Ariel Castro's Dungeon Home Is Torn Down

One of Ariel Castro's kidnap victims said she hoped the demolition of the home in which she was held captive for more than a decade would act as a symbol of hope.

Michelle Knight, 32, watched as the house on Seymour Avenue in East Cleveland, in which she was held against her will and repeatedly raped by the 53-year-old, was razed to the ground.

Miss Knight, along with two other women who were kidnapped by Castro, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus, endured years of cruelty and brutality behind the suburban facade.

Michelle Knight addressed the crowd of onlookers

They were kept behind locked doors and chained by their ankles.

It took about 20 minutes to tear down the property as part of a plea deal that spared Castro a possible death sentence and allowed him to be jailed for life, plus 1,000 years, instead.

Speaking at the scene, Miss Knight, who last week made a powerful and moving statement to the court sentencing Castro, said she did not want to be defined by the horrors that had gone on at the house.

She said: "Nobody was there for me when I was missing, and I want the people out there to know, including the mothers, that they can have strength, they can have hope, and their child will come back.

A crowd of onlookers cheered and clapped as the demolition began

"They will ... just have the love in God and you'll see they'll come back."

Prosecutors said Castro cried when he signed over the house deeds and mentioned his "many happy memories" there with the women.

As the house was being demolished, Cuyahoga County prosecutor Tim McGinty told the crowd: "This was one evil guy."

Giving her statement in court last week, Miss Knight told Castro: "You took 11 years of my life away and I have got it back. I spent 11 years in hell. Now you're hell is just beginning. I will overcome all this has happened, but you will face hell for eternity."

The three women, who were snatched aged 20, 16 and 14, escaped from the house on May 6 when Miss Berry and her six-year-old daughter managed to break free after removing part of the front door and calling to a neighbour for help.

The demolition and clearing of the site was expected to be completed swiftly and the building materials will be shredded to prevent rubble being sold online as so-called "murderabilia", although no one was killed at the home.

Google Earth has already blurred out a satellite image of the house, before the demolition even began.

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Obama Cancels Putin Talks Amid Snowden Row

US President Barack Obama has cancelled plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin next month amid heightened tensions.

The move appears to be retribution for Russia's decision to grant temporary asylum to US whistleblower Edward Snowden.

It also reflects growing US frustration with Russia on several other issues, including missile defence and human rights.

A top White House official said Mr Obama still plans to attend the G20 economic summit in St Petersburg, Russia, but has no plans to meet Mr Putin there one-on-one.

Instead of visiting the president in Moscow, the Mr Obama will add a stop in Sweden to his early September travel itinerary.

The Kremlin expressed its disappointment but said it remains ready to work with the United States on a variety of issues.

Mr Putin's foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, told reporters the move reflected the inability of the US to develop relations with Moscow on an "equal basis."

He said the invitation to Obama to visit Moscow next month still stands.

"This decision is clearly linked to the situation with former agent of U.S. special services (Edward) Snowden, which hasn't been created by us," Mr Ushakov said.

Snowden has been granted a year's asylum in Russia

White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said Russia's decision to defy the US and grant Snowden temporary asylum only worsened an already troubled relationship.

"We'll still work with Russia on issues where we can find common ground, but it was the unanimous view of the president and his national security team that a summit did not make sense in the current environment," Mr Rhodes said.

Mr Obama, who is travelling in California, said in an interview on Tuesday that he was "disappointed" by Russia's move to grant Snowden asylum for one year. But he said the move also reflected the "underlying challenges" the US faces in dealing with Moscow.

"There have been times where they slip back into Cold War thinking and a Cold War mentality," he told Jay Leno in an interview on NBC's The Tonight Show.

Snowden, 30, is wanted by the US on felony charges after leaking details of vast surveillance programmes.

He first fled from the US to Hong Kong, then made his way to Russia. He was stuck in the transit zone of a Moscow airport for more than a month before Russia granted him asylum.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel are still preparing for meetings in Washington on Friday with their Russian counterparts. Snowden's status is expected to be a main topic of conversation.

