The US House of Representatives has voted against a resolution giving President Barack Obama authority to order US operations in Libya.
However, the House on Friday also voted down a Republican effort to cut off money for the Libya conflict.
US backing for the Nato operation in Libya has drawn criticism from many in Congress in recent weeks.
Opponents say the three-month-old operation is in breach of legislation requiring the backing of Congress.
"The president has operated in what we now know is called the zone of twilight as to whether or not he even needs our approval," Republican Representative Tom Rooney of Florida said. "So what are we left with?"
Mr Obama says he does not need additional congressional approval, as US forces are simply supporting Nato.
His allies in Congress urged members of the House to vote for the resolution authorising the conflict.
"A sudden withdrawal of American support for the mission would strengthen Gaddafi's hand and increase his confidence that he can wait out the rebellion against his rule," Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland said on the House floor.
"It would put civilian lives at risk... I urge my colleagues: protect our valuable alliances and the principles of human rights that they safeguard."
War Powers resolution
Under the terms of the resolution, the US would have been allowed to conduct "limited" operations for one year in Libya.
The introduction of ground troops would have been banned.
Analysts suggest Democrats angry at Mr Obama's continued commitment of resources to the Libya campaign could refuse to vote against the resolution, delivering another rebuke to the president.
The disagreement between Congress and the White House stems from a Vietnam War-era law, the War Powers resolution, intended to constrain the president's ability to wage military conflict with congressional approval.
Under the US constitution only Congress can declare war, and the 1973 War Powers resolution requires that, without such a declaration, a president who sends US military forces into conflict must get authorisation from Congress if the hostilities last longer than 90 days.
Last week, Mr Obama informed Congress that administration lawyers deemed the Libya conflict did not require additional congressional approval, arguing US forces were merely playing a supporting role in the Nato campaign.
That role, the White House says, does not match the definition of "hostilities" as described in the War Powers resolution.
Chinese artist and government critic Ai Weiwei is reported to be under further restrictions following his release after nearly three months' detention.
Mr Ai has already said he cannot talk to the media, and he is not allowed to leave Beijing without permission.
He is also reportedly banned from using the microblogging site Twitter. His account has been dormant since April.
Mr Ai was released from detention on Wednesday after the authorities said he had confessed to tax evasion.
China's foreign ministry has outlined the terms of Mr Ai's bail, which are valid for 12 months, saying that Mr Ai is not allowed to leave Beijing without permission.
Mr Ai has made it clear to the media that he is unable to discuss his case.
Now it appears he cannot tweet either.
Mr Ai regularly used social networking sites to keep in touch with his fans and followers. He has more than 89,000 followers on Twitter and has tweeted more than 60,000 times - the last time was on 3 April, the day he was detained.
Some lawyers have expressed disquiet about these restrictions.
One pointed out that no formal charges have been brought against the 54-year-old. The restrictions show, he says, the extensive legal powers enjoyed by the Chinese authorities.
China's police allege Mr Ai has admitted to tax evasion and promised to pay back the money. But no more details have been given.
'Inane chatter'
Mr Ai's arrest in April sparked an international outcry.
He was held for 80 days at a secret detention centre with no access to a lawyer or contact with his family.
Western governments had demanded Mr Ai's release and that of many other activists who have been rounded up by China's authorities in recent months, in what is the most serious crackdown on dissidents in China in many years.
The artist's case is expected to come up during Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's European tour. Mr Wen is currently in Hungary, and will travel to the UK and Germany.
The state-run Global Times newspaper on Friday published an article saying that Mr Ai's release was not a result of Western pressure.
"Western media believe foreign pressures have worked. It seems that their interpretation will do no harm to China's external relations," it said.
"But China will hold its judicial sovereignty in its own hands. The country will continue to stride forward, and it will not pay heed toward this inane chatter.
"Ai Weiwei, like the rest of his countrymen, will keep living his life within the framework of Chinese laws."
Arizona's police force has become the latest victim of hacker group LulzSec.
About 700 confidential documents belonging to the Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZDPS) were stolen and published online.
The cache includes e-mails, memos and training manuals as well as intelligence bulletins detailing work with informants.
