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The head of the Libyan rebel armed forces was shot and killed Thursday just before arriving for questioning by rebel authorities, their political leader said in a carefully worded statement to reporters that gave few details on who was behind the killing.

Adding to the confusion, the rebels had said hours earlier they had already detained the commander, Abdel-Fattah Younis, on suspicion his family might still have ties to the regime of Moammar Gadhafi, raising questions about whether he might have been assassinated by his own side.

Such a scenario would signal a troubling split within the rebel movement at a time when their forces have failed to make battlefield gains despite nearly four months of NATO airstrikes against Gahdafi’s forces. It could also shake the confidence of the United States, Britain and several dozen other nations that have recognized the rebel council as Libya’s legitimate leaders.

Announcing the killing at a press conference where he did not take questions, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, head of the rebels’ National Transitional Council, called Younis “one of the heroes of the 17th of February revolution,” a name marking the date of early protests against Gadhafi’s regime.

He said two of the commander’s aides, both colonels, were also killed in the attack by gunmen and that rebels had arrested the head of the group behind the attack. He did not say what he thought motivated the killers.

Younis was Gadhafi’s interior minister before defecting to the rebels early in the uprising, which began in February. His abandoning of the Libyan leader raised Western hopes that the growing opposition could succeed in forcing out the country’s ruler of more than four decades.

Rebel forces, however, held mixed views of the man, with some praising him for defecting and others criticizing his long association with Gadhafi.

Hours before the commander’s death was announced, rebel military spokesman Mohammed al-Rijali had said Younis was taken for interrogation from his operations room near the front line to the de facto rebel capital of Benghazi in eastern Libya payday loans.

Later, Abdul-Jalil presented a different scenario, saying Younis had been “summoned” for questioning on “a military matter,” but that he had not yet been questioned when he was killed.

He also called on all rebel forces to intensify their efforts to find the men’s bodies, but did not explain how the deaths were discovered.

Further complicating matters, another security officer, Fadlallah Haroun, told The Associated Press before Abdul-Jalil’s announcement that security had found three badly burned bodies. Two of them were dead and one was unconscious, Fadlallah said, adding that one was known to be Younis, though they didn’t know which one.

“We formed a fact-finding committee to go the scene because we found three bodies that were burned so badly we couldn’t tell from the faces who was who,” he said.

U.S. and British officials said they were unable to confirm details of the reports but were looking into them.

Abdul-Jalil never clearly said who he thought was behind the attack, but he called on rebel forces to ignore “these efforts by the Gadhafi regime to break our unity.”

He also issued a stiff warning about “armed criminal gangs” in rebel-held cities, saying they needed to join the fight against Gadhafi or risk being arrested by security forces.

Since the uprising’s start, rebels have gained control of Libya’s east and pockets in the west.

In the western Nafusa mountain range southwest of the capital, Tripoli, hundreds of rebels launched a broad offensive against government forces Thursday, seizing three small towns and advancing on others to secure a major supply route near the Tunisian border, rebel spokesmen said.

Four rebel fighters were killed and several wounded while taking the small towns of Jawsh, Ghezaya and Takut, Abdel-Salam Othman said. He said rebels captured 18 government soldiers, as well as weapons and ammunition.

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Encouraging people to remain on unemployment for 99 weeks can literally disable them psychologically for a lifetime. Two years of inactivity can be so debilitating as to render men and women psychologically crippled, and in need of extraordinary interventions to rekindle mood, confidence and motivation.”

Wealthy countries all over the world are dealing with debts and strained budgets as they mop up after the Great Recession and brace for the budget-busting retirement of the baby boomer generation.

But the United States is in a bigger fix than almost anyone else.

The U.S. federal debt was equal to 95 percent of the overall economy in the first three months of 2011, the fifth-highest on the Associated Press Global Economy Tracker, an analysis of economic and financial data from 30 of the biggest economies.

Every year that the U.S. government spends more than it collects in taxes, it records an annual budget deficit. The $14.3 trillion debt is the sum of all annual deficits and surpluses.

As U.S. policymakers argue over raising the federal borrowing limit and slashing debts, America is hobbled in ways the others are not. Tax collections are low by historical and international standards. Health care costs are astronomical _ and still rising. The political system is gridlocked.

