Online defamation cases in England and Wales 'double'

  The rise in online libel cases has been linked to social media sites 

The number of court cases brought by people who say they have been defamed online has more than doubled in a year, experts have said.

Internet-related libel cases in England and Wales rose from seven to 16 in the year ending 31 May, legal information firm Sweet and Maxwell said.
The increase has been linked to a rise in the use of social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter.
The total number of defamation cases brought to court rose from 83 to 86.
Meanwhile, the Libel Reform Campaign group said smaller website operators needed more legal backing to protect themselves against actions brought by what it described as "corporate bullies".
Commenting on the figures, Barrister Korieh Duodu, a media specialist with law firm Addleshaw Goddard, said much of what appeared online was written by people who did not check facts in the way that media organisations do.
But he also warned the trend of journalists using social media sites as news sources increased the risk of defamatory information appearing in national news stories.
"People who find themselves damaged on social media sites can often find it time-consuming and difficult to have the offending material removed, because many platform providers do not accept responsibility for their users' content," he said.
"Such is the speed at which information travels through social networks that one unchecked comment can spread into the mainstream media within minutes, which can cause irreparable damage to the subject who has been wronged."
'Honest opinions'
Mr Duodu said those who provide user-generated content on the internet should be held more accountable for what they write, through stricter regulation.
A spokesman for the Libel Reform Campaign said the draft Defamation Bill, currently going through Westminster, needed specific action to make it easier and less costly for website operators to mount a public interest defence, if they are taken to court for defamation.
"We need the select committee looking at the draft Defamation Bill to make concrete proposals to stop legal threats against internet hosts bringing down entire websites," added the spokesman.
The UK government said the legislation, to reform libel laws in England and Wales, will help ensure people can state honest opinions with confidence.
Calls to give greater protection to "secondary publishers", like internet service providers and online discussion forums, has been put out to consultation.

US economy: Ben Bernanke signals no new stimulus

  Mr Bernanke's comments caused US shares to dip, but they recovered later 

The chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, has signalled that the US central bank will not take any immediate action to boost growth.

In a keenly anticipated speech, Mr Bernanke simply said the Fed had a "range of tools that could be used to provide additional monetary stimulus".
And their use would be considered at an extended meeting in September, he said.
Mr Bernanke also hinted that the US government needed to do more to aid economic growth.
Earlier, revised data showed the US economy grew less than first estimated in the second quarter of 2011.
The Commerce Department now says the economy expanded at an annualised rate of 1% between April and March, down from its first estimate of 1.3%.
The figures were seen as raising pressure on the Federal Reserve to do more to boost the economy, for instance by introducing further quantitative easing - an injection of cash into the financial system.
Mr Bernanke said the central bank's next meeting in September had been extended from one day to two "to allow a fuller discussion" of its next move.
"The Committee will continue to assess the economic outlook in light of incoming information and is prepared to employ its tools as appropriate to promote a stronger economic recovery in a context of price stability," he said.
'Spiral out of control' Speaking at a meeting of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Mr Bernanke suggested that the government could do more on fiscal policy.
"Most of the economic policies that support robust economic growth in the long run are outside the province of the central bank," he said.

The US Fed chief seems to have provoked two reactions.
There was disappointment among those who hoped for an immediate relaunch of the money creation policy known as QE.
Others, meanwhile, latched onto Ben Bernanke's view that longer-run prospects for the US economy were not as bad as some were predicting.
He has left the door open for more QE at the Fed's extra long meeting next month, which will keep the markets guessing.
His call for a "better process for making fiscal decisions" is an intriguing swipe at US politicians. It serves as a rejection of the idea that the Fed can on its own wave a magic wand to conjure up growth in the world's biggest economy.

"To achieve economic and financial stability, US fiscal policy must be placed on a sustainable path that ensures that debt relative to national income is at least stable or, preferably, declining over time.

"As I have emphasised on previous occasions, without significant policy changes, the finances of the federal government will inevitably spiral out of control, risking severe economic and financial damage."
This view was supported by Vincent Reinhart, a former director of the Federal Reserve Board's Division of Monetary Affairs.
"Federal Reserve officials would like nothing more than to be left alone: the basic problem is that if you drew up a list of what could be done out of Washington to try to help economic expansion, Federal Reserve action is pretty low on the list.
"The reason why we have this unhealthy focus on the Federal Reserve is that the politicians aren't delivering things that could be more effective," he told the BBC.
Senior US economist Michael Hanson from Bank of America said although he had not been expecting any firm announcements on further QE, he had been surprised by the strength of Mr Bernanke's comments on the government's need to act.
"He was very explicit, more so than we were anticipating, that Congress and the administration needs to do more in fiscal policy to help the recovery along," Mr Hanson told BBC News.
'Disappointing' recovery The Federal Reserve had already said that it plans to keep US interest rates at the current low level of between zero and 0.25% until the middle of 2013. Last Updated at 26 Aug 2011, 18:47 GMT *Chart shows local time

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And analysts suggested they might consider more minor measures short of quantitative easing over the next couple of months to try to support financial markets and hold off doing any more for the moment.

"They are not completely out of tools, but they are not comfortable at this point adopting a much more aggressive approach like QE3," said Bank of America's Mr Hanson.
"But if it turns out that we continue to get a setback on growth and unemployment continues to rise... then QE3 becomes a much more likely possibility."
Earlier in the week, world stock markets had risen as investors speculated that the central bank may pave the way for a third round of quantitative easing.
But they have been in retreat since Thursday when opinion moved towards the speech not revealing plans for any new measures.
US markets dipped further immediately after the speech but later recovered, with the Dow Jones up 1.4% in afternoon trading.
BBC business reporter Caroline Hepker, speaking from the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange, described how shares had seen an "upswing" after an initial sell-off.
"But they are very light trading volumes here as a lot of people on the East Coast are preparing for the hurricane that we are expecting over the weekend," she cautioned.
The earlier data from the Commerce Department reiterated the low rate of growth the US is experiencing, as consumer spending remains weak in the face of high unemployment and higher energy bills.
Mr Bernanke admitted that the pace of the recovery in the US had "proved disappointing thus far".
But he added that he expected growth in the second half of the year to pick up as "temporary factors", including the increase in commodity prices and the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, begin to have less of an impact.

Social media talks about rioting 'constructive'

 

More than 1,400 people have appeared in court in connection with the riots 

The government and police have not sought any new powers to shut social networks, the Home Office said after a meeting with industry representatives.

Instead they held "constructive" talks aimed at preventing violence being plotted online through existing co-operation, the Home Office said.
The meeting with representatives from Twitter, Facebook and Blackberry was held in the wake of English city riots.
The prime minister has said police may need extra powers to curb their use.
Networks such as Blackberry Messenger - a service which allows free-of-charge real-time messages - were said to have enabled looters to organise their movements during the riots, as well as inciting violence in some cases.
Criminal behaviour Following Thursday's meeting, a Home Office spokeswoman said: "The home secretary, along with the Culture Secretary and Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne, has held a constructive meeting with Acpo (the Association of Chief Police Officers), the police and representatives from the social media industry.
"The discussions looked at how law enforcement and the networks can build on the existing relationships and co-operation to prevent the networks being used for criminal behaviour.

