Hundreds of rebel fighters have retreated from the strategic oil port of Ras Lanouf as Muammar Gaddafi’s army pounds the town with artillery.

DELEGATES at an international conference being held in Dublin have been urged to use the next fortnight to change the laws on the use of deadly cluster bombs.

The International Red Cross denounced Burma’s military government today, saying it committed abuses against civilians and detainees that caused “immense suffering”.

The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross ducked into a bomb shelter as air raid sirens wailed over northern Israel today, and said he was distressed at civilian suffering from the war between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.

PAKISTAN yesterday dramatically increased the official death toll from the devastating earthquake that hit the north of the country last month to 73,276 and said it could rise further.

US authorities have given the International Red Cross permission to see Saddam Hussein, it said today.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he expected the United Nations to play an important role in rebuilding Iraq after the war and said this would bring legitimacy to the effort.