Deaths in Gaza as Israeli tanks respond to rockets
At least four Palestinians have been killed in Gaza after Israel tanks shelled a house. Local doctors say three of the dead were aged 12, 16 and 17. Three other people were reported injured.
The artillery fire came after an escalation in cross-border rocket attacks into Israel which started at the weekend. Four rockets were fired on Tuesday, say the Israeli military, without causing injury.
Israeli retaliatory air strikes on Monday wounded 19 people according to local medics. The attack is thought to be the heaviest in Gaza since a major Israeli military offensive in the strip ended in January 2009.
France has called on both sides to show restraint, saying it condemns the Palestinian rocket attacks and was “worried” about Israeli operations in Gaza.
Gaza is run by militant Islamist group Hamas, which refuses to take part in peace talks led by the more moderate Palestinian group Fatah, based in the West Bank. Hamas said in a statement on Tuesday that “the escalation will not pass unanswered. Escalation will be met with escalation and calm will be met with calm.”
Libya: evacuation effort continues
The urgent effort to evacuate foreign nationals from Libya continues, including 150 oil workers, who were dramatically rescued by British special forces. They were flown out of Libya to Malta.
Reporting from the Mediterranean island, euronews’ Jose Miguel Sardo said: ‘‘Since Monday, Malta has become the main platform for foreigners being repatriated from Libya. In the last 5 days alone more than 2000 people have passed through this small airport.’‘
For those safely out, personal relief their ordeal is almost over, but also horror at the unfolding events.
Tom Yates, from the Australian Consul General to Libya, said: ‘‘It was an experience that I will never forget for the rest of my life. I think all us who have left Libya are very sad. Many of us have got Libyan friends and the Libyan people are very kind people. They have certainly been very kind and helpful to me and they certainly in any shape or form deserve to be treated in the terrible and brutal way they have been treated in the last few weeks.’‘
Along with Britain, other countries continue to evacuate their nationals, including China, which has moved at least 16,000 of its citizens out of Libya.
Discovery embarks on historic final flight
The space shuttle, Discovery, has blasted off from the Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral in Florida for the last time.
The oldest of Nasa’s three surviving shuttles is taking six astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station.
Discovery is regarded as the “flagship” of the fleet. First launched in 1984, it has completed 38 voyages and travelled around 230 million kilometres in the process.
Discovery was entrusted with the “return-to-flight” missions after the Challenger and Columbia accidents.
Discovery’s sister-shuttle Endeavour is expected to make its historic final flight in April and Atlantis should go no later than June.
Egypt on the brink of change
Egypt is entering a new era. Effectively the country is under martial law but the military is implementing a series of major reforms aimed at delivering power into the hands of the people.
In a startment on state television, a military spokesman announced that the constitution has been suspended.
He also said a committee would be established to draft a new constitution, and that parliament has been dissolved.
The army council will stay in power for six months, or at least until the end of elections.
However some continuity has been retained in that the same cabinet appointed by ousted President Hosni Mubarak will oversee the transition. The Prime Minister, Ahmed Shafiq, says the main priority is to restore security, and the economy.
“Our internal economic position is solid and cohesive”, he said. “We have enough reserves in the coming period and our situation is comforting, very comforting.”
But he also warned that if instability continues, there may be some obstacles.
The stock market has remained closed since the beginning of the uprising, and the Finance Minister says latest forecasts indicate Egypt’s economic growth slowing to between 3.5 and 4 per cent in the coming financial year.
That’s still higher than most western countries but lower than the 6 per cent that had been forecast before the revolution.
Israel’s Birthday
Celebrations have started to mark Israel’s 63rd year of independence.
The state was founded on May 14, 1948.
The events usually start with the lighting of a dozen torches on Mount Hertzl in Jerusalem.
On May 15 Palestinians, by contrast, mark the birth of Israel with a day of mourning.
State of emergency in Yemen after protest bloodbath
Yemen has declared a state of emergency after a massacre at an anti-government rally.
More than 40 people were killed and at least 300 others injured when plainclothes police reportedly opened fire on protesters after Friday prayers.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh described it as a tragedy and blamed the violence on people within the crowd who were carrying weapons.
“I express my extreme sorrow for what happened today after Friday prayers in the university district,” Saleh told a news conference in Sanaa.
Yemen is the second country in the region to declare emergency rule this week after Bahrain introduced martial law – a move immediately followed by a massive crackdown on demonstrators.
