Political Crisis | featured news

 Militias loyal to Moammar Gadhafi opened fire Friday on protesters streaming out of mosques and marching across the Libyan capital to demand the regime's ouster, witnesses said, reporting multiple deaths. In rebellious cities in the east, tens of thousands held rallies in support of the first Tripoli protests in days.

The Middle East was engulfed by protests Friday from Yemen to Tunisia, with some turning violent at times.

Moammar Gaddafi, Libya's strongman ruler, is commonly portrayed as an egomaniacal buffoon - an autocrat with an affinity for incomprehensible speeches and a flair for the melodramatic.

Stocks fell sharply and oil prices spiked to their highest level in two years on Tuesday as investors worried about the increasingly violent unrest in Libya.

Blames foreign influences for revolt as top officials resign to protest government attacks on civilians; opposition seizes control in some areas.

Libyan security forces open fired on mourners at a funeral for anti-government protesters in the eastern city of Benghazi again Sunday, a day after commandos and foreign mercenaries loyal to longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi pummeled demonstrators with assault rifles and other heavy weaponry as well as knives.

Unrest has spread across the Middle East and North Africa. Here's a look at what has happened -- and what is happening -- in various countries ...

Hundreds of thousands of protesters screamed and cheered Friday as it was announced that President Hosni Mubarak was stepping down.

Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak says he will stay in office and transfer all power only after September's presidential election.

The trappings of a determined protest movement chanting, flags and raised fists fill Tahrir Square, the hard-won enclave of those who seek ...