Deception, threats and abuse: Captives' hellish life inside Castro's home - CNN International

Evidence photos from Castro's trial

Evidence photos from Castro's trial

Evidence photos from Castro's trial

Evidence photos from Castro's trial

Evidence photos from Castro's trial

Evidence photos from Castro's trial

Evidence photos from Castro's trial

Evidence photos from Castro's trial

Evidence photos from Castro's trial

Evidence photos from Castro's trial

Evidence photos from Castro's trial

Evidence photos from Castro's trial

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Four captives were freed from Ariel Castro's Cleveland home in May
• All knew Castro's children, which is a reason they took his offer for rides
• He abused them sexually, physically and emotionally for over a decade
• Castro controlled when they ate, used the bathroom and much more

(CNN) -- From the outside, the home at 2207 Seymour Avenue looked like most any other in Cleveland's Westside neighborhood.

From the inside, it looked like hell.

There were the makeshift alarms rigged to the front and back doors. The porch swing blocking a stairway. Heavy fabric obstructing the kitchen and the second floor. A plastic toilet in a bedroom. Doors without handles, but with padlocks, dead bolts and slide locks. Solid wood covering second-floor windows, assuring no light would enter even on bright, sunny days.

And there were the restraints -- duct tape, plastic zip ties, metal chains fastened to a basement pole and bedroom walls -- to ensure that Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus wouldn't leave.

But, despite Ariel Castro's efforts, they did.

On May 6, Berry alerted passers-by by banging on the front door then crawling out with her 6-year-old daughter. Police officers arrived and went upstairs, where Knight jumped into their arms -- holding them tight and thanking them for ending her 11 years of terror. A pale, quiet DeJesus emerged from a room a short time later.

Today, all three women are free. And Castro is paying a price for what he did: life in prison without parole and 1,000 years, as finalized in a Cleveland court Thursday.

Castro sentenced to life plus 1,000 years

The sentence follows a deal in which Castro agreed to plead guilty to 937 charges to avoid a trial and a possible death penalty. The prosecution didn't have to present evidence Thursday, but they did -- laying out in vivid detail the twisted torment that Knight, DeJesus, Berry and Berry's young daughter, fathered by Castro, went through -- in testimony, impact statements and a sentencing memorandum.

"The days never got shorter," said Knight, the lone victim to speak in court. "The nights turned into days. The days turned into years. The years turned into eternity."

Lured into home, restrained and assaulted

It started on August 22, 2002, when Castro saw the then 21-year-old Knight at a Family Dollar store. She was trying to find the social worker in charge of her son, then not even 2½ years old, Cleveland police Det. Andrew Harasimchuk testified.

Knight asked around for directions, and Castro responded that he knew where to go. Knight knew his daughter, Emily, so she took up his offer for a ride.

They ended up at the Seymour Avenue home Castro had bought a decade earlier. Did Knight want to go inside to get a puppy for her son, Castro asked? She did, and went in.

But instead of giving her a puppy, Castro tied her up with an extension cord.

A few hours later, Knight was taken down to the basement, where she was restrained with a chain and with plastic ties around her wrists, said Harasimchuk, his department's lead investigator on the case. Castro put a motorcycle helmet over her head.

And then he sexually assaulted her -- for the first of what would be scores of times.

Michelle Knight: 'After 11 years, I'm finally being heard'

The following April, Castro spotted Amanda Berry walking along a Cleveland street in her Burger King. She was 16; he was 42.

Did Berry know his son, who'd also worked at Burger King? What about his daughter Angie? Berry said she knew them both, and she accepted his offer for a ride after he told her Angie was at Castro's home.

Berry went in, but saw no sign of her friend, ending up in an upstairs bedroom. Berry asked to go home and when Castro didn't comply, she tried to run away -- her exit stopped when she slammed into a closet instead.

Then Castro sexually assaulted her, putting duct tape over her wrists, legs and mouth and a motorcycle helmet over her head. Berry was carried to the basement and tied to a chain attached to a center support pole.

A third, eerily similar chapter of this story played out about a year later.

This time the victim -- Gina DeJesus -- was younger, at age 14. And she was even closer to Castro's family, as one of his daughter Arlene's best friends.

That spring afternoon, DeJesus and Arlene Castro had been together and hoped to spend the afternoon at DeJesus' house. When that plan didn't pan out, the two walked separate ways.

Ariel Castro spotted the two together, then apart. He admitted driving past his daughter to get to DeJesus. She got in the car after he asked for help finding his daughter, then got out of it when he asked for help carrying a speaker from his home into his car, testified Harasimchuk.

