In Spain, taxmen snoop about homes rented to sun-seeking vacationers — then visit the owners who neglected to report the income

 

In Greece, tax officials fly helicopters over residential areas to spot swimming pools of the alleged poor. In Italy, inspectors raid elite ski resorts to catch the down-and-out in their Ferraris. In Spain, taxmen snoop about homes rented to sun-seeking vacationers — then visit the owners who neglected to report the income. File photo by Virginia Mayo, AP The European Union, whose headquarters are pictured here, has been concerned about the debt crisis in southern Europe. EU officials blame part of the economic mess on a culture of tax evasion.EU officials blame part of the economic mess on a culture of tax evasion. Ads by Google CPD Online, On Time Online CPD - for when your deadline is demanding.  Evading taxes is almost a national pastime in European nations such as Greece, Spain and Italy, and for years their governments largely looked the other way. On Monday, the 27 nations of the EU will meet in Brussels to focus on how to boost growth and jobs. But as the southern European nations struggle with a debt crisis that threatens to overwhelm the European Union, their recently installed governments feel they must become more like their more solvent northern neighbors, where the crime of tax evasion is taken seriously. Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal and other countries are raising taxes and clamping down on those who have found creative ways not to pay them. Many people admit they cheat, but the wealthy say they are being unfairly singled out to cover for government overspending — and people in the middle class, who have seen their household incomes crumble, are bitter about losing even more to taxes. "In this country, (most of us) are struggling day-to-day in order to make ends meet," said Argiris Eleftheriou, 76, of Athens. "The pensioners and the employed are the only ones that aren't evading taxes. We're paying the taxes of the rich, too." EU officials blame part of the economic mess on a culture of tax evasion in debtor nations that has cost billions in revenue that could be used to shore up their finances. Greece has a projected debt burden of 162% of GDP this year. The amount of taxes past due to the state is $78 billion, according to a 2011 report by the EU's Task Force for Greece. EU officials say that about half of that will never get collected, and the other half is tied up in 165,000 pending court cases. Paying for things in cash is the norm in Greece (and Italy and Spain), making it hard for tax inspectors to track. In Greece, cash transactions accounted for 25% of GDP, according to a 2011 report by Friedrich Schneider, a professor of economics at the University of Linz in Austria. And the EU believes tens of millions of dollars in Greek income has been deposited out of sight in Switzerland banks. Greece is pushing back with a "naming and shaming" campaign. This week, the Greek Economics Ministry published the names of 4,151 individuals who owe a total of more than $19 billion in taxes including a famous singer, a professional basketball player and a former newspaper publisher. "Our sovereignty is being chipped away because some are not paying their taxes," said Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos, referring to the strict fiscal oversight imposed by the EU and IMF in return for bailout funds. Meanwhile, new taxes keep coming. In the past two years Greeks have seen a self-employment tax of $390 to $650, a solidarity tax of about 1% to 5% of income and a property tax. More are expected, but locals say they can't pay. "Life has drastically changed; we don't go out anymore; we're locked in our homes and close to depression," said Eleni Benekou, 48, a middle-class housewife in Athens. "(Recently) I went to the flea market to buy some things, but I didn't dare open my wallet." In Italy, the focus is on tax evasion by the super-rich, which ran rampant under the leadership of former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi— also accused of tax dodging and who once famously said that evasion of high taxes was a God-given "right." Berlusconi successor, technocrat Mario Monti, has vowed to get Italy's house in order by reducing spending and increasing tax revenue. One of his first actions has been to clamp down on "the pretend poor," as Italian media have dubbed the super-rich tax evaders. While one in four Italians — 15 million — reported no taxable income last year. Italy says that at least 3 million of those own at least three homes. Meanwhile, Italian taxpayers reporting incomes of less than $26,000 owned 188,000 Ferraris and Lamborghinis, more than 500 private airplanes and about 42,000 yachts. Monti has ordered tax police to go to the super-rich wherever they are. In raids on the elite Italian Alps ski resort of Cortina in early January, officials found 42 high-end sports cars belonging to owners who reported less than $26,000 of income annually. The Italian government is also cracking down on money-laundering, lowering the maximum allowed for cash transactions to from $3,200 to $1,275 and putting dogs at the Swiss border to sniff out large sums of cash. (It is common for Italians to drive their money over the Alps to Swiss banks, tax agents say.) So far, Italian officials say this has netted $52,300 on average per day at the border, up from almost zero a year ago. Since Monti took office in November, Italian tax police have identified $65 billion in untaxed money, officials announced Wednesday. Monti is also pushing for a new tax bracket for the super-rich and a financial transaction tax. Even TV commercials appeal to Italians to help find these "parasites of society." And while Italians hang effigies of tax officials at protests, some agree with the push. "Everybody has to do their part, but the rich should do more than their part," said Angela Perin, 56, a school administrator in Rome. "They've had it easy too long, and now everybody is suffering because of that." In Spain, officials also declared "an open season" on tax evasion. They have capped cash transactions at $1,300 and are cracking down on tax havens. Spain has taken hundreds of tax evaders to court, and tax police have caught about 200,000 individuals who had not declared income from rental properties — a large source of income in the sunny tourist destination — and an easy source of under-the-table cash, officials said. One of the first actions of Conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy upon taking office in mid-December was to break a main campaign promise by raising taxes: The government has passed measures to raise income and property taxes by more than $7.64 billion a year and has added a new tax bracket for the rich — which increased the cap by 7% to a maximum of 56% in some Spanish federal states for those earning more than $390,000 annually. Some say the zeal for taxes as the solution to a country mired in debt and high unemployment of 21.5% will backfire. "The tax hike is going to have a perverse effect on the Spanish economy," said Miguel Borra, president of CSI-F, the main civil servant union in Spain. "That will include a growing lack of trust among the population (in government) as well as diminishing purchasing power." In crisis-hit but tax-averse Ireland, officials haven't raised income tax but rates on many other things have risen: taxes on pension contributions, property, carbon dioxide emissions and a hated "universal social charge," along with hikes in sales taxes. "They get called stealth taxes, but they're not particularly stealthy as we can see them coming," said Gerard Casey, professor of philosophy at University College Dublin. "They do it so they can say with a relatively straight face, smirking perhaps, 'We've not raised taxes.' " Emeline Callan, who runs a barbershop in Celbridge, County Kildare, says she earns less than minimum wage despite working nine or 10 hours a day — and the cost of her commute has doubled with the gasoline and car tax increases. Her frustration may be a warning to Europe's governing elites that they must find another way to balance the books. "The tax I pay gets me nothing that I need," she said. "The social charge is just a cover to gain more money from us to pay for the government's mistakes. It's loan repayment on a loan we the people didn't take out."

