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Agreement was�reached Saturday on a new wage agreement for�338,500 municipal employees which means a�4.3 per cent general�increase in wages.

Source: http://www.norwaypost.no/general-business/new-wage-agreements-also-for-municipal-employees-25130.html

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A NEW political party is gearing up to fight district and parish council seats in the Moorlands at next week's elections.

The Moorlands Democratic Alliance, which opponents claim has risen from the ashes of the former Ratepayers party, is led by Linda Malyon.

Among the founder members is former district council leader Ron Locker, who was ousted at the 2007 elections and is hoping for a political comeback after beating cancer.

Other familiar faces include Leek trader Barry Cowie and Margaret Locker, wife of Ron Locker.

All 56 seats are up-for-grabs in the Moorlands, where the balance of power is held by a Conservative-Independent alliance. A total of 143 candidates are contesting 27 wards.

Conservatives hold 31 seats, independents six, Liberal Democrats have five, Labour have five, Ratepayers three, UKIP one, BNP one, Staffordshire Independents one and there is one non aligned independent.

Seats in Leek and Cheadle are being strongly contested after long running rows over Leek's Sainsbury's development and proposed changes to the town's road network and controversy over Cheadle's housing allocation. Concerns over plans to replace a roundabout with traffic lights in Leek led to a 1,000 strong demonstration earlier this month.

Source: http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32715/f/503368/s/1483c6dd/l/0L0Sthisisstaffordshire0O0Cnews0CNewcomers0Ehope0Ell0Echange0Ebalance0Epower0Carticle0E350A59860Edetail0Carticle0Bhtml/story01.htm

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Experience the sun, the forests and the mountains, walk barefoot in the waves, fish for salmon in the L�gen river, simply lie in the sun or frolic with goats on a farm.� Whatever it is you are looking for, you will almost certainly find it in Larvik!� Almost 170 kilometres of coastline, an excess of sandy beaches, more sunshine days than anywhere else in Norway and with a perfect location close to both town and country!

Source: http://www.norwaypost.no/travel-info/experience-larvik-25128.html

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DEDICATED Stoke City fan Aaron Lawton is so determined to see his beloved Potters at Wembley he is flying from Malaysia to London halfway through a family holiday.

When Aaron and his partner Jacqui Brunton booked the trip to Malaysia, they were careful to avoid the cup final date – after Stoke almost made it last year, only to be knocked out by Chelsea in the quarter-final.

But, when the Football Association moved the match to May 14 to accommodate the European Champions League final, it fell in the middle of their holiday.

So, after watching Stoke score five past Bolton to reach their first ever FA Cup final, Aaron, aged 43, was determined he would be back at Wembley.

Season-ticket holder Aaron, of Stoke-on-Trent, who flies to Malaysia today, said: "I went to Wembley for the semi-final and it was awesome. One of the best days of my life.

"Last year when Stoke made it to the quarter finals we were due to go to Malaysia when the FA Cup final was on and I kept saying I was going to miss it, then we got knocked out by Chelsea.

"This year we were careful just in case and arranged the holiday so we'd be back but then the FA moved the final back for the Champions League, that was what stuffed us.

"I've been watching Stoke for 25 years. I went to the Auto Windshields final which was great, but the FA Cup is something else.

"I can't miss it, I might never get another chance to see Stoke in the FA Cup final."

Aaron will fly from Malaysia on Friday, May 13, stopping off at Kuala Lumpur, then on to Heathrow. He will spend one night in London after watching the match, then return to Malaysia on Sunday, May 15 for his remaining week on holiday. The journey will take 15 hours each way and will cost him �1,300.

The warehouse worker with TP Engineering said: "It's worth it."

Aaron, who lists Carl Saunders, Nigel Gleghorn and Lou Macari as his all-time favourite Potters and Rory Delap, pictured, from the current crop, added: "Tony Pulis and Peter Coates have done wonders for this club.

"I like direct football – get it up top and score a goal, it's exciting. I couldn't watch Arsenal, all that passing.

"I think the final is going to be tight, but I think it's our year. I think we'll win 1-0 or 2-1."

Jacqui, aged 43, who will remain in Malaysia with her parents, Ray, aged 80, and Sheila, aged 76, said: "I gave him an ultimatum, me or Stoke – you can tell which way it went.

"I watched the semi-final with my parents. My mum said to me, 'you do know Aaron's on about coming back if Stoke make the final', I said, 'don't be daft'.

"When he came home from Wembley he hardly spoke for two days. I said, 'I know what's wrong with you'."

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Save up to �400 on Lazyboy chairs - Royal Oak Furnishers

Want to offer readers a discount voucher? Claim your listing on our business directory

Source: http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32715/f/503368/s/1485823d/l/0L0Sthisisstaffordshire0O0Cnews0Cll0Einterrupt0Eholiday0EStoke0Carticle0E350A66560Edetail0Carticle0Bhtml/story01.htm

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Pro-Gaddafi forces fought a gun battle with Tunisian troops in a frontier town as Libya's conflict spilled over its borders.

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Dehiba, Tunisia - Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi fought a gun battle with Tunisian troops in a frontier town on Friday as Libya's conflict spilled over its borders.

Pro-Gaddafi forces shelled the town of Dehiba, damaging buildings and wounding at least one resident, and a squad drove into the town in a truck chasing anti-Gaddafi rebels.

Tunisia summoned Libya's ambassador to protest against the incursions.

Tunisian deputy foreign minister Radhouane Nouicer, speaking on Al Jazeera television, said casualties had been inflicted, including a young girl.

“We summoned the Libyan envoy and gave him a strong protest because we won't tolerate any repetition of such violations. Tunisian soil is a red line and no one is allowed to breach it,” he said.

The Libyan troops were chasing rebels from the Western Mountains region who fled into Tunisia in the past few days after Gaddafi forces overran a border post they had earlier seized.

