Top story: Small groups of CIA operatives are active in Libya, gathering intelligence for Western airstrikes and making contact with Libyan rebels. The CIA presence is complemented by dozens of British special forces and intelligence officers, who are also gathering information about the location of Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi's military forces. President Barack Obama had previously insisted that there was no American presence on the ground in Libya.
In addition, Obama signed a secret finding several weeks ago that authorized the CIA to provide weapons to the Libyan rebels. However, they have not yet been shipped into the country because the Obama administration is still debating the wisdom of arming the rebels.
House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Rogers came out against arming the rebels, and said that Obama had not yet asked him for permission to take that step.
The intelligence for the U.S. bombing campaign in Libya has mainly been gathered by a number of spy planes. However, if Qaddafi's forces enter the cities along Libya's eastern coast, ground operatives would be particularly helpful in pinpointing the location of military units.
Libya's top diplomat defects: Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa defected to London. The British government said that he was not offered any legal immunity in return.
Asia
The U.N.'s nuclear agency advised Japan to widen the evacuation zone around its stricken nuclear plant.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, in China, called for an international system to streamline global exchange rates.
A Chinese white paper described the U.S. military buildup in Asia, and a rise in anti-China operations.
Middle East
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad delivered a speech that blamed foreign conspiracies for the unrest in his country.
Israel released a map that allegedly shows almost 1,000 Hezbollah military sites in Lebanon.
Yemeni opposition leaders plan to escalate their protests in a bid to force President Ali Abdullah Saleh to resign.
Africa
Nigerian President Jonathan Goodluck appeared alone in a presidential debate after his rivals boycotted the event.
Forces loyal to Alassane Ouattara captured a key cocoa port in the Ivory Coast.
Namibia declared a flood emergency after rising waters displaced roughly 10,000 people.
Americas
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, on a visit to Cuba, criticized the U.S. trade embargo and travel ban on the country.
U.S. and Guatemalan agents captured Guatemalan drug lord Juan Ortiz Lopez.
Canadian officials arrested a man suspected of trying to travel to Somalia to join the al-Shabaab militant group.
Europe
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, on a visit to the island of Lampedusa, pledged that the thousands of African migrants who arrived there would leave within days.
A bomb exploded at a lobbying group representing Swiss energy companies, injuring two people.
Ireland is poised to release the results of its latest round of stress tests on its banking system.
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