The University of Chicago may be known as a bastion of sexless nerd-dom, but some undergrads are changing that with UChicago Hookups , a website that allows students to meet up for, well, whatever they might have in mind. Entries read more or less like the casual-encounters section of Craigslist: people…
Continue reading …Japan has detected elevated radiation levels in spinach and milk in the prefecture containing its foundering Fukushima nuclear plant and a neighboring prefecture, reports the Wall Street Journal . Milk produced roughly 30 miles away from the plant had around five times the normal amount of radioactive material iodine-131, while spinach…
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• French planes in action as dictator given ultimatum • Loyalists launch attack on last rebel stronghold Western planes led strikes against Muammar Gaddafi’s military as world leaders ordered the biggest intervention in the Arab world since allied forces invaded Iraq in 2003. The patience of the international community finally ran out as Gaddafi’s troops pounded the rebel stronghold of Benghazi hours after the Libyan dictator had promised a full ceasefire and invited foreign officials into his country to monitor it. After US, European and Arab leaders met for urgent talks in Paris, the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, said his aircraft were already in action to stop what he described as Gaddafi’s “murderous madness”. He said: “Our air force will oppose any aggression by Colonel Gaddafi against the population of Benghazi. As of now, our aircraft are preventing planes from attacking the town. As of now, other French aircraft are ready to intervene against tanks, armoured vehicles threatening unarmed civilians.” David Cameron said action was needed to stop Gaddafi slaughtering his own people and flouting the will of the international community. “Colonel Gaddafi has made this happen. He has lied to the international community. He has promised a ceasefire. He has broken that ceasefire. He continues to brutalise his own people. The time for action has come,” the prime minister said. The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, said the people of Libya had appealed for help and the international community had been united in its determination to respond: “We have every reason to fear that, left unchecked, Gaddafi will commit unspeakable atrocities. His campaign of violence must stop.” Even before the summit, military sources said French Rafale planes were carrying out reconnaissance missions. Rafales are designed for bombing, reconnaissance and air defence purposes, but can also be equipped with laser-guided bombs for air strikes. A French official said a French fighter jet had fired on a Libyan military vehicle in the first exchanges with Gaddafi’s forces. French defence ministry spokesman Thierry Burkhard said the strike had been reported around 16.45 GMT. France expects to carry out most of its air missions from its base on Corsica while it is believed UK fighters would be deployed from southern Italy or Cyprus. An American official said that the US intended to limit its involvement to protecting allied air missions by taking out Libyan air defences with missile strikes launched from US Navy ships stationed in the Mediterranean. Six Danish F-16 fighter jets landed at a US air base in Sicily, while Canadian CF-18 Hornets were also in the region. The Gaddafi regime announced on Friday that it would lay down arms after the UN security council passed resolution 1,973, authorising “all necessary measures” short of foreign occupation to protect the civilians of Libya. But as world leaders gathered in Paris, it was clear that forces loyal to the Libyan dictator had no such intention as they rushed to storm Benghazi – apparently in the belief that if they could embed themselves among the city’s large civilian population it would be more difficult for allied forces to oust them. Early yesterday, a rebel plane was shot down over Benghazi sending plumes of black smoke into the sky. Fighting in Benghazi continued even as French military jets began patrols over the city. It was not immediately clear whether a large explosion that rocked the edge of Benghazi after dusk was caused by Libyan forces on the ground or marked the beginning of the western air assault. “Libya is not yours. Libya is for the Libyans. The security council resolution is invalid,” Gaddafi wrote earlier in an open letter to Cameron, Sarkozy and UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon. “You will regret it if you dare to intervene in our country.” He was more conciliatory in a message to US President Barack Obama, asking him: “If you found them taking over American cities by the force of arms, tell me, what you would do?” British sources said Cameron held discussions with Sarkozy before they joined Clinton for a session of the “leadership of the coalition of the willing”. A session with all international leaders gathered in Paris then took