Fear descended on Abidjan Thursday as sporadic bursts of automatic weapon fire pierced the air, helicopters circled, barricades dotted the city and looters rampaged in some areas.

Fear descended on Abidjan Thursday as sporadic bursts of automatic weapon fire pierced the air, helicopters circled, barricades dotted the city and looters rampaged in some areas.
"We are locked in the room, there is heavy shooting and then it stops" an inhabitant of the chic suburb Cocody, home to strongman Laurent Gbagbo, told AFP, her voice choked with anxiety.
As night fell, the city was on tenterhooks, worried that a fierce final battle might take place between Gbagbo's army and forces loyal to internationally recognised president Alassane Ouattara.
Since mid-morning, the streets of the turbulent metropolis were deserted as news spread that Ouattara's forces -- having swept through towns across the country -- were swiftly moving south.
Plateau, the administrative heart of the city and home to the presidential palace, quickly emptied and an eery silence hung over the streets, broken intermittently by explosions and machine gun fire.
A total absence of security forces gave looters a free-for-all in the economic capital, home to some five million people before the post-electoral crisis.
The suburb of Marcory or "Zone 4" known for its normally buzzing nightlife and home to numerous expatriates, was particularly targeted and the French force Licorne deployed some 50 men to deter gangs of thugs.
"We are at home, we heard shooting. We don't know exactly what is happening but it seems that some people looted an ice-cream store, and then there were Licorne helicopters circling the area," said a resident of the suburb.
"We don't know what is going on, we are scared," said another.
In the popular district of Kumasi, a witness saw youths returning to their homes, carrying fans and other items.
In Cocody, young men left a supermarket carrying mattresses, household appliances and food, according to a resident.
One Frenchman, who has lived in Abidjan for many years told AFP: "If order does not return quickly, it's gonna be hell tonight."

Britain on Thursday urged its citizens in Yemen to immediately leave the country

Britain on Thursday urged its citizens in Yemen to immediately leave the country, saying London was unlikely to be able to carry out evacuations if the security situation deteriorated further.
The Foreign Office also called on all sides in the crisis-hit Middle Eastern country to "exercise the utmost restraint" as government supporters and their challengers gathered for rival demonstrations on Friday.
"In light of the rapid deterioration in the security situation in Yemen... we strongly urge all British nationals to leave the country now while commercial airlines are still flying," said a Foreign Office statement.
"Given the situation on the ground, it is highly unlikely that the British government will be able to evacuate British nationals or provide consular assistance in the event of a further breakdown of law and order," it said.
London pointed out it had already urged its nationals to leave Yemen immediately earlier in March but the amendment to its advice -- related to evacuation -- reflected "the increasing seriousness of the situation."
In Yemen, fears were growing for another tense Friday with President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his opponents setting the scene for another confrontation. State news agency Saba said tribal chiefs, clerics, civil society figures, youths and supporters from the countryside were streaming into Sanaa on Thursday in response to the longtime president's call for a show of solidarity.
His challengers, mainly youths camped out at a renamed "Change Square" near Sanaa University, have also urged demonstrators to take to the streets.
The standoff has been going on for two months but it escalated on March 18 when 52 protesters were gunned down in Sanaa by Saleh loyalists.
The Foreign Office said it urged "all parties in Yemen to exercise the utmost restraint and take all steps necessary to defuse tension on the ground.
"We call on all parties to make urgent progress in implementing much needed political and economic reform."

Moussa Koussa, the Libyan foreign minister, who fled to Britain on Wednesday, is described as having "electrifying" information on Col Muammar Gaddafi's role in terrorist atrocities across Europe.

Moussa Koussa, the Libyan foreign minister, who fled to Britain on Wednesday, is described as having "electrifying" information on Col Muammar Gaddafi's role in terrorist atrocities across Europe.
Yesterday the Prime Minister said he would not block any attempts by the police to question Mr Koussa.
Mr Cameron stressed that Mr Koussa had not been offered a deal in return for fleeing to Britain and had not been granted immunity from prosecution. But if the defector is arrested and charged with crimes, it may undermine attempts by Western governments to encourage others in Col Gaddafi's inner circle to flee from Libya, a key aim of current diplomatic efforts.
Mr Koussa may also be reluctant to co-operate fully with British officials if he is not given guarantees about his future.
Last night, the Scottish prosecuting authorities investigating the Lockerbie bombing formally requested access to Mr Koussa, a right-hand man to Col Gaddafi for more than 30 years.

When a Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier pleaded guilty last week to murdering three Afghans, he couldn't say for sure if he'd actually killed anyone.

In fact, Spc. Jeremy Morlock said some of his platoon mates in the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division likely delivered the shots that took the civilians’ lives in southern Afghanistan last year. He said he was responsible because he joined in planning the combat-like scenarios.

Morlock’s descriptions of the murders will be important testimony to four of his platoon mates who await courts martial on charges that they participated in the killings. Morlock, 23, struck a plea deal that requires him to take the witness stand at their trials.

Some of his codefendants’ attorneys have been hammering the Army for months for not producing evidence showing which soldiers fired the fatal shots. They argue the soldiers can’t be convicted of murder if they didn’t kill someone.

“There is no physical evidence here,” attorney Dan Conway said at a pretrial hearing in November for one of Morlock’s codefendants, Pfc. Andrew Holmes, 20, of Boise, Idaho. “It’s absolutely breathtaking that this is a premeditated murder case.”

A January 2010 killing Morlock described in court Wednesday illustrated the uncertainty over whose weapons were responsible for which deaths.

That incident became the ugly face of the alleged war crimes committed by Morlock and his comrades when a German newsmagazine last week published photos of the victim. One image shows Morlock grinning as he holds up the Afghan’s head; another shows Holmes kneeling over the corpse.

Morlock said the killing played out when he spotted an Afghan in a field approaching him and Holmes. Morlock said he told the man to halt about 20 meters from them while he and Holmes agreed to kill him in a scenario they’d devised earlier with Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs. Gibbs was a squad leader in their platoon and is the main target of the Army’s war crimes investigation.

Morlock said he tossed a grenade over a wall near them to make it appear as if the Afghan attacked him and Holmes. He ordered Holmes to shoot the man with a burst of gunfire from the squad automatic weapon he carried. That gun fires more rapidly than the rifles most infantrymen carry, and it can shoot as many as 1,000 rounds per minute.

After the grenade exploded, Morlock said he shot the Afghan, too.

“He was laying on the ground, dead presumably” when he shot, Morlock said in court.

Other infantrymen in his platoon gathered at the shooting scene. Capt. Patrick Mitchell asked the soldiers to make sure the Afghan was dead, according to sworn statements and court testimony. Staff Sgt. Kris Sprague interpreted that order as a directive to shoot the Afghan twice more, Morlock said.

Sprague was not charged with a crime for shooting the Afghan, and no one else alleged that he knew the killing was staged.

Morlock told the Army judge, Lt. Col. Kwasi Hawks, that he believed Holmes’ weapon killed the Afghan.

“I could only assume that a burst from an automatic weapon and a relatively close position of a fragmentary grenade going off, that that would be the end result,” Morlock told the judge.

Holmes has denied he knowingly participated in a staged killing, and his attorney has said Morlock’s or Sprague’s weapons killed the Afghan.

Conway says the photos of the victim – including the ones published last week – are proof that the Afghan was not hit with Holmes’ weapon. If it had been Holmes’ gun, the body would have shown many more wounds, the attorney said. Instead, it appears to show just one or two bullet wounds.

“When you look at the photo ... there’s only one bullet hole – where Sprague shot,” Conway said in court last fall when he submitted another image of the victim to an Army officer.

Conway unsuccessfully pushed the Army to release the images before the end of Holmes’ pretrial hearing in November. The Army denied his request and the photos reached the public when Der Spiegel magazine obtained them from a source.

Similar to the January incident, Morlock’s account of a May 2010 murder left room for attorneys to argue which of three soldiers killed another Afghan.

Morlock said Gibbs set up the victim on one end of a compound in a village. Gibbs was supposed to throw a grenade while Morlock and Spc. Adam Winfield were supposed to shoot the Afghan. Then Gibbs would plant a Russian-made grenade on the victim to make it appear as if he was attacking Americans.

Instead, Morlock said Gibbs threw the grenade too close to the victim and likely killed him. He and Winfield fired their rifles, but Morlock wasn’t sure if their bullets hit the victim. Morlock said Gibbs shot the Afghan twice more after the explosion.

Gibbs maintains that all three killings were legitimate combat incidents. He’s expected to face a court martial this summer.

al-Qaeda among Libya rebels,American intelligence had picked up "flickers" of terrorist activity among the rebel groups.

Admiral James Stavridis, Nato's Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, said that American intelligence had picked up "flickers" of terrorist activity among the rebel groups. Senior British government figures described the comment as "very alarming".
The admission came as the American, Qatari and British Governments indicated that they were considering arming rebel groups, who yesterday suffered a series of setbacks in their advance along the Libyan coast towards Tripoli.
The plan is likely to spark further splits in the international coalition, with Nato and Italian sources indicating the move would require another United Nations resolution.
On Tuesday more than 40 ministers from around the world met at a conference in London to discuss the situation in Libya.
They agreed to establish formal links with opposition groups in the rebel-stronghold of Benghazi with several countries sending official envoys to the area. Libyan opposition leaders yesterday also travelled to Britain for talks with David Cameron and Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State

Forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi are in heated battles with rebels trying to advance west toward Gadhafi's hometown and stronghold of Sirte.

Forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi are in heated battles with rebels trying to advance west toward Gadhafi's hometown and stronghold of Sirte.