Those problems suggest the current impasse over raising the U.S. government’s borrowing limit and cutting the deficit is a prelude to even more intense political combat.

“We as a society will either have to pay more for our government, accept less in government services and benefits, or both,” says Douglas Elmendorf, director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. “For many people, none of those choices is appealing _ but they cannot be avoided for very long.”

This year’s federal tax revenues are forecast to equal 14.4 percent of gross domestic product, a broad measure of economic output, according to the Office of Management and Budget.

That’s the lowest share since 1950, long before Congress approved expensive programs such as Medicare. Tax collections have been reduced by the recession and by tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003. Among 29 countries ranked by the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation, only Japan and Spain take in less tax revenue than the U.S. as a percentage of GDP.

When it comes to health care, the U.S. spends the equivalent of 17.4 percent of its GDP _ by far the highest percentage among wealthy nations. The next highest is the Netherlands, where health care spending equals 12 percent of GDP. Among the 34 wealthy countries that belong to the OECD, health care spending averages less than 9.5 percent of GDP.

Political gridlock magnifies America’s debt woes. Among the five biggest countries with a top AAA rating from the credit rating agency Moody’s, the U.S. is the only one that hasn’t come up with a serious plan to control government debt, says Moody’s sovereign debt analyst, Steven Hess.

The U.S. is also the only one of the five that doesn’t have a parliamentary system, which allows the ruling party or coalition to pass its agenda undeterred by the opposition. After taking control last year in Britain, for instance, a coalition led by the Conservative Party enacted an austerity program of tax hikes and spending cuts.

The U.S. has a divided government _ Democrats control the White House and Republicans control half of Congress. The effort to narrow annual budget deficits and reduce the debt has bogged down in partisan wrangling.

The AP Global Economy Tracker found most of the wealthy nations of the world struggling with high debt:

_ Japan, which is aging rapidly and has endured more than a decade of economic stagnation, had the heaviest debt burden at the end of the first quarter: 244 percent of GDP. Economists Kenneth Rogoff of Harvard University and Carmen Reinhart of the Peterson Institute for International Economics say anything above 90 percent starts to weigh down economic growth partly by pushing up interest rates payday lenders. Greece’s debt was at 161 percent, Italy’s 113 percent, Thailand’s 111 percent and the United States’ 95 percent.

_ Energy-producing Canada and Norway had some of the lowest debt burdens among wealthy nations at 32 and 31 percent, respectively. The Norwegian government’s finances are so strong that it issues debt mainly to ensure it has a functioning debt market and turns a profit by investing the money it borrows, says Nikola Swann, an analyst at credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s.

_ Fast-growing developing countries have a big advantage over rich countries when it comes to containing debts. They have younger populations and aren’t facing a baby boomer retirement crunch. Brazil (28 percent) and Mexico (27 percent) had light debt burdens relative to GDP.

The U.S. does have a couple of advantages over other rich countries that help it hang onto its top credit rating even as its debts rise and political squabbling over the federal borrowing limit raises the risk of default.

Thanks to a relatively high birth rate and an even higher rate of immigration, the U.S. is aging more slowly than other rich countries. It will have a higher percentage of people working over the next few decades than Europe and Japan. Those workers will pay taxes to finance health care and pension benefits for baby boomers.

Last year, the U.S. had four active workers for every retiree; by 2050, with baby boomers out of the labor force, it will have only two, according to an S&P report on the fiscal impact of aging populations on rich countries. But the countries that are aging fastest _ Japan and Italy _ will have it much worse. An even split between workers and retirees will put enormous strains on their pensions and health care budgets.

Another U.S. advantage: The federal government’s debts are all in U.S. dollars, giving America control of its destiny compared with countries that have to pay back debts in another country’s currency. The U.S., for instance, can print dollars, driving down the value of the currency. That would make it cheaper to pay back its debts. It would also boost the economy and tax revenue by making American products cheaper around the world and luring foreign investors who build plants and buy real estate.

Cash-strapped Greece, by contrast, is tethered to a common European currency, the euro, and can’t take advantage of a weaker currency. It’s even worse for countries that owe money in another currency. Their debt payments go up if a currency they have borrowed in rises in value against their own.

Foreigners also like to own dollars, especially in times of crisis. That allows the U.S. Treasury to issue debt at low interest rates.

