North Korean Defector Reunited With Saviour

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent

A young woman who escaped from North Korea with her mother and brother has been reunited with an Australian good Samaritan who came to their rescue.

Hyeonseo Lee fled North Korea three years ago when she was just 17, making the treacherous journey through China to South East Asia.

The family crossed into Laos, but Hyeonseo's mother and brother were detained at the border and put in prison.

Desperate, in tears and with no money she was spotted in a café by Australian backpacker Dick Stolp, who gave her £645 to pay prison officials to release her family.

They went their separate ways, but Hyeonseo has always wanted to thank Mr Stolp in person.

With recent events in North Korea highlighting the grip the regime has on its population, an Australian TV programme looking at the issues involved brought the pair back together in an emotional surprise reunion.

"I was really happy, but I can't explain the feeling, I can't explain with words, but it was really amazing" Hyeonseo told Sky News.

"There were television cameras everywhere so it was hard to express my emotions, but I am so happy."

Hyeonseo described the prison from which her mother and brother were rescued.

"The conditions were really horrible. Dirty water, killers, murderers, my mum told me. I was so scared."

Describing Mr Stolp she explained: "He says I'm not a hero, but I say he is a modern hero."

Hyeonseo Lee during her visit to Australia

Dick Stolp says he doesn't need thanks, he is just glad he could make a difference.

"You help a small hand and it reaches to other hands and you think that's great, that's good stuff."

The associate producer of SBS Television's Insight programme, Luan McKenna, explained how hard it was keeping the reunion a secret.

"The whole operation was fraught with difficulty and was almost foiled by Hyeonseo's reluctance to come to Sydney without knowing Dick was coming," Mr McKenna writes in his blog.

"But it was worth it to see her face when she met Dick in the SBS foyer. ... After all, not only did his money get Hyeonseo, her mother and her brother to safety - it was also an act of kindness that restored her faith in humanity."

Hyeonseo now lives in Seoul where she helps other North Korean refugees, and gives lectures around the world about the difficulties facing the friends and family she left behind.

Mr Stolp says he is happy to see her making a difference.

"I'm meeting someone who is now doing good things, and inside I can't help but feel 'Hey! I helped this lady to go out and change her life'," he said.

"People have been touched (by the story) and hopefully they will go and do something."

Food shortages, indoctrination and labour camps are just some of what Hyeonseo left behind.

She says the kindness of a stranger was in contrast to the darker side of human nature she witnessed in North Korea, adding that such kindness has given her hope for the future of her country.

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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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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 Korean 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 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 its insistence that it 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 KCNA news agency 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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John Kerry Meets Russia Human Rights Groups

By Katie Stallard, Moscow Correspondent

US Secretary of State John Kerry has met leading human rights activists in Moscow on the second day of a heavily-scrutinised visit to the Russian capital

Mr Kerry is attempting a delicate diplomatic balancing act - mending fences with the Kremlin and finding common ground on Syria, whilst also showing support for the country's embattled civil society.

At a meeting inside the US ambassador's residence in Moscow, he reportedly assured campaigners that Washington was concerned about a crackdown on non-governmental organisations operating in Russia.

Human Rights Watch senior researcher Tania Lokshina, one of nine activists who met Kerry, said he told them he had been up until 2.30am discussing the situation with Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov.

Mr Kerry also met Nobel Peace Prize nominee Lyudmila Alexeyeva, and Alexander Cherkasov, head of Russian human rights group, Memorial.

Hundreds of NGOs (non-governmental organisations) have been raided across the country in recent months as Russia attempts to enforce a new law requiring those involved in political activities to register as "foreign agents" if they receive funding from abroad.

Activists say the term is reminiscent of Soviet-era propaganda and an attempt to undermine their credibility.

"Foreign agents in Russia has only one single interpretation: It reads like foreign spies," Lokshina said.

Election monitoring group Golos, which exposed allegations of electoral fraud in the run-up to Vladimir Putin's return to the presidency, was fined 300,000 rubles (£6,200) last month in the first case to come to court.

Golos insists it is not involved in political activities, does not receive funding from overseas, and has appealed against the ruling.

USAID, the main US developmental agency, was expelled from Russia last year after President Putin accused US groups of funding mass street protests in opposition to his rule.

John Kerry met Nobel Peace Prize nominee Lyudmila Alexeyeva

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Kerry said: "Russia is complicated, we all know, but vital."

"I just met with a group of your civil society folks who are struggling to find their voice in their own country, who are standing up to fight for what we take for granted in the United States of America."

But he refrained from publicly criticising his government hosts and had earlier stressed the need to not "get lost in some of these other issues".

He told reporters that he had discussed the crackdown on NGOs and Russia's ban on Americans adopting its children with officials, but that these disputes should not cloud relations between the two countries.

He said: "The key is not to let them become so personalised or so much an impediment to the larger goal and to the broader agenda and to our larger interests."

