As an unrepentant Muammar Gaddafi refused to heed global calls for an end to violence in Libya, the United Nations Security Council on Sunday unanimously slapped "biting sanctions" on his regime, including a travel ban and asset freezes, with United States President Barack Obama saying the strongman must quit now.
The Indian Air Force is expected to fly an IL-76 aircraft, which can ferry 300 people, to Libya on Thursday to evacuate Indian citizens stranded there. "An IL-76 is at the Palam airport and is expected to fly out to Cairo on Thursday morning on its way to Libya," IAF officials said. However, the destination of the aircraft is not being disclosed keeping in mind the safety of the evacuees, they added.
With the rising death toll in anti-government protests in Libya, the government on Tuesday decided to evacuate nearly 18,000 Indians residing in that country. "Arrangements for air and sea evacuation of our nationals from Libya are being finalised," Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said. Rao, along with other top officials from other concerned ministries, held a meeting to work out the logistics of the evacuation process.
America should not bear the "burden of action" alone and other major powers should step up their efforts to prevent any humanitarian crisis in Libya, United States President Barack Obama has said. "We should not be afraid to act, but the burden of action should not be America's alone," Obama said in his address to the nation. The US President made it clear to his countrymen that instead of unilateral military action in Libya.
The United States on Thursday appointed veteran diplomat Laurence Pope as the new charge d'affaires to Libya, following the murder of its envoy in September. "Mr Pope's selection as charge d' Affairs emphasises the commitment of the US to the relationship between our two countries and to the people of Libya as they move forward in their transition to a democratic government," State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said.
The two Indians -- T Gopikrishna from Andhra Pradesh and C Balaram Kishan from Telangana, who were teaching at Libya's Sirte University, were abducted by Islamic State militants in July last year.
The political fight erupted a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his government has evacuated the families from Libya and that the Centre was committed to work for welfare of Indians living abroad. Kerala goes to polls on May 16.
A group of Indian nurses, who were evacuated from Libya by the government, arrived in Kochi in the early hours of Friday morning.
None of the US Navy's warships deployed in the Mediterranean have been assigned any specific mission to Libya in the aftermath of the attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi that killed US Ambassador Chris Stevens, the Pentagon has said.
'It couldn't have been otherwise. Libya lacked a sophisticated scientific infrastructure,' an Israeli intelligence source said.
Senior Obama Administration officials said the 50-member Marine unit was being flown from their base in Europe. This is in addition to two US warships USS Laboon and USS McFaul which are now being moved to the coast of Libya.
As India seems to be picking 'Bharat' at least in official communication, here are some interesting name changes.
India said it looks forward to complete the mammoth operation of evacuating about 18,000 of its nationals from strife-torn Libya by Thursday.
Two Special Air India flights to Tripoli will operate from Saturday over the next 10 days and two Naval warships including amphibious vessel INS Jalashwa will also set sail to bring back thousands of Indian nationals stranded in strife-torn Libya.Evacuation through sea will begin from Sunday with one of the chartered ships, Scotia Prince, with a capacity to accommodate 1,200 persons set to reach Benghazi port in Libya. An estimated 18,000 Indian nationals live in Libya.
Gravely concerned over "continuing violence, strife and deteriorating humanitarian situation" in Libya, India on Sunday regretted the air strikes by United States-led coalition and called upon all parties to abjure use of force and resolve their differences through peaceful means.
The 28-member North Atlantic Treaty Organisation has announced to take over all the international operations in Libya, including military operations to enforce no-fly-zone, enforcement of arms embargo and the civilian protections.
Going ahead with unilateral sanctions against the Muammar Gaddafi regime, the US suspended its military ties with Libya and temporarily closed down its embassy in Tripoli.
Africa is growing. India wants to play a part in its growth. It sees Libya as the gateway.
As evacuation of Indians from Libya gained momentum, the government on Monday said it had sought aircraft landing rights in Sehba in interior Libya where over 1,000 Indians have been stranded as anti-government protesters took control of several cities in the oil-rich nation.
Libya's defiant leader Muammer Gaddafi vowed to fight his detractors and die a martyr, as outrage grew over the bloody suppression of anti-government protests in his country.
One of the two Indians, who were abducted in Sirte in war-devastated Libya, has managed to flee from captivity.
With Internet connections blocked and telephone lines cut, the news of how those wanting to see Gaddafi's exit from the country are waging their battle, has been hard to come by.
A third batch of 67 Indians arrived in Mumbai from Libya early on Monday morning. So far, over 550 Indians have returned from strife-torn Libya on special Air India flights, but thousands continue to remain stranded.
The Ministry of External Affairs is working overtime at a 24/7 situation room to take a flurry of calls and emails from concerned relatives of stranded Indians in Libya.
The Indian Navy has decided to despatch three naval warships including its largest amphibious vessel INS Jalashwa to evacuate its citizens stranded in trouble-torn Libya.
It was an emotional homecoming for the people who hugged their loved ones amid tears as they emerged from Nedumbassery airport at 10.30 am.
Reji Joseph, an IT engineer in the Al Diwan software company for Technical Consultancies and IT Ltd had been abducted along with three other Libyan colleagues on March 31.
Oil prices hit two-and-a-half-year highs in Asian trade on Friday as violence continued to wrack the Middle East and threatened to spread to other bigger oil producers in the region, analysts said.
A video purportedly made by Islamic State and posted on social media sites on Sunday appeared to show militants shooting and beheading about 30 Ethiopian Christians in Libya.
Oil -- and not human rights or concern for democracy -- is the driving force for the war in Libya as it was in Iraq, says senior analyst B Raman.
In a dramatic nationwide broadcast on Friday evening, the American president commended Libyan leader Maommar Gadhafi's 'wise, responsible and constructive' example to other nations.
In an interview published in The Sunday Times son of Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gadaffi says Libya spent $40 million to acquire nuclear capability.
Peter Griffin, a 68-year-old grandfather, is accused in a report sent to the International Atomic Energy Agency by Malaysian police of helping Colonel Gaddafi to design an uranium enrichment workshop.
"All Indians, numbering around 18,000, are safe in Libya. We are following the situation closely. Presently, disturbances have mainly been reported in north-eastern region of Benghazi, Derna, Baida and Turbuk," an External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said.
Libya's embattled leader Muammar Gaddafi on Thursday scrambled hard to stick to power as anti-regime protesters gained control of several eastern cities and the revolt moved closer to the capital Tripoli with many army officers defecting to join the uprising.
The Pentagon has ruled out sending ground troops to Libya and reiterated that any change in the leadership would be determined by the people of the country and not by any external forces.
Pointing out that the proliferation of weapons in a post-conflict Libya poses serious threat to stability in the troubled nation and in the larger middle-east region, India called on the international community to assist the nation to achieve stability and socio-economic development.
India on Tuesday said one of its nationals in Libya has died in a road accident and not in firing as claimed by the family of the deceased.
The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor has said his office has information that former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi may try to flee Libya with the help of mercenaries.
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