[Al Jazeera] A Libyan plane reportedly carrying the daughter of Muammar Qadaffy, Libya's leader, has been turned back from Malta after it was denied permission to land."The [crew] initially said they had 14 people on board. They were circling overhead saying they were running low on fuel," Cal Perry, Al Jizz's correspondent in Malta, said.
"At that point the ambassador from Libya who was here in Malta was called in to take part in the negotiations on whether or not they were going to allow this plane to land.
"As he entered the talks it became clear from the pilots that Ayse Gaddhafi, Muammar Gaddhafi's only daughter, was aboard the plane. The government said it was an unscheduled flight, it doesn't matter who is on board; they said it cannot land and diverted the plane back to Libya."
Libya has been in turmoil since mass protests broke out against Qadaffy's 42-year-old rule in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi more than a week ago.
The protests, which have spread to other cities despite the authorities cracking down on the protesters, is the biggest challenge that Qadaffy has faced during his long rule. The protesters now control much of the country and many bigwigs have deserted Qadaffy.