Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, second son of
the late deposed Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi, is said to have
been freed under an amnesty, in a move which could fuel further
instability.
His father's preferred successor, he had been held by a militia in the town of Zintan for the past six years.
The Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Battalion said he had been released on Friday but he has not been shown in public.
A source has told the BBC he is in the Tobruk area of eastern Libya.
His
lawyer, Khaled al-Zaidi, also said he had been released but would not
say which city Saif al-Islam had travelled to for security reasons.
The Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Battalion said it was acting on a request from the "interim government".
That government - based in the east of the country - had already offered amnesty to Saif al-Islam.
However,
he has been sentenced to death in absentia by a court in Tripoli, the
west of the country, where control is in the hands of the rival,
UN-backed Government of National Accord.
Previous reports of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi's release proved to be false.
He
is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against
humanity during his father's unsuccessful attempts to put down the
rebellion.
Another unpredictable element: analysis by Orla Guerin, BBC News, Tripoli
If confirmed, the release of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi would add another unpredictable element to Libya's unstable mix.
He was detained in the desert in November 2011 trying to flee to Niger, and later appeared missing several fingers.
The former playboy often appeared in the West as the public face of the Gaddafi regime and was his father's heir-apparent.
While reviled by many - at home and abroad - he retains some support in Libya and could try to re-enter the political fray here.
The
44-year-old Saif al-Islam - who was controversially granted a PhD by
the London School of Economics in 2008 - was captured in November 2011
after three months on the run following the end of Muammar Gaddafi's
decades-long rule.
Image copyrightReuters
He was previously known for playing a key role in building relations
with the West after 2000, and had been considered the reformist face of
his father's regime. But after the 2011 uprising, he found himself accused of incitement to violence and murdering protesters. Four years later, he was sentenced to death by firing squad following a trial involving 30 of Gaddafi's close associates.
Saif al-Islam: Heir to prisoner
June 1972: Born in Tripoli, Libya, second son of Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi
February 2011: Uprising against Gaddafi government begins
June 2011: International Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant for Saif al-Islam for crimes against humanity
August 2011: Leaves the capital after Tripoli falls to anti-government forces; flees to Bani Walid
October 2011: Father and younger brother killed
19 November 2011: Captured by militia as he tries to flee south to Niger. Imprisoned in Zintan
July 2015: Sentenced to death by a Tripoli court in absentia
June 2017: Reportedly released after being granted amnesty by one of Libya's two competing governments
Two men have been sentenced to six months in prison in the first case of wildlife trafficking brought in Ivory Coast.
An Ivorian government lawyer said the judgement "sends a signal" that animal trafficking is being taken seriously.
The
men were arrested while trying to sell an infant chimp to a BBC
reporter posing as the representative of a wealthy Asian buyer.
Chimpanzees are in such sharp decline they are listed as endangered.
Those in West Africa are judged to be critically endangered.
Since
Ibrahima and Mohamed Traore have remained in prison since their
detention last December, they are deemed to have already served their
sentences and are therefore free.
Infant chimpanzees are in huge demand as pets in homes and commercial zoos in the Gulf states and China.
The
dealers were arrested in a dramatic raid staged by Ivorian detectives
working with international police organisation Interpol, acting on
information shared by BBC News.
During the operation, a baby chimpanzee later named Nemley junior was freed and taken into the care of wildlife officials.
After becoming used to the keepers at the zoo in Abidjan the baby chimpanzee showed signs of recovery.
However he has since become unwell with wildlife experts raising concerns for his future.
According to a local charity, although Nemley junior is feeding, he remains thin.
One major concern is that he is too small to join older chimps at the zoo but becomes stressed if kept on his own.
In the wild, baby chimpanzees usually stick close to their mothers for four to five years.
Nemley junior was seized by poachers who would have killed his parents and other members of his family.
During our investigation, Ibrahima Traore sent us videos of baby chimpanzees for sale, some were only a few months old.
He boasted of his ability to evade international export controls.
One
technique, which he demonstrated in a video, was to hide a chimp in a
secret compartment in a shipping case with other less rare animals,
which can be legally exported, placed above it.
Another smuggling method that he outlined to us was to obtain forged or fake copies of international export permits.
These
are issued under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species (Cites) and are only supposed to be used for legitimate
transfers between registered institutions.
