RUSSIA BILLIONAIRE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD

Moscow is now the billionaire capital of the world
– Fri Mar 11, 9:41 am ET

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian oligarchs are back with a bang, making Moscow the billionaire capital of the world.Profiting from a boom in commodities, the number of billionaires in Russia, most of whom built their empires during the country's anarchic 1990s, grew to 101 from 62 last year, Forbes said in its annual list of the world's richest people.Moscow is home to 79 of Russia's billionaires, more than any other city in the world.Russia accounts for a third of Europe's 300 billionaires, and 15 of the world's 100 richest people, more than all the other so-called BRIC countries combined (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and more than Saudi Arabia.

Leading Russia's billionaires is steel baron Vladimir Lisin. His estimated personal wealth of $24 billion has increased by some $10 billion since last year, moving him up 18 notches to place 14th among the richest.Lisin's worth, and that of many other Russians on the list, has reflected increases and declines in commodity stock valuations and Russia's economy. Oil, metals and other natural resources account for most of the country's budget revenue.Lisin, 54, has seen Novolipetsk Steel, which he controls, return to nearly pre-financial crisis levels.Russia's benchmark commodity-heavy RTS exchange has reversed most of the losses it incurred during the crisis. It crossed the 2,000-point mark earlier this month, far above the 500 points seen in late 2008.Lisin, one of Russia's secretive tycoons, is followed by another metal magnate, Alexei Mordashov, the major shareholder and chief executive of Russia's biggest steelmaker Severstal. Mordashov moved to 29 on the list from 70 a year ago.

He replaced Mikhail Prokhorov, owner of the New Jersey Nets basketball team in the United States, as Russia's second-richest man. Russia's billionaires are known for fantastic displays of wealth that include buying sport teams around the world.
Prokhorov, chief executive of Russia's largest gold miner Polyus Gold, listed by Forbes at No. 32, has an estimated wealth of $18.0 billion, nearly $5 billion more than a year ago.The ranks of Russia's billionaires swelled by 31, second only to China, reaching beyond the metals and energy businesses that have traditionally helped some of their peers achieve billionaire status.Yuri Milner, who started the DST Internet investment company and is featured in Forbes' cover story as The Billionaire Who Friended The Web, placed 1,140 on the list.The full Forbes ranking of the world's billionaires can be seen at www.forbes.com/billionaires.(Writing by Lidia Kelly)

Greece wins concessions in return for mass state sell-off but Ireland rebuffed LEIGH PHILLIPS Today MAR 11,11 @ 04:01 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Greece has won a reduction of 100 basis point - one percent - in the interest rate it pays on its €110 billion loan and an extension of the payment period from the current three years to seven and a half.Ireland was offered a similar reduction, the country's new prime minister said he could not accept the terms demanded.It was impossible to reach a deal for Ireland this evening, Taoiseach Enda Kenny told reporters after an acrimonious seven-hour meeting of eurozone premiers and presidents in Brussels on Friday. I wasn't prepared to contemplate a [common eurozone tax base], he continued, adding that Ireland still intends to be constructive about discussions about EU tax policy as contained in a euro pact agreed by leaders early Saturday morning, but that was as far as Dublin was willing to go.He said that Ireland had been asked to make a reference to our corporate tax rate.Referring to an angry confrontation between Kenny and French President Nicolas Sarkozy over corporate taxes, he said: France has had very strong views on corporate tax rates for quite some time, but then so do I.He said that Ireland unlike Greece had not asked for a loan extension. He insisted: This country wants to pay its way. We seek no evasion of our responsibilities.It will be difficult to continue the discussions, he added, but I am convinced we can find a way.Sarkozy for his part noted that the issue is very sensitive for our Irish friends.

