>> RCTV, the opposition-aligned Venezuelan TV station forced off the air by the country's president Hugo Chavez, has resumed broadcasting on cable and satellite television. The station was off air since May 27, when Chavez granted its open airwaves signal to a state-controlled channel.

>> Botswana's government has come to the defence of Top Gear after the BBC motoring show was accused by environmentalists of damaging the famed Makgadikgadi salt pans during filming. This has attracted much ire from ngos. Mary Rice, head of the Environmental Investigation Agency, which conducts conservation projects in Botswana, said Top Gear "could lead to many boy racers driving on the rare wonder'.