Britain refused Thursday to offer Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa immunity from prosecution

Britain refused Thursday to offer Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa immunity from prosecution after his apparent defection, but said his departure would hearten rebels fighting to topple Muammar Qaddafi’s regime.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the resignation of Koussa, one of the most senior members of Qaddafi’s government, shows that the Libyan leader’s regime is “fragmented, under pressure and crumbling.” But Hague said “Koussa is not being offered any immunity from British or international justice,” dampening speculation that the British government might seek to overlook allegations — leveled by Libya’s opposition — that he played a pivotal role in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, among other atrocities.

“Qaddafi must be thinking to himself, ‘Who will be the next to walk away’?” Hague said.

Hague said it wouldn’t be “helpful to advertise” whether or not other senior members of the regime planned to quit but that he believes many likely privately opposed Qaddafi’s actions.

Authorities debriefed Koussa, a trusted Qaddafi adviser and longtime stalwart in the Libyan regime, after he fled to Britain on Wednesday on a private plane from Tunisia — apparently with little notice to the British government.

Hague said Koussa was in a “secure place in the United Kingdom,” but did not disclose further details.

United States today appeared to admit that the rag-tag Libyan army has little hope of toppling Colonel Gaddafi by force

United States today appeared to admit that the rag-tag Libyan army has little hope of toppling Colonel Gaddafi by force - as Defence Secretary Robert Gates predicted the dictator would be brought down by political and economic pressure.

It came on another miserable day for anti-Gaddafi forces, as they again fled heavy shelling in their pick-up trucks and the dictator insisted he would stay in Libya 'until the end' .

The latest fighting centered on Brega, a town important to Libya's oil industry on the coastal road that leads to Tripoli. It has gone back and forth between rebel and loyalist hands, and it was today a no man's land, with Gaddafi's forces at the western gate and rebels east of the city.

Mr Gates was echoed by scores of Western officials including the Italian foreign minister who said the dictator would be undone by more defections after foreign minister Musa Kusa rather than 'acts of war'.

Gadhafi Forces Close in on Rebels in Libyan Oil Port

Libyan rebels say they have been forced to pull back from the key oil port of Ras Lanuf, after forces loyal to leader Moammar Gadhafi closed in on the town.

News reports said intense fighting was underway in the area Wednesday, with pro-government forces heavily shelling the rebels and firing rockets.

The reports said large numbers of rebels fled east in pickup trucks.

On Tuesday, pro-Gadhafi troops reversed a westward push by anti-government forces, hammering them with tank and artillery fire and forcing a panicked retreat to Ras Lanuf. Opposition fighters pleaded for allied air strikes as they fled.

Pro-Gadhafi forces reached the outskirts of Ras Lanuf by late Tuesday, where heavy weapon fire could be heard.

Loyalist troops also continued to besiege Misrata, the last significant rebel holdout in the west. A rebel leader in Libya's third-largest city said Tuesday that Gadhafi's forces were "firing randomly" into the opposition-controlled center from the perimeter and along the one government-controlled thoroughfare.

An opposition spokesman said pro-Gadhafi forces were expelling families from their homes in Misrata and that the situation was very dangerous. The U.S. Navy reported two of its aircraft and a guided missile destroyer attacked a number of Libyan coast guard vessels in the Misrata port late Monday to prevent them from shelling merchant ships.

A series of loud explosions also rocked Tripoli Tuesday, and state television said several targets in the Libyan capital had come under attack - the first time such strikes have occurred in daylight hours.

Meanwhile, in Washington, U.S. Admiral James Stavridis told a congressional hearing that intelligence reports suggest "flickers", low levels, of possible terrorist involvement among Libyan rebel forces, but no evidence of significant numbers.

She burst into a Tripoli, Libya, hotel over the weekend, pleading with journalists to tell the world that she was raped by government troops

She burst into a Tripoli, Libya, hotel over the weekend, pleading with journalists to tell the world that she was raped by government troops. As security forces subdued the screaming woman and dragged her away, she warned, "If you don't see me tomorrow, then that's it."
Two days later, reporters have not seen Eman al-Obeidy.
The same government that took her away is insisting she is fine. But reporters and human rights activists have not been able to see her, and her whereabouts are unclear.
"I am not ashamed of my daughter," al-Obeidy's mother told Al-Jazeera television Monday. "I am proud of her because she has broken the barrier. She broke the barrier that no man can break. And those dogs there with him, Moammar, (are) the criminals!"
Al-Obeidy's family said she is a lawyer - and not a prostitute or mentally ill as Libyan government officials initially said after the incident. The government later changed its story, saying she was sane and was pursuing a criminal case.
Al-Obeidy's family said they were offered money if she would change her story.
"Yesterday late at night at 3 a.m. they called me from Bab al Aziziya," Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's compound in Tripoli, al-Obeidy's mother told Al-Jazeera. "And they told me: Make your daughter Eman change her statement ... and we will release her immediately and whatever you ask for you will get, whether money, or a new apartment, or guaranteeing financial security for you and your children. But just tell Eman to change her statement."
"I called my daughter and said, 'My daughter, stand firm! Stand firm!' She said, 'I will stand firm and I will never change my statement.' "
It was not clear how al-Obeidy's mother reached her by phone.
A government spokesman said Sunday that al-Obeidy had been released and was "with her family."
A group of lawyers and human rights activists tried to approach her sister's house Monday, but were blocked by security forces. Al-Obeidy's sister's mobile phone has apparently been turned off, a source with the Lebanese opposition in Tripoli told CNN. And no one has seen the sister since the incident at the hotel.

Libya's army is pouring reinforcements into Muammar Gaddafi's strategic hometown of Sirte against rebels advancing from the east under cover of UN-mandated air strikes.

Libya's army is pouring reinforcements into Muammar Gaddafi's strategic hometown of Sirte against rebels advancing from the east under cover of UN-mandated air strikes.

Units of regular soldiers in jeeps mounted with heavy machine guns were driving towards the town on Monday as the frontline moved ominously closer to a key regime stronghold for what could turn out to be the decisive battle of the war.

On Sunday night at least 18 large explosions were heard in or near Sirte, apparently part of the coalition's campaign of attacking air defences and other military targets. But reports that the city had fallen to the Benghazi-based rebels were evidently wrong – and fuelled Libyan fury at the satellite TV channels that claimed it had.

It was firmly in government hands and its people defiant. "I saw death with my own eyes," said Fawzi Imish, whose house and every other in his seafront street had its windows shattered by a Tomahawk missile strike in the early hours of the morning. "It was just intended to terrify people. And if the rebels come here, we will receive them with bullets."

Sirte, where the young Gaddafi was educated, is halfway between the rebel east and the area controlled by the regime along the Mediterranean coastal highway. In the 1980s the Libyan leader famously drew a "line of death" across the Gulf of Sirte in brazen challenge to the US.

If the rebels took the city it would be a severe blow, weakening Gaddafi's position in the centre of Libya and the road would be open for an advance on Tripoli 280 miles away.

Crowds gathered in central Martyrs Square to chant pro-regime slogans and fire bursts of machine-gun fire into the air – that bizarre Libyan ritual of celebrating reverses and expressing determination to resist. But there were signs of anxiety when an aircraft was heard far overhead. Many shops were shut.

rebel forces are approaching Gaddafi's hometown, Sirte

Latest reports from FOX News indicate that (Surt), located about halfway between Benghazi and Tripoli, while multi-national air strikes have been directed at this city. It appears likely that the forces under Gaddafi's command will make a stand there.

Fighter jets of coalition forces launched air strikes to Sirte, the home town of Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, for the first time on Sunday (3/27) night.
Libyan television confirmed that the Muammar Gaddafi blockhouse had been attacks target of “colonial aggressor”. Television reports also informed that there is massive deployment of troops on the streets of Sirte.
The NATO commander said the Libyan regime’s troops began taking positions in Sirte. It increases the possibility of bloody battles during the anti-government troops moving westward toward the region. According to NATO sources, the Libyan regime’s forces who stepped back when facing the progress of anti-government forces, have begun placing armored vehicles and artillery in civilian buildings in Sirte. Such tactics are designed to create the coalition air strikes to be full of risk.
Sirte, who several times attempted by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi to become the capital of Libya, is dominated by members of the Gaddafi tribe, which largely remained loyal to his regime.

rebel spokesman in Zintan said Muammar Gaddafi's forces bombarded the western Libyan town with rockets early on Monday

rebel spokesman in Zintan said Muammar Gaddafi's forces bombarded the western Libyan town with rockets early on Monday, Al Jazeera television reported.

