AL JAZEERA

Libyan rebel forces are reportedly advancing westward to the key city of Brega, after having taken control of oil port Ajdabiya, largely due to air strikes by western coalition forces.

About twenty people were killed by security forces and snipers in the coastal Syrian town of Latakia as anti-government protesters tried to burn down the local headquarters of the ruling Baath party as well as a police station.

Libyan rebels declared on Saturday that they had retaken the strategic crossroads town of Ajdabiya following heavy coalition airstrikes on Muammer Gaddafi's forces.

At least one person has died and more than 100 were injured after an anti-government protest in Amman, Jordan turned violent.

According to media reports, at least 20 people were killed in the southern town of Deraa by government troops as part of the state’s brutal crackdown on protesters.

In the biggest demonstration against the President yet, many thousands of Yemenis have gathered in capitol city of Sanaa demanding the immediate resignation of Ali Abdullah Saleh.

From lecturing handpicked group of young western women on Islam to his fear of flying over waters, and from virgin bodyguards to maniacal imperial delusions, Muammar Gaddafi’s traits are as strange and funny, or even more so, as his weird dress sense. The following are some of his idiosyncrasies, peculiar hatreds, strange loves and manifestations of borderline psychosis:

Hundreds of anti-government protesters have vowed to stage a sit-in in a main square in Amman, Jordan, until their demands for democratic reforms are satisfied.

In the face of an unprecedented wave of anti-government protests, Syria said it will consider a proposal to end emergency rule which has been in place for almost a half-century and also examine the possibility of allowing political parties, according to a presidential adviser.

Yemeni opposition groups are planning to march to the palace of the embattled president on Friday to demand his immediate ouster in defiance of the 30-day state of emergency passed by the parliament to quell unceasing rebellion in the poverty-stricken nation.

The Turkish, which is still questioning the dominant role of NATO in spearheading the military campaign against Moammar Gaddafi, has nonetheless offered the services of its navy to help enforce a UN arms embargo on Libya.

Libya’s rebel forces have formed an interim government, even as Moammar Gaddafi’s troops continue their assaults against them, according to a report from Al Jazeera.

As a small concession to protesters seeking comprehensive political reforms, the kingdom Saudi Arabia said it will hold municipal elections later this month.

At least five Palestinians, including two children, have been killed by Israeli artillery strikes in the northern Gaza strip, according to various media reports, in retaliation for rockets fired into Israel on Saturday.

Despite bombardments on Libyan military by western and other foreign military aircraft, fighting on the ground between forces loyal to and against Moammar Gaddafi continue unabated.

As anti-government protests continue to rage in Syria, demonstrators have reportedly set fire to several government buildings – including the headquarters of the ruling Baath party -- in the southern city of Deraa.

Even as Japan reported significant progress in preventing a melt-down in its Fukushima nuclear plant, the National Police Agency said on Monday more than 18,000 people have been confirmed dead in the twin-catastrophe that hit the country on March 11.

Yemen's beleaguered president Ali Abdullah Saleh has dismissed his cabinet after popular protests demanding his resignation and constitutional reforms intensified. The move came after Saleh faced the ire of a powerful tribal group in the country on Sunday.

In a transparent bid to stave off further anti-government protests in Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah has unveiled an astounding and unprecedented multi-billion-dollar package of handouts to his subjects.

In the wake of an intensifying crackdown against anti-government protesters (including the killing of at least 30 demonstrators earlier today in the capitol Sanaa), the president of Yemen has declared a state of emergency in the restive country.

At least 30 protesters have been killed by Yemeni security forces in the capital city of Sanaa, according to media reports, and scores have been wounded.