6 dead in Brazil prison slayings

SAO LUIZ, Brazil, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Six inmates, including one convicted of fathering several children with his two daughters, were killed in a brutal melee in a Brazilian prison, authorities say.

Jornal Pequeno reported Wednesday four of the inmates slain at Complexo Penitenciario de Pedrinhas in northeastern Brazil were beheaded, including Jose Agostinho Pereira, a 54-year-old farmer arrested in June 2010 and sentenced to 63 years for sexually abusing his daughters.

The riot, involving about 100 prisoners, started Monday night and the situation wasn't brought back under control until Tuesday afternoon, the Brazilian newspaper reported.

The prisoners ended their uprising only after being promised there would be no retaliation against them and they would be transferred to other facilities, the newspaper said.

Authorities recovered handmade knives, iron rods and other weapons. UPI

Egyptian army detained, tortured opponents

CAIRO, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Human-rights groups claim the Egyptian army has secretly detained thousands of those suspected of opposing the Mubarak government, torturing some.

Britain's The Guardian reports human-rights campaigners naysay claims of neutrality by the Egyptian military, alleging the army's involvement in disappearances and torture.

Former detainees allege tortuous physical abuse, such as electric shock, at the hands of Egyptian soldiers who accused them of acting for foreign powers, including Hamas and Israel.

Hossam Bahgat, director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights in Cairo, says possibly thousands of ordinary people have "disappeared" into army custody for carrying a political flyer, attending the recent demonstrations or for the way they look.

One of those men was a 23-year-old giving his name only as Ashraf, fearing a repeat arrest. He was detained Friday at Tahrir Square carrying a box of medical supplies intended for one of the makeshift clinics treating protesters, The Guardian said.

"I was on a side street and a soldier stopped me and asked me where I was going. I told him and he accused me of working for foreign enemies and other soldiers rushed over and they all started hitting me with their guns," Ashraf said.

"They put me in a room. An officer came and asked me who was paying me to be against the government. When I said I wanted a better government he hit me across the head and I fell to the floor. Then soldiers started kicking me. One of them kept kicking me between my legs," Ashraf said.

"They got a bayonet and threatened to rape me with it. Then they waved it between my legs. They said I could die there or I could disappear into prison and no one would ever know. The torture was painful but the idea of disappearing in a military prison was really frightening".

Human Rights Watch says it has documented 119 arrests of civilians by the military but alleges there have been more.

"It's unusual and to the best of our knowledge it's also unprecedented for the army to be doing this," Bahgat said. UPI

Somali piracy 'threatens global oil supplies'

A tanker owners' group has urged governments to do more to combat piracy in the Indian Ocean, saying hijackings could disrupt global oil supplies.

It said Somali pirates were now using at least 20 seized vessels as mother ships to launch attacks in the region.

The warning follows the latest hijacking by of a supertanker carrying some $200m (£125m) worth of crude oil off the coast of Oman.

The Irene SL was on its way from the Gulf to the US when it was attacked.

Joe Angelo, the head of the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (Intertanko), said that the Greek-flagged tanker's cargo represented approximately 20% of one day's US crude oil imports.

"The piracy situation is now spinning out of control into the entire Indian Ocean," Mr Angelo told Reuters.

"If piracy in the Indian Ocean is left unabated, it will strangle these crucial shipping lanes with the potential to severely disrupt oil flows to the US and to the rest of the world".

Intertanko represents the owners of much of the world's tanker fleet. BBC News

Brazil pledges 50bn reais of spending cuts

Brazil's government has said it will implement 50bn reais ($30bn; £19bn) of spending cuts in order to curb inflation and help prevent the economy from overheating.

Finance Minister Guido Mantega said all stimulus packages introduced since the onset of the global financial crisis would be removed.

Social spending and infrastructure projects will not be affected, he said.

Last month, the central bank raised interest rates to cool inflation.

It raised rates from 10.75% to 11.25% - the first increase under President Dilma Rousseff and central bank head Alexandre Tombini, both of whom took office last month.

Inflation was 5.91% last year and is forecast to remain above 5% in 2011.

Brazil's economy, Latin America's largest, grew more than 7% in 2010 and is expected to grow between 4.5% and 5% this year.

"It's good news to come out of the Rouseff administration," said Kathryn Rooney at Bulltick Capital Markets.

"This is also positive news for future ratings upgrades." She added that the central bank was now less likely to raise interest rates as many times as it might otherwise have.

However, some analysts felt the new administration should have gone further.