Ali Saleh, spokesman of the rebel movement in Zintan, said Gaddafi's forces fired the rockets from positions north of the city.

"The city of Zintan was bombarded this morning by Gaddafi's forces from the north with Grad rockets," he said.

Dozens of Salafis on Saturday stormed into the home of a woman in the Delta city of Monufiya and burned her furniture after accusing her of being involved in prostitution.

Dozens of Salafis on Saturday stormed into the home of a woman in the Delta city of Monufiya and burned her furniture after accusing her of being involved in prostitution.

A group of Salafis surrounded her home, while another broke into it, kicked her out, set her furniture on fire and threw it out on the street, eyewitnesses told Al-Masry Al-Youm.

They threatened to kill her if she returned home again.

A security source told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the woman was involved in prostitution cases before but was alone at home when the group attacked.

This is the second such incident in one week. News reports had said that a group of Salafis assaulted a Coptic teacher on 20 March, claiming he rents out his apartment to two prostitutes.

Protests have been staged in towns and cities across Syria, including the capital Damascus, a day after the government announced limited changes.

Protests have been staged in towns and cities across Syria, including the capital Damascus, a day after the government announced limited changes.

Unconfirmed reports said a number of people had been killed in at least three separate protests.

Fresh gunfire was also heard in the city of Deraa, which has become the centre of a serious challenge to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Amnesty International fears 55 people have died there in the past week.

The marchers who took to the streets in Deraa on Friday had attended funerals for some of the 25 protesters killed on Wednesday.


Some of the protesters started a fire under a bronze statue of Mr Assad's father, the late President Hafez al-Assad, witnesses reported.

Another group of protesters trying to reach Deraa were killed in the nearby village of Salamen when security forces opened fire.

A government official confirmed that at least 10 protesters had died, although witnesses said up to 20 people had been killed.

In Damascus, around 1,000 were reportedly continuing a protest into Friday night, vowing to stay until their demands had been met.

Earlier, hundreds marched on King Faisal Street chanting: "Peaceful, Peaceful, God, Syria, Freedom."

Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi is said to be arming volunteers to fight the uprising against his rule, a senior US military official has said.

Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi is said to be arming volunteers to fight the uprising against his rule, a senior US military official has said.

Vice Admiral William Gortney said Col Gaddafi had "virtually no air defence" and a "diminishing ability to command and sustain his forces on the ground".

Coalition forces launched strikes against Libyan tanks around the eastern town of Ajdabiya, he said.

Rebels and pro-Gaddafi forces are in a stand-off near the town, witnesses say.

Meanwhile, Qatar became the first Arab state to contribute to the air mission over Libya.

Bahraini police on Friday fired tear gas to disperse demonstrations in four Shiite villages near the capital Manama

Bahraini police on Friday fired tear gas to disperse demonstrations in four Shiite villages near the capital Manama, witnesses said.

The protests broke out despite a major deployment of security forces in the villages south and west of the capital and a state of emergency imposed by King Hamad on March 15, the witnesses said.

The next day the authorities crushed a month-long Shiite-led uprising against the Sunni rulers of the majority Shiite kingdom.

Witnesses said hundreds of people took part in Friday's protests in Sitra, Sanabes, Burj and Bilad al-Qadim.

In Bilad al-Qadim mourners buried Habi Abdel Aziz, 33, after the authorities handed over the body to his family a week after he went missing.

Opposition MP Matar Matar of the Shiite Al-Wifaq party said the bullet-riddled corpse had been found on a construction site in the village.

Calls to stage protests on Friday were posted on Facebook pages.

A joint Gulf Cooperation Council force entered Bahrain this month to help authorities quell pro-democracy protests in Bahrain, a key Western ally and home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet.

Libyan government followed up claims that close to 100 civilians had died in the allied air strikes by taking journalists to see signs of damage to civilian properties

Once again, though, as with previous government tours, what officials showed journalists seemed to prove the opposite of what they said.
On the road east of Tripoli, site of a string of military bases in and around the town of Tajoura, high guarded walls hid what had clearly been several nights of allied bombardment. Residential areas nearby seemed unaffected, with some shops open.
A radar base had a plume of smoke rising from it. Visible by the sea was a large administrative building – perhaps a command facility – totally shattered, its concrete beams and roof sunk to the ground.
Further along the road was the most striking sign of the fearsome accuracy of the allied air strikes. The blackened skeleton of a radar dish, about 30 feet high, stood burned out on a hillside surrounded by trees.
The leaves on the trees, even those hanging over the dish, were not even singed.

 

Muammar Qaddafi's hold on power could be getting more tenuous by the hour.

Allied air strikes reportedly targeted his compound in Ajdabiya Wednesday. Coalition planes also bombed Qaddafi's forces in Misrata, to stop them from shelling civilians.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he can't predict how long the operation will last, but said the U.S. could transfer control to allies by Saturday.

Meanwhile, House Speaker John Boehner wrote to President Obama to complain that the mission's goals are not clearly defined.

CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips reports from Tripoli that the combined coalition air forces have declared something like victory.

"Effectively, their air force no longer exists as a fighting force, and his integrated air defense system and command and control networks are severely degraded to the point that we can operate with near impunity across Libya," said Air Vice-Marshall Greg Bagwell of the British Royal Air Force.

The army knows that its correct place is to protect the people

“The army knows that its correct place is to protect the people,” said Fawaz al-Muthlafy, an engineer from the central city of Taiz who has spent weeks at the sit-in protest. “The citizens are now receiving support from across the entire nation, and all our voices have been united.”
Multimedia


On a stage in front of the main gates of Sana University, an announcer welcomed a series of sheiks who voiced support for the demonstrations.

The country’s formal political opposition, which for the first time on Saturday joined street protests as a group, also welcomed the support of the commanders. “President Ali Abdullah Saleh will now see that change is a must,” said Mohammed Qahtan, the spokesman for the Joint Meetings Parties, Yemen’s coalition of opposition groups.

Benjamin Rhodes, President Obama’s deputy national security adviser, told reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday that violence against demonstrators was “unacceptable.”

“I think our view is that there’s clearly going to have to be a political solution in Yemen that includes a government that is more responsive to the Yemeni people,” Mr. Rhodes said. “That has been our consistent message to President Saleh.”

Gregory D. Johnsen, a Princeton University expert on Yemen, said the defection of General Ahmar, known popularly as Ali Mohsin, could well prove a lethal blow to Mr. Saleh’s rule. “Many people were waiting for him to make his move,” Mr. Johnsen said. “It’s opened the floodgates.”

General Ahmar, who is widely believed to hold the conservative religious views of the Salafi school, was responsible for helping Yemeni men who had fought the Soviet Union in Afghanistan reintegrate into Yemeni society after their return in the 1990s and has since been an important government liaison to militant factions.

American officials said that history is no indication of sympathy or tolerance for Al Qaeda. But they are uncertain about what an increase in General Ahmar’s influence might mean for Yemen and counterterrorism.

Libya's government has called on its troops to impose an "immediate ceasefire".

Libya's government has called on its troops to impose an "immediate ceasefire".

A spokesman for the leadership made the announcement on state television, calling on Libyans to join a "peaceful" march from Tripoli to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, in order to "exchange condolences for the victims of the crisis in Libya and announce forgiveness."

Libyan authorities announced an earlier ceasefire on Friday, following the passing of a UN resolution authorising international action against the country. Attacks on anti-government forces were reported to have continued.

many leaders worldwide said that the intervention has gone too far

As conflicting reports of civilian casualties continued to emerge from Libya, many leaders worldwide said that the intervention has gone too far

The Arab League, which originally pledged support for the UN-approved no-fly zone, said that the resolution failed because it was supposed to protect civilians.

"What happened differs from the no-fly zone objectives," said Amr Moussa, the head of the Arab League. "What we want is civilians' protection, not shelling more civilians."

Moussa called for an emergency meeting of the Arab League to discuss the situation and requested a report into the coalition's intervention.

While media reports from the war-torn country are sketchy, Libyan television has reported that 64 civilians are dead and more than 150 are wounded. Whether the casualties were caused by air strikes, rebels or Khadafy forces is unclear.

