World News: Gaddafi troops sweep rebel forces out of key oil town

Gaddafi forces swept rebels from a key oil town with waves of strikes from warships, tanks and warplanes, closing on the opposition-held eastern half of Libya as insurgents pleaded for a UN-imposed no-fly zone.

Gaddafi's troops have been emboldened by a string of victories in the struggle for Libya's main coastal road but their supply lines are stretched and their dependence on artillery, air strikes and naval attacks makes it hard for them to consolidate control of territory swiftly.

The insurgents claimed they moved back into the strategic town of Brega after dusk yesterday in a fast-moving battle, destroying armoured vehicles and capturing dozens of fighters.

The United States sent Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to meet with rebel leaders in Paris today as world powers consider trying to ground Gaddafi's air force.

The Obama administration and other governments have expressed reservations about a tactic that would require them to destroy Gaddafi's air defences and possibly shoot down his planes.

The Arab League has raised the pressure on the US and its Nato allies by asking the UN Security Council to impose a no-fly zone.

Bullfighter Hilda Tenorio in action at the Plaza Mexico bull ring in Mexico City during a performance by three woman bullfighters.

President condemns murders

The Palestinian president has condemned the deadly attack on a Jewish settler family over the weekend as "despicable, immoral and inhuman". Mahmoud Abbas said the images of the victims - parents and three children - "cause anyone humane to ache and cry".

Prayers spark alert on plane

Pilots on an Alaska Airlines flight from Mexico City to Los Angeles locked down the cockpit and alerted authorities when a flight crew grew alarmed at the behaviour of three men, all Mexican nationals who turned out to be conducting an elaborate orthodox Jewish prayer ritual.

Martial law plea to king

A parliament group is appealing to Bahrain's king to impose martial law after a month of clashes and anti-government protests.

The bloc also is seeking a curfew and the dispatch of army units around the strategic country, which is home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet.

Today's appeal comes a day after protesters blocked main roads and battles erupted on the campus of the main university. It was unclear whether Bahrain's king will heed the call for the military clampdown.

Sect blamed for killing cleric

A MUSLIM cleric who embraced non-violence and spoke out against the sectarian violence plaguing north east Nigeria died after suffering gunshot wounds in aattack by a radical sect.

Imam Ibrahim Ahmed Abdullahi was shot dead by gunmen from the Boko Haram sect outside his mosque.

Maoist rebels shot dead in gun battle

India: Police said they killed six suspected Maoist rebels and arrested another 10 after they clashed in eastern India. The shootout happened in a village nearly 125 miles north of Patna, the state capital.

United States: A Philadelphia man accused of rubbing alcohol on his family's puppy and setting it on fire in front of his children has been jailed for to up to seven years.

John Fleet III said he was under stress and "took it out on the dog".