Half-ton hashish find discovered by Afghan, coalition security forces

 

Afghan and coalition security forces conducting a combined mission near Azim Jan Kariz, Jan. 25, discovered a large drug cache in an area known for strong Taliban influences and operations. Soldiers from the 4th Kandak of the 3rd Brigade, 205th Afghan National Army Corps, and their partners from Combined Task Force Spartan’s 4th Battalion, 25th Field Artillery Regiment, were conducting a dismounted patrol approximately three kilometers south of Combat Outpost Azim Jan Kariz, when they discovered the find. The Soldiers determined the field contained 454 kilograms of hashish, or approximately 1,000 pounds of the illegal drug. Nearly an hour later, Afghan Soldiers had burned all of the hashish, without any injury or damage to Afghan and coalition security forces or local residents. Soldiers conducting patrols throughout Zharay and Maiwand districts routinely find drug caches including poppy and marijuana. The Afghan government prohibits the growth of illegal drugs, and has started an eradication campaign throughout the two districts. Poppy and marijuana crops are often used as a funding source for the Taliban insurgency, and destroying the crops has been a key objective for both Afghan government and security officials.

Britain, US and France send warships through Strait of Hormuz

 

This deployment defied explicit Iranian threats to close the waterway. It coincided with an escalation in the West's confrontation with Iran over the country's nuclear ambitions. European Union foreign ministers are today expected to announce an embargo on Iranian oil exports, amounting to the most significant package of sanctions yet agreed. They are also likely to impose a partial freeze on assets held by the Iranian Central Bank in the EU. Tehran has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation. Tankers carrying 17 million barrels of oil pass through this waterway every day, accounting for 35 per cent of the world's seaborne crude shipments. At its narrowest point, located between Iran and Oman, the Strait is only 21 miles wide. Last month, Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, commander of the Iranian navy, claimed that closing the Strait would be "easy," adding: "As Iranians say, it will be easier than drinking a glass of water." But USS Abraham Lincoln, a nuclear-powered carrier capable of embarking 90 aircraft, passed through this channel and entered the Gulf without incident yesterday. HMS Argyll, a Type 23 frigate from the Royal Navy, was one of the escort vessels making up the carrier battle-group. A guided missile cruiser and two destroyers from the US Navy completed the flotilla, along with one warship from the French navy.

A grisly event in South East Asia highlights the region's developing meth-driven drug war

 

The Mekong River in Thailand Photo via By Jed Bickman 10/11/11 | Share Uppers Rock the World New Life for Asia’s Golden Triangle China Unveils Radical New Approach to Drug Treatment Vietnam's Rehab Gulag Revealed Spinning to Cambodia! In one of the grisliest incidents of the drug war in South East Asia in recent memory, the corpses of thirteen Chinese sailors have been found by Thai authorities on the Mekong River. The victims, including two female cooks, were blindfolded, bound, and shot dead. They're believed to be the crew members of two Chinese cargo ships that were hijacked last week by Thai drug gangs—the boats were recaptured in a firefight with Thai police and 950,000 methamphetamine pills were discovered on board. It's unclear whether the meth was loaded onto the boats by the Thai gangs, or whether it was already being shipped from China. Thai military officials blame a drug trafficking ring led by 40-year-old kingpin Nor Kham—who operates out of northeast Burma and is a wanted man in both Burma and Thailand—for the attacks. Authorities speculate that the Chinese ships neglected to hand over protection money and paid the price. The Chinese government has reacted defensively, suspending cargo and passenger trips along the Mekong river. The region along the border of Burma, Laos, and Thailand—known as the “golden triangle”—is the center of methamphetamine production in Asia, although China has also produced vast amounts of meth since the 1990s. Ephedrine, the base of methamphetamine, is derived from a native Chinese herb—“mao,” AKA "yaba"—which has an important role in Chinese medicine. The UN estimates there are between 3.5 million and 20 million methamphetamine users in South East Asia: such a broad range only serves to illustrate how badly understood the problem is. In 2009, countries in South East Asia collectively reported a 250% jump in methamphetamine arrests, as well as an increasing trend of injecting methamphetamine, which leads to a corresponding jump in HIV and other diseases among users.

Breast implant scandal: taxpayers face £100 million bill

 

Harley Medical Group (HMG), responsible for one in three operations using the French-made implants, said it would go out of business if made to meet the full cost of removal. HMG's position makes it more likely the other two main players, Transform Cosmetic Surgery and The Hospital Group, will also ignore pleas for private clinics to pay for surgery. Should they follow HMG's lead, the bill to taxpayers could feasibly top £100 million as the NHS will be forced to perform the corrective surgery.The big three firms are likely to have performed around two thirds of enlargement operations using faulty implants in Britain. There are around 40,000 women in the UK who have been fitted with the controversial implants and operations to remove them cost around £3,000. Mel Braham, chairman of HMG, claimed the Government had the "moral responsibility" to pay for removal operations, as the regulator meant to ensure the safety of medical devices had failed in its duty.

Iran car explosion kills nuclear scientist in Tehran

 

BBC's Mohsen Asgari: "It seems a motor cyclist pasted a bomb to his car which he was in with two other passengers Continue reading the main story Iran nuclear crisis Undeclared pursuit? Q&A: Nuclear issue Key nuclear sites Sanctions' impact Watch A university lecturer and nuclear scientist has been killed in a car explosion in north Tehran. Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan, an academic who also worked at the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, and the driver of the car were killed in the attack. The blast happened after a motorcyclist stuck an apparent bomb to the car. Several Iranian nuclear scientists have been assassinated in recent years, with Iran blaming Israel and the US. Both countries deny the accusations. Continue reading the main story Analysis Frank Gardner BBC security correspondent The assassination on Wednesday of another Iranian nuclear scientist may now prompt Iran to try to respond in kind. The murder in Tehran of Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan comes on top of a sophisticated cyber sabotage programme and two mysterious explosions at Iranian military bases, one of which in November killed the general known as 'the godfather' of Iran's ballistic missile programme. No-one is claiming responsibility for these attacks but Iran blames its longstanding enemy, Israel, and occasionally the US. Whoever is behind them, Iran is clearly being subjected to an undeclared campaign to slow down its nuclear programme. Frank Gardner's analysis in full Iran's Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi told state television that the attack against Mr Ahmadi-Roshan would not stop "progress" in the country's nuclear programme. He called the killing "evidence of [foreign] government-sponsored terrorism". Local sources said Wednesday's blast took place at a faculty of Iran's Allameh Tabatai university. Two others were reportedly also injured in the blast, which took place near Gol Nabi Street, in the north of the capital

Mexico: Reporter Gunned Down In Los Zetas Stronghold

 