Once inside, DeJesus became uncomfortable and wanted to leave. Castro steered her, unwittingly, into the basement -- where she was tied up with a chain and plastic ties and sexually assaulted.

Constantly fearing for their lives

The young women's nightmares didn't end there.

The sexual abuse was rampant, as was the violence and threats thereof.

Castro had a gun that he'd show to Knight, DeJesus and Berry, threatening to shoot them if they ever tried to escape, prosecutors said. At times, they'd play Russian roulette -- where one bullet is loaded, the cylinder is spun and a person pulls the trigger to see whether the gun fires a shot.

Each woman was given one meal a day. They couldn't use the lone bathroom downstairs, and were allowed to shower at most twice a week. After sexually abusing them, Castro would sometimes throw money at them -- money that he'd take back if they wanted him to get anything on the outside.

"He made them believe that their physical survival depended on him," Cuyahoga County Prosecuting Attorney Timothy McGinty wrote in the prosecution investigation report and sentencing memorandum. "And he threatened to end their lives if they did not comply with his every demand."

When Knight became pregnant, Castro acted. He said they devised a plan together, which ended after "several days" following a diet of only tea and a regimen of knee bends and jumping jacks.

But according to authorities, Knight (and DeJesus) explained it very differently: Castro punched, kicked and jumped on her stomach, forced her to do exercises and starved her for days. This happened multiple times, Knight told Harasimchuk, each time culminating in the loss of a baby.

Castro's guilty plea included two counts of aggravated murder.

Amanda Berry also got pregnant. She wasn't given any prenatal care, but was allowed to carry the baby.

And on Christmas Day 2006, the little girl was born in a plastic baby pool (to contain the mess) inside the Seymour Avenue home.

Knight served as the midwife, albeit under great duress. The child wasn't breathing when she emerged, until Knight breathed into her mouth. All the while, Castro loomed over her.

"I remember Michelle saying if that baby died, 'he was going to kill me'," recalled Cleveland police Officer Barbara Johnson, one of the two officers that went inside the home and rescued Knight, during her testimony Thursday.

That baby, miraculously, survived. And so did Knight, Berry and DeJesus.

"I spent 11 years in hell," Knight said Thursday, proclaiming herself a survivor before addressing Castro. "Now your hell is just beginning."

'The damage that was done does not go away'

Over all these years, Castro would go about his life -- working as a school bus driver, jamming in bands with names like Grupo Fuego and Los Boyz del Merengue, going to church on Sundays -- and return home to abuse the young women sexually, physically and emotionally again and again and again.

In court on Thursday, he tried to explain his behavior by saying, "I am not a monster. I am sick." Castro claimed his addiction to sex had compelled him to do things he understands were "100% wrong," even as he denied torturing or beating his three captives.

Still, by pleading guilty to the hundreds of charges, Castro has officially admitted to committing numerous sordid crimes. Plus, the stories of the victims and the ample evidence presented by law enforcement officers paint a vivid, horrifying picture of what these women went through.

So how did they make it?

While the four captives were typically kept apart, they did help and draw strength from each other.

Knight, the oldest of them, served as a doctor, nurse, midwife and pediatrician for Berry and her young child, Dr. Frank Ochberg testified Thursday. And she literally put herself in between Castro and DeJesus, taking on physical and sexual abuse herself to protect her friend.

In court Thursday, Knight credited DeJesus -- whom she shared a dark room measuring about 7 feet by 11½ feet -- for saving her life.

"I never let her fall, and she never let me fall," Knight said. "She nursed me back to health when I was dying from his abuse. My friendship with Gina is the only good thing to come from this situation."

The captives kept diaries documenting the forced sex and anticipation of more abuse, the days and nights bleeding together amid the darkness, of being chained to walls and being treated like animals.

And, somehow, they also kept hope. As Knight said, "We said we'll all get out alive some day and we did."

Ochberg, a pioneer in trauma science, lauded the three women's survival and coping skills as "marvelous, compelling examples of resilience, of imagination, of humanity."

Still, while they're no longer at 2207 Seymour Avenue, their suffering from their years there isn't over, he said.

"The damage that was done does not go away. They have life sentences," said Ochberg.

"...I think they will -- with the love and support of the whole community -- they have a good chance to live a good life. But that doesn't mean that they'll ever be free of the damage that was done."

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Etobicoke-Lakeshore results: Doug Holyday wins seat and Rob Ford loses one ... - National Post

Mayor Rob Ford lost an important ally at City Hall, but gained one at Queen's Park, as Etobicoke-Lakeshore sent Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday to the provincial legislature Thursday.

