Mwanawe Gaddafi aapa kupambana na waasi

Mwanawe Gaddafi Saif al-Islam

Mtoto wa kiume wa Kanali Muammar Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam, ambaye awali waasi walidai kuwa wamemkamata, amejitokeza katika hoteli moja inayoshikiliwa na wafuasi wa Kanali Gaddafi.

Mwandishi wa BBC Matthew Price amezungumza na Saif al-islam na kusema kuwa anaonekana kuwa mchangamfu na shauku kuu.

Saif al-Islam amesema waasi wameingia kwenye ''mtego'' mjini Tripoli na kwamba wanajeshi wanaomuunga mkoni Kanali Gaddafi walikuwa ''wamevunja uti wa mgogo wa waasi hao''.
Waasi wanaopigana kuudhibiti mji mkuu wa LibyaTripoli , wamerudishwa nyuma na wanajeshi wanaomuunga mkono Kanali Muammar Gaddafi.

Lakini wakati mapigano yanapoendelea katika maeneo mbalimbali ya mji, msafara wa waasi kutoka mashariki mwa nchi ulirudishwa nyuma.

Bado hajulikani alipo Kanali Gaddafi.

Jumapili iliyopita waasi walidai kuwa walikuwa wamemkamata Saif al-Islam, pamoja na familia yake.
Hata hivyo, bado Kanali Gaddafi hajulikani alipo. Nyumba yake inalindwa na wapiganaji wanaomtii.
Waasi hao walioingia mjini Tripoli jumamosi iliyopita walikaribishwa watu waliokuwa wakisheherekea katika bustani ya Green Square wakati walipowasili siku ya jumapili.

Waasi hao wamesema kuwa wameweka vizuizi katika sehemu mbalimbali za mji lakini wanakabiliwa na upinzani mkali katika baadhi ya maeneo.

Kamanda wa waasi amesema wanadhibiti asilimia 90 ya mji wa Tripoli.
Kiongozi wa Baraza la Mpito la kitaifa (NTC), Mustafa Abdel Jalil, amesema wakati wa ushindi halisi utakuwa pale watakapo mkamata Kanali Gaddafi.

Rais Obama apongeza watu wa Libya.

Rais Barrack Obama amewapongeza watu wa Libya kwa kile alichokitaja kama ''kujitolea mhanga kusipokuwa kwa kawaida''. Obama amesema watu wa Libya wanakaribia kupata kile wanachohitaji.

Katibu mkuu wa Umoja wa mataifa, Ban Ki-Moon naye amewakumbusha wanachama wa Umoja huo kuwa, wanajukumu la kuheshimu mahakama ya kimataifa ya jinai, ambayo imetoa hati za kuwakamata Kanali Gaddafi, mtoto wake wa kiume Saif al Islam na mkuu wake wa idara ya ujasusi.

Baadhi ya viongozi wa waasi wanasema afadhali wafunguliwe mashtaka nchini Libya na sio katika mahakama ya kimataifa ya ICC, mjini The Hague.

Wabunge wapitisha mswada muhimu Marekani

Bunge la Congress nchini Marekani limepitisha mswada ambao utadhibiti deni la nchi hiyo na kuepusha hatari ya serikali kukosa pesa.

Chama cha Democratic na wapinzani wake Republicans wameridhia na Mswada huo sasa utawasilishwa mbele ya baraza la senate. Baada ya wanasiasa wa marekani kutofautiana kuhusu kuongeza kiwango cha kukopa cha serikali, bunge la Congress hatimaye limepiga kura kuunga mkono mswada utakaowezesha serikali ya nchi hiyo kuongeza kiwango cha madeni yake.

Kufuatia kupitishwa kwa mswada huo, marekani haina wasi wasi tena kuwa itashindwa kufadhili shughuli zake kuanzia hii leo, kama ilivyokuwa imetangazwa na wizara ya fedha. Mswada huo umepata kuungwa mkono na wajumbe wengi katika baraza la wawakilishi wakati ulipowasilihsiwa kupigiwa kura. Kwa hivyo sasa umevuka kikwazo chake cha kwanza. Hata hivyo matokeo hayo hayakuwa suala ambalo lilishangaza.

Jambo ambalo lililokuwa geni ni kuwasili bungeni kwa mbunge wa congress Bi Gabrielle Giffords kwa mara yake ya kwanza tangu apigwe risasi kichwani mwezi January. Wajumbe wa baraza la congress ambao wamekuwa wakivutana kwenye mijadala mikali walisimama kwa pamoja na kumshangilia alipowasili kupigia kura mswada huo.