Raúl Régulo Garza Quirino, a reporter for the weekly La Última Palabra in Cadereyta, in the northeastern state of Nuevo León, became the first Mexican journalist to be killed in 2012 when he was gunned down after a car chase on 6 January. Garza was also a Cadereyta municipal employee. “We hope the number of Mexican journalists killed in the space of a decade does not reach the grim total of 100 in 2012, an election year,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Mexico could prevent this from happening by taking measures to combat impunity for those responsible for violent crime against journalists. “That was the message that we and the Centre for Journalism and Public Ethics (CEPET) tried to transmit when we gave the families of slain and disappeared journalists a platform in the capital on 10 December. “The current show of good intentions by the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Crimes against Freedom of Expression (FEADLE) and its head, Gustavo Salas Chávez, must be rapidly translated into reinforcement of its personnel and clarification of its jurisdiction. If the senate approves the bill that the lower house adopted on 11 November making attacks on freedom of information a federal crime, the FEADLE must have enough resources to handle all these cases.” Garza was driving his car near his home when he found himself being pursued by gunmen in another car. He was gunned down when he tried to seek refuge in a garage owned by relatives. Sixteen impacts from 16 mm bullets were found at the scene. Investigators have so far not suggested any motive for the murder. Located 37 km from Monterrey, the state capital, Cadereyta is home to one of northern Mexico’s biggest oil refineries and is rife with contraband in stolen petroleum products as well as drug trafficking. It is a stronghold of Los Zetas, a paramilitary group that worked for the Gulf Cartel before becoming an independent criminal organization. A total of 38 employees of the state oil company PEMEX have been reported missing in the region in recent months. It was in this area that radio journalist Marco Aurelio Martínez Tirejina was kidnapped and killed in July 2010 in a still unsolved murder. According to the Reporters Without Borders tally, 80 journalists have been killed in the past decade and 14 others have disappeared. Most of these killings have gone unpunished.

Real IRA terrorist has been jailed for 12 years after being found guilty of buying weapons and explosives which he wanted to use to “kill Brits.

Michael Campbell (Pic: PA)

A Real IRA terrorist has been jailed for 12 years after being found guilty of buying weapons and explosives which he wanted to use to “kill Brits.”

Irishman Michael Campbell - brother of Omagh bomber Liam - was snared in a six year MI5 sting across three countries with agents pretending to be arms dealers.

Yesterday he was finally jailed by a Lithuania court after spending three years awaiting trial and having been snared by an amazing MI5 undercover operation.

Campbell, 39, was secretly filmed in a field in Lithuania pointing a high-power Barret sniper rifle which he later bragged he would use to kill British people.

Michael Campbell testing weapons in the Lithuanian countryside (Pic: PA)

Using secret filming Campbell was caught on camera inspecting the weapons stash in a lock-up garage (Pic: PA)

Campbell's shopping list for weapons (Pic:PA) 

He was also recorded on video in a garage buying weapons and explosives from an undercover Lithiuanian agent he nicknamed “Rambo.”

But the hero of the MI5 plot was a cigarette smuggler - turned MI5 agent who went deep undercover using the cover name Robert Jardine.

Using his connections Robert Jardine coolly penetrated deep into the Real IRA network knowing he could have been killed if his cover was blown.

At one stage in his dealings with dark-haired Campbell and other terror suspects - who cannot be named for legal reasons - he was bundled into a padded van containing a shovel.

Sources have told The Daily Mirror he feared he had been rumbled and was being driven to his death - but it was just a Real IRA tactic to unnerve him.

Judge Arunas Kisielus of the Vilnius Regional Court sentenced Michael Campbell to 12 years in prison for weapons offenses and supporting a terrorist group.

Covert footage showed Campbell paid £5,200 for explosives, grenade launchers, detonators, AK-47s and an assassin’s rifle to Lithuanian agents posing as arms dealers.

He says on tape: “You imagine, with a six-hour timer, we could be over to London and back,” Campbell says in an audio clip after mulling over a price list for explosives and detonators. “Just tick, tick, tick, tick ... gone.

In court Campbell had pleaded not guilty.

The Real IRA’s worst crime to date was the 1998 Omagh bombing which killed 29 and for which Liam Campbell -Michael’s brother - was found liable in a civil trial.

MI5’s Operation Uncritical ruined a bid by the Real IRA to get guns and explosives to mount a deadly terror campaign on the British mainland.

Yesterday a senior security official said: “The conviction of Michael Campbell is the result of a successful joint operation between the Security Service and the Lithuanian authorities.

“Working closely together, along with a selfless and brave agent, they have put behind bars a senior member of the Real IRA whose intention was to kill innocent members of the public in Northern Ireland and in Britain.”

Courageously Jardine - who now lives in a secret location - for years risked his life to provide his MI5 handlers with intelligence about the Real IRA.

The agent, who was referred to in court as “Robert Jardine”, was a legitimate businessman based in southern England dealing in “imports and exports.”

But he also had an illicit sideline in smuggling cigarettes from Eastern Europe - and it was that which caught the eye of the security service and led him into a world of terrorist intrigue.

The Real IRA (RIRA) was using the contraband cigarettes to fund its terrorist activities and in late 2002 Jardine was recruited as an agent by MI5.

Two years later RIRA asked Jardine whether his contacts in Eastern Europe could help them get weapons. And - carefully directed by MI5 - he laid a trail of deception which drew in the terrorists.

The court heard that in January 2005 he handed over a price list to a contact.

The following July Jardine and the contact crossed the border into Lithuania where Jardine introduced her to “Tomas”.

In fact Tomas was working for the Lithuanian security service, the VSD - the first in a cast of “role-players” deployed to convince the RIRA that the offer of weapons was real.

The RIRA gave Jardine the first of two hand-written shopping lists of weapons they wanted to buy - including sniper rifles, rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers, hand grenades, detonators and Semtex plastic explosives.

Then, in late 2006, another RIRA man, moved to revive the arrangement. Jardine responded by saying he would provide the introductions but the republicans would have to cut their own deal. The “sting” was back on.

Then Michael Campbell entered the story.

On August 29 2007, Michael Campbell and another associate travelled to a lodge in the Lithuanian countryside belonging to the supposed arms dealer.

There they were given their first chance to test guns and explosives.

Next day they were introduced to a second dealer - whom the two Irishmen quickly nicknamed “Rambo” - who was to provide them with the actual weapons they wanted.

Like Tomas, however, Rambo was in reality working for the VSD.

Campbell and his colleague agreed to pay a deposit on explosives, detonators and timers.

Afterwards an excited Campbell was secretly recorded telling his associate: “Look at it this way, for one of them and one of them you have a bomb - for f****** a hundred quid.

“F*** me. You imagine us getting over to England if you’d ten of them and ten clocks in a holdall. You imagine, with a six-hour timer we could be over to London and back.

