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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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 Frid...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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

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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...

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...

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....

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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....

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...

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....

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,...

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...

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....

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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:...

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...

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 Informati...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...