According to CNN, a courier who allegedly led the Navy Seals to Osama's residence and his brother were among the first who opened fire on the special unit. They died near to their master. The woman who protected Bin Laden was only wounded. Earlier reports said that she died at his side. Bin Laden himself was not armed but "tried to defend himself". That's why he was shot at once.
Screenshot and processed picture => Click to the photo !
U.S. special forces used modified Seahawk choppers to approach Bin Laden's residence. One of them exploded during the firefight and was left behind. It is obviously equipped with some stealth technology that helped to enter Pakistani airspace and approach the garrison town of Abbottabad without being noticed. Pakistani authorities are not amused:
أوباما: قوة أمريكية خاصة قادت العملية التي قتل فيها أسامة بن لادن زعيم تنظيم القاعدة "Obama: American special forces conducted the operation during which Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda organisation, was killed."
Osama Bin Laden was shot in the head by U.S. special forces who took his dead body with them as a proof. Bin Laden was targeted in his hide-out, a fortified compound situated in a densely populated area of Abbottabad which is a rather medium-sized town about 30 miles away from Pakistan's capital Islamabad. These circumstances made it an especially difficult task for the special units to prevail. In a televised speech, President Obama pointed out that there were no U.S. losses during the firefight between U.S. Navy Seals and Al-Qaeda fighters.
According to the president who gave the direct order to attack, the whereabouts of Bin Laden had already been known for a certain time. Former media reports about Osama Bin Laden hiding in either Afghanistan or in the bordering tribal areas of Pakistan (i.e. Waziristan) did therefore not match reality.
Even though it is still dark night in New York and Washington, lots and lots of people are steadily gathering at Ground Zero (N.Y.) and in front of the White House, such celebrating that historical event.
Latest News: - According to special unit's report, Bin Laden should have used a woman as a human shield when being shot at. That woman died with him. => Refer to the picture below. - After tests had been made to ensure the identity of Bin Laden, the dead body was dropped into the Arabic Sea from a U.S. aircraft carrier and in the frame of a burial ceremony "according to Muslimic belief". The procedure of burial has been disapproved by some Muslims, among them the Imam of the Grand Mosque of Paris, because the body was not properly buried on firm ground as requested by the Koran [Source: i-Télé, France]. Nevertheless, the U.S. decided to stick to a burial on sea in order to avoid generating a place of pilgrimage for Bin Laden's followers. - Some voices like that of Prof. Tariq Ramadan and who is representing a French institute of historic studies of the Arab world, are saying they would rather have liked to see Bin Laden alive in order to listen to what he has to say [i-Télé, France].
One of Gadafi's sons, Saif al-Arab, was killed together with his wife in a Nato air raid on his house in Tripolis. Some of Gadafi's grandchildren were killed as well. Muamar al-Gadafi who stayed in the same building at that time remained unhurt. Saif al-Arab kept a relatively low profile in comparison with his brother Saif al-Islam and who openly defended his father [CNN].
Subtitles by Al-Jazeera, Arabic TV:
النيتو يقول إن إحدى غارات استهدفت مركز قيادة في باب العزيزية بطرابلس "Nato says that some [of its] attacks intended to concentrate on the [military] command (*) at Bab al-Azizia in Tripolis."
* = The subtitle given by Al-Jazeera includes an expression that could be translated either as "[military] command" or as "leadership". As the related CNN report stressed that Nato was not targeting Libyan leader Muamar al-Gadafi, the right translation should be "military command".
معارضون يشككون في إعلان طرابلس عن مقتل ابن القذافي و يصفونه بأنه سعي لكسب التعاطف "Controversion and doubts over the declaration from Tripolis that a son of Gadafi should have been killed and his characterisation that is trying to gain him sympathy."
The above subtitle was added hours after the news of Saif al-Arab's death became known for the first time.
Additional remarks by Ulysses:
According to a German radio source, Saif al-Arab once studied in Munich, Germany. At that time, a member of the Gadafi clan, probably Saif al- Arab, became known to Munich police for a nightly town racing during which he crushed his expensive car. As being protected by his diplomatic passport, he could not be charged for his breaking of different laws.
