LIBYA

Libya said Monday that tens of thousands of telecoms workers would act as human shields to deter NATO strikes on communications infrastructure, which it said had inflicted serious financial damage.

Here is a slideshow presenting some of the rare, never-seen pictures that tell a human tale of fear for life.

Tunisian forces have arrested two suspected members of al Qaeda near the Libyan border.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn's arrest in New York on rape allegations is a big deal.

The Libyan rebels met with U.S. officials at the White House on Friday, but the delegation failed to get recognition as the sole council to take over power.

Osama bin Laden apparently supported the revolts which spread across the Arab world this spring, according to an audio message found at his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, according to a U.S. government official.

Big hedge funds and speculators cut their bullish bets on commodity markets by $17 billion in the week through Tuesday, the biggest bear turn since at least 2009, regulatory data showed on Friday.

Oil prices fell on Friday, dragged from earlier gains on news Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi may have been wounded and the stronger dollar.

After being absent from the public for almost two weeks, footage of Moammar Gaddafi was shown on Libyan state TV last night.

President Barack Obama urged businesses to step up and hire workers, pressing banks and other corporations to do more to help an economy that he said would take several years to recover fully.

Muammar Gaddafi's compound in capital Tripoli was pummeled with rocket attacks on Thursday that killed at least two people, even as speculation is rife that NATO could be gunning for the besieged leader in a bid to end the war.

Gaddafi has reportedly not been seen in public since he escaped an air assault on the family compound on April 30 which killed one of his sons, Saif, and some grandchildren.

Due to the current unrest in Libya there will not be an effective monitoring and enforcement of the fishery in its waters, it will risk an internationally agreed recovery plan for the severely overfished species. There are reports that several Libyan vessels, legally unauthorized to fish for bluefin, have left from European ports in France (Sète) and Malta.

The European Union has imposed an arms ban on Syria, besides a freeze and visa ban on 13 top Syrian officials, including the brother of President Bashar al-Assad. Fifty-four Somalis trying to escape Libya are feared dead after an overcrowded boat with hundreds aboard capsized off the coast of Tripoli.

The Islamic Republic of Iran finds itself grappling with new realities in a Middle East that has been turned upside-down by an unprecedented wave of revolt and rebellion

Oil's sharp slide this week is welcome because high prices may hurt the world economy and in the longer term accelerate the use of alternative fuels, OPEC delegates said on Friday.

Oil fell on Friday to cap a frenzied trading week that sliced prices by a record of more than $16 a barrel on demand worries and a move by investors to slash commodities exposures.

The killing of Osama bin Laden by U.S. Special Forces will likely have a powerful psychological impact on Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, according to the British chief of armed forces

Oil prices steadied on Friday following a torrid 10 percent slide the previous session, as shellshocked traders mulled market fundamentals and the frenzy this week that wiped out half the year's gains.

The steep slide in oil prices this week is welcome because crude above $120 a barrel may hurt the world economy, while crude at $90 to $100 is ideal, an OPEC delegate said on Friday.

Brent crude dipped toward $107 a barrel on Friday and U.S. crude fell below $97, extending losses from a record rout in the previous session that wiped as much as 10 percent from the price.