Libya’s warring sides opened a new and critical front in the deepening conflict there. Muammar Qaddafi and rebels trying to oust him sent envoys to European capitals to sway the debate over potential international military involvement in Libya, a day ahead of a European Union summit that could well determine the future of the crisis.

Moving ahead of its allies, France on Thursday became the first country to recognize Libya’s rebel leadership in the eastern city of Benghazi and said it would soon exchange ambassadors with the insurgents.

It’s become increasingly clear there is an awful reality dawning on European Union officials. Col. Moammar Gadhafi’s Libyan regime, which everyone assumed a week ago would be swept away in an irresistible tide of North African democratic enthusiasm, is not just hanging onto power: it’s fighting back.

Western countries are urgently considering a number of options for intervention in Libya, ranging from military operations to diplomatic initiatives and stepped-up humanitarian assistance.

The dashboard tallies the daily number of tweets about developments in each listed country (the site is currently tracking Egypt, Yemen, Libya and Bahrain) and shows the average number of such tweets per minute for each country.

The former head of the Royal Navy, Lord West, says the government is finally getting its act together over Libya but is not convinced about the idea of the West imposing a no-fly zone.

There were some sweaty brows among South Korea’s construction executives last year, when Libya accused Seoul’s gaffe-prone intelligence service of snooping on Colonel Gaddafi. The builders weathered that diplomatic storm only to be rocked by this year’s rebellion against Col Gaddafi’s 41-year rule.

f the United States wants to get Gaddafi out of power in Libya, communication, rather that military tools, might be more effective. Matt Armstrong, lecturer on public diplomacy at the USC Annenberg School of Communication, told PRI's The Takeaway...