place. Moussa Koussa, Gaddafi’s foreign minister, insisted that Libya was abiding by the UN security council resolution passed on Thursday and that the ceasefire he announced on Friday was still in place. Libya has blamed rebels it describes as “armed gangs linked to al-Qaida” for breaching it. But the ceasefire was widely seen as a tactic to try to buy time and fuel international divisions over intervention. Any attack would be the first foreign military action against Libya since the US bombing of 1986 after a terrorist attack on US personnel in a Berlin nightclub. The 1988 Lockerbie bombing was widely seen as Libya’s retaliation for that. Jana, the official Libyan news agency, reported that volunteers were heading to strategic sites that might be targeted by UN-mandated attacks to act as “human shields”. Al-Jamahirya TV showed protests at Tripoli international airport, Gaddafi’s Bab al-Azizya barracks in the capital, and the airports in his home town of Sirte and in Sebha in the south of the country, a regime stronghold and the site of an important military base. Libyan opposition sources reported government forces forcibly taking people away from Zawiya, Zuwara and other areas where there has been resistance to the regime. Another claim said the families of personnel who might be tempted to defect were being taken to Bab al-Aziziya. A communiqué issued after the Paris talks described the actions of the Libyan regime as “intolerable”. It said that the Libyan people had been peacefully expressing their rejection of their leaders and their aspirations for change, adding: “In the face of these legitimate requests coming from all over the country, the Libyan regime has carried out a growing brutal crackdown, using weapons of war against its own people and perpetrating against them grave and massive violations of humanitarian law.” Libya Middle East Nicolas Sarkozy United Nations Muammar Gaddafi France France Europe United States David Cameron Chris McGreal Ian Black Toby Helm Kim Willsher guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Former secretary of state and the man Jimmy Carter proclaimed “the best public servant I ever knew,” Warren Christopher has died of complications of bladder and kidney cancer at age 85. Christopher headed the State Department during Bill Clinton’s first term, and was instrumental in peace efforts in the Middle…
Continue reading …Moammar Gadhafi says the UN resolution authorizing international military intervention in Libya is “invalid.” The Libyan leader says he sent a message to President Barack Obama defending his decision to attack rebel cities: “If you found them taking over American cities by the force of arms, tell me what you…
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Referendum is first major test of transition to democracy in wake of Mubarak’s resignation Eager for their first taste of a free vote in decades, Egyptians lined up by the hundreds on Saturday to vote on constitutional amendments sponsored by the ruling military. The nationwide referendum is the first major test of the country’s transition to democracy after a popular uprising forced Hosni Mubarak to step down five weeks ago, handing the reins of power to the military. Early signs show an unusually big turnout, with lines forming in the hours before polls opened. They snaked along the streets in Cairo and other Egyptian cities, with men and women standing in separate lines as is customary in the conservative and mainly Muslim nation. The vote promises to be the freest in Egypt since 1952 when the monarchy was ousted and the multiparty democracy that functioned under British colonial rule was ended. Egypt has since been ruled by men of military background, with fraud and extremely low turnout defining every nationwide vote. “This is a historic day for Egypt,” deputy prime minister Yahya al-Gamal said after casting his vote in Cairo. “I had never seen such large numbers of voters in Egypt. Finally, the people of Egypt have come to realise that their vote counts.” Voters were asked to choose yes or no for the whole package of nine changes, which would open elections to independent candidates, impose presidential term limits and curtail 30-year-old emergency laws that give police near-unlimited powers. Preliminary results will be announced on Sunday. A yes vote would allow parliamentary and presidential elections to be held later this year or early in the next, a time frame that critics say is too soon for the dozens of political groups born out of the 18-day anti-Mubarak uprising to organise themselves and be able to compete in elections. They say the timetable would benefit Mubarak’s one-time ruling National Democratic party (NDP) and the Muslim Brotherhood, the two most powerful and best-organised political groups in Egypt. The NDP is blamed for the rampant corruption and fraud that marred every election in Egypt during Mubarak’s 29-year rule. The brotherhood, which has strongly campaigned for the adoption of the changes, advocates