Rebels in western Libya say they are consolidating positions on the
approaches to the capital Tripoli. The rebels are now battling with
Colonel Gaddafi's forces just 50km outside the capital, from where Mark
Doyle reports.
The rebel frontline in this part of the country is a series of simple
defences - mounds of earth to protect the rebels from incoming fire. In
the distance, I can hear the boom of artillery and the loud rattle of
automatic weapons. There's the occasional background rumble of aircraft,
Nato jets flying overhead. The rebels in this area fought their way down
from their strongholds in the western Libyan mountains in early June. They
say they are on their way to Tripoli, but Colonel Gaddafi's men are
resisting this opposition advance strongly.
The Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has said China will lend a helping
hand to European countries experiencing financial difficulties. During a
visit to Britain, he told the BBC that China had increased its investments
in government bonds from some EU countries, demonstrating Beijing's
continuing confidence in the eurozone. He also acknowledged that China's
massive trade surplus was bad for global stability.
"We've set ourselves the goal of tackling the financial crisis that we
need to achieve strong, balanced and sustainable growth in the world. To
achieve this goal, China will play its part. At home, we are going to
further stimulate domestic demand, and we are going to reduce our foreign
trade surplus and our reliance on exports."
Rival groups of demonstrators gathered outside a Chinese-owned car factory
in Birmingham that Mr Wen was visiting.
The authorities in Somalia have pardoned six foreigners convicted of
bringing more than $3m into the country to pay off a pirate ransom. A
spokesman for the transitional government said the men, from Britain, the
United States and Kenya, had been freed for what he described as
humanitarian reasons. The men were last week given sentences of up to 15
years in prison. The ransom money was confiscated by the government.
Fifteen associates of the former President of Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo,
have been charged with forming armed groups, economic crimes and
undermining the state. Ivory Coast's new President Alassane Ouattara has
promised to bring to justice those responsible for post-election violence,
which left more than 3,000 people dead. From the main city Abidjan, John
James reports.
These are the first official charges brought so far and include seven
ministers from the Gbagbo government as well as the former governor of the
West African central bank, who allegedly helped the former president
access frozen state bank accounts. Mr Gbagbo himself has yet to be charged
and remains under house arrest in the north of the country. The new
government has promised to end impunity. But so far, only pro-Gbagbo
supporters have been arrested, despite the findings of a UN Human Rights
Council report earlier this month that both sides had committed
atrocities.
A court in Zimbabwe has freed a government minister, Jameson Timba, who
was arrested on Friday on suspicion of undermining the authority of
President Robert Mugabe. A judge ruled that the police had no
justification for arresting Mr Timba, who was accused of calling Mr Mugabe
a liar. Mr Timba is a member of the Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC
party, which is part of Zimbabwe's power-sharing government.
Israel has warned journalists to travel with a flotilla of boats trying to
break Israel's blockade of Gaza that they could be banned from working in
Israel for 10 years. Foreign journalists in Israel said the warning raised
serious questions about press freedom. The flotilla, which will carry
pro-Palestinian activists from more than a dozen countries, is planning to
set sail this week.
A group of computer hackers, known as Lulz Security, say they are
disbanding after targeting official American websites, such as the CIA and
the US Senate. Tom Burridge sent this report from Washington.
Through a statement posted online, the group, which claims to have six
members, said after 50 days its mission of cyber exposure and disruption
was over. In a parting shot, the group released documents [that] they said
included confidential material taken from Arizona's police department and
the US telecoms giant AT&T. Little is known about LulzSec. In the murky
world of hacking, their motives for disbanding are unclear. But after
rival hackers claimed to have released information to help track them down
and police in Britain arrested a 19-year-old man in connection with
LulzSec's hacking, this small publicity-seeking group might have started
to fear that their game was up.
One of the great clubs of South American football, River Plate, has been
relegated from the Argentine first division for the first time in their
110-year history. Needing to win by two clear goals to escape dropping to
the country's "B" league, River managed only a 1-1 draw. The match had to
be abandoned amid chaotic and violent scenes.