1. Gadhafi vows ‘long war’

    The U.S. and European nations targeted Moammar Gadhafi’s forces with airstrikes and dozens of cruise missiles*, shaking the Libyan capital with explosions and the sound of gunfire on early Sunday. The Libyan leader promised a long war “with unlimited patience and deep faith.” State television said 48 people had died in the strikes, which marked the largest international military effort since the Iraq war.

    2. Libya arms embargo planned

    NATO’s top decision-making body approved late on Sunday in Brussels military plan to implement the U.N. arms embargo* on Libya, but failed to agree on a plan for the alliance* to enforce the no-fly zone over the North African country.

    Diplomats said Turkey’s opposition* to any NATO intervention* in Libya stalled* the approval of plans to launch aerial* patrols* over Libya to prevent the government air force from attacking civilian targets, which were drawn up by NATO’s military staff.

    3. Petrol prices reach record high

    Petrol prices have reached a record high amid the unrest* in Libya. Experts warn that costs will climb higher if air strikes damage the country’s oil infrastructure.

    Motoring organizations said the fighting in Libya had already pushed up oil prices, which could jump an additional US$5 a barrel if an oil plant is hit.

    4. Japan disaster

    Japan’s massive earthquake and tsunami could cost its economy up to US$235 billion, or 4 percent of output, and reconstruction could take five years, the World Bank warned on Monday. “If history is any guide, real GDP growth will be negatively affected through mid-2011,” the Bank said in its latest East Asia and Pacific Economic Update report.

    5. Unrest shakes Syria

    Crowds set fire to the headquarters of the ruling Baath Party in the Syrian city of Deraa on Sunday, residents said, as the wave of unrest in the Arab world shook one of its most authoritarian* states.

    The demonstrators also set fire to the main court complex and two phone company branches. One of the firms, Syriatel, is owned by President Bashar al-Assad’s cousin Rami Makhlouf.

    6. Yemen protests

    Yemen’s human rights minister Huda al-Baan said she has resigned in protest from the government and ruling party after at least 52 people were killed in a sniper* attack on demonstrators.

    Baan demanded in a statement on Sunday the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in power since 1978. Baan became the third Yemeni minister to resign these days. Nabil al-Faqih, minister of tourism, resigned on Friday, while Hamoud al-Hattar, minister of religious endowments, resigned earlier last week.

 7. Clinton doesn’t want second term

    U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on last Wednesday she has no desire to continue in the job if U.S. President Barack Obama wins a second term in 2012.

    When Clinton was asked in a CNN interview during a trip to Cairo if she wanted a second stint as America’s top diplomat, she was clear.

    “No,” she answered — and then moved on to rule out* future jobs as defense secretary, vice president or even president of the United States.

    (SD-Agencies)