Russia, which abstained from voting for the UN resolution, also criticized the attacks, saying they had gone beyond enforcing a no-fly zone.

French fighter aircraft are policing a no-fly zone over Libya protecting the rebel stronghold of Benghazi,

French fighter aircraft are policing a no-fly zone over Libya protecting the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, has said.

World leaders met in Paris on Saturday to discuss UN-sanctioned military intervention in Libya where forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, the country's long time leader, are battling opposition forces.

Speaking after the talks, Sarkozy said that French aircraft were ready to strike at fighter aircraft and tanks belonging to Gaddafi's forces that might be used to attack civilians.

But he said that the fight in Libya belonged to the Libyan people.

"If we intervene on the side of Arab nations it is not to impose on the Libyan people, but because of a universal conscience hat cannot tolerate such crimes," he said.

"We do it to protect the civilian population from the madness of a regime that, but killing its own people, has lost any legitimacy."

Youcef Bouandel, a professor of international relations at Qatar University, said that Sarkozy's statement was "well measured".

"He chose his words very carefully to take the moral high ground, making reference to conscience, the rights of the Libyan people ... and most importantly getting the Arab nations on board," he told Al Jazeera.

Several Arab leaders attended the Paris meeting, along with an African Union representative and an array of European leaders including Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, although Germany is not expected to participate in any action.

Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen's veteran president, declared a countrywide state of emergency after reneging on a pledge to protect demonstrators demanding an immediate end to his 32-year rule.

Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen's veteran president, declared a countrywide state of emergency after reneging on a pledge to protect demonstrators demanding an immediate end to his 32-year rule.
Loyalist gunmen, believed to be members of the Yemeni security forces, opened fire on tens of thousands of protesters who massed outside Sana'a university, the epicentre of a month-long popular campaign to overthrow the president.
Doctors said that between 30 and 41 people were killed and over 200 more were wounded on the single bloodiest day since the eruption of the protests against Mr Saleh, a key US ally in the war against al Qaeda, which has a significant presence in Yemen.
Protesters stormed some of the buildings from where the gunfire came, seizing at least seven of the snipers.
The opposition coalition at the forefront of the demonstrations said the bloodshed had made any negotiations with Mr Saleh impossible.

Military action against Libyan forces was under way today

Military action against Libyan forces was under way today as Prime Minister David Cameron declared that "the time for action has come" after dictator Muammar Gaddafi flouted his own ceasefire to mount continued attacks against his own people.

Mr Cameron joined other world leaders - including representatives of several Arab states - at an emergency summit in Paris which agreed to deploy military aircraft to stop the assault on rebel stronghold Benghazi.

Libya's rebel stronghold of Benghazi came under attack on Saturday morning, with at least two air strikes and sustained shelling of the city's south sending thick smoke into the sky.

Libya's rebel stronghold of Benghazi came under attack on Saturday morning, with at least two air strikes and sustained shelling of the city's south sending thick smoke into the sky.
Multiple explosions could be heard from the centre of the city, as a military plane flew low overheard, and the southern skyline was dominated by plumes of black smoke.
Retaliatory mortar fire sounded, and on the roads pick-up trucks mounted with machine guns could be seen, after a night in which explosions and gunfire sounded continuously.
The first air strike came at 7:20 GMT (0520 GMT) and the second followed around 20 minutes later, but the identity of the planes carrying out the strikes could not be immediately identified.
At 8:17 am local time, a series of several small explosions, possibly from Katyusha rockets, produced at least seven smaller columns of black smoke south of the city.
At 8:40 am local time, a military plane could be heard flying low over the centre of the city, and several loud explosions were heard shortly afterwards.
The air strikes came after the Libyan government said it was observing a ceasefire that it announced shortly after the United Nations voted to authorise use of force against Moamer Kadhafi's troops.
But the rebel forces who have been trying to overthrow the Libyan leader said his troops had continued to bombard cities, violating the ceasefire continuously since its declaration.
On Friday evening, residents of Benghazi had braced for an imminent attack, after reports Kadhafi's troops were just 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of the city and planning an evening assault.
In Tripoli, Libya's deputy foreign minister had denied there were any plans to attack the rebel bastion and said the government forces would not breach the ceasefire.
"The armed forces are now located outside the city of Benghazi and we have no intention of entering Benghazi," Khaled Kaaim told reporters.
Kaaim also called for the immediate deployment of foreign observers, saying otherwise "the accusations and counter-accusations will not stop."
On Friday, the United States accused Kadhafi of violating the truce, and President Barack Obama delivered a blunt ultimatum to the Libyan leader, threatening military action if he ignores non-negotiable UN demands for a ceasefire and a retreat from rebel bastions.

British, French and US military aircraft are preparing to protect the Libyan rebel stronghold of Benghazi after the United Nations security council voted in favour of a no-fly zone and air strikes against Muammar Gaddafi's forces.

British, French and US military aircraft are preparing to protect the Libyan rebel stronghold of Benghazi after the United Nations security council voted in favour of a no-fly zone and air strikes against Muammar Gaddafi's forces.

With Gaddafi's troops closing in on Benghazi, the French prime minister, Francois Fillon, said "time is of the essence" and that France would support military action set to take place within hours.

Jets could take off from French military bases along the Mediterranean coast, about 750 miles from Libya. Several Arab countries would join the operation.

British forces could be in action over Libya as early as Friday

British forces could be in action over Libya as early as Friday, if a UN resolution is agreed, a senior government source has told the BBC.

BBC political editor Nick Robinson said the source stressed talks were continuing and it could take longer but would be within days of a yes vote.

The UN Security Council is expected to vote on whether to authorise a no-fly zone in Libya within hours.

Britain's ambassador to the UN said there would be a vote at 2200 GMT.

The UK, France and Lebanon drafted the resolution but others on the Security Council are wary of a no-fly zone.

Downing St said Prime Minister David Cameron had called Arab, African and European leaders to "make the case for strong action" by the UN and will continue making calls on Thursday evening.

A Foreign Office spokesman told the BBC that anything short of a strong comprehensive resolution on Libya would be considered "too weak" by the British government, which would not be satisfied by a resolution calling for a ceasefire.

The United Nations seems on the brink of taking a momentous decision.

United Nations Security Council is due to meet in New York to discuss action in Libya.

Western countries want a no-fly zone to halt the advance of forces loyal to Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi.

In recent days pro-Gaddafi forces have retaken several towns seized by rebels during an uprising.

Addressing the people of Benghazi, the rebels' main stronghold, Col Gaddafi said his troops were coming "tonight" and there would be "no mercy".

He told rebels to go home, adding that "whoever lays down his weapons" would be pardoned.

The US, UK and France are proposing a UN Security Council resolution backing action short of an invasion.

The United Nations seems on the brink of taking a momentous decision.

After hanging back for days, the Americans have now not only backed the British and French resolution on Libya but beefed it up.

The fact that French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe will be here in person is a sign of his confidence that the Russians and Chinese won't block it.

Some reports quote the French saying that there could be an attack within hours of a vote passing. It is likely five Arab air forces will take part.

Although there have been other recent UN operations, this would be the most serious intervention in a crisis for a long time, a marked contrast to the division over Iraq.

That does not ease the worries of some in the administration that this will still be labelled an American war and they will be dragged deeper and deeper into the affairs of another Arab nation.

Diplomatic sources say Russia and China - which often oppose the use of force against a sovereign country as they believe it sets a dangerous precedent - will abstain rather than using their power of veto.

They suggest that if the resolution is passed, air attacks on Col Gaddafi's forces by the British and French air forces could begin within hours. It is not thought that the US would be involved in the first strikes, but the British and French are likely to get logistical backup from Arab allies.

Egyptian authorities have uncovered an espionage network working for Israel

Egyptian authorities have uncovered an espionage network working for Israel and are searching for an Egyptian and two Israelis believed to be involved in spying on the country's armed forces, local media reported on Wednesday.

Prosecutors interrogated a suspect involved in the network, who is now in police custody pending investigation, the daily Al-Masry al- Youm reported on its website.


Other local media reported that the alleged spy ring was gathering information about the Egyptian army, who has been in control of the country following Former President Hosni Mubarak's ouster earlier this year.

The group was allegedly spying on the armed forces during the uprising that led to Mubarak's toppling.

At the time, an Israeli Channel 10 correspondent was arrested by Egyptian intelligence as he photographed armed forces in Cairo. He was forced to return to Israel, as were three other journalists said to be of Israel's Channel 2.

