• Fuel duty cut by 1p and fuel duty escalator scrapped • Corporation tax cut by 2p – not 1p as expected • Annual growth forecast revised down from 2.1% to 1.7% • National insurance and income tax may be merged George Osborne has levied a £2bn windfall tax on Britain’s North Sea oil companies to pay for a cut in petrol duties for motorists struggling because of the soaring price of crude oil on global markets. The chancellor said he wanted his budget to “put fuel into the tank of the British economy”. He told the Commons he was scrapping the previous Labour government’s plans for automatic above-inflation increases in fuel duties and would instead be cutting 1p a litre from forecourt prices from tonight. In the sort of flourish that was Gordon Brown’s trademark at the end of his budgets, Osborne announced the fuel duty cut at the climax of a 56-minute speech built around the theme of boosting growth and rebalancing the economy. He said he was cutting corporation tax by 2p in the pound this year rather than the 1p reduction previously planned, and announced a shake-up of planning laws and a bonfire of regulations in an attempt to stimulate enterprise. However, the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, said Osborne’s claim to have delivered a budget for growth was undermined by a cut in the growth forecast for 2011 from 2.1% to 1.7%. Osborne cast his second budget since becoming the chancellor in May as an “urgent call to action” in which the government would move from “rescue to reform and from reform to recovery”, building on the deficit reduction measures of 2010. He said it was a fiscal plan designed to create an economy built on private sector growth and the “march of the makers” rather than using government spending and debt to encourage a recovery. He added that his budget measures would be “fiscally neutral across the period, neither raising tax nor offering giveaways”. The chancellor presented a package of measures to boost business and make Britain more competitive, help consumer confidence and claw revenue back elsewhere. Osborne said Britain had “lost ground” in the world’s economy and needed to catch up. His budget set “four economic ambitions” for Britain: being the most competitive tax system in the G20; being the best place to “start, finance and grow a business”, with a more balanced economy and a more educated and “flexible” workforce. Measures included a further 1% cut in corporation tax to make clear that “Britain is open for business” and an annual £1bn clampdown on tax avoidance. “Today’s budget is about reforming the nation’s economy so that we can have enduring jobs and growth in the future, doing what we can to protect families from the high cost of living,” he said. Presented against a deteriorating economic backdrop of rising oil prices, public sector austerity and low consumer confidence, the budget sought to appeal to Britain’s “squeezed middle” by announcing help for first-time home-buyers, and a boost for 25 million income taxpayers by raising the threshold on the personal tax allowance to £8,075 by April 2012. With household bills and retail prices rising, the chancellor concentrated much of the money he has to play with on cutting fuel prices as the cost of petrol and diesel reached all-time national average highs (£1.33 and £1.40 respectively) to increase consumers’ spending power and help business. The rise in fuel duty planned for next week will be delayed until 2012, and the fuel duty escalator that adds 1p to fuel duty on top of inflation each year to be cancelled for the rest of this parliament. A fair fuel stabiliser to help keep costs down in future is to be funded by an increased levy on oil and gas production. Osborne told MPs that helping families with the cost of living and backing enterprise and introducing “far-reaching reforms” to help the economy grow were “one and the same thing”. He said: “It is the central understanding of this government – and core to our strategy – that these are not two separate tasks. They are one and the same thing. “We are only going to raise the living standards of families if we have an economy that can compete in the modern age. “So this is our plan for growth. We want the words ‘made in Britain’, ‘created in Britain’, ‘designed in Britain’, invented in Britain’ to drive our nation forward. “A Britain carried aloft by the march of the makers. That is how we will create jobs and support families. We have put fuel into the tank of the British economy.” But his package received short shrift from Miliband, who told him his economic strategy for Britain was “hurting, not working”. Miliband challenged Osborne’s claim to have delivered a budget for growth, saying the government’s cuts were damaging the economic recovery. “Every time he comes to this house, growth is downgraded,” he said. “One fact says it all, and he couldn’t bring himself to say it: growth down last year, this year and next year. It’s the same old Tories – it’s hurting, but it isn’t working.” Other measures to protect the money in people’s pockets in Osborne’s budget include: • Raising the income tax personal allowance by £630 next year, which comes on top of the £1,000 rise next month and lifting the threshold at which income tax is payable to just over £8,105 from April next year, a real terms increase of £48 a year (or £126 in cash terms) for those earning up to £115,000 a year. The 550,000 taxpayers who earn more than £115,000 will lose £45 a year because they no longer have a personal allowance. The latter measure will see a further 250,000 people taken out of income tax altogether, in a move