07/05/2013 BBC World News

top stories: A dramatic escape for three young women missing for a

decade and found alive in a house in Cleveland, Ohio Help me, I'm Amanda

Berry, I've been kidnapped, missing for ten years and I'm out here, free

now. Somalia's President says his Government needs more help to

improve security, as an international donor conference opens

in London. Queen Elizabeth has decided not to

attend the next summit of Commonwealth leaders, for the first

time in ho years. And China denies claims by the

Pentagon that it is hacking US Hello and welcome. They disappeared

into thin air a decade ago. Now three young women have been freed

after being kidnapped and he would captive in an ordinary suburban

house in Ohio. One of the women, who had been held since she was 16

Managed to escape after attracting a neighbour's attention. Three

brothers in their 50s have been arrested.

It was an extraordinary discovery. Three Cleveland women who went

missing at different times years ago found in one house in the city.

is just truly, truly amazing and it is a blessing to the community and

to the members of the Police Department and their families that

they are alive. There's three in custody. They are all brothers. One

of them lived in the house. Amanda Berry who alerted a neighbour by

screaming for him to rescue her. looked and I see this girl and she

just going nuts on the door, so I'm like, what's your problem, are you

stuck? Just open the door. She says, I can't, it is locked. It was only

enough to reach the hand out to grab the mail and close the door. I tried

to pry it open but that didn't work. Luckily the door was aluminium and

we got into the house and she diamond 911. Help me, I'm Amanda

Berry. You need police, fire or ambulance? I need police.What's

going on there? I've been kidnapped and I've been missing ten years but

I'm free now. Amanda Berry reportedly had a child with her.

