Gaddafi's son Saif al Islam is released from prison in Libya

Colonel Gaddafi's son, Saif al Islam, has been released from prison by rebels in western Libya.

He was being held by an armed group controlling the town of Zintan since November 2011.

The Abu Bakr al-Sadiq Brigade said Saif al Islam was released on Friday, "the 14th day of the month of Ramadan" under an amnesty agreed by the parliament based in the east.

Image:Saif al Islam soon after his capture in November 2011

According to reports from Libya, the son of the dead dictator is now with his relatives in the city of Al-Bayda, where he is expected to make a speech to the nation.

Saif, who studied at the London School of Economics, is the most high profile of Colonel Gaddafi's eight children.

He was captured by rebels as he tried to flee to neighbouring Niger in November 2011 when Tripoli was taken by opposition fighters.

Image:Saif al Islam at his trial in Zintan in 2014

He was sentenced to death by a court in Tripoli two years ago and remains on the wanted list of the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.

Colonel Gaddafi was captured and killed in October 2011 after he was found hiding near the city of Sirte.

Since then, Libya has struggled to establish a national government, with armed groups in the east and west challenging the Tripoli authority's government.

George Osborne says Theresa May is a 'dead woman walking'

George Osborne has branded the Prime Minister "a dead woman walking".

In a withering attack on Theresa May, who sacked him as chancellor on her arrival in Downing Street last year, Mr Osborne said it was simply a question of "how long she is going to remain on death row".

He predicted she could be out of office as early as the middle of next week.

Image:Theresa May and her husband Philip arrive at St Andrew's Church in Sonning, Berkshire

Tory MP Anna Soubry also said Mrs May's position in the long-term was "untenable", but argued she should not quit now because of the need for stability.

Ms Soubry told Sky News' Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme: "She will have to go, but not for some time."

The speculation over the PM's future came as she moved to shore up her precarious position following the loss of her Commons majority at the election.

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However, this was dealt an early blow after Downing Street mistakenly announced a deal had been reached with the Democratic Unionists to prop up Mrs May's minority Tory government.

Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn, buoyed by Labour's showing at the polls, said it was "quite possible" there would be another election this year and that his party was "ready to fight".

Earlier, Mr Osborne, who is now editor of the London Evening Standard, told BBC1's The Andrew Marr Show: "Theresa May is dead woman walking. It is just how long she is going to remain on death row.

"I think we will know very shortly. We could easily get to the middle of next week and it all collapses for her."

Asked what he thought of Mr Osborne's comments, former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said: "I don't think anything at all of what George Osborne says. I make it a rule."

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said he and other senior colleagues had told the PM she would need to adopt a more collective approach after seeing her majority swept away.

Will the GCC crisis undermine the Palestinian cause?

The current Qatar-Gulf crisis has offered Israel a golden opportunity to normalise its presence in the region, undermine the Palestinian cause and deliver a diplomatic blow to the Islamic Resistance movement, Hamas, analysts say.

Under the pretext of fighting "terrorism", the anti-Hamas, anti-political Islam coalition seems to be emerging with the Saudi-led bloc and Israel at its heart, they added.

Researcher and expert on Israeli affairs, Antoine Shalhat, believes that Israel's rapid adoption of the Saudi position confirms that the two countries share Israel's vision on regional developments and the Palestinian cause.

Shalhat told Al Jazeera that Israel is hoping to make political gains from the Gulf crisis and the blockade on Qatar by weakening Hamas and undermining its influence in the Gaza Strip, and demonising it in the Arab world under the pretext of "terrorism".

He added that the Saudi attack on Hamas and its portrayal of the movement as a "terrorist organisation" serves the Israeli agenda and is consistent with Israel's goal to eliminate the Palestinian cause.

On June 5, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain announced they were cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar for its support for "terrorism".

Along with severing diplomatic ties, the Riyadh-led blockade was imposed against Doha. Saudi, which shares the only land border with Qatar, shut the crossing and stopped goods being transported to its gas-rich neighbour. Saudi, UAE and Bahrain also closed their airspace to flights to and from Qatar, forcing airlines to remove Doha from their list of destinations.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir also said Qatar needed to end its support for Hamas before ties with other Arab Gulf states could be restored. Hamas responded to the statements saying they "constitute a shock for our Palestinian people and the Arab and Islamic nations", and that the remarks gave Israel an excuse "to carry out more violations against the Palestinian people".

Analysts say Israel, which has only signed peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan, stands to benefit most from the Qatar-Gulf crisis.

