Police say three men escaped to the surface but four remain trapped after incident at Gleision colliery, near Swansea A major rescue operation is underway after four people were feared to be trapped in a coalmine in Wales. South Wales police said officers, with fire and ambulance crews, were called to the Gleision colliery in Pontardawe, Swansea, at 9.20am. The small hillside mine, near Cilybebyll, has been in operation since 1993. A police spokesman said: “Seven people were initially in the mine at the time. Three of them got out, with one taken to hospital. His condition is currently unknown. “It is believed the other four remain inside. A rescue operation is under way. As you can imagine, it is quite a dynamic situation.” Local councillor Arthur Threlfall, who serves on Cilybebyll community council, described the situation as very worrying. He said: “I understand the injured man was taken to hospital via helicopter. The mine is in quite a remote spot. At the moment, you cannot go anywhere near it because a large area around it has been cordoned off by the police. “Gleision is one of those collieries that has open and shut many times, and they tend to work on the basis of when coal is found. However, it has recently been extended. “This is the first mining disaster I have known for many years. There are not many collieries left like there used to be. However, it is a very worrying situation and it has shocked a lot of people.” The Neath MP and shadow Welsh secretary, Peter Hain, also expressed his concern. He said: “I am immediately seeking information on the miners’ predicament. “I am asking what action needs to be taken urgently by all relevant authorities to secure their safety.” Mining Wales Steven Morris Stephen Morris guardian.co.uk
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Two Ulster Unionists attended funeral mass for murdered Catholic PSNI constable despite ban The Protestant Orange Order in Northern Ireland has become embroiled in an embarrassing controversy after one of its lodges demanded that two Ulster Unionists be disciplined for attending a requiem funeral mass for the murdered Catholic police constable Ronan Kerr. Under the Orange Order’s rules, members are not allowed to attend the Catholic mass, even though thousands of its members flout the ban – particularly in the countryside, where many Protestants live side by side with Catholic neighbours. A hardline Orange Lodge in the Sandy Row area of Belfast has put forward a formal complaint to the institution about the decision by the Ulster Unionist leader, Tom Elliott, and the Stormont minister Danny Kennedy to attend Kerr’s funeral in April. The police officer was murdered after anti-ceasefire republicans placed a booby-trap bomb under his car outside his home in Omagh, Co Tyrone. A letter to the Grand Lodge of Ireland from the Sandy Row lodge accuses the two Ulster Unionists of “selling their principles for political expediency”. Elliott and Kennedy are both prominent members of the Orange Order in their native counties of Fermanagh and Armagh. The complaint has caused widespread anger across the community in Northern Ireland. The widow of the first PSNI officer shot dead by republican dissidents, Constable Stephen Carroll, denounced the Orange Order ban, describing it as “antiquated”. Kate Carroll said Elliott and Kennedy’s attendance at the mass was “groundbreaking” and she was “delighted to see that people as prominent as them were there to show solidarity with police”. A spokesman for the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland said: “The complaints procedure is a private matter.” It is understood that it was the only complaint from among 1,200 Orange lodges on the island of Ireland. The complaint will be taken up by Elliott and Kennedy’s respective Orange county districts, and it is expected that no disciplinary procedures will be taken against either man. Northern Ireland guardian.co.uk
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Three tech giants have approached media buyers about plan to target rival’s $2.5bn share of US market, say reports Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft are joining forces to try and loosen Google’s grip on internet advertising, according to reports. Executives from the three companies have privately told media buyers about the plan in the US, where Google has now outstripped Yahoo in display as well as search advertising. Citing unnamed sources, tech blog AllThingsD said the trio are planning to sell each other’s “class 2 display” advertising inventory – advertising space they have not managed to sell themselves and would normally hand over to media agencies to fill. The potential tie-up comes days after reports that AOL and Yahoo, fallen giants of the first age of the internet, were discussing a merger in the wake of the firing of Yahoo’s