Article:

With New Orleans poised to score on its opening possession, Donte Whitner delivered a crushing blow that knocked out running back Pierre Thomas and forced the first of five Saints turnovers.

 New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) hits the ground in front of San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois (95) during the second quarter of an NFL divisional playoff football... (Associated Press)

 San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Justin Smith (94) sacks New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) during the third quarter of an NFL divisional playoff football game Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012,... (Associated Press)

 New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) flips the ball away before hitting the ground in front of San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois (95) during the second quarter of an NFL... (Associated Press)

 San Francisco 49ers safety Donte Whitner, right, is called for pass interference while defending New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham during the first quarter of an NFL divisional playoff football... (Associated Press)

 San Francisco's hard-hitting, opportunistic defense set the tone in the 49ers' thrilling 36-32 playoff win the same way it has all season.

 From Justin Smith and Aldon Smith harassing Drew Brees all day, to Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman shutting down the running game and Dashon Goldson making punishing hits and key plays from the secondary, the defense is the biggest reason for the resurgence in San Francisco that has the 49ers (14-3) back in the NFC championship for the first time since the 1997 season.

 They will play the Giants next Sunday at Candlestick Park after New York defeated the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers 37-20 on Sunday. San Francisco beat Eli Manning and the Giants 27-20 at home Nov. 13.

 "It's a lot better than traveling to Wisconsin. More importantly, we're playing a team we've already faced," cornerback Carlos Rogers said Sunday. "It's not as hard as preparing for another team we haven't faced yet."

 "Home game huh?" Whitner tweeted Sunday once his opponent had been determined.

 An offensive show featuring four lead changes defined the final five minutes of the Niners' win Saturday, capped by Alex Smith's 14-yard touchdown pass to Vernon Davis with 9 seconds remaining. But Whitner got things going in the franchise's first postseason appearance in nine years.

 "It let the (Saints) offense know we were going to be physical all day," Whitner said of the hit on Thomas, who left with a head injury and never returned.

 Whitner was unfazed by his pass interference penalty moments earlier that briefly sent shaken-up tight end Jimmy Graham to the sideline. Whitner's jarring, legal helmet-to-helmet hit on Thomas was a blow to the Saints' psyche as well as to their depth chart.

 The 49ers defense has been so stingy this season they didn't allow a 100-yard runner or a rushing touchdown until the second-to-last game of the year Dec. 24 at Seattle. Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, part of plenty of top-notch defenses himself, has praised these men for not "giving up inches."

 "We've got a great defense. We feel like we can stop anyone," Bowman said. "When it's not working for our offense, it's our job to get the ball back for them as many times as we can. That's all it was. If those guys aren't doing well it's our job to pick it up. That's what a team is and I think we have a great one here."

 First-year coach Jim Harbaugh brought defensive coordinator Vic Fangio along with him from Stanford when he was hired last January _ and Fangio has developed his unit into one of the NFL's best.

 "We like to think that we play defense the right way," Fangio said. "We play physical, we play with our hands. We run to the ball. We don't try and do anything too fancy, although we do have our changeups here and there. We try and play defense the old-fashioned, hard school way."

 The Niners had 38 takeaways during the regular season to only 10 turnovers. Their plus-28 turnover differential matched the 2010 Patriots for the second-best mark in NFL history since 1941.

 They forced five more Saturday, and only had one turnover themselves.

 San Francisco's determined defenders heard all week how difficult it would be to stop Brees and Co., knowing many figured they'd fail.

 "We got tired of it throughout the week. They gave us no chance," Goldson said. "They kept talking about the Saints, the Saints, where they stand against us and what they were going to do. We ignored everything and focused on us and what we had to do to come win this game."

 Goldson had six interceptions for the NFC West champions during the regular season, then his biggest yet Saturday. That first-quarter pick snapped Brees' NFL-record streak of 226 postseason passes without an interception dating to the NFC championship game against Chicago five years ago.

 Tarell Brown had the other interception, while special teams standouts Blake Costanzo and Madieu Williams each forced a fumble.

 "Our guys were humming. We were able to pry a couple out and that was big," Fangio said. "The interceptions were big also."

 The Niners were No. 1 in the NFL in stopping the run during the season and didn't allow a rushing TD on Saturday after the Saints scored three on the ground in a 45-28 win over the Detroit Lions in the Superdome in last weekend's wild-card round.

 The Saints produced a playoff-record 626 yards against the Lions, with Brees throwing for 466 yards while completing 33 of 43 passes.

 "I had figured coming into this game they would feel like, `Let's keep everything in front of us, let's not give up big plays and obviously do a good job against the rush and try to put them in third-and-long situations,'" Brees said. "They did, yet again, a great job stopping the run in a lot of cases which we felt like in order to really get chunks, we would have to throw it. Obviously that's a great defense. It's one of the best defenses in the league."

 Goldson was re-signed to a one-year contract as a free agent in August to complement newcomers and fellow defensive backs Whitner and Carlos Rogers. Against the Saints, Goldson had a team-leading 11 tackles to go with the first-quarter interception and two passes defensed. Bowman also made 11 tackles, 10 of those solo.

 "We got some spectacular stops," Harbaugh said. "On third down, I thought they were outstanding. Five takeaways in the game. I know the special teams contributed to that as well. Very opportunistic today. Got pressure on their quarterback. Made plays on the ball, and made them when they were there to be made. Our guys in the secondary made them. It was a terrific job by our defense, once again. You just love the way they play. You love the way they compete. Love how hard they work on the field."

 The 49ers sacked the record-setting Brees three times, including rookie Aldon Smith's pounding for an 11-yard loss on third down in the first quarter. All-Pro defensive tackle Justin Smith brought Brees to the ground for a 9-yard loss in the third quarter and Ahmad Brooks added a fourth-quarter sack on which Brees lost 7 yards.

 "We wanted to come out and play our style of football, which is playing physical, being a great tackling team, and playing with good fundamentals which has carried us all year," Fangio said. "We just wanted to play the way we've played all year, particularly starting early in the game."

 Whitner definitely did his part.

 "I told myself that I was going to hit anything moving today and that I was going to be extremely physical, even if I hit my own guys," he said. "Luckily, I didn't hit too many of my own guys." ||||| If style points and offensive fireworks meant anything, the Baltimore Ravens wouldn't stand a chance of making it to the AFC championship.

 Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak reacts to a play during the first half of an NFL divisional playoff football game against the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Patrick... (Associated Press)

 Houston Texans running back Arian Foster, left, reacts to his touchdown as center Chris Myers, right, congratulates him during the first half of an NFL divisional playoff football game against the Baltimore... (Associated Press)

 Baltimore Ravens free safety Ed Reed intercepts a pass intended for Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson during the second half of an NFL divisional playoff football game in Baltimore, Sunday, Jan.... (Associated Press)

 Houston Texans quarterback T.J. Yates, left, congratulates running back Arian Foster on his touchdown during the first half of an NFL divisional playoff football game against the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore,... (Associated Press)

 Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice is stopped by Houston Texans outside linebacker Connor Barwin during the first half of an NFL divisional playoff football game in Baltimore, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012.... (Associated Press)

 Houston Texans running back Arian Foster leaves Baltimore Ravens cornerback Lardarius Webb in the background as he carries the ball during the first half of an NFL divisional playoff football game in... (Associated Press)

 Houston Texans running back Arian Foster dives into the end zone for a touchdown leaving Baltimore Ravens inside linebacker Ray Lewis, center, and free safety Ed Reed, left, in his wake during the first... (Associated Press)

 Baltimore Ravens free safety Ed Reed, right, celebrates his interception with teammate outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, left, during the second half of an NFL divisional playoff football game against... (Associated Press)

 Playing defense and protecting the football are what they do best, and that formula led to a 20-13 victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday, putting Baltimore in the AFC title game against the New England Patriots.

 "I always say there is a right way to do things, there is a wrong way to do things and there is just the Ravens' way of doing things," linebacker Terrell Suggs said. "It wasn't pretty but we're not really a pretty team. We got the W and now it's on to the AFC championship."

 The Ravens (13-4) had almost as many punts (nine) as first downs (11) and scored only three points over the final 46 minutes. But Baltimore wasn't penalized once, didn't commit a turnover, intercepted rookie quarterback T.J. Yates three times and totaled four takeaways _ two in the first quarter and two over the final eight minutes.

 "If we didn't get any of those turnovers it would probably be a different game," Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata said.

 Baltimore visits New England next Sunday, with the winner advancing to the Super Bowl in Indianapolis on Feb. 5.

 The Patriots lead the series 6-1, but Baltimore's lone win came in the postseason.

 "We don't play the game until next week," Suggs said. "I'm going to enjoy tonight."

 Veteran defensive stars Ed Reed and Ray Lewis led a unit that yielded only one touchdown and came up with the big play when one was needed. Lewis had a team-high seven tackles and Reed sealed the victory with the Ravens' fourth takeaway, an interception near the goal line in the closing minutes.

 "It's winning by any means necessary," Reed said. "That's what it's got to be."

 The Ravens finished 9-0 at home, but this one was anything but easy. Baltimore led 17-3 after the first quarter, and interceptions by Lardarius Webb and Reed in the final 7 1/2 minutes helped the advantage stand up.

 Reed has eight interceptions in 10 playoff games, few bigger than the last one.

 "You can't say enough about him," Ravens linebacker Jarret Johnson said. "His big plays always seem to happen when you need one."

 One week earlier, in the first playoff game in Texans history, Houston didn't commit a turnover in a 31-10 home rout of Cincinnati. Against Baltimore, the Texans couldn't hold onto the ball and quickly fell behind by two touchdowns.

 Arian Foster ran for 132 yards, the first player ever to rush for 100 yards against the Ravens in the postseason. But Yates' three interceptions matched the total he had in six regular season games.

 "I can't have the turnovers," Yates said. "If we don't turn the ball over like that, we have a chance to win. And we still had a chance to win. If I'd done a better job of protecting the football, I really think we'd have come out with the win today. We did a good job of moving the ball and we had some big plays, but you can't have that many picks."