The U.S. debt burden isn’t quite as heavy as it looks at first, either. The federal debt _ $14.3 trillion _ includes money the government has borrowed from itself, mostly revenue from Social Security. Take out the borrowing between government agencies and Uncle Sam’s net debt drops to $9.8 trillion, or about 64 percent of GDP.

Some debt analysts consider Australia a model for the way it has controlled its budget and prepared to pay for an aging society. Over the last two decades, Australia cut government spending, imposed a 10 percent tax on most goods and services and sold off state assets including airports and railways. It also prepared to cope with an aging society by requiring employers to contribute toward a pension fund.

As a result, the Australian government’s debts were equal to 14 percent at the end of the first quarter, lowest on AP’s Global Economy Tracker.

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Express Scripts Inc.’s takeover of Medco Health Solutions Inc. may fuel acquisitions of specialty pharmacy benefit managers by rivals seeking to gain enough size to negotiate lower prices with drug makers.

Once the deal closes, the number of people served by St. Louis-based Express Scripts would rise by 50 percent, to 135 million, based on current data, said Art Henderson, an analyst at Jefferies & Co. The next biggest rival, CVS Caremark Corp., serves 85 million people.

Pharmacy services companies negotiate prices with drug makers for employers and governments, and manage worker claims. More customers give them added leverage to insist on lower prices, providing savings that may be used by the companies to reduce expenses or compete for contracts. Size also helps companies accumulate data to develop efficient disease management programs and weigh treatment cost effectiveness.

“Fifty percent more purchasing power in an industry that hangs on scale is really very significant,” Henderson said.

Express Scripts last week said it agreed to buy Medco for $29.1 billion to become the largest pharmacy-benefits manager in the U.S. The next two in size would be CVS Caremark and the pharmacy unit of UnitedHealth Group Inc.

The agreement, the largest in at least a decade among U.S. companies that manage drug benefits, will likely get “a very, very close look” by the Federal Trade Commission because of the scale issue, said Bob Leibenluft, who led the agency’s health unit from 1996 to 1998 and is a partner at Hogan Lovells LLP, a Washington law firm.

Dave Shove, a New York-based analyst at Bank of Montreal, said the deal “raises the bar for the other major players, no doubt. Health care reform demands data, low costs and efficiency. The only way for for-profit companies to achieve that quickly is to merge.”

Helene Wolk, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. in New York, said CVS’ Caremark unit may be offered up as a possible acquisition, although she said she thinks CVS will keep it.

Larry Merlo, CVS president and chief executive officer, said in May that “despite conjecture in the marketplace, there are no plans to split up the company.”

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The tax-credit bill unveiled this week by House and Senate lawmakers would cut $1.5 billion in spending through 2016. Here’s how:

(Numbers in millions)

Spending cuts

Eliminate renters from Senior Citizen $855.0 Property Tax credit

Tighten caps on Historic Preservation tax credit 664.6

Tighten caps on Low Income Housing tax credit 190.9

End Neighborhood Preservation credit 72.8

Tax Amnesty (in 2012 & 2013) 46.4

End Rebuilding Communities credit 20.1

End Self-Employed Health Insurance credit 17.1

End Small Business Incubator credit 2.6

End Brownfields Jobs credit .825

New spending

Aerotropolis tax credits 309.7

Amateur sports tax credits 36.0

Total savings $1,523.8

Source: Joint Committee on Tax Policy

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McDonald’s said Friday net income rose 15 percent in the second quarter as the world’s biggest burger chain continues to get customers to buy new menu items even as they cut back spending in other areas during the economic downturn.

McDonald’s Corp. has consistently outperformed its fast-food peers throughout the recession and its aftermath despite that it’s raised prices this year, in part because of its strategy to give customers more reasons to frequent its restaurants.

The chain is upgrading its restaurants, offering wireless access, expanding the number of locations with 24-hour service, introducing healthier food like oatmeal and smoothies, and selling fancy coffee drinks. It’s also testing changes to improve customer service, such as sending an employee to walk through the drive-thru and punch orders into a hand-held device.

Pete Bensen, the chief financial officer, said customers are telling McDonald’s that “the service is friendlier, the food is hotter, the restroom is cleaner.”

