Evening Edition

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned Libya is verging on civil war while Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez proposed international mediation to quell the violence raging in the North African nation.

And a day after Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi warned the West to stay out of the fray, the Dutch defence ministry said three of its marines helping to evacuate civilians had been captured by government soldiers.

Thousands of people have been bussed to the Djerba airport, where French transport planes equipped with medical teams have arrived to begin airlift operations, officials said.

Others were being transported to the port of Zarzis from where they will be shipped home, according to an AFP reporter at the scene.

As the world clamoured for action to stop Kadhafi using warplanes against his own people and to protect refugees scrambling to escape, the United States and its allies cooled talk of imposing a no-fly zone over his country.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said any such decision was a “long way” off, and NATO officials were divided.

The country’s military rulers said he would be replaced by Essam Sharaf, a former transport minister who joined the rallies in Cairo’s Tahrir Square that led to Mubarak’s resignation on February 11.

Strongman Mubarak appointed Shafiq in the dying days of his rule in a bid to quell the protests. Shafiq stayed on as head of a caretaker government under a military council that has run Egypt since Mubarak stood down.

Over the past 540 million years, five mega-wipeouts of species have occurred through naturally-induced events.

But the new threat is man-made, inflicted by habitation loss, over-hunting, over-fishing, the spread of germs and viruses and introduced species, and by climate change caused by fossil-fuel greenhouse gases, says the study.

Intelligence officers had been “astonished” by the weakness of the evidence Renault presented against three of its executives sacked over claims they had leaked company secrets, a source close to the investigation told AFP.

Police have found no trace of Swiss bank accounts the accused men were alleged to have held, he added, suggesting that Renault’s internal inquiry could have been fed false account numbers by squabbling managers.

“An interest rate increase in the next meeting is possible, it is not certain,” ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet said after the bank’s governing council left the rate at a record low of 1.0 percent.

“This is about as clear a signal of rate hike that you are going to see from a central banker,” ABN Amro economist Nick Kounis commented.

Just a day after Ireland had clinched a record-breaking win over England, Canada were dreaming of a similar sensational upset when they bowled out the 1992 champions for a paltry 184 in Colombo.

But Canada, who had already suffered a 210-run loss to Sri Lanka and a 175-run defeat to Zimbabwe, were undone by Afridi’s one-man show.

Normally it would have been one of the most theatrical shows of Paris fashion week, but its fate was in question after Galliano was fired by Christian Dior and charged with alleged racist behaviour at a Paris cafe.

Dior, which holds a majority stake in the John Galliano label, plans to go ahead with its own pret-a-porter collection — overseen by the British couturier before his sudden fall from grace — at the Rodin museum on Friday.

The Food Price Index, which monitors average monthly price changes for a variety of key staples, rose to 236 points in February from 231 points in January, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said.

It was the highest level since FAO began monitoring prices in 1990.

The decision to allow the Rupert Murdoch-owned group to proceed sparked a furious response from rival media groups, who accused the government of a “whitewash”.

In a long-awaited announcement, the government said in a statement that culture and media minister Jeremy Hunt “intends to accept undertakings from News Corporation on their proposed merger with BSkyB in lieu of a referral to the Competition Commission”.

Venezuela said Gaddafi had agreed to its proposal for an international commission to negotiate an end to the turmoil in the world’s 12th largest oil exporting nation.

But a leader of the uprising against Gaddafi’s 41-year-old rule rejected any proposal for talks with the veteran leader.

Europe’s two leading military powers also dismissed an offer by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to act as peacebroker after two weeks of bloodshed in the latest uprising in the Arab world.

“Such mediation, designed to allow Gaddafi to stand as his own successor, is obviously unwelcome,” French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said after talks in Paris with his British counterpart, William Hague.

But two Democratic senators said negotiations with their Republican counterparts have yet to reach a point that would tempt the 14 Democrats to return.

They fled Wisconsin more than two weeks ago to deny the 19 Republican senators a quorum and to prevent a vote on the bill, which has triggered massive pro-union protests at the Capitol and a national debate on the power of unions.

The strong indication that a rise will come in April shocked markets expecting a raise late this year and put the ECB in pole position to hike well before the U.S. Federal Reserve and even the Bank of England, which analysts had expected to move first.

“The position of the Governing Council is that an increase in interest rates at the next meeting is possible,” Trichet told a news conference after the central bank left rates at a record low 1.0 percent.

Rising food prices are a growing global concern, partly fuelling the protests which toppled the rulers of Tunisia and Egypt in January and February, which in turn unleashed unrest in North Africa and the Middle East from Algeria to Yemen.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Price Index hit its second straight record last month, driven by rising grain costs and tighter supply to further pass peaks seen in 2008 when prices sparked riots in several countries.

