U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates speaks with the media after a meeting of NATO defense ministers at NATO headquarters on Thursday, March 10, 2011. NATO says it has started round-the-clock surveillance... (Associated Press) 
 
 With fierce barrages of tank and artillery fire, Moammar Gadhafi's loyalists threw rebels into a frantic retreat from a strategic oil port Thursday in a counteroffensive that reversed the opposition's advance toward the capital of Tripoli and now threatens its positions in the east. 
 
 The rout came as the U.S. director of national intelligence stressed that Gadhafi's military was stronger than it has been described and said that "in the longer term ... the regime will prevail." 
 
 Hundreds of rebels in cars and trucks mounted with machine guns sped eastward on the Mediterranean coastal road in a seemingly disorganized flight from Ras Lanouf as an overwhelming force of rockets and shells pounded a hospital, mosque and other buildings in the oil complex. Doctors and staff at the hospital were hastily evacuated along with wounded from fighting from the past week. 
 
 The opposition, however, made some diplomatic gains. France became the first country to recognize the rebels' eastern-based governing council, and an ally of President Nicolas Sarkozy said his government was planning "targeted operations" to defend civilians if the international community approves. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she would meet with opposition leaders in the U.S., Egypt and Tunisia. 
 
 In Tripoli, Gadhafi's son Seif al-Islam vowed to retake the eastern half of the country, which has been in opposition hands since early in the 3-week-old uprising. 
 
 "I have two words to our brothers and sisters in the east: We're coming," he told a cheering crowd of young supporters. The son depicted Libyans in the east as being held "hostage" by terrorists. 
 
 Gadhafi's government sent a text message to Tripoli residents, warning imams at mosques against allowing protests after Friday prayers. The message quoted Saudi cleric Sheik Saleh Fawzan, a member of the Saudi Supreme Scholars Council, as saying it was "unacceptable" for any imam "who incites people (or) causes disturbances of the society in any mosque." 
 
 There were demonstrations after prayers for the past two Fridays, and militiamen used tear gas and live ammunition to disperse the crowds who had gathered in mosques. There were an undetermined number of deaths after the Feb. 25 demonstrations. 
 
 The retreat was a heavy blow for the ragtag rebel forces of armed civilians and mutinous army units that only days before had confidently charged west, boasting they would march the hundreds of miles (kilometers) to "liberate" Tripoli. 
 
 There were no concrete signs of Western moves toward military assistance that the opposition has been pleading for. A rebel spokesman went beyond repeated calls for a no-fly zone to prevent Gadhafi's air force from harrying opposition fighters and said the West should carry out direct strikes against regime troops. 
 
 "We have requested for all steps to be taken to protect the Libyan people. We believe the U.N. can do that. The bombardment of mercenaries and Gadhafi troop camps are among our demands," Abdel-Hafidh Ghoga, a spokesman of the governing council, told reporters in the opposition's eastern bastion of Benghazi. 
 
 The rebel capture of Ras Lanouf a week ago had been a major victory as they pushed along Libya's long Mediterranean coastline toward Tripoli, in the far west of Libya. A day after seizing it, their forces charged farther ahead, reaching the outskirts of Sirte, Gadhafi's hometown and a stronghold in the center of the country. 
 
 They were met there by a heavy counterattack that in the past week steadily pushed them back toward Ras Lanouf, 380 miles (615 kilometers) east of Tripoli, even as the rebels tried to build supply lines to keep up momentum. 
 
 The regime's offensive appeared to build in force. On Thursday morning, rebels were bringing in heavier weapons such as multiple-rocket launcher trucks and small tanks to the front lines just west of Ras Lanouf. But they came under a powerful barrage of shelling that pushed them back along the flat, desert scrubland into the tiny oil port. 
 
 A torrent of artillery and tank shells pounded around the facilities and the adjacent residential areas _ long deserted amid the fighting. 
 
 Akram al-Zwei, an opposition leader in nearby Ajdabiya, said gunboats off shore joined the bombardment, though that could not be independently confirmed. He said four battalions of pro-Gadhafi troops were involved in the assault, battling the opposition's civilian militias and an eastern-based special commando unit, the Saiqa 36 Battalion, that had joined the rebellion. 
 
 Rebels fought back with rocket fire and anti-aircraft guns. But the fighters, mostly armed with assault rifles, appeared outgunned. "We don't have any heavy weapons," shouted one fighter, named Ali. 
 
 By the afternoon, many rebels were speeding east from Ras Lanouf in a frantic evacuation, most converging on the opposition-held oil port of Brega and Ajdabiya, 100 miles (160 kilometers) away. "Everyone just started leaving. It's not organized," said one retreating fighter. "The weapons we have just don't reach them." 
 
 Ras Lanouf's main hospital was hit by artillery or an airstrike, and the rebels pulled their staff out and evacuated patients to Brega and Ajdabiya, said Gebril Hewada, a doctor on the opposition's health committee in Benghazi, Libya's second-largest city. 
 
 At least four rebel fighters were killed, 35 wounded and 65 missing in the fighting, according to doctors in Brega. 
 
 It was not clear whether government forces completely held Ras Lanouf. Al-Zwei and Ghoga, the opposition spokesman, claimed it remained in rebel hands. 
 
 A rebel fighter who fled the city after nightfall said it still had not fallen. 
 
 "They are still bombing it from the air, the sea and with rockets, but the ground forces have not come in," said Mohammed el-Gheriani, carrying a Kalashnikov rifle. 
 
 But it appeared that Brega, 70 miles (116 kilometers) farther east, could also be under threat. During the day, a warplane struck an empty area in Brega, which has also largely been evacuated of residents and personnel. 
 
 "We need help from the international community, but we just hear promises," said Mohammed Ali al-Zwei, a 48-year-old rebel fighter. "They are doing nothing." 
 
 Taking back Ras Lanouf would be a major victory for Gadhafi, pushing his zone of control farther along the coast. His regime has also claimed a victory in the west, saying Wednesday it recaptured Zawiya, the closest rebel-held city to the capital, after a six-day siege. Western journalists in Tripoli were taken late Wednesday to a stadium on the outskirts of Zawiya that was filled with Gadhafi loyalists waving green flags and launching fireworks. But the journalists were not allowed to visit Zawiya's main square, and the extent of government control was not known in the city, located on Tripoli's western doorstep. 
 
 Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Qaid reiterated the government's claim Thursday, reading a military statement that Zawiya had been recaptured at 11 a.m. Wednesday and journalists would be taken Friday to visit the city. 
 
 "Now the forces are cleaning the city of the extremist armed militants," Qaid told reporters. He said "the security forces and civilians" had seized weapons and ammunition, including anti-aircraft guns, mortar shells and anti-tank missiles. 
 
 At a U.S. Senate hearing, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said there was no indication that Gadhafi would step down and offer a speedy resolution to the crisis. 
 
 "Gadhafi is in this for the long haul," he said. "From all evidence that we have ... he appears to be hunkering down for the duration." 
 
 Pressed on which side had the momentum, he was even clearer: "I think in the longer term that the regime will prevail." 
 
 Still, Western countries appeared to be growing more open in their embrace of the rebel movement. But they were struggling with how to translate that into concrete support. 
 
 France said it planned to exchange ambassadors with the rebels' Interim Governing Council after Sarkozy met with two representatives from the group, based in Benghazi. 
 
 "It breaks the ice," said Mustafa Gheriani, an opposition spokesman. "We expect Italy to do it, and we expect England to do it." 
 
 French activist-intellectual Bernard Henri-Levy sat in the meeting and said France was planning "targeted operations" to defend civilians if the interim council demands them and the international community approves. Henri-Levy did not elaborate and the French government declined to comment, so it was not clear if he was describing a new, more aggressive plan for intervention. 
 
