The son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi is in a Lebanese hospital after commencing a hunger strike two weeks ago in protest of his detention without trial since 2015, the Lebanese interior minister said on Thursday.
Hannibal Gaddafi has been imprisoned in Lebanon since a prosecutor charged him with allegedly concealing information about the fate of Imam Musa Al Sadr, a Lebanese Shiite Muslim scholar and founder of the influential Lebanese Amal Movement. The latter disappeared in 1978 on a visit to Libya.
In announcing his strike earlier this month, Hannibal Qaddafi – aged two at the time of Mr Al Sadr's disappearance – said he was a victim of injustice and stood accused of something he was not involved in.
Lebanese Shiites accused the Qaddafi regime of kidnapping Mr Al Sadr during his 1978 visit. Qaddafi was killed by rebels during the 2011 uprising against his 40-year-old rule.
Hannibal Qaddafi was taken on Wednesday to hospital from the security forces' building where he is being held after his condition deteriorated, Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi told Reuters.
Reem Al Dabri, a Qaddafi representative, noted his very young age at the time of Mr Al Sadr's disappearance and said he had nothing to do with the matter. She added that he was “a political hostage for undeclared reasons”.
Hannibal Qaddafi fled Libya in 2011 as an uprising raged against his father's rule, eventually making it to Syria, from where Mr Al Dabri said he was abducted and brought to Lebanon in 2015.
Sadr, who Libya said left the country safely, is widely believed to have been killed shortly after he was seized.
Sadr founded the Amal Movement, which alongside Hezbollah dominates Lebanese Shiite politics and has been led since 1980 by Parliamentary Speaker, Nabih Berri.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
RESULT
Aston Villa 1
Samatta (41')
Manchester City 2
Aguero (20')
Rodri (30')
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
Teams
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan Shanwari, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Corey Anderson, Mark Chapman, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Seth Rance, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
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- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
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- Professional ethics.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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In%20the%20Land%20of%20Saints%20and%20Sinners
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Specs
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