that brings the coalition a step closer to its promise of delivering a £10,000 tax threshold by the 2015 general election. • A £250m shared equity scheme for new homes, funded from the bank levy, to help 10,000 families. Those with a household income of less than £60,000 a year who can put down a 5% deposit on a new home will be eligible for an equity loan worth up to 20% of the value of the property jointly funded by the government and housebuilders. The loan will be interest-free for five years and only be repayable when the house is sold. In a budget designed to shift away from spending cuts to reduce the national debt to growth-enhancing measures, Osborne also published his growth strategy for business. His bid to boost the private sector includes: • The removal of £350m worth of regulation on businesses. • A three-year moratorium on new domestic regulation for all businesses employing fewer than 10 people. • New planning rules to require planners to prioritise growth and jobs with a new presumption in favour of sustainable development, while retaining existing controls on green belt land. • Small business relief extended to October 2012, at a cost of £370m. • Funding for 21 new enterprise zones. • Funding for 40,000 new apprenticeships for unemployed young people. The chancellor presented gloomy figures based on data from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) which confirmed that the recovery would move at a slower pace than previously forecast. He said GDP growth estimates for 2011 had been cut from 2.1% to 1.7%, while 2012 was revised down to 2.5% from 2.6%. He stressed that the long-term outlook was more upbeat as estimates for 2013 were held and forecasts for 2014 and 2015 were revised upwards to 2.9% from 2.8% and 2.8% from 2.7% respectively. Osborne also revealed that the rate of inflation, currently at 4.4%, is not expected to drop back to the government’s 2% target until 2013, contrary to the Bank of England’s belief it will fall back by 2012. But the chancellor said the government was on track to deliver a balanced structural budget and falling national debt by the end of parliament. “Our fiscal mandate is to achieve a cyclically-adjusted current balance by the end of the rolling five-year forecast period – which is currently 2015-16,” he said. “We have supplemented that with a fixed target for debt: so that debt should be falling as a proportion of GDP by the year 2015-16 as well. “I can report to the house that the OBR confirm that on their central forecast we will meet both these objectives – a balanced structural current budget and falling national debt by the end of the parliament. Indeed, the forecast remains that we will meet both these objectives one year earlier.” On tax, Osborne announced plans to make Britain’s tax system more competitive and simpler: • Corporation tax will be reduced by 2% from April 2011 – rather than 1% as previously announced – and to fall by 1% in each of the next three years to reach 23%. In a bid to offset the effect of the reduction on banks, the bank levy rate will adjusted next year. • “No less than 43 complex tax reliefs” would be abolished as part of a simplification of the tax system, Osborne said. As part of the move, he confirmed widely trailed speculation that he would consult on scrapping the divide between income tax and national insurance as part of a drive to simplify taxation for business. He said this would be a way for people to see more clearly how much they are being taxed, rather than to raise them, and make the system “fit for the modern age”. Osborne balanced giveaways with fresh tax-raising measures, which included: • The charge on non-domiciled taxpayers to increase from £30,000 for those here for seven years to £50,000 for those in the country for 12 years, raising more than £200m. • A clampdown on the “injustice” of tax avoidance. Osborne said three forms of stamp duty land tax avoidance would be closed, capital gains rules for companies would be tightened and the practice of disguised remuneration, which sees highly paid employees offered tax-free, lifetime loans that are never repaid, would come to an end. “In total, on the numbers audited by the independent OBR, the tax avoidance measures in this budget raise around £1bn a year – that’s £4bn over the parliament,” he added. “We are doing more today to clamp down on tax avoidance than in any budget in recent years. And that gives us more resources, in a fiscally neutral budget, to help those families who do pay their taxes, but who are struggling with the daily cost of living.” Budget 2011 Budget George Osborne Economic policy Economic growth (GDP) Economics Green shoots Tax and spending Petrol prices Motoring Property Public finance Hélène Mulholland Larry Elliott guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Ed Schultz and Ben Jealous Hit Beck for Dismissing That King Died While Fighting for Labor Rights
March 23, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media Ed Schultz and the NAACP’s Ben Jealous took Glenn Beck to task for his revisionist history, dismissing the fact that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. died while fighting for the rights of public sector union members. As they rightfully pointed out, if he were alive today, he’d be out there with these protesters marching against these Republican governors who are doing their best to destroy what’s left of collective bargaining rights for unions in America. Media Matters has more on Beck’s nonsense and you can read the full report here — Beck Dismisses The Fact That MLK Died While Fighting For Labor Rights .
