TRIPOLI // A Libyan government spokesman yesterday denied reports that Colonel Muammar Qaddafi's wife, daughter and top oil official had fled the country.
Days after the reports first surfaced, which claimed Colonel Qaddafi and his family were on the southern Tunisian island of Djerba, Libyan officials produced no evidence of the whereabouts of the three, raising new questions about Colonel Qaddafi's ability to hold together his entourage in the face of Nato bombing and pressure for him to quit.
Libyan rebel officials, as well as official sources in Tunisia, have also said that Shokri Ghanem, a former prime minister who runs Libya's oil sector, had left Libya via Tunisia.
Khaled Kaim, Libya's deputy foreign minister and one of the main government spokesmen, said: "Shokri Ghanem is in his position, at work. If he's out of the country he'll be coming back. As for the family of the leader, they're still here in Libya. Where else would they be?"
Mr Ghanem, who was also head of Libya's National Oil Co, crossed into neighboring Tunisia by road on Monday and defected, according to a Tunisian security official and Abdel Moneim al Houni, a former Libyan Arab League representative who was among the first wave of Libyan diplomats to defect.
A person who answered a cell phone listed for Mr Ghanem in Austria and identified herself as his daughter said the family had had no contact with him since Friday and did not know his whereabouts. The woman's identity could not be verified.
Prominent members of Colonel Qaddafi's government who have abandoned the regime include the foreign minister, justice minister, a former UN General Assembly president and a number of other diplomats.
The Nato secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said a combination of strong military and political pressure and opposition support would eventually lead to the collapse of Colonel Qaddafi's rule.
Libya is under international sanctions and Nato has been carrying out air strikes on the oil producer since Colonel Qaddafi used force to put down a revolt against his rule that was inspired by uprisings elsewhere in the Arab world. The conflict has reached deadlock in military terms, which has left Western governments counting increasingly that Colonel Qaddafi's administration will collapse from within.
The past few days have also seen a flurry of diplomatic activity focusing on a possible ceasefire deal, with pro-Qaddafi officials travelling to Moscow for talks and United Nations envoys trying to broker an agreement.
One Tripoli resident said the everyday machinery of government seemed to have stopped functioning, though Colonel Qaddafi's security forces were still in evidence and cracking down on signs of dissent.
"There is no government any more. You call people and they're just not there. Even the people around Qaddafi you don't see any more."
Meanwhile Colonel Qaddafi's forces shelled the main rebel stronghold in a strategic mountain range southwest of the Libyan capital yesterday, pounding the area with rockets, a resident said.
The Nafusa mountains, which slice across the desert south of Tripoli to the western border with Tunisia, have been a key zone of opposition since the early days of the uprising against Qaddafi's more than 40-year rule in mid-February. Although Colonel Qaddafi's forces control most of western Libya, rebels have linked up with the mountain area's minority Berbers to keep his forces out of the highest points, denying them a military advantage.
Yesterday, rebels fought to hold back government troops rocketing their positions to the east and southeast of the city of Zintan, the rebel command center for the mountain range, said resident and activist Hamed Enbayah. The shelling killed at least one rebel fighter and wounded three others, he said.
The Nafusa mountains are the most important rebel-held swath of western Libya after the coastal city of Misrata, which has been under an even more punishing siege. Most of Libya's rebel forces are concentrated in the east of the country and have been unsuccessful in advancing westward toward the capital even after NATO warplanes began hitting Qaddafi's forces.
Points along the entire mountain range have been under intensified attack since early this week. Residents of some areas said the fighting had trapped them inside their homes and that they were cut off from food and medical supplies.
The situation in the Nafusa mountains "remains dire, really dire," said Jalal al-Gallal, a spokesman for the rebel governing council, based in the eastern city of Benghazi.
Hospitals are overwhelmed with casualties and running out of supplies. Many of the wounded from one village, Kiklah, were being smuggled out on donkeys because government forces were blocking evacuations, the rebel council said.
It has appealed for help in establishing a safe corridor to deliver humanitarian aid and allow the wounded to be evacuated.
The council's vice chairman, Abdel-Hafiz Ghoga, said: "It is abundantly clear that Qaddafi forces continue to target innocent civilians. The blocking of food, water and medical supplies is unacceptable."
BelJassem, a fighter from a Berber village near the mountain town of Yafrin, said on Wednesday that Qaddafi forces had shelled that area repeatedly. "We dig trenches and hide in there at night," said BelJassem, who gave only his first name for fear of reprisals.
Omar Hussein, a spokesman for the Nafusa mountain rebels, claimed that a government soldier killed in fighting near the town of Nalut, closer to the border with Tunisia, was found chained to his destroyed vehicle, apparently to prevent him from fleeing.