There is a discussion that is progressing in one way or another ... but there is no certainty,he continued, asking for at least a gesture.In return for Greece's concessions, Athens has committed to a detailed fire-sale privatisation programme worth some €50 billion. The country had been pushing for a reduction of two percent on the interest it pays, but the request fell on deaf ears in Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam and Helsinki.A similar 100-basis-point reduction on the rates Ireland pays on its €85 billion loan was also dangled in front of Prime Minister Enda Kenny's nose, but the quid pro quo demanded by core eurozone countries was that Dublin agree to a common tax base for the single-currency area, a move that the taoiseach has described as tax harmonisation through the back door.Ireland refused the deal, but both Kenny and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that discussions on the matter will continue.On 11 February, experts from the troika of the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank took the Athens leadership by surprise when they announced that Greece was to embark on an ambitious privatisation programme worth €50 billion by 2015.The announcement came as something of a shock because at the start of the bail-out programme, the troika had demanded state sell-offs amounting to €1 billion a year from 2011 to 2015, for a total of €5 billion. As recently as the first review of the Greek austerity programme by the troika, little more was demanded from the government.A second review, in December last year, announced that Greek authorities were preparing a more ambitious three-year privatisation strategy than originally agreed, amounting to at least €7 billion over the next three years, following a review of real estate holdings.

The shock €50 billion announcement provoked outrage in Athens.Prime Minister George Papandreou called up IMF boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn and commission economy chief Olli Rehn to complain about what Greek government spokesman George Petalotis had called unnacceptable behaviour.We did not ask anybody to meddle in the internal matters of the country, he said at the time.Athens appears to have eaten some very expensive humble pie however.Papandreou told reporters that he had made no new commitments in terms of privatisation plans and that the €50 billion schedule was already in play.According to an EU diplomat from another core eurozone state, Greece offered up a list of what is to be sold off and it was satisfactory.The emphasis will be on selling off public real estate holdings. According to the conclusions of the eurozone summit, Greece is to fully and speedily complete the €50 privatisation and real estate development programme. IMF analysts note that the country has between €200 and €300 billion in land holdings.The leaders also backed a euro pact aimed at boosting the EU's competitiveness through wage restraint, cutting public spending, making it easier to fire employees and raising retirement ages, amongst other measures.Non-euro EU states, such as Sweden, Denmark, the UK, and Poland, will be invited to join the pact at the European Council of 24-25 March.They agreed that a permanent eurozone rescue fund is to have an overall effective lending capacity of €500 billion and that the funds may as an exception intervene in the primary debt market - meaning purchase of government bonds upon issue - but only alongside the imposition of strict conditionality.While much of the emphasis was on austerity and cuts to the public sector, leaders did back one measure that imposes costs on banks. They said that a financial transaction tax should be explored and developed further at the euro area, EU and international levels.

Euro zone leaders agree to strengthen bailout fund By Jan Strupczewski and Julien Toyer - MAR 11,11

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European leaders agreed on Saturday to strengthen the euro zone bailout fund, make its loans cheaper and lower the interest rate on loans extended to Greece, a move to get on top of the year-long debt crisis.In a bold series of steps that may help to calm some of the pressure in financial markets, the leaders of the 17 countries that share the European single currency said they would increase the guarantees they pay into the European Financial Stability Facility, allowing its capacity to be increased to the full 440 billion euros, from a current level of around 250 billion euros.They also agreed to lower the interest rate and lengthen the maturity on loans extended to Greece, reducing the rate by 100 basis points to bring it into line with IMF lending. The term on the 110 billion euros of EU/IMF loans was lengthened to 7.5 years from three, giving Athens more time to repay.

Pricing of the EFSF should be lowered to better take into account debt sustainability of the recipient countries, Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, told reporters after the summit of the leaders concluded.Any loans made by the EFSF to any new potential applicant country would be in line with IMF rates. The EFSF now charges a 300 basis point penalty fee for its credit and 50 basis point one-off charge.Ireland, which received an 85 billion euro bailout from the EU and IMF last November, could also benefit from the lower interest rates, but it will depend on discussions on a common corporate tax base, which Ireland strongly opposes.Newly elected Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said he had made it clear during more than seven hours of talks that a harmonized EU tax base would be detrimental to Ireland, which has an attractive 12.5 percent corporate tax rate.I made it perfectly clear that the (common consolidated corporate tax base) in my view was harmonization of the tax rates by the back door and this would be very detrimental to Ireland and indeed to Europe, Kenny told reporters.French President Nicolas Sarkozy said a deal on Ireland could still be reached at a summit on March 24/25, when EU leaders will meet to sign off on what they have called a comprehensive package to tackle the debt crisis.In further changes to try to make the EFSF more flexible and better able to stave off pressure in financial markets, the leaders agreed to let the bailout fund buy the bonds of distressed euro zone member states in the primary market.

