Ohio Kidnap: Ariel Castro Charged By Police

Ariel Castro has been charged in Ohio with kidnap and rape after police revealed his three alleged victims had only been let out of the house twice in 10 years.

Castro, 52, was held after Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight, and Ms Berry's six-year-old daughter were freed from the house in Cleveland.

He has been charged with four counts of kidnapping and three of rape. The rape charges do not relate to the child.

The women are believed to have only been allowed to leave the home briefly on two occasions, both times to go "into the garage in disguise", deputy police chief Ed Tomba told a news conference.

"They were in that home. They don't believe they've been outside of the home for the last 10 years.

Watch Ariel Castro's court appearance live on Sky News

"They were not in one room, but they did know each other and they did know each other was there."

He refused to comment on reports that the women had become pregnant on several occasions and had lost the babies.

Police also released recordings of the moment stunned medics arrived at the scene after the women escaped.

Castro's two brothers - Pedro, 54, and Onil, 50 - were also detained on Monday but are not expected to be charged in connection with the kidnapping.

A police officer outside Ariel Castro's home in Cleveland

"There is nothing that leads us to believe that they were involved or had any knowledge of this," Mr Tomba said. "We found no facts to link them to the crime."

Tomba refused to discuss specifics of evidence discovered in the home, but earlier, city police chief Michael McGrath had said the women were "bound and there were chains and ropes in the hall".

Ms Berry, Ms DeJesus, and Ms Knight were aged 16, 14 and 20 respectively when they went missing around a decade ago.

All three were rescued when Ms Berry, now 27, alerted a neighbour who helped them escape.

People embrace outside Gina DeJesus' home after she was freed

Ms Berry and Ms DeJesus, 23, have been welcomed back at their homes with balloons and banners, while crowds cheered as they were reunited with their families.

Sandra Ruiz, an aunt of Ms DeJesus, said there were "not enough words to express the joy we feel at the return of our family member, Gina".

Ms Berry's sister, Beth Serrano, thanked the public for their "support and courage over the years".

Ms Knight is yet to appear in public. The 32-year-old is understood to be in a good condition at a local hospital.

Following criticism of the police handling of the case, Mr McGrath said he was "absolutely" sure officers did everything they could to find the women and disputed claims from neighbours that officials had been called to the property previously when suspicions were raised.

Ariel Castro is expected to appear in court later.

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Diamond Heist: Arrests Over Brussels Raid

Police have arrested 33 people suspected of being involved in a £30m diamond heist at a Brussels airport.

A large amount of cash and diamonds were recovered in the early morning raids, involving more than 200 officers across Belgium, France and Switzerland.

The raiders made off with a variety of rough and polished gems

One suspected member of the eight-man gang that allegedly staged the theft was arrested in France, while Swiss police made a eight arrests and Belgian police took 24 people into custody.

A statement from the Swiss prosecutor's office said: "A big haul was seized, of 100,000 Swiss francs (£68,000) in cash and a large quantity of diamonds, the value of which is currently being estimated.

"The arrests were made thanks to the excellent collaboration between the Brussels and Geneva authorities."

The Belgian authorities said some of the suspects detained in Belgium, aged between 30 and 50, were "well known" to police.

The heist was carried out by heavily-armed men posing as police officers who cut through the perimeter fence of Zaventem International airport around 8pm on February 18 to reach a Swiss passenger aircraft that was due to take off.

In an operation that lasted barely 10 minutes and took place without a shot being fired, the men forced open the hold of the plane and removed some 120 boxes of mainly uncut diamonds from Antwerp.

Questions were raised over the ease with which the raid was carried out

The gems were bound for India and, as they were mainly uncut, they were uncertified, making them harder to trace and easier to sell on.

At the time the raid was described by French airport security consultant Doron Levy as "incredibly audacious and well organised," adding that it was likely an inside job and the suspects "probably know their employees by name".

The heist was also described as "one of the biggest" by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre, the global dealers' syndicate.