 Yates was the third starting quarterback used by Houston this season following injuries to Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart. The Texans also lost wide receiver Andre Johnson for a spell and finished without sack specialist Mario Williams, who missed the last two-thirds of the season.

 And still, the Texans got within a win of reaching the conference title game. After the game, team owner Bob McNair pulled aside coach Gary Kubiak and congratulated him.

 "I told him how proud I was. ... To come out and play the way this team has played, I think it's just remarkable," McNair said. "Where would New England have been if (Tom) Brady wasn't playing, and if Wes Welker wasn't playing, and if their best defensive player wasn't playing? Go down the list of any of these teams and ask where they would be _ and they wouldn't be in the playoffs. And this team was in the playoffs."

 Down 17-13 at halftime, Houston twice held the Ravens without a first down in the third quarter before driving to the Baltimore 32. From there, Neil Rackers' 50-yard field goal try hit the crossbar and dropped into the end zone.

 Baltimore then launched a drive in which seldom-used Lee Evans made a sensational one-handed catch for a 30-yard gain on third-and-5 from the Houston 39. On fourth-and-goal inside the 1, Ray Rice was stuffed by linebacker Tim Dobbins for no gain.

 "That's a huge play," Houston defensive end J.J. Watt said. "Those are the type of plays that win playoffs games. Obviously, we wish it had gone the other way, but those are the type of plays that you remember."

 The Texans couldn't move the ball, and the Ravens took the ensuing punt at the Houston 49. But three plays netted only 4 yards, and Sam Koch punted for the seventh time.

 Minutes later, the Ravens went three and out for the fourth time in five second-half possessions. Fortunately for Baltimore, the defense compensated for the team's inability to add to its early lead.

 "You have to do whatever you have to do to win a football game," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said.

 Webb's second interception came with 7 1/2 minutes left and the Ravens clinging to 17-13 advantage. Baltimore moved 45 yards to get a field goal by Billy Cundiff with 2:52 left.

 Houston's Danieal Manning muffled the record crowd of 71,547 by taking the opening kickoff 60 yards to the Baltimore 41. Yates then completed two straight passes, and after the Ravens stuffed Foster on a third-and-1, Rackers kicked a 40-yard field goal.

 Baltimore failed to get a first down on its first possession and had to punt. Jacoby Jones inexplicably attempted to field the bouncing ball at the 13-yard line, was immediately hit by Cary Williams and lost the ball, which was recovered by Baltimore rookie Jimmy Smith at the 2.

 On third down, Joe Flacco threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Kris Wilson _ the tight end's first catch of the season.

 After a Houston punt, Flacco completed a 21-yard pass to Anquan Boldin to set up a 48-yard field goal for a 10-3 lead.

 Later in the first quarter, Ravens cornerback Lardarius Webb stepped in front of Johnson for an interception at the Houston 35. Five plays later, Flacco tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Boldin in the right side of the end zone.

 Yates then completed a pair of third-down passes in a 59-yard drive that ended with a field goal.

 After Yates misfired on third down from the Baltimore 10, the rookie came off the field he was greeted by coach Gary Kubiak, who put a hand on the back of the quarterback's jersey while chatting.

 Yates returned after a Baltimore punt to direct a 12-play, 86-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by Foster, who accounted for 66 yards _ including 54 on the ground.

 Yates went 17 for 35 for 184 yards. Johnson had eight catches for 111 yards.

 Notes: Baltimore improved to 6-0 against Houston, 2-0 this season. ... It was the Ravens' first home playoff win since 2000. ... Foster ran for 285 yards in the postseason, most by a player in his first two NFL playoff games. ... With the Ravens' home win, it's the first time since the NFL went to current playoff format in 1990 that the first seven games have been won by the home team. |||||
What is a summary?

– For Eli Manning and the New York Giants, Lambeau Field has become a familiar launching pad. After beating the Green Bay Packers at home for the second time in four years, they only hope this trip ends the same way—at the Super Bowl. Manning threw three touchdown passes and the Giants shocked the Packers 37-20 in an NFC divisional playoff game today. Manning threw for 330 yards, sending the Giants to San Francisco for the NFC championship game next Sunday night. More from today's football games: The San Francisco 49ers beat the New Orleans Saints in a thrilling 36-32 game today. With New Orleans poised to score on its opening possession, Donte Whitner delivered a crushing blow that knocked out running back Pierre Thomas and forced the first of five Saints turnovers. San Francisco's hard-hitting, opportunistic defense set the tone the same way it has all season, putting the 49ers back in the NFC championship for the first time since the 1997 season. If style points and offensive fireworks meant anything, the Baltimore Ravens wouldn't stand a chance of making it to the AFC championship. Playing defense and protecting the football are what they do best, and that formula led to a 20-13 victory over the Houston Texans today, putting Baltimore in the AFC title game against the New England Patriots next Sunday, with the winner advancing to the Super Bowl in Indianapolis on Feb. 5.


Article:

TRIPOLI NATO is to formally decide on Wednesday whether to end its mission over Libya now that Muammar Gaddafi is dead and buried and the country's new leaders have declared the nation "liberated".

 The likely decision to end the alliance's patrols over the skies of Libya at the end of the month marks another milestone in what the National Transitional Council (NTC) has pledged will be a road toward democracy and free and fair elections in 2013.

 But the deaths of Gaddafi and his son Mo'tassim after both were captured wounded but alive on Thursday and the grisly public display of their decomposing bodies in a Misrata meat locker have made the NTC's Western backers uneasy about Libya's prospects for stable government and respect for the rule of law.

 Gaddafi and Mo'tassim were buried in a secret desert location on Tuesday to prevent their graves becoming a shrine for any remaining followers in the oil-rich North African state.

 Under pressure from Western allies, the NTC promised on Monday to investigate how Gaddafi and his son were killed. Mobile phone footage shows both alive after their capture. The former leader was seen being mocked, beaten and abused before he died, in what NTC officials say was crossfire.

 The treatment of others who supported Gaddafi and fought alongside him was now an issue, said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman.

 "This is a test. The NTC has repeatedly said that they will distinguish themselves from the Gaddafi regime in terms of the respect of human rights and the rule of law," he told a news conference in Morocco.

 "Now is the time for them to begin actions that will help them reinforce these words."

 RIVALRIES

 Emerging from 42 years of often brutal one-man rule, many Libyans are savoring the end of eight months of bitter civil war won with NATO's backing and are unconcerned about how Gaddafi met his end and how his body was treated afterwards.

 "Throw him in a hole, in the sea, in garbage. No matter. He is lower than a donkey or a dog and only foreigners say they care about how we killed him. And they are lying," said engineer Ali Azzarog, 47.

 Hatred of Gaddafi unified his disparate opponents, who will likely now tussle for power during a planned transition to democracy in a nation riven with regional and tribal rivalries.

 With economic problems at home, NATO countries are expected to endorse an end to their U.N.-mandated mission in Libya when their ambassadors meet in Brussels on Wednesday after a preliminary decision last week to end it on October 31.

 "We said that we would consult closely with the United Nations and the NTC and that process of consultations is ongoing," NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said.

 Libyan interim Oil and Finance Minister Ali Tarhouni said he wanted NATO to maintain its mission for another month, but hoped for a swift end to United Nations sanctions to free up funds for the interim government to pay salaries and help reconstruction.

 SAIF ON THE RUN

 NATO spokeswoman Lungescu declined to say whether NATO might extend the mission.

 "I don't know whether there is a formal request. All these things remain to be sorted out. But in the end this is a political decision," she said.

 NATO's Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy, James Appathurai, said he expected the alliance to confirm its decision to end the mission.

 "I don't expect that there will be a change to that decision, because it is quite clear that the pro-Gaddafi elements no longer have the command and control or other capabilities to pose an organized threat to civilians. That is now finished, and as a result our operation will end," he said.

 Western military powers have already begun winding down the Libyan mission, and diplomats have said the majority of NATO equipment, including fighter jets, has already been withdrawn.

 A NATO statement on Tuesday said operations in the interim would involve intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, although NATO would retain the capability to conduct air strikes if they were needed.

 The one remaining element from the old order is Gaddafi's sons, the enigmatic Saif al-Islam, who remains on the run. Once viewed as a moderate reformer, he vowed to help his father crush his enemies once the revolt began.

 An NTC official said Saif al-Islam was in the southern desert near Niger and Algeria and was set to flee Libya using a false passport.

 (Reporting by Taha Zargoun in Sirte, Barry Malone and Jessica Donati in Tripoli, Rania El Gamal and Tim Gaynor in Misrata, Christian Lowe, Jon Hemming and Andrew Hammond in Tunis, Hamid Ould Ahmed in Algiers, Samia Nakhoul in Dubai, Abdoulaye Massalaatchi in Niamey, Matt Falloon in London, Souhail Karam in Rabat; Writing by Jon Hemming; Editing by David Stamp and Ralph Gowling) ||||| Welcome to Middle East Live. Here's a round up of the latest developments.

 • The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 17 people were killed in Syria, including three teenage girls and a woman, while at least seven soldiers died in clashes with suspected army defectors, al-Jazeera reports. It said eight people were killed in Homs, central Syria, including four shot dead by Shabiha, an armed civilian group that supports Assad's government.

 • Libya's interim government has become the first in the world to recognise Syria's opposition movement as a "legitimate authority" to rule Syria. Guma el-Gamaty, the UK-based co-ordinator for Libya's National Transitional Council, urged other countries to do the same. "We feel the Syrian people have been let down by the world, and they need moral and political support," he said.

