Libya is an important partner for the West in containing al Qaeda and illegal migrants trying to reach Europe, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said on Monday, in an apparent warning to governments planning sanctions. “Libya plays a vital role in regional peace and world peace,” he said in an interview with the France 24 television station. “We are an important partner in fighting al... 

Libyan rebels who are part of the forces against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi celebrate their victory in fighting against troops loyal to Gadhafi, in the oil town of Ras Lanuf, eastern Libya, Saturday, March 5, 2011. Witnesses say Libyan rebels have captured the oil port town of Ras Lanouf from pro-Moammar Gadhafi forces, their first military victory in what could be a long, westward march to the... 

Relations: Mr Lavrov visited Downing Street earlier this month during which time it is likely that the Middle East unrest would have been discussed. Russia’s top diplomat has today dismissed plans to create a no-fly zone over Libya as embattled leader Moammar Gaddafi unleashed bombing raids, special forces and army troops in a desperate bid to retain power. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov... 

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez claims U.S. criticism of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has a clear aim: military invasion. “Let’s not get carried away by the drums of war, because the United States, I am sure that they are exaggerating and distorting things to justify an invasion,” Chavez said Monday, according to Venezuelan state media. At a Monday meeting of the U.N. Human Rights... 

Street art: Gaddafi depicted as a traitor to Libya, paid by Israel and being kicked out of the country by the people of Libya. Click on the image to enlarge it. Libya has never been a friendly place for foreign journalists. A media ban kept reporters away as the uprising against strongman Muammar Gaddafi began on Feb. 17, and officials of the Gaddafi regime blasted journalists entering opposition-controlled... 

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, is holding an extraordinary session on Friday to discuss the situation in Libya, amid reports of a possible military intervention in the Arab country. The Secretary General of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, made the announcement yesterday in Budapest, where he was meeting with the ministers of defense of the European Union. Normally, the NATO Council would... 

Protesters shout slogans against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi during a demonstartion at court square, in Benghazi, Libya, on Friday. After days of prevarication through the peak of the Libyan crisis, the United States government finally moved on Friday evening to impose unilateral sanctions against the regime of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The Obama administration’s latest move came even as the... 

Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi. Libya’s deputy ambassador to the UN says thousands of people have been killed during protests, as unconfirmed reports have come in claiming the regime has used poison gas on demonstrators. Ibrahim Dabbashi, who has turned against the Gaddafi regime, said the death toll is expected to rise as Muammar Gaddafi continues his bloody crackdown against the opposition. “There... 

President Garcia wants a no-fly zone over Libya. Peru says it has suspended diplomatic relations with Libya over the use of force against civilians there. It is the first country to take such a step since the anti-government protests erupted in Libya last week. Peruvian Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Garcia Belaunde said he hoped other Latin American countries would follow suit. Peru said the move was... 

Thousands flee Gaddafi’s wrath. MADMAN Muammar Gaddafi yesterday ordered his followers to kill the protesters fighting to oust him. The crazed dictator fanned the flames of the conflict tearing his country apart with a ranting, hour-long TV speech that sounded like a declaration of civil war. As Gaddafi spoke, Foreign Secretary William Hague announced the beginning of efforts to evacuate Britons... 

White House principles on Libya 'clear'. President Barack Obama said Wednesday that the United States strongly condemns the use of violence on protesters in Libya and said a unified international response was forming. “The suffering and bloodshed is outrageous and it is unacceptable,” Obama said in his strongest and most direct statements to date on the unrest in Libya. “So... 

Some 1,000 people have been killed by Libyan security forces in bomb attacks against pro-democracy demonstrators in the North African country, reports say. A Rome-based group representing Arab expatriates revealed the mascara on Tuesday to become yet another aspect of the Tripoli’s brutal crackdown on the country’s popular revolution “Hospitals have no electricity and no medicines,”... 

Saif al-Islam, son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, speaks during an address on state television in Tripoli. Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi’s son Seif al-Islam Gaddafi, who has been leading the campaign to quell the popular uprising that has reportedly led to the fleeing of his father, has been wounded in gunfire, the Muslim Brotherhood has said citing unofficial reports. The report also says Gaddafi,... 

Popular fury: Government buildings have been set ablaze by anti-regime protesters in Tripoli. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is believed to have fled the capital Tripoli after anti-government demonstrators breached the state television building and set government property alight. Protesters appear to have gained a foothold in Tripoli as banks and government buildings were looted while demonstrators... 

A crowd gathers as smoke billows from a building purported to be the internal security headquarters in Libya's second city of Benghazi in this still grab taken from video uploaded February 20, 2011. Libyan forces fired machine-guns at mourners in the eastern city of Benghazi Sunday, a day after commandos and foreign mercenaries pummeled demonstrators with assault rifles and other heavy weaponry. Libyan...