Year in Review 2011 (Part 1): Massive Change, Inspiration & Heartache

Posted by Jeff in Opinion

Year in review 2011 (part 1): We saw incredible change sweep across the political landscape, Osama Bin Laden killed & Amy Winehouse pass away. What else happened in 2011, a momentous year?

Year in Review 2011: January

In sport we saw the transfer of Fernando Torres to Chelsea FC from Liverpool FC as Kenny Dalglish took over.

In tennis Novak Djokovic brushed aside all-comers in the Australian Open.

Apple announced it had passed 10 billion downloads from its app store and that Apple had made profits of $6 billion as Steve Jobs announced he would take medical leave.

In entertainment Ricky Gervais kicked up a storm at the Golden Globes (they have still invited him back for 2012 though!). Colin Firth & Natalie Portman started to win all the film awards available for ‘The Kings Speech’ & ‘Black Swan’. Meanwhile Oprah was launching her own TV channel.

Actor Pete Postlethwaite passed away as did singer Gerry Rafferty.

Arnold Schwarzenegger bowed out of politics and a tragic shooting occurred in Arizona that left 6 people dead and Gabrielle Giffords with brain damage.

Year in Review 2011: February

In Egypt the President, Hosni Mubarak, started to realise that he was in trouble and that the protesters were not going away. Mubarak finally left on Feb. 11th after defiantly stating he was going nowhere. We presume the army changed his mind.

The Arab uprisings also gathered pace in other countries, Bahrain & Libya in particular.

In sport the Green Bay Packers triumphed over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV. The F1 driver Robert Kubica had to have 7 hours of surgery after a horrific crash in Italy. The Olympic schedule was also published for the 2012 games in London. We are not far away now.

In music Adele stunned everyone with her performance at the Brits and went on to become the artist of 2011. Radiohead released a new album and the Glastonbury headliners were announced including Beyonce and Coldplay.

A new Enid Blyton book was uncovered and tragedy struck in New Zealand as a 6.3 earthquake hit Christchurch at the busiest time of day.

Year in Review 2011: March

Steve Jobs made his last major product launch as he unveiled the iPad 2, Adele conquered the charts, Richard Branson started to recruit astronauts, Microsoft launch IE9 while Nintendo go all 3D on us, over 1 billion people watch a cricket match and Sabastian Vettel shows the form that will let him dominate the F1 season.

Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor passed away as did the not quite so well known Knut the polar bear.

The big story of the month however was the devastating 8.9 earthquake and subsequent Tsunami that struck Japan triggering a nuclear incident and destroying countless lives.

Also destroying lives was the Libyan leader Col. Gaddafi as he plunged his country into what was effectively a civil war. The UN enforced a no fly zone and entered into action against Col. Gaddafi forces.

Read more in Year in Review 2011 (Part 2) here.

Year in Review 2011 (Part 3): A New Country, A New Social Network & New Womens Rights

Posted by Jeff in Opinion

Year in Review 2011 (part 3): The third quarter of 2011 saw some surprises, more scandal and the continuing success of social networks.

Year in Review 2011: July

Petra Kvitova upset the Wimbledon odds to beat Maria Sharapova who is still trying to get back to her best after injury. Djokovic again signalled his dominance with a victory in the mens Wimbledon final.

The phone hacking scandal exploded in the UK and is still being investigated today. The incident caused the closure of the News of the World, one of the oldest & most successful newspapers.

Facebook teamed up with Skype to offer video chat while Google once again entered the social networking market with Google+.

The world got a new country as South Sudan split form the north in a peaceful separation and David & Victoria Beckham celebrated the birth of their baby girl, Harper Beckham.

Dallas returned to our TV screens and the Spotify streaming music service launched in the US while Harry Potter cast a spell over the box office.

Japan won the Womens World Cup final in Germany after beating the USA on penalties and there was another Royal wedding as Zara Phillips married the Rugby player Mike Tindall. On the other side of that particular coin we saw Jennifer Lopez calling time on her marriage to Marc Anthony.

The USA came close to defaulting on its own debt when politicians decided to play brinkmanship with the economy. Doing slightly better were both Apple and Google who both posted record profits. The US also suffered a oppressive heatwave and saw the last flight of the space shuttle Atlantis.

