Prices will rise, with or without tax: Garnaut

Professor Ross Garnaut says a price rise from a carbon tax will be small compared to the recent surge in power prices because of an over-investment in electricity networks.

The Federal Government's key climate adviser says households on average will face a $5-a-week increase to their electricity bills.

He says with or without a carbon price, power prices will rise.

"This happens at a time when Australians are very conscious about rising electricity prices, and there's no doubt there'll be some increases in electricity prices resulting from the price of carbon," he said.

"This comes on top of very big increases over the last few years."

Professor Garnaut says low and middle-income households should be fully compensated by the Government.

"That makes the increase in electricity prices from the carbon price different from the very big increases we've had in recent years," he said.

"The other increases in electricity prices aren't compensated by tax cuts in any way."

Professor Garnaut left it to the last of his eight climate change updates to deal with Australia's largest single source of emissions - the electricity sector.

"At its heart is the story of how a carbon price can shift Australia towards low-emissions energy from its current dependence on coal," he said.

"That has to be the centrepiece of Australia's efforts to make its contribution, to do its fair share of the global effort to reduce risks of climate change."

Professor Garnaut says the report has highlighted major weaknesses with the way the electricity sector is regulated.

He has called for an urgent review of the way electricity is regulated in Australia, saying power companies cannot be blamed for making money for their shareholders, but that the current regulatory environment has lead to higher prices than necessary.

"On the face of it, it looks as if there might be a problem with our regulatory arrangements," he said.

And this, in his view, has led to an "over-investment in networks" and "unnecessarily high prices for consumers".

"They are natural monopolies and you can't blame a natural monopoly for charging all that the market will bear," he said.

"No, I don't think you can ever blame a business for using a monopoly position; that's what their shareholders expect.

"So it's up to the regulatory arrangements to make sure there's gauging, and I raise a question about whether our regulatory arrangements have been suitable to the task."

'Bold statements'

The Australian Energy Regulator is responsible for many of the concerns raised by Professor Garnaut. It is part of the ACCC and focuses on the economic regulation of electricity transmission and distribution networks.

Its chairman was unavailable to speak with the ABC's PM, but the chief executive of Energy Supply Association of Australia, Brad Page, is spokesman for the industry.

Mr Page says Professor Garnaut has made some "bold statements" and denies there has been an over-investment in networks.

"What we have seen is an independently regulated system that challenges the network businesses and centrally regulates what it is that they are allowed to do," he said.

"Now by and large we have seen growing peak demand. I think the review largely overlooks that point. They tend to talk about average demand rather than peak, growing peak demand, new connections.

"We've got a lot of new suburbs out there. We're having to add to and a lot of the equipment is coming to the end of its life.

"You will see there are major renewal programs in capital cities around underground power cables that have been in use for 30 years and which could fail soon.

"So we need to replace all of those things and the capital costs of doing those today is much, much higher than it was in the past. So all of those things feed through to higher costs. Regrettable, but it makes sure we have that reliable supply."

Professor Garnaut's final report, summarising the key recommendations with costings, will be given to the Prime Minister at the end of May.

Ponting's success blighted by Ashes defeats

Respected but seldom loved at home, admired but also reviled abroad, Ricky Ponting led Australia to great success but his captaincy will ultimately be defined by three lost Ashes series.

The tough, single-minded Tasmanian always put the team first and that, he said, had prompted him to stand down after nine years in charge of the Australia one-day team and seven as Test skipper on Tuesday.

The most Test (48) and one-day international (164) wins by any captain as well as successive World Cup triumphs in 2003 and 2007 is an impressive record by any standards, and there has never been any doubt about his quality as a batsman.

And yet, ever since he took over a world-beating side from Steve Waugh, there has always been a question mark hovering over his captaincy.

His honeymoon period as test captain lasted little over a year until he blotted his copy book with the ultimate sin for an Australian captain, the loss of an Ashes series to England.

Ponting silenced the critics the following year, however, leading from the front with a Player of the Series performance to help Australia regain the urn 5-0, the first Ashes whitewash in 86 years.