During our investigation, Ibrahima sold us one of these permits, apparently issued by the National Parks department of Liberia.
"We
are delighted that the first ever wildlife crime prosecution in Ivory
Coast has resulted in a conviction, a custodial sentence and a fine,"
Cites secretary-general John Scanlon told the BBC.
He also
commended the authorities in the Ivory Coast for pursuing the
prosecution of the criminals, thereby sending an important message to
the community that wildlife trafficking was a criminal offence.
Currently under Ivorian law, the maximum penalty for wildlife crime
is one year in prison. A new law with tougher penalties is being
prepared.
The lawyer acting for the Ivory Coast government, Mohamed Lamine Faye, said:
"Even
if we would have liked a harsher sentence, we can only function within
the limits of our laws on the protection of endangered animals, which
date back to 1965."
He also pointed out that chimps were kept as
pets by thousands of Ivorians, and the national and international trade
is lucrative.
"In court the Traorés admitted they could receive
$1,400 (£1,100) for a chimp. If they sell 10 in a year, that is more
than enough to have a comfortable life," Mr Faye pointed out.
During
our investigation, we reported on the lack of funding for Interpol to
act against people trafficking chimpanzees - their main priority now is
fighting the trade in ivory and rhino horn.
Since our reports,
which were picked up around the world, Interpol is now in addition
focusing on chimp smuggling and recently brought together detectives and
wildlife officials from half a dozen countries to share information and
coordinate action.
Democrats
are slamming a Republican bid to dismantle financial rules put in place
after the 2008 crisis as the "wrong choice" for the country.
House
Republicans approved a sweeping measure on Thursday that would ease
rules on banks, weaken consumer protection and scrap federal bailouts
for major financial institutions. "Growth!" US President Donald Trump cheered in a tweet Friday morning. But Democrats vowed to fight the bill, which few expect to advance further. "It's
fitting that @realDonaldTrump is celebrating a bill that will harm
service members, seniors, and families #WrongChoiceAct," Nancy Pelosi,
the leader of Democrats in the House, tweeted in reply. Supporters
say the bill, dubbed the Financial CHOICE Act, provides a simpler
alternative to the oversight measures known as the Dodd-Frank Act, which
passed in the wake of the financial crisis. Among the major
changes, the bill allows banks that maintain a certain level of
financial surplus to opt-out of those rules and abolishes the bailout
process established for major financial institutions. It also rolls back a wide range of other rules, touching on issues from payday lending to shareholder proposals. Republicans take aim at Dodd-Frank financial rules Trump orders review that could relax Dodd-Frank bank rules Congressman Jeb Hensarling, the sponsor of the bill, called it a "better, smarter way". "It's called the Financial CHOICE Act. It stands for economic growth for all, but bank bailouts for none," he said. Financial stocks soared after the vote, which some say could push Republicans in the Senate to pursue more aggressive reform. Senator
Sherrod Brown, the Democrat who heads the banking committee in the
Senate, has said he is open to loosening rules for smaller community
banks. But he lambasted the House measure, calling it "partisan,
dangerous legislation [that] would once again leave families, seniors
and service members at the mercy of predatory lenders, and put taxpayers
back on the hook to pay for Wall Street's greed and recklessness. "Democrats
have shown we're willing to work with Republicans to tailor the rules
where it makes sense, but not if it means killing the reforms that have
made the financial system safer and fairer," he said in a statement
earlier this week. No Democrats voted for the House bill on
Thursday, which was overshadowed by the testimony from fired FBI
director James Comey about the Russia investigation and his interaction
with US President Donald Trump. Many Democrats in the Senate have stayed quiet on the issue. In
an interview with the BBC, former congressman Barney Frank, the
architect of the original bill, dismissed the vote as "theatre". "The very conservative Republicans in the House... this is their show," he said.
Gamers from around the globe are
heading to Los Angeles for the E3 video games showcase, which lays out
what players can expect in the year ahead.
E3 is traditionally an
industry-only event, but in recent years some studios have held their
own showcases and broadcast them to fans online.
This year, for the first time in its 24-year history, 15,000 video game fans will be allowed to attend too.
One analyst said it was a sign of E3 adapting for modern times.
"E3
originally was a retail conference, about connecting buyers with the
publishers," said Piers Harding-Rolls of the consultancy IHS Markit.
"The industry has changed significantly since then, so E3 has to move with the times.
