Palash Ghosh

The price of oil crude oil futures touched $100 per barrel for the first time since October 2008 on deepening worries over the political chaos and violence in oil-rich Libya.

The two most powerful members of the European Union (EU), France and Germany, have threatened to strike Libya with sanctions in response to Moammar Gaddafi’s brutal crackdown on protesters. Such sanctions would eventually lead to the cancellation of all economic and business ties between Libya and the EU.

Opposition groups in Egypt are planning a large rally on Friday to protest the high number of Mubarak-connected politicians in the country’s newly-reshuffled cabinet.

The Bahraini authorities – facing a massive anti-government movement – have released at least fifty political prisoners, including 23 Shia activists who had been detained on suspicions of plotting a coup plot.

Tens of thousands of foreign nationals are fleeing Libya as the unrest against Moammar Gaddafi shows no signs of letting up.

The vice around Moammar Gaddafi’s neck is twisting ever tighter.

In an obvious attempt to prevent the kind of anti-government rebellion sweeping across the Middle East, the king of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz, has proposed increased benefits for his subjects, state television reported.

The Persian Gulf kingdom of Qatar has expressed some interest in investing in two major partially-nationalized British banks, Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE: RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE: LYG).

Violence has broken out in Greece as a nationwide general strike against the government’s austerity programs and budget cuts has led to clashes between stone-throwing protesters and police firing tear-gas.

Here are the five counties in the U.S. with the largest number of Asian residents.

The CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX, the index that Wall Street uses to gauge fear among investors, spiked almost 28 percent today, almost entirely to the ongoing turmoil in Libya.

U.S. stocks plunged and oil prices surged on growing fears that Libya may descend into a civil war after Colonel Moammar Gaddafi warned that he would never give up his power and would rather die a “martyr.” The concerns about Libya vastly overshadowed some surprisingly good consumer confidence data in the U.S.

A Chinese man has died playing computer games for three-straight days without sleeping and hardly eating anything, according to China media reports.

One in four counties in the U.S. are ”dying” – meaning, they are recording more deaths than births – according to findings by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Medical device maker Medtronic Inc. (NYSE: MDT) said it plans to lay off up to 2,000 workers in connection with a restructuring program in response to sluggish sales of some of its products.

U.S. stocks are plunging and oil prices are surging on fears over the continued violent unrest in Libya.

The U.S., along with NATO, might invade Libya, claims former Cuban leader Fidel Castro in a column published in state media.

In a bizarre, rambling speech on state TV, Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi refused to resign despite massive anti-government demonstrations tearing across his country demanding an end to his four decades of authoritarian rule.

Submitting to some of the demands of anti-government protesters, the king of Bahrain has ordered the release of some imprisoned political dissidents.

U. S. consumer confidence soared to a three-year high in February, suggesting an economic recovery might actually gain some traction.

A fascinating battle is brewing in the state of Wisconsin between the newly-elected Republican governor and thousands of public sector workers who are outraged over proposals to sharply reduce (or eliminate) the union’s right to collective bargain.

Crude oil prices have surged more than 7 percent this morning in New York trading, reaching as high as $98 per barrel, as the chaos in Libya raised fears of supply disruptions.

Egypt's prosecutor general has requested that both the domestic and foreign assets of Hosni Mubarak and his family be frozen, just ten days after the former President was forced to step down amidst massive protests, according to state TV.

Renewed and intensified fighting in the Libyan capital of Tripoli has led to the deaths of dozens of people, according to media reports, as the noose around Moammar Gaddafi tightens.

While the European Union (EU) nervously monitors the ever-deteriorating situation in Libya, they are also worried about one possible outcome of the unrest there – an acceleration of illegal immigration into Europe from North Africa.

Oil prices have jumped in response to the growing chaos in oil producer and OPEC member Libya and the potential for the escalation of unrest in Iran, OPEC’s second biggest oil producer..

Five people were killed in anti-government protests over the weekend in Morocco, according to the county’s interior ministry.

As anti-government protests sweep across Libya, even entering the once-tranquil capitol of Tripoli, and major foreign oil companies suspend or withdraw operations in the wake of civil unrest, there are many unanswered questions.

In a bizarre and unexpected development, an Israeli magazine reported today that Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi may actually seek refuge in Israel.