The group said it had targeted AZDPS because of a controversial state law designed to stop illegal immigration.
"We are aware of computer issues," Steve Harrison, a spokesman for the force told Reuters. "We're looking into it. And of course we're taking additional security safeguards."
It said that AZDPS had been targeted because of its role in upholding the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, also known as SB1070.
The legislation, passed in 2010, forces legal aliens to carry their ID documents at all times. It also obliges Arizona police to check those papers when they have a reasonable suspicion that a person may be there illegally.
As a border state, Arizona is particularly affected by illegal immigration. However, critics believe that SB1070 amounts to racial profiling.
Terror targets
Also included in the LulzSec document cache is a Powerpoint presentation about the potential vulnerability of ferries to attack by terrorists, lists of trends in suspicious incidents and a report that drug gangs are using scouts on horseback to evade capture.
The theft is part of an initiative Lulzsec kicked off last week called Antisec which is aimed at taking confidential documents from governments, the military and law enforcement agencies.
It plans to release a batch of stolen files every week to "purposefully sabotage their efforts to terrorize communities fighting an unjust 'war on drugs'."
In recent months Lulzsec has carried out attacks on a wide range of targets and has taken down the websites of the US Senate, the CIA and the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency.
Protesters have taken to the streets across Syria after Friday prayers, in new rallies against President Bashar al-Assad, activists and witnesses say.
Security forces were said to have used tear gas and gunfire in and around the capital, Damascus, with unconfirmed reports of casualties.
Meanwhile, the EU has expanded sanctions against the Assad government.
It added three members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard and four Syrians to a list of more than 30 people targeted.
The EU's official journal said the three Revolutionary Guard members now subject to sanctions had been "providing equipment and support to help the Syrian regime suppress protests in Syria".
The EU also drafted a declaration condemning the "unacceptable and shocking violence the Syrian regime continues to apply on its own citizens".
EU leaders are expected to endorse the declaration later.
More than 1,300 people have been killed and thousands more detained since a crackdown on anti-government protests began in March, activists say.
'No longer my president'
As in previous weeks, activists appealed to Syrians to join demonstrations after Friday prayers.
As on every Friday for the last 100 days, Syrians across the country took to the streets in large numbers after prayers, despite measures taken by the authorities. Tear gas and gunfire are reported to have been used in Midan in central Damascus and in the suburb of Kiswah.
In the town of Salamia near Homs, where the Ismaili minority predominates, an unprecedented number of protesters marched.
While the government seeks a national dialogue with the opposition, on the ground the situation is still dominated by violence and arrests.
Independent opposition figures are holding the first open meeting on Monday to discuss how to move Syria to a civil and democratic country, but they are determined that there will be no dialogue with authorities until violence is ended.
An appeal on Facebook listed a slogan for this week as: "Bashar is no longer my president and his government no longer represents me."
Thousands of people were reported to have turned out in the Damascus suburb of Irbin, the central cities of Homs and Hama, Deraa in the south, and Qamishli and Deir al-Zour in the east.
Residents in Homs told BBC Arabic that one person had been killed in a protest in the district of Jawret al-Arayeis.
The Arab Organization for Human Rights in Syria told the BBC five people were killed and others were injured as security forces opened fire with live ammunition on protesters leaving a mosque in Kiswah, south of Damascus.
Syria has prevented most foreign journalists from entering the country and reports of unrest are hard to verify.
The Local Coordination Committees, which monitor the Syrian protest movement, had earlier reported military trucks in Damascus suburbs, and said roads in the centre of Homs had been blocked.
Friday's protests come after President Assad offered dialogue and reform on Monday, in his third address to the nation since the start of demonstrations.
Activists dismissed the offers as cosmetic or insufficient, and clashes broke out between supporters of President Assad and anti-government protesters on Tuesday.
Flight into Turkey
In the north, Syrian residents have continued to flee a widening crackdown by the army.
Turkish state media said more than 1,500 people crossed the border from Syria on Thursday after troops and tanks moved into the Syrian border village of Khirbet al-Jouz.
Residents and journalists in the Turkish village Guvecci said they could see military activity across the border.
