UN resolution ‘aggressive’ says Tripoli
Tripoli says the UN decision to back a no-fly zone over the country is an invitation for “Libyans to kill each other.” The Libyan army says it will surround, but not enter the city of Benghazi. It is reported that Gaddafi’s forces plan to send in snatch squads to disarm rebels. State media say military operations will cease on Sunday to allow opposition forces to hand over weapons under a general amnesty. Khaled Kaim, the country’s deputy foreign minister, said: “Actually regarding the ceasefire we told the Secretary General of the United Nations that the armed forces, that we are ready immediately to do that, but we need to talk to someone to talk about the technicalities of this decision.” Do you agree with the UN resolution authorising military action in Libya? A Javascript enabled browser that accepts cookies is required in order to participate in the poll. yes (52%)  no (45%)  i don't know (3%)  // pollTS[0]) { pollTS = cookie; cValid = true; }; }; warning.parentNode.removeChild(warning); if(cookie && cValid) { for(var i = 1; i < pollTS.length; i++) { votes += parseInt(pollTS[i], 10) || 0; }; var total = 0; for(var i = 1; i < pollTS.length; i++) { per = pollTS[i] > 0 ? Math.round(pollTS[i] / (votes / 100)) : 0; if(total + per > 100) { per = 100 - total; total = 100; } else { total += per; }; output[output.length] = '' + questions[i - 1] + ' (' + per + '%) '; }; pollHTML += "" + output.join("") + ""; }; if(!cookie) { pollHTML = ' yes no i don’t know'; }; if(pollHTML) { content.innerHTML = pollHTML; }; })();// ]]>

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No-fly zone ‘necessary to avoid more bloodshed’
The European Union has welcomed the UN resolution, and says it is ready to put it into practice. But diplomats say there are no plans for the EU itself to take part in any bombing, or operations to impose a no-fly zone. Among individual countries, Britain might do so, although it is not saying when action might take place. It has poured cold water on suggestions that planes could strike “within hours”. “It is necessary to take these measures to avoid greater bloodshed, to try to stop what is happening in terms of civilians on the people of Libya,” said the UK’s Foreign Secretary, William Hague. Italy has said it is ready to make its military bases available to enforce a no-fly zone. But the EU is not united. Germany’s opposition to military intervention has brought warnings of isolation – and some unwelcome praise from Colonel Gaddafi. By abstaining, Berlin has broken ranks with London and Paris. The German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle has said the country did so because it saw “considerable dangers and risks” in military action.

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Masculine mannequins in Milan
There has been a flurry of women’s autumn-winter collections at Milan Fashion Week with a decidedly masculine tone. But there were also some futuristic touches, and a taste of British elegance.

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Seeing is believing: DIY glasses bring sight to thousands
These people in Malawi are queuing up to try on glasses that they can adjust themselves to suit their own eyesight. This means there is no need to see an optician.

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Oil prices slip on Libyan peace efforts
Oil prices came off their recent highs on Thursday after Venezuela said its proposal for a negotiated solution to the Libyan conflict was accepted by the North African government the Arab League said it was under consideration. But a leader of the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi’s rule said he would reject any plan for talks with Gaddafi and analysts and traders remained sceptical over the prospect of any immediate end to fighting. Industry officials have estimated the anti-Gaddafi uprising has reduced Libya’s oil production by around half as most foreign oil workers had fled. In the key oil port of Brega, euronews correspondent Francesca Cicardi said attacks continue: “This morning (Thursday) Gaddafi’s people bombed around the oil terminal, but not the installations themselves as that could cause major explosions which would be very dangerous. That’s why it is safe in this area. We’re told that the terminal is not operating at the moment.” Analysts said they were worried about damage to Libya’s oil infrastructure as a result of the fighting and they remain focused on the possibility of the unrest spreading to places like Algeria or even Saudi Arabia.

