Wales Says Yes in Referendum Vote
BBC: First Minister Carwyn Jones thanked Yes for Wales supporters after the result became a foregone conclusion.

Wales has said a resounding Yes in the referendum on direct law-making powers for the assembly.

Almost all 22 Welsh counties have declared, and all except one, Monmouthshire, backed change. Turnout is provisionally put at 35%.

As celebrations began, First Minister Carwyn Jones said: "This has been a Yes vote across the whole of Wales."

A Yes vote will give the assembly direct law-making power in 20 devolved areas, such as health and education.

With only a couple of counties left to declare, the final result is now a formality. >>> | Friday, March 04, 2011

BBC: Welsh referendum: Gloom in No camp as count continues – Leaders of the No campaign in the Welsh assembly powers referendum admit they are pessimistic about their chances. >>> | Friday, March 04, 2011

How Libya's Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Seduced the West
BBC: The director of the London School of Economics Sir Howard Davies has submitted his resignation after admitting an "error of judgment" in establishing links with the regime of Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi.

Sir Howard visited Libya to advise the regime about financial reforms and accepted a £300,000 donation from the Libyan leader's second son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi for research at the LSE.

His departure underlines just how politically toxic links with the Gaddafi regime have become ever since it began its brutal suppression of the Libyan uprising.

Saif al-Islam's former friends and business associates in the west have become embarrassed to admit ever knowing him now his reputation as a liberal reformer has been scuttled.

Yet just a few weeks ago Saif was socialising with the crème de la crème of British society.

So how did so many respectable people get it so wrong?

In part this is because Saif makes such a good impression in the media. Tall and handsome, he speaks fluent English and presented himself as the acceptable face of the Gaddafi regime.

With few exceptions, he sided with the reformers in Libya and seemed prepared to go head-to-head with his father in an attempt to develop the fledgling Libyan private sector and open up the atrophied media.

'Like the Godfather'

But Saif's warm reception in influential business, academic and political circles in the West was also attributable to the eagerness in some quarters to gain access to Libya's oil wealth.

"If Libya was a country without an oil producing capacity, I don't think Saif would have convinced the West," said Dr Omar Ashur, a lecturer in the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter. >>> Hugh Miles, BBC Radio 4, The Report | Friday, March 04, 2011

German Interior Minister Reopens Bitter Row Over Muslim Integration
THE GUARDIAN: Hans-Peter Friedrich under fire after claiming Islam 'does not belong' in Germany

Germany's new interior minister has said Islam does not "belong" in the country, reopening a bitter debate over the integration of Germany's 4 million Muslims.

Hans-Peter Friedrich, who took office on Wednesday, was being asked by reporters about a gun attack at Frankfurt airport in which two US servicemen were killed and another two injured. Investigators suspect the attack, carried out by a 21-year-old Muslim immigrant from Kosovo, was an act of Islamist terrorism. A federal judge in Karlsruhe on Thursday ordered the suspect be remanded to jail on two counts of murder and three of attempted murder, pending further investigation.

In his first press conference as minister, Friedrich said on Friday that Muslims should be allowed live in modern Germany, but he added: "To say that Islam belongs in Germany is not a fact supported by history." >>> Helen Pidd in Berlin | Friday, March 04, 2011

Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg Quits as MP
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Germany's disgraced former defence minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, nicknamed "zu Googleberg" after accusations he cheated on his doctorate, has also resigned as an MP, parliament said on Thursday.

The 39-year-old, Germany's most popular minister until his resignation on Tuesday, thereby loses his parliamentary immunity, something he said he wanted to happen, clearing the way for prosecutors to investigate him if they wish.

The public prosecutors' office in Hof in Mr zu Guttenberg's home state Bavaria said that there was enough evidence to begin an inquiry, with about 80 legal complaints against the former minister. >>> | Thursday, March 03, 2011

Libyan Rebels Vow 'Victory or Death'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Libyan rebels have said they are open to talks only to discuss Col Gaddafi's exile or resignation, vowing "victory or death".

"We will not stop until we liberate all this country," Mustafa Abdel Jalil, head of the rebel National Libyan Council told supporters of a two-week-old uprising that has shaken Gaddafi's grip on the North African oil producer.

Ahmed Jabreel, an aide to Abdel Jalil, said if there was any negotiation "it will be on one single thing – how Gaddafi is going to leave the country or step down so we can save lives. There is nothing else to negotiate".