Images of the trio had been broadcast prominently on Egyptian state television, with police officers holding up their passports to the cameras.

Late last year, an Egyptian had been charged with spying for Israel. According to state media, Tareq Abdelrazeq had told authorities after his arrest that he collaborated on providing information to Israel's intelligence agency, Mossad.

Security forces have arrested four Somali pirates hijacked a Yemeni fishing boat in Hadibu Island off the Socotra archipelago on Friday.

Security forces have arrested four Somali pirates hijacked a Yemeni fishing boat in Hadibu Island off the Socotra archipelago on Friday.

Security forces in Socotra archipelago said that the Somali pirates intercepted the Yemeni fishing boat, pointed a gun at the boat owner and ordered him to take their colleague to the nearest hospital. He had been injured by gun shot in one of his legs.

The pirates took the boat and sailed to a Bin Hola, a small village in northern Socotra, where the authorities apprehended them. The injured pirate died after he was transported to the village and authorities will keep his body in a morgue until the investigation is complete.

Colonel Ahmed Hael, manager of the security media center at the Ministry of Interior, said that the pirates went to a village of mainly fishermen.
“The villagers called the police and the pirates were apprehended,” said Hael.
He said that pirate activity had increased in the area and that pirates had taken control of three boats of the local fishermen.

“Pirate activity has increased in archipelago area since it is an international route for a lot of commercial ships,” said Hael.

He added that “since the pirates use light boats it cannot withstand the wind therefore their activity decreases during the windy season".

Socotra lies 150 miles east of the Horn of Africa and 240 miles south of the Arabian Peninsula.

Colonel Hussein Hashim al-Hamid, the security manager in Socotra, said that the four pirates that were arrested were not the only ones last week. Two others were also arrested in the area off Galancia in western Socotra.

an assault by the elite Khamis Brigade on the rebel-held town of Misurata east of Tripoli had been delayed because of a mutiny among troops who refused to fire on fellow Libyans

Col Milad Hussein said the seizure of Brega from opposition forces on Sunday and the move towards Benghazi were not full-scale military operations.
"These are people who when we come to them raise their hands and give up," he said at a press conference in the capital, Tripoli.
He said the only place where real military action had been necessary was Zawiyah, the town to the west of Tripoli which resisted government attempts to retake it for over two weeks.
Col Hussein also denied reports that an assault by the elite Khamis Brigade on the rebel-held town of Misurata east of Tripoli had been delayed because of a mutiny among troops who refused to fire on fellow Libyans.
"This is just propaganda," he said. "Misurata is like any other place. There are gangs inside – we are dealing with the situation. Some of them are handing back their weapons, some are subject to discussions, and some will be dealt with according to their situation."

SAS raid on Libya was meant to deliver a secret £4million communications system to the rebels.

The Daily Star Sunday has uncovered the full inside story of how the mission was delivering kit known as “The Com” for use by British spies and rebels fighting dictator Gaddafi.

The SAS were slammed for being caught by Libyan farmers after a night time helicopter landing.
But the squad in fact delivered their highly-secret booty.

The Com got in along with arms and passports for seven different countries that just need a photo inserted to look real.
“This is a highly prized piece of equipment and very, very useful,” said a security aide.

“It is for MI6 agents in Libya and extremely valuable to the mission, hence it was given elite protection.

“The plan is to help set up a group to help the rebels get Gaddafi out.

“They took in weapons and the passports for assets who want to get out of the country.”

When the undercover troops and spooks were captured they kept the equipment with them because it is so precious.

The British-made highly secure system cannot be tracked by the enemy and allows agents to make contact anywhere around the globe.

The Com is hacker proof and can turn spoken or typed messages into code and be transmitted in just one second. It comes in a 2ft by 3ft metal box for added protection.

The high spec Q-style James Bond system is designed to be used in extreme conditions and is bullet proof.

“When our lads were taken they explained what The Com was for and the Libyans left it alone,” said the aide.
“They were more interested in the arms and later let them go.”

The location of The Com now is unknown.

Foreign Secretary William Hague came under fire over the bungled mission. Diplomatic sources predict he will be “shuffled out” over the kidnap blunder.

MI6 boss Sir John Sawers is also under threat after his role in the drama.

Yesterday rebels admitted fighters had been driven out of the key oil port of Ras Lanuf.

Last night the Arab League called for the United Nations to establish a no-fly zone over the country

To his colleagues on the wheat farm in Libya, he was Tom Smith, a polite and dependable Welshman.

If he was oddly evasive about his background, it did not matter because he worked hard and never stepped out of line.

Until, that is, the night seven SAS men and a mid-ranking British intelligence officer – armed with guns, ammunition, explosives and false passports – swept into the desert near the rebel stronghold of Benghazi in two Chinook helicopters.

That was the cue for the farm manager to spring into action. When the helicopters disgorged the crack troops, Mr Smith was there to collect them in his boss’s Toyota pick-up and take them to the farm.

The eight-man unit’s mission was to link up with rebels fighting Colonel Gaddafi. Yet amid scenes of high farce, it ended before it really began.

Along with Mr Smith, the men from the world’s most feared fighting force were rounded up, detained and later deported – and to add to their humiliation, their captors were mere farmhands.

Back home, Foreign Secretary William Hague, who sanctioned the mission, was cast as the fall-guy and in the ensuing blame-game, Mr Smith’s role was quickly forgotten.

However, The Mail on Sunday has uncovered new details about his involvement in the affair that raise further questions about the real nature of the operation.

Few doubt that Tom Smith, if that is his real name, was simply a supervisor at the farm.

It is likely that he was also an MI6 agent and that the job provided the cover he needed
to make contact with those hostile to the Gaddafi regime.

It was these rebels that the SAS-MI6 team was coming to visit. But was there something else? Another element to the mission?

It was claimed last night that Mr Smith had converted a small conference room in the farm compound into what appeared to be a nerve-centre for the undercover SAS unit.

Once he had gone – handcuffed and humiliated, dumped in the back of a truck and driven in convoy with his co-conspirators to be interrogated in Benghazi – his fellow farm workers found the locked room contained detailed maps and white-boards full of military statistics.

One said: ‘Tom had insisted on keeping the key to the room. He told us it was to be off-limits from now on. That was puzzling at the time. Now we know what he was up to.’ 


Room for intrigue: The farm building near the dusty town of Al-Khadra where Tom Smith kept a locked area, which was later found by colleagues to contain detailed maps and whiteboards full of military statistics

Before his arrest nine days ago, Mr Smith, as consular ‘warden’ in Benghazi, had helped to co-ordinate the evacuation of 400 Britons trapped in Libya.

His name and telephone number were listed on the Foreign Office’s website.

The Foreign Office declined to discuss his involvement in the Special Forces debacle.

It is understood that he is being debriefed in Whitehall. They have many questions for Our Man on the Libyan Farm.

Chief among them will be why the Libyan rebel leaders had not been informed of Mr Hague’s plan.

Back at the 37,000-acre farm called Farmco, near the dusty town of Al-Khadra, Mr Smith’s former workmates are also struggling to make sense of the bizarre episode and they have their own questions.

Project manager Ahmed Al-Bira said: ‘I am furious that this employee of mine got involved in a secret military operation from these premises. People could easily have been killed. This farm project has been dragged into something that is now an international incident.

‘I am waiting for the day when Tom can tell me how it happened. I don’t know what to think because although I knew he had a military background, we employed him for his agricultural knowledge and for his skills.
‘He was an extremely good employee and we would like to have him back, if he can clear his name.

‘He was polite, respectful and very hard-working. I could see him in his office working on the internet until late at night, every night.

‘He didn’t go out and didn’t seem to have a social life.

‘He was here for five months, spending his days monitoring our planting and harvesting progress and the irrigation system. I thought he was a highly skilled engineer.’

Mr Al-Bira added: ‘I live in the city so I was not at the farm when Tom picked up the soldiers at night. I couldn’t believe it. My men did the right thing by challenging him.

‘Once he had gone I did not contact him. I left him to his fate.

‘I have not spoken to Tom since. The last I heard he was being de-briefed in London. I would like to debrief him myself.

‘He applied for a job here through the internet, where we put recruitment notices. His references were checked and that’s all I know. I cannot make his CV public without his permission.

‘All of his belongings are still locked in his room. I haven’t looked through them.