The retirement of greats like Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist, Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden would have weakened any side, however, and so it was for Australia.

A rare home defeat to South Africa was followed by a second Ashes defeat in England in 2009 and the pressure was now weighing heavily on him again.

"There's no doubt over the last few years, things have become harder around the team, to captain the side when things haven't being going brilliantly," Ponting said.

There were great hopes in Australia that when England pitched up late last year, they would again be put to the sword.

This was a different England side, however, and three humiliating defeats by an innings or more saw the Australians lose a home Ashes series for the first time in a quarter of a century.

As much as he denied it, the pressure had clearly effected Ponting.

Always accused of lacking imagination, the sight of him frantically moving his fielders around the Adelaide Oval as England's batsmen continued to hammer his bowlers smacked of desperation.

Form slump

His form with the bat also slumped and as the team declined, his undoubted passion for victory started to look more like petulance as he engaged in spats with opponents, umpires and finally television sets and team-mates.

Even while they were plummeting from first to fifth in the test rankings, however, Australia maintained its place as the best one-day side in the world.

While Ponting said his biggest regret was never winning an Ashes series in England as captain, it was to the limited overs game that he was drawn when he was asked for his best moment.

"If I was to pick one, it would probably be the first World Cup that I captained," he said.

"As a relatively new captain, we got through that tournament undefeated.

"I made a big hundred in the final and to this day, that's one of the proudest moments of my career."

His final innings as captain was a defiant, and sometimes inspired, century in Australia's quarter-final defeat to India at the World Cup last week.

Bucking the trend of his predecessors in the last three decades, the 36-year-old has decided to play on in both Test and one-day cricket.

Unburdened by the captaincy, Ponting will be hoping to rejuvenate his batting, much as happened with India's Sachin Tendulkar - the only player in the history of cricket to have scored more runs than him.

Brisbane rape victim sues UAE luxury hotel

A Brisbane woman is suing a five-star hotel in the United Arab Emirates after she was drugged and raped by co-workers and jailed for eight months.

In a landmark case, Alicia Gali, 29, is seeking compensation from her former employer, Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort, for breaching its workplace duty of care.

In June 2008 Ms Gali had her drink spiked and was raped by up to four co-workers while working as a beauty salon manager at the international resort.

When she reported the assault to authorities she was jailed on an adultery charge and spent eight months in prison because it is illegal in the UAE to have sex outside marriage.

Australian embassy staff advised Ms Gali and her family not to go to the media during her time in custody, when she was locked in a cell with 30 other women.

She was pardoned and released in March 2009.

Ms Gali alleges the hotel failed to protect staff against assault and its legal consequences.

She says the resort encouraged workers to drink illegally at its staff bar despite strict laws and the requirement of drinking permits.

"I thought I would be safe and protected in an international hotel group," she said in a statement.

"They didn't give me the correct advice and didn't help me when I was charged and imprisoned."

Ms Gali says the harrowing ordeal should be a warning to others.

"I still feel angry and upset. It's distressing because I was a victim in all this and I was punished," she said.

"The UAE is being promoted hugely here as a tourism destination - they sponsor things here.

"They are not complying with human rights, women's rights and migrant workers' rights."

Nightmare continues

Ms Gali's lawyer Melissa Payne says her client suffers severe post traumatic stress disorder, nightmares, flash backs, depression and claustrophobia.

Ms Payne says the incident could have been avoided.

She says the hotel should have had segregated secure quarters for female employees and provide adequate induction training on the local laws and customs.

"When she reported the assault to the human resources manager he did not advise her of the potential consequences of reporting that assault," she said.

"Alicia's employer has let her down in the most terrible, terrible of ways. A company like this should know better.

"The resort promotes itself as paradise on Earth... it wasn't paradise for Alicia."

Ms Payne says the law firm is still preparing its case and will consult UAE legal experts, human rights and labour law experts.

"There was never a prosecution against anyone for sexual assault or rape," she said.