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Treme is dull, lecturing and annoyingly elitist. A huge shame for fans of David Simon’s other work I don’t know if you saw the ratings for Treme? 66,000 people watched episode one as it premiered on Sky Atlantic . As a fan of all David Simon’s previous work – from Homicide: A Year On The Killing Streets through to The Wire and Generation Kill – my reaction was one of shock. You would have thought more than 66,000 (a 0.5% audience share) would have watched it by accident. Where were all those smug gits who’d spent the last year or two holding dinner parties so that they could boast about their box sets of The Wire? It was as if David Simon ‘s superb statement of intent – “you know what? Fuck the casual viewer” – had come home to haunt him. Episode one of Treme had almost no viewers, casual or otherwise. I’ve stuck with Treme for five episodes now, and I’m sorry to report that, as the jazz cats in N’Awlins would say: it’s not happening. When it was shown on FX, the word about The Wire spread like rumours of copacetic dope around Hamsterdam. But you’ll wait a long time until you bump into someone raving about this great new series he or she’s been watching called Treme. For a start, they probably won’t know how to pronounce it. This is the first thing wrong with Simon’s latest opus: that title. Sure, it’s a superficial issue and the correct pronunciation is mentioned a couple of times in the show. But it doesn’t exactly draw people in. It’s just annoying and – characteristically of Simon – elitist. (Anyone who knows what’s what is meant to know how to say it.) Even Sky Atlantic’s continuity announcers get it wrong. What else is wrong with Treme? Well, not that much ostensibly. It is well written, nicely shot and directed. All of that. The acting is strong – with characteristically natural performances by David Morse and Melissa Leo, Simon regulars Clarke Peters, Wendell Pierce, and the glorious Khandi Alexander. But all this indicates part of the problem with Treme. It is … OK. And that’s all. You never get the sense that you are watching something that is changing the genre (The Wire), subverting the culture (Generation Kill) or that someone is giving the performance of their lives (Alexander in The Corner or Andre Royo as Bubs). The two biggest performances in Treme epitomise the frustrations it inspires. Although, like The Wire, Treme is an ensemble piece, the two characters who have gradually taken it over are Davis (played by Steve Zahn) and Creighton Bernette (John Goodman). Only someone as principled (pig-headed) as David Simon would base his new 10-part series around two characters as irritating as Davis and Bernette. It’s impossible to say whether Zahn in particular is either a really good actor or just Really Irritating. The breadth of drama The Wire had is just lacking in Treme. What Simon has given us is a selection of characters all moaning about the same thing: the after effects of the storm. The sub plots relating to the effects of the storm are just not that gripping. Bernette and Davis give voice to the least appealing aspect of The Wire – David Simon’s didactic political rhetoric. What George Bush and the successive government has done – or not done – for New Orleans sucks: we get it. The most likeable characters in the show are, once again, played by Clarke and Pierce. But casting them was a mistake. Every time they appear, it’s unavoidable: you think: it’s Freamon or Bunk. Finally, there’s the music. Now I love New Orleans. I support the New Orleans Saints and think Mardi Gras is a sight every one should witness – if their livers can stand it. But the music in Treme is like Chinese water torture. It’s death by jazz. Some of it is great, admittedly. Inspirational. But you can have too much of a good thing. We get the message David. You like jazz. Now can’t we just have a few more storylines? To some viewers, to even think of criticising David Simon is sacrilege. And to a point, they’re right. If it were by someone else, Treme would be a godsend. But, coming from him, it pains me to say it, Treme is dull. As Chris Rock would say: “yeah I said it.” • Jim Shelley is the TV critic of the Mirror Treme Television HBO Drama Jim Shelley guardian.co.uk
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Video analysis: Economics editor Larry Elliott gives his assessment of Osborne’s ‘budget for growth’ Larry Elliott Richard Sprenger Jon Dennis Christian Bennett
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Click here to view this media Occasionally Greta Van Susteren earns her keep, at least as it pertains to legal issues. She interviewed Wisconsin GOP Leader Scott Fitzgerald and grilled him on why he’s persisting with a court action when he could simply give 24-hour notice and call a vote. I have long thought the reason for the cramdown of the vote on this wasn’t because of Democrats, but because of Republicans. I think their unity was fracturing and with each passing day, public pressure and disapproval was growing to the point where at least three Republican Senators were in danger of defection. Fitzgerald seems to think so too. After being pressed by Greta, who quite reasonably points out that all he’d have to do is comply with the 24-hour notice requirements to get his law passed and published even as the old one “meanders in the courts”, he says this: Greta, you know that the legislature is always very tentative, and you may have the votes on one day and then you don’t on the next. He goes on, but that right there says it all.