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Tesla: Electric Car Sales Spark First Profit

Accelerating demand has helped US electric car-maker Tesla make its first quarterly profit, sparking a surge in its share price.

Ten-year-old Tesla Motors surprised the market on Wednesday night when it confirmed earnings of $15m (£9.6m) in its first quarter, having delivered nearly 5,000 Model S electric cars during the first three months of the year.

The Californian company, led by billionaire Elon Musk, said it expects to deliver 21,000 Model S cars worldwide, up 5% from its earlier target of 20,000, and said global demand might soon surpass 30,000 vehicles a year.

Mr Musk said: "There's potential for next year a fairly significant increase in volume as we really test the depth of the demand that's out there.

"It's probably quite a bit higher than we had originally thought."

Tesla also reported higher-than-expected revenue of $562m (£361m) after selling 4,900 cars in the first quarter.

The results sent Tesla shares up 17% to $65.50 in after-hours trading on the Nasdaq.

The Model S, a  four-door fastback sports sedan, is Tesla's second model after the more expensive Roadster and represents the company's effort to reach a broader group of buyers.

Bringing down the cost of its vehicles has been the issue Mr Musk has previously pledged to address - a strategy that has helped improve share values by two-thirds this year.

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Rodman Asks Kim Jong-Un To Free Prisoner

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent

In an odd twist of international diplomacy, American basketball superstar Dennis Rodman has called for North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un to release a US prisoner from custody.

Rodman wrote on his Twitter page: "I'm calling on the Supreme Leader of North Korea or as I call him "Kim", to do me a solid and cut Kenneth Bae loose."

Mr Bae, 44, is an American tour operator who was arrested while hosting a group of tourists in North Korea last November.

He was accused of "hostile acts" against the country after reportedly taking unauthorised photographs.

Dennis Rodman's tweeted request to Kim Jong-Un

Dennis Rodman and Kim Jong-Un formed an unlikely friendship when the basketball star toured North Korea earlier this year.

Mr Kim, who is known to be a huge basketball fan, took Rodman to a game and the two were photographed enjoying an evening banquet together.

The trip was criticised by some because Rodman appeared to be completely ignoring North Korea's human rights record by fraternising with one of the world's last remaining dictatorships.

Others said that the basketball player could instigate a subtle form of diplomacy: basketball diplomacy.

If Rodman's tweet works and Mr Bae is pardoned from his sentence of 15 years' hard labour, it would be a coup and would enable the US to avoid the prospect of sending a senior politician or former president to Pyongyang to negotiate.

In 2009, two American journalists were held in North Korea and sentenced to hard labour.

Former US President Bill Clinton travelled to Pyongyang and negotiated their release with then-leader Kim Jong-Il.

Mr Kim speaks to military commanders while at his desk on some grass

Last week, US State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said: "We call on the DPRK to release Kenneth Bae immediately on humanitarian grounds."

Tensions between Pyongyang and Washington have been extremely high over the past few months, with rhetoric on both sides at a level not seen for years.

Kenneth Bae's detention is widely seen as being politically motivated and a bargaining chip by Pyongyang in order to gain leverage over the US.

The motivation behind the recent North Korean tension is thought to be twofold. Internally, it is an attempt by the North Korean leadership to shore up its legitimacy.

Internationally, North Korea wants to be taken seriously as a nuclear state. The US has made plain their insistence that they will only talk to Pyongyang on the condition that it gives up its nuclear programme.

North Korea now appears to have pulled back from its recent rhetoric, withdrawing two medium-range missiles from their launch pads.

However, the country's news agency, KCNA, continues to release unusual images of Kim Jong-Un meeting his military commanders. In the latest, they appear to have moved Mr Kim's office outside. 

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Ohio Women Found: Police Praise Amanda Berry

Three brothers have been arrested after three women who went missing separately about a decade ago in Cleveland, Ohio, were found alive in the same house.

Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight disappeared in nearby areas of the city between 2002 and 2004. Officers believe they were tied up during years of being held captive.

The three, who vanished in their teens or early 20s, were rescued after a neighbour heard Ms Berry screaming and went to help her.

Police hailed her "bravery" and said the women's actions were the "ultimate definition of survival and perseverance".

The suspects arrested in connection with the kidnappings have been named as Ariel, Pedro and Onil Castro, aged 52, 54 and 50.

Suspects (L-R) brothers Ariel Castro, Onil Castro and Pedro Castro

The property from where the women made their dramatic escape to freedom was just a few miles from where they vanished.

The women appeared to be in good health and were released from hospital after being taken there for checks and have been reunited with their families.

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

Forensics and FBI teams have been carrying out an extensive search of the property, where police sources reportedly quoted in the local media believe the women were repeatedly beaten and raped, and that there were five pregnancies.

Ms Berry in hospital with her sister and a young girl also found with her

FBI special agent Stephen Anthony said: "The nightmare is over. These three young ladies have provided us with the ultimate definition of survival and perseverance. The healing can now begin.

"The families of these three ladies never gave up hope, and neither did law enforcement. As you can imagine, words can't describe the emotions being felt by all."

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said there were still "several unanswered questions" about the case, and authorities stressed that as the investigation was ongoing, many facts could not be discussed.

Police revealed they went to the home in 2004 for an unrelated investigation when school bus driver Ariel Castro had apparently left a child unattended on a bus, but no-one answered the door.

Officers also visited the property in 2000 when Ariel Castro reported a fight in the street, but no arrests were made.

A poster with images of Amanda Berry

Sky's US correspondent Dominic Waghorn, at the scene, said: "Neighbours say there were some unusual things about Ariel Castro - the fact that he keeps his ground floor windows boarded up with plywood ... and he used to park his school bus here during the day just to drop in and check on something, but never explained why.

"But they say he seemed such a good man, and a good neighbour, they never suspected anything."

Elsie Cintron, who lived two doors away, told Sky News that a family member saw "a naked woman crawling on her hands and knees" in the backyard of the Cleveland house where the women were found and called police, and that she saw a young girl at the attic window.

Cleveland officials said Tuesday that they had no record of anyone calling about criminal activity at the house but that they were still combing their records.

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.

Gina DeJesus went missing on her way home from school

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.

Balloons outside the home of Gina DeJesus

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

In a recording of the 911 call, she 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."

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.

Mr Ramsey explained how he rescued Ms Berry, saying: "I hear this girl screaming and she's going nuts.

"So I come outside and I know there's nobody supposed to be screaming next door to my house because there's no girl that lives in that house.

Charles Ramsey, the neighbour who helped Amanda Berry escape

"When I came to the front door and looked at her she said 'My name is Amanda Berry - please get me out of this house'.

"She told the police, 'I ain't just only one, there's some more girls up in that house. So they go on up there ... and when they came out it was just astonishing."

Kayla Rogers, a childhood friend of Ms DeJesus, told The Plain Dealer newspaper: "I've been praying, never forgot about her, ever.

"This is amazing. This is a celebration. I'm so happy. I just want to see her walk out of those doors so I can hug her."

The rescue is the latest in a series of high-profile cases involving females being held captive for several years.

The three women disappeared in nearby areas of the city

Jaycee Dugard was found on August 26, 2009, 18 years after she was kidnapped aged 11 in California.

She had been seized by Phillip Garrido - and his wife Nancy - while on her way to school in South Lake Tahoe in June 1991, and was kept in a hidden backyard and had two children with him. The Garridos were jailed for life.

Reacting to the escape of the Cleveland trio, she said in in a statement: "These individuals need the opportunity to heal and connect back in the world. This isn't who they are. It is only what happened to them.

"The human spirit is resilient. More than ever this reaffirms we should never give up hope."

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Genoa: At Least Three Dead In Port Ship Tragedy

At least three people have died and several are missing after a container ship smashed into a control tower in the port of Genoa.