Safety

But Trey Maurice from the international umbrella group Starwood Hotels, which owns the resort, says safety and security of staff is a paramount priority.

Mr Maurice says the management of the resort was aware of the unfortunate circumstances and provided support and assistance to Ms Gali and her family during her imprisonment.

Ms Payne said her client delayed the lawsuit until she had recovered psychologically.

"She now feels brave enough to speak out," she said.

"Alicia is very concerned there are other women who might find themselves in similar situations."

She says it is likely the legal suit will happen in Queensland courts, but there is a possibility it could be heard in the UAE.

"This is a complex area of law, but we are exploring all options," she said.

She says the compensation amount has not yet been determined.

Ash-Abhi plans fourth wedding anniversary

Bollywood’s most scintillating couple Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan is going to celebrate their fourth wedding anniversary on April 20^th. Despite hectic schedule, the duo is planning to spend the day together no matter in which parts of the world. Abhishek Bachchan has been travelling constantly for his shooting and hardly gets time to be with his sweet heart but whenever possible, Ash flew to him.

Gifts doesn’t have any value in the life of the Ash and Abhi, they just want to be together forever. For the last three years, they have not exchanged presents on their anniversary and this year too they won’t be presenting gifts to one another.

“In the last three years of our marriage, Aishwarya and I have not exchanged presents on our wedding anniversary. We, instead, believe in celebrating our day by just being together. That’s a good enough present, because we’re all leading busy lives. Finding time to spend with our loved ones, partners and parents has become an exercise, and time is the most valuable commodity.” quips Abhi.

Last month on his 36^th birthday while Abhishek Bachchan was shooting in New Zealand for Abbas-Mustan ‘Players’, Ash flew to New Zealand to be with Abhi, “It was really sweet of her to have done that,” he smiles. “She made the day really special by just being there with me”, said the actor.

Rebels say they control Gaddafi's hometown

A Libyan rebel spokesman says Moamar Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte has been captured by rebel forces, as pro-government soldiers continue to be pounded by Western air strikes.

Celebratory gunfire erupted and car horns sounded in the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi as news of the rebel statement about Sirte spread.

"It's confirmed Sirte has fallen into pro-democracy hands," rebel spokesman Shamsiddin Abdulmolah said.

He said the rebels had not faced much resistance from pro-Gaddafi forces, though no independent verification was immediately available.

Emboldened by the help of the air strikes, the rebels have rapidly reversed military losses in their five-week insurgency and regained control of all the main oil terminals in eastern Libya, as far as the town of Bin Jawad.

As NATO officially took full command of military operations in Libya from a US-led coalition, the ramshackle rebel army pushed west to retake a series of towns from pro-Gaddafi forces.

Reporters in Sirte - Mr Gaddafi's hometown and an important military base - heard at least nine blasts on Sunday night (local time). It was unclear if they were in the town or its outskirts.

A Reuters reporter also saw a convoy of 20 military vehicles, including truck-mounted anti-aircraft guns, leaving Sirte and moving west towards Tripoli, along with dozens of civilian cars carrying families and stuffed with personal belongings.

The advance along Libya's Mediterranean coast by a poorly armed and uncoordinated force of volunteer rebels suggested Western strikes under a UN no-fly zone were shifting the battlefield dynamics dramatically, at least in the east.

The rebels are now back in control of the main oil terminals in the east - Es Sider, Ras Lanuf, Brega, Zueitina and Tobruk - while Mr Gaddafi appears to be retrenching in the west.

Last week the rebels' position looked grim as pro-regime forces retained control of several strategic towns and cities along the country's vital coastal road.

But days of Western-led bombings finally appear to be taking their toll on government forces.

With the Libyan air force knocked out of the sky, tanks and other heavy weaponry have become priority targets on the ground.

Mohammed, a senior rebel spokesman in the town of Misrata, told the BBC Mr Gaddafi's forces there were now encircled after being hit hard by international air strikes over the past four nights.

"They have bombed his forces and they have bombed his supply lines. They have destroyed two convoys coming from Sirte towards Misrata," he said.