"This is sort of a missed chance because if the government wanted to trigger some positive impact on inflationary expectations, then they should have announced something closer to 70bn reais [of cuts]," said Nick Chamie at RBC Markets. BBC News

Ruud Gullit arrives in Chechnya for Terek Grozny job

Former Netherlands football star Ruud Gullit has arrived in Chechnya to an enthusiastic welcome as he takes up his new job as coach of Terek Grozny.

The 48-year-old former Chelsea, Newcastle and Feyenoord boss accepted an 18-month contract to coach the Russian Premier League club last month.

He and the team will be based not in Chechnya itself, but a Russian resort.

Asked what he thought of the Chechen capital Grozny, still marked by recent wars, he said he had seen worse places.

"Does it seem awful to me? No," Mr Gullit told reporters.

"I've been in more awful, dangerous and impoverished regions. I've been to Darfur and saw how people live there".

Terek Grozny finished 12th in the 16-team League last year and will open their league campaign against champions Zenit St Petersburg on 10 March.

Their progress through the League has been hailed as a success story by the Russian authorities, anxious to re-integrate Chechnya after two hugely destructive separatist wars with Moscow in the past two decades.

'A little pleasure again'

Hundreds of Terek Grozny fans greeted the Dutch star at Grozny airport before he was driven to a meeting with Chechnya's strong-arm Kremlin-backed leader, Ramzan Kadyrov.

Mr Gullit confirmed that he and the team would live and train in the Russian spa resort of Kislovodsk, about 250km (150 miles) west of Grozny.

He toured a football stadium under construction in Grozny with Mr Kadyrov, who said the team would eventually move to Grozny.

Chechnya was "the safest place" on Earth, the Chechen leader said. However, three explosions were reported in Grozny late the previous evening, with five people injured.

Mr Gullit has brushed off criticism at home that he is consorting with Mr Kadyrov, who is accused of presiding over widespread human rights abuses in his determination to root out any remaining separatist militants.

"You will always have people for and against but I don't want to be involved in politics," the Dutchman said in an interview published last month in Dutch daily De Volkskrant.

"I want to concentrate on the sport and give the people there a little pleasure in their lives again".

Mr Gullit declined to say on Wednesday how much he would be paid, adding that he did not care about money and wanted to help Terek Grozny succeed. BBC News

Cuba welcomes new internet cable link with Venezuela

Cuba has welcomed the arrival of an undersea fibre-optic cable linking it to Venezuela as a blow to the US economic embargo.

The cable will transform communications in Cuba, which has among the slowest internet speeds in the world.

The new connection will make download speeds 3,000 times faster - at least for the small minority of Cubans who have internet access.

It should also make international phone calls much cheaper.

The 1,600km (1,000 mile) cable from Venezuela was financed by the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (Alba) - a left-wing regional grouping founded by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Cuban Information and Communications Minister Medardo Diaz said it "reinforced Cuba's sovereignty" and "opened a breach" in the US economic blockade.

The cable would "be at the service of our people, as a tool to reinforce its development, integration and sovereignty" when it became operational in July, he added.

Until now, Cuba has relied on internet and international telephone connections via satellite, which is expensive and slow.

Cuba's communist government has always blamed its poor communications links with the outside world on the decades-old US trade embargo, which has prevented the installation of a fibre optic cable to Florida, just 144km away.

Broader access?

The arrival of the fibre-optic cable has raised enormous expectations in Cuba, says the BBC's Fernando Ravsberg in Havana.

According to official Cuban statistics, only 3% of the population have access to the web - the lowest figure in the western hemisphere.

Access is restricted and available only with government permission - although since 2009 Cubans have been able to use internet cafes, mostly in hotels, and there is a strong black market for internet connections.

Last November the official Communist Party newspaper, Granma, sought to lower expectations.

"The underwater cable will provide higher quality communications, but not necessarily mean a broader extension of the same," it said.

The Cuban government says there is no "political obstacle" to the internet in Cuba.

But opposition groups - including the prominent dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez - say the authorities have always sought to control sources of information and free expression. CNN

Egypt protests: US steps up pressure on Cairo

The US administration has stepped up its criticism of Egypt's leadership after a 16th consecutive day of protests against the rule of President Hosni Mubarak.

Spokesman Robert Gibbs said they had yet to take the "necessary steps" the country's people needed to see.

Wednesday saw protests in the capital Cairo spread to the parliament.

There are reports of widespread industrial action, and of protests outside Cairo turning violent.

The Egyptian government has announced plans for a peaceful transition which see President Mubarak staying in office until elections in September, but opposition groups fear the government is stalling for time and will fail to enact meaningful changes.

Mr Gibbs said: "The government has not taken the necessary steps that the people of Egypt need to see. That's why more and more people come out to register their grievances.

