Robin Cook the Foreign Secretary said yesterday: We have had long concerns about the military ambitions of

Robin Cook, the Foreign Secretary, said yesterday: "We have had long concerns about the military ambitions of Col Gaddafi's regime. Britain will make a formal protest to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's government after the seizure of a shipment of Scud missile parts bound for Libya at Gatwick airport. "By putting his life on the line he's giving more than money.". He said he was tortured.Conditions at Mawdsley's prison are reportedly severe He is allowed 20 minutes of exercise every day His cell has only a bed, a bucket and a Bible. His toothbrush is removed every day to prevent him from sharpening it and injuring himself.Despite the conditions, his father told The Observer newspaper Sunday, "A large part of me wants him to stay," since his son is a huge embarrassment to the Burma regime, which is widely accused of human rights abuses against its own citizens."The fact remains he has been in prison for four months now, and if anything he's stronger than when he went in," said Mawdsley. 2 for illegal entry and passing out pamphlets urging people to demonstrate against the military regime.The military has ruled Myanmar since 1962 and has refused to allow the democratic opposition led by Aung San Suu Kyi to take power despite its landslide victory in a general election in 1990.James Mawdsley was arrested in Burma, also known as Myanmar, twice before, and in 1998 he served 99 days of a seven-year sentence He was released on condition he not return. The father of a British activist serving a 17-year sentence in Burma for distributing pro-democracy leaflets arrived in the military state Monday to visit his son, a Myanmar government spokesman said.

The father of a British activist serving a 17-year sentence in Burma for distributing pro-democracy leaflets arrived in the military state Monday to visit his son, a Myanmar government spokesman said. David Mawdsley was to visit his son James, 26, of Lancashire, in prison in the town of Keng Tung."The government has not imposed any limit on his stay and will provide him with all possible assistance during his stay in Burma," the spokesman said, on customary condition of anonymity, in a faxed statement received in Bangkok.James Mawdsley, who also holds an Australian passport, was sentenced Sept. But, as one American official put it, a herculean lobbying effort lies ahead.. He is still smarting from a recent budget cave-in to what amounted to a ransom demand for millions of shekels from the ultra-religious Shas party to stop it leaving his coalition government and opposing withdrawal from theGolan. The poll suggests that he would win a small majority if he agreed to give up only part of the Golan. Syria, however, has made clear that it wants it all.Nor are Mr Barak's hurdles confined to home.

There is also a question mark over America's willingness to accept the $17bn (£10.3bn) wish-list that Israel presented to Washington last week as its desired peace dividend. It is uncertain whether the US Congress will agree to supply Mr Barak with the requested arsenal, including Apache helicopters and, according to some reports, Cruise missiles.This week a bi-partisan delegation of American senators is to travel to Israel to discuss the package. Yesterday, in preparation for the demonstration, Jewish settlers towed abandoned Syrian army trucks and cannon to the main Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway, displaying them with a sign reading: "The Syrians are coming".Mr Barak, by contrast, has yet to make his case convincingly. "We expect between 100,000 and 150,000 people, depending on the weather," said Astrid Hasday of the Golan Residents Committee, which represents the majority of the 17,000 Israelis who live on the Heights.