Mass demonstrations are also being held elsewhere in the Middle East.

Yemen saw some of the largest marches yet by pro- and anti-government protesters in the capital Sanaa.

Egyptians in their thousands returned to Cairo's Tahrir Square to mark two weeks since the ousting of Hosni Mubarak from the presidency and to press for reforms.

Thousands attended a day of mourning in Manama for those killed in recent unrest in Bahrain.

More protests are expected later in the day in Amman, Jordan, and the West Bank city of Ramallah.

The demonstrations follow a wave of Arab revolts that have toppled the presidents of Tunisia and Egypt, and challenged the rule of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in Libya.

LSE blamed issues with the market data technology and said it was investigating the problem. The LSE's woes come at a bad time for traders, with major economic news in the UK after the latest gross domestic product figures and ongoing volatility amid the Libyan political crisis. Joshua Raymond, market strategist at City Index, said: 'It's yet another glitch to trading and traders, who still remember the same issues that halted trading for some three hours in 2009, and they will undoubtedly be venting fury this morning at the LSE.'

'At a time of uncertainty in the markets, where traders are having to keep on their toes with the situation in Libya, the last thing they need is an unexpected halt to trading.' Today's technical troubles came in the same week that Borsa Italiana - the LSE's Milan platform - suffered a five-hour outage.

The second largest US residential mortgage funds provider reported a loss of $113 million in the fourth quarter, a tiny fraction of the double-digit billions the firm lost in the quarters immediately after the government seized it more than two years ago. Including the latest request, Freddie Mac will have received more than $64 billion in direct aid from the government. The fourth-quarter loss, about $0.53 per share, includes a $1.6 billion dividend payment the company paid to the government.

The US Treasury took control of Freddie Mac and its larger sister entity, Fannie Mae (FNMA.OB), at the height of the financial crisis in September 2008 as losses mounted from mortgages gone bad. The plan to put them into conservatorship was meant to be temporary, although it is likely to be years before a long-term replacement structure takes shape.

Libya's food supply chain is at risk of collapse, says the UN's food agency. Nato defence ministers will hold emergency talks later on Friday. Around the capital, Tripoli, an elite brigade commanded by Colonel Gaddafi's son Khamis is believed to be dug in. The UK and France are pushing for an arms embargo and a war crimes investigation.

Libyan state TV has said the government will give each family 500 dinars (250 pounds; $400) to cover increased food costs, while some public sector workers will receive a pay rise of 150%. However, much of the country is now in the hands of anti-government forces. In Geneva, the UN Human Rights Council is meeting in special session for the first time to discuss the crisis in Libya. Libya is an elected member of the council but some members have called for it to lose its seat.

"In brazen and continuing breach of international law, the crackdown in Libya of peaceful demonstrations is escalating alarmingly with reported mass killings, arbitrary arrests, detention and torture of protesters," said Ms Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The UN World Food Programme has said Libya's food supply chain is at risk of collapse because imports were not getting into the country and food distribution is hampered by violence, the AFP news agency reports.

Already, the region has been reshaped by the fall of decades-old regimes and growing pressures on others, including Muammar Gadaffi's 42-year rule in Libya. But the ultimate questions for many are whether the pro-Western Saudi monarchy can ride out the unrest, and if Iran will capitalize on the changes with more footholds and influence in areas closely tied to Washington's interests. "If an uprising occurs in Saudi Arabia, it will have a dramatic impact that is off the charts," said Theodore Karasik, a regional affairs expert at the Dubai-based Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis. "Policymakers will have to grapple with it for decades."

Saudi authorities have stood strongly behind Bahrain's Sunni monarchy, which is under siege by a revolt from that tiny kingdom's Shiite majority after decades of grievances over discrimination and other abuses. For the Saudis - and the rest of the Gulf's Sunni rulers - the Shiites in Bahrain represent a potential beachhead for Shiite powerhouse Iran.

