The US stock market plummeted today in its biggest drop of the year, as escalating tensions in the Middle East and North Africa sent oil prices soaring.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 178.46 points, or 1.4% to 12212.79, its biggest point and percent drop since Nov. 16. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index fell 27.57, or 2.1% to 1315.44, its biggest point and percent drop in more than six months, since Aug. 11, 2010. The Nasdaq Composite sank 77.53, or 2.7% to 2756.42.
Defiant Gaddafi refuses to quit amid Libya protests
Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi has refused to stand down amid widespread anti-government protests which he said had tarnished the image of the country.
Defectors
The Libyan leader said he had not authorised the army to use force, despite opposition statements that more than 500 people have been killed and more than 1,000 are missing - an indication that he was either not aware of the deaths or was deluded, says our correspondent.
There are no government officials at the border, the minimum of formalities. They are flying a new flag; there is a picture of Muammar Gaddafi crossed out.
Even by his own bizarre and eccentric standards, the latest speech by Col Gaddafi was breathtaking in its defiance of both the wider world and the reality now facing him.
At times, the Libyan leader seemed to lose control of his temper, shouting his words in Arabic. At others, he paused to adjust his matching khaki shawl and cap. His language, while undoubtedly aimed at shoring up what support he still has in the country, was one of quaint nationalist slogans from the 1960s and 70s.
