ended up outside his father's Bab al-Aziziya compound and military barracks, where at least a hundred men were waiting in lines for guns being distributed to volunteers to defend the regime. They also toured the Gadhafi stronghold neighbourhood Bu Slim. Rebels appear to have taken control of large parts of the capital since they entered on Sunday night and Gaddafi's grip on power seemed to be slipping fast. But it was known that the area around the Rixos hotel and nearby Bab al-Aziziya were still under the regime's control.
ended up outside his father's Bab al-Aziziya compound and military barracks, where at least a hundred men were waiting in lines for guns being distributed to volunteers to defend the regime. They also toured the Gadhafi stronghold neighbourhood Bu Slim. Rebels appear to have taken control of large parts of the capital since they entered on Sunday night and Gaddafi's grip on power seemed to be slipping fast. But it was known that the area around the Rixos hotel and nearby Bab al-Aziziya were still under the regime's control.
Prosecutors are moving to drop sex assault charges against Former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn, pictured July 1.
Their statement came after informed sources told AFP that prosecutors had filed a motion asking the judge to dismiss the charges made by a hotel maid, 32-year-old African immigrant Nafissatou Diallo.
Strauss-Kahn's legal team said the former French politician was "grateful" the New York prosecution team had concluded "that this case cannot proceed further."
"We have maintained from the beginning of this case that our client is innocent, said lawyers William Taylor and Benjamin Brafman.
The announcement came after the now-famous New York housekeeper and her legal team met with prosecutor Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance amid a media frenzy here, with them arriving at court before hundreds of journalists and onlookers.
Diallo's lawyer Kenneth Thompson said after the meeting a dismissal meant Vance had "denied the right of a woman to get justice in a rape case."
Vance, he said, has "turned his back" on forensic, medical and other physical evidence in the case against Strauss-Kahn.
"If the Manhattan District Attorney, who is elected to protect our mothers, our daughters, our sisters, our wives and our loved ones, is not going to stand up for them when they're raped or sexually assaulted, then who will?" Thompson asked.
Wearing black trousers and a beige jacket, Diallo, who says Strauss-Kahn forced her into oral sex and tried to rape her, had arrived for the meeting protected by several bodyguards in front of hundreds of journalists and onlookers.
The now-famous chamber maid, accompanied by Thompson, arrived at the courthouse after being summoned to a meeting with Vance's team, who already have made clear that they have grave concerns about her veracity and her reliability as a witness.
Thompson told AFP earlier he still hoped "the DA will stand by Diallo," but it had appeared increasingly likely that prosecutors will use a court hearing on Tuesday to ask that the judge formally dismiss charges.
If that happens, Strauss-Kahn will be free to return to France, where his May 14 arrest in New York and brief imprisonment before being freed on bail, caused a political uproar.
The case has captivated international attention after Diallo accused the IMF chief of forcing her into oral sex when she went to clean his luxury hotel room three months ago.
Not only did Strauss-Kahn have to resign as head of the IMF after his arrest, but he had to abandon what was widely expected to be a successful challenge against President Nicolas Sarkozy in upcoming elections.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said security forces and loyalist gunmen known as "shabbiha" opened fire after hundreds of people took to the streets of Homs to greet the UN team, which has been granted access to assess humanitarian needs after five months of protests and repression.
Video footage broadcast on Al Jazeera television showed a crowd of people thronging a car and chanting "The people want the overthrow of the regime" and holding signs saying "SOS" and "We will never give up until we get our freedom".
UN spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters in New York that "a protest situation developed" in Homs during the team's visit "and the mission was advised to leave for security reasons."
"The mission did not come under fire," he added.
Assad stepped up his military campaign to crush dissent during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which started on August 1, sending the army into large cities including Hama, Deir al-Zor and Latakia.
The escalating bloodshed led Arab states to break months of silence and call for an end to the violence, while the United States and Europe have expanded their sanctions against Syria and called on Assad to step down.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was concerned that Assad had not kept a promise he made last week to end military and police operations against demonstrators.
"It's troubling that he has not kept his words," Ban told reporters. "I sincerely hope that he heeds ... all (the) international community's appeals and calls."
Death Toll Over 2,200
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay accused Syrian soldiers and security forces of using excessive force, including heavy artillery, to crush peaceful protests.
"As of today, over 2,200 people have been killed since mass protests began in mid-March, with more than 350 people reportedly killed across Syria since the beginning of Ramadan," Pillay told the UN Human Rights Council.
At an urgent session of the council on Monday, a draft resolution presented by 25 members, including Arab nations, called for an international commission of inquiry into alleged crimes against humanity.
Assad, speaking to Syrian television on Sunday, said Syria would not bow to external pressure, which he said could only affect "a president made in the United States and a subservient people who get their orders from outside".
"As for the threat of a military action ... any action against Syria will have greater consequences (on those who carry it out), greater than they can tolerate," he said.
Syria, which borders Israel, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey and Jordan, has regional influence because of its alliance with Iran and its role in Lebanon, despite ending a 29-year military presence there in 2005. It also has influence in Iraq and supports militant groups Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah.
No country has proposed the kind of action against Syria which NATO forces have carried out in support of Libyan rebels seeking to topple Muammar Gaddafi. But Gaddafi's apparent collapse in Libya will give fresh heart to Assad's opponents.
"As for the security situation (it) has become more militant in the recent weeks," Assad said. "We are capable of dealing with it ... I am not worried."
Assad also said he expected a parliamentary election to be held in February after a series of reforms that would let political groups other than his Baath party take part.
The opposition has dismissed Assad's promised political reforms and many opposition figures have rejected his call for a national dialogue, saying there can be no discussion while security forces continue to kill protesters.
The Syrian Observatory said "shabbiha" gunmen who were celebrating after Assad's television appearance opened fire in Masyaf, west of Hama, killing two people and wounding four. They also attacked shops belonging to Assad opponents, it said.
Syria has expelled most independent media since the unrest began, making it difficult to verify events on the ground
Seeking to unify their fragmented movement, opposition figures have gathered in Turkey to nominate a broad-based council to support the uprising.
Similar initiatives in the past have failed to produce a robust umbrella group to unite the opposition, fragmented by 41 years of autocratic rule by Assad and his father.
Assad's government has blamed armed groups for the violence and has said more than 500 soldiers and police have been killed since the unrest erupted in March.
State news agency SANA said 17 members of Syria's security forces were buried on Saturday and Sunday, some of them killed by gunmen in Homs and the southern province of Deraa.
Source Reuter
Jennifer Haskell of Muncie, who had attended the fair with a friend who was also killed, died on Friday, the same day her friend Alina BigJohny, 23, was buried in Fort Wayne.
More than 40 people were injured in the stage collapse on Saturday night when a blast of wind whipped through the grandstand area just minutes before the country duo Sugarland was set to begin performing.
"After a long, courageous battle, Jenny Haskell died at 8:15 this morning from her injuries sustained from the tragedy at the State Fair," Haskell's parents said in a statement released by Ball State University officials.
Haskell, 22, was majoring in exercise science and was active on the campus landscaping crew.
Governor Mitch Daniels has asked the Indiana Inspector General to assign several staffers to the State Fair Commission to assist in the fact finding and documentation procurement aspect of an investigation into the incident.
The fair commission has hired Thornton Tomasetti, a New York engineering company, to coordinate and conduct the structural portion of the investigation. The Washington D.C.-based firm of Witt Associates will do an analysis of the fair's preparedness and response to the event.
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