McDonald’s has bucked the trend as the recession has been brutal for the restaurant industry as economic woes have caused consumers to scrutinize their discretionary spending. At the same time, companies have been squeezed by higher costs for everything from tomatoes to fuel. They’ve had to walk a fine line between raising their prices to offset their costs without turning off customers completely.

McDonald’s, which has raised its prices twice this year, said it, too, is grappling with higher costs and trying to figure out how much of those it can pass on to customers. McDonald’s increased menu prices an average of 1.4 percent at the end of May, on top of a 1 percent increase in March. The price increases also helped the company’s results.

McDonald’s net income rose 15 percent to $1.4 billion, or $1.35 per share, during the quarter. Revenue was up 16 percent to $6.9 billion, topping analysts’ estimates of $6.6 billion.

Bensen said the company will continue to consider more price increases but doesn’t want to drive away customers. Normally, he said, a price increase of 2 to 3 percent is enough for the company to maintain margins, so “something more” could be needed this year low fee pay day loans. The restaurant has some flexibility, he said, because customers are paying more for groceries anyway.

McDonald’s, based in Oak Brook, Ill., said it expects costs for most of its ingredients to rise 4 to 4.5 percent in the U.S. and Europe this year. That’s the same prediction it made three months ago, implying costs may have stabilized. The costs for beef, corn and fuel and other materials that McDonald’s needs to make and transport its products are down from highs this spring but still up from a year ago.

McDonald’s will also face rising costs in other areas. It said it expects an income tax rate of 31 to 32 percent for the year, up from the 29.3 percent effective tax rate it paid last year. It expects interest expenses to rise 8 to 10 percent in 2011, based on current rates. Also, McDonald’s employees are staying longer, which leads to higher pay. So labor costs have also increased slightly.

Like many companies, McDonald’s is investing in emerging markets like China and seeing strong growth there. What sets McDonald’s apart is that it is still making strides in the U.S.

Revenue in the U.S. grew 4 percent. That’s a metric that many companies would envy, but it was lethargic compared with the 25 percent revenue growth in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and 21 percent in Europe. McDonald’s President Don Thompson did caution that Europe “is still fragile,” citing high unemployment rates.

The U.S. continues to become a smaller proportion of overall revenue. The U.S. accounted for 31 percent of total revenue, down from 35 percent in the same period a year ago. Europe made up 41 percent of revenue, up from 39 percent a year ago. Asia, the Middle East and Africa accounted for 22 percent of revenue, up from 20 percent a year ago.

McDonald’s stock rose 3 percent mid-day trading to $89.11.

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Germany and France have overcome differences over how to combat the continent’s spreading debt crises and agreed on a common position ahead of an emergency European summit Thursday, the French president’s office said.

The leaders of the eurozone’s biggest economies held last-ditch talks for seven hours in Berlin late Wednesday, amid pressure for a big announcement that could boost market confidence and contain the turmoil.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy “reached agreement on a common Franco-German position,” Sarkozy’s office said in a statement early Thursday, without elaborating on what the position is.

Germany had downplayed calls for anything “spectacular” while France had pushed for a strong, long-term aid plan for Greece at Thursday’s summit in Brussels.

The stakes are high. Markets have been extremely volatile over the past weeks on fears the crisis might spread to larger countries like Italy. The International Monetary Fund warned that leaders must do more to keep debt troubles from poisoning the entire continent’s economy.

Merkel and Sarkozy met with European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet on Wednesday as they worked toward a plan. They told EU President Herman Van Rompuy about their agreement so that he can take it into account in his consultations ahead of Thursday’s meetings, expected to start midday in Brussels, the French statement said.

Earlier Wednesday, Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said the leaders would discuss “all the options on the table and agree, if possible, on a joint position.”

But he reiterated Merkel’s stance that the talks will not yield a “spectacular solution” that fixes Greece’s problems quickly, but will be merely a stepping stone in a longer process. Merkel had said there would be no decision to restructure Greece’s debt or create eurobonds that link debt across countries.

The French government and the European Commission, however, warned that it was urgent that the EU come up with a significant deal.

French Finance Minister Francois Baroin told France-Info radio that “there should be a strong message tomorrow, from the highest level.”

European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said “nobody should be under any illusion, the situation is very serious.”

He said that at the very least, leaders need to present how they will make Greece’s debt sustainable, under what terms private creditors will have to contribute to a new bailout for the country, and what new powers to give to their bailout fund.