Foreign journalists said an onslaught Tuesday by the pro-Gadhafi fighters forced the rebels to retreat farther east. They reported rocket and machinegun fire near the town of Bin Jawad where rebels are scrambling.

The battles came after pro-government forces drove the rebels back with heavy tank and artillery hits late Monday.

International airstrikes against pro-Gadhafi troops have enabled the anti-government forces to recapture large amounts of territory in recent days.

The battle for Sirte is expected to be critical in the rebels' push to end Gadhafi's 42-year rule.

Sirte is dominated by members of the Libyan leader's Gadhadhfa tribe. But many in another large local tribe, the Firjan, are believed to resent his rule, and rebels are hoping to encourage them and other tribes there to help them.

Western nations began enforcing a United Nations-authorized no-fly zone over Libya on March 19. Allied warplanes targeted Sirte for the first time late Sunday.

Libya rebels pull back under Gaddafi army fire

Muammar Gaddafi's forces and some residents fired at Libyan rebels on the road east of the Libyan leader's home city overnight, pushing them back towards the town of Bin Jawad, rebels said.

The rebel fighters had raced along the coastline retaking several oil towns after Western air strikes were launched. But their charge westwards has met resistance as they neared Sirte.

Dozens of rebel fighters and civilians were gathered with pick-ups and cars outside Bin Jawad, about 150 km (100 miles) from Sirte.

"This is a problem road," said 28-year-old rebel officer Hamad al-Awani, who appeared to be in charge of the group. "Yesterday we were hit by Gaddafi so we pulled back."

He said pro-Gaddafi forces used rockets, rocket propelled grenades and medium-calibre weapons to push back rebels gathered east of Sirte, Gaddafi's birthplace and a military base.

Other rebel fighters and their civilian supporters said they believed settlements on the approach to Sirte had posed a potential threat because their inhabitants backed Gaddafi.

"The Gaddafi guys hit us with Grads (rockets) and they came round our flanks," said Ashraf Mohammed, a 28 year old rebel wearing a bandolier of machine gun bullets

Libya's rebel forces closed in Monday on Muammar Qadhafi's hometown of Sirte,

Libya's rebel forces closed in Monday on Muammar Qadhafi's hometown of Sirte, the gateway to the western half of the country, after it was targeted for the first time by international air strikes.

Celebratory gunfire broke out in the early hours of the morning in the rebel city of Benghazi amid rumors that Sirte had already fallen without a fight. The report could not be confirmed and premature accounts of rebel victories are not uncommon in the struggle for Libya.

Witnesses in the city said that bombing could be heard around 6:30 AM local time but there was no fighting in the streets or signs of rebel forces.

Libya's rebels have recovered hundreds of kilometers of flat, uninhabited territory, including two key oil installations, at record speeds after Qadhafi's forces were forced to pull back by international air strikes.

A heavy bombardment of Tripoli also began late Sunday, with at least nine loud explosions and anti-aircraft fire heard, an Associated Press reporter in the city said.

Earlier in the day, rebels regained two key oil complexes along the coastal highway and promised to quickly restart Libya's stalled oil exports, prompting a slight drop in the soaring price of crude oil to around US$105 a barrel.

Moving quickly westward, the advance retraced their steps in the first rebel march toward the capital. But this time, the world's most powerful air forces have eased the way by pounding Qadhafi's military assets for the past week.

Sirte is strategically located about halfway between the rebel-held east and the Qadhafi-controlled west along the Mediterranean coast. It is a bastion of support for Qadhafi and was expected to be difficult for rebels to take.

If the city has fallen, it would mark a major victory for the rebels and leave the way open to Tripoli and Misrata, the sole rebel outpost remaining in the west of the country.

In Misrata, residents reported fighting between rebels and Qadhafi loyalists who fired from tanks on residential areas. Misrata is one of two cities in western Libya that have risen against the regime and suffered brutal crackdowns. It is located between Tripoli and Sirte on the coastal road.

In Washington, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he could not offer a timetable for how long the Libya operation could last, as the Obama administration tried to bolster its case for bringing the United States into another war in the Muslim world.

The UN Security Council authorized the operation to protect Libyan civilians after Qadhafi launched attacks against anti-government protesters who demanded that he step down after nearly 42 years in power. The airstrikes have crippled Qadhafi's forces, allowing rebels to advance less than two weeks after they had seemed at the brink of defeat.

The assault on Sirte, where most civilians are believed to support Qadhafi, however, potentially represents an expansion of the international mission to being more directly involved with regime change.

"This is the objective of the coalition now, it is not to protect civilians because now they are directly fighting against the armed forces," Khaled Kaim, the deputy foreign minister, said in the capital, Tripoli. "They are trying to push the country to the brink of a civil war."

Now that the rebels have regained control of two key oil ports, they are making tentative plans to exploit Libya's most valuable natural resource. But production is at a trickle, the foreign oil workers and their vital expertise have fled the country, and even talk of a marketing deal with Qatar seems murky at best.

The coastal complexes at Ras Lanouf and Brega were responsible for a large chunk of Libya's 1.5 million barrels of daily exports, which have all but stopped since the uprising that began 15 February and was inspired by the toppling of governments in Tunisia and Egypt.

The agreement with the tiny Gulf nation of Qatar could allow the rebels to exploit Libya's vast oil reserves -- most of which are in the eastern territory they control. With no ships coming or going, Libya's tanks are full to the brim. Until they are emptied, there's nowhere to store any oil that is pumped from the ground.

Eastern oil officials said over a week ago they were still producing about 100,000 barrels per day from two key fields. But it was unclear whether such levels were sustainable given the security problems across the country and the exodus of foreign workers from the vital sector.

The rebel turnaround is a boost for President Barack Obama, who has faced complaints from lawmakers from both parties that he has not sought their input about the US role in the conflict or explained with enough clarity about the American goals and exit strategy.

Pentagon officials are looking at plans to expand the firepower and airborne surveillance systems in the military campaign, including using the Air Force's AC-130 gunship armed with cannons that shoot from the side doors, as well as helicopters and drones.

U.S. has a long, complicated, and dark history of arming rebel groups around the world

U.S. has a long, complicated, and dark history of arming rebel groups around the world. Our support for the anti-communist militias in Argentina and Honduras led us to directly train some of the fighters that later evolved into outright death squads. Nixon-era CIA operations in Chile helped Augusto Pinochet's takeover by military coup, which later ended with Pinochet's arrest as a war criminal for the mass murder and torture. The Nicaraguan contras, whom we armed in the 1980s to terrorize the Marxist government, instead terrorized civilians, whom they tortured and killed in large numbers. The U.S.'s support for the rise of the Khmer Rouge, remembered for their genocide of nearly 2 million Cambodians, is more ambiguous and complicated. At the very least, they enjoyed tacit U.S. tolerance as long as they fought Communist Vietnam.

The cycle is a familiar one: rather than commit American lives to a murky and uncertain conflict, the White House asks the CIA to find or create local proxies that can do the fighting for us. We invariably find the most skilled fighters, the most ruthless killers, who can best challenge or outright topple whatever regime -- often communist, usually despotic and deserving of ouster -- has earned American ire. But the conflict often escalates and turns for the worse. Our killers turn out to be even more brutal than their killers, or maybe they're not as unified as we thought and turn against one another, or they end up targeting civilians as well as enemy fighters.

The most common outcome of U.S.-funded rebellions has been to create instability and violence that, whether in the form of intractable insurgencies or low-level sectarian fighting, tends to last far longer than whatever political conflict they were meant to resolve. The flood of arms -- particularly the easy-to-use, impossible-to-destroy, grimly effective Kalashnikov rifle variants -- make weapons so prolific and so cheap that terrorism, criminal gangs better armed than the police, and militias of every political and religious stripe are all but impossible to stamp out. By the time that CIA funding dries up, young men who have made their living for years fighting on the American dime have no other way to support their family than killing for hire. Wealthy, extremist sheikhs and would-be sheikhs on the Arabian Peninsula are always happy to write checks in pursuit of their Islamist dreams, as they have done in support of Afghan and Pakistani militants for decades. Violence begets violence, instability begets instability, and the U.S. tactic of arming rebels has been incredibly successful at fomenting both, but has done little to end either, often creating problems far outsizing those we originally meant to solve.

Neither the French nor the British share this sordid history with the U.S. -- although the U.K. did arm Arab fighters against the Ottoman Empire during World War One, to considerable success. But with the war against Qaddafi still largely leaderless, and each Western power fighting more or less on its own, France or Britain could arm the rebels unilaterally. Even if the Obama administration does decide that arming rebels is not worth the risk of repeating some of our darkest moments in twentieth century foreign policy, it will not be enough for the U.S. to decline to hand out arms. Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy would also have to be persuaded against it as well. But the U.S. political system is never especially fond of soul-searching or admitting past error -- author Gore Vidal refers to the U.S. as "the United States of Amnesia." Back in Afghanistan, we have found another group to arm -- the Taliban-fighting Shinwari tribes -- in the hopes that the enemy of our enemy, if we only ship them enough guns, might bring peace

US President Barack Obama's decision to take military action in Libya is unconstitutional.

Michael Dorf, a constitutional law expert and a professor of law at Cornell University, has said that US President Barack Obama's decision to take military action in Libya is unconstitutional.

He pointed out that conflict in Libya is unconstitutional because Obama has failed to seek Congressional approval. Under the US constitution, Congressional approval is required for declarations of war.

U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973 made the Libya action valid under international law, but compliance with international law does not automatically ensure compliance with the Constitution.