"We are witnessing a rebellion of the Arab peoples throughout the Arab world," said Nicholas Burns, a former top State Department diplomat with long experience in the region. "While it may be most acute in Bahrain and Libya, there is every reason to believe that it will continue to spread for the time being." And any significant cracks in the king's hold on Saudi Arabia, which has a small Shiite minority, would undoubtedly be hailed by Tehran.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard sent ships on a courtesy call to Qatar in January and held navy maneuvers with Oman this month in further signs of expanding ties in the Gulf. The Dubai-based analyst Karasik said Iran increasingly views itself "as a pure regional hegemon because of the uprisings."

"Pricing in Libya supply disruptions is one thing, but what if this social unrest spreads to Saudi Arabia, which holds 20 percent of the world's oil?" said David Rosenberg, chief economist and strategist for Gluskin Sheff. "Do the math: we'd be talking about $200 oil." Without taking into account the collateral effects of such a strategic part of the Middle East falling under siege by its own people, a simple production comparison gets the price to at least $140 a barrel.

West Texas crude oil for April delivery, the benchmark for the US, rose as much as $8.44 a barrel in trading today to $98.48 on Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi's defiance in the face of the uprising. Saudi Arabia produced 9.8 million barrels a day of crude oil in 2009, 5.4 times more than Libya, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Multiplying $8.44 by 5.4 equals a $45.95 jump in the price of crude.

"Oil would go parabolic," said Joe Terranova, chief market strategist for Virtus Investment Partners and former energy trader. "The Shiite population (compared to the Sunni ruling family) is more concentrated in the oil producing region. The workers could strike."

"With 20 percent of the world's oil reserves, Saudi Arabia would clearly have a much greater affect on oil prices," said Jim Iuorio, managing director for TJM Institutional Services. "However, I have a difficult time believing that the US government would let the country fall into the hands of a different government. Make no mistake, Saudi Arabia is not Egypt or Libya and the US would be quick to aid."

SPIEGEL: Mr. Brown, early one morning at the height of the banking crisis, you told your wife Sarah to get ready to move out of Downing Street as you might resign that afternoon. How did she react?

Brown: Very professionally. She got on with the preparations. Of course, she couldn't call in the movers just yet. That would have been a bit too disastrous of a signal to the markets.

SPIEGEL: We're talking about Wednesday, October 8, 2008. Lehman Brothers had just filed for bankruptcy. In your new book "Beyond the Crash," you write: "I sensed that if no one acted, total collapse was imminent." What exactly were you expecting?

Brown: The Royal Bank of Scotland would have collapsed within hours. HBOS was not far behind, and in that case, other European and American banks would have followed. I think people still misunderstand, in retrospect, the scale of the collapse that we were facing: It would have been absolutely catastrophic.

SPIEGEL: Would the ATM's have stopped handing out money?

Brown: Most likely. People would have been in panic about their savings, there would have been a run on the banks. But what worried me most was: At this moment there was a total lack of leadership about the way forward, both within banks and governments. The banks still deceived themselves. One banker told me on the day before his bank collapsed: "All we need is overnight funds." He didn't even realize that his institution was virtually on the brink.

SPIEGEL: That morning, you announced the immediate recapitalization of the British banks using billions of pounds in public funds, and which basically meant nationalization. Today, you receive a lot of praise for the steps you took. But how did you know then that it would work?

Brown: I didn't. To be honest, it was a gamble. No other country had done it before. I would have resigned that day if it failed. But it worked. Within days, most large economies followed our path.

Trade unions who have called the rally say nearly 40,000 people will attend a meeting at the Ramlila grounds. Thousands will then march to parliament, they say. Security is tight across the city with thousands of policemen deployed at the rally ground and along the route of the march.

The protest has been organised by major trade unions, including the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) and the Centre for Industrial Trade Union (CITU). The Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) - which is backed by the governing Congress party - is also supporting the strike saying it wants to remind the government about its commitments to the poor.

A CITU statement said workers from 19 states, thousands of women among them, were participating in the march. Food inflation has been consistently rising in India, pushing up household budgets.