 NATO has said it is drawing up plans for a no-fly zone but would only act with the approval of the U.N. Security Council. Britain and France have backed the rebels' calls for a no-fly zone. 
 
 But the U.S. showed caution, warning against a go-it-alone approach. 
 
 "Absent international authorization, the United States acting alone would be stepping into a situation whose consequences are unforeseeable," Clinton said. "We're looking to see whether there is any willingness in the international community to provide any authorization for further steps." 
 
 Clinton said the U.S. was suspending its relationship with Libya's remaining envoys to the country, although the move falls short of severing diplomatic relations. She said she would meet with Libyan opposition figures when she travels to Egypt and Tunisia next week, marking the highest level contact between the U.S. and the anti-Gadhafi elements. 
 
 NATO said it had started round-the-clock surveillance of Libyan airspace, and British Foreign Secretary William Hague said a meeting of EU foreign ministers would discuss how to isolate the regime. 
 
 U.N. Ambassador Maged Abdelaziz of Egypt expressed serious concern about the more than 1 million Egyptians still in Libya, "and we are afraid that the tragic events that happened in Iraq using human shields to protect air defense systems on the ground would be repeated." He added that he had "no concrete information" about whether that was happening. 
 
 Germany said it froze billions in assets of the Libyan Central Bank and other state-run agencies. The U.S., Britain, Switzerland, Austria and other countries have also frozen Gadhafi's assets. 
 
 "The brutal suppression of the Libyan freedom movement can now no longer be financed from funds that are in German banks," Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle said. 
 
 The Libyan government tried to stave off tough action, sending envoys to Egypt, Portugal and Greece. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writers Maggie Michael in Tripoli; Zeina Karam in Cairo; John Heilprin in Geneva; Elaine Ganley in Paris; Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations; Don Melvin and Robert Burns in Brussels; Bradley Klapper in Washington; and Alan Clendenning in Madrid contributed to this report. ||||| • State TV says Ras Lanuf fallen to loyalists; rebels deny claim • Sarkozy to propose "targeted air strikes" to EU leaders • Ras Lanuf bombarded on all sides from air and sea • Guardian journalist imprisoned • Telegraph.co.uk's interactive map of the key Libyan battle zones 
 
 22.45 That's all from the live blog tonight. You can follow all our Libya coverage here . 
 
 A rebel vehicle is hit by a shell fired by soldiers loyal to Col Gaddafi, during a battle along the road between Ras Lanuf and Bin Jiwad 
 
 22.36 The Telegraph's Washington correspondent Alex Spillius has just filed this report on Barack Obama’s intelligence chief saying Colonel Muammar Gaddafi will defeat the rebels in Libya. 
 
 21.34 Excerpts from the Cameron and Sarkozy letter: 
 
 It is clear to us the (Libyan) regime has lost any legitimacy that it could have. 
 
 To end the suffering of the Libyan people, Muammar Gaddafi and his clique must leave. 
 
 We need to send a clear political signal that we consider the Council as a viable political counter-party and an important voice for the Libyan people at this time. 
 
 20.51 In a symbol of unity, Mr Cameron and Mr Sarkozy have sent a letter to EU President Herman Van Rompuy stating “Gaddafi and his clique should leave”. 
 
 20.29 William Hague speaking to Channel 4: 
 
 Certainly the Gaddafi regime is trying to strike back and listening to his son in the interview that he gave earlier today he sounds like he is declaring war against his own people, so I think it does all add to the grave concerns that we have about the situation...there is a lot more urgent work to do over the next few days. 
 
 If they now set out on the bombardment of civilians in many towns and cities and the world could see what was happening then certainly we would be saying there should be a no fly zone. We've done the preparatory work on that with France at the UN security council but it has to be clear that that's legal, that there's a demonstrated need for it and that there is support for it in the Arab world as well. 
 
 19.49 Here is the earlier footage of Saif Gaddafi saying they will never surrender. 
 
 Saif Gaddafi: Libya will never surrender 
 
 
 
 19.13 Read the latest from our correspondent in Ras Lanuf, Adrian Blomfield. 
 
 For over a week, outgunned civilian irregulars, later supported by defecting army units, had defiantly held the coastal town of Ras Lanuf against a vastly better-equipped enemy. 
 
 But on Thursday the ever-intensifying onslaught against them reached a violent crescendo as the Libyan leader stepped up his efforts to force the rebels back towards the revolution's main stronghold in the eastern city of Benghazi. 
 
 
 
 19.07 Incredible images from New York Times photographer Tyler Hicks. The war photographer, who has covered Kosovo, Chechnya, Congo, Iraq and Afghanistan says he witnessed the "thickest fighting in a single day" that he has ever experienced. 
 
 
 
 18.56 Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is meeting with young supporters of his father's regime in Tripoli. He claims that victory is "in sight". 
 
 
 
 18.24 Update from the frontline: the rebel leadership says that the port of Ras Lanuf in eastern Libya is under heavy bombardment, but still in rebel hands. 
 
 Asked about a Libyan state television report that forces loyal to Gaddafi had cleared Ras Lanuf of "armed gangs", Hafiz Ghoga, spokesman for the rebel National Libyan Council, said: 
 
 No, this is not accurate. 
 
 All we are seeing there is bombardment with heavy artillery from the sea and the air. 
 
 The Libyan people are facing genocide, the annihilation of an entire population through the use of air power and heavy artillery. This does not just threaten the security of Libya but that of the whole region. 
 
 The U.N. is capable of taking the necessary steps to stop such carnage. We demand a bombardment of the camps where he (Gaddafi) keeps his mercenaries and the roads he uses to transport them and his security forces. 
 
 
 
 18.22 The Brazilian newspaper says that their reporter, Andrei Netto, is well and with the Brazilian ambassador in Tripoli. The paper says that he was held for eight days in the city of Sabrata, 60 km from the capital, after being captured by Gaddafi's forces. 
 
 
 
 18.18 Brazilian newspaper O Estado de Sao Paulo announces on Twitter that its reporter has been freed. But no word of Guardian reporter Ghaith Abdul-Ahad. 
 
 
 
 17:59 Zawiyah, the scene of the fiercest fighting over the last few days, has become a "ghost town", according to survivors of the battle there. A Nigerian migrant worker called Silverter told Reuters: 
 
 Now the rebels are in control. They are strong and have a lot of ammunition. All they want is to see Gaddafi leave. They do not care how many of them die, they want him out. I saw buildings bombed and people die in front of my eyes. They just dropped dead. Man, the situation was crazy and I said, 'why stay here?' 
 
 17:46 The US government is moving to shut down the Libyan embassy in Washington - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says: 
 
 We are suspending our relationships with the existing Libyan embassy. So we expect them to end operating as the embassy of Libya. 
 
 The state of the Libyan embassy has been confused for some time. On February 28, the State Department said that it received word that Libya had fired its ambassador in Washington, Ali Aujali, after he defected to the opposition, and had replaced him with a regime supporter. 
 
 But officials said that Washington still saw Aujali as Libya's ambassador pending efforts to determine the "legitimacy" of a note apparently from the Libyan foreign ministry calling for his dismissal. 
 
 Spent shell casings form Arabic script saying "February 17th, Free Libya", made by Libyan rebels in Ras Lanouf (AP) 
 
 17:38 More on that quote from Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, who was talking to Reuters: 
 
 It's time for liberation. It's time for action. We are moving now. Time is out now. It's time for action...We gave them two weeks (for negotiations). We will never ever give up. We will never ever surrender. This is our country. We fight here in Libya. The Libyan people, we will never ever welcome NATO, we will never ever welcome Americans here. Libya is not a piece of cake. 
 