Rebel volunteers defending the opposition's expanding grip on a key coast road said a rocket attack by a government warplane just missed a rebel-held eastern military base which houses a big ammunition store in the town of Ajdabiyah. >>> | Friday, March 04, 2011

Saif Gaddafi Talks to Al Jazeera
One of Muammar Gaddafi's sons, Saif al Islam, has been the public face of the regime since the unrest began. He has accused the international media, including Al Jazeera, of blowing the crisis out of proportion. In an interview with Anita McNaught, he repeated the allegation claiming the West was trying to take over Libya's oil. You can watch the full Talk to Al Jazeera interview with Saif Al Islam Gaddafi at 15:30 GMT on Friday

A Historic Moment in the Arab World
In TED's first talk of 2011, Al Jazeera's director-general shares his view on the uprisings sweeping the region. Wadah Khanfar

As a democratic revolution led by tech-empowered young people sweeps the Arab world, Wadah Khanfar, Al Jazeera's director-general, shares a profoundly optimistic view of what's happening in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and beyond.

In the first talk posted online from the TED 2011 conference in California, Khanfar describes the powerful moment when people realised they could step out of their homes and ask for change.

This talk was given on March 1, 2011 in Long Beach, California. TED 2011 is taking place between March 1 and March 4. [Source: Al Jazeera]

Why the Dollar's Reign Is Near an End
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: For decades the dollar has served as the world's main reserve currency, but, argues Barry Eichengreen, it will soon have to share that role. Here's why—and what it will mean for international markets and companies.

The single most astonishing fact about foreign exchange is not the high volume of transactions, as incredible as that growth has been. Nor is it the volatility of currency rates, as wild as the markets are these days.

Instead, it's the extent to which the market remains dollar-centric.

Consider this: When a South Korean wine wholesaler wants to import Chilean cabernet, the Korean importer buys U.S. dollars, not pesos, with which to pay the Chilean exporter. Indeed, the dollar is virtually the exclusive vehicle for foreign-exchange transactions between Chile and Korea, despite the fact that less than 20% of the merchandise trade of both countries is with the U.S.

Chile and Korea are hardly an anomaly: Fully 85% of foreign-exchange transactions world-wide are trades of other currencies for dollars. What's more, what is true of foreign-exchange transactions is true of other international business. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries sets the price of oil in dollars. The dollar is the currency of denomination of half of all international debt securities. More than 60% of the foreign reserves of central banks and governments are in dollars.

The greenback, in other words, is not just America's currency. It's the world's.

But as astonishing as that is, what may be even more astonishing is this: The dollar's reign is coming to an end.

I believe that over the next 10 years, we're going to see a profound shift toward a world in which several currencies compete for dominance.

The impact of such a shift will be equally profound, with implications for, among other things, the stability of exchange rates, the stability of financial markets, the ease with which the U.S. will be able to finance budget and current-account deficits, and whether the Fed can follow a policy of benign neglect toward the dollar. >>> Barry Eichengreen | Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Dr. Eichengreen is the George C. Pardee and Helen N. Pardee professor of economics and political science at the University of California, Berkeley. His new book is "Exorbitant Privilege: The Rise and Fall of the Dollar and the Future of the International Monetary System." He can be reached at reports@wsj.com.

Verbunden >>>

Israeli Anxiety Over Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood
In a clip from tomorrow's "Big Interview," Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren states that Israel worries about the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, and that Egypt lacks the necessary social structure for an effective democracy

Deadly Mudslides in Bolivia
At least 50 people have been killed, some 1,500 properties have been damaged and as many as 6,000 residents have already fled widespread flooding in Bolivia. Video courtesy of Reuters

Interview: Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard
March 3, 2011: In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard speaks about Australia's place on the world stage ahead of her visit to the U.S. and her address to congress

Pakistan: No Diplomatic Immunity For US Agent
A Pakistani court rules that an American CIA contractor does not have diplomatic immunity after killing two Pakistanis

NATO Split over Use of Force in Libya
THE AUSTRALIAN: THE West's response to a defiant Colonel Muammar Gaddafi is in disarray, with NATO allies divided over armed intervention and the Libyan regime contemptuously rejecting moves to investigate its alleged crimes against humanity.

British Prime Minister David Cameron was accused by a senior NATO official of "jumping the gun" for announcing that he had asked the Ministry of Defence to draw up no-fly zone proposals, while the rift between the US and Britain was underlined as the White House continued to soft-pedal on military action.

