Woman 'stabbed 40 times by partner'

15 January 2014 Last updated at 15:03 GMT

Joanna Hall stabbed 40 times by boyfriend, Tenby murder trial told

Joanna Hall had not been seeing Steven Williams long, the court heard

A woman was stabbed more than 40 times by her boyfriend in her Pembrokeshire home, a murder trial has heard.

Joanna Hall, from Tenby, managed to regain consciousness to name Steven Daniel Williams as her attacker as she lay dying in hospital.

Mr Williams, 30, from Tenby, denies murder at Swansea Crown Court.

The jury heard his 999 call describing how Ms Hall had been stabbed and was "dying". She died three weeks later.

The trial heard Mr Williams posed as a grieving boyfriend and claimed a knifeman had broken in while he was out.

But the jury heard Ms Hall came around and managed to name Mr Williams as her killer before slipping into back into unconsciousness.

Ms Hall told police: "He started shouting at me and went into the kitchen and came back with a knife.

"I asked him what he was going to do with it and he said: 'Watch me'.

"He stabbed me in the back and the knife got stuck but he managed to get it out and carried on stabbing me.

"I thought I was going to die."

Ms Hall also told her sister Georgina at her bedside: "It was Steven Williams. He turned up at my flat after drinking whisky, there was argument and he flipped.

"He tried to rip a radiator off a wall and then began stabbing me.

"He then sat with me smoking a cigarette and said: 'Will you just die.'"

Elwen Evans QC, prosecuting, told the jury Ms Hall was repeatedly slashed and stabbed all over her body, with some of the injuries causing internal damage.

"It was obvious her condition was very serious indeed - she had suffered substantial blood loss," she told the jury.

"In spite of the operations her organs stopped functioning and she died in April 2013 - 20 days after the attack.

The court heard Mr Williams arguing aggressively with the emergency operator and swearing during the recorded telephone call from the house in Cresswell Street.

A male voice said: "Someone's been stabbed. Her intestines are hanging out." He then swore and said she was dying.

The jury was told how the operator struggled to get an address from the defendant who had to ask his dying girlfriend for details.

In the background a woman's voice could be heard crying or calling out. The prosecution explained that the voice was Ms Hall's, at which point her mother broke down in the public gallery.

Police cordon off the scene in Tenby in March 2013

Ms Evans told the jury that Ms Hall was awake when the air ambulance arrived and was able to give an account of what happened and named her attacker.

She told the court: "She then became unconscious and died some days later leaving many questions unanswered.

"The one person who can answer these questions has chosen not to."

Blood spots

The jury heard that there were marks on the sink which Ms Evans said were blood which matched Mr Williams' DNA, and suggested that initially Ms Hall had been able to fend him off during the attack.

They also heard there was damage to plasterwork by a radiator on the landing in the flat, which Ms Evans said might become relevant during the trial.

'Horrible'

The jury was told Mr Williams had visited Tenby Cottage Hospital on 15 March 2012, hours before the attack took place claiming he may have a sexually transmitted disease after having sex with a local woman, although he left without receiving a diagnosis.

They saw texts which were later sent from Ms Hall to the defendant, including one saying: "Don't even no y keep coming bac when uv made it quite clear u don't want to be wiv me."

After a number of texts and calls to Mr Williams, he replied: "Wot just coz i don't know where u live! U seriously wanna stay off the whiskey. youre horrible on it."

More texts and calls followed, then the court saw CCTV footage of Mr Williams walking to Cresswell St just after midnight on 16 March.

The next phone call from Ms Hall's phone at 02.10 GMT was to her voicemail, but it was not clear who had made it.

Police near the scene last March

CCTV footage showed Mr Williams walking from Ms Hall's flat to Sainsbury's and buying a 20cl bottle of whisky.

The jury was told that a blood test showed Mr Williams had a high level of alcohol in his blood and Ms Evans said he had a history of alcohol use.

Jurors were shown photos of clothing Mr Williams was wearing on his arrest, a blue body warmer, with Ms Hall's blood on one side.

Ms Evans said "when he says he was helping Joanna, there's not much blood to indicate that".

The jury have been sent home and the trial continues on Thursday.

