Germany Blocks No-Fly Zone for Libya

Hopes for a G8-enforced no-fly zone over Libya were dashed today, as Germany, with backup from Russia, shot down a plan forwarded by England and France, the Guardian reports. German Foreign Minister Guido Westermalle said that though his country wanted to see the violence stop, it did not want "to get sucked into a war in north Africa." He advocated the use of "political pressure" against Gadhafi.

Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, met with rebels in Paris in the highest profile contact yet between Libya's opposition government and the US. They asked the US to impose a no-fly zone and to bomb three air fields in the country, but Clinton rebuffed them, according to Andrea Mitchell of MSNBC. Mitchell said there was "no US support" for such a move. Clinton thinks the matter should be dealt with at the UN—where Russia and China are expected to block any action. (More Libya stories.)