Western delegations present draft resolution on Libya in UN SC.

UNITED NATIONS, February 26 (Itar-Tass) -- The delegations Western
countries have submitted to the UN Security Council a draft resolution on
Libya. As it became known to journalists from reliable sources on Friday,
the draft resolution contained a proposal for an arms embargo against
Libya, as well as a freeze on the assets of senior representatives of that
country and bans on their trips abroad.
In addition, the draft document states that attacks against innocent
Libyans can be regarded as "crimes against humanity." In this case, they
may be considered by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
According to diplomats, the adoption of this document by the Council
should not be expected earlier than the middle of next week.
Earlier Friday, speaking at an open meeting of the Security Council,
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged its members to take action against
the government of Libya. It is time for the Security Council to consider
specific action against the Libyan leadership, Ban said. In his opinion,
it is necessary to introduce trade sanctions, including travel bans and a
freeze on the assets of members of the current Libyan leadership.
The UN Secretary-General also said that clashes in Libya had killed
about one thousand people, including foreign nationals.

.Tunisian govt arrests property of former dictator Ben Ali.

TUNIS, February 26 (Itar-Tass) -- Tunisia's government of national
unity has decided to arrest all the properties of authoritarian President
Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, who has been in office for 23 years, and his bank
deposits.
As the agency Tunis Afrique Presse said, also expropriated are the
possessions of 110 relatives and close friends of the ex-dictator, who had
escaped to Saudi Arabia. On this list there are the assets of his three
daughters - Halima, Nesrin and Dorsaf, six-year-old son Mohamed,
son-in-law Saqr Al-Matri, whom the family saw as a likely successor to the
72-year old dictator, and another 42 relatives and friends of Ben Ali and
his wife Leila Trabelsi.
On January 19 the Tunisian judiciary began an investigation into the
misappropriation of state property and export of currency abroad by Ben
Ali, members of his family clan, as well as a number of confidants. The
European Union froze their assets. On January 26 there was issued an
international warrant for the arrest of the dictator and his wife. Tunisia
calls for their extradition from Saudi Arabia. In Jeddah, the requests
have remained unanswered so far. It has been reported that "Ben Ali is in
a coma in a clinic after suffering a stroke."

.Mauritania's capital sees peace rally for better life, reform.

RABAT, February 26 (Itar-Tass) -- A peace rally attended by more than
a thousand people, who demanded from the government reforms aimed at
addressing social inequality, improvement of quality of life and reduction
in unemployment took place in the capital of Mauritania, Nouakchott on
Friday.
The main protesters were young people, who were chanting slogans like:
"We are hungry and want some bread!", "Give us a decent life" and "No to
price hikes!" as well as the already extremely popular one on the streets
of Arab cities after the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt "The people want
the fall of the regime!".
Those present emphasized the idea they did not represent any political
party or tribe. The very few police present at the rally did not intervene
and there were no incidents.
On Thursday, the Prime Minister of Mauritania, Ould Moulay Mohammed
Laghdaf announced that the government guaranteed the freedom of expression
and demonstration. He promised that the government would closely address
the problem of employment to create over 17 thousand new jobs by the end
of this year, build a network of roads in the poor areas of Nouakchott,
increase food production, and shortly implement a project to resettle 100
thousand Mauritanian families to new homes.
Earlier this month, a number of trade unions held a peaceful march in
the capital to urge the authorities "to raise salaries and improve the
social protection of citizens." The demonstrators recommended the
government "to respond in time to the wishes of the people and to draw
lessons from what happened in Tunisia and Egypt not to put the situation
in the country at risk in the future."
In late January, President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who felt the
growth of resentment among the poor, announced a 30-percent reduction in
the prices of essentials. Mauritania is one of the least developed
countries in the Arab world, where about half of the three-million
population live below the poverty line.

-0-str