent in our determination to make President Lukashenko recognise the rule of law and democratic freedoms, to free political prisoners and to end the human-rights abuses perpetrated by his government”, said Hague.

Italian MP calls for removal of US nukes

Italian opposition lawmaker Pierfelice Zazzera

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/185537.html

Italian opposition lawmaker Pierfelice Zazzera has called on Silvio Berlusconi's government to remove nuclear warheads that have been placed in the country by the US.

Zazzera said Italy was in violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) by hosting 90 US nuclear warheads and criticized the government for its lack of control over weapons of mass destruction that have been placed on its soil.

The Italian Values opposition party member also criticized the government for disregarding a 1987 vote by which 65 percent of the Italian nation expressed their disapproval of nuclear energy and blasted Berlusconi for turning a blind eye to the extensive radiation risk the country currently faces.

He said some 235 tons of third degree nuclear waste with 90 percent radioactivity were in need of proper disposal in the country.

This is while the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna recommends that nuclear waste with 10 percent radioactivity be disposed in highly specialized storage sites for over three centuries.

Earlier this month, the majority of Italians backed the opposition-proposed referendum which called for banning nuclear power production.

The government worked hard to keep the turnout below 50 percent to be able to scrape the vote, but Italians flocked to the polls to vote in opposition to the government.

With the turnout of 57 percent, over 90 percent voted against the government, since the majority of voters were opponents.

Obama slams debate over Libya war

US President Barack Obama

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/185229.html

US President Barack Obama has dismissed the views of two top Pentagon lawyers when he decided to continue American military participation in the air war in Libya without congressional authorization.

Jeh Johnson, Pentagon general counsel, and Caroline Krass, acting head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, had told the Obama administration that they believed the US military's participation in air war in Libya amounted to "hostilities," The New York Times reports.

According to the War Powers Resolution, that would have required the incumbent US president to put an end to the mission in the North African country after May 20.

Obama, however, decided to adopt the legal analysis of several other senior members of his administration -- including White House counsel Robert Bauer and State Department legal adviser Harold Koh -- who claimed the” limited nature of this particular mission is not the kind of 'hostilities' envisioned by the War Powers Resolution.”

Under the War Powers Act, a US president has a maximum of 60 days to maintain armed forces in military action, with an additional 30-day withdrawal period, without requiring authorization from Congress.

Earlier this month, the US House voted to censure Obama for not seeking congressional approval and accused the US president of not providing a “compelling rationale” for the military campaign in troubled Libya. The House's resolution also demanded that information be provided about the costs and scope of the mission.

In response, Obama's administration argued in a 32-page report submitted to US Congress that the Libyan mission was not subject to the 1973 War Powers Act because the United States is playing a support role in the war.

The US plays a significant role in the Western coalition operations in Libya by carrying out airstrikes, refueling warplanes and providing intelligence.

Libya's Gaddafi vows to defeat NATO

Libyan ruler Colonel Muammar Gaddafi

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/185184.html

Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi has vowed to defeat NATO after warplanes of the Western military alliance bombarded parts of the capital Tripoli.

“NATO is bound to be defeated” Gaddafi said in the speech broadcast on loudspeakers in Tripoli's Green Square as thousands of his supporters held their biggest demonstration in weeks, AFP reported on Friday.

"We are determined to change nothing in our country other than by our own free will ... We are resisting, we are fighting," he noted.

Gaddafi's speech came hours after several heavy explosions hit Tripoli. At least five more blasts were heard in and around the Libyan capital early Saturday.

Libyan government forces shelled the eastern and western gates of the port city of Misratah on Friday, leaving 10 people dead and injuring 40 others, Ahmed Hassan, a spokesman for revolutionary forces said, adding that all the victims were civilians.

The spokesman said Gaddafi forces are bombing Misratah every day. He stated that NATO did not carry out any airstrikes on Gaddafi forces on Friday.

Libyan Prime Minister al-Baghdadi al-Mahmudi has said the Gaddafi regime and revolutionary forces are holding talks to find a way to end the crisis. However, opposition forces have denied this.

Mahmoudi further explained that the negotiations have been held in Egypt, France, Norway and Tunisia and that they can name the opposition figures who have attended the meetings.

