Ohio Kidnap: Rescue Recordings Released

Cleveland Police have released recordings of the moments after stunned officers arrived at a house where three women had been held captive for 10 years.

In the recordings one of the first medics arriving at the scene after Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight escaped can be heard telling colleagues in a shaking voice: "This might be for real."

The exchanges over the emergency services radio system came after Amanda Berry escaped and called 911 while alleged captor Ariel Castro was out of the house on Monday. 

An operator is initially heard calmly relaying the details of Ms Berry's call to colleagues, telling them: "I have a call taken on the phone with a female that says her name is Amanda Berry and that she has been kidnapped 10 years ago.

"She's saying that the male is Ariel Castro, 52-year-old Hispanic male that lives at 2207 Seymour, and he's been holding her here for 10 years."

Soon after - with a panicked female voice, thought to be Amanda Berry, in the background - an officer says: "Adam 23, you got a box comin'? This might be for real."

As the distraught woman starts telling her story, the same officer says: "There might be others in the house ... Georgina DeJesus might be in this house also."

The next voice audible on the recording is from one of the first officers to arrive at Castro's house.

With the sound of a woman crying clearly audible over the police radio, the breathless medic tells dispatchers: "We found 'em ... we found 'em."

The next caller from inside the house says: "We got a female called Sabrina (sic), she's got a young child with her."

As the officers move through the house and discover the scale of the crime, they discover a second adult female and radio through to say: "Make it two."

A colleague adds: "We also have a Michelle Knight in the house ...  you wanna look that up in the system ... 32-years-old."

Ariel Castro has been charged with kidnap and rape in connection with the women's imprisonment.

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Urgent Hunt For Toddler After Mum Found Dead

A desperate search is underway for an 18-month-old toddler whose mother was found dead along with two male friends on a farm in eastern Kansas.

Police identified the victims as 21-year-old Kaylie Bailey - who went missing last week with her daughter Lana - and her partner 30-year-old Andrew Stout and his friend 31-year-old Steven White.

They did not reveal how the three people died.

On the day she disappeared, the young mother had planned to drop her daughter off at the farm for the day so she could go to work.

The two men had not been seen since late April. They were reported to have been sharing the house with other men who were known to the authorities.

Kaylie Bailey pictured on her Facebook page

Investigators from the Franklin County Sheriff's Office said they are questioning a man picked up in Emporia, a community about 50 miles southwest of the Ottawa home where the decomposing bodies were found.

He is described as a person of interest. No charges have been filed.

The young mother's car was also found in Emporia late on Tuesday, but police have not said whether the man they were questioning had been driving it.

Kaylie Bailey's family spoke at a news conference on Wednesday night.

"We were very hopeful that Kaylie would not be the female victim but of course we always knew that that was a strong possibility," said her sister Shawna Pettijohn.

Steven White was one of the two men found dead at the farm

"It's been very difficult for all the family," added Andy Pettijohn, as he appealed for help in finding his missing granddaughter.

"What we are hoping is he could not bring himself to kill this child, knowing that she cannot be a witness and she's not going to identify him or anything ... that he says I can't bring it in my heart to do this to a youngster like this, those baby blue eyes."

Police had been expected to announce an Amber Alert for the missing girl, amid strong local criticism that no such emergency appeal had been made.

But the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) ruled against the idea, saying it was too late in the day for such a move.  

"We just got off the phone with the KBI. We've been told that based on their criteria and the information that they have, they've denied the Amber Alert. They'll be doing a state wide media release," Sheriff Jeff Richards of Franklin County said.

Lana's father, Shawn Bailey, is currently serving a jail sentence in Missouri. 

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Tia Sharp Accused: 'I'm Not Like Ian Huntley'

The man accused of murdering Tia Sharp told a prison officer that her death was an accident and said: "I'm not like Ian Huntley", a court has heard.

Stuart Hazell, who was taken to Belmarsh prison in August last year, was also quoted as saying that "nothing sexual" had happened between him and Tia.

Hazell is on trial on charges of sexually assaulting and murdering the 12-year-old between August 2 and 10 last year. He denies the charges.

Prison officer Warren Fegan, who was working at Belmarsh when Hazell was taken there, told the Old Bailey: "He was saying, 'I'm not like Ian Huntley, it was nothing sexual, I'm not a nonce'.

"He was saying that the press was trying to make it look like it was sexual but it wasn't," Mr Fegan testified.

"He said that it was an accident, she had fallen down stairs and broken her neck."

Hazell is the former boyfriend of Tia's grandmother Christine Sharp.

The schoolgirl's body was found in the loft of Ms Sharp's house in New Addington, south London, a week after she went missing.

A memorial to Tia in August last year

Prosecutors say Hazell killed Tia and hid her body in the loft of the house.

Mr Fegan said: "He said that he didn't know what to do and he picked her up and took her upstairs and laid her on the bed, and he thought that she would get better.

"He didn't know what to do, so he wrapped her in a sheet and put her in the loft."

He said Hazell was full of remorse and felt sorry and guilty.

"He asked me how hard it would be to prove not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter," the prison officer told the court.

Mr Fegan told the jury that when Hazell was assessed at the prison, the risk of him harming himself was "at the far extreme".

"He really wanted to kill himself. He was saying he was sorry and he felt guilty.

"Initially he was fearing for his personal safety. He was very, very distressed. He was clearly saying that any opportunity he had he would kill himself."

Mr Fegan added: "He wanted to be dead. He wanted away from everything."

The prison officer said Hazell talked to him again two days later.

"He stated that he wished he could turn back the clock," Mr Fegan said.

He quoted Hazell as saying: "I deserve everything I get. If I get 25-30 years, I don't care, I deserve everything I get."

Mr Fegan said that, when he asked Hazell how he felt, he held up one hand, and said: "Guilty, guv'nor".