A Reuters cameraman who crossed into Libya saw the bodies of three Gaddafi soldiers on the ground. It was not clear if they had been shot by the rebels or by the Tunisian military.

Tunisian border guards had shut down the border, he said. They were laying barbed wire and fortifying their positions.

Columns of Libyan refugees fleeing the fighting in the Western Mountains were reaching the crossing but were unable to get through.

Reuters photographers in Dehiba, a short distance from the border, saw several abandoned pick-up trucks which Gaddafi loyalists had driven. One had a multiple rocket launcher on the back. Another, which had overturned and lay upside down in the sand, was fitted with a heavy calibre machine gun.

Two residents told Reuters that shells had fallen on the town from pro-Gaddafi positions across the border.

“Rounds from the bombardment are falling on houses.. A Tunisian woman was injured,” one resident, called Ali, told Reuters by telephone.

He said later the fighting and shelling had stopped.

“The Tunisian army is combing the town. We have no idea about the fate of Gaddafi's forces there because the Tunisian army closed the gates to the town and nobody is allowed to enter.”

Tunisia toppled its own veteran leader, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, in a revolution earlier this year that triggered turmoil through the Middle East and many Tunisians are sympathetic to the rebels fighting Gaddafi's forces.

ON THE BORDER

While Dehiba was under fire, the rebels, who are fighting to end more than four decades of Gaddafi rule, announced they had recaptured the border post.

Rebels seized the post a week ago. It controls the only road link which their comrades in the Western Mountains have with the outside world, making them rely otherwise on rough tracks for supplies of food, fuel and medicine.

“Right here at this point I'm looking at the new flag flying up there at the border. The rebels have got control of it, the freedom fighters. We're just in the process of opening it up,” rebel Akram el Muradi said by telephone.

The main crossing into Libya, two hours' drive to the north, remains firmly under Libyan government control.

Friday's clashes marked the first time that government ground forces had crossed the border and entered a Tunisian town.

Residents said a crowd of local people gathered in Dehiba on Friday morning to try to prevent pro-Gaddafi forces from entering the town. Tunisian soldiers fired in the air to disperse them and urged the demonstrators to seek shelter from the shelling inside their homes.

Inside Libya, NATO air strikes hit Gaddafi troops attacking rebel-held Zintan, a rebel spokesman said from there. State news agency Jana confirmed the attacks, saying “the crusader colonial agression” had hit civilian and military sites.

In the rebel stronghold Benghazi, a doctor said shelling by Gaddafi's forces in the besieged city of Misrata killed 12 people on Thursday, including two women. He said the dead were victims of rocket and mortar fire.

Oil traders in Asia said on Friday a tanker with the first major oil shipment from rebel-held east Libya is expected to arrive in China next week.

The Liberia-registered tanker Equator, reported to be carrying 80 000 tons of crude, left the rebel-held east Libyan port of Marsa el Hariga three weeks ago, carrying fuel exports vital to financing the uprising against Gaddafi.

The buyer of the cargo was not clear as trading house Vitol, which is managing the shipment, has not commented on its Libyan transactions. Traders said that finding a buyer was not straightforward due to concerns over legal complications related to the ownership of oil and international sanctions. - Reuters

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/gaddafi-men-shell-dehiba-1.1062847

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Following his miraculous escape when he wrecked a R2m supercar, Gayton McKenzie already has his eyes on a multimillion-rand car.

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Following his miraculous escape last weekend when he wrecked a R2 million supercar outside Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, controversial businessman Gayton McKenzie already has his eyes on a multimillion-rand Maybach limousine.

McKenzie, the chairman of Kenny Kunene’s growing nightclub empire ZAR, was travelling in a convoy of flashy cars on the R61 to Ngcobo when his white Audi R8 Spyder flew off the road, crashed through a fence and stopped in a field.

The vehicle knocked down an Eskom power pole, cutting electricity to parts of Ngcobo.

In the car with him was former Miss SA Teen Moloko McKenzie (not related to Gayton), who was knocked unconscious.

Gayton managed to free himself from the wreck, pulled Moloko free of the seat and carried her to safety.

Gayton, a former prisoner, his business partner Kunene and others were returning to Gauteng after attending the wedding of President Jacob Zuma’s daughter Dudu and businessman Lonwabo Sambudla at the Easter weekend.

The accident was witnessed by several people in the convoy, and Kunene was following the R8 in his Lam- borghini convertible.

“We’re all just glad that Gayton is okay. It was absolutely horrifying, but the important thing is that he is okay,” said Kunene.

“He has hurt his leg really badly and cannot drive at the moment. So, after he attends meetings he goes straight home to relax because he needs to recover,” said Kunene.

“Gayton was simply happy to be alive,” he added.

Meanwhile the Sushi King has revealed that he would be bringing popular US producer-performer Timbaland to the country to celebrate his club ZAR’s birthday at the end of May.

Kunene also revealed that several other famous singers would perform alongside Timbaland.

Celebrities Ciara, Fat Joe and Lil’ Kim are expected to join in the celebrations.

“Timbaland and the rest have been in talks with ZAR to do a four-show tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe, starting at the end of May, and have agreed to spend a week in Mzanzi,” said Kunene.

“So, instead of the usual whirlwind tour, they will be spending time with the ZAR family to get to know the country and its people and rock us all in Johannesburg, Durban, Nelspruit and Harare,” he added. - Saturday Star

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/tycoon-writes-off-r2m-car-1.1063003

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A US envoy claims pro-Gaddafi troops are engaging in sexual violence with the aid of Viagra, diplomats said.

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United Nations - The US envoy to the United Nations told the Security Council on Thursday that troops loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi were increasingly engaging in sexual violence and some had been issued the impotency drug Viagra, diplomats said.