Mswada huo ambao pamoja na kuongeza kiwango cha serikali kukopa fedha za kuendesha shughuli zake pia umependekeza hatua za kupunguza matumizi ya serikali. Kuna kila uwezekano kuwa Rais Barack Obama atakuwa anatia saini kuudhinisha saa chache tuu kabla ya pesa zilizoko kwenye mfuko wa serikali kumalizika kulingana na ushauri wa wizara ya fedha.

Hapo jana Rais Barack Obama alitangaza kuwa chini ya makubaliano kati ya chama chake na kile cha Republicans serikali itapunguza matumizi yake kwa dollar trilioni moja katika kipindi cha miaka kumi ijayo.
Kwa wiki kadhaa, viongozi wa vyama hivyo wamekuwa wakivutana kuhusu njia bora ya kufuata kukabili madeni ya marekani. Hali ambayo ilitishia kukwamihsa shughuli za serikali.

Rais Obama amesema kuwa mpango ulioafikiwa sio ule aliotarajia lakini amelazimika kuukubali ilikuwezesha huduma za serikali kuendelea na madeni yake yalipwe. Utawala wa Rais Obama ulikuwa unakabiliwa na shinikizo kali kutoka kwa wapinzani kutoka chama cha Republican ambao walikuwa wanapinga pendekezo lake la kuwepo na mpango ambao utasitiri hali hadi mwisho wa mwaka ujao.

Chama cha Republicans kilitaka mpango huo uwepo hadi katikati ya mwaka ujao. Lakini sasa vyama hivyo vimekubaliana kuunda kamati maalum itakayotoa mapendekezo mapya mwezi Novemba.

ISAF: Haqqani network leader suspected in Kabul hotel attack killed

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A top Haqqani network leader suspected of providing support for Tuesday's deadly attack at a Kabul hotel was killed in an airstrike in southeast Afghanistan, the International Security Assistance Force said Thursday.

Ismail Jan, who is the deputy to the senior Haqqani commander, and several fighters were killed in a precision airstrike Wednesday in Paktiya province. Jan was an insurgent leader in the Khost-Gardez Pass area, along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, the international coalition said.

Afghan government officials blamed the al Qaeda-linked militant group for the siege on the Kabul Hotel Inter-Continental that left 12 victims and all nine attackers dead.

The level of violence in the country was signficantly higher in the past three months than it was in the same period last year, the United Nations said Thursday.
There were 17 suicide attacks in April 2011, more than in any single month last year, the world body said.
Kandahar suffered the most, with most of the incidents in the quarter taking place in the city or nearby.

Nearly 3,000 Afghan civilians were killed or wounded, 80% of them as a result of "anti-government elements." The attackers who struck the Hotel Inter-Contintental were with the Haqqani network, said the Afghan interior ministry. The group of terrorists loyal to the warlord Siraq Haqqani is based in Pakistan.
They entered the hotel late Tuesday night by avoiding the main entrance and attacking a smaller one on the other side of the hotel that was guarded by two Afghan police, said Falak Merzahi, a spokesman for the interior ministry. The attackers killed the two officers and stormed the hotel, Merzahi said.
Six of the attackers ended up detonating their explosives; three were shot and killed on the roof of the hotel, Afghan officials said.

Although a NATO helicopter carrying International Security Assistance Force snipers flew to the scene and fired at the attackers, Merzahi said it was Afghan army soldiers who ultimately killed the three gunmen on the roof.

ISAF said its forces stopped firing on the roof when Afghan soldiers arrived. The 12 others killed are two police officers, nine Afghans and one foreigner, Merzahi said. Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the attack will not interrupt the planned handover of power from international forces to Afghan troops.

President Barack Obama has said U.S. troops will start withdrawing from Afghanistan in July, and that a military handover should be completed in 2014.

Amid budget impasse, Obama holds news conference

'Call me naive, but my expectation is that leaders are going to lead'

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama held a news conference late Wednesday morning, his first formal question-and-answer session since high-stakes debt and budget negotiations began.

Obama opened with comments about spurring the economy and job growth, touching on the deficit talks that have occupied Vice President Joe Biden and congressional leaders over the past several weeks.
"There are steps we can take right now that will help businesses create new jobs here in America," said Obama.

"We're going to need to look at the whole budget," said the president. "And eliminate waste wherever we find it."

Obama continued, "I spent the last two years cutting taxes for ordinary Americans ... it would be nice if we could keep every tax break there is, but we have to make some tough choices to cut our deficit."

"If you are a wealthy CEO ... your taxes are lower than they've ever been," said Obama. He said that if tax cuts for that demographic were changed, "You can still afford to ride on your private jet, you're just going to have to pay a little more."