Prosecutor said the girl was sexually abused

Another prison officer testified earlier today that Hazell had tried to get razors blades from his bag to cut his wrists while he was in custody at a police station.

Paul Leahy told the jury that Hazell said: "Since Friday I've been feeling guilty and I just want to kill myself."

The court heard that Hazell told Mr Leahy: "I have a real problem with my anger and when people say wrong things to me, I can flip.

"I just feel like hurting everyone."

According to Mr Leahy, Hazell said police should investigate his neighbours and insisted he had been "fitted up".

Hazell told the guard that the group of houses where he lived had interlinking lofts, and said someone had moved Tia's body into the space above the house he shared with the girl's grandmother.

He pointed the finger at Somali neighbours, using prison slang to describe them as sex offenders, and also said the girl had been the target of paedophiles, the court heard.

Tia's mother was in the courtroom as the prosecution continued to make its case against Hazell.

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Ohio Kidnap: Ariel Castro In Cleveland Court

Ariel Castro has appeared in court in Cleveland charged with kidnapping and raping three women missing for a decade.

The former school bus driver wore blue overalls and stood with his head bowed as prosecutors outlined the charges against him. 

Castro buried his head in his shirt as a lawyer described the "horrifying ordeal" Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, Michelle Knight and Ms Berry's six-year-old daughter endured during their captivity.

The unemployed 52-year-old did not enter a plea and briefly filled out some paperwork with his hands cuffed as the court set bail at $2m per case, effectively ensuring he will remain behind bars.

His lawyer - a public defender - told the court that Castro is on unemployment benefit and "to the best of my knowledge" has no convictions for serious crimes.

Castro made a "premeditated, deliberate and depraved" decision to snatch three women from the street and two of the victims endured their "horrifying ordeal" for more than a decade, prosecutor Brian Murphy told the court.

Castro confers with his lawyer during the brief hearing

He kidnapped the women "to be used in whatever self-serving, self-gratifying way he saw fit", the court heard.

Mr Murphy said: "While in captivity they withstood repeated beatings, they were bound, restrained, and they were sexually assaulted - basically never free to leave this residence."

The prosecutor described Castro's home as "a prison" to the women and young girl, before adding: "Today the situation's turned your honour, Mr Castro stands before you a captive...the women are free to resume their lives that were interrupted." 

Castro's brothers Pedro and Onil Castro are to be freed after they appeared at the same Cleveland Municipal Court hearing on misdemeanour charges.

Castro's public defender Kathleen DeMetz said she expects her client to be placed on suicide watch and in a cell on his own when he returns to county jail.

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Ashley Summers: Search For Missing Ohio Girl

Hopes have been raised for the family of another missing girl in Cleveland, Ohio, after three others were rescued from a house in the city.

Ashley Summers was 14 years old when she was reported missing in 2007 in the same neighbourhood from where two of the three women found on Monday - Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus - had vanished.

Michelle Knight, Miss Berry and Miss DeJesus were abducted separately in 2002, 2003 and 2004 when they were 20, 16 and 14 respectively.

The trio, along with a young girl believed to be Miss Berry's six-year-old daughter, were found in reportedly squalid conditions at a house in the west side of Cleveland.

The house where the three women were discovered

Three brothers, Pedro, Ariel and Onil Castro, were subsequently arrested and remain in custody pending charges.

Ashley's family is hoping the investigation into the three women allegedly held captive by the brothers will lead to information about her.

"We're hoping that it's connected, and they knew where she was," her aunt Debra Summers told CNN. "We're hoping for a miracle."

Amanda Berry (L) and Gina DeJesus

At first, authorities believed Ashley had run away from home after an argument with a relative.

However, by 2008 the FBI and law enforcement officials suspected she was possibly being held against her will and classed her as an "endangered juvenile".

The following year FBI agents suspected a possible connection between the disappearance of Miss Summers and those of Miss Berry and Miss DeJesus.

Ashley Summers FBI poster

Investigators thought all three girls had been kidnapped by the same man, then-FBI spokesman Scott Wilson said.

The names Berry, DeJesus and Ashley then came up in a Cleveland police training session in August 2010. Instructor George Kwan held up their photographs after his lecture about human trafficking.

"What do they have in common?" he said. "They are all attractive, they are all between the ages of 14 and 17, and they are all gone."

Ashley's physical appearance and the proximity of her home to the other disappearances meant investigators had to suspect the cases were linked, said FBI Agent Vicki Anderson.

And investigators continue to hold onto those suspicions as they search and gather evidence at the home in Seymore Avenue.

(L-R) Brothers Ariel Castro, Onil Castro and Pedro Castro

"We are keeping Ashley in our thoughts as we go every step of the way," Agent Anderson said.

"Whether it is something we find at the house, or someone seeing the stories remembers something, we continue our search for Ashley."

Investigators will speak to the three discovered women to see if they know anything about Miss Summers' disappearance, she added.

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Prestatyn Fire: Killer Arsonist Given Life

Melanie Smith will serve a minimum of 30 years after being sentenced to life for the murder of a family of five who died during a house fire in Prestatyn, Wales.

Lee-Anna Shiers, 20, her four-year-old nephew, Bailey, and two-year-old niece, Skye, died in the arson attack at their home on October 19, 2012.

Firefighters managed to get Ms Shiers' 15-month-old son Charlie and his father Liam Timbrell, 23, from the first-floor flat, but they died later in hospital.

Melanie Smith will serve a minimum of 30 years

Smith, 43, lived in the flat below the victims. Prosecutors say she deliberately set fire to a pushchair because she was angry that Ms Shiers had left it in their shared hallway.

The court was told she carried out the "terrible and wicked deed" because she was "drunk and angry", disillusioned with her boyfriend, very unhappy in her flat and jealous of the woman who lived upstairs.

