The lawyer at the heart of a diplomatic row between Switzerland and Libya on Saturday accused Tripoli of holding the mother and brother of his client `hostage` in the country

TUNIS, August 3, 2008 (AFP) - Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi arrived in Tunis Sunday for talks with President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, expected to focus on bilateral cooperation.

Kadhafi was greeted with full military honours as he flew in by private jet to Tunis-Carthage airport, although the exact timetable and programme of his visit are not known.

ROME, August 2, 2008 (AFP) - An Italian fishing vessel was intercepted off the coast of Libya Saturday and escorted by Libyan authorities to the port of Tripoli, the Italian foreign ministry said Saturday.

The 'Valeria Prima', a Sicilian fishing boat from the port of Mazara del Vallo, has a crew of four Italian and two Tunisian men.

WASHINGTON, August 1, 2008 (AFP) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday that she looked forward to further improvements in ties with Libya after Congress passed legislation paving the way for Tripoli to compensate US terrorism victims.

MOSCOW, July 31, 2008 (AFP) - Libya is negotiating with Moscow to buy Russian weapons and for the construction of a nuclear power station, the countries' prime ministers said on Thursday.

PARIS, July 31, 2008 (AFP) - The head of the Libyan national oil company, Shukri Ghanem, said he expected the price of crude oil to rebound from recent falls, in remarks to AFP on Thursday.

'There is a big fall because prices are currently high,' he said by telephone. 'When prices are 130 or 140 dollars per barrel, they fall back more sharply.'

MOSCOW, July 31, 2008 (AFP) - An official of Russia's second-largest oil producer Lukoil has been released by Libya eight months after he was detained in the North African country, a Lukoil spokesman said Thursday.

GENEVA, July 29, 2008 (AFP) - Swiss Air said Tuesday it would decide in the next few days whether to resume flights to Tripoli after a diplomatic spat over the brief detention in Geneva of a son of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi.

Flights could resume on Sunday, but this 'would depend on the evolution of the situation' between Switzerland and Libya, the airline's spokesperson said.

TRIPOLI, July 29, 2008 (AFP) - Libya on Tuesday advised its citizens not to visit Switzerland to avoid 'arbitrary measures' -- an apparent reference to the brief detention in Geneva of a son of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi.

GENEVA, July 28, 2008 (AFP) - Switzerland and Libya are planning talks to resolve a crisis triggered by the arrest of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's son in Geneva for alleged assault, the Swiss foreign ministry said Monday.

The foreign affairs department is working 'really hard to resolve the crisis', a ministry spokesman told the Swiss news agency ATS.