News headlines in February 2011, page 4

The ability of the United States to broker a successful Palestinian-Israeli peace agreement will hinge on the future of Israeli-Egyptian relations, a panel of experts at the Palestinian Centre argued here Thursday.

At Mr. Ma’s fruit and vegetable shop, located in a historic hutong alleyway a few blocks from the Lama Temple, the impact of China’s growing inflation is evident. In recent months, the prices of Mr. Ma’s products have soared. Eggs have gone from RMB 7 (6.5 RMB to a dollar) to RMB 10 per kilogram. Tomatoes have almost doubled. Cabbage has tripled.

Burma’s transition from an overt military rule to a civilian administration of retired generals is getting a shot in the arm from a former critic of the junta — the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

In the northwestern Icelandic town of Isafjordur, milk is causing pandemonium. A local milk marketing board recently tested one farm’s milk for the presence of harmful chemicals. Dioxin, and dioxin-like compounds, were found to be present in amounts higher than the recommended maximum levels, threatening the future of local farmers, and angering residents.

Based on their own experience, Luisa García and Jorge Medina, whose farm in Cuba produces a variety of food that feeds them year-round, said they have no doubt that food sovereignty can be achieved in their country and in the rest of Latin America.

In a distinct echo of the tactics they pursued to encourage U.S. intervention in the Balkans and Iraq, a familiar clutch of neo-conservatives appealed Friday for the United States and NATO to 'immediately' prepare military action to help bring down the regime of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and end the violence that is believed to have killed well over a thousand people in the past week.

As the bloodshed of protestors in Libya continues unabated for the eighth day in a row, the White House took its strongest stance against Muammar Gaddafi's regime Friday, announcing that the United States will impose unilateral sanctions and has suspended its embassy operations in the oil-producing country.

Despite heavy protests against Republican Governor Scott Walker's 'Budget Repair Bill', the Republican-controlled State Assembly in Wisconsin abruptly passed the bill - which would strip the labour force of its collective bargaining rights - early Friday morning.

Saudi Arabia has increased oil production to compensate for the fall in output from Libya, as the popular uprising against the regime of Muammar Gaddafi continues to grow in that North African country.

The widespread condemnation of continued military atrocities against civilian demonstrators in Libya over the past week is paving the way for two of the harshest punitive measures against the repressive regime of Muammar el-Gaddafi: expulsion from the Human Rights Council and war crimes charges by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.