"He may have rowed back now but as soon as he made it public that he was in favour of a no-fly zone, Cameron raised expectations," one official said.

Barack Obama struck a cautious note over any kind of military intervention. While saying that a no-fly zone remained an option, he gave warning that the ownership of the Egyptian revolution by its own people had been important to its success.

"One of the reasons we did not see any anti-American protests was because they didn't see that we tried to engineer an outcome," the US President said, adding that the US had to ensure "we are on the right side of history".

But the British Prime Minister won support from France, Europe's other main military power[.] >>> David Charter and Michael Evans | The Times | Friday, March 04, 2011

Les manifestants se rassemblent dans le centre de Bagdad
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: De nombreux appels à manifester ce vendredi ont été lancés ces derniers jours. Les électeurs étaient appelé à exprimer leur déception dans la rue, près d’un an après les élections législatives du 7 mars.

Des manifestants commençaient vendredi matin à affluer dans le centre de Bagdad, où les autorités ont interdit la circulation des véhicules en prévision de nouveaux rassemblements contre le manque de services publics, la corruption, le chômage et l’incompétence des dirigeants.

Ces rassemblements s’inscrivent dans un mouvement de contestation inspiré des révoltes dans le monde arabe qui a culminé le 25 février avec une "Journée de la colère" et des manifestations dans une vingtaine de villes, suivies d’affrontements avec les forces de sécurité qui ont fait 16 morts. >>> AFP | Vendredi 04 Mars 2011

Niederländer strafen Regierungsparteien ab
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Knapp sechs Monate ist die niederländische Regierung im Amt - nun hat sie bei den Provinzwahlen einen Dämpfer erhalten. Die Mehrheit im Oberhaus hat sie knapp verfehlt. Die Partei des Rechtspopulisten Geert Wilders zählt zu den Gewinnern der Abstimmung.

Den Haag - In den Niederlanden geht die Minderheitsregierung von Ministerpräsident Mark Rutte geschwächt aus den Provinzwahlen hervor. Die von Islamgegner Geert Wilders gestützte Mitte-Rechts-Regierung hat eine Mehrheit für das Oberhaus des Parlaments knapp verfehlt. >>> kgp/dpa/AFP | Donnerstag, 03. März 2011

Libya: Secret Police Arrest Hundreds in Sweep of Tripoli
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Secret police loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi have staged sweeps of the Libyan capital, arresting hundreds of opponents and protesters in advance of demonstrations planned for prayers on Friday.

There have been night-time arrests across the capital Tripoli during the week, according to exile groups. Many were identified through photographs of last Friday's protests in which an unknown number of people were shot dead.

Precise figures are impossible to confirm – friends of those arrested say it is not known where those who have been arrested have been taken. According to rumour, they have been taken to Bab al-Azizia, the regime's command-and-control centre in the south of Tripoli, which includes the Gaddafi compound bombed by US jets in 1986.

"Several of my friends have been arrested," said one young man in the city, who cannot be named for his own protection. "I do not know where they are. There will still be big protests tomorrow. Inshallah, God willing, Gaddafi will be gone." >>> Richard Spencer, Tripoli | Thursday, March 03, 2011

Germany: Islamic Extremism Behind Shooting of U.S. Airmen
Mar 3 - German state prosecutors said on Thursday they suspected the gunman who killed two U.S. airmen at Frankfurt airport on Wednesday was likely motivated by radical Islam. Jon Decker reports

Revolutionary Minute
Mar 3 - A wave of anti-government protests has swept across the Middle East and North Africa, mounting pressure on long-standing leaders. Libya's Gaddafi is the latest leader under fire from within the nation and abroad. Addressing supporters he said ''Muammar Gaddafi is one of you. You must dance, sing and be happy.'' Multimedia production by Jill Kitchener. 'Battleground' music composed by Amar

Obama Says Gaddafi "Must Leave"
Mar 3 - President Barack Obama once again called for the immediate resignation of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi - who has directed violence against pro-democracy rebels. Jon Decker reports

Egypt’s Prime Minister Resigns
Mar 3 - Amid protests and calls for his resignation prime minister Ahmed Shafiq steps down. Maryam Ishani reports

Suicide Bomb Attack in Northwest Pakistan
Mar 3 - A lone suicide bomber drove his vehicle packed with 1,300 pounds of explosives into a security checkpoint in northwest Pakistan killing at least nine people. Jon Decker reports

Thousands Remain Stranded at the Libya-Tunisia Border
Mar 3 - Thousands of mainly Egyptian workers are stranded inside the border of Tunisia after fleeing the violence in Libya. Maryam Ishani reports

Libya: Gaddafi Son Says Bombs Were 'Misunderstanding'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Libyan government bombing raids on Brega were a "big misunderstanding" designed to scare off rebels, according to Saif al-Islam, son of Col Muammar Gaddafi.


