Former US soldier guilty of rape found hanged

Former soldier was 19 when he raped and killed teenage Iraqi girl and shot dead her three family members.

A former US Army soldier, sentenced to life imprisonment for the 2006 rape and murder of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the killing of her parents and sister, has been found hanged in his cell. The Los Angeles Times report, quoting prison officials, said the death of Steven Dale Green was being investigated as suicide. Green had been found hanging in his Arizona cell last week, according to the Times report, which was published on Tuesday. Green, 28, was convicted in 2009 of the rape and murder of 14-year-old Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi and the deaths of her father, mother and six-year-old sister in Mahmudiya, 32km south of Baghdad. He was sentenced to life in prison, without the possibility of parole, after a federal jury in Kentucky could not decide whether he should be executed. During the trial, prosecutors portrayed him as the ringleader of a gang of five soldiers that plotted to invade the home of the family of four to rape the girl, and later bragged about the crime. Green, who was 19 when he committed the crime, was described as the triggerman in the group of soldiers, who donned black "ninja" outfits and raped the girl before killing her and her family. Three of the four other soldiers pleaded guilty in the attack and the fourth was convicted, all in military courts. They received sentences ranging from five to 100 years. Green was tried as a civilian because he was arrested after he was discharged from the army. He was described by prosecutors as predisposed to killing Iraqis. While his defence lawyers acknowledged that he took part in the killings, they argued he was suffering combat stress after the death of close colleagues and should be spared the death penalty.

Source: Agencies

Guantanamo inmate pleads guilty over bombing

Saudi brother-in-law of September 11 hijacker pleads guilty to planning to blow up a French oil tanker in Yemen in 2002.

A Saudi detainee at the US prison in Guantanamo Bay has pleaded guilty to plotting with al-Qaeda to blow up a French oil tanker in Yemen in 2002. Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Haza al-Darbi, the brother-in-law of one of the September 11, 2001 plane hijackers, admitted to planning, aiding and supporting an attack on the MV Limburg which killed a Bulgarian sailor, injured a dozen and caused a large oil spill in the Gulf of Aden. Darbi, who has been held in Guantanamo for more than a decade, likely faces up to 15 more years in prison, the chief prosecutor, Army Brigadier General Mark Martins, said in a statement. Some of that time could be served in his native Saudi Arabia, the AFP news agency reported. His lawyer Ramzi Kassem announced Darbi was pleading guilty to charges of terrorism and to attacking civilians and civilian targets before the US military judge at Guantanamo. "This moment is bittersweet," said Kassem, whose client agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as part of the plea deal. They accuse Darbi of having met with and worked for fellow Saudi Guantanamo detainee Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, who faces the death penalty on charges he masterminded the MV Limburg attack and the 2000 attack against the USS Cole in Yemen that left 17 dead. By pleading guilty, Darbi, 39, could become a key witness against Nashiri, whose trial is likely to open in September. Darbi "has pledged to be law-abiding and to cooperate fully and truthfully with authorities," Martins said, adding that soon after his arrest, Darbi began "divulging some useful information to authorities about his involvement in terrorist activities". 'Legally responsible' Speaking a mix of Arabic and English, Darbi admitted supplying visas, boats and other necessary equipment to those who carried out the attack on the MV Limburg. Under the terms of the plea deal, Darbi will not be officially sentenced for another 3.5 years, judge Mark Allred said at the hearing, which was retransmitted for reporters at the US military base in Fort Meade, Maryland, outside Washington. The delay, which has been standard for Guantanamo detainees who plead guilty, means he would still be at the US prison in Cuba when Nashiri's trial begins. Once Darbi is formally sentenced, he could be released from the Guantanamo jail to serve the remainder of his sentence in Saudi Arabia, Martins said. A Pentagon spokesman explained he would serve a minimum of five more years in a Saudi jail, depending on whether his behaviour from this point forward was deemed cooperative, AFP reported. At the hearing, Darbi emphasized that by the time the MV Limburg attack was carried out, "I was already detained at that time, for four months." The oil tanker was bombed on October 6, 2002 and Darbi was captured in June of that year, according to military documents unveiled by WikiLeaks. Nevertheless, Darbi has admitted to being "legally responsible" for all the charges, which could have seen him jailed for life without the plea deal. He waived his right to appeal his conviction as well as to contest his capture and decade-plus detention in Guantanamo, and said: "I agree to cooperate fully and truthfully with the government. "This cooperation includes, but is not limited to, providing complete and accurate information in interviews, depositions, and testimony wherever and whenever requested by prosecutors."