Liam Timbrell, 23, also died in the fire

During the trial, the court heard a harrowing 999 call made by Mr Timbrell from the burning building, during which he was heard shouting: "Oh my God, oh my God! We're going to die."

The jury also heard that Mr Timbrell told paramedics that "it was arson" and "it was Mel from downstairs".

Smith had also made threats to "burn down" a love rival's home.

Samantha Schofield told the court that Smith had threatened to start a fire at her home as she wrongly believed Miss Schofield, the mother of two young boys, was having an affair with her partner Steve Clarkson.

During the trial, Smith claimed 21 witnesses who gave evidence against her were "lying".

In addition to five counts of murder, Smith was also convicted of one count of making threats of arson. 

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Tia Sharp: CCTV Taken Hours Before She Died

CCTV pictures which show Tia Sharp together with Stuart Hazell have been played to a jury at the Old Bailey.

Jurors were shown the clips of Hazell and Tia after they met at a train station on the afternoon of August 2.

They included footage of the pair walking along a platform after getting off a tram at Gravel Hill station, shopping in a branch of the Co-op supermarket and travelling on a T31 bus.

The pair were also caught on CCTV while on a bus

Tia's mother Natalie Sharp looked on tearfully from the public gallery as the clips were shown.

Hazell, who is accused of the schoolgirl's murder, was the boyfriend of Christine Bicknell - Tia's grandmother - when the 12-year-old went missing.

Jurors at the Old Bailey were also read a statement by Ms Bicknell, in which she described how the schoolgirl "idolised" Hazell.

Tia loved Hazell "to pieces", the court heard

Hazell was also described as "no ogre", according to a statement from her grandmother read in court.

The statement said: "When Tia went missing it didn't cross my mind that she could be dead. I always thought she was coming home. It didn't cross my mind that he would hurt her. He loved Tia, she idolised him.

"I love Stuart with all my heart, he was my world, but my grandchildren always came first.

"Tia will ask Stuart if she can stay for the weekend before she asks me. The majority of the time he has her more than what I do. She is his cling-on."

Hazell, 37, of New Addington, south London, is charged with killing the girl between August 2 and 10 last year.

Her body was found in the loft of her grandmother's house a week after she went missing.

Ms Bicknell said all her grandchildren "loved him to pieces".

She said she had thought back over her relationship and had not noticed any particular changes, nor had any worries about Hazell being around Tia.

The hunt for Tia lasted more than a week

Her statement said Hazell was not somebody she "dragged in from the street", but had had a relationship with him for more than five years. 

"Tia was not the sort of girl you could groom," she said. "She was a mouthy 12-year-old - you couldn't force her to do anything. 

"She is a mini Natalie (Tia's mother), which is a mini-me."

She added: "I knew nothing about her death. If I knew, he could be dead - I would be inside because I would have killed him. I found out the same time as everybody else, that Friday. I didn't know anything."

Ms Bicknell said that Hazell would get "argumentative" after drinking vodka, but that she had told him not to consume it in the house. He would, however, drink lager and smoke two cannabis joints per day.

Hazell, who had previously dated Tia's mother, moved in with Ms Bicknell a week after their relationship started in 2007, the court heard.

 

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Ohio Cops: Trio Held With Ropes And Chains

Three women held captive in a house were restrained with ropes and chains and sometimes allowed into the backyard, officers say.

Police chief Michael McGrath said the physical condition of Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus, who were rescued in Cleveland, Ohio on Monday, was "very good considering the circumstances".

Ariel Castro, 52, who owned the property, and his two brothers Pedro, 54, and Onil, 50, are now in custody in connection with the case.

Police say they intend to charge the men and they could appear in court as early as today.

Mr McGrath says they "are talking" but he would not say if they have confessed.

(L-R) Brothers Ariel Castro, Onil Castro and Pedro Castro

He also told NBC he was "absolutely" sure police did everything they could to find the women over the years and he disputed claims by neighbours that officers had been called to the house before for suspicious circumstances.

It comes as Ariel Castro had apparently comforted the mother of Miss DeJesus at a candlelit vigil about a year ago.

Gina DeJesus went missing in 2004

He was believed to be friends with the girl's father and reportedly helped in the search for Miss DeJesus.

He handed out fliers after she vanished and performed music at a fundraiser held in her honour, it is claimed.

Miss Knight, Miss Berry and Miss DeJesus were abducted separately in the Ohio city in 2002, 2003 and 2004 when they were 20, 16 and 14 respectively.

The three women were rescued after a frantic 911 call by Miss Berry, who escaped, led police to Castro's run-down property, where authorities say the trio had been held captive since their teens or early 20s.

Ariel Castro apparently comforted Gina DeJesus' mother at a vigil

Castro, 52, and his brothers Pedro, 54, and Onil, 50, are now in custody. Police say they intend to charge the men and they could appear in court as early as today.

It has also emerged that as police were digging for Miss Berry in an empty lot in the city in July 2012, Pedro, sitting on some steps, said: "That's a waste of money."

Pedro Castro said the search for Amanda Berry was a waste of money

Antony Quiros said he was at the vigil for Miss DeJesus about a year ago and saw Ariel Castro comforting her mother.

Ariel Castro was friends with the missing girl's father and helped search for her after she disappeared, said Khalid Samad, a friend of the family.

"When we went out to look for Gina, he helped pass out fliers," said Mr Samad, a community activist.

Meanwhile, Miss Berry has spoken to her family for the first time since she disappeared.

Her grandmother, Fern Gentry, told her on the telephone: "I'm glad to have you back."

Amanda Berry's grandmother spoke to her on the telephone

"I'm glad to be back," Miss Berry said.

Miss Gentry added: "I thought you were gone."

"Nope, I'm here", Miss Berry continued.

