The head of the FBI and Scotland's top prosecutor have visited Libya to assess the ongoing investigation into the 1988 Lockerbie airliner bombing, Scottish officials said on Wednesday.

The director of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Robert Mueller, and Scotland's Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland met Libya's interim prime minister Abdel Rahim al-Kib in Tripoli on April 25.

Libya fired the latest salvo Tuesday in a legal battle over the trial of Moammar Gadhafi’s son, officially asking world war crimes court judges to quash a surrender request and throw out the case.

"The Libyan government requests the Chamber to declare the case inadmissible and quash the surrender request," Libya's lawyers said in a document, filed before the International Criminal Court.

Former Libyan oil minister Shukri Ghanem died by drowning but there was no sign of another party being involved "so far", Vienna police said Monday, a day after Ghanem was found dead in the Danube.

"The death was by drowning... no signs of involvement by another party have been detected so far," police spokesman Roman Hahslinger told journalists, citing preliminary autopsy results.

The body of Libya's former oil minister Shukri Ghanem, who had defected from Moammar Gadhafi’s regime, was found Sunday in the Danube, Austrian police said in a statement.

No trace of violence was found on the body, police spokesman Roman Hahslinger said, adding that "it is possible that he felt unwell and fell into the water."

The head of Libya's National Transitional Council said on Sunday that the interim government would stay in place, notably to ensure the success of June elections for a constituent assembly.

"Because of concerns about stability and building the state during this delicate stage... and to guarantee the success of the election... the council has decided to keep on the interim government," NTC chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil told reporters.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday discussed Palestinian reconciliation with Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki at the start of an official visit.

The Palestinian leader was greeted with military honors at the airport by President Marzouki and president of the National Constituent Assembly Mustapha Ben Jaafar.

President Michel Suleiman hailed on Saturday the interception of a ship suspected of delivering weapons to Syria as the Lebanese army issued a statement confirming the incident.

“The army intercepted on Friday Sierra Leone-flagged Lutfallah II ship suspected of carrying weapons and ammunition to Syria,” the statement said.

A blast ripped through a courthouse in the eastern city of Benghazi on Friday causing serious damage to the building but no casualties, Libyan security sources said.

The explosion punched a hole three meters (10 feet) in diameter through the walls of the courthouse on Meidan al-Shajara, a public square flanked by several government offices and the National Oil Corporation, an Agence France Presse journalist said.

Libya's interim prime minister accused the ruling National Transitional Council on Wednesday of hindering his government's efforts to hold elections for a constituent assembly on time.

"In this historic moment, we find ourselves shackled by members of the National Transitional Council (NTC), who continue to attack the government and threaten to cast a no confidence vote," Abdel Rahman al-Kib said.

Libya's first law on political parties since before the four-decade rule of now slain dictator Moammar Gadhafi drew criticism on Wednesday from Islamists and federalists alike.

The legislation issued by the interim government late on Tuesday, Libya's first since 1964, bans groups based on religious, regional or tribal platforms and outlaws foreign funding.