 » Libyan rebels overran Tripoli and occupied the compound of Colonel Muammar Qaddafi, who was notably absent. Heavy fighting continued in the city but the rebels were mostly in control and poised to take over the country.
See article » Egypt and Israel came close to falling out over a shooting at their Sinai border involving Palestinian extremists, but appeared to have stepped back from a diplomatic imbroglio. Israel is likely to agree to new security measures in the area.
See article » America, Britain and other European countries called for the departure of Syria's president, Bashar Assad, after his continuing violent suppression of protests. » Sudan declared a two-week ceasefire in the restive state of South Kordofan, where 200,000 people have fled from their homes in recent months.
The end of the affair?  » A judge in New York dropped all charges of sexual assault against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a former managing director of the IMF. Prosecutors had asked for the case to be dismissed, citing doubts over the credibility of the hotel maid whose allegations against Mr Strauss-Kahn had led to his arrest and "perp walk" in May. See article » Turkey stepped up its attacks on bases of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), an armed separatist group, in northern Iraq. After a week of air and artillery strikes, the Turkish army said it had killed up to 100 rebels. There has been a surge in Turkish-Kurdish violence since Turkey held a general election in June. See article » José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Spain's prime minister, called for a constitutional clause limiting the country's budget-deficit and public-debt levels. The plan comes after calls by Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy, Germany's chancellor and France's president, for all euro-zone countries to introduce such laws. » Italy's biggest trade union called a general strike for September 6th to protest against the government's austerity measures, though other unions described the move as irresponsible. Italy's parliament has yet to vote on the legislation.
India fixated  » Anna Hazare continued his hunger strike in a muddy field in Delhi, surrounded by thousands of chanting supporters. The elderly activist wants the Indian government to adopt his version of an anti-corruption bill. The prime minister, Manmohan Singh, pleaded with Mr Hazare to end his fast, noting that many aspects of his central demand for an independent watchdog are already in place. See article » Karachi ground to a halt, as its biggest political party called a strike to protest against a wave of bloody mayhem in Pakistan's biggest city that has been directed mainly along ethnic lines. More than 100 people have been killed in the past week alone. The police rounded up dozens of suspects, mostly from gangs affiliated with political parties in turn associated with ethnic groups. See article » A suicide-bombing at a mosque in north-west Pakistan killed scores of people. It is thought that tribal elders opposed to the Taliban were the target of the attack. » In Afghanistan the Taliban killed 12 people when they stormed the British Council compound in Kabul. » Myanmar's new government, ostensibly civilian but still stacked with military alumni from the old junta, offered more symbolic gestures to suggest a softer side. Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader, was allowed to meet the UN human-rights envoy, having already met President Thein Sein. Her picture was allowed on the front pages of newspapers for the first time in years. » Thailand revised plans for the development of a high-speed rail network that would have connected Bangkok to Malaysia in the south and Laos to the north—and to China beyond. Instead the new government said it will build lines to connect Thailand's capital to its other big cities. » Thaksin Shinawatra, a former prime minister of Thailand who has been sentenced to prison in absentia, was in Japan on a supposedly humanitarian mission. Japan says Thailand's new government, which is headed by Mr Thaksin's sister, asked it to let him in. The Thais deny it.
A political void » Jack Layton, the leader of the largest opposition party in Canada, died of cancer. In May Mr Layton led the left-of-centre New Democratic Party to its best-ever performance in a general election, winning 103 of the 308 seats in the House of Commons. His death means that the three main opposition parties are all without permanent leaders. See article » Chile's main trade-union confederation held a general strike, calling for a bigger state pension, changes to labour laws and higher taxes on business. The strike followed a wave of student protests against the centre-right government of Sebastián Piñera, but it failed to attract widespread backing. Most public transport and the mining industry operated normally. See article » In a first for Brazil, the government auctioned the rights to build and operate a new airport at Natal in the north-east. The government plans to award similar contracts for three other airports, including São Paulo's international airport, later this year.
A long time coming » In Mississippi Johnny DuPree won a run-off ballot to be the Democratic candidate for governor, becoming the first black man in modern times from either of the two main parties to run for the job. He will face Phil Bryant, the Republican lieutenant-governor, in November's election to replace Haley Barbour. See article  » The Congressional Budget Office predicted that America's budget deficit will be $1.3 trillion this fiscal year, slightly less than last year. But it sharply reduced its forecast of the cumulative deficit between 2012 and 2021 to $3.5 trillion from an earlier projection of $6.7 trillion, mostly because of the spending cuts that are included in the budget deal to increase the debt-ceiling limit. » An earthquake of magnitude 5.8 struck the east coast, causing little damage and no injuries, but powerful enough to send Washingtonians and New Yorkers scurrying into the streets and to close the National Monument to tourists. There were also sizeable earthquakes this week in Colorado and central Peru. | 
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