Miss Berry told her grandmother that the girl in a hospital photo was her daughter, six-year-old Jocelyn. Police said they believe one of the suspects is the girl's father.

Amanda Berry, her sister, and a young girl, believed to be her daughter

Miss Berry's father Johnny Berry said: "I didn't know what to say. Best thing that ever happened to me. Best feeling I've ever had."

Her cousin Crystal Milton said the news that she was alive was a real shock. "Just screaming and crying; just all kids of emotions at once," Miss Milton said.

Sources told WKYC that as many as five pregnancies occurred in the house. They were also told the captors would beat the pregnant girls and that the babies did not survive.

Police in Cleveland have been reportedly searching the property for "possible aborted babies" after finding the three women. 

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Jimmy Tarbuck In Child Sex Abuse Arrest

Veteran comedian Jimmy Tarbuck has been arrested in connection with a historical child sex abuse allegation.

Tarbuck, 73, was questioned by North Yorkshire Police on April 26 in relation to an incident which allegedly occurred in the late 1970s in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, when the victim was a young boy.

The entertainer is understood to have been arrested at his home in Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, and released on bail.

The arrest was made following information passed by Metropolitan Police officers working on Operation Yewtree to North Yorkshire Police.

A force spokesman said: "North Yorkshire Police can confirm that a 73-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a historic child sex abuse investigation in Harrogate.

"The man was arrested in Kingston upon Thames on Friday, 26 April 2013.

"Following questioning, he was released on police bail pending further enquiries.

"The complaint relates to an incident that occurred in the late 1970s when the victim was a young boy.

"It would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage."

Tarbuck has spent more than 50 years in television.

Born in 1940 in Liverpool, he was a schoolmate of John Lennon and his first television breakthrough came with It's Tarbuck 65! in 1964.

In 1994 he was awarded an OBE by the Queen for his services to showbusiness and charity.

Last November he performed in The Royal Variety Performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

His daughter is the actress, television and radio presenter Liza Tarbuck.

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Lord Lawson Calls For Britain To Leave EU

Lord Lawson has become the most senior Tory figure to call for the UK to quit the European Union - pledging to vote "No" in any referendum on membership.

In a move that piles further pressure on David Cameron over the issue, the former chancellor warned his proposed renegotiation would only secure "inconsequential" concessions from Brussels.

Writing in The Times, he said there was now a "clear" case for withdrawal, insisting the economic benefits would "substantially outweigh the costs", in contrast to the Prime Minister's position.

His intervention is sure to further embolden eurosceptic MPs demanding a tougher line to halt the rise of Nigel Farage's rampant anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP).

Mr Cameron is already under pressure to hold a "mandate referendum" as early as next spring to seek public approval of his strategy of putting a renegotiated settlement to an in/out vote by 2017.

In the wake of UKIP's surge in last week's county council elections, there is also pressure to put the strategy to a vote in the Commons in defiance of his Liberal Democrat coalition partners.

Lord Lawson, who was Margaret Thatcher's longest-serving chancellor and remains a highly respected figure within the party, said that it was "by no means assured" that Mr Cameron would win the 2015 general election.

But he said he believed public demand was such that a referendum would have to happen under Labour in any case.

Dismissing the chances of either party securing significant reforms, he said Brussels would fear a "general unravelling" as other countries sought to match the return of powers.

"But all this is largely beside the point," he wrote.

"The heart of the matter is that the very nature of the European Union, and of this country's relationship with it, has fundamentally changed after the coming into being of the European monetary union and the creation of the eurozone, of which - quite rightly - we are not a part.

The PM is coming under increasing pressure over Britain's place in the EU

"That is why, while I voted 'in' in 1975, I shall be voting 'out' in 2017.

"Not only do our interests increasingly differ from those of the eurozone members but, while never 'at the heart of Europe' (as our political leaders have from time to time foolishly claimed), we are now becoming increasingly marginalised as we are doomed to being consistently outvoted by the eurozone bloc.

"So the case for exit is clear."

But Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg told Sky News that Lord Lawson was "completely wrong", and that leaving the EU would "jeopardise" up to three million UK jobs dependent on membership.

"I think simply pulling up the drawbridge would be a bad thing for this country that would leave us poorer and less safe," the Lib Dem leader added. 

Lord Lawson said that while there would be "some economic cost" from leaving the EU single market, in his judgement "the economic gains would substantially outweigh the costs".

That would not only be in keeping the UK's £8bn net contribution, but also being removed from excessive bureaucracy, not least the "frenzy of regulatory activism" affecting the banking sector.

"The foolish and damaging financial transactions tax, imposed against strong UK opposition, is only one example. In part this is motivated by a jealous desire to cut London down to size, in part by well-intentioned ignorance," he said.

He added: "Those who claim that to leave the EU would damage the City are the very same as those who in the past confidently predicted, with a classic failure of understanding, that the City would be gravely damaged if the UK failed to adopt the euro as its currency."

A Downing Street spokesman said: "The PM has always been clear: we need a Europe that is more open, more competitive, and more flexible; a Europe that wakes up to the modern world of competition. In short, Europe has to reform.

"But our continued membership must have the consent of the British people, which is why the PM has set out a clear timetable on this issue." 

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Women Found In Ohio: Cops Visited House Before

Police investigating the disappearance of three women rescued from a house in Ohio say officers visited the property in 2004.

Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight went missing separately but in nearby areas of Cleveland between 2002 and 2004 and officers believe they had been kept at the home since they disappeared.

They property was just a few miles from where they vanished. Officers also visited it in 2000.

The trio, who went missing in their teens or early 20s, have now been released from hospital after going there for checks and are back with their relatives.

Authorities said they had no intelligence that the women were in the house, and police believe a six-year-old girl also found at the property is Ms Berry's daughter.