“Just tick, tick, tick - gone. Leave it anywhere.”

That October, Campbell met Rambo again in Marbella in southern Spain.

This time the RIRA man said he wanted a first instalment of weapons - including two rocket propelled grenades as well as the explosives - against the deposit.

On January 21 2008, Campbell went to Lithuania to inspect his purchase and finalise the arrangements.

That evening the couple dined with Rambo who the following day took Campbell to a lock-up garage where the weapons were stashed.

A hidden camera secretly filmed as Campbell examines one of the detonators and asks whether they would be “good for booby traps”.

“They would be good for under a car, wouldn’t they?” he says. “Anchored to the wheel and then the car goes round - bang.”

Campbell was also filmed paying a further deposit for a powerful Barrett sniper rifle - the type of weapon used to kill Lance Bombardier Stephen Restorick, the last British soldier to die at the hands of the IRA in 1997.

When Rambo demands what it would be used for - saying he was not prepared to sell it just “to shoot roe deer or wild boar” - Campbell tells him: “No, no, we will be shooting from across borders. The border. You know, from one side to the other.”

Asked who the target would be, Campbell replies simply “Brits”.

full brutality of former Libyan tyrant Muammar Gaddafi's regime has been revealed in chilling video footage of prison torture sessions.

The full brutality of former Libyan tyrant Muammar Gaddafi's regime has been revealed in chilling video footage of prison torture sessions.

And the fallen dictatorship's former foreign minister, Musa Kusa - who was released by the British authorities six months ago after he defected to the UK in March - is facing fresh allegations that he was directly involved in the beating of political prisoners.

The footage - obtained by the BBC's Panorama programme - was reportedly shot at the notorious Abu Salim prison in Tripoli. It shows crouching inmates, blindfolded and wearing blue uniforms, being repeatedly whipped and kicked by interrogators. 

Brutal: A still from footage of a prisoner being whipped inside the Abu Salim prison during Gaddafi's rule

Last month the remains of more than 1,200 prisoners were found in a mass grave outside the prison's walls.  

 

 

More...

• Now the hunt for justice begins: Libya's secret files on Yvonne Fletcher, Lockerbie bombing and IRA weapons to be made public 'within months'
• Finally free: Libya officially declares its liberation after 42 years of brutal rule

     

 

The Panorama team tracked down Kusa to a luxury resort in Qatar during its investigation into his role in alleged war crimes. He declined to be interviewed for the programme.

Kusa was head of Gaddafi's intelligence agency from 1994 and a senior intelligence agent when PanAm flight 103 was blown up over Lockerbie.

Inhumane: An inmate is kicked in the head by one official as a prison guard looks on

 

Back in the spotlight: Torture suspect Musa Kusa defected to Britain in April but moved to Qatar just weeks later

The Boeing 747 jumbo jet was en route from London to New York when it exploded over the Dumfriesshire town, killing 243 passengers, 16 crew and 11 residents.

There have also been calls for Kusa to be quizzed in relation to the murder of PC Yvonne Fletcher, who was shot during a protest outside London's Libyan Embassy in 1984.

Kusa made a high-profile defection to Britain in March and was interviewed by police and Scottish prosecutors investigating the Lockerbie attack.

But within weeks he was allowed to leave the UK following an EU decision to lift sanctions against him, meaning he no longer faces travel restrictions or an asset freeze.

No comment: Panorama reporter Paul Kenyon is blocked by a bodyguard while attempting to question Kusa

The Foreign Office said Kusa was a 'private individual' who had been interviewed voluntarily.

But the ruling was condemned by one Tory MP who said Britain had become 'a transit lounge for alleged war criminals'.

And Britain is now under fresh pressure to interview Kusa in relation to the allegations.

Dr Jim Swire, whose 23-year-old daughter Flora died in the Lockerbie bombing, said that if anyone could offer any insight into the 'huge questions still unanswered' on Libya's role in Lockerbie, it would be Mr Kusa.

High profile: Kusa was less reluctant about speaking to the press following his defection to London earlier this year

He said: 'When I met Musa Kusa in Libya in 1991 it was clear to me he was the guy who was central to the Gaddafi administration.

'He could tell us just as much as Gaddafi about Lockerbie as he was at the core of the regime.

'He was a very, very key figure and we need answers as to why he was allowed to fly back. Any probing over his crimes should be done by the International Criminal Court.'

Pamela Dix, who lost her 35-year-old brother Peter in the atrocity, said she was 'incensed' after Mr Kusa was allowed to leave Britain in the first place.

She said: 'We cannot turn a politically pragmatic blind eye.

'I do not know what Musa Kusa knows or does not know about Lockerbie but he needs to come back to answer those questions.

'I condemn the attitude of the UK Government in the strongest possible terms. A political hands-off attitude is inappropriate.'

The slain Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi secretly spirited out of Libya and invested overseas more than $200 billion

 

The slain Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi secretly spirited out of Libya and invested overseas more than $200 billion -- double the amount that Western governments previously had suspected, The Los Angeles Times reported late Friday. Citing unnamed senior Libyan officials, the newspaper said US administration officials were stunned last spring when they found $37 billion in Libyan regime accounts and investments in the United States. They quickly froze the assets before Kadhafi or his aides could move them, the report said. Governments in France, Italy, England and Germany seized control of another $30 billion or so. Earlier, investigators estimated that Kadhafi had stashed perhaps another $30 billion elsewhere in the world, for a total of about $100 billion, the paper noted. But subsequent investigations by US, European and Libyan authorities determined that Kadhafi secretly sent tens of billions more abroad over the years and made sometimes lucrative investments in nearly every major country, including much of the Middle East and Southeast Asia, The Times said. Most of the money was under the name of government institutions such as the Central Bank of Libya, the Libyan Investment Authority, the Libyan Foreign Bank, the Libyan National Oil Corporation and the Libya African Investment Portfolio, the paper pointed out. But investigators said Kadhafi and his family members could access any of the money if they chose to, the report said. The new $200 billion figure is about double the prewar annual economic output of Libya, The Times noted. Kadhafi, who lorded over the oil-rich North African nation for 42 years, met a violent end on Thursday after a NATO air attack hit a convoy, in which he was trying to escape from his hometown of Sirte. He survived the air strike but was apparently captured and killed after a shootout between his supporters and new regime fighters.