‘All I know is that I admired him as a senior employee and that I helped him with his humanitarian effort to evacuate British citizens from Libya. I cannot believe he has got himself mixed up with a military operation.’

Although he gave little of himself away, Mr Smith did once concede he had worked with the British military in Basra in southern Iraq, claiming that he was involved in rehabilitation projects for local communities.

Farmco is a joint initiative between the Libyan government and American companies, part of an irrigation scheme to ‘green’ the desert and grow staple foods for the country’s six-and-a-half million people.

A fellow expat said: ‘I worked with Tom for a couple of months and we talked about Iraq because we had both been there. He said he was originally from Wales and had a slight Welsh accent. He never mentioned a wife or family.

‘Looking back, I realise that could have been part of his training. It’s impossible to say.

'Perhaps he was just naturally reserved.’

The Duke of York has pulled out of a trip to Saudi Arabia, it has emerged.

The Duke of York has pulled out of a trip to Saudi Arabia, it has emerged.
Andrew was due to travel to the oil-rich state next week to boost defence contracts in his role as Britain's trade envoy.
The Duke has faced increasing scrutiny over dealings with a series of foreign dictatorships and links with US billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender.
But Buckingham Palace sources said media coverage surrounding the Duke had "nothing to do" with the decision to postpone the visit, which was made for safety reasons.
The source said: "The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, UK Trade and Investment and the Palace have agreed to postpone the visit given the current circumstances in the region.
"Any suggestion that this had anything to do with recent UK media coverage is absolutely not the case."
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: "Buckingham Palace has never announced any overseas visit for the Duke of York."

HEAVY police presence in the Saudi capital yesterday prevented rallies by activists inspired by democratic movements that have toppled veteran leaders in Tunisia and Egypt.

: A HEAVY police presence in the Saudi capital yesterday prevented rallies by activists inspired by democratic movements that have toppled veteran leaders in Tunisia and Egypt.

Police monitored traffic from helicopters and set up checkpoints, limiting access to the centre of Riyadh and searching vehicles near the central mosque ahead of weekly communal prayers. When protesters did not materialise, police withdrew from the streets.

Saudi interior minister Prince Nayef bin Abdel Aziz had warned dissidents not to stage rallies while senior clerics, the Ulema, ruled that protests against the kingdom’s rulers, regarded as guardians of Islam’s two holiest sites, violate Sharia, Islamic canon law.

However, Saudi reformers said these prohibitions and police action did not account for the failure of the demonstrations. Instead they argued that the group inciting the protests consisted largely of foreign-based Saudi dissidents connected by the internet.

Demanding elections for both ruler and parliament, they had called for a “Day of Rage” and the launch of a “March 11th revolution” on the one month anniversary of the toppling of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.

King Abdullah is genuinely popular and seen as trying to effect political change in the deeply conservative kingdom. Last month, in a bid to head off popular protests, he announced a $36 billion package of measures providing Saudis with jobs, interest-free home loans and debt forgiveness. On Thursday, in the eastern city of Qatif, police opened up with percussion bombs and live bullets at several hundred protesters who responded with stones and petrol bombs. Three demonstrators and one police officer were wounded.

The demonstrators, who had gathered for a second day, were protesting discriminatory treatment of the 10-15 per cent Shia minority and calling for the release of Shia political prisoners.

Shias complain that they are not permitted to take up sensitive positions in the military, police and civil service and do not receive a share in the country’s oil wealth in line with their proportion in the population of 23 million.

In Bahrain, meanwhile, police opened fire on thousands of anti-government protesters yesterday as they made their way to the royal court in Riffa, injuring over 100.

There were unconfirmed reports of live rounds being used, with two injured, and the deployment of nerve gas by the security forces. Dozens of the injured taken to hospital appeared to be unconscious.

Libya's Col. Moammar Gadhafi, whose regime had armed and funded Mr. Taylor, called it an "immoral act" and warned that "every head of state could meet a similar fate."

When Nigeria delivered exiled Liberian leader Charles Taylor to an international court in 2006, Libya's Col. Moammar Gadhafi, whose regime had armed and funded Mr. Taylor, called it an "immoral act" and warned that "every head of state could meet a similar fate."


Now that the International Criminal Court has opened an investigation into Col. Gadhafi himself, such fears may well be a reason why the Libyan leader has chosen to battle his own people instead of seeking exile like Mr. Taylor or Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, the former Tunisian president now residing in Saudi Arabia.

Col. Gadhafi's behavior illustrates a thorny moral dilemma: An international drive to ensure ousted dictators answer for their crimes may, perversely, end up prolonging their rule—and extract a heavy toll in human lives.

"The very real fear that Gadhafi & Co. effectively may have no place to go outside Libya where they would be safe from pursuit…provides a compelling incentive to fight on," explains Wayne White, a scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington and a former State Department intelligence official.

For the international community, the dilemma has often amounted to a trade-off between conflict resolution and justice. In recent years, though, the arc of history has leaned toward justice, no matter the consequences.

In 1986, the U.S. convinced Haiti's Jean-Claude Duvalier to depart as he faced an uprising. "We were able to say, 'the only way you can stay is if you kill a lot of people. Wouldn't your life be better if you went to France instead?' And he did," recalled Elliott Abrams, who was assistant secretary of state for inter-American affairs in the 1980s.

In South Africa, in the early 1990s, the choice was made to give amnesty for apartheid-era atrocities to those who confessed to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission—ensuring a democratic transition.

The counteroffensive in Ras Lanouf reversed the opposition's advance toward the capital of Tripoli and has threatened its positions in the east.

Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi have used fierce barrages of tank and artillery fire to send rebels seeking his ouster into a panicked retreat from a strategic oil port.
 

The counteroffensive in Ras Lanouf reversed the opposition's advance toward the capital of Tripoli and has threatened its positions in the east.


Reports from the scene described hundreds of rebels in cars and trucks mounted with machine guns speeding eastward in a seemingly disorganized flight, as intense rocket and shell fire pounded a hospital, mosque, and other buildings in the oil complex.


The routing of rebel forces came on the same day as Jakob Kellenberger, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said in Geneva that Libya is now engaged in a "civil war" and that a "further intensification of the fighting" is expected.


"My understanding is we have now a non-international armed conflict, or what you would call a civil war," he said.

Saudi police opened fire at a protest march

Saudi police opened fire at a protest march in a restive, oil-rich province of the kingdom on Thursday, wounding at least three, according to witnesses there. The crackdown came a day before a planned “day of rage” throughout the country that officials have said they will not tolerate.

The clash with protesters in the heavily Shiite region underscored long-standing tensions in Saudi society: A sense among its Shiite minority that it is discriminated against by a government practicing a zealous form of Sunni orthodoxy. One resident in Qatif who watched the march, Abdulwahab al-Oraid, said he it was not clear why police opened fire at what appeared to be a peaceful demonstration that started with 100 people and later grew to about 300.

“There is a fear of Friday’s protests,” Mr. Oraid said. “We think this is a message, ‘Don’t protest in any Shiite areas on Friday.’"

Witnesses said bullets had been fired, but they were unclear if they were rubber or other bullets.

William Hague was under fire today after a senior MP hinted that he may not be the right person for the job

William Hague was under fire today after a senior MP hinted that he may not be the right person for the job of Foreign Secretary, following the bungled special forces operation in Libya.

Sir Menzies Campbell described the post as ‘very demanding’, adding that he was unsure ‘just how enthusiastic he is’.

The former Lib Dem leader spoke out on Newsnight after Mr Hague admitted responsibility for the operation, which saw a small group of SAS soldiers rounded up and held by rebel soldiers – mostly believed to have been Libyan farmers - before being kicked out of the country.

Libyan leader Moamar Gaddafi is ready to unleash the full might of his forces to crush a three-week-old insurrection, his son said

Libyan leader Moamar Gaddafi is ready to unleash the full might of his forces to crush a three-week-old insurrection, his son said overnight, as warplanes and tanks struck at the country's rebel-controlled east.

"It's time for liberation. It's time for action. We are moving now," Saif al-Islam told Reuters in an interview. "Time is out now ... we gave them two weeks (for negotiations)."

As he spoke, Gaddafi's forces intensified their counter-attack on the insurgent heartland, bombarding rebel positions in the oil port of Ras Lanuf. Warplanes also hit Brega, another rebel-held oil hub further east.