On this occasion, I would like to remember an Interpol request that reached authorities in the area already controlled by freedom fighters. This request was published by Al-Jazeera on March 5, 2011:
الإنتربول يصدر تحذيرا دوليا بشأن خطورة القذافي و 15 من عائلته و أعوانه Interpol has released an international alert concerning imminent danger from Gadafi and 15 [members] of his family and his helpers.
The Interpol request consists of different notes on different subjects involved. Here are only two of them, characterized by their vague style, which I tried to reconstruct from the Arabic version.
Red Note: [This note] brings about a request on the conditions of arrest of persons on the run and being sought after on the purpose of [their] extradition to [certain] countries [on behalf of such countries' security sources]. .....
Blue Note: Request of additional information on a person related with criminal activity.
There is also a "Green Note", a "Yellow Note" and a "Black Note" from Interpol.
نداء للتضامن مع الشعب السوري يوم الخميس 28 نيسان /أبريل 2011
Yesterday, the Syrian opposition website launched a call for support directed to Syrian citizens living in Europe. Tonight, a demonstration should take place in Paris at the "Wall of Peace" which is located on Champ de Mars near Metro station École Militaire. Being in favour of any democracy movement in the Arabic world, I feel obliged to pro- liferate that information without being directly involved in any kind of organisation that is behind the demonstration.
Hier, l'opposition syrienne a lancé un appel au soutien du peuple syrien dans sa lutte contre le système autoritaire du président Assad. Voici l'information:
L'Attentat de Marrakech / The Marrakech Bombing
At about 1:00 pm GMT, first news came in about the bombing of a café in the center of Marrakech in Morocco. One of the following screenshots from i-Tele TV, France, documents the very first announcement of that incident which I happened to record "on time". At that time, it was not quite clear whether this was a criminal assault of international impor- tance or a mere accident. Latest news are reporting a death-toll of 15 while at least 20 persons were wounded. Most victims are foreign tourists, 6 of the dead are French. A minister of the Moroccan govern- ment related the bombing to Islamist activity. It would be the second time after the Casablanca bombing in 2007 that militant Islamists are related to such incident.
According to own information, Morocco has been an Al-Qaeda strong- hold for many years. Upcoming political movements in the frame of the "Arab Awakening" in Tunisia and Algeria are adding to a situation of latent uprising.
Le mariage royal et les congratulations à part de la France
The following material has been chosen from a TV special of French origin and that is dealing with the royal marriage in London between Prince William and Kate. - By the way, don't take it too serious !
Le matériel présenté ici a été choisi d'une émission de TV d'origine française et qui s'occupe du mariage royal de Londre entre Kate et le Prince William. - D'ailleurs, ne le prenez pas trop au sérieux !
The pictures are showing two British fans of the royal family, one a collector of royal fan articles, the other a fundamentalist follower of the royals, now sleeping in front of the cathedral where the couple is expected to marry. As the latter put it, he has been raised with royalist values and would ever respect the queen.
Les images montrent deux amants fous de la famille royale, l'une collectionneuse des articles fan et l'autre un royaliste décidé et qui dorme vis-à-vis de la cathédrale où le couple royal doit se marrier. Comme le royaliste le dit, il est élevé avec ces valeurs royalistes et veut toujours respecter la reine.
The first video added is showing that royalist guy and, as well, an international contest of couples looking like Kate and William. The winning couple seems to be of British (man) and French-Italian (woman) extraction as could be imagined from their accents.
Le premier vidéo montre le type royaliste déjà mentionné et, aussi, un concours international de couples semblables à Kate et William. Le couple vainqueur est composé d'un homme probablement anglais et d'une femme dont on peut remarquer l'accent français-italien.
The following video is an animated cartoon on wedding events and could be named: "A prince, a princess and a fairy tale becomes true".
Le vidéo suivant est une BD animée sur le évènements du marriage et qui peut être nommé: "Un prince, une princesse et un conte de fées devient réalité."