"Although the President was not required to seek a formal declaration of war, the assignment of powers in the Constitution suggests that some form of legislative consent was necessary," said Dorf.

seventh day of air strikes against the Libyan regime’s forces on Friday as Western powers battled to find a way to hand control of the campaign to NATO.

Coalition forces carried out a seventh day of air strikes against the Libyan regime’s forces on Friday as Western powers battled to find a way to hand control of the campaign to NATO.

France insisted on keeping the 28-member alliance out of decision-making with President Nicolas Sarkozy holding out hopes of a diplomatic initiative to end the conflict.

Britain and France were jointly preparing a “political and diplomatic” solution, he said.

Coalition warplanes meanwhile pounded Colonel Moamer Gaddafi’s forces in the strategic eastern town of Ajdabiya, boosting rebel efforts to launch new offensives, journalists reported.

Plumes of smoke filled the sky as the pace of air strikes escalated. Terrified residents were fleeing the city, 160 kilometres south of the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

Anti-aircraft fire raked the Libyan skies overnight, with at least three explosions shaking the capital Tripoli and the eastern suburb of Tajura.

At least one blast was heard from the centre of the city, while others came from Tajura, home to military bases, a journalist reported. US warships and submarines had fired 16 new Tomahawk cruise missiles at Libyan targets in the 24 hours to 0500 GMT Friday, the Pentagon said, adding that coalition warplanes carried out 153 sorties over the same period. The total number of Tomahawks launched at Libya rose to at least 170.

Libyan state television said “civilian and military sites in Tripoli and Tajura” had come under fire from “long-range missiles”. In the streets of Tajura, where several military bases are situated, a thick pall of smoke rose into the sky after a seventh day of bombing, and the streets were practically deserted despite Friday prayers, although hooded, armed men stood guard at the main junctions.

A French fighter jet destroyed an artillery battery overnight outside Ajdabiya, at least part of which was still in rebel hands.

Rebels fighting to retake the town, which sits at a junction on roads leading from rebel strongholds Benghazi and Tobruk, were being held off by loyalist-armoured vehicles.

United States and its allies are considering whether to supply weapons to the Libyan opposition

United States and its allies are considering whether to supply weapons to the Libyan opposition as coalition airstrikes fail to dislodge government forces from around key contested towns, according to U.S. and European officials.

 Conflict and chaos in Libya: As forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi continue attacks on rebels and international strikes begin, thousands of Libyans flee the fighting.
France actively supports training and arming the rebels, and the Obama administration believes the United Nations resolution that authorized international intervention in Libya has the “flexibility” to allow such assistance, “if we thought that were the right way to go,” Obama spokesman Jay Carney said. It was a “possibility,” he said.

Gene Cretz, the recently withdrawn U.S. ambassador to Libya, said administration officials were having “the full gamut” of discussions on “potential assistance we might offer, both on the non-lethal and the lethal side,” but that no decisions had been made.

Gaddafi's forces hit with Tomahawks, air strikes

(Reuters) - The coalition enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya fired 16 Tomahawk cruise missiles and flew 153 air sorties in the past 24 hours targeting Muammar Gaddafi's artillery, mechanized forces and command and control infrastructure, a U.S. military spokeswoman said on Friday.

Gurkha who fought off 30 Taliban by himself awarded honour

A Gurkha who fired 400 bullets and 17 grenades while single-handedly fighting off 30 Taliban militants is to receive the second highest military honour for bravery.

Courage: Acting Sergeant Dipprasad Pun of the Royal Gurkha Rifles, who came under fire for 15 minutes (PA)
Acting Sgt Dipprasad Pun, 31, was on sentry duty alone at night when he discovered two insurgents preparing to plant a bomb outside.
As enemy fighters launched wave after wave of attacks, the 1.7m (5ft 7in) Gurkha opened fire with a machine gun, a rifle and a grenade launcher.
When he exhausted all ammunition he tried to batter one militant with a sandbag before bludgeoning him with a machine gun tripod, as he roared in Nepali: ‘I will kill you.’
The soldier, from the Royal Gurkha Rifles, was alerted to the enemy when he heard what he thought was a cow or a donkey near his sentry post.
But, when he climbed on to the roof, he found two insurgents digging a trench to lay an improvised explosive device at the checkpoint’s front gate.
He then found himself pinned down under attack from rocket-propelled grenades and AK47s for more than 15 minutes, as he frantically radioed for back-up.
At first, he was afraid but he said yesterday: ‘As soon as I opened fire, that was gone – before they kill me I have to kill some.’
When the fight was over, his company commander arrived, casually slapped him on the back and asked if he was OK.
The third-generation Gurkha, from Kent, will receive the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, one of 136 awards to be announced today.

French warplanes destroyed a Libyan plane and bombed an air base on the sixth day of allied attacks on forces loyal to Moammar Gaddafi

French warplanes destroyed a Libyan plane and bombed an air base on the sixth day of allied attacks on forces loyal to Moammar Gaddafi.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters in Ankara that a “compromise has been reached in principle” on transferring control of the Libyan operation from an ad hoc U.S.-led coalition to formal NATO command. The arrangement was hammered out in a conference call among U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and her counterparts from France, Britain and Turkey. As a NATO member, Turkey had insisted on conditions for NATO’s takeover of the operation.

The transfer from U.S. leadership, sought by President Obama, is expected to take a few days to complete after it is officially approved.

The move comes amid an apparently intensifying campaign of airstrikes and missile attacks that are taking a toll on Gaddafi’s forces but have not relieved the siege of rebel-held Misurata, where a humanitarian crisis is unfolding.

In Benghazi, the de facto rebel capital in eastern Libya, a spokesman for the anti-Gaddafi forces said that loyalist troops in the strategic city of Ajdabiya were trying to surrender.

“We are trying to negotiate with these people in Ajdabiya because we are almost sure that they have lost contact with their headquarters,” said Col. Ahmad Omar Bani, a former Libyan air force pilot. “We received information from freedom fighters in Ajdabiya saying some [Gaddafi] fighters have offered to leave their tanks,” he said, adding that a local imam was helping in the negotiations.

Bani said the opposition is forming a “new army” that will be more organized than the rebels, but he could not say how long that would take.

Earlier Thursday, French fighter jets destroyed a Libyan plane near Misurata and bombed an air base deep inside Libya, as U.S. and British cruise missiles struck targets in and around the capital, Tripoli.

The strikes further pounded the already decimated Libyan air force, but they failed to prevent Gaddafi’s tanks from reentering Misurata overnight and shelling the area around its main hospital, news services reported.

The continued fighting aggravated a humanitarian crisis that doctors in Misurata, Libya’s third-largest city 130 miles east of Tripoli, say has been growing worse.

The transfer to NATO of Operation Odyssey Dawn, as the coalition’s Libyan mission is known, began to take shape when Turkey announced it would not longer oppose the shift, paving the way for the United States to turn over command in the coming days.

Turkey is the only Muslim-majority member of NATO, and the alliance needs all 28 member nations to approve any military action. Davutoglu told Turkish state television Thursday, “Our demands have been met on Libya. The operation will be handed over to NATO.”


Obama has said he intends to turn the mission over to international command in “days, not weeks,” and the announcement of Turkish support apparently allows that to happen over the weekend.

Obama, along with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron, reached a tentative agreement earlier this week for NATO to command the military mission. In addition, a steering committee of NATO and non-NATO members, including Arab countries participating with military aircraft and humanitarian support, has been proposed to provide political guidance for the operation, but it is unclear whether that is still under discussion.

Obama is facing mounting pressure from Congress to explain the Libyan operation, which represents America’s third military front in a Muslim nation. He has sought to play down U.S. participation, saying that the U.S. military would lead the operation’s first phase, particularly in taking out Gaddafi’s air-defense system, and then fall back into a supporting role.

In a Pentagon news briefing Thursday, Vice Adm. William E. Gortney said, “We are going to give up the command position . . . and be participants” in the Libyan operation. he said the United States would “continue to provide predominantly those capabilities we have that are unique,” such as refueling tankers, “ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] platforms” and “some of the interdiction strike packages.”

Gortney said coalition planes are not attacking Gaddafi’s forces inside cities because of the risk of civilian casualties but are focusing on isolating those forces and cutting their supply lines.

Asked about the prospect that more restrictions could be placed on coalition strikes under the new command structure, Gortney said: “I’m not sure how the rules of engagement could be any more restrictive than they already are.”

He said the coalition is using “every tool in our toolkit” to send messages to Gaddafi’s forces telling them to stop fighting or face attack. “They need to cease fighting and either stay in place or abandon their equipment,” he said. To be on the safe side, he suggested, “maybe they ought not use their tank or their armored personnel carrier as a mode of transportation to get home.”

In Tripoli, officials took journalists to a hospital to see the charred and mangled bodies of 18 men they said were victims of Western airstrikes, Reuters news agency reported. A Libyan official said that some of the dead were soldiers killed in an airstrike Wednesday and that some were civilians, but the reporters were not shown any bodies of women or children, and it was not possible to determine whether any civilians were among the dead. The bodies were also shown on Libyan state television.

William Hague faced mild embarrassment when he told MPs Libyan military aircraft were unable to take to the air as news emerged that French fighter jets had shot down an aircraft.

William Hague faced mild embarrassment when he told MPs Libyan military aircraft were unable to take to the air as news emerged that French fighter jets had shot down an aircraft.

In a statement to MPs on the military campaign against Muammar Gaddafi's regime, the foreign secretary said coalition forces had successfully established a no-fly zone after "comprehensively" degrading Libya's air defence system.

