Supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez have shaved their heads in a televised event to show their solidarity with his struggle against cancer.

Barbers shaved the heads of several men and at least one woman Sunday on the television show as the Venezuelan leader watched.

President Chavez, bald from chemotherapy treatments, smiled and waved to the television audience.

Cuban doctors removed a large tumor from the Venezuelan president in June. He has since undergone two rounds of chemotherapy in Havana.

Mr. Chavez has vowed to recover and insists he will seek another six-year term as Venezuelan president next year.

He has not revealed what kind of cancer he has.

Libyan rebel fighters pushing for an end to leader Moammar Gadhafi's rule say they control most of the capital, Tripoli, after moving past the city's outer defenses and into the central Green Square where thousands of residents celebrated the opposition.

Some fighting was reported early Monday, as rebel leaders said pockets of resistance still remained in and around Tripoli. Mr. Gadhafi's whereabouts are not known.

The rebel troops met little resistance as they moved into the city from the west after capturing a key military base near the city. A rebel spokesman said insurgents also sent a group of fighters into the capital by sea from the port of Misrata. He said the elite presidential guard in charge of protecting Mr. Gadhafi had surrendered, enabling the opposition to seize large parts of Tripoli.

After the rebels arrived, jubilant Libyans in the symbolic square that the rebels have renamed Martyrs Square tore down posters of Mr. Gadhafi and stomped on them. Until recently, the government had used the area for mass demonstrations in support of Libya's now embattled leader.

The rebels say they have detained two of Mr. Gadhafi's sons, including his one-time heir apparent, Seif al-Islam.

The International Criminal Court has confirmed that Seif al-Islam is in detention, and ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Sunday he should be surrendered to the Hague-based court as soon as possible. Seif al-Islam is indicted along with his father and Libya's intelligence chief on charges of crimes against humanity for allegedly planning and ordering illegal attacks on civilians in the early days of the violent crackdown on anti-government protests.

Meanwhile, opposition leaders told reporters Mr. Gadhafi's eldest son, Mohammed, had surrendered to rebel forces.

Opposition fighters hauled away truckloads of weapons and ammunition from the captured base run by the government's elite Khamis Brigade, which was commanded by another of Mr. Gadhafi's sons. Opposition forces also freed several hundred prisoners from a government jail as they marched to the capital.

Libyan state television Sunday broadcast a series of defiant audio messages from Mr. Gadhafi. In the latest one, he acknowledged that opposition forces were moving into Tripoli and warned the city would be turned into another Baghdad. The Libyan leader said he would stay in the capital “until the end” to defend the city and called on supporters to help liberate it.

Huge crowds gathered early Monday on the streets of Benghazi, the capital of rebel-controlled eastern Libya, as reports of the assault on Tripoli grew and expectations mounted that Mr. Gadhafi's hold on power was faltering.

The Libyan leader has seen the areas under his control shrink significantly in recent weeks as rebels advanced on Tripoli from the west, east and south after six months of fighting to end his four-decade autocratic rule.

NATO warplanes have been supporting the rebels by bombing pro-Gadhafi forces under a U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing military action to protect Libyan civilians from government attacks.

A government spokesman said late Sunday that 1,300 people had been killed in Tripoli since midday. The claim cannot be independently confirmed.

Libyan rebel fighters pushing for an end to leader Moammar Gadhafi's rule say they control most of the capital, Tripoli, after moving past the city's outer defenses and into the central Green Square where thousands of residents celebrated the opposition.

Some fighting was reported early Monday, as rebel leaders said pockets of resistance still remained in and around Tripoli. Mr. Gadhafi's whereabouts are not known.

The rebel troops met little resistance as they moved into the city from the west after capturing a key military base near the city. A rebel spokesman said insurgents also sent a group of fighters into the capital by sea from the port of Misrata. He said the elite presidential guard in charge of protecting Mr. Gadhafi had surrendered, enabling the opposition to seize large parts of Tripoli.

After the rebels arrived, jubilant Libyans in the symbolic square that the rebels have renamed Martyrs Square tore down posters of Mr. Gadhafi and stomped on them. Until recently, the government had used the area for mass demonstrations in support of Libya's now embattled leader.

The rebels say they have detained two of Mr. Gadhafi's sons, including his one-time heir apparent, Seif al-Islam.

The International Criminal Court has confirmed that Seif al-Islam is in detention, and ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Sunday he should be surrendered to the Hague-based court as soon as possible. Seif al-Islam is indicted along with his father and Libya's intelligence chief on charges of crimes against humanity for allegedly planning and ordering illegal attacks on civilians in the early days of the violent crackdown on anti-government protests.

Meanwhile, opposition leaders told reporters Mr. Gadhafi's eldest son, Mohammed, had surrendered to rebel forces.

Opposition fighters hauled away truckloads of weapons and ammunition from the captured base run by the government's elite Khamis Brigade, which was commanded by another of Mr. Gadhafi's sons. Opposition forces also freed several hundred prisoners from a government jail as they marched to the capital.

