Over 1,000 escape in Libya prison break

July 28, 2013

1000_escape_in_Libya

Benghazi, Jul 28: Over 1,000 inmates escaped during a prison riot on Saturday in the restive city of Benghazi, a Libyan security official said, as protesters attacked Muslim Brotherhood offices following a wave of assassinations.

"There was a riot inside Al-Kuifiya prison, as well as an attack from outside. More then 1,000 prisoners escaped. Special forces called in as reinforcements were given orders not to fire at the prisoners," the official said, asking not to be named.

He said most of the escapees were common law detainees, including nationals of other African states.

"But some of them were detainees in cases linked to the former regime of Muammer Gaddafi," he said, adding that several inmates were recaptured shortly after the breakout.

Prime Minister Ali Zeidan confirmed the incident, without giving the number of fugitives.

"Residents of the area carried out the attack because they don't want the prison near their homes," he said, adding that border posts had been alerted and given a list of names to apprehend the escapees.

Zeidan earlier announced that border posts with Egypt had been closed to prevent the escape of the killers of a prominent activist in the eastern Libyan city on Friday.

Thousands of Libyans protested earlier on Saturday in Tripoli and Benghazi against parties including the Muslim Brotherhood blamed for the wave of violence in the east of the country.

Protesters ransacked Tripoli offices of both the Brotherhood's political wing, the Party of Justice and Construction (PJC), and its liberal rival, the Alliance of National Forces (NFA).

In Benghazi, youths stormed and ransacked the building housing the PJC, after hundreds took to the streets on Friday night to condemn the assassination of Abdessalem al-Mesmari, an anti-Islamist lawyer who campaigned for a civil state.

The demonstrators accuse the Brotherhood of being behind killings that have targeted dozens of officers, especially in Benghazi, the city that was the cradle of the 2011 armed uprising that ousted longtime dictator Kadhafi.

In Tripoli, hundreds of people gathered at Martyrs' Square in the heart of the capital to demonstrate in "solidarity with Benghazi" and against the Islamist movement.

Chanting "the blood of martyrs was not shed in vain," the protesters converged on the square as they left mosques after morning prayers, an AFP correspondent reported.

About 100 youths then descended on PJC offices in the Ben Ashur district, smashing its windows and looting furniture.

From the outset, the demonstrators chanted slogans against the Brotherhood, but they later also targeted the NFA which won July 2012 elections.

Around 100 protesters converged on the alliance's offices in Hay al-Andalus neighbourhood, invading the premises and throwing documents out of windows.

"We want all political parties to be dissolved," said one protester, Ahmed Trabelsi.

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News Network
January 3,2020

Washington, Jan 3: US President Donald Trump ordered the killing of Iran Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani, who died in Baghdad "in a decisive defensive action to protect US personnel abroad," the Pentagon said Thursday.

"General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region. General Soleimani and his Quds Force were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more," the Department of Defense said.

Following Soleimani's death, Trump tweeted an image of the US flag without any further explanation.

"US' act of international terrorism, assassinating General Soleimani—the most effective force fighting Daesh (ISIS), Al Nusrah,Al Qaeda, is extremely dangerous & foolish escalation. US bears responsibility for all consequences of rogue adventurism." said Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif.

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News Network
June 17,2020

Washington, Jun 17: The United States is closely monitoring the situation following a fierce clash between Indian and Chinese forces in eastern Ladakh and hopes that the differences will be resolved peacefully, officials said here.

Twenty Indian Army personnel including a colonel were killed in the clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night, the biggest military confrontation in over five decades that has significantly escalated the already volatile border standoff in the region.

"We are closely monitoring the situation between Indian and Chinese forces along the Line of Actual Control," a State Department spokesperson said.

"We note the Indian military has announced that 20 soldiers have died, and we offer our condolences to their families," the official said.

Both India and China have expressed their desires to de-escalate and the US supports a peaceful resolution of the current situation, the spokesperson said.

"During their phone call on June 2, 2020, President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had discussed the situation along the India-China border," the official added.

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News Network
June 2,2020

Jun 2: Pakistan's COVID-19 cases reached 76,398 on Tuesday after 3,938 new infections were reported across the country, while the death toll due to the coronavirus has gone up to 1,621, according to the health ministry.

The Ministry of National Health Services said that 78 COVID-19 deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of fatalities in Pakistan to 1,621.

A total of 27, 110 people have recovered, it said.

Sindh has 29,647 patients, Punjab 27,850, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 10,485, Balochistan 4,514, Islamabad 2,893, Gilgit-Baltistan 738 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 271, it added.

The authorities have conducted 577,974 tests, including 16,548 in the last 24 hours.

The jump in the number of cases comes a day after Prime Minister Imran Khan said that people should learn to live with COVID-19 until a vaccine is developed.

Khan addressed the media after chairing the meeting of National Coordination Committee, the highest body to tackle the pandemic.

"Coronavirus will not go away until the vaccine is discovered. We need to learn to live with it and we can live with it if we follow precautions," he said.

He said the one million volunteers of the government's coronavirus force will raise awareness of the need to follow guidelines.

The government also said that all sectors will be opened slowly after deciding the negative list of businesses which will not be allowed.

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