Britain orders Iran's diplomats to leave UK

LONDON (AP) — Britain ordered Iran on Wednesday to remove all its diplomats from the U.K. within 48 hours following attacks on its embassy and a residential compound in Tehran — one of the most significant diplomatic retaliations against Iran since the 1979 U.S. embassy crisis.

Iranian protesters break the windows of a British Embassy building, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011. Dozens of hard-line Iranian students stormed the British Embassy in Tehran on Tuesday, bringing down the Union Jack flag and throwing documents from windows in scenes reminiscent of the anger against Western powers after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The mob moved into the diplomatic compound two days after Iran's parliament approved a bill that reduces diplomatic relations with Britain following London's support of recently upgraded Western sanctions on Tehran over its disputed nuclear program. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Foreign Secretary William Hague told the House of Commons that Britain had also withdrawn its entire diplomatic staff from Iran after angry mobs hauled down Union Jack flags, torched a vehicle and tossed looted documents through windows.

The rare move to kick out a country's entire diplomatic corps marks a significant souring of ties between Iran and the West, amid deepening suspicions over Tehran's pursuit of nuclear weapons. Tensions were heightened in October when U.S. officials accused agents linked to Iran's Quds Force — an elite wing of the powerful Revolutionary Guard — of a role in an alleged plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to the U.S.

Germany, France and the Netherlands all recalled their ambassadors from Iran late Wednesday for consultations on further action in response. Norway closed its embassy in Tehran as a precaution.

For many, the hours-long assault Tuesday on the British embassy in Tehran was reminiscent of the chaotic seizure of the U.S. embassy there in 1979. Protesters replaced the British flag with a banner in the name of a 7th-century Shiite saint, Imam Hussein, and one looter showed off a picture of Queen Elizabeth II apparently taken off a wall.

"The idea that the Iranian authorities could not have protected our embassy or that this assault could have taken place without some degree of regime consent is fanciful," Hague told lawmakers.

Iran currently has 18 diplomats in Britain, according to Britain's foreign ministry.

Britain previously ordered Iran to remove its diplomats in 1989, when the two nations broke off ties over a fatwa, or religious edict, ordering Muslims to kill British author Salman Rushdie because his novel "The Satanic Verses" allegedly insulted Islam.

The White House strongly condemned the attacks and European Union foreign ministers were meeting Thursday to consider possible new sanctions. Hague also praised Poland, Russia, China and the UAE for offering support and expressing their concern.

The French foreign ministry said it was moved to act "in the face of this flagrant and unacceptable violation of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations and the gravity of the violence."

Italy's foreign minister Giulio Terzi said Rome was also evaluating whether to keep its diplomatic presence in Iran.

Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger said Iran was placing itself "outside of the framework of international law," Hague said.

France's budget minister, Valerie Pecresse, said the EU should consider a total embargo on oil exports, or a freeze on Iranian central bank holdings. British officials said the U.K. would likely support new measures against Iran's energy sector.

Hague claimed those involved in Tuesday's attack were members of a student group allied with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's paramilitary Basij organization, which recruits heavily on university campuses.

"We should be clear from the outset that this is an organization controlled by elements of the Iranian regime," he said.

Hague told Parliament the private quarters of staff and Britain's ambassador were trashed in the attack and that diplomats' personal possessions were stolen.

"This is a breach of international responsibilities of which any nation should be ashamed," he said.

Some were alarmed by Hague's tough tone. David Miliband, Britain's former foreign secretary, said he hoped the robust words would not become "part of the very unwelcome drumbeat of war."

About 24 British embassy staff and dependents were based in Tehran. They are all adults because Britain will not post diplomats with small children to Iran for security reasons.

Iran's government has expressed regret about the "unacceptable behavior" of protesters, whose attacks began after anti-British demonstrations apparently authorized by authorities.

But Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said the "wrath of (students) resulted from several decades of domination-seeking behavior of Britain."

Iran's tensions with Britain date back to the 19th century, when the Persian monarchy gave huge industrial concessions to London, which later included significant control over Iran's oil industry. In 1953, Britain and the U.S. helped organize a coup that overthrew a nationalist prime minister and restored the pro-Western shah to power.

More recently, Iran was angered by Britain's decision to honor Rushdie with a knighthood in 2007, and over its involvement in Western scrutiny of Iran's nuclear program.