 • A former Syrian vice president who became one of the country's most prominent dissidents was kidnapped in Lebanon five months ago while visiting his daughter and is believed to be secretly imprisoned by the Syrian regime as it tries to crush a 7-month-old uprising, his daughter and Lebanese police said, according to AP. The abduction of Shibli al-Aisamy, an 88-year-old who holds permanent US residency, has raised alarm among some in Lebanon that members of the country's security forces are helping Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime in its crackdown on anti-government protesters, effectively extending it into Lebanon to prevent it from becoming a safe haven for the Syrian

 Libya

 • Libya's acting prime minister has said that Muammar Gaddafi is believed to be recruiting fighters from other African countries and preparing for a possible insurgency, hoping to destabilise Libya's new regime. Mahmoud Jibril said: "Reports have shown that 68 vehicles with at least eight fighters each crossed the Libyan borders to Mali and Gaddafi is hiding in the southern desert."

 • Libyan interim government fighters have renewed their offensive on the besieged town of Sirte after being pushed back by Gaddafi loyalists holed up in the deposed leader's home town. Grad rockets, artillery and tank fire rained down on pro-Gaddafi positions in the centre of the town on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

 • Anti-Gaddafi forces in Sirte have unveiled their latest home-made weapon. The BBC describes it as a cross between a bulldozer and a battleship.

 • Tunisians speak of their hopes for the future as more than 100 political parties contest elections on Sunday. Angelique Chrisafis in Tunis provides a guide to the five key parties: An-Nahda (Renaissance); the Progressive Democratic party (PDP), Ettakatol, Congress for the Republic, Modernist Democratic Pole.

 • Those contesting the election have been urged provide a clear commitment protect human rights after a survey of the parties found disagreements on the protection of minorities against hate speech, and the defamation of religions. Human Right Watch, which conducted the survey, called on the constituent assembly to guarantee equality and non-discrimination.

 • For full coverage of the elections and build up to Sunday's poll visit out Tunisian Elections pages.

 Israel and the Palestinian territories

 • Intelligence officials are planning to wait for at least several days before beginning the delicate process of debriefing Gilad Shalit on his five years and four months in captivity in Gaza at the hands of Palestinian militants. The priority is to establish his physical and psychological health, according to military and government sources.

 • Many of the newly released Palestinian prisoners spent their first full day of freedom being feted at home by streams of well-wishers bearing gifts and flowers. All the prisoners describe their detention as brutal with long periods of solitary confinement.

 Some residents are returning to Sirte to protect their homes from being looted by forces loyal to the new government, the BBC reports.

 One returning resident, Mohammed Sayeh, said anti-government forces took a computer, a mobile phone and his passport. He said he came back to stop the house being burnt down.

 Breaking: AP is reporting that Sirte has fallen.

 Witnesses: Libyan fighters overrun last positions of Gadhafi loyalists in Sirte, city falls.

 Government forces have captured the last remaining Gaddafi positions in Sirte, Reuters confirms, citing frontline commanders.

 AP has more details on the fall of Sirte:

 Libyan fighters have overrun the last positions of Gaddafi loyalists holding out in the city of Sirte and the revolutionaries now have all of the ousted leader's hometown within their hands. Reporters on the scene say the final push to capture the remaining pro-Gadhafi positions began around 8am on Thursday and was over after about 90 minutes. Just before the assault, about five carloads of loyalists tried to flee the enclave down the coastal highway but were killed by revolutionaries. Revolutionaries began searching homes and buildings looking for any Gaddafi fighters who may be hiding there.

 Reuters has quotes from commanders:

 "Sirte has been liberated. There are no Gaddafi forces any more," said Colonel Yunus Al Abdali, head of operations in the eastern half of the city. "We are now chasing his fighters who are trying to run away." Another front line commander confirmed the capture of the Mediterranean coastal city, which was the last remaining significant bastion of pro-Gaddafi fighters almost three months after the ex-leader was overthrown by rebels.

 Mahmoud Jibril, Libya's Interim Leader, has hinted that he may step down as soon as today.

 In an interview with Time magazine's Vivienne Walt, Jibril described the frustrations of Libya's political power struggle.

 He sadi: "We have moved into a political struggle with no boundaries. The political struggle requires finances, organisation, arms and ideologies. I am afraid I don't have any of this."

 Walt writes:

 Jibril, who heads the executive board of the rebels' National Transitional Council, did not say exactly when he would resign, but hinted that it could be as soon as Thursday, when a televised meeting of his group would detail what it had accomplished since Gaddafi's ouster, he said. In a grim assessment of Libya's current state, Jibril suggested that as the war dragged on, he had found governing the country was increasingly difficult.

 There are reports that some Gaddafi loyalists are continuing to fight in Sirte.

 Barry Malone a Reuters journalist tweets:

 Hearing some Gaddafi supporters still taking potshots in Sirte #Libya

 Blake Hounshell from Foreign Policy magazine:

 There's still a Gaddafi convoy west of Sirte, AJA reports, and clashes ongoing. Any big names in it, I wonder?

 BBC reporter Peter Biles:

 #Libya. Live TV pictures show NTC victory celebrations in #Sirte, but is it really all over?

 Alaeddin Muntasser, a Malta based volunteer helping aid efforts to Libya, quips:

 If the news about #Sirte is true, it has to be the monster dozer that did it :) Who can see that coming and stand his ground??

 Al-Jazeera is being cautious about reports that Sirte has fallen. It says government forces are "poised" to take the city, while it shows pictures of fighters celebrating victory and burning the green flag of the Gaddafi regime.

 Al Jazeera's James Bays, reporting from Tripoli, said: "Some high level members [of the NTC] ... are aware of the pictures [of Sirte] being broadcast. "They are on their phones right now to Sirte trying to confirm this. If it is true that Sirte has fallen, or is about to fall, then it is very very important news. "Because all along the NTC has said that once Sirte falls, the war will be over."

 Al Jazeera also reports that around 100 cars have been seen fleeing Sirte and have been involved in clashes.

 Al Jazeera has broadcast footage of government fighters hoisting flags of the interim government over Sirte.

 The network is now confirming that Sirte has fallen. It also reports that one of Gaddafi's cousins, Ahmed Ibrahim, was arrested trying to flee Sirte in that convoy.

 Ibrahim was responsible for education under the Gaddafi regime.

 Reuters has more on the hoisting of the government flag in Sirte:

 Libyan interim government fighters hoisted the new national flag above the centre of Sirte on Thursday after completing their capture of Muammar Gaddafi's home town, the last serious pocket of resistance by loyalists of the ousted leader. A Reuters witness said celebratory gunfire broke out among National Transitional Council forces as the flag was raised above a large utilities building in the Mediterranean city, which had been under NTC siege for nearly two months.

 Tripoli residents have been warned not to start firing in celebration at the fall of Sirte, BBC producer Jonny Hallam reports.

 Tripoli resident Ali Tweel Aries tweets:

 I will not declair victory until we capture Gaddafi, now go fire your bullets in the air celebrating like an idiot. I'm keeping my bullets. By the way, yesterday there was a wedding in Bab Ben Ghashier, nobody fired a single shot in the air. Only fireworks. it was a great moment.

 Libya's interim government forces appeared taken Sirte without direct help from Nato.

 Nato jets hit no targets over Libya yesterday, and haven't hit anything in Sirte for more than a week.

 The Guardian has a day by day guide to the bombing campaign.

 We may have spoken too soon about Nato's involvement in Sirte.

 Al Jazeera's Evan Hill tweets:

 Please treat the following with lots of caution, but the Misrata Military Council is reporting that Gaddafi himself has been arrested.

 This is not confirmed. In an email the Information Centre for the Misrata Military Council said:

 Now in contact with our correspondent at the front of the Sirte. The tyrant Muammar Gaddafi Was arrested. God is great and thank God

 A Libyan TV station has reportedly just announced that Muammar Gaddafi has been captured. The report cannot be confirmed at this stage.

 Mahmoud Shammam, the NTC's information minister. was just on al-Jazeera, and alluded to the capture of Gaddafi but refused to confirm it.

 He said:

 I think we can say that Sirte is liberated ...I think the celebrations are going on right now. Also there's big talk about some big fish on their way to Misrata. I cannot confirm anything but people over there are talking they caught a big fish.

 Asked what would happen if Gaddafi had been captured, Shammam said:

 We are going to put him in fornt of the court, we're not going to hang him in the street. We are going to give him the fair trial he never gave the Libyan people. We hope that we are catching some big names so we can put them in the court and let the people have the last word on their fate ...I think every Libyan wants to see Gaddafi stand trial.

 An NTC official has told al-Jazeera that Gaddafi has been captured and was wounded while being detained. There is still no independent verification available.

 Reuters is quoting NTC official Abdel Majid as saying Gaddafi has been wounded in both legs.

 The Libyan immigration minister, Ali Errishi, has just told al-Jazeera that he has spoken to fighters who have told him Gaddafi has been captured, along with his spokesman Moussa Ibrahim. But still we await independent confirmation. Errishi said Gaddafi is wounded, adding:

 He is, as we speak, in the custody of the freedom fighters ....I'm very, very confident [in my sources] ...They would not have woken me up early in the morning all the way from Misrata, I am in [Washington] DC [if it was not true].

 Al-Jazeera is reporting that Nato forces fired on the convoy, although that report is also unconfirmed.

 Reuters is quoting a Libyan government fighter who says he witnessed the capture of Gaddafi. He said the ousted dictator was hiding in a hole shouting "Don't shoot, don't shoot".

 Al-Jazeera is reporting that he is in a critical condition. But the picture remains confused.

 The Associated Press news agency says the chief spokesman for the National Transitional Council, Jalal el-Gallal, and the NTC's military spokesman, Abdul-Rahman Busin, say that reports of Gaddafi's capture are still unconfirmed.

 According to Sky News, the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, is calling the capture of Gaddafi good news.

 Sky News is now saying its sources are confirming the capture.

 We still cannot confirm this.

 Here's a summary of the latest developments:

 • Muammar Gaddafi has been captured fleeing Sirte, according to unconfirmed reports by some National Transitional Council officials. The NTC's information minister, Mahmoud Shamman, refused to confirm the reports, but said "big fish" are on their way to Misrata. Gaddafi is reported to have been critically injured in both legs while being detained. "Don't shoot, don't shoot," he is reported to have said. We cannot confirm that he has been captured.