Several UN diplomats who attended a closed-door Security Council meeting on Libya told Reuters that US Ambassador Susan Rice raised the Viagra issue in the context of increasing reports of sexual violence by Gaddafi's troops.

“Rice raised that in the meeting but no one responded,” a diplomat said on condition of anonymity. The allegation was first reported by a British newspaper.

Pfizer Inc's drug Viagra is used to treat impotence.

Diplomats said if it were true that Gaddafi's troops were being issued Viagra, it could indicate they were being encouraged by their commanders to engage in rape to terrorise the population in areas that have supported the rebels. That would constitute a war crime.

Several diplomats said Rice provided no evidence for the Viagra allegation, which they said was made in an attempt to persuade doubters the conflict in Libya was not just a standard civil war but a much nastier fight in which Gaddafi is not afraid to order his troops to commit heinous acts.

“She spoke of reports of soldiers getting Viagra and raping,” a diplomat said. “She spoke of Gaddafi's soldiers targeting children, and other atrocities.”

Rice's statement, diplomats said, was aimed principally at countries like India, Russia and China, which have grown increasingly sceptical of the effectiveness of the Nato-led air strikes, which they fear have turned the conflict into a protracted civil war that will cause many civilian deaths.

Most council members, diplomats said, had expected Gaddafi's government to collapse quickly. They said the frustration felt by India, Russia and China would likely grow if the war dragged on.

The use of rape as a weapon during wartime has received increasing attention at the United Nations. Last year, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed a special envoy on sexual violence during armed conflict, Margot Wallstrom.

Earlier this month, Wallstrom chided the Security Council for failing to mention sexual violence in two recent resolutions on Libya, despite having made the subject a priority.

Wallstrom said at the time that reports of rape in Libya remained unconfirmed but she cited the highly publicized case of Eman al-Obaidi, the woman who burst into a journalists' hotel in Tripoli last month saying she had been raped by pro-government militiamen.

The International Criminal Court is already investigating whether Gaddafi's government committed war crimes in its violent crackdown against demonstrators who demanded greater freedoms. The crackdown sparked a rebellion that has turned into a civil war.

The US mission to the United Nations declined to comment. - Reuters

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/us-says-gaddafi-troops-issued-viagra-1.1062423

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The dollar languished near three-year lows after inflation data suggested euro zone interest rates will rise again this summer, while stocks paused for breath and a strong commodities rally tailed off.

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By Mike Peacock

London - The dollar languished near three-year lows on Friday after inflation data suggested euro zone interest rates will rise again this summer, while stocks paused for breath and a strong commodities rally tailed off.

Analysts see little upside for the dollar following the Federal Reserve's pledge this week to continue with near-zero rates for an “extended period” while central banks in Europe, Asia and Latin America are tightening policy.

Inflation in the 17-nation currency bloc edged up to 2.8 percent in April, well above the 2 percent target ceiling of the European Central Bank, which raised rates for the first time in two years earlier this month.

“The inflation numbers support the view that the ECB will deliver another interest rate hike before long. Indeed, although we expect a rate increase at the July meeting, the balance of risks is tilted towards an earlier move,” said Aline Schuiling, senior economist at ABN AMRO.

The euro was trading at $1.4865 by 1045 GMT, close to a 17-month peak of $1.4882 hit on Thursday. The single currency also rose to a six-month high against sterling.

German government bonds slipped after the inflation numbers with the Bund future last at 122.55, 12 ticks lower on the day.

With Thurday's weak US GDP and jobless data offering no relief to the dollar, the index which tracks its performance against a basket of major currencies fell to its lowest since July 2008 this week before recovering somewhat.

The index is down about 7.5 percent this year, making the dollar one of the world's worst-performing assets, and is on track for its biggest weekly fall since mid-January. The dollar also hit a record low against the Swiss franc on Friday.

Sean Callow, a strategist at Westpac in Sydney, said sentiment towards the dollar was “profoundly bearish with no catalyst for reversal”, at least until all-important US non-farm payrolls data next week.

With risk appetite ascendant, partly fuelled by the assumption that rock bottom US rates will continue to drive money into riskier assets, world equities as measured by the MSCI index are up by some 5 percent over the past two weeks, though they were flat on Friday.

European shares were also unchanged following a six-session winning streak, with volumes crimped by a holiday in Britain for the Royal Wedding. US stock index futures pointed to a flat open on Wall Street.

“The (company) earnings season has been more positive than expected, but the concern is that the estimates are being revised negatively and that might be a signal for difficult times ahead,” said Koen De Leus, strategist at KBC Securities in Brussels.

A broad commodity market rally softened with silver pulling back by about 70 cents from Thursday's $49.51 per ounce peak, its highest since 1980, while US crude futures for June had dropped 0.2 percent to $112.65 a barrel by 1045 GMT.

Gold stood at $1,536.80 an ounce after hitting a lifetime high around $1,538 in the previous session.

But further gains are expected unless the dollar recovers.

“If the dollar continues to weaken, then it's only likely to boost gold as well as silver as the inverse relationship between the two assets persists,” said Ong Yi Ling, investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.

The 19-commodity Reuters-Jefferies CRB index, a broad indicator of the commodity market, is up nearly 10 percent this year, making it the world's best performing asset group.

With the dollar virtually friendless, the Australian dollar stood at $1.0935, within easy reach of a 29-year peak of $1.0948. - Reuters

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/treasuries-set-for-biggest-drop-in-8-months-1.1062759

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A bomb tore through a tourist cafe in the bustling heart of Marrakech's old quarter, killing at least 11 foreigners and three Moroccans.

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Marrakech , Morocco - A massive terrorist bombing tore through a tourist cafe in the bustling heart of Marrakech's old quarter, killing at least 11 foreigners and three Moroccans in the country's deadliest attack in eight years.

At least 23 people were wounded in the Thursday blast a few minutes before noon in Djemma el-Fna square, one of the top attractions in a country that depends heavily on tourism, Moroccan Interior Minister Taib Chergaoui said.

