Amnesty urges Libya to tackle 'stain' of detainee abuse

Sub-Saharan Africans suspected of being Gaddafi's mercenaries are particularly targeted, Amnesty says

Libya's interim authorities must end arbitrary detention and abuse of inmates, Amnesty International says.

In a report, the London-based rights group said it had uncovered evidence of torture and ill-treatment of thousands of people detained in recent months.

Sub-Saharan Africans suspected of being Col Muammar Gaddafi's mercenaries were particularly targeted, it said. The NTC pledged to look into the claims.

There are unconfirmed reports Col Gaddafi's son Mutassim has been seized.

Some figures in the National Transitional Council said he had been captured in the family's embattled home town of Sirte.

However, a military commander in the city denied the claims, which have sparked celebratory gunfire in several cities.

If confirmed, Mutassim Gaddafi's capture would be a major breakthrough for the NTC, says the BBC's Caroline Hawley in Tripoli.

He is a senior officer in Col Gaddafi's army and was a national security adviser to his father.

NTC forces have said they control most of Sirte, but the BBC's Wyre Davies in the city says they have been pushed back slightly in fighting since Wednesday.

AFP news agency reported that anti-Gaddafi fighters had withdrawn 2km to the police headquarters and were planning to bombard loyalist positions with artillery.

The fighters had been hoping to avoid using heavy weapons, as there were still civilians in the area.

Making 'clear break'
Amnesty published its report - entitled Detention Abuses Staining the New Libya - after interviewing some 300 prisoners.

It visited 11 detention facilities in and around the capital Tripoli and in the cities of Zawiya and Misrata between 18 August, just before Tripoli fell, and 21 September.

The group said it had found a pattern of torture and abuse of suspected Gaddafi loyalists, as well as soldiers and suspected mercenaries.

"In some cases there is clear evidence of torture in order to extract confessions or as a punishment," the report said.
It said that researchers had found torture instruments in one detention facility, and also had heard whipping and screaming sounds in another prison.

At least two guards from separate detention facilities had admitted to beating inmates to get confessions, Amnesty said.

In another case, a 17-year-old Chadian accused of rape and being a Gaddafi mercenary had said the beatings were so severe that he had decided to "confess".

"I ended up telling them what they wanted to hear. I told them I raped women and killed Libyans," the Chadian inmate told Amnesty.

'No tolerance of abuse'
In the capital Tripoli and surrounding areas alone, NTC forces have captured some 2,500 people, mostly without arrest warrants.

"We understand that the transitional authorities are facing many challenges, but if they do not make a clear break with the past now, they will effectively be sending out a message that treating detainees like this is to be tolerated in the new Libya," Amnesty's Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui said.

She added: "The NTC has to act urgently to translate their public commitments into action, before such abuses become entrenched and stain the new Libya's human rights record."

The report also urged the Libyan authorities to bring all detention facilities under the justice ministry's control to allow inmates to challenge the lawfulness of their arrests.

The NTC has repeatedly said it is committed to upholding human rights and reforming the country's justice system.

Reuters news agency quoted council spokesman Jalal al-Galal as saying: "[NTC Chairman] Mustafa Abdel Jalil has said time and time again that he will not tolerate abuse of prisoners and has made it abundantly clear that he will investigate any such allegations."

The Amnesty report raises fears of a return to the types of abuses committed in the Gaddafi era. Torture and mass killings were widespread both before and during this year's conflict as any dissent was quickly suppressed.

Slowdown in the German economy is predicted

The forecasters are worried that economic problems elsewhere in Europe will hit German exports

Eight leading European economic institutes have forecast a steep slowdown for Germany's economy.

The eight think-tanks make a twice-yearly aggregate forecast of German growth.

Six months ago they predicted 2% growth for next year, but they have now cut that to 0.8%, blaming the debt crisis in the eurozone.

Slow growth in Germany makes it much harder for the rest of Europe to avoid a return to recession.

The German economy grew 3.6% last year.

"The debt crisis in Europe is threatening to become a banking crisis, which is increasingly weighing on the German economy too," the institutes said in a statement.