 • A number of high ranking Gaddafi officials are also reported to have been caught including his spokesman Moussa Ibrahim and his cousin Ahmed Ibrahim. "We hope that we are catching some big names so we can put them in the court and let the people have the last word on their fate," Shamman said.

 • Reports of the arrests came after the fall of Gaddafi's final stronghold of Sirte. The city was captured after a 90 minute offensive this morning. Fighters hoisted flags of the new interim government over the city and burned the green flag of the ousted Gaddafi regime. "Sirte has been liberated. There are no Gaddafi forces any more," said Colonel Yunus Al Abdali.

 • Mahmoud Jibril, Libya's Interim Leader, has hinted that he may step down today. In an interview with Time magazine he also complained about political infighting in the new Libya.

 Al Jazeera is now reporting that Gaddafi was killed in Sirte. Reuters is saying that Gaddafi died of his wounds. We cannot confirm this.

 My colleague Chris Stephen has seen a statement on the arrest of Gaddafi - which we still cannot confirm - from Misrata military council.

 The statement said: "The tyrant Muammar Gaddafi Was arrested on by Misurata Thwarr [revolutionary fighters]." It added: "God is great and thank God."

 Chris writes:

 Hassan Elamin, a prominent Libyan exile who has lived for 28 years in the UK and is the editor of the online Libyan newspaper Libya Almostakbal said he had called Misrata today and that Gaddafi was reportedly being held in Misrata, Libya's third largest city. He said the city was in the middle of wild celebrations. "We're still taking in the news," he told the Guardian. "This is a big buzz." Elamin said Gaddafi was arrested by Misratan units in Sirte late last night and reportedly transported to a secure location in the city and that in the same arrest Gaddafi's former defence minister Abu Bakr Yunis was shot dead. What happens to Gaddafi now is unclear. Misrata military council is on record as stating that it recognises the authority of the ruling National Transitional Council but does not accept its commands. Earlier this year Misratan war crimes investigators told the Observer they had complied evidence against Gaddafi including documents purportedly showing his forces being ordered to commit war crimes during the siege of Misrata.

 Here's the Reuters tweet announcing Gaddafi's death, which we cannot confirm:

 FLASH: Libya's Gaddafi dies of wounds suffered in capture near Sirte - senior NTC military official

 Sky News is reporting live from Tripoli, where there is a cacophony of celebration behind its reporter, with car horns beeping non-stop.

 The US state department cannot confirm Gaddafi's capture, never mind his reported killing.

 Reuters reports:

 "We've seen the media reports but can't confirm them," state department spokeswoman Beth Gosselin told Reuters. White House officials were not immediately available to comment. The Pentagon also said it could not confirm the reports. A senior official with Libya's National Transitional Council told Reuters that Gaddafi was captured near his hometown of Sirte at dawn as he tried to flee in a convoy that came under attack from Nato warplanes.

 Nato said it was checking reports of the capture of Gaddafi and said they could take some time to confirm.

 .

 NTC officials in Tripoli continue to refuse to confirm that Gaddafi has been captured.

 Channel 4 News' Lindsey Hilsum tweets:

 All major news agencies reporting #Gadaffi dead or captured but NTC officials here in #tripoli won't confirm.

 An NTC commander, Abdel-Basit Haroun, says Gaddafi was killed when an airstrike hit a convoy trying to flee, according to the Associated Press. We cannot confirm this.

 Guma el-Gamaty, the former NTC coordinator in the UK, is telling Sky News Gaddafi and his close aides tried to escape and freedom fighters tried to capture them. There was an exchange of fire and reports claim he was killed or injured, Gamaty says. We cannot confirm this.

 WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGE It is claimed that this image, from a mobile phone, shows the arrest of Gaddafi.

 Apologies - it is quite a grisly image.

 An NTC spokesman is telling Sky News that Gaddafi is dead and the body is arriving in Misrata "any minute now". We cannot confirm this.

 Nato is confirming its aircraft struck pro-Gaddafi military vehicles near Sirte today.

 Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, says she can't confirm his capture or dead but if it is true she would breathe a sigh of relief as one more obstacle was removed.

 Killed, captured or whereabouts unconfirmed? Here's a quick guide to who is saying what about Gaddafi at this stage:

 Killed: NTC commander Abdel-Basit Haroun said Gaddafi was killed when an airstrike hit a convoy trying to flee Sirte. National Transitional Council official Abdel Majid Mlegta told Reuters. "There was a lot of firing against his group and he died.

 NTC spokesman in Misrata Abdullah Berrassali told Sky News: "Gaddafi is dead, absolutely dead. He was shot in both legs and a bullet in the head. The body will be arriving in Misrata any minute now." Libyan TV and al-Jazeera are also reporting that Gaddafi is dead.

 Captured: Misrata Military Council, one of the multiple command groups for the new government, says its fighters captured Gadhafi in Sirte.

 Unconfirmed: A spokesman for Libya's transitional government, Jalal al-Gallal, and its military spokesman Abdul-Rahman Busin say the reports have not been confirmed. Nato and the US state department could not confirm any of the reports.

 Nick Hopkins, the Guardian's defence correspondent, sends this:

 The convoy in which is is thought Gaddafi was travelling was hit by a Nato airstrike at 6am, British time. Two Nato aircraft bombed the vehicles as they fled Sirte. Neither were British planes, though two Tornado ground attack aircraft were on surveillance and reconnaissance missions at the time. There is still no confirmation from here that Gaddafi was in the convoy, but that is what is being reported in Libya.

 WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGE The picture purportedly showing Muammar Gaddafi's capture we posted earlier seems to come from a video on a mobile phone. AFP has sent through another frame from the same video.

 Apologies - it is a graphic image. We cannot confirm that it shows his capture.

 The Misrata Military council is also saying that Gaddafi has been killed. We cannot confirm this. In an email it said it would give a press conference later to explain how he died after being captured.

 Channel 4 News's Lindsey Hilsum tweets the reaction in Tripoli to that picture appearing to show Gaddafi's dead body:

 Hilsum also says that the NTC information minister Mahmoud Shamman is now also confirming Gaddafi's death.

 An NTC soldier is telling Sky News: "Somebody shot him with a 9mm."

 Another soldier says he was shot in the belly.

 This happened at 12.30, the soldiers say - but it is unclear if they mean am or pm.

 Former defence minister Abu Bakr Yunis was the only one with him, the soldier says.

 The other soldier says he saw it with his own eyes and that he hit Gaddafi with a shoe - a sign of severe disrespect in the Middle East.

 None of this can be confirmed yet, and I have to say they were not the most convincing witnesses.

 More NTC officials have confirmed Gaddafi's death. AFP's Sarah Hussein tweets:

 NTC spokesman Abdul Hafiz Ghoga confirms to AFP that #Gaddafi (#Gadhafi) is dead #Libya

 BBC World's Naveena Kottor:

 NTC's Kenshill on BBCWorld "Very reliable sources :#Gaddafi & 3 aides were killed in District 2 during the fight in #Sirte. #Libya #Tripoli

 Libyan NTC information minister Mahmoud Shammam said he has confirmed that Gaddafi was killed, citing fighters who said they saw the body. He said he expected the NTC chairman Mustafa Abdul-Jalil to confirm the death soon, noting that past reports emerged "before making 100% confirmation".

 "Our people in Sirte saw the body ... Mustafa Abdul-Jalil will confirm it soon," he told the Associated Press. "Revolutionaries say Gaddafi was in a convoy and that they attacked the convoy."

 Jalil is due to speak soon.

 There is mobile phone footage of the moment Gaddafi was captured, showing him alive, according to Al Jazeera. It also reports that Gaddafi's son Mutassim has been caught alive.

 Reuters is claiming that a Libyan NTC military official has confirmed the photo we published earlier is of Muammar Gaddafi. Reuters is also saying that Gaddafi's corpse has arrived in Misrata, citing Al-Arabiya TV. Al-Arabiya says the media will be allowed to film the body. We cannot confirm either point.

 Confusion still surrounds the status of Gaddafi and several senior figures of his regime. Here's what is being said:

 Muammar Gaddafi

 A number of NTC officials have said that he has been killed. The interim Libyan president, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, is expected to confirm his death soon.

 Abu Bakr Yunis, former defence minister

 Killed during the attack on Gaddafi's convoy, according to NTC official.

 Mutassim Gaddafi, Muammar's son

 Captured, according to al-Jazeera.

 Moussa Ibrahim, Gaddafi's spokesman

 Captured, according to NTC official official Abdel Majid Mlegta.

 Abd Allah al-Sanusi, senior Libyan intelligence chief

 Captured, according to pro-NTC Libya TV.

 Ahmed Ibrahim, Gaddafi's cousin and adviser

 Captured, according to Mlegta.

 Mansour Daw, Gaddafi aide

 Captured, according to pro-NTC Libya TV.

 The BBC is also saying that three unnamed aides were killed alongside Gaddafi. However, a soldier said only Yunis was with Gaddafi.

 Sky News is reporting that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, Gaddafi's most high-profile son, is still at large in the southern Libyan desert. We cannot confirm this.

 Our interactive map shows the progress of anti-Gaddafi fighters through the fallen dictator's hometown. Did Gaddafi try to flee the closing stages of the fighting?

 This incomprehensible tweet from al-Arabiya really sums up the confusion of today's reports:

 Conflicting news reports over #Gaddafi son Seif Al Islam's capture after the death of Muammar Gaddafi has been verified by the NTC

 On the Daily Telegraph's live blog, reporter Ben Farmer says he has has been to the site in Sirte where Gaddafi was reportedly captured. He says Gaddafi was "cornered in a drain underneath a road in open countryside to the west of the city of Sirte". Gaddafi's vehicles tried to get out of the town, were hit by a Nato airstrike, and Gaddafi and several bodyguards took refuge in a drain, where they were found by NTC fighters. The Telegraph blog has an AFP picture of the drain.

