Calls for no-fly zone increase as G8 meets

FRANCE and Britain stepped up calls for other world powers to isolate Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi with a no-fly zone, amid diplomatic differences over how much backing to give Libyan rebels.

The accelerated push came as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other top diplomats from the G8 prominent world economies were gathering in Paris.

France, which has angered some allies by offering diplomatic recognition to Libya’s opposition, said it is urgent to act against “barbarity” by Gaddafi’s forces.