Norway hit the headlines for the worst reasons when a huge explosion rocked the capital, Oslo and a gunman went on the rampage.

The world lost one of the greatest singers of the last twenty years. Amy Winehouse joined other famous singers who died prematurely, the so called 27 club.

Year in Review 2011: August

The financial markets never seemed to be out of the headlines and this month saw S&P push the US down its credit score scale thanks to its enormous deficit.

Prime Minister David Cameron threatened to take social media sites offline in a somewhat knee jerk reaction to rioting in London. This came from a man who had only a few months earlier been praising social media sites for their influence in the Arab uprisings. That’s politics for you.

The Arab uprising continued with Syria becoming a focal point as the international community called for Assad to leave office. Protesters in Syria are still facing the same challenges at the end of 2011. Meanwhile the pressure was mounting on Col. Gaddafi as the rebel army advanced on the capital Tripoli.

The Kings of Leon sparked rumors about their future by cancelling their tour and taking a break.

Steve Jobs officially announced that he would be stepping down as CEO of Apple as his health deteriorated and Beyonce announced that she was pregnant in a not so subtle dress.

Year in Review 2011: September

As Italian politics leaped from one crisis to another the little town of Filettino decided that it would go its own way and declare independence from Italy.

We saw the 10 year anniversary of the tragic 9/11 events as the redevelopment of the twin towers site nears completion.

There was growing rumor and gossip surrounding the imminent release of a new iPhone, many people were betting on it being an iPhone 5.

The financial markets once again hit the headlines as a UBS trader managed to lose $2 billion on the markets.

REM announced that they were to split after 31 years together and Google became a teenager.

A couple of stories emerged that we never thought that we would see, the speed of light had apparently been broken and women in Saudi Arabia were given the right to vote.

Read more in Year in Review 2011 (Part 4) here.

Year in Review 2011 (Part 4): Steve Jobs & Col. Gaddafi Depart

Posted by Jeff in Opinion

Year in Review 2011 (part 4): Trials and tribulations a plenty in the world of showbiz, politics and business.

Year in Review 2011: October

September saw the start of the trial of Dr Conrad Murray, charged with the death of Michael Jackson who died in 2009. In another court in another country, Amanda Knox was finally freed after having her conviction for the the murder of Meredith Kercher quashed in an appeal.

There was joy and sadness for Apple fans this month as the new iPhone 4S made an appearance with a new virtual assistant named Siri & features such as imessage. We also learned of the passing of Steve Jobs and people around the world reacted in the same way they would if a pop star had just passed away. Perhaps that is a fitting tribute to someone who did have a profound effect on the world. You can check out the Steve Jobs biography here.

It was also the end for Col. Gaddafi as his life finally caught up with him in his home town of Sirte, Libya.

Another month and another financial crisis, this time the whole of the Eurozone was in danger as the debt crisis in some of its member countries threatened to take down the whole structure. Bets are now on for how long it will last for in 2012.

Year in Review 2011: November

In November the world reached a milestone, the human population of the planet reached the 7 billion mark for the first time in history. Many countries decided that they would have the 7 billionth baby and subsequently nominated one of their own, I wonder who it really was?

We featured alot of video game stories this month as the entertainment industry geared up for Christmas. We looked at the top 5 games launched for Christmas and witnessed Angry Birds hit 500 million downloads.

This inspired us to look at the possibility of making oodles of cash with iPhone app development ourselves, we asked if anyone could do it.

Talking soccer, David Beckham also deserves a mention for finally achieving his dream of lifting the MLS Cup. In the last MLS game of his current contract, he did it. Where he will be in 2012 I am not sure even he knows, the smart money is that he will stay in LA for his families stability.

Year in Review 2011: December

So we come to the final month of 2011 where we saw sad death of Socrates, the Brazilian soccer player & doctor. We also saw the passing of that not so loved leader of the North Koreans, Kim Jong-il.

Surprisingly Time magazine didn’t name Kim Jong-il as person of the year 2011 but gave it to ‘The Protester’.

Spotify revealed that they had created an app marketplace for developers and the online Star Wars world came to life as SWTOR with a budget almost as big as one of the films.

Other entertainment news was that the X Factor USA winner turned out to be someone who was not even selected for the finals, Melanie Amaro. Russell Brand, Katy Perry filed for divorce and YouTube announced the most viewed videos of 2011.

