Mon, May 29, 2006 - Page 7 News List

World News Quick Take

AGENCIES

■ Brazil

Leak blamed for violence

Leaked testimony from a secret congressional session on prison transfers gave jailed gang members a crucial window of time to launch a week of violence that left 187 people dead, a former top prison official said in comments published on Saturday. Nagashi Furukawa told Estado de S. Paulo newspaper that leaders of the notorious First Capital Command would not have been capable of ordering followers on the outside to attack police without the information. Hours after the May 10 testimony about the transfers, prison authorities started moving the gang leaders to more secure prisons, but the gang was still able to coordinate the violence that erupted on May 12 with a wave of prison riots and attacks.

■ Namibia

Angelina has a baby girl

Angelina Jolie gave birth to a daughter fathered by Brad Pitt, People magazine said on Saturday. A representative for the couple said Jolie, 30, gave birth to their daughter Shiloh Nouvel Jolie Pitt, in Namibia. The couple has been closely followed by the tabloids since they arrived in the African country more than six weeks ago to have their baby. Green cloth screens mask the beach resort where they are staying and bodyguards and Namibian security have kept a tight cordon around the family Photographers from all over the world are hoping to capture the first picture of the baby, which is expected to garner a multimillion-dollar price tag.

■ United Kingdom

Kids held at Guantanamo

More than 60 minors have been held as prisoners at the US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, a London-based human rights group claimed in a report published yesterday. Those detainees were under 18 when they were captured by US forces, and at least 10 of them still being held at Guantanamo were 14 or 15 when they were seized, held in solitary confinement, subject to repeated interrogation and allegedly tortured, the charity Reprieve was reported as saying. "We would take a very, very dim view if it transpires that there were actually minors there," the Independent on Sunday newspaper quoted a British government official as saying.

■ United States

Skydiver slips to death

A first-time skydiver slipped from her harness during a jump and fell to her death, authorities said. The 44-year-old woman was participating in a tandem jump on Saturday, with the AerOhio Skydiving school, near Sterling, Ohio, according to the Wayne County Sheriff's office. The victim's name was withheld pending notification of her family. During tandem jumps, a novice skydiver is harnessed to the chest of an experienced jumper. When the parachute is deployed, the experienced skydiver guides the team to the ground.

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