Hague added: "There are no Libyan military aircraft flying."

But shortly after he spoke to MPs, ABC News reported that a French fighter jet had shot down a single-engine Libyan Galeb plane.

The Associated Press later quoted a US official as confirming that a French jet had attacked and destroyed a Libyan plane.

The news emerged after Hague had updated MPs on the progress of the military campaign against Gaddafi's regime. The foreign secretary said the allied action was saving lives and protecting hundreds of thousands of civilians in Benghazi and Mistrata.

Hague told the Commons: "UK forces have undertaken a total of 59 aerial missions over Libya in addition to air and missile strikes.

NATO clinched agreement on Thursday to take over command of all allied military operations in Libya from the United States

NATO clinched agreement on Thursday to take over command of all allied military operations in Libya from the United States after days of sometimes heated wrangling with Muslim member Turkey.

"Compromise has been reached in principle in a very short time," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters in Ankara. "The operation will be handed over to NATO completely."

The deal came after a four-way telephone conference between U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the foreign ministers of Turkey, France and Britain.

Earlier, Turkish leaders had cast new suspicions on the motives behind Western intervention in Libya, suggesting action was driven by oil and mineral wealth rather than a desire to protect civilians from Muammar Gaddafi's forces.

Libya TV airs images of Tripoli bombing aftermath, said-to-be civilian victims

U.S. military does not know when it will hand off control of the intervention in Libya to an international coalition, or whether a transfer of power will allow it to reduce its role in the war

U.S. military does not know when it will hand off control of the intervention in Libya to an international coalition, or whether a transfer of power will allow it to reduce its role in the war, according to the Navy’s top military officer.

Adm. Gary Roughead, the Chief of Naval Operations, said that he has received no guidance on the path ahead for command and control of the no-fly zone, no-drive zone, no-sail zone, arms embargo enforcement, and any other missions currently being managed by U.S. Africom Commander Gen. Carter Ham, who is in Germany. NATO has been battling internally over whether to take command, while the French government’s latest proposal is to set up a “political steering committee” made of Western and Arab foreign ministers.

Diplomatic sources told The Cable that the United States has communicated to its European partners that it wants to hand off command of the Libya war by the end of this week. But the White House hasn’t said whether it supports the French plan. Meanwhile, the Navy, which is conducting the bulk of the operations, has no idea what the transfer of control will look like, or when it might take place.

Protest Fears Force UK Staff Out Of Yemen

The UK Foreign Office said the temporary measure was imposed because Friday's expected demonstrations in the capital Sanaa may become violent.
A statement said a small core staff would remain in place.
It came as Yemen's president Ali Abdullah Saleh offered to step down by the end of the year in a bid to appease opposition groups.
His overtures did little to quell protesters' efforts to force him out after 32 years in power.
Concerns are growing among Western governments that the Arab state could descend into chaos.
I think things are obviously, or evidently, very unsettled in Yemen. I think it's too soon to call an outcome. Saleh has been an important ally in the counter-terrorism arena.
US defence secretary Robert Gates
Yemen is perceived as having become a haven for al Qaeda - with its longstanding president seen as a key ally against the terrorist group.

Fighting has been continuing in Libya for key cities after a fifth consecutive night of air strikes.

Overnight, several loud explosions were heard in Tripoli

In Misrata, a rebel-held city east of the capital, government tanks have been shelling the area near the hospital.

There have also been reports of fierce fighting between rebels and pro-Gaddafi forces in strategic Ajdabiya. Residents fleeing the town described shelling, gunfire and houses on fire.

In Misrata, Libya's third-largest city, witnesses had said on Wednesday that tanks had pulled back from their positions under air assault from international forces.

But later residents said the tanks had rolled back into the city and resumed shelling.

Misrata has been besieged for several weeks, with reports that more than a dozen people were killed in the latest clashes.

An explosion was also reported at a military base in the Tajura region east of Tripoli.

Residents in Tripoli said plumes of black smoke could be seen coming from an area near a military base, although this has not been independently confirmed.

The woman killed when a suitcase bomb exploded in Jerusalem on Wednesday was British, the Foreign Office has confirmed.

The bombing, the first in the city for seven years, left the 60-year-old dead and injured dozens of others.

"We can confirm the death of a British national," said a Foreign Office spokeswoman, adding that the woman's family had been informed.

The 1-2kg suitcase bomb detonated close to the main bus station and government ministries. Most of the blast was absorbed by commuters waiting at a bus stop, leaving three people seriously hurt and about three dozen with minor injuries.

The explosion also broke windows in two buses that were operating nearby.

Israel's prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, has vowed to act "aggressively, responsibly and wisely" in response to the bombing, which was also condemned by the Palestinian prime minister, Salam Fayyad.

Barack Obama criticised the bombing and said "Israel, like all nations, has a right to self-defence". However, the US president expressed "deepest condolences" to the families of Palestinians killed in recent Israeli air strikes in Gaza.

Col Gaddafi doesn't stay long in one location and his current whereabouts is a mystery.

At the heart of the sprawling presidential compound in downtown Tripoli is the shell of his former residence, partially destroyed by American laser-guided "smart" bombs in 1986.

Col Gaddafi claimed that his adopted baby daughter Hanna had been killed in the attack, ordered by former US President Ronald Reagan. The Libyans had been accused of the bombing of a West Berlin discotheque in which two American GIs were killed.

The building has not been rebuilt and has been renamed House of Resistance. In front of it stands a giant, gold, clenched fist crushing an American plane.


The iconic building has become a symbol of Libyan national defiance
In the past few months, the iconic building has formed the backdrop for Col Gaddafi's televised addresses, as it did in 2001 when the Libyan leader spoke out angrily against the Lockerbie verdict.

And it is here that this week ordinary Libyans rallied in support of Col Gaddafi, scaling the monument and straddling the plane in front of the cameras of the invited media.

About a quarter of a mile away, nestling among the trees, stands Col Gaddafi's Bedouin-style tent, one of his homes for the past four decades. It was here, in 2004, that the then German Chancellor Gerhard Shroeder was entertained as he became the first German head of state to visit Libya.



Last weekend, a three-story administration building about 50m (160ft) away from the tent was almost demolished in an air strike. Coalition officials insist their target was a command and control facility Col Gaddafi used to communicate with his troops.

United States still plans to transfer control of the military mission in Libya

United States still plans to transfer control of the military mission in Libya to an allied coalition in days with NATO playing a key role, a senior White House official said on Wednesday.

A top aide to President Barack Obama, told reporters on Obama's flight home from El Salvador, "I think this is going to be a matter of days in which you see a movement toward the transition with regard to command and control."

He said allies were "working through the final issues on command and control" and NATO will play a key role but the exact structure is still under discussion. (Reporting by Alister Bull, Editing by Sandra Maler)

General Sir David Richards, the Chief of the Defence Staff, was asked about targetting Gaddafi.

General Sir David Richards, the Chief of the Defence Staff, was asked about targetting Gaddafi.
He replied: “Absolutely not. It is not allowed under the UN resolution and it is not something I want to discuss any further.”
Since the general is the Prime Minister’s principal military adviser, you might have thought that was the end of it.
Not so. Downing Street “sources” are now telling journalists that the general is, simply, wrong. They add that David Cameron himself will give the final word on the matter in the House of Commons shortly. Headlines involving words like “slapped down” and “humiliation” cannot be far behind.
This is serious stuff. At a time when Britain’s Armed Forces are engaged in operations, ministers are in a semi-public row with the country’s senior military officer about one of the fundamental objectives of those operations.

soldier being court-martialed on a U.S. Army base near Seattle for the murder of three Afghan civilians has agreed to plead guilty

soldier being court-martialed on a U.S. Army base near Seattle for the murder of three Afghan civilians has agreed to plead guilty Wednesday in hopes of earning a reduced sentence, according to one of the attorneys handling his case.

"My client is admitting on the record to three counts of murder, plus one count of conspiracy to commit assault and battery and one count of illegal drug use," said Geoffrey Nathan, a lawyer for Army Spc. Jeremy Morlock.


Spc. Jeremy Morlock is one of 12 soldiers charged with an array of offenses stemming from an incident last year when the Army says three Afghan civilians were murdered.

This week, the German news magazine Der Spiegel published three photographs said to show two U.S. soldiers accused of being part of a rogue "kill team" last year during their tour in Afghanistan. Perhaps the most damaging image appears to show Spc. Morlock smiling as he lifts the head of a dead, bloodied Afghan man.

A court-martial is schedued to start Wednesday for Spc. Morlock, 22, of Wasilla, Alaska. He is one of 12 soldiers charged with an array of offenses stemming from an incident last year when the Army says three Afghan civilians were murdered by members of the 5th Stryker Brigade operating in the Maiwand district of Kandahar Province.

Mr. Nathan indicated that once Spc. Morlock stipulates to the military's facts in the case, he will mount what amounts to a "good soldier defense" for Spc. Morlock. The court will be asked to consider the defendant's overall military record, and mitigating factors such as coercion by others. He said his client may testify in any cases rising from the incidents.

The U.S. Army, which issued a statement of apology Monday, plans to investigate the release of the photos. Spokesman Col. Thomas Collins said the photos had been "sealed under a protective order" as part of the trial at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the base near Seattle hosting the trial.

Der Spiegel also published a photo that displayed the corpses of several Afghan civilians believed to have been killed by U.S. soldiers despite no indications they were combatants.

As the Army apologized, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton worked the phones to her counterparts in Kabul to limit the damage of a potential public-relations debacle. Administration officials also reached out to Afghan leaders to reiterate that the soldiers involved were facing a number of charges including premeditated murder.