In an interview with Sky News, Saif said: "First of all the bombs (were) just to frighten them to go away. Not to kill them.

"I'm talking about the harbour and the oil refinery there. Nobody would allow the militia to control Brega. It's like allowing someone to control Rotterdam harbour in Holland.

His comments came as the International Criminal Court announced that Col Gaddafi and key aides will be investigated over allegations they committed crimes against humanity while fending off the uprising in Libya. >>> | Thursday, March 03, 2011

Gaddafi Son: 'We Did Not Bomb Civilians'
Colonel Gaddafi's son has exclusively claimed on Sky News that Libyan government forces have not targeted civilians in bombings of the rebel-controlled eastern town of Brega

SKY NEWS: In an interview with Sky's foreign correspondent Lisa Holland, Saif al Islam admitted there had been raids to "scare off" anti-Gaddafi forces at the town's oil hub, but insisted there was no uprising. >>> | Thursday, March 03, 2011

Vague de clandestins tunisiens dans le sud-est de la France
LE FIGARO: Quelque 460 Tunisiens ayant transité par Lampedusa en Italie ont été arrêtés dans les Alpes-maritimes en un mois. Les organismes d'aide aux réfugiés relativisent néanmoins l'importance de cette vague.

Des policiers chargés du contrôle de l'immigration à la frontière franco-italienne se disent «submergés» et «sous une pression hallucinante». Le député-maire de Nice, Christian Estrosi, a fait part au nouveau ministre de l'Intérieur de ses «inquiétudes concernant les flux migratoires en provenance d'Italie» mercredi. Claude Guéant a depuis annoncé sa venue dans la région vendredi. Et les quelque 500 arrestations de clandestins tunisiens recensées en France depuis début février sont présentées par des policiers locaux comme le début d'un phénomène de plus grande ampleur, qui pourrait atteindre les 15.000 entrées illégales. >>> Par Pauline Fréour | Jeudi 03 Mars 2011

Libye : l’aide humanitaire française arrive à Benghazi

Gaddafi Under World Court Investigation
The chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court has said that Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, and his key aides, will be investigated for possible crimes against humanity. 

Luis Moreno-Ocampo said on Thursday he would be holding Gaddafi's government to account over reports of atrocities committed against peaceful protesters.

 Hundreds have been killed in the uprising against Gaddafi's 40-year rule and thousands injured.

 Alan Fisher reports from The Hague in the Netherlands

Egypt Gets New Prime Minister

New Muslim Muhammad Islam's Story

Sombre Mood in Islamabad after Minister's Murder
Mar 3 - Residents of Pakistan's capital Islamabad say they feel unsafe after the country's Minister for Minority Affairs was gunned down in broad daylight. Travis Brecher reports

REUTERS.COM: Pakistan vows to battle extremism after minister slain: Pakistan must not buckle to extremism, President Asif Ali Zardari said on Thursday, a day after Taliban militants killed his government's only Christian minister for challenging a law on blasphemy toward Islam. >>> Zeeshan Haider | Thursday, March 03, 2011

Libyan Rebels Call for Foreign Help
Mar 3 - Gaddafi forces launch offensive to retake rebel-held eastern territories while thousands continue to cross borders fleeing the escalating violence. Marie-Claire Fennessy reports

Anschlag am Frankfurter Flughafen: Bundesanwaltschaft hält Täter für „Islamisten“
FAZ.DE: Der Anschlag auf amerikanische Soldaten am Frankfurter Flughafen hat nach Ansicht der Bundesanwaltschaft einen islamistischen Hintergrund. Der 21 Jahre alte Kosovare hat seine Tat gestanden. Offenbar arbeitete er im Postzentrum am Flughafen.

