30.05.2011
Kadhafi wife slams NATO strike she says killed son
"I was not there. But I wished that I was so I may die with him," Sofia Kadhafi told CNN in a telephone interview, describing the death of her son Seif al-Arab from a NATO air strike.
"My son never missed an evening prayer. We had strikes every day, and the strikes would start at evening prayer. Four rockets on one house!" she said in the rare interview.
International forces, which have been attacking Kadhafi forces under the terms of a UN resolution to protect civilians, "are looking for excuses to target Moamer. What has he done to deserve this?" asked Sofia.
Asked whether she thinks she had been personally targeted, she replied: "My children are civilians and they have been targeted. What do they have to do with this?"
NATO, she said, is "committing war crimes" in the north Africa country.
"They killed my son and the Libyan people. They are defaming our reputation, she said.
"Forty countries are against us. Life has no value anymore," she lamented, in the wake of her son's death.
"What would I want with life now? All I want out of life now is that the truth be heard. By the will of God, we will be victorious. We will live or die alongside the Libyan people. In the end, history will judge us."
Doubts have been raised in recent days of the veracity of reports on Seif al-Arab, Kadhafi's youngest son, being dead.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Wednesday pointed out that the international coalition had no information on his demise, and said the report from a Libyan government spokesman was "propaganda."
The Libyan regime claimed on May 1 that a NATO raid killed Kadhafi's youngest son and three grandchildren but that the strongman escaped unhurt in what it called a deliberate assassination attempt.
NATO said at the time that it had staged air strikes in Tripoli but did not confirm the regime claims.
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800 tons of fish die, rot on Philippine fish farms
The massive fish deaths started late last week but have eased. Officials have banned the sale of the rotting fish, which are being buried by the truckload in Talisay and three other towns in Batangas province, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources official Rose del Mundo said Sunday.
The deaths are unrelated to recent signs of restiveness in Taal volcano, which is surrounded by the lake where many villagers have grown milkfish and tilapia — staple foods for many Filipinos, officials said. The volcano and lake are a popular tourist draw.
Government volcanologist Allan Loza said Monday that 115 earthquakes were detected in Taal in the past 24 hours compared to an average of 10 to 15 quakes daily in recent weeks, a sign that magma is rising from within the small volcano. Such unrest has been monitored since April, long before last week's fish deaths, he said.
Talisay agricultural officer Zenaida Macatangay said an initial investigation showed the deaths may have been caused by the temperature change as the rainy season set in last week after a scorching summer, which also depleted the lake's oxygen levels.
Schools of fish were seen swimming in circles before they floated dead to the surface in huge numbers. The deaths have occurred in the past at summer's end but in much smaller numbers, Mendoza said.
Some Taal lake areas turned white due to the massive numbers of dead milk-colored fish. Workers covered their noses with their hands or clothing Sunday as they scooped up the rotting fish and placed them into sacks.
"Many were sad and devastated because they invested a lot in these fish cages," Talisay Mayor Zenaida Mendoza told The Associated Press by telephone.
More than 400 tons of milkfish have died in Talisay alone since Friday in 84 out of about 1,000 fish pens — lake areas about half the size of a basketball court that are fenced off by bamboo poles and nets. Damage has been estimated at $770,000 (33 million pesos), Mendoza said. About 400 tons more have died in the other towns.
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Arab Spring, nuclear chills vex G8 chiefs
In a draft declaration, the leaders are to urge Bashar al-Assad's Syrian regime to end violent repression and carry out reform, call on Libya to end violence and seek a political deal, urge immediate Israel-Palestinian talks, and express full confidence in Japan's recovery from nuclear disaster.
The declaration was to be discussed at a working lunch hosted by President Nicolas Sarkozy at 12:45 pm (1045 GMT).
Sarkozywelcomed Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev to the chic Deauville resort early Thursday, the first of a succession of arrivals involving the leaders of Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.
A few hundred of the town's well-heeled and largely elderly population turned out under drizzling rain to watch the leaders march up the red carpet.
Medvedev and US President Barack Obama arrived on foot from nearby hotels, shook hands with the awaiting crowd and entered the summit venue with Sarkozy.
A visibly pregnant Carla Bruni-Sarkozy posed for pictures as she greeted G8 leaders' wives, ending weeks of speculation about France's soon-to-be First Baby.
Wearing an above-the-knee, unbelted white dress and black tailored jacket, the supermodel chanteuse turned president's wife smiled as she greeted the wives of the world most powerful leaders for a separate programme devoted to her pet causes of illiteracy and AIDS.
The G8 chiefs, during what will effectively be a 24-hour meeting, will express solidarity with Japan following the March 11 disasters ahead of a lively debate on ways of improving global nuclear safety after the Fukushima accident.
The summit provides the leaders with their first real opportunity to debate the "Arab Spring" sweeping the autocracies of the Arab world.
US President Barack Obama, wrapping up a state visit to Britain on the eve of the summit, called on his fellow leaders to help ensure the success of post-revolt political transitions in north Africa and the Middle East.
"It will be years before these revolutions reach their conclusion, and there will be difficult days along the way. Power rarely gives up without a fight," he said.
Washington has urged its G8 partners to help Egypt convert its debts into investments for jobs as part of efforts to boost the country's flagging economy and fledgling democracy. And Tunisia said it would call for a "major development plan" -- around $25 billion (18 billion euros) -- to aid its transition to democracy.
After an "e-G8" of leading industry figures before the summit in Paris, the leaders are expected to endorse a "government role" in Internet regulation, according to the draft.
Africa will be represented at the summit as is tradition since 2003. Newly elected leaders from the Ivory Coast, Niger and Guinea will participate in sessions devoted to encouraging democracy.
A key issue up for informal discussion will be on achieving a consensus on choosing a successor to Dominique Strauss-Kahn as head of the International Monetary Fund, as European G8 members seem to be lining up behind French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde.
France's First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy will host a packed agenda for the leaders' spouses on Thursday, in her first G8 summit since her pregnancy was revealed. Bruni is using the summit to promote the battle against adult illiteracy and protecting mothers and children from AIDS.
A 12,500 strong cordon of police and gendarmes, backed by patrol boats and helicopters, has been locked around the Norman seaside resort.
The elegant seafront boardwalk was empty apart from scattered knots of police, and a chill wind blew in off the English Channel.
"The G8 has brought us nothing," complained Emmanuel Benamara, 48-year-old landlord of La Taverne, a beachfront watering hole and guesthouse. "They've block-booked 15 rooms, luckily, but restaurant takings are down 60 percent."
A travelling press corps, several hundred strong, has been given a filing centre on the lawns of the Hippodrome de Deauville-La Touques, the racetrack that opened in 1864 and was the original generator of the town's wealth.
Sarkozy had promised the Deauville summit would be more low-key and less expensive than the jamboree that descended last year on Toronto, where police battled anarchists for two days in the streets of the city.
But he is hosting the first such gathering since Al-Qaeda vowed revenge for the death of its figurehead Osama bin Laden and France is taking no chances.
Several thousand people marched in the nearest big city, Le Havre, on Saturday to protest against the G8, without major incident.
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