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Canada Python Attack: Uncle's Tribute To Boys

The uncle of two boys believed to have been killed by a python said they had a "super" last day as Canadian police revealed the snake was being kept in a second-floor flat, not the pet shop below.

A criminal investigation is under way after a 45kg African rock python escaped from its cage, went through a ventilation shaft and fell into the room where Noah Barthe, four, and his brother Connor, six, were sleeping.

In an emotional statement, their uncle David Rose said: "They were two typical children and enjoyed life to the maximum."

The boys with their mother. Pic: Facebook/ Mandy Trecartin

They had spent their last day playing with their friends, he said.

It was initially reported that the snake was being kept by family friend and owner Jean-Claude Savoie on the ground floor of the Reptile Ocean pet shop in the town of Campbellton, New Brunswick.

But police said it was kept in a second-floor flat in a specially built enclosure which stretched to the ceiling.

Pic: Facebook/ Mandy Trecartin

Royal Canadian Mounted Police spokesman Sergeant Alain Tremblay said: "The snake was confined in an enclosed area, a glass cage of pretty large size given the size of the snake and the way the investigators believe the snake escaped was through the ceiling.

"Just above the cage where the snake was being kept, the snake apparently slithered through a hole or vent in the ceiling allowing it to escape into the ventilation shaft.

"Once the snake was at the height of the living room, apparently a pipe broke and the snake fell into the living room where the children were sleeping."

Pic: Facebook/ Mandy Trecartin

The children were at a sleepover at their best friend's flat when they were apparently attacked by the snake early on Monday morning.

At a news conference, Mr Rose said Connor was due to celebrate his birthday this month.

"Connor would have entered the second grade this year and Noah was extremely excited to join his big brother by joining kindergarten and both would have been in the same Lord Beaverbrook School," he said.

An African rock python

"Their last day was spent playing with their friends in the backyard - they had a little pool, had a barbecue and later in the afternoon Jean-Claude Savoie took all the children shopping.

"Each had their own little carts, they filled their carts with treats and after the shopping trip the two families Jean-Claude's family went to Jean-Claude's family's farm - there they played with llamas and goats and horses.

Google Street View of python attack scene

"They played with dogs and cats in the hayloft and went for a ride in the farm tractor with Jean-Claude who even let them steer their tractors so it was a super day.

"And after a long day late into night they got home, home for the sleepover at Jean-Claude's house and the two families stayed together until midnight and that's the type of the life they had and that's what we are going to try and remember."

The python, which Mr Savoie has had for at least 10 years, had been kept alone in its enclosure and was not handled by anyone else, he added.

Police said the snake has been killed by a veterinarian.

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Dolphins Have Long Memories For Old Friends

They say elephants never forget, but dolphin social memory is said to be the longest of any non-human species.

Dolphins can recognise the voice of an old friend even after being separated for 20 years, according to a study.

And the mammals may even be better at remembering each other's whistles than humans are at remembering faces, US researchers claim.

Whereas human faces age and change over time, the signature whistle that identifies a dolphin remains unaltered for many decades.

"This shows us an animal operating cognitively at a level that's very consistent with human social memory," said Dr Jason Bruck, from the University of Chicago, who led the research.

Previous studies have shown that every dolphin develops its own name-like signature whistle early in life.

Dolphins react when they hear a whistle they recognise

Dr Bruck's team studied 53 captive bottlenose dolphins at six different facilities that have swapped animals and kept records going back decades as part of a breeding programme.

The scientists played recordings of signature whistles to dolphins that had once lived with the animals making the calls.

By observing the dolphins' reactions, it was possible to tell when they were listening to a whistle they remembered or one that was unfamiliar.