Three brothers have been arrested - they have been named by police as Ariel, Pedro and O'Neal Castro, who are aged between 50 and 54.

Ms Berry, who was 16 at the time, disappeared on April 21, 2003, when she called her sister to say she was getting a lift home from her job at a Burger King outlet.

Ms DeJesus went missing aged 14 on her way home from school about a year after Ms Berry's disappearance.

The third woman, Ms Knight, had been missing since 2002. She is believed to have been 20 at the time.

The long nightmare for the trio ended when Ms Berry reached through a crack in the front door and called for help.

Neighbour Charles Ramsey heard her screaming and tried to get her out through the door, but could not pull it open.

So he kicked the bottom open and she crawled through carrying a little girl.

Another neighbour Anna Tejeda said Ms Berry was nervous and crying, and dressed in pyjamas and old sandals.

Ms Tejeda said she gave her telephone to Ms Berry, who then called police.

In a recording of the 911 call, she said she had been taken by someone - and begged officers to arrive at the home on Cleveland's west side "before he gets back".

When police arrived, they found the two other women who were allegedly being held captive.

They were also rescued and police said a six-year-old also was found in the home, but the child's identity or relationship to anyone in the home has not been not revealed.

Mr Ramsey explained how he rescued Ms Berry, saying: "I hear this girl screaming and she's going nuts.told the emergency dispatcher: "I'm Amanda Berry. I've been kidnapped. I've been missing for 10 years. I'm free. I'm here now."

More follows...

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April Jones Was 'Happy' When She Got In Van

April Jones had a "happy face" when she got into a vehicle shortly before her disappearance, a court has heard.

April's best friend, seen in pre-recorded video evidence, said the five-year-old went willingly and did not cry.

Mold Crown Court watched the seven-year-old give her account during a police interview recorded the day after April went missing.

The girl described the vehicle April got into as a grey Land Rover and that she had seen it before.

Speaking about the person in the vehicle, she said: "He got out of the van and was waiting outside the van for someone".

April got in through the "drivers way" and then sat in the back seat, added the seven-year-old, who said "she wasn't crying, she was happy".

The vehicle then drove off, the court heard.

"She did not say she was going to go in it (the car). I know they (April's parents) wouldn't let her go at that time," said the girl.

She added: "I don't know why April would want to get into the van because her mum and dad told her not to get into vans like that."

The accused, Mark Bridger, shook his head when the girl described the man with the Land Rover as having green or blue eyes and brown hair, and probably wearing a green jacket.

"It wasn't that dark and I could see he had brown hair because the headlights were on," she said.

The young witness also described how April's brother later came looking for his sister to take her home and how the alarm was raised.

Her interview with police was played to the jury as the girl watched on a live video-link from Aberystwyth, sitting with a shite teddy bear and a mug of juice.

The judge and lawyers did not wear their wigs or robes and there were regular breaks so that the girl could concentrate.

Defence lawyers have now begun cross-examining the girl.

Before the questioning, the judge told her it  was "very important" that she told the truth.

April Jones disappeared while playing with her friend near their homes in Machynlleth, Powys on October 1 last year.

Mark Bridger, 47, denies abducting and murdering the five-year-old, but says he ran April over and does not remember what he did with her body.

He also denies intending to pervert the course of justice by disposing of, concealing or destroying April's body.

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Neo-Nazi Gang Member On Trial Over Murders

The surviving member of a neo-Nazi cell blamed for a series of racist murders in Germany has gone on trial.

Thirty-eight-year-old Beate Zschaepe appeared in court in Munich charged with complicity in the murder of eight Turks, a Greek and a policewoman between 2000 and 2007.

Scuffles took place outside the court between police and protesters angry over the length of time it took for the neo-Nazi cell to be uncovered by police.

Zschaepe is also accused of involvement in at least two bombings in immigrant areas of Cologne and 15 bank robberies carried out by her accomplices Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Boenhardt.

Uwe Mundlos (L) and Uwe Boenhardt

Both men died in an apparent murder-suicide in November 2011.

She faces life imprisonment if she is convicted.

Four other men are also on trial, accused of assisting her National Socialist Underground (NSU) group, which had gone undetected for more than a decade.

Zschaepe handed herself in to police in November 2011

The chance discovery of the gang has forced Germany to acknowledge it has a more militant and dangerous neo-Nazi fringe than previously thought - and it also exposed serious intelligence failings.

The existence of the gang only came to light with the deaths of Mundlos and Boenhardt following a botched bank robbery.

In their charred caravan in Eisenach, police found the gun that was used to murder all 10 victims.

Officers also found a DVD presenting the NSU and claiming responsibility for the killings.

In it, the bodies of the murder victims are pictured while a cartoon Pink Panther tots up the number of dead.

Beate Zschaepe in court

After her companions' deaths, Zschaepe is believed to have set fire to a flat she shared with them in Zwickau and gone on the run. She handed herself in to the police four days later.

Prosecutors say the gang chose people running small businesses or shops as easy targets in an attempt to terrify migrants and hound them out of Germany.

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Controversial 3D-Printed Gun Fires Test Shots

The world's first 3D-printed handgun has been successfully fired in Texas, according to its creator Defense Distributed.

All 16 parts of the controversial gun, called the Liberator, are made from a tough, heat-resistant plastic used in products such as musical instruments, kitchen appliances and vehicle bumper bars.

Fifteen of those are made with a 3D printer while one is a non-functional metal part which can be picked up by metal detectors, making it legal under US law.

The weapon is designed to fire standard handgun rounds and even features an interchangeable barrel so that it can handle different calibre rounds.

The blueprint files are expected to be available online today for download.

Defense Distributed, a not-for-profit group based in Texas, was founded by 25-year-old University of Texas law study Cody Wilson, who took eight months to create the gun.

Mr Wilson, who test fired the gun himself, said the goal with the Liberator is to highlight how technology can render laws and governments all but irrelevant.

