EGYPT

In a weird twist in the tale, the Egyptian government has approved a law criminalizing strikes and protest marches in the country, raising questions from various quarters whether this was the outcome expected by millions of Egyptians who passionately fought for the ouster of Hosni Mubarak's oppressive regime.

Egypt’s former interior minister, Habib al-Adly, has been charged by a court of contributing to the killing of protesters who demonstrated against the regime of the toppled President, Hosni Mubarak, state media MENA reported.

In spite of the crippling sanctions and an arms embargo approved by the international community, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi continued to show resistance and the possible reason for such confidence could 144 tons of gold that he still controls.

As many as six people were killed by Syrian forces in a mosque in the city of Deraa, a flash point in the unfolding struggle against the Baath party despotism, media reports said on Wednesday.

Oil steadied on Wednesday due to concerns that unrest in Yemen may spill over into neighboring countries in the oil rich Middle East Gulf region, while an expected increase in U.S. crude inventories capped gains prices.

The president of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, has written a lengthy a column in The New Vision newspaper of Uganda in which he condemned the western alliance’s military strikes on Libya. He also proposes a resolution to the Libyan crisis through the auspices of the African Union.

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.

The head of the Arab League said on Monday that the group respected the U.N. resolution authorizing military action in Libya, a day after criticizing the coalition of nations which has been bombing Iraq since Saturday.

Gold prices jumped vs. a falling Dollar at the start of Asian trade on Monday, hitting near-two-week highs for US investors as crude oil also leapt following the weekend's joint UN air strikes on Libya.

Egyptian voters have passed a raft of constitutional amendments by an overwhelming majority, according to official results

The Pentagon expects to hand over control of allied military operations in Libya in a matter of days, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.

The Libyan military called for an immediate cease-fire as allied forces pounded convoys across the country.

British, French and American jets conducted bombing and attack operations over Libya on Sunday to enforce a no-fly zone over the country meant to stop leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces from killing civilians as the Arab League criticized the assault, saying casualties among civilians had occurred nonetheless.

Saudi Arabia's economy is reasonably insulated from the regional turmoil and the central bank has seen no abnormal capital outflows, its governor Muhammad al-Jasser said on Sunday.

UN-sanctioned aerial and naval attacks on Libyan air defense and ground forces at the weekend are likely to see oil prices vault higher this week, overcoming demand-side jitters stemming from Japan's earthquake and Chinese monetary tightening.

French fighter jets have bombed and destroyed a Libyan military target, marking the first act of enforcement of the United Nations mandate to impose a no-fly zone over Libya

The following is United Nations Resolution 1973, as passed by the Security Council on March 17, 2011 by a vote of 10-0, with 5 abstentions.

Turkey has intercepted an Iranian cargo plane flying to Syria, ordering it to land southeastern Turkey on suspicions the aircraft might have been carrying military supplies.

At least two demonstrators have been killed by security forces at an anti-government protest rally in the town of Deraa in southern Syria.

The mastermind behind the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1981, who has been released from prison since the fall of Hosni Mubarak regime, has plans to take part in post-Mubarak political future of Egypt, according to reports.

Crude oil prices rose in Asian trade on Friday, after the United Nations (UN) approved the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya, raising fresh fears over oil exports from the country.