The incident happened at around 11pm local time

Part of the tower in which about 14 people were present at the time of the accident crashed into the water.

One of the victims was thought to be a woman in her 30s, while the other two were male.

Rescue workers dived into the water around the port in a frantic search to find around 10 people believed to be missing.

Rescuers are still searching the wreckage of the building

Six others were reported seriously injured.

An employee of the Messina Line company, based in Genoa which owns the vessel, confirmed that "there was an accident when the ship was leaving the port".

"It ran into the tower, but we don't know why at this point, nor how many people are hurt," he said.

The port control tower before the incident

The container ship, the Italian Jolly Nero, is almost 200m (655ft) long, 30m (98ft) wide, and weighs over 40,500 tonnes.

The ship's owner, Stefano Messina, said: "We are all utterly shocked. Nothing like this has ever happened before, we are desperate."

The Jolly Nero weighs over 40,500 tonnes

New reports said the captain was being questioned by police.

The impact happened during a shift change at the tower which meant that more people were present.

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Philippines: Mayon Volcano Eruption Kills Five

Five climbers have been killed after one of the Philippines' most active volcanoes erupted - leaving more than a dozen others trapped.

Ash rises after the eruption of Mayon volcano

Rescue teams and helicopters were sent to the centre of the country as huge rocks and ash began pouring out of Mayon volcano early on Tuesday morning.

Albay provincial Governor Joey Salceda said at least seven people from a group of around 20 mountaineers were injured after being caught by surprise by the sudden eruption.

Clouds have cleared over the volcano, which was quiet later in the morning.

Guide Kenneth Jesalva told ABS-CBN TV network the climbers who died - including a German, an Austrian and a Filipino - were struck by huge rocks.               

He said he was in the group that spent the night on the picturesque mountain, known for its almost-perfect cone, when the volcano rumbled back to life and rocks "as big as a living room" came raining down on them - before he rushed back to the base camp to call for help.

Eduardo del Rosario, chief of the national disaster agency, said the injured included foreigners and Filipino guides, with some in a critical condition.

The head of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, Renato Solidum, said the eruption was normal for the restive Mayon, about 212 miles southeast of the capital Manila.

It has erupted around 40 times during the last 400 years.

It last erupted in 2010, when thousands of residents moved to temporary shelters when the volcano ejected ash across a five-mile zone surrounding the crater.

Mr Solidum said no alert was raised for the volcano following the latest eruption and no evacuation was being planned.

Climbers are not allowed when an alert is up, and it is thought the recent calm may have encouraged this week's trek.

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Somalia: Optimism Endures Among The Rubble

The customers at Ahmed Jama Mohamed's restaurant in the Somali capital Mogadishu sip lattes just yards from the rubble caused by another suicide bomber.

But despite the constant physical reminder and the barbed wire surrounding the restaurant, they are stoic and mostly optimistic about what the future holds for their war-ravaged country.

Some are returning exiles, finally coming home after years of being away because of the instability and dangers of staying at home.

Sonkor Geyre left his job in Chicago to restart his career in Somalia 14 months ago.

"As soon as I got the chance, I took it and I don't regret it," he said.

He now teaches at the city's university. He's sharing a meal with another who fled the extremists to live in America - but Abdullah Jama is only visiting Mogadishu.

He won't be coming home permanently to live anytime soon.

"Al Shabaab is everywhere, there is too much corruption, there are bombs all the time and they need to sort out the governance," he said.

Yes, there are bombs still. There was another suicide bombing in the capital on Sunday which killed at least eight.

A few weeks earlier, around half a dozen gunmen stormed the capital's main court building killing another 20 people.

Somalia has elected its first permanent government for more than 20 years

But the terror incidents are far fewer than they were a year ago when there was fighting in the streets.

The 18,000 African Union troops in the country have been mostly successful in driving out al Shabaab extremists from the capital and reclaiming territory they previously held in the major cities.