Excerpts from the latest edition of the opposition website FREE SYRIA سورية الحرة
كاتب بريطاني يرى ان الاسد فشل في تحديث بلاده وينصحه بالتنحي والعودة الى الحياة الخاصة قبل فوات الأوان A British author (*) tells that Assad failed to meet with the modernisation of his [country] and advice [is given] to him to abdicate and to return to a private life before it might be too late. كتب الصحافي البريطاني أدريان هاملتون مقالاً نشرته صحيفة "ذي اندبندنت"ـ * = British journalist Adrian Hamilton and publisher of an article in the journal "The Independent"
ابن خال الرئيس بشار الأسد رامي مخلوف يسيطر على %60 من اقتصاد سوريا A cousin of president Bashar Assad, Rami Machluf, is in control of 60% of Syria's economy.
دعوة للتظاهر في الجمعة العظيمة Invitation to protest in the "week of greatness"
The article reminds almost 50 years of autocratic rule which the Syrian people together with their Kurdish compatriots had to endure. It therefore calls for protest in the week of the Easter celebrations and is obviously targeting the Christian minority as well as Syrian and Kurdish Muslims.
مصادر عسكرية في مطار صنعاء الجيش ينشر طائراته في عدد من المحافظات A military source at the airfield of [Sanaha]: The [Gadafi] army deployed its numerous airplanes in the provinces.
ـ6 طائرات حربية اخرى من طراز فـــ5 أقلعت في اتجاه مطار مدينة العتق في محافظة شبوة Six further F5 warplanes took off in front of the airport of [Al-Hatac] township in Shabua province.
استمرار تدفق النازحية الليبيين على الأراضي التونسية و دعوات لتقديم العون لهم Continued exodus of Libyan citizens to the fertile [regions] of Tunisia and appeals to provide them with assistance.
Developments in the Libyan Campaign التطورات الميدانية في ليبيا
الثوار الليبيون يسيطرون على معبر وازن ـ الذهيبة على الحدود مع تونس, و فرار 13 ضابطات ليبيا بينهم لواء سلموا أنفسهم للجيش التونسي Libyan rebels are in control of the passage of Wazan - [access] to the Tunisian border, and flight of 13 Libyan officers, among them a brigadier general, and who are saving themselves to the Tunisian army.
الثوار يقولون إنهم تمكنوا من السيطرة على معبر وازن الحدودي مع تونس بعد اشتباكات مع الكتائب Rebels say they have taken control of the passage of Wazan which is bordering Tunisia after engagements with [Gadafi] units.
مقتل مصورين أحدهما بريطاني و الأخر أمريكي في مدينة مصراتة Two photographers, one British the other American, died in the town of Misrata.
Additional Remarks:
The border crossing at Wazan in Western Libya which is now under rebel control is badly needed to ensure military supply for the freedom fighters.
The photographers who died in Misrata had been working for Getty images and Vanity Fair.
Even though Gadafi troops already left the center of Misrata, civilians are still fleeing that place because of heavy shooting from the outside and U.S. bombing of targets near the road to Tripolis. Many civilian casualties are reported. Nato warned civilians to keep away as far as possible from possible targets of their air raids. [Source: Al-Jazeera, Arabic service]
Foreign military advisers from France are on their way to the rebel army. [Source: Arte, Paris]
Official resignation of Cuba's leader Fidel Castro. His brother Raul taking over the charge of a secretary-general of Cuba's Communist Party. The video is showing scenes from the actual 6th party congress, the first after many years and that introduced new members of the central committee. Most recent "Reflections of Fidel" on the political development of Cuba are read by a speaker of Cubavision TV.
In his reflections, dated from April 18, 2011, Fidel remembered those many attempts to eliminate him. He considered that a most dangerous period of time had ended after the North-American Bush administration left place to a new government. At that time, he said, "mercenaries were already sitting on their luggage" ready to overthrow Communist rule in Cuba. As to the formation of a new central committee of the Communist Party, he said that two ideas were prevailing: The increase of feminine participation and the representation of members with an Afro-American background i.e. a background dating back to former times of slavery. Fidel also stressed the "revolutionary potential of Latin America" hinting at his friend and ally, the Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. And he pointed out that "rule of capitalism" should not become an option for Cuba which his brother Raul had stated as well on the actual party congress. Fidel Castro, while referring to his retreat from daily politics, remembered that he has still preserved his ability of analyzing and writing. Nevertheless, he is now convinced that a leader's time of office should be restricted.
