Welcome to Middle East Live. There are two key things to watch today: the continuing fallout from the discovery of documents detailing UK and US collaboration with the Gaddafi regime in the rendition of terrorism suspects; and the rebels' next move on the besieged town of Bani Walid after the apparent failure of peace talks with Gaddafi loyalists.

Here are the main developments in more detail:

• Abdul Hakim Belhaj, commander of the anti-Gaddafi militia, is considering suing the British government after documents emerged appearing to show UK involvement in his rendition and subsequent torture. Speaking to the Guardian he said:

"I wasn't allowed a bath for three years and I didn't see the sun for one year. They hung me from the wall and kept me in an isolation cell. I was regularly tortured ... This will not stop the new Libya having orderly relations with the United States and Britain. But it did not need to happen."

• British intelligence agencies mounted their own "rendition" operation in collaboration with Gaddafi's security services, the newly discovered Tripoli papers suggest. A secret CIA document found among the haul shows that the British and Libyans worked together to arrange for a terrorism suspect to be removed from Hong Kong to Tripoli – along with his wife and children – despite the risk that they would be tortured. The wording of the document suggests the CIA was not involved in the planning of the rendition operation.

• David Cameron is expected to make a statement in the Commons about Libya at around 3.30pm. Andrew Sparrow will be reporting on the political fallout on the rendition allegations on our Politics live blog.

• Rebels are poised for an assault on Bani Walid after the failure of talks aimed at securing the surrender of Gaddafi loyalists. Abusif Ghnyah, a rebel spokesman who comes from Bani Walid, said 120 people gathered in the town last week and agreed a negotiated surrender, only for the meeting to be disrupted by Gaddafi loyalists.

• Rebel leaders in the nearby town of Tahouna said loyalist convoys had been seen leaving Bani Walid after residents raised rebels flags. Rebels were planning to send forays into town to test the mood of the people.

• China offered to sell the Gaddafi government large stockpiles of weapons and ammunition in apparent violation of United Nations sanctions. Documents obtained by Canada's the Globe and Mail show that state-controlled Chinese arms manufacturers were prepared to sell weapons and ammunition worth at least $200-million to Gaddafi in late July.

• The head of the Red Cross, Jakob Kellenberger, is to to meet Bashar al-Assad as activists report another 14 deaths in the latest crackdown against anti government protests. The government said nine people were killed by "armed gangs".

• Government forces have launched a massive manhunt for Adnan Muhammad al-Bakkour, the attorney general of Hama, who defected to the opposition last week, residents and activists told the LA Times. Bakkour appeared in videos last week in which he said he had resigned because of a massive government campaign of killing and torture in Hama.

Disputed allegations about Iran's links with al-Qaida have resurfaced in Libyan documents discovered by the Daily Telegraph.



Iran has repeatedly denied official involvement with al-Qaida.

The Telegraph said the Libyan documents don't challenge the Iranian government, but do suggest that al-Qaida operatives had more freedom of movement there than previously thought.

Libya's new civilian leaders are concerned that military commanders like Abdul Hakim Belhaj, a former leader of a dissident Islamist group who is planning to sue the British government over his rendition, are getting too big for their boots.

The Washington Post reports on moves to rein in his influence by bringing the military commanders under one committee headed by the deputy prime minister Ali Tarhouni.

Mohammed Benrasali, a senior official in the Libya Stabilization Committee and a member of the Misrata city council, said the move was largely designed to rein in Belhadj, whose past as a fighter in Afghanistan was seen as something of a public relations problem for a government seeking substantial Western backing. "Mr. Belhaj is getting too big for his shoes," Benrasali said. "We needed someone to rein him in."

The trial of Egypt's deposed leader Hosni Mubarak has resumed in Cairo, amid reported scuffles.



This is the third session of the trial and will not be televised, the Egyptian daily Al-Masry al-Youm reports.

The paper's live blog on the trial reports violence outside the the court:

Supporters of the 83-year-old Mubarak and the families of protesters killed in the revolution have gathered outside the heavily fortified police academy where the courtroom has been set up. The two sides scuffled and hurled stones at each other. Eyewitnesses said at least four members of the martyrs' families were injured after police forces tried to prevent them from accessing the police academy without permits.

A photograph of one of man purported to have been injured in the clashes has circulated on Twitter.

"They all say they are ready to go in and fight today," rebels outside the town of Bani Walid told David Smith.