In March 2007, Iran detained 15 British sailors and marines for allegedly entering the country's territorial waters in the Gulf — a claim Britain denies. The 15 were released after nearly two weeks in captivity.

On Sunday, Iran's parliament approved a bill to downgrade relations with Britain, vowing to expel the country's ambassador.

Source: The Associated Press

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Gadhafi vows 'long war' after US, allies strike

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Moammar Gadhafi vowed a "long war" against the international military force that struck at his forces with airstrikes and dozens of cruise missiles that shook the Libyan capital early Sunday with the sound of explosions and anti-aircraft fire. In the capital of the rebel-held east, the Libyan leader's guns appeared to go silent.

State television said 48 people died in the U.S. and European strikes, which marked the widest international military effort since the Iraq war and came as the rebels saw a month's worth of gains reversed by Gadhafi's overwhelming firepower.

Rebels said the international strikes also hit an air force complex outside Misrata, the last rebel-held city in Libya's west. Gadhafi forces have bombarded the city from the complex, which houses a base and a military academy.

Tracer bullets are fired in the skies over Tripoli, Libya, as heavy explosions rock the city early Sunday, March 20, 2011. The U.S. and European nations pounded Moammar Gadhafi's forces and air defenses with cruise missiles and airstrikes Saturday, launching the broadest international military effort since the Iraq war in support of an uprising that had seemed on the verge of defeat. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

In Benghazi, the rebel capital and first city to fall to the uprising that began Feb. 15, people said the strikes happened just in time. Libyan government tanks and troops had reached the edges of the city on Saturday.

Mohammed Faraj, 44, a former military man who joined the rebels, held a grenade in each hand as he manned a checkpoint on the outskirts of the city.

"Me and all of Benghazi, we will die before Gadhafi sets foot here again," Faraj told The Associated Press. "Our spirits are very high."

Though the U.S. and Europeans focused their attention on the no-fly zone, the U.N. resolution authorizing the action demanded a ceasefire and authorizes "all necessary means" to protect civilians.

Adm. Mike Mullen, the top U.S. military officer, said the goals of the international campaign "are limited and it isn't about seeing him go."

In the phone call to state television, Gadhafi said he would not let up on Benghazi and said the government had opened up weapons depots to all Libyans, who were now armed with "automatic weapons, mortars and bombs." State television said Gadhafi's supporters were converging on airports as human shields.

"We promise you a long war," he said.

The U.S. military said 112 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from American and British ships and submarines at more than 20 coastal targets to clear the way for air patrols to ground Libya's air force. French fighter jets fired the first salvos, carrying out several strikes in the rebel-held east, while British fighter jets also bombarded the North African nation.

President Barack Obama said military action was not his first choice and reiterated that he would not send American ground troops.

"This is not an outcome the U.S. or any of our partners sought," Obama said from Brazil, where he is starting a five-day visit to Latin America. "We cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his people there will be no mercy."

Explosions rocked the coastal cities, including Tripoli, where anti-aircraft guns could be heard firing overnight.

Libyan TV quoted the armed forces command as saying 48 people were killed and 150 wounded in the allied assault. It said most of the casualties were children but gave no more details.

Mullen told NBC's "Meet the Press" that he had seen no reports of civilian casualties as a result of the coalition's military operation.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it was "deeply concerned" about civilians and called on all sides work to distinguish between civilians and fighters and allow safe access for humanitarian organizations.

Gadhafi, who has ruled Libya for 41 years, said the international action against his forces was unjustified, calling it "simply a colonial crusader aggression that may ignite another large-scale crusader war."

His regime acted quickly in the run-up to the strikes, sending warplanes, tanks and troops into the eastern city of Benghazi, the rebel capital and first city to fall to the rebellion that began Feb. 15. Then the government attacks appeared to go silent.

Operation Odyssey Dawn, as the allied assault has been dubbed, followed an emergency summit in Paris during which the 22 leaders and top officials agreed to do everything necessary to make Gadhafi respect a U.N. Security Council resolution Thursday calling for the no-fly zone and demanding a cease-fire, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said.

Navy Vice Adm. William E. Gortney, director of the Pentagon's Joint Staff, told reporters in Washington that U.S. ships and a British submarine had launched the first phase of a missile assault on Libyan air defenses.