Click to play

Nick Clegg: ''We are not going to become like Iran or China. We are not going to suddenly start cutting people off''

"The government did not seek any additional powers to close down social media networks."
Dispelling rumours Prime Minister David Cameron has also said the government would look at limiting access to such services during any future disorder.
A Twitter spokeswoman said after the meeting that it was "always interested in exploring how we can make Twitter even more helpful and relevant during times of critical need".
She added: "We've heard from many that Twitter is an effective way to distribute crucial updates and dispel rumours in times of crisis or emergency."
A Facebook spokesperson said: "We welcome the fact that this was a dialogue about working together to keep people safe rather than about imposing new restrictions on internet services."
The company said it had highlighted the role Facebook played during the riots, such as people staying in contact and organising the clean-up.
"There is no place for illegal activity on Facebook and we take firm action against those who breach our rules."
A number of people have appeared in court in recent weeks for organising or attempting to organise disorder on social networks.

Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan and Jordan Blackshaw were jailed for four years for incitement on Facebook

Jordan Blackshaw, 21, from Marston, Cheshire, and Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan, 22, from Warrington, Cheshire, were jailed for four years for online incitement.
Blackshaw had created a Facebook event entitled "Smash Down Northwich Town" while Sutcliffe-Keenan set up a Facebook page called "Let's Have a Riot in Latchford". Both have said they will appeal.
Meanwhile, 21-year-old David Glyn Jones, from Bangor, north Wales, was jailed for four months after telling friends "Let's start Bangor riots" in a post that appeared on Facebook for 20 minutes.
And Johnny Melfah, 16, from Droitwich, Worcestershire, became the first juvenile to have his anonymity lifted in a riot-related case for inciting thefts and criminal damage on the site. He will be sentenced next month.
Plotting violence In the aftermath of the riots, which spread across England's towns and cities two weeks ago, Mr Cameron said the government might look at disconnecting some online and telecommunications services if similar circumstances arose in the future.
"We are working with the police, the intelligence services and industry to look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality," he told MPs during an emergency session of Parliament.
Tim Godwin, the Met police's acting commissioner, also said last week that he considered requesting authority to switch off Twitter during the riots.
However, he conceded that the legality of such a move was "very questionable" and that the service was a valuable intelligence asset.
Meanwhile, Guardian analysis of more than 2.5 million riot-related tweets, sent between 6 August and 17 August, appears to show Twitter was mainly used to react to riots and looting, including organising the street clean-up.
The newspaper found the timing of the messages posted "questioned the assumption" that Twitter was used to incite the violence in advance of it breaking out in Tottenham on 6 August.
Currently, communications networks that operate in the UK can be compelled to hand over individuals' personal messages if police are able to show that they relate to criminal behaviour.

Warren Buffett invests $5bn in Bank of America

 Last Updated at 25 Aug 2011, 19:56 GMT *Chart shows local time

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Warren Buffett's company Berkshire Hathaway has announced it is investing $5bn (£3.1bn) in Bank of America.

News of the famous investor's move sent Bank of America's shares up by 25%, before moving back to 10% ahead.
The loss-making bank, which has been hit hard by the US housing crash and subsequent market crisis, cut 3,500 jobs this month.
Mr Buffett said that he was "impressed" that the bank was "acting aggressively to put their challenges behind them".
"[Mr] Buffet is gaining a reputation as the de-facto investor of last resort/saviour of American corporate might after investing in other banks and General Motors when they were on their knees in recent years," said market watcher Kathleen Brooks from Forex.com.
In July, the bank reported a record quarterly loss after agreeing an $8.5bn settlement relating to sub-prime mortgages.
It is also being sued by insurance group AIG for $10bn. AIG accuses the bank of carrying out a "massive fraud" on bad mortgage debt, something that Bank of America denies.
AIG alleges that Bank of America exaggerated the quality of the $28bn of mortgage-backed investment products it bought from the bank prior to the 2008 turmoil in the financial markets.
Bath idea Bank of America's share price has halved in value over the past six months. The sharp rise when the market opened took shares up to $8.80. In March they peaked at just under $15.
Mr Buffett - nicknamed the Sage of Omaha - told CNBC he had not spoken to Bank of America's boss Brian Moynihan before Wednesday, and that he conjured up the investment idea while taking a bath.
His company Berkshire Hathaway will receive a dividend of 6% on the investment, regarded as a very good return by analysts.
Bank of America can buy back the stake at any team at a 5% premium on the sale price.
"Bank of America is a strong, well-led company, and I called Brian to tell him I wanted to invest in it," 

Apple shares fall as Jobs quits

 2011, 20:01 GMT *Chart shows local time

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Apple shares have fallen in New York following the resignation of chief executive and co-founder Steve Jobs.

In early trading, the shares were down 2.5% before closing down 0.66% at $373.69.
Mr Jobs, who has been on medical leave since 17 January, will stay on as Apple chairman. The new boss will be Tim Cook, formerly chief operating officer.
Analysts suggested that the share price had not fallen further as investors had confidence in Mr Cook and his team.
Talented team "In our view, Tim [Cook] is a tough but well-regarded leader who will continue to hold Apple employees to an extremely high standard of performance," said Richard Gardner at Citigroup.
Mr Cook, 50, has already been in charge of the company's day-to-day running since January and took the helm in 2004 as Mr Jobs battled cancer and again in 2009 when Apple's co-founder received a liver transplant.
He is credited with ensuring the efficiency of the firm's supply chain and delivering Apple's industry-beating profit margins.

No man is irreplaceable, and Apple is packed with brilliant engineers, designers and managers. The question now is whether it can continue to "think different" without the man who made that into a personal and professional credo.” 

Terry Connelly, dean of the Ageno School of Business at Golden Gate University in San Francisco, said: "A company is dependent on its ability to institutionalise... genius in the corporate DNA.

"Apple shows every sign of having done that. We will see that when we see how Cook responds to competitive pressure."
'Rude health' Van Baker, an analyst at Gartner, said there was no reason for investors to panic.
"Apple will do just fine," he said. "There are so many talented people there, and Steve's attention to detail is baked into the culture."
Brand research company Millward Brown said the Apple brand should remain unaffected.
"[Steve Jobs] has left the Apple brand in rude health so that the company is still poised for future growth," said Millward Brown director Peter Walshe.
He added that Mr Jobs had left Apple with a clear direction ahead, a successor in place, and a unique "creative", "fun" and "adventurous" brand behind him.
Looking ahead, Ben Wood, research director at technology analysts CCS Insight said Tim Cook had a huge pair of shoes to fill, adding: "Steve Jobs has been a tremendous leader but no man is bigger than the company itself."
'Roadmap intact'

Earlier this month, Apple was briefly the world's most valuable by market capitalisation, overtaking oil company Exxon Mobil.
In his resignation letter, Mr Jobs said: "I believe Apple's brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role."
The company has some big products on the horizon such as the iPhone 5 and the iPad 3.
"Steve is [still] going to be able to provide the input he would do as a chief executive," said Colin Gillis at BGC Financial.
"But Tim has been de facto chief executive for some time and the company has been hugely successful. The vision and the roadmap is intact."
Stephen Fry, a long time admirer of Mr Jobs, told BBC News, "I don't think there is another human being on the planet who has been more influential in the last 30 years on the way culture has developed."
"If I had said that 10 years ago you'd have thought I was completely insane."