Mikhail Margelov, a Russian envoy to Libya said on Thursday that officials from the National Transitional Council (NTC) have held meetings with the Libyan regime in European capitals including Berlin, Paris and Oslo.

An NTC official, speaking in Benghazi on condition of anonymity, said on Friday that the opposition body will issue an arrest warrant for any opposition official who negotiates Gaddafi's staying in power.

Libyan opposition rejects election offer

Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, the official spokesman for Libyan revolutionaries

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/185067.html

Libyan revolutionaries have rejected an offer of elections by Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi's son as a way to resolve the country's impasse.

"We tell him (Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam) that the time has passed because our forces are at the outskirts of Tripoli, and they will join our people and forces there to uproot the symbol of corruption and tyranny in Libya," said Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, the spokesman for revolutionary forces, Reuters reported.

Earlier on Thursday, Gaddafi's son told Italian Corriere della Sera newspaper in the Libyan capital of Tripoli that the embattled regime is ready to hold an internationally-supervised elections within three months.

Saif al-Islam added that his father would relinquish power if he lost the elections. However, he said his father's victory in that vote will be definite to “show how popular Gaddafi still is in his country.”

A US State Department official has dismissed Saif al-Islam's proposal of holding elections, saying it was “a little late for that.”

Meanwhile, Russia's mediating envoy to Libya Mikhail Margelov said on the same day that Libyan revolutionaries are holding negotiations with the Gaddafi regime.

“I was assured at today's negotiations that direct contacts between Benghazi and Tripoli are already underway,” Margelov said in Tripoli after a meeting with Libyan Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi Ali Al-Mahmoudi.

A round of talks finished in Paris on Wednesday and French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been informed about the results of the negotiations, Margelov said, quoting the Libyan premier.

The Russian envoy visited opposition forces in the eastern city of Benghazi last week.

Gaddafi's son offers elections

Muammar Gaddafi's eldest son, Seif al-Islam

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/185031.html

Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi's son, Seif al-Islam, has called for internationally supervised elections as a way to end the conflict in the North African nation.

In an interview with Italian Corriere della Sera newspaper in the capital Tripoli on Thursday, Seif al-Islam said, “Elections is the only painless way to exit from the impasse in Libya," AFP reported.

“We could hold them within three months. At most by the end of the year. And the guarantee of transparency could be the presence of international observers," the 38-year-old Seif al-Islam said.

He added that the elections could be supervised by the European Union or the African Union, the United Nations or even NATO.

Seif al-Islam noted that he was certain in a victory for his father at the ballot box.

“What is important is that we have a clean vote ... The world will then discover how popular Gaddafi still is in his country," he said.

Dozens of Libyan officials have fled the country since February when a popular uprising against Gaddafi's dictatorship began.

UK, NATO urge more pressure on Gaddafi

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (L) meets with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen at 10 Downing Street, Cameron's official residence, in London, Wednesday, June 15, 2011.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/184952.html

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and British Prime Minister David Cameron seek increasing pressure on embattled Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi.

“They (Rasmussen and Cameron) agreed that NATO should continue to ramp up the pressure on Gaddafi,” a spokesman from Cameron's Downing Street office said on Wednesday, AFP reported.

The NATO chief and the British premier noted that “NATO had significantly degraded Gaddafi's military ability” and “committed to maintaining the operation until the Libyan people are free to determine their own future,” the spokesman added.

Rasmussen and Cameron held a meeting in London and discussed the situation in Libya and Afghanistan.

Cameron said that NATO, the UN, the Arab League and a large number of countries are supporting the Libya mission.

However, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a security alliance led by China and Russia and including Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, issued a statement on Wednesday calling for an end to NATO campaign in Libya.

“Domestic conflicts and crises have to be regulated exclusively by peaceful means, through political dialogue,” the group said in Astana, Kazakhstan, where it is holding a summit.

Also on Wednesday, Russia's Ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin said that NATO is sliding into a ground war in Libya and trying to kill Gaddafi.

British PM lashes out at Navy chief

Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, head of Royal Navy

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/184951.html

British Prime Minister David Cameron has rapped the head of the Royal Navy after he raised doubts over the UK's ability to sustain a lengthy war in Libya.