Various stories about how Al Qathafi lived his last moments have emerged

 

An image captured off a cellular phone camera showing Muammar Al Qathafi during his last moments Various stories about how Al Qathafi lived his last moments have emerged with the most plausible being that the got out of a hole near a road not far from the city of Sirte only to find himself face-to-face with the same Libyan rebels whom he once called rats. Al Qathafi seems to have been wounded in a hole before he was captured by the rebels. Video shots aired by Al Soumoud TVchannel ishow Al Qathafi held by two rebels, one on each side of him as they helped him walk for a few steps. He had a bloodied face. He was then carried by fightes and placed over the front body of a yellow pick-up truck. Al Qathafi looked disoriented as blood covered most of his face. When he was laid down on the car a rebel seemed to put his hand on his seemingly wounded abdomen. According to Ibrahim Mahjoub, one of the rebels who played a part in the last moments of Al Qathafi's life, the former Libyan leader escaped to a farm and hid under a rain water hole under a road bridge. “He was already wounded,” Mahjoub said. Mahjoub went on to say: “We were above that small bridge when one of Al Qathafi troops carrying a green flag got out of the hole and said 'my master is inside'”. Moments later Al Qathafi himself got out of the hole saying, “what is going on?”  Mahjoub continued to say: “We held Al Qathafi by the hand. He was holding a gun in his hand, a small black bag and also a number of mascots.” Al Qathafi tried to escape out of Sirte towards the east on Wednesday night but his convoy faced heavy fire from the rebels and was forced to retreat to the city. He tried again to escape Thursday morning but his convoy was surrounded and bombed. There is a possibility that after his convoy came under fire Al Qathafi was injured he ran away for cover under the road only to be captured by the rebels and die as a result of the wounds he was carrying.

Qaddafi Is Dead, Libyan Officials Say

 

Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the former Libyan strongman who fled into hiding after rebels toppled his regime two months ago in the Arab Spring’s most tumultuous uprising, was killed Thursday as fighters battling the vestiges of his loyalist forces wrested control of his hometown of Surt, the interim government announced. Multimedia Slide Show Muammar el-Qaddafi: 42 Years as the Face of Libya Photographs Battle for Libya Interactive Feature Timeline: Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi Related Battle for a Holdout City Stalls Healing in Libya (October 19, 2011) Times Topic: Libya — Revolution (2011) Related in Opinion  Nicholas D. Kristof, a Columnist for The New York Times, on the Implications of Muammar el-Qaddafi's Death in Libya and Beyond on The Takeaway Radio Program Connect With Us on Twitter Follow @nytimesworld for international breaking news and headlines. The New York Times More Photos » Al Jazeera television showed what it said was Colonel Qaddafi’s corpse as jubilant fighters in Surt fired automatic weapons in the air, punctuating an emphatic and violent ending to his four decades as a ruthless and bombastic autocrat who basked in his reputation as the self-styled king of kings of Africa. Libyans rejoiced as news of his death spread. Car horns blared in Tripoli as residents poured into the streets to celebrate. Mahmoud Shammam, the chief spokesman of the Transitional National Council, the interim government that replaced Colonel Qaddafi’s regime after he fled Tripoli in late August, confirmed that Colonel Qaddafi was killed, though he did not provide other details. "A new Libya is born today," he said.  "This is the day of real liberation. We were serious about giving him a fair trial.  It seems God has some other wish."   Abdul Hakim Belhaj, the leader of the Tripoli military council, said on Al Jazeera that anti-Qaddafi forces had Colonel Qaddafi’s body. It was not clear precisely how he died. Mohamed Benrasali, a member of the national council’s Tripoli Stabilization Committee, said fighters from Misurata who were deployed in Surt told him that Colonel Qaddafi was captured alive in a car leaving Surt.  He was badly injured, with wounds in his head and both legs, Mr. Benrasali said, and died soon after.   . Colonel Qaddafi had defied repeated attempts to corner and capture him, taunting his enemies with audio broadcasts denouncing the rebel forces that felled him as stooges of NATO, which conducted a bombing campaign against his military during the uprising under the auspices of a Security Council mandate to protect Libyan civilians. Libya’s interim leaders had said they believed that some Qaddafi family members including the colonel himself and some of his sons had been hiding in Surt or in Bani Walid, another loyalist bastion that the anti-Qaddafi forces captured earlier this week. There was no immediate comment on the news of his death from American officials. . Victoria Nuland, the State Department spokeswoman, traveling with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in Afghanistan, said the department was aware of the reports “on the capture or killing of Muammar Qaddafi.” There was also no immediate comment from Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, the interim government’s top official. But he had said that the death or capture of Colonel Qaddafi would allow him to declare the country liberated and in control of its borders, and to start a process that would lead to a general election for a national council within eight months. Libyan fighters said earlier on Thursday that they had routed the last remaining forces loyal to Colonel Qaddafi from Surt, ending weeks of fierce fighting in that Mediterranean enclave east of Tripoli. A military spokesman for the interim government, Abdel Rahman Busin, said, “Surt is fully liberated.” The battle for Surt was supposed to have been a postscript to the Libyan conflict, but for weeks soldiers loyal to Colonel Qaddafi, fiercely defended the city, first weathering NATO airstrikes and then repeated assaults by anti-Qaddafi fighters. Former rebel leaders were caught off guard by the depth of the divisions in western Libya, where the colonel’s policy of playing favorites and stoking rivalries has resulted in a series of violent confrontations. Surt emerged as the stage for one of the war’s bloodiest fights, killing and injuring scores on both sides, decimating the city and leading to fears that the weak transitional leaders would not be able to unify the country. The battle turned nearly two weeks ago, when the anti-Qaddafi fighters laid siege to an enormous convention center that the pro-Qaddafi troops had used as a base. The interim leaders had claimed that the ongoing fighting had prevented them from focusing on other pressing concerns, including the proliferation of armed militias that answered to no central authority.

Libya: 'Gaddafi dies from wounds' suffered in Sirte capture

 

National Transitional Council official Abdel Majid Mlegta said that Gaddafi was captured and wounded in both legs at dawn on Thursday as he tried to flee in a convoy which Nato warplanes attacked. Gaddafi was shot in both legs and "also hit in his head", the official said. "There was a lot of firing against his group and he died." There was no independent confirmation of his remarks. In the early hours of the morning, at least five cars carrying loyalist fighters attempted to escape the city. Libyan rebels then moved into the city's Number Two residential neighbourhood, which was the last pocket of pro-Gaddafi resistance left in the war-torn country. "Sirte has been liberated. There are no Gaddafi forces any more," said Col Yunus Al Abdali, head of operations in the eastern half of the city. "We are now chasing his fighters who are trying to run away." However, there were reports that Gaddafi loyalists had ditched their military uniforms and were firing indiscriminately at civilians. The final assault on the remaining pro-Gaddafi positions began around 8am (7am GMT) on Thursday and was over after about 90 minutes. Civilians, whose city has been under siege since Gaddafi was removed from power at the end of August, were making their way to the centre to celebrate. The Telegraph, witnessing scenes in the centre of the city said there were scenes of relief, jubilation and intense celebratory gunfire among National Transitional Council (NTC) forces. The new national flag was raised above a large utilities building in the Mediterranean city, which had been under siege for nearly two months. A rebel commander confirmed that loyalist fighters in the city had been rounded up. "This is the last day of the fight," Lieutenant Colonel Hussein Abdel Salam of the Misurata Brigade told AFP. The fate of the city has become entwined with the immediate political future of Libya after the National Transitional Council said a full interim government could not be named until Sirte had fallen.

