Celebrating 40 years in power, Gadhafi blames Israel for Africa's conflicts

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has visited Libya and, together with Libyan ruler Muammar al Gadhafi, opened the first section of an Italian-funded highway demanded by Libya as compensation for Rome's occupation and colonial rule over the north African country from 1911 until World War II. The visit was part of celebrations of the 40th anniversary of Colonel Gadhafi taking power in Libya in a coup in 1969. African leaders are attending a summit of the African Union in the capital Tripolis, at whose opening Ghadafi accused Israel of being "behind all of Africa's conflicts.” He called for the ousting of all Israeli embassies from the African continent.

Libya is also staging public celebrations on the release of the Libyan mastermind of the 1988 bombing of PanAm flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, from a British jail last week. In 2001, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi was convicted of involvement in the bombing and sentenced to life imprisonment. The Scottish government had released Megrahi on compassionate grounds to return to Libya as he was suffering from terminal prostate cancer and had a life expectancy of less than 3 months. In the terrorist attack for which Libya accepted responsibility, all 243 passengers and 16 crew members were killed.

Meanwhile, following protests by Orthodox rabbis and other residents, Gadhafi will not be permitted to put up a Bedouin-style tent in a Libyan-owned property in Englewood, New Jersey, during his visit to the UN General Assembly in September. He will instead stay in a New York hotel and be confined to the NY area.