The decision to install a Progressive Conservative in a seat long held by the Liberals is a major Toronto breakthrough for the PCs and perhaps a vote of confidence for Mayor Rob Ford, who campaigned tirelessly on behalf of his longtime friend. In 2011, Liberal Laurel Broten won by more than 10,000 votes.

Ford's former chief of staff stops by Holyday's campaign party

The provincial by-election in Etobicoke-Lakeshore reunited an estranged pair Thursday night — or at least brought them into the same room.

Mark Towhey, Mayor Rob Ford's former chief of staff, attended Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday's campaign party at The Brawley, on The Queensway.

The mayor also made an appearance. Mr. Ford fired Mr. Towhey at the height of the crisis regarding crack cocaine allegations against the mayor.

Mr. Towhey spoke highly of Mr. Holyday, calling him a man of integrity. And despite his unceremonious departure from city hall, Mr. Towhey had positive words about Mr. Ford.

"What Rob Ford stands for resonates," said Mr. Towhey.

"People may not like the way he looks, how he dresses, the way he talks sometime, but what he's saying people understand and it's very much what they're thinking."

This is the first PC win in Toronto since 1999.

This time, the race was too close to call leading up to the vote, with competing polls giving the lead to either Mr. Holyday or Councillor Peter Milczyn, the Liberal candidate and Mr. Holyday's seat-mate on the city's executive committee.

With all 260 polls reporting, Mr. Holyday had garnered 16,130 votes and Mr. Milczyn 14,513.

Mr. Holyday took the stage around 11:30 p.m., raising his hands humbly as the crowd chanted his name. He said he "didn't have intentions to switch careers at this stage" but he was convinced by PC leader Tim Hudak and others that it would be the right step.

He bristled at suggestions that the Conservatives should have won more seats, noting the five spots up for grabs weren't "regular seats that fell out of the sky" but Liberal strongholds.

"For us to take one tells me we can take more and we will," said Mr. Holyday.

In the dying days of the campaign, the Liberals blasted Mayor Ford for campaigning for his deputy, claiming he was trying to turn the provincial race into a referendum on the Ford tenure.

"It's not about us, it's about [Mr. Holyday]," insisted Mayor Ford upon arriving at Mr. Holyday's post campaign party at The Brawley, a pub on The Queensway. "People I've talked to are fed up with this Liberal nonsense."

The race garnered attention because it pit two well known Etobicoke politicians against one another. Whatever the outcome, City Hall was bound to lose a familiar face, and the mayor a reliable vote.

In Mr. Holyday, a former mayor of Etobicoke, Mr. Ford has lost one of his most loyal allies. In the heady days of the crack cocaine allegations, as the administration was engulfed in scandal, it was often only Doug Ford and Doug Holyday who were by the mayor's side. Mr. Holyday also did heavy lifting during tense contract negotiations with the city's major unions.

People I've talked to are fed up with this Liberal nonsense

"It's obviously going to be a challenge, he will be very much missed at city hall," said Mark Towhey, the mayor's former chief of staff, who came to the bar to support Mr. Holyday. But he suggested Mr. Holyday's move to Queen's Park will help the municipality.

"Quite honestly, we will miss one or the other," said Councillor John Parker, who was a member of provincial parliament in the Mike Harris government. "Peter and Doug are both strong performers at city hall. It's a shame that the two of them are going head to head."

With Mr. Holyday gone, veteran Scarborough councillor and former Liberal MP Norm Kelly will assume the role of Deputy Mayor.

Once the results are confirmed, city council will declare Mr. Holyday's Etobicoke-Centre ward seat vacant at its next meeting and decide whether to appoint someone or call a byelection. Mr. Holyday also chairs the employee and labour relations committee.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, as Madonna's Holiday song blared from the speakers, Mr. Holyday, 70, said he's looking forward to learning a new job. "What the heck, you're never too young to learn and I think I'll do well when I get there. At least I hope I will," he said. Mr. Holyday said he plans to watch how the Liberal government spends money and make sure "they don't blow any more."

He downplayed what his departure from City Hall will mean for Mr. Ford. "I'll only be a phone call away," he added.

Peter Milczyn, who like Mr. Holyday took a leave from his council duties to campaign, will return as representative for Ward 5, Etobicoke-Lakeshore. He chairs the planning and growth committee. Mayor Ford said Thursday he still wants Mr. Milczyn on his executive.