Mexico opposition may work with criminals

 

Mexican President Felipe Calderon has said politicians in the main opposition party may consider deals with criminals, opening an inflammatory new front in the nation's presidential election campaign. Calderon's blunt remarks about the centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which is favored to win the July 1, 2012 election, are unusual in a country where the president is expected to stay largely aloof from party politics. Centering on the policy that has dominated his presidency -- an aggressive army-led crackdown on drug cartels -- his comments risk polarizing opinion on how to restore stability to Mexico, where the drug war has killed 44,000 in five years. Leading members of Calderon's conservative National Action Party (PAN), other PRI opponents and political analysts have accused the once-dominant party of making secret deals with drug cartels in the past to keep the peace in Mexico. In a weekend New York Times interview published a day after he said a state governed by the PRI had been left in the hands of a drug gang, Calderon was asked whether the opposition party might pursue a corrupt relationship with organized crime. "There are many in the PRI who think the deals of the past would work now. I don't see what deal could be done, but that is the mentality many of them have," said Calderon, whom the law prevents from seeking a second six-year term. Calderon's office later issued a statement saying the newspaper had expressly noted when posing the question that the PRI had a reputation for making deals with organized crime. His office underlined that the president recognized many in the PRI did not favor this approach and supported his policy. Analysts say Calderon is bitterly opposed to the PRI, which dominated Mexico for seven decades until PAN won the presidency in 2000 under its candidate Vicente Fox. The tide of drug war killings has eroded support for the PAN, and the PRI's main hopeful, the telegenic former governor of the State of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto, has around twice the support of his nearest rival. NAMING NAMES The PRI has attacked Calderon for the spiraling death toll, and analysts said the president's remarks were tailored for the election, putting in jeopardy any hope of passing many pending reforms that have been stalled in Congress. "This is really serious," Javier Oliva, a political scientist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), said of Calderon's comments about the PRI. "The president has an obligation to prove this now. To name names." "The president is regressing into a negative stance of being president of the PAN, and not president of Mexico." The Times noted that Calderon "looked disgusted at the mere mention of the PRI" during the interview. The statement issued by his office said Calderon mentioned the ex-PRI governor of Nuevo Leon state, Socrates Rizzo, as someone who had pointed to the existence of such pacts. Rizzo's comments, which were reported early this year, were rejected by leading PRI figures at the time. The PRI's national chairman, Humberto Moreira, told El Universal's Sunday newspaper his party did not want to make deals with organized crime and that Calderon was trying to exploit the issue of public security for political ends.

Mexico’s military says soldiers freed 61 men being held captive by the Zetas drug cartel for use as forced labor

 

Mexico’s military says soldiers freed 61 men being held captive by the Zetas drug cartel for use as forced labor. The army says the men were found guarded by three Zetas kidnappers in a safe house in the border city of Piedras Negras on Saturday. Soldiers made the discovery during a security sweep in the area that also turned up an abandoned truck filled with 6 tons of marijuana. Loading... Comments Weigh InCorrections? In a press conference Sunday, Gen. Luis Crescencio Sandoval Gonzalez said one of the captives was from Honduras and others were from various parts of Mexico. He said the three kidnappers were arrested. Piedras Negras sits across the border from Eagle Pass, Texas, in the Mexican state of Coahuila, which has been the scene of ongoing battles between drug gangs.

Four former members of the Colombian army's special forces are training members of Los Zetas

 

Four former members of the Colombian army's special forces are training members of Los Zetas, considered Mexico's most violent drug cartel, the Bogota daily El Tiempo reported Sunday. The retired soldiers - two captains and two sergeants - served time in Colombia for human rights violations. "The identities of the soldiers have not been released because charges have not been filed against them," El Tiempo said, adding that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Mexican police and Colombian police were tracking their movements.

This is the buff soldier who exchanged numbers with Cheryl Cole.

Andy Baker plans to meet up with the former X Factor judge after the pair met during her morale-boosting trip to Afghanistan.

The pair were introduced at an award presentation at Camp Bastion and met again a barracks dinner.

New man? Soldier Andy Baker caught Cheryl Cole's eye during her moral-boosting trip to Afghanistan and he hopes to take her out for dinner

They posed for several photos together and once Cheryl returned home, she said she planned to give her 'gorgeous soldier' a call.

Buff: It's easy to see what attracted the singer to Andy, known as Bagsy to his friends

Andy, 25, who is known as Bagsy to his peers, plans to meet up with her once he returns home.

His brother-in-law Graham Peck told the Daily Mirror yesterday: 'Andy would love to take Cheryl out for dinner when he’s back in the UK.

'He thought she was absolutely lovely, and really gorgeous – I think all the guys did.

 

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• 'I have no regrets': Fox boss who axed Cheryl Cole from X Factor USA stands by his decision
• 'Nicole Scherzinger is a downgrade from Cheryl': Critics prefer sacked judge Cole on first episode of U.S. X Factor

 

“Andy contacted me through Facebook, raving about Cheryl and even made a photo of them his profile picture.

'They met up a couple of times during her trip and hit it off.'

But the Girls Aloud star may have to wait until next month as Andy has no mobile phone service until October 1.

Graham added: 'When Bagsy read that Cheryl was planning on ringing her mystery soldier, he panicked because he’s not allowed to have his phone on for another nine days – it’s military rules.

'He wants her to know that he’ll be in touch the moment he lands, and wants her to wait for him. Andy’s a great guy and keeps himself fit in the gym.'

 

Popstar to soldier: Cheryl was seen wearing army fatigues with her surname embroided on the pocket of her shirt

Andy, of Colchester, Essex, sports an enviable six-pack and has a tattoo sprawling from his left wrist and across his chest.

He serves with the tough 3 Commando Brigade, the Royal Navy’s amphibious infantry and has been in the Marines for four years.

Andy is currently based in the Marines’ Logistics branch and earns about £29,000 a year, compared with Cheryl's ex husband Ashley Cole's £90,000 a week.

He is also apparently a keen footballer.

One of the troops: Cheryl with a group of servicemen during her visit to Afghanistan

After her trip, Cheryl said: 'Not only are the soldiers incredibly brave, a few were incredibly cute. There was a bit of banter with a couple of the lads and yes, a few flirted I think.

