28/08/2011 BBC Weekend News

More evidence emerges of atrocities in Libya, as the remains of dozens

of charred bodies are uncovered on the outskirts of 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, but New York escapes the worst.

The race is on to get the first free schools ready in time for the

new term. And, Usain "bolts" too soon at the

World Athletics Championships, putting himself out of the medal

Good evening. In Libya, there's more evidence of

atrocities carried out in the final days of Colonel Gaddafi's regime.

Human Rights Watch says it has uncovered dozens of arbitrary

executions of civilians. 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 the Khamis

Brigade, a much feared army unit run by Colonel Gaddafi's son. In a

compound 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. One we do not know how many were

killed here, locals had removed some bodies for burial. Husbands

and fathers and sons had gone down here, men who never lived to see a

free Libya. It's a week since rebel opposition

forces entered Tripoli. Fighting there is largely over, with the

head of the National Transitional Council saying food is more of a

concern than security, although some aid is getting through. We can

speak to our world affairs editor John Simpson in Tripoli. What's

your assessment of what the opposition forces have achieved in

their first week? They have achieved much more than

they thought they were going to in a short space of time. That has

been the problem really, they took over the city are relatively

quickly. Three days before they could say they had it. And that was

really too quick for themselves, the soldiers, and I think for the

government to be in Benghazi which wasn't expecting it would be quite

this quick. That has led to problems. It has led to a complete

absence of any kind of control on the streets, although the soldiers

themselves have actually behaved rather well, and have kept a

certain order simply by being there. But not a single policeman in

uniform to be seen. Not a single civil servant to be seen. No state

television. Even now. So you can see that all of these things are

simply creating a kind of absence of control which, given the real

disaster in terms of water supply and electricity supply, lack of

both of them, will cause serious problems here, unless something can

be done about it quickly. Then, the question will be, who will be

blamed? Will people say Colonel Gaddafi is responsible for a tour?

Or will they say these people are not doing it well. Hurricane Irene

has caused widespread damage along America's East Coast, so far

claiming at least 18 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 its 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 this

evening. As you can see, we are still

feeling the effects of the hurricane at several hours after

the storm passed through New York. Today's beer priorities have said

they are preparing for the worst, preparing for the best. What they

have got is something in between. There have been fatalities and

devastation. This morning, giant waves buffeted

the Atlantic coast, as the artillery of destruction moved

north. There goes the life guard Here, rescuers helped an elderly

resident from a home defenceless against the tidal surge. The storm

unloaded one feet 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 communities 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. ignored it? Yes, we went about our

business. But 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 a tropical storm, but she will live

long in the memory. Tonight, the evacuation order has been lifted,

the hurricane is moving towards Canada. It is no longer a hurricane

but a tropical storm. The President has addressed the nation saying

this is not over, the impact will be felt for some time, our thoughts

are with those people who have been affected.

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

report does contain some distressing images.

A British soldier mistreating detainees in Basra in 2003. The

Army has maintained this was a regrettable but rare case of abuse.

His critics claim such behaviour was widespread. One of the Rockies

was Baha Mousa. The receptionist was in custody for less than 48

hours. In that time, the hotel receptionist suffered 90 separate

injuries before dying of asphyxiation. For the Telegraph

claims the inquest report will highlight failures of command but

will clear the Army of systematic abuse. The issue is there is an

abuse of human rights committed by the Army within the knowledge of

the Army within the system. This cannot continue. That is why there

is disappointment. 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 described

the treatment of Baha Mousa as a shameful and unexcusable. Officials

insist lessons have been learned and they say the recommendations

will be studied carefully. A 28- year old man has been charged with

two counts of attempted grievous bodily harm, following an incident

in which two police were injured during the riots in London earlier

this month. The pair were run over while they were chasing looters in

Waltham Forest in east London. A 31-year-old man has already been

arrested and bailed in connection with the case.

Europe's largest street party, the Notting Hill Carnival, got underway

in west London today, with the traditional children's parade.

Extra police are on duty this year in an effort to prevent trouble,

following the riots of three weeks ago. By early this evening, there

had been 33 arrests, mainly for minor offences. But police said the

day had been largely calm and trouble free.

And 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. Ed Thomas

reports. This has been a middle school and

college, but now it will be a free school. 29 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. We are in

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. Rainbow

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 unnecessary. As any

child starts 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 fact 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. Now with news of a major

shock at the World Athletics Championships, and the rest of the

day's sport, here's Francis Collings.

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. That gave his compatriot, Yohan Blake, the

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 think so as well, dismissing his rivals'

chances on the start-line. Then, this happened.

COMMENTATOR: 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. Even if you are a

champion, there is no favouritism. As much as we would all have loved

to see Bolt run 9.6 or break the world record again, there are

certain rules set inside that parameter. Once again, it is Usain

Bolt who has grabbed the attention. The worry for a sport so reliant on

one man is, tonight, he has shown legends can make mistakes.

There was success for Great Britain in Daegu, as Mo Farah took the

silver medal with a brave run in the 10,000 metres. Farah kept pace

with the leading pack throughout the race, and kicked for home with

600 metres to go. But gold eluded him, as he was overtaken by

Ethiopia's Ibrahim Jeilan just metres from the line.

Match of the Day 2 is on after the news, so cover your ears and look

away now if you don't want to know any results. It's fair to say the

goals have been raining, in United's eight goals against

Arsenal, taking them above City to the top of the table. A hat-trick

A terrific afternoon too for Manchester City, and their striker

Edin Dzeko who scored four in the 5- 1 win over Spurs at White Hart

Lane. Elsewhere, Newcastle United

defeated Fulham 2-1. Stoke had an away win over West

Bromwich Albion, Ryan Shotton with a late winner.

In the Scottish Premier League: Hearts won the Edinburgh derby at

Tynecastle. Rangers are back on top of the SPL, after beating Aberdeen.

Goals from Steve Davis and Steven Naismith goals edged them ahead of

Motherwell on goal difference. And third place Celtic won 2-0 at St

Mirren. At the Belgian Grand Prix, there

was another win for world champion Sebastian Vettel, followed home by

his Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber and McLaren's Jensen Button. Last

year's winner at Spa, Lewis Hamilton, crashed out on the 13th

lap. But who can stop Sebastian Vettel retaining his world title?