Die Bundesanwaltschaft vermutet einen islamistischen Hintergrund bei dem tödlichen Angriff auf amerikanische Soldaten am Frankfurter Flughafen. Es bestehe der Verdacht, dass es sich um eine islamistisch motivierte Tat handele, erklärte die Behörde am Donnerstag in Karlsruhe. Die Bundesanwaltschaft hatte die Ermittlungen zuvor von der Staatsanwaltschaft Frankfurt am Main übernommen. Der mutmaßliche Täter soll am Donnerstag dem Ermittlungsrichter am Bundesgerichtshof vorgeführt werden. Die Bundesanwaltschaft will sich am Freitag zu weiteren Details äußern. >>> FAZ.NET | Donnerstag, 03. März 2011

Libye: Kadhafi a recruté 800 Touareg pour assurer sa défense
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: ARMÉE IMPROVISÉE | Quelque 800 Touareg ont été recrutés à ce jour par le régime du leader libyen Mouammar Kadhafi pour l’aider à combattre le soulèvement populaire.

Kadhafi a recruté 800 Touareg pour assurer sa défense. Quelque 800 Touareg du Niger, du Mali, d’Algérie et du Burkina Faso, ont été recrutés à ce jour par le régime du leader libyen Mouammar Kadhafi pour l’aider à combattre le soulèvement populaire auquel il fait face, a-t-on appris jeudi de sources sécuritaires. Au Mali, un petit bureau de recrutement discret a été installé dans un hôtel de Bamako appartenant à la Libye, où un diplomate libyen fait office d’agent recruteur. Mais le recrutement se fait également à partir des zones sahéliennes, selon les sources sécuritaires. "Ceux qui partent maintenant sont tentés par le gain facile. Ce sont eux qu'on appelle les mercenaires", a déclaré Abdou Salam Ag Assalat, président de l'assemblée régionale de Kidal (nord-est du Mali)."Parmi ces jeunes, il y a des ex-rebelles touareg maliens et nigériens qui avaient repris au Mali les armes en 2006 et 2008", a-t-il ajouté. >>> ATS | Jeudi 03 Mars 2011

Le Premier ministre égyptien démissionne
REUTERS FRANCE: LE CAIRE - Le Premier ministre égyptien, Ahmed Chafik, a démissionné jeudi, annonce le Conseil suprême des forces armées (CSFA), répondant favorablement aux demandes de remaniement formulées par des artisans de la révolution.

L'armée au pouvoir, qui a publié un communiqué en ce sens sur sa page Facebook et en a confirmé la teneur à Reuters, a chargé Essam Charaf, un ancien ministre des Transports, de former un nouveau gouvernement. >>> Par Maroua Aouad | Jeudi 03 Mars 2011

Gaddafi geht zur Gegenoffensive über
REUTERS DEUTSCHLAND: Tripolis - Unterstützer des libyschen Machthabers Muammar Gaddafi haben im Osten des Landes eine Gegenoffensive gestartet, um den seit zwei Wochen anhaltenden Aufstand niederzuschlagen.

Regierungstruppen hätten am Mittwoch vergeblich versucht, die Stadt Marsa El Brega wieder unter ihre Kontrolle zu bringen, erklärten Aufständische. Möglicherweise sei eine Militärintervention des Auslands nötig, um die Herrschaft Gaddafis endgültig zu beenden. Gaddafi selbst lud die Vereinten Nationen und die Nato ein, sich selbst ein Bild über die Lage in seinem Land zu machen. >>> | Mittwoch, 02. März 2011

Nurses Held in Libya 'Were Tortured'
In 2004 five Bulgarian nurses were found guilty by a Libyan court of deliberately infecting hundreds of children at a Benghazi hospital with HIV.

The nurses, who have always maintained their innocence, say they had been tortured into confessing.

They spent years on death row before finally being freed and sent home in 2007. 

Sonia Gallego spoke with them.

Clinton: U.S. far from Libya no-fly zone decision
Mar 2 - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S. was ''a long way'' from making a decision over whether to establish a no-fly zone over Libya. Jon Decker reports

Supreme Court Rules for Anti-Gay Church
Mar 2 - In a case pitting free-speech versus privacy rights, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that a church has the legal right to stage anti-gay protests at U.S. military funerals. Jon Decker reports

US Backs Jordan’s Planned Reforms in Response to Protesters
ARAB NEWS: AMMAN – A senior US official held separate meetings on Wednesday with Jordan’s King Abdallah and Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit to relay Washington’s support for the political and economic reforms recently pledged by the two leaders, according to a US embassy statement.

Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour Michael Posner "emphasised the strong, long-term American commitment to the well-being of Jordan and the US appreciation of Jordan’s many decades of work toward regional peace and prosperity”, the statement said.