"Peter is a great guy, there is nothing wrong with Peter. He's just in the wrong party," he said.

The byelections in Toronto took a nasty turn in recent days. On Tuesday, Mayor Ford said a vote for the Liberals is like "giving a bank robber another gun and say[ing] go rob another bank."

On Wednesday, the Liberals attacked the mayor's involvement in the campaigns, accusing him of overstepping his bounds by working to send his "puppet" Mr. Holyday to the provincial legislature. "A provincial election is none of the mayor's business," Transportation Minister Glen Murray charged.

People at Mr. Holyday's party last night steered clear of calling the deputy mayor's victory a vote of confidence in the mayor, who has weathered his share of scandals in the past year. Mr. Parker said, "This election isn't about the mayor. It's about Queen's Park. It's a referendum on the performance of the provincial government."

The mayor, meanwhile, steered clear of any crowing, and sounded a conciliatory note, insisting that he will be able to work with the Kathleen Wynne government.

"After… it's over [you] shake hands, and say good game and get on with business," said Mayor Ford.

National Post

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China media: Snowden saga - BBC News

2 August 2013 Last updated at 03:01 ET

Media in China see further embarrassment for the US after whistleblower Edward Snowden gets temporary asylum in Russia.

State media have contrasted the Russian government's "deft" handling of Mr Snowden's case with the constant "embarrassment" suffered by Washington.

"So far, the US has exhausted its tricks, but there is still no outcome on the extradition of Mr Snowden. It can be described as suffering constant embarrassment in this drama. In contrast, Russia has handled things with ease," says Xinhua News Agency.

Some newspapers are questioning double standards from the US about its global cyber-surveillance operations.

"The US still has to give a truthful explanation to all the countries and regions whose networks and computers were infiltrated. The US must stop acts that violate human rights in other countries and interfere in other countries' affairs," says the Wen Wei Po, a Beijing-backed Hong Kong newspaper.

"What is ironic is that if Bradley Manning, Mr Snowden and Julian Assange were pursued by other governments, such as China and Russia, the White House and Foggy Bottom would be applauding them and calling them not just whistleblowers, but heroes and fighters for human rights," comments Chen Weihua, deputy editor of China Daily USA.

Meanwhile, an official Xinhua news agency signed article warns that China will face a collapse "even worse than the Soviet Union" if democracy is allowed.

"Angels, opinion leaders and public intellectuals have been fabricating rumours and fabricating negative news on society every day on microblogs to create an apocalyptic scene of China's imminent collapse, denigrate the existing socialist system and propagate a model of European- and US-style capitalist constitutionalism," the article says.

"They have constantly fanned public hatred towards the current political regime," it adds.

Hong Kong's South China Morning Post notes that the Xinhua article, which was signed "Wang Xiaoshi", appears to have originated on 15 July with a post on a personal blog registered to someone by the same name. It was widely circulated on mainland news portals.

The Global Times also warns against growing support for Western-style "liberalism" and constitutionalism in Chinese society.

"It is increasingly difficult for Western doctrine to provide an accurate interpretation, let alone guide us... We must not underestimate ourselves and be fooled by the West. The power of Western discourse does not mean that they really hold the truth," says the newspaper.

'Debunking' online rumours

Elsewhere, six of China's biggest internet service providers, including Sina Weibo, Sohu and Baidu, have launched a joint internet platform for debunking "online rumours" and "false information".

"This is a laudable step. Rumours can impose severe side effects on the social regulation. They can cause widespread panic, disturb the order of society and damage the government's credibility," says the Global Times.

The State Information Internet Office has also closed down 107 "illegal news and information websites" since May this year. One of the closed websites was used by a whistle-blowing journalist to expose a sex video tape scandal that led to the downfall of many officials in Chongqing.

"Many netizens have strongly criticised the State Information Internet Office for suppressing freedom of speech in a similar way to the "Burning of the Books and Burying of Confucian Scholars' during the Qin Dynasty", Hong Kong's Oriental Daily News notes.

The Southern Metropolis Daily and The Beijing News say many internet users are accusing authorities of covering up the suspicious death of a watermelon street seller in Hunan on 17 July.

Witnesses claim that urban inspectors or chengguan struck the vendor, Deng Zhengjia, on the head with a metal weight while trying to shut down his stall.

However, internet users are questioning an autopsy released on Thursday that says Mr Deng's head injuries caused by an unspecified "external force" were "relatively minor" and "non-fatal".

Finally, the Southern Metropolis Daily welcomes First Lady Peng Liyuan's debut in US magazine Vanity Fair's best-dressed list.

