The UK and France have presented a draft UN resolution condemning Syria's suppression of protests, but stopping short of authorising concrete action.

The text has faced stiff opposition from some Security Council members, who fear a resolution could be the first step towards military intervention.

Western and Arab nations are to meet in the United Arab Emirates to discuss how events in Libya might develop if Col Gaddafi were no longer in power.

The so-called Contact Group is also expected to firm up its pledge to set up a fund to help the Libyan rebels.

A European court has overturned an asset freeze on ousted Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo's second wife.

European governments had frozen Nadiany Bamba's assets saying she was one of Mr Gbagbo's "principal collaborators".

A gunman believed to be from the Boko Haram Muslim sect has shot dead a prominent cleric from a rival sect in northern Nigeria.

Ibrahim Birkuti has criticised Boko Haram for killing dozens of security agents and politicians in recent months near the city of Maiduguri.

One of Nigeria's most powerful politicians has been arrested by anti-corruption police.

Outgoing House of Representatives speaker Dimeji Bankole was held over allegations he misappropriated tens of millions of dollars of government funds - charges he has denied.

Talks between South African's president and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in Tripoli have ended with no announcement towards an end to Libya's conflict.

Jacob Zuma said Col Gaddafi would agree to a ceasefire but would not step down, as demanded by Nato and Libyan rebels.

At least five large explosions have rocked areas of Tripoli overnight, as the Nato military campaign on the Libyan capital continues.For a second night, the air strikes targeted the area around Col Muammar Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound.

Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye has been prevented from leaving his house by police, as the new parliamentary session is set to open.

The police say that they had information he had mobilised supporters and was about to commit a crime.He has been arrested four times in recent weeks during opposition protests at the rising cost of living.

At least 10 people have been killed in northern Afghanistan during a protest against an overnight raid by Nato and Afghan forces, hospital sources have told the BBC.

The US is to tighten security around the elite military unit that killed Osama Bin Laden, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said.

Mr Gates revealed that the US Navy Seal team had expressed concerns over their safety and that of their families.

Twin bomb attacks on a paramilitary force academy in north-west Pakistan have killed 80 people, police say.

At least 120 people were wounded in the blasts at the training centre for the Frontier Constabulary in Shabqadar, Charsadda district.

Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye says he has been prevented from returning home from Kenya after receiving medical treatment in Nairobi.

He told the BBC the Ugandan government said the flight would not be allowed to land with him on board.

The southern US city of Memphis is coping with flood levels not seen since the 1930s, which have forced people from at least 1,300 homes.

The Mississippi River was expected to crest at 48ft (14.6m) late on Monday or early on Tuesday in the Tennessee city.

The authorities have evacuated low-lying neighbourhoods, but officials say they are confident flood control systems will prevent further harm.

UN aid chief Valerie Amos has called for a pause in hostilities in Libya to help ease the humanitarian crisis.

Baroness Amos told the UN Security Council that Misrata, the only rebel-held city in western Libya, was in a dire state and short of food and water.

Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams, General Overseer of the Christian Action Faith Chapel, made a shocking revelation yesterday when he alleged that Simone Gbagbo, wife of the former President of Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo, was raped by some soldiers in front of her husband before their arrest.

A UN team has arrived in Tripoli to investigate allegations of human rights violations in Libya since the start of the conflict in February.

The team was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council following the Libyan government's crackdown on protesters.

The UN's aid chief has warned against blurring the lines between military operations and relief work in Libya.Valerie Amos said there was no need yet to accept an EU offer of military escorts to protect aid deliveries.

Meanwhile, Oscar-nominated Tim Hetherington was one of two Western photojournalists killed in a mortar attack in the besieged city of Misrata.

Libya's foreign minister says a British plan to send a military team to advise rebels fighting Col Gaddafi would harm chances of peace in the country.

A UK military presence in rebel-held Benghazi would "prolong" fighting, Abdul Ati al-Obeidi told the BBC.

Syria's government says unrest in the country's third-largest city, Homs, and in the northern city of Baniyas amounts to an armed insurrection.

The warning came after demonstrators occupied the centre of Homs on Monday, vowing to stay until their political demands were met.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has appealed for an end to "unnecessary and avoidable" post-election violence across the north of the country.

Incumbent Mr Jonathan has been declared winner in the presidential poll, with the electoral commission saying he received about 57% of the vote.