"Dolphins get bored quickly listening to signature whistles from dolphins they don't know," said Dr Bruck. "When they hear a dolphin they know, they often quickly approach the speaker playing the recording. At times they will hover around, whistle at it, try to get it to whistle back."

To make sure these were cases of true recognition, Dr Bruck would play a test recording of a stranger dolphin that was the same age and sex as the familiar animal.

The data showed a clear pattern. Dolphins responded significantly more to whistles from animals they once knew, even if they had not heard them for decades.

One notable example involved two female dolphins called Allie and Bailey, who once lived together at Dolphin Connection in the Florida Keys.

Twenty years and six months after their last contact, Bailey, now living in Bermuda, recognised the recording of Allie's signature whistle.

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Koreas Agree To Talks: Complex May Re-Open

North And South: A Quick History

Updated: 2:23pm UK, Thursday 25 July 2013

By Mark Stone, Asia Corespondent, in Pyongyang

On the Korean Peninsula there are two versions of history. The version people learn depends on whether they are North Korean or South Korean.

Either way though, understanding both versions is key to understanding this most unusual of countries: its quirks, its people, its politics and its government's ability to survive against the odds.

There is no logical reason why the land that makes up the Korean Peninsula should be split into two countries.

The people either side of the border speak the same language and have the same ancestors.

But since 1945, it has been two countries: the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea).

From 1910 until the end of World War Two, the Korean Peninsula was Japanese territory.

With Japan's defeat, America and the Soviet Union took control of the peninsula.

They decided to split it in two: America didn't want the communist administration in Moscow to control the whole thing. Moscow felt the same about total American control.

And an agreement was reached between Washington and Moscow and an arbitrary line was simply drawn across the middle.

The North became The Democratic People's Republic of Korea. It adopted the communist ideology of its Soviet masters.

A young war hero called Kim Il-Sung became its prime minister.

The South adopted American-style democracy and became the Republic of Korea.

Just five years later though in 1950, Kim Il-Sung and his new army, backed by communist China and Russia, invaded the South.

Within months North Korean forces controlled almost the entire peninsula.

An American-led United Nations force fought back and the Korean War had begun.

Three years of fighting left well over a million people dead. Among them were soldiers from both Koreas, America, China, Russia and Britain.

But no side could claim victory. The border remained where it had been at the start - across the 38th Parallel - and to this day it is a heavily guarded and mined demilitarised zone.

In the decades that followed, the Soviet Union and China continued to prop up the North.

Inside the closed country, Kim Il-Sung's government controlled information and adopted their own version of history which states that the US-backed South Koreans invaded the North.

In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. North Korea had lost its main communist ally and trading partner.

The 1990s were dominated by a catastrophic famine in which millions died. A once strong country began to crumble.

And yet the country remained cut off, shunning most Western offers of help.

Kim Il-Sung, at his death in 1994, was declared Eternal President.

His son Kim Jong-Il ensured continuity and - on his death in 2011 - the leadership was assumed by his son, Kim Jong-Un.

And so through extreme control and isolation spanning 65 years, the Kim dynasty has cemented its cult of personality through which the state is still run.

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Syria: 'Al Qaeda' Rebels Killed In Ambush

Dozens of rebel fighters have been killed in an ambush by forces loyal to Syrian president Bashar al Assad, it has been claimed.

It took place near the town of Adra, which is situated around 22 miles east of Damascus, and is the gateway to Eastern Ghuta, a farming region where a large number of rebels are based.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group opposed to Mr al Assad, said 62 rebel fighters had been killed. It did not give a number for any loyalist casualties.

Syrian state news agency Sana also did not specify how many rebels were killed, but it did say the fighters were part of the jihadist al Nusra Front, an opposition group linked to al Qaeda.

It said the group was attempting to infiltrate Eastern Ghuta and attack a military post.

And it reported that machine guns and rocket propelled grenades were retrieved at the scene.

President Assad vowed last week to stamp out 'terror'

Loyalist forces have been on the offensive around Damascus since a rebel surge into towns and villages on the outskirts of the capital last year.