The forecasts come from six German think-tanks: IWH, Kiel Economics, Ifo, IfW, RWI and ZEW as well as Zurich's KOF and Vienna's IHS.

They attribute the deterioration in their forecasts to a "clear rise in uncertainty", which will "dampen domestic demand".

They are also concerned that economic problems among Germany's trading partners will hit its exports.

Strong exports have allowed Germany to fare better than its European partners in the downturn so far.

Raj Rajaratnam jailed for 11 years for insider trading

Rajaratnam has been under house arrest in his Manhattan residence

A former hedge-fund manager has been sentenced to 11 years in jail in New York for one of the biggest insider trading cases in American history.

Raj Rajaratnam, 54, has also been fined $10m (£6.4m).

The Galleon Group founder, who was convicted in May 2011, made well over $50m from illegal trades, said the judge at the Manhattan federal court.

The prosecution had requested nearly 20 years in prison, but the defence asked for nine years at most.

Poor health
District Judge Richard Holwell told the court the defendant's "crimes and the scope of his crimes reflect a virus in our business culture that needs to be eradicated".

But the judge also praised "the defendant's responsiveness to and care for the less privileged".

He noted Rajaratnam's efforts to help victims of the earthquake in Pakistan and the 9/11 attacks.

The judge also told the court Rajaratnam has advanced diabetes and needs a kidney transplant.

He said this had been taken into consideration in the sentencing.

More than two dozen people have been convicted in the case, with sentences ranging from a few months to 10 years.

In their pre-sentencing arguments, prosecutors said Rajaratnam "remains defiant that he never committed insider trading and, incredibly, he maintains that the line between legal and illegal conduct was not always clear to him".

The prosecution had said Sri Lankan-born Rajaratnam made up to $75m in profits from illegal trades.

But the defence said he made a much lower sum - about $7m, when trades by his Galleon Group of hedge funds were discounted.

Before the sentencing, the prosecution urged the judge to revoke Rajaratnam's $100m bail and require that he report to prison within three weeks.

He has been under house arrest and wearing an electronic tag in his Manhattan residence.

Among those also convicted in the Galleon case was Bear Stearns hedge-fund trader Danielle Chiesi, a former beauty queen.

Prosecutors said the 45-year-old, sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail in July, used her feminine charms to elicit illegal information from male executives.

Aid workers from Kenya camp seized near Somali border

The sprawling Dadaab refugee camp houses an estimated 450,000 people

Gunmen have kidnapped two Spanish doctors working for the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) near Kenya's border with Somalia.

The two were seized from the Dadaab refugee camp, which houses hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing famine in the Horn of Africa.

Their Kenyan driver was injured and is now in hospital, MSF say.

In recent weeks, two foreign women - one English, the other French - have been kidnapped near the border.

Kenyan police told the BBC they were pursuing the kidnappers towards the Somali border by road and by air.

Al-Shabab?
MSF have confirmed the two missing doctors are European and have released a brief statement.
"This morning an MSF team suffered an incident in Dadaab," the statement says.

"One driver was injured: he's currently hospitalised and stable. Two international staff are missing. A crisis team has been set up to deal with this incident."

Kenyan police have said the two doctors are both Spanish women.

"Two female aid workers working for MSF were... kidnapped by suspected al Shabab militants in Dadaab refugee camp," regional police commander Leo Nyongesa told the Reuters news agency.

The attack happened near the Ifo camp, one of three areas that make up Dadaab, just 80km (50 miles) from the Somali border. In all, Dadaab now houses 450,000 refugees, making it the equivalent of Kenya's third-largest city.

Security in and around Dadaab is notoriously bad.

It is not yet clear who was behind this latest kidnapping.

The Islamist al-Shabab group controls much of southern Somalia but usually denies allegations of involvement in such cases.

The BBC's Bashkash Jugsodaay, at Dadaab, has seen two helicopters heading towards the Kenya-Somalia border.

It is unclear whether al-Shabab or bandits were behind the attack, our reporter says.

