BBC news with Nick Kelly
The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah has said his fighters will stay in the Syrian conflict to the very end as Lebanese interests are at stake. Hassan Nasrallah said if Islamist's Sunni rebels took over in neighbouring Syria, they will pose a threat to the entire Lebanese population. Jim Muir listened to the televised speech.
Hassan Nasrallah said that a completely new phase had now begun because of events in Syria. The country risked being taken over by the Sunni extremists, who, he said, were now the leading force on the rebel side. If Syria fell, he said, Hezbollah and the resistance would be surrounded, Israel would finish it off. He left no doubt that Hezbollah would continue on its current path of helping the Syrian regime to survive. It was, he said, a battle to fortify the resistance that is Hezbollah itself and to protect its back.
Heavy fighting is continuing in the west of Syria as government forces make a concerted push to recapture the strategic town of Qusair near the Lebanese border. Activists say rebel-held parts of the town have been subjected to very heavy bombardment and were under attack by army units and fighters from Hezbollah. They say at least 20 people have been killed in Saturday’s fighting.
The authorities in Kenya have denied allegations that one of the British men who hacked a soldier to death on the streets of London earlier this week had visited their country. A man claiming to know one of the killers has said that Michael Adebolajo met Islamist militants there. But a spokesman for the Kenyan government Muthui Kariuki was adamant Adebolajo hadn’t even been to the country.
"I have been in touch with our security people and I have been assured by all the relevant departments that Michael has never been to this country. And his friend is claiming that the man was at least in this country. I can assure you that if we have ever laid our hands on Michael we would never have let him go."
The French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has said that an unidentified attacker who stabbed a soldier in Paris on Saturday, tried to kill him because he was in the army. He added that France would continue its fight against terrorism. From Paris, Christian Fraser
The uniformed soldier was part of a small patrol in the business district of La Defense when he was approached from behind and stabbed in the neck with a knife for a box cutter. The attacker fled into a crowded shopping area before the two other soldiers who were present were to react. The senior police officer said the soldier lost a considerable amount of blood but would survive and he is now being treated in a nearby hospital. Francois Hollande who was in the Ethiopian city of Addis Ababa said the man has yet to be arrested. "We still don’t know the exact circumstances of the attack", said the president, "Or the identity of the attacker. But we are exploring all options."
Christian Fraser reporting
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Bayern Munich have won football’s European Champions League beating fellow German team Borussia Dortmund 2-1 at Wembley Stadium in London. It was Bayern’s third final in four years and the fifth time they won the competition. Alex Capstick was at the stadium.
A thrilling game full of shots, saves, a touch of scold doggery and a dramatic climax. Arjen Robben’s 88-minute winner delivered the coveted title to Bayern Munich and helped banish the painful memories of their defeat to Chelsea 12 months ago. German football is riding on a crest of wave. And this match illustrated just why that’s the case. If this threw out, the pace was breathtaking and the noise from the two sides of passionate fans was deafening.
Leaders from across Africa have been celebrating the 50th anniversary of the grouping that became today’s African Union. Opening the festivities in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said the current and future responsibility of the African Union was to build a middle income continent to lift everyone from poverty.
The government of Brazil has announced that it will cancel or restructure almost 900 million dollars worth of debt with Africa in an effort to boost economic ties with the continent. Among the 12 African countries to benefit is Congo-Brazzaville which has the highest debt with Brazil followed by Tanzania and Zambia. Brazil’s trade with Africa has increased fivefold in the past decade to more than 26 billion dollars in 2012.
And one of what's thought to be the last remaining original Apple computers made in a family garage in California has sold for a record price auction in Germany. The machine was built by the Apple Company’s founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Only six models in working condition are known to exist. In 1976, the computer first went on sale for 666 dollars but at today’s auction it fetched a price 1,000 times higher.