Gates of Vienna News Feed 3/1/2011

After an intense news-rich fortnight, there is an inexplicable lull in the news feed tonight. Perhaps Col. Muamar Gadafi is taking a well-deserved siesta.

The rebels in Libya are considering requesting airstrikes on Col. Qaddafi’s military installations. They are appealing to the Western powers, who would be acting under the authority of the UN. The insurgents wish to involve the UN so that it will be clear that they are not asking for “foreign interference” in Libyan affairs. NATO has collected its military assets in the Mediterranean, but has not yet decided what to do to persuade Col. Ghedaffi to stop his violent suppression of the rebellion against him.

In other news, the American government has ruled out trading the imprisoned Pakistani neuroscientist Aafia Siddiqui for Raymond Davis, the US embassy official and CIA agent held by Pakistan on murder charges. Other possible swaps are still being negotiated.

To see the headlines and the articles, open the full news post.

Thanks to Andy Bostom, C. Cantoni, CSP, Gaia, Insubria, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

Commenters are advised to leave their comments at this post (rather than with the news articles) so that they are more easily accessible.

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.