European leaders have faced criticism for their slow, piecemeal efforts to stem the debt crisis.

The IMF urged European leaders to act more boldly, warning that there is “no consistent roadmap ahead” and that this could produce “possible significant regional and global spillovers.”

“Market participants remain unconvinced that a sustainable solution is at hand,” the report said. “Limiting any further damage is now crucial.”

Borrowing rates have risen particularly sharply in Italy and Spain and while they eased slightly a day ahead of the summit, sentiment remains fragile as investors see no immediate way through Europe’s policy stalemate.

Merkel has opposed a restructuring of Greece’s debt that would force losses upon private sector creditors as well as any notion of creating eurobonds _ debt that links different countries together.

Such jointly guaranteed bonds for the entire eurozone would make borrowing cheaper for countries with shaky finances but more expensive for nations with a top rating such as Germany. Unsurprisingly, Berlin is the main country to oppose such a measure.

Germany and France stressed that both nations must seek a joint position to make the summit of the 17 eurozone nations’ leaders a success.

“Germany and France _ as Europe’s unification has shown _ must reach an agreement, if that doesn’t happen Europe does not advance,” Merkel’s spokesman Seibert said.

So far, discussions on the contribution of private creditors have revolved around three options, according to a paper from a eurozone officials’ working group dated July 16.

The first would see the eurozone’s bailout fund finance a buyback of Greek government bonds at their current distressed prices, paired with guarantees that the remaining bonds would be repaid. That option would give the Greek state the biggest short-term relief, but may be the most expensive for the eurozone.

The eurozone would not only have to fund the buybacks and repayment guarantees, but the paper says they would likely be seen as a default by rating agencies. That would force the eurozone to come up with the liquidity support for Greek banks that would be cut off from the European Central Bank’s financial lifelines.

The second option reverts to a proposal made by French banks several weeks ago. Banks would reinvest part of the money they collect from maturing Greek bonds into new bonds with long repayment deadlines.

However, that proposal would still trigger a “selective default” rating, requiring liquidity and capital support for Greek banks. It would provide significant short-term relief for Greece, the paper says, but should come with lower interest rates and longer maturities for the eurozone loans.

The third option is the only one that would avoid a default rating, but will likely run into huge opposition from banks that don’t hold Greek bonds. It proposes a tax on the financial sector to recoup part of the cost of rescuing Greece. However, it would only result in small short-term relief for Greece.

By the time the leaders’ top advisers meet Thursday morning ahead of the summit, the paper will most likely be narrowed down to two possible plans: one that would trigger a default _ a combination of option one and two _ and one that won’t, said a eurozone official. The official was speaking on condition of anonymity, because talks were still ongoing.

Greece, meanwhile, is struggling to reduce its budget deficit from 10.5 percent of Gross Domestic Product in 2010 to 7.5 percent this year as it implements harsh austerity measures that have pushed the country into recession.

Data released Wednesday showed revenues euro3 billion in arrears, with the January-June deficit reaching euro12.7 billion on a fiscal basis _ against a budgeted euro10.3 billion.

“Tomorrow’s summit will determine the future of the country and of Europe,” government spokesman Elias Mossialos said in Athens.

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Rupert Murdoch’s car was mobbed by photographers Tuesday as he arrived for a grilling from U.K. lawmakers about the phone hacking scandal that has swept from his media empire through the London police and even to the prime minister’s office.

Murdoch, his son James and the media mogul’s former U.K. newspaper chief Rebekah Brooks were all to be questioned at the hotly anticipated hearing. But the elder Murdoch’s Range Rover was surrounded as he arrived at the Houses of Parliament three hours early, and it quickly drove off.

Politicians will be seeking more details about the scale of criminality at Murdoch’s News of the World tabloid, while the Murdochs will try to avoid incriminating themselves or doing more harm to their business without misleading Parliament, which is a crime.

Lawmakers are also holding a separate hearing to question London police about reports that officers took bribes from journalists to provide inside information for tabloid scoops and to ask why the force decided to shut down an earlier phone hacking probe after charging only two people.

Detectives reopened the case earlier this year and are looking at a potential 3,700 victims.

