04/09/2011 BBC Weekend News

Opposition forces in Libya close in on one of Colonel Gaddafi's last

strongholds. Hundreds of anti- Gaddafi fighters are on the

outskirts of the town, preparing for an attack.

The frontrunner for leader of the Scottish Conservatives says he

wants to split from the UK party if he's voted in.

I think there is real interest in creating a modern centre-right

party that will broaden its appeal and attract many people who share

our values. The former IMF boss arrives home in

France after the collapse of the sexual assault case against him in

New York. And Mo Farah strikes gold in South

Korea, winning the 5,000m in the Opposition fighters in Libya are

now within a few kilometres of one of Colonel Gaddafi's last

strongholds. Negotiations are under way with Gaddafi loyalists still

believed to be controlling the town of Bani Walid, south-east of

Tripoli. The BBC has learned of evidence that his son fled the town

yesterday. They certainly have the passion. They have the political

power and the guns. But they don't control all of Libya yet. Bani

Walid is just down this road and it is still under the control of

Gaddafi's men. Talks have been under way for days for a peaceful

takeover but this is sensitive work because intelligence about the

whereabouts of the colonels sons lie in the town. When did Saif Al-

Islam lead? Yesterday. He went to the south. Military commanders say

it is possible for anyone to escape the town of Bani Walid. They are

going to give negotiations one more go, and if they fail they will get

into their trucks and take Bani Walid by force. In many ways, Bani

Walid has little strategic value, but the new national army must now

consolidate its hold a ball of Libya if it is to form an effective

government. The revolution is almost complete, but not quite over

yet. Within the last hour, the

opposition authorities have said that one of Kidder -- Colonel

Gaddafi's sons has been killed. What have you been hearing, John?

The opposition say they can confirm what has been reported for a few

days now, and they are certain that Khamis Gaddafi was killed when

fighting outside of Tripoli a few days ago and his body was buried in

Bani Walid. Khamis Gaddafi led this military brigade, one of Colonel

Gaddafi's elite military units, a unit notorious for its brutality,

so there will be great rejoicing among many Libyans about his demise.

The reason they have been able to confirm this information is because

they are saying they already have control of parts of Bani Walid.

They are confident that, whether through negotiations or through an

all-out assault, they will have control of the Bani Walid in the

coming hours. The front-runner for the leadership

of the Scottish Conservatives, Murdo Fraser, has called on his

party to break away from their colleagues in Westminster. He says

the creation of a new centre-right party with a distinct Scottish

identity working in partnership with the Conservatives would

attract more voters. The idea is for the Scottish

Conservative Party to change its name and logo, make all its own

decisions, and rebrand as something else. I think there is real

interest in creating a modern progressive centre-right party that

will broaden its appeal and attract many people who share our values

but don't want to vote for the current Conservative Party. There

was a time when the Scottish Tories did better. In the mid-50s they had

a majority of votes and MPs in Scotland. By the 90s, there were

only 11 Conservative MPs, and in 1997 they were wiped out. They have

never had more than one Scottish MP at any time since. Murdo Fraser

thinks any independent Scottish party would do better in elections

to both Westminster and the Scottish parliament, but that does

not mean he supports an independent Scotland. In fact he plans to fight

the SNP's proposals to take Scotland out of the UK. But one

rival leadership candidate fears a breakaway party would play into

nationalist hands. I think this is the wrong decision. Alex Salmond

must be the happiest man in Scotland right now. We take our

party forward by talking to Scotland about what matters, not by

talking amongst ourselves. Education Secretary told Andrew

Marr cabinet ministers like him would keep out of the debate.

of the things I have learned as a politician from Scotland but

representing an English constituency is that the reality of

devolution means you should allow the party in Scotland to determine

its own destiny. The makeover a loan may not be enough to turn

around Scottish Tory fortunes, but in this Edinburgh beauty salon

there was little doubt the party needs a new image. I don't think

they are viewed very well in Scotland, they are more of an

English party. David Cameron once apologised for his party's legacy

in Scotland. When he was with the Queen this weekend, he wondered if

the new party would fare better. A 21 year-old man has been arrested

in connection with the murder of two women in Oxfordshire. Their

bodies were discovered at a property in Thame this morning. The

details of their relationship had not been revealed.

The former Chancellor Alistair Darling has spoken of how his

relationship with Gordon Brown got progressively worse as the then

prime minister tried to replace him in 2008. The former Labour minister

has been speaking to the BBC in his first broadcast interview since

parts of his memoirs emerged. He was the softly-spoken Chancellor

in charge of the Treasury throughout the financial crisis.

