A senior employee of the international aid group World Vision in the Gaza Strip siphoned off millions of dollars of the charity’s funds and transferred them to the Islamic militant group Hamas, assisting it in building tunnels and purchasing arms, Israel’s internal security agency said.

Libyan government forces have bombarded the port of Misrata in a virtually non-stop assault on the sole lifeline of a battered population that has been under siege for the past two months.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held a congratulatory round of meetings with officials of the new unified Sudanese government today, but expressed outrage that Sudanese security forces manhandled aides and reporters accompanying her.