Morocco rescues migrants The Moroccan navy on Friday rescued 22 would-be migrants whose boat encountered difficulties while trying to travel to Spain, the Moroccan rescue service said. “These people were rescued after their boat got into trouble” by the island of Kenitra, some 40 kilometers north of the capital Rabat, said a spokesman for the rescue service. Algeria bans Qurans bearing Star of David Algeria ordered thousands of Quran books whose covers bear a Jewish symbol to be removed from shelves, on a day in which an American pastor relinquished his plan to burn the holy Muslim testament. Algerians who had already purchased the books decorated with a Star of David were urged to return them to stores in exchange for another Koran or their money back. Gulfsands hit by problems in Tunisia Gulfsands Petroleum (GPX) has announced it is debating whether to plug and abandon its Lambouka-1 well in Tunisia after increasingly difficult wellbore operations rendered it impossible to accurately test. The AIM-listed company and its joint venture partner ADX Energy said the decision whether to suspend or plug and abandon the well depends upon whether a new well or future re-entry of the existing well would minimize rig time and maximize reservoir information. Libya, Italy celebrate Friendship Treaty Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi made a three-day visit to Italy this week to mark the second anniversary of the signing of a Friendship Treaty between Tripoli and Rome. Mr. Gadhafi was given a lavish welcome and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi described the treaty as a “model of diplomacy in the era of globalization.” Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi made a triumphant entry at an evening event attended by hundreds of guests. Among them, top government ministers and the cream of the Italian business community. South Sudan gets plane ahead of vote Nearing a January vote on independence, southern Sudan is acquiring its first military aircraft as the oil-rich region prepares for potential conflict in a nation Washington is calling a “ticking time-bomb.” Southern Sudan is a semi-autonomous region in Sudan that was granted self-rule under a 2005 peace deal ending a 21-year rebellion by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). BM