Activists from the Local Coordinating Committees said snipers were also spotted on roofs.
A total of 11,700 Syrian have sought refuge in Turkey, the Turkish government says.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the reported Syrian troop movements were "very worrisome".
The Iranians added to the EU sanctions list were two Revolutionary Guard commanders, Maj Gen Qasem Soleimani and Brig Cmdr Mohammad Ali Jafari, and the Guard's deputy commander for intelligence, Hossein Taeb.
They will now be subject to having their assets frozen and being banned from travel to the EU.
EU officials did not give details of the equipment or support they were accused of providing to Syria.
A UK foreign office spokesman said the UK welcomed the move. "This sends a clear message to the government of Iran that its provision of equipment and technical advice to help the Syrian regime to quash protest is unacceptable," the spokesman told the BBC.
Newsnight's Sue Lloyd-Roberts goes undercover in the Syrian capital Damascus to speak to opposition activists about the anti-government protests, the regime's response
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced the phased withdrawal of its 4,000 soldiers serving in Afghanistan.
A statement said the French would follow the timetable of US withdrawals announced by President Barack Obama.
Mr Obama said 10,000 US troops would pull out this year, with another 23,000 leaving by the end of September 2012.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai welcomed the move, but the Taliban dismissed it as "symbolic" and vowed to continue fighting until all foreign forces left.
At least 68,000 US troops will remain in the country after the 33,000 have been withdrawn, but they are scheduled to leave by 2013, provided that Afghan forces are ready to take over security.
However the US reductions just announced are larger and faster than military commanders had advised.
They told the president that the recent security gains were fragile and reversible, and had urged him to keep troop numbers high until 2013.
Correspondents say the enormous cost of the deployment - currently more than $2bn (£1.25bn) a week - has attracted criticism from Congressional leaders, while the public are weary of a war that seems to have no end and has left at least 1,500 personnel dead and 12,000 wounded.
There have also been changes on the ground, notably the killing in May of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden by US forces in Pakistan.
Mission change
Mr Sarkozy's announcement came shortly after that of Mr Obama's, and followed a telephone discussion between the two leaders on Wednesday, said the Elysee Palace - the presidential office - in a statement.
This is a moment when President Obama can do what was unthinkable two years ago. He can defy the Pentagon. Early in his presidency it would have been too risky to ignore military advice”
The withdrawal of the approximately 4,000 serving French troops would be progressive and would take place "in a proportional manner and in a timeframe similar to the pullback of the American reinforcements", it said, beginning in the coming months.
The French president "stressed that France shared the American analysis and objectives and that it was happy with President Obama's decision".
Mr Obama's announcement, after a month-long strategy review, outlined the exit of the forces he sent to the country at the end of 2009 as part of a "surge".
In his speech, he said he had set clear objectives for the surge in December 2009 - to refocus on al-Qaeda, to reverse the Taliban's momentum, and train Afghan security forces to defend their own country.
His administration also stated the commitment would not be open-ended and that the withdrawal would begin in July 2011, he added.
"After this initial reduction our troops will continue coming home at a steady pace as Afghan security forces move into the lead. Our mission will change from combat to support."
With this announcement, President Obama has asserted civilian control over the military strategy in Afghanistan. The generals had wanted to keep their combat strength at the same level for this summer and next.
The political realities, including a certain war weariness on the part of the American public, dictated otherwise. Nato commanders believe they have begun to stabilise the south of the country but that some hard fighting remains ahead.
Increasingly that will fall to the Afghan police and army.
President Obama's announcement may also have a big psychological impact. Almost 70,000 US troops will remain but if Afghans think the West is running for the exits, some at least will consider switching sides to the Taliban.
The BBC's Paul Adams in Washington says the speech was all about reassuring the American public that the "tide of war" was receding.
Six thousand Americans have died in Iraq and Afghanistan and $1 trillion has been spent.
The initial withdrawal is expected to happen in two phases, with 5,000 troops coming home in coming months and another 5,000 by the end of the year.
The remainder of the surge reinforcements - 20,000 combat troops and an 3,000 deployed to support the operation - will be out by the end of September 2012, in time for the US presidential election.