He told Forbes: "I recognise that this tool might be used to harm people. That's what it is - it's a gun.

"But I don't think that's a reason to not put it out there. I think that liberty in the end is a better interest."

His efforts to publish the printable blueprints online have sparked outrage in the US.

A Forbes article said: "Once the file is online, anyone will be able to download and print the gun in the privacy of their garage, legally or not, with no serial number, background check, or other regulatory hurdles."

New York congressman Steve Israel has already called for national legislation to ban 3D-printed guns.

In a statement last week he said: "Security checkpoints, background checks, and gun regulations will do little good if criminals can print plastic firearms at home and bring those firearms through metal detectors with no one the wiser.

"When I started talking about the issue of plastic firearms months ago, I was told the idea of a plastic gun is science-fiction.

"Now that this technology is proven, we need to act now to extend the ban on plastic firearms."

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Cicada Invasion! East Coast Braces For Swarms

Colossal numbers of cicadas - quietly growing underground since 1996 - are about to emerge along much of the US East Coast to begin an orgy of passionate singing and mating.

Billions of so-called 17-year periodical cicadas, with their distinctive black bodies, buggy red eyes, and orange-veined wings will begin to settle along a roughly 900-mile stretch from northern Georgia to upstate New York.

The good news is they do not sting or bite, and are not harmful to crops.

But the eerie, cacophonous mating music they produce has simultaneously amazed and infuriated people for centuries.

Cicadas on a wall during a previous invasion in Virginia

In central Connecticut, particularly dense concentrations of so-called Brood II cicadas, named Magicicada septendecim, should arrive in late May or June this year as soon as the soil temperature exceeds 18C (64F).

Chris Maier, entomologist with the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven, said the first scientific recording of Brood II specimens was in 1843.

The precisely-timed arrival of the 1.5-inch (38-mm) plant-sucking, flying adults takes place after a lengthy period of development underground as juveniles.

After maturing, males begin what cicadas may be best known for: their conspicuous acoustic signals, or "songs," to sexually attract females.

"When there's a lot of them together, it's like this hovering noise. It sounds exactly like flying saucers from a 1950s movie," said Chris Simon from Connecticut University.

When they suddenly emerge, the cicadas will be visible "on the sides of the trees, on the sides of the house, on the shrubbery - even on the car tires," said Mr Simon.

Magicicada population densities - from tens of thousands of cicadas per acre to 1.5 million per acre - are much higher than they are with other cicada species.

One theory behind their bizarre but sustainable life cycle is that their emergence produces such overwhelming numbers at once that predators, such as birds, spiders, snakes, and even dogs, cannot eat them all.

To create their unique choruses, male cicadas use ribbed tymbal membranes on their abdomens to produce sounds, while females click or snap their wings.

Fortunately for East Coast residents the clamour will be all over by July.

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Speedboat: Pair Died In 'Favourite Place'

A 51-year-old father killed in a speedboat accident in Cornwall on Sunday has been formally identified.

Nick Milligan was a senior executive at BSkyB. He was managing director of Sky Media.

His 39-year-old wife, four-year-old son and two other daughters aged 10 and 12 also on board the boat were airlifted to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, where they are being treated for "a range of injuries, some of which are life changing", police said.

Video has emerged of the speedboat, which was a rigid inflatable owned by the family, circling out of control in the water as another boat headed towards it on the Camel Estuary near Padstow.

Waterskiing instructor Charlie Toogood has been hailed a hero after he jumped on to the speedboat from another vessel to switch off the engine.

A second man, Will Jones, was also named as someone who came to their rescue.

Two men came to the family's rescue and managed to stop the speedboat

Writing on Facebook, Maria Chase said: "We were down in Padstow today and saw the tragedy and saw a hero who saved more lives by jumping on to an out-of-control speedboat from another boat."

Charlotte Jacobs took to Twitter to write to the RNLI, saying: "We witnessed incredible bravery in Padstow today during the tragic accident that unfolded. The men involved deserve medals."

Mr Milligan was killed in the accident, along with his eight-year-old daughter. His brother Max Milligan is expected to speak at a news conference later this afternoon.

Devon and Cornwall Police said the family, from London, was on holiday in Cornwall over the Bank Holiday weekend when the accident happened.

Detective Superintendent Jim Colwell said: "Our thoughts are with the family and friends who are affected by this tragic incident.

The accident took place in the Camel Estuary near Padstow

"I'd like to thank the members of the public who assisted with the rescue of the individuals in the water yesterday and all of the emergency services for safely and swiftly moving the casualties to Derriford.

"Everyone's assistance undoubtedly saved lives."

Matt Pavitt, of the North Cornwall Coastguard, said: "Thanks to some incredible seamanship and bravery from some locals, they managed to get the boat under control and stop it from causing any further damage or harm.

"It is, as you can imagine, a very large boat. This boat is 8m long with a very, very powerful engine on the back.

"Reports are that the boat was seen to veer over to one side, causing all six people to end up in the water and then the boat is known to have circled a number of times hitting some of the people in the water."

A joint investigation has been launched by police and coastguard.

South Western Ambulance Service earlier said it was thought the speedboat hit some kayakers near the popular holiday resort, however this was subsequently ruled out by the MCA.

Ambulance service spokesman John Oliver said the injured suffered leg injuries of various degrees of severity.

RNLI lifeboats from both Padstow and nearby Rock were launched as part of the rescue operation, and search and rescue helicopters from two naval bases were also ordered to attend the scene.

A BSkyB spokesperson said: "Everyone at Sky is deeply shocked and saddened to learn of the tragic accident involving the Milligan family.

"Nick has been a great friend and colleague for many years and his loss will be felt across our company and the industry.

"Our very deepest sympathies are with his family at this time."

