Libya: Gaddafi’s Son Warns of “Rivers of Blood”

6. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son Seif has warned of “rivers of blood” in a televised statement. He said Libya was in danger of civil war if the pro-democracy protestors did not stop their demonstrations. He told Libyans that his father was too strong to be ousted like the leaders in Tunisia and Egypt. Seif gave a chilly warning to those protesting, saying: "We will fight to the last minute, until the last bullet." He added that if the situation got more out of control, Libyans would have to find a gun to defend themselves. Seif asked Libyans to stop the unrest or there would be “violence worse than Iraq”. He also indicated many more people could lose their lives: “Instead of weeping over 84 dead people, we will weep over hundreds of thousands of dead,” he said.

WikiLeaks Releases Flood of Iraq War Files

7. Hundreds of thousands of secret U.S. military documents about the Iraq War have been made public. The confidential material has not been released by U.S. officials, rather it has been leaked by the whistleblower website WikiLeaks. The site started publishing classified documents related to U.S. operations in Iraq in April. Its latest publishing puts 391,832 files into the public domain. It represents one of the biggest leaks of top-secret files ever. WikiLeaks has made the information available to leading world newspapers. Perhaps the most damaging documents relate to reports that U.S. forces allowed prisoner abuse to take place. Other files document civilian deaths and executions.

Tension In Iran After Election

8. There is political uncertainty in Iran following the elections on June the 12th. Thousands of people have clashed with security forces in the capital Teheran. Police arrested up to 100 members of Iran’s opposition party. The rioters and those arrested claim the election was rigged. Opposition candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi has cast doubts on the fairness of the presidential poll. Mr. Mousavi called the election results a “dangerous charade”. He called on his followers to resist a government he said was based on "lies and dictatorship". One of those arrested is Mohammad Reza Khatami, the brother of former president Mohammad Khatami. The street clashes are the largest seen in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Poland and u.S. Sign missile shield deal

9. American and Polish leaders have signed a deal that allows the US to place a missile shield in Poland. The agreement has caused deep anger in Russia, with Moscow saying it will retaliate. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed her amazement as to why Russia is so upset with the situation. She told reporters that: "Missile defence, of course, is aimed at no one. It is in our defence that we do this…It is not aimed in any way at Russia." She explained that the only reason for the shield was to deal with threats from “rogue states”. "This will help us to deal with the new threats of the 21st century of long-range missiles from countries like Iran or from North Korea," she said. The signing comes amid heightened US-Russian tensions over Russia’s conflict with Georgia.