Writing in the Israeli daily Haaretz, commentator Amos Harel said that the Gulf crisis "will serve to undermine Hamas and redraw regional policies in accordance with the Israeli visions as Israel seeks to normalise its relations with the Arab states while isolating the Palestinian question".

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Following the crisis, Israeli officials' repeated statements centred on fighting "terrorism" and hopes for "cooperation" with the Gulf states on security concerns.

"The Arab states who broke off diplomatic relations with Qatar didn't do so because of Israel, nor … because of the Palestinian issue. They did it because of their own concerns about radical Islamic terror," Avigdor Lieberman, Israeli defence minister, said at the Israeli parliament on June 6.

"There can be no doubt that this opens many opportunities for cooperation in the war against terror. The state of Israel is more than open to such cooperation. The ball is now in their court," he added.

Eran Zinger, Arab and Middle East correspondent for Radio Israel, believes that Israel is in need of Qatar's mediation to deal with some of the pricklier issues in the Hamas-administered Gaza Strip, such as funds for reconstruction.

The Gaza Strip, a small enclave that is home to about two million residents, has been under an Israeli blockade for more than a decade. It has witnessed three Israeli assaults that have resulted in the destruction of essential infrastructure and the impoverishment of its residents. In the face of the Israeli siege and its occupation of Gaza, Qatar has been one of the biggest financial contributors to the strip's reconstruction.

Zinger told Al Jazeera that in spite of official Israeli statements that support Saudi Arabia and oppose Qatar and Hamas, Tel Aviv fears that there could be widespread instability in the region if the situation between Riyadh and Doha deteriorates further.

Van Jones: Clinton Campaign 'Took a Billion Dollars and Set It on Fire'

Liberal commentator Van Jones blasted the Clinton presidential campaign for setting $1 billion "on fire."

Speaking at "The People's Summit" convention in Chicago, Jones said Democrats were "tricked into fighting among ourselves over the wrong issues."

Jones, who served as President Obama's so-called "green jobs czar," said the campaign gave itself a false choice during the election.

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He said that they acted like they had to choose between a focus on "people of color, racial justice, ... or the white working class."

"That is the stupidest false choice I have ever heard," Jones said.

He said the Clinton campaign did none of the above and spent the money on "themselves" by hiring consultants and pollsters.

"They took a billion dollars... and set it on fire and called it a campaign," Jones said.

"You need to give the money back to the people, period," Jones said. "Quit getting rich off people's struggles."

US special forces aid fight to oust Islamic militants in the Philippines

US special forces have joined an operation to oust Islamic State-affiliated militants who have laid siege to a city in the southern Philippines.

The forces are providing technical assistance to end the conflict in Marawi, on the island of Mindanao, which has claimed dozens of lives over the last three weeks.

The US troops are not fighting, but an American surveillance plane was seen flying over the city on Friday.

Earlier, 13 Filipino marines were killed as they conducted a house-to-house search for militants allied with Islamic State.

Image:Marines are conducting house-to-house searches for militants

Around 30 to 40 militants used civilians as human shields and positioned themselves in the city's mosques, army spokesman Edgard Arevalo said.

Colonel Arevalo added the "temporary setback" had "not diminished our resolve a bit".

He said: "It instead primed up our determination to continue our prudent advances to neutralise the enemy, save the innocent lives trapped in the fight, and set the conditions for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Marawi."

Since the violence erupted on 23 May, hundreds of thousands of people have fled Marawi, parts of which have been reduced to rubble by fighting and government airstrikes.

Image:Hundreds of thousands have fled the city

Last month, a police chief was beheaded as around 100 heavily armed gunmen burned buildings and raised the black flag of IS

Up to 1,000 civilians are believed to be trapped in an area of the city controlled by at least 200 militants.

There were "strong indications" the two brothers who formed one of the factions have been killed, a military spokesman said.

Marawi is not the only Filipino city to have come under attack this month.

Image:An American surveillance plane was seen flying over Marawi on Friday

Last week, 37 people suffocated to death when a gunman torched tables at a casino in Philippine capital Manila.

Police said the attacker, who was armed with an assault rifle, later set himself on fire in a hotel room.

A bag of gambling chips worth around £175,000 was found in the toilet of the room.

Islamic State claimed that one of its "lone wolf soldiers" carried out the attack.

US urges Arab nations to ease blockade of Qatar

The US has called on the Gulf states to "de-escalate" their row with Qatar, saying it has caused unintended "humanitarian" consequences.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged Saudi Arabia and other states in the region to ease their blockade of the peninsula, saying it was affecting the US-led fight against Islamic State.

