Worldwatch

Friendship’s Limits
Muammar Gaddafi might have morphed from a terror-backing revolutionary into a Western ally, but he’s still not shy about airing his disagreements. While European and American business executives packed Tripoli hotels last week scouting for new deals in the oil-rich nation, Libya’s leader made it clear that he was not a supporter of Washington’s strategy in Iraq. “The best thing [the U.S. ] could do for the Iraqis and the Americans is to withdraw,” Gaddafi told TIME. Gaddafi’s second son, Seif al Islam, widely perceived as his father’s likely political heir, pledged to stay out of the fight against terrorism, too. “We should not be engaged in the war on terror,” he said. “This is a war between the West and al-Qaeda. We are not part of it.”

Libya is making amends for its own terrorist war, however. In 1986, Libyan operatives bombed a Berlin discothèque, killing three, including two U.S. servicemen. The U.S. retaliated by sending fighter jets to bomb Gaddafi’s personal residence, killing his adopted daughter. Last month, Gaddafi agreed to a $35 million compensation deal for the non-American Berlin victims. Last Thursday, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder went to Tripoli to mark the normalization of relations. The two leaders met in a tent erected on the grounds of Gaddafi’s bombed-out home, where they discussed illegal immigration and expanding German trade. The E.U. needs Libya’s help to stop thousands of African migrants from

slipping across the Mediterranean into Italy. ” Libya can tighten its borders,” says a European ambassador in Tripoli. “But the Libyans think this is our problem.” Friendship still has its limits. — By Vivienne Walt

Close Call
POLAND Prime Minister Marek Belka’s government narrowly survived a parliamentary vote of confidence just hours after Belka announced the country would begin reducing its 2,500-strong troop contingent in Iraq early next year. “We will not remain in Iraq an hour longer than is sensible [or] necessary to achieve our mission’s goal,” he said. More than 70% of Poles oppose their country’s participation in the U.S.-led coalition.

A Surprise Victory
ZIMBABWE Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said he felt “relieved” and “vindicated” after the High Court in Harare acquitted him of treason. Tsvangirai maintained that the charges against him — of plotting to kill President Robert Mugabe ahead of disputed 2002 elections, which Mugabe won — were politically motivated. He faces a second treason trial next month on charges relating to his call last year for Mugabe’s ouster.

Closing in on a Killer
MOZAMBIQUE A vaccine against malaria, the biggest killer of children in Africa, came a step closer with the announcement of “very encouraging” clinical-trial results involving 2,022 children in rural southern Mozambique. The vaccine used in the study was shown to be “safe and well tolerated,” said lead scientist Dr. Pedro Alonso of the University of Barcelona. It protected 30% of the children from clinical infection with the disease. If further trials are successful, GlaxoSmithKline, which developed the vaccine in partnership with the Malaria Vaccine Initiative, hopes to get a license for commercial production by 2010.

Strengthening His Grip
PAKISTAN Opposition parties decried as unconstitutional a bill passed by the lower house of Parliament enabling President Pervez Musharraf to remain as head of the army. Musharraf pledged in December 2003 to step down as military chief at the end of this year. The opposition said that such a constitutional change required two-thirds of the vote; the bill passed by a simple majority.