Early parliamentary elections in Morocco

Moroccan Interior Minister, Taieb Cherkaoui, announced that his country will hold early parliamentary elections on Nov. 25, following an agreement among the political parties of the kingdom.

The last supply lines of Gaddafi

Rebel fighters in North-Western Libya claimed to have seized two key towns along the last remaining supply lines that connect Tunisia to Tripoli. One of these supply lines enters the Libyan capital from the south, traversing through Gharyan, which rests on the easternmost point of the mountain chain. The other more important route passes through the refinery town of Zawiya along a well-paved coastal road which connects Tripoli to Tunisia. If both these towns (especially the much larger population center of Zawiya) fall under permanent control of rebel forces, Tripoli risks being cut off from its primary sources of fuel. U.N. sanctions bar the export of petroleum products to Libya, and it is primarily the poorly enforced border controls with Tunisia that allow for fuel shipments to enter Gadhafi-held territory. The direct coastal road from Ras Jedir is the primary route. A much more circuitous route does exist, passing from Ghadamis (at the nexus of the Libyan-Tunisia-Algeria border) along the southern rim of the Nafusa Mountains, and then northward through Gharyan, but it is less efficient than the coastal route. With NATO patrolling the skies and waters around Libya, rebel control of the two towns would force the Gadhafi regime to rely almost entirely on its fuel reserves for its energy needs, which, depending on their size, could prove devastating.

Almost daily terrorist attacks in Nigeria

A man was shot dead by Nigerian police on Monday as he drove a car full of explosives, which failed to detonate, into police headquarters in Maiduguri, a northeastern city plagued by almost daily attacks by a radical Islamist sect.

Top Turkish military leaders in court

Gen. Bilgin Balanli, one of the top leaders of the Turkeish military and other senior officers appeared in court on Monday charged with plotting to overthrow the government. The trial has increased tensions between the secularist military and the religiously conservative government.

Turkey continues to supply Libyan rebels with diesel

Turkey continues to ship diesel fuel to Libyan rebels, effectively joining Qatar and trader Vitol in supporting the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi. Turkey is preparing to deliver a third shipment of fuel to the rebels in the East as part of a multi-million dollar deal.
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces fired a Scud missile for the first time since the uprising against his rule began six months ago, but it landed in the desert and injured no one. The missile was fired on Sunday morning from a location about 50 miles (80 km) east of Sirte, Muammar Gaddafi's home town, and landed east of the coastal oil town of Brega.

Relatives of ex-Tunisian President sentenced

Twenty-five relatives of ex-Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his wife, Leila Trabelsi, were sentenced to prison terms ranging between a couple months and six years and also fined a total of 200 million Tunisian dinars ($140 million) for trying to escape Tunisia with money and jewelry.

Shell UK oil leak under control

Shell U.K. Limited confirmed an oil leak 180 kilometers (112 miles) east of Aberdeen, Scotland. More than 130 square kilometers (50 square miles) of sea surface are estimated to be affected and the sheen is moving west. Shell said the leak is under control.

Iran's nuclear power plant to be linked to the national grid

Iranian atomic chief Fereydoun Abbasi Davani said that Bushehr nuclear power plant, built by Russia, will be linked to the national grid in late August, . The plant is expected to reach its full capacity of 1,000 megawatts in November or early December.

Pakistan gave China access to the downed US helicopter

Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence gave China access to the downed helicopter in Abbottabad. Chinese engineers were allowed to survey the wreckage, take photographs and take samples of the stealth technology that allowed the U.S. team to enter Pakistan undetected by radar. Both Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, head of the Pakistani military, and another unnamed senior Pakistani official denied that the Chinese were given access.

Romanian PM visits China

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabo and Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc met in Beijing on August 15 and agreed to expand bilateral investment in infrastructure construction. The Romanian PM is accompanied by several ministers of his cabinet on a 5-day tour of China.