chief executive, Carol Bartz. AOL’s chief executive, Tim Armstrong, has approached Yahoo’s advisers to gauge its interest in combining the companies, Bloomberg reported. The advertising hook-up, in the meantime, could help slow the fast growth of Google and Facebook in the lucrative online display advertising market. Google has long dominated search advertising – or online classified advertising – but overtook Yahoo in display advertising in May this year in the US, according to research firm IDC. The search giant’s first quarter revenues of $396m – 13.3% of the market – compared with Yahoo’s $330m. Facebook had 8.8% of the market. Google got into the display end of the market in 2009 after acquiring DoubleClick. Since then the business has grown rapidly and is now estimated to be worth $2.5bn a year. Yahoo said it has “longstanding relationships” with AOL and Microsoft and will continue to work and compete with them in years to come. AOL said it is fortunate to have longstanding relationships with a large number of premium publishers, including Yahoo and Microsoft. “We’re excited to continue to explore opportunities to expand our relationships,” said AOL spokeswoman Caroline Campbell in a statement, adding that the company will share more information “when it’s available”. •
Continue reading …President Obama is touring the country trying to sell his $447 billion jobs plan to voters but even some lawmakers from his own party are still skeptical, the New York Times finds. Some Democrats, balking at certain portions of the American Jobs Act, say they cannot support the bill as…
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Joris Luyendijk and Garry Blight: Almost everyone in the financial sector complains about how they are represented in the media. Here, those people get the chance to talk about how they see themselves – and it’s your chance to listen in Garry Blight Joris Luyendijk
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Last of the big six energy firms increases its electricity and gas prices, by 4.5% and 15.4% respectively EDF Energy has become the last of the big six energy firms to announce a price rise, unveiling an increase in electricity and gas prices of 4.5% and 15.4% respectively, removing one of the few remaining lifelines for the millions of households edging closer to fuel poverty. EDF said the increases, which it blamed mainly on rising wholesale energy prices, will be introduced on 10 November, taking the average dual fuel energy bill to almost £1,300 a year. Consumer Focus said the price rises – along with recent price hikes from Scottish Power, Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE), British Gas, E.ON, and npower – mean “millions of people will be cutting back on other essentials if they want to keep warm”. The EDF announcement comes just a month after npower became the fifth of the six biggest energy firms to disappoint consumers with a price rise, while previously announced increases from E.ON and SSE came into effect on 13 and 14 September . According to USwitch , the average bill size across all suppliers has now jumped 14.2% from £1,132 pre-price hikes, to £1,293. In early September 2011 , EDF was named as Britain’s most complained about power company, according to figures published by Consumer Focus. But upon announcing the price rises, EDF chief executive Vincent de Rivaz called for trust in the energy industry to be rebuilt, pointing out that his group’s electricity price rise was in line with inflation, and the gas increase was lower than all other major suppliers. He added: “We have absorbed rising wholesale energy, network and other costs as long as possible but must reluctantly now pass some of these through to consumers.” Mike O’Connor, chief executive of Consumer Focus , said the fact that EDF has made smaller and later hikes than other suppliers is welcome, “but it won’t soften the blow on those who are struggling on tight household budgets”. He warned that with the industry gearing up to invest £200bn in generation and network infrastructure, worse is to come with consumer expected to foot the bill. Mark Todd, director of the price comparison service Energyhelpline.com , said: “Consumers need to keep their eyes open because there are still lots of good deals being offered for those who are willing to switch. Fixed-rate deals of 1-4 years are available at lower costs than standard prices and there are internet rates offering savings of about £300 a year. “In fact, only yesterday, Scottish Power brought in a new online tariff at £990, showing money can be saving if people act promptly and switch. There is still competition in the energy industry but only if you are willing to switch.” Last winter, over three-quarters of people rationed their energy use because of cost, according to USwitch, while over 14 million households went without heating at some point to keep their energy costs down. “We are in danger of seeing energy becoming an unaffordable luxury for the few instead of a household basic for the many,” said the firm’s energy expert Tom Lyons. “As a result many households are being forced to make unpalatable and sometimes even dangerous choices. My concern is that the impact will really become apparent this coming winter.” Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which? , had advice for consumers looking to switch: “If you’re not already paying by direct debit or if you’ve been on the same tariff for more than a year then you could be paying too much. Most of us have never switched – so check if you can find a cheaper deal today. You could save yourself over £200. Energy bills Consumer affairs Household bills EDF Energy Mark King guardian.co.uk
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Riots data reveals a third of those in court had been in prison before, but also shows sentences are tougher than usual The sentences handed down to convicted rioters by the courts have been more draconian than previously thought but nearly three-quarters of those appearing in court had criminal records. However, the average jail terms handed down were two to three times longer than normal, according to the latest Ministry of Justice data . The official statistics, released on Thursday, back up claims by the justice secretary, Kenneth Clarke, that a “hardcore of the criminal classes” were involved in the riots, with 73% of those put before the courts having previous criminal convictions – and one third of them having served a prison sentence before. Those with criminal records have an average of 15 offences each. However, MoJ statisticians stressed that the latest sentencing data, up to Monday of this week, also shows that some people – particularly teenagers – were being drawn into the criminal justice system for the first time. The data shows that the 176 people so far jailed over the riots have been sentenced to an average of 11.1 months. The detailed figures show that those convicted of burglary during the riots – generally looting – have been jailed for 14.1 months, compared with the normal rate of 8.8 months, a sentence some 60% longer than normal. Those convicted of violent disorder are being jailed for 10.4 months compared with 5.3 months normally, and those convicted of theft are getting sentences three times as long: 7.1 months compared with a normal rate of 2.4 months. The figures also show a much more hardline approach to using prison sentences, with 43% of those sentenced so far by magistrates being sent to jail compared with a normal custody rate of 12%. Clarke said the figures confirmed that “existing criminals were on the rampage”. He added: “I am dismayed to see that a hardcore of repeat offenders back in the system. This reinforces my determination to introduce radical changes to ensure both effective punishment and reform to tackle reoffending.” UK riots Crime Sentencing Alan Travis James Ball guardian.co.uk
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• Cameron and Sarkozy visit Tripoli for talks with NTC • Britain’s Syria ambassador attends vigil for killed activist • Last ditch talks over Palestinian statehood bid 10.52am: Cameron and Sarkozy have arrived at the Corinthia hotel in Tripoli. Live footage from the hotel also showed Libya’s interim prime minister Mahmoud Jibril. Cameron and Sarkozy, are due to hold talks with Jibril and Mustafa Abdul Jalil the chairman of the National Transitional Council. 10.47am: In Egypt students at the American University in Cairo – the breeding ground for the country’s future leaders – have joined the protest movement in strikes and sit-ins , writes Jack Shenker. 10.42am: Cameron is due to outline plans to send a military experts to Libya , according to the BBC. It has these bullet points on what Cameron is due to announce in a speech during his visit. • deploy a UK military team to advise the NTC on security • return Libyan assets totalling £500m ($790m) to the interim authorities as soon as possible • make 50 places available in UK specialist hospitals for critically ill Libyans • provide £600,000 for de-mining efforts in Libya and £60,000 to pay for a police communications system 10.30am: Sarkozy fever has hit Benghazi according to Mary Fitzgerald of the Irish Times : Sarkozy fever here in eastern Libya. Talk of streets, schools, cafes, stadiums + even children being named after him No talk yet of babies being named after Cameron. Nevertheless the PM said he was “delighted” to be in Tripoli, according to the BBC. 10.28am: Around 160 French riot police were sent to Libya ahead of Sarkozy’s arrival to secure his visit, writes Angelique Chrisafis in Paris. They will not be uniformed and were reportedly instructed to wear jeans and trainers. For