The army has increased its efforts to secure the city and its links to the western coast, while rebel fighters have overrun much of the north and east.

Elsewhere on Wednesday, fierce clashes reportedly broke out on the edge of the northern city of Aleppo, a day after rebel fighters occupied a nearby air base at Minnigh.

An explosion was also said to have ripped through the northern city of Raqa, killing three people including two children, according to the Observatory.

Meanwhile, UN inspectors tasked with looking into claims of chemical weapons use in Syria are expected to arrive in the war-torn country next week.

The team, led by Swedish expert Ake Sellstrom, will visit three sites where chemical weapons attacks have allegedly taken place to determine only whether they have been used - not who was behind the assaults. 

Some 13 suspected chemical weapons attacks have been reported to the United Nations in total. Both sides have been accused of using banned nerve agents.

More than 100,000 people have died in Syria's civil war and millions have been displaced since the conflict started in March 2011.

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India Farmers: Plan To Sell Organs To Pay Debt

By Neville Lazarus, Sky News Producer

Farmers in India have asked the government for permission to sell their own organs to help pay off mounting debts.

The Union of Farmers contacted the Prime Minister on behalf of farmers in the northern state of Haryana, which is near New Delhi.

"More than 90% of the farmers of Haryana are in debt," said protest leader Gurnam Singh, from the Bharat Kisan Union.

"It has become increasingly difficult for us to live and the only way out is by selling our kidneys and other organs.

"The land belongs to our ancestors and is like our mother so we will never sell it.

"At least selling our organs would enable us to repay debt and live for a few more years and feed our families."

They are yet to hear from the state government or from the Prime Minister's office.

The farmers are also protesting against the way government-run banks in the region deal with loan defaults.

Photographs and details of all loan defaulters are posted at bank branches to name and shame. Mr Singh says that this has led to social stigma.

According to the National Crimes Records Bureau, 270,940 farmers have taken their lives since 1995.

This occurred at an annual average rate of 14,462 deaths between 1995 and 2000.

Critics have pointed out that the numbers may be even higher because the figures are understated by the government.

They say that several deaths are not reported as suicides and due to social prejudices, women farmer deaths are not registered as farmer suicides.

More than 60% of people in India rely on agriculture for their income, but in recent years the demand for land, fertiliser, water and seeds has increased.

At harvest time many farmers have then found themselves confronted by record low global prices.

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Japan's PM Vows 'Urgent' Fukushima Water Help

Japan's prime minister has pledged to step in over an "urgent" battle to stop radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant leaking into the ocean.

"Stabilising the Fukushima plant is our challenge," Shinzo Abe said at a meeting of the government's disaster task force.

"In particular, the contaminated water is an urgent issue which has generated a great deal of public attention."

Mr Abe - whose Liberal Democratic Party wants to restart the country's switched-off reactors if their safety can be assured -  said the clean-up would no longer be left to plant operator Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco). 

He also called for "swift and steady measures" on the toxic water issue.

Mr Abe talking to MPs in Japan's parliament

Tokyo would now help foot the bill, the PM said, the first time that it has committed extra funds to deal with the growing problem.

His comments follow heavy criticism of plant operator Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) and its handling of the more than two-year-old atomic crisis, the worst nuclear disaster in a generation.

The embattled utility - kept afloat by a government bailout - last month admitted for the first time that radioactive groundwater had been leaking outside the plant, confirming long-held suspicions of ocean contamination from its shattered reactors.

It has since said tainted water has been escaping into the Pacific for more than two years.

The meltdown at Fukushima was the worst nuclear accident in a generation

An official at Japan's industry ministry said Tokyo estimates 300 tonnes of contaminated water from a newly discovered leak site may be seeping into the ocean.

"But we're not certain if the water is highly contaminated," he added.