Our correspondent says this is a quicker pace than most analysts predicted, and suggests the president does not feel he needs to leave the bulk of the surge force in place for another fighting season.
The second largest contributor to the international force in Afghanistan is the UK, which has more than 10,000 soldiers including special forces.
It has pledged to pull back forces by 2015 - and earlier if conditions allow.
US administration officials told the New York Times that the US military commander in Afghanistan, Gen David Petraeus, had not endorsed Mr Obama's decision. He recommended limiting initial withdrawals and leaving in place as many combat forces for as long as possible, they said.
Outgoing Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reluctantly accepted the reductions, the officials added.
Serious doubts remain about whether Afghan forces will be up to the task.
But President Karzai welcomed Mr Obama's announcement as "a good step for their benefit and the people of Afghanistan".
"I want the people of Afghanistan to be safe in their country with their own capable means," Mr Karzai said.
Security fears
There was a more ambivalent response from senior Afghan security officials who spoke to the BBC.
They stressed that neither the army nor police were yet capable of handling security alone, citing problems of enemy infiltration, drug addiction, and high desertion rates.
An Afghan official with the country's National Security Council said he hoped the withdrawal would take place progressively, and not in one fell swoop.
"We look for a long-term commitment from the United States and the international community, one that will not allow Afghanistan to fall back to the pre-civil war and Taliban days," the official, who did not want to be named, told the BBC.
"We want to remind everyone, history shows that if you turn your [back] on Afghanistan, it will have negative consequences for you."
But a farmer in a volatile district in the north-eastern province of Kundoz told the BBC: "As far as I am concerned, the American forces didn't make a difference to me and my village. So if they leave it won't affect me.
"They supported militias, commanders who kill, rape and loot here. They are hated for that at my village.''
Syrian state television has broadcast pictures which it says prove that foreign troublemakers are misrepresenting the situation in the country, and that people there are fanatically devoted to President Assad.
At the same time, activists have said the president's troops continued to fire on protesters in various cities, killing seven people, one of whom was reported to be a 13-year-old boy.
But no one outside Syria knows for certain because the regime will not allow foreign journalists access to the country.
Sue Lloyd-Roberts travelled to Damascus for Newsnight, posing as a tourist to make this report in secret.
A Lufthansa jet was forced to abort a take-off from New York's JFK airport after an Egyptian plane on the ground strayed too close to the runway.
"Cancel take-off plans," the American air traffic control official shouted over the radio.
A US air traffic official said an EgyptAir jet was told to remain 250ft (76m) from the runway the Lufthansa plane was using, but moved too close.
The Lufthansa jet braked quickly after being ordered to stop by air traffic.
Radio chatter indicates the pilot slammed on the plane's brakes after being ordered to come to a stop.
US aviation authorities are now investigating how the near-miss came about.
The Munich-bound Lufthansa plane, an Airbus A340, was carrying 286 passengers, while the Egypt air jet was a Boeing 777, the New York Post reported.
Kathleen Bergen, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration, told the Associated Press the Lufthansa plane stopped "a considerable distance" from EgyptAir flight 986.
After the Lufthansa plane halted, the pilot said he had "hot brakes" and needed to take a minute. The tower controller then said a maintenance crew would inspect them.
Then, a man identified as a pilot for a Virgin America plane said on the radio: "That was quite a show. We thought it was going be a short career."
Greek PM George Papandreou is trying to persuade MPs to pass further austerity measures that have sparked nationwide strikes and riots in Athens.
MPs are being asked to approve 28bn euros (£25bn) of cuts, tax rises, fiscal reforms and privatisation plans.
Eurozone ministers say the legislation must be passed to receive a 12bn-euro loan Greece needs to pay its debts.
Mr Papandreou's reshuffled cabinet was earlier approved in parliament by 155 votes to 143, with two abstentions.
Last week he reshuffled his cabinet - replacing his finance minister with former Defence Minister Evangelos Venizelos - after weeks of demonstrations against his handling of the crisis.
Ahead of the vote he warned that the alternative - a default on Greece's sovereign debts and a possible exit from the single currency - would be catastrophic for Greece.
