Palestinian Bid for Full Membership at the UN

The Palestinians, as represented by the Palestinian Authority, have long sought to establish an independent, sovereign state in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza - occupied by Israel since the 1967 Six Day War. However, two decades of on-and-off peace talks have failed to produce a deal. The latest round of negotiations broke down a year ago.

Late last year, Palestinian officials began pursuing a new diplomatic strategy: asking individual countries to recognise an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders. Now they want the UN to admit them as a full member state. Currently the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) only has observer entity status. This would have political implications and allow Palestinians to join UN agencies and become party to international treaties, such as the International Criminal Court, where they could take legal action to challenge the occupation of territory by Israel.

Afghans Protest Ahead of Invasion Anniversary

About 200 people demonstrated in Afghanistan's capital Kabul. Thursday, chanting anti-American slogans ahead of the 10th anniversary of the US-led invasion.

The protesters shouted "death to America and its Afghan puppets" and torched a United States flag at the end of their peaceful march through the city centre, an AFP reporter at the scene said.

"Our demonstration is to condemn the invasion," Hafizullah Rasekh, one of the organisers, said.

"We want the US military and their NATO allies to leave Afghanistan immediately. We want them to stop killing innocent Afghans."

A female protestor, Jamila, who said she was a housewife and refused to give her last name, added: "I don't see any difference between the atrocities of the Taliban and the Americans. Both are killing innocent people."

Friday marks the tenth anniversary of the US-led invasion which ousted the militant Islamist Taliban from power.

The Taliban are now leaders of a bloody insurgency in Afghanistan where 140,000 foreign troops, mostly from the US, are based.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) says it does all it can to limit civilian casualties in operations -- the issue is highly controversial and incidents resulting in civilian deaths have been repeatedly condemned by President Hamid Karzai.

The United Nations says 1,462 civilians were killed in the first half of this year and insurgents were responsible for 80 percent of the deaths.

Cost of Britain's Libya operation 'could run into hundreds of millions'

Danny Alexander said the campaign was currently costing the taxpayer "tens of millions" but spending would rise as operations continued.

When military strikes against Colonel Gaddafi's forces began in March, George Osborne, the chancellor told the House of Commons that Britain's involvement would cost "in the order of tens of millions of pounds, not hundreds of millions".

Mr Alexander however told Sky News: "The campaign is costing tens of millions, potentially into the hundreds of millions as it goes on, but that money is coming from the reserve that we have set aside, precisely for contingencies such as this.

"It doesn't have an effect on any other spending, on any other public services. Of course there is a very powerful moral case for the action we are taking in Libya, it's right that we find those resources precisely from the contingency reserve that we have."

He added that he did not have the precise figures on the cost of operations.

Mr Alexander continued: "It's right that the United Kingdom is playing a leading role to protect Libyan civilians from the appalling activities of the Libyan government and to take that country, we hope, to a better future."

Jim Murphy, the shadow defence secretary, said: "It is worrying that Danny Alexander seems to be guessing about current costs, which are dramatically more than George Osborne originally predicted.

"We support the mission in Libya but the Government need to be clearer on the costs."

Meanwhile it was claimed yesterday Barack Obama ignored the advice of top lawyers in the US defence and justice departments when he decided he had the legal authority to continue the US military participation in Libya without the authorisation of Congress, according to officials, instead taking advice from White House counsel.

Republicans have demanded Mr Obama justify the ongoing military involvement and warned he may have exceeded his authority by unilaterally approving military operations.

The Rebels Controlled the Oil City of Libya

The rebels are opposed to the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi yesterday seized the oil city. The strength of the rebel groups rose after they captured the city of another oil, Brega in the east of the military Gaddafi of Libya. Brega and Ras Lanuf city produces a large amount of crude oil of 1.5 million barrels a day is exported every day Libya. But the country's oil exports ceased on February 15 following the actions of protesters who opposed the Gaddafi.

Members of the rebels are now on the way to recapture some of the troops left by Gaddafi. The success of the rebel group that helped the Western military air attack led the United States (U.S.) to enforce the flight ban on Libya zone. On Saturday, the rebels captured the town Ajdabiyah. "No more soldiers here Gaddafi. We control the whole city," said a member of the rebels, Youssef Ahmed, 22, in Jawad Bin city, 525 kilometers east of the city of Tripoli.

A Reuters reporter saw more than 12 trucks filled with machine guns in the city center Jawad Bin. According to the rebels, troops loyal to roots that Gaddafi has retreated. Insurgents now planning to move to the east of Sirte on the Mediterranean that are considered strong holds Gaddafi. So far, Gaddafi still has not made ​​his appearance after giving a speech to the people in Tripoli last week.

NATO Took Over Military Operations in Libya

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) agreed to take over military operations in Libya, NATO officials and diplomats said today.

"NATO has decided to implement all the laws set by the United Nations (UN) to protect the public and the territory from any threat, Muammar Gaddafi regime," the NATO official said after a meeting with 28 members of allied countries.

Consequently, NATO has the mandate to regulate and determine the movement of military operations.