"They have destroyed one convoy coming from the west so we are getting much-needed and much-appreciated and great, great help from the international forces and the international community."

Overnight NATO ambassadors overcame objections from Turkey and France after days of tense talks and formally agreed to take control of the military campaign.

Envoys from NATO's 28 member states have endorsed a three-month plan including rules of engagement strictly limiting the use of ground strikes to protect civilians and populated areas.

The plan also does not call for NATO to intervene in support of the armed rebellion against Mr Gaddafi.

Soha's wedding Plans with kunal khemu ..

Soha Ali Khan’s professional life may be drowning by the day, but her personal life is going great guns. She talks about her wedding plans with boyfriend Kunal Khemu.

Soha, who is dating Kunal Khemu from quite sometime now, says she is ready to settle down in a couple of years.

“I am in comfortable space and we (Kunal and Soha) are happy with our careergraphs; so whenever the right time comes, we will announce our marriage,” she said.

Speaking about her filmy career, Soha sounds very excited talking about a love story called ‘Chemistry’ with Shreyas Talpade. It’s a story that revolves around two people dumped by their respective partners and their lives afterwards.

“It’s a mad role and you will see me in pink hair in it. My character is between Charlie Chaplin and Devanand Sagar. The character was a bit out of my normal acting range as I do more intense films. There is a lot of improvisation and laughs,” Soha is quoted as saying by a news agency.

Soha also has a Hollywood remake comedy flick in her kitty. The film called ‘Sound track’ opposite Rajiv Khandelwal is a remake of “It’s All Gone Pete Tong ‘. In the film Rajiv plays DJ and Soha plays a girl who is born deaf.

Aamir to host India-Pak match party at his home

World Cup fever has gripped Aamir Khan also. Like Shahrukh Khan, he has also planned to watch the interesting match between India and Pakistan at his home with his few close friends. He has taken a break from Reema Kagti's film to host this cricket party.

A source said, "Aamir has always been a huge cricket fan and nothing is bigger than an India vs Pakistan match. Amir wanted to see the match, so he spoke to Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar and asked them to reschedule the shoot for a day.

In fact he also has taken a day off for the finals on the 2nd. Aamir has a close set of friends and he has invited them to his house. The guest list includes Amin Haji, Kunal Kapoor, Sharman Joshi, Raju Hirani and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra.

Imran Khan will obviously be watching the crucial match at his Mammujaan's house. The guests have been called during the break between the two innings so that everyone can watch the second innings of the match.

However the family members will come right at the start of the match itself. Aamir's mother was in town and will join him to watch the match."

When contacted Aamir Khan said, "It's rare that I miss a cricket match and definitely not this one. And what better way to watch it but with friends."

SRK’s friend’s circle are different from Aamir and King Khan’s bash would be comparatively bigger than Aamir with a whole lot of his friends like Hrithik, Karan Johar, Arjun Rampal, Sanjay and wife Maheep Kapoor, Chunky and Bhavna Pandey will be watching the match with SRK, Aamir has preferred to keep his party a low key affair.

Dad guilty of Westgate Bridge murder

After a marathon five days of deliberating, a jury has found Melbourne man Arthur Freeman guilty of murdering his four-year-old daughter by throwing her off the city's Westgate Bridge.

The 37-year-old threw Darcey Freeman off the bridge in peak-hour traffic on January 29, 2009.

He had been driving the little girl to her first day of school when he pulled his four-wheel drive into the emergency lane and asked her to climb into the front seat.

He then carried her to the railing and dropped her 58 metres to her death as his two sons, aged two and six, watched on.

In a police interview played to the jury, Darcey's six-year-old brother Ben said his sister "didn't even scream in her fall".

"I said 'go back and get her. Darcey can't swim'. But he kept on driving. He didn't go back and get her," he said.

Just moments before, Freeman had spoken to his ex-wife, who was waiting at the school to mark the milestone.

"Say goodbye to your children," he said. "You will never see your children again."

Within half an hour of throwing the girl from the bridge, Freeman had driven his two sons to the Federal Court complex.