Government spokesman Khalid Naciri told the AP it was too soon to lay blame for what he called a terrorist attack but he noted that Morocco regularly dismantles cells linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and says it has disrupted several plots.

At least eight French citizens were being treated at Marrakech's main Tofail Hospital, along with one Canadian, a British citizen and three Moroccans, emergency room chief Hicham Nejmi said. Others were being treated at a military hospital and a handful in private clinics.

April marks the start of Morocco's tourist season, when visitors gather to watch snake charmers, storytellers, jugglers and local musicians, filling the cafes that ring the edges of the iconic square on the route to the city's major open-air souk, or market.

“There was a huge bang, and lots of smoke went up. There was debris raining down from the sky,” honeymooner Andy Birnie, who lives in north London, told The Associated Press by telephone. “Hundreds of people were running in panic.”

The explosion blew much of the facade off the two-story terracotta-colored Argana cafe, leaving awnings dangling. Panicked passers-by dragged away bodies and tried to put out flames with fire extinguishers, witnesses told The Associated Press.

“I believe the injured were mostly tourists, judging by what they were wearing,” Alexandre Carvalho, a 34-year-old call centre worker from southern Portugal, told the AP by telephone.

At least two French nationals were among the casualties, although it was not immediately clear whether they were dead or wounded, judicial officials in the French capital said. President Nicolas Sarkozy confirmed that the victims included French citizens.

Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague said the British ambassador was traveling to Marrakesh, although he gave no immediate confirmation of British casualties.

This former French colony has enjoyed relative stability and political plurality compared to some of its neighbors, but King Mohamed VI holds the final say in all policy, and the country's largest Islamist movement is banned from politics.

The king has pledged constitutional reforms in response to several largely peaceful protests over the past two months that were inspired by popular uprisings that pushed out autocrats in nearby Tunisia and Egypt.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said that “the United States condemns in the strongest terms today's terrorist attack that killed and injured innocent people at a cafe in Marrakech, Morocco. We extend our deepest sympathies to the victims of this cowardly attack and stand with the people of Morocco at this difficult time.”

The UN Security Council condemned the attack “in the strongest terms” and expressed condolences, while UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was “appalled by today's bombing” and extended his “deepest sympathies,” according to statements.

Germany, which said none of its citizens had been hit, urged that the attack “must not lead to the reform process that has been initiated in Morocco being undermined.”

Al-Qaeda's affiliate in North Africa stages regular attacks and kidnappings in neighbouring Algeria. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb is holding four Frenchmen hostage after kidnapping them in Niger last year, and recently released new images and audio recordings of their voices.

Morocco, however, has been mostly peaceful since it was hit by five simultaneous terrorist bombings in Casablanca in 2003 that killed 33 people and a dozen bombers linked to the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group, a local militant group also been implicated in the deadly transit attacks in Madrid in March 2004.

In April 2007, two suicide bombers died in attacks by the US consulate in Casablanca, the economic capital.

Moroccan authorities have rounded up thousands of purported terror suspects in recent years and while they “regularly discover terrorist cells ... nothing led us to foresee an act of this magnitude,” Naciri said.

“Morocco has an international image of welcome, hospitality and tourism,” he told the AP. “An act of this magnitude will leave its mark.” - Sapa-AP

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/terrorist-attack-hits-cafe-in-morocco-1.1062360

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The Libyan dictator’s forces have shelled civilian areas in the rebel-held city of Misrata.

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Misrata, Libya - Muammar Gaddafi's forces have shelled civilian areas in the rebel-held city of Misrata, killing 10 people. Regime supporters and opponents battled on another front in western Libya for control of a crossing point along the Tunisian border, killing refugees as they fled.

Rockets and other artillery fire slammed into Misrata's western Garara neighbourhood on Thursday, sending up deadly showers of shrapnel. At the city's Hikma hospital, relatives shouting “God is great” collected the dead, each with the word “martyr” written in marker on their white funeral shrouds.

The two-month battle in Libya's third-largest city has killed hundreds and prompted dire warnings of a humanitarian crisis. Gaddafi's best trained forces are battling fiercely to uproot rebel fighters from their only major stronghold in the western half of Libya, which is home to the government's power centres and the capital, Tripoli.

Ali al-Ghoul, 46, who was leaving a mosque when eight rockets struck nearby, killing five of his neighbors, saids: “Everything was normal and nothing was going on, and then all of a sudden these missiles came down and exploded in our neighbourhood.”

The city's rebel fighters, most of them youths armed with captured weapons, pushed Gaddafi's forces from the city centre this week, easing movement in a large swath of downtown that pro-government snipers had rendered deadly for more than a month.

Misrata's rebel spokesman, Ibrahim Beatelmal, said a rebel force of about 50 fighters had advanced to the city's east on Thursday, killing 14 government soldiers. However, the city was subjected to continuous shelling with rockets and other artillery by government forces on its edges.

Beatelmal said rebel forces were focused on holding their newly captured areas but were preparing to move on Gaddafi's positions further out to stop the shelling.

“All of these areas have to be cleaned out,” he said.

In fighting along the Tunisian border, control of the Dehiba crossing point was switching between the two sides on Thursday. Rebels seized it a week ago, and government forces trying to retake it fired Grad rockets, including some that hit Tunisian soil, according to Tunisia's state news agency.

Witness Mohamed Hedia, a resident of the town on the Tunisian side of the border, said the fighting sparked panic among refugee families who had just crossed or were trying to cross the border. There was no confirmed death toll, but Hedia said the dead numbered about 20.

About 5000 people had crossed the border from Libya over the past two days, Tunisia's state news agency reported. Many were being taken in by Tunisian families in the region or being housed in a refugee camp.

Misrata has become the focus of fighting in recent weeks, as the other key front, in the largely rebel-controlled east, has settled into a stalemate.