Refugees told our reporter that bandits - armed with AK-47 rifles - often enter the camp at night, robbing them of their belongings.

The UN has declared a famine in six regions of Somalia, most of them under the control of al-Shabab.

The region is experiencing its worst drought in more than half a century.

Al-Shabab, which is affiliated with al-Qaeda and controls large swathes of south and central Somalia, had imposed a ban on foreign aid agencies in its territories in 2009.

However, it has recently allowed limited access.

The autumn rains have now begun in Mogadishu, alleviating the drought. Thousands of people have arrived in the Somali capital in recent weeks, fleeing food shortages.

Last month, 56-year-old Briton Judith Tebbutt was kidnapped by gunmen from a remote Kenyan resort at Kiwayu. Her husband David was killed. Mrs Tebbutt is believed to be held by al-Shabab in Somalia.

On 1 October, a 66-year-old French woman was seized by an armed gang on Kenya's northern resort island of Manda and taken to Somalia.

And a Kenyan driver working for the Care charity was abducted from Dadaab on 21 September.

The UK Foreign Office has advised against all but essential travel to the Kenyan coast near the Somali border.

Ai Weiwei is named ArtReview's 'most powerful artist'

The artist has spoken out against human rights abuses in China

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has been named the most powerful person in the art world, according to a poll compiled by ArtReview magazine.

But Mr Ai, who was released in June after being detained for more than 80 days by Chinese authorities, told the BBC he does "not feel powerful at all".

The magazine said he was chosen by the panel because of his political activism, as much as his artwork.

China criticised the selection saying it was based on "political bias".

In a statement, ArtReview magazine said: "[His] activities have allowed artists to move away from the idea that they work within a privileged zone limited by the walls of a gallery or museum."

"It's expanding the possibilities of what you can do with art, and as an artist how you can use your voice," it added.

International prominence

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said: "China has many artists who have sufficient ability. We feel that a selection that is based purely on a political bias and perspective has violated the objectives of the magazine."

ArtReview magazine said: "Ai Weiwei's number one ranking is the direct result of his efforts to expand the territory and audience for contemporary art practice by breaking down the barriers between art and life.

"Expanding the territory and audience for art is absolutely in line with the magazine's ethos."
The artist's arrest in April, as he boarded a flight in Beijing bound for Hong Kong, prompted a global campaign for his release.

Chinese authorities said Mr Ai was detained on charges of tax fraud, but his family have always insisted it was for his political activities.

Under the conditions of his release, he is not allowed to be interviewed by journalists or use the internet.

In an interview with the BBC, the artist said he was being "strongly restricted".

He added: "Like this kind of conversation today I am doing is a violation. I think it may bring me very big trouble."
"I don't have this concept to separate my art from my daily life. I think they are one thing to me. They are always one.

"How do you find a way to express yourself and how to communicate with others? Art is how we put our lives to deal with our living conditions."

Mr Ai, one of China's best-known artists, rose to international prominence as co-designer of Beijing's "Bird's Nest" Olympic Stadium.

In 2010, he created a carpet of 100 million porcelain sunflower seeds for Tate Modern's Turbine Hall in London.

Damien Hirst, famous for his pickled sharks, is the only other artist to have previously topped the list, in 2005 and 2008.

This year second place went to the directors of London's Serpentine Gallery, Hans Ulrich Obrist and Julia Peyton-Jones.

New York's Museum of Modern Art director Glenn D Lowry was in third place, followed by US gallery owner Larry Gagosian, who topped last year's poll.

Ai Weiwei created a carpet of 100 million porcelain sunflower seeds for Tate Modern

Strauss-Kahn sex case: French inquiry dropped

Ms Banon had accused Mr Strauss-Kahn of attempted rape in 2003

A French inquiry into attempted rape claims against ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been dropped.

The prosecutor's office said the evidence suggested sexual assault - a less serious offence than attempted rape, with a shorter statute of limitations.

Writer Tristane Banon had accused Mr Strauss-Kahn of attempted rape in 2003.