The continuing troubles at Fukushima have triggered fresh worries over the plant's precarious state and Tepco's ability to deal with a growing list of problems after its reactors were swamped by a tsunami in March 2011, sending them into meltdown.

The company has also faced widespread criticism over its lack of transparency in making critical information public since the disaster.

The vast utility is already facing billions of dollars in clean-up and compensation costs over the disaster.

Tepco had previously reported rising levels of cancer-causing materials in groundwater samples at Fukushima. But until last month, the company had insisted it had halted toxic water from leaking beyond its borders.

More than 18,000 people died when the tsunami slammed into Japan's northeast coast.

While no one is officially recorded as having died as a direct result of the meltdowns at Fukushima, large areas around the plant had to be evacuated with tens of thousands of people still unable to return to their homes.

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Kenya Airport Fire: Reopened After Huge Blaze

Kenya's main international airport has reopened after a large blaze in the arrivals area.

Inbound flights were earlier re-routed to other Kenyan airports following the fire at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.

Eyewitnesses said the billowing smoke could be seen from miles away and stranded passengers were left standing on pavements outside the airport holding their luggage.

"It was huge, the smoke billowing, and it didn't seem to be stopping," said Barry Fisher, who had hoped to fly to Ethiopia but was turned away.

Stranded passengers are standing on the pavement outside the airport

A British passenger, Martyn Collbeck, said he was surprised that the airport wasn't shut down sooner so that emergency vehicles could respond.

"When I arrived there were one or two fire engines parked outside the international arrivals, it spread very fast," said Mr Collbeck, who had been scheduled to fly back to London on an early morning KLM flight.

"There were a couple of explosions which I think were a couple of gas canisters. I would have expected more fire engines to respond faster."

The country's largest newspaper, The Daily Nation, reported last month that Nairobi County doesn't have a single working fire engine, and that three fire engines were auctioned off in 2009 because the county hadn't paid a $1,000 (£650) repair bill.

The fire happened at an airport in Nairobi

The fire burned for four hours before it was contained.

Transport secretary Michael Kamau said: "The fire started at a very central part of the airport and this made access difficult. But we have closed the airport indefinitely as we try to contain the fire."

It is the busiest airport in East Africa, and its closure affected flights throughout the region.

The fire comes less than 48 hours after a fuel jet pump failure caused huge delays at the airport, forcing some flights to be re-routed to the airport in the coastal town of Mombasa, Uganda and Rwanda.

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Usher's Ex Seeks Custody After Pool Accident

Ushers ex-wife is seeking sole custody of their two children after their five-year-old son was injured in a freak pool accident.

Tameka Foster has filed court papers asking for an emergency hearing on the grounds her ex-husband is "creating a dangerous environment" for their children, after Usher Raymond V nearly drowned in a pool.

The son of the Grammy-winning R&B singer fell to the bottom of a garden swimming pool in Atlanta and his arm became stuck in the drain, according to Atlanta police spokesman Carlos Campos' report.

A housekeeper tried to get to the boy, but was unable to free him from the drain, Mr Campos said.

The singer with his ex-wife Tameka Foster

Two men who were working at the home as audio-visual subcontractors were called to help.

The boy was eventually pulled from the pool, and given CPR by one of the contractors.

Mr Campos said the boy was "conscious, alert and breathing" when paramedics arrived before 4pm. He was taken to the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Scottish Rite.

According to reports, Usher was not there at the time of the mishap.

According to court document seen by TMZ, Ms Foster claims Usher is abdicating his parental responsibilities by letting other people care for their two children.

Usher Raymond V is one of two sons of Usher and Ms Foster, who divorced two years after getting married in 2007. 

The singer went through a long legal fight with his ex-wife and was awarded primary physical custody of his sons last year.

The near drowning of the singer's son comes almost a year after Ms Foster's 11-year-old son, Kile Glover, died after being critically injured in a boating accident.

The boy, who was the stepson of Usher, was run over by a personal watercraft on Lake Lanier, northeast of Atlanta.

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