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The Libyan government said Tuesday it was ready to negotiate reforms, but refused any talk of Muammar Gaddafi stepping down,nike running shoes online according to Al-Arabiya TV.

"What kind of political system is implemented in the country? This is negotiable, we can talk about it," said Information Minister Moussa Ibrahim.

"We can have anything, elections, referendums," he said, adding that "Gaddafi's future was non-negotiable," he stressed.

"We think he (Gaddafi) is very important to lead any transition to a democratic and transparent model," Ibrahim said.

Ibrahim also brushed aside allegations that Gaddafi's forces were committing atrocities on civilians.

"We are fighting armed militia and you are not civilian if you take up arms against the state," he said.

Fierce fighting continued in Libya and opposition fighters launched a new attempt to recapture the oil refinery town of Brega.buy Reebok ZigTechA coalition strike destroyed at least two military vehicles of Gaddafi in Brega, helping rebels surge toward the town.

The town has a great significant as it along with the eastern town of Ras Lanuf make up the lion's share of Libya's 1.5 million barrels of daily exports, which have been radically affected by the uprising that began on Feb. 15.

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Algeria calls for immediate cease-fire in Libya

ALGIERS, April 5 (Xinhua) -- The Algerian minister for Maghreb and Africa affairs, Abdelkader Messahel, on Tuesday called for an immediate cease-fire in conflict-torn Libya, where rebels were at a tug-of-war with forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Messahel made the appeal at a press conference following a meeting with visiting British Minister for Middle East and North Africa Affairs Alistair Burt.   

Italian FM, AU chief meet over Libya, Cote d'Ivoire

ROME, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Italian Foreign Buy nike cheap mens acg sandalsMinister Franco Frattini Tuesday met with African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson Jean Ping to discuss the situation in Libya and Cote d'Ivoire.

Frattini and Jean Ping both agreed on an urgent need to end the violence in Libya through an "effective and verifiable cease-fire, " according to a statement issued by the Italian Foreign Ministry.   

Thousands of Syrians flooded the streets of several major cities Friday for a new round of antigovernment protests, defying security forces who used gunfire and tear gas to disperse them.

Four people were shot dead in Duma, a suburb of the capital, Damascus, when police fired on about 2,000 people gathered in a major square chanting "Freedom," according to a witness who withheld his name out of concern for his safety.

Activists had dubbed Friday the "Day of Martyrs" to commemorate the more than 70 people who have been killed during the unrest of recent weeks. They used Facebook, Twitter and other online social media to mobilize mass demonstrations.

The protesters, who are seeking economic relief and the end of nearly five decades of martial law, gathered in Damascus, the seaside cities of Latakia and Banias, and the southern city of Dara.

But President Bashar Assad, who heads one of the region's most repressive regimes, redoubled efforts to suffocate the dissent, which has persisted since his forces first fired on protesters March 18 in Dara.Buy nike cheap mens acg sandals black

In Damascus, the largest gathering was at the Rifai Mosque, where thousands of demonstrators were barricaded inside and tear-gassed by police. Leaders of the mosque reached a deal to allow everyone to go home peacefully, but police fired more tear gas as people left, witnesses said.

Elsewhere in the capital, the streets were unusually quiet and portraits of a stern-faced Assad in military fatigues and aviator glasses hung on walls and archways alongside the usual ones of him in civilian clothes.

At the square outside the historic Umayyad Mosque — site of a large antigovernment demonstration last week — more than 1,000 pro-government demonstrators chanted "God, Syria, Bashar" in front of news cameras.

"All the people would like to see some things change, but not the big things, like what the protesters want," said a 25-year-old onlooker.

On the road to Dara, security forces set up checkpoints and required travelers to sign papers pledging they would not participate in protests.

Nevertheless, thousands gathered in the restive city, chanting, "Freedom." Government forces fired warning shots, but were less aggressive than in recent days and no one was killed, witnesses said.

Dara, the epicenter of the protests, has been hit particularly hard, with a rise in commodity prices and economic suffering in a country where a third of the population earns less than $2 a day.

A focal point of the unrest in Dara has been the arrest of teenagers who spray-painted antigovernment graffiti.nike mens sandals st

In his first public appearance since the demonstrations began, Assad went on state television Wednesday to lay out a gradual path to reform, but he declined to say when he would lift the 48-year-old emergency law that has been used to stifle opposition and justify detentions without trial.

US lawmakers urged President Barack Obama to press Palestinians to resume peace talks with Israel Buy nike running shoes online,without preconditions and battle "incitement" to violence against the Jewish state.

"We respectfully request that you do everything possible to urge president (Mahmud) Abbas to root out terrorism, return to negotiations without preconditions, earnestly work toward peace with Israel and slam the door on any effort to deal with final status issues at the United Nations," they wrote on Thursday .

"As part of that, president Abbas must fully renounce any and all Palestinian incitement against Israel and the Jewish people," said the 46 members of the House of Representatives.Buy cheap nike mens acg sandals

Democratic Representative Steve Rothman and Republican Representative Steve Austria led the group, which warned that the current state of Middle East peace efforts is "dangerous and unacceptable."

The lawmakers noted past appeals to Abbas to do more to crack down on "incitement" to violence against Israel and Jews, but added: "clearly, there needs to be further pressure" and charged Palestinian institutions were complicit.

The group cited the grisly slayings of a family of five Israelis, including three children under 12, at the Itamar settlement in the West Bank near the northern city of Nablus.

Abbas has denounced the early March attack as "abominable, inhuman and immoral."Buy nike running shoes online, Brand shoes to trade, 2011 nike running shoes Buy

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blamed Palestinian incitement for creating an atmosphere that led to the killings -- widely believed to have been carried out by Palestinians. Abbas has flatly rejected the charge.