For the cameras, he and Gordon Brown were close, but with scores

to settle and a book to sell, Alistair Darling has denounced the

former prime minister and a regime he describes as brutal. He said on

occasion Gordon Brown's behaviour was appalling. I don't mind him

attacking the Tories, but what is so debilitating is when Euro lot

are doing it to you. Mr Darling said his relationship with Gordon

Brown was strained beyond breaking point, and he wanted to be more

candid about the need for cuts than Gordon Brown was apparently willing

to be. At the time, reports of feuds and fight in the government

were dismissed as tittle-tattle by Number 10. In fact, Alistair

Darling is the latest witness to describe the poisonous atmosphere

and serious disagreements about how to handle the financial crisis. For

Labour, this is painful history, but Alistair Darling has advice for

the present government as well. The Bank of England and its current

governor come in for some criticism. Darling says the bank was slow to

recognise the scale of the crisis and believes it is badly structured.

The present government wants to make the Bank of England

responsible for interest rates, and also for the supervision of banks,

and also it has this overall responsibility for ironing out the

peaks and troughs of the economic cycle. That is a lot to invest in

one person. Speaking earlier today, Gordon Brown said he was not going

to get into politics, but the memoirs describe the time the

Conservatives will try to focus on and Labour's new leadership will

want to forget. The former head of the

International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, his back in

France for the first time since the collapse of the sexual assault case

which cost him his job. He was accompanied by his wife. This

report contains flash photography. When he left France for months ago,

Dominique Strauss-Kahn was basking in the warmth of public support, a

big favourite for next year's presidential election. Today he

returned a very different figure in the eyes of the French public. The

charges dropped, but his political career in shreds. Among supporters,

there is still hope that one day he can return to frontline politics.

He is a very competent man. He has great international experience. He

was a very good minister, and you know the talented people in

politics are not so numerous. it was not a hero's welcome. For

many, this lasting image of the elder statesman handcuffed,

dishevelled and disgraced, has brought inexcusable shame on the

French nation. Politicians are forever reinventing themselves but

so much has been written and alleged in recent months that a

quick political comeback seems unlikely. Four out of five French

people recently said they would not want him as their president, 61%

said they would not want to see him in a future Socialist cabinet. He

still faces the allegations of attempted rape made by French or

other Tristan Banon, allegations he denies. Dominique Strauss-Kahn may

have won his freedom but in New York he lost his dignity, and in

French politics it is not so easily recovered.

With news from the last day of the world athletics and the rest of the

sport, over to Sean Fletcher. The world championships ended on a high

for the British team with Mo Farah winning the gold in the 5000 metres,

the first time a British athlete has won a World event. It helped

Great Britain to 6th place in the overall medals table.

Mo Farah, Somalia and born, but tonight Britain's first ever world

champion in an event which has over the years become a victory

procession for Africans. A week on from his heartbreaking defeat in

the 10,000 metres, he celebrated with his family redemption over

half the distance. No doubt the medal will have felt double the

value. Like last Sunday, Mo Farah kicked for home with one lap to go.

He said his coach had told him to relax and run like a sprinter. This

time there was to be no ambush on the line. His speed was too much

for the opposition. It feels Lawson to have that gold medal. I came so

close before. I can't quite believe it. A defending world triple jump

champion Phillips Idowu looked like adding a second gold for Britain.

Despite producing his best jump of the year he had to settle behind

Christian Taylor. I will take the silver medal. It was a tough

competition and my competitor only needed one jump to win. Sometimes

that is just the way it goes. the end of these world

championships, Britain had finished 6th in the world medal table with

two golds, four silvers and one bronze. In fact it is one gold more

than the head coach predicted. is an awesome performance for

British athletics. Not many times we have done better in the history

of British athletics so I am very pleased. Exceeded expectations?

never do expectations. We hit the target and that is more important

to me. The targets are set to get a platform for the London Games and

every time we hit it we are coming closer to success in London.

have all become accustomed to world records involving Usain Bolt, but

he kept us waiting until the very last race in Daegu, leading home

his Jamaican quartet in the relay it of the time of 37.04 seconds.

But even that could not overshadow another in -- impressive night for

Great Britain. Thanks to Mo Farah and Phillips Idowu, Great Britain

has exceeded its metal targets. The question now is whether they can do

even better in London next year. As England's footballers prepare to

take on Wales, Fabio Capello has received the news that Jack

Wilshere will miss the rest of the Euro-campaign because of his ankle

injury. The midfielder is now expected to be out of action for

another two months. It is a blow for his club Arsenal, after Cesc

Fabregas and Samir Nasri left. There was further success for

Britain's rowers on the final day of their World Championships in

Slovenia. It included gold for men's lightweight double and

coxless four. A golden day for British rowing,

but especially for Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter. After a season

blighted by illness, it was nip and tuck they would even compete here,

but they edged out New Zealand for the grittiest of golds and you

could see what it meant. This season has been the worst we have

ever had. We have had problems, issues, but we showed we are unique

combination in the way we pay attention to detail and work on

things, and make the most out of everything we do together. Britain

finished top of the medals table here, Britain's four also storming

to the top of the table. The expectations for the Olympics could

not be higher. We have got to keep working hard, but it is the best

position we could be in at the moment. With a total of seven gold