the Elysée, timing and image is everything. Nicolas Sarkozy wanted to get to Libya as soon as possible to cement his media image as “Sarkozy the Libyan” after what has been dubbed “Sarkozy’s war”. It will help his personal rebranding exercise as a more presidential, global statesman before a difficult bid for re-election next year. He was keen to arrive before Turkey’s Erdogan, who he has a complicated relationship with. The visit will also neatly overshadow the Socialists’ live TV debate tonight, their first face-off in the primary race to chose a candidate to against Sarkozy in the 2012 presidential election. Timing is also important for the foreign minister, Alain Juppé, who was supposed to be giving evidence to the Jacques Chirac corruption trial. T he French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy, who had promoted himself as a kind of replacement foreign minister at the start of the Libya campaign saying he influenced Sarkozy’s stance, was said to have travelled separately. It will be interesting to see how he interacts with Juppé. Things could be frosty. 10.24am: Any satisfaction that David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy will draw from today’s visit may be tempered with anxiety about when exactly this war will finish, writes Chris Stephen in Misrata. It is nearly four weeks since rebel forces entered Tripoli, yet pro-Gaddafi forces are still holding out in the coastal stronghold of Sirte and in the towns of Bani Walid and Sabha. On 27 September, Nato’s mandate, already extended by three months in June, is due to run out. A further three months’ extension can be agreed by the alliance, but Cameron is likely to want to bring down the curtain on what has proved a controversial mission without wanting to seek a further extension. That may be one reason why Nato jets continue to pound Sirte each day: no city, apart from Tripoli, has endured such punishment from Nato strike planes in this war. Since 24 August, when attention was switched from the Libyan capital, Nato has destroyed 296 military targets in and around Sirte; Yesterday’s strikes included a command post, a multiple-barrelled rocket launcher and four radar sites. The problem for Nato, and for rebel forces outside the city, is that Sirte, built near the site of the ancient Phoenician city of Macomedes-Euphranta, is Gaddafi’s birthplace, home of the Gaddafi tribe, and has a lot of kit; much of it around the sprawling Ghardabiya air base just south of the city. On 20 March, the second day of the air war, and seven days before Nato agreed on taking command of the operation, 42 hardened aircraft shelters were destroyed by American B2 stealth bombers. A Sirte rebel who escaped the town on Monday to join opposition forces ringing the city said that any attacking force must cope also with the hostility of the Gaddafi tribe, and its tribal militia who patrol the streets of the town. Adding to the problems rebel forces face is that the city centre is home to merchants originally from Misrata, who are now penned in, effectively as human shields, by Gaddafi militias who have cut power and food supplies going in. 10.13am: “In my three weeks here, people have often come up to me unprompted and said: ‘Thank you, Cameron, thank you, Sarkozy, thank you, Obama,” David Smith reports from Tripoli . In a telephone call on crackly line David said: There is still a lot of goodwill towards the Nato allies. In Tripoli there will be an extremely warm reception [for David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy]. [But] a guarding against any sense of “mission accomplished”. Of course fighting goes on in some Gaddafi strongholds. [But] This will be something of a victory lap. The arrival of these senior figures will be seen as yet another step towards normality. The two leaders are expected to give a press conference and visit a field hospital in Tripoli before travelling to Benghazi, David said. There is a security lockdown at the Tripoli Corinthia hotel where a press conference is expected, he said. There are no chances being taken with security, there are airport style metal detectors, the hotel is in lockdown, many surrounding rounds have been closed. They are clearly conscious of the security risk … It is an important measure of the apparent return to normality in Tripoli that this visit is happening at all. When you drive through Tripoli there are fewer and fewer military checkpoints every day. There is more and more traffic and more and more shops open. You can walk very late at night and feel safer than you would in many parts of London or New York. There hasn’t been any sign of an insurgency. 