Source: Agencies

Partial verdict in Florida loud-music killing

Jury in trial of man who shot teenager to death in row over loud music deadlocked over charge of first degree murder.

A north Florida jury has convicted a man of three counts of attempted murder for opening fire on a car of black teenagers during an argument over loud rap music, but could not reach a verdict on a murder charge for the killing of a 17-year-old in the car. Michael Dunn, a 47-year-old software engineer, fired 10 rounds at an SUV carrying the four teenagers in a Jacksonville petrol station car park in November 2012, killing Jordan Davis. The jury said it was deadlocked on the most serious charge of first degree murder against Dunn, forcing judge Russell Healey to declare a mistrial on that count. The jury also found Dunn guilty on a fifth count of firing into an occupied vehicle, the Reuters news agency reported. The trial has drawn international attention because of racial overtones and Dunn's claims of self-defence. Following the case in which George Zimmerman was acquitted six months ago over the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, the trial also renewed attention towards Florida's self-defense laws that permit people who say they feel threatened to use lethal force to defend themselves. The failure to reach a verdict on the first degree murder charge is a blow for the prosecution and the Davis family. But the three guilty verdicts on the charge of attempted second degree murder against the other teenagers in the SUV, mean that Dunn still faces a sentence of at least 60 years in jail, legal analysts said. 'Long road' Prosecutors told a news conference after the verdicts that they plan to retry Dunn on the first degree murder charge, Reuters reported. "It's been a long, long road and we're so very happy to have just a little bit of closure," Davis' mother, Lucy McBath, told reporters. "It's sad for Mr Dunn that he will live the rest of his life in that sense of torment. I will pray for him. I will ask my family to pray for him. "But we are so grateful for the charges that have been brought against him, we are so grateful for the truth, we are so grateful that the jurors were able to understand the common sense of it all." The sequestered jury began deliberating on Wednesday afternoon after a week of testimony and spent more than 30 hours trying to reach a verdict. Dunn, who had no prior convictions, testified earlier this week that he began shooting in a state of panic after he thought he saw the barrel of a gun in the back window as Davis started to get out of the car. Prosecutors said Davis, who had no arrest record, used foul language when confronting Dunn after the argument broke out, but was unarmed and never posed a physical threat.

Source: Agencies

Algeria's Bouteflika to run for re-election

Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal says Bouteflika will run for a fourth term in April's election.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika will run for a fourth term in April's election, his office said on Saturday in comments carried by national television.

The president has informed the interior ministry of his intention to run in the April 17 poll and has collected appropriate documents, the television quoted Bouteflika's office as saying.

The electoral law requires candidates to gather at least 60,000 signatures from supporters across no fewer than 25 provinces by midnight on March 4, and the documents will be used to that end.

Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal said Bouteflika made his decision in "response to the encouragement of citizens from all over the country." 

Bouteflika, who suffered a stroke last year, has not made any public address since returning home from hospital, has only received a few foreign dignitaries and chaired just two cabinet meetings.

The comments from his premier and ally Sellal were the clearest indication so far on his intentions before mid-April elections in the North African oil producer.

There has been growing speculation in Algiers that the president, who has ruled the North African oil producer since 1999, will make an announcement on his future within days.

A veteran of the independence war against France, the 76-year-old leader has the backing of the ruling National Liberation Front party and is expected to win easily if he runs.

Bouteflika loyalists see him as the man who delivered peace and economic stability after a civil war with Islamists in the 1990s. But critics say he should step aside for health reasons.

More than 80 people have said they will run for presidency, with the most serious challenger among them appearing to be Ali Benflis, known as a defender of human rights and popular with intellectuals.

Benflis, 69, was prime minister during Bouteflika's first term in office and ran against him in 2004.

US banks free to accept legal marijuana money

Government guidance intended to increase availability of banking services, such as savings accounts, to marijuana shops.