the instalment of an Islamic government in Egypt. The ambivalence of its position on the role of women and minority Christians worry large segments of society. Leading the no campaign are two presidential hopefuls, the Nobel laureate and former head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency Mohamed ElBaradei, and Arab League secretary-general Amr Moussa, who is a former foreign minister in Egypt. “This is a truly democratic process,” Moussa said after he voted in Cairo. ElBaradei said in New Delhi that Egypt’s newly formed political parties need more time to prepare for elections after decades of repression. Egypt’s Coptic Christians were also overwhelmingly against the amendments. Comprising 10% of the population, Christians complain of institutional discrimination and fear their quest for equal rights would suffer a serious setback if the brotherhood gains influence in post-Mubarak Egypt. “If the Brotherhood comes to power, they will not benefit anyone, Muslims or Christians,” said Fawziya Lamie, a 39-year-old Christian nanny, after casting a no vote in the Cairo district of Manial. More than half of Egypt’s 80 million people are eligible to vote. The military, in a bid to get the vote out, has decreed that voters would be allowed to cast ballots at any polling centre in the country with their national ID cards as the only required proof of identity. They are required to dip their index finger in ink after voting to prevent multiple balloting. “My vote today will make a difference. It’s as simple as that,” first-time voter Hossam Bishay, 48, said as he waited in line with about 300 others outside a heavily guarded polling centre in Cairo’s upmarket Zamalek district. “I am very excited to be doing this,” Alaa al-Sharqawy, an engineering lecturer, said. “It’s true that the amendments have polarised us, but I am glad we are voting.” The constitutional amendments drawn up by a panel of military-appointed legal scholars are intended to bring just enough change to the 1971 constitution, which was suspended by the military, to ensure presidential and parliamentary elections are free and fair. In addition to allowing independent and opposition candidates to run, they would restore full judicial supervision of votes, a measure seen as vital to preventing fraud. They would also limit presidents to two four-year terms and curb the emergency laws that have long been a chief complaint of the people. Critics have used social networks such as Facebook and Twitter and full-page advertisements in newspapers to argue that the entire constitution must be scrapped and a new one drawn up to guarantee Egypt is spared future dictators. Egypt Middle East Arab and Middle East protests Protest guardian.co.uk
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Hundreds of soldiers set up checkpoints in Sana’a as two prominent members of ruling party resign in protest Troops and security forces blanketed Yemen’s capital Sana’a on Saturday, enforcing a state of emergency imposed after rooftop snipers shot dead up to 42 anti-government protesters on Friday. Hundreds of soldiers moved into the streets to set up checkpoints and enforce a ban on carrying firearms in public, going so far as to check for hidden guns inside the ornamental scabbards of traditional Yemeni jambiya daggers. Tanks were deployed for the first time in weeks of civil disturbance in which more than 70 people have been killed. With mass protests convulsing the Arab world, Yemen became the second country in the region to announce emergency rule this week. Bahrain declared martial law on Tuesday. Defying the crackdown, the Yemeni opposition vowed to keep up its “peaceful revolution” in the state, a neighbour of Saudi Arabia and a US ally against al-Qaida. Meanwhile, two prominent members of Yemen’s ruling party resigned in protest over the killing of the protesters. Nasr Taha Mustafa, head of the state news agency, said he had resigned from his job and the party in protest over Friday’s killings of up to 45 protesters by rooftop snipers in the capital. Mohamed Saleh Qara’a, a prominent member of the ruling party, also stood down, citing the “completely unacceptable” violence against protesters. Their resignations follows that of Nabil Hasan al-Faqih, the tourism minister, who stood down on Friday. The bloodshed has prompted President Ali Abdullah Saleh, struggling to keep his grip on power after 32 years of rule, to declare a state of emergency for 30 days that restricts freedom of movement and the right to gather. It grants police greater leeway in carrying out inspections and arrests. Snipers opened fire from rooftops on crowds that flocked to a protest encampment at Sana’a University after prayers. Protesters said they had caught at least seven snipers carrying government identity cards, but Saleh denied this, blaming gunmen among the protesters for the violence. Yemen’s opposition said it could not negotiate with Saleh’s government after the bloodshed. “Sending tanks to the