9.37am: The French finance minister denied that the visit of Sarkozy and Cameron was about picking up the economic spoils of war. AP has this: Francois Baroin, speaking on France-Info radio, said the visit “is a strong gesture, it is a historic moment to go today to Libya.” Asked whether there were economic arguments for the visit, Baroin says, “we are not at that stage.” He says France’s focus is not yet on reconstruction contracts but on supporting the interim leadership and pursuing “the last pro-Gaddafi pockets.” 9.27am: We can stop being coy about the visit of Cameron and Sarkozy to Tripoli. Downing Street has confirmed that the plane has landed. Cameron is being accompanied by foreign secretary William Hague. Our political editor Patrick Wintour has this report on the visit : David Cameron landed in liberated Tripoli this morning to undertake a high-risk visit to the Libyan capital along with the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, the other main western champion of the five-month Nato bombing campaign that eventually ousted Colonel Gaddafi from power. William Hague, the foreign secretary, is also on the visit, along with the french intellectual Bernard-Henry Lévy, who persuaded Sarkozy that a victory for the Libyan rebels was essential if the momentum of the Arab Spring was to be retained. Cameron is bringing with him an aid package and will hold talks with the leaders of the National Transitional Council (NTC) on the progress they are making on stabilisation, driving out the remaining pockets of Gaddafi-supporting resistance in the south of the country and preparing for a democratic future. It will be the first visit to Libya by western leaders since the collapse of Gaddafi’s regime, and is likely to spark big scenes of celebration for the two men who championed the Libyan revolution, at some political and diplomatic risk. It is also expected that Cameron wll fly to Benghazi, the cradle of the resistance and still the base for the NTC. The trip has been under discussion for over a fortnight, but the two leaders have been advised that the security situation is safe enough for them to travel to a city that only three weeks ago appeared to be under the iron grip of Gaddafi. 9.15am: Until now US assistant secretary of state Jeffrey Feltman has been the highest ranking western official to visit Libya. After his trip on Wednesday Feltman confirmed that US was monitoring the influence of Islamic groups in Libya. Speaking to the New York Times he said: I think it’s something that everybody is watching. First of all the Libyan people themselves are talking about this. Based on our discussions with Libyans so far, we aren’t concerned that one group is going to be able to dominate the aftermath of what has been a shared struggle by the Libyan people. 9.03am: Reuters has more on Cameron and Sarkozy’s trip to Libya, which it describes as their “victory lap” . Both leaders are hugely popular on the streets of Libya, where “Merci Sarkozy” and “Thank you Britain” are common graffiti slogans. Both may hope to earn political dividends back home from what now appears to have been a successful bet. But on the eve of their visit, the leader of Libya’s National Transitional Council said heavy battles lie ahead against Gaddafi loyalists who have refused to surrender. National Transitional Council vice chairman Abdel Hafiz Ghogo told Reuters the two leaders would visit both Tripoli and Benghazi, where the NTC rulers are still based even though Gaddafi opponents seized the capital more than three weeks ago. Reuters also reports that Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected in Libya on Friday with Egypt’s foreign minister, Mohammed Kamel Amr. 8.27am: Welcome to Middle East Live. Rumours that David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy planned to visit Libya first starting circulating yesterday . Downing Street is refusing to confirm the trip, but it is being reported by al-Jazeera and other media organisations that both men are expected in Tripoli and Benghazi . Last night officials in the new Libyan government indicated that both men would become the first world leaders to visit post-Gaddafi Libya . The French president is said to be revelling in his new nickname “Sarkozy the Libyan” and will be hoping that trip will revive his flagging poll ratings and France’s tarnished image in the Arab world. Writing earlier this month, our Paris correspondent, Angelique Chrisafis , said: Sarkozy wants to take credit for helping to establish a workable post-Gaddafi country, he wants France to succeed where the US failed in Iraq. By showing he could win over others as part of an alliance of world partners on Libya, Sarkozy hopes he can redress his public image as impulsive, undiplomatic and with a tendency for going out on a limb. Here are the other key developments in the region: Libya Mass graves are being discovered every week in Libya, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. It is sending forensic experts to ensure that exhumations are properly conducted to ensure