Click to play

Consumers react to Steve Jobs' resignation

One former employee, Dan Crow, who worked at Apple for four years, said staff at the firm would be feeling "very sad" and a "sense of loss".
But he said the firm had "a whole suite of people who will replace most, if not all, of what Steve brought to the company".
Mr Cook's well-regarded team includes marketing chief Philip Schiller, design overseer Jonathan Ive, and Scott Forstall, who supervises the iPhone software.
Steve Jobs was famous for his charismatic presentation of new products, dressed in his trademark turtle neck and jeans.
Marketing chief Philip Schiller has fronted some recent presentations in Mr Jobs' absence and he may continue to do so, rather than new chief executive Tim Cook, the BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones says.

Libya: Fighting in Tripoli amid reports of atrocities

 

Click to play

Rupert Wingfield-Hayes reports from one of Tripoli's main hospitals in the Mitiga District 

Heavy fighting has continued in parts of the Libyan capital Tripoli, which is now almost entirely in the hands of rebel fighters.

Rebels are also trying to reach Colonel Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte but have been pushed back by loyalist fighters.
The BBC has seen evidence of alleged torture and summary killings blamed on Col Gaddafi's forces.
In an audio message, Col Gaddafi called on Libyans to "fight and destroy" the rebels.
The message was broadcast by a pro-regime TV station and addressed to the people of Sirte, which is the rebels' next target. It was unclear when it was recorded.
"Libya is for the Libyan people and not for the agents, not for imperialism, not for France, not for Sarkozy, not for Italy," said Col Gaddafi. "Tripoli is for you, not for those who rely on Nato".

Click to play

Col Gaddafi: "Do not leave Tripoli to the rats, fight them, defeat them as soon as possible"

He urged the youth of Tripoli to fight "street by street, alleyway by alleyway, house by house" and said women too could fight "from inside their homes".
The rebels have announced an amnesty for anyone within his "inner circle" who captures or kills him and a $1.7m (£1m) reward for his capture "dead or alive".
Handcuffed bodies Thursday saw gunfights erupting in the Abu Salim district of Tripoli, close to a notorious prison and one of the few remaining Gaddafi holdouts in the city.

The people now fighting for Col Gaddafi have an awful lot to lose. The people in Sirte are probably the security officials, the people who have led both the military and the plain clothes security thugs that used to maintain order in this part of the country.
They know that once Sirte is taken over by the opposition they do not have much of a future.
I think also they have been brainwashed. They have spent 42 years under an authoritarian regime and they have been rewarded by Col Gaddafi for supporting him and for fighting for him.
And conversely, they have been convinced that after him Libya is finished, so they are going to fight until the end.

There were further battles near the Corinthia Hotel about 1.5km (a mile) from Martyrs Square - formerly Green Square - where most foreign journalists are based.

Sporadic gunfire was also heard at Col Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound - the area is now under the control of the rebels, who have broken into the complex tunnel system below.
The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes visited a hospital in the Mitiga district of Tripoli which had received the bodies of 17 rebel fighters.
One survivor said the group had been held at a makeshift prison in Tripoli where they were tortured and then sprayed with bullets as the Gaddafi forces retreated.
Dr Hoez Zaitan, a British medic working at the hospital, said about half the bodies had bullet wounds to the back of the head while others had disfiguring injuries to their limbs and hands.
He said the bodies had been examined for possible evidence to be used at a war crimes tribunal.
Meanwhile, the bodies of at least a dozen pro-Gaddafi fighters have been found on a roundabout in the centre of Tripoli, two of whom had their hands tied behind their backs.

The Red Cross is urging all sides to respect the rules of war

There were reports that one body had an intravenous drip in the arm and that others were badly burned.
Amnesty International says it has "powerful testimonies" of abuses by both sides in Zawiya, including allegations of violence by rebels African migrant workers accused of being mercenaries.
The UN has said it is looking into reports of summary killings and abuses by both sides and urged "all those in positions of authority in Libya... to take active steps to ensure that no crimes, or acts of revenge, are committed".
In other developments:

• The Arab League has given full backing to the National Transitional Council (NTC) as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people
• The International Monetary Fund has said it will recognise the NTC as Libya's leaders when there is "a clear, broad-based, international recognition"
• UK Defence Minister Liam Fox has confirmed that Nato is providing intelligence and reconnaissance assistance to rebels hunting Col Gaddafi
• A ship that can carry 200 people has left Tripoli for Benghazi, carrying some of the foreign nationals in Libya

'Urgent help'

Diplomatic efforts are continuing to arrange the release of some of Libya's assets which were frozen under UN sanctions.

The rebels' NTC has said it urgently needs $5bn to avert a humanitarian crisis in Libyan and avoid further destabilisation.
The UN has already released some $500m in assets which were frozen under sanctions, and is expected to vote this week on a resolution to release another $1bn.
Mahmoud Jibril, the head of the NTC, is in Italy seeking foreign help in accessing Libya's frozen funds. He said they needed "urgent help" to pay salaries and enable reconstruction to ensure the stability of Libya in the immediate future.
Italy has promised to release more than 350m euros of Libyan assets frozen in Italian banks.

Dakota Fanning reportedly attending NYU

Dakota Fanning will attend New York University this fall, according to some very clever students at NYU Local.

The student journos were “messing around” with the school’s e-mail autocomplete function, when they discovered that someone named “Hannah Dakota Fanning” (the actress’s full name) has an NYU e-mail address. This seems to confirm that the “Twilight” star is officially enrolled at the school.

The 17-year-old homecoming queen previously visited the campus and was accepted in the spring, a source told the paper.

Fanning will join fellow class of 2015-ers, “Suite Life” twins Dylan and Cole Sprouse, at the university this fall. Other notable celebs to have taken classes there in recent years include Haley Joel Osment and James Franco. NYU Local previously reported that Emma Watson had toured the school, fueling rumors that she also would transfer there after reportedly leaving Brown University because of Hermione bullies. But now we know the “Harry Potter” star will head to Oxford for a year before returning to the Ivy League school to finish her degree.

The Worst Thing About Jim Carrey's Video To Emma Stone

 

• The Worst Thing About Jim Carrey's Video To Emma Stone

Jim Carrey, the rubber-faced comedian, is trending on Twitter, and unfortunately, it's not because of a hit movie, new TV show, or even a brilliant joke. It's because of his video love letter to flame-haired actress Emma Stone, star of The Help and Easy A.
The video was posted on Carrey's Tru Life video website, which is currently so overloaded, I can't even get on it. But don't worry, you can see Carrey's trembling homage below.
No one can seem to decide if Carrey's videotaped profession of undying love—he tells the 23-year-old Stone that he wants to marry her, have "chubby little freckle-faced kids," and would have sex with her every day for the rest of her life—is creepy and disturbed, or genuinely funny. "Creepy or hilarious?" asked thousands of Twitterers. Stone herself can't seem to decide. "Should I be flattered or seek an order of protection?" she posted on her YouTube channel EmmaStoneVerified.
After reading about the digital mash note, I was prepared to be outraged at the craggy, middle-aged Carrey wooing a woman just out of her teens, but Carrey is clearly not remotely serious. The fact that some people in the media, who should be at least hip to satire, seem to think he is, is even more bizarre than Carrey's love note.
"Is Jim Carrey's Bizarre Video to Emma Stone Sincere or a Prank?" asks BlackBook. Writes Ben Barna: "If the video came with a Funny or Die imprint attached, we’d all laugh, and welcome Jim Carrey to the age of viral videos." Er, okay. I guess if a joke doesn't come with a recognizable branded imprint, Barna doesn't get it.
That said, the video is obviously a parody of one of those creepy dudes, well past his prime, hitting on a hot young woman, forever hopeful, forever oblivious to the idea that his mojo has moved on. Only Carrey takes it a step further, trying to garner sympathy from Stone by repeatedly pointing out their age difference—and not exactly in a self-flattering way.
"I'm 49," says Carrey, a catch in his throat. "I have lines in my face, gray in my hair, and it takes me a lot longer to pee than it used to."
In fact, the worst thing about Carrey's video is that he doesn't fully commit to his character. At the end of it, he silently mouths, "I love you," while his chin begins quivering like tween in the presence of Justin Bieber. I would have been more impressed if Carrey had played it straight.