Continue reading …NOW Defends Palin for Being Called a ‘Dumb [Vagina]‘ Without Mentioning Maher, Then Attacks Conservatives
March 23, 2011 No Comment![NOW Defends Palin for Being Called a ‘Dumb [Vagina]‘ Without Mentioning Maher, Then Attacks Conservatives](https://newsbreakingonline.com/wp-content/themes/transcript/timthumb.php?src=%3Cimg+src%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fnewsbreakingonline.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F03%2F0f66db7d740Palin.gif.gif%22+%2F%3E&q=90&w=190&h=100&zc=1 "NOW Defends Palin for Being Called a ‘Dumb [Vagina]‘ Without Mentioning Maher, Then Attacks Conservatives")
The National Organization for Women on Tuesday finally responded to Bill Maher calling Sarah Palin a highly derogatory term for a woman's vagina, but did so without mentioning Maher's name, the program he said it on, or the television network he represents. NOW Communications Director Lisa Bennett also took the opportunity to bash conservatives (photo courtesy Reuters): 1. Listen, supposedly progressive men (ok, and women, too): Cut the crap! Stop degrading women with whom you disagree and/or don't like by using female body terms or other gender-associated slurs. OK? Can you do that, please? If you think someone's an idiot or a danger to the country, feel free to say so, but try to keep their sex out of it. Sexist insults have an impact on all women. That was the extent of her defense of Palin. Even worse, the offending party and the particulars of his sexist remark weren't even mentioned. As such, folks not aware of this issue still aren't. But Bennett didn't stop there, for she felt the need to blame this all on conservatives: 2. We're on to you, right-wingers: a. You're trying to take up our time getting us to defend your friend Sarah Palin. If you keep us busy defending her, we have less time to defend women's bodies from the onslaught of reproductive rights attacks and other threats to our freedom, safety, livelihood, etc. Sorry, but we can't defend Palin or even Hillary Clinton from every sexist insult hurled at them in the media. That task would be impossible, and it would consume us. You know this would not be a productive way to fight for women's equal rights, which is why you want us stuck in this morass. So sticking up for America's most powerful women that have been publicly defamed on national television is not a “productive way to fight for women's equal rights?” Wouldn't that actually be the most productive way for it would get the most attention? Apparently not: b. As usual, you're looking for any way to discredit NOW. You claim we care and work only for liberal woman, but that's a LIE. We have defended Sarah Palin and other conservative women from sexist attacks. Maybe not on your schedule, but we've done so. And by the way, all those laws we advocate for — we don't ask that they include a clause saying only certified liberal women can benefit from them. Conservative women benefit from them, too! Just because we don't open up a Palin wing on the NOW website doesn't mean we don't think that every single woman — right, left and in-between — deserves equal pay, full reproductive rights, justice in the courts, etc. So knock off the facetious whining that right-wing women are not represented by NOW's work. Actually, there would be no attempt to discredit NOW if it quickly came to the defense of conservative women that are being sexistly attacked by prominent media figures. The fact that NOW has largely stood by and watched this sexist Palin-bashing for over two and a half years is a part of the problem. So, too, was NOW's decision to ignore New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd calling Republican women “Mean girls” last October. If NOW had a better record of admonishing sexism aimed at conservative ladies, this wouldn't be an issue. More importantly, maybe such attacks would stop. NOW's silence after such offenses potentially increases their number. Consider that in this instance, since Maher, “Real Time,” and HBO weren't even mentioned in Bennett's condemnation of this event, there is absolutely no negative consequence for him, his program, or the network that airs it. As such, there's no reason for him to stop what he's doing, and no reason for HBO to ask him to. But this wasn't the first time NOW incorporated a conservative rant into a pseudo-defense of Palin. When CBS “Late Show” host David Letterman was regularly ridiculing her back in 2009, the women's rights group decided to address the matter by also bashing Rush Limbaugh. I guess this organization is so uncomfortable defending Palin that it feels the need to go after others on the right when doing so. This hypocrisy was not lost on members of NOW.org who overwhelmingly condemned Bennett's statement in the comments section:
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Forget all those tales of wishes granted and teeth collected – the best fairies are deceitful, malicious and bad Michelle Harrison won the Waterstone’s children’s books prize in 2009 with her debut novel, The Thirteen Treasures, a Grimm-style story of a girl who can see fairies. She followed it with The Thirteen Curses and The Thirteen Secrets, the third instalment of the trilogy. “The first fairy story to have an impact on me was one invented by my older sister, Theresa. It was of a fairy who had been killed by a wicked witch and buried in our garden. The lack of a happy ending led me to wonder if it was true and, morbid child that I was, I dug in the flowerbeds in search of that fairy. After that I quickly became familiar with the usual tales of good fairies granting wishes and collecting teeth, and gradually lost interest, preferring stories of adventure, mystery, and ghosts. “My interest in fairies was revived unexpectedly during a college illustration course. I discovered the art work of Arthur Rackham, Alan Lee, and Brian Froud. It completely changed the way I viewed fairies and prompted me to research deeper into British folklore. There I found stories of fairies that were deceitful, malicious – even deadly. I knew I had to write about them, and I’ve been hooked on the darker side of fairy tales ever since. ” 1. Faeries by Brian Froud and Alan Lee Crammed with fairy folklore and hundreds of beautiful illustrations, this book will challenge your perception of fairies. From sinister stories of changelings to tales of water hags such as Jenny Greenteeth, this rich and fascinating book can be pored over or simply dipped into. This was my first introduction to ‘real’ fairies, and it remains a firm favourite and constant source of inspiration. 