Her accusation emerged while Mr Strauss-Kahn was accused of rape in New York; that case was later dropped.

Prosecutors said in a statement that "it is clear that, for lack of sufficient proof, a prosecution may not be initiated over the count of attempted rape, but facts that could be described as sexual assault have meanwhile been recognised".

Under French law, the statute of limitations for attempted rape is 10 years, but three years for sexual assault.

Ms Banon had previously said that if the prosecutor's office did not take up the criminal case, she planned to bring a private prosecution, in which case an independent investigating magistrate would have to reconsider the evidence.
Ms Banon said Mr Strauss-Kahn had tried to rape her during an interview for a book.

Mr Strauss-Kahn was previously said to have admitted making "an advance" on Ms Banon, but denied any violence and is suing for slander.

He resigned from his job as head of the International Monetary Fund after a New York hotel maid accused him of attempted rape earlier this year.

He still faces a civil suit in the US by his alleged victim in New York, Nafissatou Diallo.

'Underpants bomber' Abdulmutallab pleads guilty

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab pleaded guilty to eight charges, including terrorism

A Nigerian accused of trying to bomb a US-bound flight on Christmas Day 2009 has told his trial in Detroit that he is pleading guilty to all charges.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 24, told a judge he was admitting all eight counts against him, including terrorism and attempted murder.

Abdulmutallab was badly burned when a bomb sewn into his underwear failed to detonate fully, prosecutors say.

Almost 300 people were on the flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.

Abdulmutallab will be sentenced on 12 January 2012 but the BBC's Jonny Dymond, in Washington, says this is now a formality - Abdulmutallab will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Al-Qaeda links
US Federal Judge Nancy Edmunds verified that Abdulmutallab understood his right to silence before asking him if he wished to make a plea.

"Do I understand correctly that you wish to waive that right [in order] to plead guilty to all the charges in the indictment?" she asked.
"Yes," the defendant replied.

He told the court the bomb was a "blessed weapon to save the lives of innocent Muslims".

"The US should be warned that if they continue to kill and support those who kill innocent Muslims, then the US should await a great calamity... or God will strike them directly," he said.

Abdulmutallab was representing himself, with a standby lawyer appointed by the court to assist with his defence.

He sacked his original legal team, also appointed by the court, in September 2010.

"We wanted to continue the trial, but we respect his decision," said standby lawyer Anthony Chambers outside the court on Wednesday.

US Attorney General Eric Holder welcomed the guilty plea, saying it showed the courts were "one of the most effective tools we have to fight terrorism".

In a statement, he said: "Our priority in this case was to ensure that we arrested a man who tried to do us harm, that we collected actionable intelligence from him and that we prosecuted him in a way that was consistent with the rule of law.

"We will continue to be aggressive in our fight against terrorism and those who target us, and we will let results, not rhetoric, guide our actions."

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which is based in Yemen, said it was behind the attack on 25 December 2009.

US investigators have said Abdulmutallab told them he was working for AQAP and had received the bomb from them, as well as training.

US and Yemeni officials have linked Abdulmutallab to radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, whom he is said to have met while in Yemen before the attack.
Awlaki was killed last month by a US drone strike in Yemen.

Abdulmutallab flew from Nigeria to Amsterdam, where he boarded Northwest Airlines Flight 253 to Detroit, which was carrying 279 passengers and 11 crew.

He was already on a US watch list, but not a no-fly list.

Passengers had to put out the fire after the bomb failed to detonate fully, the court heard on Monday.

Abdulmutallab's father, Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, an influential banker who is well connected in Nigerian politics, said he had approached the US embassy officials and Nigerian authorities in 2009 to warn them about his son.

Abdulmutallab was denied a request to ban statements he made while being treated for burns at a hospital, as well as other material, from appearing at trial.

During the first day of his trial, on Monday, prosecutor Jonathan Tukel showed the court a picture of the remains of the burnt underwear which contained the explosive device.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) analysts found the high explosive pentaerythritol (PETN) inside the device. Officials say he planned to detonate it using a syringe filled with chemicals.