"We are just waiting for a signal now," one rebel fighter told David. "He also believed some fighting may already have started, involving rebel fighters coming from Misrata," David reported in an telephone update from Weshtata.

There are also hopes that there may be an internal uprising in Bani Walid and all these elements may come together. We heard last night that negotiations for a peaceful surrender have broken down irrevocably, so a battle does look imminent. We could be off to Bani Walid in five minutes or we could still be waiting five hours. It is still quite uncertain.

Rebels were hoping for an internal uprising in the town, but patience is running out and they are keen to go in an support any internal dissent, David said.

"This could be a tough nut to crack, there are all sorts of estimates about the strength of Gaddafi's forces in Bani Walid. Yesterday a spokesman said only 20 people were holding [the] town hostage. But then today someone else said there were 4,000 Gaddafi soldiers plus an additional 600 who were Saif al-Islam [Gaddafi's] personal security who fled with him here. So gauging the strength of Gaddafi's supporters is difficult."

[At that point the line cut out, apologies.]

Nato continued to bombard Sirte, which has been given until next weekend to surrender, and Bani Walid in the first four days of September.

It also took out 14 surface to air missile canisters in Waddan, about 150 miles south of Sirte. Here are the details of the "key hits" of the last four days.



Key Hits 4 September [pdf]

In the vicinity of Sirte: 1 Military Vehicle Storage Facility, 2 Armed Vehicle, 4 Multiple Rocket Launchers, 2 Heavy Machine Gun, 4 Surface to Air Missile Canisters.

In the vicinity of Sebha:1 Command and Control Node / Warehouse.

In the vicinity of Waddan: 14 Surface to Air Missile Canisters.

In the vicinity of Hun: 3 Anti Aircraft Artillery Systems, 3 Radars. Key Hits 3 September [pdf]

In the vicinity of Sirte: 1 military barracks, 1 ammunition storage facility, 1 military police camp, 1 command and control node, 7 surface-to-air missile canisters, 1 surface-to-air missile system, 1 self-propelled artillery piece

in the vicinity of Bani Walid: 1 ammunition storage facility

in the vicinity of Hun: 1 command and control node, 4 anti aircraft guns

in the vicinity of Buwayrat: 1 command and control node, 6 armed vehicles, 2 military barracks, 3 military supply vehicles, 2 engineer support vehicles, 1 multiple rocket launcher. Key Hits 2 September [pdf]

In the vicinity of Sirte: 1 Ammo Storage Facility, 11 Surface to Air Missile Canisters, 3 Tanks, 1 Training Area

In the vicinity of Bani Walid: 1 Military Vehicle Storage Facility

In the vicinity of Hun: 1 Command and Control node, 1 Military Vehicle Key Hits 1 September [pdf]

In the vicinity of Sirte: 1 Command and Control Node/Ammo Storage Facility, 7 Surface to Air Missile Transloaders, 2 Armed Vehicle, 1Tank, 2Military Trucks, 3 Surface to Air Missile Canisters.

In the vicinity of Bani Walid: 1 Ammo Storage Facility, 1 Armed Vehicle.

In the vicinity of Waddan: 2 Anti Aircraft Guns, 2 Anti Aircraft Artillery Systems, 2Radars.

Getting an accurate picture of what is going on in Bani Walid is tricky, as David Smith noted earlier.

Derek Stottel from the Canadian broadcaster CBC tweeted a skirmish last night:

Rebel fighters tell us there has been a skirmish in Bani Walid between rebels and pro-G men. But deny battle for Bani Walid is underway.

A CNN report says rebel fighters have made it to the outskirts, but the the pro-Gaddafi green flag is still flying over the town.

The BBC's Piers Scholfield tweets:

North of Bani Walid. Main negotiator confirms talks are not going on but still hoping pro-G forces lay down their weapons today. #Libya

Rebels appear to be poised to invade, despite the talk of negotiations, according to Reuters:

"The door is still open for negotiations. Our offer still stands," said Mohammed al-Fassi, a field commander for the National Transitional Council outside the town. "The offer is that people who committed crimes in Gaddafi's name will be put under house arrest until the new government is formed. Some of them have accepted this but others said no." Asked whether the NTC was considering taking Bani Walid by force, Fassi said: "There is no other option."

The rebels are willing to continue to negotiate for Gaddafi loyalists in Bani Walid, Chris Stephen reports from Misrata.

