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QATAR: Libya's Kadafi bashes Saudi king at Doha summit

As usual, Libyan leader raised eyebrows Monday with his incendiary but hilarious remarks at the Arab summit in Doha.

As the Emir of host Qatar welcomed Saudi King Abdullah ibn Abdulaziz al Saud, Libyan President Moammar Kadafi interrupted him addressing the Saudi king, saying:

"I seize the opportunity to tell my brother Abdullah, you have been evasive and scared of confrontation for six years. I want to assure you today not to be scared. I am telling you after six years it was proved that lies stand behind you and your grave awaits you. You were created by Britain and protected by the U.S. I consider the personal issue that lasted between you and me is over and I am ready to visit you as well as receive you."

LIBYA: Fighting in southeast spreads, report says

The daily Arab-language newspaper Asharq al-Awsat is reporting that the riots and fighting in southeastern Libya that began last week and left at least 11 people dead has spread to the country's second-largest city, Benghazi.

According to the report, which cites opposition groups and anonymous individuals inside Libya, the fighting between the Tabu tribe and security forces that began in the cluster of oasis towns near Kufrah, "is spreading to other nearby cities despite all the security measures the government is imposing."

A group of men engaged in street battles with police in the cities of al-Salmani and al-Majuri in support of Kufrah residents, the Nov. 10 report said.

A letter distributed by an opposition group said that some opponents of Libyan leader Muammar Kadafi are preparing "to launch a series of public demonstrations."

This is all hard to confirm. A report in the Media Line describes the challenge succinctly:

The reports are hard to authenticate because of the closed and secretive nature of the Libyan regime. Reports of the clashes have largely been leaked by bloggers and opposition groups.

EGYPT: The confusing fate of kidnapped tourists

The fate of 11 Europeans and eight Egyptians kidnapped by masked bandits is unfolding amid sharp rocks and painted caves in a Sahara desert that is at once sparsely majestic and disorientating -- much like the information released about the hostages by the Egyptian government.

In a confusing swirl of developments in recent days, the tourists were reported kidnapped, then freed, then not freed. The latest is that the German government is negotiating to release five Germans, five Italians, one Romanian and eight Egyptians who were snatched Friday near Gilf Al-Kebir in remote southwest Egypt.

“The location of the kidnappers has been pinpointed. It’s a no-man’s land between the Sudan, Libya and Egypt borders,” Boutros Sadiq, Sudan’s undersecretary of foreign affairs told journalists Tuesday. “We are not going to have an operation that harms the tourists.”

LIBYA: Making Italians pay $5 billion for their colonial past

Is Italy really trying to clear its conscience for its colonial past? Last weekend, the Italian government made a generous offer to Libya to redeem itself for decades of military occupation.

According to the terms of a "friendship and cooperation" deal sealed Saturday between the European country and the oil-rich North African nation, Italy will invest $200 million a year during the next 25 years in infrastructure projects in Libya. The deal also calls for student grants and pensions for Libyan soldiers who served alongside Italians during World War II.

Other European nations with colonial pasts, including France, Britain and the Netherlands, carry out developmental projects in African and Asian countries they once colonized.

But Italy made a point of framing its assistance to Libya as an apology for colonizing the country in the 1930s before it won its independence in 1951.

As he signed the accord, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi told reporters during a visit Saturday to the second-largest Libyan city, Benghazi:

This agreement should put an end to 40 years of discord. It is a concrete and moral acknowledgment of the damage inflicted on Libya by Italy during the colonial era.

LIBYA: Kadafi said Iran will face "military humiliation"

From the man who gave up his own nuclear ambitions to the West came a rebuke of Iran for refusing to bow to  international pressure.

Libyan leader Col. Moammar Kadafi  described as “arrogance” Iran’s turning a deaf ear to a pack of incentives offered by the West in exchange for shutting down critical parts of its nuclear program.

Kadafi went on to warn the Islamic Republic that it may face the same military humiliation as Iraq.

He said during a visit to neighboring Tunisia on Tuesday:

What Iran is doing stems simply from arrogance. ... In the event of a decision against Iran, this country will suffer the same outcome as Iraq. ... Iran is not any stronger than Iraq and won't have the means to resist (a military attack) on its own. ... The challenges are greater and exceed Iran's ability to reply.

LIBYA: Gaddafi son's arrest leads to oil embargo on Swiss

Libya does not react lightly to authorities in another country getting in the way of its leader’s son.

The brief detention by the Swiss police of the youngest son of Muammar Gaddafi, Hannibal, last week for allegedly beating two of his servants in a luxury hotel has sparked a serious international row between Switzerland and the North African nation.

Libya decided Thursday to cut its oil shipments to Switzerland as a result. The state-run shipping company threatened to take more actions against the Swiss if they do not apologize for the arrest.