Five guilty of sex attacks on girls

15 January 2014 Last updated at 17:00 GMT

Peterborough sex attacks: Two men and three teens guilty

Zdeno Mirga, 18, (left), Hassan Abdulla, 33, and three teenage boys were found guilty of a series of rapes and sexual assaults on girls in Peterborough

Two men and three teenage boys have been found guilty of a series of rapes and sexual assaults on young girls.

Zdeno Mirga, 18, Hassan Abdulla, 33, and three boys were convicted at the Old Bailey. The Crown Prosecution Service said it was one of the "worst cases" of child sex abuse it had seen.

The group targeted five girls aged 13 and 14 in Peterborough. They are due to be sentenced on 20 February.

Mirga's brother Dusan, 20, David Ziga, 19, and another teenager were cleared.

One of the group's victims, referred to in court as Victim A, was a 13-year-old girl with a severe learning disability.

'Power over her'

The BBC's Daniela Relph looks back at the case

The gang congregated at a fried chicken takeaway in Peterborough and carried out their attacks at locations including a children's playground, using what police described as "sophisticated" tactics to groom their victims.

After a trial lasting two-and-a-half months, the five were convicted of a total of 18 counts of rape, one of causing or inciting child prostitution, one of engaging in sexual activity with a child, three of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and three of sexual assault.

Judge John Bevan QC said: "Because some of the defendants do not speak good enough English, despite having lived here a long time, three interpreters have worked full time during this case, at a cost of over £30,000."

He told the jury: "You have sat diligently and paid the closest of attention for weeks on end.

"It has been transparently obvious that you have been working very hard."

Mirga, (left), known as "Skinny" was the gang's leader, one of his victims said

He excused them from further jury service for the next 15 years.

Victim A described Zdeno Mirga, known as "Skinny", as the gang's boss, prosecutor Angela Rafferty said.

"He encouraged her, often very forcefully indeed, to give others... sex.

"He did this using the power he had over her at the time, or threatened her and sometimes he used violence against her.

"Skinny took her to parties where she was shared around sexually."

The girl told police that Mirga "shared" her because he wanted money to buy cannabis and vodka, the court heard.

'Horrific ordeals'

After the verdicts, Det Supt Gary Ridgway, who led the inquiry, said the convictions were part of an ongoing "victim-led" joint investigation between Cambridgeshire Police and Peterborough City Council.

Officers and social workers are working to identify young people they believe are at risk of harm before any allegations are even made.

Girls can then identify people who were exploiting them, he said.

Speaking about this case, Det Supt Gary Ridgway said: "These girls were targeted simply because they were vulnerable.

"They were seen as easy targets and exploited by this group of teenage boys and men who abused them for their own sexual gratification."

He said the girls were subjected to "horrific" ordeals.

"But they have shown incredible strength throughout this process, in particular by giving evidence at court in order to bring these people to justice," he said.

"We are committed to helping those girls pick up the pieces and move on with their lives."

'Preying on children'

Gillian Beasley, chief executive of Peterborough City Council, said: "Listening to the catalogue of crimes committed against these children has been absolutely devastating and we wish they could have been rescued sooner.

Det Supt Gary Ridgway: "These girls were targeted simply because they were vulnerable"

"But it was not until our social workers and the police gained the trust of the victims, so they felt able to tell us the full extent of what was happening, that the police were able to arrest the criminals who were responsible.

"We are pleased that we have seen justice done today. We would also like to pay tribute to the victims. Without their courage to stand up in court we could never have secured these convictions."

She said the council had also started a serious case review.

"We will be working closely with that review and we look forward to the findings," she said.

Maduro shakes up top economic team

16 January 2014 Last updated at 02:12 GMT

Venezuela: Maduro shakes up top economic team

Mr Maduro was Hugo Chavez's foreign minister for seven years

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has announced a shake-up of the team running the country's economy during his annual state of the union address.

The current Public Banking Minister, Rodolfo Torres, will replace Nelson Merentes as Finance Minister.

Mr Merentes will take over the post of head of the Central Bank.

Speaking at the National Assembly in Caracas, Mr Maduro vowed to introducer tougher penalties against "sabotage and speculation".

His state of the union address - the first since he was elected president in April - was broadcast on live television and radio.