 The Libyan ambassador to London is being interviewed on Sky News. He says he is sure Gaddafi is dead.

 The BBC is reporting that Mutassim Gaddafi, Muammar's son, was found dead in Sirte on Thursday, citing the NTC.

 AFP has also posted a picture purportedly of a man holding aloft Gaddafi's golden gun.

 Reuters says the vice-chairman of the NTC, Abdul Hafiz Ghoga, is now confirming Gaddafi has been killed.

 Here's that photo of the drain where Gaddafi was reportedly found (see 2.38pm).

 Al-Jazeera is now showing a close-up of Gaddafi's face. He does not seem to be alive.

 We cannot confirm his death.

 WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGE Al-Jazeera is showing an image that appears to show Gaddafi's body.

 Apologies - it is a graphic image.

 Sky News is showing video of Gaddafi's body being dragged through the streets of Sirte. The image we published earlier seems to be from this video. It was very graphic footage and Sky seemed to change its mind half way through and cut to adverts.

 Al-Jazeera's James Bays says someone in Tripoli has already made an image of the dead Muammar Gaddafi into a poster.

 Sky News is showing the video again that purportedly shows the body of Muammar Gaddafi being manhandled in the streets of Sirte.

 Sky's correspondent has translated the graffiti on the drain where Gaddafi was reportedly found (see 2.48pm). It says:

 This is the place where the rat Gaddafi was hiding.

 And:

 Contemptible Gaddafi.

 Gaddafi of course called the rebels rats throughout their uprising against him.

 Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, while not confirming Gaddafi's death, has said: "If they [the NTC] know that he is no longer a threat to them I think that will actually ease the transition process to a new government."

 "For his own long-suffering people, Gaddafi will be remembered as a tyrant, a dictator plain and simple," says our Middle East editor Ian Black.

 Speaking on his way from Tunisia to Libya, Ian said:

 Gaddafi will be remembered as a slightly strange, flamboyant figure on the world stage. In the west we got into the habit of thinking that because he wore silly uniforms and was a bit of buffoon, then he was in some ways a fun figure. Libyans see him rather differently. He was to all intents and purposes a dictator .. Most people will be glad and relieved that his is gone. People in Tripoli from the National Transitional Council are jubilant at the news, and are confirming that Gaddafi is indeed dead. He was killed apparently in the last stages of the fight in Sirte. There is a mood of tremendous excitement. It is obviously a hugely important day for the Libyan revolution and will echo loudly across the Arab world. The death of Muammar Gaddafi, who ruled Libya for nearly 42 years, is a very big deal indeed. Gaddafi and his son Saif al-Islam and his intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi, were of course wanted by the international criminal court in the Hague on charges for crimes against humanity. The fact that he's been killed, assuming it's true, means there will be no such trial. In a sense [the new government] will find it easier to deal with a Gaddafi who has been killed in combat, rather than a Gaddafi who would have been defiant in any court. The preferred outcome is the one that seems to have come about.

 His sons are less important, Ian says. But there will be attention now on the fate and whereabouts of Saif al-Islam, his most high-profile son.

 There was never any inkling that Muammar Gaddafi was in Sirte. Another of his sons, Mutassim, was reported to be there, but I don't believe it has ever been publicly [reported] that Gaddafi the father was in Sirte. That is a significant and surprising new element of today's developments. The conventional wisdom was that he was on the run, hiding somewhere in the Sahara desert. There was some apparent evidence of that. Perhaps Gaddafi's presence helps explain the ferocity of the fighting we have seen in Sirte.

 Human Rights Watch said Gaddafi's alleged war crimes should still be investigated, even if he has been killed today.

 Richard Dickler, director of the the organisation's international justice programme, said:

 Reports of Muammar Gaddafi's death, if accurate, deprive the Libyan people of the chance to see him held to account in a fair trial at the ICC [international criminal court] for the egregious crimes he allegedly committed while suppressing peaceful demonstrations in February 2011. However, his demise does not extinguish the need to bring to trial those most responsible for serious crimes against humanity and war crimes in Libya to fair trial in The Hague. There are outstanding arrest warrants for two other suspects. In addition, we look to the ICC prosecutor to investigate allegations of other crimes against humanity and war crimes in Libya. The prosecutor's mandate enables him to look at possible crimes committed by all sides in the armed conflict.

 The Associated Press news agency is reporting that Libyan leaders have told the US Gaddafi is dead, according to US officials.

 Reuters seems confident Gaddafi is dead.

 My colleague Stephen Khan sends this reaction from Alex Salmond (left), the first minister of Scotland, the site of the Lockerbie bombing in 1988.

 Reports are still emerging from Libya, and the circumstances about Gaddafi are unconfirmed. But regardless of whether the former dictator Gaddafi is alive or not, the position is clear as far as the Scottish justice system is concerned. The Crown Office have always said that the Lockerbie atrocity remains an open case. Therefore, our police and prosecution authorities stand by ready to investigate and follow any new lines of inquiry that may be emerging in Libya at the present moment.

 WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES. Mobile phone footage purporting to show Gaddafi's dead body in Sirte has been uploaded to YouTube by al-Jazeera.

 The Associated Press is saying that the Libyan prime minister, Mahmoud Jibril, has confirmed Gaddafi is dead.

 A number of Libyans overseas have been using social media relentlessly during the war in Libya for updates/to update others. They too have been reacting to the reported death of Gaddafi. One of them, Assia Bashir Amry, in Kentucky, USA, who has been tweeting under the name @Libyan4life, wrote:

 My mother is in tears. She cant stop crying. She left #Libya 38 years ago as a young bride with my father in resistance to #Gaddafi

 @ShababLibya, the Twitter account for the Libyan youth movement, is urging people in London to congregate on the Edgware Road, the most famous haunt for Arabs in the capital, at 6pm BST to celebrate the death of Gaddafi.

 Sky is quoting the Libyan prime minister, Mahmoud Jibril, as saying:

 We've been waiting for this moment a long time. Muammar Gaddafi has been killed.

 NTC official Abdel Ghoga has been speaking at a news conference. He says he wants to announce the end of tyranny and dictatorship in Libya. It will never happen again.

 The revolutionaries have got the head of the tyrant. He has met the fate of all tyrants, Ghoga says.

 "We will announce to the world that Muammar Gaddafi has been killed at the hands of the revolutionaries."

 Gaddafi's dictatorship has been ended, he says.

 Muammar Gaddafi is dead, the NTC has just announced.

 Channel 4 News's foreign affairs correspondent Jonathan Rugman tweets that Gaddafi's most high-profile son has allegedly been killed:

 Whitehall source: Seif al-Islam Gaddafi (once his father's heir apparent) believed killed in NATO airstrike near Bani Walid a few days ago.

 But, perhaps not surprisingly given the pace at which events have moved today, his colleague, Linsey Hilsum, international editor at Channel 4 News, contradicts him:

 Jibril says fighters engaged with armed convoy believed to include #Seif al #Gadaffi

 Michael Collins Dunn, from the Washington-based Middle East Institute, describes Gaddafi's death as the Arab Spring's "Ceausescu moment".

 The peaceful overthrow of long-standing Presidents in Egypt and Tunisia made the so-called "Arab spring" look like a genuinely benign, if not quite bloodless, transformation. But just as the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe in the early 1990s was largely bloodless, there was the exception of Rumania, where Nicolae Ceausescu met with a bloody end. The long, hard civil war in Libya made it a likely candidate for a Ceausescu-type ending.

 In London Libyan charge d'affaires Mahmud Nacua is giving a press conference.

 He confirmed that Gaddafi is dead. He said:

 Today the Libyan NTC fighters achieved a glorious and momentous victory against the tyranny of Muammar Gaddafi, his sons and cronies ... Today we are told that Gaddafi is dead. The Libyan freedom fighters have finally succeeded in drawing the curtain on Gaddafi's crimes. Today Libya's future begins. Gaddafi's black era has come to an end for ever. The Libyan people are looking forward to a very promising future where they can finally start building the free democratic state for which they have fought for about eight months now. Our people have paid a high price. About 40,000 martyrs have given their lives for the freedom of their country. We very much appreciate the help of the international community to get rid of Gaddafi and his crimes.

 Asked whether it would have been better to have put Gaddafi on trial, he said:

 It is now Gaddafi's fate; he has faced his fate and it is not [an] important matter if he is alive or dead. The final thing, the good thing: we get rid of Gaddafi and his crimes. The next step: we look forward to building a new Libya as a state of law.

 He said Mustafa Abndul Jalil would give a statement tonight announcing the liberation of the whole country.

 When the coutnry is "Stable" all the files relating to Lockerbie and Gaddafi's other crimes will be opened up to the world, he said.

 David Cameron just made a statement at Downing Street, saying the Libyan government had confirmed that Gaddafi was dead.

 He said we should remember the victims of Lockerbie, PC Yvonne Fletcher, and IRA victims killed with semtex provided by Gaddafi's Libya, as well as all the Libyans killed over the last several months.

 Today is a day to remember the victims.

 He said he was proud of the role Britian had played in allowing Libya to move towards a democratic future.

 WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT. Mobile phone footage claiming to show the dead body of Gaddafi's defence minister, Abu Bakr Yunis, has been broadcast by al-Jazeera Arabic.

 NTC officials report that Yunis was killed during an attack on a convoy of Gaddafi loyalists.

 John McCain, the former US presidential candidate and foreign policy specialist in the Senate, has, urged the US to become more involved in helping Libya.

 The death of Muammar Gaddafi marks an end to the first phase of the Libyan revolution. While some final fighting continues, the Libyan people have liberated their country. Now the Libyan people can focus all of their immense talents on strengthening their national unity, rebuilding their country and economy, proceeding with their democratic transition, and safeguarding the dignity and human rights of all Libyans. The United States, along with our European allies and Arab partners, must now deepen our support for the Libyan people, as they work to make the next phase of their democratic revolution as successful as the fight to free their country.

