This is the World News from the BBC.
The remains of the Venezuelan independence hero Simon Bolivar have been
exhume
d to see if he was murdered nearly two centuries ago. President Hugo Chavez ordered that the tomb of Bolivar be opened, because he suspects that the independence leader was the victim of a
conspiracy
rather than
tuberculosis as most historians maintain. This report from James Read.
Hugo Chavez announced the exhumation of his political idol in typically
flamboyant
style on the social networking site Twitter. "We have seen the remains of the Great Bolivar," he twittered, "we have cried, we have sworn
allegiance
." Beyond the emotional rhetoric, forensic experts have been examining the remains. Venezuela's attorney general said they had made important findings. President Chavez regards the man, known as the liberator, as the
inspiration
for his Bolivarian revolution. But others insist Bolivar would have little sympathy for the socialist policies of his would-be heir.
An independent human rights group, Human Rights Watch, is calling on the Pakistani government to investigate reports of more than 200 extrajudicial killings in the Swat Valley. Most of these killings were allegedly carried out by the army in the 10 months since the area returned to government control. A spokesman for the Pakistani army denied its involvement in any such act.