Because Greece chose to give up their currency, they have this "rescue" option which emerging market economies don't get when they run up gargantuan debts. But when Greece opened the door to a bail-out, they also closed several others. ”
As the vote was held in the early hours of Wednesday, thousands of people gathered outside Athens's parliament building to protest against both the austerity measures and politicians in general. Many chanted: "Thieves! Thieves!"
Persuading parliament
The confidence vote followed a heated debate that saw sections of the opposition briefly walk out. But despite the threat of a revolt within the governing Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok), MPs voted strictly along party lines.
Mr Papandreou must now persuade parliament to approve a five-year package of 28bn euros of tax increases and spending cuts by 28 June.
It will then have to push through laws implementing the reforms in time for an extraordinary meeting of eurozone finance ministers on 3 July.
Greece's economic reforms, which led to it abandoning the drachma as its currency in favour of the euro in 2002, made it easier for the country to borrow money.
Greece went on a big, debt-funded spending spree, including paying for high-profile projects such as the 2004 Athens Olympics, which went well over its budget.
The country was hit by the downturn, which meant it had to spend more on benefits and received less in taxes. There were also doubts about the accuracy of its economic statistics.
Greece's economic problems meant lenders started charging higher interest rates to lend it money. Widespread tax evasion also hit the government's coffers.
There have been demonstrations against the government's austerity measures to deal with its debt, such as cuts to public sector pay and pensions, reduced benefits and increased taxes.
The government has already had to access a 110bn euro (£95bn; $146.2bn) bail-out package from the European Union and International Monetary Fund, and now needs a second bail-out.
Eurozone ministers are worried that if Greece were to default it would make it even more difficult for other countries such as Portugal and the Irish Republic to borrow money.
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Having passed the confidence vote, Mr Papandreou now faces fresh hurdles in the government's attempts to avoid defaulting on the country's debt repayments. Greece's opposition has distanced itself from the austerity measures that the EU and the IMF are demanding as a condition for new bail-out loans.
Some members of Mr Papandreou's Socialist party also oppose the plan, and protesters say there will be a major day of action when parliament votes on multi-billion-dollar cuts and privatisations next week.
Mr Papandreou has called for unity, but the call is in a divided land, says the BBC's Chris Morris in Athens. Our correspondent says there are questions about whether Greece will fully implement the severe programme.
The demands of international lenders in Europe and elsewhere are straining Greece's political system here to the limit, he adds.
It would be a mistake to underestimate the determination of Europe's political leaders to protect the euro, says our correspondent. But the impression that the eurozone is stumbling from crisis to crisis - surviving with the liberal use of sticking plasters - has not yet been lifted.
'Moment of truth'
On Sunday, the eurozone ministers said they would withhold the payment of the latest tranche of the European Union and International Monetary Fund's 110-bn euro bail-out package until the laws were in place.
Greece needs the loan to be able to keep up with payments to creditors of its 340bn euros of debts, which amounts to 30,000 euros per person.
The eurozone ministers also agreed on Sunday to put together a second bailout package worth 120bn euros to fund Greece into late 2014.
The new aid package, to be outlined by early July, will include loans from other eurozone countries. It will also feature a voluntary contribution from private investors, who will be invited to buy up new Greek bonds as old ones mature. Officials said this money had to be freely given, or it would be seen as technical default on Greece's debt repayments.
The objective of Mr Papandreou, the EU and IMF is to reduce the Greek government's borrowing needs and make its debt sustainable.
Many in the financial markets expect that Greece will at some stage fail to repay its debts in full and on time, even if Mr Papandreou manages to maintain the repayments for the immediate future, he adds.
If Greece were to default on its debt - worth 150% of its annual GDP output - it would have to leave the 17-member eurozone and trigger massive losses for European banks that hold Greek debt, including the European Central Bank.
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Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini has called for a suspension of hostilities in Libya to allow humanitarian aid to be brought to the war-torn country.
Mr Frattini also said Nato must provide data on results of its bombing campaign and guidelines on targeting errors.
Arab League Chairman Amr Moussa also urged a ceasefire on Tuesday, voicing reservations about the Nato campaign.