Somewhere in between all of that there was Christmas of course.

So there we have it, we have come to the end of our Year in Review 2011 and all that is left for me todo is wish you all a ‘Happy New Year’ from all the team here at DT News. We hope you will join us next year for more interesting news.

Gaddafi News: Colonel Gaddafi Killed in Sirte, Libya

Posted by Jeff in Breaking News

Gaddafi has finally met his end in his hometown of Sirte in Libya.

Muammar Gaddafi was captured alive earlier today in his Libyan hometown of Sirte, but then was allegedly killed by crossfire between Gaddafi loyalists and fighters for the transitional council. He died from his wounds just before arriving at hospital.

al-Jazeera TV broadcast footage showing Gaddafi but it is difficult to know what state he was in at that point.

The French Defence Minister has told how French planes had fired warning shots at a convoy trying to flee Sirte carrying Gaddafi. He said that Libyan fighters then surrounded the convoy and took Gaddafi.

Other reports have come in saying that Gaddafi was hiding a drainage ditch and that he was shot when he tried to escape. A fighter wielded a golden gun that he claimed to have taken from Gaddafi.

Perhaps it is unlikely that we will ever know the truth, it is far more convenient for the new Government to deal with Gaddafi and for Libya to move on now that he is dead.

Like Osama Bin Laden, having him able to spout his rhetoric at a trial could have been divisive in a country where there are still people loyal to him.

Speaking for the Libyan National Transitional Council, Mr Jibril confirmed that Colonel Gaddafi was dead.

“We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Muammar Gaddafi has been killed.”

He also read from a forensic report into Gaddafis death,

“When the car was moving it was caught in crossfire between the revolutionaries and Gaddafi forces in which he was hit by a bullet in the head. The forensic doctor could not tell if it came from the revolutionaries or from Gaddafi’s forces.”

Saif Gaddafi & Mutassim Gaddafi

It has also been reported that on of Gaddifi’s sons, Saif al-Islam was captured and is under guard at hospital with a wounded leg. His other son with him at the time, Mutassim, is said to have been killed in fighting.

Aisha Gaddafi

Aisha Gaddafi and other members of the Gaddafi family have sought refuge in neighbouring Algeria. We understand that Aisha Gaddafi gave birth to a daughter just hours after arriving in the country.

Aisha Gaddafi recently gave an interview to Arabic TV stating that her father was doing well and fighting on the front line.

Calling the Libyan National Transition Council traitors she called on the Libyan people to rise up against the new rulers.

Gaddafi Gone, Libya Can Move On

Gaddafis death marks the end of a bitter conflict that has been running now since February.

There are still many questions about how Libya will move forward but for now there are celebrations in the streets of another Arab country finally rid of their dictator.

 

Photo: OpenDemocracy

Libya News: Gaddafi Loyalists Given Ultimatum

Posted by Clive in Politics

Pro-Gaddafi fighters have been given an ultimatum by Libya’s new interim council to surrender.. or face the consequences.

Gaddafi’s fighters have until Saturday to surrender or the new National Transitional Council (NTC) will start to attack. Vicious street fighting is something that they want to avoid if at all possible but they say time is running out.

The ultimatum is mainly aimed at Gaddafi’s home town of Sirte where he still has strong support and is one of a few possible hiding places for him.

Algeria Shelters Gaddafi Family

The NTC also called the actions of neighbouring Algeria an “act of aggression” after the country took in Gaddafi’s wife and 3 of his children.

Algeria defended their actions saying that it was their highest responsibility to offer shelter to anyone who needed it in the desert. It is thought that Gaddafi’s daughter, Aisha Gaddafi, gave birth to a daughter shortly after arriving in the country.

Tripoli Victory

The ultimatum comes on the back of a quick, and relatively easy victory for the anti-Gaddafi forces in the Libyan capital of Tripoli. I say easy, but it is still war. Bloody, terrorising, morally ambiguous, painful for anyone involved and many who aren’t.

Small pockets of resistance still exist in Tripoli and there are problems with infrastructure, supplies and perhaps most important for a new Libya, a local power vacuum.

But the collapse of Tripoli was almost immediate after forces entered the city. A combination of NATO air power, pre-negotiated ceasefires, the arming of underground groups and good tactics (all areas that were in all likelihood, heavily assisted by western special forces) seems to have worked well for the anti-Gaddafi troops.

