Norse tattoos

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. Copyright © 2011 euronews

How Libya unrest impacts the global economy
The aftershocks from the unrest in Libya are also being felt across global financial markets. Libya is the world’s 12th largest exporter of crude and the price per barrel has shot to a two-and-a-half year high amid investor fear that production could be disrupted. It follows a speech by one of Colonel Gaddafi’s sons, Saif, who warned that all foreign oil companies might have to leave the country. Rising oil prices can accelerate inflation and eat into companies’ profits, further unsettling an already rocky global economy. The US lifted sanctions on Libya when Gaddafi compensated the families of victims of the Lockerbie bombing. With free trade now a possibility, foreign energy companies lined up to do business with a man once considered as a pariah on the international stage. The OPEC member is Africa’s fourth largest oil producer after Nigeria, Algeria and Angola. It produces up to 1.8 million barrels per day and holds estimated reserves of 42 billion barrels Eighty percent of its crude exports are sold to European countries such as France, Germany and particularly Italy. Libya has deep economic ties with Italy, its former colonial master. The two nations signed a friendship treaty in 2008 and Italy is now the biggest foreign investor in the North Africa country. Libyan investors have used oil wealth to buy large stakes in a number of Italian companies including oil giant ENI, carmaker Fiat and even a 7.5 percent share of Juventus football club. Tripoli’s investments in Italy are worth some 3.6 billion euros. While Libya has some of the highest living standards in Africa, some estimates indicate one third of its people live below the poverty line. The question now is what happens if the violence escalates in Libya? It would come just as many Western economies are emerging from the global economic downturn. Copyright © 2011 euronews

Pirates 4 premieres at Cannes
The latest installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this week. Copyright © 2011 euronews

Enthusiastic welcome for former Haitian leader
The former president of Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, has made a triumphant homecoming seven years after he was ousted from power. Thousands turned out to greet the man who is still widely revered in the poor Caribbean country. His return, two days before a crucial presidential election, came despite US objections. Copyright © 2011 euronews

Defiant Berlusconi vows to see out term
Is the party over for Silvio Berlusconi? Several of today’s Italian newspapers believe early elections are inevitable after the prime minister was indicted for trial over alleged sex offences and abuse of power. Prosecutors say they have ample evidence he paid for sex with an underage prostitute and intervened with police to try to free her from custody. Berlusconi insists it is business as usual. He claims his coalition partners remain on board in government and has vowed to see out his term until 2013. “I can only say one thing: I’m not worried at all. Okay? That’s all,” he smiled as he spoke at a news conference. The Moroccan dancer known as Ruby, at the centre of the case, has denied having sex with Berlusconi but admits receiving several thousand euros after going to a party at his villa. The prime minister, who denies any wrongdoing, believes the charges are politically motivated. He still has his backers: “I judge him as a politician who’s made a big contribution, and will continue to do so for the good of Italy,” said one man in Rome. “They only talk about this … enough is enough. They’re not talking about politics anymore. They’re talking just about him…that’s all,” complained another. Satirists are having a field day. An Italian band has rewritten Shakira’s song Waka Waka, calling it “Bunga Bunga”… Berlusconi’s own term for his infamous parties. Copyright © 2011 euronews