streets is a sign that the regime is in a state of panic. But Yemenis are determined to move forward with their peaceful revolution until the fall of the regime,” said opposition spokesman Mohammed al-Sabri. Saleh has rejected demands to step down immediately, promising instead to leave office when his term expires in 2013 and offering a new constitution giving more powers to parliament. Two out of every five Yemenis live on less than $2 (£1.23) per day. The government faces separatists in the south, maintains a shaky truce with rebels in the north and is fighting an aggressive local wing of al-Qaida. In the southern port city of Aden, police shot and wounded six protesters as they tried to disperse demonstrators holding a sit-in in a main street, residents said. “Tanks don’t scare us. They have killed dozens of us and hundreds were wounded. And we are not leaving until Ali Abdullah Saleh leaves,” said Abdullah Saif, one of the protesters. As Saleh’s government hardened its stance towards increasingly entrenched opposition, the US and France both condemned the violence on Friday. President Barack Obama urged authorities to protect peaceful protesters and said those responsible must be held accountable. Arab and Middle East protests Yemen Middle East guardian.co.uk
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I usually love filling out official forms, but the questions on the new census seem designed to do our heads in. It must be some kind of government conspiracy, I tell you Now, I must be honest with you and confess that there is usually absolutely nothing in
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The former US secretary of state helped bring peace to Bosnia, tried to achieve a Middle East settlement and railed against nuclear weapons The former US secretary of state Warren Christopher, who helped bring peace to Bosnia and negotiated for the release of American hostages in Iran, has died at the age of 85. Sonja Steptoe of the law firm O’Melveny & Myers, where Christopher was a senior partner, said Christopher died at his home in Los Angeles on Friday due to complications from bladder and kidney cancer. As the top American statesman under Bill Clinton, Christopher was a behind-the-scenes negotiator. Often called the “stealth” secretary of state, Christopher was known for his understated, self-effacing manner. He had taken the job in January 1993 at the age of 68 and clocked up 704,487 air miles travelling the world. A loyal Democrat and meticulous lawyer, Christopher told the Associated Press his proudest accomplishments included a role in promoting a ban on nuclear weapons tests and the extension of curbs on the proliferation of weapons technology. He also tried to promote peace in the Middle East, tirelessly travelling to the region. Christopher made more than 20 trips to Syria alone in a futile effort to promote a settlement with Israel. He was more successful in the negotiations that produced a settlement in 1995 for Bosnia, ending a war among Muslims, Serbs and Croats that claimed 260,000 lives and drove 1.8 million people from their homes. However, some critics said the administration had moved too slowly against the ethnic violence. Christopher gave top priority to supporting reform in Russia and expanding US economic ties to Asia and supervised the contested Florida recount for Al Gore after the 2000 presidential election, While Christopher often preferred a role out of the spotlight, he made news as deputy secretary of state in President Jimmy Carter’s administration, conducting the tedious negotiations that gained the release in 1981 of 52 American hostages in Iran. Carter awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award. “The best public servant I ever knew,” Carter wrote in his memoirs. Christopher chaired a commission that proposed reforms of the Los Angeles police department in the aftermath of the videotaped beating by police of motorist Rodney King in 1991. President Bill Clinton said at the time of Christopher’s resignation from the White House that he “left the mark of his hand on history.” As Clinton considered a successor, Christopher offered the criteria he would apply if the choice was up to him. “It would be somebody who has the capacity to provide forceful leadership, someone who has great tenacity, someone who has endurance and a lot of stamina,” he said. Christopher overcame sleep deprivation, difficult negotiations with the likes of the late Syrian president Hafez Assad and nagging ulcers to keep his eye on American interests. Always crisp, modest and polite, he drove home an agreement in his last year on the job to halt fighting in Lebanon between Israel and extremist Shi’ite guerrillas. “We have achieved the goal of our mission, which was to achieve an agreement that will save lives and end the suffering of people on both sides of the Israeli-Lebanese border,” Christopher said in Jerusalem after his successful week-long mission. Madeleine Albright stepped in for Clinton’s second term