Libyan state television Sunday broadcast a series of defiant audio messages from Mr. Gadhafi. In the latest one, he acknowledged that opposition forces were moving into Tripoli and warned the city would be turned into another Baghdad. The Libyan leader said he would stay in the capital “until the end” to defend the city and called on supporters to help liberate it.

Huge crowds gathered early Monday on the streets of Benghazi, the capital of rebel-controlled eastern Libya, as reports of the assault on Tripoli grew and expectations mounted that Mr. Gadhafi's hold on power was faltering.

The Libyan leader has seen the areas under his control shrink significantly in recent weeks as rebels advanced on Tripoli from the west, east and south after six months of fighting to end his four-decade autocratic rule.

NATO warplanes have been supporting the rebels by bombing pro-Gadhafi forces under a U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing military action to protect Libyan civilians from government attacks.

A government spokesman said late Sunday that 1,300 people had been killed in Tripoli since midday. The claim cannot be independently confirmed.

Australia's opposition Greens party and a human rights group are criticizing the government's decision to reopen a detention center for asylum seekers on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard's government signed a memorandum of understanding with PNG Friday to open the Manus Island center for the processing of illegal immigrants seeking asylum in Australia.

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said Sunday that she wants a parliamentary inquiry into the reopening to answer questions, such as how much it will cost to reactivate the center.

The Refugee Council of Australia has called the policy of processing asylum seekers offshore “inhumane” and damaging to the immigrants.

Meanwhile, the Australian High Court began a hearing Monday that challenges the government's refugee swap deal with Malaysia.

Under the deal, Canberra would send 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia in return for 4,000 refugees being sent to Australia.

Australia's opposition Greens party and a human rights group are criticizing the government's decision to reopen a detention center for asylum seekers on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard's government signed a memorandum of understanding with PNG Friday to open the Manus Island center for the processing of illegal immigrants seeking asylum in Australia.

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said Sunday that she wants a parliamentary inquiry into the reopening to answer questions, such as how much it will cost to reactivate the center.

The Refugee Council of Australia has called the policy of processing asylum seekers offshore “inhumane” and damaging to the immigrants.

Meanwhile, the Australian High Court began a hearing Monday that challenges the government's refugee swap deal with Malaysia.

Under the deal, Canberra would send 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia in return for 4,000 refugees being sent to Australia.

A Hong Kong court is hearing a challenge to the territory's immigration law that could possibly clear the way for almost 300,000 foreign domestic workers to acquire permanent residency.

Current law permits foreigners who have lived in Hong Kong for seven years to apply for permanent status, earning the right to vote and open a business. But domestic workers, most of them from labor-exporting countries like the Philippines and Indonesia, are denied that right on the grounds they are not ordinary residents.

Philippine maid Evangeline Vellejos is challenging that law in a case being heard Monday and Tuesday, arguing it violates the territory's constitution. The case has sparked fierce debate, with supporters of the current law saying a change would place huge strains on Hong Kong's social services.

Vellejos has lived in Hong Kong since 1986.

Canadian officials say a tornado struck the southwestern Ontario town of Goderich Sunday, killing one person and causing multiple injuries.

An Environment Canada damage survey team determined the town was indeed struck by a tornado. Storm investigator Randy Mawson said the storm had winds gusting over 300 kilometers per hour, making it an F-2 or F-3 grade tornado.

Goderich has been placed under a state of emergency due to damaged water and natural gas lines. Severe damage was reported to downtown businesses. Witnesses report several churches lost their roofs. Overturned cars, downed trees and powerlines litter the streets.

Goderich is a port town located on the shores of Lake Huron.

Officials say this is the most powerful tornado to touch down in Ontario in years.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Tropical Storm Irene is strengthening as it approaches Puerto Rico with winds of 110 kilometers per hour, nearing hurricane strength.

Forecasters say hurricane conditions are expected in Puerto Rico within hours. The Dominican Republic is also under a hurricane warning with the high winds, severe rain and high tides expected Monday.

A hurricane watch is in effect for the U.S. Virgin Islands and the central Bahamas.

Tropical storm conditions are expected in much of the rest of the region.

Irene's substantial rainfall of up to 25 centimeters, and twice that in isolated areas, could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides, as well as large and dangerous waves.

North Korea announced Monday that it has seized all South Korean assets at a jointly run resort and ordered all South Koreans to leave.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency said all South Korean employees must leave the country “within 72 hours” and they cannot take any assets from the Mount Kumgang resort. Fourteen South Koreans are listed as being at the resort.

The statement said the South had given up all rights on properties owned by South Korean companies because Seoul missed a Friday deadline to resolve a dispute over the property.

The South has warned that the North will be held accountable for all consequences resulting from its disposal of the assets.

Seoul suspended tours by its citizens after a North Korean soldier shot a South Korean woman to death when she strayed into a restricted military zone in July of 2008.

South Korea has said it will not resume tours until the North allows an on-site investigation of the shooting and gives solid safety guarantees. Pyongyang has refused the demands.