But it is unclear whether Yemen’s president has the military power to enforce such an order, with the country deeply divided and racked by weeks of protests in which more than 70 people have been killed.
One week on Japan counts the cost
It is now a week since Japan was hit by the biggest earthquake ever recorded in its history. What followed is all too clear. The massive tremor triggered a series of catastrophes, starting with the huge tsunami that swept the country’s north east coast crushing everything in its path and knocking out the nuclear power plant at Fukishima. The crisis there is on-going and remains critically in the balance.
A one minute silence to remember the victims of this unprecedented sequence of events, described by Prime Minister Naoto Kan as the worst experienced by Japan since the end of the second world war.
The number who perished still remains only a rough estimate. What is certain is that the final cost, both human and economic will easily top that of the Kobe quake in the mid 1990s. So far, authorities say 6500 people have died, but that will rise. At least 10,000 are still missing. The ease with which the tsunami breached some of Japan’s best sea defences was frightening.
The unfolding humanitarian crisis is also of increasing concern. Hundreds of thousands have been left homeless by this twin disaster. Most find themselves in makeshift shelters with only basic supplies of food and water. A sudden drop in temperatures has also added to their misery, particularly for the young and frail.
Hopes of pulling any survivors from the rubble have all but disappeared. Nevertheless, there are some bright spots in the tragedy. Notably, the increasing number of families and relatives that are being reunited.
“I went to our house, but it was not there. All the family members were separated, but, it seems all the children survived,” said one man.
The mass exodus across large parts of the north-east and also Tokyo has left much of the country deserted. There is disbelief at how a nation as sophisticated as Japan, the world’s third largest economy, has been brought to its knees.
Saleh’s carrots and sticks fail to stop Yemen protests
Tens of thousands of people have again marched in cities across Yemen calling for an end to the president’s three-decade rule, in a clear rejection of his offer of a unity government.
They also remembered the victims of previous demonstrations; at least two dozen dead during the first two weeks of protests.
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“We swear that we won’t be scared no matter how many the president kills, how many he jails, how many he tortures. We will die as martyrs and go to paradise, and he will go to hell. Down with the president and this corrupt regime!” shouted Kamal, one of the protesters.
In a speech at Sanaa University, President Ali Abdullah Saleh turned more vehemently on his supposed ally the US, accusing it and Israel of being behind the unrest.
“The control room is in Tel Aviv which is plotting to destabilise the Arab world. The protesters are only copying what’s happened elsewhere. The control room is in Tel Aviv and it’s run by the White House,” he said.
Washington quickly dismissed the accusation.
Saleh said he would safeguard the nation’s security whatever the cost, as thousands of his supporters took to the capital’s streets.
But neither his warnings nor his concessions seem to be deterring his opponents.
China overtakes Japan as world no.2 economy
China has overtaken Japan as the world’s second biggest economy.
Figures released by the Japanese government confirmed that its gross domestic product shrank in the last three months of 2010 compared with the previous quarter.
The root cause is a drop in exports and consumer demand.
Japan’s economy for 2010 was worth $5.47 trillion, while China’s was closer to $5.8 trillion. The United States remains by some way the world’s biggest economy.
This latest data reinforces China’s rapid ascent as an economic superpower as the country surpassed Japan last summer. Just five years ago, China’s GDP was put at around half of Japan’s.
But while China is expanding Japan is set to benefit from the fast-growing neighbour as Chinese demand grows for Japanese exports.
Egypt referendum brings large turnout
Millions of Egyptians have turned out to vote in a referendum on a new constitution, a month after the fall of President Mubarak and his government.
People said they were voting freely for the first time in their lives. Abuses in previous parliamentary elections were widespread.
A ‘yes’ vote would pave the way for elections in six months.
The Muslim Brotherhood, campaigning for a ‘yes’ vote, said that for the first time Egyptians could have a say in proposed changes to the constitution, the president’s term in office, and the country’s future.
“Before, Egyptians didn’t have the chance to evoke these big democratic questions and this is already an achievement”, said Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Saad al Hosseini.
“Since the revolution people have gained confidence in the value of their vote and in themselves and towards their country,” said Ayman Nour of the centrist El Ghad party.
There was some trouble. Opposition leader Mohamed El Baradei was attacked as he tried to vote in a poor Cairo suburb. Hundreds of people threw stones and shoes. He was hit in the back but reportedly not hurt. He condemned what he called “organised thugs” and a lack of security.
euronews correspondent in Cairo, Jamel Ezzedini, said turnout was massive in the capital city’s polling stations.