One farmer reportedly 'went crazy' when he discovered the scope of the contract because it transfers ALL liability to the farmer or grower.

Here is the paragraph that defines Monsanto's limit of liability that shifts it to the farmer:

"GROWER'S EXCLUSIVE LIMITED REMEDY: THE EXCLUSIVE REMEDY OF THE GROWER AND THE LIMIT OF THE LIABILITY OF MONSANTO OR ANY SELLER FOR ANY AND ALL LOSSES, INJURY OR DAMAGES RESULTING FROM THE USE OR HANDLING OF SEED (INCLUDING CLAIMS BASED IN CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE, PRODUCT LIABILITY, STRICT LIABILITY, TORT, OR OTHERWISE) SHALL BE THE PRICE PAID BY THE GROWER FOR THE QUANTITY OF THE SEED INVOLVED OR, AT THE ELECTION OF MONSANTO OR THE SEED SELLER, THE REPLACEMENT OF THE SEED. IN NO EVENT SHALL MONSANTO OR ANY SELLER BE LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES."

Monsanto's Technology Stewardship Agreement shifts responsibility to growers for any and all losses, injury or damages resulting from the use of Monsanto seeds. There is no expiration date on the contract. The grower may terminate the contract, but: "Grower's responsibilities and the other terms herein shall survive..."

This includes contamination of other farms. Growers are purchasing seed for Spring planting right now. Alfalfa, America's 4th largest crop, is a particular problem because it is a perennial plant and the seeds may lie dormant in the ground for 10-20 years, and WILL contaminate non-GM plants. Contaminated alfalfa cannot be recalled from the environment. The liability burden can follow the grower for decades. Farmers must be made aware of the danger of being sued before they plant GM crops (especially alfalfa because it is used for cattle feed and will affect dairy farmers).

Currently, Australian organic farmer Steve Marsh, who lost his organic certification due to contamination, is sueing his GM crop-growing neighbor for the GM contamination.

The announcement of the Saudi relief measures coincided with King Abdullah's return to the country after three months. He had been abroad for medical treatment. Among those on hand to greet him was King Hamid bin Isa al-Khalifa of neighbouring Bahrain, which is struggling to contain a surging opposition movement.

The cash-rich Saudi government has pledged to spend $400 billion by the end of 2014 to improve education, infrastructure and healthcare. "The king is trying to create wider trickle-down of wealth in the shape of social welfare,'' said John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Banque Saudi Fransi. "The budget can handle that, but it is an aspirin to ease medium-term pain, not a solution for the long-term housing, and unemployment issue."

Hundreds of people have signed up to a Facebook campaign calling for a "day of rage" across Saudi Arabia on March 11, although it is not clear if any protests will materialise. Analysts said the late date suggested that activists wanted to give the government time to introduce reforms, and not a real desire to take to the streets.

The measures did not include any political reforms in the absolute monarchy such as municipal elections, as demanded by liberals and opposition groups. The kingdom has no elected parliament and does not tolerate public dissent. Abdullah, believed to be around 87, travelled to the United States in November for treatment to a herniated disk which caused blood accumulation around the spine. He has been recuperating in Morocco for the past four weeks, after undergoing surgery in New York.

During the king's absence, his brother Crown Prince Sultan was in charge. However, doubts remain over Sultan's health because he was abroad much of the past two years for illness. Analysts do not expect unrest like in Egypt or Tunisia since the kingdom sits on more than $400 billion (246 billion pounds) in petrodollars, but say the government needs to address social pressures such as the high youth unemployment and extensive housing problems.

It also preceded the expected return to Bahrain of Hassan Mushaimaa, leader of the hardline Shi'ite Haq party, one of two people tried in absentia for his part in the alleged coup plot. Mohammed al-Tajer, a lawyer for the 23 activists, told Reuters that about 250 prisoners had been released. Most were detained as part of a crackdown launched on some Shi'ite opposition groups last August and during subsequent protests.