That will also be the case with the European Stability Mechanism, a permanent facility that will replace the EFSF from mid-2013 and will have an effective lending capacity of 500 billion euros.Financial assistance from the ESM and EFSF will take the form of loans, Van Rompuy said. However, to maximize the cost efficiency of their support, the ESM and the EFSF may also, as an exception, intervene in the debt primary market in the context of a program with strict conditionality.As a further part of their efforts to get on top of a crisis that has engulfed Greece and Ireland and continues to threaten Portugal, the member states agreed that plans should be in place to deal with any bank that demonstrates vulnerabilities in stress tests that will be completed in the coming months.Bad debts in the European banking system continue to undermine efforts to get on top of the broader crisis, exacerbating sovereign debt problems. Many analysts say the sovereign debt crisis cannot be resolved without a solution to the bad banking debts, which could involve debt restructuring.(With additional reporting by James Mackenzie, Luke Baker, Justyna Pawlak, David Brunnstrom, Eva Dou, Ilona Wissenbach and Andreas Rinke)

Euro leaders surprise with crisis deal
By GABRIELE STEINHAUSER, AP Business Writer - MAR 11,11

BRUSSELS – After harrowing late-night negotiations, the leaders of the 17-country eurozone thrashed out a strategy on how to deal with the debt crisis that has crippled the currency union over the past year and already pushed two of its members into multibillion euro bailouts.The region's bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility, will be able to lend the full euro440 billion that it was initially promised, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said in the early hours of Saturday morning.Up to now, the EFSF was only able to lend out about euro250 billion because of several buffers required to get a good credit rating — fanning fears that it would not be big enough to save a large country like Spain.The fund will also be allowed to buy the bonds of governments in financial difficulties on the open market, but only if the respective country is locked into a national bailout program based on strict conditions, Van Rompuy said.That step marks an important expansion in the fund's powers, since buying bonds can help stabilize their prices and a country's funding costs.The leaders also agreed to give Greece more time to repay its euro110 billion bailout, extending the maturity of its loans to seven years from just 3 1/2 years.

The country, which was the first victim of the crisis, will also have to pay less interest. Eurozone leaders decided to lower the rate by 1 percentage point, which should take it down to about an average 4.2 percent.Ireland, the crisis's second victim, did not get the same leniency from the heads of state and government. It will have to wait until another summit on March 24-25 for a decision on the interest rate for its euro67.5 billion bailout, currently at about 5.8 percent.The reason for the holdout on Ireland was the country's refusal to make concessions on its rock-bottom corporate tax rate — long a sore point for France and Germany.Ireland was asked to make a gesture, but we didn't get satisfaction. So the renegotiation of loans that Greece has was not done for Ireland, French President Nicolas Sarkozy told journalists. It's difficult to ask others to help finance a plan but not concern themselves with the tax side, Sarkozy said.Greg Keller and Don Melvin contributed to this report.

MUSLIM NATIONS

EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

DANIEL 11:40-43
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south( EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.

EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

Gulf Arab Ministers Try to Buy Quiet With Aid Dollars
by Gavriel Queenann MAR 11,11

Foreign ministers from the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council pledged $20 billion in financial aid in Bahrain and Oman on Thursday, the Associated Press reports. Growing protests in Bahrain and Oman have shaken the other members of the GCC, raising concerns the political earthquake rocking the Middle East will affect key OPEC members. Global oil prices have already spiked due to unrest.Bahrain and Oman have tried to assuage discontent in their countries through a variety of economic measures, but neither country has the economic muscle or oil wealth of the other GCC members: Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait. According to the UAE foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the two nations will share $10 billion in aid dollars over 10 years.The pledges were made after a meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where King Abdullah answered demands for democratic reform from his own Shiite community with a $36 billion dollar domestic aid package. Even as the GCC made its pledges, Saudi police opened fire to disperse a protest in the mainly Shiite east, leaving at least one man injured.This is a very important message sent to markets inside the region, and globally, that the GCC countries will be unified and will stick together to support those in need, said John Sfakianakis, chief economist with the Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-based Banque Saudi Fransi. They have the commitment and the willingness to do so, and of course, the money.

