The Libyan government announced on Wednesday that it has asked the international community for help with a 'War on Terror' that threatens to plunge the already-divided nation into a state of full-scale disarray.

Widespread violence is the main concern for Libya after a number of bombings and assassinations have plagued the eastern city of Benghazi. In Sirte - a city that is home to multiple major oil ports in the central region of the North African country - skirmishes between pro-government militias and rebel troops a number of people dead in the past several months. The government wrote on its official website that "terrorist groups" have waged war in the streets of Benghazi, Sirte, and other cities. Libya has failed to contain rebel groups that helped overthrow Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 then refused to lay down their arms, instead using the weapons to acquire wealth and oil.


"Libya's interim government asks the international community and especially the United Nations to provide assistance to uproot terrorism," the government wrote, as quoted by Reuters. "The government confirms that it wants this war on terror and its crimes to start as soon as possible."

For her public act of protest against Russia Today's coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory and supposedly advancing the agenda of Vladimir Putin in Washington, D.C., previously unknown news anchor Liz Wahl has suddenly become one of the most famous unemployed people in America. After her on-air resignation from the cable news channel, Wahl appeared on the three major American cable news outlets - CNN, Fox News, MSNBC - to denounce the heavy-handed editorial line she claims her bosses imposed on her and other staffers.

"What's clear is what's happening right now amid this crisis is that RT is not about the truth," she told CNN's Anderson Cooper. "It's about promoting a Putinist agenda. And I can tell you firsthand, it's also about bashing America."

Wahl's act of defiance eventually earned her invitations from "The View" and "The Colbert Report," offering her the opportunity to introduce millions of Americans to a Russian government-funded network whose Nielsen ratings have been too low to measure, but which commands a massive following on YouTube. Wahl was the toast of Washington, winning plaudits from a variety of prime-time pundits, from MSNBC's Chris Hayes ("remarkably badass") to the conservative Amanda Carpenter ("Liz Wahl is proud to be an American and in the last five minutes I think she made everyone else proud to be one, too.")

The celebration of Wahl fed directly into a BuzzFeed expose on "How The Truth Is Made at Russia Today," with writer Rosie Gray painting a portrait of an "atmosphere of censorship and pressure" on American staffers toiling in RT's D.C. offices. RT had long been the subject of criticism and ridicule for its promotion of Zeitgeist-style trutherism and libertarian paranoia, but Wahl now placed RT under unprecedented scrutiny, with mainstream U.S. media sounding the alarm about a bulwark of soft Russian power situated just blocks from the White House.

Chancellor Merkel used her speech to the Bundestag on Thursday to tell lawmakers that her government supported plans to step up sanctions on Moscow as a result of the Kremlin's continuing moves to absorb the Ukrainian autonomous territory of Crimea into the Russian Federation.

"At the European Council beginning today, the heads of state and government of the European Union will fix further phase-two sanctions that we agreed two weeks ago," Merkel said.

"These include an extension of the list of responsible people against whom travel restrictions and account freezes are in effect," she added.

He once was the richest and most powerful of the county's oligarchs and dominated post-Soviet Russia. He symbolized financial machinations and was called no less than a political kingmaker. He survived numerous attempts on his life, went into exile and remained a wanted figure in Russia until his death. RT looks at the life - and mysterious death - of Boris Berezovsky.

Libya's Congress handed a no-confidence vote to Prime Minister Ali Zeidan on Tuesday in a yet another jolt to the oil-rich nation's crumbling political stability.

Libya's elected General National Congress (GNC) voted to oust Mr Zeidan a day after the government's weak security forces failed to stop a North Korean-flagged oil tanker from departing Libya's eastern shore with an unauthorised US$36 million cargo of crude oil.

Less than three years after the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has been riven by increasingly violent political animosities as powerful militias, aligned with rival political factions, have struggled to exert control over key government offices, territory and - significantly - the country's vast oil resources.

Federalist fighters seeking autonomy for eastern Libya have laid siege to some of the country's key oil wells and ports, effectively paralysing exports for the past six months.

The weekend docking of the North Korean tanker marked the first independent sale of oil by a non-state body, threatening to escalate regional and tribal tensions into a full-fledged war.

According to a local CBS Arizona affiliate, President Obama and his team have 3 tactics to make sure reporters stick to the 4 minutes the White House has allotted them to interview the leader of the world: a countdown clock, a looming aide, and they have to conduct the interview with the president while standing up.

One CBS anchor called the measures "a little ridiculous."

"We immediately launched into our interview because there was a person standing behind him actually counting down to the four minutes. And by the time he answered my last question, I realized that we had already gone over the four minutes, so that's why I took an opportunity to sort of ask a lighter question afterward because I figured at that point, you know, why not? I have nothing to lose," said the local reporter.

Footage of Igor Miroshnichenko and five men forcing Oleksandr Panteleymonov to write resignation leader released online

Ukraine's new government was facing a stern test of resolve after a nationalist Ukrainian MP physically assaulted the head of a television station in Kiev and forced him to write a resignation letter.

A group of at least five men, including MP Igor Miroshnichenko from the nationalist Svoboda party, barged into Oleksandr Panteleymonov's office, then shouted at him and landed blows before forcing him to write the letter. They filmed the attack and posted it online. The video has received hundreds of thousands of hits.

The new army of the coup-imposed government in Ukraine has begun training exercises outside Kiev. Although the National Guard's roles are law enforcement and border protection, many in the country's east fear the military unit will work against them.

Concerns over the loyalty of the Ukrainian army and security agencies have pushed Kiev to start forming an additional armed branch, which it will fully control.

The National Guard is designed to be 60,000-strong and completely independent from the country's military and police.

Recruitment across Ukraine began on March 13, with around 20,000 people already joining the new uniformed service.

"Most volunteers have battle experience. Most of them protected the rights and freedom of citizens of Ukraine at Maidan," Stepan Poltorak, a commander with the Ukrainian Interior Troops, told RT.

Elon Musk wants to keep selling electric cars directly to the public in New Jersey, but on Tuesday the state said no, insisting instead that Tesla Motors Inc offer its cars through an auto franchise rather than its own stores.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's administration approved a rule requiring sales of all new cars to go through franchises.

The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission approved the rule, proposed in October, a representative at the commission confirmed, making explicit the need to have a franchise license to sell new cars in the state.

Tesla, which is led by CEO Musk, said on Tuesday the administration was undermining its model of selling cars, while the administration countered that Tesla had long known the company needed a law change to accommodate its sales model.

Most traditional auto companies sell cars through franchised dealerships.

Shares of Palo Alto, California-based Tesla closed down 1.9 percent at $234.41 on the Nasdaq on Tuesday.

Personnel will be part of a group of about 1,300 troops who are taking part in Rapid Trident, a previously planned exercise

British forces are preparing to travel to Ukraine in July to join allies in a peacekeeping training exercise.

The troops will be part of a group of about 1,300 troops, mostly American, who are taking part in Rapid Trident, a previously planned exercise.

US officers cancelled a military exercise in Russia in the light of current events but confirmed the exercise in Ukraine would go ahead.

British officials said they had yet to decide the UK's level of participation in Ukraine but confirmed planning for Rapid Trident 2014 in Lviv, near the Polish border, was ongoing.

The US has already sent 12 warplanes and 300 personnel to Poland in the wake of Russia's takeover of Crimea.