Elsewhere in the west, along the Mediterranean coast, a resident of the city of Ajaylat reached by telephone from Benghazi said Qaddafi forces stormed in Wednesday and kidnapped hundreds of people, most of them young men and boys.
She said they moved house to house and appeared to be trying to take one male from each home. By evening, they retreated from the town, she said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
Ajaylat is known as a smuggling haven for people who take Libya's cheap fuel across the border to Tunisia, about 80 kilometers away, and smuggle back other goods.
The kidnapping claim could not be independently confirmed, but Amnesty International has made similar allegations of abductions in Misrata, saying scores of young men were "subjected to enforced disappearance."
In Libya's capital, meanwhile, hundreds of Colonel Qaddafi's loyalists staged an overnight show of support, proclaiming that the rebel insurgency was nearing an end.
In the main square in Tripoli, crowds of teenagers, young men and security officers turned out for the government-sponsored rally, spraying gunfire into the air, setting off fireworks and waving green Libyan flags.
Some of them said they were celebrating because they heard on state TV that Qaddafi loyalists were holding similar rallies in the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi, though there was no evidence of such a demonstration there.
Benghazi has been firmly under rebel control since the start of the uprising.
"We are celebrating our unity of citizens in east and west," said Raid Mansour, 35, carrying his young daughter on his shoulders. "Now we all think the same: We want freedom and for Moammar Qaddafi to be victorious," Mansour said.
The gathering appeared to have been organised in an attempt to reassure Libyans that the regime was standing strong three months into an uprising that has left most of the east in rebel hands, halted the country's oil exports and drawn in the punishing Nato air campaign.
AFP and Reiuters
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Honeymoonish
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Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Company%20Profile
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T20 SQUADS
Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Hussain Talat, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan Shinwari, Hassan Ali, Imad Wasim, Waqas Maqsood, Faheem Ashraf.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg
Real Madrid (2) v Bayern Munich (1)
Where: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
When: 10.45pm, Tuesday
Watch Live: beIN Sports HD
Who is Mohammed Al Halbousi?
The new speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mohammed Al Halbousi is the youngest person ever to serve in the role.
The 37-year-old was born in Al Garmah in Anbar and studied civil engineering in Baghdad before going into business. His development company Al Hadeed undertook reconstruction contracts rebuilding parts of Fallujah’s infrastructure.
He entered parliament in 2014 and served as a member of the human rights and finance committees until 2017. In August last year he was appointed governor of Anbar, a role in which he has struggled to secure funding to provide services in the war-damaged province and to secure the withdrawal of Shia militias. He relinquished the post when he was sworn in as a member of parliament on September 3.
He is a member of the Al Hal Sunni-based political party and the Sunni-led Coalition of Iraqi Forces, which is Iraq’s largest Sunni alliance with 37 seats from the May 12 election.
He maintains good relations with former Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law Coaliton, Hadi Al Amiri’s Badr Organisation and Iranian officials.
The%C2%A0specs%20
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The specs: 2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross
Price, base / as tested: Dh101,140 / Dh113,800
Engine: Turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder
Power: 148hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 250Nm @ 2,000rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed CVT
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Dunbar
Edward St Aubyn
Hogarth
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
POWERWASH%20SIMULATOR
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Cry Macho
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Dwight Yoakam
Rating:**
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EA%20Sports%20FC%2024
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57%20Seconds
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
The design
The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.
More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.
The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.
The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.
A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.
Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.
Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.
Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.
From architects to sound technicians and construction companies, a group of experts from 10 companies have created the pavilion.
Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019.
Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.
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SPECS
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Company Profile
Company name: Fine Diner
Started: March, 2020
Co-founders: Sami Elayan, Saed Elayan and Zaid Azzouka
Based: Dubai
Industry: Technology and food delivery
Initial investment: Dh75,000
Investor: Dtec Startupbootcamp
Future plan: Looking to raise $400,000
Total sales: Over 1,000 deliveries in three months
The biog
Name: Timothy Husband
Nationality: New Zealand
Education: Degree in zoology at The University of Sydney
Favourite book: Lemurs of Madagascar by Russell A Mittermeier
Favourite music: Billy Joel
Weekends and holidays: Talking about animals or visiting his farm in Australia
Civil%20War
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SERIES INFO
Schedule:
All matches at the Harare Sports Club
1st ODI, Wed Apr 10
2nd ODI, Fri Apr 12
3rd ODI, Sun Apr 14
4th ODI, Sun Apr 16
UAE squad
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Zimbabwe squad
Peter Moor (captain), Solomon Mire, Brian Chari, Regis Chakabva, Sean Williams, Timycen Maruma, Sikandar Raza, Donald Tiripano, Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara, Chris Mpofu, Craig Ervine, Brandon Mavuta, Ainsley Ndlovu, Tony Munyonga, Elton Chigumbura