Pictures of the Week: Click to the pictures to see more !
30.000 on a nightly demonstration in Homs (Syria).
Protesting Yemenite women in the streets of Sanaa.
Heavy fighting at Misrata and general Yunis, commander of the freedom fighters.
Egypt: Mubarak's former prime minister charged for corruption.
Japanese Fukushima plant: 9 month needed to cool off.
While the English service of Al-Jazeera reported about further Nato bombings of Gadafi's military facilities, the Arabic service held a video conference with participants from Benghazi, Kairo and Paris on latest political development:
الأمين العام للأمم المتحدة بانكي مون يدعو إلى حل "سياسي" و "وقف إطلاق نار فوري" في ليبيا United Nation's secretary-general Banki Mun is urging a "political" solution and an "immediate cease-fire" in Libya.
أمين عام حلف الناتو يقول إن الحلف يحتاج لمزيد من الطائرات للقيام بمهمته على أكمل وجه The Nato secretary-general says the alliance needs the majority of [their] airplanes for the most perfect accomplishment of their mission.
هيلاري كلينتون تحث حلف شمال الأطلسي على الحفاظ على وحدة الصف في مواجهة القذافي Hillary Clinton has incited the North Atlantic Pact to guard their unity when it comes to face Gadafi.
وصول سفينة قطرية إلى ميناء الاسكندرية قادمة من ليبيا على متنها 630 مصريا Arrival of a [regional] ship in the port of Alexandria, the first one from Libya carrying 630 Egyptians. [Please note: The translation could as well be "a ship from Qatar" instead of "a regional ship", the latter making more sense if one has in mind that the state of Qatar as place of ship registration could be inserted without ambiguity by simply choosing another phrase construction. Anyway, the essential information about Egyptian migrants, held in camps and willing to leave Libya, remains clear.]
TUNISIA
Tunisian prosecutors want former president Ben Ali to face trial on the basis of 18 charges including drug trafficking and manslaughter. Ben Ali is now living in Saudi Arabia.
EGYPT
Former president Mubarak and both of his sons have been arrested only recently and are now facing charges of corruption.
YEMEN
Increasing pressure on Yemenite president Saleh to step down from office within a fortnight.
SYRIA
A new Syrian government has been formed on behalf of president Basher Assad following weeks of increasing unrest. Simultaneously, a release of political prisoners from a mass arrest has been ordered.
الخارجية الأمريكية: خطاب الأسد لا يرقى لمستوى الإصلاحات التي يريدها الشعب السوري و "يفتقر للجوهر" اAccording to the U.S. secretary of foreign affairs, Assad's speech has not proceeded to the level of reforms wanted by the Syrian people and has been "lacking substance". [Al-Jazeera on March 30, 2011]
Shooting people from a car in the streets of Baniyas, allegedly targeting security forces, and increasing masses of protesters in Damascus:
The following news have been published on an Arabic website related to Syrian protesters. It is called FREE-SYRIA السورية الحرة نظام الأسد يقتل الجنود الرافضين لاطلاق النار على المدنيين
استشهاد المجند \ من الفرقة الرابعة \: محمد موسى اسماعيل الجراد ، من مدينة الحارة في درعا ، وذلك باطلاق النار عليه ورميه امام القطعة ،لرفضه اطلاق النار على المدنيين في بانياس ، وسلمت جثته الى اهله اليوم مضايا: عاجل: استشهاد الضابط مراد حجو من مضايا كان الشهيد
" While shooting at citizens, the Assad regime is killing deserted soldiers. "
" The example of a recruit / from the fourth brigade [or: division] /: Mahmud Moussa Ismail al-Djarad, from the township of al-Khara in Dira. This one has been shot at and hit by a shrapnel [that came in front of him] when he refused to target citizens in the [coastal] town of Baniyas. His carcass was delivered to his family the day [after]: Urgent [News]: Citation of the officer M. Kh. who is the witness of what happened. "
Yesterday, only hours after Japanese authorities raised the danger level of Fukushima Daiichi plant to the Chernobyl level, several Chinese internet sources reported on contaminated food stuff from Japan reaching Chinese markets.