 He said that the regime is going to hand back the captured Dutch soldiers: 
 
 Today we are going to hand over the Dutch soldiers to the Maltese and Greeks. We told them, don't come back again without our permission. We captured the first NATO soldiers, we are sending them back home. But we are still keeping their helicopter. 
 
 17:35 Sources within Nicolas Sarkozy's Union pour un Mouvement Populaire party have said that the French president has raised the possibility of "limited but targeted bombings" in Libya in within-party talks. 
 
 A Libyan volunteer moves ammunition on the outskirts of the eastern town of Ras Lanouf, Libya (AP) 
 
 17:32 Reports on Twitter that Saif al-Islam, Col Gaddafi's son, has said called for full-scale military operation against Libyan rebels. 
 
 17:28 Standard & Poor's, the credit rating and market intelligence service, has reduced Libya's credit rating by four notches to BB, and then suspended its ratings altogether, according to AFP: 
 
 In light of the outbreak of civil war, we are lowering our sovereign credit ratings on the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to 'BB/B' from 'BBB+/A-2', S&P said in a statement. 
 
 Following these rating actions, we suspended our ratings on Libya due to the imposition of sanctions and because of a lack of reliable economic and political information. Sanctions effectively preclude us from maintaining a sovereign rating on Libya and because we currently lack timely and reliable information to maintain surveillance on the ratings. 
 
 17:19 Clarification on Nato's plans, from US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates: apparently the organisation will not be increasing the number of ships in the Mediterranean, but will be moving the ships it has in that sea closer to Libya's coast: 
 
 It's my impression that we're really not talking so much about increasing the number of ships, as it is about repositioning ships that are already in the region (closer to Libya). 
 
 17:16 Lieutenant General Ronald Burgess, the US Defense Intelligence Agency chief, says that imposing a no-fly zone on Libya would be an "act of war": 
 
 My understanding as I've studied in my schools, that would be considered an act of war. 
 
 17:11 Rebel forces have denied Libyan state TV's claims that Ras Lanuf has fallen, according to Reuters, but they say that government forces are hitting it hard with tanks and air strikes, and have reached well into the coastal town. 
 
 Rebel forces outside Ras Lanuf (Getty) 
 
 17:05 James Clapper, the US National Intelligence Director, says the outlook is bleak for the rebels, as the regime forces are better equipped and "over longer-term, the regime will prevail": 
 
 Gaddafi intentionally designed the military so that those select units loyal to him are the most luxuriously equipped and (are) the best-trained and that is having a telling effect with the rebels. We believe that Gaddafi is in this for the long haul. He appears to be hunkering down for the duration. 
 
 16:57 State TV has claimed that Gaddafi's forces have "purged" Ras Lanuf and are now moving towards Benghazi, the rebel's main stronghold: 
 
 The town of Ras Lanuf has been purged of armed gangs and the green flags have been hoisted over all (government) buildings. Libyan armed forces are advancing on Benghazi. 
 
 16:48 A fuller quote from Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Nato Secretary General: 
 
 We need a clear legal basis and I assume that will be a clear UN mandate. The current UN Nations Security Council resolution 1970 doesn't authorise the use of armed forces. Having said that, I can't imagine the international community and the United Nations would stand idly by if Colonel Gaddafi continues attacking his people systematically. But I have to say we do not look for intervention in Libya and we will need a clear legal basis for any action. 
 
 16:43 Hillary Clinton has warned against taking unilateral action in Libya: 
 
 Absent international authorization, the United States acting alone would be stepping into a situation whose consequences are unforeseeable. 
 
 She adds that the United States is concerned over Gaddafi's remaining chemical weapons as well as "other nasty stuff" he might have in his arsenal. 
 
 Shrapnel flies through the air as a tank shell explodes near Libyan rebel fighters in Ras Lanuf. (AFP) 
 
 16:29 Three Dutch soldiers captured by Gaddafi-loyal troops are to be freed, according to Libyan state TV. 
 
 16:27 More from the Nato Secretary-General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who says that there is a risk that Libya could become a divided, failed state: 
 
 There is... the risk of division within the country and the risk of seeing a failed state in the future that could be breeding ground of extremism and terrorism, so obviously this is a matter of concern. We strongly urge the government of Libya to stop violence and allow a peaceful transition to democracy. 
 
 16:25 Loyalist forces have launched a new major offensive in the oil town of Ras Lanuf, according to Al Jazeera English. 
 
 16:21 Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, is to visit the Middle East next week, travelling to Egypt and Tunisia and meeting with Libyan opposition members, according to AP. 
 
 16:18 Nato are to increase their naval presence in the central Mediterranean. 
 
 16:15 William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, is in Brussels for a meeting of EU foreign ministers to discuss action on Libya. He also spoke on the phone to Mahmoud Jabril, Special Envoy of the Interim Transitional National Council, the hurriedly assembled administration in rebel-held areas of eastern Libya: 
 
 @WilliamJHague Have spoken to #Libya opposition representative Jabril about pressure on the regime, humanitarian help & no fly zone planning 
 
 16:11 Mr Rasmussen also refused to be drawn on whether the situation in Libya is a "civil war", describing it instead as an "armed uprising". 
 
 Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen (Al Jazeera) 
 
 16:06 More on the possibility of the imposition of the no-fly zone; Mr Rasmussen says that as well as a clear UN mandate, it would need to be shown that there is a clear need and firm support from other nations in the region. An ITV journalist wonders if such a condition-laden response is sending a rather weak message to Col Gaddafi, but Mr Rasmussen says that Nato will not stand idly by while Gaddafi "systematically" attacks his people. 
 
 16:02 Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is giving a live news conference for the organisation in Libya. He says a no-fly zone is a possibility, but would require a clear mandate from the UN and further planning. A BBC reporter asks how unified Nato's front can be when sources in the French government have already started speaking about unilateral military action, but Mr Rasmussen says he will not comment on anonymous rumours. 
 
 15.50 Libya State television has reported that Brega, had been cleared of rebels, but a Reuters correspondent in Brega said there was no sign of Gaddafi forces on the ground. Rebels said warplanes bombed Brega during the day. 
 
 15.46 Al Jazeera's Tony Birtley says that Ras Lanuf has fallen back into the hands of Gaddafi forces as the remaining rebels flee. 
 
 A rebel fighter fires a rocket-propelled grenade launcher in front of a burning gas storage terminal during a battle on the road between Ras Lanuf and Bin Jiwad, Libya 
 
 15.39 The European Parliament has passed a resolution calling on the 27-nation bloc to follow France's lead and formally recognise Libya's opposition as the only legitimate authority. 
 
 15.38 The United States believed in 2009 that Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam was taking part of the output of an oil field run by France's Total, according to a diplomatic cable seen by Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten. 
 
 The cable from the U.S. embassy in Tripoli - made available to Aftenposten by the Wikileaks site - said the Libyan leader's son had regularly diverted oil from the offshore al Jurf field, operated by Total in conjunction with Germany's Wintershall and the Libyan National Oil Corp. 
 
 15.34 Ras Lanuf death toll. At least four people were killed and 35 wounded in Ras Lanuf so far today after rebels retreated under continous government rocket and sniper fire, a hospital official said. 
 
 15.33 Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is "hunkering down" and shows no sign he will give up power, the top U.S. intelligence official told a Senate hearing today. Describing Libyan air defenses, including radar and surface-to-air missiles, as "quite substantial," Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said: 
 
 We believe that Gaddafi is in this for the long haul. He appears to be hunkering down for the duration. 
 