The Republican-controlled Ohio state senate approved a proposal to curb the collective bargaining rights of public employees and forbid government workers from going on strike.

The vote followed the Wisconsin Assembly’s approval last week of a similar proposal, which has sparked mass protests and a national debate over labor relations.

“China’s modernization of its military and increased activity is, along with insufficient transparency, a matter of concern,” Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Yukio Edano said on Thursday.

He was speaking a day before China is expected to unveil its new defense budget which will give a guide to how much it wants to build up a military whose growing reach is already unsettling others in the region.

Round-the-clock construction is transforming muddy ground into what officials boast will be the world’s largest financial zone a decade from now.

It’s a monument to the ambitions driving China’s economic growth and to the sort of risks leaders in Beijing see piling up alongside the country’s new skyscrapers.

Biz Stone also dismissed reports JPMorgan Chase & Co. was in talks to buy 10 percent of Twitter for $450 million, which would have valued the company at $4.5 billion.

“We have so many other things before we even think about that,” Stone told Reuters when asked about the prospects of an IPO as fans crushed around trying to take his photo at a business forum in Seoul Thursday.

The American contractor, Raymond Davis, 36, shot dead two Pakistanis in the eastern city of Lahore on January 27. He said he acted in self-defense and the United States says he has diplomatic immunity and should be repatriated.

The case has inflamed anti-American sentiment in Pakistan and is testing the often-fraught ties between the allies. Pakistani efforts against Islamist militants on its border with a Afghanistan are seen as crucial for ending the Afghan war.

The Silicon Valley legend has been out on medical leave since late January and his reappearance, in trademark turtleneck and jeans, bolstered Apple shares and reassured investors and fans worried about his health.

Defying speculation in some tabloid reports that he was seriously ailing, Jobs took swipes at rivals and mocked competing tablet computers. Striding back and forth across the stage at the Yerba Buena Center, Jobs spoke passionately about the iPad 2’s features as No. 2 and heir apparent Tim Cook looked on.

That estimate is at odds with losses of as much as 700,000 cited by Democrats but also clashes with forecasts of job gains Republicans have pointed to.

Bernanke said that a $60 billion cut along the lines being pursued by Republicans in the House of Representatives would likely trim growth by around two-tenths of a percentage point in the first year and one-tenth in the next year.

How to divide a massive $9 billion in revenues generated by the most popular U.S. sport was at the core of the labor talks for a new collective bargaining agreement to replace one that expires Thursday at midnight.

Without a miraculous meeting of the minds, NFL owners were expected to announce a lockout of the players in the absence of a new labor pact and the business of the professional gridiron league would be put on hold.

Although there have been stirrings of a diplomatic effort to ease the crisis, an opposition spokesman flatly ruled out any negotiations with Gadhafi, saying “his hands are tainted with blood.”

President Barack Obama insisted that Gadhafi leave office, declaring he had “lost the legitimacy to lead.”

Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Gadhafi’s security forces are alleged to have attacked “peaceful demonstrators” in several towns and cities across Libya since Feb. 15, and he identified Gadhafi and several commanders and regime officials as having formal or de facto command over the forces that may have committed crimes.

Moreno-Ocampo vowed there would be “no impunity in Libya.

Obama made clear he has not ruled out establishing a no-fly zone over Libya to prevent Gadhafi’s air forces from bombing rebels. His broad assurance came one day after his defense chief, Robert Gates, said bluntly that a no-fly zone would amount to an act of war and warned about too much “loose talk” of U.S. military intervention in Libya.

“I don’t want us hamstrung,” Obama said in defending his approach. Still, the president made clear he does not intend to act without the consent of international peers, and that the emphasis of the United States is on helping refugees, heading off a humanitarian crisis and hastening the end of Gadhafi’s reign.

The opposition hailed the decision as another victory for “people power” but many warned pressure must be maintained on the military to implement other democratic reforms, including an accountable police agency and a new constitution.

Leaders of the 18-day uprising that forced Mubarak to resign had been pressing the military to fire Ahmed Shafiq, arguing that a prime minister sworn in by the ousted leader should not stay in office. They also were angry that his Cabinet was filled with figures from the old regime.

A person with knowledge of the talks told The Associated Press on Thursday that the league and the union were discussing an extension of the deadline beyond midnight – an attempt to stave off the league’s first work stoppage since 1987. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the federal mediator overseeing the negotiations wants the proceedings kept private.

The league and players’ union are meeting for a 10th day with mediator George Cohen.

In a letter released Thursday, 42 Republican senators asked the president to withdraw the nomination of Dr. Donald Berwick as Medicare administrator, saying his experience isn’t broad enough and past statements raise fundamental questions about his views on policy.