He also underscored the "US support for the king’s call for sustained, serious and comprehensive program of political and economic reform as the key to realizing the enormous potential of Jordan and Jordanians”, it added. >>> Abdul Jalil Mustafa | Arab News | Thursday, March 03, 2011

Maid Faces Beheading in Saudi Arabia for Murdering the Boss She Said Tried to Rape Her
MAIL ONLINE: An Indonesian maid faces being beheaded in Saudi Arabia after murdering the employer she claimed had tried to rape her.

Darsem binti Dawud Tawar had pleaded self-defence when she went on trial accused of the fatal attack on her Yemeni boss.

Camapaigners are now desperately trying to raise half a million dollars in blood money to save her life.

They are asking for donations on TV and social networking sites like Facebook. >>> Daily Mail Reporter | Thursday, March 03, 2011

Hitler Phones Gaddafi

Gaddafi - Singing in the Rain

Ben Ali , Mubarak & Gaddafi Dance – Breakdance

Libya: 'British Man Shot Dead in Brega'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A father-of-seven from Manchester has been shot dead in Libya, according to reports.

Friends of Khaled Att-ardi from Whalley Range said he had been killed in the oil port of Brega on Wednesday. Relatives said he had travelled to Libya last week to help relatives caught up in the unrest.

Nandi Handi, a family friend, told the BBC: "I am shocked. All the children are crying. Nobody believes it. Everything is not fair, it is horrible.

The Foreign Office said it was aware of the reports and was "urgently investigating" them. >>> | Thursday, March 03, 2011

Le voile se lève sur la loi sur la burqa
REUTERS FRANCE: PARIS - En pleine polémique sur le débat sur l'islam en France réclamé par Nicolas Sarkozy, la loi sur l'interdiction du voile intégral devient réalité.

Le texte, promulgué en octobre dernier, est publié ce jeudi au Journal officiel et une campagne d'information volontairement sobre est lancée pour l'expliquer.

Cette loi interdisant "la dissimulation du visage dans l'espace public" sert officiellement à réaffirmer les valeurs de la République et vise clairement les adeptes du voile intégral islamique - burqa ou niqab.

Elle concerne, selon les statistiques du ministère de l'Intérieur, moins de 3.000 personnes en France, soit une petite minorité.

Le principe, simple, de la loi, est rappelé sur l'affiche de la campagne d'information: "Nul ne peut, dans l'espace public, porter une tenue destinée à dissimuler son visage." >>> Edité par Yves Clarisse | Jeudi 03 Mars 2011

Gespräche über Friedensplan für Libyen - Ölpreis sinkt
REUTERS DEUTSCHLAND: Kairo - Die Arabische Liga führt Verhandlungen über einen Friedensplan für Libyen.

Das bestätigte der Generalsekretär der Arabischen Liga, Amr Mussa, am Donnerstag der Nachrichtenagentur Reuters. Über den von Venezuelas Präsident Hugo Chavez vorgeschlagenen Plan sei aber noch keine Einigung erzielt worden, sagte Mussa. Zuvor hatte der Fernsehsender Al-Dschasira berichtet, der libysche Machthaber Muammar Gaddafi und sein Verbündeter Chavez hätten sich bereits auf den Plan für ein Ende der Gewalt in dem nordafrikanischen Land verständigt. >>> © Reuters | Donnerstag, 03. März 2011

Hundreds of Protesters Camp in Oman
ABNA.IR: Oman, Muscat - Hundreds of Omani anti-government protesters have camped outside the Consultative Council in the capital Muscat to demand political reform and better life conditions.

They were carrying placards reading, “We want jobs” and “We want freedom of press, AFP reported on Wednesday.

The protesters also called for bringing to justice those responsible for the deaths of demonstrators in the northern town of Sohar.

At least six people were killed in Sohar on Sunday after police opened fire on the anti-government demonstrators.

Also on Tuesday, Omani forces used tanks to disperse the protesters blocking roads spanning the industrial city of Sohar and the capital Muscat.

The army forces say they succeeded in driving away the protesters and the operation ended peacefully. >>> | Thursday, March 03, 2011

Dutch Queen's State Visit to Oman Postponed
THE WASHINGTON POST: THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Dutch Queen Beatrix has postponed a state visit to Oman amid ongoing unrest in the strategic Gulf state.

The monarch had been due to begin a three-day visit to Oman on Sunday, accompanied by heir to the throne Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and his wife, Princess Maxima. >>> The Associated Press | Wednesday, March 02, 2011