Muammar Gaddafi stood defiant in the face of the heaviest and most punishing NATO airstrikes yet at least 40 thunderous daylight attacks that sent plumes of smoke billowing above the Libyan leader'

Powerful explosions early on Wednesday shook the area around the residence of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in the centre of Tripoli that had been targeted Tuesday by dozens of raids.

Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi defiantly vowed to fight to the death in an audio recording broadcast on Tuesday after NATO military craft unleashed a ferocious series of nearly 30 daytime airstrikes on

Nato warplanes battered Muammar Gaddafi’s command network in Tripoli, the alliance said on Monday ahead of a visit to Libya by an envoy from Russia, which has raised concerns about the military campaign.

Nato air raids shook Tripoli on Thursday as the UN denounced crimes against humanity and war crimes during fighting between Muammar Gaddafi’s forces and rebels seeking to topple the Libyan strongman.

Libya accused NATO of killing 718 civilians and wounding 4,067 in 10 weeks of air strikes, as African efforts for a truce stalled and Italy said Muammar Gaddafi's regime is 'finished'.

The toll of de

Muammar Gaddafi is ready for a truce to stop the fighting in his country, the visiting South African president said on Monday after meeting the Libyan ruler, but he listed familiar Gaddafi conditions

South Africa President Jacob Zuma was on his way to Tripoli on Monday for talks to end Libya's conflict, as calls mounted in the international community for Muammar Gaddafi to stand down.

Muammar Gaddafi's regime is on the run, a NATO official said, as alliance jets blasted Libya's capital and Russia on Wednesday slammed the blitz of Tripoli as a 'grave departure' from UN resolutions.

NATO warplanes bombarded targets in Tripoli with more than 20 airstrikes early Tuesday, striking around Muammar Gaddafi's residential compound in what appeared to be the heaviest night of bombing of t