that information about the dead is not lost. In the latest discovery 34 bodies were exhumed from a mass grave near al-Qawalish , in the Nafusa mountains in western Libya, according to Human Rights Watch. Syria • Britain’s ambassador to Syria, Simon Collis, said he attended the vigil of an activist killed under torture to help draw attention to the violent crackdown against protests in Syria. Collis was filmed alongside several other ambassadors at a vigil for Giyath Matar on Sunday. He said: It is important to show Giyath’s family and Syrians that the world has noticed what is going on and to increase awareness of the wider situation in Syria. I spoke to his father: the family are very keen that what happened is known. The broader message to the regime is that this killing and torture must end. Giyath was so clearly associated with peaceful protests and for somebody like that to die in custody is outrageous. British diplomats said that if Collis had been in the country at the time he would have joined the US and French ambassadors on their celebrated trips to Hama in July , which drew attention to the threat of a bloodbath in the opposition stronghold. • Three rescuers and a patient were injured in an attack on a Red Crescent ambulance, Human Rights Watch has documented, in an incident it says highlights the need for independent investigation into human rights violations in Syria. “If Red Crescent volunteers are not safe from harm, who is?” asks Sarah Leah Whitson, its Middle East director. Israel and Palestinian territories The United States, Europe and the Middle East quartet are engaged in a last-ditch effort to set up a fresh round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in an attempt to head off a major diplomatic embarrassment over the looming Palestinian request for recognition of statehood at the UN. The US is leading diplomatic pressure on Israeli and Palestinian leaders in a bid to persuade the parties back to negotiations rather than risk a damaging collision in New York next week. Libya Muammar Gaddafi David Cameron Nicolas Sarkozy Arab and Middle East unrest Syria Palestinian territories Israel Nato Middle East US foreign policy Bashar Al-Assad Matthew Weaver Paul Owen guardian.co.uk
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Banking experts said the $2bn loss was a major blow to UBS’s reputation, and that of the wider financial sector A 31-year old man has been arrested by City of London Police on suspicion of fraud in connection with a rogue trading incident that has cost Swiss bank UBS around $2bn (£1.3bn). The Zurich-based bank uncovered the incident as recently as the last 24 hours and it suffered a near 10% fall in share price in early trading after it revealed the loss could push the bank into the red for the current financial quarter . The City of London Police arrested a 31-year old man at 3.30am in Central London on “suspicion of fraud by abuse of position”. He remains in police custody and the force has begun an investigation. The Financial Services Authority, the City regulator, is understood to have been informed. City sources believe the bank would be unlikely to reveal the full details of the trading position – thought to be in the equities division – until it had been closed down or reduced on the market. In a brief statement, UBS said it was still trying to get to the bottom of the matter, which was announced on the third anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers. “UBS has discovered a loss due to unauthorised trading by a trader in its investment bank. The matter is still being investigated, but UBS’s current estimate of the loss on the trades is in the range of $2bn. It is possible that this could lead UBS to report a loss for the third quarter of 2011.” It added that “no client positions were affected”. The bank refused to elaborate but in an internal memo to staff, the executive committee of UBS revealed that they only uncovered the incident on Wednesday. “We regret to inform you that yesterday we uncovered a case of unauthorised trading by a trader in the investment bank. We have reported it to the markets in line with regulatory disclosure obligations. The matter is still being investigated,” the internal memo said. “We understand that you have already had to contend with unfavourable, volatile markets for some time now. While the news is distressing, it will not change the fundamental strength of our firm. We urge you to stay focused on your clients, who are counting on you to guide them through these uncertain times,” the management urged the bank’s staff who are facing redundancies under a programme of cuts announced only last month. UBS’s headquarters are in Zurich, but the bank operates in many financial centres. It employs around 6,000 people in the UK, largely in the City, although this rogue trading incident may