World News Briefs -- March 8, 2011 (Evening Edition)

A Kingdom of Libya flag placed in front of a refinery in Ras Lanuf on March 8. Photo from Radio Free Europe

Libya: Rebels Reject Negotiations With Gaddafi -- The Telegraph

Libyan rebel leaders on Tuesday night rejected the possibility of negotiations with Col Muammar Gaddafi but showed signs of division over how to deal with the regime.

Mustafa Abdel Jalil, leader of the Transitional National Council, said he was giving the Libyan leader 72 hours to leave Libya if he wanted to avoid a future prosecution over crimes committed in office. Meanwhile other spokesmen for the rebels initially gave credence to reports that government negotiators had approached them with an offer that Col Gaddafi would stand down and hand over power to an interim council.

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MIDDLE EAST

Iran forces fire teargas to disperse opposition backers.

Kuwait protesters swell in number, call for PM change.

Bahrain protest leader: anti-monarchy option open.

Reshuffle fails to quell Omani protests.

Netanyahu formulating new peace plan: Source. Palestinians make risky gambit for statehood. Israeli PM: Military must remain in West Bank.

Yemen protests hit Saleh fiefdom, military in Sanaa.

Kuwaiti youth groups plan protests to remove PM.

Barak: Israel may seek additional $20b. in US defense aid.

Iran's Rafsanjani suffers strategic defeat. Iranian opposition backer loses clerical post.

ASIA

Gates sees Afghan progress, warns of fight ahead. Gates says U.S. 'well-positioned' for some troop reductions in Afghanistan in July.

Sri Lanka builds army HQ on Tamil Tiger cemetery.

Charges delayed against CIA contractor in Pakistan.

Amid fears of unrest, China imposes new restrictions on foreign journalists.

China vows to maintain social stability in Xinjiang, Tibet.

Car bomb kills 30 at Pakistan fuel station.

Japan protests over China military incident.

AFRICA

Gadhafi forces hammer rebels on eastern front. Libya no-fly zone calls mount as new battles loom. Gaddafi deploys tanks and hundreds of troops in all-out effort to take Zawiyah. Security Council discusses Libya no-fly zone. Obama, Britain's Cameron press for Gaddafi to leave.

DR Congo Joseph Kabila 'coup bid': Mass arrests.

Christians and Muslims clash in Egyptian capital.

Egypt faces new turmoil: Looted state security files.

Oxfam warns of 'forgotten emergency' in West Africa.

Côte d'Ivoire: AU takes its time as conflict turns into civil war.

EUROPE

'Islam has no place in our country': New German minister sparks immigration row.

Chirac trial postponed till June after appeal.

Serb case highlights slow pace of int'l justice.

Italian police carry out mob crackdown.

France's Marine Le Pen 'would beat Nicolas Sarkozy' in presidential election.

Prince Andrew: Envoy career plagued with controversy. Duchess in debt and still digging.

AMERICAS

Cuban state layoffs move slowly, workers uneasy.

U.S. could tap oil reserves as gasoline price surges.

Haitian officials promise changes before runoff election.

Report says too many whites, men leading U.S. military.

Suspected Colombian rebels kidnap 23 local oil workers.

TERRORISM/THE LONG WAR

US Predators kill 5 in strike in South Waziristan.

Obama creates indefinite detention system for prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.

New Gitmo trials may include 9/11 suspects.

Al Qaeda U.S. recruiting sparked Muslim probe, says lawmaker.

Can Al Qaeda survive the revolts? (commentary)

ECONOMY/FINANCE/BUSINESS

Opec members rush to raise oil output. Price of oil retreats as OPEC mulls raising output.

Will oil spike lead to QE3?

Citi eyes three new Africa markets.

BofA segregates almost half of its mortgages into `bad bank'.

Subway runs past McDonald's chain.

Airbus claims US helped Boeing deal in China.