Muammar Gaddafi

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi called on Friday for the removal of 'unjust' rich-country farm subsidies and more emphasis on helping the poor in world trade talks. Gaddafi, who chairs the African Union and has ruled Libya for 40 years, also urged the creation of a world economic council, saying the Group of 20 did not go far enough. "G20 is not enough to deal with the problems that have not only economic but social dimensions," he said in a statement distributed to journalists at a European Union development conference in Stockholm. Gaddafi did not attend in person. Gaddafi's statement said the ... Read Full Story

RABAT (Reuters) - The reform-minded son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has been named overall coordinator of a grouping of the country's most influential tribal, political and business leaders, Libya's Oea newspaper said Friday. The exact powers Saif al-Islam would exercise were not clear, but the appointment as head of the "Popular Leaderships," if confirmed, is likely to enhance the standing of a man some analysts see as a potential successor to his father. The group -- endorsed by Gaddafi -- has approved Saif al-Islam's appointment. Libyan media had reported earlier this month that Gaddafi had asked for Saif al-Islam to be given a ... Read Full Story

RABAT (Reuters) - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi will discuss domestic policy on Tuesday in what he termed a "secret" speech to high-ranking supporters that will not be broadcast. Gaddafi has been uncharacteristically quiet on domestic issues in recent months and Tuesday's speech will be the first time he has discussed internal policy since February. "We will meet tomorrow and the talk and the speech will be secret," he told thousands of supporters, including government officials, military and policy commanders, gathered to mark the 50th anniversary of his Free Unionists Movement on Monday. "Our meeting tomorrow will focus on our own issues," he said in ... Read Full Story

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi, in his first address to the United Nations in 40 years as Libya's autocratic ruler, on Wednesday accused major powers on the Security Council of betraying the principles of the U.N. charter. "The preamble (of the charter) says all nations are equal whether they are small or big," Gaddafi said in a long, rambling speech during which he chastised his audience for falling asleep. After reading from a copy of the U.N. charter, Gaddafi condemned the veto power held by five permanent of the council, at one point referring to it as the "terror council." Speaking through an ... Read Full Story

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Authorities in suburban Bedford, New York, threatened criminal action on Wednesday if work did not stop on a tent being erected for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on property owned by developer Donald Trump. Building officials planned to re-inspect the property where workers on Tuesday were ordered to stop setting up the large tent and satellite dishes for Gaddafi, Bedford town attorney Joel Sachs said. Gaddafi, a famously eccentric figure known for pitching a large Bedouin tent on his trips abroad, addressed the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday. The tent violated local zoning and building laws, Sachs said. The affluent suburb ... Read Full Story