He emails:

Rebels here confirm that talks have broken down with Beni Walid and say the problem is not tribal elders but a contingent of diehard Gaddafi loyalists who fear trial and execution if they caught. They say the same problem bedevils efforts to negotiate the surrender of Sirte, Sabha and al-Jaffra. The rebels are ready to assault the town but waiting to try and re-start talks.

China's foreign ministry has confirmed that officials from a state arms factory held talks with the Gaddafi regime about weapons sales as late as July, Reuters reports.

The ministry confirmed the gist of reports in the Globe and Mail and the New York Times that documents found in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, indicated that Chinese companies offered to sell rocket launchers, anti-tank missiles and other arms with a total of some $200 million (124 million pounds) to Gaddafi's forces, despite a U.N. ban on such sales. A ministry spokeswoman, Jiang Yu, said members of Gaddafi's government had come to China and held talks with a "handful" of Chinese arms company officials without the knowledge of the government. "We have clarified with the relevant agencies that in July the Gaddafi government sent personnel to China without the knowledge of the Chinese government and they engaged in contact with a handful of people from the companies concerned," Jiang told a news briefing in Beijing. "The Chinese companies did not sign arms trade contacts, nor did they export military items to Libya," Jiang said. "I believe that the agencies in charge of the arms trade will certainly treat this seriously."

Footage of Mubarak arriving on a stretcher for the third session of his trial has been aired on Egyptian TV, according to a live blog by Zeinobia on Egyptian Chronicles.

It features this clip.

Zeinobia says the security forces failed to separate pro and anti-Mubarak supporters before clashes took places.

It started when the families of the martyrs tried to cross the barricades and to attend the session. The journalists as usual are being attacked by both Mubarak supporters and the CSF [security forces]. There are stones hurled from every side and as a result there are wounded from the Mubarak's opponents as well as the security forces. The journalists were chased and beaten by the CSF and the Mubarak's supporters. The police threatened to take and smash the cameras of the journalists !! The Mubarak's supporters aided the police against the families of the martyrs and their supporters.

The Gibson inquiry into allegations of UK security agencies' involvement in torture today said it would be looking into revelations contained in documents discovered in Libya, according to PA.

Prime minister David Cameron's official spokesman this morning said that Sir Peter Gibson's inquiry was "well-placed" to look into the new allegations. And the Gibson Inquiry - initially set up to look at cases of British nationals held at Guantanamo Bay - released a statement to say that it will "be considering allegations of UK involvement in rendition to Libya as part of our work". Cameron is expected to be questioned about the links of MI5 and MI6 with the Gaddafi regime when he addresses the House of Commons on Libya this afternoon. A spokeswoman for the inquiry said: "The inquiry is looking at the extent of the UK Government involvement in or awareness of improper treatment of detainees including rendition. "We will therefore of course be considering these allegations of UK involvement in rendition to Libya as part of our work. "We will be seeking more information from government and its agencies as soon as possible."

The former attorney general of Hama, Adnan Muhammad al-Bakkour, who resigned in protest at the Syrian government's violent crackdown against protests, said he was wounded by the security forces who are frantically trying to hunt him down.

AP said a manhunt for Bakkour continued today in northern Syria. It quotes from new audio address given by the lawyer in which he recounts his narrow escape from the raids.

Bakkour said that security forces and pro-regime thugs had attacked his convoy Friday in the Maaret Hirmeh area in Idlib province, killing four people accompanying him and wounding three others. "I myself was lightly wounded because of shrapnel," he said in the audio recording, adding he was able to escape with the help of other dissidents.

Tania Branigan in Beijing has more on Chinese arms companies offering Gaddafi weapons as late as July. She writes:

The news comes at an extremely delicate time for Beijing, which has sought to improve relations with the Libyan rebels. Last month, an official with a rebel oil firm suggested they might freeze out countries that had not supported them. China – which, as a permanent member of the UN security council, has veto power – surprised many by backing the arms ban in February and abstaining on the vote on Nato air strikes. But it later condemned the bombing and has not formally recognised the National Transitional Council (NTC) as the legitimate authority in Libya, although it has held talks with rebels and said it values the NTC's "important role". China is the third-largest importer of Libyan crude oil, and a foreign ministry spokesman, Ma Zhaoxu, said last week that it was "ready to maintain close contact" with the NTC. But at the weekend, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the head of the NTC, complained that China had obstructed the release of some of Libya's frozen assets. China had agreed $15bn of Libyan assets held overseas should be unfrozen, but a rebel spokesman said it had opposed handing control of more to the interim ruling council.

