Indians to be evacuated

Lobbying against NATO

The Gaddafi government carried out a lobbying operation to try to stop NATOs bombardment of Libya,the Guardian newspaper reported Friday,citing secret documents. The report said the papers showed Libya believed NATO forces were likely to launch an invasion in September or October. It said the documents also showed Tripoli approached key international opinion formers in the US. The Libyan PM wrote a letter to US President Barack Obama complaining about confiscation of Libyas assets.

Plan for Italy island

Muammar Gaddafi planned to turn the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa into an inferno by sending thousands of desperate African migrants there by boat,Italys Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said. Libya planned to send poor migrants on a dangerous sea voyage in retaliation for Romes endorsement of rebels,he said. Putting desperate people on a boat and pushing them off to sea is something very close to being another crime against humanity.

US has wmd worries

The Obama administration is debating how aggressively to pursue Libyas vast weapons stores,including tonnes of caustic mustard agent and thousands of anti-aircraft rockets that experts fear could fall into hands of terrorists. Some US officials have been pushing to expand the CIAs role in Libya to track down the weaponry faster,unilaterally if necessary. Prices of missiles called MANPADs have fallen on the black market,suggesting some arms have been sold.