The Medicare administrator’s job carries major responsibilities under the health care law, such as setting up new insurance markets, expanding Medicaid to cover millions more low-income people, and revamping the way Medicare pays providers to reward quality instead of volume.

Christie said he had been wrestling with “legal and constitutional concerns,” fearing the legislation could expand unregulated casino-style gambling throughout the state.

“Nothing contained in the legislation would prohibit commercial establishments outside of Atlantic City, such as nightclubs, bars, restaurants, cafes and amusement parks from offering Internet gambling opportunities in order to attract patrons or customers, potentially leading to the creation of commercial gambling locations outside of Atlantic City,” Christie said in his veto message.

The 14 Democratic senators escaped to Illinois two weeks ago to avoid voting on Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to take away nearly all collective bargaining rights from most state workers. Their absence has blocked passage of the bill because at least one of them must be present to have a quorum.

The state constitution doesn’t allow for senators to be arrested simply for not showing up. Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said the resolution passed Thursday morning allows police to take the Democrats into custody under Senate rules, not criminal or civil law, and only if they are in Wisconsin.

Since having it implanted, Hetzner, a 20-year-old Munich mailman, has knocked off more than 10 kilos (22 pounds) from his earlier weight of 104 kilos (229 pounds).

Hetzner got the device as part of a clinical trial. Since being approved by Britain last month, the device is available for sale across the European Union. It works a bit like a cardiac pacemaker, and consists of a stimulator and a sensor surgically implanted onto the stomach.

The provision would require millions of businesses to file tax forms for every vendor that sells them more than $600 in goods each year, starting in 2012. The requirement is projected to raise nearly $25 billion over the next decade by ensuring that vendors pay their taxes. But lawmakers in both parties say it could create a paperwork nightmare for businesses and the Internal Revenue Service.

The filing requirement is so unpopular in Congress that it is unlikely to ever take effect. The House voted 314 to 112 Thursday to repeal the filing requirement, with 76 Democrats joining all Republicans in voting to pass the bill. The Senate passed a similar measure last month, and attached it to an unrelated bill to help modernize the nation’s air traffic control system.

Because the president’s security force has shown almost no reserve in opening fire on unarmed civilians, the women decided this week to organize the march in the nation’s commercial capital, assuming soldiers would be too ashamed to open fire.

But at least six of the thousands of women demonstrating Thursday were killed on the spot, said Mohamed Dosso, an assistant to the mayor of Abobo who said he saw the bodies.

So when Webber was told to surrender the Confederate flag that flies from the CB antenna on his pickup truck – or be suspended from his job driving a school bus in Talent – the choice was easy.

Webber chose his flag.

White House economic adviser Gene Sperling did not specify where the cuts would be made, but the figure set the stage for fresh talks Thursday between Vice President Joe Biden, White House budget officials and the bipartisan leadership of Congress. The meeting lasted more than an hour and the participants had little to say to reporters afterward.

House Republicans want to cut $61 billion from current fiscal year spending. Sperling says the $6 billion would be in addition to the $4 billion already cut in a stop-gap spending measure that expires March 18.

Sunil Adam, editor of the newsweekly for Indians living in the United States, stopped the presses. It was sure to be the most talked-about story of the week. “Rajat Gupta was the first to redefine the image of Indian-Americans from cab drivers to wizards of business and finance,” Adam says.

Indian executives make up a tight-knit, rarefied group in American business, populating investment banks, management consulting firms and Silicon Valley startups.

The copy of abolitionist David Walker’s “Appeal in Four Articles; Together With a Preamble to the Coloured Citizens of the World, But in Particular, and Very Expressly to Those of the United States of America” is one of seven known to still exist. The pamphlet is on display at U.Va.’s Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library.

A private endowment for U.Va.’s special collections recently acquired it from a New Jersey rare-book dealer for $95,000, university officials said Thursday.

Many inmates had spent more than a decade in isolation for refusing to cut their hair and then were all first moved to the same prison in November. Their refusal violates the state’s grooming policy for prisoners. Some of those recently moved are still working through a program meant to persuade them to cut their hair. Nine chose to go back into segregation, corrections department spokesman Larry Traylor said Thursday.

Corrections officials said the program would give the inmates more privileges and a chance to socialize. In letters to the AP, several inmates criticized it as little more than segregation by another name.

Burbank stuffs carrot sticks, peanut butter and apple sauce into a backpack and cajoles her son and youngest daughter out the front door and down the street toward the nearby elementary school. The meager lunch box offerings are just one of many painful struggles that the mother of three encounters every day while living under the weight of long-term unemployment and threats of foreclosure, hunger and loss.

Burbank and her husband, John Clark, epitomize the dreadful economic situation these days in Nevada, where a once-mighty construction boom has given way to a historic recession and a record 14.9 percent unemployment in Las Vegas.