"The good news is, because of the work that's been done, I think we can actually bridge our differences," said Obama. He said that the White House will continue discussions with lawmakers for "as long as it takes."

He added, "Call me naive, but my expectation is that leaders are going to lead."

10 congressmen sue Obama over strikes in Libya

WASHINGTON (AP) - A bipartisan group of 10 lawmakers is suing President Barack Obama for taking military action against Libya without war authorization from Congress.

The lawmakers say Obama violated the Constitution in bypassing Congress and using international organizations like the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to authorize military force.

The lawmakers want a judge to issue an order suspending military operations without congressional approval. They said they were filing their lawsuit Wednesday against Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
The plaintiffs are Democratic Reps. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, John Conyers of Michigan and Michael Capuano of Massachusetts and Republican Reps. Walter Jones and Howard Coble of North Carolina, Tim Johnson of Illinois, Dan Burton of Indiana, Jimmy Duncan of Tennessee, Roscoe Bartlett of Maryland and Ron Paul of Texas.

Fierce clashes in Yemen; fate of Saleh uncertain

(CNN) -- The fiercest clashes since anti-government demonstrations began in Taiz four months ago erupted overnight Monday between anti-government gunmen and members of government security forces, witnesses said.

They cited heavy gunfire near the Republican Palace, which is less than two miles from the city's Freedom Square, where tens of thousands of anti-government protesters had taken to the streets. The witnesses did not want to be identified, citing fear for their safety.

The goal of the anti-government gunmen was to protect the anti-government demonstrators, who have repeatedly come under fire from security forces during the past two months. Last week, Yemen's government faced condemnation from the United Nations and others for the killing of as many as 50 anti-government demonstrators in Taiz.

The unrest came shortly after Saudi state-run Ekhbariya television reported Monday that Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh had undergone two operations in Saudi Arabia and would return to Yemen after he recovers. Saleh is in Saudi Arabia for treatment following a rocket attack on his presidential compound on Friday.

There were conflicting reports about his health, with Western diplomatic sources saying Sunday that Saleh was undergoing brain surgery, while a spokesman for his party described the procedures as "simple checkups."

A senior U.S. official said Saleh had suffered shrapnel wounds and severe burns to his face and chest, adding that the severity of the wounds was not clear. The official declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the situation.

Another U.S. official told CNN Monday afternoon that Saleh had suffered serious injuries. "It's not an insignificant wound; he is severely hurt," the official said.

The official did not have an update on Saleh's prognosis, but did say it was "unclear if and when" he would be able to return to Yemen. He's "under a lot of political pressure," the official said.

The official added that Acting President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi is "probably not a long-term player, but (is) a caretaker for the regime," although he could become a post-Saleh candidate in any future elections.
The official pointed out that some tribes have honored Hadi's call for a cease-fire. "He carries some weight" in running the government, the official said of Hadi.

The official said the Yemeni military was behind the government, but the source would not predict if that would last.

The official acknowledged that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, also known as AQAP, had enjoyed free rein in certain parts of Yemen even before the current unrest. They probably have "slightly more free rein now," the official said.

According to the official, AQAP was trying to take advantage of the current situation. The organization has said it opposes the Saleh government and would like to see it collapse. AQAP will try to establish a foothold in other areas of Yemen -- either alone or allied with others, the official said.

The group has a significant presence in the southern province of Abyan, also home to an Islamic militant movement that has targeted government troops for the past three days. The militants killed four soldiers and five civilians Monday in the city of Zinjibar, the scene of several recent battles with Yemeni forces, according to a security source in Abyan, who has asked not to be named as he is not authorized to speak to the media.
Another 17 people, most of them civilians, were wounded in the clashes, the security official said. And a total of 10 government troops died in Saturday and Sunday ambushes in Abyan, a senior Interior Ministry official told CNN.

The U.S. official called AQAP "a small group," although "a potent force". "There are not thousands of them," the official said, referring to the situation with AQAP as "a scale factor." It's questionable whether they can mount a sizable opposition, but they could influence the political and military situation in Yemen, the official said.

The official said the unrest makes it "more difficult" for U.S. counterterrorism efforts in Yemen. "We rely on the Yemeni government as partners. The more the government is distracted by the political unrest, the more difficult it is for us."

The Yemeni government has had a "big impact on acquiring information on AQAP," said the official, adding, "if that information flow slows or stops, it inhibits our ability to gather information." The official would not comment on whether the instability is an opportunity for the United States to take more aggressive actions in Yemen.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said Monday that one of President Barack Obama's top security advisers, John Brennan, has spoken to the acting president in Yemen. No details of the discussion were provided.