On Sunday a Nato missile apparently misfired striking a residential area.
The Libyan government said nine people including two young children were killed in the strike.
The alliance acknowledged that civilian casualties may have resulted from it.
Meanwhile Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi described Libya's opposition National Transitional Council as an "important dialogue partner" and an "important domestic political force".
Rebel leader Mahmoud Jibril has been holding talks with the Chinese leadership in Beijing.
Credibility 'at risk'
Speaking to the lower house of the Italian parliament, Mr Frattini called for "an immediate humanitarian suspension of hostilities" to allow an aid corridor to be set up.
Mr Frattini's comments are important as Italy provides most of the land bases for Nato's bombing missions, the command centre, as well as several aircraft for the strike operations. His views relate to the political impact of civilian casualties and are probably shared, if not expressed so openly, by other Nato members.
But Italy brings other context to this. Ever since the UN-backed bombing campaign started in mid-March, Italy has been a reluctant participant. As the former colonial power, it says it has interests and responsibilities, not shared by others.
And now there's a new pressure, from the junior partner in PM Silvio Berlusconi's coalition, the Northern League. Just this weekend, the league warned Mr Berlusconi that if he wanted its continued support, then he would have to look again at Italy's role in Libya, because of its fears about the mounting costs of the mission and because of that historical legacy.
"With regard to Nato, it is fair to ask for increasingly detailed information on results as well as precise guidelines on the dramatic errors involving civilians," he added.
But the French foreign ministry said Paris was against any pause.
Such a move "would allow [Libyan leader] Muammar Gaddafi to gain time and reorganise", said spokesman Bernard Valero, quoted by AFP news agency.
"In the end, it would be the civilian population that would suffer from the smallest sign of weakness on our behalf."
On Monday Mr Frattini said Nato's credibility was "at risk" after the residential area strike.
"When I see children being killed, I must have misgivings. That's why I warned about the risk of civilian casualties," he told the UK newspaper, adding that the military campaign on its own would not be successful.
"You can't have a decisive ending. Now is the time to do whatever we can to reach a political solution," he said.
An internationally supervised ceasefire was necessary, he added, followed by a transitional period "to reach an understanding about the future of Libya".
African Union Chairman Jean Ping said he believed the West would ultimately accept its ceasefire plan, which paves the way for a transition but makes no mention of Col Gaddafi's departure, the main opposition demand.
"The stalemate is already there. There is no other way," he said, quoted by Reuters news agency.
Wing Cmdr Mike Bracken, the Nato mission's military spokesman, said it was not Nato's credibility that was questionable but "the Gaddafi regime's use of human shields [and] firing missiles from mosques".
Nato's mission - to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya to protect civilians using "all necessary measures" short of a ground invasion - began in March in response to Col Gaddafi's violent response to a popular uprising.
The intervention was mandated by the UN, and led by France, Britain and the US until the end of March, when Nato took over.
Having initially been given 90 days - which would have run out on 27 June - the mission has been extended for a further 90 days.
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An evacuated Ethiopian, who wanted to be identified only by his first name, Edris, told the BBC he had been traumatised by his experiences at the hands of the traffickers.
"I escaped from the centre where the traffickers had gathered us all, controlling and abusing women," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.
"I saw women being raped by up to eight men. Even men were not spared from rape."
The IOM said of the 275 Ethiopians it had evacuated, 34 were women and 115 were children.
It said it intended to evacuate another 1,900 Ethiopians stranded on the Yemen-Saudi Arabia border.
Analysts say Yemen is on the brink of a civil war as rival political, ethnic and religious groups fight for power.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh was wounded in a mortar attack on his compound in Sanaa earlier this month.
He was rushed to Saudi Arabia for treatment, and has not returned to Yemen.
He has been in power for more than 30 years, insisting that he will not yield to opposition demands to resign.
The US also fears that al-Qaeda is exploiting the political vacuum in Yemen to strengthen its influence in the country.
The departure of President Saleh buys time for Yemeni factions to try to reconcile their competing claims, says the BBC’s Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen.
US & Canada 
Some Obama allies in Congress accused Republicans of playing political games with national security 
What Saleh's exit means for Yemen
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