In addition to discussing aid, the GCC issues a statement warning it would not allow foreign interference in their affairs.The Saudi monarchy is concerned protests in the two small nations could open footholds for Iran and has accused Shiites from outside the county of acting as provocateurs inciting local protests. Other Gulf states already have launched economic measures of their own to ease the potential for unrest. Separately, the United Arab Emirates' $1.55 billion cash infusion to upgrade its electrical grid and water connections in the seven-state federation's less-developed emirates north of Dubai.While sheer size of the financial aid package will be a major boost for Bahrain and Oman's budgets, many foreign experts have expressed doubts over the long-term efficacy of paying for quiet. Madawi Al-Rasheed, a professor of Anthropology of Religion at King’s College London, criticized the Saudi initiative. The monarchy is trying hard to absorb demands for political change and cast them as economic demands - political reform is an urgent matter.
(IsraelNationalNews.com)

Saudis: If Dollars Won't Work, Bullets Will
by Gavriel Queenann MAR 11,11

Saudi police officers opened fire on a protest march in one of its eastern provinces on Thursday, wounding three according to witnesses and a Saudi official, the New York Times reported. The crackdown came on the eve of a panned day of rage throughout the oil-rich kingdom that Saudi officials say they will not tolerate.

Witnesses described the small protest march in the largely Shiite town of Qatif as peaceful, but an Interior Ministry spokesman alleged demonstrators attacked police before officers took the decision to fire, Reuters reported. The spokesman said police fired over the protesters’ heads, but that three people were injured in the melee, including an officer.The clashed underscored growing tensions between Saudi Arabia's Shiite minority, which is demanding greater enfranchisement from a government that officially sanctions Wahabi Islam, a zealous form of Sunni orthodoxy. Mohammad Zaki Al-Khabbaz, a human rights activist in Qatif, said that security forces fired tear gas and shot in the air trying to disperse the crowd.
Abdulwahab Al-Oraid, a Qatif resident who watched the march, said it was unclear why the police opened fire. We think this is a message: Don’t protest in any Shiite areas on Friday, Al-Oraid said. Witnesses could not say whether police fired rubber bullets intended for crowd control or other kinds of ammunition.

Residents across Saudi Arabia report beefed up security on the streets and closed access to major squares in big cities where protesters are expected to gather Friday. Streets are packed with police vehicles, said Mohamad Al-Qahtani, a human rights activist in Riyadh, the capital.I have never seen anything like this. It says that the regime fears its people.Rattled by the protests that have wrought chaos in the Middle East and Africa, brought down regimes in Egypt and Tunisia, led to civil war, and led the monarchs of Jordan and Morocco to scramble for reform, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah previously announced a $37 billion domestic aid package upon his return to the Kingdom.But aid dollars do not appear to have impressed the protest movement in Saudi Arabia and the winds of malcontent continue to blow in Gulf states. On the same day as the Qatif crackdown foreign ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council met in the Saudi capitol of Riyadh to pledge $20 billion in aid for social development programs for Bahrain and Oman, where protests have begun to take hold.Wary eyes in the Gulf are on Iran, the Shiite power-house many believe are behind Shiite protests throughout the region. Saudi government officials have made clear, if dollars will not work, they will take firmer measures. Saudi foreign minister Saud Al-Faisal warned last night the monarchy would, cut off each finger directed toward the kingdom.(IsraelNationalNews.com)

Yemeni President Caves, Proposes Constitional Reform
by Gavriel Queenann MAR 11,11

Breaking with zeitgeist of dollars for quiet embraced by most leaders in the Arab Gulf states, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh pledged on Thursday to bring a new constitution to a vote by the end of the year and transfer government power to an elected parliamentary system, CNN reports.In a nationally broadcast speech, Saleh announced, We have communicated the demands of all the youth demonstrators to the government because they are the future, and the government will fulfill all their demands without strikes, clashes, or chaos, Saleh said in a nationally broadcast speech.The president's plan also called for the creation of a unity government to review new election laws. Saleh, has ruled Yemen for 32 years, refused to step down, but has said he will not run for the presidency again. But the presidents plan has not been well received by the opposition, who have dismissed the initiative as too little, too late, according to the New York Times.It's like someone trying to score a goal from behind the net, Mohammed Qahtan, spokesman for the opposition coalition Joint Meeting Parties. Whatever he does is useless.

