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U.S. Says 5,000 Surface-to-Air Missiles Secured in Libya

A top U.S. official said on Sunday that a team of U.S. and Libyan bomb disposal experts has secured about 5,000 surface-to-air missiles stockpiled during the regime of Moammar Gadhafi.

"We have identified, disbanded and secured more than 5,000 MANPADS (Man-Portable Air Defense Systems), while thousands more have been destroyed during NATO bombing," Andrew Shapiro, assistant secretary of state for political and military affairs told a group of reporters.

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Two Hurt in Gunfight near Libyan Capital Airport

A gunfight erupted near Tripoli international airport in which two people were wounded on Saturday, a Libyan army official and a former rebel told Agence France Presse.

Army official Samy Kamuka said the firefight erupted when a group of former rebels of the Zintan brigade clashed with former rebels from Tripoli.

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NTC Chief: Libya Ready to Forgive Gadhafi Fighters

Libya's new rulers are ready to forgive the forces of slain leader Moammar Gadhafi who battled rebels trying to topple his autocratic regime, National Transition Council chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil said on Saturday.

"In Libya we are able to absorb all. Libya is for all," Abdel Jalil said in Tripoli as he launched a national reconciliation conference organized by the NTC.

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OPEC Urges EU Not to Target Iran Oil, Says Libya Back to Full Production Soon

The head of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said on Wednesday he hoped the EU would not press sanctions on Iran's "difficult to replace" oil exports, as he expected Libya to return to full pre-war oil production levels by mid-2012.

"I really hope there will not be an EU embargo on Iranian oil," OPEC Secretary General Abdullah El-Badri said at the World Petroleum Congress in Doha.

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Russia Calls for End to 'Ultimatums' Against Syria

Russia on Tuesday urged an end to "ultimatums" against its Middle East ally Syria after the approval of Arab League sanctions and a call from Washington and the EU for an immediate end to violence.

"Right now, the most important thing is to stop acting by means of ultimatums and try to move toward political dialogue," Interfax quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying.

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ICC Trial for Seif al-Islam Could Be in Libya

The trial of deposed Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s son Seif al-Islam could be held in Libya under the auspices of the International Criminal Court, its chief prosecutor said Friday.

"The prosecutor proposed as a third possibility that the ICC might, subject to judges' approval, conduct the trial against Seif al-Islam in Libya," Luis Moreno-Ocampo said in a document before the Hague-based court.

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New Libya Cabinet Wins U.S. Praise, Angers Regions

A new government line-up in Tripoli drew praise from Washington Wednesday as a "significant step" towards democracy but barbs from Libya's regions highlighted the challenge of unity after 42 years of dictatorship.

Areas of the vast desert country that played major roles in the eight-month uprising which overthrew Moammar Gadhafi's regime complained of "marginalization" in the long-awaited interim cabinet unveiled late on Tuesday.

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ICC Prosecutor Says Libya has Priority to Try Seif al-Islam Gadhafi

Libya has priority to try the most prominent son of deposed leader Moammar Gadhafi, International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said on Wednesday.

On an official visit to Tripoli, Moreno-Ocampo said Libya had every right to try Seif al-Islam, arrested last week.

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Iran Denies it Gave Libya Chemical Arms

Iran has dismissed a U.S. news report implicating it in a chemical weapons cache uncovered in Libya, saying it was a champion in fighting to eradicate such arms.

"About the arms delivery to the regime of (toppled Libyan leader Moammar) Gadhafi... The West would do better to look to itself, because Iran has always been at the forefront in the fight against chemical weapons," foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said, according to Iranian media Wednesday.

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Juppe: Arab States Should Not Fear Peoples' Aspirations

Arab regimes should not fear their peoples' aspirations for democracy and reform, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told a pro-democracy forum in Kuwait on Tuesday.

"A year after the start of the Arab Spring ... states gathering here should show they do not fear the aspirations of their peoples and civil society," Juppe told the opening session of the eighth Forum for the Future.

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