MENA snapshot..... A Libyan Militia Chief tortured and killed ... and more items of interest

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16614894  - three months after the War ended , the NTC still can't ride herd on the Militias.....

A senior member of the Gharyan council told the BBC that the claims of torture would be investigated and that any perpetrators would be brought to justice.

But he admitted that officials were often powerless to control the militias in Gharyan, who have yet to hand in their weapons nearly three months after the official end of fighting.

Earlier this month, Libya's interim leader warned of the risk of civil war if militias were not disarmed.

and......

http://www.freep.com/usatoday/article/52645122?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria's powerful allies in Russia vowed Wednesday to block any Western attempts to intervene militarily in Syria as Damascus fights off an increasingly chaotic 10-month-old revolt against President Bashar Assad.

The support came as Assad was showing fresh confidence that he can ride out the uprising with the help of a small — but influential — set of friends in Russia, China and Iran.

and here we go with Iran can build a bomb now news.....

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-can-build-nuclear-bomb-now-6292202.html

An Israeli former intelligence chief has said that Iran could build a nuclear bomb any time it wants, a claim that could aggravate tensions between Israel and the United States and heighten fears that the Jewish state could launch a pre-emptive strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Amos Yadlin, the military intelligence chief until his retirement in 2010, said Tehran had all the components necessary to build an atomic weapon, reflecting a prevailing Israeli view that Iran is on the verge of acquiring a nuclear bomb.

and a side effect of euro troubles for parts of Africa.....

http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-how-a-euro-collapse-could-affect-africas-single-currency-too-2012-1

Born only thirteen years ago, there are credible concerns that the euro won’t make it through adolescence. Just last week, the currency hit a sixteen-month low against the dollar while Standard and Poor’s downgraded the credit ratings of nine eurozone countries including France. In contrast, France’s former colonies in western and central Africa have developed a common currency that works. Indeed, the CFA franc has survived for more than sixty years.

The question now is, what will happen to the CFA zone as the euro crisis deepens?

Read more: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/Africa-Monitor/2012/0119/Africa-s-single-currency-the-CFA-Franc-in-a-Post-euro-Future#ixzz1jxzR4kSZ