 15.23 The Guardian's correspondent in Rio de Janeiro Tom Phillips tweets: 
 
 Brazilian journalist jailed near #Tripoli will be released soon, says Libya's ambassador in Sao Paulo 
 
 15.20 In a joint letter with Germany, foreign secretary William Hague says the upheaval in the EU's "southern neighbourhood" presents Europe with "a challenge and opportunity on a scale matching the revolutions of 1989". 
 
 15.18 Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel Hamid reports that Gaddafi has offered a $500,000 bounty for the head of the leader of Libya's Benghazi-based transitional national council. 
 
 15.04 An injured rebel in Ajdabiya tells BBC Arabic: 
 
 Mercenaries have occupied houses in Bin Jawad, they have tied up men, and are taking families as shields while snipers are firing in the streets. 
 
 14.46 Guardian reporter Ghaith Abdul-Ahad and a Brazilian colleague who went missing in Libya this week have been arrested and imprisoned by government forces, according to Reporters Without Borders. Both men are being held at an undisclosed location. 
 
 Pro-Gaddafi students demonstrate in Tripoli outside the Rixois Hotel, which hosts members of the foreign press 
 
 14.37 Benedict Brogan, our deputy editor, has singled out this report from Zawiyah by Alex Crawford of Sky News as an extraordinary gripping and harrowing account. It is published on his blog A must-watch from inside Zawiyah. 
 
 14.33 Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says "time is of the essence" in the Libya crisis and the alliance stands ready to act if there is a clear mandate. 
 
 14.28 Tony Birtley, reporting for Al Jazeera, describes being caught in the crossfire on the front line of Ras Lanuf. He says: 
 
 We've been wondering for the last few days about why Gaddafi has not employed his full forces, and today we've seen those forces in action. We were caught right in the middle as his forces out-flanked, and then out-bombed and out-shot the opposition forces. There was sustained aerial and artillery and mortar bombardment, and then following in by a flanking movement. There have been a number of casualties. We've seen trucks going along the highway, but that's being shelled by Gaddafi forces all the way along. I counted ... 50 shells falling. 
 
 14.26 Brazilian newspaper O Estado de Sao Paulo confirms that its missing reporter in Zawiyah, Andrei Netto, is under arrest. According to the newspaper, Brazilian authorities are negotiating his release. The newspaper had has lost all contact with Mr Netto since Sunday. 
 
 14.22 Offshore oil tankers are bombing the shores of Ras Lanuf according to reports by Reuters. A rebel source in eastern Libya said that forces loyal to Gaddafi are firing rockets from offshore oil tankers at rebel positions onshore at the oil port of Ras Lanuf. He said: 
 
 I see them with my own eyes. The oil tankers are rocketing the town. Planes are also bombing and rockets are being launched from the land. 
 
 (L-R) Defence Ministers Carme Chacon (Spain), Vecdi Gonul (Turkey), Liam Fox (UK) and Robert Gates (USA) meet at NATO headquarters in Brussels 
 
 14.14 Ghazi Gheblawi, a surgeon and blogger in Libya, tweets optimistically: 
 
 France 's recognition of Libyan #TNC is a big step, its expected that many EU countries will follow suit #Libya 
 
 A much quieter day in #Azzawiya and #Misurata, but the people are under alert for any new attacks by #Gaddafi forces #Libya 
 
 14.08 More on AFP's report that Sarkozy will propose limited air strikes on Libya. He will propose "striking an extremely limited number of points which are the source of the most deadly operations" by forces loyal to Kadhafi, said the source, who asked not to be named. The three sites being considered are Gaddafi's Bab al-Azizia command headquarters in Tripoli, a military air base in Syrte, east of Tripoli and another in Sebha in the south, the source added. Sarkozy's office declined to confirm the claim when contacted by AFP. 
 
 14.06 Libyan state television has reported that Gaddafi forces have cleared Es Sider port and airport from what it said were armed elements backed by al Qaeda, a reference to rebels. 
 
 13.51 Sir John Major, former Tory Prime Minister, says that the West could impose a no-fly zone over Libya without a direct United Nations mandate. He told Roland Watson, The Times political editor, that a UN resolution was “desirable if you can get it, not absolutely essential”. He said: 
 
 Even if there’s not one, don’t think that’s an absolute bar to a no-fly zone. 
 
 A Libyan rebel fighter takes cover during a battle on the road between Ras Lanuf and Bin Jawad 
 
 13.42 Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said any NATO military action in Libya would have to be based on there being a demonstrable need and a clear mandate and with support in the region. 
 
 13.39 French President Nicolas Sarkozy will propose "targeted air strikes" of Libya to EU leaders, AFP reports. 
 
 13.36 Tony Birtley, Al Jazeera reporter in Ras Lanuf, says his car was narrowly missed by a shell. He said there were unconfirmed reports that a government attack was being launched from the beach on the city. 
 
 13.34 Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel Hamid, reporting from Benghazi, says there is a feeling there that "the tide is reversing", and people are worried the city could be next in line for Gaddafi's backlash. 
 
 I think there is a realisation that this is going to be a long, long uprising - and that they are still exposed. The military command here feel that as long as there is no international backup, there is not much they can do. 
 
 13.28 Swedish journalist Per Altenberg is warning fellow correspondents, including Peter Beaumont at the Observer, to move out of Tripoli as the risk of being taken hostage is increasing. He tweets: 
 
 Journalist hostage situation likely if rebels advance to Bin Jawad and toward Sirte. Get on media bus out of #Tripoli 
 
 13.20 Ben Wedeman, a CNN reporter in Ras Lanuf, tweets: 
 
 We are doctors, we have no weapons. Why are they doing this?" Dr Fathi from bombarded Ras Lanouf hospital. 
 
 13.18 The BBC's Pascal Harter in Benghazi says she has been shown mobile phone footage of what was alleged to be the bodies of soldiers who had been bound and shot for refusing to open fire on civilians 
 
 13.11 A rebel fighter fleeing Ras Lanuf tells AFP: 
 
 We've been defeated. They are shelling and we are running away. That means that they're taking Ras Lanuf. 
 
 13.09 UN human rights chief Navi Pillay has said that abuse suffered by three BBC journalists after they were detained by Libyan soldiers and secret police could amount to torture. The High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement: 
 
 For them to be targeted, detained and treated with such cruelty, which could amount to torture, is completely unacceptable and in serious violation of international law. 
 
 12.54 Rebels are retreating east from the Libyan oil town of Ras Lanuf, packed into dozens of vehicles under rocket attacks, AFP reporters said. 
 
 12.47 Gaddafi has asked Algeria to mediate with the UN Security Council to obtain a lifting of sanctions against Tripoli, Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci has disclosed. Medelci told the Arab-language daily El-Khabar: 
 
 My Libyan counterpart (Moussa Koussa) sent me a letter 36 hours ago in which he asked for Algerian mediation with the Security Council to have it renounce certain sanctions imposed on Libya. 
 
 Medelci said he had replied that it would be "preferable" to deal with the subject of sanctions "within an Arab League framework". 
 
 A rebel fighter fires a rocket-propelled grenade at a Libyan airforce plane in Ras Lanuf 
 
 12.43 Libya will consider severing ties with France after news that Paris would recognise the rebel Libyan National Council, the official Libyan news agency Jana reports. An unnamed foreign ministry official said: 
 
 Libya will think about severing its relations with France because of information being circulated about France's damaging intervention in Libya's internal affairs. 
 
 12.42 Members of the rebel Libyan National Council are "valid interlocutors", the Foreign Office said. A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: 
 
 The UK recognises states, not governments. The interim national council are valid interlocutors, with whom we wish to work closely. 
 
 12.35 Minister for Europe David Lidington has met with International Criminal Court Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo and said the UK will do all it can to support the ICC's investigation into the Libyan regime. He said: 
 
 The ICC's recent opening of an investigation into the Libyan regime has been welcomed by the UK, and during our meeting today I stressed to Mr Ocampo that the UK will do all it can to assist and support the ICC in this important work. 
 
