Rebels seize mountain towns in West Libya

LIBYAN rebels have forced government troops from three western towns and broken the siege on another, a rebel commander said as NATO pounded 10 targets across the country.Friday's heavy bombing and rebel victories, plus the first publicised diplomatic contact between China and the rebel leadership, reflect the continued erosion of Muammar Gaddafi's power since the eruption in mid-February of uprisings to end his 42-year rule.Local fighters won control of four towns in the western Nafusa mountain range, where government forces have besieged and randomly shelled rebel-held areas for months, a rebel military leader said on Friday.After weeks of...

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Obama: Automakers inspire in face of 'headwinds'

Distancing himself from new economic sputters, President Barack Obama on Saturday declared that recent "headwinds" were the result of high gasoline prices, Japan's disastrous earthquake and jitters over a European fiscal crisis. He cited the U.S. auto industry's resurgence as an inspiration for a broader recovery."We're a people who don't give up, who do big things, who shape our own destiny," the president said in his weekly radio and Internet address.The message was taped Friday during Obama's visit to a Chrysler plant in Toledo, Ohio. And the address was hardly different than the remarks he offered to about 350 Chrysler workers.The White House...

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In Ohio, Obama defends policies in face of disappointing jobs report

President Obama on Friday strongly defended his policies, especially the federal bailout of the auto industry, and pledged to fight to improve the economy, which still faces challenges to recover from a grueling recession that he inherited.Speaking at a Chrysler plant in Toledo, Ohio, the president indirectly noted the poor jobs report that was released earlier in the day. The unemployment rate rose to 9.1% in May, but even more striking, the net increase in jobs was just 54,000, a relatively lackluster number.RELATEDWhere's Newt? Post-announcement vacation raises questionsJohn Edwards pleads not guilty: 'I did not break the law'Linked in: Obama...

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Match Review: FC Barcelona 3-1 Manchester United

Tonight, football fans from all corners of the globe faced towards Wembley, the Mecca of the beautiful game, and prayed. Barcelona vs Manchester United was the dream final, however only one team’s dreams could come true. Both sides tasted domestic league success this season which would be no mean consolation prize, however, a defeat for either team would prove a bitter pill to swallow having come so close to glory. Barcelona arrived as slight favourites having endured arguably the rockier road to London. While the Catalans survived stern challenges from Arsenal and Real Madrid en route to Wembley, United made short work of Chelsea and...

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Zonal Marking: Iniesta will be the key to a Barcelona victory Read more: http://www.totalbarca.com/2011/opinion-pieces/zonal-marking-iniesta-will-be-

Michael Cox at Zonal Marking has laid out his tactical preview of Saturday’s contest. His conclusion: Iniesta’s performance will be the key to the match. Of course, he had much more to say; read on for details!Cox has emerged as one of the most astute tactical analysts of the game, and Zonal Marking has featured an extensive retrospective on the 2009 encounter between Barcelona and United, in addition to a preview of the match to come. In that preview, Cox lays out what he believes are the keys to victory.What will the United attack force look like? Will Javier Hernandez start the match, or will he be initially sacrificed for a more complete...

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Champions League Match Preview: FC Barcelona vs Manchester United Read more: http://www.totalbarca.com/2011/matches/champions-league-match-preview-fc

Wembley; the name stirs memories of greatness in the hearts of Culés of a certain age. Cruyff pacing pensively on the touchline in his dapper raincoat, Koeman’s immaculate strike. Nuñez taking a celebratory midnight dip in the Thames. For Catalans and Manchunians of the red persuasion, the brilliant white towers of the old Wembley recall each team’s first taste of glory on the European stage. Twenty-four years separate these two events, but for both teams ’68 and ’92 (respectively) represented the culmination of each club’s determined drive to be crowned champions of Europe. FC Barcelona face Manchester United this Saturday evening in...

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From Manchester With Love, Finale

In case you missed the previous editions, here is an introduction to this new series: Similar to our former group of posts “From London With Love”, this series of articles provides weekly coverage of what is going on in the land of our UEFA Champions League rival and co-finalist, Manchester United. Every week, guest writer (and a friend of our own writer, Hady) Hasan Noureldin, who happens to be an avid Liverpool and English Premier League fan, will be covering what’s happening in the stadium of dreams – Old Trafford – in Manchester.From match details to internal club and transfer issues, this is a chance to look at the upcoming encounter...

