News & Reports 2011-09-18

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In This Edition
 
The military spokesman of Libya's National Transitional Council says revolutionary fighters have taken control of the northern areas of Bani Walid and should control the whole country within days.
 
Niger's Justice Minister Marou Amadou says the threat of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb countries has become graver due to the conflict in Libya.
 
EU Finance Ministers agree to take tougher measures against overspending governments.
 
Around one-thousand demonstrators gathered in central Kiev to protest the 11th anniversary of Georgian journalist Georgy Gongadze's murder.
 
 
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Libya's NTC Takes Control of Part of Bani Walid
The military spokesman of Libya's National Transitional Council Ahmed Bani says that NTC fighters have already taken control of the northern areas of Bani Walid and hope to be in control of all of Libya within a few days.
 
He said the revolutionary fighters were able to enter Bani Walid city and move forward towards the city center. But they were attacked by the mercenaries from the mountains using sniper rifles and rocket propelled grenades and GRAD rockets.
 
Some NTC fighters blamed traitors 1, snipers and oil poured by Bani Walid's defenders 2 down steep streets. Others blamed a lack of troops, co-ordination and discipline among the different brigades.
 
Meanwhile, fierce fighting continued around Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte. Bani said the fighters had taken control of both al-Guardabia airbase and Sirte airport. Bani is confident of taking control of entire Libya within a short period of time.
 
"In the coming days we will have full control over all of Libya's territories. Our mindset and logic 3 for these days is that we are going to free Bani Walid, Sirte and Sabha before the end of this month."
 
However, the military spokesman said they still don't know the whereabouts of Moammar Gadhafi but he believes that that if anybody knew where Gadhafi is they wouldn't hesitate to turn him in.
 
"Regarding the whereabouts of Gadhafi, there is a bounty 4 of 1.6 million US dollars. I am sure that if anyone knows where he is, they would have come forward to claim the bounty. With regard to Gadhafi's sons, we know for sure that Khamis has been killed. Mohammed and Hannibal are in Algeria, Saadi is in Niger and we're not really sure about the whereabouts of the other two."
 
Gadhafi has been on the run since capital Tripoli fell to revolutionary forces nearly one month ago.
 
Niger Warns of al Qaeda's Threat & Not Send Ghaddafi's Son Back to Libya
Niger's Justice Minister Marou Amadou says the threat of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb countries has become graver than ever before.
 
He has also voiced concern that weapons plundered 5 during the Libyan conflict could fall into the hands of al Qaeda or other rebel groups who could use them to destabilize countries in the region.
 
"Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb gets its provisions in Libya, and that's a danger for all of us. So, really, we are in a very grave situation, and I think people should start to understand all these problems."
 
Earlier, a Nigerian soldier and three suspected al Qaeda members died, and two soldiers were wounded in a clash in northern Niger.
 
Amadou said its troops clashed with al Qaeda members whose settlement in the area could pose a serious threat to regional security.
 
"The Sahel is six million square kilometers, and it's in the Sahel. These forces are organizing themselves. They do whatever they want there. They are a menace for our government, but they are more than anything a menace for the European capitals."
 
Niger has called for international help with intelligence-gathering and aerial surveillance to secure its desert north, a venue 6 for al Qaeda's North African wing and bandits.
 
Meanwhile, Amadou said Niger will not send Gaddafi's son Saadi or the rest of his delegation 7 back to Libya or hand Saadi over to Libya's National Transitional Council.
 
"Niger, concerning its international obligations, cannot handover someone to a place or country where the person has no chance of getting a fair trial and risks the death penalty. If that person was wanted by an independent tribunal or a state that has universal competence 8 to try them, then Niger will do its duty."
 
The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Muammar Gaddafi and his son Saif al-Islam for alleged 9 war crimes, but not for Saadi, a famous soccer player.
 
Gaddafi's forces still control areas from Sirte through Bani Walid and Sabha and have vowed 10 to fight opposition 11 forces to the end.
 
EU to Implement 12 Tougher Budget Rules
European Union finance ministers have signed off on tougher budget rules that punish overspending governments.
 
Under the new rules, it will be easier to put sanctions on governments that breach 13 the EU's limits on debts and deficits 14.
 
Governments who ignore warnings that they risk breaking debt rules can also be punished.
 
The ministers have not, however, come to a unified 15 decision on how to handle a possible default of Greece and the damage that would do to banks across Europe that hold that debt.
 
Wolfgang Schaeuble, German finance minister.
 
"We talked in a very fundamental manner about what we are able to do about this deep crisis, where we see a slowdown of economic activity, if we are able to take the necessary decisions."
 
The eurozone ministers are under intense pressure to find solutions to the debt crisis that has crippled the regional economy for almost two years.
 
Eurozone finance ministers have also changed the technical features of Ireland's bailout fund which its finance minister, Michael Noonan, says will save the country a lot of money.
 
"There was an agreement early on that we paid extra money into the EFSF (European Financial Stability Facility) fund as a kind of collateral 16. For every 100 euros we could use we had to borrow about 120 and put 20 back in. They are going to give us a rebate 17 of that money now and that amounts to 600 million euros. That's the new piece of information emerging from today. So we get a rebate of 600 million euros but not until the bonds that give rise to it mature in 2016."
 