 12.30 Rob Crilly, the Telegraph's Pakistan correspondent, is in Benghazi, Libya but finds it's a small world after all. He tweets: 
 
 Benghazi: my translator went to Langley Park, a school against which I used to play rugby. Small world... 
 
 12.27 Syria is against foreign intervention in Libyan affairs as Western states debate how they should respond to the current crisis. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement: 
 
 Syria affirms its rejection of all forms of foreign interference in Libyan affairs, since that would be a violation of Libya's sovereignty, its independence and the unity of its land. 
 
 12.23 A Libyan government plane landed in Paris on Wednesday night, a Western official told AFP, amid reports Gaddafi is sending emissaries to Europe. The anonymous official said the Falcon 900 touched down in Paris ahead of pivotal talks on Libya in Brussels today among EU foreign ministers and NATO defence chiefs. 
 
 12.16 Any deployment of UK forces in policing a no-fly zone over Libya would be debated by the House of Commons, the Government indicated today. Commons Leader Sir George Young told MPs: 
 
 We would indeed propose to give the House an opportunity to debate the matter before troops were committed. 
 
 Libyan rebel fighters during a battle on the road between Ras Lanuf and Bin Jawad 
 
 12.08 ChangeInLibya tweets: 
 
 Bin Jawad is back in revolutionary hands, who are now much more organised thanks to help from defected Libyan army 
 
 12.03 Libyan news agency says it is in possession of a "grave" secret that could topple French President Nicolas Sarkozy, BBC Monitoring reports. "Al-Jamahiriyah news agency learnt today there is a grave secret that would definitely lead to the toppling of Sarkozy and perhaps his trial. The secret is related to the funding of his electoral campaign," said an urgent caption on Libyan State TV. 
 
 Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, an Iraqi national, had been working the Guardian newspaper 
 
 11.58 The Guardian correspondent, Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, is missing having not been in touch with the paper since Sunday when he was on the outskirts of Zawiyah. The Guardian has been in contact with Libyan government officials in Tripoli and London and asked them to urgently give all assistance in the search for Abdul-Ahad, an Iraqi citizen, and to establish if he is in the custody of the authorities. He was travelling with Andrei Netto of the Brazilian newspaper Estado de Sao Paulo, who is also missing. 
 
 11.55 The oil town of Brega was bombed today as Gaddafi made attacks deeper into rebel-held territory in the east of Libya, rebels reported. Brega has not be targetted for several days. The town is about 90 km (56 miles) east of Ras Lanuf.Rebel fighter Mohamed Othman, told Reuters: 
 
 There's just been an airstrike on Brega - two jets, two bombs. 
 
 11.52 The hospital in the Libyan oil town of Ras Lanuf evacuated under rocket fire today as forces loyal to Gaddafi advanced closer on rebel positions, an AFP reporter said. Doctors and medics were fleeing the premises in panic, on foot and crushing into ambulances, taking patients with them. 
 
 Libyan rebel fighters during a battle on the road between Ras Lanuf and Bin Jawad. 
 
 11.50 The EU has extended its financial sanctions, adding five financial institutions whose assets and resources will be frozen to a list of more than two dozen individuals close to the Libyan leader. 
 
 11.48 The European Union is in no danger of an oil shortage and cannot be blackmailed by leader Muammar Gaddafi, European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger has said. He commented: 
 
 In the entire European market ... we get only two percent of our oil from Libya, so we are not vulnerable to blackmail from Gaddafi. 
 
 11.47 Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Italy would adopt the stance ultimately taken by the European Union on whether to recognise the rebel Libyan National Council as the legitimate representative of Libyans. When asked if Italy would follow France in backing the rebels, he said: 
 
 That's a decision by a single government. I think it's better for us to listen to the stance of the entire European community. 
 
 11.41 50 Cent, the rapper, joins a growing list of pop stars who performed for members of Gaddafi's family at exclusive parties around the world. He will be making a donation to UNICEF to provide relief to Libyan civilians. Beyonce, Nelly Furtado, Mariah Carey and Usher have all issued statements saying they would donate or had already given money to charities after they appeared for the Gaddafi family in recent years. 
 
 11.36 South African President Jacob Zuma told Gaddafi during a recent phone call to stop the killing of civilians immediately, foreign minister Maite Nkoane-Mashebane told a news conference. She said: 
 
 Gaddafi called our president. He told Gaddafi how we abhor the heinous violation of human rights against his own people 
 
 11.34 An army siege is preventing supplies of food and medicine from reaching insurgents in the western Libyan city of Zawiyah, where residents braced for more street-to-street fighting today, AFP reports. 
 
 11.29 Panos Haritos, a Greek journalist, tweets about the escalating bombing raids near Ras Lanuf. 
 
 Fighter plane drop 2 bombs 80 meters away from our camera crew at the out skirt of #Ras Lanouf. All of us ok. 
 
 Smoke billows from the fighting in Sidra six miles west of Ras Lanuf 
 
 11.17 Portugal has announced that it has cut its ties with the Libyan government after meeting with an envoy from the opposition national council. Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado said he had sent a message to Gaddafi through a Tripoli envoy saying: 
 
 The Gaddafi regime is over 
 
 11.14 Further tales of Gaddafi's crackdown on international journalists working in Libya. Peter Beaumont, Observer foreign affairs editor tweets: 
 
 Hearing that now Libyan authorities trying to take laptops off journalists leaving Tripoli airport along with SIM cards 
 
 He later adds: "Less and less flights leaving Tripoli. Tunisair stopped as of last night. Soon we'll be unable to fly out." 
 
 11.10 As rebel forces try to move from Ras Lanuf towards Bin Jawad Al Jazeera compares the movement back and forth as a game of "cat and mouse" between Gaddafi troops and opposition militia. 
 
 11.08 Paul Waugh blogs for Politics Home on what legal powers the UN has to authorise a no-fly zone. He refers to comments made by the UN secretary general who said a new mandate would be required before the UN was able to authorise the use of armed forces. 
 
 11.01 Libyan state TV has aired footage of blindfolded rebels admitting links to Al Qaeda. 
 
 10.46 Two shells have hit the centre of Libya's rebel-held Ras Lanuf landing about 500 metres from the hospital, AFP reports. One rebel shouted 
 
 They're getting too close. Some of us are still there, but alot of us are pulling out. They're getting too close 
 
 Another blamed the international media coverage and said: 
 
 You know whose fault this is? This is the media's fault. They're showing them all our positions 
 
 10.41 Gaddafi's international assets may be frozen but he has "tens of billions" in cash hidden in Tripoli, the New York Times has claimed. Sourcing American and other intelligence officials it said: 
 
 Colonel Qaddafi has control over the huge cash deposits, which have been stored at the Libyan Central Bank and other banks around the Libyan capital in recent years...Since the protests and fighting erupted, some of the money may have been moved into Colonel Qaddafi’s Tripoli compound, Bab Al Azizia, according to one person with ties to the Libyan government. While United States intelligence officials said they could not confirm such a move, one official said that Colonel Qaddafi “likely has tens of billions in cash that he can access inside Libya". 
 
 10.37 Life has returned to normal in the rebel-held western city of Misrata, 150 kilometres (90 miles) from the capital Tripoli, which was last week the target of several offensives led by Kadhafi forces. A witness told AFP: 
 
 There is a total calm in the city and life is begining to return to normal 
 
 At least 21 people were killed, including a child, and dozens were wounded in fierce clashes and heavy shelling in Misrata last week, according to a medical source. 
 
