HUMAN RIGHTS

The glamorous and easy-going Riviera resort of Cannes turns into a fortified camp this week as French police prepare for the arrival of world leaders for a G20 summit set to be hijacked by fears that a euro zone crisis relief plan is unraveling.

Hilary Swank was paid a six-figure sum to attend an event celebrating the rebuilding of the downtown commercial hub of formerly war-torn Grozny and not the birthday party of Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov, an individual close to the actress said.

Fears grew at the time that the disturbances were largely organized by youths using their mobile phones.

Nigerian legislators started hearings this week on a bill that would criminalise same-sex marriage and could make it punishable by five years in jail.

Thousands of Egyptians protested on Monday in Tahrir Square, the epicentre of an uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak this year, after a prominent activist was detained by military prosecutors.

President Ollanta Humala, who took office in July, is trying to ramp up social spending to fight poverty without scaring away investors in Peru, one of the world's fastest-growing economies.

Multiple Fortune 100 companies were the victims of a coordinated series of cyber attacks dubbed Nitro, says security firm Symantec Corp. At least 48 firms - all of which are involved in the chemical and defense industries - were subject to the attack, which has been traced back to a computer system owned by a man in his twenties working out of northern China.

The Chinese government slapped a $2.4 million tax notice on one of its most prominent artists; one who played a key part in the design of the National Stadium known as the Bird's Nest where the 2008 Summer Olympics were held.

At least 48 chemical and defense companies were victims of a coordinated cyber attack that has been traced to a man in China, according to a new report from security firm Symantec Corp.

According to Japanese media, there are currently 126 prisoners languishing on death row.

Libya has named Abdel-Rahim al-Keeb as the country's new Prime Minster.

At least three other western celebrities, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Seal and violinist Vanessa Mae also attended Kadyrov’s 35th birthday party.

Hacker collective Anonymous has focused its Web-based ire on Los Zetas, one of Mexico's most powerful and most dangerous drug cartels.

According to reports, of the 54 nations of the Commonwealth, three-fourths (41) have laws which ban homosexuality.

Beijing on Monday denied a U.S. commission's claim that China may have been responsible for hacking incidents on U.S. environment-monitoring satellites, saying that the committee had ulterior motives in writing such a draft report.

The International Criminal Court said on Saturday Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was in contact through intermediaries about surrendering for trial, but it also had information mercenaries were trying to spirit him to a friendly African nation.

Election campaigning began in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday and organisers said the polls will go ahead on November 28 despite concerns over whether preparations have been adequate.

On Friday, the official campaign in DR Congo commenced.

'Nextdoor,' a new social network launched today, is less about old friends from high school and more about new friends in the neighborhood.

A secret stockpile of chemical weapons have been found in Libya by National Transitional Council forces and have been moved and secured following the death of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, NTC officials reported.

With Moammar Gadhafi now dead and buried, Libya begins the rebuilding process and plans for the future.