Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad made historic concessions to young protesters on Thursday, in a desperate effort to head off the fate of leaders of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and other targets of “Arab Revolutions,” according to the BBC. Left: Bouthaina Shaaban
Many of the financial problems that have been getting ignored began to reassert themselves this week. Ireland, Greece, Portugal, Spain 10-year bonds, 1/23/2011 Portugal’s government is close to collapse on Wednesday, after the Parliament rejected an austerity (“stability and growth”)
Shortly after Japan experienced its earthquake and tsunami, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the colorful leader of one of Russia’s opposition parties, called on Japanese citizens to migrate from their “dangerous islands,” and move to the unpopulated territories in Russia’s Far East in
Late on Tuesday, France’s president Nicolas Sarkozy announced that he and president Barack Obama had reached an agreement to transfer from the United States to Nato the command of the military campaign in Libya. Libya military action, March 21-22 (BBC)
Israel has vowed to lash back at Hamas, after Hamas reversed a two-year old policy and took credit for launching anti-tank missiles and mortars into southern Israel, according to the Jerusalem Post. Gaza Palestinians demand reconciliation between factions These were
On Saturday, there were two major themes in the news. One: The U.S. took the lead in the military attack on Libya, launching 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles against Gaddafi’s missile and communications sites. Two: U.S. officials stumbled over themselves to
A week ago, the Obama administration had no position on a no-fly zone over Libya. The situation changed rapidly, and by Thursday the administration was in favor, but was working behind the scenes, allowing Britain and France to take the
Libya’s leader Mummar Gaddafi’s televised speech on Thursday, threatening that “the moment of truth had come” for Benghazi, motivated the United Nations Security Council to quickly approve a resolution permitting “all necessary means” to be used to prevent the “slaughter
Muammar Gaddafi’s forces bombarded Benghazi, the stronghold of Libya’s opposition, on Wednesday, and spread leaflets around the city suggesting to residents that they give up the fight against Gaddafi now, according to Reuters. Pro-Gaddafi forces celebrating victory in Ajdabiyah on
Saturday’s massive attack by Yemen’s security forces on unarmed protesters in Sanaa (see “13-Mar-11 News — Police in Yemen fire live bullets on protesters, killing three”), killing two protesters and injuring over 100, is having repercussions in the form of
The Bahrain uprising dramatically escalated on Monday, when 1,000 Saudi troops poured across the King Fahd Causeway into Bahrain to help quell protests by mainly Shia demonstrators, according to Reuters. Bahrain’s population is 2/3 Shia, but the government is led
On Thursday, Libyan authorities sent a Chinese oil tanker back to China without its intended cargo of 2 million barrels of oil, according to Reuters. The ship will go to Algeria instead, to purchase oil there. South China Sea, with
An emergency meeting of the Arab League on Saturday passed a unanimous resolution demanding a no-fly zone over Libya, to protect the civilians in Libya, at the time of a “very bloody situation.” The Telegraph quotes the official statement as
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of Libya’s leader Muammar Gaddafi, said in a television interview by Reuters that the Libyan army has been patient enough with the rebels, and implied that a full-scale assault on the rebels is at hand.
The Arab League feels a “sense of urgency” over violence in Libya, and at its meeting on Saturday, it may call for a “no-fly zone” to protect civilians from air strikes by Muammar Gaddafi’s forces, according to Bloomberg. Nothing in
While the world has been transfixed by the drama in Libya, a violent massacre took place in Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) last week. Laurent Gbagbo, right, and Alassane Ouattara in 2000, before they became bloody enemies. (Reuters) A group of
The conflict in the North Caucasus (Russia’s mostly Muslim southern provinces) has taken a dangerous turn, as a group of grass-root vigilantes threaten, with apparent Kremlin approval, to retaliate against the families of suspected terrorists. Leader of ‘Black Hawks’ The
Georgians are infuriated by the accusation by Alexander Torshin, a senior senator in Russia’s government, that the “ruling regime” of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili perpetrated the suicide terrorist bombing at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport on January 24, killing 37 people, according
World food prices once again rose to fresh historic highs, for the eigth consecutive month. Prices rose 2.2% in one month from January to February, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). FAO Food Price Index – 1991
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has ordered the USS Kearsarge and the USS Ponce – now in the Red Sea – to the Mediterranean, to “provide us with capability for both emergency evacuations and humanitarian operations,” according to the Dept.
In the wake of the turmoil in the Mideast, stock prices in peripheral stock markets have continued to plunge, often by several percentage points in a day. Recent stock market plunges The Cairo stock exchange, which has been shut down
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi continued his defiant rhetoric on Friday, saying that he would “crush any enemy,” according to Reuters. He spoke to thousands of supporters in Tripoli’s Green Square, and threatened to open his military arsenals and make weapons
On Tuesday, attackers armed with rifles killed 18 people in a village just outside of Jos, in central Nigeria. The attackers are believed to be members of the mostly Muslim Fulani ethnic group, according to Reuters. Nigeria, showing major historic
It’s fashionable these days for anyone to compare his political enemies to Hitler. But as I watched Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi give his 75 minute speech on Tuesday on Al-Jazeera, all I could think was that Hitler had been resurrected. Gaddafi
On Saturday, Libya’s armed forced pursued a violent crackdown on unarmed demonstrators in eastern portion of Libya, especially in Benghazi, Bayda and Tobruk. Long convoys of military vehicles fired on demonstrators with high powered weapons. Saif al-Islam Qaddafi, speaking to