"If there's some notion on the government side that you can put the genie back in this bottle, I think that's gone a long time ago".

He added that the US was reviewing its aid programme to Egypt, and the government's restraint and reform would determine "what that aid will look like".

His remarks follow Tuesday's call by US Vice-President Joe Biden for the Egyptian government to lift its longstanding state of emergency, and to stop harassing journalists and activists.

The BBC's North America editor, Mark Mardell, says the Obama administration is clearly ratcheting up the pressure.

However, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit has welcomed the White House's current approach, while criticising it for initially sending a "confusing message" that had left him "infuriated" during the first few days of protests.

"The United States is the major power, the global power in the world," he told US broadcaster PBS.

"But Egypt is one of the most important [countries], if not the most important country, in the Arab region. We have to help Egypt in order to regain its status and its standing, and then we continue working together to stabilise the region, to stabilise the region". BBC News

Christopher Lee quits House over flirt e-mail scandal

A Republican congressman from New York state has resigned amid media reports he had flirted online with a woman to whom he sent a shirtless photograph.

Christopher Lee, a married 46-year-old with one son, was elected in 2008.

In a statement on his website, he said he regretted harming his family, staff and constituents, adding: "I deeply and sincerely apologise to them all".

Republicans gained control of the House of Representatives in the November mid-term elections.

"The challenges we face in western New York and across the country are too serious for me to allow this distraction to continue, and so I am announcing that I have resigned my seat in Congress effective immediately," Mr Lee said.

Mr Lee resigned his seat hours after news and gossip website Gawker.com posted e-mail correspondence it said was sent between the congressman and a 34-year-old single woman he met on the classifieds site Craigslist.

The woman, who has not been identified, had posted a note in the "women seeking men" section saying she was looking for an attractive and "financially and emotionally secure" man aged 30 to 40, Gawker reported.

In the e-mails Mr Lee - who used his real name and e-mail address - described himself inaccurately as a 39-year-old divorced lobbyist, Gawker said.

He sent a photograph of himself posing shirtless in dark slacks in front of a mirror, flexing his left bicep.

Mr Lee, who was elected to his second two-year term in November, has been a relatively low-profile, backbench member of the Republican House caucus.

Last year, a congressional ethics panel launched an inquiry after Mr Lee held a fundraising event within 48 hours of a House vote on a financial services regulation reform bill, which he voted against.

The panel dropped the matter in January. BBC News

Japan dropped from IndyCar calendar

(CNN) -- The U.S.-based IndyCar motorsport series will have only one overseas race next year after organizers decided to drop Japan from the calendar.

The Twin Ring Motegi circuit will host its final IndyCar event on September 18, having been the first international race to be added in 2003.

"As INDYCAR and the IZOD IndyCar Series continue to evaluate their long-term plans, we must look to build the sport and its viewership," commercial division president Terry Angstadt said in a statement on Wednesday.

"We believe it is important that the final few events on our schedule give us the opportunity to be broadcast live during times that maximize our viewing audience as we build up to the championship".

The decision means that Brazil's Sao Paulo Indy 300, held in May, will be the only race outside North America in 2012.

Twin Ring Motegi opened in 1997 and is owned by Mobilityland, a subsidiary of Japanese car manufacturer Honda.

It was the scene of Danica Patrick's historic first victory by a female driver in 2008, while overall series winners Dan Wheldon, Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan have all triumphed there.

Motegi, which is the only oval track in Japan, also hosts motorcycling's top class, MotoGP.

"After having played host to the event for so many years with all the support and help from the people concerned, we have decided, albeit regrettably, that it is extremely difficult for the company to keep hosting a round of IndyCar Series in the face of the on-going business environment," Mobilityland president Hiroshi Oshima told the IndyCar website.

"While it is indeed a pity to have to put a stop to the event that has been developed together with the local community, we are now set to move ahead and promote future events and motorsport programs by building on our past 13 years of experience and know-how gained from the American motorsport with its trademark spirit of challenge". CNN

Benzema punishes 10-man Brazil; Messi wins latest Ronaldo battle

(CNN) -- Karim Benzema shrugged off his club troubles and a violent challenge to give France a 1-0 win over 10-man Brazil in Wednesday's prestige friendly in Paris.

The Real Madrid striker netted the only goal from close range nine minutes into the second half of the rematch of the 1998 World Cup final at the same venue -- which France won 3-0.

He was lucky to escape serious injury five minutes before the break when Brazil midfielder Hernanes was sent off for kicking him in the chest.

Benzema has struggled to show his true form in Spain since his $48 million move in 2009, but was a constant threat after the red card and should have added more to his new tally of 12 international goals.