London’s Metropolitan Police force said Tuesday it had asked watchdog to investigate its head of public affairs over the scandal _ the fifth senior police official being investigated. The Independent Police Complaints Commission will look at Dick Fedorcio’s role in hiring a former News of the World executive as an adviser to the police.

Fedorcio also was to be questioned by lawmakers Tuesday, along with police chief Paul Stephenson and assistant commissioner John Yates, who both resigned over allegations of too-close ties to Murdoch journalists.

Stephenson began his testimony with a defense of his record, saying he resigned because the stories and allegations were becoming a distraction from his job.

But it was the appearance by the Murdochs and Brooks that was drawing huge public interest.

Members of the public and journalists lined up hours ahead of time in hope of a spot in the small committee room, which holds about 40 people. More will be able to watch in an overspill room, and Britain’s TV news channels are anticipating high ratings for the appearance.

Prime Minister David Cameron cut short a visit to Africa and is expected to return to Britain for an emergency session Wednesday of Parliament on the scandal.

In a further twist, a former News of the World reporter Sean Hoare, who helped blow the whistle on the scandal, was found dead Monday in his home. Police said the death was “unexplained” but is not being treated as suspicious. A post-mortem was being conducted Tuesday. Hoare was in his late forties.

In addition, Brooks’ spokesman, David Wilson, said police had been handed a bag containing a laptop and papers that belong to her husband, former racehorse trainer Charlie Brooks. Wilson said the bag did not contain anything related to the phone hacking scandal and he expected police to return it soon.

The bag was found dumped in an underground parking lot near the couple’s home on Monday, but it was unclear how exactly it got there. Wilson said Tuesday that a friend of Charlie Brooks had meant to drop the bag off, but he would say only he left it in the “wrong place.”

Murdoch shut down the News of the World tabloid that Brooks once edited after it was accused of hacking into the voice mail of celebrities, politicians, other journalists and even murder victims fast payday loan no faxing. Still, the closure has done little to end a string of revelations about the murky ties between British politics and the country’s tabloid media.

The scandal has prompted the resignation and subsequent arrest of Brooks and the resignation of Wall Street Journal publisher Les Hinton, sunk Murdoch’s dream of taking full control of lucrative satellite broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting and raised questions about his ability to keep control of his global media empire.

Rupert Murdoch is eager to stop the crisis from spreading to the United States, where many of his most lucrative assets _ including the Fox TV network, 20th Century Fox film studio, The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post _ are based.

In New York, News Corp. appointed commercial lawyer Anthony Grabiner to run its Management and Standards Committee, which will deal with the scandal. But News Corp. board member Thomas Perkins told The Associated Press that the 80-year-old Murdoch has the full support of the company’s board of directors, and it was not considering elevating Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey to replace Murdoch as CEO of News Corp.

News Corp.’s widely traded Class A shares fell 68 cents to $14.97 Monday _ down 17 percent since the scandal reignited on July 4.

Britain’s Independent Police Complaints Commission also is looking into the phone hacking and police bribery claims, including one that Yates inappropriately helped get a job for the daughter of a former News of the World executive editor, Neil Wallis. Wallis, who was hired as a PR consultant to the police, has been arrested on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications.

London police also confirmed that they once employed a second former News of the World employee besides Wallis. Alex Marunchak had been employed as a Ukrainian language interpreter with access to highly sensitive police information between 1980 and 2000, the Metropolitan Police said.

The police force said it recognized “that this may cause concern and that some professions may be incompatible with the role of an interpreter,” adding that the matter will be looked into.

Meanwhile, Internet hackers took aim at Murdoch late Monday, defacing the sites of his other U.K. tabloid, The Sun, and shutting down website of The Times of London. Visitors to The Sun website were redirected to a page featuring a story saying Murdoch’s dead body had been found in his garden.

Internet hacking collective Lulz Security took responsibility for that hacking attack via Twitter, calling it a successful part of “Murdoch Meltdown Monday.”

Lulz Security, which has previously claimed hacks on major entertainment companies, FBI partner organizations and the CIA, hinted that more was yet to come, saying “This is only the beginning.”

It later took credit for shutting down News International’s corporate website. Another hacking collective known as Anonymous claimed the cyberattack on The Times’ website.

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Danica Kirka and Bob Barr contributed to this report.

Meera Selva can be reached at http://twitter.com/Meera_Selva.