“As for the proposed changes to the constitution, between ‘yes’ and ‘no’ it seems fairly equal,” he said. “But most people insist what’s important is to respect the result of this referendum which represents for many people the seeds of freedom and democracy in the post-Mubarak era.”
China overtakes Japan as world no.2 economy
China has overtaken Japan as the world’s second biggest economy.
Figures released by the Japanese government confirmed that its gross domestic product shrank in the last three months of 2010 compared with the previous quarter.
The root cause is a drop in exports and consumer demand.
Japan’s economy for 2010 was worth $5.47 trillion, while China’s was closer to $5.8 trillion. The United States remains by some way the world’s biggest economy.
This latest data reinforces China’s rapid ascent as an economic superpower as the country surpassed Japan last summer. Just five years ago, China’s GDP was put at around half of Japan’s.
But while China is expanding Japan is set to benefit from the fast-growing neighbour as Chinese demand grows for Japanese exports.
Black smoke belches out of Fukushima reactor
Emergency crews have once more been evacuated from the Fukushima nuclear plant, after black smoke began belching out of one of the stricken reactors. Engineers have been working to cool the reactors and spent fuel rods to avoid a catastrophic release of radiation.
Contamination levels were reported to be unusually high before the smoke was spotted. They have since fallen back but remain higher than in recent days.
Power cables have been connected to all reactors.
But engineers were forced to halt tests of the system at reactor 2 after radiation levels spiked.
There is also concern about rising temperatures at reactor 1.
Experts warn powering up all the reactors could take weeks or even months.
Bayern triumph while United grind out draw
Bayern Munich bagged a late goal from striker Mario Gomez to secure a narrow 1-0 away win over Inter Milan in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 clash at the San Siro on Wednesday.
The 25-year old’s last-minute strike earned the Germans a deserved victory and revenge over last season’s Champions League winners.
Bayern will defend their one-goal lead on home turf, with the second leg scheduled for the 15th of March at the Allianz Arena.
In the other game, Manchester United were held to a frustrating goalless draw by Marseille at the Stade Velodrome.
Chances were few and far between as the respective champions of English and French football cancelled each other out.
Neither manager looked overly disappointed with the final score and Sir Alex Ferguson’s men will have left the pitch knowing that the tie is still in their own hands.
Gaddafi still in control in Tripoli as unrest grows
A police station in Tobruk is set ablaze by anti-government protesters – scenes of unrest have spread across Libya with the east of the country appearing more and more to be under the control of protesters.
But international condemnation is growing at the reported violence being meted out against demonstrators in Tripoli.
A flag of liberation may have been flown in Benghazi, but elsewhere Gaddafi’s forces are continuing to fight an increasingly bloody battle to keep him in power with shootings and bombings.
The UN Security Council in new York is to meet in closed session to discuss the crisis at the request of Libya’s own disaffected diplomats.
If you are in Libya, contact us and tell us what you see and witness. witness@euronews.net, twitter@euronews or facebook
EU sanctions: no teargas for Tripoli
The governments of the countries of the European Union have approved a package of sanctions against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, including a freeze on his assets as well as those of his family and government.
The decision was swiftly approved at a meeting of EU energy ministers in Brussels.
The Hungarian Minister of National Development Tam??s Fellegi said: “In line with Saturday’s decision by the [United Nations] Security Council, the Council of the EU banned the supply to Libya of arms, ammunition and related material. In addition to the UN measures, the Council also prohibited trade with Libya in equipment which might be used for internal repression.”
Europe went further than the UN also by extending the visa ban to 10 more individuals than the 16 on the UN list, and extending the asset freeze to 20 people in addition to Gaddafi and five family members. The measures are expected to take effect in the next few days, following formal publication in the EU’s official journal.
Daniel Bruhl stars in German football fever movie
“Goodbye Lenin” revelation Daniel Bruhl is starring in a brand new biopic about the man who brought football to Germany.
Loosely based on a real-life story, the film is a “Dead Poet’s Society”-type tale of an unorthodox teacher who brings change to a strict German school at the end of the 19th century.
Change comes in the shape of a football.
It is German director Sebastian Grobler’s debut feature film:
“The amazing thing is that it was very, very hard for football in Germany in the beginning – it was forbidden. Students who played football in their free time were kicked out of school. So it’s amazing to the see the beginnings of what has become a very popular sport today,” he said.
How did Daniel Bruhl, who had never heard about him, clinch the role of Konrad Koch?