Some of those present at this morning's meeting accused Mr Kerry of glossing over Russia's deteriorating human rights situation.

Veteran rights campaigner Lev Ponomaryov said: "We are saying that an unconstitutional coup is taking place in Russia. These are pretty serious words and serious accusations.

"Once again, (US officials communicated with) smooth language. 'We are sympathising with you. Well done! You are at the forefront of the fight for democracy. We are not going to abandon you.'

"But I have to say that the language was very smooth. So, of course, these are our domestic problems.

"Kerry said lots of good words," added Ponomaryov. "But these are standard words which everyone says."

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Ohio Cops: Trio Held With Ropes And Chains

Three women abducted about a decade ago and held captive in a house were restrained with ropes and chains, a police chief has said.

The physical condition of Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus, rescued in Cleveland, Ohio on Monday, was "very good considering the circumstances", Michael McGrath claimed.

He said: "We have confirmation they were bound and there were chains and ropes in the hall."

Mr McGrath also said they had been allowed out of the house "very rarely", adding: "They were released out in the backyard once in a while I believe."

Police have been searching the property and said no human remains have been found at the house. Officers had reportedly been looking for "possible aborted babies". 

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

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

Ariel Castro, 52, who owned and lived at the property, and his two brothers Pedro, 54, and Onil, 50, are now in custody after being arrested on suspicion of holding the women captive.

Gina DeJesus went missing in 2004

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.

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 candlelight vigil about a year ago.

Ariel Castro apparently comforted Gina DeJesus' mother at a vigil

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.

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

Miss Knight, now 32, Miss Berry, 27, and Miss DeJesus, 23, 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.

Police are investigating the handling of the call, saying: "While the call-taker complied with policies and procedures which enabled a very fast response by police, we have noted some concerns which will be the focus of our review."

Officers said the concerns included "the call-taker's failure to remain on the line with Miss Berry until police arrived on scene", adding: "Please be assured that this matter will be investigated, and if necessary, appropriate corrective action taken."

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."

Amanda Berry's grandmother spoke to her on the telephone

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.

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

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

"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 six-year-old daughter. Police said they believe one of the suspects is the girl's father.

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.

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Genoa: Seven Dead As Ship Crashes Into Port

At least seven people have died and six are missing after a container ship smashed into a control tower at the port of Genoa.

Unconfirmed reports have suggested engine failure of the Jolly Nero ship could have been to blame for the crash after one of the pilots was quoted as saying: "Two engines seem to have failed and we lost control of the ship."

Part of the tower, in which about 14 people were present at the time of the crash, collapsed into the water.

One of the victims is thought to be a woman in her 30s, while at least two of the others are men. Six people have been reported seriously injured.

Rescuers inspect what remains of the control tower

Some of those missing are understood to have been trapped under rubble or in a lift which may have fallen into the sea.

Some rescue workers dived into the water around the port in a frantic search to find survivors while others have been using dogs trained to find people in earthquake zones to see if survivors were trapped under the rubble.

At daybreak, a mobile telephone began to ring beneath the wrecked structure raising hopes of locating people alive, but it rang off before rescue workers could find it.

Italian emergency workers found one badly injured man in the rubble of the control tower.

The man worked as a telephone operator and has been named locally as 50-year-old Maurizio Potenza.

An employee of the Genoa-based Messina Line company, which owns the vessel, said: "There was an accident when the ship was leaving the port.

The tower as it looked before the accident, and after

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

Claudio Burlando, president of the Liguria region that is home to the northwestern port city, told SKY TG 24 that the ship was being conducted by an on-board pilot and two tug boats, one in front and one behind.

"It was a manoeuvre done hundreds of times. We're all wondering what could have happened," he said.

"The weather conditions were perfect, there was no wind, there were no other ships on the move," Luigi Merlo, the head of Genoa's port authority, told reporters.

The crash happened during a shift change at the vast metal tower, which meant more people were present.

The tower bent over 45 degrees before collapsing, leaving only what looked like an emergency staircase standing.

Roberto, the port's night watch, told La Repubblica newspaper: "I heard a terrible din and rushed out of my cabin. It was an incredible sight: the control tower was leaning perilously."

The Jolly Nero weighs over 40,500 tons

The Jolly Nero is almost 200m (655ft) long, 30m (98ft) wide, and weighs over 40,500 tons.

The ship's owner, Stefano Messina, choked back tears as he said: "We are all utterly shocked. Nothing like this has ever happened before."

The Jolly Nero's captain is being questioned by police on suspicion of manslaughter.

Italians are still reeling from the Costa Concordia shipwreck off Giglio island in 2012 which left 32 people dead.

Hearings against six suspects in the cruise liner disaster began in Italy on April 15.

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Shark Attack: Man Killed Off Reunion Island

A man has been attacked and killed by a shark on his honeymoon while surfing near a beach on the French island of Reunion.

