Gadhafi says NATO will not win in Libya

Provoked by renewed daylight NATO bombing of his capital, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi raged against the alliance Friday, screaming his message and daring Western forces to keep it up.

Gadhafi spoke in a telephone call that was piped through loudspeakers to a few thousand people demonstrating in Tripoli's Green Square, at the end of a day when NATO intensified bombing runs across the capital. State television carried the Gadhafi message live, then repeated it a few minutes later.

"NATO will be defeated," he yelled in a hoarse, agitated voice. "They will pull out in defeat."

The sound of automatic weapons being fired defiantly into the air echoed through the square for hours as carloads of pro-Gadhafi supporters — many with children in tow — crammed the streets leading to the plaza. Although there was a large presence of police and soldiers in the square, many of those popping off rounds wore civilian clothes.

Protesters and foreign journalists in the capital said it was one of the biggest such demonstrations since airstrikes began.

"Everyone in Libya wants Col. Gadhafi, not some traitors," Rajab Hamman, a 51-year-old engineer from Tripoli, said in the square as another demonstrator shot a magazine load of automatic rifle fire into the air a few steps away. "These are the real, true Libyans," he said of the crowd.

East of Tripoli, meanwhile, Gadhafi's forces exchanged intense shelling with rebels who are slowly breaking the government siege on their western stronghold, the port city of Misrata.

Doctors at the Hikma hospital in Misrata said nine rebel fighters and a woman living near the battle were killed and 30 others were wounded. Government casualties were not known.

Barrages of artillery and Grad missiles were landing on rebel lines as they continued trying to advance out of Misrata, 200 kilometres, east of the capital. The heaviest shelling rained down between the towns of Dafniya and Zlitan, west of the Mediterranean port. Rebels were holding their own with return fire from their front about 32 kilometres west of the port.

For weeks rebels had been bottled up in Misrata, one of a handful of toeholds they hold in western Libya. The eastern third of the country is under rebel control from their de facto capital, Benghazi.

As NATO warplanes began stepping up attacks on Libyan government forces, bases and ammunition depots in recent days, the rebels in Misrata used the distraction to start their push out of the city toward Tripoli. Fighting has been intense along that front, with the rebels only able to advance about 32 kilometres.

Explosions in Tripoli

NATO attacked the Libyan capital at midday Friday, pounding a target in the south of the city and sending a thick cloud of black smoke rising high into the air.

A series of explosions rumbled across other parts of the city as fighter jets could be heard flying overhead. Fire engines raced through the streets, sirens blaring.

It wasn't clear what was hit or whether there were casualties. Friday is the main day of rest in Libya, with many people off work.

NATO has been ramping up the pressure on Gadhafi's regime. Though most airstrikes happen under cover of darkness, daytime raids have grown more frequent.

Friday's raids followed a barrage that struck multiple targets late Thursday night.

Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi accused NATO of a "new level of aggression" over the past 72 hours in which he said the military alliance intentionally targeted civilian buildings, including a hotel and a university.

"It has become clear to us that NATO has moved on to deliberately hitting civilian buildings. ... This is a crime against humanity," he told reporters in the capital.

Libya's Health Ministry released new casualty figures that put the number of civilians killed in NATO airstrikes through June 7 at 856. There was no way to independently verify the figure and previous government-announced tolls from individual strikes have proven to be exaggerated.

As the new NATO airstrikes Friday blasted the capital, alliance Wing Cmdr. Mike Bracken said Gadhafi's future at the helm of Libya was what he called a "political decision." Bracken spoke by video conference to reporters in Brussels, NATO headquarters.

A coalition including France, Britain and the United States launched the first strikes against Gadhafi's forces under a United Nations resolution to protect civilians on March 19. NATO assumed control of the air campaign over Libya on March 31. It's joined by a number of Arab allies.

In Brussels, NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said there were no indications Gadhafi would stop attacking the opposition.

"It is hard to imagine the end to attacks on civilians while the pro-Gadhafi regime is still in power," Lungescu said in Brussels.

"It is unfortunately still the case that pro-Gadhafi forces continue to show shocking determination to harm the Libyan people."

What started as a peaceful uprising inside Libya against Gadhafi has grown into a civil war, with rebels now holding a third of the country in the east and pockets in the west.

