In Libya, Tripoli is still being held by the rbels, but where is Gadhafi? Also being asked: Where are the four Italian journalists just kidnapped by Gadhafi forces.
In Yemen, officials say the military has killed dozens of suspected al-Qaida-linked militants in the country's south.
Syria's security forces are again raiding towns and villages throughout the country and arresting suspected government opponents as part of President Bashar al-Assad's crackdown on political dissent.
Details after the break.
Libyan rebels consolidated their hold on the capital, Tripoli, and other parts of the country Wednesday as pockets of pro-Gadhafi loyalists put up fierce resistance.
Opposition forces now claim to control 90 percent of the country, but the whereabouts of long-time leader Moammar Gadhafi remain a mystery. U.S. officials say they believe he is still in Libya.
Libya's opposition has offered a $1.67 million reward for Mr. Gadhafi's capture in hopes of putting an end to the fighting in the north African country.
Transitional National Council leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil said Wednesday his opposition group supports a decision by local businessmen to provide the reward in an attempt to speed up Mr. Gadhafi's capture.
This just in:
Italy says four Italian journalists have been kidnapped and their driver killed in Libya by armed men described as loyalists to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
The Italian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Wednesday the kidnapping occurred on a highway between the western town of Zawiya and the capital, Tripoli.
The ministry said the newspaper journalists included two from Milan daily Corriere della Sera, one from Turin's La Stampa and one from the Avvenire Catholic publication.
The abduction took place just hours after some 35 foreign journalists held by Gadhafi forces were freed after being detained for about four days inside the Rixos hotel in Tripoli.
The circumstances of their release were not immediately clear. They were, however, freed shortly after representatives of the International Red Cross arrived at the hotel, which has been under the control of pro-Gadhafi forces.
The journalists said they were met outside the hotel by the representatives, who transported them to another location.
Before they were freed, some journalists had hung banners outside windows, with the words “TV” and “Do Not Shoot” written on them. They said snipers were near the hotel.
CNN correspondent Matthew Chance was among the journalists who were detained under what he described as “terrible, horrible” conditions. He told CNN the situation changed when the pro-Gadhafi fighters who controlled the hotel realized the Libyan leader's “regime was over.”
Yemen:
Officials in Yemen say the military has killed dozens of suspected al-Qaida-linked militants in the country's south.
Military and medical officials said early Wednesday Yemeni forces killed at least 30 militants near Zinjibar in Abyan province, and that seven soldiers were also killed during clashes in the area.
Militants have taken control of several areas in southern Yemen during the 6-month uprising pressing for President Ali Abdullah Saleh's resignation. Saleh remains in Saudi Arabia where he is recovering from injuries sustained in a June attack on his presidential compound.
Government forces have been trying to remove the Islamist militants, but have made only modest headway after weeks of fighting and airstrikes.
Syria:
Syrian security forces are again raiding towns and villages throughout the country and arresting suspected government opponents as part of President Bashar al-Assad's crackdown on political dissent.
Human rights groups said Wednesday that tanks were used in some of the raids, which began late Tuesday and continued into Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Reuters news agency quoted an Arab League official on Wednesday who said the group would hold an urgent meeting on Syria on Saturday.
The United Nations says at least 2,200 people have died in Syria during the government's five-month crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators. However, Assad has blamed much of the deadly violence on what he says are armed "gangs" and "terrorists."
Information for these reports compiled from articles at VOA News.
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