United Nations

Gates: “no unanimity within NATO for the use of armed force”

By Ewen MacAskill and Julian Borger, the Guardian

From Ewen MacAskill and Julian Borger, the Guardian:  Despite the rhetoric of the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, in backing a no-fly zone, French Nato officials are averse to the alliance’s intervention in north Africa, arguing it would discredit the pro-democracy movement and provide an opening for Islamist extremists to exploit the turmoil and declare an […]

Obama and Canadian PM coordinate response to Libyan crisis

By the White House

From the White House:  Readout of President Obama’s Call with Canadian Prime Minister Harper

Obama and Canadian PM coordinate response to Libyan crisis

By the White House

From the White House:  Readout of President Obama’s Call with Canadian Prime Minister Harper

Obama and Canadian PM coordinate response to Libyan crisis

By the White House

From the White House:  Readout of President Obama’s Call with Canadian Prime Minister Harper

Obama tells Merkel that Gaddafi needs to leave

By the White House

From the White House:  Readout of President Obama’s Call with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany

Italy’s treaty with Libya may impede cooperation with NATO and EU

By Christopher Emsden, the Wall Street Journal

From Christopher Emsden, the Wall Street Journal:  As is well known, Italy and Libya signed a Treaty on Friendship in Benghazi in the summer of 2008, and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi rolled out the red carpet for [Col. Moammar] Gadhafi’s visit to Rome last year, even allowing the Libyan leader to openly proselytize a selected […]

Proposals and disagreement over NATO meeting on Libya

By Slobodan Lekic, the AP

From Slobodan Lekic, the AP:  Before the North Atlantic Council meeting began Friday afternoon, Spain said it will propose that NATO deploy radar-equipped surveillance aircraft known as known as AWACS off Libya’s coast to monitor the situation.

UK urges pressure on Gaddafi, EU weighs intervention

By Adrian Croft and Justyna Pawlak, Reuters

Spain: 5 dead, 3 injured in military academy blast

By the AP

From the AP:  A powerful explosion at a Spanish military academy killed five soldiers and wounded three others on Thursday when a bomb disposal drill went awry, the Defense Ministry said.

International naval forces unable to stop spread of Somali piracy

By the Economist

From the Economist:  According to the International Maritime Bureau, which posts live data on raids, Somali pirates hold 33 vessels and 758 hostages. In January alone the bureau recorded 35 attacks. The raiders took seven ships and 148 new hostages.