Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Covering Uncertainty

2155 GMT: Claimed footage of a demonstration today in opposition-held Misurata, 210 km (130 miles) east of Tripoli. The second clip is of a sit-in in the city's Tahrir Square in support of the citizens of Zawiyah, who had been holding out (ultimately unsuccessfully) against regime attacks:

2055 GMT: A snippet of the defiant interview of Muammar Qaddafi's son Saif Al Islam, "Libya is not a piece of cake. We are not Mickey Mouse":

2050 GMT: Three envoys of Libya's opposition National Transitional Council met this morning with Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme.

Leterme said the delegation, which spoke of "thousands" of casualties from regime violence, pressed for the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya; however, the NTC did not seek diplomatic recognition from Belgium.

2045 GMT: We will soon post video of the latest interview of Muammar Qaddafi's son Saif Al Islam, but here's the takeaway, as he says Libya is preparing an all-out offensive to crush the opposition and will not stop, even if foreign powers intervene:

It's time for liberation. It's time for action. We are moving now. Everybody in Libya is so excited....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. We are not a Mickey Mouse.

.

2040 GMT: British Prime Minister David Cameron has joined French President Nicolas Sarkozy in calling on European countries to recognise the opposition's National Transition Council as the sole representative of the Libyan people (see 1230 GMT).

Earlier today, Paris became the first Government to formally recognise the NTC.

2030 GMT: Al Madenah reports that Jordanian authorities have frozen the assets of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, his family, and his staff.

2010 GMT: Back from a break to find news from Saudi Arabia....

Police have reportedly opened fire and used stun grenades at a rally of several hundred protesters in the eastern city of Qatif. Witnesses say at least one and up to four protesters were injured.

The incident occurs on the eve of a "Day of Rage" called by protesters demanding reforms. Last weekend Saudi authorities banned demonstrations.

There have been a series of protests this year in Qatif, in the Shi'a area of Eastern Province, over economic issues and the treatment of prisoners.

2005 GMT: A Greek Air Force plane is en route to Tripoli to collect three Dutch soldiers held by Libyan authorities.

The oldiers were seized last week as they were on a mission to evacuate Dutch citizens.

1700 GMT: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the US has stopped working with Libya's Embassy in Washington: "We are suspending our relationship....so we expect them to end operations as the embassy of Libya."

The Libyan Ambassador to Mali, Moussa Ag Kori, has resigned and gone into exile in Paris.

1600 GMT: AFP reports that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet representatives of the Libyan opposition leaders during her visit to Egypt and Tunisia next week.

1555 GMT: Al Jazeera English's Tony Birtley reconfirms his earlier report (see 14140 GMT) that Ras Lanuf is now held by regime forces. One rebel commander said all his men were killed when Libyan troops arrived. Casualties remaining in the town's hospital were shot dead, according to a source.

1550 GMT: Andrei Netto, journalist for Brazilian newspaper Estado, is soon to be released from detention by the Libyan regime, the paper says. Libya's Ambassador to Brazil says Netto was held "because of mistakes he made in forms he filled out to enter Libya".

There is no word on the whereabouts of Ghaith Abdul-Ahad of The Guardian of London, who was travelling with Netto.

1520 GMT: The New York Times reports a regime victory in the re-capture of Ras Lanuf in north-central Libya:

Rebel fighters fled this strategic refinery town on Thursday under ferocious rocket attacks and airstrikes by forces loyal to the Libyan leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. The rout capped several days of fighting as the undermanned and ill-equipped rebel army improbably held off the advance of the Qaddafi forces, which are seeking to retake several oil cities on the eastern Mediterranean coast that had slipped from the government’s control in the first days of the uprising. Heavy shelling of the city seemed to presage a final assault by government troops.

1440 GMT: Footage of thousands of women marching in Benghazi, the centre of "Free Libya", yesterday:

1420 GMT: Authorities in Bahrain have warned that demonstrations "near ministries, shopping malls or at any location that can cause a traffic jam" are illegal.