 10.34 Russia's foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that Russia was willing to listen to proposals for a no-fly zone over Libya, saying Moscow's approval depended on how the system would work. 
 
 Libyan rebels take shelter behind a wall to protect themselves from shelling in Sidr 
 
 10.27 Libya's state television has broadcast what it claims is a telephone conversation between the U.S. ambassador to Tripoli and the commander in charge of rebel forces in the east, Omar Hariri. The U.S. ambassador, listed as Gene Cretz on the embassy website, asked how he could keep secure contact with Hariri, what contacts Hariri had with embattled western cities like Zawiyah and what forces the rebels controlled. 
 
 10.23 Nato has started round-the-clock surveillance of the air space over Libya. A Nato official said the first airborne warning and control plane went on patrol at 6:30 GMT this morning. Each of the Boeing E-3 Sentry aircraft will remain over the Mediterranean for eight hours before being replaced by another plane. 
 
 10.15 Further international sanctions have been announced against Gaddafi and his family. Australia has imposed sanctions on the dictator and his inner circle, including bans on financial dealings with 22 individuals and bans on entering Australian territory. Austria has ordered a freeze of any assets belonging to Gaddafi, his family and other associates. Its central bank has said some 1.2 billion euros ($1.66 billion) in Libyan assets were deposited in Austrian institutions. 
 
 10.13 France has become the first country to recognise Libya's opposition national council as the country's "legitimate representative," after President Nicolas Sarkozy met in Paris with its envoys. France is to open an embassy in Benghazi and will allow the Libyan embassy in Paris to reopen. 
 
 Nicolas Sarkozy with Mahmud Jibril (2nd right) and Ali al-Essawi of Libya's Interim Governing Council 
 
 10.06 Although the Obama administration has not decided how to intervene in Libya yet the White House is working to prevent mercenaries from entering the country to fight on behalf of Gaddafi. Josh Rogin blogs on the Foreign Policy website: 
 
 The White House is working to stop the flow of mercenaries fighting for Qaddafi entering the country from countries surrounding Libya like Chad and Niger. 
 
 "We've been working to ensure there isn't a flow of people into Libya," said Samantha Power, the National Security Council's senior director for multilateral affairs, on a Wednesday conference call with non-governmental groups. The call was off the record, but a recording was provided to The Cable. 
 
 10.04 Gen Merrill McPeak, a former US Air Force chief of staff says he "can't imagine an easier military problem," than the imposition of a no-fly zone in Libya. In a Nicholas D Kristof piece in the New York Times Gen McPeak said: 
 
 If we can't do this, what can we do? I think it would have a real impact. It might change their calculation of who might come out on top. Just the mere announcement of this might have an impact. 
 
 09.59 Testimony of what life is like for citizens in Gaddafi-controlled Tripoli from Caroline Thomas in Zarziss, Tunisia. In an email to the BBC she writes: 
 
 Although we are no longer in Libya, we are in phone contact with friends in Tripoli... Since the first Tripoli uprising, the night of 21 February, most of the population have been trapped in their houses... One friend has recently told us that the families of the dead protesters are too afraid to take the bodies to the cemetery, so they are burying them in their gardens, or keeping them in their apartments with air con on very cold to try to preserve them. These are their dead sons, brothers, husbands, fathers. Everybody we speak to in Tripoli say they are absolutely terrified of Gaddafi's forces. 
 
 09.54 Former UK ambassador to the UN prior to the US-led invasion of Iraq Jeremy Greenstock warns against military intervention. He told the BBC: 
 
 Intervention tends to go wrong - it tends to have consequences that are the opposite of what you meant. Where will you draw the line? 
 
 09.48 Red Cross president Jakob Kellenberger says doctors in Libya are seeing a sharp rise in casualties, mostly civilians. He said: 
 
 We have now a non-international armed conflict, or what you would call civil war 
 
 09.46 Zawiyah is now under Gaddafi's control, according to AFP, after succumbing to the regime's superior fire-power. A resident of the town near Tripoli said it followed intense fighting in which rebel lines were blasted by tanks and artillery. 
 
 Libyan rebel fighters during a battle against government forces near Bin Jawad 
 
 09.39 An insight into the government soldiers fighting against rebels. James Wheeler tweets: 
 
 Surgeon in Ajdabiya: treating a captured #Gaddafi soldier who says he was told to go fight invading Americans..but found his own ppl #Libya 
 
 09.36 Tristan Redman, the Paris producer for Al Jazeera, describes the multiple fronts on which Gaddafi is attacking Ras Lanuf. He tweets: 
 
 Reports that artillery assault on #raslanuf by pro-gov forces now on 3 sides. From sea to nth, desert to sth, road to west 
 
 09.31 Further confusion over who has control of Zawiyah. Ian Lee, a freelance journalist and filmaker, tweets: 
 
 Went to a "spontaneous" victory party for the gov in Zawiyah. From all appearances it looked well organized. No word if city fell 
 
 09.27 Germany's economy ministry says it has closed all accounts belonging to Libya's Central Bank, the Libyan Investment Authority and several others. 
 
 09.24 During this morning's aerial bombardment bombs or missiles were landing a few km (miles) from Ras Lanuf oil refinery and close to a building of the Libyan Emirates Oil Referiny Company (LERCO) building, according to witnesses. Rebel fighter Izeddine Sheikhy told Reuters: 
 
 One bomb landed on a civilian house in Ras Lanuf 
 
 He said the bombardment seemed to have come from the direction of the sea. 
 
 09.18 Pascale Harter, reporting for the BBC in Benghazi, says Russia's ban on arms sales to Libya will have little discernable effect on the ground in Libya for some time, as Col Gaddafi has huge stockpiles of weapons. 
 
 09.16 The BBC's Wyre Davies disagrees with commentators who have claimed a no-fly zone would be ineffective. He points out that much of the government effort to retake important rebel-held territory in the east hinges on an air campaign. 
 
 09.10 Continued fighting has caused a rise in oil prices in early trading today. Brent crude for April delivery rose 53 cents to $116.47. 
 
 Libyan rebel fighters during a battle against government forces near Bin Jawad 
 
 09.07 Liam Fox has disagreed with his US counterpart Robert Gates saying it is not necessary to wipe out Libya's air defence system to implement a no-fly zone. 
 
 Fox said attacking Libya's air defences might not be necessary, citing the no-fly zones imposed over Iraq from 1991 to 2003. 
 
 09.04 French president Nicolas Sarkozy is due to meet an envoy from Libya's rebel national council in the next few hours. 
 
 08.59 Gaddafi would agree to talks on the transition of power, Portuguese daily Publico has quoted a diplomatic source as saying after Foreign Minister Luis Amado met Gaddafi's envoy in Lisbon. 
 
 The source told Publico the message had to be taken with caution as it was given in response to Amado's proposals for a cessation of hostilities against the rebels and a peaceful change of power in the north African country. 
 
 08.57 The son of Libya's first revolutionary, whose father was hanged 80 years ago by the Italians, has said he has no doubt the rebels will win. Mohammed Omar al-Mukhtar, 90, said: 
 
 They should hold themselves up and fill themselves with courage. God shall support them and give them victory 
 
 His father's 20-year guerrilla war against Italian colonial rulers made him a national hero, inspired generations of Libyans and was immortalised by Oscar-winning actor Anthony Quinn in the 1981 film "Lion of the Desert". 
 
 08.55 Multiple air strikes on Ras Lanuf have taken place again this morning, AFP reports. 
 
 08.47 A government soldier, Ayman Kikly, 29, told the Washington Post that rebels fought with antiaircraft guns, rocket-propelled grenades and homemade bombs at Zawiyah, but "the citizens who live here stood with the army, and they were outnumbered". 
 