But there are clearly still terror cells operating and able to mount attacks almost at will.

Nonetheless, the capital and the country appear to have renewed hope of a better future ever since the election - less than a year ago - of their first permanent government and president in more than two decades of hostilities.

World leaders are gathering in London to try to work out how best to help Somalia now. There are signs of reconstruction already in Somalia but much more needs to be done.

The security there is fragile and eminently reversible unless the Somali National Army continues to be bolstered by the thousands of international troops who also train and mentor them.

New President Hassan Sheik Mohamed has a mountain of challenges to overcome ranging from education, tackling corruption, enforcing human rights and ensuring female empowerment, but he has to first of all make sure he stays alive.

Only two days after taking office, the extremists tried to kill him. He has to stay constantly alert but exudes an air of comfortable confidence.

"Every day, every hour al Shabaab is working on trying to spill Somali blood," he told me a few days ago in the capital.

"But our security forces are also working every hour and every day to stop them - and we will."

His job this week is to convince the international donors he can actually follow through on his plans.

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Cleveland: Women Missing For Decade Rescued

Three women who disappeared separately more than 10 years ago have been found alive in a house in Cleveland, Ohio - just a few miles from where they went missing.

Police said they thought Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight had been tied up in the property and had been there since they vanished.

They have been taken to a hospital for checks and were being reunited with relatives.

They have also been described as being in good health after being found in a residential area just south of the city.

A poster with images of Amanda Berry on

Three brothers were arrested. One of the men, a 52-year-old, lived at the home, and the others, ages 50 and 54, lived elsewhere.

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

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

The third woman, Ms Knight, had been missing since 2002 when she was believed to have been 20.

Cheering crowds gathered on the street near the home where the women were found.

Gina DeJesus went missing on her way home from school

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

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

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

Ms Berry went into a nearby home and called police, begging them to come as soon as they could, "before he gets back".

In a recording of the 911 call, she told the dispatcher: "I'm Amanda Berry. I've been kidnapped. I've been missing for 10 years. I'm free. I'm here now."

Ms DeJesus' father wants a change in Amber Alert rules

She pleaded for officers to arrive at the home on Cleveland's west side before her alleged kidnapper returned. When police arrived, she said two other women were being held captive.

They were 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 was not revealed.

Mr Ramsay told how he rescued Ms Berry. He said: "I hear this girl screaming and she's going nuts.

"So I come outside and I know there's nobody supposed to be screaming next door to my house because there's no girl that lives in that house.

"When I came to the front door and looked at her she said: 'My name is Amanda Berry - please get me out of this house'."

Age-progressed images of Gina DeJesus (L) and Amanda Berry

Kayla Rogers, a childhood friend of Ms DeJesus told The Plain Dealer newspaper: "I've been praying, never forgot about her, ever.

"This is amazing. This is a celebration. I'm so happy. I just want to see her walk out of those doors so I can hug her."

Ms Berry's cousin Tasheena Mitchell told the newspaper: "I'm going to hold her, and I'm going to squeeze her and I probably won't let her go."

In January, a prison inmate was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison after admitting he provided a false burial tip in the disappearance of Ms Berry.

Two men arrested for questioning in the disappearance of Ms DeJesus in 2004 were released from the city jail in 2006 after officers did not find her body during a search of the men's house.

No Amber Alert was issued the day Ms DeJesus failed to return home because no one witnessed her abduction.

That angered her father, Felix DeJesus, who said in 2006 he believed the public will listen even if the alerts become routine.

"The Amber Alert should work for any missing child," he said then.

"It doesn't have to be an abduction. Whether it's an abduction or a runaway, a child needs to be found. We need to change this law."

Cleveland police said then that the alerts must be reserved for cases in which danger is imminent and the public can be of help in locating the suspect and child.

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Moscow: Thousands Set To Protest Against Putin

By Katie Stallard, Moscow Correspondent

Thousands of protesters are expected to take to the streets in central Moscow on the first anniversary of a mass rally that saw hundreds arrested in violent clashes with police.