Although apparently not indicative of a widespread systemic breakdown, as with the dozens of images from Iraq's Abu Ghraib penitentiary in 2004, the photos of U.S. soldiers grinning with a corpse are certain to offer enemies of the Kabul regime a propaganda coup.

"The photos appear in stark contrast to the discipline, professionalism and respect that have characterized our Soldiers' performance during nearly 10 years of sustained operations," the Army said in its statement.

Earlier this month, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Gen. David Petraeus, commander of allied forces in Afghanistan, apologized after American helicopters killed nine Afghan children who were mistaken for insurgents in Afghanistan's Kunar Province. The U.S. military is investigating another incident in which Afghan officials said two Afghan civilians were killed by U.S. helicopters in the same province.

Marc Hujer, the Der Spiegel reporter who filed Monday's story, declined to comment on how the news organization acquired the photos. Mr. Hujer said the magazine wouldn't compromise its sources by detailing how the photographs were obtained. He would not comment on whether they could have been received from other soldiers serving in Afghanistan.According to press reports, soldiers have told investigators that such photos of dead bodies were passed around like trading cards on thumb drives and other digital storage devices.

Of 12 defendants, only Spc. Morlock and four others have been charged with premeditated murder. The others faced charges such as assault and drug use; proceedings have concluded for five of those seven defendants, with five convicted and confined, and facing likely discharge.

British soldiers are making themselves deliberate targets to flush out a Taliban sniper

In an extraordinary show of courage, British soldiers are making themselves deliberate targets to flush out a Taliban sniper who is terrorising a base in Helmand.

Two snipers have killed two soldiers and injured six more over the past four months at the outpost in Qadrat. One marksman has been killed but the second is still resisting attempts to trap him.

Now, soldiers from the 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment are volunteering to present themselves as targets.

Libya's army said it would halt operations from Sunday to allow rebels to lay down their arms

Libya's army said it would halt operations from Sunday to allow rebels to lay down their arms, softening repeated threats by Muammar Gaddafi to crush them, as world powers edged towards adopting tough measures to shut down the strongman's military machine.

Libyan troops pushed forward towards the insurgent stronghold of Benghazi on Thursday and launched air raids on its outskirts as Washington raised the possibility of air strikes to stop the forces. The international debate on what action to take may have dragged on too long to help the anti-Gaddafi uprising, now struggling to hold its ground one month after it started.

Gaddafi's forces have made "significant strides on the ground" and are 160km from Benghazi, US undersecretary of state William Burns said.

Gaddafi warned residents of Benghazi, an opposition stronghold, that his forces would show "no mercy" in an impending assault on the city.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has voted on a resolution authorising a no-fly zone over Libya and "all necessary measures" - code for military action - to protect civilians.

Ten of the council's 15 members voted in favour of the resolution, while Russia, China, Germany, India and Brazil abstained.

No votes were recorded against the resolution, which was co-sponsored by France, Britain, Lebanon and the United States.

In Benghazi, the main rebel stronghold, a large crowd watching the vote on an outdoor TV projection burst into celebration as green and red fireworks filled the air, as broadcast live on the Al-Jazeera satellite TV channel.

The resolution fulfills a long-standing demand from pro-democracy opposition forces in Libya asking for a no-fly zone to be established in order to prevent Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, from using fighter jets to bombard their positions, as they have been doing.

It comes just a few hours after Gaddafi warned residents of Benghazi, an opposition stronghold, that his forces would show "no mercy" in an impending assault on the city.

"The matter has been decided ... we are coming," he said in a radio address on Thursday.

The Libyan leader called pro-democracy fighters in Benghazi "armed gangsters" and urged residents to attack them, saying: "You all go out and cleanse the city of Benghazi.

"We will track them down, and search for them, alley by alley, road by road ... Massive waves of people will be crawling out to rescue the people of Benghazi, who are calling out for help, asking us to rescue them. We should come to their rescue."

Pakistan's army chief has condemned a U.S. drone attack

Pakistan's army chief has condemned a U.S. drone attack that killed more than three dozen people, saying the missiles struck a peaceful meeting of tribal elders.
Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani called Thursday's strike "unjustified and intolerable" and said it was a violation of human rights.
Pakistani intelligence officials initially said the 38 people killed in a compound in the North Waziristan tribal area were militants meeting to discuss the war in Afghanistan.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.
Civilian casualties from drone strikes are a main source of friction between the Pakistani and U.S. governments.

stalled a ground attack on the city and seized some tanks from pro-Gaddafi units.

rebel fighters in Misrata, on the Mediterranean coast about 200 km (130 miles) east of the Libyan capital Tripoli, said they had stalled a ground attack on the city and seized some tanks from pro-Gaddafi units.

"The fighters have defeated Gaddafi's forces from the southern and western side (of the city)," a resident, who gave his name only as Mohammed, told Reuters by telephone.

"The shelling on the city stopped and the rebels have captured some tanks. The battle is continuing on the eastern side, but it is not a heavy one."

It was not possible to call Misrata later in the day. On Wednesday evening, the online news website Brnieq quoted a telecommunications official in Tripoli as saying Libyan authorities had ordered all mobile and land services cut.

Earlier, residents and rebel fighters who spoke to Reuters said Gaddafi loyalists had begun to bombard the city at 7:00 a.m (0500 GMT) with tanks, artillery and rockets, in what appeared to be preparation for an assault.

But they said that ground forces had yet to enter Misrata and were still in the outskirts.

recommending a larger evacuation radius from Japan's Fukishima nuclear plant than Japan has ordered.

U.S Nuclear Regulatory Chairman Gregory Jaczko told a congressional panel that his commission is recommending a larger evacuation radius from Japan's Fukishima nuclear plant than Japan has ordered.

Jaczko arrived late to Wednesday's hearing because he had been called for a meeting to the White House on Japan's nuclear crisis.  Jaczko described the dire situation at Japan's Fukishima nuclear plant, saying radiation levels at the fourh reactor at that plant are "extremely high."  He said  the State Department is issuing a new recommendation for U.S. citizens in Japan.

"For a comparable situation in the United States, we would recommend an evacuation to a much larger radius than has currently been provided in Japan," he said.

Jaczko said the U.S. Ambassador in Japan has been told that it would be appropriate to evacuate U.S. citizens to a 80 kilometer radius from the Fukishima nuclear plant.  Japan had ordered citizens to take precautions within a 30 kilometer-radius, with a 20 kilometer evacuation radius from the nuclear plant, and advising those within a 30 kilometer radius to stay indoors.

The combined natural disasters of an earthquake and a tsunami have put Japan's Fukishima nuclear power plant in danger of a meltdown. Jaczko and Energy Secretary Steven Chu were both on Captiol Hill to testify on their agencies' budget proposals for 2012, but the crisis in Japan dominated the hearing.

Bahraini forces used tanks and helicopters to drive protesters from the streets

One Saudi Shi'ite activist said hundreds attended several protests including one in the eastern region's main Shi'ite center, Qatif, to show their backing for Bahraini Shi'ites who are protesting against the Sunni royal family.

Bahraini forces used tanks and helicopters to drive protesters from the streets Wednesday, clearing a camp that had become a symbol of the Shi'ite Muslim uprising and drawing rare criticism from their U.S. allies.

Leading Saudi Shi'ite cleric Sheikh Hassan al-Saffar voiced "dismay over events in Bahrain -- bloodshed, violation of sanctities and the intimidation of the people."

"I appeal to (Gulf Arab) leaders ... to act and call for an end to the bloodshed and violence in Bahrain and to make every effort to address the current crisis toward a dialogue and a political solution," Saffar said in a statement.

The activist said there was a large number of anti-riot troops at the protests. "In Qatif, security shot in the air to disperse the protest," he told Reuters.

A witness who declined to be identified said the Qatif march ended peacefully. "However there were shots fired in the air to disperse the crowds but the demo continued for about an hour and a half ... There were no injuries or detentions as far as I could see," he said.

"They were calling for freeing their prisoners and some were calling for civil society and more freedoms ... Some were also showing their solidarity for the people in Bahrain."

Demonstrators shouted slogans against the sending of joint regional Peninsula Shield forces to Bahrain by Gulf states including Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, and the United Arab Emirates.

"People were demanding the withdrawal of the Peninsula force and called on Saudi Arabia to withdraw from Bahrain," another witness said, adding that two police helicopters hovered above the demonstration.

Saudi Arabia's minority Shi'ites complain of discrimination, saying they often struggle to get senior government jobs and benefits available to other citizens.

The government of Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy that usually does not tolerate public dissent, denies the charges.

Last month, King Abdullah unveiled handouts worth an estimated $37 billion to ease social pressures and the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, said this month that dialogue, rather than protests, should bring about change.

Saudi Arabia, a U.S. ally, has escaped protests like those across the Arab world, but some dissent has built up as unrest has spread in neighboring Yemen, Bahrain, Jordan and Oman.

Web activists had slated March 11 as the first day for mass protests around the country in favor of democratic government and a constitutional rather than absolute monarchy.

But a religious ruling banning demonstrations and a heavy police crackdown appeared to have intimidated most potential protesters.

Bahrain's capital:Military troops have opened a large-scale assault

Military troops have opened a large-scale assault against hundreds of anti-government protesters occupying a landmark site in Bahrain's capital.

The focal point for Bahrain's demonstrators was again overrun by riot police in a nationwide crackdown aimed at crushing the two-month anti-government uprising.

Smoke was billowing from the site, known as Pearl roundabout, and the scent of teargas wafted through many locations in Manama.