2. The Merrybegot by Julie Hearn One my my all-time favourite books, fairy or otherwise. Set in a West Country village, it’s the story of Nell, the cunning woman’s granddaughter, and what follows when she and her beloved granny are suspected of witchcraft. Though it focuses on superstition and healing, there are some quirky, and very amusing, piskie and fairy scenes. I absolutely love this book, and I’m forever recommending it to people. Every sentence is beautifully crafted and it’s a pleasure to read and re-read. 3. A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare Shakespeare’s witty and charming play tells of four young lovers who blunder into the crossfire of the warring fairy king and queen, Oberon and Titania. With the mischievous Puck administering love potions galore, the humans’ lives and emotions are manipulated beyond their control. Though the play ends well for all, for me there’s a sense of unease surrounding one of the couples, whose love is manufactured by the fairies rather than genuine. The version with Arthur Rackham’s gorgeous illustrations is my favourite. 4. Poison by Chris Wooding “Once upon a time there was a young lady who lived in a marsh, and her name was Poison…” So begins a fairy tale in the tradition of all great fairy tales. Poison, a wilful, sullen girl journeys to the phaerie realm in search of her younger sister, stolen from her bed. Though not necessarily a new premise, Wooding’s tale stands apart from others of its kind as a darker tale unfolds. A haunting book with vivid and sometimes gruesome characters, and my number one ingredient in any book – a fantastic ending. 5. Cold Tom by Sally Prue Sally Prue wastes no words in this odd and unsettling story which is loosely linked to The Ballad of Tam Lin . Tom knows he’s different from the rest of the Tribe, a beautiful but cruel race who see emotion as weakness, and love as being enslaved. Prue’s fairies are amongst the wildest I’ve come across. They tear raw flesh from animal bones with their teeth; they think of humans as hot, stinking, foul ‘demons’; and their only concern is survival. Chilling and unique. 6. Lady Cottington’s Pressed Fairy Book by Terry Jones, illustrated by Brian Froud Lady Angelica Cottington’s diary is one with a difference. Frustrated that no one believes in the fairies that only she can she, a quick snap of the book (intended for pressing flowers) manages to catch one of the little beasts between its pages. Humorously illustrated throughout by Brian Froud this is a visual treat, with the images of the squashed fairies (sometimes just the feet or a wing) becoming increasingly hilarious (and rude) as the story continues. For those concerned about the fairies’ well being, a disclaimer at the start explains that the images are merely ‘psychic impressions’ and that no fairies were harmed in the making. 7. The Crowfield Curse by Pat Walsh When Will rescues a hob from a trap in the woods, the creature shares a secret. Hidden in the forest is a grave. Some want to find it, while others want it kept hidden at all cost. The reader is propelled into the world of sinister fairies, or ‘fays’, and the Seelie and Unseelie courts. This book made me laugh and cry, and there is a strong message of bravery in going against the grain of what we are told is acceptable and right. The hob has swiftly become one of my favourite fairy characters. I wish I could smuggle him to Elvesden Manor – I think he’d be right at home with my own fairies. 8. Heretic by Sarah Singleton When Elizabeth finds a strange, green-skinned creature in the woods, she doesn’t immediately realise that it is in fact, a girl of her own age. Isabella has hidden for three centuries in the fairy realm in order to escape religious persecution – something Elizabeth is no stranger to. Her own family is harbouring a Catholic priest in Protestant England, risking the lives of them all. I’m a big fan of Sarah Singleton’s work. Gothic, well-researched, and evocative, Heretic weaves history and fantasy into an intelligent and bewitching story. 9. Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti Despite warnings from her sister, a young girl, Laura, falls victim to malicious goblin men peddling irresistible, enchanted fruit. In exchange for a lock of her hair and a tear drop, Laura eats the fruit and falls ill, nursed back only by Lizzie’s sisterly love. Rossetti’s cautionary poem can be read on several levels though there is ambiguity, even from the author, over whether it is intended for children. Many argue that the themes of temptation and forbidden fruit, and the nature of the descriptions would suggest not. 10. The Stolen Child by WB Yeats “Come away, O human child … With a fairy hand in hand…” This classic poem tells of a child being coaxed away by the fairies. On the surface its stunning imagery of the natural world comforts the reader into thinking the child is going to a better place, for as the fairies put it, the world is “full of weeping”. But the last verse of the poem, describing how the child will no longer hear everyday things such as the kettle boiling on the hob or the cows on the hillside, chokes me up every time. Loreena McKennitt puts the words to music in a song of the same title, which I’m very fond of. Fairytales guardian.co.uk
