BBC News with Fiona MacDonald

Sri Lanka and Britain have clashed over how to do with allegations of war crimes at the end of the Sri Lankan civil war. President Mahinda Rajapaksa reacted freshly to a call by the British Prime Minister David Cameron for an independent inquiry. Charles Haviland reports from Colombo.

David Cameron said before leaving Sri Lanka that if the country didn't told transparent investigation into possible crimes by its military by March, Britain would press for an international investigation. At near conference later, president Mahinda Rajapaksa commented That's his view, they can say what they want, but added that people in glass houses must not throw stones. In an oblique reference to the Bloody Sunday killings in North Island, he said some inquiry reports took 40 years to emerge and he knew the difficulty is involved.

The opposition leader in the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed has acknowledged his defeat in the country's presidential election. Earlier results showed the run-off vote to be won by Abdulla Yameen, a close relative of the country's former ruler Maumoon Abdul Gayoom who was President for three decades until 2008. Anbarasan Ethirajan reports.

It was a sharp defeat for Mohamed Nasheed who have been seen by many as a front runner. But the later results showed that Mr.Yameen has secured more than 51% of the votes. Just days before the run-off, Mr. Yemen has been able to get the support of other political parties which seem to have turned the result in its favor. The immediate challenge for Mr.Yameen is to be convinced the international community that is not simply a puppet of his half-brother and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, with Mr.Nasheed accepting the defeat there is hope that there will be a political stability in the Maldives.

Reinforcements from one of the most powerful militias in Lybia have been pushed back from the capital Tripoli in heavy fighting with rival groups. At least one person has been killed,and a dozen others wounded. The convoy comes from the city of Misrata to help their fellow militiamen, who came under attack after opening fire on unarmed protesters on Friday.

The Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said there should be no arm presence in the capital except for the army and the police. We will contact our brothers in the arm groups in Tripoli and we will request that they prepare to leave the city,through far away to another location or back to where they came from. Then there will be no armed presence except the army and the police.

The former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has relaunched his old Forza Italian party,following a split in the center-right,the PDL party elected for 16 years,fell apart over plans to expel Mr Silvio Berlusconi from paliament,folowing a conviction for tax fraud earlier, The break group proposed demand for toppling government over the issue.

World News from the BBC

A former director of Brazilian state-run Bank Banco do Brasil Henrique Pizzolato has fled the country to avoid being jailed along with other senior figures convicted at the country's biggest corruption trial. In a letter, Mr. Pizzolato, who has an Italian passport said he run away because he wanted a fair trial in Italy. On Friday, the Brazilian Supreme Court issued 12 arrest warrants, all the others have surrendered to the police including the chief of the staff for the former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

A suicide bomber has attacked a police checkpoint in the Afghan capital Kabul killing one police officer and nine other people. The attack took place near a site where hundreds of delegates are expected to gather next week to discuss future relations with the United States. From Kabul here's David Loyn.

The attack happened amid busy Saturday afternoon traffic. It appears of a police at a checkpoint identified a vehicle as a threat and opened fire. The suspects drive it and then crashed into a police armed vehicle killed one police officer and wounded three others as it bombed detonated. As so often in Afghanistan, it was civillians who took the brunt of the casualties, and the dead and wounded among people working or in other vehicales were taken to a nearby hospitial.

China State News agency Xinhua says nine assailants armed with knives and axes have attacked a police station in the province of Xinjiang killing two officers and wounded two others. The reports said all nine attackers were shot died during the incident in the town of Serikbuya.

Nigeria has become the first African country to qualify for the football World Cup finals in Brazil next year. Playing at home, the Nigerian team defeated Ethiopia 2-0 in the second leg play-off match. In the other qualifying matches for the four other African places, Senegal play Ivory Coast, and Cameroon face Tunisia on Sunday.

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