Here's a lunchtime summary of today's main developments so far:

Libya

• Rebels appear poised for an assault on the town of Bani Walid after negotiators failed to persuade Gaddafi loyalists to abandon the town (see 9.52am). Scuffles have already occurred in the town. A spokesman for the rebels said there was no other option but to invade if loyalists refused to resume talks. A key stumbling block is understood to be loyalist fears that they face execution if they surrender.

• The Gibson inquiry into allegations of UK security agencies' involvement in torture said it would look into new disclosures of involvement of the of Britain with the Gaddafi regime in the rendition and torture of terrorist suspects (see 12.07am). David Cameron is due to make a statement to Parliament about Libya at 3.30pm.

• Nato has continued its bombardment of positions held by Gaddafi loyalists (see 10.20am). On Sunday it hit targets in Sirte, Sebha, Waddan and Hun, but for the first time this month, not Bani Walid.

• Chinese arms firms offered to sell weapons worth about $200m to Gaddafi's forces in July, new documents have revealed. The disclosure, partially confirmed by Beijing, threatens to worsen China's already strained relations with the rebels and potentially jeopardises its chances of securing new business under the new regime.

Egypt

The resumption of Hosni Mubarak's trial in Cairo has been marred by clashes between his supporters and opponents, outside the court (see 11.52am). The trial is no longer being televised on the orders of the judge, but television pictures were broadcast showing Mubarak arriving on a stretcher surrounded by riot police.

Syria

The former attorney general of Hama, Adnan Muhammad al-Bakkour, who resigned in protest at the Syrian government's violent crackdown against protests, said he was wounded by the security forces who are frantically trying to hunt him down (see 12.47pm). A manhunt is underway for Bakkour in northern Syria.

New Reuters video on Bani Walid, put together by the Guardian's video team, features National Transitional Council spokesman Ahmed Bani confirming last night's clashes in the town. He added: "I would like to confirm to our families and the international community that Bani Walid will be completely liberated as our fighters are aware of their tasks".

Abdullah Kamshil, one of the negotiators said, two of the Gaddafi's sons had fled the town, but two more could still be there.

Andrew Sparrow on our Politics live blog has more on the Gibson inquiry's plans to examine allegations of UK involvement in rendition to Libya. Here are some of the key points:

• The Detainee inquiry (Gibson inquiry) put out this statement

The Detainee Inquiry is looking at the extent of the UK Government's involvement in, or awareness of, improper treatment of detainees including rendition. We are therefore, of course, considering these allegations of UK involvement in rendition to Libya as part of our work. We will be seeking more information from Government and its Agencies as soon as possible.

• Shami Chakrabarti, the director of Liberty, said a more open inquiry is necessary.

The latest scandalous revelations of intimate trading of 'detainee debriefings' with the Gaddafi regime render the Gibson process completely inadequate for the purposes of international law and domestic public confidence. It is a more like an internal Cabinet Office review than a public inquiry, with no participation for the torture victims and the government, not Sir Peter, having the final word on what is and is not published. We urge the government to understand the gravity of what happened under the last administration and to think again whilst there is still time to rescue Britain's reputation in the world.

• Jack Straw, who was foreign secretary in 2003, when MI6 apparently cooperated with the Libyans in a "rendition" operation, told BBC Raido 4's World at One programme:

The position of the British government – successive British governments, not least when I was British foreign secretary - was very clear. And that was that we were opposed to unlawful rendition, we were opposed to any use of torture or any other similar methods and not only did we not agree with it, we were not complicit in it, nor did we turn a blind eye to it ... No foreign secretary can know all the details of what its intelligence agencies are doing.

There are between 60 and 100 "diehard" Gaddafi snipers, backed by "a lot of other people", ready to defend Bani Walid, the lead rebel negotiator claimed, writes David Smith.