Two opposition leaders in Yemen expressed support Monday for Hadi, the vice president who
assumed temporary power when Saleh flew to Saudi Arabia. "We do not have any problem if Hadi takes control of the government. He is respected by the people," said Tawakkul Karman, adding that Hadi "must use this historic moment to enter Yemen's history as a leader and revolutionary."

But she warned that if he does not "conduct immediate reforms, the youth protesters will go against him the same way they did against Saleh. It's Hadi's choice to decide which door of history he wants to go through."
Ahmed Bahri, a senior official of the opposition Joint Meeting Parties, said that if Hadi can lead peaceful change, "we welcome it. If not, he should step aside and not stall the revolution."

"Hadi has been respected by all the political factions for decades, but Saleh did not give him a chance to lead positive change," Bahri said. "Today is his opportunity to repay the Yemeni people for their patience and work for the sake of the people and not for Saleh."

In other violence Monday, three Hashed tribesmen were killed by Yemeni government snipers despite a cease-fire between the sides, a spokesman for the tribe's leader said. The cease-fire was agreed upon late Sunday between Hashed leader Sadeq Al-Ahmar -- who opposes the Yemeni government -- and Vice President Hadi, said Abdulqawi Al-Qaisi, spokesman for the Hashed leader.

He blamed Yemen's Republican Guard for the tribesmen's deaths in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.
"The tribes are insistent that the cease-fire continues, but the Republican Guard wants chaos as usual to show the people that, without Saleh, clashing will take place everywhere," Al-Qaisi said.

But the government denied being behind the deaths.
"The government does not attack people who are not going against the law," government spokesman Abdu Ganadi said. "These are claims from the tribes in order to cause more crimes in Sanaa."

Supporters of Al-Ahmar are suspected in the Friday attack on the Yemeni presidential compound. Yemen's state-run news agency SABA, citing a source in Saleh's office, reported last week that three guards and an imam were killed.

Yemeni security forces shelled Al-Ahmar's home on Friday in response to the attack, leaving 10 people dead and 35 others wounded, according to Fawzi Al-Jaradi, an official with the Hashed tribal confederation.
The cease-fire deal followed two weeks of clashes between government and tribal forces in Yemen, where thousands of protesters have been pressuring Saleh to give up power since January.
The fighting erupted when Saleh balked at a deal with the opposition that would have eased him out of office in 30 days.

Yemen's largest opposition bloc had vowed to prevent Saleh from returning.

"The Yemeni people will do all in their power to not allow Saleh to re-enter the country," JMP spokesman Mohammed Qahtan said Sunday.

Obama, Netanyahu face turning point

WASHINGTON — As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel heads to the White House on Friday for the seventh meeting since President Obama took office, the two men are facing a turning point in a relationship that has never been warm.

By all accounts, they do not trust each other. President Obama has told aides and allies that he does not believe that Mr. Netanyahu will ever be willing to make the kind of big concessions that will lead to a peace deal.

For his part, Mr. Netanyahu has complained that Mr. Obama has pushed Israel too far — a point driven home during a furious phone call with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday morning, just hours before Mr. Obama’s speech, during which the prime minister reacted angrily to the president’s plan to endorse Israel’s pre-1967 borders for a future Palestinian state.

Mr. Obama did not back down. But the last-minute furor highlights the discord as they head into what one Israeli official described as a “train wreck” coming their way: a United Nations General Assembly vote on Palestinian statehood in September.

Mr. Netanyahu, his close associates say, desperately wants Mr. Obama to use the diplomatic muscle of the United States to protect Israel from the vote, not only by vetoing it in the Security Council, but also by leaning hard on America’s European allies to get them to reject it as well.


Mr. Obama has indicated that he will certainly do the first. But it remains unclear how far Mr. Obama can go to persuade Britain, France and other American allies to join the United States in rejecting the move, particularly as long as Mr. Netanyahu continues to resist endorsing the pre-1967 lines.

From the day they first met, at the King David Hotel on July 23, 2008, when Mr. Obama, then the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, visited Israel, the two men have struck, at most, an intellectual bond. Mr. Netanyahu, as the leader of Israel’s conservative Likud Party, was far more comfortable with the Republican Party in the United States than with Mr. Obama, the son of a Muslim man from Kenya whose introduction to the Arab-Israeli conflict was initially framed by discussions with pro-Palestinian academics.

“Their relationship is correct at best,” said Judith Kipper, director of Middle East programs at the Institute of World Affairs. Mr. Netanyahu “likes the status quo, and he particularly identifies with conservative Republicans.”

Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League and a friend of Mr. Netanyahu’s, recalled that after the first meeting, Mr. Netanyahu walked out of the hotel and told him that he had been impressed with Mr. Obama’s intellect, and that the American presidency “was his to lose.”