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Bullying Suicides: Parents Call For New Law

By Stephen Douglas, Sky News Reporter

A group of parents who say their children committed suicide after being bullied are calling on David Cameron to introduce a new law to tackle the problem.

In a letter to the Prime Minister the group have asked the Government to create a new offence of bullying and intimidation. They also want the coalition to introduce an anti-bullying strategy for the UK.

Child protection campaigner Shy Keenan claims her 14-year-old son was "bullied to death".

Ayden Olson was found dead earlier this year at his family home in Colchester, Essex in an apparent suicide.

His mother told Sky News: "He was lovely and we were so looking forward to him growing up. We tried working with the policies in place and it just wasn't enough.

"Then I'm looking at my little boy on the floor dead and I'm thinking they have to listen now, this can't be allowed to happen because they're killing kids.

"We want new ways to protect children from all forms of bullying. At the moment it's not even illegal to bully. We don't want to criminalise children but the first step is to take bullying seriously."

Aaron Dugmore took his own life at the age of nine

Ms Keenan has been joined by other families who have been through similar experiences.

Aaron Dugmore was nine years old when he hanged himself at his home.

His mother, Kelly Dugmore, said: "It's still very raw, we're still very numb. He was just nine. You'd never think a child of that age would even think of taking his own life. He just must have been so traumatised. The law needs to change."

The families want to meet Mr Cameron and have all signed a letter to him which reads: "For our families and the brothers and sisters of those we've lost, nothing can be the same again.

"On behalf of all children who have experienced bullying, and their families, we are calling on you and your Government to take action to help prevent more people suffering in this way.

"Together we can stop bullying in our society. Please give us your support and meet with us to discuss how we make bullying unacceptable, once and for all."

The victims' families have written to David Cameron about their campaign

The potential legislation is being called Ayden's law after Ms Keenan's son, and the campaign is being led by charity BeatBullying.

Its deputy chief executive Richard Piggin said: "The latest Government statistics show that as many as 46% of young people will have experienced bullying.

"For us it's about those one in 13 who experience it day in day out. They need protection and we need to make sure the perpetrators take responsibility for their actions."

A Downing Street spokesman said: "Bullying can have a devastating effect on the lives of victims and their families and we are clear that it must not be tolerated.

"It is important that all children know where they can go for help and are confident that their problems will be dealt with seriously and sensitively. 

"Every school must have measures in place to prevent all forms of bullying. This Government has issued new guidance to ensure schools are clear on their responsibilities in protecting children from bullying and has also given teachers new powers to tackle bullying quickly and effectively.

"To reinforce this, Ofsted now clearly holds schools to account on how well they deal with behaviour and bullying and since January last year inspectors must consider pupils' freedom from bullying, harassment and discrimination. 

"The Department for Education works with organisations including the Anti-Bullying Alliance and BeatBullying as part of its on-going work to tackle bullying and there are a range of laws in place to protect people from all forms of bullying."

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'Israel Rocket Strike' On Syria Military Site

Israeli missiles have struck a military research centre near the capital Damascus, setting off explosions, Syrian state television has said.

The rockets were said to have hit a military research centre in Jamraya on the outskirts of the capital in the early hours of this morning.

The building was the target of an earlier Israeli strike in January.

Israeli radio is reporting the latest attack has been confirmed by a senior security official.

A Western intelligence source said "stores of Fateh-110 missiles that were in transit from Iran to Hezbollah" were the target.

Video footage uploaded online by activists shows a huge ball of fire rising into the night sky.

More of the unverified footage uploaded by activists

A Syrian official has called the attack a "declaration of war" by Israel.

Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al Mekdad told CNN the strike represented an alliance between Islamic terrorists and Israel.

He added that Syria would retaliate against Israel in its own time and way.

Iran has condemned the Israeli attack and urged countries in the region to stand against the action, the Fars news agency reported.

Meanwhile, hundreds of families are fleeing a Syrian coastal area where activists say government troops have massacred nearly 200, many of them women and children.

Protests in Banias at the beginning of the uprising in 2011

Opponents of Bashar al Assad's regime say that fighters loyal to the President carried out two massacres on Saturday night and on Thursday in a Sunni Muslim area driven by a policy of ethnic cleansing.

Activists posted a video online of the bodies of 10 people it said were killed in Ras al Nabaa in the city of Banias, in an overnight attack.

The activists said half of the victims were children and that the number of deaths could be as high as 60.

It comes just two days after pro-Assad militias are alleged to have killed as many as 100 Sunnis in the nearby village of Baida.

Amateur video showed a man and at least three children dead inside a room.

A baby had burned legs and its body was covered in blood. Next to him was a young girl whose face had been deformed after apparently being hit with sharp metal.

Syria's crisis has claimed the lives of an estimated 70,000 people

Other footage from activists showed entire families killed in their beds. A dead woman is seen cradling a child in her arms and two toddlers lying next to them.

The videos have not been independently verified.

The crisis in Syria, which began in March 2011 with pro-democracy protests and later turned into a civil war that has killed an estimated 70,000 people, has largely evolved along sectarian lines.

The Sunni majority forms the backbone of the rebellion, while Mr Assad's minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, anchors the regime's security services and the military's officer corps.

Other minorities, such as Christians, largely support Mr Assad or are standing on the sidelines, fearing the regime's collapse would bring about a more Islamist rule.

It has been estimated as many as 4,000 people are fleeing from the predominantly Sunni southern parts of the Mediterranean city of Banias amid fears of further large-scale killings.

The US has condemned the attack on Thursday. State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said: "We strongly condemn atrocities against the civilian population and reinforce our solidarity with the Syrian people."

She added: "The United States is appalled by horrific reports that more than 100 people were killed May 2 in gruesome attacks on the coastal town of Bayda, Syria.