Gortney said the mission has two goals: prevent further attacks by Libyan forces on rebels and civilians, and degrade the Libyan military's ability to contest a no-fly zone.

Defense officials cautioned it was too early to fully gauge the impact of the onslaught. But a senior defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the mission was ongoing, said the Americans felt that Libya's air defenses had been heavily damaged given the precision targeting of the cruise missiles.

Mohammed Ali, a spokesman for the exiled opposition group the Libyan Salvation Front, said the Libyan air force headquarters at the Mateiga air base in eastern Tripoli and the Aviation Academy in Misrata had been targeted.

Switzerland-based Libyan activist Fathi al-Warfali said Misrata came under heavy shelling Sunday.

"Misrata is the only city in western Libya not under Gadhafi's control; he is trying hard to change its position," al-Warfala said.

About 20 French fighter jets carried out "several strikes" earlier Saturday, military spokesman Thierry Burkhard told The Associated Press.

"All our planes have returned to base tonight," he said, and denied a Libyan TV report that a French plane had been hit.

He would not elaborate on what was hit or where, but said French forces are focusing on the Benghazi area and U.S. forces are focused in the west.

The U.S. has struck Libya before. Former President Reagan launched U.S. airstrikes on Libya in 1986 after a bombing at a Berlin disco — which the U.S. blamed on Libya — that killed three people, including two American soldiers. The airstrikes killed about 100 people in Libya, including Gadhafi's young adopted daughter at his Tripoli compound.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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International jets take action as Gadhafi strikes

BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) — Jets from an international force launched missions over Libya on Saturday, hours after Moammar Gadhafi dispatched troops, tanks and warplanes to the heart of the 5-week-old uprising against his rule in a decisive strike on the first city seized by rebels.

Crashing shells shook buildings, and the sounds of battle drew closer to the center of Benghazi, where a doctor said 27 bodies were brought to the hospital by midday. By late in the day, warplanes could be heard overhead.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said after an emergency summit in Paris that French jets were already targeting Gadhafi's forces. The 22 participants in Saturday's summit "agreed to put in place all the means necessary, in particular military" to make Gadhafi respect a U.N. Security Council resolution Thursday demanding a cease-fire, Sarkozy said.

"Our planes are blocking the air attacks on the city" of Benghazi, he said, without elaborating. French planes have been readying for an attack in recent days.

In an open letter, Gadafhi warned: "You will regret it if you dare to intervene in our country."

Earlier Saturday, a plane was shot down over the outskirts of Benghazi, sending up a massive black cloud of smoke. An Associated Press reporter saw the plane go down in flames and heard the sound of artillery and crackling gunfire.

Before the plane went down, journalists heard what appeared to be airstrikes from it. Rebels cheered and celebrated at the crash, though the government denied a plane had gone down — or that any towns were shelled on Saturday.

A huge explosions is seen over the outskirts of Benghazi after a plane of Gadhafi's forces was shot down over eastern Libya, Saturday, March 19, 2011. Explosions shook the Libyan city of Benghazi early on Saturday while a fighter jet was heard flying overhead, and residents said the eastern rebel stronghold was under attack from Muammar Gaddafi's forces. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

The fighting galvanized the people of Benghazi, with young men collecting bottles to make gasoline bombs. Some residents dragged bed frames and metal scraps into the streets to make roadblocks.

Abdel-Hafez, a 49-year-old Benghazi resident, said rebels and government soldiers were fighting on a university campus on the south side of the city, with government tanks moving in, followed by ground troops. In the city center, tank fire drew closer and rebel shouts rang out.

At a news conference in the capital, Tripoli, the government spokesman read letters from Gadhafi to President Barack Obama and others involved in the international effort.

"Libya is not yours. Libya is for the Libyans. The Security Council resolution is invalid," he said in the letter to Sarkozy, British Prime Minister David Cameron, and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.

To Obama, the Libyan leader was slightly more conciliatory: "If you had found them taking over American cities with armed force, tell me what you would do."

Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said the rebels — and not Gadhafi's forces — broke a cease-fire called by the government.

"Our armed forces continue to retreat and hide, but the rebels keep shelling us and provoking us," Musa told The Associated Press.

In a joint statement to Gadhafi late Friday, the United States, Britain and France — backed by unspecified Arab countries — called on Gadhafi to end his troops' advance toward Benghazi and pull them out of the cities of Misrata, Ajdabiya and Zawiya. It also called for the restoration of water, electricity and gas services in all areas. It said Libyans must be able to receive humanitarian aid or the "international community will make him suffer the consequences" with military action.