On Thursday, government troops shelled residential areas about 20km from Misrata's downtown core.

A doctor who spoke via Skype on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals said: “The shelling started about 9.30 this morning and has been sporadic during the day.”

Another doctor in Misrata said on Thursday that a Nato airstrike had killed 12 rebels in a friendly-fire incident a day earlier. The military alliance, which is operating over Libya to enforce a no-fly zone and protect civilians, denied its warplanes bombed a building the rebels were said to be occupying.

Dr Hassan Malitan said he believed the attack was a mistake but insisted it was carried out by Nato aircraft. He said the strike came moments after he and another doctor visited the building where rebels were holed up about 5km east of the port.

“We drove about 200m and we heard a huge explosion that shook the earth,” Malitan said. He said he looked back and saw smoke rising from where they had just sat with the men. As he and the other doctor began slowly driving back toward the building, a second missile crashed into it, Malitan said.

“We started crying and screaming out their names,” he said. “It was clear that the missiles came from the sky and we heard the airplane,” he said.

Malitan said he was surprised to see rebels so far east, and said they assured him that they had been in contact with Nato forces about their location.

Wednesday was the second day of intense fighting around Misrata's Mediterranean port, the city's only lifeline to the outside world. A steady stream of boats have been bringing in humanitarian aid through the port and ferrying out hundreds of wounded civilians and foreign migrant workers who were trapped when the fighting broke out two months ago.

In Brussels, a Nato official denied that warplanes had bombed the building.

“There was no Nato attack on any building in or around Misrata,” said the official who could not be identified under standing regulations.

Forces loyal to Gaddafi had been crowding around that area, a coastal road that leads from the capital, Tripoli, to the port. Nato forces targeted them in punishing airstrikes on Tuesday and Wednesday in an attempt to halt an advance on the port.

The Nato spokesman said the jets had struck a number of combat vehicles about 16km southeast of Misrata port on Wednesday, targeting an area where they had broken up a large group of pro-Gaddafi forces the day before.

“Nato cannot independently verify reports that these vehicles were operated by opposition forces,” he said. “We deeply regret any loss of human life, as our mission in Libya is to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas against attack.”

Aid agencies and human rights groups have sounded alarm bells about a growing humanitarian crisis inside the city and Nato has publicly acknowledged it needs to do more to protect civilians in Misrata.

But the coalition has also talked about the difficulties of targeting Gaddafi's forces around the city, saying they are mixing in with civilians to make it more difficult to identify them.

On Thursday, a senior UN official warned that huge food shortages would also hit Libya within two months unless stocks were replenished and distribution networks supported.

The World Food Programme's regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, Daly Belgasmi, said current stocks might last only 45-60 days, after which many people would be forced to cut back on meals.

He said rising fuel prices and lack of hard currency were making it hard for Libya to import food. Adding to Libya's woes, the private economy was hit by the exodus of foreigners who worked in food production such as bakeries.

Belgasmi said government-run distribution networks had also come under pressure due to the conflict. - Sapa-AP

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/gaddafi-shells-west-libyan-city-1.1062371

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COALITION leaders are unanimous in their view that Stoke-on-Trent's makeshift administration has been a success.

Labour, the Conservative and Independent Alliance, City Independents and Liberal Democrats joined forces after elections in May last year.

The Labour group held 26 seats after a strong performance in the local polls but no overall majority.

Eight Conservative and Independent Alliance, eight City Independents and four Liberal Democrats made up the rest of the partnership as it devised a strategy for cuts of �36 million.

Staffordshire University's politics specialist Mick Temple, pictured below, believes cuts to local services will leave some voters wanting to lash out – but they might not be sure who to attack.

He said: "All groups will have been tarnished.

"One of the big problems of a coalition is voters not knowing who to blame and where to go if they feel all are to blame.

"It's difficult for the electorate and I think the response will be a very low turnout in Stoke-on-Trent.

"I would normally say one year into a new government the opposition would benefit, but Labour are a big part of the unpopular local cuts."

Labour and council leader Mohammed Pervez, above right, believes voters will recognise that the coalition delivered on pledges to tackle anti-social behaviour, improve dementia care, and apprenticeships – as well as delivering a balanced budget.

He said: "The coalition has performed well. Some of our opponents thought we'd fall apart but that didn't happen.

"It was a one-year agreement with the purpose of putting aside political differences for the greater good of the city, because there were big decisions to be made.

"We have worked hard to bring consistent leadership and we have provided that."

Conservative and Independent Alliance leader Ross Irving, left, the council's deputy leader, said members successfully set aside differences for the city's good.

He said: "Decisions had to be taken economically and I think the groups – certainly the leadership – knew if we continued playing politics it wouldn't be of any benefit to the city.

"It was felt leadership should be put before tribal politics. We had to deliver a balanced budget and we did it.

"When you have to save �36 million you can't just get a new quote for paper clips, you've got drastic reductions."

Liberal Democrat leader Kieran Clarke, cabinet member for resources, said: "There has been some hard decisions but they are decisions that have been put off for years.

"I've always said that everyone agrees on 95 per cent of things. It's the remaining five or 10 per cent they are left to argue over."

Brian Ward, leader of the City Independents, added: "The coalition has performed in difficult times. What we've done is phenomenal. When we first saw �36 million to cut we were in a state of real concern. But we have protected most front line services."

But councillor Mick Salih, spokesman for the opposition Community Voice group, said: "I think they have saved some of the really difficult decisions for after the election.

"Without the work of our members, more would have been cut."

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Somali pirates have freed the Panama-flagged bulk carrier MV Renuar and its crew after four months in captivity.

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Mogadishu - Somali pirates have freed the Panama-flagged bulk carrier MV Renuar and its crew of 24 Filipinos after four months in captivity, the European Union's anti-piracy task force said on Thursday.

