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Ousted President of Egypt, Mubarak

Rampage in Norway; Debt crisis looming in US; Assassination in Afghanistan Norway was in shock after a bombing in Oslo's central political district and a mass shooting at a nearby youth camp killing 76 people on Friday. Suspect Anders Breivik was arrested and has confessed to the killings, deeming them “atrocious but necessary”. According to his writings on the internet, Breivik was virulently opposed to immigration and worried about what he perceived to be the Islamification of Europe. In the wake of the attack, the Norwegian government plans to launch an independent commission to review its police and security measures. Congressional leaders and US President Barack Obama failed to agree on plans to raise the US debt ceiling, setting up the possibility of a default on US bonds in early August. Democrats and Republicans have offered competing budget plans to avoid default. Republican leaders want deep spending cuts before agreeing to raise the debt limit, and have expressed their opposition to any plan calling for an increase in taxes. A US default could cause turmoil in world economy. Stopgap measures may allow the US government to avoid defaulting for about a week after the official deadline of August 2. In the latest of a series of killings in Afghanistan, a suicide bomber killed the mayor of the city of Kandahar, Ghulam Haidar Hameedi. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. According to the Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, Hameedi had ordered the destruction of houses that Kandahar officials had said were illegally built. The murder of Hameedi follows the recent killings of Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s half-brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, and an adviser to Hamid Karzai on tribal issues, Jan Mohammad Khan. Security risks remain high for Afghan politicians: both Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, and Mohammad Gulab Mangal, the governor of Helmand province, have survived four assassination attempts.

   Africa

Libyan rebels were pushed back from the key oil town of Brega, as they clear mines that have held up their efforts to retake the city. Despite Somali accusations that the UN has done too little to help amid one of the worst famines in decades in the Horn of Africa, UN planes began airlifting tonnes of food to Somalia.

Americas Amid warnings of danger to the world economy, US politicians remained divided on passing a deal that would raise the country's debt ceiling. The maid who accused former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn of attempted rape spoke publicly for the first time, telling the US media that Strauss-Kahn attacked her.

Asia-Pacific Chinese bullet trains lost power and collided, causing one train to derail and killing 32 people. Two mudslides have killed at least 17 people in South Korea after heavy rains.

Central & South Asia In an attack for which the Taliban claimed responsibility, a suicide bomber assassinated the Kandahar city mayor, Ghulam Haidar Hameedi. After flooding that displaced millions last year, Pakistanis now brace for new flood warnings.

Europe A Norwegian man detonated a car bomb in Oslo and went on a shooting rampage at a nearby youth camp, leaving dozens dead. Eurozone leaders came to an agreement on a $156bn bailout package to help Greece avoid financial disaster. Norway police face review, think killer acted alone Norwegian police, almost certain that Anders Breivik acted without accomplices, doubt they will uncover any of the cells the mass killer claimed exist

Middle East Half a million anti-government demonstrators marched in Homs, marking the biggest protests to date in Syria. Continuing street clashes in Egypt reveal deep splits in visions for the country's political future. Egypt's Islamists and Secularists avoid confrontation and join hands for yet another Friday of protest. Two Friday protests likely in Alexandria Hardline Islamist leaders in Alexandria break with their Cairene counterparts' quest for unity in the Friday of Popular Will and Unity protest by staging their own demonstration.    Mubarak's trial to be in Cairo   The exact location remains in doubt, but ousted president Hosni Mubarak's trial for killing protesters will be in Cairo, starting 3 Augus.   Mubarak's lawyer 'seeking sympathy' Gamal Essam El-Din reports on the ongoing saga of deposed president Hosni Mubarak's health   Tripolistill tottering It took guts to defy NATO and in spite of setbacks it seems like we have not heard the last of Gaddafi yet, muses Gamal Nkrumah   The Zionist project falters Growing numbers of Israelis are seeking to emigrate from Israel in search of a better life abroad, writes Saleh Al-Naami  Athenian democracy The flotilla gathering was a chance for people around the world to learn from each other, discovers Donna Nevel   Commentary: Out of the fry pan America is conducting an open war against Yemen's people, says James Gundun Yemen opposition fights stalemate, internal divisions As Yemen's uprising reaches its sixth month, a second transitional council is formed in reaction to the first oppositional Joint Meetings Party's council, whom protesters accuse of failure.

Children of the cannabis trade An investigation into how Vietnamese children trafficked to work in the UK's cannabis trade are prosecuted as criminals.

Dhaka's factory of miracles Cholera is a silent killer in Bangladesh, but one hospital is helping to give hope to millions.

The US and the new Middle East: The Gulf Fault Lines travels to Bahrain and asks why the US backs democracy in one Arab country, but not another.