More than 600 people were arrested on May 6 2012, on the eve of Vladimir Putin's return to the Kremlin.

Protesters accuse the police of using excessive force and say any violence on their part was in self-defence - they claim the authorities were determined to clear the streets ahead of the  presidential inauguration on May 7.

At least 15 people are still being held in detention centres across Moscow awaiting trial, in many cases without charge.

Several more are under house arrest, including Left Front leader Sergei Udaltsov, who is accused of conspiring to organise mass riots.

Russians march in a protest rally in May 2012

Udaltsov is not allowed to use the telephone or internet and is barred from contact with all but his closest family and legal team.

He has tried and failed to secure permission to leave his house for a daily walk.

Their supporters claim they are political prisoners, and that authorities are reverting to Stalinist tools of repression, but President Putin has insisted recently that he sees no "elements of Stalinism" in modern Russia.

Amnesty International has expressed concerns about the weight of publicly-presented evidence against many of those detained, and says there are grounds to consider at least some of them "prisoners of conscience".

Human Rights Watch has accused President Putin of presiding over the harshest crackdown on civil society in Russia's post-soviet history since his return to the Kremlin last year.

President Putin has been accused of a harsh crackdown on civil society

They note the ongoing raids on non-governmental organisations (NGOs) across the country, the series of new laws being passed, and the intimidation, harassment and in a number of cases imprisonment of political activists.

Sky News spoke to the wife of one man who has been held without charge for the last eight months on suspicion of rioting during the May 6 protests.

Leonid Kovyazin was arrested in September, but because he has not yet been charged, he does not know the details of the case against him.

His wife insists they are not political activists and that Leonid was only at the Moscow demonstration as a journalist.

"It's clearly politically motivated," Evgeniya Tarasova said.

"What can I say about our country? People have always been put in jail for politics. Always have, always will.

"It's hard for me to evaluate this situation objectively, because I am inside this process."

The couple got married in prison in March in a short ceremony overseen by security guards.

She explained that by becoming his wife she gained the right to see him.

"The ceremony lasted about seven minutes, but they checked our documents for ages before that. That was the beginning of the wedding.

"When Lenya and I saw each other for the first time, the most important thing for me was that he was alive and well. This was a moment of absolute happiness for me. I think the same for him.

"I think he needs to know that there is someone by his side and I need to know that too. It doesn't matter if it's through the walls and distances, but what can you do. He needs to feel the support from the outside world.

"We here can never understand how he feels being locked up. Whatever we say, we can't understand how it feels, we are here - we walk and breathe freely."

He will be one of those in whose name the protesters gather tonight.  If their detention was intended to serve as a warning – to keep people off the streets – it could have just the opposite effect.

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Bangladesh Protests: At Least 22 Killed

At least 22 people have been killed after police clashed with Islamists demanding a new blasphemy law in the Bangladeshi capital.

The bodies of 11 victims, including a policeman, were taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Mozammel Haq, a police inspector based at the hospital, told AFP.

Officials at three private clinics in Dhaka confirmed that they had received the bodies of 11 other victims.

Police officials said that about 200,000 people had marched to central Dhaka on Sunday, where fierce clashes erupted between thousands of rock-throwing protesters and security officials.

Thousands took to the street of Dhaka

Witnesses said rioting broke out after police tried to intercept stick-wielding protesters, most travelling from remote villages, in front of the country's largest mosque. Trouble then spread to central districts of Dhaka.

"This government does not have faith in Allah. This is an atheist government, we will not allow them to live in Bangladesh. Muslims are brothers, we must protect Islam," one protester was seen chanting.

Police fired rubber bullets from armoured vehicles at protesters, who went on the rampage, torching a police office, scores of vehicles and shops, attacking government offices and beating policemen.

Dozens of small bombs exploded, leaving smoke hanging in the air around the mosque.

