Oil giant BP has announced a big rise in third-quarter profits and says it has reached a "turning point" for its oil and gas operations and production.

BP reported third-quarter profits of $5.14bn (£3.2bn), a near tripling of the $1.85bn replacement cost profit it made in the same period a year ago.

The bodies of ex-Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, his son Muatassim and a top aide have been buried in secret in the desert, Libyan officials say.

A National Transitional Council (NTC) official told the BBC the bodies were buried at dawn in an unknown location.

Tunisian election officials are counting votes after Sunday's election, the first free poll of the Arab Spring.

More than 90% of registered voters turned out to cast their ballots, officials say.

Commanders for Libya's transitional authorities say they have captured ousted leader Col Muammar Gaddafi.

Unconfirmed reports say Col Gaddafi has been killed, and AFP obtained a mobile-phone image apparently showing his face covered in blood. The reports came after transitional forces claimed control of Sirte, Col Gaddafi's birthplace.

Kenyan troops with aerial support are continuing their advance into Somalia towards a town 120km (75 miles) from its border held by al-Shabab militants.

The Kenyan government wants to push the militants away from its border following a spate of kidnappings it blames on the Islamist insurgent group.

Former rebel leader Prince Johnson, who came third in Liberia's election, says he will back Nobel Peace Prize-winner President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf in the second round.

"She is the lesser of two evils," he told the BBC. Forces loyal to Mr Johnson infamously filmed the torture and murder of dictator Samuel Doe.

Kenya says it has sent troops into Somalia to pursue militants it suspects of carrying out a spate of kidnappings.

Government spokesman Alfred Mutua said troops were targeting Somali al-Shabab militants across the border.

Forces loyal to Libya's interim authorities say they have entered Bani Walid, one of the last towns still loyal to Col Muammar Gaddafi.

NTC military commanders said they met heavy resistance from Gaddafi loyalists in the town, some 170km (110 miles) southeast of Tripoli.

A gun battle has broken out in the Libyan capital Tripoli between forces loyal to the transitional government and gunmen they say support fugitive ex-leader Col Muammar Gaddafi.

The fighting started after a demonstration by Gaddafi loyalists in the Abu Salim district of the city.

The aid operation near the Kenya-Somalia border has been scaled back after the abduction of two women aid workers, a UN spokesman told the BBC.

All non-life-saving activities have been suspended, but the distribution of water, food and medical services is continuing, said Emmanuel Nyabera.

Libya's interim authorities must end arbitrary detention and abuse of inmates, Amnesty International says.

In a report, the London-based rights group said it had uncovered evidence of torture and ill-treatment of thousands of people detained in recent months.

Burma's president is to grant amnesty to more than 6,300 prisoners, state-controlled media has announced.The announcement, on state television, did not specify how many of those freed would be political detainees.

Long queues have formed outside polling stations, as Liberians vote in their second election since the end of a 14-year civil war.

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, 72, is expected to face her strongest challenge from former UN envoy Winston Tubman, a nephew of an ex-president.

The main opposition party in Cameroon has accused the ruling party of fraud in Sunday's election, as President Paul Biya seeks to remain in power.

The US Senate has voted in favour of debating laws which could pressure China to let its currency rise in value.

The Dalai Lama has cancelled his trip to South Africa, where he had been invited by fellow Nobel Peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Women in their 20s are now earning more than men of the same age, research indicates.

Streams of civilians have been fleeing the Libyan city of Sirte, ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi's birthplace.

The government says it is to pay local authorities in England to retain or restore weekly bin collections.

Ivory Coast is due to swear in its Truth, Reconciliation and Dialogue Commission, aimed at forging unity after deadly violence that followed last year's disputed elections.