“Luckily, the director and the producer got the idea of offering me the role after reading an interview I once gave in which I talked about football. They sent me the script and was completely blown away,” said the actor.
The movie tells the story of young English teacher Konrad Koch, who soon has a host of enemies among colleagues and self-righteous members of society because of his unconventional methods.
Parents and town dignitaries manage to get football banned from school.
But Koch organises secret games in the park with his pupils and soon, football fever spreads to Germany.
“Der Ganz Grosse Traum” is out now in Germany.
Libya: euronews reports from Brega
Although rebels are still in control of Brega, the situation in the town remains tense. Euronews has been hearing from journalist Francesca Cicardi, who is in Brega.
She says:
‘‘The rebels in Brega are optimistic and confident after having fought off the forces of Gaddafi yesterday. They’re prepared to repel more attacks today. The rebels are not scared, they’re ready, they’re well-armed, and patrolling the streets of the city. Other men have joined them, mostly from Adjabiya which is the nearest city situated less than a hundred kilometres away, but also from Benghazi some 250 kilometres away. Like a young man who we spoke to this morning, who told us that he arrived yesterday from Banghazi to take part in the battle. This young man is an engineer who’s never fought before but in spite of that he said he’s ready to fight even if he only fired a gun for the first time two days ago.’‘
Britain’s Nick Clegg talks to euronews about Libya
Hours after the vote on a resolution at the Security Council authorizing the use of force in Libya, Ali Sheikholeslami, euronews’ London correspondent, interviewed Nick Clegg, the British Deputy Prime Minister.
Ali Sheikholeslami, Euronews: Is the British government satisfied with the ceasefire pledge by the Gaddafi regime??�Nick Clegg: “It’s very difficult to be honest to tell exactly what is happening on the ground. There is some evidence right now he is continuing to brutalise some citizens in the west of Libya even though he is declaring a ceasefire in the east so we need, sort of, to?�see it to believe it.”?�Euronews: Are you and your partners continuing?�the military?�preparations?�for the?�enforcement of the UN resolution??�Nick?�Clegg: Absolutely. Of course we have mobilised international opinion which, of course,?�has been led by opinion within the Arab world itself. Lebanon was a co-sponsor, a number of countries in the region, UAE, Qatar, Jordan, who said that they would get involved in the military undertaking, so this really is a broadly based international coalition of opinion reflected in the United Nations.”?�Euronews: Can you tell us anything about the logistics??�Nick Clegg: “Well not really, in a sense it’s fairly obvious. The UN resolution speaks for itself.?�It mandates the international community to take action, all necessary measures to protect those Libyan citizens who are being attacked and brutalised by the Gaddafi regime.”?�Euronews: Will there be?�immediate military action, if the Libyan forces breach the ceasefire??�Nick Clegg: “The UN?�was very clear, the international community was very clear. It wants to see an end, an absolute end to these needless, senseless and brutal attacks on the Libyan people. And until the international community is satisfied that that is happening, the UN resolution will still be unfulfilled.”?�Euronews:?�Will British forces and the allies also strike at ground targets and troops to protect civilians??�Nick Clegg: “We are not, let’s be absolutely clear, we are not going?�to a war. This is no Iraq, there’s going to be no invasion of Libya. The UN resolution very clearly rules out, absolutely rules out any ground invasion (of Libya).?� But clearly if Gaddafi’s own ground troops are menacing and attacking and brutalising innocent Libyan citizens then we would take military action from the air in order to seek to stop them doing that.?� That is squarely within the terms of the resolution.”
At least 40 injured in unrest in Libya
An amateur video filmed in Libya appears to show demonstrators injured in unrest, with what seems to be rapid gunfire.
Witnesses said hundreds clashed with police and government supporters in the eastern city of Benghazi. Some 40 people are reported to have been injured.
Opposition leader in exile and a judge at the International Criminal Court, Hadi Shalluf, told euronews: Were demanding, first of all, that this regime falls, and a coalition government is formed.
We made this demand to the government a week ago.
We want a constitutional committee to adopt a new constitution for the country, legislative and presidential elections. We want to try all of those whove committed crimes, to try all of those accused of corruption. We know, especially, that there is no trace of 1.5 trillion dollars of national revenue created since 1969. We want this money to go into the states coffers.
Pro-government rallies were also reportedly held across the country on Wednesday.
The clashes in Libya, ruled by Muammar Gaddafi for more than 40 years, come on the heels of the popular revolts in Egypt and Tunisia.