The Yemeni Embassy in Washington DC issued a statement expressing the government's disappointment with the opposition's rejection of Saleh's initiative aimed at political and national reconciliation.Protests in Yemen have left at least 30 people dead, according to Amnesty International. The human rights monitoring group urged Yemeni authorities to put an end to deadly night raids and other attacks on protests.
We have credible allegations that thousands of peaceful protesters faced live fire by Yemen's military outside Harf Sufyan and that two unarmed civilians paid with their lives,said Joe Stork, the deputy Middle East director for Human Rights Watch.

Yemenis will not accept what the president said today, human rights advocate Khaled Al-Anesi said. Too many protesters have died and the president is treating this and talking about all this like a storm that will pass. People will continue to protest and more and more will continue to demand his resignation and we won't stop until he is forced to leave office.Domestic and foreign journalists covering local unrest have been both threatened and abused. Al-Arabiya correspondent Jamal Noman was assaulted in Sanaa by a police officer a local journalist told the Committee to Protect Journalists. The following day Al-Jazeera correspondent Ahmad al-Shalafi was threatened on the phone. One caller said his children would be kidnapped if he continued his critical reporting, the committee reported.Yemen's anti-government demonstrations are unfolding in a nation wracked by a Shiite Muslim uprising, a US-aided crackdown on al Qaeda operatives, and a looming shortage of water. The United States expressed quiet concern about Saleh’s death-grip on power, but have not pressured him publicly, perhaps because its primary concern is continued counter-terrorism efforts in an increasingly precarious country.Saleh's sudden and uncharacteristic embrace of reforms comes as protests mount in the face of continued attempts by the Yemeni government to crack down, and may prove to be a portent of things to come for Saudi officials who launched their own crackdown today. (IsraelNationalNews.com)

Expert: Libya Could Become the Next Somalia
by Maayana Miskin MAR 11,11

Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi is likely to defeat rebel troops pushing for his ouster, United States Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told the Senate on Thursday. Qaddafi's superior military technology will ultimately bring him victory, he said.If Qaddafi does not win, Libya is likely to split into two or three parts, he said, creating a Somalia-like situation. Senators were concerned by the possibility, which they said would be a disaster for America.Somalia has had little central government control for two decades, and is one of the poorest countries on earth. The region remains torn by violence.The Obama administration publicly disagreed with Clapper, telling reporters that his assessment was static and unidimentional and had not taken U.S. or European diplomatic efforts into consideration.We've isolated Qaddafi and denied him resources. We're ensuring accountability, building international support and building capabilities to assist the Libyan people, said National Security Advisor Thomas Donilan.However, Defense Intelligence Agency head, General Ronald Burgess, agreed with Clapper. We have now reached a state of equilibrium where... the initiative, if you will, may be on the regime side,he said.The U.S. has announced plans to send civilian humanitarian aid groups into parts of Libya now held by rebel troops. Senators hope to help Egypt and Tunisia as well.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced Thursday that America would suspend its relationship with the Libyan embassy in Washington, DC. France went further, becoming the first country to recognize Libyan rebels as the legitimate ruling power.German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed surprise at the French decision and was quoted as saying, This is not a recognition in international law.(IsraelNationalNews.com)

Chavez says US, allies preparing for war in Libya By JORGE RUEDA, Associated Press - MAR 11,11

CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned Friday that it would be madness for the United States and its NATO allies to go to war in Libya to try to topple Moammar Gadhafi.Chavez, a friend and ally of Gadhafi, criticized President Barack Obama for expressing support for the Libyan opposition.Right now they are preparing a war, the Yankees and their NATO allies, Chavez said in a televised speech.He predicted a larger war in Libya could push world oil prices to $200 a barrel, and he echoed Gadhafi's warnings that a foreign military intervention would unleash much more bloodshed.If the Yankees (attempt) the madness of invading Libya — Gadhafi already said it a few days ago — it would be a new Vietnam, Chavez said.

