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BBC news 2013-05-09

BBC News with John Jason

Details have emerged of the conditions endured by the three women held for around a decade in a house in the American city of Cleveland. Police said they’d been kept bound and ropes and chains had been found in the house. Two of the women, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus, have returned to home to rapturous welcomes. Gina’s aunt, Sandra Ruiz, said it was important that the local community showed patience in letting the police get on with their job.

“The last thing the family is asking is that we as a community do not go retaliate against the family or the suspects of this crime. We are asking that, as they have been doing their job, it not might be today when we want it, it might not be tomorrow, but they will get the job done. We need to let them do their job.”

The mother of the third woman, Michele Knight, has said she’s not yet seen her daughter.

Lawyers for the victims of the cholera epidemic in Haiti have given the United Nations a 60-day deadline to open talks about billions of dollars of compensation or face legal action. The families of the 8,000 people killed by the epidemic and the hundreds of thousands of people infected accused the UN of negligently allowing peacekeeping soldiers to pollute Haiti’s water supply. Mark Doyle reports.

The cholera epidemic began in Haiti near a camp for UN soldiers where there were leaking sewage pipes. Some human waste was also dumped outside the camp near a river. One of the UN’s own experts on cholera, Daniele Lantagne, told the BBC it was most likely the disease originated in the UN camp. It housed UN soldiers from Nepal where cholera is endemic. The UN rejected an earlier call for compensation in this uNPRecedented case against the world body saying it was immune from such claims.

An appeal court in Italy has upheld the conviction of the former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi for tax evasion. Mr Berlusconi’s been convicted of artificially inflating prices of film distribution rights to avoid taxes. Here is Alan Johnston.

A lower court found Mr Berlusconi guilty of fraud and sentenced him to a year behind bars. He appealed but this has been thrown out. In fact the higher court has said he should spend four years in jail. There is, however, no real prospect of this actually happening. Mr Berlusconi is sure to exercise his right to appeal one more time and the case will soon expire under a legal time limit.

Syrian activists say the leader of a powerful rebel faction, the al-Nusra Front, has been wounded in a Syrian army bombardment near the capital Damascus. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani had been wounded in the foot, but it had no further details. The al-Nusra Front has been linked with al-Qaeda.

World News from the BBC

Police in Chile say they’ve been attacked with petrol bombs as tens of thousands of students resumed protest for free high-quality education. The march in the Chilean capital Santiago has reportedly been largely peaceful but there have been isolated clashes. It’s the second nationwide demonstration this year, but students have been staging such protests since 2010.

Two Zambian men accused of engaging in homosexual acts, which are banned in the country, have appeared in court in central Zambia. They denied the charges of committing unnatural sexual acts. The maximum penalty is fourteen years in prison.

A teenage footballer has been charged with homicide by assault over the death of a referee during a match in United States last month. The 17-year-old goalkeeper is alleged to have punched Ricardo Portillo in the head after the referee awarded a penalty against him. Portillo fell into a coma hours later and never regained consciousness. He died on Saturday.

The long-serving manager of the English football club Everton David Moyes is said to be appointed to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United. The BBC understands that an announcement could be made on Thursday. Sir Alex announced his retirement at the end of this season, one that’s seen the English Premier League club win its 13th league title under his leadership. David Bond reports.

At the age of 71, Sir Alex’s retirement has been the big cloud hanging over Old Trafford. Despite that, the Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said his departure would not be the end of the story.

“It’s a fantastic job whoever takes on the facilities, the training facilities, you know, the established, you know, fan base around the world. It’s just the most fantastic job for somebody.”

That someone looks like being Everton’s David Moyes, highly regarded but uNPRoven at the very top. Sir Alex has played a central part in the selection of his successor. That won’t make it any easier to build on the legacy of the greatest manager the English game has ever seen.

BBC News