The protest was staged as the country was recovering from its worst industrial disaster, which saw at least 620 people killed when a factory building collapsed just outside the capital on April 24.

It said it staged the mass protest to push a 13-point list of demands, which also include a ban on men and women mixing freely together and the restoration of pledges to Allah in the constitution.

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Bride-To-Be Among Five Killed In Limo Fire

A bride-to-be was among five women who died when a limousine burst into flames as it carried her and eight of her friends to her hen party.

The car caught fire at around 10pm on Saturday on one of the busiest bridges across San Francisco Bay.

Five of the women were trapped but the four other women managed to get out after the vehicle came to a halt on the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge.

Rosita Guardiano, whose daughter survived, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the bride-to-be was due to be married next month.

Four women and the driver were able to escape the burning vehicle

Investigators have not established what caused the fire, although a photo taken by a witness and broadcast on KTVU-TV showed flames shooting from the back.

Aerial video shot after the incident showed about one-third of the back half of the limousine had been scorched.

The driver of the white stretch limo, 46-year-old Orville Brown from San Jose, was the only person to escape unhurt.

"Four people got out, as far as what was going on inside, I don't know," California Highway Patrol officer Jeremy Lofstrom said.

The limo was travelling westbound on the bridge when it caught fire

Investigators are appealing for witnesses to the incident.

All five women were pronounced dead at the scene.

Mrs Guardiano said her daughter, 42-year-old Mary Grace Guardiano from Alameda, was being treated for smoke inhalation.

The three other women who escaped, Jasmine Desguia, 34, from San Jose; Nelia Arrellano, 36, from Oakland; and Amalia Loyola, 48, from San Leandro, were taken to hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation and burns. 

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Belgium: One Dies In 'Toxic Train' Crash Fire

One person has died and 17 others have been injured after a train carrying highly toxic chemicals derailed in Belgium, causing a major fire.

The blaze erupted and spread along a drainage ditch

The accident and blaze prompted authorities to evacuate nearly 300 people from their homes.

Jan Briers, governor of eastern Flanders, had earlier said there were two dead and 14 injured, but late Saturday authorities announced that 17 injured people have been hospitalised and officials were investigating the cause of one fatality.

Flammable liquid caught alight and explosions occurred

Some of the injured were people living well away from the scene of the accident. Interior Minister Joelle Milquet blamed toxic fumes from the highly flammable liquid chemicals.

The accident happened at around 2am local time, between the towns of Schellebelle and Wetteren, on the Belgian railway network.

Once daylight arrived the extent of damage could be seen

Six of the train's 13 cars derailed and two were thrown on to their side by the force of derailment. The blaze led to a series of explosions in the railway cars.

Fire then spread over hundreds of yards, prompting authorities to evacuate residents living more than 500 yards from the site of the accident.

The train crash, near Ghent, occurred near a set of track crossing points

But Ms Milquet said toxic fumes reached much further through the drainage system.

"There is a problem of poisoning linked to the smoke," she said.

"But there is also another reaction, since some of the chemical product went into the drains and caused a kind of chemical reaction with gases that are toxic and escaped into certain streets beyond the perimeter that had already been evacuated due to the fire."

Smoke and fumes were subdued by spraying water across the scene

Firefighters decided to let the cars burn out in a controlled manner as water could have released further toxic chemicals.

The causes of the accident remained unclear. The cars derailed as the train changed tracks and observers said it might have been travelling too fast.

The train came from the Netherlands and was bound for Ghent's seaport, Gent-Zeehaven.

Officials said the tracks would be shut for days

Train services were disrupted and problems were expected for several days, with buses laid on to transport passengers.

Two similar accidents involving trains carrying tanks of toxic products occurred in Belgium in May 2012.

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Palestinian TV Show To Find Would-Be President

By Sam Kiley, Middle East Correspondent In Ramallah

Palestinians have been gulping down a dose of reality - reality television with a political twist.

The hit show, called simply The President, has grown out of widespread frustration among Palestinians at their own moribund politics in the real world.

