IRAQ

As a coalition of western nations launch airstrikes on Libyan military targets, British Prime Minister David Cameron warned that the UK could face terrorist reprisals should Moammar Gaddafi’s regime somehow remains in power.

The following is a White House transcript of remarks by President Barack Obama on Friday on the situation in Libya delivered from the East Room on March 18, 2011.

Crude oil prices rose in Asian trade on Friday, after the United Nations (UN) approved the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya, raising fresh fears over oil exports from the country.

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali has asked the government of Iran to release two American hikers held in the country for two years since on spying charges.

A popular Turkish folk singer has been shot in the head and seriously wounded in an attack in Istanbul by unknown gunmen.

Guantánamo Bay is a bay located in Guantánamo Province at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the largest harbor on the south side of the island and is surrounded by steep hills creating an enclave cut off from its immediate hinterland.

A journalist working for the British newspaper Guardian is missing in Libya and has not been heard from since Sunday.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she plans to meet with Libyan rebel leaders in the U.S. and when she travels next week to France, Tunisia and Egypt.

Moammar Gaddafi has warned that if a no-fly zone is imposed n Libya by the UN Security Council, he and his military will respond with armed resistance.

A section of students at the University of Maryland are protesting the acceptance of research funds from Lockheed Martin, a Bethesda-based aerospace, security and defense technology company because of its engagement in arms manufacturing.

There are no good outcomes, only bad, really bad, and catastrophic. Take your pick. Could gas prices drop below $3.00 per gallon if the world sinks back into recession? Yes. But it would only be momentary. The easy to access supply is dwindling. The medium and long term direction of gas at the pump is up. There is nothing that can be done in the next five years to prevent significantly higher oil prices.

Pent-up demand has resulted in a surge in Iraqi stocks due to political gains and lifting of UN sanctions, says investment management company Global Capital Investments.

Rebels in eastern Libya have captured members of a British special forces team but the issue will be resolved shortly, rebel sources said on Sunday.

China said on Friday its military spending for 2011 would rise 12.7 percent, resuming double-digit hikes that have stoked regional disquiet about Beijing's expanding strength.

Fleeing after years of war in Iraq, many refugees arriving in the United States can't find the jobs they need to rebuild their lives. Unemployment among Iraqi refugees is estimated at nearly three times the national average of 9 percent, and up to 2,000 of those who arrived in the past four years may have left for other countries.

Muammar Gaddafi struck at rebel control of a key Libyan coastal road for a second day on Thursday but received a warning he would be held to account at The Hague for suspected crimes by his security forces.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has reportedly accepted an offer of mediation from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez while an opposition group has rejected it, according to a report.

Establishing a no-fly zone over Libya would require widespread bombings to destroy Libyan air defenses first, a top U.S. defense official said on Wednesday.

Muammar Gaddafi launched a land and air offensive to retake territory in Libya's east at dawn on Wednesday, sparking a rebel call for foreign air strikes against African mercenaries they said were helping him cling to power.

Veteran Egyptian diplomat Amr Moussa said on Sunday he intends to run for president, a post held for three decades by Hosni Mubarak until he was toppled from power by a mass uprising this month.

Gunmen have attacked and bombed Iraq's largest oil refinery, Baiji, shutting down the facility and killing at least five employees