The US denies Libya’s denunciations – Italy’s PM is heckled at the scene of a massive immigrant tragedy – Critics say a South American leader is seeking dictatorial powers.

Last weekend’s US commando raid that grabbed an al Qaeda terrorist in Tripoli did have the tacit approval of Libyan officials, according to a report in the New York Times.  It was supposed to have been a secret raid, but Libyan officials have publicly denounced it and insisted they played no part.  But now officials fear the backlash and publicity may have tipped off the target of another planned raid to get the leader of the attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi last year.  The terrorist the US did capture, Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, led the 1998 bombings at the US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, killing 224 people. 

A Pakistani court granted bail to former military dictator Pervez Musharraf, in a case involving the slaying of a separatist leader.  If he were finally allowed to post around A$20,000 in bail, he would be released from house arrest.  Many expect him to at least attempt to leave the country.  Musharraf also faces murder charges in connection with the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and criminal charges related to the detention of judges in 2007.

Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro is asking the National Assembly for sweeping powers to fight corruption and fix the economy.  Opponents say it’s proof he wants to rule as an autocrat, and that the special powers would be used against them and have nothing to do with curbing graft.  The enabling law would last for 12 months, and has been used to grant temporary decree authority to Maduro’s predecessor Hugo Chavez.

Kenya is requesting that the trial of President Uhuru Kenyatta at the International Criminal Court (ICC) be held via video link, a sign that he is not planning on attending.  Kenyatta denies charges of of crimes against humanity in the violent fallout from the disputed 2007 elections.  Deputy President William Ruto is on trial at the ICC right now on the same charges.

Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta was heckled on Lampedusa Island, where many say Italy and the EU aren’t doing enough to prevent tragedies like last weekend’s immigrant boast disaster. As divers recover more bodies, the death toll has been revised upward to 296 lives lost.  500 people from eastern Africa were on the overpacked fishing boat when it capsized and only 155 survived. Letta says the victims of last week’s immigrant boat disaster off will be given a state funeral.  The European Commission is granting Italy A$43 Million to help resettle African migrants who brave the 70-mile voyage across the Mediterranean to Lampedusa.

In a rare public airing of dirty laundry, the deputy commander of US nuclear forces has been relieved of duty.  Navy Vice Admiral Tim Giardina’s downfall comes amid a local law enforcement investigation into whether he used counterfeit chips at an Iowa casino.  Giardina also lost a star; he was reduced in rank to a two-star admiral.

An undercover New York City cop has been charged in a crime that’s gone viral on the Internet.  A gang of thrill-seeking motorcyclists were caught on video in the road rage beat-down of a helpless dad as his wife and toddler watched.  32-year old cop Wojchiech Braszczok admits he lied to the brass about his involvement in attacking the dad’s vehicle, when in fact he kicked the Land Rover and broke its rear window.  Braszczok also was undercover during “Occupy Wall Street”, keeping tabs on peaceful protesters who were upset about corporate greed.

This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three researchers who came up with a way to use computers, instead of test tubes to study the world of molecules.  Martin Karplus, Michael Leavitt, and Arieh Warshell are all naturalized American citizens, and were honored for “the development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems”.  The Nobel Prize for Literature is awarded tomorrow, and the Peace Prize recipient is announced on Friday.