Libya & NATO

It would be a surprise if the Gaddafi stronghold of Sirte fell quite so quickly though. One also wonders about the role of NATO.

If the anti-Gaddafi forces start pounding the city, cutting it’s supplies and starting an assault, do NATO jets support them or attack them in their UN backed mandate to protect civilians in Libya?

Perhaps it should be the second if you interpret the UN resolution literally but of course, this is international politics.

Many countries, including Russia, have long argued that western countries and NATO have used the UN mandate and corrupted it, pushing a different agenda entirely and it is hard not to sympathise with this view.

However, no one is complaining too hard. Gaddafi doesn’t seem to have any friends left, even staunch ally Zimbabwe expelled his ambassador this week. The South American country Venezuela and some sympathetic African countries are perhaps his only allies now.

Libya, Gaddafi & Mass Graves

The recent uncovering of mass graves has highlighted what kind of regime Gaddafi ran, so far 4 mass graves have been discovered in various parts of Libya.  One was found behind the barracks of the army brigade run by Gaddafi’s son, Khamis.

Survivors say that the bodies found there were mainly civilians, although some were Gaddafi solders presumably put there for not following orders. All were massacred in cold blood during the dying days of the Tripoli government.

The NTC estimates that up to 60,000 people were arrested by Gaddafi’s regime since the uprising began, around 16% of that number have been accounted for. The question that keeps coming up is, where are the rest?

It seems even when the fighting stops the wounds of a country torn will be deep.

Photo: ssoosay

Libya News: Tripoli Under Attack from Rebels

Posted by Jeff in Politics

Libya has reached a turning point in it’s campaign to oust Colonel Gaddafi as rebel fighters enter the capital Tripoli.

It seems that the end game for Colonel Gaddafi‘s reign over Libya is playing out tonight as rebel forces enter Tripoli and engage fighters loyal to the Libyan leader.

The rebels have captured key towns close to Tripoli in recent days, backed by NATO airstrikes and have continued their march towards the capital.

It appears that they have made a significant attempt to enter the Libyan capital today with rebel soldiers entering from the East and West to attack the city.

It is reported that they have taken over a base used by the Khamis Brigade, commanded by one of Colonel Gaddafi’s sons. They have captured a significant amount of weapons in the compound.

As always in areas of conflict a clear picture of what is, and what isn’t happening is very difficult to build up. What is clear however, is that the Libyan leadership is in severe trouble and that the game cannot be far from being over.

There a numerous reports of defections from those previously loyal to Gaddafi. The rebels are calling this the ‘zero hour’.

The war has been raging on for about 6 months now after uprisings in other Arab countries spurred those in Libya to take up the call to freedom in their own country.

NATO airstrikes, authorised by the UN to protect the citizens of Libya from coming under attack, have been pounding those troops loyal to Gaddafi.

In some quarters NATO has been criticised for going beyond the UN resolution but this has been denied by NATO command.

Libya After Gaddafi

The question occupying many minds tonight will not be if the government falls but what happens when they do.

Like many countries in the area, Libya is historically a tribal country with many different factions with different loyalties and interests.

Bringing these sometimes opposing sections of society together when there is a common enemy such as Gaddafi, is alot easier than when there is no such focal point.

However, in Libya, most people would be thankful for the chance todo exactly that.

Photo: OpenDemocracy

US F-15 Eagle Warplane Crashes in Libya

Posted by Gary in Politics

A US warplane, an F-15 Eagle, has crashed in a field about an hours drive outside Benghazi following a third night of bombardment. At the moment the US defence department says that the plane suffered ‘mechanical problems’.

The plane is a two seater and both the pilot and navigator ejected safely, landing in territory now held by the rebels.

The US defence department says that at the moment there is no evidence that the plane was brought down by any enemy action but that it suffered a mechanical problem.

The F-15 Eagle entered service in 1976 and is considered one of the most successful combat aircraft having taken part in over 100 engagements without suffering a loss due to enemy action.

Meanwhile in the rest of Libya, Col. Gaddafi called for another ceasefire last night but it appears from reports coming out of the country that the ceasefire has not been observed by Gaddafi’s troops on the ground.