In Benghazi, crowds gathered at the courthouse that is the de facto rebel headquarters. About 200 people were in the area, drinking tea and talking. Some brought a tank and a mounted anti-aircraft gun they said they had captured today.

Dr. Gebreil Hewadi of the Jalaa Hospital and a member of the rebel health committee said that 27 dead had been taken to the hospital since Friday night.

Misrata, Libya's third-largest city and the last held by rebels in the west, came under sustained assault well after the cease-fire announcement, according to rebels and a doctor there. The doctor, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared reprisals, said Gadhafi's snipers were on rooftops and his forces were searching homes for rebels.

Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa said that Libyan officials had informed the U.N. and the Security Council that the government was holding to the cease-fire and called for a team of foreign observers to verify that.

"The nation is respecting all the commitments put on it by the international community," he said, leaving the podium before answering any questions about Benghazi.

In the course of the rebellion, Libya has gone from a once-promising economy with the largest proven oil reserves in Africa to a country in turmoil. The foreign workers that underpinned the oil industry have fled; production and exports have all but ground to a halt; and its currency is down 30 percent in just two weeks.

The oil minister, Shukri Ghanem, held a news conference calling on foreign oil companies to send back their workers. He said the government would honor all its contracts.

"It is not our intention to violate any of these agreements and we hope that from their part they will honor this agreement and they will send back their workforces," he said.

Italy, which had been the main buyer for Libyan oil, offered the use of seven air and navy bases already housing U.S., NATO and Italian forces to enforce the no-fly zone over Libya.

Italy's defense minister, Ignazio La Russa, said Saturday that Italy wasn't just "renting out" its bases for others to use but was prepared to offer "moderate but determined" military support.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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British tourists in Egypt enjoy despite ongoing protests

Despite the political turmoil in Egypt, British holidaymakers seem to have a gala time in that country. Tourists in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh were seen sunbathing and relaxing even as protests against the government of President Hosni Mubarak continued.

On Tuesday, thousands of protestors took to the streets in Cairo demanding the expulsion of President Mubarak, who ruled the country for nearly three decades. Over 100 people have been killed since the protests began about a week ago.


Around 30,000 British tourists are currently thought to be on holiday in Egypt. Some hotels in Sharm el Sheikh have put up barricades for protection against the potential spread of violent protests in the country, Daily Mail reported.


British Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt said the situation in the area was "genuinely calm" although hotels had taken precautions because some guests were "slightly alarmed".


Taking in the winter sun, plucky British tourists said they would stay where they were, saying they were perfectly safe.


Louise Radford, 23, told the Daily Mail: "It seems that everyone is overreacting.


"The US has told its citizens to leave the country and the Scandinavians have been told to go home tomorrow, but, really, there is nothing to worry about here."


Barnes, 22, a human resources manager, added: "We were aware there were problems in Egypt before we left, but, really, it has not affected us at all. We have been sunbathing, swimming and generally relaxing."


The aura of calm comes as it emerged that up to two million people could take to the streets Tuesday as demands for dictator Hosni Mubarak, who ruled the country for nearly three decades, to leave office intensify.


Meanwhile, the Egyptian army made the crucial announcement that it will not use force against protesters.


In a statement carried by Egyptian media, it said: "To the great people of Egypt, your armed forces, acknowledging the legitimate rights of the people... have not and will not use force against the Egyptian people."


Tens of thousands of people in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez Monday night defied a curfew ahead of the "Million-man march" Tuesday.


But despite the chaos, tour operators were still offering cut-price holidays to Egypt, according to the Mail.


A spokesman for Thomas Cook said: "We continue to monitor the situation in Egypt and we are in close contact with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office."


The cut-price holiday bonanza came as many airlines cancelled their flights to areas affected by the riots.


Meanwhile, British ministers were coming under pressure to evacuate Britons. Other countries, including the US, have begun to fly out their citizens.


Conservative MP Patrick Mercer told the London Evening Standard there was "no alternative" but to evacuate. There have been chaotic scenes at Cairo Airport as people tried to escape.