CCTV vision captured him frozen to the spot and shaking, unresponsive to the hugs and attention-seeking of his boys who, finally, sat at his feet on the floor.

Court staff were forced to change the nappy of his youngest son as they waited for police to arrive.

Freeman had pleaded not guilty to murder on the grounds of mental impairment.

He made no reaction as the verdict was read out, maintaining the same appearance he had throughout the trial.

Some family members started to cry, while his former wife and Darcey's mother, Peta Barnes, remained calm and composed.

Women in the jury wiped away tears when they were thanked by Justice Paul Coughlan for their service.

He thanked everyone involved in the trial for handling a very emotional ordeal with great dignity.

Transformation

During a two-week trial, his state of mind at the time of the January 29 killing was scrutinised.

He underwent a transformation after his daughter's death. His clean-shaven, tidy and professional appearance was replaced with unkempt hair, a permanent furrowed brow and a thick beard.

Chief Crown prosecutor Gavin Silbert SC urged the jury to dismiss the expert diagnosis of the defence's sole witness, Professor Graeme Burrows, who testified Freeman was suffering a major depressive disorder, and possibly psychosis, when he killed his daughter.

Thirteen months after the event, Professor Burrows diagnosed Freeman as having been in a state of "fluctuating" dissociation, as if sleepwalking or hypnotised, at the time.

He was the only one of six psychiatrists who believed Freeman was psychotic, and the prosecution labelled the professor a "psychiatrist of last resort".

Two psychiatrists who testified on behalf of the Crown disagreed with Professor Burrows's diagnosis.

They told the court that if Freeman had been in a state of dissociation he would not have been able to get the children ready for school, drive through peak-hour traffic, hold phone conversations, or pull safely to the side of the bridge and put on his hazard lights.

Under the watchful eye of the jury and court reporters, Freeman gave little away. He showed emotion rarely, often holding back tears until after the jury had left the court.

But he broke down when forensic pathologist Dr Matthew Lynch described the injuries that Darcey suffered in the fall.

Freeman mopped his eyes and face with a handkerchief, often raising his gaze to the ceiling as Dr Lynch described brain, lung and chest injuries suffered by the four-year-old - the result of "a fall from great height".

On the same day, Ms Barnes took the stand. Freeman's expression hardened again.

With her family in court for support, a stoic Ms Barnes told the court Freeman had had trouble controlling his anger. She answered in structured yes and no answers as counsel led her through her evidence. Details of her divorce were not elaborated on, but she corrected Freeman's lawyers' continual reference to her "husband".

"He is not my husband," she pointed out with a swift hand gesture to the dock.

In his closing address, Mr Silbert asked the jury to consider Freeman's unkempt long hair and permanent blank expression.

He told the court that in January 2009 Freeman had been clean-shaven with short hair.

"Ask yourselves now why he adopts the Rasputin-like appearance of a mad monk?" Mr Silbert said.

Defence lawyer David Brustman called on the jury to consider why a man would commit a "truly horrible" crime.

"Very few cases could induce more prejudice ... There in the dock sits a man who flung a four-year-old girl, his own daughter, to her death," he said.

"Now, how bad does that get? Is this simply the face of pure evil?"

Mr Brustman argued the killing of the girl was done by a mentally impaired man rather than a father intent on punishing his ex-wife in the worst possible way.

Freeman now faces the prospect of life in prison.

Justice Coughlan has indicated Freeman will be sentenced before Easter.

Flying Aussie dollar hits 29-year high

The Australian dollar has reached a new 29-year high against the greenback, passing 103 US cents.

The dollar gained over 0.5 per cent on Monday to hit its highest level since March 1982, more than a year before the currency was floated.

The previous record was set early Saturday morning when the dollar hit 102.94 US cents.

Earlier this evening it was also buying 64 British pence, 73 euro cents and 84 Japanese yen.

In recent weeks the Australian dollar has received a boost from rising commodity prices and easing fears of a nuclear meltdown in Japan.

