Page 4 The Lion’s Eye October 26, 2011 World &Local News Qaddafi Is Dead, Libyan Officials Say Special To The Lion's Eye TRIPOLI, Libya — Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the former Libyan strong- man who fled into hiding after rebels toppled his regime two months ago in the Arab Spring’s most tumultuous uprising, was killed Thursday as fighters battling the vestiges of his loyalist forces wrested control of his hometown of Surt, the interim government announced. Al Jazeera television showed what it said was Colonel Qaddafi’s corpse lying on the ground, with a bloodied face, lifeless open eyes and an apparent gunshot wound to the side of the head, as jubilant fighters fired automatic weap- ons in the air. The images punctuated an emphatic and violent ending to his four decades as a ruthless and bombastic autocrat ho had basked in his reputation as the self- “We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Muammar Qaddafi has been killed,” Mahmoud Jibril, the prime minister of the in- terim government, told a news con- ference in Tripoli. Libyans rejoiced as news of his death spread. Car horns blared in Tripoli and in the eastern city of Benghazi, where the rebellion against Colonel Qaddafi began in February, as residents poured into the streets to celebrate. Mahmoud Shammam, the chief spokesman of the Transitional National Council, the interim government that replaced Colonel Qaddafi’s regime after he fled Tripoli in late August, said: “This is the day of real liberation. We were serious about giving him a fair trial. It seems God has some other wish.” Abdul Hakim Belhaj, the leader of the Tripoli military council, said on Al Jazeera that anti-Qaddafi forces had Colonel Qaddafi’s body and were transport- ing it to an undisclosed location. Al Jazeera also quoted another unidentified of- ficial of the Transitional National Council as saying Mussa Ibrahim, the former spokesman of Colonel Qaddafi, had been captured near Surt. There were unconfirmed reports that one of Colonel Qaddafi’s feared sons, Muatassim, had been captured or killed with his father. But the whereabouts of another son, Seif al-Islam, who has also been on the run since the fall of Tripoli, remained unclear. It was also not clear precisely how Colonel Qaddafi died. Mohamed Ben- rasali, a member of the national council’s Tripoli Stabilization Committee, said fighters from Misurata who were deployed in Surt told him that Colonel Qaddafi was captured alive in a car leaving Surt. He was badly injured, with wounds in his head and both legs, Mr.-Benrasali said, and died soon after. Colonel Qaddafi had defied repeated attempts to corner and capture him, taunting his enemies with audio broadcasts denouncing the rebel forces that felled him as stooges of NATO, which conducted a bombing campaign against his military during the uprising under the auspices of a Security Council man- date to protect Libyan civilians. : There were unconfirmed reports that Colonel Qaddafi may have been wound- ed when NATO warplanes struck a convoy trying to spirit him away from Surt. NATO officials in Brussels declined to comment on the reports. (Photo courtesy of topnews.in) 2011 Nobel Prizes Have Been Announced By Dave Serpentine - Lion's Eye World & Local Editor dms5419@psu.edu Another year has passed and it is time to once again celebrate some of the greatest minds and ideas of year in the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, economics, and peace. : Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia and Leymah Gbowee and Tawakel Kar- man both from Yemen won the Nobel Prize “For their non-violent struggle for the § safety of women and for women’s i gi rights to full participation in peace- Sirleaf, Gbowee, and Karman share the Nobel Peace building work.” This is the first Prize. (Photo courtesy of nobelprize.org) since 2004 at the Peace Prize was awarded to a female. Bruce Beutler of Illinois, Jules A. Hoffmann of France and Ralph Steinman of Canada won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for research into the immune system. Stein- man’s contributions relates to “discovery of the dendritic cell and its role in adaptive im- munity.” Steinman’s prize is a unique situation as the award will be presented posthumously, which is against the rule. The committee was unaware of his untimely death of pancreatic cancer, but the decision will remain unchanged. Saul Perlmutter of Illinois, Brian P. Schmidt of Montana and Adam Riess of Washington, D.C. won the Nobel Prize for Physics for work on the accelerating expansion of the uni- verse. Daniel Shechtman of Israel won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the discovery of quasi- crystals. Tomas Transtromer of Sweden won the Nobel Prize for Literature for his contribution in poetry, “because, through his condensed, translucent images, he gives us fresh access to real- iy.” Thomas J. Sargent of California and Christopher A. Sims of Washington, D.C. won the Nobel Prize for Economics “for their empirical research on cause and effect in the macro- economy” : : The process for nomination and selection cycle varies for each prize. However, the peace prize cycle follows: last September invitations letters were sent out, in February this year was the deadline for submissions, a short list of names is prepared throughout February and March, there is an adviser review from March to August, October is when the Laureate(s) is chosen, and finally the award ceremony takes place in December. The Nobel Prize Award Ceremony takes place on December 10 in Stockholm, Sweden where the Nobel Laureates receive their Nobel Prize, which consists of a Nobel Medal and Diploma, and a document confirming the prize amount. However, the Peace Prize ceremony takes place in Oslo, Norway on December 10. The event is held annually on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awards the prizes in physics, chemistry, and economics. The Karolinska Institute awards the prize in physiology or medicine. And the Norwegian Nobel Committee awards the prize in peace. The Nobel Committee began distributing awards since 1901; however, the Prize in Eco- nomics began in 1968. Amanda Knox Freed from Italian Prison After 4 Years Amanda Knox, an American student in Italy who was convicted murder in 2009, saw the wheels of justice turn in her favor Monday. After spending the last four years in an Italian Prison, Amanda saw her first glimpse of the free world Monday evening. Accused and convicted of murdering her roommate Meredith Kercher, she and her then boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were sentenced to 27 and 26 years respectively, in 2009. The prosecution’s case was heavily dependent on DNA evidence. They tried to prove that Amanda, Raffaele and Meredith were involved in a sex act that turned horribly wrong. Meredith was stabbed multiple times, and left for dead in the apartment. After the case was reviewed by an independent au- diting firm, they concluded that the Italian Police Force did not follow protocol for taking and tabbing evidence. They agreed that the DNA and fluid evidence had been By Matt Rodgers - Lion's Eye staff writer Mmr187@psu.edu compromised by the police force. They also said that the evidence lacked certainty that Amanda and Raffaele’s DNA was an exact match. For four years Amanda has claimed her innocence. The case spurred heavy interest in both Italy and America. Even to the point that ten- sions began to grow between diplomats of each respec- tive country. Within hours of the ruling, both Amanda and Raffa- ele were released from the custody of the Italian Prison system. Knox’s attorney said that her client would be flying back to Seattle as soon as she could find a flight. Family, both in Italy and back home in Seattle, were ec- static about the ruling, and counting the hours until they would be re-united with Amanda. When the Appellate ruling was read, Amanda almost fell to the floor in disbelief. Her natural tone turned to ash, not believing that her day of justice had finally come. Bailiffs’ had to physically escort her out of the courtroom because she was so weak under all the emo- tional baggage that she has dealt with since the crime occurred in 2007. The prosecution has said that they are going to appeal the ruling. Amanda is free to go, with no travel restric- tions. If the appeal is successful, the Italian government would be responsible for re-trying her under a new judge and jury. This trial would most likely be held in absentia. If she was re-convicted of the murder, the Italian govern- ment would then commence the extradition process.
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