Africa, North Africa | featured news

Opposition fighters took control of Ajdabiya overnight after allied fighter jets bombed Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's tanks that were entrenched at the city's gates, according to an opposition spokesman.

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.

NATO agreed late Thursday to take over part of the military operations against Libya - enforcement of the no-fly zone - after days of hard bargaining among its members. But attacks on the ground will continue to be run by the coalition led by the U.S., which has been anxious to give up the lead role....

The Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accused France of seeing Libya as a source of 'oil, gold mines and underground treasures'.

Top Obama administration officials are expected to face continued criticism Thursday over their handling of the crisis in Libya, and louder calls for a clearer explanation of U.S. policy in the war-torn North African nation.

A U.S. Air Force F-15E fighter crashed in Libya overnight and one crewmember has been safely rescued and the other is "in the process of recovery," a spokesman for the U.S. military's Africa Command said on Tuesday.

Demonstrations have spread across parts of the Middle East and North Africa.

The head of the Arab League has criticized international strikes on Libya, saying they caused civilian deaths.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, speaking after an emergency summit of world powers in Paris, announces 'our planes are stopping attacks' on Benghazi and that France and its partner nations are determined to stop Moammar Kadafi's 'killing frenzy.' Sarkozy says the summit agreed to demand and enforce an 'immediate cease-fire' in Libya.

The New York Times says four of its journalists who were reported missing while covering the Libya conflict have been found. The Times reported on its website that the four were captured by forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi and will be released Friday....