28/08/2011 BBC Weekend News

New evidence emerges of atrocities carried out by Colonel Gaddafi's

forces. As fears grow for the fate of thousands of prisoners, human

remains are found at a military base outside Tripoli.

We cannot show you the kind of pictures that would convey the

horror of what happened in here. It is very hard to even imagine the

terror in the last few moments for the men who were trapped inside.

Hurricane Irene claims more lives, as it sweeps up America's East

Coast. There's widespread damage, but New York appears to have

escaped the worst of its impact. Disaster for Usain Bolt at the

World Athletics Championships, as he puts himself out of the medals.

And, Manchester United put eight goals past Arsenal, to go top of

In Libya, there's new evidence of atrocities carried out by Colonel

Gaddafi's forces in their final days of power. Human Rights Watch

says it has uncovered dozens of arbitrary executions, and just

outside Tripoli, the BBC has filmed the aftermath of an apparent

massacre in a military base with testimony from men who escaped,

forced to leave relatives behind. I should warn you Orla Guerin's

report contains some graphic and distressing images.

In the shadow of the Eagle, dark secrets are coming to light. This

was the headquarters of a much feared army unit run by Colonel

Gaddafi's son. In a compounded just behind it, we found victims of

execution, killed on Tuesday, in the dying days of the regime. This

man's feet were still bound. But there was worse to come. Inside

this smouldering Warehouse, the charred remains of dozens of bodies.

We cannot show you the kind of pictures that would convey the

horror of what happened in here. It is very hard to even imagine the

terror in the last few moments for the men who were trapped inside.

What we can say for certain is that they were shown absolutely no mercy.

This man was one of them. He managed to flee the warehouse, but

without his three sons. He says up to 150 civilians were packed in

here, guarded by troops and mercenaries. They promised them

water at sunset. But they came with guns instead. They started shooting

like this, he said. Then, they threw in hand grenades, three of

them. They stopped and came back and started again. The sight and

smell were too much for some. For others, the grief was overwhelming.

Husbands and fathers and sons had gone down here, men who never lived

to see freely Libya. Our world affairs editor John

Simpson is in Tripoli now. There are concerns of up to 50,000

prisoners arrested during the regime who still cannot be found.

What more can you tell us on that? Not a great deal I am afraid,

because their fate is a complete mystery. I am sure a lot of them

will have managed to have made their escape. But we know already,

even before this terrible new evidence, that quite a few

prisoners had been murdered, people had been herded into courtyards and

so on, and mown down. What we do not know his whose orders these are

on, a local initiative of a few soldiers, or whether it went right

up to the very top, to Colonel Gaddafi himself and his son. So, we

simply cannot tell at this stage. Hurricane Irene has caused

widespread damage along America's East Coast, so far claiming at

least 11 lives and causing billions of dollars of damage. More than two

million people were ordered to leave their homes, and an estimated

four million properties have been left without power. As Irene made

her way up the East Coast from North Carolina to New Jersey, it

was downgraded to a tropical storm. That's been fortunate for New York,

where damage is not as bad as was feared. Our correspondent Steve

Kingstone is in New York for us this evening.

Right now here in New York, what we are feeling is the tail-end of this

storm system. As you said, Hurricane Irene was officially

downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm, that means it has a

lower wind speeds. But as we have seen today, she is still capable of

inflicting serious damage. This morning, a giant waves

buffeted the Atlantic coast as the artillery of destruction moved

north. There goes the Life Guard shack. Here, rescuers helped an

elderly resident from a home defenders against the tidal surge.

The storm unloaded one ft of water, winds of 70 mph brought down power

lines leaving millions without electricity. We're not out of the

woods yet. Hurricane Irene remains a large and potentially dangerous

storm, hazards still persist in committees that have already seen

this storm pass. At the southern tip of Manhattan, torrential rain

brought flooding. Its arrival has coincided with high tide which

would normally stop about four feet below this harbour wall. But the

waters have crept up with the storm surge, and are making their way

into lower Manhattan. We have the skyscrapers of the financial

district, Wall Street is a few blocks away. Before long, some

streets were partially under water as trains felt the strain.

Hurricane Irene has left her mark on Manhattan. It could have been

worse. Gradually, New Yorkers emerged to take a look, some had

ignored the order to abandon their homes. It is hard to tell my

husband what to do. Mandatory evacuation, OK, let's make this a

beautiful day. You ignored it? we went about our business.

many others further south are counting the cost in dollars and in

human life. When a falling tree crashed through this apartment

block in Virginia, an 11-year-old boy inside stood no chance.

