CIA chief defends agency after torture report |
John Brennan says his agency "fell short of holding accountable some officers" but "did a lot of things right".
Last updated: 12 Dec 2014 07:18
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The head of the US spy agency CIA has defended his agency from accusations in a Senate report that it tortured terrorism suspects with no security benefits to the country.
John Brennan said on Thursday that while his agency "fell short of holding accountable some officers" who went beyond the legal limits on interrogation, he asserted that the CIA "did a lot of things right" in a time when there were "no easy answers".
"Our reviews indicate that the detention and interrogation program produced useful intelligence that helped the United States thwart attack plans, capture terrorists and save lives," Brennan told a news conference at the agency's Virginia headquarters.
On
Tuesday, a US Senate report condemned the CIA for brutality and
deception. The "enhanced interrogation techniques [EITs]" were
authorised by the administration of George W Bush after the September
11, 2001 attack on the US.
Liu Xiaobo sends message to the world: pay attention to other Chinese activists
Jailed Nobel peace prize winner tells friend he is doing well, has been reading and thinking and is convinced he has no enemies
The jailed Chinese Nobel peace prize laureate Liu Xiaobo has told an overseas friend that he is relatively healthy but wants the world to pay more attention to other Chinese activists.
In a message that was smuggled out of prison, he writes: “The aura around me is enough already. I hope the world can pay more attention to other victims who are not well known, or not known at all.” .
The message was to Liao Yiwu, who posted it on Facebook on Thursday. Liao did not say how he received the message from Liu, who is serving an 11-year sentence for inciting state subversion. Liu’s friends have said the message is genuine.
Poroshenko positive over 'real' ceasefire in Ukraine
Three days after a new ceasefire was imposed in eastern Ukraine with pro-Russian rebels, President Petro Poroshenko has said that a "real" truce was in place. He has warned, however, that the situation remains "fragile."
President Petro Poroshenko said on Friday that a "real" ceasefire was now in place in eastern Ukraine after the first 24 hours in seven months without a military casualty.
"I have positive news. Today is the first 24 hours for seven months ... when we have a real ceasefire in Ukraine," he said during a trip to Australia.
Although he admitted the standoff was fragile, Poroshenko said if the ceasefire held it would be "a great step for peace and stability in Ukraine."
"Everything is so fragile. But I pray that we should continue this process," he added.
Poroshenko went on to say that the conflict in his homeland was not just about Ukraine's independence and territorial integrity.
Dubious Provenance: Pressure Grows for Museums to Return Stolen Objects
By Konstantin von Hammerstein
The German government wants to help rein in illicit excavations and trade in archeological objects with a tough new law. The move is expected to create pressure for some of country's most-famous museums, which contain numerous works of unknown provenance.
Hermann Parzinger is fond of telling the story of how, 15 years ago, he found himself staring down the barrel of a Kalashnikov in northern Pakistan. The archeologist had surprised a group of people trying to plunder a Buddhist temple. Parzinger and his colleagues beat a hasty retreat.
A short time later, in July 2001, he and a team of excavators from Russia and Germany uncovered a major stash of gold treasures from the Skythes, a nomadic equestrian people who lived on the Central Asian Steppe in Russia's Tyva Republic in Siberia some 2,700 years ago. After making their sensational discovery, the archeologists had to be provided with 24-hour armed security.Uber rape scandal in India grows
December 12, 2014 - 1:18PM
Jason Koutsoukis
South Asia correspondent at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald
Delhi: How could a notorious sex offender with a string of complaints against his name be hired as a driver for Uber, the multinational taxi service that was recently valued at more than $US40 billion?
That was the question outraged Indian politicians, regulators and customers were asking this week after a 27-year-old Delhi finance executive was allegedly raped by an Uber taxi driver on her way home from work.
According to the victim, she had hailed the cab using Uber's mobile-phone based application about 9.30pm on December 5.
"While on my way home, I fell asleep on the back seat of the cab," the woman said in her statement to police. " A few minutes later, I realised that the car was stopped at a secluded place and the driver was molesting me," she said.
China, Vietnam clash again over South China Sea claims
2 hours ago
China and Vietnam have clashed again over competing claims in the South China Sea, after Vietnam submitted its position to an arbitration tribunal initiated by the Philippines over the festering dispute that involves several countries.
China has said repeatedly it will not participate in the case at the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, branding it an underhand attempt to exert political pressure over territory which is inherently Chinese.
China's foreign ministry, in a statement released late on Thursday, called on Vietnam to respect China's sovereignty, which it said had historical basis.
China will not change its position of not taking part in the arbitration, the ministry said.
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