He also said it was hurting American business in the area.

Mr Tillerson said: "Our expectation is that these countries will immediately take steps to de-escalate the situation and put forth a good faith effort to resolve their grievances they have with each other."

He admitted that the Emir of Qatar needs to do more to limit terrorist funding but said he has made progress.

Five countries - Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, Yemen and Bahrain - cut diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday over allegations that Doha is supporting Islamist groups and courting Iran.

They are united in their fear Qatar's alleged ambivalence towards Tehran and were galvanised by US President Donald Trump's recent tour of the region.

The closure of Qatar's only land border, with Saudi Arabia, has raised fears of the country running out of supplies for its 2.7 million people, with long queues forming at supermarkets which are struggling for food stock.

Mr Trump said Qatar has historically been a funder of terrorism at a "very high level" and that he had decided it was time to call on the country to stop.

Mr Trump told reporters at a White House news conference with the Romanian President: "No civilized nation can tolerate this violence or allow this wicked ideology to spread on its shores."

It came as Donald Trump spoke with Egyptian president Abd El Fattah El Sisi about the importance of maintaining unity among Arab countries.

Theresa May's 'new' Cabinet: Who are they?

The most high-profile Cabinet ministers in Theresa May's administration are keeping their jobs, Downing Street has said.

They are:

Chancellor of the Exchequer - Philip Hammond

Image:Philip Hammond was once viewed as a safe pair of hands

Dubbed 'Spreadsheet Phil', Mr Hammond was seen as a safe pair of hands when he was first appointed to head the Treasury last year.

But hardline Brexiteers in the Tory party have grown wary. Mr Hammond, a Remainer, could be pushing for a softer exit from the EU at the top of Government.

His credibility was partly eroded after his first Budget ended in a shambles in March, forcing the Chancellor to climb down on a tax hike for self-employed workers.

Tensions with the Prime Minister's team were heightened further when he hinted the Tories would ditch their triple tax lock in the 2017 manifesto, before it had been finalised by Number 10.

The reported row fuelled speculation Mr Hammond was being lined up for the exit door if Mrs May won a sizeable majority, which the Chancellor had dismissed as media "tittle-tattle".

Home Secretary - Amber Rudd

Image:Amber Rudd at the 2016 Conservative party conference

Ms Rudd took on Mrs May's old job at the Home Office, since when she has led the department's response to three terror attacks.

When Mrs May declined to take part in TV election debates, Ms Rudd stepped in as the Prime Minister's understudy, suggesting she has become one of Number 10's most trusted Cabinet ministers.

She has been touted as a future Tory leader and potential rival to Mrs May, but the MP for Hastings and Rye only just scraped through the election with a majority of 346.

Foreign Secretary - Boris Johnson

Image:Mr Johnson took an increasingly prominent role in the later stages of the election campaign

BoJo, as he is nicknamed by some, is often tipped as a likely successor to Mrs May and she will prefer to have him in the Cabinet rather than sniping from outside.

The former London mayor has made no secret of his ambitions to hold the top job, but was badly burnt following last year's referendum vote when he was very publicly knifed in the back by fellow Brexiteer Michael Gove.

With the PM weakened, there is already a suggestion the charismatic politician is "on manoeuvres", and he will at the very least be seeking to reassert his influence in Government after being sidelined in the election campaign.

The master of bluff and bluster, who once famously became stuck on a zip wire, retained his seat in Uxbridge and South Ruislip, but ducked questions over his party's dire poll showing by making a swift exit after the count.

Defence Secretary - Sir Michael Fallon

Image:Sir Michael Fallon, UK Defence Secretary

The knight of the realm is the calm at the centre of the storm for the Prime Minister and she will value his apparently unflappable nature in the tough times ahead.

Often wheeled out to defend controversial Tory policy, the Sevenoaks MP's deadpan delivery provides a foil to interviewers' probing questions.

A former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, he has held a variety of jobs in government, including serving as business and then energy minister in the coalition administration.

The defence brief, which he had held since 2014, was his first Cabinet role.

Brexit Secretary - David Davis

Image:David Davis may be asked to visit Brussels next week

The one-time contender for the Conservative leadership is a leading Leave campaigner and was handed the job of overseeing Britain's departure from the EU by Mrs May, bringing him back to the Tory frontbench after a 19-year absence.

A leaked report of a recent meeting between EU bosses and Mrs May at Downing Street revealed the visitors were left wondering if Mr Davis would survive beyond the election.

It had been speculated Cabinet Office minister Ben Gummer was being lined up as a new Brexit Secretary, but he lost his seat on Thursday night.