“The ship is now sailing to a safe port,” EU Navfor said in a brief online statement.

Pirates firing rocket propelled grenades seized the 17 156 ton vessel on December 11 as it headed to the United Arab Emirates from Mauritius.

EU Navfor did not say if a ransom had been paid. - Reuters

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/panama-flagged-ship-freed-1.1062220?cache=0%3Fcache%3D0%3Fimage%3D12%3Fimage%3D8%3Fimage%3D0

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Julius Malema encouraged supporters outside the court to “bring down Helen Zille” and vote the ANC into power in the city.

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ANC Youth League president Julius Malema on Friday encouraged supporters outside the Western Cape High Court to “bring down Helen Zille” and vote the ANC into power in the city.

“Down with Helen Zille. Away with Helen Zille. Viva ANC, Viva.

“Spread the message. We are here today to bring down Helen Zille. Convince everybody here to vote for the ANC,” Malema said.

He was addressing some 70 people shortly after judgment was handed down in the so-called open-toilet saga in Khayelitsha.

The court ruled that the City of Cape Town had violated the dignity of residents there and ordered the city to enclose 1000

toilets in Makhaza, Khayelitsha.

Judge Nathan Erasmus also found that police failed to comply with a court order to investigate vandalism of open air toilets.

Malema said the judgment indicated that the African National Congress had won.

He said the people of Cape Town must enclose the toilets because “Helen Zille and Cape Town will not adhere to the judgment”.

Voting for the ANC and ensuring that party candidate Tony Ehrenreich became mayor would ensure that the people of Cape Town had their dignity restored, he said.

The people who had gathered outside the court since 10.30am awaiting the judgment, danced and cheered as Malema addressed them.

Wearing “Vote ANC” t-shirts bearing President Jacob Zuma's face, the protesters did not want to speak to media, except to say they were from Khayelitsha.

One of them carried a placard saying: “Helen Zille go to hell, rest in sh*t”, referring to the leader of the Democratic Alliance.

Others carried small portable toilets. One woman lifted her skirt up and sat on the toilet posing for photographs.

Curious tourists gathered around, taking photographs.

Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula was also at the court.

The DA-led City of Cape Town was accused of violating residents' right to human dignity after 51 toilets were erected without enclosures in Makhaza, Khayelitsha in December 2009.

The ANCYL, on behalf of community members, lodged a complaint about the open toilets with the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) in January last year.

The SAHRC recommended to the City that it reinstall the 51

toilets, but the city appealed against the SAHRC finding.

This was when the ANCYL decided to launch a court application on behalf of the residents. - Sapa

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/down-with-zille-malema-1.1062841

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FAMOUS cricketing father and son Chris and Stuart Broad have always lived happy lives in Nottingham, but last summer brought an unexpected and devastating jolt to their family life.

Miche, the wife of former Test cricketer Chris – stepmother to Stuart and his sister Gemma – was suddenly struck down with incurable motor neurone disease.

Her deterioration was rapid and in July last year she took her own life at the age of 60.

But out of that tragedy, the Broad family are determined that something good will come to honour her memory.

They have set up the Broad Appeal, a charity which aims to support other affected families and raise money for research into a cure.

"Losing Miche had a big effect on our family," said Gemma. "She went from an energetic and vivacious person, someone who was standing on seats cheering Notts and England victories at Trent Bridge, to someone who couldn't eat or talk.

"One of the biggest things is that mentally you are totally unaffected, but your body breaks down.

"You could see from Miche's eyes that she wanted to say something, but her muscles wouldn't let her. It's unbelievably hurtful to see that happen to someone you love."

Already, the appeal has organised a fashion show at the Carriage Hall in Plumtree next week and a race evening at Southwell in July, with more events planned.

It will also receive �5 for every ticket sold until May 12 for England's one-day international against Sri Lanka at Trent Bridge on July 6, thanks to a partnership with Notts County Cricket Club.

A cheque presentation will take place at the ground during England's Npower Test match with India, starting on July 29.

"We wanted to set something up after Miche died that could not only help people around us but those further afield as well," said Chris.

"This is a fantastic agreement with Notts, which is our home. We can't thank them enough."

Motor neurone disease affects 5,000 people in the country at any one time. Stuart said: "After Miche died last year, the whole month of July I found it particularly hard playing and my mind probably wasn't 100 per cent on the job.

"To have set up this Broad appeal is something we are very excited about."

For more details and to donate, visit: www.thebroadappeal.org.uk

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LIFE-LONG Stoke fan Jacki Sadula is concerned the Potters won't win the FA Cup – unless she is at Wembley wearing her lucky red shoes.

Every time the 32-year-old has worn the shoes to a Stoke City game, the Potters have won.

The winning streak stretches to 10 matches this season and includes the 5-0 Wembley mauling of Bolton Wanderers in the cup semi-final.

But because she is a Stoke City silver member, rather than a season ticket holder, there are no guarantees she will get a ticket to watch her team grace the domestic season's finale.

Now she is pleading for a ticket, so her shoes can help fire Stoke to glory.

Jacki, who lists Matthew Etherington, Jermaine Pennant and Robert Huth as her favourite players, said: "My story is a plea for my lucky red shoes to have a ticket for the FA Cup final. Every time I've worn them to a Stoke game they've never lost.

"I've been to numerous games in them, probably about 10 matches this season, including the FA Cup quarter-finals against West Ham and the semi-final at Wembley against Bolton.

"I would love it if Stoke City would give me one, or anyone who can't make it could give me one to take me and my lucky red shoes back to Wembley to win again."

Jacki, who lives with children Brooke, aged seven, Chloe, aged three, and her partner, firefighter Rogue Lovatt, aged 36; in Hanley Road, Sneyd Green, bought her shoes from Primark for �12, two years ago.

The red leather shoes have been re-heeled twice costing �13 each time.