The currency has proven resilient against the shocks of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami and the civil war in Libya.

The dollar fell below 97.5 US cents for the first time in four months on March 17, but quickly recovered to its current levels.

CMC Markets foreign exchange dealer Tim Waterer says rising gold and oil prices are also adding support to the local dollar and currency traders are uncertain where the short-term top could be for these commodities.

"That's certainly driving the Australian dollar higher," he said.

"There does seem to be a lot of upside to the gold and oil prices and that will lend support to the Australian dollar."

AMP Capital Investors chief economist Shane Oliver says the dollar could rise further as commodity prices stay strong.

"I think ultimately it will go higher and maybe to $US1.10 by year end," Dr Oliver said.

O'Farrell hails new political landscape

New South Wales premier-elect Barry O'Farrell is basking in the Coalition's huge majority after last night's historic election win and has promised to fix the state's problems with a proven ministerial team.

Mr O'Farrell is expected to lead a Liberal-National coalition of up to 68 members in the Lower House while Labor is likely to have 22 seats.

The leader-in-waiting said today he expects to take his shadow ministry into government unchanged.

Mr O'Farrell was quick to rule out increasing the team, despite 30 new MPs being elected in yesterday's landslide Coalition victory.

"I'm not increasing the size of the cabinet," Mr O'Farrell said during a media conference at Parramatta this morning.

The biggest swing away from Labor was about 36 per cent in Bathurst and the party lost seats in its traditional strongholds of the Hunter Valley, Illawarra and Western Sydney.

The defeat looks set to tip state Labor into the abyss of a political dark age, with dozens of MPs losing their seats.

Mr O'Farrell called the win "historic and unprecedented".

"We've won seats that we've never ever dreamed that we'd win," he said.

"We've reshaped the political landscape of the city, of the state, and it just adds to the understanding by my colleagues of the sacred trust that we've been given to make this state number one; to try and fix the problems we inherit and to make people's lives better.

"We live in a very diverse society... whatever your job, whatever your income, whatever your heritage, whatever your lifestyle, we're a party that seeks to embrace those who believe in the things we believe in.

"We'll implement the policies, we'll take the fight up to Canberra on carbon tax and we'll do that for as long as the people of this state will have us."

No rest

He says the first order of business will be to build Sydney's north-west rail link.

"One of the first things I will be doing is picking up the phone to the Federal Government about that," he said.

"The bottom line is, I don't think anyone believes this state is performing up to scratch in a whole range of areas."

When outgoing premier Kristina Keneally came to make her concession speech last night there were none of the trademark smiles that characterised her 15 months as premier.

WIth a grim face, she conceded that Labor had made mistakes and that had cost it office.

"The truth is, the people of New South Wales who entrusted us with government for 16 years did not leave us, we left them," she said.

"The reality is, that our lack of unity and discipline as a party and in some individual members put the very future of the New South Wales Labor Party at risk."

Ms Keneally announced she is stepping down as leader but will remain in Parliament after having won her working-class seat of Heffron.

Targeting population boom

Mr O'Farrell says the state's population is set to reach nine million in 25 years and he will fix the population pressures on Sydney by growing regional New South Wales.

"Instead of Sydney, which is currently home to two thirds of this state's population becoming home to three quarters, we are going to engage in whole of state growth," he said.

"We are going to engage in a regional development act to decentralisation, to ease Sydney's growth pains and offer to people in this state ... the services that they have in the cities."

He has ruled out increasing his team, despite 30 new MPs being elected into his party, and expects to take his shadow ministry over to the front bench.

"We do have within a parliamentary system a range of committees that have been allowed to rot and be ignored under this current government," he said.

"I actually think that committee work is important. I sat on the ICAC committee for 10 years and there are lots of things that members of the Parliament can be doing.

"There are lots of ways to use Parliamentary committees better for the public good and we'll be seeking to do that."

Mr O'Farrell says his government will remain unified and has issued a strong warning to dissident members.

"I'll expect every member of this new team to adhere to the standards that we've applied to ourselves, because we can't afford to replicate in any way what's gone on over the past 16 years under Labor," he said.