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In pictures: A look back at the career of the much-married Hollywood idol, whose work became inextricably bound with a much-publicised private life
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• Nato to assume day-to-day military command in Libya • Fighting continues in Misrata, food running low • Obama says Gaddafi may wait out military assault • Gaddafi tells supporters: “We will not surrender” Follow our live Libya Q&A with a panel of experts 2.27pm: The Guardian has been told that text messages are being sent to people in Tripoli, claiming to be from rebels in Benghazi and the east, but actually sent by Gaddafi’s regime. A source in Libya said the texts say the country will be split in two. The texts also threaten that rebels from Benghazi are heading to the west of the country to rape and pillage in Tripoli, with the help of western powers. Separately, our source claims that state television in Tripoli is showing pictures of dead people which the reports say were killed in the coalition air strikes – however some of the dead have been recognised by viewers as relatives who disappeared during Gaddafi’s crackdown on Tripoli. The Guardian is unable to confirm the source’s account at this moment in time. 2.13pm: A resident in Misrata, who has asked not to be named, has told the Guardian that snipers are targeting the hospital in Misrata despite Gaddafi forces’s heavy artillery having been silenced. A coalition bombardment has silenced the cannon and tanks this morning, but snipers are targeting the hospital there. The resident said he had spoken to a contact in Zintan who said the town was being bombarded by Gaddafi’s forces and is now “facing the fate of Zawiyah” and “needs desperate help”. 1.44pm: A doctor in Misrata has told the BBC World Service that there are no pro-Gaddafi tanks in the city today – “because all the tanks have either escaped or been destroyed by the allied forces”. However the doctor said the hospital where he works is still surrounded by snipers loyal to Col Gaddafi. “They are shooting anybody going in or coming out of the hospital. Until now we have four civilian dead.” 1.00pm: Our live Libya Q&A with a panel of experts is about to begin. Post your questions, or read our experts’ answers, here . 12.42pm: Reuters have managed to get another telephone update from Misrata: Western air strikes early on Wednesday hit an air base south of Libya’s rebel-held Misrata where government forces are positioned, but snipers shot two people dead in the centre of the city, a resident said. “This morning, air strikes twice hit the airbase where Gaddafi’s brigades are based,” the resident, called Sami, told Reuters. “Two people were killed by snipers an hour ago in the centre of the town. Their bodies are now at the hospital, which I visited a while ago. Shooting is still going on there (in the city centre) now,” he said. 12.36pm: An image, below, from the under-siege rebel town of Ajdabiya – a rebel fighter at a checkpoint. – 12.34pm: A brief, and expected, update via the Associated Press – Nato commanders have confirmed that the alliance’s warships are now patrolling off Libya’s coast to enforce the arms embargo. 12.13pm: David Cameron has been speaking about Libya at the start of his pre-budget prime minister’s questions in the Commons (see Andrew Sparrow’s live politics live blog for full coverage . Cameron said the no-fly zone has had “an early and good effect” in terms of forcing Gaddafi’s forces back from Benghazi and protecting civilians. He added: Clearly there is great concern about what the regime is doing in Misrata, and any idea that their second ceasefire was any more meaningful than the first ceasefire we can see is complete nonsense. Asked by Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, about Arab contributions to the military effort, Cameron said Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan were now involved but conceded that due to the speed of the response the Arab involvement was not as great “as perhaps would have been welcomed”. Quizzed by Miliband about whether or not Gaddafi himself was viewed as a possible target – the source of apparent differences earlier this week between the government and military – Cameron said that all actions would be in line with the UN resolution, adding: All targets should be in line with that, but I don’t propose to give a running commentary on targets, or frankly to say anything beyond that. 12.01pm: News of a renewed assault my Gaddafi loyalists on another rebel-held town, Zintan, about 50 miles south-west of Tripoli. Reuters spoke to a resident: Gaddafi’s brigades started bombardment from the northern area half an hour ago. The bombardment is taking place now. The town is completely surrounded. The situation is very bad… They are getting reinforcements. Troops backed with tanks and vehicles are coming. We appeal to the allied forces to come and protect civilians. 