put more pressure on the bank to reduce the size of the division. Major blow Banking experts said the loss was a major blow to UBS’s reputation, and that of the wider financial sector. Simon Ballard, senior credit strategist at RBC Capital Markets, said the trading loss would add to public concern over the banking sector . “At a time of greater regulation, it will raise questions about regulatory capital and whether ringfences are in place to stop this happening,” Ballard told Bloomberg TV. ZKB trading analyst Claude Zehnder told Reuters that UBS bankers “obviously have a problem with risk management”. “Even when the amount isn’t so high it is once more a loss of confidence that casts UBS in a poor light,” he said. Last month, UBS announced plans to cut 3,500 jobs as part of a £1.5bn cost reduction programme . It suffered huge losses during the financial crisis, but returned to profit in February 2010 . The cost of insuring UBS’s debt against default rose by around 7% on Thursday morning, according to Gavan Nolan of Markit, before dropping back as traders digested the implications of the loss. UBS Banking European banks Financial Services Authority (FSA) Financial sector Europe Europe Jill Treanor Graeme Wearden guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Cameron and Sarkozy land in Libya to meet National Transitional Council
September 15, 2011 No Comment
Britain and France aim to deliver aid and discuss how to stabilise the country as the hunt continues to find Gaddafi David Cameron landed in liberated Tripoli this morning to undertake a high-risk visit to the Libyan capital along with the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, the other main western champion of the five-month Nato bombing campaign that eventually ousted Colonel Gaddafi from power. William Hague, the foreign secretary, is also on the visit, along with the french intellectual Bernard-Henry Lévy, who persuaded Sarkozy that a victory for the Libyan rebels was essential if the momentum of the Arab Spring was to be retained. Cameron is bringing with him an aid package and will hold talks with the leaders of the National Transitional Council (NTC) on the progress they are making on stabilisation, driving out the remaining pockets of Gaddafi-supporting resistance in the south of the country and preparing for a democratic future. It will be the first visit to Libya by western leaders since the collapse of Gaddafi’s regime, and is likely to spark big scenes of celebration for the two men who championed the Libyan revolution, at some political and diplomatic risk. It is also expected that Cameron will fly to Benghazi, the cradle of the resistance and still the base for the NTC. The trip has been under discussion for over a fortnight, but the two leaders have been advised that the security situation is safe enough for them to travel to a city that only three weeks ago appeared to be under the iron grip of Gaddafi. It had been intended that the trip remain unannounced until the two leaders reached the Libyan capital this morning, but news leaked in Paris, and was picked up on international websites. Downing Street, on security advice, refused to confirm the planned visit until Cameron’s plane had landed in Tripoli. The NTC had also confirmed the trip. The visit is clearly designed to reap some domestic political kudos for what has in effect been the first war that Cameron himself waged rather than simply inherited from the Labour government. British government sources insisted there would be no triumphalism on the visit nor any echoes of George Bush’s premature claim of “mission accomplished” at the end of the fighting in Iraq. He is likely to meet civilians, and some of those injured in the fighting. Sarkozy is due to be travelling with a group of police, who are expected to help advise the Libyans on security. The leaders of the NTC are due to transfer their headquarters from Benghazi to Tripoli. Cameron and Sarkozy will meet the key figures on the council to discuss the future state of the economy and political developments. Gaddafi has yet to be captured and is thought to be in the south of Libya. Hague and the international development secretary, Andrew Mitchell, travelled to Benghazi during the Nato bombing campaign, but Cameron rejected a Sarkozy suggestion to travel to the country during the war itself, arguing it might affect the fragile Arab League support for the campaign. French papers noted that the visit coincided with a high-profile TV debate between the French socialist candidates. It is also expected the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will visit Libya as part of a wider north African tour. David Cameron Libya Middle East Africa Nicolas Sarkozy Arab and Middle East unrest Foreign policy France Patrick Wintour guardian.co.uk
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