The Obama administration has sought to lessen the fear of prosecution for banks doing business with licensed marijuana companies, further encouraging US states such as Colorado and Washington that are experimenting with legalising the drug. The Justice and Treasury departments outlined the policy in writing to federal prosecutors and financial institutions nationwide, the Reuters news agency reported. The guidance stopped short of promising immunity for banks, but made clear that criminal prosecution for money laundering and other crimes was unlikely if they met a series of conditions, officials said. Currently, processing money from marijuana sales puts federally insured banks at risk of drug racketeering charges, and they therefore refuse to open accounts for marijuana-related businesses, the AP news agency reported. The guidance was intended to increase the availability of banking services, such as savings and checking accounts, to marijuana shops that typically deal in cash. Last month, Colorado became the first state to open retail outlets legally permitted to sell marijuana to adults for recreational purposes, in a system similar to what many states have long had in place for alcohol sales. Washington state is expected to follow Colorado's lead. The number of states approving marijuana for medical purposes has also been growing. California was the first in 1996. It has since been followed by about 20 other states and the District of Columbia. 'Public safety' US Attorney General Eric Holder said last month that the administration was planning ways to accommodate marijuana businesses so they would not always be dealing in cash. "There's a public safety component to this. Huge amounts of cash, substantial amounts of cash just kind of lying around with no place for it to be appropriately deposited, is something that would worry me just from a law enforcement perspective," Holder said on January 23 at an appearance at the University of Virginia. The American Bankers Association expressed scepticism that the guidance would make much difference. Marijuana sales still violate federal law, so banks are still at risk, said Rob Rowe, a lawyer with the trade group. "Compliance by a bank will still require extensive resources to monitor any of these businesses, and it's unlikely the benefits would exceed the costs," Rowe said in an email to Reuters. "While we greatly appreciate the efforts by the Department of Justice and the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), guidance or regulation doesn't alter the underlying challenge for banks." The guidance would not protect banks from state laws, and if a wire transfer that moved marijuana-linked money touched a state where the drug is under strict control, a bank that handled the transfer could be open to state prosecution, experts in money-laundering said. Individual banks may have difficulty identifying which state-licensed businesses would run afoul of the federal guidance, said Peter Djinis, a former regulatory policy official with FinCEN, now in private practice in Florida. "These complicated and vague policies continue the uncertainty that banks have in determining whether to take the risk of conducting financial transactions with otherwise legitimate marijuana businesses," Djinis said.

Source: Agencies

UN: Civilians targeted in S Sudan conflict

Report on violence in world's newest nation says thousands of civilians killed and thousands more raped and tortured.

Civilians in South Sudan have been the main target of recent ethnic violence that is likely to have killed thousands, and thousands more have been raped, arrested and tortured, the United Nations said. The UN said the report on the first six weeks of the conflict offered a "snapshot" of violence perpetrated mainly by forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and by those of his opponent former vice president Riek Machar. It is the first report on human rights abuses committed during the conflict. Kiir is from the Dinka tribe, the country’s largest and most powerful, while Machar is an ethnic Nuer. During more than 500 interviews, the report said, witnesses, victims and government and security officials reported the deliberate targeting of civilians. Investigators looked at developments between December 15, when the conflict began, and January 31, the Associated Press news agency reported. The UN said that those targeted included nationals and foreigners slain in "extrajudicial and other unlawful killings, including mass killings, enforced disappearances, gender-based violence such as rapes and gang rapes, and instances of ill-treatment and torture by forces from both sides of the conflict." Human rights experts said "it is premature to judge whether or not sexual violence was used as a weapon of war" since incidents are still being investigated. The interim report focuses on alleged rights abuses in the four states which have seen the heaviest fighting - Central Equatoria where the violence began in the capital Juba on December 15, and Jonglei and oil-rich Unity and Upper Nile states where it quickly spread in the following days. 'Children killed' The government insists that the unrest was sparked by a failed military coup mounted by soldiers loyal to Machar. It arrested 11 officials it suspected of involvement in the coup plot but seven have since been freed as part of a ceasefire agreement signed last month. Machar denies the coup allegation but says his goal is to have Kiir, who is backed by troops from neighbouring Uganda, removed from power. While the trigger for the violence remains in dispute, the report said it has led to "a major security, human rights, and humanitarian catastrophe," and increased ethnic polarisation in the world's newest nation. The report does not cover events in February but it said the situation on the ground is still volatile, and violations of human rights are continuing, especially in areas where there is continued fighting. The UN mission, in a release accompanying the report, said that in the recent battle for control of Malakal, the capital of Upper Nile State, there was fresh evidence of rights abuses including the execution of two children outside the perimeter of the UN compound on Thursday. During the first six weeks of the conflict, the report said, "it is clear that civilians bore the brunt of much of the fighting and that gross violations of human rights were committed".