Fighting between government forces and the rebels had reached a stalemate until last week when NATO launched the heaviest bombardment of Gadhafi forces since the alliance took control of the skies over Libya.

Union Cabinet reshuffle on cards?

An expansion of the Union Cabinet and reshuffle of the ministry and appointment of some Governors and top bureaucrats in some of the key ministries are expected to take place later this month.

Sources said the changes may take place once Prime Minister Manmohan Singh undertakes the process of consultation with Congress President Sonia Gandhi after her return from a holiday this week-end.

The talk in ruling party circles is that the exercise could take place later this month or early July, ahead of of the monsoon session of Parliament.

The possibility of reshuffle has brightened after the victory of Mamata Banerjee, who became the Chief Minister of West Bengal, and resigned as Railway Minister at the Centre.

There is speculation that her party colleague Mukul Roy, who has been given additional charge of Minister of State in the Railway, will be elevated to the Cabinet rank in the Railway ministry.

Ministers like Kapil Sibal are holding more than one portfolio. While there are some vacancies including that created by the resignation of A Raja in the wake of the 2G spectrum scam and Prithviraj Chavan, who became Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

There is also talk of appointment of Governors with some incumbent holding the post in more than one state like Rajasthan.

In Tamil Nadu, S S Barnala has far outlasted his tenure as Governor of the state and the Centre may be looking at at a new candidate.

In the bureaucracy, Home Secretary Gopal K Pillai is retiring this month end while Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar and Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao will retire next month.

10 TED Talks That Will Transform Your Career

Even in a tough, highly competitive economy, there's a lot you can do to further your career. Whether you want to move up in the ranks at your current job or seek out your passion and find the success you've always dreamed of having by starting your own business, sometimes all you need is a little motivation to get you on the right path. These lectures from experts in a wide range of fields will do just that, offering guidance on everything from the true meaning of success to improving productivity to help you kick your career into high gear.

   1. Dan Pink on the surprising science of motivation: In this talk, career analyst Dan Pink talks about what really motivates us to get things done. Often, it's not the typical traditional rewards that we seek, a lesson you'll learn in this talk that can help make you a better manager and a better employee.

   2. Nigel Marsh: How to make work-life balance work: All work and no play is sure to make you a dull boy or girl, so how can you learn to strike the perfect balance between the two? In this talk, you'll hear from an expert in the field, Nigel Marsh, on what the ideal day would look like and ways that can happen at businesses around the world.

   3. Alain de Botton: A kinder, gentler philosophy of success: Your idea of success and failure might not be giving you the credit you deserve, as you'll learn in this lecture from Alain de Botton. He presents an idea of success that may just help you find more pleasure in your work and feel more rewarded in your career.

   4. Tim Ferriss: Smash fear, learn anything: Author of The 4-Hour Work Week Tim Ferris offers up some productivity pointers and helps workers of all kinds face their fears– the only thing that may be holding them back– in this TED talk.

   5. Clay Shirky: How cognitive surplus will change the world: Learn just what a cognitive surplus is and how we can use it to build a better world from this talk. It just might give you an idea for a new business or way of working that takes advantage of this pool of creative, innovative minds.

   6. Jason Fried: Why work doesn't happen at work: Ever wonder why you can't seem to get anything done at work? This lecture will explain why it is that the office may not be the best place for productivity and showcases some changes that can help you become more productive and run a more efficient operation.

   7. Diana Laufenberg: How to learn From mistakes: We might be reluctant to make mistakes, but as this lecture will show, sometimes mistakes are the best way to learn and move forward. Teacher Diana Laufenberg shares some powerful lessons she has learned from her mistakes that make her better at her job today.

   8. Richard St. John's 8 secrets of success: What separates one person who succeeds from another who fails? This short slideshow and talk will showcase the qualities that help make for a successful career– boiled down to 8 words and 3 minutes that could change your life.

   9. Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity: Author Elizabeth Gilbert discusses the idea of genius in this talk, arguing that instead of thinking about being a genius that, it's more important to think about having genius — something we all have moments of in our lives — and harnessing those to be more creative, successful and ultimately happy.

  10. Dan Ariely asks, Are we in control of our own decisions?: How rational have your career decisions been? Were they motivated by logic or by emotions? In this talk you'll learn why we aren't as rational as we like to think we are — something that might open your eyes to new opportunities and ways to further your career.