Other children were said to be at the house as well. It was ten years

ago that Amanda Berry then aged 16 made a call to her sister to say she

had arrived home from her job at a fast food chain. She never came

home. A year later Gina DeJesus, then 14, went missing on her way

home from school. She knew who we were and we were looking for her all

this time. Third woman, Michele Knight, disappeared 12 years ago,

aged 20. Despite the headlines and an extensive search, they were all

but given up for dead. One prison inmate even claimed he knew where

Amanda Berry's body was. It was a cruel hoax. The women have been

taken to a hospital for medical checks and to be reunited with their

families. The mother of Amanda Berry will not be there, she died in 2006,

never knowing that her daughter was still alive. It used to be held up

as a prime example of a failed state, but an international

conference in London is trying to help Somalia capitalise on signs of

hope after years of civil war and famine. For the first time in

decades, Somalia's Government is recognised by the United States, the

IMF and other key players. Islamist militants from Al-Shabaab have lost

control of several major towns and attacks by Somali pirates have

decreased dramatically. The Somali President is co-hosting

the conference. We are expecting that the world deals with Somalia

differently this time, since the end a of the transition. We are

expecting the world will be seeing Somalia with a different lens this

time round. Key priority to be discussed at the conference is

security and the supposed improved security in Somalia. Just two days

ahead of the conference there were two massive bomb attacks in

Mogadishu, conducted by Al-Shabaab. How can you say the situation is

improving? They were not happening before, because they were fully

controlled by Al-Shabaab. Today it is not controlling it. They are

coming there as suicide bombers or roadside bombs the. That indicates

the level of security improvement under the control of the Somali

Government. One more thing is that one has to understand that incidents

like what's happened in Mogadishu is something that is common and

something that indicates when these groups, their grip on society

decline as. That's the next stage of the war that they do. We are very

much hopeful and expecting that this will end soon. Particularly this

time around Somalia's security forces and the institution

institutions are getting wide support from the international

community. The British Prime Minister and other world leaders

have invested not only time, money and other resources in trying to

sort Somalia out. They've actually invested their personal reputations

on Somalia improving. How long do you think their patience is going to

last, given that things are going so slowly in Somalia? , something very

clearly, the British Government and rest of the world was waiting for

Somalia for 22 years. I don't see it is a long time to wait for the last

seven months only. With seven months compared to the level of improvement

we have in place, it is a highly appreciatable achievement that we

did in the past. Britain I think still has the patience to wait many

more years. Somalia to get back to its position in the international

Arena will need a long time to go through, but what we are doing is we

are making improvements. ? Are we moving in the right direction? I

think the international community is satisfied and the Somali people are

satisfied on those two areas. Moving in the right direction and moving,

that's where we are now. With me is Mohammed Mohammed from the BBC's

Somali service. You were in Somalia a month ago. How great is the need

for outside help and what specifically does Somalia need to

tackle Al-Shabaab in the first place? Doesn't have any

infrastructure. What it didn't have the clan militias which are put

together as an Army. They need the armies to be recruited properly in

order to fight Al-Shabaab in the rural areas. The main urban areas

which they've secured they need to recreate, start what they call

Government services - schools, hospitals, and even the Somali

currency is only one banknote. 1,000 is the maulest and the biggest and

it is not enough, there's not enough of it around. The business community

are asking people to buy things this dollars but they can't afford it.

The Government needs to bring enough money to pay salaries and create

opportunities for everybody, especially the youngsters, which

have been what you call the source of fighting for Al-Shabaab. When

people, when countries are asked to donate now to Somalia, given its

history, how can they be confidence that that money is going to go where

it is targeted and that it is going to be able to achieve this rooting

out of Al-Shabaab, which is what the international community wants?

areas have been identified by this current Government is security and

creating jobs and other important issues. So the international

community, if they pledge enough money to kick-start the Somali

economy, Somalia may be able to create an opportunity to raise its

own revenues. It can't be checked and contrachildren chief executived

how the -- it can't be checked how the money is spent. People know how

to manage the economy and how to make sure corruption takes place --

makes sure corruption doesn't take place and this money is lost.

dismissed accusations that its Army is using computer hacking to steal

defence secrets from the the US military. It is the first time that

the Pentagon has directly accused China of using hacking as it tries

to modernise its Army. Patience patience patience joins us from --

Martin Patience joins us from Beijing. What exactly are the US

saying has been done? I think that's right. This report, this annual

report was remarkable in its frankness. We've seen these

accusations before but not from the Pentagon. It is worth pointing out

that they say the Chinese military's primary goal is stealing what ll

calls industrial technology. To the report goes on to say that

information gathered on US military capabilities could be easily easily

exploited. China's Foreign Ministry accused Washington of making

irresponsible comments and it said that its military build-up or its

defence build-up, as it put it, was normal and justified. So how much

does this ratchet up the tension? is very serious the accusation. I'm

sure in Beijing and Washington it will have ratcheted up the tension

between the two countries. From Beijing's point of view it is

worried about the so-called American pivot towards Asia. America ca's

increased military presence, rebuilding old alliances with Japan,

Vietnam and the Philippines for example. Beijing believes Washington

is trying to encircle it. That's denied by Washington. From

Washington's point of view, I think there's real concern over the

transparency of China's military build-up. Just to give an example of

that, the Chinese authorities say they are spend spending 100 billion

duds a year on mod -- 100 billy dollar as year on modernising. They

want more clarity on what the Chinese military is spending its

money on, what it is trying to do. China insist this is the a peaceful

rise and that America should not threaten or try to influence what it

considers its own interests. America's not the only country by

any means that's raised questions about the increased Chinese

military, but what's America saying here, are they saying China is

wanting to access what America doing or that it is trying to steal

technology in some form? It is saying its primary goal is to steal

industrial secrets. From that it says it could potentially use

information which is gathered on the US military capabilities. That could

be exploited during any crisis. It is worth pointing out that America

hasn't talked about its own use of cyber warfare. Why would it? It is a

report about China, but from Beijing's point of view it will say

OK we are building up these capabilities. Perhaps not what

America suggests, it denies those accusations, but it is equipping

itself in order to protect, it says, this is purely defensive in order to

protect what it calls the nation. Martin, thank you.

