Gadaffi is dead!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15385955

Wow! After so long I wasn't expecting the BBC to ever get to use that headline (as they've obviously been aching to do).

It is reported that Gadaffi was found hiding in Sirtre, which incidentally the NTC are also claiming to have taken back from Gadaffi loyalists. He is meant to have been wounded in both legs but taken alive by the NTC fighters.

If the reports are true then Gadaffi was taken to Misrata by ambulance. It seems strange that he didn't flee the country but maybe he was caught unawares by the revolt and was too prominent a figure to easily slip over the border with the NATO countries and rebels tracking him. Sirtre has long been named as a possible hiding place for him.

I suspect the transitional government is planning the trial already.

[Edit] - Meanwhile Reuters are saying that Gadaffi has died of wounds sustained during his capture. There is much speculation about whether other high ranking Libyan loyalists have been captured or killed alongside him.

[Edit. Edit] - "Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi says the war in Libya is "over", according to Ansa news agency." Well done Berlusconi. Even the NTC representatives are urging caution until the reports are confirmed. What political purpose is served by you jumping the gun apart from possibly making you look like an idiot?

[Edit, Edit, Edit] - And it is pretty much official. Footage of Gadaffi's body has been released and the NTC have promised to release further details later in the week.

[Edit, Edit, Edit, Edit] - Spiegel shows its usual frankness. Sub-headline:

'We Have Been Waiting for This'

To lash or not to lash .....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15102190

The latest news in the recent Saudi Arabian 'gender liberalisation' is that the courts might refrain from lashing a woman for driving a car. What an admirable level of restraint! The article also optimistically quotes correspondants and journalists who argue that there is a general thaw regarding women drivers - with many not being penalized even if caught.

Whether or not this the story about the revoked lashing is true - it was 'tweeted' by a Saudi princess who one might expect to have certain vested interests - the BBC seem to be pursuing a very strange line of reporting in regard to Saudi Arabia recently.

I expect some favouritism for allies of the West in the blatantly neo-lib/right wing Economist. They recently splashed a poorly substantiated article about possible Chinese arms deals with Gadaffi's regime, while quickly dropping the distasteful topic of Saudi and Bahraini attacks on democratic demonstrators. However, the BBC is usually more neutral and subtle in its editorial stance.

Yet in this short article they somehow refrain from pointing out that some might consider it completely unacceptable for a twenty first century nation to legally forbid 50% of the population from driving or acting in their own right. Of course it is good if King Abdullah is genuinely pushing through long overdue reform but this doesn't mean that we shouldn't note the lengths that Saudi society still has to go to achieve anything like gender parity.

Libya conflict coming to an end?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15065463

The Libyan rebels (or should we start calling them the Libyan government?) have entered Sirte, one of the few towns still held by Gadaffi-loyal forces. It seems as if progress has been slow but with the help of NATO air strikes it is surely only a matter of time before they take the former regime's last outposts.

So soon the NTC will have effective control of the country and will have to embark on reconstruction and the establishment of a more stable, democratic government. Hopefully they will succeed in this endeavour. While I think it was the right thing for NATO to militarily intervene (once the UN approved it), this destructive initiative must be matched by full economic and political assistance for Libya's future stability as a democracy.

The only question hanging over the country is the location of Gadaffi. Why hasn't he been heard from recently and what is he planning to do now that he has lost the country? Needless to say if the NTC capture him in Libya his chances of standing trial for his crimes against his people are high. Fleeing the country seems a far smarter move for the ex-dictator at this point but if he has done so why has he not revealed his location? (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14751660)

Look carefully ...

The Western leaders are engaged in what will hopefully be a lengthy 'honeymoon' period with the National Transitional Council that has successfully led the Libyan revolution. In Paris they agreed to unfreeze more Libyan assets and cheerfully listened to Libyan promises to aim for reconciliation and respect the rule of law in post-Gadaffi Libya.

The BBC of course accompanied this with a picture of happy Libyan women making that most Pro-Western of hand signs, the two finger 'V for victory' gesture.

Except for the smiley woman on the far left, who must have taken a disliking to the camera man.