THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Libya's oil minister has defected and fled to Tunisia, becoming one of the highest profile figures to abandon Muammar Gaddafi's government.
Shukri Ghanem, the head of Libya's National Oil Company, crossed into Tunisia by road on Monday and defected, a Tunisian official said.
Ghanem is one of the most prominent members of the government to leave amid fighting between the military and rebels seeking to end Gaddafi's more than 40-year rule.
Others who have defected include Moussa Koussa, the foreign minister, one of Gaddafi's earliest supporters; Abdel-Fatah Younes, the interior minister; Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, the justice minister, and Ali Abdessalam Treki, a former UN General Assembly president. A number of ambassadors and other diplomats also have resigned their posts. » | Tuesday, May 17, 2011