Source: AP

Uganda to consult scientists on homosexuality

President to seek scientific advice on whether homosexuality is "genetic or behavioural" before signing anti-gay bill.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has put a bill imposing strict penalties for homosexuality on hold to give scientists a chance to prove that homosexuality could be triggered by genes and is not a "lifestyle choice". Homosexuality is taboo in many African countries and illegal in 37. Few Africans are openly gay, as they fear imprisonment, violence and loss of their jobs. The US warned that signing the bill into law would complicate its relationship with Uganda, a regional ally in the fight against al-Shabab in Somalia, to whom it gives more than $400m in aid every year. Museveni dismissed the US threat, but said in a statement dated February 18 and seen by the Reuters news agency on Friday that he would not sign the proposed law until after hearing from scientists. "What I want them to clarify is whether a combination of genes can cause anybody to be a homosexual," Museveni said in the statement. "Then my task will be finished and I will sign the bill." Museveni said local scientists would carry out the study but he invited US scientists to help. It was unclear how long the inquiry would last. Tamale Mirundi, presidential spokesman, told Reuters on Friday the bill would be on hold for now "until more conclusive research is done, and that's what the president is saying in that letter". The bill, which was introduced in 2009, initially proposed a death sentence for homosexual acts, but was amended to prescribe jail terms including life in jail for what it called aggravated homosexuality. That category includes gay sex with a minor, where the victim is infected with HIV and where the victim is vulnerable, such as a disabled person. Presidential election Museveni last month said he would shelve the bill, which has drawn fire from Western donors and human rights groups. But on February 14, he told legislators from his ruling National Resistance Movement party that he planned to sign the law after receiving an opinion from a group of Ugandan scientists that homosexuality was a lifestyle choice that had no connection to genes. The president is trying to please a conservative local constituency vehemently opposed to homosexuality while at the same time avoiding alienating Western aid donors. Museveni may have been under pressure to sign the bill after his party backed him as the flag bearer in the 2016 presidential elections, analysts said. "He could not deny the wish of the MPs who had just given him what he wanted," political analyst Peter Mwesige, who heads the Africa Centre for Media Excellence, said.

Source: Agencies

Al-Shabab attacks Somali presidential palace

Mogadishu police say 14 people, including nine fighters, killed in suicide bomb and gun assault, but president unharmed.

Al-Qaeda-linked group al-Shabab have attacked the heavily-fortified Somali presidential palace compound, blasting through a gate with a car bomb and engaging palace guards in a fierce gun battle that left 14 people dead, police have said.

Al-Shabab said it carried out the Friday attack on the heavily fortified compound in Mogadishu, known as Villa Somalia. The Somali president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, was unharmed.

"Our commandos have attacked the so-called presidential palace in order to kill or arrest those who who are inside. The enemy had suffered a great deal of harm," Sheikh Abdul Aziz Abu Musab, the group's military spokesman, told the AFP news agency.

The president said al-Shabab would gain nothing more than publicity, adding that the group were on the verge of being defeated.

"Apart from media headlines, #Shabaab will achieve nothing from it," a Twitter account run by the president's office said.

"Don't be fooled by this media spectacular [sic]. This is another act of desperation from a dying animal."

The AFP quoted police as saying that at least 14 people died in the attack: five Somali officials or soldiers and nine attackers. The interior ministry said two government officials were among the dead.

Mogadishu, the capital, has been hit by a series of suicide bomb in the past few weeks, attacks claimed by al-Shabab, which was pushed out of the city in mid-2011 but has continued to wage a sustained armed campaign.

Al-Shabab in uniform

Friday's battle took place at the house of Somalia's top military commander, General Dahir Aden Indha Qarshe, located in the same compound and near the presidential palace building, Abdikadir Ahmed, a senior police officer, told the Reuters news agency.

"The Shabab fighters who attacked the palace were about 10 men in military uniform and the red hats [worn by the palace guards]," Hussein Farah, a senior police officer at the scene, told Reuters.

"They had three cars. One was a car bomb and the other cars were carrying well-armed fighters," he said.

"All the Shabab fighters died; some blew themselves up while others were shot dead. Several government guards also died. Now the fighting is over."