Rebel forces advanced from 30km outside Bani Walid on Sunday to to 17km today, according to rebel negotiator Abdullah Kanshil Kanshil. "We tried to persuade the brigades of Bani Walid to surrender and save lives - their lives and our lives - and guaranteed their safety and fair trials," Kanshil said. "But they refused and they want to fight. "I think the guys are afraid they will be captured. Gaddafi wants to make a lot of harm in the city. If they die, a lot of people will die with them. We are worried about a massacre of civilians, especially in the centre, where 5,000 to 10,000 live." He claimed others are keen to surrender, however. "The tribal elders are our people and they want to join the revolution and their sons are fighting on all fronts. Yesterday we persuaded many low-ranking soldiers to surrender their weapons." But Moussa Ibrahim, Gaddafi's chief spokesman who became a familiar face in the international media, is apparently still spinning inside Bani Walid. "Moussa Ibrahim did a bad, bad thing," Kanshil said. "He used local radio to tell the population that Nato and Al-Qaida are coming for you." Ibrahim spent much of the war at the five star Rixos hotel in Tripoli but is now suffering "very bad conditions" with little water or electricity, Kanshil added. "He's the rat now. I'm sorry to say the word but that's the right description." Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif is understood to have fled, however, but not before distributing weapons to his followers. "In the beginning, we believe, it was Saif al-Islam Gaddafi telling them to fight." Asked about what escape route he might have used, Kanshil said: "They are snakes, they can do anything." The population is fearful, he claimed, because a 28 May uprising involving doctors, ngineers and other professionals ended in a "cold-blooded" massacre. "I am very worried," Kanshil admitted. Despite the stand-off, he said, the rebels had managed to smuggle some food and medicine to civilians in Bani Walid.

A general at Egypt's central security forces has denied that Mubarak's interior minister Habib al-Adly gave orders to shoot protesters, but confirmed that such orders were issued by an assistant minister.

Adly is being tried alongside Mubarak and two of his sons in a high-profile case that resumed today.

A liveblog by the Egyptian daily Al-Masry Al-Youm reported testimony of general Hussein Saeed Mohamed Mursi, head of communications for Central Security Forces.

Mursi said former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly didn't order the use of weapons against protesters. He said Ahmed Ramzy, former assistant minister for the Central Security Forces, is the person responsible for this order. The judge asked Mursi what exactly he heard. Mursi said, "I heard the general [Ramzy] on 28 January saying that there will be attacks on the [headquarters of the] Interior Ministry and police stations. They [Ramzy] asked for support of machine guns." The judge then asked Mursi: "Who specifically issued the order to provide the security forces with machine guns?" Mursi answered: "General Ahmed Ramzy." The judge asked: "Was there anyone else [who ordered providing the security forces with machine guns]?"



Mursi answered: "No, he [Ramzy] made it unilaterally."



The judge then asked Mursi if he heard any conversation about using machine guns.



Mursi said: "Yes, I heard that weapons were used against protesters."

The Libya campaign was the most accurate aerial bombing campaign ever conducted, according to Nato's general secretary Anders Fogh Rasmussen claimed.

Speaking at his monthly press conference Rasmussen said:

Nato has been implementing the mandate with unprecedented precision. No comparable air operation in history has been so accurate, and so careful in avoiding harm to civilians. And our operation has had an unprecedented effect. In five months, we have degraded a war machine which was built up over more than 40 years – to stop Gaddafi murdering his own people.

He claimed the campaign had showed that more Nato countries needed up to date military hardware:

But this mission could not have been done without capabilities which only the United States can offer. For example: drones, intelligence and refuelling aircraft.

Let me put it bluntly: those capabilities are vital for all of us. More Allies should be willing to obtain them.

Andrew Tyrie, the Conservative MP and chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on extraordinary rendition, says the latest disclosures about Britain's role in rendition to Libya expose the lack of scrutiny of the security services.

PA quoted him saying:

For over six years, I have been trying to get to the truth about alleged British complicity in the kidnap and torture of detainees. These further allegations must be fully investigated by the Gibson Inquiry. David Cameron was right to set this up. The inquiry itself must demonstrate that it is up to the job. Unfortunately, Sir Peter Gibson's early decisions - not to appoint an investigator, not to look at detainee transfer in theatre, not to sufficiently engage with the victims - do not inspire public confidence. This new evidence highlights once again the shortcomings of parliamentary scrutiny of the intelligence services. The Intelligence and Security Committee's failure to get to the truth on rendition was damaging. The ISC's powers need to be strengthened, and it must be seen to be more independent.

Syria's president Bashar al-Assad has complained of "massive media distortion" during a meeting with the head of the Red Cross.

Jakob Kellenberger travelled to Syria to review progress on Red Cross and Red Crescent access to areas of unrest and detainees.

The state new agency Sana quoted Assad as saying that he welcomed the Red Cross's work "as long as it remains independent and objective and is not politicised".

David Cameron is just about to deliver his statement about Libya. Andrew Sparrow will be covering the whole thing live.