11.58am: Now briefly to Yemen . Brian Whitaker writes: After declaring a state of emergency in Yemen at the weekend, President Saleh won backing for it on Wednesday morning from the Yemeni parliament — though almost half the MPs absented themselves from the session. The text of the draft emergency law has been published (in Arabic) on al-Masdar’s website. It provisions are truly draconian, imposing restrictions on the media, travel and public meetings, even regulating the opening of shops and allowing for the “temporary takeover” of property. The state of emergency is supposed to last for just one month, though it’s worth recalling that a similar “emergency” declared in Egypt in 1967 has remained in place almost continuously since then. 11.42am: An interesting snippet from Reuters, who have spoken to an official at Agoco, a Libyan oil firm based in rebel-held Benghazi. Despite the surrounding chaos the company is still producing 95,000 barrels per day of oil, with two oil field working. This is around 25% of the normal level but they hope to resume full production in a couple of weeks. 11.38am: Tom Kington on the USS Kearsarge has another update from last night’s operations: Four US Harrier jump jets flew bombing missions from an Navy vessel off the Libyan coast on Tuesday night as coalition forces continued attempts to dislodge Libyan forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi. The Harriers, armed with GPU 12 laser guided bombs, took off from the USS Kearsarge at 11pm local time, returning at 2am before aircraft refuelled and took of for a second sortie. The Kearsarge’s group of six Harriers attacked targets outside Benghazi on Sunday morning and near Ajdabiya on Sunday night, hitting tanks, artillery pieces and mobile missile launchers. Officials did not reveal Tuesday night’s targets, but Libyan government forces were reportedly continue to shell rebels in Ajdabiya, suggesting they remain a viable target for coalition aircraft. Marine Colonel Mark Desens, who commands the Harriers, said that flying the vertical take-off jets from the Kearsarge gave them an advantage over conventional jets flying from airbases further away from Libya. “With the Harriers we can turn them around very quickly and do two sorties a night,” he said. 11.30am: A reminder of our upcoming Q&A on Libya with a panel of experts (see 9.53am for details). It’ll be happening between 1pm and 2pm here . 11.28am: Here is a video of Gaddafi in full flow last night in front of fired-up crowds, vowing not to surrender against the west’s “crusade”. 11.21am: Tom Kington has emailed from the USS Kearsarge, from where Harrier jets bombed Gaddafi forces last night. This has shades of Joseph Heller’s absurdist Catch-22. US Navy vessels patrolling off the coast of Libya have been told to keep an eye out for Muammar Gaddafi’s least expected threat – his submarine. Documents pinned up on the bridge of one vessel list the sea-borne threats American sailors may encounter as they take on the colonel, including Gaddafi’s Soviet-era Foxtrot class submarine. But intelligence on the sub is reassuring, suggesting it has rusted into ineffectiveness alongside much of Gaddafi’s pre-embargo arsenal. “Operations rare to non-existent” states the document, adding the submarine is currently being overhauled and “operates primarily on the surface,” submerging “only for a few hours.” 11.07am: More than 335,600 people have fled Libya, mainly to Tunisia and Egypt, since the beginning of the crisis, according to the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (OCHA). The situation of civilians in and around Ajdabiya, Misrata and other locations where active fighting continues remains of grave concern. In addition to the risk of personal injury from the fighting, the population of these towns may also have humanitarian needs arising from the disruption of regular services and supply lines. The presence of assistance actors inside Libya remains very limited due to prevailing security conditions. 10.53am: A resident in Misrata, which has come under heavy shelling from Gaddafi’s forces, has told Reuters that coalition aircraft have launched two strikes in the area. “The allied planes bombed twice so far. At 12:45 this morning (2245 GMT last night) and then again less than two hours ago,” the resident, called Saadoun, told Reuters by telephone from Misrata. “They (pro-Gaddafi forces) haven’t fired a single artillery (round) since the air strike. 10.30am: Time magazine has a good piece on the difficulties – understandable enough – the rebels in Benghazi have in cobbling together an effective alternative government and fighting force at the same time. “The big problem here is that most of the revolutionary guys don’t trust the military people because a lot of military guys were with Gaddafi from the start,” says Najla Elmangoush, a criminal-law professor at Benghazi’s Garyounis University and an activist at council headquarters. “We welcomed them when they joined,” she adds. “But people are concerned that maybe they’ll try anytime to change sides.” The regime is trying to encourage that fear, spreading false rumors last weekend that rebel commander Younis had returned to the regime’s camp. 10.22am: It’s difficult to get updates from Misrata – we’re working on this and will hopefully have more as the day progresses – but here’s a worrying witness testimony as heard on ABC’s PM news programme. The rebels are trying their best to secure a perimeter around the hospital but it’s not safe because the rebels are holding just only light weapons. It’s not a battle, it’s a massacre what’s happening here in Misurata. Most of the citizens who were in the areas under the control of Gaddafi’s troops and army, they have moved down toward the sea looking for some safer places. They are stepping away and escaping from the gunfire. 10.06am: This Al-Jazeera video from the frontline on the outskirts of Ajdabiya shows rebels being fired at by Gaddafi forces. 9.53am: From 1pm we’ll have a panel of experts answering questions on the Libyan crisis: • Anthony Aust, former legal adviser at the Foreign Office who served at the UK mission to the United Nations and helped draft the resolution on Kuwait in 1990. • Paul Smyth, a RAF former wing commander and Tornado navigator. • Dr Laleh Khalili, a lecturer in Middle Eastern Politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London . I’ll post a link to the live Q&A page later this morning. 