Libyan rebel leaders say they fear for the safety of up to 50,000 people taken prisoner by Colonel Gaddafi's forces. They say that if the captives aren't already dead, they might be trapped in hidden underground bunkers. From Benghazi, Jon Leyne reports.

The opposition say they have kept (accurate) records of the many opposition supporters snatched by Colonel Gaddafi's forces during months of demonstrations and fighting across the country. Nearly 50,000 are still missing. The fear is that their bodies may be unearthed in mass graves close to prisons, such as the notorious Abu Salim in Tripoli; or almost as bad, the prisoners could be trapped in a series of secret prison bunkers hidden under military bases, under farms or almost anywhere. An urgent search is being conducted, and the opposition have appealed to former security officials to come forward with any information that could help.

The rebel authorities in Libya say they are trying to identify about 50 charred bodies found in a burned-out (warehouse) at a military base outside the capital Tripoli. The remains were discovered at a site used by a brigade commanded by one of Colonel Gaddafi's sons. The BBC's Orla Guerin has been there.

Inside the warehouse, under a still smoldering roof, we saw the charred remains of dozens of bodies. Some were little more than skeletons. They were killed on Tuesday, in the dying days of the regime. There were more bodies on the ground outside. A rope [was] still attached to one man's feet. An old man, Fathallah Abdullah, wept in the doorway. He told us he managed to escape from the warehouse, but without his three sons.

The Bahraini authorities say they'll (dismiss) charges against some of the demonstrators detained during months of anti-government protests by members of the Shia majority. The country's Sunni monarch King Hamad made the announcement in a national broadcast. Hundreds of people have been arrested since the protests began in February.

More than 300,000 people have been allowed back home in New York after they were ordered to evacuate the city's low-lying areas in the path of a powerful storm. Hurricane Irene, now downgraded, caused extensive damage along the eastern US seaboard but had weakened by the time it reached New York City. Fears of extensive flooding have receded, and the New York Stock Exchange is opening as normal on Monday, but public transport and flights from the city's main airports remain suspended while officials assess damage. Chris Ward is (executive) director of New York's Port Authority.

"I need to caution travellers that service will not be resuming today, and if anything you should pay attention for, potential beginnings of service late tomorrow afternoon at best, and we are hopeful for aviation traffic to begin to resume on Tuesday."

World News from the BBC

Members of parliament from Japan's governing Democratic Party are meeting in a few hours to vote for the country's sixth new prime minister in just five years. Japan's Trade Minister Banri Kaieda is considered the front-runner to succeed Naoto Kan, who (announced) his resignation on Friday. However, none of the candidates is thought likely to secure enough support on the first ballot, and a run-off vote is expected.

There's been a shock at the World Athletics Championships in South Korea with the world record holder Usain Bolt disqualified from the final of the 100m after a false start. Alex Capstick watched it happen.

Usain Bolt has made few errors in his brilliant career, but this will go down as a major blemish on his record. Victory appeared to be virtually (guaranteed), but this time, Usain Bolt messed up on the big stage. He knew immediately he'd left his starting blocks before the gun had fired. There's no second chance nowadays. For once, the great entertainer was visibly angry. His shirt had already been flung to the ground before he left the track, banging his head with his hands in frustration. His Jamaican compatriot Yohan Blake eventually took the gold medal, but this world championship final will be remembered for the man who didn't start.

In football, the English Premier League has seen one of its most surprising scorelines for years with the champions Manchester United beating Arsenal by eight (goals) to two at Old Trafford. The scale of the victory surprised even United's manager Alex Ferguson.

"When you play Arsenal, you don't expect to have scored so many goals. But when you see Arsenal's team is so weakened that we had expected to score, and I expected us to win because it was a very, very weakened team. And Arsenal may be missing eight players today. You know, it's so unfortunate for them."

It's the first time since 1896 that Arsenal have conceded eight goals in a league match.

BBC News