Cameron had become angered by Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope's remarks that the government would have to make "challenging decisions" on force levels if the mission lasted more than six months.

The Prime Minister told MPs at the Commons that Admiral Stanhope, the First Sea Lord, has "agreed that we can sustain this mission as long as we need to."

He said it was vital for the UK to send out a consistent message, saying that "time is on our side."

A senior Whitehall source confirmed that the Navy chief was called in to explain his remarks and made clear he was given a dressing-down. "I think you can assume that there was no coffee or biscuits," said the source.

"We are doing the right thing and I want one simple message to go out from every part of this government, and indeed every part of this House of Commons, and that is that time is on our side. We have got NATO, we have got the United Nations, we have got the Arab League, we have right on our side. The pressure is building, militarily, diplomatically and politically and time is running out for Gaddafi," boasted Cameron.

Admiral Stanhope told journalists on Monday that the UK was "comfortable" with the present NATO mission, which was extended earlier this month by 90 days, to the end of September.

But, "Beyond that, we might have to request the government to make some challenging decisions about priorities. If we do it longer than six months we will have to reprioritize forces," he added.

US House raps WH Libya report

Republican US House Speaker John Boehner

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/185000.html

US House Speaker John Boehner has lashed out at the White House for saying that it is does not need congressional authorization to continue the war in Libya.

Boehner said the White House claims do not "pass the straight face test," and threatened to cut military funding for the war by stating that the House possesses "the power of the purse," Reuters reported Thursday.

He made the remarks in response to an earlier 32-page report submitted to Congress in which the US President Barack Obama administration argued that the Libyan mission was not subject to the 1973 War Powers Act because the US is playing a support role in the war.

"U.S. operations do not involve sustained fighting or active exchanges of fire with hostile forces, nor do they involve the presence of U.S. ground troops, U.S. casualties or a serious threat thereof, or any significant chance of escalation into a conflict characterized by those factors," the White House report said.

According to the War Powers Act, a US president has a maximum of 60 days to maintain armed forces in military action, with an additional 30-day withdrawal period, without requiring authorization from Congress.

Earlier this month, the US House voted to censure Obama for not seeking congressional approval and accused the US president of not providing a “compelling rationale” for the military campaign in Libya. The House's resolution also demanded that information be provided about the costs and scope of the mission.

The US plays a significant role in the Western coalition operations in Libya by carrying out airstrikes, refueling warplanes and providing intelligence.

'NATO sliding into ground war in Libya'

Russia's ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/184889.html

A Russian official has said that NATO military operations in Libya are heading down the slippery slope toward a ground war in the North African country.

“It is our observation that NATO is sliding down and being dragged more and more into the eventuality of a land-based operation in Libya,” Reuters quoted Russia's ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, as saying at a press conference in London on Wednesday.

Rogozin referred to the conflict in Libya as a “civil war” and warned that the military intervention would aggravate the situation.

“What is happening in Tripoli is a real civil war and it is complicated by the inter-tribe contradictions and to intervene in this situation will mean to confuse this conflict and to exacerbate the situation even more,” Rogozin said.

The Russian envoy added that NATO's military campaign will internationalize the Libya conflict, leading to “extremism in Europe and hatred for the West.”

Rogozin also said that the alliance is trying to kill Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi.

However, the commander of Libya operations, Canadian Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard, said on Wednesday that he believes NATO can complete the mission without the deployment of ground troops.

Bouchard added that fighting between opposition forces and Gaddafi loyalists was developing “very positively.”

Rifts threaten UK's role in Libya war

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/184811.html

The chief of the British armed forces has dismissed the head of the Navy's concerns over the UK's inability to sustain its military presence in the war against Libya.

General Sir David Richards, the head of the armed forces boasted that the country is still involved in the war as long as it deemed necessary, British media reported.

Sir David Richards was answering concerns raised by head of the Navy, Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope who said earlier that the government's defence cuts would prevent the country from playing a sustainable role in the NATO invasion of the North African country.

NATO took over the Libyan mission on March 31st, initially for 90 days but its mission has been extended by another 90 days.

The internal rifts between the British top military brass will add to the warnings that NATO military alliance has become split on how to go on with the intervention, with several member countries including Norway considering leaving the war.