The birth of a child should be a cause for celebration, but for

millions of mothers and babies it is the riskiest time of their lives. 1

million babies each year die on the day they are born, according to the

charity, Save the Children. Its late latest mother's report shows the gap

between the richest and poorest nations. Save the Children has

ranked countries using factors like the mortality risks from childbirth,

the chance of children under five dying, and how many years pupils

attend school. They found that Finland is the best place to be a

mother. With Sweden and Norway in second and third places. A Finnish

child can expect to receive almost 17 years of formal education, and

maternal and child deaths are extremely rare. But it is a

tragically different picture in sub-Saharan Africa. The Democratic

Republic of Cong is the toughest place to be a mother, with Somalia

and Sierra Leone not far behind. In the DRC war and poverty has left

mothers malnourished and unsupported at the most vulnerable time of their

lives. A woman had a one in 30 chance of dying while trying to have

a children, and one in six children don't leadership to see their fifth

birthday. It is also disappointing to see poor countries falling

further behind the rich ones. But there are surprising figures even in

the United States. In the industrialised world the US has by

far the most deaths of newborns, 11,300 babies die on the day they

enter the world each year. This doctor explains that one of the main

reasons is the high rate of immigration. Is stress of migrating,

the lack of access to care in the transition window, and they are all

major contributors to a premature birth rate or a particular

convocation during the pregnancy and birth. The research shows the number

of newborns dying all over the world has remained stubbornly high.

could be tackled relatively cheaply, helping children, their mothers,

and... I'm sorry we lost that slightly early but that report from

Emily Buchanan on the state of the world mothers. You can find out more

at the website. The Libyan Defence minister, Mohammed al-Barghati has

resigned, denouncing the recent siege of government ministries by

armed groups as an assault on democracy. His resignation comes

just days after the Libyan parliament passed a controversial

law banning senior officials who served under Colonel Gaddafi from

holding public office. Just some breaking news to bring you now.

Within the last few minutes, the Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip

Erdogan has condemned Israel's air strike on Damascus over the weekend

as unacceptable. He's said it gives the Syrian government an opportunity

to cover up its own killings. He also criticised Iran for turning a

blind eye to the massacres. Stay with us on BBC World News. Still to

come: We meet the young woman helping to break the stereotype of

caught on an active Philippines volcano during a brief eruption.

American Officials say North Korea has removed two medium-range

missiles from launch sites on its any imminent threat of a test-launch

of the weapons. Susana Mendonca has more. A recent long-range missile

test by North Korea which added to heighten tensions about the

country's nuclear ambition. But now the USA says North Korea has removed

at the missiles from Lord sites on its east coast, ending fears that

another such test could be imminent. The revelation came just hours after

the South Korean Prime Minister laid a wreath at Arlington National

ceremony in America on a visit to mark the 60th anniversary of the US

and South Korean alliance. She will hold talks with Barack Obama yet

which are expected to focus on the North Korean threats but so far a

senior US official has said it's too early to celebrate the removal of

those missiles, given North Korea is unpredictable behaviour. North Korea

is young leader was pictured on state TV on Monday enjoying a

concert to mark the country's Labor Day celebrations. They have been

angered by joint US and South Korean military drones and this latest

decision could indicate a lowering of those tensions. In other news.

The number of people known to have died when an eight-storey building

collapsed in Bangladesh has passed the 700-mark. Workers are still

pulling bodies from the wreckage of the country's worst-ever industrial

disaster. Meanwhile, hundreds of garment workers who survived the

incident last month have blocked a major highway near the accident site

in a Dhaka suburb to demand wages and other benefits. A court in the

United States has released on bail a friend of the surviving Boston

bombing suspect. Robel Phillipos, who's 19, is accused of lying to

investigators. The court ordered him to stay with his mother and wear a

security tag until his trial. His lawyers told the court that he had

nothing to do with the bombings last month. The world's first carbon

fibre helicopter crashed and sank in Auckland Harbour. The aircraft,

which was undergoing tests, had completed around 200 hours of

headlines. Three women who have been missing for over a decade have been

found alive at a house in the American state of Ohio. Three

brothers in their 50s have been arrested. Somalia's president

appeals for outside help to establish security and rebuild the

country's infrastructure, as a donor Elizabeth will not attend this

year's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka.

It's the first time in 40 years that the Queen, who's head of the

Commonwealth, has missed the event. Prince Charles will attend on her

behalf. Some human rights groups have questioned whether the summit

should take place at all in Sri Lanka. Our Royal Correspondent Peter

Hunt explained the background to the Queen's decision to miss the summit.