 08.45: Britain and its allies should think ''long and hard'' before sending warplanes to protect Libyan rebels fighting to overthrow Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, General Lord Dannatt, the former head of the Army, has warned. 
 
 He has written a blog for the Daily Telegraph explaining why a no-fly zone is not the way to deal with Libya. 
 
 08.40: Al-Qaeda and foreign intelligence agencies are behind the popular uprising in Libya, according to the Moussa Koussa, the country's Foreign Minister. 
 
 08.35: Extraordinary claims from Rex Tillerson, the Exxon Mobile CEO, who says oil prices are not yet hurting economy despite rising petrol costs. 
 
 High petrol prices "creates some real challenges" for families and their household budgets. When the price rises even more it's a "significant emotional event for a lot of people". 
 
 Libyan protesters hold a giant flag on top of a building during a demonstration in the seaport city of Tobruk 
 
 08.33 More from Liam Fox. He has told the BBC he believes we are seeing a "relative stalemate between the military forces" in Libya. 
 
 The regime itself is digging in around Tripoli. It is able to protect its own areas and the oil installations but it doesn't seem to have the military mass to move decisively against the rebel forces and the reverse is true. What that potentially means is a lot of suffering for the people of Libya and the best result for the whole country is for Col Gaddafi to realise he is a liability to his country and people, and to leave. 
 
 08.31 Brazilian newspaper Estado de Sao Paulo says it has lost all contact with its reporter in Zawiyah. The newspaper says it has unconfirmed information that 34-year-old Andrei Netto was placed under arrest, along with another Libyan journalist and a guide. The editors have not been able to contact Mr Netto since Sunday. The Brazilian embassy is investigating. 
 
 08.28 Libya's oil port of Brega is out of crude oil stocks due to weeks of unrest, forcing crude tankers to leave the port without any cargo. 
 
 08.27 Libyan rebels fired rockets in the direction of the sea today after reports that Libyan gunboats in the Mediterranean Sea may have attacked rebel positions on the front line in the oil-producing east. 
 
 Goktay Koraltan, a BBC cameraman, was beaten by the authorities in Libya. 
 
 08.23 Beaten BBC cameraman Goktay Koraltan, said the three BBC journalists were all convinced they were going to die. During their detention, the BBC team saw evidence of torture against Libyan detainees, many of whom were from Zawiyah. He said: 
 
 I cannot describe how bad it was. Most of them [other detainees] were hooded and handcuffed really tightly, all with swollen hands and broken ribs. They were in agony. They were screaming. 
 
 08.18 International Committee of the Red Cross president Jakob Kellenberger will hold a press conference on Libya at 9am GMT in Geneva today. 
 
 08.17 Russia's decision to ban weapon sales to Libya will impact on a $2billion arms deal with Gaddafi's government. It has been reported by the Russian daily Kommersant that the Kremlin was close to concluding a further $1.8billion deal which included fighter jets and ground-to-air missiles. Libya is the biggest buyer of Russian weaponry. 
 
 08.12 According to reports by Al Jazeera the rebels are claiming that they have taken back the town of Zawiyah. This has been denied by the Gaddafi regime. However, the opposition forces have been pushed back from Bin Jawad after fierce fighting. 
 
 Libyan protesters hold a giant flag on top of a building during a demonstration in the seaport city of Tobruk (Picture: REUTERS). 
 
 07.55: Dr Liam Fox has told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that there needs to be a strong legal basis for a no fly zone to be imposed. 
 
 The Defence Secretary said that the NATO meeting would explore "all the options" rather than make any decisions on a no fly zone. 
 
 He described increasing number of reports of violence as a "very worrying trend". Amid a split over what a no fly zone would entail, he said that there would need legal backing for such a decision. 
 
 He said that attacking Libya's air defence networks was one option being looked at. 
 
 There is a very clear understanding that we want to get a a legal basis for this (no fly zone). 
 
 What we are seeing at the moment is a relative stalemate between the military forces in Libya and in reverse. 
 
 "Col Gaddafi needs to realise that the best result for his cvountry and his people is for him to leave." 
 
 07.45: Foreign Office threatens 'day of reckoning' for Gaddafi regime after BBC team beaten in Libya. 
 
 Colonel Muammar Gaddafi (left) and Foreign Secretary William Hague (Picture: REUTERS). 
 
 07.40: The White House has been forced to defend its response to the escalating crisis in Libya, insisting it had taken dramatic action and rejecting criticism that it had been too cautious. 
 
 Spokesman Jay Carney dismissed suggestions that Washington had failed to act with sufficient urgency. 
 
 He compared the international response to Libya with the reaction to the Balkan wars of the 1990s. It took three months to impose an arms embargo on Yugoslavia after Croatia declared independence, he said. 
 
 In the case of Libya, it was just nine days. He told reporters in Washington: 
 
 There has never been a situation where the international community, with leadership by the United States, has acted as quickly as it has to respond to this kind of situation. 
 
 It is very important for people to understand the kind of dramatic action that has been taken with the leadership of this president and will continue to be taken as we move forward. 
 
 Earlier President Barack Obama's top national security aides emerged from private talks in the White House Situation Room amid growing sense that imposing a no-fly zone over Libya would have a "limited impact". 
 
 The White House has come under fire from some critics for what they say is its failure to match tough talk with action to help rebels force Gaddafi from power. 
 
 An editorial in The New York Times stated: 
 
 The Obama administration is throwing out so many conflicting messages on Libya that they are blunting any potential pressure on the Libyan regime and weakening American credibility. 
 
 07.35: David Cameron has defended William Hague as an “excellent” minister amid fresh attacks on the Foreign Secretary. 
 
 Queenie Fletcher with a photograph of her daughter Yvonne who was killed outside the Libyan Embassy in 1984 (Picture: PAUL GROVER) 
 
 07.30: The mother of murdered WPC has spoken out in support of rebels trying to oust Col Gaddafi amid renewed hope of bringing daughter's killer to justice. 
 
 Yvonne Fletcher, 25, was shot while on duty outside the Libyan Embassy in London when a demonstration turned violent 27 years ago. 
 
 The killer has never been identified, despite her mother Queenie visiting Libya to make a personal plea to Col Gaddafi. 
 
 Mrs Fletcher, 77, hopes that regime change could finally solve the murder. 
 
 Speaking outside her home in Semley, near Shaftesbury, Wilts., she said: 
 
 People are standing up against Gaddafi. This could change things and that could help. 
 
 If Gaddafi goes we will have someone completely new who I hope will hand over the killers. The authorities know who they are. 
 
 It could make such a difference if he wasn't there. He has dominated the country too long. I don't know why he is protecting them. He should give them up. 
 
 07.25: Colonel Gaddafi was so vain and paranoid that he declined a full anaesthetic during cosmetic surgery because he feared he might be assassinated, two Brazilian doctors have told The Times. 
 
 Liacyr Ribeiro and Fabio Naccache told how they flew secretly to Libya in 1994 to perform facial procedures and a hair transplant on the Libyan dictator. 
 
 Disclosing a secret they have held for almost two decades, Dr Naccache told the paper: 
 
 He wanted to look younger, he thought he was getting old. 
 
 He had a good head of hair, but some bald areas, which I tidied up. 
 
 07.20: Antony Loewenstein, an independent journalist, has posted a blog titled "On the frontline in Libya" featuring dramatic footage from Al-Jazeera showing bombs raining down on Ras Lanuf. 
 
 Squatter calling themselves Topple the Tyrants, hung anti-regime banners from the house (Picture: CLARA MOLDEN) 
 
 07.15: The Greek government has said that Mohammed Tahir Siyala, the Libyan undersecretary for co-operation, will meet Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Dollis in Athens later on Thursday. 
 
