BBC News with Marion Marshall

World leaders have congratulated the">the Republic of South Sudan on gaining independence. The">The American President Barack Obama said it was a reminder that after the">the darkness of war, a new dawn was possible. Tens of thousands of people celebrated in the">the capital Juba as the">the flag of South Sudan was raised at the">the tomb of the">the rebel leader John Garang, who led the">the fight for nationhood. The">The speaker of the">the Legislative Assembly, James Wani Igga, caught the">the mood of the">the crowd.

"thern">Southern Sudan, oh yeah. Freedom, oh yeah. Freedom, oh yeah."

Our correspondent Will Ross is in Juba. Hewitnessed the">the day's events and sent us this report.

Theeuphoriabuilt as people here waved goodbye to the">the north of Sudan and the">the flag of South Sudan was raised. Tens of thousands watched, full of pride, the">the end of a long journey through decades of war. Wearing histrademarkblack cowboy hat, the President of the South, Salva Kiir, was sworn in and pledged better times ahead. The conflict with the north means this new nationstarts outas one of the">the very poorest on the">the planet.

Speaking in Juba, the">the thern">northern President Omar al-Bashir congratulated therners">southerners on their">their new state, and he called on the">the United States to lift sanctions against his country. James Copnall reports.

President Omar al-Bashir told a crowd of tens of thousands and visiting heads of state from around the">the world that Sudan hadfulfilled its promises. Many had believed Khartoum would never let oil-rich South Sudansecede. Now President Bashir said it was time for America to keep its word and remove its sanctions from Sudan. The sanctions causeconsiderabledifficulty for the">the Sudanese economy, which with the">the South's independence has now also lost most of its oil.

The head of the United Nations refugee agency, Antonio Guterres, says he wants international agencies to go into Somalia to tackle the devastating effects of drought. In a BBC interview, Mr Guterres said he believed the UN was involved in discussions in Somalia to overcome security obstacles so that humanitarian assistance could be delivered. He said the drought in East Africa has beenmore severe in Somalia than anywhere else. Many Somalis, he said, were trapped in the">the country by conflict and couldn't reach refugee camps in neighbouring Ethiopia or Kenya.

Amnesty International has called for the">the former President of Chad, Hissene Habre, not to be returned to Chad by the">the Senegalese authorities since he's been sentenced to death in his absence. Mr Habre has been living in Senegal for many years, but on Friday, the">the Senegalese authorities agreed to return him to Chad to face justice. Mr Habre has been accused of killing and torturing thousands of civilians during his years in power which ended when he was overthrown.

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The new American Defence Secretary Leon Panetta says the strategic defeat of al-Qaeda is within reach. He made the comment to reporters during a visit to Afghanistan. Our correspondent Quentin Sommerville reports from Kabul.

Leon Panetta says that following the">the death of Osama Bin Laden, the">the United States would put "maximum pressure" on al-Qaedain the">the hope ofcrippling the">the group and removing it as a threat to the">the United States. He said that there">there were between 10 to 20 key al-Qaeda leaders in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. "If we go after them">them, I think we can strategically defeat al-Qaeda," he told reporters travelling with him to Afghanistan. It's his first visit here as defence secretary. Officials in Kabul say it may be a chance toresetthedeterioratingrelationship between Washington and Afghanistan.

More than 1,600 people have been arrested in Malaysia at an unlawful rally held to demand electoral reform. Police used tear gas to disperse thousands of anti-government protesters. Several people were injured, including the Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

"We were attacked from both corners, but what was horrifying is that the police shot directly at the protesters, and some of them clearly aimed at me personally. So my security assistants had to cover me, and one was badly injured because the canister was shot direct."

Journalists in Britain have been working on the final edition of the best-selling Sunday newspaper, the News of the World, after more than 160 years in print. Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch's News International corporation is closing the paper after it was revealed its staff had unlawfully intercepted telephone messages. Politicians and celebrities have joined public outrage against the paper.

One of Latin America's most respected folk singers, Facundo Cabral, has been shot dead in Guatemala, where he'd been giving a concert. The Argentine singer-songwriter, who was 74, was on his way to the airport in Guatemala City when gunmen opened fire on his car. He died at the scene.