The bomb was not detected when Abdulmutallab passed through airport security in Lagos and Amsterdam.

The court was also shown a video of Abdulmutallab explaining his suicide mission.

Syria-US 'spy' Mohamad Soueid faces court

More than 2,900 have been killed in the crackdown against protests in Syria this year, says the UN

A Syrian-born American has been charged with spying on US activists who oppose the Damascus government.

US court papers say Mohamad Soueid, 47, sent 20 recordings of protests in the US to Syria's spy agency between April and June 2011.

The indictment also alleges Mr Soueid, from Virginia, went to Syria in June to meet President Bashar al-Assad.

The Syrian embassy in Washington denied the charges, saying Mr Soueid has no connection with the Syrian government.

Mr Soueid, who appeared in court in Virginia, faces charges of gathering intelligence for a foreign government.

He has also been charged with lying to the FBI when they interviewed him in August about his activities with Mukhbarat, the Syrian intelligence agency.

Mr Soueid was arrested on Tuesday, He was born in Syria but is a naturalised US citizen.

It is also alleged that he tried to recruit other agents to monitor activities of American anti-Damascus activists.

'Cherished right'
Assistant Attorney General for National Security Lisa Monaco said in a statement that Mr Soueid's actions were intended to "silence, intimidate and potentially harm" the protesters.

Prosecutor Neil MacBride said: "The ability to assemble and protest is a cherished right in the United States, and it's troubling that a US citizen from Leesburg is accused of working with the Syrian government to identify and intimidate those who exercise that right."

Earlier this year, a group of Syrian-Americans sued Mr Soueid - who has also used the names Alex Soueid and Anas Alswaid - and members of the Syrian government.

They say they were victimised by Damascus.

In a statement, Syria's embassy in Washington denied any connection between Mr Soueid and the Syrian government.

"Mr Soueid is not an agent of any Syrian institution; he never worked under directions or control of any Syrian official," the statement said.

President Assad has cracked down on demonstrations against his regime that began in Syria in March 2011.

David Cameron proposes changes to royal succession

Any changes to the law would apply to children of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Changes to the rules on succession have moved closer after David Cameron shared his plans with the 15 other countries who have the Queen as their monarch.

The PM wants to scrap the ban on spouses of Roman Catholics ascending to the throne and give girls the same right of succession as boys.

But he needs the 15 other Commonwealth nations to agree to the changes.

They would apply to any children of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge - even if they were born before a law change.

At present, the Act of Settlement gives male children the right to leapfrog their older sisters in the order of succession to the throne.

'Historical anomaly'
But in his letter, Mr Cameron said: "We espouse gender equality in all other aspects of life and it is an anomaly that in the rules relating to the highest public office we continue to enshrine male superiority."

The change would mean a first-born daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge could become Queen.

But it would not apply to previous generations, so Princess Anne would not leapfrog her younger brothers Andrew and Edward to become fourth in line to the throne.

Mr Cameron also said the ban on any monarch married to a Roman Catholic was an "historical anomaly" and could not "continue to be justified".

But he did not propose changing the ban on monarchs themselves being Roman Catholic because the British monarch is also head of the Church of England.

The monarch also has representation at the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, either in person or through a High Commissioner.

A third change would amend the provisions of the 1772 Royal Marriages Act, which requires all descendants of King George II to obtain the monarch's permission before marrying.

The government proposes to limit that requirement to the first six in line to the throne.

'Matter for Parliament'
Any changes require the agreement of all 16 Commonwealth "realms" - the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Belize, St Christopher and Nevis, St Lucia, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Papua New Guinea.

Mr Cameron is to discuss his proposals with fellow leaders when he attends his first Commonwealth heads of government summit in Perth, Australia, later this month.

Downing Street said that Buckingham Palace was "aware" of the prime minister's letter, but the Queen was unlikely to be involved in any discussions at Perth.

Changes to legislation were "a matter for Parliament", said Mr Cameron's official spokesman.