 My colleague Stuart Millar writes that CNN just ran a video of Hillary Clinton, the American secretary of state, being given the news about Gaddafi in Pakistan. An aide handed her a BlackBerry, she squinted at it, her eyes widened and then she said: "Wow!"

 Here's a summary of events so far on a momentous day.

 • Muammar Gaddafi, who ruled Libya from 1969 until August this year, has been killed by forces loyal to the country's new government.

 • Gaddafi, 69, was reportedly found hiding in a drain outside Sirte, where he and and others had taken shelter after their convoy was hit by a Nato airstrike as it attempted to escape.

 • Graphic video and pictures of the dead dictator have been released. His body was apparently dragged through the streets of Sirte. An NTC spokesman said Gaddafi was shot in the head and in both legs.

 • Gaddafi was alive when captured and died in an ambulance on the way to Misrata, according to the NTC's UK representative.

 • Abu Bakr Yunis, the former Libyan defence minister, was killed in the attack on the former dictator's compound, according to the NTC.

 • Confusion surrounds the fate of other members of Gaddafi's family and inner circle. An NTC representative said up to 17 senior members of the Gaddafi regime have been apprehended or killed. There have been reports that his sons Mutassim Gaddafi and Saif al-Islam have been killed but other reports say Mutassim has been captured alive and that al-Islam has fled.

 • Gaddafi's spokesman Moussa Ibrahim and the late dictator's cousin and adviser Ahmed Ibrahim have been captured, according to NTC official Abdel Majid Mlegta. Libya TV, a pro-NTC channel, said that Abd Allah al-Sanusi, a senior Libyan intelligence chief, and Mansour Daw, a Gaddafi aide, were also captured.

 More news about Gaddafi's sons: Mutassim is reported to be injured but captured. Saif al-Islam is said to be under attack after fleeing Sirte.

 Reuters tweets:

 FLASH: Reuters witness sees video of captured Gaddafi son Mo'Tassim, lying on bed, covered in blood, but alive

 Al Jazeera's Karl Stagno-Navarra tweets:

 BREAKING: #Seif al Islam under heavy attack, reached by freedom fighters in #Alhera after he fled #Sirte attack that killed his father

 The Guardian has published an obituary of Gaddafi. Here's how it ends:

 Western aircraft steadily eroded the Gaddafi military's ability to exploit its vastly superior, and professionally delivered, firepower, targeting concentrations of artillery and armour as they lay siege to rebel-held cities. Chaotic at first, without training or any but the most rudimentary equipment, and fired only by enthusiasm and reckless courage, the disconnected groups of volunteer fighters gradually acquired sufficient military skills and improved, makeshift weaponry first to hold their own, and then to achieve minor gains here and there. After six months of stalemate, they surprised the world, and perhaps themselves, with their lightning descent on the capital and their conquest of the Bab al-Aziziya barracks – that vast, forbidding high-walled fortress, home, seat of power, and above all, crass, iconic, absurdist symbol of Gaddafi and all his works. It was only a matter of time before National Transitional Council forces took control of the rest of the country, and even Sirte finally provided no refuge.

 WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT.

 Here is the mobile phone footage in full that purports to show Muammar Gaddafi's body in the streets of Sirte.

 Here are the full quotes from British prime minister David Cameron, who along with French president Nicolas Sarkozy was one of the early champions of the uprising against Gaddafi and the need for Nato intervention:

 I think today is a day to remember all of Colonel Gaddafi's victims, from those who died in connection with the Pan Am flight over Lockerbie, to Yvonne Fletcher in a London street, and obviously all the victims of IRA terrorism who died through their use of Libyan semtex. We should also remember the many, many Libyans who died at the hands of this brutal dictator and his regime. People in Libya today have an even greater chance after this news of building themselves a strong and democratic future. I am proud of the role that Britain has played in helping them to bring that about and I pay tribute to the bravery of the Libyans who helped to liberate their country. We will help them, we will work with them and that is what I want to say today. Thank you.

 The UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, has just given his reaction:

 This day marks a historic transition for Libya. In the coming days we will witness scenes of celebration as well as grief for those who have lost so much. But I recognise that this is only the end of the beginning. The road ahead for Libya will be difficult and full of challenges. Libyans can only realise the promise of the future ...through reconciliation ...This is a time for healing ... not for revenge ... Inclusion and pluralism must be the watchwords. All Libyans must be able to recognise themselves in the nation's government and leadership ... A new UN mission to Libya is on the ground and ready to assist Libya.

 The heir to the Libyan throne has spoken out to say that the death of Muammar Gaddafi was a victory for peace, freedom and reform.

 When Gaddafi took power in 1969 he overthrew Libya's King Idris and the old flag of the Kingdom of Libya has become a symbol of the NTC rebellion.

 Today Mohammed El Senussi, considered by Libyan royalists to be the heir to the old Libyan throne, issued a statement saying:

 The flag of freedom is now flying in Sirte and across Libya on this historic day. People throughout Libya took up arms just eight months ago and in that short time they have been united in their resolve to rid the country of evil … The new Libya must be organised under the rule of law and there is no greater time than right now to demonstrate that commitment by ensuring there are no acts of vengeance against Gaddafi's supporters and that justice is dealt with by the courts. Today begins a new chapter in our history. I look forward now with confidence that the people of Libya will build a future we can all be proud of. Now is the time to put freedom and the sanctity of life at the heart of our society and to put the era of terror and oppression behind us.

 Senussi, who is based in London, was asked on a previous occasion about the prospect of re-establishing the monarchy in Libya. He reportedly said that he "is a servant to Libyan people, and they decide what they want".

 Nato commanders are recommending the Libya air campaign should now be brought to an end, my colleague Julian Borger tells me. The formal decision will be taken tomorrow by the North Atlantic Council, representing Nato member states. Julian just received this comment from a Nato official.

 A military assessment of the current situation in Libya and a recommendation for the wrapping up of the Nato operation is on its way to Nato HQ. This will most likely prompt a special meeting of the North Atlantic Council tomorrow to consider the recommendation and decide on the future of the current mission.

 This blog is ending, but our live coverage will continue here. Here's a summary of events today:

 • Muammar Gaddafi, who ruled Libya from 1969 until August this year, has been killed by forces loyal to the country's new government. The Libyan government has confirmed his death. Gaddafi 69, was reportedly found hiding in a drain outside Sirte, where he and and others had taken shelter after their convoy was hit by a Nato airstrike as it attempted to escape. A spokesman for the National Tranisitional Council – Libya's ruling body – said Gaddafi was alive when captured but died in an ambulance on the way to hospital.

 • Confusion surrounds the fate of other members of Gaddafi's family and inner circle. An NTC representative said up to 17 senior members of the Gaddafi regime have been apprehended or killed. There have been reports that his sons Mutassim Gaddafi and Saif al-Islam have been killed but other reports say Mutassim has been captured alive and that al-Islam has fled.

 • Gaddafi's spokesman Moussa Ibrahim and the late dictator's cousin and adviser Ahmed Ibrahim have been captured, according to NTC official Abdel Majid Mlegta. Abu Bakr Yunis, the former Libyan defence minister, was killed in the attack on the former dictator's compound, according to the NTC. Libya TV, a pro-NTC channel, said that Abd Allah al-Sanusi, a senior Libyan intelligence chief, and Mansour Daw, a Gaddafi aide, were also captured.

 • Graphic video and pictures of the dead dictator have been released. His body was apparently dragged through the streets of Sirte. An NTC spokesman said Gaddafi was shot in the head and in both legs. The footage appears to show Gaddafi's body being transported through Sirte. He has blood around his chest and face. |||||
What is a summary?

– Moammar Gadhafi is dead, according to the National Transitional Council. Libyan revolutionary fighters took the city of Sirte today, and in the process captured the former strongman, who was wounded in both legs while trying to flee the city in a convoy that NATO planes attacked, a senior NTC official tells Reuters. "He was also hit in his head," the official said. "There was a lot of firing against his group and he died." US officials are working to confirm the report. The Guardian has a photo that purports to depict a bloody Gadhafi here (Warning: it's graphic). The strike also reportedly killed the head of Gadhafi's armed forces, Abu Bakr Younus Jabr. Earlier, AP reporters watched as rebels fought a 90-minute battle to rout pro-Gadhafi fighters from their remaining neighborhoods in Sirte, apparently ending the last major battle of the Libyan war. "Sirte has been liberated. There are no Gadhafi forces anymore," an NTC colonel said. "We are now chasing his fighters who are trying to run away." Not all Gadhafi forces are running through; the Telegraph says there are reports of some taking off their uniforms and firing indiscriminately on civilians. (Click for the latest updates on the death of Gadhafi.)


Article:

Co-host Ainsley Earhardt stated that Trump’s policy is in place to “vet who’s coming across the border, in case it’s MS-13 or drugs.”

 Kilmeade went on, “Somebody has to deal with this issue. It doesn’t matter who the president is. If you don’t like his policy, he’s also open to your policy, rather than just criticizing his. He’s trying to send a message to the other countries, ‘this is not the way you do it,’ because this is a country that has rules and laws. We just can’t let everybody in that wants to be here.”

 On Wednesday, the president signed an executive order he claimed would end the immigration policy he initiated that separated thousands of children from their parents at the United States-Mexico border. However, the executive order also aims to increase the government’s ability to detain kids with their parents indefinitely.

 MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle ripped apart Kilmeade’s remarks on air, saying that she wanted to “point something out to our colleagues over at ‘Fox & Friends.’” ||||| Tweet with a location

 You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more ||||| Tweet with a location

 You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more ||||| On Friday’s Fox & Friends, Brian Kilmeade defended President Donald Trump‘s border policies at one point by more or less saying, Hey, at least he’s not taking American kids away from their parents.

 As Kilmeade spoke with his colleagues about the ongoing debate surrounding the immigration compromise bill being floated through Congress, he expressed support for Trump broadcasting a deterrent for Latin American migrants who wish to seek shelter in the United States. This tied in with a broader show of support for how Trump is enforcing the rule of law by taking border security seriously.