I guess this is why Carrey has never quite risen to the dramatic level that some comedians— such as Robin Williams, Jerry Lewis, or Tom Hanks—are capable of. No matter what, Jim Carrey just can't stop being Jim Carrey.

Will and Jada Update: Justin Bieber Chimes In

  (L-R) Willow Smith, Jaden Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Will Smith pose in the audience during the BET Awards '11 held at the Shrine Auditorium on June 26, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Getty       Just two days after InTouch Weekly claimed Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith had split, there's been plenty of evidence to suggest otherwise. Even Justin Bieber chimed in on Twitter!

The 17-year-old star, who's friends with the couple's teen son Jaden, wrote on his page: "Will and Jada are one of the best couples ever.

And, Jaden has also been tweeting with the hashtag "#ItsAllLies." The couple also responded to the rumor with a statement that read: "Although we are reluctant to respond to these types of press reports, the rumors circulating about our relationship are completely false. We are still together, and our marriage is intact."

Now, the language is a bit strange, but they do deny they're heading for divorce. And, yesterday the couple was spotted out having a blast together and smiling for the cameras. Convincing, right? Well, there's plenty of speculation that there is something going on between the two, but no one's quite sure what. Stay tuned.

Motown's Nick Ashford Dies

 

Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson Nick Ashford, who with wife Valerie Simpson wrote such legendary Motown songs as "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "Reach Out and Touch Somebody's Hand," has died after a prolonged battle with throat cancer, his publicist announced. He was 70.

Their songs were spun into hits by, among others, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Gladys Knight, Marvin Gaye, Chaka Khan, Whitney Houston and Ashford & Simpson themselves – including the '80s hit "Solid As a Rock."

Ashford and Simpson's relationship went back to 1964, when they (she a 17-year-old from the Bronx, he a 21-year-old from Michigan) met in a Harlem church and decided to write songs together. They wed 10 years later.

"Being married is the best thing that ever happened to me," Ashford told PEOPLE in 1978. "I don't feel like I'm married. Valerie brought me around to the idea that every time you fight it isn't the end. You can knock each other down but then you make love."

They had their first hit in 1966, when Ray Charles recorded "Let's Go Get Stoned." Motown quickly signed them to write for Ross, Gaye and Tammi Terrell, and the relationship with that label lasted seven years. Simpson cut her two solo albums for Motown. But in 1973, said Ashford, "We felt it was time for growth, to reach out as artists."

The duo moved to the Warner Bros. label and also started producing albums for others, which they found less satisfying artistically but highly lucrative, allowing them to purchase a four-story Manhattan townhouse with a staff of five, and a 14-room Westport, Conn., estate with a pool, tennis courts and a barn that doubled as a stable for horses.

They were married in that Connecticut house after a long platonic spell and a couple of years of living together. Simpson admitted to PEOPLE that she was reluctant.

"First he decided we should have a baby," she said with a laugh. "Then we bought the house. I still thought getting married was, oh, so old. I wanted him to think of me as his woman, not his wife. But when I realized that I felt secure enough to allow him all the freedom he needed, we went ahead."

Besides Simpson, Ashford is survived by their two daughters, Nicole and Asia; his brothers Paul, Albert and Frank; and his mother, Alice Ashford.

Euro ban for Samsung Galaxy phone

  Apple claimed that Samsung's Galaxy phones infringe a patent it holds 

Samsung has been banned from selling three models of its Galaxy smartphones in a number of European countries.

The preliminary injunction was handed down by a court in the Netherlands after Apple filed a claim for patent infringement.
It claimed that Samsung had copied technology owned by Apple relating to the way photos are displayed on mobile devices.
The embargo is due to come into effect in seven weeks.
A district court in the Hague upheld Apple's claim concerning one specific patent - EP 2059868 - which outlines an interface for viewing and navigating photographs on a touchscreen phone.
However, the judge rejected several other patent issues, as well as Apple's claim that Samsung had stolen many of its design ideas.
The ruling covers the Galaxy S, Galaxy S II and Galaxy Ace models. It does not prohibit sales of the Samsung Galaxy Tab, which had been mentioned in the original lawsuit.
Samsung victory?

Apple claimed Samsung copied its designs

Despite the impending embargo, Samsung welcomed the judgement. In a statement, the company said: "Today's ruling is an affirmation that the Galaxy range of products is innovative and distinctive.

"With regard to the single infringement cited in the ruling, we will take all possible measures including legal action to ensure that there is no disruption in the availability of our Galaxy smartphones to Dutch consumers."

The company appears to believe that the ruling only directly restricts the sale of Galaxy smartphones in the Netherlands.

"This ruling is not expected to affect sales in other European markets," the statement continued.

Like many technology firms, Samsung uses the Netherlands to import most of its goods into the European Union.

The interim injunction prohibits sale of devices by three of the company's Dutch subsidiaries to the UK, France, Germany, Finland, Ireland, Lichtenstein, Luxemburg, Monaco, Sweden and Switzerland.

Patent litigation blogger Florian Mueller said that Samsung's distribution model meant the ruling effectively amounts to a de facto European-wide ban.

"If Samsung's Korean parent company wants to exercise its freedom to ship into other European countries despite this injunction, it will have to reorganize its logistics chain in Europe accordingly," wrote Mr Mueller.
Software update

Samsung's photo management system is, in turn, part of Google's Android operating system, suggesting that Apple may be able to take similar action against other handset manufacturers.

For that reason, it seems likely that Google may now have to issue an urgent update to Android.

Samsung and its mobile devices have been the subject of an aggressive campaign of litigation by Apple, which has also secured a German embargo on sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1.

However, it is not the only major electronics firm embroiled in such action.

Google, Motorola, Microsoft and LG are among the major manufacturers which have gone to court to assert their intellectual property rights.

Strauss-Kahn: What went right and wrong?

  Nafissatou Diallo's credibility has been picked apart in recent weeks

Now that the charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn have been dropped, expect the blame game to begin in earnest. But the BBC's Laura Trevelyan in New York says some legal analysts believe the case showed the system worked as it should have.

