February 24, 2011

NATO VOWS TO STAY OUT OF LIBYAN CONFLICT

Posted by The Himalayan Voice:

[Fogh Rasmussen said Thursday the alliance has received no such requests and that in any case any intervention must be based on a United Nations mandate. He made the comments in Kiev where he was on an official visit meeting with Ukrainian officials.]

ASSOCIATED PRESS

KIEV: NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says the Western military alliance will not intervene in the Libyan conflict.

Fogh Rasmussen said Thursday the alliance has received no such requests and that in any case any intervention must be based on a United Nations mandate. He made the comments in Kiev where he was on an official visit meeting with Ukrainian officials.

Fogh Rasmussen said the events in Libya do not threaten any NATO members, but the conflict could spark a mass refugee crisis.

The popular uprising in Libya has been violently suppressed, leading some to believe the country could be moving toward civil war.


***


POLITICAL UNREST IN NORTH AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST

In the wake of the overthrow of the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt, here is a look at challenges facing other countries across the region.

Libya

LATEST UPDATE
Feb. 23Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi held control of the capital on Wednesday, but there were signs that the fighting had spread to the northwest, around Tripoli. Italy says civilian death toll in Libya is likely over 1,000.Related Article »

ECONOMIC DATA
UNEMPLOYMENT
UNEMP. <25 YRS.
BELOW POVERTY
G.D.P. PER CAPITA
U.S. ECONOMIC AID
U.S. MILITARY AID
10-14%
—
7%
$13,800
$10.70 million
—
IN POWER
Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi
TOOK POWER IN
1969

Bahrain

LATEST UPDATE
Feb. 23King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa visited Saudi Arabia to discuss the unrest in the region. Standard and Poor’s lowered the country’s credit rating this week, the Grand Prix Formula One race was cancelled, many businesses remained closed and tourism was down.Related Article »

ECONOMIC DATA
UNEMPLOYMENT
UNEMP. <25 YRS.
BELOW POVERTY
G.D.P. PER CAPITA
U.S. ECONOMIC AID
U.S. MILITARY AID
5-9%
—
—
$40,400
$0.40 million
$8.70 million
IN POWER
King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa
TOOK POWER IN
1999

Saudi Arabia

LATEST UPDATE
Feb. 23The Saudi government announced a multi-billion dollar aid package for citizens to help them marry, buy homes and start businesses, according to The Associated Press.Related Article »

ECONOMIC DATA
UNEMPLOYMENT
UNEMP. <25 YRS.
BELOW POVERTY
G.D.P. PER CAPITA
U.S. ECONOMIC AID
U.S. MILITARY AID
5.40%
—
—
$24,200
$0.50 million
—
IN POWER
King Abdullah
TOOK POWER IN
2005

Egypt

LATEST UPDATE
Feb. 23About 1,000 police officers protesting a decision to dismiss them set an Interior Ministry building on fire with Molotov cocktails and threw rocks after army soldiers fired into the air, Egyptian security officials said. There were no reports of arrests.

ECONOMIC DATA
UNEMPLOYMENT
UNEMP. <25 YRS.
BELOW POVERTY
G.D.P. PER CAPITA
U.S. ECONOMIC AID
U.S. MILITARY AID
8.90%
49.30%
20.00%
$6,200
$483.20 million
$1,301.00 million
DEPOSED
President Hosni Mubarak
TOOK POWER IN
1981

Algeria

LATEST UPDATE
Feb. 22Algeria formally approved a plan to lift the 19-year state of emergency, but the timing has not been announced, according to The Associated Press.

ECONOMIC DATA
UNEMPLOYMENT
UNEMP. <25 YRS.
BELOW POVERTY
G.D.P. PER CAPITA
U.S. ECONOMIC AID
U.S. MILITARY AID
10%
21.50%
23.00%
$7,400
$11.20 million
$0.90 million
IN POWER
President Abdelaziz Bouteflika
TOOK POWER IN
1999

Jordan

LATEST UPDATE
Feb. 22The Muslim Brotherhood and its political wing, the Islamic Action Front, which had remained out of protests here for two weeks, vowed to head to the streets because the government of King Abdullah II had not made enough of his promised reforms, The Associated Press reported.

ECONOMIC DATA
UNEMPLOYMENT
UNEMP. <25 YRS.
BELOW POVERTY
G.D.P. PER CAPITA
U.S. ECONOMIC AID
U.S. MILITARY AID
11.90%
26%
14.20%
$5,300
$578.20 million
$238.10 million
IN POWER
King Abdullah II
TOOK POWER IN
1999

Yemen

LATEST UPDATE
Feb. 22Two young men were shot dead by government supporters during a protest in front of Sana University, medical workers said. They are the first deaths in clashes between demonstrators in the nearly two weeks since students began calling for the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Related Article »

ECONOMIC DATA
UNEMPLOYMENT
UNEMP. <25 YRS.
BELOW POVERTY
G.D.P. PER CAPITA
U.S. ECONOMIC AID
U.S. MILITARY AID
10-14%
—
45%
$2,600
$171.10 million
$3.80 million
IN POWER
President Ali Abdullah Saleh
TOOK POWER IN
1990

Morocco

LATEST UPDATE
Feb. 21King Mohammed VI said he would not cede to “demagoguery.’’ His remarks came a day after thousands of protesters demanded a new government and a constitutional monarchy. Related Article »

ECONOMIC DATA
UNEMPLOYMENT
UNEMP. <25 YRS.
BELOW POVERTY
G.D.P. PER CAPITA
U.S. ECONOMIC AID
U.S. MILITARY AID
10%
31.80%
15.00%
$4,900
$236.20 million
$7.60 million
IN POWER
King Mohammed VI
TOOK POWER IN
1999

Sudan

LATEST UPDATE
Feb. 21President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who has been in power for more than 20 years and faces international charges of genocide, will not run for office again when his current term ends in 2015, a government spokesman said.Related Article »

ECONOMIC DATA
UNEMPLOYMENT
UNEMP. <25 YRS.
BELOW POVERTY
G.D.P. PER CAPITA
U.S. ECONOMIC AID
U.S. MILITARY AID
18.7%
—
40%
$2,200
$1,174.1 million
$38.7 million
IN POWER
President Omar Hassan al-Bashir
TOOK POWER IN
1989

Tunisia

LATEST UPDATE
Feb. 21The Saudi government announced a multi-billion dollar aid package for citizens to help them marry, buy homes and start businesses, according to The Associated Press.Related Article »

ECONOMIC DATA
UNEMPLOYMENT
UNEMP. <25 YRS.
BELOW POVERTY
G.D.P. PER CAPITA
U.S. ECONOMIC AID
U.S. MILITARY AID
13.00%
—
3.80%
$9,500
$1.90 million
$13.70 million
DEPOSED
President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali
TOOK POWER IN
1987

Iran

LATEST UPDATE
Feb. 21Opposition sources said a student at Shiraz University was killed in clashes with the police, but a semi-official news agency reported that the student died in a car accident.

ECONOMIC DATA
UNEMPLOYMENT
UNEMP. <25 YRS.
BELOW POVERTY
G.D.P. PER CAPITA
U.S. ECONOMIC AID
U.S. MILITARY AID
14.60%
—
18.00%
$11,200
$0.70 million
—
IN POWER
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
TOOK POWER IN
2005

Sources: The countries; Gallup; C.I.A. World Factbook; U.S. A.I.D. (2009 economic and military aid); U.S. Census International Data Base

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