Compensation to Libya returnees on 23rd

Dhaka, July 17 (bdnews24.com) ? The government has finalised the list of repatriated workers from Libya as it prepares to distribute compensation to them on July 23, the expatriates' minister has said.

"A total of 36,500 returnees will be given compensation," Khandker Mosharraf Hossain told reporters on Sunday at the Secretariat.

"Of them, expatriate workers from Noakhali district top the list with 2,186, followed by Tangail with 239 workers," he said.

The ministry and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) signed a deal on June 14 in this regard, according to which the IOM will give money for the rehabilitation of the returnees, whom it helped return home earlier.

Earlier in the day, the minister inaugurated 'Rehabilitation Loan' programme of the expats welfare bank on the 70th day of its founding. The bank has already started disbursing immigration loans.

The specialised bank is lending money at 12 percent interest, holding property as mortgage against the loans.

Mosharraf also warned those trying to go to Malaysia illegally to avail of the advantage of getting regularised there on either student or tourist visas.

Asked why the government was not taking action against the recruiting agencies involved in such activities, he cited lack of specific allegations against them as the reason.

The process to legalise 300,000 Bangladeshis in Malaysia through renewal of their expired visas will begin on August 1, instead of July 11 as declared by the minister earlier.

To an allegation that the Malaysian government was charging higher fees than what was determined, Mosharraf said a deal was signed to do the job free of cost. "We'll look into it," he assured.

bdnews24.com/sha/kms/trb/pks/nir/2125h

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Libya meeting seeks Gaddafi exit to end war

Other International

Author / Source : Independent Online/Reuters ISTANBUL: Western and Arab powers begin talks in Turkey on Friday aimed at finding a political solution for Libya that would persuade Muammar Gaddafi to give up power and end a conflict that could otherwise drag on interminably.

The fourth meeting of the Libya contact group, established in London in March, comes after reports suggesting Gaddafi might be ready to give up his 41-year rule if he could get a deal.

Yet the Libyan leader remains as unpredictable as ever, and no one appears sure whether he intends to fight in hope of keeping his grip on the territory round Tripoli or seek an exit strategy that guarantees security for himself and his family.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton are among more than a dozen foreign ministers taking part in the Istanbul meeting.

The heads of NATO, the Arab League and other regional organizations are also due to attend.

They will listen to a report from U.N. Secretary-General's special envoy on Libya, Abdul Elah Al-Khatib, on the result of his contacts with the Gaddafi government in Tripoli and the rebel National Transitional Council in the eastern city of Benghazi.

"Our expectation is to discuss what might happen in Libya post-Gaddafi, and how we can help the opposition in Benghazi," a senior Turkish official told Reuters.

On Thursday Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu dined with NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

Rasmussen had earlier called on NATO members to provide more warplanes to bomb Libyan military targets, as the alliance seeks to keep military pressure on Gaddafi while protecting civilians from his forces.

"We can't protect civilians in Libya effectively if we are not prepared to take out critical military units on the ground that can be used to attack civilians. This is the reason why we do air-to-ground strikes," Rasmussen said in The Hague on Thursday.

The contact group will also hear from representatives of the Libyan opposition, whose forces are struggling to make decisive push toward Tripoli despite attacking from the east and west.

Mahmoud Jebril, a senior member of the rebel council, said in Brussels on Wednesday that there had been no negotiations so far with Gaddafi's regime to stop the war.

STAY OR GO

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said this week that emissaries from Gaddafi's government in contact with NATO members had said that Gaddafi was ready to quit.

But Clinton said the Gaddafi camp was putting out "contradictory signals" and the Libyan leader had yet to meet any of the international community's demands, namely to cease violence against his people, withdraw his forces and step down.

Any solution could hinge on whether Gaddafi, after stepping down, is allowed to stay in Libya or take refuge in a third country, regardless of an International Criminal Court's investigation into crimes against his people.

A British-led team planning post-conflict Libya, has recommended that Gaddafi's security forces be left intact in order to avoid errors made after the Iraq war. [ID:nL6E7HS2AF].

Foreign powers want to ensure the oil rich North African country of 6 million emerges as a stable democracy rather than fall prey to ethnic or tribal conflict, or become a haven for Islamist militants.