"How can you describe someone who hides [from the shelves] formula milk for babies? We cannot create a new euphemism for that. That person must be described as a criminal," said Maduro.

He was referring to Venezuelan shortages in 2013 of several goods including milk, sugar and toilet paper.

The opposition blames the government's anti-business policies and mismanagement of the economy for the crisis.

The legacy of Hugo Chavez is at the centre of the political debate in Venezuela

But Mr Maduro says his government is under attack from powerful right wing sectors in the country.

"While the government makes a big effort to guarantee the quality of some services and the availability of products, the mafias speculate with other products and even medicines," said Mr Maduro.

'Rule by decree'

Although Venezuela has the world's largest oil reserves, its people are suffering from the highest inflation in Latin America, sluggish growth and shortages.

In November, Mr Maduro was granted special powers to rule by decree for a year to deal with the economic crisis.

His plan to boost economic growth had been "very successful," he told legislators.

Mr Maduro made several references, during his long speech, to late President Hugo Chavez.

He promised to give continuity to the social policies and radical economic changes that the left-wing leader introduced between 1999 and 2013.

Mr Chavez handed over power to Mr Maduro before undergoing a final cancer operation a year ago and nominated the former union leader as his preferred successor.

After his death in March 2013, Mr Maduro called a presidential election. He defeated the centre-right candidate, Henrique Capriles, by a tiny margin.

Mr Capriles accused the government of electoral fraud, but failed to have the poll annulled.

VIDEO: Birds' V formation finally explained

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Birds' V formation finally explained

15 January 2014 Last updated at 19:40 GMT

The mystery of why so many birds fly in a V formation may have been solved.

Scientists from the Royal Veterinary College in London fitted data loggers to a flock of rare birds that were being trained to migrate by following a microlight.

This revealed that the birds flew in the optimal position - gaining lift from the bird in front by remaining close to its wingtip.

The study, published in the journal Nature, also showed that the birds timed their wing beats.

Here, Dr Steven Portugal from the Royal Veterinary College describes the findings and the unique bird-training conservation project that made it possible.

Woman 'in panic at Travis groping'

15 January 2014 Last updated at 16:35 GMT

Woman 'in panic at Dave Lee Travis groping'

A court has heard how Dave Lee Travis grabbed the woman's breasts whilst she was broadcasting on BBC Radio 4, as June Kelly reports

A radio announcer was in a "panic" as DJ Dave Lee Travis grabbed her breasts when she was broadcasting live on BBC Radio 4, his trial has heard.

The woman, who was a BBC trainee, said she had been frightened she would mess up an announcement but she could not tell her bosses as he was a "big star".

A second witness said Mr Travis touched her breast the first time they met.

Mr Travis, 68, whose real name is David Griffin, denies indecently assaulting 11 victims between 1976 and 2008.

He denies 13 counts of indecent assault and one of sexual assault.

Giving evidence behind a curtain, the first witness said Mr Travis had walked into the studio as she was about to go on air on Radio 4 in the early 1980s and sat down behind her as she read out the time.

"His hands came round under my arm pits and he put one hand on each breast," she said. "He started to move my breasts up and down."

'Few choice words'

The woman, who was 26 at the time, told the court Mr Travis held her breasts throughout her announcement which lasted about 10 seconds.

Mr Travis DJ hosted the Radio 1 Breakfast show from 1978 to 1980

Asked by prosecutor Miranda Moore QC how she felt at the time, she replied: "Well I imagine there was a feeling of sort of panic.

"Radio 4 is a very serious network. I was making a serious announcement. I was just frightened I was going to mess up the announcement."

The woman said if she not been on air she would have "screamed" at him, probably with "a few choice words", she said.

The alleged victim said Mr Travis sat down after the incident "as if nothing had happened" and "thought it was funny".

'Stupid joke'

She told the court she had decided not to raise a complaint with senior managers as she was on probation as an announcer.

"There was no way I was going to start telling off this big star of Radio 1. If I had gone to the management, I imagine it would have been 'So what? You're a big girl, deal with it,'" she said.

Mr Travis's barrister, Stephen Vullo, told the witness his client denied the indecent assault totally and had no recollection of it.