"How could District Attorney Cyrus Vance have got it so wrong?" the critics will ask.
Mr Strauss-Kahn's allies will doubtless claim that the now infamous shot of him doing the perp walk in handcuffs outside a New York police station cost him his job as IMF director and the chance to stand for president of France.
And yet, a number of legal experts believe that the saga of Nafissatou Diallo versus Dominique Strauss-Kahn shows the system working as it should when faced with the serious accusation of sexual assault.
After all, police did find forensic evidence of a sexual encounter of some kind between the hotel maid and the global financier.
Diametrically opposed backgrounds It was a case of "she said, he said", where investigators and the prosecution had to unravel the competing accounts.

The case cost Dominique Strauss-Kahn his job and possibly the chance to stand for president of France

James Cohen, a professor of law at Fordham University, predicts the prosecution will be accused of failing to investigate properly, bringing down an innocent man in the process.
But he says the district attorney's office acted appropriately.
"The system is supposed to get it right and it did get it right," he said.
"There was a charge made and no reason not to accept it.
"The defence raised the consensual sexual encounter issue, the [district attorney] investigated the background of the victim and found she had credibility issues.
"So it's not a perfect process, but it worked as it's supposed to."
Much has been made of the diametrically opposed backgrounds of Ms Diallo, a hotel maid from Guinea, bringing up her daughter in the Bronx borough of New York, and Mr Strauss-Kahn, the poised, wealthy politician and financier.
The unravelling Yet after the clash of those two worlds in Manhattan's Sofitel Hotel on 14 May, Ms Diallo's claims of sexual assault were not ignored, even though her lawyer now says the former IMF dierctor's wealth and power intimidated the prosecution into dropping the charges.

Ms Diallo's lawyer Kenneth Thompson says she has been denied justice

Police acted quickly to arrest Mr Strauss-Kahn just hours after the alleged encounter - but they would not have acted in such haste had he not been on a plane bound for France, says Linda Fairstein, the former head of the sex crimes unit in the Manhattan district attorney's office.
"The French are our friends and allies; it shocked me that we had no extradition agreement with them on sexual cases," she said. "Remember Roman Polanski never came back. There was that history."
Then there was Mr Strauss-Kahn's history as a womaniser to consider.
"Mr Strauss-Kahn's reputation of someone who's sexually aggressive with women seemed consistent with someone who could do this," Prof Cohen said.
Once the police had arrested Mr Strauss-Kahn, he was held in the infamous Ryker's Island jail, notorious for gang violence.
The dishevelled, fraught-looking Mr Strauss-Kahn was paraded in front of the cameras, handcuffed, a move New York authorities defended as standard practice.
Based on prosecutors' argument that the former jet-setting IMF boss was a flight risk, the judge set stringent bail conditions, placing Mr Strauss-Kahn under house arrest with an armed guard.
He and his wife rented a townhouse in lower Manhattan after their original plan to move to a posh apartment block on the Upper East Side fell afoul of neighbours horrified by the hordes of camera crews.
'Damning information' Then, in late June the case began to unravel. The prosecution informed the defence of Ms Diallo's credibility issues - the results of its internal investigation.

Protesters chanted slogans and waved placards outside the court

Ms Diallo had lied on her asylum application and tax forms, prosecutors said, and changed her account of what happened immediately after the alleged attack in the hotel room.
US media reported that Ms Diallo had spoken to a man in jail about the possible benefits of bringing a case against Mr Strauss Kahn - her lawyers say the conversation in the Fulani language of Guinea was mistranslated.
Subsequently, Mr Strauss-Kahn's bail conditions were lifted.
So how did that happen?
Given that the entire prosecution case would depend on a jury believing Ms Diallo's version of events, her credibility was key.
A feeble, evasive witness would never withstand cross-examination by Mr Strauss-Kahn's crack legal team.
The problems arose when prosecutors began looking at Ms Diallo's background.
"You start to get records from the banks, from the authorities," said Ms Fairstein, the former sex crimes prosecutor.
"You're doing this to support her at the trial. And instead of getting what you expect, you're getting inconsistency."
'Power inequity' Mr Kluger said that what fatally damaged Ms Diallo's credibility was a recorded phone call in which she appeared to discuss the financial benefits of pursuing a case against Mr Strauss-Kahn with her fiance, who was imprisoned on drug charges.

We may never know what happened in the luxury suite at the Sofitel hotel

"The fact that the witness may have some skeletons in her cupboard isn't necessarily unusual," he said.
"It was the fact that there seemed to be a motive - that was the most damning piece of information.
"The credibility of the victim is the most important thing and the [district attorney] has to make a judgment. It's embarrassing for them to have so misjudged."
Although Prof Cohen believes the legal system worked as it's designed to, he notes the case yielded "very unfortunate consequences".
"He lost the managing directorship of the IMF and might have lost the opportunity to be president of France," he said.
Ms Fairstein fears the publicity surrounding the case could prove a setback for legitimate victims of sexual assault.
"If people dismiss the maid and say she did it for the money, it will have a chilling effect on some rape victims," she said.
But Mr Kluger said the case, from start to finish, showed everyone is equal in the eyes of the law.
"Her allegations were taken seriously despite the power inequity between them," he said.
"A system where the prosecutor brings charges, rather than make backroom deals or sweep things under the carpet, and then says I have questions about the case - that's how it's supposed to work."

Strauss-Kahn: What went right and wrong?

  Nafissatou Diallo's credibility has been picked apart in recent weeks

Now that the charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn have been dropped, expect the blame game to begin in earnest. But the BBC's Laura Trevelyan in New York says some legal analysts believe the case showed the system worked as it should have.

"How could District Attorney Cyrus Vance have got it so wrong?" the critics will ask.
Mr Strauss-Kahn's allies will doubtless claim that the now infamous shot of him doing the perp walk in handcuffs outside a New York police station cost him his job as IMF director and the chance to stand for president of France.
And yet, a number of legal experts believe that the saga of Nafissatou Diallo versus Dominique Strauss-Kahn shows the system working as it should when faced with the serious accusation of sexual assault.
After all, police did find forensic evidence of a sexual encounter of some kind between the hotel maid and the global financier.
Diametrically opposed backgrounds It was a case of "she said, he said", where investigators and the prosecution had to unravel the competing accounts.

The case cost Dominique Strauss-Kahn his job and possibly the chance to stand for president of France

James Cohen, a professor of law at Fordham University, predicts the prosecution will be accused of failing to investigate properly, bringing down an innocent man in the process.
But he says the district attorney's office acted appropriately.
"The system is supposed to get it right and it did get it right," he said.
"There was a charge made and no reason not to accept it.
"The defence raised the consensual sexual encounter issue, the [district attorney] investigated the background of the victim and found she had credibility issues.
"So it's not a perfect process, but it worked as it's supposed to."
Much has been made of the diametrically opposed backgrounds of Ms Diallo, a hotel maid from Guinea, bringing up her daughter in the Bronx borough of New York, and Mr Strauss-Kahn, the poised, wealthy politician and financier.
The unravelling Yet after the clash of those two worlds in Manhattan's Sofitel Hotel on 14 May, Ms Diallo's claims of sexual assault were not ignored, even though her lawyer now says the former IMF dierctor's wealth and power intimidated the prosecution into dropping the charges.

