Oxfam warns against 'land rush'

22 September 2011 Last updated at 08:33 GMT Among the worst affected by so-called land grabs are women, Oxfam says An increasing number of land deals are displacing farmers and leaving poor communities homeless, campaigning charity Oxfam has warned.

It says up to 227m hectares (560m acres) have been sold or leased worldwide since 2001.

Half of all deals that have been verified are in Africa, amounting to an area the size of Germany - 35m hectares, Oxfam says.

Vulnerable communities in Uganda and South Sudan have been affected.

The report also focuses on Honduras, Guatemala and Indonesia.

'Frenetic competition'

The organisation's Chief Executive, Barbara Stocking, said the "blinkered scramble" for land by investors was ignoring the needs of those who live on the land and depend upon it for their survival.

"Many of the world's poorest people are being left worse off by the unprecedented pace of land deals and the frenetic competition for land."

Oxfam says that among the worst affected by these so-called land grabs are women, who despite producing up to 80% of food in some poor countries, are often more vulnerable as they have weaker land rights.

"Investors, no matter how noble they pertain to be, cannot sweep aside the needs and rights of poor communities who depend on the land they profit from," she said.

The organisation said that land grabs had accelerated especially since 2008, when soaring prices highlighted the issue of food security.

It said an increasing demand for food, combined with climate change and the increase of agricultural land being used to grow biofuels, meant that the number of such deals would be likely to only rise in the future.

It called on the EU to scrap its target of obtaining 10% transport fuels from renewable sources by 2020 - which has fuelled the planting of crops for biofuels - and asked investors and governments to implement policies to ensure land deals are fair and those affected are properly consulted.

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Libya seeks arms against Gaddafi

14 September 2011 Last updated at 20:19 GMT Mustafa Abdul Jalil says he believes Col Gaddafi is planning attacks

The head of Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) has appealed for weapons as NTC forces fight to capture parts of the country still loyal to Col Muammar Gaddafi.

Mustafa Abdul Jalil told the BBC that the ousted leader was in southern Libya and planning revenge attacks.

A written message attributed to Col Gaddafi appealed to the UN to stop "crimes" against his birthplace Sirte.

Meanwhile, French President Nicolas Sarkozy will visit Tripoli on Thursday.

"We say to the leaders coming tomorrow that they will be safe," Mr Abdul Jalil said. He did not specify which other foreign leaders might be accompanying President Sarkozy.

However, French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy, who championed the international intervention in Libya, will be joining the visit to Tripoli.

Earlier, the US said it was encouraged by the increasing control the NTC was exercising over security forces in the country.

'Fierce battles'

Gaddafi loyalists still control four areas, including Sirte on the Mediterranean coast, and Bani Walid, south-east of the capital Tripoli, as well as Jufra and Sabha.

Mr Abdul Jalil said many pro-Gaddafi forces had fled to Sabha in the southern desert.

"There will be fierce battles in Sabha with equipment that we do not yet have, and we ask for more equipment to retake these places," said Mr Abdul Jalil.

He said Col Gaddafi had possession of "all the gold" and would be planning attacks on cities, oil fields and power plants.

Col Gaddafi has previously said he would rather die than flee Libya.

NTC officials say members of the former leader's inner circle took gold and cash with them when they fled south across the border to Niger last week.

Mr Abdul Jalil was speaking in his first BBC interview since moving to Tripoli at the weekend from the anti-Gaddafi stronghold of Benghazi.

He confirmed that the NTC would not move the whole of its administration to Tripoli until the last pockets of pro-Gaddafi resistance had been captured.

Earlier, he held talks with senior US envoy Jeffrey Feltman, who pledged Washington's support for the NTC and said the US would reopen its embassy in the capital as soon as possible.

"We remain encouraged by growing command and control over security and police forces," said Mr Feltman, the assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs.

Mr Feltman said the US was working with Libya on the control of conventional weapons such as shoulder-fired missiles.

The Americans were also talking to the Libyans about the risk from non-conventional weapons such as mustard agent and toxic chemical precursors, he said.

These had in the past been accounted for by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Warfare.

Meanwhile, a Syrian TV channel sympathetic to Col Gaddafi has broadcast a message purporting to be from the fugitive leader.

"Terrorism and destruction exercised by Nato on the Sirte area is beyond description and has no match in past history of wars," said the written message, which was read out by a presenter.

"You must bear your international responsibility and intervene immediately to stop this crime."

The presenter said the letter had been signed: "Muammar Gaddafi, the leader of the revolution."

Nato has been carrying out air strikes under a mandate from two UN resolutions to protect Libyan civilians.

At least 36 members of Col Gaddafi's inner circle, including relatives and generals, have fled to neighbouring Algeria and Niger since Tripoli fell to NTC forces last month.