Under cross-examination the witness said she did not think Mr Travis had intended it as a sexual assault but as a "stupid joke".

The witness said she contacted the press after an article which said a Radio 1 DJ had repeatedly groped DJ Liz Kershaw on air and she thought it was Mr Travis.

The second witness, who was based at Chiltern Radio from 2000-2004, said she was assaulted on her first day working in the same building as the defendant.

She said: "Dave Lee Travis got up and he came over, was introduced to me, and the first thing he did was kiss me on the cheek, put both arms around me like a bear hug, which did not feel right.

"He let go of one hand, and with the other started to rub the side of my body. He was touching my breast. He was holding my body."

'Pungent aftershave'

She said she knew when Mr Travis was nearby because of his "strong, pungent aftershave".

The woman said that in a second incident, Mr Travis "slid his hand" on her breast as he reached to take a pen away.

Asked by Ms Moore how she felt, the witness replied: "Terrified. Shocked. Sick."

Asked why she had not said anything, she said: "I had the job of my dreams. I had worked very hard to get where I was. I was initially terrified no-one would believe me."

The witness said women in the office "kept their heads bowed" when he walked in.

She said that she "absolutely snapped" after a third incident and a manager had to pull them apart, with Mr Travis becoming very aggressive when she shouted that he was a pervert.

The witness said senior managers "were 100% aware" of Mr Travis's behaviour, and that the latest incident prompted him to be banned from the office where she was working.

Donald Douglas, a network programme controller for Classic Gold radio - which shared premises with Chiltern Radio - said he was aware of a single complaint against Mr Travis, but said he was not aware of a "campaign of sexual assault" by a member of staff against women.

Another witness - a female journalist who worked at Chiltern Radio at the same time as Mr Travis - said he "couldn't keep his hands off" her and she felt incredibly uncomfortable when he was around.

"We couldn't stand it whenever he walked into the newsroom," she said.

The trial is expected to last up to six weeks.

VIDEO: Britons pay to see webcam sex abuse

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UK paedophiles pay to watch webcam child sex abuse in Philippines

15 January 2014 Last updated at 20:54 GMT

British paedophiles are paying to watch the abuse of children in the Philippines via webcams, a BBC investigation has found.

In one case, a British man organised the sexual abuse of five children from the same family.

Charities believe tens of thousands of children are victims of the trade.

Angus Crawford reports.

Read more

UK paedophiles pay to watch webcam child sex abuse in Philippines

'Dramatic drop' in Somali piracy

15 January 2014 Last updated at 12:48 GMT

Drop in sea piracy helped by big Somali improvement, says watchdog

The waters off the Horn of Africa are some of the world's busiest shipping and humanitarian aid routes

Continue reading the main story

Piracy at sea is at its lowest level in six years, with 264 attacks recorded - a 40% drop since Somali piracy peaked in 2011, a maritime watchdog has said.

There were only 15 incidents off Somalia last year, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said.

This is down from 75 in 2012, and 237 in 2011, its records show.

Armed guards on ships, international navy patrols and the "stabilising influence" of Somalia's government had helped deter pirates, the IMB said.

"The single biggest reason for the drop in worldwide piracy is the decrease in Somali piracy off the coast of East Africa," Pottengal Mukundan, IMB's director, said in a statement.

"It is imperative to continue combined international efforts to tackle Somali piracy. Any complacency at this stage could re-kindle pirate activity," he said.

IMB's annual global piracy report said more than 300 people were taken hostage at sea in 2013 and 21 were injured, nearly all with guns or knives.

Indonesia saw the most pirate attacks last year, accounting for more than 50% of all incidents.

But the report said they were "low-level opportunistic thefts, not to be compared with the more serious incidents off Africa".

Piracy off West Africa made up 19% of attacks worldwide last year, the report said.

Nigerian pirates, who accounted for 31 of the region's 51 attacks, were "particularly violent", killing one crew member, and kidnapping 36 people to hold onshore for ransom, the IMB said.

In November, a UN and World Bank report said pirates operating off the Horn of Africa, which are some of the world's busiest shipping and humanitarian aid routes, had netted more than $400m (£251m) in ransom money between 2005 and 2012.