The Venezuelan president has proposed forming a humanitarian commission to travel to Libya to seek a peaceful resolution to the conflict.His stance has been echoed by Latin American allies including Cuba, Ecuador and Bolivia. But other countries have dismissed Chavez's mediation idea, and rebels in Libya have not expressed willingness to negotiate as long as Gadhafi remains in power.Obama said Friday in Washington that the U.S. and the world community are slowly tightening the noose on Gadhafi. It was not clear what next steps Obama might be willing to take, but he said he was considering all options, including military efforts with NATO partners.
Today I saw Obama, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, saying that he's concerned about the price of oil, Chavez said.Chavez has accused the U.S. of maneuvering to seize control of Libya's oil. He said he believes events in Libya are being distorted to lay the groundwork for a conflict, and likened it to the situation in Venezuela in 2002 when he survived a failed coup.In its desperation, the Yankee empire is continuing and will continue to threaten nations that struggle for their dignity ... conspiring against governments, Chavez said.He said his proposal for a peace effort would respect the self-determination and freedom of Libya, which is a sister nation.
As for the conflict raging in Libya, Chavez said: That's a matter the Libyans should resolve.

Oil falls on Japan quake By Robert Gibbons – Fri Mar 11, 5:26 pm ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil prices fell on Friday after a massive earthquake shook Japan, shutting refineries and other industrial facilities in the world's third-largest oil consumer and triggering a broader sell-off in commodities.Muted protests in Saudi Arabia contributed to the sell-off by investors who had been spooked by plans for day of rage demonstrations in the world's top oil exporter. Funds have bailed out of oil markets for the past several days after lifting their positions to a record high as of Tuesday.U.S. heating oil and gasoline futures held up better than crude, receiving support from expectations that Japan will require more fuel imports after the quake and tsunami affected about a fifth of its capacity.Brent crude futures for April delivery fell $1.59 to settle at $113.84 a barrel, losing 1.8 percent on the week, the first loss in seven weeks and biggest since November.

U.S. crude futures for April delivery fell $1.54 to settle at $101.16 a barrel, off a low of $99.01. It fell 3.12 percent on the week, its first weekly loss in four. Trading volume was light, however, at about 670,000 lots, nearly a third below the average of the past month.The U.S. front-month heating oil crack spread, or refining profit margin, rose $1.21 to $26.39 a barrel at 4:45 p.m. EST, while the gasoline crack spread rose 67 cents to $24.79.From an oil pricing perspective, the situation in Japan is likely to result in a negative impact on crude oil prices and a positive for refined products, said Dominick Chirichella, senior partner at the Energy Management Institute in New York.Japan was hit by a magnitude 8.9 earthquake, the largest since observations began in the late 19th century.Top Japanese refiner JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp (JXHLY.PK) halted operations at three plants and fire engulfed a storage tank at a unit of Cosmo Oil Co (5007.T).

MIDDLE EAST PROTESTS

The Japanese quake triggered across-the-board selling in commodities as funds who had piled into markets that were at or near record highs took profits in the face of uncertainty.Speculators' net-long positions in U.S. crude futures rose to a record high in the week to March 8, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said in a report on Friday.Traders also pared positions on signs that a security clampdown in Saudi Arabia's capital kept a lid on a planned protest, even as demonstrations and unrest continued to rumble in nearby Kuwait, Bahrain and Yemen.Fighting continued in OPEC-member Libya. Rebels repelled a counter-offensive by leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces, but appealed to foreign powers to impose a no-fly zone to stop further attacks. Most analysts have now written off any chance of a quick return of Libyan production.

CHINA, U.S. ECONOMIC DATA

Even with the focus on Japan, the Middle East and North Africa, brokers and analysts said oil prices felt pressure from news that Chinese inflation topped expectations in February, possibly triggering more monetary tightening that could dampen oil demand in the world's No. 2 oil consumer.Rising gasoline prices pushed U.S. consumer sentiment to its lowest level in five months in early March, a Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan survey showed.A separate report showed that U.S. retail sales posted their largest gain in four months in February.(Additional reporting by Gene Ramos and Janet McGurty in New York, Ikuko Kurahone in London and Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy and David Gregorio)

Five Israelis killed in West Bank attack - Isreali military
- MAR 11,11

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – A Palestinian infiltrator killed five Israelis in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank early Saturday, an Israeli military spokeswoman said.
Israeli media said the attacker broke into a house in the settlement of Itamar overnight and stabbed to death a couple and three children, including a baby, from the same family.Five civilians were killed in this terrorist attack, the spokeswoman said.She said troops were searching for the attacker in the area around Itamar, which is near the Palestinian city of Nablus. She gave no further details.(Writing by Ari Rabinovitch; editing by Andrew Dobbie)