With roads to Tunisia, Egypt, Chad and Sudan largely controlled by anti-Gaddafi forces, Niger has been used as an exit route by Gaddafi loyalists - including his son Saadi

Anti-Gaddafi fighters say they have captured the northern half of Bani Walid but have struggled to push further.

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Turkey warns of more sanctions against Israel

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey's prime minister said Tuesday his nation's navy will step up its surveillance of the eastern Mediterranean Sea — a move that could potentially lead to confrontation with Israel — and warned of more sanctions against Israel as relations between the former allies deteriorated further.

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Turkey has already suspended its vast military ties with Israel, said it is expelling top Israeli diplomats and pledged to lobby other nations in support of the Palestinians' statehood bid after Israel refused to apologize for last year's raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla that killed nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists.

The sudden measures mark a stunning reversal for the two nations, who were once each other's top military trading partners and used to regularly train together on each other's soil.

Israel has expressed regret for the loss of lives aboard the flotilla and said Tuesday it was time for the two countries to restore their former close ties.

"Israel and Turkey are the two strongest nations in the Middle East and in many respects, the most important," Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said before Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's latest threats.

"We have disputes, and even in the case of disputes, it's very important that the two sides use their brains and not act from the gut. It would be best for all involved and in the interest of regional stability to patch things up," Barak said.

A United Nations report released last week said Israel's naval blockade of Gaza was a "legitimate security measure," but also called the raid on the flotilla that tried to break the blockade "excessive and unreasonable." It also said Turkey and the flotilla organizers contributed to the bloodshed.

Israel has accepted the U.N. report, albeit with reservations. Turkey has rejected it.

Erdogan has said the "report does not mean anything for us," and announced the suspension of some trade and military relations. Turkey has not imposed a trade embargo on Israel but suspended ongoing defense projects and purchases from Israeli defense firms.

The breakdown in relations has hurt a key alliance for Israel, which has considered Turkey its strongest ally in the Muslim world.

It is unclear what impact the Turkish decision to scale back economic ties will be. Israeli defense officials said there have not been any new agreements since 2008, just before relations began to deteriorate.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were discussing a sensitive diplomatic matter, said Israel was committed to the existing deals and would continue to provide military gear to Turkey despite the latest crisis.

At its height in the late 1990s, Israel exported to Turkey billions of dollars worth of tanks, unmanned aircraft and military technology. Turkey is also a top business partner and tourist destination for Israelis.

Israeli officials noted paradoxically that despite the tension in recent years, 2011 has been a record year thus far in overall trade.

Relations began deteriorating as a result of Israel's campaign against Gaza rocket launchers in early 2009, in which about 1,400 Palestinians were killed, and worsened dramatically after the May 2010 raid on the Mavi Marmara vessel.

Turkey's latest moves were prompted after it was disappointed by the U.N. report's failure to criticize Israel more strongly and force it to apologize.

Erdogan did not detail what the next round of sanctions against Israel would include. But he vowed to ensure "freedom of navigation" in the eastern Mediterranean by using Turkey's naval bases in the ports of Iskenderun and Aksaz to "keep the area under constant surveillance."

"Of course, our ships will show themselves quite often from now on. We will see it very often," Erdogan said.

Israel's navy closely protects its coastline and enforces the Gaza blockade, but does not have a major naval presence in the eastern Mediterranean.

Turkey's main opposition party warned last week that military moves could lead to confrontation between Turkish and Israeli forces.

"The probability that (Turkey's ruling) party has carried Turkey to the brink of a hot conflict is saddening and unacceptable," said Faruk Logoglu, a deputy chairman of the opposition Republican People's Party.

Alon Liel, a former Israeli ambassador to Turkey, said a conflict on the seas was a possibility.

"I don't think they would dare to penetrate Israeli waters," he told reporters in Jerusalem. But he said Turkey may try to disrupt future Israeli gas exports to Cyprus and he warned of a new Turkish-Egyptian alliance that could isolate Israel in the Mediterranean.

Israel's opposition leader, Tzipi Livni, on Tuesday urged the countries to "put aside all the emotions and to enter the room and to discuss what are the next best steps in order to stop this crisis."

Israeli military officials said they doubted the crisis would devolve into violence. One senior official said the Israeli assessment is that Turkey is not looking for a conflict, but is trying to flex its muscles with Israel to gain influence in the Arab world.

He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to discuss the matter publicly.

___

Aron Heller reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Suzan Fraser in Ankara and Amy Teibel in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

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

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Stormtrooper Helmet Designer Wins Legal Battle Against George Lucas

George Lucas’ company has failed on its bid to stop a prop designer making and selling replicas of the iconic stormtrooper helmets from the Star Wars films.

Britain’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of Andrew Ainsworth, the designer who sculpted the white helmets worn by the sinister galactic warriors in the original “Star Wars” film in 1977, and now sells replica costumes, made from the original molds, over the Internet.

The court did, however, prevent him from selling them in the United States.

The U.K. court ruled there was no copyright infringement because the replicas were not works of art.

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