The war, now in its 4th months, was triggered by a joint draft tabled at the UN Security Council by Britain and France. And, the ultimate resolution 1973 called for a no-fly zone to be imposed on Libya to protect the countries' civilians from being killed at the hands of the country's long-time ruler Muammar Qaddafi.

Sir David Richards attempted to allay fears that Britain could not maintain the current level of military operations in Libya for much longer, a concern triggered by Sir Mark Stanhope, who warned that the government would have to make "challenging decisions" if the mission lasted more than six months.

Sir Mark, the First Sea Lord, said the campaign would have been easier if naval commanders had been able to call on the aircraft carrier and the fleet of Harrier jump jets scrapped last year as part of a bruising round of cuts.

But, Sir David suggested that the First Sea Lord had been misunderstood, saying it was "not correct" that the UK could only maintain operations for another three months.

"We can sustain this operation as long as we choose to. I am absolutely clear on that", boasted General Richards.

Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary, also guaranteed the forces would be given the resources they required.

This is while that the UK Navy chief said his forces had been forced to ask the US to resupply Tomahawk missiles used by submarines to attack Libyan targets.

White House says Libya war is legal

US President Barack Obama

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/184901.html

US President Barack Obama's administration has defended the military operation in Libya, saying it does not need any authorization from Congress.

The administration plans to send a 30-page report to Congress that is meant to explain how the US only has a limited role in the NATO-led military campaign and that thus Obama is acting within his constitutional right to direct the mission on his own, AP reported on Wednesday.

The report was prepared as a reply to lawmakers who have been criticizing Obama over the Libya war.

“The Constitution requires the president to 'take care that the laws be faithfully executed,' and one of those laws is the War Powers Resolution, which requires an approving action by Congress or withdrawal within 90 days from the notification of a military operation,” US House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said in a letter on Tuesday.

“It would appear that in five days, the administration will be in violation of the War Powers Resolution unless it asks for and receives authorization from Congress or withdraws all US troops and resources from the mission (in Libya),” he added.

However, the State Department legal advisor Harold Koh disagreed.

"We are not saying the War Powers Resolution is unconstitutional or should be scrapped, or that we can refuse to consult Congress. We are saying the limited nature of this particular mission is not the kind of 'hostilities' envisioned by the War Powers Resolution,” Koh said on Wednesday.

The White House's report to Congress will explain how the US only provides NATO with logistical support, intelligence, and reconnaissance work.

However, a report by the Pentagon entitled the “United States Contribution to Operation Unified Protector” stated that the US is the biggest contributor to the war and that it conducts nearly 27 percent of the airstrikes.

US war on Libya about oil: report

The US has special interest to acquire Libyan oil reserves, a report by anti-war group A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition says (file photo).

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/184634.html

A prominent anti-war group has slammed the US-led NATO mission in Libya, saying that the military campaign only aims to plunder the North African state's oil reserves.

Brian Becker of the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition wrote on Monday that Libya is today resisting a new colonialism as well as forces loyal to Libya's embattled leader Muammar Gaddafi.

These “colonizers,” he said, usually assign noble names such as “protecting civilians” to their military missions both in the Middle East and Africa.

And now they are using the corporate-owned media coverage about their “humanitarian motives” to “disguise their crass and cynical plans in Libya and elsewhere,” Becker's statement read.

He added that according to WikiLeaks-released State Department cables from November 2007 and afterwards, the United States has been constantly worried about who should control Libya's vast oil reserves.

In 2004, former US President George W. Bush lifted economic sanctions against Libya, opening the doors of Libya's vast oil reserves on western-owned oil corporations.

However, during past years, Washington feared a nationalization of Libya's resources.

“Those who dominate Libya's political and economic leadership are pursuing increasingly nationalistic policies in the energy sector that could jeopardize efficient exploitation of Libya's extensive oil and gas reserves,” the November 2007 cable states.

A popular uprising against Gaddafi and the opening of a civil war in mid-February, however, gave the West a perfect pretext to overthrow the Libyan regime and place in power a government that would serve as a client regime.