However, his 54th-minute strike proved enough, set up by winger Jeremy Menez's burst down the right and subsequent teasing low cross.

Menez was lucky to stay on the pitch after a bad tackle from behind on Brazil defender David Luiz, whose new English club Chelsea will be relieved he escaped injury.

It was France's fifth consecutive win under coach Laurent Blanc, who has revived the team's fortunes after last year's first-round exit at the World Cup in South Africa.

Brazil coach Mano Menezes suffered a second successive defeat following November's loss to Argentina.

Also on Wednesday, two of the world's best footballers went head-to-head in neutral Switzerland, and once again Lionel Messi came out on top as Argentina snatched a last-gasp 2-1 friendly win overPortugal.

His Real Madrid arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo put the European side level in the 21st minute after Angel Di Maria's opener in Geneva, but Barcelona superstar Messi gave the South Americans the spoils with a 90th-minute penalty.

The duo have matched each other almost goal for goal this season in La Liga, and Messi has the upper hand with Barcelona seven points clear and resounding 5-0 victors in the opening "Clasico" clash between the two clubs.

And the two-time world player of the year was involved in Argentina's 14th-minute opener as he cut in from the right in trademark fashion to set up Real winger Di Maria.

But Ronaldo, who followed up Messi's weekend hat-trick with a double of his own to regain top spot in the Spanish scoring charts, pounced from close range soon after from striker Hugo Almeida's flick-on.

Ronaldo should have made it 2-1 soon after halftime but hit the bar from close range, then saw Almeida waste an even better opportunity before both were substituted along with Nani.

But Messi stayed on the pitch until the end, and got his reward when Fabio Coentrao fouled substitute Pablo Zabaleta.

In another rematch of a past World Cup final, Germany were held 1-1 at home by 1982 champions Italy.

Veteran striker Miroslav Klose opened the scoring in the 16th minute after fine build-up play by Mesut Ozil and Thomas Muller, beating recalled former captain Gianluigi Buffon in goal.

But Giuseppe Rossi -- who shares the surname of 1982 tournament top scorer Paolo -- snatched a late equalizer for Cesare Prandelli's team, beating keeper Manuel Neuer at the second attempt with nine minutes to play.

World champions Spain beat Colombia 1-0 in Madrid thanks to an 86th-minute winner by substitute David Silva.

Striker David Villa, seeking to move past Raul as Spain's record scorer, was denied his 45th international goal when he hit the post in the first half.

The Netherlands, beaten in the World Cup final in South Africa last year, defeated Austria 3-1 in Eidhoven.

Wesley Sneijder volleyed a 28th-minute opener before second-half goals from striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar -- his 10th goal in six matches -- and Dirk Kuyt from the penalty spot made Marko Arnautovic's late strike a mere consolation.

England came from behind to beat Denmark 2-1 in Copenhagen, as Aston Villa forwards Darren Bent and Ashley Young struck in each half after Daniel Agger's early diving header.

Russia suffered a shock 1-0 defeat by Iran in the United Arab Emirates, as Mohammad Reza Khalatbari netted a last-minute winner and was then sent off after being booked for celebrating.

The match was reportedly watched by former Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz, who has been linked with the Iran post.

South Korea, who were also in action at the Asian Cup recently, drew 0-0 with Turkey.

Cameroon warmed up for next month's Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Senegal with a 1-0 win away to Macedonia, with substitute Matthew Mbuta scoring the only goal in the 75th minute in Skopje.

South Africa beat Kenya 2-0 thanks to first-half goals from Davide Somma and Steven Pienaar, while Morocco defeated Niger 3-0 and Nigeria edged Sierra Leone 2-1. CNN

Lindsay Lohan remains free on bond after probation revoked

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Actress Lindsay Lohan, facing a new felony grand theft charge, will remain free on bond after a Los Angeles judge Wednesday revoked her probation in a previous case.

Lohan faces a February 23 hearing on the alleged probation violation before Superior Court Judge Keith Schwartz, who could send her back to jail.

The actress pleaded not guilty to the theft of a necklace allegedly taken from a California jewelry store last month.

Schwartz revoked Lohan's probation in a 2007 drunken driving case. He issued a $20,000 bond for the theft charge and an additional $20,000 bond in the probation revocation.

At her arraignment, Schwartz warned Lohan that she could be put back in jail if she violates the law.

"Please don't push your luck, I am telling you, the judge said. "Things will be different".

The theft charge announced by prosecutors Wednesday comes five weeks after the actress was released from court-ordered drug rehabilitation and less than three weeks before a judge said he might free her from supervised probation from the drunken driving conviction.