Ms Diallo's lawyer Kenneth Thompson says she has been denied justice

Police acted quickly to arrest Mr Strauss-Kahn just hours after the alleged encounter - but they would not have acted in such haste had he not been on a plane bound for France, says Linda Fairstein, the former head of the sex crimes unit in the Manhattan district attorney's office.
"The French are our friends and allies; it shocked me that we had no extradition agreement with them on sexual cases," she said. "Remember Roman Polanski never came back. There was that history."
Then there was Mr Strauss-Kahn's history as a womaniser to consider.
"Mr Strauss-Kahn's reputation of someone who's sexually aggressive with women seemed consistent with someone who could do this," Prof Cohen said.
Once the police had arrested Mr Strauss-Kahn, he was held in the infamous Ryker's Island jail, notorious for gang violence.
The dishevelled, fraught-looking Mr Strauss-Kahn was paraded in front of the cameras, handcuffed, a move New York authorities defended as standard practice.
Based on prosecutors' argument that the former jet-setting IMF boss was a flight risk, the judge set stringent bail conditions, placing Mr Strauss-Kahn under house arrest with an armed guard.
He and his wife rented a townhouse in lower Manhattan after their original plan to move to a posh apartment block on the Upper East Side fell afoul of neighbours horrified by the hordes of camera crews.
'Damning information' Then, in late June the case began to unravel. The prosecution informed the defence of Ms Diallo's credibility issues - the results of its internal investigation.

Protesters chanted slogans and waved placards outside the court

Ms Diallo had lied on her asylum application and tax forms, prosecutors said, and changed her account of what happened immediately after the alleged attack in the hotel room.
US media reported that Ms Diallo had spoken to a man in jail about the possible benefits of bringing a case against Mr Strauss Kahn - her lawyers say the conversation in the Fulani language of Guinea was mistranslated.
Subsequently, Mr Strauss-Kahn's bail conditions were lifted.
So how did that happen?
Given that the entire prosecution case would depend on a jury believing Ms Diallo's version of events, her credibility was key.
A feeble, evasive witness would never withstand cross-examination by Mr Strauss-Kahn's crack legal team.
The problems arose when prosecutors began looking at Ms Diallo's background.
"You start to get records from the banks, from the authorities," said Ms Fairstein, the former sex crimes prosecutor.
"You're doing this to support her at the trial. And instead of getting what you expect, you're getting inconsistency."
'Power inequity' Mr Kluger said that what fatally damaged Ms Diallo's credibility was a recorded phone call in which she appeared to discuss the financial benefits of pursuing a case against Mr Strauss-Kahn with her fiance, who was imprisoned on drug charges.

We may never know what happened in the luxury suite at the Sofitel hotel

"The fact that the witness may have some skeletons in her cupboard isn't necessarily unusual," he said.
"It was the fact that there seemed to be a motive - that was the most damning piece of information.
"The credibility of the victim is the most important thing and the [district attorney] has to make a judgment. It's embarrassing for them to have so misjudged."
Although Prof Cohen believes the legal system worked as it's designed to, he notes the case yielded "very unfortunate consequences".
"He lost the managing directorship of the IMF and might have lost the opportunity to be president of France," he said.
Ms Fairstein fears the publicity surrounding the case could prove a setback for legitimate victims of sexual assault.
"If people dismiss the maid and say she did it for the money, it will have a chilling effect on some rape victims," she said.
But Mr Kluger said the case, from start to finish, showed everyone is equal in the eyes of the law.
"Her allegations were taken seriously despite the power inequity between them," he said.
"A system where the prosecutor brings charges, rather than make backroom deals or sweep things under the carpet, and then says I have questions about the case - that's how it's supposed to work."

Blood pressure guidelines revised in England and Wales

 

Click to play

Patient Sheila Milson tries out the blood pressure recording device. Prof Mark Caulfield, from Queen Mary University of London, explains how works. 

Patients thought to have high blood pressure should have the diagnosis confirmed at home, according to new guidelines.

Patients in England and Wales will be offered extra checks using a mobile device that records blood pressure over 24 hours, says the watchdog NICE.
A quarter of patients may find visiting a GP stressful, leading to misdiagnosis and being given drugs they do not need.
The move could save the NHS £10.5m a year, predictions suggest.
High blood pressure (blood pressure of 140/90mmHg or more) affects about a quarter of all adults in the UK. It is a leading risk factor for heart disease or stroke and costs the NHS about £1bn a year in drugs alone.
Currently, most patients found to have high blood pressure for the first time are given a formal diagnosis if their blood pressure is raised at two subsequent visits to the doctor.
They may then be prescribed medication to lower their blood pressure.
Day and night Research suggests, however, that about a quarter of patients actually have "white coat" hypertension - where blood pressure is raised temporarily due to stress.

This new guidance will refine the way we test and treat people for hypertension, particularly by helping to identify people suffering from 'white coat' hypertension”

Cathy Ross Senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation

Now, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has advised doctors in England and Wales to move towards "ambulatory" monitoring of patients at home, using a device that automatically takes blood pressure readings every 30 minutes day and night.

Around one in 10 GPs are already offering ambulatory monitoring, either directly or by referring patients to a hospital specialist.
The new guidelines were issued at the same time as the publication of a research study in The Lancet.
One of the authors of the paper, Professor Richard McManus of the University of Birmingham, said: "This research shows that ambulatory blood pressure monitoring at the time of diagnosis of high blood pressure would allow better targeting of treatment and is cost-saving.
"Ambulatory monitoring is already available in some general practices and we have shown that its widespread use would be better for both patients and the clinicians looking after them.
"Treatment with blood pressure lowering medication is usually lifelong and so it is worth getting the decision to start right in the first place."
It is expected to take about a year to implement the advice at a net cost of about £2.5m. However, in the long-term the costs will be recouped, say experts, eventually saving about £10.5m a year.
'More accurate' Cathy Ross, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said the number of people with high blood pressure in the UK was "staggering".
"Some 12 million people are diagnosed with the condition and it is estimated another 5.7 million people have it but are unaware. It's a major risk factor for heart disease and strokes so it's crucial we do all we can to get people diagnosed and properly treated as soon as possible.
"This new guidance will refine the way we test and treat people for hypertension, particularly by helping to identify people suffering from 'white coat hypertension'.
"It doesn't mean that current methods aren't working, only that they can be improved further. Anyone currently concerned about their blood pressure or treatment should speak to their GP or practice nurse."
Professor Bryan Williams from the University of Leicester, chairman of NICE's Guideline Development Group, told the BBC there would be an "upfront cost" of introducing the ambulatory equipment.
But he added: "When you offset that against the reduced treatment costs of people who don't require treatment, and the reduced number of visits to doctors, we estimate that the NHS within about four or five years will save £10m.
"So it's a win-win situation for patients because it's a better way of making a diagnosis and the NHS actually saves money."
British Hypertension Society president Professor Mark Caulfield said the move was supported by research.
He said: "We've recommended that if high readings are found in the practice, that a 24-hour blood pressure monitor is worn because we found that the evidence now makes it very clear to us that this is a much more precise way of diagnosing high blood pressure."
In response to the new guidelines, Health Minister Anne Milton said: "These guidelines show that the use of innovations such as ambulatory monitors can provide more accurate blood pressure readings for patients as they go about their daily lives.
"This is not only better for patients, but also a better use of NHS resources."

Gold price drops sharply on US economy hopes

 Last Updated at 24 Aug 2011, 14:25 GMT

price	change	%
1770.00	- -106.00	- -5.65

The price of gold has dropped almost 6% at the end of the London trading session, a fall of more than $100.