State television said the army had driven the rebels out of Ras Lanuf, just behind their frontline but the rebels denied it.

In Brussels, NATO defence ministers resisted calls for a no-fly zone to help the beleagured rebels.

NATO secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen told a meeting any military action could happen only with a demonstrable need, a clear legal basis, and firm regional support, not all of which now apply.

Defence ministers decided instead to step up surveillance of Libyan air space and to move warships closer to the Libyan coast.

But Mr Rasmussen said a no-fly zone was still a possible next step and that NATO forces will be monitoring the arms embargo against Libya.

relative of Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been mistakenly killed by Nato troops in southern Afghanistan

relative of Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been mistakenly killed by Nato troops in southern Afghanistan, officials say.

Yar Muhammad Khan was at his home in Dand district near Kandahar city when he was shot dead in an overnight raid.

Nato says it is investigating the incident.

Hundreds of Afghans took to the streets of the capital, Kabul, last week to protest about civilian deaths at the hands of foreign forces.

''There were operations taking place near his house. He was killed by mistake. He was not a target," Ahmad Wali Karzai, the brother of President Karzai and head of Kandahar's provincial council, said.

It comes just days after President Karzai lashed out at US-led forces over the recent accidental killing of nine boys by US forces in eastern Kunar province.

Yemeni anti-government protester dies: hospital

Mohamed ElBaradei, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former chief of the United Nations nuclear agency, said Wednesday that he intended to run for president, although he set conditions under which he would pursue the office vacated last month by Egypt’s longtime leader, Hosni Mubarak.

“When the door for presidential nominations opens, I intend to nominate myself,” Mr. ElBaradei said on a talk show broadcast live by the Egyptian satellite channel ON TV.

The announcement came amid a growing sense of uncertainty as Egypt begins to chart its future after decades of autocratic rule and as violence has begun to escalate.

On Tuesday night into early Wednesday, 13 people were killed and 140 wounded in fighting between Muslims and Christians in the suburbs of Cairo, the Health Ministry said. The clashes, which broke out during a protest by several hundred Christians over the burning last week of a church in the village of Soul, were a significant departure from the sense of solidarity that had prevailed among people of different backgrounds throughout the weeks of protests that led to Mr. Mubarak’s resignation.

The attack against the church was said to result from village tensions surrounding a love affair between a Muslim woman and a Christian man.

The journalists were seized at a checkpoint in western Libya while trying to enter the city of Zawiyah. The pair were then held, beaten and given mock executions in the most extreme case of the Gaddafi regime's harassment of international journalists.
Feras Killani, a journalist of Palestinian-Syrian origin for the BBC Arabic service, and Chris Cobb-Smith, a British national, made public their fate at the hands of soldiers and militia after flying out of the country on Wednesday night.
Libya, normally one of the most closed countries in the Middle East to journalists, has invited in scores in the past ten days in a bid to demonstrate that television reports of the crisis in the country are exaggerated. They have been handed letters saying they can report freely.
But after a series of miscalculations, once taking reporters to Zawiyah, a town still in rebel hands, officials have tightened movements, detaining scores at checkpoints around the capital, Tripoli, including The Daily Telegraph's correspondent twice.

Government Forces Pull Together and Officials Lobby West Against Intervention

Libyan officials are scrambling to soften the wave of economic sanctions hitting Col. Moammar Gadhafi's government

Libyan officials are scrambling to soften the wave of economic sanctions hitting Col. Moammar Gadhafi's government, as European Union foreign ministers and North Atlantic Treaty Organization officials meet in Brussels to consider options for intervening in the stalemate between rebels and pro-Gadhafi forces in Libya.

Underscoring the challenges the regime faces, the Associated Press Thursday reported that France said it formally recognizes Libya's opposition National Transitional Council, and Germany's economics ministry said it had frozen "billions" in additional assets belonging to Col. Gadhafi's government and its banks. French President Nicolas Sarkozy Thursday met with two representatives of the newly formed council, the AP said. Defense ministers and many EU foreign ministers and leaders also have declined to meet with Libyan government envoys that have traveled to Europe, according to a senior diplomat.

To press the regime's case, a Libyan envoy Thursday met with Greece's deputy foreign minister and the ministry's secretary general, a day after similar talks were held in Lisbon with Portugal's Foreign Minister Luis Amado, and Egyptian and Maltan officials, AP reported. The Greek ministry said the meeting was arranged in agreement with the EU's top foreign-policy officer Catherine Ashton ahead of the EU foreign meeting in Brussels, the AP said.

Obama threatens military intervention in Libya

Obama threatens military intervention in Libya: "US president Barack Obama said yesterday that the United States and its Nato allies are considering military intervention in Libya in the strongest warning yet to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi that the world will not stand by as the embattled Libyan leader attacks his own people.

Mr Obama said the US would support the Libyan people against 'unacceptable' violence after pro-regime forces deployed jets, helicopters and artillery against civilians in an effort to retake western cities near Tripoli that had fallen to the opposition.

Morgan Stanley to Libya: ‘No’ on Oil Trading

Morgan Stanley to Libya: ‘No’ on Oil Trading  "International sanctions against Libya are spreading to Wall Street.

Deal Journal colleague Guy Chazan is reporting that Morgan Stanley has stopped buying crude oil and oil products from the North African country due to sanctions against the regime of Moammar Gadhafi."

Muammar Gaddafi's sons linked to 2 more UK universities

Muammar Gaddafi's sons linked to 2 more UK universities "London colleges SOAS and King’s had links with the regime of embattled Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi, it has emerged.

Less than a week after the director of the London School of Economics resigned over the university’s acceptance of a £1.5million donation from a charity run by one of Gaddafi’s son, it has been reported that another member of the Gaddafi family was taught in London.

Mutassim Gaddafi, 34, attended an English course at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in the summer of 2006, four years before the college signed a six-figure deal with a Libyan university."

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MI6 officer seized in SAS mission fiasco 'was carrying letter signed by David Cameron'

Libya: MI6 officer seized in SAS mission fiasco 'was carrying letter signed by David Cameron' - Telegraph: "The Prime Minister wanted the note hand-delivered to the rebel leaders to help help win their trust in the campaign to oust Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi, according to the Daily Mirror.
In doing so he was following in the footsteps of Baroness Thatcher, who liked to begin 'difficult negotiations' with personal messages while she was Prime Minister.
The Foreign and Commonwealth said it was investigating the report on Tuesday morning.
The claim came after William Hague told the House of Commons on Monday that the Prime Minister was aware that SAS soldiers and MI6 officers were to mount the secret mission in Libya.
The Foreign Secretary made clear the Prime Minister knew about last week's operation, which ended in embarrassing failure when the British personnel were held captive by Libyan opposition groups."

- Hague defends help given to UK woman in Libya

Hague defends help given to UK woman in Libya: "The government has rejected claims that it did not give enough aid to a British woman fleeing violence in Libya.

Jennifer Currie, 28, from Merseyside, eventually got out of the north African country by travelling through Tunisia and flying home from Germany.

However, Foreign Secretary William Hague insisted his department had done everything it could to help her.

Earlier, Mr Hague was criticised following a botched SAS mission to make contact with the Libyan opposition."

Diplomats prepare Libya resolution

 Diplomats prepare Libya resolution: "Britain is co-drafting a United Nations resolution to impose a no-fly zone over Libya as the international community edges closer to military intervention in the North African country.
UK and French diplomats are working on the wording to be ready to go before the Security Council if evidence emerges that Colonel Muammar Gaddafi is using air power against civilians.
The Gaddafi regime has unleashed Libyan jets against rebels trying to oust the country's dictator after 41 years in power.
Libya's UN ambassador has also urged the UN Security Council to impose a no-fly zone to prevent Gaddafi's forces from bombing civilians.
Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Monday that Nato was working on a range of options.
'At the UN Security Council, we are working closely with partners on a contingency basis on elements of a resolution on a no-fly zone, making clear the need for regional support, a clear trigger for such a resolution and an appropriate legal basis,' he told the Commons.
His remarks came as he was forced onto the defensive over his decision to launch a botched SAS mission to establish contact with Libyan rebels."