'I came back with a phone number from one lad, although I think his talking to me was a dare.

'I think I am going to call him this week and let’s see what happens. I’m sure he’s not expecting us to, but that’s why it’ll be funny.'

Muammar Gaddafi has fled Sabha

 

The National Transitional Council are investigating an unconfirmed report that Muammar Gaddafi has fled from Sabha, NTC spokesman reports.  NTC spokesman also states that Libyan government forces now control most of Sabha with small pockets of resistance from pro-Gaddafi snipers.

Pakistan bus attack kills dozens

 

25 Shia Muslim pilgrims have been killed after gunmen opened fire on a bus in western Pakistan, officials said. The pilgrims were going through Mastung district in Baluchistan province, en route to the Iranian border, when the attack occurred, said a senior district official, Saeed Umrani. Two motorcycles blocked the path of the bus and three gunmen stormed the vehicle, opening fire on the roughly 40 pilgrims inside, said a local tribal police officer, Dadullah Baluch, after interviewing survivors and eyewitnesses. At least 25 people were killed and more than a dozen injured in the attack on Tuesday, he added. The dead and wounded were being taken to a hospital in Quetta, about 35 miles to the north, he said. Pakistan is a majority Sunni Muslim state. Although most Sunnis and Shias live there relatively peacefully, extremists on both sides often target each other's leaders and activists. The Sunni-Shia schism over the true heir to the prophet Muhammad dates back to the seventh century.

Taliban turban bomber kills Afghan ex-president

 

A Taliban suicide bomber with concealed explosives in a turban on Tuesday assassinated former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani, who was leading government peace efforts, police said. The bomber struck during a meeting at the Kabul home of Rabbani, who was last year appointed chief of the Afghan High Peace Council that President Hamid Karzai tasked with negotiating with the Taliban. His death is the most high-profile political assassination since the 2001 US-led invasion ousted the Taliban from power and comes just two months after Karzai's brother Ahmed Wali Karzai was also killed. The attackers arrived at Rabbani's house with Mohammad Massom Stanikzai, Rabbani's deputy, for a meeting before the turban bomber detonated his explosives, according to one source amid conflicting reports of the incident. A member of the High Peace Council, Fazel Karim Aymaq, said the men had come with "special messages" from the Taliban and were "very trusted." Kabul criminal investigations chief Mohammad Zaher said two men "negotiating with Rabbani on behalf of the Taliban" arrived at his house, one with explosives hidden in his turban. "He approached Rabbani and detonated his explosives. Rabbani was martyred and four others including Massom Stanikzai (his deputy) were injured." The bomber struck close to the US embassy, making it the the second attack within a week in Kabul's supposedly secure diplomatic zone. The killing prompted Afghan President Hamid Karzai to cut short his visit to the United States, his spokesman said, adding he was still expected to meet US President Barack Obama as scheduled before leaving. An AFP reporter saw an ambulance at the scene and said police had blocked off surrounding roads. The reporter also heard guards at the house shouting for an ambulance for Rabbani's deputy. Two of the former president's political allies, who did not want to be named and speaking before police confirmed Rabbani's death, wept as they told AFP he had been killed. "Yes, he is dead," said one of the two sources by telephone. The Taliban were not immediately reachable for comment, but the insurgency led by its militia has hit Kabul increasingly hard in recent months. The Pakistani government swiftly condemned the assassination, describing Rabbani as a "friend" with whom Islamabad was working closely on peace efforts. "The people of Pakistan stand by their Afghan brothers and sisters in this moment of grief," a joint statement released by President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said, just days after the United States accused the Pakistani government of having ties to Taliban faction the Haqqani network. Among the most high-profile attacks was last week's 20-hour siege of the US embassy and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) headquarters which left 14 people dead. Rabbani was president of Afghanistan from 1992 until the Taliban took power in 1996 and headed a country wracked by civil war. Karzai's brainchild, the High Peace Council was intended to open a dialogue with insurgents who have been trying to bring down his government since the US-led invasion overthrew their regime. The 68-member council, hand-picked by the president, was inaugurated on October 7, 2010, amid mounting reports of secret peace talks with Taliban leaders and key insurgent groups. Delivering his acceptance speech, Rabbani said he was "confident" that peace was possible, according to a statement from the palace. "I hope we are able to take major steps in bringing peace and fulfil our duties with tireless effort and help from God," he was quoted as saying. According to Human Rights Watch, Rabbani is among prominent Afghans implicated in war crimes during the brutal fighting that killed or displaced hundreds of thousands of Afghans in the early 1990s.

Hague court jails ex-Yugoslav army general

 

highest-ranking officer of the former Yugoslav army has been jailed for 27 years by the UN tribunal at The Hague for war crimes. General Momcilo Perisic, who served as chief of staff of the Yugoslav army during the Balkans conflict, was found responsble for murder, persecution and attacks on civilians in Bosnia and Croatia in the 1990s. The tribunal found Perisic, 67, guilty of helping Serb troops plan and carry out war crimes, including the killing of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica and of the 42 month-long siege of Sarajevo. Perisic was also convicted of failing to punish his subordinates for their crimes of murder, attacks on civilians, and injuring and wounding civilians during rocket attacks on Zagreb in Croatia. He was also found guilty of securing financial and logistical support for Serbs in Bosnia and Croatia. Criminally responsible "Momcilo Perisic was found criminally responsible for aiding and abetting murder, inhumane acts, attacks on civilians and persecution on political, racial or religious grounds in Sarajevo and Srebrenica," Justice Bakone Moloto said. Perisic becomes the first Belgrade official to be convicted for Serbia's role in the wars in Bosnia and Croatia, a role the regime in Serbia has always staunchly denied. The court also found Perisic bore command responsibility for the shelling of Zagreb in 1995. The tribunal found evidence that Perisic had had a "collaborative relationship" with Bosnian Serb military commander General Ratko Mladic, and "substantially aided his operations". Perisic had kept General Mladic on the Yugoslav Army payroll list, and personally signed Mladic's promotion to the rank of colonel general in 1994. Mladic is currently on trial at The Hague on charges of crimes including genocide. But the tribunal did not find evidence that Perisic had "exercised effective control" over Mladic or any other Yugoslav Army officer serving in the Bosnian Serb army. Mladic has been indicted for genocide by the Yugoslavia tribunal and was arrested in May this year.