9.45am: Nato warships will begin patrolling off Libya’s coast today to enforce the UN arms embargo on the country, a spokesman said. The allies agreed on Tuesday to organize the naval mission, which initially will consist of two Nato naval flotillas that routinely patrol the Mediterranean, AP said. The flotillas are made up of two frigates, six minesweepers and a supply ship. A Nato official said the mission will be commanded from Nato’s operational centre in Naples, Italy. He says more nations are likely to contribute warships to the task force. 9.26am: This video shows Nato secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen outlining the details of an operation to enforce Libya’s arms embargo. 9.05am: Sweden has frozen around 10 billion kronor ($1.6 billion) of assets belonging to Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in Libya, according to AP. Jonatan Holst at The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority says “it’s not impossible” there could be more hidden in the Scandinavian country. He would not give details of the public Libyan assets, but said Wednesday the information has been received by financial institutions in Sweden. The Stockholm-based watchdog ordered Swedish companies to start reporting any financial links to the Libyan regime on 2 March. Holst says the value of the assets began to grow as more people with ties to the Libyan regime were added to the asset search list. 8.58am: Chris McGreal is still on the outskirts of Ajdabiya, where he says the battle lines “remain as they were yesterday”. There continues to be a lot of incoming shelling from Gaddafi side against the rebels – if anything it is more intense this morning, suggesting Gaddafi forces, far from being broken by the airstrikes, might actually be being resupplied and reinforced. The situation is unclear but certainly at the moment it seems the rebels are on the back foot – they’re just sitting and waiting, taking the shelling. The bursts of artillery are not very accurate, but periodically the shells do kill or injure someone. The shells come in waves, around every 20-30 minutes, and the effect is to say the least very unnerving for the rebels, a lot of whom have pulled back from the frontline. There’s now a few hundred up at the front, but a few kilometres back are several thousand more. 8.41am: The Guardian’s Middle East editor Ian Black is in Tripoli, and has more on Gaddafi’s speech at his Bab al-Aziziya compound in the early hours of this morning. It was his first public appearance in a week, and there was nothing in it to suggest any lessening of his determination to sit out what he calls the “colonialist-crusader” attacks on Libya. The US may have intelligence about a weakening of Gaddafi’s resolve or plans to leave the country but the face he presents to his people is as defiant as ever. There would be “no surrender” to powers who belonged “on the dustheap of history” he pledged to the approving roar of the crowd. It seemed clear that he was aware of growing rumours about his whereabouts after two strikes on Bab al-Aziziya – with one opposition source reporting him at a hideout deep in the Sahara. “I am here, in my modest tent,” Gaddafi told them. “I am here.” 8.30am: Good morning, welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the continuing crisis in Libya. • Britain, France and the US have agreed that Nato will take over the military command of the no-fly zone over Libya . The move represents a setback for Nicolas Sarkozy, who had hoped to diminish the role of the alliance. Barack Obama agreed in separate phone calls with Sarkozy and David Cameron that political oversight would be handed to a separate body made up of members of the coalition, including Arab countries such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which are outside Nato. • Fighting is continuing in the rebel-held Misrata, with residents reporting shelling and sniper attacks with water and food running short. A doctor told Associated Press that tanks had opened fire on a peaceful protest Monday. “The number of dead are too many for our hospital to handle,” said the doctor, speaking on condition of anonymity. Regarding food, he said: “We share what we find and if we don’t find anything, which happens, we don’t know what to do.” • Barack Obama has said it may not be military might that ousts Gaddafi, rather belief among rebel Libyans that it is time for change. “Potentially what we may see is all the enthusiasm that the Libyan people had for a change in government that was occurring a few weeks ago,” and that had repressed by Gaddafi’s “brutal amplification of force” would now be reawakened, the president said. He added that Gaddafi may try to hang on to power rather than admit defeat. • Right on cue, Gaddafi has told supporters “we will not surrender”. “We will defeat them by any means … We are ready for the fight, whether it will be a short or a long one … We will be victorious in the end,” he said in a live television broadcast, his first public appearance for a week. “This assault … is by a bunch of fascists who will end up in the dustbin of history,” Gaddafi said in a speech followed by fireworks in the Libyan capital as crowds cheered and supporters fired guns into the air. Libya Muammar Gaddafi Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East Protest Adam Gabbatt Mark Tran Peter Walker guardian.co.uk
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At least 25 injured, four seriously, in first bus bombing in several years A bus has exploded opposite the central station in Jerusalem, injuring at least 25
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