Muammar Gaddafi's defiant audio messages are being broadcast from a van travelling all over Libya, according to the owner of the Syrian TV station that obtained the messages.

Mishan al-Juburi, who owns the Syrian TV station Al-Rai, has been speaking to the London base website Asharq al-Awsat.



He revealed to that the channel "Al-Muqawamah", which recently broadcast Gaddafi's speech, is a mobile station located in an "OB [outside broadcast] van". The vehicle moves from one place to another "so that no one can seize it", and al-Juburi pointed out that "we in (Al-Rai) channel trained the cadres operating this service." "(Al-Muqawamah) channel is based in a vehicle fitted with satellite transmission equipment, called an OB van, and is transmitting at present from Tripoli. However, it might move on to other Libyan cities." He added: "We trained the Libyan youths working in it and I was the one who proposed to them to buy this vehicle from Lebanon, benefiting from our expertise with (Al-Zawra) channel, which the Iraqi resistance used to broadcast its satellite statements and programs, and which made it impossible for the American forces to discover it. It broadcasted in Iraq despite the satellites and sophisticated intelligence equipment there."

Here's Cameron's statement on Libya.

This is what he said on British involvement in rendition to Libya:

It was because of accusations of complicity by the British Security Services in the mistreatment of detainees overseas, including rendition, that I took steps last July to sort this whole problem out. As the House will remember we took steps to bring to an end the large number of court cases being brought against the government by former inmates of Guantanamo. We have issued new guidance to security service personnel on how to deal with detainees held by other countries. And we have asked Sir Peter Gibson to examine issues around the detention and treatment of terrorist suspects overseas and the Inquiry has already said it will look at these latest accusation very carefully. My concern throughout has been to deal with these accusations of malpractice so as to enable the Security Services to get on with the vital work they do.

Here's a summary of today's events:

Libya

• David Cameron has asked Sir Peter Gibson to examine allegation of British involvement in the rendition of terrorist suspects to Libya, as part of his inquiry into the treatment of detainees (see 3.51pm). In a statement to parliament the prime minister said new guidance had been issued to security service personnel on the treatment of detainees. There is more coverage of the political fallout on our Politics live blog.

• Rebels appear poised for an assault on the town of Bani Walid after negotiators failed to persuade Gaddafi loyalists to abandon the town (see 9.52am). Scuffles have already occurred in the town. A spokesman for the rebels said there was no other option but to invade if loyalists refused to resume talks. A key stumbling block is understood to be loyalist fears that they face execution if they surrender. Moussa Ibrahim, Gaddafi's chief spokesman, is one of those holed-up in Bani Walid. He used local radio to tell the population that Nato and Al-Qaida were coming for them, according to the lead rebel negotiator (see 2.12pm).

• Nato has continued its bombardment of positions held by Gaddafi loyalists (see 10.20am). On Sunday it hit targets in Sirte, Sebha, Waddan and Hun, but for the first time this month, not Bani Walid. Nato's general secretary Anders Fogh Rasmussen claimed the campaign had been the most accurate in history (see 2.54pm).

• Chinese arms firms offered to sell weapons worth about $200m to Gaddafi's forces in July, new documents have revealed. The disclosure, partially confirmed by Beijing, threatens to worsen China's already strained relations with the rebels and potentially jeopardises its chances of securing new business under the new regime.

Egypt

• The resumption of Hosni Mubarak's trial in Cairo has been marred by clashes between his supporters and opponents, outside the court (see 11.52am). The trial is no longer being televised on the orders of the judge, but television pictures were broadcast showing Mubarak arriving on a stretcher surrounded by riot police.

• A general at Egypt's central security forces denied that Mubarak's interior minister Habib al-Adly gave orders to shoot protesters (see 2.39pm). But in testimony to the trial Hussein Saeed Mohamed Mursi, head of communications for Central Security Forces, confirmed that such orders were issued by an assistant minister, to protect the Interior Ministry building, according to reports.

Syria

• The former attorney general of Hama, Adnan Muhammad al-Bakkour, who resigned in protest at the Syrian government's violent crackdown against protests, said he was wounded by the security forces who are frantically trying to hunt him down (see 12.47pm). A manhunt is underway for Bakkour in northern Syria.

• Syria's president Bashar al-Assad has complained of "massive media distortion" during a meeting with the head of the Red Cross (see 3.23pm).

We're closing this blog now but live coverage will continue tomorrow. Thanks for reading and for your comments below.