ALGERIA

Moammar Gaddafi has sent U.S. President Barack Obama a three-page letter in which he asked the western coalition to stop bombing Libya.

Angelina Jolie, who is in Tunisia doing charity work, appeared with a new tattoo on her left arm.

A senior security official in Algeria claims that the Al Qaeda terrorist organization is taking advantage of the turmoil in Libya to purchase weapons, according to Reuters.

Schlumberger Ltd , the world's largest oilfield services company, expects turmoil in the Middle East and Africa to knock 8 to 10 cents per share off first-quarter profit, Chief Executive Andrew Gould said on Monday.

The World Bank is rethinking its role in the Middle East and North Africa to tackle economic and social problems that sparked political unrest, the bank's President Robert Zoellick said on Monday.

Oil rose 2 percent on Wednesday as escalating violence in the Middle East raised concerns about crude supplies, countering the wave of risk aversion sparked earlier this week by Japan's nuclear crisis.

Even as calls for the intervention of the U.S. and the western forces in the Libyan crisis gained momentum, besieged Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has said there is a foreign plot to colonize his country.

Members of oil cartel OPEC are joining Saudi Arabia in raising output to cool soaring prices and allay fears of a supply crunch in the West, the Financial Times newspaper reported on Tuesday.

OPEC member Algeria is concerned about Libyan supply disruptions but sees no physical crude oil shortages globally, the country's oil minister said on Monday.

There are no good outcomes, only bad, really bad, and catastrophic. Take your pick. Could gas prices drop below $3.00 per gallon if the world sinks back into recession? Yes. But it would only be momentary. The easy to access supply is dwindling. The medium and long term direction of gas at the pump is up. There is nothing that can be done in the next five years to prevent significantly higher oil prices.

For most outsiders, Libya means just two things: oil and Moammar Gaddafi. But Libya is much more than that.

Global food prices hit a record high in February, the United Nations said Thursday, warning that fresh oil price spikes and stockpiling by importers keen to head off popular unrest would hit already volatile cereal markets.

The United Nations (UN) has warned that up to100,000 African migrants may seek to escape strife-torn Libya and cross into poverty-stricken Niger in the next few weeks, fearing they may be killed by anti-Gaddafi Libyans who believe they are mercenaries.

Consultants hired by Algeria to value Orascom Telecom's local mobile phone unit are scheduled to complete their work by the end of May, Algerian telecommunications minister Moussa Benhamadi told Reuters.

President Barack Obama commended Algeria for formally lifting its state of emergency that has been in place for 19 years.

Political leaders around the world have almost universally condemned the government of Moammar Gaddafi for its brutal crackdown against anti-government protesters. At least 3000 people have died in the bloodshed that appears to be getting worse by the day.

Gold held near $1,400 an ounce in Europe on Friday, supported by interest in the metal as a haven from risk as violence flared in Libya, but struggled to maintain traction as some investors cashed in this week's hefty gains.

As promised, the president of Algeria Abdelaziz Bouteflika has officially lifted a 19-year-old state of emergency, one of the principal demands issued anti-government forces.

Commodity analysts at Nomura Holdings Inc. said. Brent crude prices could double to $220 per barrel in the coming weeks if Libya descends into an all-out civil war and further shuts down oil production in the country.

President Barack Obama termed the Gaddafi's crackdown on protestors in Libya as outrageous and unacceptable and is looking at the full range of options to respond to the crisis.

Algeria's cabinet on Tuesday adopted an order to lift the 19-year-old state of emergency, a concession designed to keep out a wave of protests sweeping the Arab world.