 “Somebody has to deal with this issue,” Kilmeade said. “We just can’t let everybody in that wants to be here.”

 Shortly after that, Kilmeade topped off his commentary with this statement:

 “Like it or not, these aren’t our kids. Show them compassion, but it’s not like he is doing this to the people of Idaho or Texas. These are people from another country and now people are saying that they’re more important than people in our country who are paying taxes and who have needs as well.”

 UPDATE: Kilmeade has offered a clarification for his remarks.

 Watch above, via Fox News.

 [Image via screengrab]

 — —

 >> Follow Ken Meyer (@KenMeyer91) on Twitter

 Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com ||||| Black Customer Racially Profiled In High End Store | What Would You Do? | WWYD

 - Duration: 9:07.

 What Would You Do?

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What is a summary?

– The controversy over separating immigrant children from their parents continues, this time thanks to words from a Fox & Friends co-host. Per Mediaite, Brian Kilmeade took to the airwaves Friday morning, staunchly defending President Trump's moves on dealing with immigrants trying to enter the US. "He's trying to send a message to the other countries: This is not the way you do it, because this is a country that has rules and laws," he said to co-hosts Ainsley Earhardt and Steve Doocy. But it was his remarks on the separations specifically that raised the ire of many. "Like it or not, these aren't our kids," he noted. "Show 'em compassion, but it's not like [Trump] is doing this to the people of Idaho or Texas. These are people from another country." Twitter erupted in slams, while, per HuffPost, MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle addressed any insinuation that those opposed to Trump's moves care more about migrant kids than US kids: "Please … your propaganda, that anyone is putting the life of a migrant child ahead of the life of an American child, is simply nonsense. It's ignorant. It's stupid. It's wrong." Kilmeade later clarified his comments on Twitter, tweeting, "Of course-I didn't mean to make it seem like children coming into the U.S. illegally are less important because they live in another country. I have compassion for all children, especially for all the kids separated from their parents right now." He also said he was pleased kids were "on their way" to being reunited with their parents and put up a clip from his Fox News Radio show, where he reiterated, "All kids are important. All kids are special."


Getty Obama poised to give financial aid to federal, state prisoners The move, which could come as soon as this week, would end a 20-year ban on offering Pell grants to state and federal prisoners.

 More prisoners may soon have access to federal subsidies to pay for college under a new Obama administration initiative, ending a 20-year ban on Pell grants for state and federal prisoners.

 The move could come as soon as this week. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Attorney General Loretta Lynch are scheduled to visit Goucher College’s Prison Education Partnership at the Maryland Correctional Institution in Jessup on Friday, to make “an important announcement related to federal aid.”

 Story Continued Below

 On Monday, Duncan said that restoring Pell eligibility for those potential students is one way his agency hopes to increase college affordability.

 “We’ll have more information soon,” Duncan said.

 His agency could circumvent the federal ban, doing an end-run around Congress, through its experimental sites program, which gives some colleges limited exemptions to federal financial aid rules.

 “A lot of my friends here in Washington have been talking about the need for debt-free degrees. And they’re right,” Duncan said during a higher education policy speech at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. “We want to do even more, developing experimental sites that will make Pell grants available to programs that award credentials based on demonstrated competency, to incarcerated adults seeking an independent, productive life after release, and to adult learners who enroll in short-term certificate programs that provide job-ready training.”

 For the current academic year, Pell grants are worth up to $5,775.

 The Obama administration has increased total federal aid available to students by more than $50 billion and increased tax benefits and credits by an additional $12 billion, part of a total of about $150 billion a year in grants and loans for higher education. More than 2 million additional students now receive Pell grants, and the maximum Pell award has increased by more than $1,000.

 Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed support for such a policy, and House Democrats including education committee ranking member Bobby Scott (D-Va.) introduced legislation to reinstate Pell eligibility for federal and state prisoners. (Prisoners in local, municipal or county correctional facilities haven’t been banned from access to Pell.)

 Prisoners who participate in correctional education programs are 43 percent less likely to return to prison and 13 percent more likely to have a job after finishing their sentence, the bill’s co-sponsors noted.

 Late last year, the Education Department clarified that students in juvenile justice facilities that aren’t federal or state institutions are eligible for Pell grants. And in recent months, President Barack Obama has called for reform of the criminal justice system. ||||| Prison inmates will soon have access to Pell grants, which assist in tuition and other education-related costs. WSJ reporter Joshua Mitchell discusses the program as well as some of the controversy around it. Photo: Reuters

 The Obama administration plans to restore federal funding for prison inmates to take college courses, a potentially controversial move that comes amid a broader push to overhaul the criminal justice system.

 The plan, set to be unveiled Friday by the secretary of education and the attorney general, would allow potentially thousands of inmates in the U.S. to gain access to Pell grants, the main form of federal aid for low-income... |||||

Write a summary.

– The Obama administration is planning to restore access to federal college subsidies for a huge number of Americans who have a lot of time on their hands. Congress banned inmates at the state and federal level from receiving Pell grants in 1994, but Education Secretary Arne Duncan says he'll have an "important announcement" to make when he visits a Maryland prison this week, reports Politico. The administration will be able to temporarily lift the ban without going through Congress by treating the restoration of grants as an experiment in reducing re-offending rates, reports the Wall Street Journal, which notes that prisoners received $34 million in Pell grants in 1993. Pell grants are worth up to $5,775 a year, which Rep. Donna Edwards, co-sponsor of a bill to permanently restore the grants to prisoners, notes is a lot less than the $40,000 or so it costs to keep an inmate behind bars for a year. "We haven't really been able to get a handle on recidivism," the Democrat tells the Journal. "We have to present some training and opportunities. These are programs that work." The prison population has doubled in the 20 years since the grants were removed, and the bill's co-sponsors say inmates who take part in education programs are 43% less likely to end up back in prison, Politico notes. (This month, President Obama became the first sitting president to visit a prison.)


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Jamaica's Usain Bolt greets fans as he celebrates winning gold in the men's 4 x 100-meter relay final, during the athletics competitions of the 2016 Summer Olympics at the Olympic stadium in Rio de Janeiro,... (Associated Press)

 Jamaica's Usain Bolt greets fans as he celebrates winning gold in the men's 4 x 100-meter relay final, during the athletics competitions of the 2016 Summer Olympics at the Olympic stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Aug. 19, 2016. (AP Photo/David Goldman) (Associated Press)

 RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Michael Phelps won more medals than anyone else, again. And then he said farewell, also again.

 Usain Bolt kissed the finish line goodbye after enhancing his Olympic legacy. Simone Biles and Katie Ledecky delivered under the burden of enormous expectations. Two strangers went from rivals to forever-linked by a display of kindness, an entire island seemed to celebrate a tennis match, and a gold medalist scampered home to avoid legal issues after a robbery story unraveled.

 And then the home team won soccer gold.

 The Rio de Janeiro Olympics were not perfect.

 But there were moments — some great, some dreadful and some downright ugly — that will not, and should not, be forgotten.

 Here's a look:

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 MEDAL LEADERS

 The U.S. dominated the medal count, a rare romp in a non-boycotted games. There's still more medals to win Sunday, but the margin of overall victory could be the most in a fully attended games in 68 years. Phelps won six medals, five of them gold, to increase his career haul to 23 Olympic titles and 28 medals overall. Ledecky and Biles each won five medals; Biles will carry the U.S. flag into the closing ceremony. And U.S. shooter Kim Rhode has now won a medal in six consecutive Olympics — and she might not be done.

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 BEST FINISH

 Bolt kissing the finish line after his ninth and final Olympic gold — in nine final races — was a perfect ending. He ran the anchor leg of the 4x100-meter relay for Jamaica, won emphatically to become the third athlete ever with nine golds in track and field, and insists that this will be the end of his Olympic career.

 "Nothing left to prove," Bolt said.

 He's right.

 "I am the greatest," he added.

 Right again.

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 BEST ACT OF SPORTSMANSHIP

 An easy pick.

 In the women's 5,000-meter heat, Abbey D'Agostino of the U.S. and New Zealand's Nikki Hamblin — strangers before that day — were involved in a tumble. D'Agostino helped Hamblin up, encouraging her to finish the race. D'Agostino tore a knee ligament in the fall and obviously couldn't finish. Hamblin wound up finishing last of 17 in the 5,000 final, so neither left with a medal.

 Instead, they got so much more.

 "That girl is the Olympic spirit right there," Hamblin said of D'Agostino. "I've never met her before. Like I never met this girl before. And isn't that just so amazing?"

 Yes, it is.

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 BIGGEST EMBARRASSMENT

 Another easy pick, even in a games where an Egyptian was sent home after failing to shake an Israeli judo opponent's hand.

 Ryan Lochte is a 12-time Olympic medalist, and the odds that he'll have a chance to ever swim for a 13th are as murky as some of the pools were in these Rio Games. Lochte's story that a robber put a gun to his head quickly unraveled, his three teammates who were companions that night all were left to answer legal questions after he scurried home, and more repercussions from the U.S. Olympic Committee are likely coming.

 "It's traumatic to be out late with your friends in a foreign country — with a language barrier," read part of the apology that Lochte released on social media Friday.

 Maybe so, but it bears noting that language barrier or no language barrier, the incident occurred after Lochte left a night out at ... Club France. So it would seem like not all foreign atmospheres struck him as traumatic before now.

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 BREAKOUT STAR

 We asked. You voted.

 Narrowing the list of potential candidates to four — Simone Manuel (four swimming medals), Joseph Schooling (beat Phelps for a gold in the pool), Monica Puig (whose tennis gold was Puerto Rico's first Olympic title in any sport) and Ibtihaj Muhammad (the barrier-breaking fencing medalist) — AP asked its Twitter followers to have a say in deciding this one.

 The response was overwhelming, and one-sided: Puig is the breakout star of these games.

 Reduced to tears many times after draping the Puerto Rican flag across her body after the gold-medal match, Puig beat two of the world's best five players to win the title.

 "To do this ... is everything," Puig said.