The Istanbul meeting is being co-chaired by Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. China and Russia, two powers who have taken a softer line toward Gaddafi, were invited to attend the contact group meeting for the first time, but China refused and it was uncertain what level of representation Russia might send.

Speaking in Washington on Wednesday, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would use all channels to try to help start a political process and end the conflict.

Turkey and the African Union have proposed separate road maps aimed at establishing a ceasefire and moving through stages from Gaddafi quitting power to a democratic transition, and the contact group will seek to agree on a single plan.

Turkey has also stressed the need to help Libyan people through the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins at the start of August this year.

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Libya unrest: Football stars defect to rebels

Other International

Author / Source : Independent Online/bbc

A group of 17 leading Libyan football figures have announced their defection to the rebels.

They include the nation's goalkeeper, Juma Gtat, three other national team members, and the coach of Tripoli's top club al-Ahly, Adel bin Issa.

Mr Gtat and Mr bin Issa announced the group's defection to the BBC during a late night meeting in the rebel-held Nafusa Mountains in western Libya.
It comes on the heels of defections by military officers.
Propaganda blow

At their hotel in the town of Jadu I met goalie Juma Gtat relaxing in his room.

"I am telling Col Gaddafi to leave us alone and allow us to create a free Libya," he said as we sat on his hotel bed in front of other players.

"In fact I wish he would leave this life altogether," he added with a laugh.

In football-mad North Africa, the defections are clearly a propaganda blow for Col Gaddafi. But he has always resisted any pressure, political or military, to leave office.

And he has some advantages on the various battlefields in this war across Libya.

Here, in the rebel-held Western Mountains, in besieged Misrata in the centre, and in the east, the long-time Libyan leader has most of the heavy weapons - such as multiple rocket launchers and tanks.

The rebels mostly have small machine guns and, in some cases, only ancient rifles.

The longer-range rockets and artillery at Col Gaddafi's command mean he can often pin the rebels down to their positions.

Mr bin Issa, told me he had chosen to come to the Western Mountains "to send a message that Libya should be unified and free".

"I hope to wake up one morning to find that Gaddafi is no longer there," he added.
map
Desert units

Sports stars matter in the battle for public opinion. But the rebels still need to win some decisive military victories if they are to advance.

In the Western Mountains, they have managed to seize most of the high ground, taking control of a series of towns.

I have travelled from Wazzin, hard on the Tunisian border, to the rebel stronghold of Jadu.

Although some of the towns in between have suffered serious attacks, they remain in rebel hands.

But troops loyal to Col Gaddafi hold the plains and valleys below.

The colonel also holds the capital, its approaches, and large parts of this mainly desert country.

So far, most of the attention has of course been on the heavy fighting for coastal cities, where most of Libya's population live.

But Col Gaddafi also has arms caches and military units deep in the Sahara Desert - some of which have not yet been deployed.

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3 children among 15 dead in new raid on Libya

A picture taken on a government-guided tour Sunday shows the rubble of buildings. TRIPOLI, June 20 (agencies) : Three children were among 15 people killed in a new NATO-led air strike Monday, government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim told reporters as they were given a tour of damaged buildings in Sorman, 70 kilometres (45 miles) west of Tripoli.

Meanwhile: NATO acknowledged late Sunday that it was responsible for civilian deaths in Tripoli after Libyan officials showed reporters five bodies, two of them of toddlers, they said were among nine people killed in a "barbaric" air strike.

Rebels fighting the four-decade rule of Moamer Kadhafi meanwhile warned that they were running out of money as their struggle enters a fifth month and called on governments in the NATO-led coalition to make good their promises of funds.

An alliance statement released in Brussels said "NATO acknowledges civilian casualties in Tripoli strike" during action targeting a missile site.

"It appears that one weapon did not strike the intended target and that there may have been a weapons system failure which may have caused a number of civilian casualties," the statement added.

The admission that the civilian deaths were caused by NATO was an embarrassment for the alliance which has led the bombing campaign under a UN mandate to protect civilians.

Libyan government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim accused the Western alliance of "deliberately targeting civilians," insisting there were no military targets anywhere near the residential area of Tripoli that was hit early on Sunday.

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