Report: CIA misled US on torture of prisoners |
Senate report, obtained by newspaper, says "enhanced interrogations" contributed almost nothing in war against al-Qaeda.
Last updated: 01 Apr 2014 03:52
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The CIA misled the US government about the scale of its abuse of prisoners and overstated intelligence gleaned from the sessions, a damning Senate classified report has concluded.
According to the Washington Post on Tuesday, the 6,300-page report states the severity of the CIA's "enhanced interrogation" programme was downplayed by the agency.
It stated that the "techniques", such as simulated drowning, and the use of stress positions and long-term sleep deprivation, provided no information on senior al-Qaeda figures, nor anything that led to the killing of Osama bin Laden in 2011, despite the agency's insistence it had.
"The CIA described [its programme] repeatedly both to the Department of Justice and eventually to Congress as getting unique, otherwise unobtainable intelligence that helped disrupt terrorist plots and save thousands of lives," a US official briefed on the document told the newspaper.
"Was that actually true? The answer is no."
Mass closure of WA schools as thousands protest against funding cuts
Striking teachers and assistants join parents and students in march on Parliament House in Perth
More than a hundred schools were closed in Western Australia on Tuesday as teachers, education assistants, parents and students gathered to protest in Perth against cuts to education funding in state schools.
Thousands of people descended on Langley Park in east Perth before marching on to Parliament House.
The State School Teachers’ Union of WA said $180m had been cut from the public education budget this year. Last August the state’s education minister, Peter Collier, said 500 education jobs would be cut, which included mainly education assistants.
The Education Department said 103 schools were closed across the state on Tuesday and many more were running on skeleton staff.
Al Shabab leader hits popular chord in call to oust Kenyans, Ethiopians
With Kenya's unilateral decision to enter and create a new buffer state inside Somalia, Ahmed Abdi Godane's urging this week to kick foreigners out has an audience, and even some logic.
In a recent article on the Daily Maverick, Simon Allison identifies the “surprisingly perceptive” core message ofAl Shabab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane’s recent propaganda audio message.
In his message, Mr. Godane urges his Somali comrades to throw out their Kenyan and Ethiopian occupiers. Mr. Allison notes that, although unsettling, Godane is, in certain respects, correct, and is tapping into widespread sentiments.
Despite operating in Somalia under the authority of an African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to rid the country of Al Shabab, Kenyan and Ethiopian troops are, in fact, occupying Somalia. Their goals are not altruistic, and are largely informed by their own national security and political considerations.
Thus, instead of celebrating the foreign troops’ efforts to stem Al Shabab, Somalis are worried about the out-sized influence being wielded by foreign powers in their country.
Central Asia
Apr 1, '14
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SINOGRAPH
Geography and ideals clash in Ukraine
By Francesco Sisci
The crisis in Ukraine is about many things, but it is chiefly about an important difference in the global perspectives of Russia and the United States. While Russia is concentrated on land and geography, the US has a vision focused on ideas and ideology. Both parties tend to forget the role of economics and global interactions.
Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin believe it is important to protect the legacy of the Russian empire (with or without its Soviet garb). For hundreds of years, Russia was about its land and its people - the Russians and their Slav brothers. Good or bad, this is part of Moscow's cultural heritage.
Putin therefore moved troops (but significantly, not tanks) to reclaim Crimea, which is home to a Russian majority and an
important military harbor projecting power into the Mediterranean Sea.
1 April 2014 Last updated at 06:29
Japan to relax arms export ban
Japan is to ease its self-imposed arms export ban for the first time in almost 50 years.
In the past all military sales have effectively been banned, although there has been technology transfer to the US.
The new conditions would allow Japan to jointly develop arms with allies and give its defence industry access to new markets and technology.
The move is likely to be viewed with suspicion in China, which has accused Japan of increasing militarism.
Japan adopted a pacifist constitution after World War Two which prohibits going to war except in cases of self-defence.
It has for decades observed the "three principles" of not exporting arms to countries that are communist, subject to UN arms embargos and involved or likely to be involved in international conflicts.
Chicago House Music Legend Frankie Knuckles Dead at 59
By Marcus Riley
| Tuesday, Apr 1, 2014 | Updated 2:04 AM CDT
A Chicago DJ and producer known as "The Godfather of House Music" passed away Monday, sources tell NBC 5.
Frankie Knuckles, 59, still lived in Chicago and is widely credited with helping to define the post-disco sound that came to be known as house music.
It's not clear how Knuckles died, but a statement is expected to be released on Tuesday.
Knuckles was born in New York City but later moved to Chicago, where he made his musical mark.
He was the musical director of pioneering South Loop nightclub The Warehouse, believed to the birthplace of modern house music, and where Knuckles first started experimenting with mixing disco and European electronic tracks. It's also where the house music genre got its name.
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