Gold stood at $1,770 an ounce, down from Tuesday's price of $1,876 an ounce.
The perceived haven investment had topped $1,900 an ounce during Tuesday's trading, before starting to drop back.
Analysts put the falls down to profit-taking and hope that new measures will be announced in the US this week to try to bolster its sluggish recovery.
Some predict that Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke will signal a new round of quantitative easing to try to kick start the US economy when he speaks at a gathering of central bankers on Friday.
Gold has risen in price during the recent volatility on the stock markets as it is perceived as a safe investment in uncertain times.
European stock markets also rose, with London's FTSE ending 1.5% higher, the Cac 40 in Paris up 1.8% and Frankfurt's Dax closing up 2.7%.
Some also cited stronger-than-expected US durable goods data, a leading economic indicator, which showed that companies ordered more big ticket items such as cars and planes in July.

Rebels pushing to secure Tripoli

Click to play

The BBC's Wyre Davies reports from Gaddafi's compound which has been ransacked by rebels 

Libyan rebels and forces loyal to Col Muammar Gaddafi have fought running battles in Tripoli, a day after the fugitive leader's compound was overrun.

There have been fierce firefights in Bab al-Aziziya, as well as in several southern and central areas of the city.
However, foreign journalists have been allowed to leave a hotel where they have been confined for several days.
Col Gaddafi's whereabouts are unknown, but overnight he vowed in a speech to fight until victory or martyrdom.
A pro-regime television channel, al-Uruba, broadcast an audio statement in which he said his decision to leave his Bab al-Aziziya compound was a "tactical" move.
He urged Libyans to cleanse the streets of "traitors, infidels and rats", and said he had "been out a bit in Tripoli discreetly, without being seen".
"It did not feel like Tripoli had fallen or someone had marched into it."

Muammar Gaddafi may have lost political control of the country he ruled with an iron grip for more than 40 years, but his loyal troops are refusing to go quietly.
As I went inside his former compound in the heart of Tripoli this morning, I saw rebel fighters being pushed back as a fierce fire-fight ensued in the inner circle of Bab al-Aziziya. These men, many of whom will have protected their leader for many years and are well-armed and professional soldiers, will almost certainly fight to the death. All day long, gunfire and artillery fire has hit the compound with those inside firing out.
Few of the rebel fighters are yet ready to talk about whatever political future faces Libya post-Gaddafi. Their immediate goal is to capture or kill a man who has said he will fight until the bitter end.

Later, the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) offered an amnesty to anyone within Col Gaddafi's "inner circle" who captured or killed him. It said a Libyan businessman was also offering a $1.67m (£1m) reward.

Correspondents say it is an obvious attempt to sow divisions among Gaddafi loyalists.
Libyan Foreign Minister Abdul Ati al-Obeidi told the UK's Channel 4 News that it appeared Col Gaddafi had exhausted all his options, including fleeing abroad, and that his rule "was over".
Rebel commanders had earlier said it was vital to capture Col Gaddafi to eliminate any chance he could strike back.
They insisted it was only a matter of time before he was found, but conceded they had no indication of where he might have taken refuge.
One rebel official, who gave his name as Abdul Rahman, told the Reuters news agency that it was thought that Col Gaddafi was still in Tripoli, possibly in the al-Hadhba al-Khadra area, where there was fighting.
He is also believed to retain a strong following in two other cities - Sirte, his hometown 450km (280 miles) to the east of the capital, and Sabha, 650km to the south in the desert.
Analysts say Sabha has a significant military and air force base and, if Col Gaddafi and his family can reach it, it would provide them the option of easy desert escape routes into Niger or Chad.
A rebel spokesman told the BBC that negotiations were going on with local leaders in Sabha and Sirte seeking a peaceful end to the conflict.
'Fight to the death'

Click to play

The BBC's Matthew Price on life in Rixos hotel: "Gunmen still believed the city could be won"

Despite thousands of rebel fighters overrunning Col Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli on Tuesday evening, they were still meeting fierce resistance from well-armed loyalists on Wednesday.
The BBC's Wyre Davies says the rebels are using artillery to try to flush out gunmen entrenched in the centre of the compound.
Many of the loyalists are members of the fugitive leader's tribe or professional soldiers, and are prepared to fight to the death, our correspondent adds.
"There are snipers above and around the perimeter of Bab al-Aziziya; there are dozens of them but we don't know where they are," rebel commander Nouri Mohammed told the AFP news agency.
There was also heavy gunfire in the area around the capital's Rixos Hotel, where about 30 foreign journalists - including a five-person team from the BBC - were confined for several days by Gaddafi loyalists armed with automatic weapons. They have all now been allowed to leave.

"When we got driven out, we discovered we had been inside a 200 sq m piece of Tripoli, where two gunmen believed that they were fighting still on behalf of Col Gaddafi, and that the battle was still going on for Tripoli even though the whole world had seen the city had fallen," said the BBC's Matthew Price, who was among those trapped.

"It was firmly their belief that if we went outside of the hotel, the rebels would capture us, kill us or rape the women."
There were also reports that that pro-Gaddafi forces had hidden on the road to the international airport, and that the fighting had spread to the areas of Abu Salim and al-Zuwara.
Witnesses say armed residents in Tripoli are continuing to man makeshift checkpoints with the help of rebel fighters.
Law and order does not appear to have broken down and celebrations have been continuing in Green Square.
The National Transitional Council estimates that about 400 people have been killed and thousands injured in the battle for Tripoli since Sunday.
The International Red Cross says the fighting in Tripoli has left many civilians injured. A spokesman said doctors were finding it difficult to reach hospitals in and around the capital because of continuing battles.
Funding appeal

Continue reading the main story

 

Earlier, an NTC spokesman told the BBC it had started the process of moving its headquarters to Tripoli from its stronghold of Benghazi.

He said several council members were already in the capital and others were on their way.
But the BBC's Jon Leyne in Benghazi said that with Gaddafi loyalists still fighting back, the NTC seems hesitant about a full move.
The rebels also confirmed on Wednesday that their swift advance on Tripoli was part of a long-planned operation - Mermaid Dawn - that was co-ordinated with Nato. Groups of rebels were trained in Benghazi then sent undercover to the capital, to wait for the signal to fight.
NTC representatives have also been preparing for high-level talks in Qatar with envoys of the US, UK, France, Turkey and the UAE to discuss how to move ahead in a post-Gaddafi Libya.
The head of the NTC's cabinet, Mahmoud Jibril, said it was seeking $2.5bn (£1.5bn) in immediate aid.

Click to play

Rebel spokesman Guma el-Gamaty explains the amnesty for anyone who captures or kills Col Gaddafi

Its immediate priority is to pay employees' salaries and cover humanitarian costs but, in the longer term, money will be needed to repair Libya's oil infrastructure.
Mr Jibril estimates that Libya has some $160-170bn in frozen assets. The US has said it will try to release up to $1.5bn, while British and French diplomats are working with their allies to draft a resolution that would free funds blocked by UN Security Council sanctions.
Mr Jibril will later meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris. A statement from the Elysee Palace said the talks would focus on the international community's actions to support a free and democratic Libya.
The uprising against Col Gaddafi's 41-year rule began in February. The rebels held the east of the country and pockets of the west, before making their push towards the capital at the weekend.
Nato air strikes have been targeting Col Gaddafi's forces, acting on a UN mandate to protect civilians. Critics accuse it of siding with the rebels.