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From Manchester With Love, Part 2

In case you missed the first edition, here is an introduction to this new series: Similar to our former group of posts “From London With Love”, this series of articles provides weekly coverage of what is going on in the land of our next UEFA Champions League rival and co-finalist, Manchester United. Every week, guest writer (and a friend of our own writer, Hady) Hasan Noureldin, who happens to be an avid Liverpool and English Premier League fan, will be covering what’s happening in the stadium of dreams – Old Trafford – in Manchester.From match details to internal club and transfer issues, this is a chance to look at the upcoming encounter...

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Dollar falls after poor economic data

NEW YORK (AFP) – The euro rose against the dollar on Friday after another set of weak US economic indicators but was held back by persistent concerns over a possible Greek debt default, dealers said. The euro climbed to $1.4317 by 2100 GMT from $1.4141 in New York late Thursday. The dollar fell to 80.77 yen from 81.29 yen on Thursday. The dollar began falling on Thursday after a report showed US jobless claims rose after two weeks of declines. Washington also left unrevised its estimate of first-quarter economic growth at a tepid 1.8 percent. Most analysts had expected a rise...

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Four-week losing streak on US markets

NEW YORK (AFP) – US stocks ended down Friday for the fourth week in a row with trade dulled by disappointing economic data and investors looking ahead to the long Memorial Day holiday weekend. A range of unimpressive figures on GDP growth, the housing industry, industrial production and job layoffs kept optimism in check, although stronger commodity prices helped oil, mining and farm shares keep the markets from dropping harder. "Ahead of a long weekend, it is rare that investors make any important moves," said said Evariste Lefeuvre of Natixis. The Dow Jones Industrial...

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Obama has European 'bounce' in his step

WARSAW (AFP) – US President Barack Obama has left Europe telling Americans that despite budget-busting economic blight, they must not cede their role as a promoter and guarantor of global freedom. Obama ended a six-day tour of Ireland, Britain, France and Poland, reflecting on modern Europe's historic political torment and subsequent rise, and its lessons for the turmoil ripping across the Arab world. Along the way, he sipped a pint of Guinness, met an Irish eighth cousin, went head-to-head with world leaders, basked in Britain's royal pageantry and hailed Solidarity pioneers, in a trip...

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Beware a manufacturing slowdown

BERLIN (Reuters) – Add a manufacturing slowdown to the growing risks facing the world economy. High input prices, supply chain disruptions from the tsunami disaster in Japan and slowing demand from China have combined to brake manufacturing momentum in Europe, the United States and Asia in recent months following a steady run of robust growth. Just how sharp the slowdown is will become clearer this week with the release of data from factory purchasing managers in major economies across the globe. In the euro zone, where divergence between core and peripheral countries has...

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Cambodia's reluctant king [-The man inside his golden cage]

Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni in Prague on March 19, 2010. (Michal Cizek/AFP/Getty Images) King Norodom Sihamoni, who took the throne in 2004, is seen by some as a prisoner in his own palace.May 29, 2011Emily LodishGlobal PostPoor King Norodom Sihamoni.It doesn't sound like he wants to be king.It's true the monarchy is more of a figurehead these days, with the true power lying in the hands of Prime Minister Hun Sen.But the bidding of Hun Sen, who helped turn Cambodia into a forced labor camp with the Khmer Rouge in the late 70s, can't be pleasant work.Sihamoni spends his days pushing papers and receiving guests — despite his lack...

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Cambodia's king seen as a 'prisoner' in his palace [-The fate of a puppet king who no longer represents his people?]

The KING and his KINGMAKERS: In this Nov. 9, 2010 photo, Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni, center, applauds with Prime Minister Hun Sen, right, and Heng Samrin, left, National Assembly president, during an Independence Day celebration at the Independence Monument in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The king may be heir to a royal line trailing back some 2,000 years, but he always seemed more suited to the arts scene in Europe, than the rough and tumble politics of his homeland. Now, close aides and experts say, he has become figuratively, and more, a prisoner in his own palace. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith) PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — As...

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