Jacki, who works part-time at Asda, added: "The only time I didn't wear them to the Britannia, I wore my Ugg boots instead and Stoke lost.

"I've probably seen Stoke score about 20 goals this season.

"I don't always get the chance to go, with having two girls. I've tried to get them interested, but I haven't had any luck so far."

Her father, Peter Sadula, aged 56, of Festing Street, Hanley, said: "I first took Jacki to Stoke in about 1982.

"I don't think I will be able to get a ticket either.

"I missed the 1972 League Cup final , because I was in the Army, serving with the Cheshire Regiment.

"I was on a train travelling from East Berlin to West Berlin while the match was being played, with orders to shoot anyone who tried to get on. I was only 17.

"I kept wondering how Stoke were getting on."

Stoke have played 43 games in all competitions and won 19. They have been successful in 100 per cent of the 10 games Jacki attended in her shoes, but have won only 27 per cent of the remaining games.

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Engineer Muhammadu Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso was Governor of Kano State between 1999 and 2003. He was defeated in his 2003 re-election bid by Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, who had served under him as a permanent secretary. No one could have known at the time that eight years later, Shekarau will be handing the reigns of the state back to Kwankwaso.

�

Source: http://dailytrust.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=18214:kwankwaso-the-hand-that-giveth-also-taketh&catid=2:lead-stories&Itemid=8

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Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney says his petulent behaviour earlier in the season was a big mistake.

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London – Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has admitted he was wrong to seek a transfer earlier this season after questioning whether the club was good enough to challenge for top honours.

Rooney stunned Old Trafford in October by agitating for a transfer, accusing the Premier League leaders of failing to match his ambitions and lacking the muscle to attract top signings.

But Rooney, who has played a key role in putting United within touching distance of their third Champions League final in four years as well as a record 19th title, has now conceded his criticisms of the club were wide of the mark.

“I made a mistake,” Rooney told the Guardian.

“You know, when I look back at it now, I'll say it again, how wrong was I? I'm willing to admit that. I've apologised and ever since then I have wanted to try to prove myself again to the fans. I feel I am doing that now.”

Rooney eventually agreed a lucrative new deal at United but initially struggled to win back the support of fans after a prolonged slump in form.

However the 25-year-old won a standing ovation from United's travelling fans during Tuesday's 2-0 Champions League semifinal first leg victory over Schalke 04, where he netted his 12th goal in 21 games since the turn of the year.

“I'm delighted with my form at the minute and I'm grateful to the fans for supporting me through (the transfer demands),” he added.

“I hope I've repaid the fans now. I certainly feel vindicated (for deciding to stay). It's going to be a great end to the season if we can get to Wembley and win a Champions League final as well as the league.”

“I am a lot happier in my life, a lot happier with the way I'm playing. It's almost been like having to settle down again and I've done that now.” – Sapa-AFP

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/rooney-transfer-request-was-a-mistake-1.1062089

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GEARED at combating the scourge of malaria in Africa, Standard Chartered Bank through NetsforLife initiative is embarking on the distribution of five million Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets (LLITNs) in 18 African countries.

In the phase two of the NetsforLife programme that will last till 2013, Standard Chartered Bank has committed $5 million over five years to the US$50 million to be raised to distribute a minimum of five million LLITNs.

Country Chief Executive Officer, Bola Adesola said that malaria is a critical health issue to Standard Chartered, which impacts its staff, customers and communities.

?On World Malaria Day we celebrate a future where prevention is no longer needed. We are extremely proud to support NetsforLife in the fight against malaria,? Adesola said.

The bank along with five other donors has to date enabled the delivery of 6.3 million mosquito nets and has trained over 40,000 community leaders across Africa through NetsforLife.

?Standard Chartered Bank will run a series of events throughout Africa. In Nigeria, these would include malaria eradication awareness campaigns, facilitation of trainings targeted at recruiting more volunteer malaria agents and distribution of mosquito treated nets over the course of the year in heavily affected areas of the country.

?In Nigeria, the bank works closely with its partners Exxon Mobil and the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation, the respective state local governments and the national malaria control centre to join forces and adopt sustainable solutions to combat this disease.

?This effort represents a positive step in collaboration between the government and the private sector to control malaria and demonstrates the bank?s commitment to supporting the communities in which it operates,? he said.

Malaria is the leading cause of death among children under five in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the World Health Organisation. The disease costs Africa more than US$12 billion a year in productivity loss, according to the Lancet Journal. Running prevention programmes in 17 African countries, NetsforLife empowers communities to fight malaria. More than 18 million people have benefited from the work they do.

NetsforLife was launched in April 2006 in Zambia during Africa Malaria Week. Its aim was to distribute one million LLITNs to 16 African countries over three years, from 2006 to 2008.

The 16 countries in phase one remain the focus in the phase two programme, now with the addition of Sierra Leone and Guinea.

?After consultation with the World Health Organisation (WHO), coverage will shift from the most vulnerable people (primarily children under 5, pregnant women, the chronically ill and the elderly) to 90 per cent coverage.?

�

Source: http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=46112:bank-targets-five-million-mosquito-nets-in-18-countries&catid=93:science&Itemid=608

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Sundown’s appeal to have a match rescheduled has been turned down by the Safa appeals board, who said the league acted properly.

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Mamelodi Sundowns have had an appeal turned down to reschedule their Absa Premiership fixture against AmaZulu at King Zwelithini Stadium in Ulundi, outside Durban, next week.

The Premier Soccer League moved the match to May 4 after the original fixture, scheduled for April 16, was called off due to a waterlogged pitch.

Sundowns lodged an appeal with the SA Football Association (Safa) appeals board to have the match moved again, otherwise they would be expected to play three league games in the space of a week.

The title chasing Brazilians play Kaizer Chiefs at home on Sunday, AmaZulu away three days later in the only midweek match and Maritzburg United also away next Saturday.

