Boston Suspects' Parents Delay US Trip

The parents of the suspected Boston bombers are putting off a potential trip to the US, as they continue to plead their sons' innocence.

Amid intense scrutiny, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva and ex-husband Anzor Tsarnaev say they have postponed the idea of travelling to Massachusetts to reclaim their elder son's body or try to visit their younger son in jail.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a gunfight with police, while his brother, Dzhokhar, was wounded and captured just days after the Boston Marathon bombings, which killed three people and injured hundreds more.

Their father has determined he is too ill to travel to the US.

Boston bombing suspects Tamerlan Tsarnaev (L) and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

Meanwhile their mother is wanted by US authorities on a 2012 shoplifting charge, though it is unclear whether that was a deterrent.

"It's all lies and hypocrisy," Zubeidat Tsarnaeva told The Associated Press at her home in Dagestan over the weekend.

"I'm sick and tired of all this nonsense that they make up about me and my children.

"People know me as a regular person, and I've never been mixed up in any criminal intentions, especially any linked to terrorism."

But she continues to draw increased attention from investigators.

Federal officials now say Russian authorities intercepted her phone calls, including one in which she vaguely discussed jihad with her elder son.

Anzor, Zubeidat and babyTamerlan Tsarnaev with uncle Muhamad Suleimanov

In another, she was recorded talking to someone in southern Russia who is under FBI investigation in an unrelated case, US officials said.

When she arrived in the US in 2002, her appearance and behaviour were very different to today.

Since then friends have noticed a change. She began wearing a hijab and cited conspiracy theories about 9/11 being a plot against Muslims.

Anzor Tsarnaev's brother, Ruslan Tsarni, has said he believed his former sister-in-law had a "big-time influence" on her older son's growing embrace of his Muslim faith and decision to quit boxing and school.

Mrs Tsarnaeva insists there is no mystery and that she is just someone who found a deeper spirituality. 

It is unclear whether religious differences fuelled tension in the ethnic-Chechen family. The couple divorced in 2011.

A younger Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev with their sisters

About the same time, came the brief FBI investigation into Tamerlan Tsarnaev, prompted by a tip from Russia's security service.

The recorded telephone conversations are significant, experts say.

Had they been revealed earlier, there might have been enough evidence for the FBI to initiate a more thorough investigation of the family.

One former US attorney general believes the alleged bombers likely had help in the attack.

"I don't believe they could have done what they did without technical assistance building the bomb and without ... spiritual encouragement," Michael Mukasey, who served under George W Bush, told Fox News.

He added that the idea the bombers only followed instructions from the internet "doesn't do it" for him.

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April Jones Murder Trial: Bridger In Court

The trial of the former lifeguard accused of murdering schoolgirl April Jones is due to get under way.

Mark Bridger, 47, was arrested the day after five-year-old April vanished while playing on her bike near her home in Machynlleth, mid-Wales, last October.

Wearing a short-sleeved pale blue shirt, a blue striped tie and grey trousers, he appeared in the dock at Mold Crown Court flanked by two prison officers.

Trial judge Mr Justice Griffith Williams told 50 potential jurors: "I don't know whether you have been reading the papers or listening to the news but if you have, you have probably worked out by now that I am about to start the trial which arises out of the alleged murder of April Jones in Machynlleth last October.

April Jones' family arrive at Mold Crown Court

"The defendant's name is Mark Bridger, he is obviously sitting in the dock. It may be as well that you have a look at him just to make sure he is not somebody who you know or who you think you know."

Hundreds joined the search for April, who suffered from cerebral palsy, following her disappearance.

Her body has never been found despite a major operation led by Dyfed Powys Police.

Bridger, of Ceinws, is charged with abducting and murdering April, and of unlawfully disposing of and concealing her body with intent to pervert the course of justice.

He has pleaded not guilty to the allegations.

Jury selection has been taking place, with the first day expected to be occupied with legal matters and the trial expected to open later this week.

There will be nearly 60 witnesses called throughout the trial, which is expected to last until the middle of June.

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Prague Explosion Leaves Dozens Injured

A powerful explosion in the centre of Prague has injured up to 40 people and left several others buried under rubble, police have said.

The blast in a building on Divadelni Street, close to the National Theatre, was heard as far away as Prague Castle, over a mile away across the Vltava river.

It blew out the windows on many of the surrounding buildings which were evacuated.

Zdenek Schwarz, head of the rescue service in Prague, said up to 40 people have been injured but mainly suffered bruises and cuts from glass.

