On arrival in Cairo for mtgs. with Pres. Mubarak, Arafat meets with Libyan leader Col. Mu`ammar Qaddafi. (MENA 3/8 in WNC 3/10)
Fistfights break out btwn. Palestinians and Jewish settlers fr. Efrat settlement in the West Bank who began digging trench on Palestinian land to lay water pipes to their settlement. (AFP [Internet] 3/8)
Qatar holds 1st elections. Although women are allowed to vote, run for office, all 6 female candidates for the 29 mbr. municipal council are defeated. (MM 3/8; MM, WP 3/9; MM 3/10)
U.S. Defense Secy. Cohen holds talks on Iraq with officials in Oman, the UAE. The U.S. is proposing a shared early warning system that would provide Gulf allies immediate access to intelligence on Iraq, Iran. (MM, NYT 3/8; NYT, WT 3/9; MEI 3/12)