The current president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, remains in office four years after his mandate expired.

His party, Fatah, rules over the West Bank while in Gaza, Hamas, the Islamist movement labelled a terrorist organisation by many countries in the West, reigns - also years beyond the mandate it won in 2006.

The Palestinian assembly hasn't met for many months. The roster of leaders hasn't changed for decades.

Part Apprentice part X-Factor, viewers are gripped by a show in which they get to chose who should be their next president.

The show is proving a hit with Palestinian TV audiences

Enter Raed Othman, the director general of the Ma'an broadcast network.

"I thought of this programme because we have to show that the Palestinian people understand and want real democracy. We want elections - real elections. But if we cannot have them then we can do our own," he said backstage during the filming of the latest episode of his show which has whittled 1,200 potential presidents to 16.

He added:  "There are a lot of people who say we don't have leaders, so we need to prove to them that there are a lot of leaders in Palestine. We want to teach the people that democracy is possible whenever we want".

Contestants are filmed taking on tasks - being an ambassador to a European country for a day, running a major corporation, taking questions from foreign and local journalists, even how to inspect guards of honour.

They are then put through the ringer by a panel of judges, among them leading politicians like Hannan Ashrawi, a former spokeswoman for the Arab League. Viewers combine votes sent in by text message with the judges' marks in early rounds.

The show's judges include leading politicians

The winner will be chosen entirely by the public by text.

He, or she, won't be rewarded with high office, just a modest family car. But the real prize is the opportunity to break into the Palestinian political scene.

"This programme will give me the chance, me and the other competitors, my colleagues, to get inside this procedure without needing at least 20 or 30 years of step-by-step involvement in the political situation," said Baha'a al Khateeb, an adult education manager, as he prepared to step on set - a conference room in a Ramallah hotel.

He is careful not to criticise the current Palestinian leadership. Not because he fears reprisals, Palestinians enjoy freedom of speech, but because he has spent several weeks presenting himself as a unifying figure.

Baha'a al Khateeb battles for the coveted title of 'President'

Fatah and Hamas remain bitterly opposed to each other and fought a bloody civil war in Gaza in 2007.

These divisions have weakened the ability of Palestinian leaders to negotiate an end to the occupation on the West Bank and the siege of Gaza by Israel.

Mr Khateeb, like most of the contestants, favours uniting the factions, stepping up non-violent actions and civil disobedience against the Jewish State. Plus a boycott of all Israeli products by Palestinian shoppers.

There is no immediate prospect of Palestinian elections - but by using his media exposure to call for a boycott, Mr Khateeb may have found a platform which can transform an idea into a political reality.

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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 struck 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.

Israel has declined to comment on the latest attack, but a Western intelligence source said "stores of Fateh-110 missiles that were in transit from Iran to Hizbollah" were the target of the strike.

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

More of the unverified footage uploaded by activists

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

The opponents of Bashar al Assad's regime say that fighters loyal to the President carried out two massacres last night and on Thursday in a Sunni Muslim area driving 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 attack overnight.

Half of them were children.

Activists said that the number of dead 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.

Protests in Banias at the beginning of the uprising in 2011

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

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

Other footage from activists showed entire families killed in their beds, a dead mother cradling her child in her arms, two toddlers lying next to them.

The videos have not been independently verified.

Syria's crisis, that 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 broken 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.

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

Other minorities, such as Christians, largely support Mr Assad or stand on the sidelines, worried that the regime's fall 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 May 2 attack. State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said: "We strongly condemn atrocities against the civilian population and reinforce our solidarity with the Syrian people."

Her statement 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."

It came as Israeli officials confirmed the country's air force carried out a strike against Syria, saying it targeted a shipment of advanced missiles bound for the Lebanese militant group Hizbollah.

The violence in the coastal region shows the sectarian nature of the two-year conflict that has killed tens of thousands and sent more than a million Syrians as refugees to neighbouring countries.

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