For years European countries, including the leading economies like Germany and France have broken the EU rule requiring deficits to be kept below 3 percent of Gross Domestic Product. Experts say that the lack of accountability has helped cause the rise in government debt that is currently afflicting 18 the region.
 
Opposition Leader Cleared to Challenge Venezuela's Chavez
A Venezuelan opposition leader has been cleared by an international court to run against President Hugo Chavez in 2012, a ruling expected to heat up the race to lead the Latin American country.
 
The Venezuelan authorities had accused Leopoldo Lopez of corruption 19 and banned him from campaigning, but now the Costa Rica-based Inter-American Court of Human Rights has ruled in his favor.
 
"Today, as you see, I'm cleared to run! I've recovered after a fight. I've recovered my political rights and today, before you, I want to say that with my political rights, I commit that from this moment on I shall work tirelessly to construct a Venezuela where all rights are for all the people."
 
Venezuela's government says the Lopez ruling was politically motivated and may still keep the Harvard-educated politician out of the presidential campaign.
Nicolas Maduro is Venezuela's Foreign Minister.
 
"In any case, we must study the decision. In Venezuela, as you know, there's a very firm judicial 20 order of institutions that has been established-the Supreme 21 Court, the Executive Power, the Comptroller General's Office, the power of the citizenry-and, well, this (the decision) will be evaluated."
 
Forty-year-old Lopez made his name as mayor of the wealthy Chacao district of Caracas.
 
The opposition aims to pick a single candidate to try to unseat Chavez in next year's election in October.
 
Chavez is Venezuela's most popular politician and has approval ratings of about 50 percent.
 
Ukrainian Protesters Mark Anniversary of Murdered Journalist's Death
Around one-thousand demonstrators have gathered in central Kiev to protest the 11th anniversary of Georgian journalist Georgy Gongadze's murder.
 
The protesters, most of whom were journalists or university students at the time of the murder, held candles and posters to commemorate 22 Gongadze and urge the authorities to apprehend 23 his murderer.
 
Gongadze, a Georgian working in Ukraine, was a harsh critic of the Ukrainian government, who reported on political corruption and criminal activity. He was found murdered near Kiev two months after he disappeared in September 2000.
 
Gongadze's murder led to months of protests against the administration of then president Leonid Kuchma.
 
Yegor Sobolyev, a journalist at the protest in Kiev, said he doubted there would be another atmosphere of fear among the media, similar to what happened 11 years ago when Gongadze was murdered.
 
"I am sure that we won't allow a return to the year 2000 when Gongadze was killed. There will not be such intimidation 24 and such fear in society. It simply won't happen. But the authorities definitely want to do this. The authorities want to intimidate 25, and maybe pressure someone. That's why so many people came today-why so many journalists came."
 
Meanwhile, the court cases related to Gongadze's killing 26 are ongoing 27.
 
The top suspect in Gongadze's murder, former Ukrainian police general Oleksiy Pukach, has pleaded guilty to the charges against him, but has accused former President Kuchma and other government officials of ordering the killing.
 
Kuchma was charged with exceeding his authority with actions that led to Gongadze's murder. He is scheduled to go on trial in the coming months, but has denied the charges.
 
Ayatollah Khamenei Opens Conference on Arab Spring
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has advised nations of the Middle East and Africa not to trust the United States and NATO and their assistance with their uprisings.
 
Addressing the first international conference Iran is hosting on the Arab Spring, or Islamic Awakening 28 of the Middle East and North Africa, Khamenei warned delegates of what he called West-driven conspiracy 29 and betrayal that were designed to hijack 30 their victories.
 
"Never trust America, NATO and criminal regimes such as Britain, France and Italy who used to divide your lands between them and loot you once. Be suspicious about them and do not believe their smile. Behind these smiles and promises lurk 31 conspiracy and betrayal."
 
Khamenei said that one of the key motives 32 behind region's revolutions is opposing the "fake" and "occupying" regime of Israel, which he described as an unpleasant fact for the West.
 
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is also taking part in the two-day event in Tehran which is scheduled to discuss the history and basic tenets of the Islamic Awakening.
 
Iran has officially supported the uprisings of the Arab world and emphasized that Islam is the axis 33 of unity 34 for all these uprisings.
 
UBS Trader Charged with Fraud
Kweku Adoboli, the UBS trader accused of losing the Swiss bank about 2 billion US dollars in unauthorized trading has been charged with fraud and false accounting 35.
 
He will remain in custody 36 until a hearing next week.
 
One of his alleged offences dates back to 2008, and indicates that Adoboli is alleged to have made efforts to cover his tracks following unsuccessful trades.
Adoboli did not enter any pleas at the brief hearing at a London court.
 
UBS is expected to provide more details of his trading next Monday.
 
The 31-year-old worked for UBS's global synthetic 37 equities 38 division, buying and selling exchange traded funds, which track different types of stocks or commodities such as precious metals.
 
