Special news Obama thanks special forces for daring bin Laden raid

Watches Obama thanks special forces for daring bin Laden raid


FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — President Obama on Friday privately thanked some of the special military operators who killed Osama bin Laden. "Job well done," he said of their daring raid.

In a series of closed-door meetings, Obama and Vice President Joseph Biden met with some of the special-operations forces who went on Monday's raid in Pakistan and with members of the broader assault force that supported the mission.

"I came here for a simple reason: to say thank you on behalf of America," Obama told soldiers at Fort Campbell, the home of the 101st Airborne Division, after his private meetings.

"Thanks to the incredible skill and courage of countless individuals, intelligence, military, over many years, the terrorist leader who struck our nation on 9/11 will never threaten America again," he said.

The president said he had visited New York the day before to pay homage to the victims of bin Laden's 2001 terrorist attacks, as well as to the firefighters and police who responded to the catastrophe.

"I promised that our nation will never forget those we lost that dark September day," he told about 2,000 troops in a steamy hangar. "And today, here at Fort Campbell, I had the privilege of meeting the extraordinary special-ops folks who honored that promise," he said. "It was a chance for me to say, on behalf of all Americans and people around the world, job well done. Job well done."

The commandos — Army helicopter pilots and Navy SEALs — briefed Obama about the raid, administration aides said, and he gave each of the groups the Presidential Unit Citation, the highest honor he can give a military unit.

The extraordinary sessions were kept private to protect the identities of those involved.

Obama also met Cairo, a dog used to help alert the special-operations teams to hidden threats. Cairo is the only member of the raid team to be identified
Coppied by http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2014986679_obama07.html

Enjoy Italy 'offers to arm rebels' as Gaddafi forces destroy oil tanks

We are saw now enjoy Italy 'offers to arm rebels' as Gaddafi forces destroy oil tanks



Anti-Gaddafi rebels say Italy has offered to arm them with "whatever they need to liberate Libya". A rebel spokesman in the eastern city of Benghazi, declined to specify what kind of weapons would be provided, and last night the Italian foreign ministry denied the claim.

The confusing reports came after Libyan government forces attacked a Misrata oil depot, causing a huge fire. Fuel tanks were still engulfed in flames hours after the early morning attack. The depot contains vital stores of fuel for cars, trucks, ships and generators powering hospitals and other key sites.

Rebel spokesman Ahmed Hassan said: "Four fuel tanks were totally destroyed and a huge fire erupted which spread to the other four. We cannot extinguish it because we do not have the right tools. Now the city will face a major problem. Those were the only sources of fuel for the city. These tanks could have kept the city for three months with enough fuel."

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Mr Hassan said government forces used small planes normally used to spray pesticides for the overnight attack in the Qasr Ahmed neighbourhood. He later told Al-Jazeera television that three helicopters bearing Red Crescent insignia conducted the attack.

Another rebel spokesman, who gave his name as Abdelsalam, said a government helicopter conducted a reconnaissance mission over the port and two hours later at around midnight local time government forces fired rockets that hit three fuel tanks belonging to the Brega Oil Company.

Footage of the incident posted on YouTube by Libyan students in Misrata showed firefighters turning water hoses on a raging fire in a vain attempt to extinguish it.

Rebels notified Nato about the planes before the attack but there was no response, Mr Hassan said. Government forces flew at least one helicopter reconnaissance mission over Misrata last month, according to rebels. The loss of the oil is likely to be a significant development in the battle for control of Misrata, the only city in western Libya still in rebel
Coppied by http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/italy-offers-to-arm-rebels-as-gaddafi-forces-destroy-oil-tanks-2280818.html

Poverty forces Roma to leave Bulgaria and Romania

Saw this Poverty forces Roma to leave Bulgaria and Romania

AFP/File – A Roma woman is questioned by French police officers at a Roma community on August 19, 2010 in Aix-en-Provence,

BUCHAREST (AFP) – Europe's Roma communities, at the centre of an immigration row in France, are often driven out by poverty from their homes in Romania and Bulgaria, the European Union's two most impoverished members.
"Here we are like vagabonds. We don't have work, we have nothing," said Gheorghe Ion, one of the Roma repatriated to Bucharest by France as part of a government crackdown on illegal Gypsy camps that some have labelled racist and xenophobic.
Another Romanian Roma, or Gypsy, who left the French city of Grenoble with his family told AFP: "We will stay home if we find work but it's difficult because this country (Romania) is poorer" than France.
Romania has been hit with one of the worst recessions in the 27-nation EU bloc since 2009.
The economy is expected to contract again this year and the government has to take drastic austerity measures, including cutting public sector salaries by 25 percent, to meet IMF conditions for a loan.
Many Romanians, not just Roma, have been forced to try their luck abroad, most heading for Spain and Italy, and some for France.
Most the Roma who migrate come from the very poor rural communities, where there are huge problems in education and infrastructure, said Mihai Neacsu, director of the Roma rights organisation Amare Rromentza.
They however account for a small part of the estimated 530,000 to 2.5 million Roma living in Romania.
Elsewhere in Europe, Bulgaria has between 700,000 to 800,000 Roma, according to non-governmental organisations, or 350,000 according to the national census.
Up to about 450,000 Roma live in Serbia and between 350,000 to 530,000 in Slovakia, according to European figures.
In Bulgaria, 50,000 Roma are believed to have left the country in the last five years, often clandestinely, for Italy, Spain, Greece and Germany, according to Ilona Tomova, a researcher at the Bulgarian sciences academy.
Besides poverty, Roma suffer from rejection by some Bulgarians who see them as thieves and ignorant, according to a 2009 study.
The antipathy is replicated in Romania where a government study in 2009 found that seven out of 10 people would not want a Roma as part of their family.
Both the Romanian and Bulgarian governments have launched programmes to improve access for Romas to education and health care and to help them fight discrimination in the workplace.
Romania, with European funding, has launched six programmes for some 22 million euros (28 million dollars) including schooling for young Romas and a chance for drop-outs to resume their studies.
But NGOs say much more in needed -- a view endosed by Bucharest which has also called for a Europe-wide plan to address the needs of the Roma minority.
Coppied by http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100821/wl_afp/romaniabulgariafranceminorityrightsimmigration