The Special Representative for the UN Secretary-General to Somalia, Nicholas Kay, condemned the attack.

"This is another desperate and criminal act which does nothing but harm to the people of Somalia," said Kay after speaking to the Somali president.

"The Somali people are tired of shootings, bombings and killings. It’s time for a new chapter in Somalia’s history and we cannot allow a slide back at this critical time.

"The UN and the international community remain steadfast in their determination to see a new Somalia rise."

Libyan military aircraft goes down in Tunisia

Crash kills 11 people, including two medical patients and three doctors, Tunisian authorities say.

A Libyan military plane carrying medical patients has crashed near Tunisia's capital, killing all 11 crew and passengers on board after an engine failure, Tunisian authorities said.

The aircraft crashed in a field early on Friday, on the edge of the village of Nianou, around 40 km from the capital.

The Libyan flag was still visible on the tailplane amid the charred wreckage of the aircraft.

The aircraft went down after the pilot tried to land in farmland near Grombalia town south of Tunis, the TAP state news agency reported. "The plane crashed at 1:30 am (0030 GMT)... with 11 people on board -- three doctors, two patients and six crew members," emergency services spokesman Mongi El Kadhi said. "The whole plane was completely burnt out. The emergency services went to the crash site and recovered the charred bodies." There was no immediate word on the identities of the two patients on board or why they were being flown to Tunis-Carthage international airport from a military airfield near Tripoli, though Libyans often travel to Tunisia for medical treatment. Tunis air traffic control official Sofiene Bejaoui said the aircraft was a Soviet-designed twin-propeller Antonov-26. "According to the air traffic controller who spoke to him last, the pilot's final message was 'Engine on fire'," Bejaoui said. It was the second crash involving a military plane in North Africa in two weeks. An Algerian military transport plane crashed into a mountain in bad weather on February 11, killing 77 people, in the country's worst air disaster in a decade.

Source: Agencies

Attack on Nigeria town leaves scores dead

More than 1,500 buildings razed and some 400 vehicles destroyed in the latest assault by armed groups in the northeast.

At least 115 people have been killed in Nigeria's northeast, more than 1,500 buildings razed and some 400 vehicles destroyed in the latest attack by armed groups, witnesses said.

Wednesday's night attack on Bama came as a traditional ruler accused the military of being scared to confront the fighters, the Associated Press news agency reported.

Sitting amid the smoking ruins of his palace, the shehu, or king, of Bama, Kyari Ibn Elkanemi, charged that the government "is not serious" about halting the violence.

The attack on Bama, an agricultural and commercial town, came the day the leader of the Boko Haram, a group blamed for widespread violence in the northeast, warned leading Nigerian Muslim politicians and religious and traditional leaders that his fighters would target them for pursuing democracy and Western-style education.

In the video message, punctuated by the crackle of automatic gunfire, Abubakar Shekau said: "The reason I will kill you is that you are infidels, you follow democracy ... Whoever follows democracy is an infidel and my enemy."

Shekau spoke in the local Hausa and Kanuri languages in the video, obtained by the AP on Thursday through channels that have provided previous communications.

Many more Muslims than Christians have been among the thousands of people killed in the 4-year-old rebellion by his Boko Haram.

Islamic state

The name means "Western education is forbidden", and the group aims to transform Nigeria into an Islamic state, even though half the more than 160 million citizens are Christians.

Boko Haram killed 106 people in Ighze village on Sunday, according to official figures, making it one of their deadliest assaults so far.

The military denied that Boko Haram were better armed or motivated and said it was making progress, but that no country facing terrorism had defeated it completely.

President Goodluck Jonathan ordered extra troops into northeast Nigeria in May to crush Boko Haram, which opposes Western influence and wants to create a state ruled by Islamic law in the country's largely Muslim north. However, the offensive, backed by air power, has so far failed. The fighters have retreated into the remote, hilly Gwoza area bordering Cameroon, from where they mount deadly attacks against civilians they accuse of being pro-government, and are abducting scores of girls. Earlier on Wednesday, Boko Haram fighters attacked the house of an army general in the village of Buratai in Borno state, killing a soldier guarding it, Borno state police chief Lawal Tanko said. He said General Umar Tukur Buratai, who is stationed in the southern oil-rich Niger Delta, was not there at the time of the assault, which had inflicted "minimal damage". Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer, derives more than 90 percent of its foreign exchange earnings from oil.

Source: Agencies