Sky News City Editor Mark Kleinman says the case will further put the current banking 39 structure in a challenged position.
 
"I think it leaves UBS in a state of utter turmoil 40. I have spoken to several senior UBS employees in London today. They are really scratching their heads that this apparent rogue 41 trading could have been going on for a prolonged period of time without the bank's internal risk managers spotting it and of course this comes at a time when really the entire universal banking structure, that's where investment banks and retail 42 banks are housed under the same roof, the whole future of that has been called into question recently and this case is going to do nothing to advance the argument that they should be allowed to coexist together."
 
UBS is under pressure to explain how its managers failed to catch the 2 billion dollar loss, with experts calling into question the Swiss bank's ability to turn around its scandal-hit image.
 
Frankfurt Shows Smaller and Lighter 43 Cars
This year's Frankfurt Motor Show is now in full swing with elite 44 carmakers showcasing new models and new technologies that make vehicles cheaper and lighter - now and in the future.
 
Su Yi has more.
 
To adapt to increasing concerns over environment preservation 46 and the eventually exhaustible fossil fuel reserves, world-leading auto 47 makers 45 have set the tone of future car development as environment-friendly, fuel-saving and intelligent.
 
Among a range of hybrid 48 and pure electric cars, BWM i3 distinguished 49 itself with its light aluminum 50 and carbon-fiber structure, which makes it just lighter and even more reinforced.
 
Volkswagen's single-passenger vehicle "Nils" focuses on urban mobility 51 and lone 52 drivers.
 
Natascha Kinstner is from Volkswagen's Research and Development Department.
 
"Nils is a concept car by VW Research, and it focuses on micro-mobility; that is to say, urban mobility. It is a single-passenger vehicle, because studies have shown that 70 percent of commuters drive less than 25 kilometers to work, and that 90 percent drive by themselves. That is why it is a single-passenger concept."
 
Volkswagen's brand new city car -- four seater "Up!" is also attracting attention.
 
Measuring only 3.54 meters in length, the mini model is targeted at urban residents who strive for a lifestyle of both economy and conformability. The basic version comes with a one-liter, three-cylinder petrol engine. The "Up!" starts at an affordable 53 13-thousand U.S. dollars.
 
Audi has also come up with its own similar one-seater study called "Urban Concept." A sliding canopy 54, resembling that of a fighter jet, provides access to the car.
 
Statistics from the European auto industry association AECA showed that the overall market share of compact cars have risen from 30 percent in 1990 to more than 40 percent now in Europe.
 
As "downsizing" is inlaid with car design, more intelligent devices will ensue to help less skilled drivers, as a complete automatic parking device is soon to be applied 55 to realize driver-free parking.
 
Meanwhile, new power sources are always under the spotlight 56, from renovated 57 battery packs to hydrogen.
 
Mercedes' B-Class F-Cell runs on hydrogen. To prove the concept works, the car has been driven around on five continents.
 
Mercedes-Benz CEO Dieter Zetsche believes sales of hydrogen vehicles will soon match those of diesel 58 hybrids 59.
 
"We will start with a significantly higher volume of production in 2014 and we foresee in the year 2016, at the latest '17, to accomplish a cost position which is equal or similar to diesel hybrid. So within these five to six years we are not only technically 60 but economically fully 61 competitive with this new drive-train as well."
 
Toyota holds the majority of patents in hybrid technology. This year, it managed to add an optional third row of seating in its Prius+ thanks to innovations in producing lithium batteries that are lighter and smaller.
 
The Frankfurt Motor Show continues until next Sunday.
 
For CRI, I'm Su Yi.
 
China Daily: Sustainable Development Is an Urgent Global Issue
 
Sustainable development has become an increasingly important issue as the world's population is expected to reach seven billion next month. This comes at a time when people around the world continue to face the challenges of water scarcity 62, energy shortages, and global health and food safety issues.
 
The situation in emerging economies such as China is far from optimistic. The Chinese media have been addressing concerns about the downsides of the country's rapid industrialization ranging from climate change to environmental degradation 63.
 
An editorial in "China Daily" warns that there will be a heavy price to pay to clean up the environment, and it will take years or even decades for impaired 64 ecosystems 65 to be fully restored. The ultimate goal of sustainable development is to provide people with better livelihoods 66. But without clean air to breath and safe water to drink, they will not have a better life.
 
The editorial quotes UN Under-Secretary-General Sha Zukang's suggestion at a high-level symposium 67 that Chinese authorities must recognize the urgent need for green growth and cautiously balance the country's economic growth with efforts to reduce emissions 68 and pollutants 69.
 
It goes on to say that China must meet a binding 70 target for reducing carbon intensity 71 and controlling emissions, while maintaining its momentum 72 in improving its energy efficiency in line with the government's 12th Five-Year Plan from 2011 to 2015.
 
The editorial points out that it is essential for governments at all levels to calculate the real costs of environmental damage that results from robust 73 growth. It concludes that such costs may appear to be bearable at the beginning, but the accumulation of environmental debts cannot be sustained indefinitely.