Gunfire was heard throughout the capital and at least five helicopters were circling scenes of clashes, amid widespread panic on the streets below.

Riot police entered Manama's Salmaniya medical centre for the first time since the demonstrations began and doctors reported they were being prevented from reaching the hospital and treating patients inside. The police were also preventing casualties from reaching the facility. By 8am, they had closed its main gate and stationed forces outside.

This morning's events are a significant escalation in more than eight weeks of clashes that have threatened the legitimacy of Bahrain's monarchy and stoked sectarian tensions throughout the Gulf and Saudi Arabia. They follow the arrival of more than 1,000 troops from the Gulf Co-operation Council, invited to the kingdom by its besieged rulers.

One armoured personnel carrier flying the flag of the United Arab Emirates was seen by bystanders this morning amid a column of troop carriers.

Two people were killed during clashes with troops on Tuesday afternoon. Demonstrators are braced for more pitched battles after the regime declared a state of emergency for the next three months.

possibility that the No 3 reactor's containment vessel is damaged

Workers battling to prevent nuclear meltdown at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi plant were temporarily evacuated on Wednesday morning after radiation levels became too dangerous for them to remain.

The withdrawal hampered efforts to secure safety at the atomic power plant and avert a major radiation leak. Staff returned to the plant after about an hour once radiation levels fell.

Its operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) said it was considering using helicopters to spray the crippled No 4 reactor with water and boric acid – a fire retardant – in an attempt to prevent more radiation leaks.

The 50 or so engineers, working around the clock in harsh conditions, spent Wednesday morning trying to put out a fire at one reactor and to cool others at risk of overheating and reaching criticality.

To compound problems, a fire broke out at the No 3 reactor, where a fuel storage pool had overheated and may have let off radioactive steam. Live TV footage showed a large cloud of light grey smoke rising above the plant.

The government's chief spokesman, Yukio Edano, said Japan was considering seeking help from the US military.

All six of the plants reactors are experiencing problems following last Friday's earthquake and tsunami, in which an estimated 10,000 people have died.

The workers were ordered to leave the facility after the level of radiation at the plant soared to 10 millisieverts per hour – above the level considered harmful to human health – possibly as a result of radioactive substances being emitted from the No 2 reactor. The reading later fell to around six millisieverts per hour, reports said, and they were allowed to return.

The evacuation followed another day of crisis at the plant, which has become the focus of the world's attention, even as rescue workers sift through the damage caused by the tsunami along a vast stretch of Japan's north-east coast.

Earlier, officials from the nuclear and industrial safety agency said that 70% of fuel rods at the No 1 reactor had been significantly damaged, as well as 33% of rods at the No 2 reactor. The cores of both reactors are believed to have partially melted, Kyodo news agency said.

"We don't know the nature of the damage," said Minoru Ohgoda, spokesman for the country's nuclear safety agency. "It could be either melting, or there might be some holes in them."

Before they were moved to safety the workers had been trying to cool spent nuclear fuel pools at the No 5 and No 6 reactors, where temperatures have risen above normal levels.

Edano said that there was "a possibility that the No 3 reactor's containment vessel is damaged".

dozens of Air Algerie‘s “special flights” to small military airfields controlled by Gaddafi’s forces.

Accusations of an Algerian military involvement in support of Gaddafi’s regime grew even louder with recent proof of dozens of Air Algerie‘s “special flights” to small military airfields controlled by Gaddafi’s forces.

In an interview with the Canadian daily Globe and Mail, Omar Hariri, military head of the Libyan Provisional  National Council, accused the Algerian military in backing the Libyan regime’s drive to squash the revolutionary forces in the city of Benghazi.
Mr. Hariri said that Gaddafi hired “Algerian pilots for bombing raids on Libyan targets.” The opposition military official also added that ”data from the air traffic control tower at Benina International Airport showing 22 flights by Algerian aircraft to Libyan destinations between Feb.19 and 26. Some are listed as passenger flights by Air Algerie,using civilian aircraft, but the majority are labeled “special flights” by aircraft bearing registration codes used by the Algerian military.”  

'The records show repeated flights by C-130 Hercules and Ilyushin Il-76, aircraft big enough to carry battle tanks, from Algeria and within Libya. The destinations include small airports in Sabha and Surt, which are key forward bases for the regime forces now advancing on rebels in the east.”

The Libyan revolutionaries are blaming the recent advances of Gaddafi’s  forces on the new military equipments supplied by Algeria and Syria and the rising numbers of militiamen backing Libyan regular forces.

“The Algerians denied this very loudly, but they cannot deny this data,” said Gamal Elkour, a libya rebel, who is a former flight engineer. “What did these planes carry? Fruits and vegetables?”

With this new evidence and mounting accusation against the Algerian military, the role of Algeria’s special intelligence units in Tripoli and around Benghazi are getting hard to deny.

Algeria's ( and syria) position against a no fly zone over Libya, that was voted recently by the Arab League, is seen by the libyan rebels as yet an another indication of Algeria's role in keeping the Gaddafi regime afloat. The Military backed government in Algeria has also worked hard to stop the Arab League from recognizing the Libyan council in Benghazi as the country’s interim government.
The Algerian government has also been working behind the scene to stop other African and Arab countries from recognizing the new Libyan government in-waiting.

According to Libyan Rebel leaders, Algeria's stance will be negatively reflected its future relations with Libya when Gaddafi leaves the scene.
 
In Algeria, the public is solidly behind the revolutionary forces battling Gaddafi. Ordinary Algerians view the Libyan opposition uprising to be similar to their past revolutionary struggles. The Algerian independent  press expressed dismay at Algeria's help in proping up Gaddafi. Some local news sources reported on a split within the Bouteflika government over the ‘Libya policy” where the President of the Republic, bouteflika, is kept in the dark over the activities of the military intelligence Agency (DRS) in Libya.

Bahrain Defense Force confirmed the arrival of military units

A military force from Bahrain's Gulf neighbors entered the tiny island nation Monday in an apparent attempt to restore order as anti-government demonstrations escalate.

The Bahrain Defense Force confirmed the arrival of military units from a special Gulf Cooperation Council security force. The Council is a regional economic and military alliance comprised of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman.

A Saudi official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, told the Associated Press that the force would secure key buildings. The U.S. Embassy in Bahrain advised American citizens to stay in their residences.

The force included about 1,000 Saudi soldiers, a Saudi official source told Reuters news service. Witnesses saw some 150 armored troop carriers, ambulances, water tankers and jeeps cross into Bahrain over a causeway from Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported.

It was not clear Monday evening whether Bahrain had requested the troop presence or whether it had been imposed by neighboring countries. A spokeswoman for the Bahraini government, Rebecca Guthrie, declined to say that Bahrain had asked for the military presence.

CAMERAMAN working for Al-Jazeera pan-Arab satellite channel was killed

CAMERAMAN working for Al-Jazeera pan-Arab satellite channel was killed in an ambush near the rebel stronghold of Benghazi in eastern Libya, the television said.

It was the first reported death of a journalist working for a foreign news organisation during the Libyan uprising.

"Ali Hassan al Jaber has been martyred after his crew was ambushed in the region of Hawari near Benghazi," Al Jazeera said, without specifying who was behind the ambush or what day it took place.

The cameraman "was returning to Benghazi from a nearby town after filming an opposition protest (when) unknown fighters opened fire on the team. Two people including al Jaber were shot. Al Jaber was rushed to hospital, but it was too late," a local reporter in Libya said, according to Sky News.

On Thursday, the Brazilian newspaper Estado de Sao Paulo said one its reporters, Andrei Netto, held in Libya since March 2 had been freed by Libyan security forces.

Forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi advanced eastward toward the strategic city of Port Brega

Forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi advanced eastward toward the strategic city of Port Brega in an intensifying onslaught against outgunned and inexperienced rebels who have retreated across deserts and coastal highways closer to their eastern stronghold in Benghazi.

The Libyan army has made substantial gains in recent days, pushing rebels out of the oil port of Ras Lanuf in the east and retaking the city of Zawiya in the west. The losses were strategic and psychological setbacks for rebels, who after a string of victories were finding they lacked the weapons and training to counter strong government offensives.

After retreating from Ras Lanuf, the rebels set its main perimeter 85 miles to the east in Port Brega. The growing pressure on the city suggests that Kadafi's forces are systematically moving from one rebel base to another as they head along the North Africa coast toward Benghazi.

Opposition figures in the east said the rebels were not in danger of defeat. They conceded, however, that Kadafi's soldiers have exploited an insurgent army plagued by poor communications and inexperienced fighters. But officials said Libyan army officers who defected from Kadafi are increasingly more in control of the rebel strategy.

"The military council started doing its job. But it took three or four days to bring in professionals," said Mustafa Gheriani, a spokesman for the opposition national council. "We had young revolutionaries on the front lines. They've now been moved back to second positions and the professionals have moved ahead of them."

The rebel victory in Ras Lanuf a week ago was regarded by the opposition as key to advancing toward the capital, Tripoli, and threatening Kadafi's 42-year-old rule. The quick shift in fortunes was a blow, but officials in the east tried to spin the retreat as calculated.

"It was a tactical withdrawal," Gheriani said. "There's nothing heroic about sitting in a town that's getting bombed. ... Kadafi's destroying oil facilities and sea ports, but no, he's not working his way up toward Benghazi. He wants to scorch everything in case he's defeated."

Rebel leaders pressed the West to enact a no-fly zone over the country to keep the Libyan army's warplanes grounded.

"We ask the international community to shoulder their responsibilities," Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, head of the rebels' National Libyan Council, told the media. "The Libyans are being cleansed by Kadafi's air force. We asked for a no-fly zone to be imposed from day one, we also want a sea embargo."

