Tripoli - Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by an international court for crimes against humanity, arrived in Libya Thursday in an unscheduled visit for talks with Libyan leader Muammar al-Qadhafi, the Libyan news agency (JANA) reported.

The satellite news channel al-Arabiya reported on Thursday that Al-Bashir, who arrived in Egypt Wednesday, had been scheduled to make Ethiopia the latest stop in his tour of countries that have not signed the Rome Statute on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and so are not obligated to execute the arrest warrant.

Valletta, Malta - Malta and Libya have signed a long-awaited memorandum of understanding on search and rescue, the Maltese Foreign Ministry said Friday night.

There has been a steady increase in tragedies caused by boatloads of African immigrants leaving Libya's shores en route to Europe.

The memorandum of understanding is inspired by the desire of Malta and Libya to further promote friendly relations between the two countries and the necessity of improving the safety of life at sea in the Mediterranean basin, the ministry said.

Tripoli - Dressed in a traditional Libyan brown cap and cloak punctuated by a broach in the shape of the African continent, Moamer Gaddafi looked completely in his element rushing from one conflict-beset African country to the next last week.

On Friday, Libya's 66-year-old "Brother Leader" triumphantly returned to the Niger capital, Niamey, with six hostages whose release he had just secured from the rebel Movement of the Niger People for Justice.

Nouakchott, Mauritania - Mauritanian presidential elections will take place as planned on June 6, Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi said Thursday after talks there as current African Union head.

Gaddafi arrived in Mauritania Monday seeking a deal to end the political crisis that has gripped the county since the military deposed in an August 6 coup President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi.

Tripoli  - Libyan authorities on Tuesday released two men imprisoned since February 2007 for planning a protest in Tripoli. They were the last of their group to be freed, human rights groups said.

Libya's State Security court sentenced Jamal al-Haji and Faraj Humaid to 12 and 15 years in prison, respectively, in February 2007 for planning to attend a protest in Tripoli's Martyr Square to commemorate a the anniversary of a 2006 clash between protesters and police that left 11 people dead.

Nouakchott, Mauritania  - Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi arrived in Mauritania on Monday seeking a deal to end the political crisis that has gripped the county since Mauritanian military officers deposed the president six months ago.

Gaddafi, acting in his capacity as president of the African Union, became the highest-ranking official to seek an end to the political stalemate in Mauritania since a junta led by General Mohammed Ould Abdel-Aziz launched a successful coup against Sidi Mohammed Ould Sheikh Abdallahi in August.