“The Safa appeals board found that the league had not acted improperly at all in directing that the fixture be played on May 4,” the PSL said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The Sundowns appeal was accordingly dismissed and as such, unless there is a further appeal to arbitration, the fixture will proceed accordingly.”

Kjetil Siem, the PSL chief executive, said he was “disappointed” that the matter had been taken to the Safa appeals board.

“But this does prove that we were fair in handling the matter and that our rules are fair as well,” Siem said.

Sundowns communications officer Alex Tshakoane said club officials had not met to discuss whether they would appeal the decision or honour the schedule.

“I'm not commenting about that just yet,” Tshakoane said.

“The case was yesterday (Tuesday), and we haven't sat down as the club just yet to talk about the next step.” – Sapa

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/sundowns-fixture-appeal-rejected-1.1061642

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Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson says Ryan Giggs shows no signs of ageing after 20 years at the top, still scoring vital goals for the club.

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Gelsenkirchen, Germany – Ryan Giggs's breakthrough goal in Manchester United's 2-0 Champions League semifinal defeat of Schalke 04 added another record to a collection that was already fit to bursting.

The 67th-minute strike, a neat finish between goalkeeper Manuel Neuer's legs from a Wayne Rooney through-ball, broke the hosts' resistance on Tuesday and made the Welshman the oldest goalscorer in the competition's history.

The 37-year-old, architect of all three goals in the 3-1 aggregate defeat of Chelsea in the quarterfinals, was once again one of United's stand-out performers and coach Sir Alex Ferguson praised his astonishing longevity.

“It's a strange thing because his peak seems to have lasted so long now,” said the Scot, who handed Giggs his debut as a 17-year-old in 1991.

“You'd think at 37 he'd show signs of waning but I see no evidence of that. We look after him in terms of rest before games – he won't play on Sunday (against Arsenal), but he'll play next Wednesday (in the second leg).

“That's how we deal with it. When he gets the rest, he doesn't show any signs of receding at all. He's an amazing man.”

Giggs's opener was followed just two minutes later by a goal from Rooney, as United belatedly found a route beyond the inspired goalkeeping of Germany international Manuel Neuer.

The victory brings a third Champions League final in four seasons into view ahead of next week's return leg, but United will know that they created enough chances at the Veltins Arena to put the tie firmly beyond Schalke's reach.

Ralf Rangnick's side will travel to Old Trafford knowing that an away goal will change the complexion of the tie, but Ferguson refused to fault his team's display.

Asked if it was one of United's best ever European performances under him, he replied: “We've had some fantastic ones. Juventus at Juventus (a 3-2 semifinal secong leg win in 1999) will obviously be high on the list.

“I think it certainly ranks as one of the best, yeah.”

Neuer's one-man resistance had United fans fearing the worst until Giggs's opener, and Ferguson said his side had learned how to play with patience on the European stage.

“Concentration is certainly important away from home in Europe,” he said.

“It's difficult to do at times. It requires good concentration and, credit to the players, they've shown that throughout the campaign.

“The last two years in Europe, we have found a way of playing away from home. The most important thing is confidence in possession of the ball.

“It's more important away from home in Europe than anywhere else.”

The result made United the first team to complete a Champions League campaign without conceding an away goal.

They will now hope to repeat their 2008 feat of going unbeaten through the whole tournament by finishing the job against Schalke and then vanquishing either Barcelona or Real Madrid in next month's final at Wembley. – Sapa-AFP

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/fergie-praises-evergreen-giggs-1.1061586

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AN undercover police officer who infiltrated a group of Notts climate change protesters says he felt "torn apart" by his clandestine work.

Mark Kennedy, who was employed by the National Public Order Intelligence Unit, spent seven years undercover using the name Mark Stone.

His role came to light in January after the collapse of a trial against six protesters alleged to have planned to trespass at Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station and shut it down.

In a radio interview yesterday, he said he was "still processing" the emotional impact of his secret double life.

He said: "I was in a position that was extremely rare, where I was on the fence and saw both sides.

"I was understanding of the issues people wanted to protest about and I also understood my role as an undercover police officer, although I may have questioned that on some occasions."

His information led to a raid at Iona School, Sneinton, on Easter Monday, 2009, and the arrest of 114 people in connection with the alleged plot.

The trial of six of the protesters in January this year was abandoned by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Mr Kennedy then told journalists he had made tape recordings which cast doubt over whether the activists should have been charged.

He alleged Notts Police had kept those recordings secret, though last week the force said it "completely refuted" suggestions evidence was kept from the CPS.

The announcement came after the director of public prosecutions invited a further 20 protesters already convicted of conspiracy to commit aggravated trespass at the power station to appeal against their sentences.

Mr Kennedy said the campaigners had grown to mean "a great deal" to him.

"I was torn apart by it," he said.

"I spent seven years with a close knit group of people, many of whom became very good friends."

But he denied he had ever "gone native". He said: "I did what I was asked to do. If the intelligence that was provided wasn't used to best effect then something's gone wrong."

Mr Kennedy added there should be more consideration of how officers in his situation could be affected and said in hindsight maybe he should have left the operation earlier.

Three reviews into the collapse of the trial and the use of undercover police are still taking place.

Assistant Chief Constable of Notts Paul Broadbent said: "The interview with Mark Kennedy has not given any further insight into the reasons behind his actions.

"He was obviously reluctant to answer questions about the relationships he developed within the group and neither did he explain in any way how closing down the power station would have had any benefit to those two-million people whose homes could have been affected by the loss of power had the force not taken the pre-emptive action it did."

Source: http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32715/f/503354/s/1479613e/l/0L0Sthisisnottingham0O0Cnews0CMark0EKennedy0Esays0Etorn0Eapart0Eundercover0Epolicing0Erole0Carticle0E34979970Edetail0Carticle0Bhtml/story01.htm

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