Soldier saw brother killed in Afghanistan truck blast

BRITISH soldier who died after his armoured truck hit a landmine in Afghanistan on Wednesday has been named as Lance Corporal Stephen McKee.

And it has emerged that his younger brother, Michael, who serves in the same regiment, was among those who rushed to help as he lay dying in Nad-e Ali, Helmand province.

L/Cpl McKee, 27, and wife Carley from Banbridge, Co Down, lost their two-day-old daughter last year. In a tribute to her husband, Mrs McKee said: “You will always be my hero and every step I take in life I will have my two angels looking after me.”

Afghan and coalition forces killed several enemy fighters

Afghan and coalition forces killed several enemy fighters and detained several other suspected insurgents in operations yesterday throughout Afghanistan, military officials reported.
Troops killed several insurgents and detained several others, including a Taliban bomb maker, in Logar province’s Charkh district. The Taliban bomb maker is a member of a cell that frequently attacks local security forces, officials said.
Afghan and coalition forces killed an insurgent who displayed hostile intent and detained several others in Baghlan province’s Burkah district while searching for a Taliban district chief.

Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan were hospitalized for traumatic brain injury

Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan were hospitalized for traumatic brain injury between 2006 and 2009 at almost three times the rate of Americans fighting there in earlier years before the war escalated, according to a National Defence study obtained by The Globe and Mail.

The military attributed the “significantly higher” hospitalization rate to “the risky nature of our Kandahar operation” in a report acquired under Access to Information.

US claims its marines have managed to subdue the notoriously violent Sangin district in Afghanistan

The US claims its marines have managed to subdue the notoriously violent Sangin district in Afghanistan within five months of their arrival, a goal that eluded British forces for four years.

The Helmand hotspot, which turned into a death trap for British forces, was described on Tuesday by US defence secretary Robert Gates as perhaps the most dangerous place in the world. He praised the marines for bringing about "a dramatic turnaround" in such a short period.

The marines, who took over from the British in October, say they adopted a different strategy from their predecessors, taking the fight to the Taliban, and have killed, captured or driven them out.

Gates was visiting Sangin for the first time as part of a two-day trip to Afghanistan to assess the security situation before the Obama administration decides how many of the 100,000 US troops it can begin bringing home from July.

British forces, deployed in 2006 to Sangin – home to a dangerous mix of Taliban fighters and drug traffickers – lost 106 dead there, a third of all their fatalities in Afghanistan. The mission was controversial, with accusations that the force was too small, that they pursued the wrong strategy and were under-equipped, particularly lacking helicopters. British commanders, at the time of their departure, rebuffed suggestions they had failed in their mission, and there has been intense interest since as to whether the US marines would be any more successful.

Gates was unequivocal in expressing his belief that they had been, telling a gathering of marines at the heavily fortified Sangin base: "Before you arrived here, the Taliban was dug in deep and, as the British before can attest, this district was the most dangerous not only in Afghanistan but maybe the whole world. In your five months here, you have killed, captured or driven out the Taliban that called this place home."

The marines had also achieved a "strategic breakthrough" by allowing three key areas to be linked up, he added, part of wider strategy of expanding the security "bubble".

Gates was speaking at the marines' Sangin base, Sabit Qadam, originally called Jackson by British forces, its extraordinary level of fortifications a testimony to the action it has seen since 2006. The marines were gathered to hear Gates in a small dusty square, in the middle of which lies a memorial to the British dead.

The marines opted to go on the offensive from the start, confronting the Taliban in the areas they held, in contrast with the British strategy of trying to protect the main road. The American approach was costly and Gates revealed the marines lost 29 killed and 179 wounded, the highest casualty rate of any US battalion in Afghanistan.

But while costly in terms of casualties in the short-term – Gates said 90% were suffered in the first 90 days – the Americans suggest it is paying off in the longer term. "It has been very different since then," Gates said.

The Americans claim around 400 confirmed Taliban dead, 150-200 wounded and 50-75 captured, though many analysts accuse the US of inflating figures.

First Lt. Daren Hidalgo, the 81st West Point graduate to be killed

First Lt. Daren Hidalgo, the 81st West Point graduate to be killed in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, was buried with full military honors at the United States Military Academy cemetery on Monday.

Hidalgo, 24, was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star for bravery.  He was killed by a land mine as his unit was on patrol in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan on February 20, 2011.

Over 200 family and friends attended the burial of the Wisconsin resident’s ashes at the West Point Cemetery

conflict in Libya has descended into civil war.

president of the ICRC, Jakob Kellenberger, says the conflict in Libya has descended into civil war.  

He says he is alarmed by the intensification of the fighting and mounting casualties. He says there are reports as many as 2,000 people have been wounded.  

While these figures are unconfirmed, he says local doctors have seen a sharp increase in the number of casualties arriving at hospitals in Ajdabiya and Misrata.

These opposition strongholds have come under attack by government forces in recent days.  The ICRC president says civilians are bearing the brunt of the violence.
Listen to VOA's Kate Woodsome's interview with ICRC spokesman Christian Cardon:

He says he believes many people in western Libya are more severely affected by the fighting than those in the east. But, he adds, the ICRC has no access to the areas controlled by the Libyan government. So, it cannot assess the humanitarian needs.

“I have been told that everything is under control, that all the hospitals are working perfectly and there is no need for any external humanitarian assistance," said Kellenberger. "That is what we are being told.  And, we are worried.  We would like to assess this ourselves, this situation.”
Kellenberger says he is also very worried about persons deprived of their liberty. He says the ICRC is working to gain access to all people being detained by Libyan authorities and by the armed opposition which controls eastern Libya.

“We have now succeeded in having access to persons deprived of their liberty or detained people in the east," he said. "The authorities in the east have given us access so we could start with that. But, we have no possibility for the time being to do assistance nor protection work in the area controlled by Tripoli.”
Kellenberger says ICRC workers have visited between 60 and 80 detainees.

As the conflict heats up, the ICRC president says it is becoming increasingly urgent for all parties to respect the rules of war and distinguish at all times between civilians and fighters. He says only military targets can be attacked.

The ICRC has 26 expatriate staff, mostly medical personnel in rebel-controlled Benghazi. Kellenberger says it is unacceptable that 24 days after the fighting started, western Libya remains effectively cut off from humanitarian aid.

Senegal's leader, Abdoulaye Wade, said on Friday Ivory Coast was "entering a phase of war"

Senegal's leader, Abdoulaye Wade, said on Friday Ivory Coast was "entering a phase of war" after the latest attempt by the African Union to resolve a power struggle by diplomacy failed.

Incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo rejected an AU proposal at a summit on Thursday offering him a safe exit in return for ceding power to rival Alassane Ouattara, winner of a disputed November poll according to U.N.-certified results.

Ouattara said on Friday he could not in any case have accepted the power-sharing pact because it would be illogical for him to form a unity government with Gbagbo allies still in control of the top cocoa grower.

"Ivory Coast is entering a phase of war," Wade, president of nearby Senegal, told French-language Africa news website Slateafrique.com.

"No one likes violence ... but in the case of Ivory Coast it is inevitable because it does not come from outside but from the internal situation," he said of the longstanding divide between the mainly Christian south where Gbagbo draws much of his support and the largely Muslim north which backs Ouattara.

Gbagbo's camp said on Thursday a repeat of a 2002-2003 civil war was possible, while rebels who control the north declared that force was the only way to remove Gbagbo from power.

Residents reported new gunfire in the Abidjan suburb of Abobo which has seen weeks of heavy fighting between insurgents backing Ouattara and security forces loyal to Gbagbo.

The conflict has sent cocoa futures near to 32-year highs

although they were down on Friday as commodities fell across the board on news of the huge Japanese earthquake.

Ouattara flew to Nigeria for talks with President Goodluck Jonathan, one of the firmest advocates of action to oust Gbagbo by force if necessary. Ouattara did not comment on the content of talks, saying only that he would stay there a few days.

HATE CAMPAIGN

Earlier, former IMF official Ouattara said there would have been no question of him entertaining the type of power-sharing agreement with Gbagbo allies proposed by an AU panel.

"You can't have people elected and say you have to share power," Ouattara told diplomats and heads of international organisations based in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

"How can I share with someone who has been in power for 10 years and whom Ivorians didn't vote for? It's illogical."

Around 400 people have been killed in post-election violence according to the United Nations, while some 450,000 Ivorians have fled their homes for fear of attacks. Around 90,000 have sought refuge in neighboring Liberia.

NATO member states will consider their options which include an attack on Libyan air defences

Under-pressure medics battling to cope with the increasing bombardment unleashed by Colonel Gaddafi are today understood to have fled hospitals in Ras Lanuf and Brega.

The doctors and nurses who have treated hundreds is not thousands of civilian casualties are reported to have evacuated the buildings amid ferocious attacks by the dictator's forces.

Fighting accelerated on the main front line between the oil port of Ras Lanouf and the city of Bin Jawwad where the rebels appeared to be have established better supply lines bringing heavy weapons like multiple-rocket launcher trucks and small tanks to the battle.

Embattled autocrat Gaddafi again appeared to increase his aerial and ground attacks against a backdrop of possible international intervention in the paralysed country.

Rebels in Sidra were bombarded with shell attacks from war planes but the fighters responded with rocket-propelled grenades.

NATO said it had started round-the-clock surveillance of the air space over Libya, and British Foreign Secretary William Hague said a meeting of EU foreign ministers would discuss how to isolate the regime.