It appears that the only rebel held city in the west of Libya, Misrata, was under heavy attack by Gaddafi’s artillary and it was unclear wheter they had already entered the city or not.

Libyan state TV has broadcast supporters of Gaddafi camping outside his compounds in order to protect them from attack. They have also broadcast pictures of people in hospital that they say are civilian casualties of the UN action although it is impossible to verify any of these claims.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said that coalition forces were “going to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties”.

Photo: expertinfantry

Missiles Rain Down on Gaddafi as Operation Odyssey Dawn Begins

Posted by Jeff in Politics

Col. Gaddafi starts to feel the heat as the UN sanctioned military action in Libya begins in earnest.

Yesterday Gaddafi declared to the worlds press that he had ordered a ceasefire. Today that appeared to be another ruse from one of the worlds canniest political operators as his troops continued to fight their way into the outskirts of Benghazi.

It didn’t take long for the politicians of the UN nations taking action to enforce UN resolution 1973, meeting in Paris today, to dismiss Gaddafi’s ceasefire as false and indicate that they were currently taking action against Gaddafi’s forces in Libya.

The first shots were fired by French planes flying over Libya against armoured vehicles, this was potentially a risky decision as at that point Gaddafi’s air defence system was fully intact.

Presumably, this was in part a political decision because the French have been driving this resolution and the US is taking care not to be seen as the main player.

After this first strike was carried out by the French, it appears that tomahawk missiles were launched immediately by the US fleet stationed in the Mediterranean, to knock out Gaddafi’s air defence system.

UK submarines also fired the same variety of tomahawk missiles attacking targets on the mainland but the number of these sophisticated missiles that the UK owns is tiny compared to the US.

Over 100 missiles have been launched so far attacking about 20 military installations on the mainland, according to the US defence spokesman, severely disabling the Libyan air defence systems enabling the implementation of the no-fly zone.

Spain and Canada are also sending military hardware, Italy have enabled the use of the their bases and although the Arab League backed the resolution it is unclear at the moment how they will be involved.

The situation is changing rapidly in the area and what happens next will depend largely on what move Gaddafi makes next.

Many in Libya fear that there will be a stalemate, with Gaddafi still in power with the country partitioned into two parts.

This could become a reality if Gaddafi does observe a ceasefire, but there are a couple of reasons that may mean this is unlikely. Gaddafi himself is not someone who likes to back down and the UN resolution is very broad and wide ranging in it’s remit, this potentially gives those backing it quite a long legal lead to help the rebel army if they decide that Gaddafi should not be allowed to stay.

Even the sight and sound of these missiles launching sends a shiver down the spine for those who are not used to it. See the video below from the US Navy.

Photo/Video: US Navy Official Imagery

Breaking News – United Nations Sanctions Libyan No-Fly Zone

Posted by Clive in Politics

[UPDATE: Gaddafi's spokesman has just given a press conference promising an immediate ceasefire]

The United Nations council has backed a resolution to impose a no-fly zone over Libya; with a rather open ended ‘all necessary measures to protect civilians and civilian areas’, but excludes an occupation force.

The UK, France and Lebanon proposed the resolution with support from the US. Five nations abstained including Russia and China, but the resolution passed with 10 votes for and 0 against.

It calls for an immediate ceasefire and allows for a tightening of sanctions against Gaddafi but the main point was the sanctioning of the long talked about no-fly zone.

Col. Gaddafi’s army have recently made inroads against the rebel army allegedly re-taking several towns, and now threatening the large city of Benghazi which is home to a million people and has been central to the uprising.

Earlier Gaddafi had told the people of Benghazi that his soldiers were coming tonight and that there would be no mercy.

Such talk, and the very real possibility of a blood bath as he continues to attack civilians with his heavy weapons, could explain why there were no votes against and none of the permanent UN members choose to use their veto.

Now the resolution has finally been passed events are expected to move quickly, it is likely that the no-fly zone will be mainly implemented by the British and the French with backup from the US and Arab countries.

Western countries are very wary of this being seen as a Western scheme and have made strenuous efforts to involve and get support from the Arab nations. This is likely to continue as the plan is implemented.

In Benghazi there were cheers, fireworks and celebratory gunfire as the news was announced. The impetuous of their cause has just been given a life line.

Photo: Vibracobra23