Libyan NTC troops enter one of last two Qaddafi strongholds, raise new flag; William Hague holds talks with NTC on elections; Japan warns China against military expansion; Standard & Poors predicts 6.9% growth in Asia Pacific; Fighting breaks out again in Yemen; Occupy Wall St movement reaches round the world; and more

Top of the Agenda: Libyan Forces Enter Bani Walid

Troops fighting on behalf of Libya's ruling National Transitional Council entered the town of Bani Walid, one of two remaining strongholds (BBC) of ousted leader Muammar al-Qaddafi. NTC forces also continued to battle Qaddafi loyalists for the ex-leader's hometown of Sirte.

The NTC said it had raised Libya's new flag (Reuters) over Bani Walid, though it remained unclear whether they had taken the whole town.

While Qaddafi remains at large, a pro-Qaddafi Syrian television station confirmed that his son, Khamis, was killed by NTC forces (Telegraph) in the city of Tarhouna at the end of August.

Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary William Hague (Guardian) held talks with NTC Chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil in the capital of Tripoli to discuss ending the country's civil war and paving the way for democratic elections.

Analysis

TIME offers a photo essay on Libya's new regime and its fight for Qaddafi's hometown.

NATO's intervention in Libya was a one-off, "feel-good" example of interventionism. For seriously oppressed people elsewhere, it means nothing, writes Simon Tisdall in the Guardian.

Writing for The National, CFR's Micah Zenko argues that overreaching Western eagerness to help Libya's rebels will now make it more difficult to line up meaningful outside support for Syria's opposition.

 

PACIFIC RIM

Noda Warns on China, North Korea

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda called on Japan's Self-Defense Forces to be ready to confront future national emergencies, as he warned on China's military expansion and "militaristic provocations" (WSJ) by North Korea.

With China and Southeast Asian states disputing claims to the energy-rich South China Sea, the United States is likely to bolster its presence in the area, writes CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick.

SOUTH KOREA: Credit rating agency Standard and Poor's forecasted a growth rate (Yonhap) of 4.3 percent for the South Korean economy in 2012--and 6.9 percent for Asia Pacific, excluding Japan--despite global economic uncertainties emanating from Europe and the United States.

 

ELSEWHERE:

Fighting erupts in Yemeni capital

Occupy Wall St movement goes global

Pakistan warns US on drone strikes

 

This is an excerpt of the CFR.org Daily News Brief. The full version is available on CFR.org.