The opposition describes youngsters arrested during clashes with security forces in Shi'ite villages as political prisoners. Tajer said detainees picked up in last week's confrontations between security forces and protesters had been freed earlier.

King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa was in Riyadh to welcome home Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah from an extended absence due to ill-health, a sign of tight ties between the Bahraini royals and their far stronger Saudi counterparts. Saudi Arabia is concerned unrest in Bahrain might spread to its own Shi'ite minority.

When German state governors, former chancellors or cabinet ministers visit the emirates and kingdoms along the Persian Gulf, the ambassadors in the respective countries like to say: "We are living in the eye of the hurricane here." The states are seen as an oasis of stability, surrounded by rogue regimes and failed states. Or rather, they were. As of last week, even the Gulf nations are no longer as calm as they used to be. Following the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, as well as popular protests in Libya, Jordan and Yemen, the sea change in the Arab world has now reached the sheikhs.

Tanks have been out on the streets of Manama, the capital of Bahrain. The city had been due to host two rounds of the GP2 Asia Series car race - one last weekend, and one as part of the Formula One Grand Prix weekend from March 11-13 - but both have been cancelled. Hence the sound of engines roaring through the city's financial district in the early morning hours on Thursday did not come from race cars, but from heavy diesel-powered trucks carrying police riot squads. Their destination was the capital's Pearl Square, where a few dozen tents had been set up beneath a 90-meter (295-foot) monument to Bahrain's pearl divers.

The protesters had hoped that the roundabout surrounding the Pearl Monument would become Bahrain's version of Tahrir Square in Cairo. But now the events there are more reminiscent of what happened in Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 1989. Within a few hours, what had been a tolerated forum for demonstrators seeking more democracy had turned into a monument of mourning, as the tiny country of 1.23 million became the latest combustion point in the Arab revolution. The situation in Bahrain clearly poses a potential threat to the region - and to the West's oil supply.

That would be the most expensive calamity since the $19.9 billion loss from Hurricane Ike, which struck the US in 2008, according to the Insurance Information Institute, a New York-based trade group. The 6.3 magnitude quake killed at least 75 people, toppled buildings and trapped workers in Christchurch, New Zealand's second-largest city. It followed a 7.0 magnitude temblor that shook the city of 400,000 people on September 4, costing insurers an estimated $6 billion, according to Huttner.

"Even buildings which are still standing may have hidden structural damage and could then need to be rebuilt," he said in the note. "This is a very conservative assumption on our part and in support of this we note that all reinsurers revised" cost estimates for the previous earthquake.

The scale of yesterday's quake remains unknown and will be treated as a separate event, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said in a press conference from Wellington today. "We think there may be another 100,000 claims," Key said. "There were 180,000 claims I think in the first earthquake. We know that different properties have been affected. Some properties that had no impact in the last earthquake have been severely damaged."

The House came into session twice this morning, with only three of the 40 Democrats present. Those were needed to make a motion, and a seconding motion, for any procedural steps Democrats would want to take to ensure Republicans don't do anything official without quorum. With only 58 legislators present, there was no quorum present to do business. The House needs 67 of its members to be present.

House Speaker Brian Bosma said he did not know yet whether he would ask the Indiana State Police to compel the lawmakers to attend, if they can be found. Today's fight was triggered by Republicans pushing a bill that would bar unions and companies from negotiating a contract that requires non-union members to kick-in fees for representation. It's become the latest in what is becoming a national fight over Republican attempts to eliminate or limit collective bargaining.

House Minority Leader B Patrick Bauer, Democrat for South Bend, "has taken a page out of the Wisconsin Senate playbook apparently" by keeping his caucus in hiding, Bosma said. "They are shirking the job that they were hired to do." In Wisconsin, Senate Democrats have fled to Illinois to deny Republicans the quorum they need to pass legislation limiting collective bargaining for many public employees.

Asked at what point he would call in the Indiana State Police to attempt to round up the Democrats, Bosma said: "We'll see how the day goes."