Sharp divisions prevented Nato from adopting a plan for military airstrikes against Libya today, with Turkish opposition blocking the alliance from approving a strategy.

The head of the Gulf’s main political group said today that Qatar and the United Arab Emirates remain part of the coalition striking Libya, but stressed the mission seeks only to protect civilians.

WESTERN forces pounded Libya’s air defences and patrolled its skies yesterday, but their intervention hit a serious diplomatic setback as the head of the Arab League condemned the “bombardment of civilians”.

LIBYAN rebels have claimed as many as 8,000 people opposed to Col Muammar Gaddafi’s rule may have died since the uprising began, as the US claimed last night coalition forces had succeeded in establishing a no-fly zone after two nights of airstrikes.

Military action against Libyan forces was under way today as British Prime Minister David Cameron declared that “the time for action has come” after dictator Muammar Gaddafi flouted his own ceasefire to mount continued attacks against his own people.

Leaders from the Arab world, Africa, the United States and other Western powers are holding urgent talks in Paris today over possible military action against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces.

THERE were conflicting reports of fighting in Libya last night as countries prepared to enforce a no-fly zone over the country and the west, allied with the Arab League, the African Union and the UN, prepare to meet in Paris today.

Colonel Muammar Gaddafi tightened his grip on the coastal road linking his territory to the rebel-controlled east today, pushing forward the front line in Libya's gruelling internal conflict.

The Arab League asked the UN Security Council today to impose a no-fly zone over Libya to protect civilians from air attack by forces of Muammar Gaddafi's embattled government, giving crucial backing to a key demand of the rebel forces battling to oust the Libyan leader.

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

Israel has been sharply criticised after its refusal to halt settlement construction forced Washington to drop efforts to relaunch Mideast peace talks.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today delivered a stinging rebuke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his government’s announcement of new Jewish housing in east Jerusalem, calling it “a deeply negative signal.”

FOREIGN Affairs Minister Micheál Martin is expected to attempt to enter the Gaza Strip tomorrow.

Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin will travel tomorrow evening to Cairo on a visit which will include meetings with his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Aboul Gheit, it was announced this evening.

Israel’s Security Cabinet will meet today to consider a possible prisoner exchange with Hamas, freeing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners for a soldier captured in June 2007.

SHIPPING officials from around the world yesterday called for a military blockade along Somalia’s coast to intercept pirate vessels heading out to sea.

THE Quartet of Middle East peace mediators sought yesterday to keep alive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks although political uncertainty in Israel has scotched hopes for a deal this year.

MINISTER for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin, said there is an urgent need for a settlement in the Middle East and the establishment of an independent, democratic, Palestinian state, which is one of Ireland’s strong foreign policy objectives.

Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin is due to hold talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials during a three-day visit to the Middle East this week.

FOREIGN Affairs Minister Micheál Martin begins a four-day trip to the Middle East today as violence in Gaza threatens a ceasefire between Israeli forces and Palestinian group Hamas.

Syrian President Bashar Assad questioned how long Arab nations can keep offering Israel a land-for-peace proposal, as the Arab League chief today called for Arabs to meet later this year to evaluate negotiations with Israel.

Negotiators moved to lower expectations ahead of the opening of the Darfur peace talks today, with almost none of the key rebel leaders present to negotiate an agreement with the Sudanese government.

LEBANESE troops bombed Islamic militants holed up in a Palestinian refugee camp yesterday, as mediators met senior military officials to discuss a possible ceasefire deal that would disarm the al-Qaida-inspired fighters.

Embattled Mahmoud Abbas got a major boost in his increasingly bellicose showdown with Hamas tonight, with a US diplomat saying he expects a crippling 15-month-old foreign aid embargo to be lifted once the Palestinian president appoints an emergency government without the Islamic militants.

The kidnapped BBC journalist Alan Johnston could be freed as early as today after the Islamic militant group Hamas made contact with his captors to try to secure his release.

ARAB countries fear the fighting in Gaza could spread to the West Bank and further destabilise the region.

Iraq’s beleaguered prime minister Nouri al-Maliki today warned against “conspiracies” in foreign capitals against his government.

Amnesty International today called for multilateral sanctions against Sudan and the immediate deployment of a UN peacekeeping force to end the bloodshed in the country’s war-torn Darfur region.

Arab leaders opened a key summit today to relaunch a land-for-peace offer to Israel.

The Iraqi government and Arab countries are engaged in bitter squabbling on the eve of a Baghdad conference that America hoped would finally unite them in efforts to stabilise the war-torn nation.

The Jerusalem municipality will submit new plans for a walkway leading to a disputed holy compound, a city spokesman said today.

President Vladimir Putin and Arab League chief Amr Moussa today called for an international conference on the Iraq conflict and the Middle East, according to reports.

Arab diplomat Mokhtar Lamani has resigned, disillusioned and nearly drained of hope, after spending months in Iraq trying to coax Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish leaders into peace.

Lebanon’s prime minister today abruptly pulled out of an international gathering of world political and business leaders in Switzerland, reflecting tensions in his nation.

Arab foreign ministers will hold an emergency meeting this weekend to forge a response to the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 50 people in the past few days, the head of the Arab League said today.

Arab foreign ministers met in Cairo today to promote a plan to revive the deadlocked Middle East peace process amid wide Arab fears the recent war in Lebanon helped boost the influence of Iran and the militants it supports.

Three leading Arab officials were to appear before the UN Security Council this evening to demand that a draft resolution on ending the war between Israel and Hezbollah seek Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon once fighting ends.

Israeli warplanes intensified airstrikes and launched a new commando raid in south Lebanon today, killing at least 28 people in one of the heaviest tolls in days.

Israeli warplanes intensified airstrikes and launched a new commando raid in south Lebanon today, killing at least 23 people in one of the heaviest tolls in days.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said today that Arab foreign ministers meeting in Beirut would discuss the possibility of holding an emergency summit on Lebanon later this week.

The leaders of Jordan and Egypt held an emergency meeting in Cairo today as thousands demonstrated across the Arab world against Israel’s expanding assault on Lebanon – the worst Israeli attack on its neighbour in 24 years.

After declaring victory in Israeli elections, acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s Kadima Party said today it would quickly form a broad ruling coalition that will pull out of much of the West Bank and draw Israel’s borders by 2010.

The annual Arab League summit was sharply divided even before it began in Sudan today, with late-night wrangling over the wording of the final declaration and the absence of a number of key leaders at a meeting meant to tackle the region’s tricky problems.

Saddam Hussein has urged Arab leaders to support Iraqi insurgents, warning that an ”American-Israeli conspiracy” aims to split Iraq into pieces, according to a letter the former Iraqi leader purportedly wrote that appeared on the Internet.