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Protests grow in Yemen
Hundreds of anti-government demonstrators have marched through the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, to call on President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down. Witnesses said police fired shots in the air but it remains unclear if they made any arrests. It marks the fourth day of protests against Saleh’s 32-year rule. He says he will quit in 2013 but has broken similar promises in the past. The protesters also accuse him of failing to tackle unemployment and improve living standards. Yemen is the Arab world’s most impoverished country. Over 40 percent of its citizens live on less than one and a half euros a day. There were a handful of pro-Saleh demonstrators, who fought the protesters near Sanaa’s Al-Tahrir Square. Human Rights Watch says the Yemeni government has hired armed mobs in a bid to quell the unrest.

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Diplomatic and military pressure builds against Gaddafi
The international response to the Libyan crisis is becoming a two pronged attack – on one hand diplomatic pressure has been intensified, with the United Nations unanimously suspending Libya’s membership of the UN’s Human Rights Council. Read our news file United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon told the Assembly: “The world has spoken with one voice: we demand an immediate end to the violence against civilians and full respect for their fundamental human rights, including those of peaceful assembly and free speech.” The other approach is a flexing of military muscle by both NATO and the US due to fears that this – the most violent of the recent Arab revolts – may grow bloodier if Gaddafi doesn’t soon quit. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking to the House of Foreign Affairs Committee, said: “We have also with NATO allies and with the Pentagon begun to look at potential planning, preparedness in the event that we feel it’s necessary for both humanitarian and other reasons that there would have to be actions taken. One of those actions that is under review is a no-fly zone.” Three US military ships have now passed through the Suez Canal towards the Libyan coast. As yet their deployment is only for a possible humanitarian effort, but that could change.

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New Zealand quake toll rises as hopes fade for survivors
In New Zealand a fresh attempt is being made to find survivors from Tuesday’s deadly earthquake in Christchurch. A team from Britain is joining others from Australia, Japan, the United States and Taiwan in search and rescue efforts. But cold weather is dimming hopes of finding any more people alive. Much of the country’s second largest city resembles a war zone. It is now known that 113 people died but that figure is expected to rise with more than 200 others still missing. A return to normality is too far off to envisage for many but some have been trying to resume their lives. Earthquake survivor Emma Howard escaped unharmed from a collapsed building after being trapped for six hours and was able to wed her fianc?� Chris Greenslade as planned.

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Italy calls for EU to share migrant burden
Italy is urging other European countries to take a greater share of the immigrants pouring across from North Africa. The tiny island of Lampedusa is just south of Sicily. It is only 150 kilometres from the Tunisian coast and has borne the brunt of the flood of refugees. The government says 15 thousand have entered Italy since the start of the year and numbers have surged as the turmoil in North Africa grows. Locals complain bitterly of being abandoned by Rome. One women told reporters that locals are not angry with the refugees as it is not their fault, but they are angry with the government who do nothing. That anger has spilled over into protest, as inhabitants fathered on the dock to prevent the unloading of a ship carrying equipment to build a tent city to house the refugees. It is now estimated migrants outnumber the Italian inhabitants of Lampedusa.

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Japanese elderly bear brunt of tsunami’s force
Katsuo Maiya is 73 and his wife Masako 67. They are looking for her 71-year-old sister Taeko Kanno and Kanno’s husband. They rushed from their home in the hills when the tsunami surged into Rikuzentakata, only to find the town had become a muddy wasteland with barely a building standing. It is obvious from their faces and body language, as well as the devastation, that there is no hope of finding them alive. The missing couple were spotted trying to flee the wave on foot, but they were too slow to keep up with their neighbours. The earthquake and tsunami took their heaviest toll among the elderly. Many survivors are still in danger, even those in temporary shelters. Doctors have seen cases of hypothermia, serious dehydration and respiratory diseases. Kenji Furuuchi, 55, an official from the town of Kawaguchi, drove mostly elderly villagers to an evacuation facility in Koriyama. “Some have been in shelters for a rather long time, four or five days,” he said, “and I think they are getting tired. And now quite a lot of fatigue awaits them at this one.” Almost a quarter of Japan’s population is aged 65 or over. Many of the small coastal towns hit by the tsunami had long suffered from an exodus of young people to the cities. In the large gyms and other shelters there is little food and sometimes no running water. One official said the authorities simply lacked the means to provide good care.

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