"It's a process to make it much more publicly available, and it's a good move - it keeps it relevant."
E3 begins on Tuesday 13 July - but many games studios including Microsoft and Sony hold their own events a little earlier.
Microsoft aims ultra-high
Image copyrightGetty Images
Last year, Microsoft announced it was working on "the most powerful console ever", code-named Project Scorpio. The
company has already described the computing power of the device, which
it says will be capable of playing ultra-high definition 4K games - but
this could be the first time we see the device and hear what it will be
called. "This will re-establish their credentials with the gamers who want the highest graphical capability," said Mr Harding-Rolls. "I'm
expecting it to be more expensive than the PS4 Pro, so it's probably
not going to sell as strongly - but will give Microsoft a boost towards
the end of the year."
Nintendo expands its offer
Nintendo says its new Switch console is off to a promising start,
with about three million sold, making it the company's fastest-selling
device.
The launch was buoyed by the highly-anticipated Legend Of
Zelda: Breath Of The Wild, which Nintendo dedicated its entire E3
exhibition to in 2016.
To keep momentum, the Japanese games-maker
will be showing off multiplayer games such as Splatoon 2, Arms and
Pokken Tournament DX.
However, many players are still hopeful that
Nintendo will announce some surprises - such as the first full Pokemon
game for the Switch.
Virtual reality
Sony says sales of its virtual reality kit for the PlayStation 4 have
exceeded expectations, with more than a million people picking up a PS
VR headset.
But the challenge for all headset developers is to
show off compelling games that will encourage more people to invest in
the costly kit.
"It's a key focus for Sony, because it's different from what Microsoft is offering with Xbox," Mr Harding-Rolls told the BBC.
"There have been some good launch titles, such as the VR mode on Resident Evil which was very well received.
"Is spread by word of mouth because it was so impressive and frankly scary - we need more of that, big brands and big titles."
Theresa May's two closest advisers have quit after the Conservatives' failure to win the general election.
The
BBC understands the PM had been warned she faced a leadership challenge
on Monday unless she sacked Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill.
Mr Timothy said he was taking responsibility for his role in the "disappointing" election result.
He said he regretted not including a pledge to cap social care costs in the party's widely criticised manifesto.
The
BBC's assistant political editor Norman Smith said the pair's departure
bought the PM some "breathing space" following 24 hours of
recriminations after the Conservatives lost their overall majority.
He
said the two were so close to the PM that critical MPs believed that,
unless they made way, she would not be able to change her leadership
style to adopt a more "outgoing, inclusive, responsive, empathetic
approach".
Mrs May has said she intends to stay as prime minister
and is seeking support for the Democratic Unionists to form a
government. Chief Whip Gavin Williamson is in Belfast to begin formal
talks on a deal.
Mr Timothy and Ms Hill both stepped down amid mounting pressure
on Mrs May to overhaul the way No 10 worked and broaden her circle of
advisers.
Announcing his resignation on the Conservative Home website,
Mr Timothy urged Tory MPs to "get behind" Mrs May but said nothing
should be allowed to get in the way of the process of forming a
government and beginning Brexit talks.
He said the Conservatives'
failure to win was not due to a lack of support for Theresa May and the
Conservatives but due to an "unexpected surge" of support for Labour.
He
conceded his party had failed to communicate a sufficiently "positive"
message to voters and address their concerns over years of austerity and
inter-generational divisions, including over Brexit.
"We were not talking to the people who decided to vote for Labour," he said.
He
defended the party's "honest and strong" manifesto, saying
controversial proposals on social care had been discussed in government
for months and were not his own personal "pet project".
But he
added he took "responsibility for my part in this election campaign,
which was the oversight of our policy programme" and "I regret the
decision not to include in the manifesto a ceiling as well as a floor in
our proposal to help meet the increasing cost of social care".
Norman Smith said he understood that senior Conservatives had warned
the PM they would instigate a leadership contest at a meeting of
backbenchers early next week if the pair did not leave, and were
confident they could get the required 48 signatures to trigger a
contest.
One former minister, Anna Soubry, welcomed the clearout,
saying it was the "right thing to do" and saying the PM must "build a
consensus" on Brexit and other issues.
But Labour's deputy leader
Tom Watson said the PM's advisers had "taken the fall" for her but
tweeted the PM was "responsible for her own defeat".