Officially, Hurricane Irene is now with tropical storm, but she will

live long in the memory. The eye of the storm has passed through New

York and the mayor has said about an hour from now the evacuation

order will be lifted. Hurricane will move through New England

before breaking up over Canada this evening. It did not wreak the

Armageddon scenarios some officials had feared but Hurricane Irene has

left a trail of destruction that will cost billions of dollars to

put right. The British Army is reported to have been cleared of

systematically torturing civilians in the aftermath of the invasion of

Iraq in 2003. The Sunday Telegraph says an inquiry into the death of a

hotel worker, Baha Mousa, has found no evidence of widespread abuse and

murder. But individual soldiers will be criticised. Jon Brain

reports. Baha Mousa was in a cut seat of the

British Army for less than 48 hours. In that time, the hotel

receptionist suffered 90 separate injuries before dying of

asphyxiation. He was one of a number of Iraqis seen in this video

being verbally abused while hooded and inbound, stressed positions.

According to the Sunday Telegraph, the three-year inquiry into the

death will clear the Army of systematic torture and abuse.

Instead, it says it will criticise the conduct of individual soldiers

and highlight numerous failures in the army's chain of command.

Critics say, if true, it is a huge disappointment. The issues that

there is an abuse of human rights committed by the Army within the

knowledge of the Army, within the system, this cannot continue.

Supporters of the Army claimed the vast majority of British troops in

Iraq conducted themselves with professionalism and decency. This

is a leaked report, it is not official. The Army has taken

extensive action to try to mitigate against such a thing ever happening

again. You cannot stop it entirely. The Ministry of Defence will not

comment until the report is published but it does describe the

treatment of Baha Mousa as a shameful and inexcusable. Officials

insist lessons have been learned and they say the inquiry's

recommendations will be studied carefully.

It's been confirmed that a total of 24 so-called "free schools", set up

by parents, faith groups and others, will open in England for the start

of the new school year. The government says the state-funded

schools, which are outside local authority control, will drive up

standards. Critics, including teachers' unions, fear they will

take pupils and resources away from other schools.

It has been a middle school and college, but now it will be a free

school. 49 children will be here. Not only will it be Bradford's

latest primary but, like all free schools, it will be independent of

local authority control. When the centre of inner-city Bradford, for

the past 25 years, the state education system has failed us, we

will definitely reform that and bring about positive change for the

children of this area. This primary won't be alone, there will be a

second free school, both in inner- city Bradford. What is happening in

Bradford is exactly what the government wants, parents and

communities taking charge of their children's education in some of the

most deprived areas, to raise standards. Not every community is

getting a free school. There are only five in the north of England,

a handful in the Midlands. Half of the 24 free schools will be in the

south. The largest number in London. Some believe they are divisive and

a necessary. As any child start a new school, one would want them to

have the best opportunities they can. It is our view those are

provided by the existing state comprehensive schools and we can

see that from the fat results have improved in these schools at GCSE

and A-level year on year. In a few weeks, free schools will open their

doors to children, the change is a worry to some. The government

believes it is time to trust parents to get it right. Here's

Francis Collings with today's sport. What a day for both Manchester

football teams. And a collective hammering for north London.

Manchester City put five goals past Spurs today, with four for Edin

Jecko. And Manchester United routed Arsenal at Old Trafford scoring

eight goals in the process, to go top of the Premier League. Patrick

Gearey reports. Arsenal's win over Manchester

United on 1st May was the last time they won a league game. Mayday has

been in in their fans is busily. Arsene Wenger has backed himself up

against any sense of crisis but they are defending tells a

different story, well Barack Obama with a soft goal. The tale of woe

went on even when they had this penalty. It ended up going wrong.

Ashley Young, his first United goal at Old Trafford was iconic. A team

having fun. Wayne Rooney joined in with a goal. Wayne Rooney like his

gold so much he went for another one. Nani and Ji-Sung Park added

further humiliation. Wayne Rooney completed his hat-trick. Then a

wonderful second for Ashley Young ensured this is one of the worst

days in Arsenal's recent history. United go top.

They have moved above Manchester City who went goal crazy. Dzeko was

at the centre with a combination of sumptuous football and superior

finishing, to have been zeroed by half-time. A landmark match for

City. 5-12 Manchester City. -- 5-2. To the World Athletics

Championships, where there was a major shock in South Korea.

The world's fastest man over 100 metres, Usain Bolt of Jamaica,

failed to win. Not because he was beaten, but because he false-

started. And that gave his compatriot Yohan Blake to chance to

take the gold. Our sports editor David Bond reports from Daegu.

A long-distance view of the shortest but most eagerly

anticipated race in the world. A lot of these fans might be new to

athletics. Even they knew Usain Bolt was a sure thing for the 100

metres. COMMENTATOR: Usain Bolt. Usain Bolt seemed to things as well,

dismissing his rival's chances on the start-line. Then, this happened.

COMMENTATOR: Of a false start, Usain Bolt. His bid to retain his

world title was over before it had begun. For the fastest man on the

planet, the shock of being brought down to Earth was almost too much.

His misfortune allowed his training partner Yohan Blake to become the

youngest world 100 metres champion in history. But the circumstances

of his victory will open a fierce debate about the sport's new one

false start rule. He even if you are a champion, there is no

favouritism. As much as we would all have loved to see bart macro

run 9.6 or break the world record again, there are certain rules set

inside that barometer. Once again, it is Usain Bolt who has grabbed