The state news agency also reported that protests "before sunrise or after sunset" are banned.

1410 GMT: Al Jazeera English's Tony Birtley is reporting a "major offensive" by regime forces outside Ras Lanuf:

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.

1405 GMT: NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen appears to have ruled out any "support for humanitarian missions" or a no-fly zone in the near-future.

Opening a two-day summit, Rasmussen set the conditions of 1) a demonstrable need for NATO action; 2) a clear legal basis; and 3) firm regional support. This seems to rule out further action without a UN resolution.

1310 GMT: A pro-democracy rally today in front of the United Nations building in Manama in Bahrain:

1250 GMT: Regime warplanes have bombed the oil town of Brega, about 90 km (56 miles) east of Ras Lanuf in north-centre Libya. It was the first attack on the opposition-held town in several days.

The regime bombardment of Ras Lanuf has continued today, including a strike on the hospital.

1245 GMT: Journalists Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, of The Guardian of London, and Andrei Netto of the Brazilian newspaper Estado are missing in Libya.

Abdul-Ahad was last in touch on Sunday, when he was on the outskirts of Zawiyah, during fierce battles for control of the city west of Tripoli.

1230 GMT: Back from an academic break to find these diplomatic developments on Libya....

Ali Essawi, the former Libya Ambassador to India, has said in Paris that, as well as recognising the opposition Transitional National Council as the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people (see 1020 GMT), the French Government is also sending an envoy to the Council's base in Benghazi in eastern Libya.

The Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado says he used the visit of Muammar Qaddafi's envoy to send a message to the Libyan leader, "The Qaddafi regime is over."

The European Union has agreed to extend economic sanctions against Libya to include the country's sovereign wealth fund and central bank. The Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) wealth fund, which holds about $70bn (£43bn) and has stakes in a number of large European companies, is already targeted.

The step following similar action by the US and, earlier today, Germany.

1042 GMT: AFP reports that two shells have landed in the centre of opposition-held Ras Lanuf, hitting the ground near a hospital.

1030 GMT: In Egypt, the interim Cabinet has warned against attempts at counter-revolution. It also announced that police would return to the streets after their withdrawal on 28 January, three days into the uprising against President Hosni Mubarak.

The Cabinet called on all citizens to uphold the country’s interests and stay away from actions that would hinder production. It also said that a law had been drafted punishing thuggery and intimidation of civilians, including a provision allowing capital punishment if such crimes result in deaths.

The Cabinet response comes after Wednesday's attacks on demonstrators by "thugs" in Tahrir Square and the subsequent expulsion of protesters, as well as Tuesday clashes between Coptic Christians and Salafis killing 13 and wounding 140.

1020 GMT: After meetings with opposition representatives, the French Government has recognised the insurgents' National Transitional Council as the legitimate government of the Libyan people.

0925 GMT: A witness says that bombs or missiles are landing a few kilometres from the Ras Lanuf oil refinery and close to a Libyan Emirates Oil Refinery Company building. A warplane is reportedly circling over opposition-held Ras Lanuf.

0845 GMT: Latest from Libya....

Crude oil stocks at the opposition-held oil port of Brega in north-central Libya are exhausted, forcing tankers to leave without cargo.

One chartering manager said the last cargo shipped was on Saturday.

Opposition fighters have fired rockets towards the Mediterranean after reports that regime gunboats may have attacked insurgent positions in oil-producing east Libya.

Germany's Economy Ministry says Berlin has closed all accounts belonging to Libya's Central Bank, the Libyan Investment Authority and several other concerns. The news comes as a Qaddafi envoy continues his tour of Europe, meeting Greece's Deputy Foreign Minister.

0750 GMT: Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in a nationally-televised speech, has announced plans for a new Constitution and the transfer of power to a Parliamentary system by the end of 2011.

0735 GMT: Jordan's opposition Islamic Action Front has said that it will not engage in talks with the government unless their demands for constitutional reforms are examined first.

The IAF was responding to the call of King Abdullah II for all political parties to join a national dialogue.