The following reports from two Chinese online dailies should be cited in order to show how mere rumours can influence consumer's attitude towards Japanese food stuff products.
One publication from PR China's Gansu province (gansudaily.com.cn) has the headline: "The selling of food stuff, imported from Japan and that has undergone nuclear radiation, is being blocked in our country." The article is reporting on customer's behaviour in the township of Harbin, once known as the industrial center of Manchuria in Eastern China. People are saying that Japanese milk powder is being rejected "no matter if radiated or not". Already bought Japanese products should be brought back at once. This comes after an increase of Japanese sellings after the earthquake and before the extent of the nuclear catastrophe became known to a broader public. It must therefore be added that Japanese products are considered to be of an "unsual quality".
Another publication of the day from Phoenix Network (ifeng.com) is dealing with rumours that "Japanese trawlers packed with nuclear radiated fish are reaching Taiwan", an information that should not be trusted. Such rumours are said to have their origin in the worldwide web. Even though, the information of such shippings cannot be verified, customers in the Chinese republic of Taiwan are now finding themselves in a state of uncertainty.
Yesterday night, the African Union presented a roadmap for peace in Libya. Several African presidents and other high-ranking officials therefore met with Colonel Gadafi in Tripolis. What makes the difference between Nato and African positions on the issue of Libya is that any demand for Gadafi's resignation has been omitted. Facing the fact that Gadafi earlier sponsored African governments with Libya's oil revenues, especially when it came to the issue of a Panafrican government to be established under Gadafi's probable leadership, that roadmap simply looks like just another effort of the Gadafi clan to cling to power.
الوفد الأفريقي التقى القذافي في طرابلس African delegation of [encouragement for] Gadafi in Tripolis:
المجلس الانتقالي: مبادرة الاتحاد الأفريقي لا تتضمن رحيل القذافي و أبنائه عن المشهد الليبي The [Libyan] council of transition says that the initiative of the African Union does not imply the emigration of Gadafi and his sons from the Libyan scene.
- A former U.S. congressman in a conversation with Gadafi, telling him to step down. - Recent losses of the freedom fighters are related to unsufficient support from the international alliance. CNN news from April 6, 2011.
Abdul Fatah Junis, commander of the freedom fighters:
Hillary Clinton, U.S. foreign secretary of state:
Hospital ship carrying the wounded from Misrata to Tunis:
خطة لتنحية القذافي على أيدي أبنائه يقودها سيف الإسلام و الساعدي
Plannings to get rid of Gadafi in favour of his sons under the direction of Saif al-Islam and al-Saidi:
- New York Times: Plannings to get rid of Gadafi and for the transition to a constitutional democracy led by Saif al-Islam.
- Confusing position of Gadafi about [such] plannings and their support by Saif al-Islam and al-Saidi.
Further News about Libya:
الثوار يبدأون هجوما من ثلاثة محاور على مدينة البريقة Rebels have begun a three-sided offensive at Breqa township.
The deputy foreign minister of Libya is visiting Greece and Turkey in order to deliver the above mentioned message of the Gadafi clan.
حراك سياسي بحثا عن محرج تركيا تتصدر وساطة دبلوماسية لإنهاء الأزمة في ليبيا Political activity seeking a vow from Turkey to preside over a diplomatic mediation that [deals with] the Libyan crisis.
Scotland Yard requested an interview with defected Libyan foreign minister Mousa Kousa on the 1988 Lockerbie incident. As earlier reported, there are hints that Gadafi had been directly involved in the bombing of a passenger plane that killed all passengers and many inhabitants of the Scottish village of Lockerbie. After his defection, Mousa is now being "debriefed" in a safe house of the British authorities.
