Muammar Gaddafi is urging Libyans not to back the uprising against him. Colonel Gaddafi is blaming the unrest on Osama bin Laden. He claims al-Qaeda is giving young people drugs and alcohol to fuel the uprising. The dictator is battling to remain in power. Large parts of eastern Libya are now controlled by the rebels.

 

Julian Assange will appeal against the decision by a British court to send him back to Sweden. The WikiLeaks founder is facing allegations he sexually assaulted two women there last August. The British judge said he was satisfied Swedish authorities want to prosecute him over the claims.

 

A nine-year-old Iranian boy orphaned by the Christmas Island boat tragedy is back in Sydney. He arrived at the Richmond airbase early this morning and will be reunited with his relatives later today. The boy is one of 22 survivors from the asylum-seeker boat that broke apart off Christmas Island in December.

 

And the Opposition is declaring war on the Government’s plan for a carbon tax. Julia Gillard wants to introduce the tax from July next year, but the details are yet to be hammered out. The Opposition says it will add up to $300 a year to the average power bill.