 07.10: Russia will ban all weapons sales to Libya, the Kremlin has said, effectively suspending its arms contracts with the Gaddafi regime, Reuters reports. 
 
 An order signed by President Dmitry Medvedev "bans the export from the Russian Federation to Libya as well as the sale, delivery and transfer... of all types of arms and related materials, including weapons and ammunition, combat vehicles and military hardware". 
 
 Russia, the world's second-largest arms exporter after the United States, was one of the main suppliers of weapons to Libya. 
 
 A senior Russian arms official said last week the unrest in Libya had cost Moscow £2.48 billion in arms deals. 
 
 07.00 For all our Libya coverage click here. 
 
 Nato will on Thursday discuss imposing a no-fly zone over Libya in the absence of a United Nations resolution as air strikes against rebels on Wednesday highlighted the need for urgent action. 
 
 A BBC television crew seized at a checkpoint in western Libya were held, beaten and given mock executions in the most extreme case of the Gaddafi regime's harassment of international journalists. 
 
 The price of petrol has hit £6 a gallon for the first time, as unrest in North Africa and the Middle East sends up the price of driving in Britain. 
 
 The governor of Libya's Central Bank has fled to Turkey after promising to give support to international efforts to secure Col Muammar Gaddafi's assets. 
 
 A London mansion owned by Saif Gaddafi, son of the dictator of Libya, is being occupied by a group of activists and habitual squatters. 
 
 A rebel fires a rocket-propelled grenade as an oil installation burns in Ras Lanuf (Picture: REUTERS). 
 
 Libya's Gaddafi regime has escalated its ferocious military campaign across the country, forcing rebels onto the defensive on three fronts. 
 
 06.30 Good morning. Welcome to The Telegraph's live coverage of the Libya crisis as well as any other updates in the volatile Middle East region. 
 
 Libya as it happened March 9 
 
 Libya protests: as it happened March 8 
 
 Libya protests: as it happened March 7 
 
 Libya protests: as it happened March 4 
 
 Libya protests: as it happened Mar 3 ||||| Forces loyal to Col. Moammar Gadhafi continued to push rebels out of positions along coastal oil towns Wednesday, testing the limits of the coalition airstrikes. Jerry Seib discusses whether Libya's rebels can prevail without ground support. 
 
 Libyan rebel fighters fled farther east from Col. Moammar Gadhafi's military Wednesday, a retreat that is forcing the U.S. and its allies to confront the possibility that their air power alone won't be sufficient to boost the ragtag opposition forces. 
 
 The prospect of a stalemate is leading the U.S. and its allies to consider other ways to help the rebel cause. Over the past several days, debate has simmered in Washington about whether to arm rebel groups, a discussion made all the more critical by the rebels' latest setbacks. 
 
 President Barack Obama has signed a secret order that could facilitate such weapons transfers. Under the authorization, the Central Intelligence Agency has placed covert operatives on the ground in parts of Libya, officials say. 
 
 WSJ's Paul Sonne reports from London on allied leaders moving toward the goal of removing Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and democratizing the Northern Africa country. Also, a report on Syrian president al-Assad addressing the public to quell protests. 
 
 "We have done very well in attacking the targets that air power can attack," said retired Army Lt. Gen. James M. Dubik, a senior fellow at the Institute for the Study of War in Washington. "But we will not be able to protect civilians to the point expected through air power alone." 
 
 Obama administration officials have openly hoped that Libyan military commanders will see their troops shattered by allied airstrikes and decide to depose or kill Col. Gadhafi themselves. 
 
 On Wednesday, Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa resigned his position, creating expectations that he would announce his defection as early as Thursday. U.S. officials called the development "very significant" and an example of growing splits inside Col. Gadhafi's inner circle. 
 
 In fighting Wednesday, the lightly armed opposition forces fell back from the oil-refinery town of Ras Lanuf and faced intense pressure from Col. Gadhafi's forces around Brega, another oil port they had conquered in recent days under the umbrella of allied airstrikes. 
 
 Rebels Retreat View Slideshow Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Libyan rebels waited at a checkpoint in Brega Wednesday as outgunned rebels fled Ras Lanuf. 
 
 Rebels in Darnah, in eastern Libya, recounted unconfirmed reports that their fighters had been pushed back toward Ajdabiya, a crossroads leading to the rebel capital, Benghazi. 
 
 The first days of the allied air war, which began March 19, gave a huge boost to the rebels, who had appeared on the verge of being crushed in Benghazi. Columns of pickup trucks and other vehicles swept quickly west into areas held by Col. Gadhafi's loyalists, and threatened his hometown of Sirte, with allied planes and missiles hitting regime armor in open desert. 
 
 In the 24 hours ended midday Wednesday, U.S. and coalition aircraft conducted a total of 188 sorties, including 102 strikes against Libyan ground targets. U.S. warships also launched two Tomahawk cruise missiles. 
 
 On Edge in Libya Track the latest events in the fight for Libya. View Interactive More photos and interactive graphics 
 
 But it has proved hard for rebels to hold the ground they seize. "What we call the rebel force is not a force at all," Gen. Dubik said. "It's just guys with guns." 
 
 Col. Gadhafi's forces, by contrast, are better equipped and better organized. The advances of government troops show air attacks haven't degraded the government's military to the point where it can't advance. 
 
 Allied planes and missiles will likely be of limited value should the rebels make their way into major settlements or the capital, because airstrikes could potentially threaten civilian lives. 
 
 The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which is taking over command of the operation from the U.S., won't discuss its rules of engagement—the conditions under which allied forces are allowed to fire their weapons. 
 
 NATO officials said its operations will be strictly guided by this month's United Nations resolution authorizing "all necessary measures" to protect Libyan civilians. 
 
 In recent days, allied forces have hit ammunition storage dumps, rocket launchers and surface-to-air missile launchers. The U.S. has brought in two types of aircraft—tank-busting A-10s and AC-130 gunships—that can deliver accurate, devastating attacks on ground targets. 
 
 White House spokesman Jay Carney said that "no decision has been made about providing arms to the opposition or to any group in Libya— we're not ruling it out or ruling it in." 
 
 Those who oppose such a move argue the rebels are too disorganized and ill-trained to use any U.S.-provided weapons aid effectively and that there is a risk that the arms provided to them today will fall into the hands of anti-American Islamists. 
 
 "We need to understand more about the opposition before I would support passing out guns and advanced weapons to them," said Rep. Mike Rogers (R., Mich.), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. "It's safe to say what the rebels stand against, but we are a long way from an understanding of what they stand for. We need to be very careful before rushing into a decision that could come back to haunt us." 
 
 Write to Sam Dagher at sam.dagher@wsj.com and Charles Levinson at charles.levinson@wsj.com
– France today became the first country to recognize the Libyan National Council as the only legitimate representative of the Libyan people, following a meeting between Nicolas Sarkozy and two representatives from the upstart government, the New York Times reports. France says it will soon engage ambassadors with the rebel group, which has set up camp in Benghazi. The move puts France ahead of its allies—including the United States, which, the Washington Post observes, has been unusually passive in the Libyan crisis, with President Obama seemingly content to let allies take the lead. France’s statement comes amidst a NATO meeting to decide whether to enforce a No-Fly Zone over Libya. Moammar Gadhafi’s forces have relentlessly exploited their air power against the rebels; today, planes and naval artillery bombarded Ras Lanuf, a major oil port controlled by opposition forces, CNN reports. Loyalist forces also claimed the central square of a rebel-held city just west of Tripoli, according to the Wall Street Journal. Gadhafi has held together the military better than originally appeared likely, and the outgunned rebels appear to have lost their momentum in their push toward the capital.