"It's our way or the highway I suppose, because we have been singularly successful in ensuring that we've been focused, we've been united, we've been disciplined."

Rebels continue march across Libya

Rebels in Libya have captured the key port of Ras Lanuf as they advance westwards against forces loyal to Colonel Moamar Gaddafi.

After capturing Ajdabiya yesterday the rebels have advanced west along the coastal highway at breakneck speed.

A string of towns has fallen to them easily - Brega, Uqayla and Ras Lanuf.

Ras Lanuf is 370 kilometres west of the rebel stronghold city of Benghazi and 210 kilometres from Ajdabiya, the first town to fall back into rebel hands on Saturday.

It had fallen to Mr Gaddafi's forces on March 12.

After days of stalemate, the rebels have finally gathered some momentum, aided by the past week of coalition air strikes.

Weapons could be seen abandoned on the road and buildings were partly destroyed, indicating Gaddafi forces had retreated further west towards the Libyan leader's hometown of Sirte.

One rebel commander says Government forces are running for their lives, scattering in all directions.

While the rebels continue their march across the country, the war of words between the West and Mr Gaddafi continues, with US defence secretary Robert Gates saying Libyan troops are placing bodies at the sites of coalition air strikes and then blaming western forces for their deaths.

The accusation comes as France says its fighter aircraft have destroyed at least five Libyan government warplanes and two helicopters near the city of Misrata.

The embattled Libyan government says around 100 people have been killed in a week of coalition air strikes on Libya.

"Tonight the air strikes against our nation continue with full power," said government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim.

"We are losing many lives, military and civilians.

"Today the air strikes continued for hours and hours non-stop ... We believe many civilians were killed, including some families who are escaping the air strikes in their cars.

"We think this is murder, this is immoral, this is illegal, this is not the mandate of the Security Council."

But speaking to American network CBS, Mr Gates said the US was having trouble coming up with proof of any civilian casualties caused by the coalition.

He said numerous intelligence reports suggested Mr Gaddafi's forces were collecting the bodies of the people they killed in their assaults and dumping them at the sites of allied strikes.

Asked if Mr Gaddafi's days were numbered, he said "I wouldn't be hanging any new pictures if I were him."

Meanwhile, France says five Libyan government warplanes and two helicopters were destroyed near the city of Misrata as troops were preparing to carry out bombing operations in the region.

CNN praises Muslim suicide bomber as a hero

CNN praises Muslim suicide bomber as a hero. CNN has long been behind the ratings of Fox News, and many Americans have discovered that it is a propaganda network that is prone to slanting its coverage and reporting to the left. Nowhere is this kind of ideological reporting more evident than in stories like the one CNN aired just this past Thursday night on Wolf Blitzer’s Situation Room. In the two-and-a-half-minute-long piece, correspondent Reza Sayah produced a report that used the word “hero” several times to describe a Libyan suicide bomber. Furthermore, the overall tone of the report was positive, which brought to mind comparisons to profiles of heroic American soldiers who sacrificed their lives during war.

CNN seems to justify the unscrupulous and anti-American tone and approach to the report—which you can handily see for yourselves in the neat, little video to the left of this column—based on the fact that the Libyan suicide bomber was actually fighting Gaddafi’s forces. Still, even so, for a major American cable news outfit to produce a package that aired on live TV in which the reporter was praising a Muslim suicide bomber is simply beyond the pale…and that’s putting it way too mildly!

What’s truly horrendous is how the piece portrayed the suicide bomber like he was a brave, noble soldier who had just given his life for a just cause. In other words, watching it is like the kind of positive portrayal of an American soldier who gave his life in war that you would expect to see from the US media. Abnormally, the fellow CNN was lauding instead…was a suicide-bombing Muslim who packed his car with cooking gas and then killed himself as he drove the car into a building’s main gate.

