Gordon Brown to Invite Gaddafi to London
TIMESONLINE: Gordon Brown is expected to invite two controversial world leaders, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi of Libya and Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela, to an international oil summit in London.

The invitation could bring the Libyan leader to Britain on his first official visit after years of isolation. An invitation could also bring Mr Chavez, the champion of socialist revolution in South America, to London and an unlikely photo-opportunity with Mr Brown.

Drawing up the guest list for the Prime Minister’s promised summit in December, a follow-up to the international meeting of oil producers and consumers in Saudi Arabia over the summer, was always likely to be an awkward business.

Mr Brown is keen to be seen to be addressing the issue of rising fuel prices, and to be acting to coordinate an international response to rising demand.

However, for all the possibilities that oil diplomacy might yield, it was likely that news of who was coming would overshadow the agenda.

The head of at least one key oil-producing nation, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, was unlikely to be considered a suitable guest, following anger over his perceived nuclear ambitions.

Meanwhile the arrival of Colonel Gadaffi in the capital would be certain to draw headlines. It is over two decades since British diplomatic relations with the country were severed, after shots fired from the Libyan embassy killed WPC Yvonne Fletcher, who was policing demonstrators outside.

Relations froze further after the bombing of an American airliner over Scotland in 1988. Since then the Libyan Government has accepted responsibility for the bombing, and ‘general responsibility’ for the killing of WPC Fletcher, and Tony Blair visited the country to meet the Libyan leader last year.

Colonel Gadaffi travels with female bodyguards and in recent trips to Europe, he has kept to his preference of staying in a black Bedouin tent, pitching it in government owned gardens in Paris and Brussels. Gordon Brown to Invite Gaddafi to London >>> By Will Pavia | September 9, 2008

THE INDEPENDENT:
The Big Question: Is the West Right to Resume Friendly Relations with Gaddafi's Libya? >>> By Anne Penketh, Diplomatic Editor | September 9, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>

”Shut Up,” Chávez, Says Spain’s King

BBC: Spain's King Juan Carlos told Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez to "shut up" as the Ibero-American summit drew to a close in Santiago, Chile.

The outburst came after Mr Chavez called former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar a "fascist".

Mr Chavez then interrupted Spanish PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's calls for him to be more diplomatic, prompting the king's outburst.

Latin American, Portuguese, Spanish and Andorran leaders were meeting in Chile.

'Democratically elected'

Mr Chavez called Mr Aznar, a close ally of US President George W Bush, a fascist, adding "fascists are not human. A snake is more human."

Mr Zapatero said: "Former President Aznar was democratically elected by the Spanish people and was a legitimate representative of the Spanish people."

Mr Chavez repeatedly tried to interrupt, despite his microphone being turned off. The king leaned forward and said: "Why don't you shut up?" Shut up, Spain king tells Chavez (more)

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
Shut up, King tells Chavez

NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG:
«Warum schweigst Du nicht endlich?»: Spaniens König über Chávez verärgert

LE FIGARO:
Quand Juan Carlos demande à Chavez de se taire

Mark Alexander

As Chávismo Tightens Its Grip, Thousands Prepare to Flee Venezuela

Photo courtesy of Google Images

TIMESONLINE: Jason Chue used to knock off at five o’clock sharp, leave the office and go and enjoy his evening. Now he routinely finds himself stuck there long into the evening answering the plaintive e-mails of hundreds of Venezuelans pleading for information on how they can emigrate to the United States.

“They’re professional people with good jobs,” Mr Chue, a consular officer at the US Embassy in Caracas, explains. “But they’ll say they want to leave because they are frightened for their future and their children.” Amid protests and fear, thousands prepare to flee the slow revolution (more)

Mark Alexander

Venezuela Comes Under Socialism’s Deadly Grip
BBC: Private investors and the political opposition hate it, President Hugo Chavez's supporters love it. A whirlwind of nationalisations and threats to private companies is changing Venezuela's economic climate and threatens to widen a tense social divide.

Mr Chavez is stepping up his campaign to turn Venezuela into a socialist state.

He is taking more control of the country's assets and warning companies that do not agree with his vision that he will take them over. Nationalisation sweeps Venezuela (more)

Mark Alexander