Prague emergency service spokeswoman Jirina Ernestova said there were fears three people may be buried in the rubble of the damaged building which police said was a former block of flats now used as office space.

Sniffer dogs were being used and Ms Ernestova said ambulances were staying at the scene "in case someone was pulled out of the rubble".

The explosion was near the National Theatre in the city

A police spokesman said the explosion was probably caused by natural gas and that there had been around 15 people in the building, which included an office of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and an art gallery.

Pensioner Venceslava Sehnotkova, who lives in a nearby house, told Reuters: "I was sitting quietly in my flat, making coffee. Then there was an incredible explosion. I thought the building would collapse.

"I looked out the window, and there was only dust everywhere."

Students and teachers from two nearby universities panicked and ran out when the blast shook their buildings, fearing a terrorist attack, an unnamed student told Czech TV.

"I was in the bathroom, no windows, the door was closed, honestly, if I had been in my bed I would have been covered in glass," said Z B Haislip, a student from the US.

Prime Minister Petr Necas said in a statement he was "deeply hit by the tragedy of the gas explosion".

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Woman 'Uses' Ambulance As Free Taxi Service

A woman has been charged by police in South Carolina who say she repeatedly pretended to be sick to get a free ambulance ride into town.

Audrey Ferguson lives in an isolated area of Dorchester County, about 50 miles northwest of Charleston.

Sheriff's Office records indicate emergency workers have been called to the 51-year-old's home about 100 times since January 2005 to take her to hospital.

Officials eventually began to question the nature of the calls, and finally became suspicious.

"This particular woman clearly was using us to get transported, and the state was paying for it," Emergency Medical Services director Doug Warren told The Post and Courier newspaper.

He added that each trip had cost $425 (£274) plus mileage at a rate of $7 (£4.50) - all paid for by Medicaid.

The next time Ferguson called for help in early April, sheriff's deputies were alerted.

The paramedics took her as usual to hospital in North Charleston, where police say she duly called her son to come pick her up.

She told hospital staff she was fine after all, and attempted to walk out.

But she was quickly arrested by the watching deputies.

Ferguson has been charged with misuse of 911 and giving a false report. She is being held in lieu of $2,450 (£1,580) bail.

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North Wales Child Abuse: 76 Fresh Allegations

By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correpondent

Detectives have confirmed they are investigating 76 new cases of suspected historical abuse at children's care homes in north Wales.

Police officers leading Operation Pallial say the allegations centre on 18 different care homes between 1963 and 1992.

A total of 84 individuals have been named as abusers by complainants and 16 of those have been named by more than one victim. One arrest has so far been made.

The total number of allegations recorded since the new police inquiry was launched in November has now risen to 140.

The alleged victims were aged between seven and 19, while the offences range from verbal and physical assaults and abuse through to indecent assaults and serious sexual assaults.

Detective Superintendent Ian Mulcahey said: "Almost everyone that Operation Pallial is aware of has now been video interviewed by specially trained officers.

"Many have provided graphic accounts of abuse, in some cases of very serious criminality."

North Wales Chief Constable Mark Polin said it was "never too late" to report abuse and urged anyone who has not come forward yet to do so.

Wrexham's former Bryn Estyn home, one where abuse is known to have happened

He also told offenders they should look over their shoulders.

He said: "If you believe that the passage of time will reduce the resolve of Operation Pallial or any police force to identify people still alive who have caused harm to others and bring them to justice, you are are sorely mistaken.

"People who commit serious and sexual offences should live with the knowledge that we will always examine new information and evidence and seek to bring them to justice for their crimes.

"Offenders should quite rightly have to look over their shoulders for the rest of their lives."

One of the victims who has taken new allegations to the police has previously told Sky News how he was abused in various North Wales care homes.

"Michael" also revealed how as a 12-year-old he was repeatedly put on a mini-bus with other children, driven down to London and forced to take part in lurid sex parties.

Last November, he told Sky News how the men who abused him were all "posh people" who plied the boys were drink and drugs before abusing them.

He said: "It was how compliant you were, how nice you were towards them and looking back it was all about what they could get away with."

The Waterhouse Inquiry in 2000 found evidence of widespread sexual abuse and several care home staff members were convicted for various offences.

Compensation was then paid to 140 victims but there have been long held suspicions that the true extent of abuse in the homes in north Wales has never been uncovered.

Operation Pallial was set up to ensure allegations were indeed properly investigated.

Police said the first phases of the work "has resulted in the collection of significant evidence of systemic and serious sexual and physical abuse of children whilst in care".

It has also shown "no evidence of systemic of institutional misconduct by North Wales Police officers or staff".