I don’t care that this guy—a 49-year-old oil company worker—helped the Libyan rebels and was fighting against Gaddafi. After all, not only did he use the same tactics that US soldier-killing jihadists have utilized in Iraq and Afghanistan, but it isn’t even confirmed whether this guy is a so-called “good guy.” A report earlier this week provided evidence that a good number of these “freedom fighters” in Libya actually were nothing but a bunch of Al-Qaeda terrorists themselves! And now this subject of the CNN piece uses the same terrorist tactics of the jihadists (which shows how comfortable he is with the terrorist lifestyle)…and CNN praises him like he’s a freedom fighter or some American soldier who just gave his life in the most just cause.

Like all good suicide-bombing terrorists, this oil worker read his guidebook to the “religion of peace” (why, the “holy” Quran, of course!!) right before he decided to kill himself and blow up some infrastructure. CNN claims that his “sacrifice” helped the Libyan rebels in the fight on that occasion, but so what? He leaves behind a wife and two daughters, but that’s okay! After all…he’s got about 72 virgins in heaven who want to show him a good time! Yes!!

I truly don’t care that this Muslim suicide bomber inflicted, apparently, some damage against Gaddafi’s interests. There can be no justification for an American news outfit that creates a package where they praise a Muslim suicide bomber for committing an act of terrorism—even if it is against Gaddafi and supposedly in favor of the “freedom-loving” rebels. CNN abused the word “hero” several times in describing this guy; it was like a puff piece report for some celebrity! This was so repulsive that it can only be explained by the fact that CNN is steeped in its left-wing slant.

U.S. Naval force clashes with pirates in Arabian Sea

U.S. naval forces disrupted a pirate attack on a Philippine-flagged merchant vessel, after it reported it had been attacked by pirates in the Arabian Sea yesterday.

All 20 Filipino crew members of the Falcon Trader II are safe and remain in control of the vessel, U.S. officials reported.

At about 10:30 a.m. local time yesterday, the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise and guided missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf responded to a distress call from the Falcon Trader II reporting that suspected pirates in a small skiff were trying to board the vessel.

In a second report, the Falcon Trader II crew reported pirates aboard, and that all 20 crew members had locked themselves into a safe room, also known as a "citadel." The citadel is a secure room with food, water, communication and control over the vessel's steering and propulsion, officials explained.

A SH-60F helicopter assigned to the "Dragonslayers" of Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron 11 from the Enterprise, and a SH-60B helicopter assigned to the "Vipers" of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light 48 from the Leyte Gulf were sent to investigate.

The HS-11 helicopter fired warning shots to dissuade the pirates from continuing their attack. Two pirates were seen jumping off the Falcon Trader II's bow, and the pirates' skiff fled the area, pursued by the HS-11 helicopter.

As the pirate's skiff tried to rendezvous with a larger vessel suspected of acting as a "mother ship," the pirates shot at the helicopter with assault rifles. The helicopter and its crew were not harmed and returned to continue reconnaissance.

"We could definitely see the muzzle flashes from their AK-47s, but we weren't hit," said Navy Lt. Joshua A. Overn, a pilot aboard the helicopter. "The antipiracy training we had received kicked in, and everyone conducted themselves with poise and professionalism."

With no confirmation that all of the pirates had left the vessel, a Leyte Gulf crew member fluent in Tagalog remained in contact with the Falcon Trader II's Filipino crew and monitored the vessel overnight. After observing no suspicious activity, Leyte Gulf's "visit, board, search and seizure" team secured the vessel. After confirming no pirates remained aboard, they notified the crew that it was safe to come out of the citadel.

"It says a great deal about the inherent flexibility and capability of the Enterprise Strike Group that we were able to conduct counterpiracy operations while simultaneously flying Operation Enduring Freedom missions and coordinating air defense of the region," said Navy Capt. Eugene Black, commanding officer of the Leyte Gulf.

U.S. forces continue to monitor the suspected pirate mother ship, officials said. Pirates are known to keep hostages on mother ships to prevent counterpiracy forces from acting directly against them.

The identity of the pirates or their nation of origin is unknown, but the area is frequently prowled by pirates from Somalia.