The 36-year-old French national was in the sea just off the popular beach of Brisants de Saint-Gilles on the west of the island when a shark charged at him twice, prompting a nearby swimmer to raise the alarm when he saw blood on the water, the local prefecture said.

Lifeguards jumped in the water to fetch the victim, who had lost a lot of blood and was in cardiac and respiratory arrest. They brought him back to the beach but were unable to revive him.

The shark had bitten the surfer on the arm and on the thigh. His wife was on the beach when the attack happened and is being treated for shock, the authorities said.

According to reports in the French media, the couple are from Morteau in eastern France.

Reunion's natural environment makes it an attractive tourist destination

The deadly shark attack was the first this year on the French island, where three people have been killed by sharks in the past two years.

Two attacks, one fatal and one causing serious injury, happened just days apart last summer.

That prompted surfers on the island to call for a marine nature reserve on that area of the island to be closed, which they blame for an increase in shark attacks since 2011.

Local authorities have initiated several scientific studies to try to better understand the way of life of the animals.

People have also been deployed near beaches on boats or in the water to keep an eye on swimmers and surfers and spot sharks before they attack.

Reunion is in the middle of the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar and south of Mauritius.

The beach where the latest attack occurred has reportedly been re-opened, but swimming and other water activities are banned until further notice.

Sharks are not man-eaters, but sometimes mistake humans for their natural prey, like seals or tortoises, and at other times hurt surfers as they "mouth" them out of curiosity, experts say.

Last year, 78 shark attacks were reported around the world, of which eight were fatal.

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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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China 'Baby Milk Runners' Probe Ordered

A baby milk trafficking investigation has been launched into networks which are bulk-buying formula and shipping it to China where it is sold at premium prices.

The Dutch government has ordered a probe into persistent shortages of certain brands of baby formula which has been linked to so-called "baby milk runners".

The formula is then sent to China where it is resold with a 100% mark up to parents.

Chinese parents are willing to pay top price for the baby milk after a 2008 scandal where Chinese formula was found to be tainted with melamine. It left six children dead and affected more than 300,000 others.

Deputy economic affairs minister Sharon Dijksma said: "I want to gather information ... over the bulk-buying and trade in the Netherlands in order to inform Chinese authorities that they are getting batches of milk powder that do not confirm to their regulations."

Formula in China is selling for twice the price

There is growing concern in the Netherlands about a looming national shortage of infant formula.

Dutch Food Industry Federation (FNLI) director Philip den Ouden said: "Dutch consumers can still find baby formula, but it's getting harder and harder."

He said earlier this year retailers saw a 50% spike in sales figures of baby formula from the last quarter of 2012.

"This was strange because the number of births in the Netherlands did not go up," he said.

At a meeting earlier this week, the FNLI and food retail representatives said that a measure to merely restrict the number of tins of formula per customer was not enough.

Last month a Chinese businessman in Britain told Sky News that he was selling £5,000 of baby milk a week to China at double the price.

He said he was buying stocks from British supermarkets.

The run on formula led supermarkets Sainsbury's, Tesco, Morrisons and Asda to ration some labels of baby milk.

Danone, the makers of Aptamil and Cow & Gate, restricted purchases to two per transaction.

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Ohio: Amanda Berry Home After Kidnap Ordeal

Amanda Berry, one of three women rescued from a house in Cleveland, Ohio, after being abducted about a decade ago, has returned to her sister's home.

TV aerial pictures of the back of the family property, which is also in the US city, showed someone carrying a small child.

The youngster is thought to be the six-year-old daughter that Miss Berry bore during her time as a captive.

Her sister, Beth Serrano, later came out of the house, which is covered in balloons and banners that said: "We never lost hope Mandy" and "Welcome home."

She read out a statement where she thanked the public and media for their support and also appealed for their privacy to be respected.

Amanda Berry (L), Gina DeJesus and the house where they were found

Miss Berry's mother had died during the time she was being detained.

When the former captive's car with darkened windows arrived at the family house, Jessica Duna, a 50-year-old housekeeper who lives in neighbourhood, said: "Oh my God, it just stopped my heart.

"It's just sad that her mother isn't here right now. Its heartbreaking."

The home of Miss Berry's sister is covered with balloons and banners

On Monday, Miss Berry had raised the alarm by screaming for help and a neighbour managed to get her and her child out by kicking in a door.

Miss Berry then made a frantic call to the police and the other two women, Michelle Knight and Gina DeJesus, were later rescued.

Miss Knight, now 32, Miss Berry, 27, and Miss DeJesus, 23, were abducted separately in nearby areas of the Ohio city in 2002, 2003 and 2004 when they were 20, 16 and 14 respectively.

The owner of the home, 52-year-old former school bus driver Ariel Castro, has been detained, along with his brothers, Pedro, 54, and Onil, 50.

More follows...

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