Last week, detectives made their first arrest as part of the investigation into historical allegations of abuse.

A man was arrested in Ipswich, Suffolk and questioned on suspicion of a number of serious sexual offences before being bailed to until the end of July.

Officers expect phase two of the operation to involve further arrests.

The NSPCC said the inquiry was "a major step forward into probing claims of widespread child abuse".

The charity's director Peter Watt added: "Many who have been waiting decades for justice and for their voices to be heard have now finally found the courage to come forward and we mustn't fail them this time."

The NSPCC urged anyone who has any information about abuse to contact either its round-the-clock helpline on 0800 389 6176, or the police immediately.

The full police report into phase one of the inquiry has been published on the North Wales Police and Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) websites.

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Rape Of Boy At Debenhams: Two Men Convicted

Two men have been found guilty of raping a 14-year-old boy in the toilets of a city centre department store.

Alex Wilson-Fletcher, 42, and Abdelkader El Janabi, 55, attacked their teenage victim in the Debenhams store in Manchester on a busy Saturday afternoon last summer.

The boy was in the Arndale Centre at around 5.45pm on June 2 last year when he went to the toilets.

While there he was approached by the defendants, led out of the Arndale Centre and forced to go to the nearby Debenhams where he was raped, Manchester Crown Court heard.

Wilson-Fletcher, of Oldham Street, Manchester, and El Janabi, of Artillery Court, Ardwick, were both convicted by a jury of two counts of rape and two counts of sexual touching following a two-week trial.

They were remanded into custody by Judge Michael Leeming QC who warned they face substantial jail terms when they are sentenced on June 6.

The pair were tracked down after images from CCTV were circulated by police.

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'Triad Boss' Hacked To Death: Four Held

Four people have been arrested in Hong Kong after a man, thought to be a triad boss, was hacked to death outside a hospital.

The 30-year-old man, with the surname Tse, was struck multiple times with an axe and meat cleaver by two masked men, according to The Standard newspaper.

Reports said he had been nearly disembowelled.

The paper cited a police source as saying he was a senior member of the city's Wo Shing Wo triad society.

Television news footage showed blood splattered on the ground at the scene, along with a yellow-handled axe, walking stick, smartphone and glasses.

"Police officers sped to the scene and found the man lying unconscious on the ground," said a police statement, adding that Tse sustained multiple wounds. He was rushed to hospital but declared dead an hour-and-a-half later.

The arrested men are aged between 18 and 30, police said.

Tse had just seen a doctor in rural Sheung Shui district and was limping with the help of a walking stick when he was attacked, The Standard reported.

Around 100 people thought to be members of the Wo Shing Wo group were seen burning incense and offering prayers at the scene of the killing late on Sunday.

Hong Kong's notorious triads have a hand in extortion rackets, prostitution, drugs and copyright piracy - although violence is rarely seen in tourist areas.

In 2011, three Hong Kong triad members were jailed for life for the grisly murder of a crime boss who was rammed by a vehicle and then hacked to death outside a luxury hotel.

Hong Kong police last August said they had arrested nearly 1,200 people in raids on illegal gambling dens and brothels during a month-long crackdown on triad activities.

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Daredevil Dies In Zip-Line Ponytail Stunt

An Indian man who holds the Guinness World Record for covering the longest distance on a zip-line while hanging by his hair has died while performing a stunt.

Sailendra Nath Roy, a 49-year-old police officer, was attempting to cross the River Teesta in the state of West Bengal on Sunday on a 180m (594ft) wire above the water.

After attaching his shoulder-length hair to a pulley on the wire, Mr Roy had completed around half the distance but then became entangled and found himself unable to move.

Spectators initially cheered him on before he got into trouble

Hundreds of spectators initially cheered him on, but then began screaming in horror when they saw he was making increasingly desperate attempts to move forward.

Senior police officer K Jayaraman said: "Roy tried frantically to get hold of a second rope to reach the finishing point."

After several minutes, Mr Roy stopped moving and was eventually rescued. No ambulance or doctor was present during the stunt.

He was admitted to hospital in nearby Siliguri, but was declared dead by doctors after a suspected heart attack.

Mr Roth pulling a train on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway last year

A post-mortem examination is expected to be completed later on Monday.

Mr Roy achieved the Guinness World Record after covering 82.5m (271ft) on a zip-line while attached by his hair in 2011 at the Neemrana Fort, a heritage hotel in the desert state of Rajasthan.

Last year he used his hair to drag a train and four coaches on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

His younger brother Benoy, who was witnessing his brother's stunt for the first time, said: "We were proud of his bravery.