1,200 immigrants land on Italy's Lampedusa

 1,200 immigrants land on Italy's Lampedusa: "Boats carrying more than 1,200 Tunisian immigrants landed on the Italian island of Lampedusa on Monday, as French far-right leader Marine Le Pen said she intended to visit the outcrop.
Officials said over a dozen boatloads were intercepted by Italian coastguards and brought to the island, located closer to North African shores than to mainland Italy and a gateway for illegal immigration into Europe.
'Europe is being invaded,' Interior Minister Roberto Maroni, a leading member of the anti-immigration Northern League party, told reporters.
'Around 8,000 illegal immigrants have arrived in the past month -- a lot more than the number who came over the whole of 2010,' he said.
Maroni and other government ministers have also said they fear a vast increase in immigrant numbers if the unrest in Libya continues.
Meanwhile in Paris, Le Pen said she would visit Italy next week and could travel to Lampedusa to condemn what she said was the European Union's 'impotence' against the recent rise in illegal immigration.
Twenty-five migrants on one of the boats that arrived on Monday had to be rescued by coast guards near the island as their vessel risked sinking.
Among the arrivals was also a German woman and her daughter who had trouble returning to Europe after her divorce from a Tunisian, Italian media reported."

Gates Says U.S. Is in Position to Take Some Troops Out of Afghanistan

Gates Says U.S. Is in Position to Take Some Troops Out of Afghanistan : "Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Monday that the United States was “well positioned” to begin withdrawing some American troops from Afghanistan in July, but he said that a substantial force would remain and that the United States was starting talks with the Afghans about keeping a security presence in the country beyond 2014."

Tunisia scraps hated political police : News24: Africa: News

Tunisia scraps hated political police : News24: Africa: News: "Tunisia's prime minister named a new government on Monday and a much-hated police unit was disbanded as the interim leadership of this North African nation seeks to stabilize a country still finding its way after a popular revolt.

Prime Minister Beji Caid Essebsi kept the heads of the key defence, interior, justice and foreign affairs ministries, but named new figures to six posts vacated last week by ministers apparently trying to distance themselves from the caretaker government, seen by some as too close to the regime of ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry announced it has abolished the State Security Department, whose so-called political police spied on and harassed citizens under Ben Ali."

Tuaregs 'join Gaddafi's mercenaries'

Tuaregs 'join Gaddafi's mercenaries': "Members of the Tuareg community in Mali say a large number of men from the Tuareg ethnic group have left Mali in the last week to join pro-Gaddafi forces in Libya.

'About 2-300 have left in the last seven days,' said a senior elected official, who did not want to be named, from the Kidal region in the north of the country, where many Tuareg live.

Another Tuareg man from Kidal said: 'It's true many young men are leaving. It all started about a week back.'

He said he had spoken to a convoy of 40 vehicles who are in southern Algeria waiting to cross the border into Libya.

The elected official said: 'They are being paid about $10,000 (£6,000) to join up and then I've heard they are being told that they will get $1,000 a day to fight.'

Continue reading the main story
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These people are travelling through the desert. Nobody controls the borders in the Sahara”

The official claimed that some of the money was coming through the Libyan embassy in the Malian capital, Bamako."

What were the SAS doing in Libya?

The Foreign Secretary William Hague has confirmed that a British diplomatic team has been in Benghazi, but what might it have hoped to achieve?

The team, which included six soldiers believed to be SAS, has been freed two days after being detained by rebels after arriving near Benghazi in a helicopter early on Friday morning.

William Hague approved botched Libya mission, PM's office says | World news | guardian.co.uk

William Hague approved botched Libya mission, PM's office says  "William Hague, the foreign secretary, approved the botched plan to send a team of armed diplomats and SAS soldiers into eastern Libya in an effort to build diplomatic contacts with anti-Gaddafi rebels.

The eight M16 officers and SAS soldiers were arrested then deported after only two days in the country.

The prime minister's official spokesman was reluctant to reveal details, partly due to the involvement of special forces, but told a briefing Hague had approved the operation 'in the normal way'.

It was impossible to discern from the briefing whether David Cameron had been specifically informed in advance, but it was stressed that the prime minister and the foreign secretary are in constant contact."

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Gaddafi investigated for 'crimes against humanity'

Gaddafi investigated for 'crimes against humanity': "The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has said he will investigate Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, his sons and senior aides for crimes against humanity.

Thousands of people are thought to have died after security forces targeted protesters in unrest which began in mid-February.

Speaking to the BBC's Matthew Price, Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said he could not confirm that Libyan planes attacked civilians on the ground."

Libyan warplane bombed just beyond the walls of the base in Ajdabiyah

It is the third day in a row that the dictator's air force has bombed areas controlled by opposition fighters.

A Libyan warplane bombed just beyond the walls of the base in Ajdabiyah but did not hit it, rebel volunteers guarding the facility said.

"We were sat here, heard the jet, then the explosion and the earth shook. They fell outside the walls," said Hassan Faraj, who was at an ammunitions store at the Haniyeh base.

Another volunteer guard, Aziz Saleh, said two rockets had been fired. They had landed just outside the walls of the base, he said.

Earlier in the day, rebels said they were are preparing for further attacks by troops loyal to Col Gaddafi.

Anti-regime forces who control the key port city of Zawiyah said they had already started to launch counter-attacks against soldiers who had begun to gather in the area.

One resident of the city said an estimated 2,000 troops had positioned themselves to the south of the city with 80 armoured vehicles headed there from the east.

In the east of the country witnesses reported an air raid on Brega.

Qaddafi Forces Capture 3 Dutch Aircrew

Qaddafi Forces Capture 3 Dutch Aircrew: "Libyan authorities loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi have captured three crew members of a Dutch naval helicopter who were rescuing European citizens, last Sunday, the Dutch Defense Ministry said on Thursday, the first report of foreigners being by held in Libya’s bloody and unfolding uprising.

Otte Beeksma, a spokesman for the Defense Ministry, said in a telephone interview that the pro-Qaddafi forces also captured two civilians being rescued — one Dutch, the other from an unspecified European country — who had since been released.

Mr. Beeksma, said the crew of a Lynx helicopter had landed in the coastal city of Sirte — a pro-Qaddafi stronghold — after flying from a navy ship, the HMS Tromp, anchored offshore. The helicopter was “surrounded by armed Libyan forces late on Sunday afternoon.”

The two people being evacuated were transferred to the Dutch Embassy in Tripoli on Sunday, but the crew and their helicopter were still being held. Mr. Beeksma did not identify the two people who were being rescued."

Libya refugees: UK begins rescue mission from Tunisia

Libya refugees: UK begins rescue mission from Tunisia: "British flights have begun rescuing people who are stranded on the Libyan-Tunisian border and fleeing violence.

On Wednesday, a Thomas Cook plane and a Titan Airways charter picked up 406 adults and seven children from Djerba airport in Tunisia.

It comes as Foreign Secretary William Hague is due to hold talks over Libya and the Middle East with his French counterpart.

Meanwhile, UK charities are warning of a 'potential humanitarian crisis'."

Gaddafi Stripped Of UK Assets

Gaddafi Stripped Of UK Assets The Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, and all his family and personal servants, had their UK assets frozen last night following a snap Privy Council meeting at Windsor Castle in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen.

It was reported that £3 billion had been transferred to British banks from Libya last week. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, also took steps to prevent £900 million worth of Libyan banknotes, printed in England, being exported to Libya. It was believed that Gaddafi needed the cash urgently to pay the gangs of foreign mercenaries who are helping him cling to power.

It is not clear how much property the Gaddafi family owns in Britain, but estimates have put this at about £20 billion, including bank accounts, investments and property.

The government also acted to strip the Gaddafi family of diplomatic immunity from prosecution. Diplomatic immunity is automatically granted to leaders of foreign powers but its removal from the Gaddafis effectively means that they can cannot travel to the UK. Other nations including the USA, France and Switzerland have also frozen Gaddafi’s assets and placed travel bans on him and his retinue."

sentences of death and imprisonment for 11 people, including three Iranians , convicted in four cases of drug trafficking and possession.

The Specialized Criminal Division in the capital Sana'a passed on Monday sentences of death and imprisonment for 11 people, including three Iranians , convicted in four cases of drug trafficking and possession.

In the hearings chaired by Judge Mohamed al-Hakimi, the verdict in the first case upheld the 25 years custody sentence for the convict Jilan Shawki Hajori, and imprisonment of five years for Mansour Naji al-Mokhtari , Bassem Mohamed al-Borai and Hussein Ali Muhyam.

The verdict also included the confiscation of the seized car in the case and the destruction of narcotic substances, which amounted to eight and a half kilograms.