Freed Egyptians tell of torture in Libyan jails

 

With drawn and gaunt faces, some 30 Egyptians holed up in a modest Libyan hotel speak of the incarceration and torture they suffered at the hands of Muammar Gaddafi’s loyalists. “They told me, ‘You Egyptians, you caused problems in your country, and now you have come to destroy ours’,” said Mahmud Abu Zeid, referring to the popular uprising that ousted neighbouring Egypt’s president Hosni Mubarak in February. “They wanted me to say that I was armed and had encouraged Libyans to rise up against Gaddafi,” he said. The 31-year-old said he was the first Egyptian to have been jailed in Abu Slim, a district of Tripoli that saw some of the fiercest fighting and worst atrocities before Gaddafi lost his grip on the capital late last month. Abu Zeid said the Gaddafi loyalists forced the Egyptians to record confessions that they had triggered the revolt against his regime, before they were eventually freed by revolutionary fighters. “For five months, they gave electric shocks to my son. I was so weak that I was unable to walk, so they dragged me like a sack,” he said, adding, “I ended up recording their message.” Under pressure he “confessed” to having used guns to encourage Libyans to call for the ouster of Gaddafi, he said, adding however that the Libyans who heard the recordings were not fooled. Abu Zeid’s account tallied with that of other refugees at the hotel in Benghazi, the rebellion’s stronghold in eastern Libya, some 600 kilometres (370 miles) from their homeland. “They gave out bread by kicking it at us, and we had a litre (two pints) of water to be shared among a dozen prisoners,” said another Egyptian man who added that he had been shot twice in the leg. It was still difficult for him to walk. Like him, other men in the hotel showed scars and burn marks on their backs they said were the result of torture. Tamer Rad, an Egyptian labourer who worked in Libya for two years, said he had been forced to to drink urine when he asked for water. “I was really thirsty. I asked for water, crying. They told me ‘You want to drink? Here!’ And they poured urine into my mouth. I was handcuffed, I could not resist so I had to drink it,” he said. The 26-year-old said the Egyptians had been stuck in Benghazi for several days and that he now had only one thought — of leaving Libya and returning to Egypt. The group said they fled to Benghazi after being freed on August 21 when anti-Gaddafi fighters broke open several jails as they overran Tripoli. And they had been unable to move on because, they said, the Gaddafi loyalists burned their travel documents and they are unable to contact the Egyptian embassy in Libya. On Monday, the Egyptian foreign ministry said the men would be repatriated on the same day, explaining that they had been forced to stay in Libya after the fall of the regime due to “insecurity on the roads” and the closure of airports.

'Credible' terror threat for 9/11

 

The threat is unconfirmed but reportedly involves Washington DC and New York, where people are preparing to mark the 10 year anniversary of 9/11, the worst ever terrorist attack on US soil in which nearly 3,000 people died. New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the new threat was uncorroborated, but he asked citizens to report suspicious activity and said that security would be increased at bridges, tunnels and on public transport. He added: "For the record, I plan to take the subway tomorrow morning." 9/11 anniversary The anniversary of 9/11 will be marked by a ceremony at Ground Zero, attended by President Barack Obama as well as former president George W Bush. The White House said President Obama had been briefed on the threat against the United States. It noted that the US government had "enhanced its security posture" ahead of the anniversary. White House spokesman Jay Carney added: "We're hyper-vigilant to this specific report that's just coming in."

Soldiers may face Mousa prosecution

 

British soldiers could face a fresh prosecution over the brutal death of an Iraqi civilian after a scathing report condemned the "shameful" abuse of prisoners in UK custody. A landmark public inquiry concluded that father-of-two Baha Mousa, 26, died after an "appalling episode of serious gratuitous violence" meted out by members of 1st Battalion the Queen's Lancashire Regiment (1QLR). Inquiry chairman Sir William Gage said a number of British officers who could have stopped the abuse, including 1QLR's former commanding officer Colonel Jorge Mendonca, bore a "heavy responsibility" for the "grave and shameful events". He also strongly criticised the "corporate failure" by the Ministry of Defence that led to "conditioning" techniques banned by the UK in 1972, including hooding and making prisoners stand in painful stress positions, being used by soldiers in Iraq. The £13 million public inquiry, which has published its 1,400-page final report, condemned the "lack of moral courage to report abuse" within Preston-based 1QLR. It named 19 soldiers who assaulted Mr Mousa and nine Iraqis detained with him, and found that many others, including several officers, must have known what was happening. The damning report said the violence could not be described as a "one-off" because of evidence that 1QLR troops abused and mistreated Iraqi civilians on other occasions. Lawyers for Mr Mousa's family called for the soldiers responsible for his death to face charges in the light of the findings. Seven members of 1QLR, including Col Mendonca, faced allegations relating to the mistreatment of the detainees at a high-profile court martial in 2006-07. The trial ended with them all cleared, apart from Corporal Donald Payne, who became the first member of the British armed forces convicted of a war crime when he pleaded guilty to inhumanely treating civilians. Payne was acquitted of manslaughter. The legal team for Mr Mousa's relatives and the other detainees believe that evidence in the inquiry's report could form the basis for a new prosecution. Sapna Malik, from law firm Leigh Day and Co, said: "In light of the cogent and serious findings by Sir William Gage, we now expect that the military and civilian prosecuting authorities of this country will act to ensure that justice is done." The Crown Prosecution Service said the inquiry's report had not been referred to it. The Service Prosecuting Authority, which brings military prosecutions, was not available for comment.

20 people, including a senior army officer, were killed on Wednesday when two blasts were detonated by separate suicide bombers in southwest Pakistan

At least 20 people, including a senior army officer, were killed on Wednesday when two blasts were detonated by separate suicide bombers in southwest Pakistan, police officials said.

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Reuters

A police officer assisted an injured man at the site of a double suicide bombing in Quetta, Pakistan, on Wednesday.

The attackers targeted the Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force commanded by army officers, stationed in Quetta. At least 30 people were injured in the explosions.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but suspicion immediately fell on Al Qaeda and Taliban militants . On Monday, Pakistani officials announced the arrest of a senior Al Qaeda leader, Younis al-Mauritani from Quetta. The operation was conducted by Inter-Services Intelligence, the country’s intelligence organization, and the Frontier Corps, according to an army spokesman.

The attack Wednesday morning in Quetta took place in a high-security neighborhood where several government offices and residences of high-ranking government officials are located.

The attackers targeted the house of Brig. Farrukh Shehzad, the deputy inspector general of the Frontier Corps. One bomber detonated his vehicle outside the house of the officer, a witness told AAJ TV, a private television news channel.

Soon after the first attack, another attacker entered the house on foot and started firing before detonating his explosives. Brigadier Shehzad was wounded and his wife was killed, according to initial local news reports. A colonel, Khalid Masood, was also killed in the attack.

Local television networks broadcast images of charred vehicles as ambulances ferried the wounded to nearby hospitals. The house of the wounded brigadier was badly damaged.

Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan Province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, has a history of sectarian and nationalist violence. Al Qaeda leaders and Taliban militants are also thought to have found a safe haven in the city and the province