and Christopher returned to his law firm of O’Melveny & Myers with Clinton’s “deep gratitude” for his service and with the president’s playful description of Christopher as “the only man ever to eat M&Ms on Air Force One with a fork”. Although critics complained that the Clinton administration’s foreign policy lacked dramatic initiatives, the poised and cautious Christopher indicated he was pleased with the results, especially with what he called the “triple play” of a Nafta trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, the expansion of US economic ties to Pacific Rim nations and the Gatt accord on international tariffs and trade. “Taking it overall, we’ve done very well on the major issues,” he said at a news conference in 1993, during which he also cited US support for economic and political reform in Russia and the “partnership for peace” proposal to expand the involvement of former Communist adversaries in Nato. Christopher looked back with gratitude on how far he had come from a childhood in Scranton, North Dakota, marked by bitter winters and modest circumstances. His father was a bank cashier who fell ill, and the family moved to southern California during the Depression. After his father’s death, his mother supported the family of five children as a sales clerk. An ensign in the US navy reserves, he was called up to active duty during the second world war and served in the Pacific. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Southern California in 1945 and, after attending Stanford Law School, served as a clerk to supreme court justice William O Douglas in 1949 and 1950. In the late 1960s, he was a deputy attorney general in the administration of Lyndon Johnson. In 2008, Christopher was co-chairman of a bipartisan panel that studied the recurring question of who, under US law, should decide when the country goes to war. It proposed that the president be required to inform congress of any plans to engage in “significant armed conflict” lasting longer than a week. As a successful Los Angeles lawyer, Christopher had a seven-figure income and a beach house in fashionable Santa Barbara. He is survived by his wife Marie, and had four children in two marriages: Lynn, Scott, Thomas, and Kristen. United States Bill Clinton US foreign policy guardian.co.uk
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• Rebel jet shot down over Benghazi • Shelling of rebel stronghold continues • Leaders meeting to put no-fly zone into force • Read the latest summary of today’s events • Read our latest news story on Libya 11.29am: Pro-Gaddafi snipers have killed two people in Misrata, Reuters reports. A resident, called Saadoun, told the news agency: “We have two people dead this morning … because there are snipers on some houses and they are shooting people, they are shooting whoever they see.” 11.26am: More on the situation in Benghazi where Gaddafi’s troops have entered the city and are fighting rebel forces. One witness told Reuters they saw a blast near the rebel national council building that was barricaded by concrete blocks. Six 4×4 pick-ups mounted with machine guns were moved to the Benghazi seafront. But the relatively light arms of rebel forces have proved a poor match for Gaddafi’s heavy firepower. Standing next to his Benghazi home, Hassan Marouf, 58, said: “Europe and America have sold us out. We have been hearing bombing all night, and they have been doing nothing. Why?” “We have no one to help us but God. Us men are not afraid to die, but I have women and children inside and they are crying and in tears. help us,” he said. 11.00am: Pro-Gaddafi forces have fired four or five artillery shells at the Misrata but remain on the outskirts of the rebel-held city, a resident has told Reuters: “They [Gaddafi's forces] bombed the town with four or five artillery shells in the early hours today. The situation is relatively calm now. But they are still on the outskirts of the town, and water to Misrata is still cut off.” A doctor in the city, Libya’s third largest, earlier told AP that it came under sustained assault well after the announcement of a cease-fire by Gaddafi’s regime. The doctor said Gaddafi’s snipers were on rooftops and his forces were searching homes for rebels. He had counted 25 dead since Friday morning: “The shelling is continuing, and they are using flashlights to perform surgery. We don’t have anesthetic to put our patients down.” 10.51am: A rebel leader in Benghazi has appealed to the international community to stop the bombardment of the city by Gaddafi’s forces. Mustafa Abdul Jalil told Al Jazeera television: “Now there is a bombardment by artillery and rockets on all districts of Benghazi. There will be a catastrophe if the international community does not implement the resolutions of the UN security council. “We appeal to the international community, to the all the free world, to stop this tyranny from exterminating civilians.” Another rebel spokesman, Khalid al-Sayeh, told Reuters that Gaddafi’s forces had “entered Benghazi from the west”: “Where are the Western powers? They said they could strike within hours.” 