"He was sure to win but destiny has taken his life and the most beloved member of our family as well."

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PFA Chairman Sorry Over Reginald D Hunter Set

By Richard Williams, Sky News Online

The chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association has apologised for a comedian's controversial routine at the organisation's awards ceremony, admitting it left him "embarrassed".

Black American comedian Reginald D Hunter frequently used the word 'n*****' during his set at the annual showpiece event, held at London's Grosvenor Hotel.

At the start of his routine, the performer explained he uses the term for people of all races, employing it at one point to refer to Uruguayan player Luis Suarez.

And while PFA chairman Clarke Carlisle refused to criticise Hunter, he questioned the process that led to the comedian being booked.

"I apologise unreservedly," he told Sky News.

"There are some people who found it funny and some who didn't. Some people found it uncomfortable and some people found it disgusting.

"My personal opinion is that I'm embarrassed that we put it up there. It was really uncomfortable and I think a lot of people found it quite embarrassing."

Clarke Carlisle said some were 'disgusted' by the routine

English football has suffered from high-profile racial abuse cases involving Liverpool's Suarez and former England captain John Terry over the last two years.

Mr Carlisle, also an ambassador for the anti-racism 'Kick It Out' campaign, said: "It's a really delicate issue and one we've had real problems with, so I really can't understand why we have paid someone who uses a term like that so flippantly.

"It wasn't a comedy club, it was a showpiece event that should be a celebration of professional football. It's not what the night is about.

"I'm not going to lambast Reginald. That's his act and we should have been aware of that. We simply shouldn't have booked him. I would like to have discussions about what our vetting process was."

Some have argued that the use of the word 'n*****' can be acceptable if used by black people who, it is suggested, have the right to take ownership of the term.

But Mr Carlisle said: "He tried to take the sting out of it with his opening gambit (in which he explains he uses the word for everyone, irrespective of colour), but it didn't.

"It is something I feel really strongly about. How can we appropriate something that is so derogatory?"

Reginald D Hunter has been contacted for comment but is yet to respond.

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Hotel Pool Deaths: Tests Reveal Pair Drowned

Provisional post-mortem tests on the bodies of two people found in a swimming pool at a country mansion show they drowned.

The man in his early 30s and a woman in her early 20s, both from the London area, were discovered in the water at Down Hall Country House Hotel in Hatfield Heath, Essex.

The alarm was raised at 7.30pm and staff dived into the swimming pool to try and save and resuscitate them.

Police and paramedics also arrived within minutes, but the pair were later pronounced dead at the scene.

The man and woman were staying at the hotel together, however, their precise relationship is not known.

Both were in their swim-wear when they were found in the hotel pool by a member of staff.

The hotel - an Italianate mansion - dates back to 1322

Essex Police announced the findings of the post-mortem examinations, which showed the deaths were consistent with drowning.

Further tests are expected to be carried out, before a report is prepared for the Essex County Council coroner.

Detectives are continuing to investigate the circumstances leading up to their deaths, but are not treating them as suspicious.

They have also said they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths.

Chief Inspector Nick Lee said next of kin had been informed.

The test results came as it emerged that a murder mystery event was due to start at the hotel the following night, but was cancelled.

Frankie Heritage, who turned up hoping to take part, told Sky News that when he got a phone call to say it had been called-off due to the police probe - he thought it was part of the game.

"So we drove down here and saw all the police here and even then I thought it was just a hoax," he said.

Guest Frankie Heritage was at the country mansion for a murder mystery game

"Then I walked in and asked a member of staff about it and they were sort of sworn to secrecy. They said they didn't know anything. But I still thought it was part of the murder mystery weekend."

Donna Nash, 37, from Colchester in Essex, who had been to the hotel before, told Sky News: "I've been there three times now and I use the pool every time.

"The pool is quite deep but it's only small - it's a different shape underwater to normal ones. It's awful news."

Some newspapers have reported that one of the theories being investigated is that the pair were poisoned, but this has not been confirmed by police.

Asked if the people had been going to any of the functions taking place at the hotel, Mr Lee said: "It's a very busy hotel, there were a number of functions going on."

Events believed to have been going on include weddings, birthday parties and christenings.

Hotel manager Chris Falcus said staff at Down Hall were "devastated" by what had happened, adding: "Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those concerned."

He added: "We are co-operating fully with the police investigation."

The Italianate mansion - situated near Bishop's Stortford on the Hertfordshire and Essex border -  offers a historic setting with luxury interiors and ornate ceilings, and describes itself as one of England's most established county house hotels.

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