Source: New Kerala

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Terrifying moment Charles and Camilla were surrounded by a baying mob and their car attacked in tuition fees riot

• Prince's Rolls Royce set upon on way to Palladium
• 20,000 students and activists laid siege to Westminster
• Protesters threw flares, smoke bombs and snooker balls
• Scotland Yard resorted to 'kettling' in Parliament Square
• At least 22 arrests, including two for arson and four for burglary
• Fees increase carried by 323 votes to 302 - majority of 21

With terror written across her face, the Duchess of Cornwall comes under fire from a snarling mob of student fees rioters last night.
In the worst royal security breach for a generation, the car carrying her and Prince Charles was kicked, rocked and hit with paint bombs.
A ‘steaming gang’ of masked protesters ambushed them as they were being driven to the Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium, raising echoes of the 1974 kidnap attempt on Princess Anne.

See the video below...

Frightened: Prince Charles and Camilla show their fear inside the car as it is attacked by the mob

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The Prince and the Duchess were not hurt, but the potential risk to their safety will raise new questions about police readiness following the fiasco last month which saw fees protesters smash up Tory Party headquarters.
Metropolitan police chief Sir Paul Stephenson voiced his fury last night. ‘Right-minded people, including peaceful protesters who wanted to make their point, will condemn what we saw today,’ he said.

David Cameron said the attack on the royal car was ‘shocking and regrettable’.
Observers said as few as half of the crowd were students, with a rent-a-mob of anarchists and other thugs taking control.
The clashes left 12 police officers and 43 protesters injured.
In the Commons, the Coalition was plunged into crisis as MPs voted to approve a rise in the university tuition fees cap from £3,290 a year to £9,000.

Paint job: Charles and Camilla's Car was hit by a paint bomb

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Three ministerial aides – two Lib Dems and one Tory – resigned as the Government’s majority of 83 was slashed to just 21, a quarter of its normal size.
In a blow to Nick Clegg’s authority, 21 Liberal Democrats including former leaders Menzies Campbell and Charles Kennedy voted against the Government.
Another eight Lib Dems abstained rather than back the plans, meaning the Deputy Prime Minister failed to get even half his 57 MPs to vote with the Government.
David Cameron’s authority was also undermined as eight Tories defied personal pleas to get in line.
Senior Government officials saw the rebellion either side of the walls of the Palace of Westminster as a grim portent of further protests to come at the Coalition’s cuts.
One senior figure said the Government will have to accept that up to 20 Liberal Democrats are now ‘virtually part of the opposition’ and will begin to align themselves with Labour rather than the weakened Mr Clegg.

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     Entry: Demonstrators went through the doors of the HM Treasury building after breaking in

Running battle: Stand-offs took place on either side of metal barriers in Westminster

Lit up: Riot police come under attack from flares as they clashed with protesters

Mr Clegg, who promised not to raise fees during the General Election campaign, denied he should feel ashamed for voting in favour of the policy.
‘I would feel ashamed if I didn’t deal with the way that the world is, not simply dream of the way the world I would like it to be,’ the Deputy Prime Minister said.
But Liberal Democrat MPs openly defied their leader. Greg Mulholland, who voted against the fees rise, accused him of ‘failing to listen’.
He said: ‘Sometimes governments are wrong and sometimes you have to have the courage to stand up and say so, that’s what I’m doing today.’
Tory backbenchers formed an unlikely alliance with Labour MPs to fire awkward questions at Lib Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable as he presented the plans to the Commons.
Flanked by Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg and David Cameron, Mr Cable was met with jeers as he argued that the new system of fees, repaid once graduates start earning £21,000, was ‘more progressive and more related to the ability to pay of graduates’.

Bird's eye view: A police helicopter shines its light one protesters in Parliament Square

Smoke: Riot police deal with a hail of flares thrown by protesters

Tense: Business Secretary Vince Cable's voice wavered in his opening remarks

Mr Cable’s voice wavered as he tried to set out the principle behind the policy – that students would no longer have to pay upfront tuition fees.
Senior Tory Right-winger Edward Leigh warned that Middle Britain would be hit the hardest by the changes.
He said: ‘Many of the people we represent, who are on moderate incomes, who are in work, also need help as well and mustn’t be disadvantaged. Middle income, Middle Britain, cannot go on paying for this.’
Tory MP Julian Lewis, who voted No, said students from poor families would be put off by the high fees. ‘I can hear people talking

Source: dailymail

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