Ashish Kumar Sen

Libyan dissidents and relatives of those killed in the bombing of an airliner over Scotland in 1988 said Thursday that Col. Moammar Gadhafi’s former foreign minister must be held accountable for his suspected role in acts of terrorism, despite his defection from the regime.

Forces loyal to Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi sent rebels on a full-scale retreat Wednesday from towns captured earlier this week, as resistance sources blamed a sudden lack of allied air cover and a shortage of arms for the rout.

US President Barack Obama on Monday vigorously defended his decision to intervene in Libya saying to brush aside America’s responsibilities “to our fellow human beings under such circumstances would have been a betrayal of who we are.”

Libyan rebels say condoms and Viagra found on soldiers loyal to Col. Moammar Gadhafi are proof of a campaign of rape waged by the Libyan dictator to terrorize male and female opponents.

Libyan rebels closed in on Col. Moammar Gadhafi’s tribal stronghold Sirte on Monday, but despite significant gains over the past few days, they predicted a bloody battle lies ahead.

NATO agreed Sunday to take command of the airstrikes over Libya from the U.S.-led coalition, as rebels advanced on the capital, Tripoli, seizing key coastal towns from forces loyal to Col. Moammar Gadhafi.

Aides close to Moammar Gadhafi are urging the Libyan dictator to crush the resistance in a rebel-held town close to the capital, Tripoli, and then propose a division of the country with the rebels holding the eastern part, rebel sources told The Washington Times on Thursday.

The U.S.-led military coalition continued to bicker Wednesday over a new command structure for airstrikes in Libya, as allied warplanes began pounding Col. Moammar Gadhafi’s forces in the rebel-held city of Misurata, giving residents respite from a weeks-long siege.

The allies in the U.S.-led military operation in Libya debated a new command structure Tuesday, with differences over the ultimate aims and scope of the campaign impeding an agreement, as forces loyal to dictator Moammar Gadhafi shelled the coastal city of Misurata.

The U.S.-led coalition pounded targets in Libya on Monday, extending the U.N.-mandated no-fly zone around the rebel-held town of Benghazi, as Pentagon officials insisted that they would soon hand over command of the operation to allies.

A Western coalition Sunday kept up a barrage of airstrikes on Libya, while the head of the Arab League condemned the military action and called an emergency meeting to reconsider Arab support for the mission.

Libyan dictator Col. Moammar Gadhafi’s forces attacked the eastern city of Benghazi, the heart of the rebellion against the regime, and heavy fighting was reported from the western city of Misurata on Saturday.

India’s decision to abstain from a United Nations Security Council vote to impose a no-fly zone over Libya has drawn criticism from rebels seeking to overthrow the Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.

Residents of Misurata and Adjabiya in Libya said pro-Gadhafi forces were continuing an assault on their cities, hours after the Libyan government had announced a cease-fire in response to a U.N. Security Council resolution.

The U.N. Security Council on Thursday approved a resolution to impose a no-fly zone over Libya and take “all necessary measures” to protect civilians, even as Col. Moammar Gadhafi’s warplanes bombed Benghazi, the eastern city at the heart of the rebellion.

An “enduring solution” in Afghanistan is the best way to make Pakistan realise how to achieve its national security aims without “allowing elements on its soil who create problems for their neighbours,” Gen David Petraeus, top US commander in Afghanistan, told lawmakers in Washington on Tuesday.

Engineers, doctors, professors and lawyers, some with Western degrees and all claiming support for a democratic Libya, make up the opposition that aims to topple Col. Moammar Gadhafi.

Opponents of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafislammed the Obama administration Tuesday for failing to support a no-fly zone over the North African nation and recognize their provisional government as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people.

Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi is waging a campaign of intimidation against journalists and suspected opponents of his regime, according to Libyans and human rights groups.

A posterboy for Indian Americans, Rajat Gupta is charged with financial misdeeds.

The U.S., European Union and Arab League will be to blame if Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi uses chemical and biological weapons against his opponents, Abdel Rahman Shalgam, Libya’s former envoy to the United Nations, said on Friday.

Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi on Wednesday unleashed a diplomatic offensive to win international support for his embattled regime, while his opponents launched their own effort to gain recognition as the “sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people.”

Libyans facing daily bombardments by Col. Moammar Gadhafi’s forces are calling for foreign airstrikes against his strongholds as the United States and its allies continue to debate the imposition of a “no-fly zone” over Libya.

Residents of some rebel-held cities in Libya were living in a state of siege Monday, as troops loyal to Col. Moammar Gadhafi launched air and ground attacks in an offensive aimed at winning back lost territory.

The assassination of a second high-profile critic of Pakistan's blasphemy law Wednesday snuffed out any hope that the government will amend the decree that prescribes the death penalty for those insulting Islam.

Rebel forces fended off Moammar Gadhafi’s troops in the western part of Libya on Tuesday, and thousands of people fleeing the violence massed at the North African nation’s borders prompting warnings from international aid groups of a humanitarian crisis.

Many Libyans oppose the idea of Western troops on the shores of Tripoli, as the Obama administration and its allies on Monday said no option is off the table in their effort to oust longtime dictator Col. Moammar Gadhafi.