 The Olympic ideal, personified.

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 BEST COACH

 Due respect to Mike Krzyzewski, Geno Auriemma, Martha Karolyi and the Japanese wrestling coach who found himself getting body-slammed twice in celebration by women's gold medalist Risako Kawai, this one goes to Ans Botha — the 74-year-old great-grandmother who guided South Africa's Wayde Van Niekerk to Olympic gold and a world record in the men's 400 sprint.

 Her style is simple. When the smile goes away and the voice gets stern, it's time to get serious. Sort of like most great-grandmothers.

 "She's an amazing woman," Van Niekerk said. "Her work ... I think it speaks for itself."

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 BEST COUPLE

 Decathlon champion Ashton Eaton of the U.S. and his wife, heptathlon bronze medalist Brianne Thiesen-Eaton of Canada, would be a very easy selection here.

 But what Kate Richardson-Walsh and Helen Richardson-Walsh did was even more rare.

 They're married, and played for the same gold-medal winning British women's field hockey team. In a games that had more openly gay athletes than ever before, theirs was a moment that surely resonated with many around the world who don't know the first thing about field hockey.

 "To win an Olympic medal is special. To win an Olympic medal with your wife standing next to you ... we will cherish this for the rest of our lives," Kate Richardson-Walsh said.

 ___

 BEST BACK-AND-FORTH

 When the U.S. women's soccer team was ousted by Sweden (and former U.S. coach Pia Sundhage), American goalkeeper Hope Solo raised eyebrows with her assessment of the match.

 But her former coach had the perfect rebuttal.

 "We lost to a bunch of cowards," Solo said.

 "It's OK to be cowards if you win," Sundhage countered.

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 BIGGEST OFF-FIELD STAR

 A tough category, especially after Leslie Jones of "Saturday Night Live" parlayed hilarious Twitter commentary into an invite to Rio. Matthew McConaughey hung out with everyone from the U.S. women's rugby team to Phelps, and Gisele Bundchen's catwalk in the opening ceremony was one not to forget.

 But the pick here is Zac Efron, who flew to Rio just to surprise the U.S. women's gymnastics team — particularly Biles, who doesn't hide her enormous crush on the actor.

 He also saw Bolt and the U.S. men's basketball team, but let's face it, no one is going to ignore invites to hang with Biles and the U.S. gymnasts right now.

 ___

 BEST SPIN

 No one might have been better at their job during the Olympics than Mario Andrada, the spokesman for the Rio Games organizing committee.

 When something went wrong it was his job to explain it — and do so with the world watching and listening. He and International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams held daily hourlong briefings with reporters, and Andrada offered up some quote gems. So we'll go ahead and award his head-scratching statements their own set of medals.

 The bronze: "Numbers mislead," he said, as part of an answer about ticket sales and poor crowds.

 The silver: "Let's give these kids a break," he said of Lochte and his U.S. swimming teammates, after their incident.

 The gold: "Chemistry is not an exact science," he said, talking about why the water at a diving pool went from blue to green.

 ___

 BEST BRAZILIAN MOMENT ...

 Stand up and cheer, City of God.

 One of your own is now an Olympic champion.

 Slums, or favelas, are everywhere in Rio — none more infamous than the City of God, which rose to fame through the 2002 movie of the same name that depicted life in the slum. Rafaela Silva grew up there, and she won gold in judo at these Rio Games.

 Now that's a made-for-Hollywood story.

 ___

 ... THAT IS, UNTIL THIS HAPPENED

 How's this for a storybook ending for Brazil?

 Soccer gold — and in most dramatic style, too.

 Brazil vs. Germany, men's soccer, gold-medal matchup. Neymar gives the hosts a 1-0 lead, but the Germans tie it and ultimately it goes to penalty kicks to decide the Olympic champion.

 Germany makes its first four.

 So does Brazil.

 Then Germany is stopped on its fifth, and the stage is set for Neymar — who else? — to set off a national celebration. His shot sails into the back of the net, Brazil wins and the roar could be heard all over Rio as Neymar collapsed on the field in a quivering mass of joyous tears.

 Forget all the problems these games had. Forget how many Brazilians opposed them in the first place.

 They got their perfect finish to an imperfect Olympics. ||||| In a rather delightful turn of events, the American Olympic gymnast, Simone Biles, has recently become a sensation and almost-household name thanks to her jaw-dropping power, laser precision and pure dynamism. She’s certainly the best gymnast I’ve seen in my lifetime and is bound to be a history-maker and record-breaker.

 It’s truly wonderful to see people coming together in awe of an athlete for whom no performance enhancing drug would add to her medal tally. Technique that money can’t buy and humility to match, what could be better? Any chef de mission will tell you that her results are the envy of Olympians worldwide.

 Gymnastics is a regular Olympic Games favourite, the gravity-defying tumbles are enough to keep anyone entertained. Sadly, for the first time in a number of years, Australia failed to field an Olympic women’s gymnastics team in Rio. Our sole competitor, Larissa Miller, did her country proud with solid performances on floor and uneven bars but was denied a spot in the finals.

 Simone Biles the bandleader of a US quintet that might never be bettered | Bryan Armen Graham Read more

 Lauren Mitchell, an Olympian and Australia’s first-ever female gymnastics world champion, was devastated to miss out on an Olympic berth due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Mitchell achieved an historic result for Australia in 2010, something to be truly proud of, but it would be misinformed to say that it was meaningful in terms of an upward trajectory for the Australian gymnastics team. Comparatively, American women’s gymnasts have won the past four Olympic all-around titles, with an American in silver at two of those Games.

 Australia has long been a nation that has punched above its weight in the Olympic medal tally. Swimming, rowing, hockey, sailing, cycling, and most recently, women’s sevens rugby, we’ve managed to enjoy a reasonably consistent level of achievement over the past decades. So, you might find yourself asking – why are we not achieving better results in gymnastics?

 Almost anyone that has turned on the telly in Australia during an Olympic Games will tell you that the coverage leaves a lot to be desired. You’re bound to see an awful lot of swimming; swimming heats, swimming semi-finals, swimming medal ceremonies. Heats, repeats, bronze medals. Over and over. Unless there’s a gold medal within very close proximity in any other sport, you can be assured that it will only be covered in dribs and drabs; the main focus always on the pool.

 A lack of meaningful television coverage for minor Olympic sports may seem like a petty complaint, but like all actions, it has a consequence. A successful sporting code relies on one thing: competition. And what drives competition is high participation numbers. If a sport has meagre participation in a country, it’s almost guaranteed to deliver mediocre performances because the competition is not tough enough to drive the nation forward.

 In the USA, gymnastics competitions are televised, the top competitors have sponsorship deals, and people know who they are. These are all clearly benefits of a slew of great results, but they also have the side-effect of getting more kids into more gyms. 4.6 million Americans participated in gymnastics in 2014 – 1.4% of the population. Having higher levels of participation provides more coaching opportunities for retired elite gymnasts, which then keeps the knowledge, expertise and heritage of a top gymnast inside the sport, instead of having retired gymnasts having to get jobs outside of gymnastics. It’s a cyclical effect; we need to build the same culture of being a “gymnast for life” in Australia that exists in the USA, China and Russia.

 Once we make a commitment to our gymnasts, we’ll find that top-notch international coaches will be attracted to our sunny climates, driving the sport forward even further. When Peggy Liddick, the American coach to the multi-Olympic gold medalist, Shannon Miller, moved to Australia to head up our gymnastics team in 1996, we saw phenomenal results and improvement in our team. Liddick was the coach who helped Australia snag its first-ever world championship medals and has transformed gymnastics in Australia, but increased visibility and competition will only make it better.

 Admittedly, gymnastics is hardly as inclusive as say, swimming or athletics, but if Australia’s proud history of incredible sporting achievements is anything to go by, there’s no real reason why we can’t claim this sport amongst them. After yet another disappointing Olympics for Australia, it’s time that the Australian media diversifies its sporting interests and ends the obsession with showing every single swimming event. And heat, and repeat, and bronze medal. |||||

– The 2016 Olympics came to an end when Rio officially handed things over to 2020 host Tokyo Sunday night in a jubilant closing ceremony that featured, among other things, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe rising from a pipe dressed as Super Mario. A look back at some of the best moments from Rio: Usain Bolt's triple-triple. "I am the greatest," the Jamaican runner declared after winning gold in a third race at a third consecutive Olympics. Few would quibble with that statement. Michael Phelps' swim into history. He took another six golds in Rio, giving the "once in 10 generations" swimmer a staggering 23 golds over his career—14 more than any other athlete has ever scored. Team Refugee. For the first time, the Olympics featured a team made up of refugees from the world's conflict zones. "You have inspired us with your talent and human spirit," IOC President Thomas Bach said in his closing address. Simone Biles' amazing performance. She won a record-tying fourth gold in one of the greatest Olympics a gymnast ever had, displaying what Penelope Blackmore at the Guardian calls "jaw-dropping power, laser precision, and pure dynamism." Almaz Ayana's record-breaking run. Some 27 world records were broken in Rio. The first to fall inside the Olympic Stadium was the women's 10,000-meter record, which the Ethiopian runner beat by more than 14 seconds. Liina, Lily, and Leila Luik. The Estonian women set a different kind of Olympic record by becoming the first triplets ever to compete in the marathon. Helping hands. America's Abbey D'Agostino and New Zealand's Nikki Hamblin showed true Olympic spirit—and won Fair Play Awards—by helping each other after a tumble in the women's 5,000 meters. The Brits who are being called the best couple. Kate and Helen Richardson-Walsh not only became the first same-sex married couple to compete in the Olympics, they won the field hockey gold. Changing of the guard. Phelps had an Olympic swimming career that might never be matched unless dolphins start competing—though he was beaten in the 100-meter butterfly by 21-year-old Singaporean Joseph Schooling, who grew up idolizing Phelps. Soccer gold. Brazilians breathe soccer, and they got what the AP calls a "perfect finish to an imperfect Olympics" when their team beat Germany to take the gold.