State television showed footage of Muammer Gaddafi playing chess with the head of the World Chess Federation, as fighting between the Libyan strongman's forces and rebels raged on many fronts Monday.

Four Libyan rebels were killed and 30 wounded in clashes with forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi on the frontline between Ajdabiya and Brega, rebel commander Mussa el-Mograbi told AFP on Monday.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi ordered mass rape and gave sex drugs to his troops to encourage them to attack women, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has said.

Luis Moreno-Ocam

US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have called on Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to step down.

"The chancellor and I have been clear - Gaddafi must step down and hand power

Nato defence ministers huddle on Wednesday for talks on the air war in Libya amid calls for allies to step up their contributions as strikes to dislodge a defiant Muammar Gaddafi escalate.

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.

Japan has frozen $4.4 billion in assets belonging to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his entourage under the terms of a UN Security Council resolution, a report said on Saturday.

The assets include