Sustained automatic gunfire and a series of explosions rang out in Tripoli overnight as rebels launched efforts to permanantly free the Libyan capital from Muammar Gaddafi’s grasp, according to reports from witnesses and rebels.

Libyan rebels have reportedly taken control of the centre of the oil-rich eastern town of Brega, just 50km east of Tripoli.

Ethnic and criminal violence blamed on gangs has killed 65 people in Pakistan’s financial capital of Karachi, with police the latest victims shot dead in a brazen ambush, officials said Saturday.

A coordinated attack Friday on a British compound in Kabul involving two suicide bombers and a five-hour long firefight between Afghan security troops and attackers who penetrated the complex killed at least 10 people, Afghan officials said.

Libyan opposition forces have pushed further to isolate Tripoli, moving toward a western town that links the capital and Sirte — Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s hometown and a stronghold for his military.

ZAHEDAN- Shaikh Abdul Hameed has criticized state-taken steps and suspicious propagandas against the International Movement of Tablighi Jama’at in the country in his latest Friday speech.

Libyan revolutionary forces have entered the coastal city of Zawiyah, which is located about 50 kilometers (31 miles) west of Tripoli, according to the latest reports.

ZAHEDAN- Shaikh Abdul Hameed, khateeb of Sunnis in Zahedan, asked the provincial authorities to allocate a significant ground where Zahedan’s Sunnis could offer Eid prayers easily.

Afghan Taliban say they have killed four US soldiers and injured four others in two separate bomb attacks in eastern Afghanistan.

A NATO helicopter has crashed in eastern Afghanistan during a battle with the Taliban, killing at least 31 US and seven Afghan soldiers, a statement from the Afghan president’s office said.