NATO member states will consider their options which include an attack on Libyan air defences as part of a strategy to impose a no-fly zone.

The zone could prove complicated in the politically sensitive region and could risk dragging the West into a protracted conflict in another Middle Eastern country.

grim arrival of Lance Corporal Liam Tasker and his bomb sniffing dog Theo.

British mourners traditionally give a respectful silent salute to slain soldiers, but today they were joined by dog owners who brought their dogs to the grim arrival of Lance Corporal Liam Tasker and his bomb sniffing dog Theo.
Tasker, 26, died in a firefight on March 1 in Helmand province with Theo by his side. The dog, a springer spaniel, suffered a seizure from the stress and died hours later after being returned to base, according to the British Ministry of Defense.

Tasker's body and the ashes of Theo were returned today on the same military plane to RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire, England.

Residents of Wootton Bassett, near Lyneham, lined the streets when Tasker's coffin, draped with the British Union Jack, passed through the town on its way to Oxford, where soldiers' bodies are examined by a coroner before being returned to families.

Villagers traditionally greet the casket with a solemn moment of silence. It's a ritual of respect that began more than two years ago, explained a local government employee

James Wardell, from Sutton Coldfield, is risking his life

James Wardell, from Sutton Coldfield, is risking his life in the strife-torn nation as the conflict between dictator Colonel Gaddafi and rebel forces threatens to spill over into all-out civil war.

The former Bishop Veseys Grammar School pupil spoke to the Birmingham Mail with the sounds of bullets and explosions echoing in the background as Gaddafi renewed his onslaught on the rebel-held town of Ras Lanuf.


James said he was sleeping in a courthouse in the Italian quarter of the second city Benghazi when SAS troops and MI6 officers were brought in for interrogation after their mission was intercepted by the rebels.

“I saw them being taken into the courthouse next to where I was sleeping,” he said.

“They were heavily guarded before being spirited away in the night to the port where they were taken on board a Royal Navy ship to sail to Malta.

“It was very cloak and dagger and rebel leaders were furious at what they saw as an infiltration by an outside power.”

The photographer, aged 31, said the rebels had put up posters warning Britain and the USA to stay out of the conflict.

“They do not want us to interfere because they are scared it could become another Iraq-type situation,” he said. “It is their battle and they want to sort it out. It is very dangerous for the media here.

“While there are some people who have welcomed us with generosity and kindness, several camera crews have been attacked. You are not sure what side people are on and it is very dangerous in places.”

Freelance photographer James, who is now based in Barcelona, has been in Libya for two weeks but has also worked in other troublespots including Afghanistan and Haiti.

France wants to explore the possibility of targeted bombing of Libya

France wants to explore the possibility of targeted bombing of Libya as an alternative to imposing a no-fly zone, French officials and sources said on Thursday.

President Nicolas Sarkozy raised the idea during talks with members of his UMP political party, three party sources said.

"Extremely limited, but targeted strikes in specific cases and not necessarily on airbases is being explored," a member of Sarkozy's party who attended a lunch with him at the Elysee Palace told Reuters.

Sarkozy will present concrete plans for a response to the crisis at a European Union summit on Friday in Brussels and according to the source the possibility of air strikes was among the things being worked on.

The U.N. Security Council is split on whether to authorise a no-fly zone over Libya, an option Paris and London have pushed as they seek ways to limit Muammar Gaddafi's ability to mobilise his forces against rebels.

Targeted bombing would constitute a "lighter" alternative to the no-fly zone, French officials said.

"We can bomb runways," said one. "Between that and a no-fly zone, there is a whole range of options that the military can decide upon."

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi appears likely to survive the revolt

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi appears likely to survive the revolt against him because of superior equipment, the head of the U.S. intelligence community told Congress in a blunt assessment Thursday.
National Intelligence Director James Clapper's appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee came as officials in Washington, Europe and the Middle East are debating whether to aid rebel forces in Libya's civil war. Clapper said the rebels are "in for a tough row" against Gadhafi, whose forces are now moving to retake territory lost since the uprising began in mid-February.
"I do believe Gadhafi is in this for the long haul," Clapper said. "I don't think he has any intention, despite some of the press speculation to the contrary, of leaving. From all evidence that we have -- which I'd be prepared to discuss in closed session -- he appears to be hunkering down for the duration."
Clapper cautioned that the situation is "very fluid," with government troops attacking opposition forces and then pulling back. But he added, "I think, longer term, the regime will prevail."

Serbia, arms dealer to Libya, silent on rebellion

Serbia, arms dealer to Libya, silent on rebellion: "As Libya churned with popular rebellion, Serbia's ex-president flew to Tripoli to arrange an interview with Moammar Gadhafi for a Serbian TV channel — giving the Libyan leader a platform to bluster about his grip on power.

'The Libyan people are fully behind me,' Gadhafi defiantly told Pink TV in a telephone interview.

The gesture of support for Gadhafi was not officially endorsed by the Serbian government. But it has been criticized at home for failing to join worldwide condemnation of Gadhafi's bloody crackdown against the uprising.

A possible reason for the silence: hundreds of millions of dollars worth of military and construction contracts. Serbia's cozy ties with Libya sit ill with its recent efforts to rehabilitate its image after the Balkan wars, in particular by participating in peace keeping missions.

It's almost certain that some of the ammunition fired by Gadhafi's troops against pro-democracy protesters in Libya was made in Serbia, and that some of the air force pilots who targeted rebel-held positions were trained by Serbs."

Qaddafi's Libya could become a case study of international state capture

It is becoming increasingly evident that for many years a number of powerful U.S.-based multinational oil companies have been very proactive in trying to influence U.S. foreign policy toward Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi. Highly paid U.S. consultants and lobbyists, including Ivy League academics and former U.S. ambassadors, have been recruited to burnish the image of Qaddafi, to lobby for pro-Libya policies, to emphasize commercial interests in the country and to laud Libya’s “stability” to the U.S. government and media.

Concern for the totalitarian nature of the regime or its human rights abuses did not feature prominently in any of their work to put it mildly. Furthermore, the well known “revolving door” of lobbying firms, regulators and the regulated industries seems to have played a role in this more international U.S.-Libya case as well. For instance, according to a media report, the founding chairman of the lobbying group, the U.S.-Libya Business Association (USLBA), went on to hold an influential position coordinating energy issues with Middle East countries at the U.S. State Department.

All this and much more, including information on the role of other lobbying and consulting firms played and the list of oil companies behind their efforts, are described in detail in recent reports in The Huffington Post and Mother Jones. The first article contains the now off-site web-based brochure on Libya written by USLBA lobbyists, along with excerpts from a diplomatic cable from U.S. embassy officials in Tripoli released by WikiLeaks. The second article focuses on another lobbying association, USA*Engage, with big oil clients like Halliburton. Only days ago, USA*Engage appeared to be lobbying against imposing U.S. sanctions against Libya.

As the Qaddafi situation continues to be painfully played out, surely more information on this type of international vested interests will be exposed and some dire lessons may be drawn. The Huffington Post and Mother Jones reports should warrant outside scrutiny given the sensitive nature of their allegations against multinationals, lobbyists and government officials and their ties with Qaddafi’s Libya.

On a broader level, it may not be premature to suggest that

, in which effective lobbying and commercial interests (alongside the fight against terror) unduly influenced U.S. foreign policy in a direction that paid little attention to the nefarious nature of a brutally autocratic leader, who engaged in gross human rights violations and denied socio-economic development to the Libyan people.

Qaddafi's Libya may also become a case study of the fallacy that diplomacy and development go hand in hand. Realistically speaking, they are often opposed to each other. Geopolitical and/or commercially-influenced diplomacy often gain the upper hand over development objectives. It is important to openly debate these issues at this juncture, not only given Qaddafi’s debacle, but also in the context of the increasingly permissive ‘money-in-politics’ corporate environment in the U.S. in the aftermath of the recent landmark Supreme Court decision on Citizen United vs. the Federal Electoral Commission.

The UK and France are seeking UN backing to carry out air patrols to prevent the leader's warplanes from attacking civilians.

The UK and France are seeking UN backing to carry out air patrols to prevent the leader's warplanes from attacking civilians.
It comes after fresh air strikes on rebel forces as the two sides continue to battle for key towns on the strategically important coast.
A warplane fired rockets near a checkpoint on the eastern outskirts of rebel-held oil town Ras Lanuf, 400 miles east of the capital Tripoli.
Opposition forces in the area have come under fire from rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns.

- Egyptian secret police files revealed 07/03/2011

PM - Egyptian secret police files revealed 07/03/2011: "Over the past two days activists in Egypt have stormed several offices in Alexandria and Cairo belonging to the former regime's secret police.

Thousands of Egyptian activists took control of the state security headquarters in Nasr City on Saturday night, reading and collecting classified material and gathering the shredded remains of documents for possible reconstruction.

Sara, an Egyptian blogger and activist, was inside the state security building. I asked her to describe what she saw.

SARA: We went through corridors full of offices. Each office had loads of shelves filled with files. There was one room that had TVs and video tapes and audio tapes as well.

It was just a building full of paper. There were trails of shredded paper on the floor. And in two of the rooms there were two huge garbage bags filled with shredded paper.

MARK COLVIN: What about the paper that wasn't shredded? Were you able to read anything of interest?

SARA: Oh yes. I went into an archive, archiving parents' councils meetings all over Egypt.

MARK COLVIN: Parent councillors - what do you mean? Just school parent councillors?

SARA: Yes! Yes, it's like an elected parents' boards that would you know just do adjustments to the building or maybe activities for the children. All these meetings were documented."