Just weeks later, under a UN-mandate, the Western military alliance NATO, assumed control of a military campaign to impose a no-fly zone over the country and “save civilian lives.”

Since then NATO jets have been dropping devastating bunker-busting bombs on Gaddafi's strongholds in an attempt to assassinate him.

One son and several grandchildren have died, but Gaddafi has survived.

This is while reports say scores of civilians as well as revolutionaries have so-far been killed in NATO's aerial offensives.

Interestingly, in mid-May 2011, just six weeks after the NATO bombing of Libya began, leaders of the Western-backed Transitional National Council, the self-proclaimed legitimate government of Libya, came to Washington for “talks.”

They spoke at the US-Libya Business Council and together with top ranking US officials formed a public relations/lobbying organization based in Washington, called the Harbour Group.

The principals of the Harbour Group include Hillary Clinton's staff director from the 1992 presidential campaign of Bill Clinton. Another served as a spokesperson for the presidential campaigns of Ronald Reagan and other conservative Republicans. The third served as a public relations figure in the last three Democratic presidential conventions, according to Reuters.

On June 8, 2011, the first shipment of Libyan oil arrived to the US.

Libya, which has the largest oil reserves in Africa and the ninth largest in the world with 41.5 billion barrels as of 2007, has been a big prize for western oil giants.

The US government and oil industry surveys state that Libya has 63 years of reserves at current production rates if no new reserves were to be found. However, Libya is considered to have many unexplored reserves.

As the current war continues unabated in the troubled country, critics say that Libyan people must keep paying a bloody price for the West's unquenchable oil thirst.

BBC accused of broadcasting "lies"

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/184479.html

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has been deplored for spreading lies over its claims that the NATO was conducting “precision bombing” in Libya.

Campaigners attending the annual conference of Stop the War Coalition, including anti-poverty charity War on Want, slammed the BBC on Saturday for claiming that the Western military alliance's invasion of Libya will protect civilians, because they are using modern military technology to avoid civilians' deaths.

War on Want executive director John Hillary lashed out at the broadcaster for giving coverage to NATO airstrikes, particularly attacks by US-made remote-controlled Predator drones, against Libyan people since late April.

A BBC correspondent had written in March that the “NATO coalition were "plainly making big efforts to avoid killing civilians”.

"The old myth of pinpoint precision bombing has become much more of a reality", said BBC correspondent John Simpson.

"Drones can hit military targets more easily in urban areas, minimising the risk of civilian casualties," wrote another unnamed reporter.

But, John Hillary dismissed claims of increased precision as sheer “lies”, because the use of drones in Pakistan and Afghanistan is an explicit example of indiscriminate killings.

A study carried out by western military experts David Kilcullen and Andrew Exum in 2009 consolidated the fact that of the more than 700 people killed in Pakistan by drone attacks that year, only 14 were known al-Qaeda operatives and the rest were civilians.

The War on Want executive director described drones as indiscriminate weapons, the use of which violates international law.

“…yet the BBC with absolutely no backing or justification feels happy to go out and say these are precise bombing instruments", said Hillary.

"We have to stand up and say enough with these lies from the BBC.

"This is not precision bombing - this is indiscriminate bombing with massive civilian casualties," he added.

The use of drone missiles has also been described by the UN's special rapporteur on extra judicial killings Philip Alston as a crime against humanity.

The New America Foundation, a right-wing body that monitors drone attacks, has reported that at least 2,431 people have been killed by drone bombings in Pakistan since 2004.

Deadly NATO raid hits Libyan university

People who were reortedly killed in a NATO strike on Nasser Univresity on Sunday, June 12

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/184425.html

More Libyan civilians have reportedly been killed and injured after a NATO airstrike hit a university in the capital, Tripoli.

New images have emerged showing the aftermath of an alleged NATO air raid targeting Tripoli's Nasser University. The attack reportedly left many university staff and students dead.

Libyan state television says dozens of others were also injured.

The UN Security Council Resolution 1973 has authorized the enforcement of a no-fly zone over Libya to protect civilians against forces loyal to Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi.

NATO has carried out many airstrikes in accordance with the UN mandate. However, many civilians have been killed in the attacks.

Meanwhile, clashes between revolutionary forces and Gaddafi loyalists intensified on Sunday.