Jill Lawless can be reached at http://twitter.com/JillLawless

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For three days running, the rallies have been carnival-like affairs with bands, horseback riders and even a camel dyed green. At each gathering, thousands of delirious supporters of Moammar Gadhafi cheered as the brother leader’s defiant speeches boomed from massive speakers.

As NATO hammers away at the Libyan leader’s defenses and the United States and its allies throw their support behind the rebels, Gadhafi is trying to boost morale in what is left of his nation and show his people he is still strong and his opponents are few.

“These are the millions of Libyan people and the picture is now complete. Who else remains? Less than 100,000 are trapped in Benghazi, Derna and Tobruk,” Gadhafi said in one of the speeches, referring to rebel-held cities in the east.

Bolstering that image is all the more pressing after the U.S. and more than 30 nations recognized Gadhafi’s enemies during a meeting Friday in Istanbul, potentially freeing up billions in frozen oil money that could be put into rebel hands.

NATO jets destroyed a military storage facility and other targets in Tripoli’s eastern outskirts early Sunday, and rebel attacks on the eastern oil city of Brega stretched into their fourth day, with reports of pitched battles in the residential areas.

Rebel spokesman Mohammed al-Rajaly said his forces had liberated the northeastern half of the city and were moving against government forces hold up in the southwestern part.

The latest pro-Gadhafi rally was held Saturday in the shattered city of Zawiya, where outgunned rebels held off government forces for weeks at the start of the rebellion against Gadhafi’s four-decade rule in February.

Crowds cheered in the square, lined with buildings scarred by bullets and tank fire and whose interior walls still bear scribbled graffiti calling Gadhafi a dog.

Last week there were demonstrations in Tripoli and the southern city of Sebha and then three in a row starting Thursday, in Ajaylat near the Tunisian border, Zlitan, not far from rebel-held Misrata and then Zawiya.

Each drew up to 10,000 cheering supporters _ though Gadhafi described the crowds as millions-strong and sending a message of defiance to NATO and the world. Libya has a population of about 6.5 million.

For foreign journalists, bused to each site and carefully monitored by government minders, it was impossible to tell the sincerity of the screaming crowds in each town or if they were really even from there freecreditscore.

On the road to Zlitan, west of Tripoli, buses and trucks filled with flag-waving supporters sped to the site of Friday’s demonstration. At the rally, a man rode through the crowd on a camel dyed green, the color of the Libyan flag.

In Ajaylat on Thursday, some members of the crowd who relentlessly chanted “God, Moammar, Libya and that’s it” afterward admitted they had come from Tripoli, an hour and a half drive away.

Zawiya, however, remained the biggest mystery, for in this city of 200,000, residents fought tooth and nail against Gadhafi’s forces before it was retaken with heavy weaponry.

Next to the cheering crowds, horsemen in traditional dress gave children rides in a sandy vacant lot where once the mosque stood that townspeople took refuge in before it was bombarded and razed by government forces.

Many townspeople just silently watched the demonstrators in the main square, but declined to speak with journalists. The rally also featured a much heavier security presence than past events.

Above the square loomed an office tower with whole floors scarred by fire and windows gaping open where artillery rounds had slammed into the building.

The floors were littered with broken glass and empty shell casings from the fierce battles fought here to drive out the rebels.

Despite the destruction someone had come through and carefully painted over all the anti-Gadhafi graffiti left inside by rebels.

“Gadhafi is a criminal” and “to hell with Gadhafi and his sons,” could still be read through the paint. In one spot, someone had come back after the destruction and written in a magic marker, “Free Zawiya.”

Many of the people in the crowds, especially in the other cities, however, seemed truly sincere in their support. Gadhafi has carefully changed the narrative of the struggle from one about a rebellion to a story of foreign aggression against the Libyan people.

“We love Moammar Gadhafi, because he is our father,” said Iman Haj, a young woman wearing a headscarf with mirrored sunglasses at the Ajaylat rally. She paused, “I don’t know why, but we love him.”

Of the rebels, she said: “They aren’t Libyans; they are people that don’t like Gadhafi who are taking drugs and drinking. He is in our blood,” she added, as the crowd surged around her chanting.

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The digital wizards at Big Spaceship and Google Creative Labs seized on what they figured was a question everybody would want to answer: What do You Love?