The United States, Europe and other countries are pushing for the United Nations to unfreeze billions in Libyan assets. This is on top of what the U.S. is unfreezing.
A Libyan rebel official admitted in a press conference they needed the money “…for supplies…to pay salaries.”
From the beginning the African Union has been oppossed to the NATO action in Libya. Libya is a member of the African Union, and the AU wasn’t even consulted by the the United States and Europe, before the United Nations was tricked into approving military action against Libya.
South Africa, one of the most powerful members of the AU says it will vote no on unfreezing Libyan assets.
Reports that the Bab al-Azizia military compound in Tripoli, is under intense attack by government forces.
The fighting has been going on for hours. Initially rebels found hidden tunnels under the compound. Government forces were hiding inside and began attacking the rebels.
Then in the early hours of the next morning government forces appeared on the streets of Tripoli, heading towards Bab al-Azizia. Witnesses say government forces surrounded the compound, the rebels having to fight government forces from inside, and outside the compound.
Libyan government forces let at least 35 reporters go free. They were hold up in the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli.
It happened after Mahmud Nacua, the Libyan charge d’affairs at the Libyan embassy in London, urged the government forces to let the journalists go free.
CNN’s Mathew Chance said the government gunmen “…literally cast away their weapons and said they were sorry to us.”
South Korean news agency Yonhap, says their ambassador’s residence in Tripoli, was attacked by about 30 people. They stole “television sets and other gadgets”, but no-one was hurt during.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, is urging peace talks between rebel and government forces. Medvedev says Russia will consider establishing formal relations with the rebels if they can unite the country.
“I personally believe that the very fact that children from all over the world read and enjoy Doraemon is a testament to the fact that children are children no matter where they are.”–Masako Fujimoto
Fujiko F. Fujio, creator of the cartoon character Doraemon, died in 1996, but his creation lives on.
On September 3, a museum on the outskirts of Tokyo will open. It will have 50,000 Doraemon items, only 150 will be on permanent display.
Doraemon has been translated into more than 30 languages, and still enjoys popularity in many countries.
Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda announced that a U.S.$100 billion fund is being created, to help Japanese companies to use yen to buy foreign money, and take over foreign companies.
Noda says the fund is a response to the crashing U.S. dollar, which is forcing up the value of the Japanese yen. The more the yen is worth, the more expensive it makes Japanese exports. Already Japan has seen the effect, reduced sales to other countries.
The fund will loan money to Japanese companies, and investors, who will then use it to buy foreign money, and foreign companies. It’s hoped that action will bring down the value of the yen.
The Japanese government will counter speculators from abusing the fund, by requiring daily reports of financial transactions.
The Chinese government has expanded the use of the yuan in international trade deals.
Originally China restricted the use of the yuan to just five cities, for trade with Southeast Asian nations. Later it was expanded so 20 provinces could use the yuan in all their international payments. Now, the People’s Bank of China gave permission to all businesses in China, to use the yuan for international trade payments.
Chinese officials say the decision was influenced by the crashing U.S. dollar.
The British Prime minister’s office is holding an emergency National Security Council meeting on Libya. The meeting is being chaired by Foreign Secretary William Hague.
Rebels claim they’ve found tunnels under the Bab al-Azizia compound. Sounds like fighting is taking place, rebels say they’re trying to “clear” the tunnels.
Despite many earlier reports from foreign reporters at the Rixos Hotel, saying rebels were threatening their lives, the BBC is now saying it’s Libyan government forces that’re doing the threatening. They say one of their reporters was threatened when he tried to leave the hotel.
Muammar Muhammad al-Gaddafi has taken a brief tour of Tripoli, just to prove he is still alive, and still in Tripoli. He’s made a TV address asking loyal Libyans to “cleanse the city”.
NATO responded with two air strikes. Witnesses say the explosions were huge.
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs reports that one of their citizens was taken hostage by rebels.
President Obama is giving Libyan rebels $1.5 million in frozen Libyan funds. At the same time Germany is demanding that the United Nations give the rebels funds that were frozen under the UN sanctions.
Germany is also going to issue rebels a huge $140 million loan, within days.
What this means is the fragile Libyan rebel alliance (aka Transitional National Council) has run out of money to pay for military operations, which include mercenaries. A BBC report said the rebel alliance is so fragile that it could fall apart as soon as the war is over. It’s more likely it’ll fall apart if it runs out of cash.