put on trial
in The Hague, not in Libya. In a statement that his lawyers submitted to the International Criminal Court, he said that a trial and sentence in Libya would be
tantamount
to murder. Saif al-Islam is being held in Libya after militia group from the Western city of Zintan captured him last November.
Unemployment in the countries which use the euro hit a record high last month. Figures showed that 17.8 million people were out of work in the eurozone in June – the highest level since the single currency was formed. Even Germany registered a slight rise in its jobless figures. In Greece, the Deputy Finance Minister, Christos Staikouras, appealed for further financial aid to avoid bankruptcy.
Venezuela has joined Mercosur six years after applying to join the South American trading bloc. President Hugo Chavez went to Brazil for the ceremony in his first official trip abroad since being diagnosed with cancer more than a year ago. Mr Chavez, who's running for reelection in October, said the bloc would benefit from Venezuela's huge oil and gas reserves.
The Italian government has announced it will go ahead with the $30m plan to
revamp
one of Rome's most prized landmarks, the Colosseum. Starting in December, the work will take three years to complete. Archeologists have become concerned after large cracks appeared and fragments began to fall off. In recent days, it emerged the building is tilting about 40cm to one side. The Director of the Colosseum, Rossella Rea, said it was not serious.