Earlier, Mrs May's director of communications until the election
was announced, Katie Perrior, called the campaign "pretty
dysfunctional", telling the BBC she "needed to broaden her circle of
advisers and have a few grey hairs in there who been around a bit and
could say 'don't do that'".
As the Conservative leadership begins
formal negotiations with the DUP, disquiet is being expressed in some
quarters about the move.
Charles Tannock, a Conservative member
of the European Parliament, said the DUP was a "hardline, populist,
protectionist" party and a "poor fit" as a partner for the
Conservatives.
The leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Ruth
Davidson, tweeted a link to a speech she had made about same-sex
marriage - something the DUP opposes.
Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where same-sex marriage is not legal.
Ms Davidson, who is gay, plans to marry her partner in the near
future and said she had been "straightforward" with Mrs May about her
concerns.
"I told her that there were a number of things that
count to me more than the party," she told the BBC. "One of them is
country, one of the others is LGBTI rights.
"I asked for a categoric assurance that if any deal or scoping
deal was done with the DUP, there would be absolutely no rescission of
LGBTI rights in the rest of the UK, in Great Britain, and that we would
use any influence that we had to advance LGBTI rights in Northern
Ireland."
By winning 12 additional seats in Scotland, Ruth
Davidson played a significant part in helping Theresa May to stay in
Downing Street, BBC Scotland editor Sarah Smith says.
Speaking on
Friday, the prime minister said the parties had a "strong relationship"
and that she intended to form a government which could "provide
certainty and lead Britain forward at this critical time for our
country".
Analysis by political correspondent Gary O'Donoghue
The
clock is ticking for Theresa May. She needs to conclude a deal with the
DUP in the next week or so ahead of the Queen's Speech, which will set
out the new government's agenda.
That takes place on Monday 19 June - the same day Brexit negotiations are due to start.
The
DUP and its 10 MPs are in a very strong position. It's all their
Christmases rolled into one and they will make sure they leverage as
much as they can from their advantage.
Money for Northern Ireland
will undoubtedly be part of their demands, and Mrs May will expect
that. But trickier will be any demands they have about the
implementation of Brexit in Northern Ireland - in particular the DUP's
determination to maintain a soft border with the south.
Another potential problem is the planned restart of negotiations for power-sharing in the province.
Typically
the British government tries to act as an honest broker between
Republicans and Unionists. But if Mrs May is doing a deal with the DUP,
that could make it harder to reach an agreement with Sinn Fein.
DUP leader Arlene Foster confirmed she had spoken to
Mrs May and that they would speak further to "explore how it may be
possible to bring stability to this nation at this time of great
challenge".
Mrs May is expected to continue assembling her top
team later after she decided to keep key figures - including Chancellor
Philip Hammond, Foreign Secretary Boris and Home Secretary Amber Rudd -
in their current roles.
David Davis will also stay on as Brexit secretary and Sir Michael Fallon will keep his role as defence secretary.
There
could be changes elsewhere in the cabinet while nine middle-ranking and
junior ministers, including Ben Gummer and Jane Ellison, lost their
seats at the general election and will need to be replaced.
Jeremy
Corbyn has said Mrs May should "make way" for a government that would
be "truly representative of the people of this country".
The
Labour leader, who is expected to announce his shadow cabinet on Sunday,
said his party was ready to form a minority government of its own, but
stressed he would not enter into any "pacts or deals" with other
parties.
US special forces are helping the
Philippine military retake the southern city of Marawi from IS-linked
militants, the Philippine army says.
The forces are providing technical help and are not fighting, it said.
President Rodrigo Duterte had earlier threatened to throw out US troops amid strained relations since taking office.
Militants
have been under siege since rampaging through the southern city on 23
May. The latest fighting has claimed the lives of 13 Philippine marines.
Hundreds
of militants, who have been flying the black flag of so-called Islamic
State and are led by the self-styled IS emir of the southern
Philippines, Isnilon Hapilon, and the Maute brothers Omar and Abdullah,
are still holed up in the city.
The latest casualties bring the number of Philippine troops killed in the fighting to 58.
At least 138 militants and 20 civilians have also been killed, the government says.
The BBC's Jonathan Head says there are several reports that the Maute brothers, who lead the Maute group, are among the dead, with intercepted communications from jihadist groups suggesting this.