"We will not participate in an initiative that carries no real dialogue," said Zaki Bani Rsheid, head of the IAF's political office. "We demand constitutional reforms and not just amendments to the electoral law," which have been promised by Prime Minister Maaruf Bakhit.

0725 GMT: More on Moroccan King Mohammed VI's initiative (see 0610 GMT) on Wednesday....

Maghreb Blog has a seven-point summary of Mohammed's "comprehensive Constitutional reforms", from the reference to "the rich, varied yet unified character of the Moroccan identity" to the "rule of law" and expanded freedoms, an independent judiciary, separation of powers,a freely-elected Parliament with bolstered political parties, and "mechanisms for boosting moral integrity in public life".

The blog concludes, "Constitutional reforms have to rise to the expectations of millions of Moroccans demanding a reduction in the scope of monarchical political prerogatives and discretionary powers in the political system....Concentration of power in the hands of a small political elite and Fassi families close to the palace has to be dismantled to provide representation and political participation across a broad spectrum of qualified Moroccans."

Brian Whitaker posts the text of the speech and makes this observation: "The real problem in Morocco is not so much the letter of the constitution but the way it operates in practice: the pervasive influence of the palace pulling strings behind the scenes, the monopolistic royal business interests and the cosy political elite who surround the king."

0715 GMT: With protesters calling for a "Day of Rage" on Friday, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Saud Al Faisal has asked for discussions rather than demonstrations, "The best way to achieve what citizens want is through dialogue whether in the eastern, western, southern or northern regions."

In Oman, public and private sector employees of companies in the capital Muscat went on strike. In Sohar, site of the country's most intense demonstrations, protesters continued a sit-in at the Globe Roundabout.

0710 GMT: Al Jazeera reports that Libya has cancelled delivery of two million barrels of oil to China's Unipec.

0645 GMT: The head of Libya's opposition National Transitional Committee, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, has called on other countries to act quickly to impose a no-fly zone over the country declaring that any delay would result in more casualties,

"It has to be immediate action," Abdul-Jalil said, "The longer the situation carries on, the more blood is shed. That's the message that we want to send to the international community. They have to live up to their responsibility with regards to this."

Abdul-Jalil also declared defiance in the face of the military struggle with the regime, insisting that Libyans would not go back to the days of Muammar Qaddafi's undisputed rule.

0612 GMT: Russia says it is imposing sanctions on arms sales to Libya.

0610 GMT: Global Voices Online offers a summary and some Tweets of reaction to Wednesday's speech by King Mohammed VI of Morocco.

The monarch did not refer explicitly to recent pro-democracy protests, but he promised “a comprehensive reform of the constitution” and a referendum on an “advanced regionalization".

0545 GMT: Wednesday's leading news on the Libya front was that regime forces had finally taken Zawiyah, 55 km (35 miles) west of Tripoli, after five days of bombardment, but even that was tinted with uncertainty. Muammar Qaddafi's officials said throughout the day that they would take foreign journalists to witness the victory, but the venture was cancelled, leaving State TV to proclaim triumph while the opposition declared that it would soon attack.

Indeed, media coverage was put in perspective last night with the accounts of three journalists from BBC Arabic had been detained, beaten, and subjected to mock executions earlier in the week after they tried to get to Zawiyah. Their stories went beyond the report by Peter Beaumont of The Guardian of the regime's manipulations and threats.

Even the front beyond Libya was one of some confusion. Both the regime and insurgents now appear to be pursuing diplomatic initiatives to get the support of other countries, with Europe as the current focus. Representatives of the opposition National Transitional Council were received in Paris and Geneva, while Qaddafi envoys were able to get meetings in Malta and Portugal. More manoevures are expected today, with NATO and the European Union opening discussions of a no-fly zone over opposition-held areas.

Violence and uncertainty dominated news from Egypt as well on Wednesday. The declaration by Mohamed ElBaradei last night that he would run for President could not erase the scenes a few hours earlier, as hundreds of men beat protesters in Tahrir Square in Cairo, and the military followed up by ejecting the demonstrators from the square.