BBC News:北约称俄罗斯在乌克兰边境集结兵力
Police in Egypt are subjecting detainees to electric shocks, beatings and sexual assaultsaccording to detailed testimonies gathered by the BBC. The accounts cannot be independentlyverified, but human-rights campaigners say there is systematic torture in detention. OrlaGuerin has more details.
Many of those who emerge from detention are too frightened to speak, but BBC News hasgathered detailed and credible testimony about a range of severe abuses, including the useof electric shocks. A 15-year-old school boy told us he was given repeated shocks by police whosuspected he was a member of the banned Muslim Brotherhood. He said they sometimes threwwater on him to increase the pain. We heard claims of sexual assault from male and femaledetainees. And a well-known democracy activist described being kicked, beaten and punchedfor over half an hour.
Egypt's military-backed government denies the allegations. At least 3 people have been killed inclashes between Egyptian security forces and supporters of the banned Muslim Brotherhood.The bloodiest of the demonstrations was in the east of the capital Cairo. Two demonstratorsand a female journalist covering the protests died when police moved in using teargas and liveammunition. Clashes were also reported in the city of Alexandria.
United Nations says there has been no improvement in the humanitarian situation of millionsof Syrians since the Security Council passed a resolution last month intended to increase aiddeliveries. Nick Bryant reports.
It's five weeks since the Security Council in a rare moment of unanimity on Syria demandedgreater access to deliver humanitarian aid. But in her first report on whether there has beencompliance with the resolution, the UN's humanitarian chief Valerie Amos painted a grim anddisturbing picture. Calling it arbitrary and unjustified, she criticized the Assad regime'sdelays in allowing aid deliveries, noted that assistance had reached just 6% of those living inbesieged areas.
Nato says the steady increase in the number of Russian troops near the border with Ukraine isa cause of concern for the alliance. Nato's media director, Lieutenant Colonel Jay Janzen toldthe BBC, there was some worry at Nato's headquarters, because the troop movements did notlook like an exercise, but more like a military buildup.
There has been an increase in numbers just over the last week. I mean it's not a substantialincrease, but certainly the presence isn't getting smaller. So we definitely are taking prudentaction to make sure that we have surveillance on the area. So we are keeping a very close eye.Our hope is that this is gonna be solved diplomatically and politically.
BBC News.
President Obama has discussed supplying more sophisticated weapons to Syrian rebels duringa meeting with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia at a desert camp outside Riyadh. Saudi Arabia isone of the key supporters of the Syrian opposition and it has been growing increasinglyfrustrated with US policy in Syria. The Saudis are also suspicious of improved relationsbetween the United States and Iran and worried that growing US energy independence willlead to a disengagement from the region.
Unidentified pieces of debris have been spotted in the hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlinesplane after the search was shifted to a new area. It's almost 3 weeks since the aircraftdisappeared. From Perth, Jonathan Head.
Within hours of the Australian authorities declaring a new search zone, the first aircraftreturned from there with reports that they had sighted objects which could be from the missingMalaysian airliner. These objects will still need to be retrieved by ships which are not yet in thearea. But it's hoped they will reach it over the weekend. The new zone lies closer to the westAustralian coast which should now allow the surveillance aircraft to spend longer scanning thesea surface.
Security officials in Afghanistan say they've killed 5 gunmen who attacked a guest house usedby US based anti-land-mine charity in the capital Kabul. The official said a young Afghan girlalso died in the attack which began when a Taliban suicide bomber detonated a vehicle at thegate. An Afghan government minister told the BBC security forces rescued 31 foreigners fromthe building.
At least 11 people have been killed in the Central African Republic in a grenade attack at afuneral in the capital Bangui. It's believed former fighters from the mostly Muslim Selekamovement carried out the attack. And in response, Christians have erected barricades in oneof the city's neighborhoods.
BBC News.