In a press briefing, Lt Col Jo-ar Herrera said the army was checking
the reports. He cited "strong indications" but gave no further details.
The brothers' parents, who are believed to have helped fund their armed group, have been captured.
Marawi
is on the southern island of Mindanao, which has a significant Muslim
population in the majority Catholic country and has seen a decades-long
Muslim separatist insurgency.
Col Herrera confirmed for the first time that US special forces were helping the army.
"They are not fighting. They are just providing technical support," he said.
Reuters
news agency earlier quoted the US embassy in Manila as verifying the
presence of US forces. It would not go into operational details but said
the US forces were helping at the request of the Philippine government.
The US has had a small logistical military presence in the
Philippines, although a programme to advise the Philippine army on
fighting the Abu Sayyaf militant group was discontinued in 2015.
Mr
Duterte, a strongman who has supported the extrajudicial killing of
drug users and other criminals, has been highly critical of the US since
taking power last June, straining a long-time alliance.
But he
had what the White House described as a "very friendly" phone call with
President Donald Trump in April, and has since said his differences with
the US were with President Barack Obama's administration.
Philippine army spokesman Brig Gen Restituto Padilla Jr has vowed
that the national flag will be flying once again over all of Marawi by
Monday - the Philippine national day. The army has missed past deadlines to rid the city of militants amid two weeks of air and ground assaults. Col Herrera said the militants were now restricted to three districts within the city. "The world of terrorism inside the city is growing smaller by the day," he said. Officials say that foreign nationals are among the militants in Marawi, with the list of countries and territories including Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Yemen, India and Chechnya.
Angela Merkel has said she sees no
obstacles in the way of beginning Brexit talks as scheduled after
Theresa May failed to win a majority in Thursday's UK election.
The German chancellor said she believed Britain would stick to the timetable, adding the European Union was "ready".
Mrs Merkel added she hoped Britain would remain a good partner following the talks, due to begin on 19 June.
It is her first comment since Mrs May's Conservative party lost 13 seats.
The
loss left the Conservatives eight MPs short of a majority in
parliament, plunging negotiations into uncertainty. Mrs May called the
snap election in order to secure a clear mandate for her vision of
Brexit.
A spokesman for Mrs Merkel had previously refused to be
drawn on the issue out of "politeness and respect" while the process of
forming a new UK government was under way.
Mrs May says she will form a government with the Democratic Unionist Party from Northern Ireland, which won 10 seats.
Mrs Merkel, who is meeting with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto
to discuss trade, told reporters gathered in Mexico City on Friday: "I
assume that Britain, from what I heard from the prime minister today,
wants to stick to its negotiating plan.
"We want to negotiate
quickly, we want to stick to the time plan, and so at this point I don't
think there is anything to suggest these negotiations cannot start as
was agreed."
Mrs Merkel, the EU's most powerful politician, went on to say she hoped the UK would remain a good partner.
"Britain is part of Europe, even if it will no longer be part of the European Union."
However,
she added the EU countries would be "asserting the interests of the 27
member states that will make up the European Union in future" during
negotiations.
Meanwhile, Michael Fuchs, senior economic adviser to the German
chancellor, told the BBC the result meant it was time for Mrs May "to
face realities" and soften her approach.
"Her wish and will was
not really too much accepted by the British people," he said. "I have
the feeling, because otherwise they would have given her a better vote.
"Maybe,
this is a chance that we can come up to a more reasonable Brexit
negotiations because in the last time (recently) I really had the
feeling that everything was just being very tough and it doesn't make
sense to be tough.
"We want to have a fair deal with Britain and we want to have a fair final Brexit negotiations."
Other EU leaders have expressed concerns the failure to win a majority may make negotiations even more difficult.
Brexit
negotiator Guy Verhofstadt, who is president of the Alliance of
Liberals & Democrats for Europe in the European Parliament, had
caustic words for Mrs May.
Image copyrightAFP
"Yet another own goal, after Cameron now May, will make already complex negotiations even more complicated," he tweeted. Jean-Claude
Juncker, head of the European Commission, said he wanted discussions to
proceed without delay, while Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator
for Brexit, said "negotiations should start when UK is ready". European Council President Donald Tusk alluded to the March 2019 deadline for Brexit talks. "We
don't know when Brexit talks start. We know when they must end. Do your
best to avoid a 'no deal' as result of 'no negotiations'," he wrote.