Libya conflict: Confusion over Mutassim Gaddafi's fate

Mutassim Gaddafi is an officer in his father's army and was a national security advisor

There are conflicting reports in Libya about the fate of one of ousted leader Col Muammar Gaddafi's sons.

Some figures from the National Transitional Council told news agencies Mutassim Gaddafi had been seized in the family's embattled hometown of Sirte.

However, officials in the NTC stronghold of Benghazi could not confirm the claims, which have sparked celebratory gunfire in several cities.

NTC forces say they now control most of Sirte, following fierce fighting.

Where is Gaddafi?
There have been false reports of the capture of senior Gaddafi figures in the past, including another son, Saif al-Islam, and Gaddafi spokesman Moussa Ibrahim.

But if confirmed, Mutassim Gaddafi's capture would be a major breakthrough for the NTC, says the BBC's Caroline Hawley in Tripoli.

He is a senior officer in Col Gaddafi's army and was a national security advisor to his father.

The NTC would want to question him as to the whereabouts of his father and other family members such as Saif and another son Khamis - both in Col Gaddafi's inner circle - analysts say.
Col Gaddafi is believed to be somewhere in Libya's southern deserts. His supporters are also holding out in the town of Bani Walid.

The reports that Mutassim Gaddafi was captured sparked celebrations in Libya

Reuters news agency quotes NTC officials as saying Mutassim was captured as he tried to escape Sirte in a car with a family. The officials said he had been taken to Benghazi and was being held in a military camp.

Col Abdullah Naker told Reuters that he had been seized on Wednesday.

NTC advisor Abdelkarim Bizama told AFP news agency that Mutassim "was captured at Sirte and was transferred to Benghazi" on Wednesday.

Mutassim Gaddafi's presence in the city, and that of several other senior figures in the former regime, is believed to be responsible for the fierce resistance the anti-Gaddafi fighters have encountered.

'Victory near'
On Wednesday the head of Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC), Mustafa Abdul Jalil, said he was optimistic they would soon declare total victory.

"I hope that liberation will be declared in less than a week, after we free Sirte," he said at a news conference with Tunisian Prime Minister Caid Essebsi in Benghazi.

"And within less than a month we will form a transitional government and the youth and women will have a role in that."

The NTC said taking Sirte would be a major step in being able to govern the whole of Libya, giving them full control of the country's ports and harbours.

Thousands of civilians have fled the city in recent weeks but an unknown number are thought to have stayed behind, facing shortages of food, medicine and drinking water.

Cars leaving Sirte are being stopped and searched at checkpoints to prevent escaping pro-Gaddafi fighters passing themselves off as civilians.

California shooting: Eight killed at Seal Beach salon

The BBC's Peter Bowes says Seal Beach is a relatively high-end beach resort

Eight people have been shot dead at a hair salon in the Los Angeles area, authorities say.

The shooting took place in the city of Seal Beach, California, in a retail area off the Pacific Coast Highway.

Six people were initially confirmed dead, while two others died later of their injuries and one remains in a critical condition, police said.

Police say they have a suspect in custody after arresting a man nearby. Multiple weapons were seized.

The shooting occurred at about 13:30 PDT (21:30 GMT) at a hair salon called Salon Meritage.

Sgt Bowles said a suspect was arrested shortly after the shooting.

"The officers identified the [suspect's] vehicle as it was leaving the location," Sgt Bowles said. "They followed it and made a traffic stop and took the driver into custody."

He could not confirm local media reports that the gunman was wearing body armour, but appeared confident the man arrested was the suspect.

"He appeared co-operative, and did not resist our officers when he was detained," said Sgt Bowles said, adding: "We do feel confident at this point that we do have the single and only suspect in custody."
The motive for the shooting was still unclear.

Police from nearby towns were assisting with the investigation.

"A crime of this magnitude is not something Seal Beach is familiar with," Sgt Bowles told reporters.

Seal Beach is a beachfront city of approximately 25,000 residents, located about 30 miles (48km)south-east of Los Angeles.

It is home to a gated senior citizen community of 9,000 people, as well as the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station military complex and a national wildlife refuge.