10.35am: AP has more details of the letters Gaddafi has sent to the UN and the US. In the letter to France, the UK and the UN secretary general, he claimed the UN resolution authorising international military intervention in Libya was “invalid” and they would “regret” enforcing it. “Libya is not for you, Libya is for the Libyans,” he wrote. In the other letter, sent to US President Barack Obama, Gaddafi defended his decision to attack rebel cities: “If you found them taking over American cities by the force of arms, tell me what you would do.” 10.29am: Gaddafi has again warned against military intervention in Libya, describing any such act as “clear aggression”, Reuters reports. “This is injustice, this is clear aggression. You will regret it if you take a step towards interfering in our internal affairs,” Gaddafi wrote in a letter to France, Britain and the United Nations, according to a spokesman for his regime. The spokesman, Mussa Ibrahim, also said Gaddafi had warned the US in a separate letter that he and all Libyans were “prepared to die” to defend the country. 10.19am: Here’s an interview with Chris McGreal about the fighting in Benghazi, including the shooting down of a fighter jet, which “the rebels now concede it was their only plane”. He adds there is currently “sporadic but fairly intense fighting” in the south west of the city where Gaddafi’s forces have broken through. There are also reports of fighting in the north of the city. 9.45am: My colleague Chris McGreal has just called in from Benghazi about the plane shot down over the city: “Some of the rebels say it’s their plane. It might have been their only plane that was shot down by Gaddafi’s forces.” He has been down to the frontline of the fighting in the south west of the city where Gaddafi’s forces have seized control of the university. We’ll have more details on this soon. 9.30am: Gaddafi’s propaganda war continues on Saturday with the Libyan state news agency claiming his forces are under attack by “al-Qaida gangs” near Benghazi. The Jana news agency report, which contradicts other media reports showing pro-Gaddafi forces attacking the rebel stronghold, states: “Al-Qaida gangs are attacking units of the armed forces which are stationary west of Benghazi.” It is worth noting that pro-Gaddafi officials describe all the rebels as belonging to al-Qaida. 9.16am: This is David Batty, I’ll be taking over the live blog until Saturday evening. AP has more on the fighter plane shot down in Benghazi. One of its reporters saw the plane “go down in flames and heard the sound of artillery and crackling gunfire in the distance”: The fighting galvanized the people of Benghazi, with young men collecting bottles to make Molotov cocktails. Some residents dragged bed frames and metal scraps into the streets to make roadblocks. “Where is France, where is Nato?” cried a 50-year-old woman in Benghazi. “It’s too late.” Government spokesman Ibrahim Musa denied that a government plane had gone down. He also denied government forces shelled any Libyan towns on Saturday, saying the rebels are the ones breaking the cease fire by attacking military forces. “Our armed forces continue to retreat and hide, but the rebels keep shelling us and provoking us,” Musa told AP. 8.57am: Hello, this is Warren Murray opening our latest live blog coverage of Libya, where clashes are continuing despite the regime declaring a ceasefire under threat of a no-fly zone backed by the UN. Overnight there were patchy reports of shelling and explosions around Benghazi and the situation ramped up significantly with confirmation that a fighter plane has been shot down over the city. Here’s a summary of the latest developments: • A fighter plane has been shot down over Benghazi. Video and photos showed the jet flying over the city, then bursting into flames and plunging into the suburbs, with the pilot apparently ejecting. • Loud explosions have been heard in the opposition stronghold , with those on the ground saying government forces have been shelling the rebels. Rebels said they had been forced to pull back as Libyan jets bombed the road to Benghazi airport and the city’s outskirts. • In response the Libyan regime has denied any involvement , saying its entire air force has been grounded and it is respecting its self-imposed ceasefire. • The next stage of the international response is to be co-ordinated at an emergency conference in Paris within a few hours . David Cameron, Nicolas Sarkozy, Hillary Clinton and Arab leaders are among those gathering to give final approval for a no-fly zone. There is a sense that jets will be streaking out to Libya as soon as the group gives the nod. We’ll have all the latest news as it develops. Libya Muammar Gaddafi US foreign policy United Nations Arab and Middle East protests Middle East Warren Murray David Batty guardian.co.uk
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