The government of Yemen has declared a State of Emergency. This after weeks of protests against the government, and recently, the sniping and killing of at least 31 protesters by Yemeni government forces.
Protesters say hundreds were also wounded by the snipers.
Saudi Arabia has already invaded neighboring Bahrain to help that government against protesters there. Will Saudi Arabia do the same with its neighbor to the south?
“The Saudi’s should know for a fact that Tehran will use all the power and potentials at its disposal to halt the oppression of the people of Bahrain.”said Iranian lawmaker Hossein Naqavi.
Majority Sunni Arab countries invaded majority Shia Arab Bahrain, in order to protect the Sunni rulers there from the Shia revolution. Iran and Bahrain are majority Shia Muslim countries.
Iran has asked the UN to take action. The United Nations, pushed by France, U.K. & U.S., has authorized military force against Libya, supposedly to protect the revolutionaries there.
A Bahraini women, who is Sunni, is supporting the Shia rebels; “The government is making this a sectarian issue. I see the way my [Shia] friends are treated and I came here to show solidarity.”
The headquarters of the U.S. 5th Fleet is in Bahrain.
Kuwait is sending ships to patrol the water off Bahrain, in support of the recent invasion by Saudi Arabian troops, and by police units of United Arab Emirates.
Bahrain is ruled by a minority Sunni royal family, while the majority of the people are Shia. They have been protesting for weeks, and the Bahraini government began cracking down.
Bahrain is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.
It’s interesting that we are about to attack Libya, supposedly for cracking down on revolutionaries, yet we do nothing to protect the revolutionaries in Bahrain.
Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa announced that Libya will accept a ceasefire with rebels.
Libyan officials believe the UN Security Council resolution allows the Libyan government to use force in order to protect civilians.
France and United Kingdom say they are preparing for military action. Spain and Norway announced they are prepared to join the enforcement of a no fly zone.
President Obama will make an announcement this afternoon. It is expect that two Arab nations will be named as taking part in the no fly zone operation, Qatar is expected to be one of those countries.
The United States, United Kingdom, France are members of the UN Security Council, and voted for the no fly zone. China, Russia, Germany, India and Brazil are also members, but abstained, they will not help with the no fly zone.
Bank of Japan officials began selling off Yen, to buy U.S. Dollars.
Besides getting a deal, the move was to prevent a negative impact on world markets. The DOW and the Dollar went up as a result.
G7 (Group of Seven Industrial Countries) also agreed to take actions that would help float international markets (buying U.S. dollars).
President Barak Obama said he was ready to take military action, along side France, Italy and Britain, against Libya.
The Libyan government responded by saying that if they are attacked by foreign forces they will launch attacks against international shipping, air traffic and civilian targets.
The UN Security Council decision to use military force was influenced by support for a no fly zone from the Arab League.
While most American’s attention has been focused on the disasters in Japan, the governments of the United States, France and several other countries, have been pushing for military action against Libya.
The first step towards that has been accomplished, with the UN (United Nations) passing a security resolution which will result in air strikes against Libyan government troops; a no fly zone.
The Libyan government has been making progress against rebels in the past week. Rebels watching the UN Security Council, cheered at hearing the results of the voting.
French officials say action could begin within hours. France, United Kingdom (Britain), United States and one or two unnamed Arab countries, are said to be ready to take part in enforcing the no fly zone.
Stock markets in Japan closed down again. Blame being put on the increase in the Yen’s value. Bank of Japan injected more cash, for the 4th day. Japanese investors are becoming disheartened with what seems like futile efforts to stop a nuclear disaster. It is predicted that trading in Japanese stock markets will become more volatile in the days to come. There are signs that Japanese authorities will intervene in the currency market.
There have been reports of many people trying to get away from Japan’s disaster area. But, there are others who’re trying to get to the disaster area, volunteers.
Japanese are volunteering to help clean up the quake/tsunami stricken areas. Also, many Japanese small businesses are helping out as well. A Japanese ski resort is giving all its rental ski wear to survivors who are stuck in shelters, many of which are low on heating oil. Outside temperatures are freezing in northern Honshu.
Local governments are frustrated by the national government response. Not only are local governments dealing with the aftermath of the quake/tsunami, they are also struggling to find ways to deal with the nuclear disaster.
The U.S. dollar has fallen in value against the Japanese Yen. This is because Japanese government and corporations are cashing in their chips. They are cashing in the foreign bonds they hold, in order to raise cash to help deal with the disasters. Corporations, including insurance companies which expect pay out huge claims, are trying to acquire as much Japanese Yen as they can. This is called “repatriation” in the financial markets.
The Bank of Japan will take advantage of the rising value of the Yen, by selling Yen to foreign buyers in order to bring in foreign cash to the national bank.
Japan has been one of the most prolific buyers of U.S. debt, in the form of U.S. bonds. Japan itself is in huge debt, but until now was able to continue buying U.S. bonds, helping the U.S. government. The disasters have forced Japan to sell back bonds in order to raise cash to help deal with ongoing crisis, and for rebuilding. Japanese corporations have to raise cash due to the fact that most factories have shut down, which means they’re not making anything to sell. So Japanese corporations have to sell the foreign bonds they hold.
This is the beginning of a possible economic dominoes affect on the World Economy.