Lohan was smiling at times as she sat at the defense table before the arraignment. She wore a tight-fitting white knot dress, with her long blond hair loosely tied in the back. Lohan wore what appeared to be several diamond bracelets on her right arm, complemented by diamond earrings and a large diamond-filled ring on her right hand.

The 24-year-old actress allegedly walked out of the Venice store with the necklace on January 22, a statement from the district attorney's office said. "The owner reported the theft to the Los Angeles Police Department, which investigated the allegation and presented evidence to the D.A.'s office last week".

The necklace was handed over to police just before they were to execute a search warrant to look for the jewelry in Lohan's Venice, California, apartment last week, police said.

Under California's grand theft law, prosecutor Danette Meyers must prove that Lohan intended to steal the jewelry and that she carried it away from the store.

The penalty for a felony grand theft conviction ranges from 16 months to three years in a California state prison, varying based on the value of the property stolen and the criminal record of the defendant.

Shoplifting offenses are charged as petty theft if the property taken is valued at less than $950. The store owner claims the "one of a kind" necklace was worth $2,500, police said.

The judge could reduce the charge to a misdemeanor, which would carry a prison sentence of no more than one year.

"We vehemently deny these allegations and, if charges are filed, we will fight them in court, not in the press," Holley said Saturday.

Lohan is on supervised probation for a drunken driving conviction. The judge overseeing her case told her in October that he would send her to jail for 180 days if she violated her probation rules before her next court appearance, set for February 25.

She left the Betty Ford clinic a month ago after three months in a drug rehabilitation program. The rehab stint persuaded the judge not to send Lohan to jail for failing a drug test. CNN

WikiLeaks cable: Saudi oil estimates may have been exaggerated

(CNN) -- Saudi Arabia's oil reserves may have been grossly overestimated and its capacity to continue pumping at current capacity exaggerated, according to a U.S. diplomatic cable sent from the kingdom in 2007.

The cable, obtained by WikiLeaks and published in the British newspaper The Guardian, cited the views of Sadad al-Husseini, who had been in charge of exploration and production at the Saudi state-owned company Aramco for 12 years until 2004.

Saudi Aramco dominates exploration and production in the kingdom.

"According to al-Husseini, the crux of the issue is two-fold," the cable says. "First it is possible that Saudi reserves are not as bountiful as sometimes described and the timeline for their production not as unrestrained as Aramco executives and energy optimists would like".

Al-Husseini is quoted as disagreeing with his former company's estimate of total reserves in Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer.

"He believes that Aramco's reserves are overstated by as much as 300 billion barrels of 'speculative resources.' He instead focuses on original proven reserves".

Al Husseini forecasts "a plateau in total output that will last approximately fifteen years," meaning that soon after 2020 "a slow but steady output decline will ensue and no amount of effort will be able to stop it".

The former Aramco executive's forecast was based on Saudi Arabia's stated goal of producing 12.5 million barrels per day by 2009. Industry commentators say it has fallen short of that goal because of the global economic slowdown and insufficient global refining capacity.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Saudi Arabia produced 8.4 million barrels per day of crude oil in 2010, and around 1.8 million barrels per day of natural gas. But less was available for export because of rapidly increasing domestic demand.

And as global demand recovers, driven by India and China, the price of crude oil has risen sharply. In the long term, Al Husseini sees an "underlying reality that global demand has met supply," according to the cable. "Due to the longer-term constraints on expanding global output, al-Husseini judges that demand will continue to outpace supply and that for every million-barrels-per-day shortfall that exists between demand and supply, the floor price will increase by $12 (per barrel)," the cable says.

Oil industry observers say that while there have been significant finds of crude in recent years -- especially off the coast of Brazil and West Africa -- some fields are in deep water and will be difficult to recover. And they are not big enough to alter the fundamental picture with "super-fields" like the Ghawar field in Saudi Arabia beginning to decline.

However, new reservoir technologies may allow producers to exploit reserves that are currently inaccessible. In Saudi Arabia's case, that amounts to an estimated 360 billion barrels.

Oil industry analysts point out another variable: the use of alternative energy sources. A U.S. cable from 2009 says the Saudis want to develop renewable energy sources, including nuclear power, to meet the rapidly growing demand for electricity. That could have the effect of reducing the need to divert crude from exports to fuel domestic electricity generation.

The 2009 cable says analysts believe "a civilian nuclear program ... is the only possibility the Kingdom has to generate sufficient electricity to meet projected demand from economic and population growth and increasing affluence without wastefully burning large quantities of fuel oil".

Last year Saudi Arabia announced plans to built two nuclear power plants. CNN