At least seven people were killed in the town of Dafniya, near the besieged city of Misratah, Khaled Abu Falgha of Misrata's Hekma hospital said.

At least 15 revolutionaries and more than 100 Gaddafi forces were killed in the fighting in the western city of Zawiya, about 50 km (30 miles) from Tripoli, Ahmed al-Hawary, a spokesman for the revolutionary forces said.

Libya Contact Group meets in UAE

Foreign ministers from more than 20 countries pose in front of cameras during the third meeting of Contact Group on Libya in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Thursday June 9, 2011

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/183991.html

More than 20 foreign ministers and Libya's revolutionary representatives have discussed the Libyan crisis at the third International Contact Group meeting in the UAE.

During the meeting on Thursday, several Western countries, including the US and Australia recognized the Transitional National Council (TNC) as "the legitimate interlocutor" of the Libyan people.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who arrived in Abu Dhabi Wednesday night, "used the word 'the' rather than 'a' in describing the TNC as the legitimate interlocutor for the Libyan people through this interim period," AFP quoted a senior US State Department official as saying on Thursday.

The meeting attended by representatives of NATO military alliance, the (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council, the African Union, the United Nations, the European Union, and the Arab League, was held against the backdrop of mounting Western and Arab countries' pressure for the TNC to thrash out a comprehensive plan for Libya without embattled ruler Muammar Gaddafi.

On the other side of the talks, the Libyan revolutionaries expressed hope that the oil production will restart as soon as possible. However, they asked for three billion dollars in aid to cover salaries and assure food supplies for several months.

"We are hoping soon" to restart producing 100,000 barrels of oil per day from the eastern fields, said TNC Oil and Finance Minister Ali Tarhouni during the meeting.

Meanwhile, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said his country would grant the revolutionaries up to $586 million of cash and fuel aid backed by frozen Libyan assets.

The first Libyan Contact Group meeting, which was held in April in Qatar, called on the 69-year-old Libyan ruler to relinquish power in the face of the popular revolution.

NATO allies discuss Libya operations

NATO Secretary General Andres Fogh Rasmussen

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/183818.html

NATO allies have met in Brussels to discuss their ongoing military campaign against Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi in the North African country.

During the meeting in Belgium, defense ministers agreed to continue military action in the North African nation until Gaddafi surrenders his power, AFP reported.

"All ministers agreed we will keep up the pressure for as long as it takes to bring this to an early conclusion," said NATO's Secretary General Andres Fogh Rasmussen during a news conference, also asking more nations to join the mission in Libya.

Although NATO has extended the campaign for another 90 days, the ministers vowed to continue indefinitely.

Rasmussen emphasized on thinking of Libya following the ouster of Colonel Gaddafi. However, he stressed his opposition to ground forces in a post-Gaddafi Libya.

Only eight out of 28 NATO allies have been using airstrikes against Libya

Gaddafi forces advance on Misratah

Smoke rises after NATO air strikes in Tripoli on June 7, 2011

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/183812.html

Thousands of troops loyal to embattled Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi have advanced on the city of Misratah as heavy shelling kills 12 revolutionaries.

The opposition sources say several people have been reportedly injured.

"Misrata is under heavy shelling ... Gaddafi forces are shelling Misrata from three sides: east, west and south," Reuters quoted opposition spokesman Hassan al-Misrati as saying.

"He has sent thousands of troops from all sides and they are trying to enter the city. They are still outside, though," al-Misrati added.

The city that was captured by revolutionaries several weeks ago has been a focal point in the ongoing war.

Meanwhile Spain has recognized Libya's Benghazi-based Transitional Council as the sole representative of the Libyan people. The council is headed by the revolutionaries currently fighting regime forces in several cities.

The Spanish Foreign minister made the announcement during his visit to the Libyan opposition bastion of Benghazi.

The US and NATO have unleashed a punishing, UN-mandated offensive against beleaguard Gaddafi to pressure him into relinquishing power. However, the NATO airstrikes have killed scores of civilians as well as revolutionaries.

Libya has been the scene of fierce fighting between pro-Gaddafi troops and anti-regime forces since mid-February.

Revolutionary forces want an end to Gaddafi's decades-long rule.