Very disturbing allegations from the chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, but sadly easy to believe considering the accused: Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who last month asked judges to issue arrest warrants for Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, his son Seif al-Islam Gadhafi and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanoussi for crimes against humanity, may ask for mass rape to be added to the charges. Moreno-Ocampo told reporters that Gadahfi bought and distributed erectile-dysfunction drugs in order to urge his troops to rape women. "Now we are getting some information that Gadhafi himself decided to rape and this is new," Moreno-Ocampo said.

"They were buying containers to enhance the possibility to rape women," he said. "We had doubts at the beginning but now we are more convinced that he decided to punish using rapes. It was very bad -- beyond the limits, I would say."

Meanwhile, the maker of Viagra said the company is "appalled" by the allegations and stressed that the company had "stopped shipping all products to Libya in February, when sanctions were implemented by the international community."

Moreno-Ocampo's charge is not the first time the Viagra-distribution allegations have come up. It's also a surprise to few that troops are accused of rape. Iman al-Obeidi, famously seized by Gadhafi forces in March while trying to tell journalists at a hotel of her rape at the hands of troops, was detained amid international outcry before fleeing the country.

(Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Wounded in a shelling attack on the presidential palace on Friday, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has ruled since 1978 and has been under intense domestic and international pressure to step down, left the country for treatment of shrapnel wounds and burns. In keeping with the Arab Spring, thousands poured into the streets to celebrate. But the celebratory cow-slaughtering could be premature, as Saleh's Saudi hosts say it's only a temporary move. From Al-Arabiya:

"Yemen's beleaguered President Ali Abdullah Saleh, wounded in shelling of his compound in the capital Sana'a, arrived late Saturday in Riyadh for treatment but has not stood down, a Saudi official said.

'President Saleh has arrived in Riyadh for treatment, but he will return to Yemen,' the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

In Sana'a, a presidential palace source confirmed his departure but refused to say any more.

Under Yemen's constitution, Mr. Saleh will be replaced during his absence by Deputy President Abdel Rabbo Mansur Hadi.

But uncertainty about whether his sons and nephews would try to maintain a grip on power following months of protests against Mr. Saleh's rule meant the risk of further turmoil remained.

Mr. Hadi met with US ambassador to Yemen Michael Feierstein and was slated to meet members of the military and Mr. Saleh's sons, Al Arabiya television said citing sources. It was the first indication Mr. Saleh's powerful sons had not left the country."

Reuters reports that Saleh's operation to remove the shrapnel near his heart went well.

The Guardian's Middle East editor, Ian Black, has a fascinating piece about how Saudi Arabia is "in pole position to influence the outcome of the drama in Sana'a."

(Photo by Vatican-Pool/Getty Images)

After slapping warnings on most salad elements in the wake of deadly E. coli outbreak in Europe, Germany announced Sunday that the culprit was most likely bean sprouts from a farm in Lower Saxony. The outbreak of the food-borne bacteria -- the deadliest in modern history -- has claimed 21 lives in Germany and killed one in Sweden. Agricultural officials, in advance of a press conference to elaborate on their produce investigation, told the Associated Press that many of the restaurants involved in the outbreak bought bean sprouts that came from the farm in question. More:

"Earlier in the day, Germany's health minister fiercely defended his country's handling of a deadly E. coli outbreak as he toured a hospital in Hamburg, the epicenter of the crisis.

The comments by Health Minister Daniel Bahr seemed to reflect a sharp U-turn in his public response to the crisis and came after Associated Press journalists reported on the chaos and unsanitary conditions in the emergency room of the same hospital, the University Medical Center in Hamburg-Eppendorf.

Prior to his visit, Bahr admitted that hospitals in northern Germany were overwhelmed and struggling to provide enough beds and medical care for patients stricken by the bacterial outbreak, and suggested that other regions start taking in sick patients from the north.

But after one E. coli survivor told the AP that sanitary conditions at the Hamburg hospital were horrendous when she arrived with cramps and bloody diarrhea, Bahr announced his visit and changed his tune.

Bahr told reporters that, despite capacity problems at some hospitals, German medical workers and northern state governments were doing "everything necessary" to help E. coli victims.

'I witnessed how the employees in the institutions have been working intensively and informing patients early and transparently' about their conditions, Bahr said.

Bahr said he wanted to see the situation firsthand and talk to physicians and nurses who have been working overtime and double-shifts for weeks since the crisis began May 2."

In Germany, 2,153 people have been sickened by E. coli, including 627 with serious complications (haemolytic uraemic syndrome) that can lead to kidney failure. The World Health Organization reports that 90 others have been made ill in the U.S. and 10 other European nations.

The WHO has an FAQ on the outbreak as well as a fact sheet on E. coli.

Cucumbers can't breathe a sigh of relief yet - officials still warn against eating them, as well as lettuce and tomatoes, until the bean sprout connection can be solidified.

(Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

The crisis in Yemen is moving closer and closer to civil war, and President Ali Abdullah Saleh is feeling the heat like never before: The 69-year-old ruler suffered "scratches" -- for which he postponed a press conference -- when shells struck his palace in Sanaa today. It was just the latest ominous note, as Saleh refuses to step down,  in the country's slide toward civil war. More from Reuters:

"A senior diplomat in Sanaa said the prime minister, his deputy, the parliament speaker and other aides were hurt and a source inside Saleh's office confirmed that government officials had been wounded in the attack. He had no details.

The state news agency Saba said three presidential guards were killed at a mosque inside the palace compound.

'A cowardly attack with an explosive projectile took place during Friday prayers at the presidential palace mosque where ... Saleh and senior government officials were present.'

The government blamed the shelling on Hashed tribesmen led by Sadeq al-Ahmar, whose family has backed protesters demanding Saleh's overthrow. Ahmar later denied responsibility and accused Saleh himself of orchestrating the attack to justify a government escalation of street fighting in the capital.

Suspicion also has fallen on breakaway General Ali Mohsen, who defected to the opposition in April and sent his troops to the capital to protect anti-Saleh demonstrators.

Forces loyal to Saleh later shelled the homes of the leaders of the Hashed tribal federation, security sources said."

More from the Guardian on the slide toward "all-out-war." More from the New York Times on how the chaos is driving Yemen's economy "to the edge of ruin." And in the midst of it all, the Yemen tourism bureau invites you to come enjoy "Arabia's undiscovered gem."

(Photo by Marcel Mettelsiefen/Getty Images)