Are you in any of the areas affected by the fighting? Send us your comments and experiences using the form below.

Ex-Wikileaks man 'deleted files'

  Daniel Domscheit-Berg worked as a spokesman for Wikileaks before falling out with Julian Assange 

A former Wikileaks spokesman claims to have deleted thousands of unpublished files that had been passed to the whistleblowing site.

Daniel Domscheit-Berg told the German Newspaper Der Spiegel that the documents included a copy of the complete US no-fly list.

He said he had "shredded" them to avoid their sources being compromised.

Mr Domscheit-Berg previously worked alongside Julian Assange until the pair had a high profile falling-out.

It is understood that he took the files off Wikileaks' servers at the time of his departure.

Wikileaks confirmed the claims on its Twitter feed, saying: "We can confirm that the DDB claimed destroyed data included a copy of the entire US no-fly list."

The list contains the names of individuals who are banned from boarding planes in the United States or bound for the US, based on suspected terrorist links or other security concerns.

Wikileaks' statement went on to state that Mr Domscheit-Berg had also deleted 5 gigabytes of data relating to Bank of America, the internal communications of 20 neo-Nazi organisations and US intercept information for "over a hundred internet companies."

Mr Domscheit-Berg has not confirmed those additional claims.

A statement, attributed to Julian Assange, accused the former volunteer of sabotage and attempted blackmail.
Personality clash Daniel Domscheit-Berg worked with Wikileaks as a spokesman during 2010. Towards the end of the year, he left the organisation.
He subsequently published a book about his experiences in which he claims to have clashed with Mr Assange over his idiosyncratic running of Wikileaks.

Click to play

Daniel Domscheit-Berg spoke to the BBC's Panorama programme in February 2011

In particular, he claims to have urged the founder to step back from his public role amid accusations of sexual misconduct.
In an interview with the BBC's Panorama programme, Mr Domscheit-Berg said he "felt that [Wikileaks] was crumbling apart because [Julian Assange] was so damn ignorant".
He also accused Mr Assange of "behaving like a child clutching on his toy."
After his departure from Wikileaks, Mr Domscheit-Berg set up a rival whistle-blowing site called the OpenLeaks project.

Markets rally back on hopes of end to Libya conflict

 

Fighting between the government and Libyan rebels has affected oil exports from the country Stock markets in Europe have rebounded, led by shares in energy firms, on hopes that fighting in Libya may soon end.

At close on Monday London's FTSE 100 was up 1.08% and the Cac 40 in Paris by 1.14%.
The rally follows a 5% to 10% slump on most markets on Thursday and Friday on recession fears in the US and Europe.
Oil prices initially fell on hopes that Libyan crude would soon come back on tap, before rising again on greater optimism about the global economy.
Business opportunities During Asian trading hours, news from Libya combined with lingering anxiety over the economy to push the price of Brent crude futures down 3.2% to $105.15 a barrel.
By late afternoon in London, Brent was down at $1.51 a barrel to $107.11, while US sweet, light crude was up $0.74 at $83.15. Last Updated at 22 Aug 2011, 19:15 GMT *Chart shows local time

price	change	%
108.36	- -0.26	- -0.24

Leading the rebound in stocks were the European energy firms best placed to exploit future Libyan business opportunities.

Italian oil firm ENI - the most active foreign company in Libya before the conflict began - jumped 6.33%, while France's Total rose 2.25%, and Shell climbed 2.41%.
Exploration firms Cairn Energy and Afren - both active in Africa - rose 2.95% and 4.28% respectively.
Oil industry engineering and servicing firms also received a boost from strong financial results announced by Petrofac. The UK firm rose 3.68%, while oil rigs installer Lamprell jumped 3.77%.
In Milan, other non-energy businesses did well, reflecting the close business links between Italy and Libya.
The FTSE MIB index of 40 leading stocks rose 1.7%, outstripping other European bourses.
Transport and communications firm Ansaldo - which has many contracts with Libya - jumped 5%.
US markets also joined in, with the Dow Jones starting the day more than 1% higher, before slipping back slightly.
Increased supplies? Markets are hoping that an end to the conflict in Libya will see the country's oil exports restored, increasing global supplies.
Libya is the world's 12th-largest oil exporter.
Analysts said oil prices were likely to fall further as the political situation in the country unfolds.
Before the start of the conflict, Libya produced 1.6 million barrels a day of crude oil, or about 2% of the world's output.

In the long run macroeconomic issues will play a huge role in determining which way the oil prices are headed”

Avtar Sandhu Phillip Futures

But as the political unrest in the country intensified, the majority of that production was hit, taking a toll on global oil supply.

"Once they get back to recovery mode, a million barrels per day are expected to enter the global supply," Jonathan Barratt of Commodity Broking told the BBC.
"This will add weight to the decline in oil prices that we have seen recently," he added.
Macroeconomic factors However, some analysts said that even though the Libyan conflict seemed to be heading towards an end, there was still uncertainty about how fast the country's oil production could be restored to the pre-conflict levels.
"It will take a long time for them to repair the production facilities and get back on track," Avtar Sandhu of Phillip Futures told the BBC.
"What we are seeing today is more of a psychological selling."
Oil prices have also been hit by concerns in the past month that demand may be hurt by a slowdown in the global economy.
On Monday, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) confirmed that growth in the world's main industrialised economies had slowed for the fourth quarter in a row during the three months to June.
The trend was most marked in the eurozone, where growth fell to 0.2% versus a year earlier, compared with 0.8% in the previous quarter.
"We can count on slower economic growth in US and Europe, and that is going to impact demand for oil," Victor Shum of Purvin and Gertz told the BBC.
Analysts said that, with two of the world's biggest economic zones struggling to boost growth, oil prices are likely to slide.
"In the long run, macroeconomic issues will play a huge role in determining which way the oil prices are headed," Phillip Futures' Mr Sandhu said.
Japan threat Markets saw heavy falls on Thursday and Friday last week on recession fears, and the negative sentiment carried over into Asian trading hours on Monday.
In Japan, the Nikkei ended the day 1% lower, although Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended up 0.45% after a late rally. Last Updated at 22 Aug 2011, 20:10 GMT

$1 buys	change	%
76.7850	+ +0.25	+ +0.32

Haven investments also did well during Asian trading, but then fell back as European shares rallied.

The price of gold had risen 2.3% prior to the Europe open, to hit yet another record high, of $1,894.5 per troy ounce - before sliding sharply.
The Japanese yen held steady half-a-yen above the record level of 76.1 yen to the dollar it set on Friday.
Japan's finance minister Yoshihiko Noda reiterated the government's readiness to intervene if the currency strengthened further.
"We will watch markets even more closely than before to see whether there is any speculative activity," he said.
"We won't rule out any measures and will take decisive action when necessary."
Meanwhile, the Swiss franc - another popular haven currency - weakened against the euro. The Swiss authorities intervened last week to curtail the strength of their currency.
Currency movements are also being driven by speculation that the US Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, will hint at further monetary stimulus measures in a major speech at Jackson Hole in Wyoming on Friday - something that is likely to weaken the dollar.