"Regime and Shabiha forces reportedly destroyed the area with mortar fire then stormed the town and executed entire families, including women and children."

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Nigel Evans Denies Rape And Sex Assault Claims

Conservative MP Nigel Evans has said allegations that he raped a man and sexually assaulted another are "completely false".

The Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons strongly denied the claims and said he had no idea why they had been made by two people he "regarded as friends".

In a short statement outside his constituency home in the village of Pendleton, near Clitheroe, in Lancashire, Mr Evans said: "Yesterday I was interviewed by the police concerning two complaints - one of which dates back four years, made by two people who are well-known to each other, and who until yesterday I regarded as friends.

"The complaints are completely false and I cannot understand why they have been made, especially as I have continued to socialise with one as recently as last week.

Nigel Evans reads from a prepared written statement outside his home

"I appreciate the way the police have handled this in such a sensitive manner.

"And I would like to thank my colleagues, friends and members of the public who have expressed their support, and like me, a sense of incredulity at these events. Thank you very much," he added.

The 55-year-old was arrested by police at his home on Saturday morning on suspicion of raping one man and sexually assaulting another between July 2009 and March 2013. Both alleged victims are in their 20s.

After being questioned for several hours he was released on bail at around 10.30pm until June 19.

It is understood Prime Minister David Cameron and Speaker John Bercow were informed of Mr Evans' arrest.

The popular MP did not answer any questions after reading from the prepared statement this morning, but an aide said he was not intending to stand down, either as a deputy speaker or as a Member of Parliament.

A policeman searches the MP's car on Saturday

Earlier, Mr Evans, who has represented Ribble Valley since 1992, posted a message on Facebook thanking members of the public for their support.

He wrote: "thanks for the amazing and overwhelming support at this difficult time ..."

Speaking on Sky News' Murnaghan programme, Foreign Secretary William Hague said: "Of course we are all very limited about what we can all say about this, it's subject to legal proceedings.

"It's right to point out, and for me as a long-standing friend of his, to point out that he is a very popular and well-respected Member of Parliament and deputy speaker - I think that is true across the House of Commons actually for MPs of all parties, so we will all be very sorry to see this situation.

"It's not possible for us to comment in more detail on something subject to legal proceedings."

Politicians and constituents have said they are "shocked" by the claims

Brian Binley, Tory MP for Northampton South and a friend of Mr Evans, said: "I was just deeply disturbed and shocked.

"I've known him ever since I've been in Parliament and I came in in 2005. I consider him to be a very good friend. I know him to be caring, compassionate and in no way would he inflict himself violently on any other person."

Constituents in Pendleton said they were also stunned by the arrest.

One villager, who did not want to be named, said: "I am shocked. I like him. He is a good MP and he has done a lot for the Ribble Valley. Obviously he is well known in the village and goes to the local pub a lot."

Another resident, who also wanted to remain anonymous, said: "It's unbelievable, I know him very well. He is an excellent person and I would stand by him 100%."

A prominent gay rights campaigner, Mr Evans became one of three deputy speakers in 2010, earning £102,000-a-year, including his MP's salary.

In December of the same year, he came out as gay in an interview with the Mail on Sunday newspaper in which he said that he was "tired of living a lie".

Mr Evans, who was vice chairman of the Conservative Party from 1999 to 2001, said he had been threatened with exposure by political opponents.

Michael Ranson, chairman of the Ribble Valley Conservative Association, said people in the constituency were "completely shell-shocked" at the news.

"He is a very popular MP and a very good constituency MP. He's given assistance to a lot of his constituents over many years," he told Sky News. Everybody's completely shell-shocked."

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Bangladesh Disaster: More Than 600 Dead

The death toll from the collapse of a textile factory complex in Bangladesh has reached more than 620 after dozens more bodies were pulled out from the wreckage.

It has been 12 days since the disaster but bodies are still being found in the rubble of the eight-storey building, part of which was constructed illegally.

Lieutenant Imran Khan, of the army control room set up to co-ordinate the recovery operation, said a further 53 bodies had been recovered on Sunday.

The Rana Plaza building - situated in Savar, an industrial suburb of the capital Dhaka - housed five clothing factories, employing a total of 3,122 staff.

It is not known how many workers were inside the complex when it collapsed. Around 2,500 survivors have been accounted for.

Hundreds of distraught relatives gathered at the site as cranes and bulldozers cut through a mountain of concrete and mangled steel.

Officials said it was becoming more difficult to identify the dead because of the level of decomposition and missing limbs.

"We've identified only a handful of them by their mobile phones that were found in their pockets or identity cards given by the factories," said Zillur Rahman Chowdhury, deputy administrator of Dhaka district.

Preliminary findings of a government probe have blamed vibrations from four giant generators on the compound's upper floors for triggering the collapse.

Protests have taken place about the poor working conditions of workers

The building's architect, Masood Reza, has said he designed the structure to house a shopping mall and offices, not factories.

Several people have been arrested over the disaster, including the building's owner Mohammed Sohel Rana, who was captured near the border with India as he tried to flee the country.

He allegedly had the approval to construct five floors but added three more illegally.

He is expected to be charged with negligence, illegal construction and forcing employees to work - which carry a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment.

A murder complaint has been brought against him by the wife of one of the workers.

Bangladesh is the world's second-largest clothing exporter behind China. The industry accounts for 80% of the country's exports and more than 40% of its industrial workforce.

The tragedy has sparked protests about the poor working conditions of workers who toil for as little as £25 a month to produce clothing for top international brands.

The European Commissioner for Trade, Karel de Gucht, has said if conditions do not improve for workers in Bangladesh, the EU could impose punitive measures.

He told Sky News' Murnaghan programme: "We are going to make it very clear to the Bangladeshi government that they have to take immediate action, with a precise timeline ... because what is happening is not acceptable"

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