The row now will be about whether it should be the Prince of Wales, going

rather than the Queen. The decision that she shouldn't go, her officials

insist it wasn't about her avoiding a politically tricky summit and they

point out that he is there a de facto as her, said they were trying

to avoid a politically difficult summit, they wouldn't have sent a

Royal at all. By the time of the summit, she will be 87, her husband,

Prince Philip, 92, and they have got to do things they have decided, to

reduce their workload and one way of doing that, is to reduce long haul

overseas trips. Some people might say perhaps the Queen didn't want to

be drawn into a diplomatic row. clear that this is not about

politics? They say not because the politics are still there. They

insist that he is representing her, so he is de facto her at the meeting

and would do what a head of state would do. It's more of an

acknowledgement that what you do in a country where they are not going

to follow the example of the Netherlands, she won't abdicate, but

she's getting older, so what we're going to increasingly see in the UK

is that we will see less of her, and more of him, so it's a very, very

significant moment for the Prince of Wales, because it's not automatic

that you will be head of the Commonwealth when he is king. Behind

the Commonwealth when he is king. Behind-the-scenes, away from these

discussion, they have been lots of discussions against the heads of

state and that coalesce on an agreement that he will be the next

head, so this will be a very, very significant thing. Peter Hunt, our

boiler correspondence. In South Africa, traditional healers known as

Sangomas are often stereotyped as older, uneducated people from rural

areas. While many people still consult them, they tend to do so in

secret and with a slight sense of embarrassment. But all that's

beginning to change. Golana Gwala has been to meet a modern Sangoma.

She is ambitious, upwardly mobile and is fiercely competitive as any

other young woman working her way up the corporate ladder. She is a tough

businesswoman in the making. Except she has an extra gift, she is a

traditional healer known here as a sangoma. A practice steeped in

mystery, a mythical conduit between ancestors and the living. They are

considered a throwback to the past, and so, she gets a lot of questions

about her other life. I think most of life when somebody asks me about

it, they will be shocked, how, when? You don't look like one. And here, a

different thing altogether. Today she has assumed to other role, ready

to consult with those seeking answers to life difficult questions.

She is connecting to the ancestors through drums and dance. And the

ancestors become active within her, speaking through her, and she gets

an overwhelming feeling of pain and sorrow, no longer in control of her

they are doing a ritual. She has assumed a completely different

personality, she is now referred to as dog Mavis, the guardian angel.

It's a far cry from her day job at the office. But what do her

colleagues think of her life? She is a normal girl, she plays hard, she

works hard. I do believe they are good for society. No voodoo, none of

that. Pins and needles, no. I have checked. But she does have a bag of

tricks. Everyone of them a significance. You think what this

could be. Everyone of them has certain message. It's thought the

majority of South Africans consult sangomas and the hope is the new

generation will help demystify this practice and restore its role in

society here. Four German climbers and their Filipino guide have been

killed during an eruption of one of the Philippines' most active

volcanoes. About 20 people, including foreign tourists and

guides, were caught in the eruption at Mount Mayon. Catarina Moh has

more. The aftermath of an ash explosion at the Mount Mayon volcano

in the Philippines. It developed in the active site but on Tuesday

morning it spewed up huge rocks raining on climbers caught unawares.

It lasted for just over one minute. A rescue operation was quickly

launched. TRANSLATION: We are checking and

double checking who went climbing in this group after authorities confirm

to us people had gone up the mountain. The bodies of four German

tourist and a Filipino guide were brought down from the mountain. At

least seven were found injured, some are in a critical condition. Volcano

expert in the Philippines say the steam driven explosion was caused by

trapped water which entered the crater. There is a permanent six

kilometre danger zone which lies around the volcano and locals are

used to cleaning up the ash and this latest dispute isn't being treated

as anything out of the ordinary. But officials say a recent activity

could have encouraged this week's track. As sporting couples go, they

don't get much bigger than the world's top male golfer and the best

female skier in the world. Tiger Woods and Lindsay Vonn have been an

item for the past few months. But they made their first public

appearance together on Monday, debuting on the red carpet together

at the Met Gala in New York. Tiger Woods is in action on the green

carpets of Sawgrass in Florida from Thursday where he plays in The

Players' Championship. For those more interested in his golf than his

private life. A reminder of our top story. Three American women who have