Libya

The head of the Libyan rebels' armed forces and two of his aides were killed by gunmen on Thursday.The head of the rebels' National Transitional Council (NTC), Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, announced the death of Abdel-Fattah Younis at a news conference in the de facto rebel capital, Benghazi,on Thursday.The death of Younis remains unclear, prompting speculations about whether the NTC leader was killed by Gaddafi loyalists or his own camp.

As news emerged that diplomatic effort and negotiations to finally put an end to the five month conflict centred on the establishment of a five-man interim government led by the National Transitional Council (NTC), Col. Gaddafi it seems is still laughing at reports he would be prepared to step down.

The Gaddafi regime was quick to condemn the UK for recognising the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) as the "sole governmental authority" in Libya and Deputy foreign minister Khaled Kaim has hit back by saying the decision was "unprecedented in diplomatic history" and that he considered it "a stain on the forehead of Britain".

Al-Megrahi, the man convicted of killing 270 people by bombing a Pan Am jet in 1988 was11 years later released from Greenock Prison by the Scottish government on compassionate grounds.

Gaddafi is once again causing havoc it seems as coalition forces supporting the Nato-led operation in Libya appears to be at loggerheads with the International Criminal Court.Recent weeks have been marked by declaration from France, the U.K and the Rebels saying they could allow for Gaddafi to remain in Libya.

Over the week end, Algeria was forced to deny charges that a Libyan ship offloaded weapons for Muammar Gaddafi's troops at one of its ports.

William Hague, the UK foreign secretary, has said that although the Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi must hand over power, he may not have to leave the country.

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Britain took responsibility Monday for a NATO helicopter attack in Afghanistan which wounded five local children, voicing "deep regret" over the incident and saying an investigation was under way.Five Afghan children were injured in a strike carried out by a British Apache attack helicopter, the Ministry of Defence has said.

A Saudi Muslim scholar appeared on state-run Libyan satellite television on Monday to call for a fatwa (religious ruling) by key scholars in Saudi Arabia and other Islamic countries calling on the rebels in Libya to put their arms down and talk peace with the regime of Muammar Gaddafi.

Thousands of Africans are taking to Twitter to vent grief and anger over another famine in Somalia, raising money and comforting each other showing that once again social network are increasingly used to highlight international issues.

While the international community battles over road maps, peace talks and cease fire plans, saying they are in touch with the Libyan government, one leader, Muammar Gaddafi seems blissfully unaware that he supposedly is on the brink of accepting a deal that will force him to step down from power.

Chinese President Hu Jintao told his South African counterpart, Jacob Zuma, on Thursday that China will continue to work with the African Union in finding a solution to the Libyan crisis, state news agency Xinhua reported.

As the Muslim world prepares to enter Ramadan, it seems that Libya's rebels asked France for extra arms to help them overrun Tripoli within "days", indicating they are preparing for a pre-Ramadan offensive against Muammar Gaddafi' s forces.

The Libyan conflict is now being treated as a civil war, but while the Transitional National Council (TNC) is now recognised as the legitimate representative of the people of Libya by various international states including the U.K., France and most recently, the U.S., not much is known about who the Libyan people really support.

Two members of Libya's rebel Transitional National Council are meeting French President Nicolas Sarkozy Wednesday amid international efforts to further support the Libyan opposition.

David Cameron will today admit that British aid money may have been wasted but that increasing the aid budget is still the right thing to do.

The United Kingdom will not be able to maintain their position as a Global power if the Government continue to cut British defences, according to a report by the Henry Jackson Society.

More than 30 nations, including the United States, on Friday declared that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime is no longer legitimate and formally recognized Libya's main opposition group as the legitimate government until a new interim authority is created.

Despite claiming that Gaddafi is preparing to leave for now several weeks, NATO and other leaders meeting in Istanbul are considering proposals that allow for a peaceful resolution to the conflict without the Libyan leader's unconditional surrender or flight.

The situation in Libya will be the first item on U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's packed agenda during her latest around-the-world diplomatic tour, it appears.

According to U.S officials, rebel forces that captured towns from Nalut to Kikla in Libya's western Nafusa Mountains managed to cut a vital crude oil pipeline that feeds one of the government's major refineries in the town of al-Zawiya, greatly impeding the Libyan government's ability to continue fighting the rebels.

France acknowledges that it is growing impatient with the lack of progress on reaching a political solution to the crisis in Libya, but officials denied Paris is in talks with Gaddafi's government or could consider him not quitting power.

China has recently been at the forefront of the International scene as it leads a diplomatic offensive which proves that it wants to enlarge its sphere of influence further away from the Asian pacific zone.With the Libyan conflict, China has broken away from one of its golden rule by formally recognizing the rebels' National Council and getting actively involved in peace talks, thus interfering in a country's domestic affairs.

Somalia is close to famine, causing over a 1,000 people a day to travel over the border into Kenya and Ethiopia, according to the United Nations.

A senior Chinese diplomat visited the Libyan rebel stronghold of Benghazi and met members of the opposition, state media said Thursday, as Beijing becomes more deeply engaged in the war-torn nation.Chen Xiaodong, in charge of North African affairs at the foreign ministry, met with officials of the opposition's National Transitional Council (NTC), the official Xinhua news agency said.

Libyan rebels backed by NATO air power on Wednesday launched a promised assault on a key gateway to Tripoli, attacking positions just 50 kilometres from the capital.

Mr Brian Johnson-Thomas, a former arms trafficking expert for the UN Security Council incriminatory comments were made on the TV channel Russia Today and came after the Libyan army said it had intercepted 100 Belgian-made FN assault rifles, as well as thousands of rounds of ammunition of the same calibre used in the guns, allegedly coming from Qatar.

As the Libyan conflict is dragging on, headlines indicating that Gaddafi is preparing to leave Libya are emerging once again. Could the Lion of Africa really be on his way out, or is this just part of a desperate tactic aiming at retaining public support at a time when both the rebels and Nato are heavily criticised.

A Russian newspaper said on Tuesday that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was willing to give up power in exchange for security guarantees, citing a high-level Russian official.