Free Republic

Muammar Gaddafi remains hunkered down in Tripoli, ever defiant despite the the heaviest bombing of NATO's three-month campaign. But outside Libya, the talk has moved on from war to the business opportunities offered by a post-Gaddafi Libya. It's hard to envision a booming Libyan economy with the country's communication infrastructure shattered by bombs and its oil fields abandoned and idle. Yet economists and investors say that as an intensifying NATO campaign brings Gaddafi's 42-year rule closer to its end, a bright future lies ahead — with Libya's mammoth energy reserves capable of financing a postwar development program strong enough to...

THIS WEEK, trade ministers from 148 nations are gathering in Hong Kong for negotiations hosted by the World Trade Organization, the latest in the so-called Doha development round that started in Doha, Qatar, four years ago. The aim of these negotiations has been to liberalize trade — especially to open the world's richest markets to the world's poorest producers of goods and services. And the crucial issue in Hong Kong is agriculture. The world community can look back at 2005 with some pride when it comes to helping its poorest citizens. Commitments were made to double aid for African countries...