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世界领袖祝贺南苏丹共和国获得独立。美国总统奥巴马表示，这提醒人们，经过战争的黑暗之后，新的黎明即将到来。南苏丹国旗在已故苏丹反对派领导人约翰·加朗(John Garang)的陵墓缓缓升起的时候，数万人在首都朱巴举行庆祝活动。南苏丹国会议长伊加(James Wani Igga)表达了群众的情绪。

“南苏丹，加油！自由，加油！自由，加油！”

我们的记者Will Ross在朱巴目睹了庆祝活动的过程，他发回了这份报道。

人们向北苏丹告别，南苏丹国旗升起的时候，人群中弥漫着欢欣快乐的气氛。数万人充满自豪地目睹几十年战争的结束。南苏丹总统萨尔瓦·

基尔(Salva Kiir)戴着标志性的黑色牛仔帽，宣誓就任总统，承诺南苏丹将面临更好的未来。长时间的南北冲突意味着南苏丹将成为地球上最贫困的国家之一。

北苏丹总统巴希尔在朱巴发表讲话，在这个新成立的国家向南方人表示祝贺，并要求美国取消对北方的制裁。James Copnall报道。

巴希尔总统告诉数万名民众和来访的世界各国元首，苏丹已经履行了自己的诺言。过去，许多人认为喀土穆政府不会允许石油资源丰富的南苏丹脱离。现在，巴希尔表示，美国现在也应该履行自己的诺言，取消对苏丹的制裁。制裁措施已经对苏丹经济造成了非常大的困难。同时，由于南苏丹独立，北苏丹也失去了大部分石油资源。

联合国难民事务高级专员安东尼奥·古特雷斯(Antonio Guterres)表示，他希望国家机构进入索马里，应对干旱带来的灾难性影响。在BBC采访中，古特雷斯表示，他相信，联合国正在与索马里进行讨论，克服一系列安全障碍，这样就可以进行人道主义救援。他说，东非地区的干旱状况以索马里最为严重。他说，由于冲突，许多索马里人被困在国内，难以抵达邻国埃塞俄比亚和肯尼亚的难民营。

国际特赦组织要求塞内加尔当局不要将乍得前总统侯赛因·哈布雷(Hissène Habré)归还乍得，因为他已经被缺席判决死刑。哈布雷多年来一直居住在塞内加尔，但是周五，塞内加尔当局同意将他归还乍得进行审判。哈布雷被指控执政期间虐杀了数千名平民，直到后来他的统治被推翻。

美国新任国防部长帕内特表示，从战略上击败基地组织已经触手可及。他在访问阿富汗期间向记者发表了该评论。我们的记者Quentin Sommerville在喀布尔报道。

帕内特表示，本·拉登被击毙后，美国向基地组织施加了“最大的压力”希望将该组织取缔，消除对美国带来的威胁。他表示，巴基斯坦，也门和索马里共有10至20名关键的基地组织头目。他告诉陪同他前往阿富汗的记者，“如果我们能够成功的抓捕他们，我们就能够从战略上击败基地组织。”这是他第一次以国防部长的身份访问阿富汗。喀布尔官员表示，这可能是重启华盛顿和阿富汗之间不断恶化的关系的机会。

马来西亚人举行非法集会，要求进行选举改革，结果造成超过1,600人被捕。警方使用催泪弹驱散了数千名反政府抗议者，造成几人受伤，包括马来西亚反对派领袖安华(Anwar Ibrahim)。

“我们受到来自四面八方的袭击，但是可怕的是警方直接向抗议者扫射，其中一些枪火很明显是指向我的。所以，我们的安全助手不得不保护我，其中一人由于受到枪击，伤势严重。”

英国记者正在致力于打造最畅销的周日报纸《世界新闻报》的最后一版。该报纸已经走过了超过160年的历程。被指控报纸职员非法窃听电话信息之后，媒体大亨默多克的新闻国际集团关闭了《世界新闻报》。政客和明星们也加入了对该报纸的敌意的行列。

拉丁美洲最著名的民谣歌手法昆多·卡布拉尔(Facundo Cabral)在危地马拉举行音乐会时被枪杀。这位74岁的阿根廷歌手和作曲家在前往危地马拉市机场的途中遭遇持枪分子的袭击。卡布拉尔当场死亡。