The fourth convicts were captured by the security services in April 2009 in Hodeidah province.

The verdict in the second case, supported the death sentence for Mumtaz Sultan Amiri , an Iranian national, convicted of bringing in drugs, and five years in jail for both Emam Khan Mohamed, Abdulwahed Mohamed Bloshi for taking drugs.

In addition, the verdict stipulated the confiscation of the seized drug quantity, estimated at 1059 kilograms of Hashish.

The three convicts, who are all from Iran, were seized by the security services in the Yemeni territorial waters off Mahrah coast."

London School of Economics promoted Gaddafi for his millions

London School of Economics promoted Gaddafi for his millions "The trouble with Fred Halliday was that he drank too much. He repeatedly warned colleagues at the London School of Economics, where he was professor of international relations, that taking money from Libya would come back to haunt them.

Fred spoke ten languages including several from the Middle East. He could see that the university where he had taught for 15 years was dealing with the Devil and risking its precious international reputation. He didn’t even want Saif Gaddafi to be a student there.

They didn’t listen to him. Not just because he drank, of course, but because they were greedy for Libyan money, a donation of a whopping £1.5million that Saif, now 38, made to the LSE a year after they had given him a PhD."

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Libya protests: No-fly zone - bluff or reality?

 Libya protests: No-fly zone - bluff or reality?: "n the corridors of Britain's Ministry of Defence a planning taskforce is busy working up contingency plans for a possible no-fly zone over Libya.

It is part of the gathering international momentum towards isolating Libya's Col Gaddafi amid fears he may once again use his air force against his own people.

But is it practical? Is it desirable? Or, as some cynics suspect, is this just playing for time in the hopes that Col Gaddafi soon yields to pressure and steps down before a single Western warplane is sent anywhere near Libyan airspace?"

Desperate refugees surge over Libya-Tunisia border | World | Reuters

Desperate refugees surge over Libya-Tunisia border | World | Reuters: "Soldiers fired into the air in an effort to subdue a wave of Egyptian labourers desperate to escape Libya on Tuesday, as the refugee crisis created by the rebellion against Muammar Gaddafi escalated.

Aid workers threw bottles of water and loaves of bread over the wall to a sea of men surging forward towards the safety of Tunisian soil, in a futile attempt to calm them.

Young Tunisians with branches torn from the trees kept them from clambering over the wall between border posts.

Tunisian officials were processing entrants as fast as they could, as medics plucked fainting men from the heaving mass sweeping over the chest-high steel gate.

Panicking migrants passed their bulging suitcases, rugs, and blankets overhead at the gate where soldiers with sticks tried to hold them back. A Tunisian officer with a loud hailer shouted reassurances that they would be let in.

Order looked close to collapse at one brief point in the overflowing border compound on the Tunisian side, where throngs of men jostled and long lines of exhausted migrants in torn jackets and headcloths queued for water, food, and toilets.

Troops fired warning shots in the air"

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Outside Yemen's capital, anger and grievances run deep

Outside Yemen's capital, anger and grievances run deep: "It's 10 p.m. on a Thursday, and Freedom Square is electric. Ten thousand protesters, perhaps more, are waving flags and banners clamoring for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to resign. On a makeshift stage, 12-year-old Ons Al-Ahdel, dressed in a head-to-toe black abaya and clutching a bubble-gum-pink purse, grabs the microphone.

'The revolution is coming,' she screams.

This south-central city, ringed by oatmeal-colored mountains, is a place that many believe could become the cradle of another Arab revolution, if momentum builds here as it did in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Activists are comparing Taiz to Benghazi, the eastern Libyan city that triggered the rebellion that threatens to oust Moammar Gaddafi."

Unmoved by sultan's offer, Oman protesters to continue demonstrations

Unmoved by sultan's offer, Oman protesters to continue demonstrations : "fourth day of demonstrations are expected in Oman on Tuesday, this time in the capital Muscat.
On Monday, anti-government protesters in the key port city of Sohar refused to end protests despite orders from the sultan to hire 50,000 people and pay a stipend to people who are out of work, sources in the Gulf state told CNN.
Demonstrators in Sohar have blocked routes to the port and the industrial zone, prompting port staff to leave work, two sources in the town said.
Protesters demands include greater freedom of expression, higher salaries, a clampdown on government corruption, a new constitution, and the prosecution of security officials whose actions led to the death of demonstrators.
Oman is not a major oil producer, but a significant share of the world's oil shipping passes through the Strait of Hormuz, along the Omani coast.
Witnesses did not report any clashes between security and the protesters, saying the two sides were keeping apart."

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Tony Blair's 'dodgy deal' to arm Gaddafi leaked paper shows

Tony Blair's 'dodgy deal' to arm Gaddafi leaked paper shows "Tony Blair's ‘dodgy’ deals with Colonel Gaddafi were denounced by David Cameron last night as extraordinary details of Labour’s defence co-operation with Tripoli were laid bare.

A previously unpublished document shows that Mr Blair’s Government agreed to supply military hardware and expertise to the despotic regime.

And it proves that there were plans for Britain to train Libyan military officers at ‘its prestigious military colleges and institutions’ such as the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst."

politicians (even “statesmen”), banks, governments, international organizations, newspapers, universities, scholars—they are now mortified to (have to) admit that they made common cause with Muammar Qaddafi

Peretz: The Qaddafi Family Didn’t Lack For Western Allies | The New Republic: "The fact is that almost everyone has dirty hands. Everyone: politicians (even “statesmen”), banks, governments, international organizations, newspapers, universities, scholars—they are now mortified to (have to) admit that they made common cause with Muammar Qaddafi and his favored son Saif.

Thursday’s Financial Times carries a half-page article by Michael Peel on some of Qaddafi’s intimates: Tony Blair, the London School of Economics (LSE) and Political Science, the Carlyle Group (America’s most politically wired investment ensemble), the great revolutionary democrat Hugo Chavez, etc. Sir Howard Davies, the director of the LSE, identified by Peel as “a former unpaid adviser to the Libyan Investment Authority,”"

Libya oil chief: Production down 50 percent :

Libya oil chief: Production down 50 percent : "Libya's oil chief said Monday that production had been cut by around 50 percent, and argued it was 'safe' for foreign oil workers to return after a mass exodus sparked by Moammar Gadhafi's increasingly violent campaign to retain control of the country.

The assurances by Shukri Ghanem, the head of the state-run National Oil Co. and Libya's de facto oil minister, came as uncertainty swirled about the state of the OPEC member's production and who was actually in control of the brunt of the nation's oil. Libya sits atop Africa's largest proven reserves.

The country is the only member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries so far seriously affected by the protests roiling the Arab world, and unrest there has sent shudders through global oil markets.

Ghanem claimed that the government in Tripoli remained firmly in control of the country's oil installations — from fields to refineries and pipelines. He rejected an assessment put forward by EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger on Monday that Gadhafi had lost control of the country's main oil and gas fields.

'He does not control the oil,' Ghanem said, referring to Oettinger. 'You can believe who you want, but I am the chairman of the National Oil Company and I know what we produce,' he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview."

U.S., Europe tighten noose around Libya's government

U.S., Europe tighten noose around Libya's government: "United States and its European allies tightened their noose around Libya's besieged government Monday, positioning military assets for possible action in the Mediterranean as they launched humanitarian efforts to assist refugees and rebel forces that have seized the eastern part of the country.

Britain and the European Union announced new sanctions against Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, his family and his government. The U.S. Treasury announced that it has frozen $30 billion worth of Libyan assets in this country under an executive order President Obama issued Friday, the most ever blocked under such a program."

Ivory Coast: UN experts attacked in Yamoussoukro

 Ivory Coast: UN experts attacked in Yamoussoukro: "United Nations experts in Ivory Coast came under fire as they were trying to investigate reports of a violation of the arms embargo imposed on the country, the global body says.

The UN team was attacked in the capital, Yamoussoukro.

They were looking into reports that Belarus had provided attack helicopters for supporters of Laurent Gbagbo, who refuses to give up the presidency.

Belarus has denied the allegations as 'groundless'.

The UN Sanctions Committee on Ivory Coast says it has not been able to positively confirm the shipment, though it said UN personnel should continue monitoring the situation.

A planned meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the reports has been cancelled.

Meanwhile, Ivory Coast's former rebels say they are ready to take military action against Mr Gbagbo."