"Peng is not the first Chinese leading lady to make the list, but she has raised plenty of eyebrows by beating America's first lady, Michelle Obama," the South China Morning Post adds.

BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. For more reports from BBC Monitoring, click here. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook.

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Ont. ombudsman to review Sammy Yatim shooting; family readies for funeral - CTV News

CTVNews.ca Staff
Published Wednesday, July 31, 2013 11:11AM EDT
Last Updated Wednesday, July 31, 2013 10:25PM EDT

As Sammy Yatim's family prepares to bury the teenager gunned down by Toronto police, Ontario's ombudsman is deciding whether or not to launch a full investigation into use-of-force protocols.

Ombudsman Andre Marin has directed his staff to look at the directions and guidelines provided by the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services to the province's police services for de-escalating situations that could potentially result in the use of force.

"The ministry has the power to set standards for Ontario police services," Marin said in a statement. "The latest shooting by a Toronto Police officer raises the question of whether it is time for the ministry to direct Ontario police services on how to de-escalate situations of conflict before they lead to the use of fatal force."

Yatim, 18, was shot and killed by police on the weekend after he wielded a knife on a Toronto streetcar.

The teen's family and friends gathered at the Highland Funeral Home in Scarborough for a viewing on Wednesday evening. Some of those in attendance wore T-shirts that read: "RIP Sammy Yatim" and "9 shots…?"

A funeral will be held at the same location on Thursday at 11 a.m.

Yatim's parents are devastated and barely able to eat as their son's funeral approaches, a family friend told The Canadian Press on Wednesday.

Friends have been trying to feed his mother spoonfuls of soup but she "hasn't eaten in days," Joseph Nazar said.

Yatim's father has also been unable to eat, he said.

"I've told him … he needs to be able to stand at the funeral," Nazar told The Canadian Press.

Yatim was shot by police early Saturday morning while brandishing a knife on an empty Toronto streetcar.

The incident was captured by surveillance cameras as well as bystanders' cellphones, some of which have been posted to YouTube.

In one video, Yatim can be seen pacing the empty streetcar as police shout at him to "drop the knife."

Then, in approximately a 13-second span, nine shots can be heard.

On Tuesday, CTV News identified the Toronto police officer involved in the fatal shooting as Const. James Forcillo, a married six-year veteran of the force with a new baby at home.

Forcillo has been suspended with pay while Ontario's police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit, probes the incident.

The president of the Toronto Police Association, Mike McCormack, said that as far as he knows, all 22 witness police officers have given their statements to the SIU.

However, Forcillo has not yet given his statement. His lawyer, Peter Brauti, said Wednesday he will wait until the SIU completes its investigation before deciding whether Forcillo will talk.

Brauti said Forcillo is devastated, but that doesn't mean the officer did anything wrong. The lawyer also urged the public to let the investigation run its course.

On Tuesday, Yatim's family released a statement saying it doesn't hold any "ill will" against Toronto police.

"We want to be clear that we do not hold any ill will against the thousands of police officers who work to protect us each day," the statement read. "This is a tragedy for all involved."

The family also said it had faith that the matter would be investigated "thoroughly and judiciously."

With a report from CTV Toronto's Tamara Cherry and files from The Canadian Press and Daniel Reid

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Speed, road conditions led to death of Guelph officer, chief says - CBC.ca

A combination of speed and roadway conditions caused Guelph Const. Jennifer Kovach to lose control of her cruiser and crash into a bus last March, fatally injuring her, the force's police chief said on Wednesday.

Chief Bryan Larkin released the findings of an internal investigation into Kovach's fatal crash at a news conference.

Kovach, 26, was responding to a call for help from another officer when she crashed into a bus on Imperial Road South in Guelph on March 14 around 12:30 a.m.

Kovach had been driving around a curve at 115 km/hr when she lost control, as the car spun clockwise, Larkin said.

She was able to regain control of the car, but then encountered ice and lost control again. This time the car went counter clockwise and crossed the centre line.

Her cruiser was travelling at 75 km/hr when it hit the bus, which was going at a speed of around 43 km/hr.

The driver of the bus suffered minor injuries in the collision. There was no one else on the bus at the time.

Although Kovach was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the collision, Larkin said it would not have prevented her death because of the force of impact.

Kovach's mother questions why daughter didn't wear seatbelt

After Larkin released the report, Gloria Kovach, Jennifer's mother, made her first public comments, saying she will always have questions about what happened.

She said she wonders why her daughter didn't wear her seatbelt, considering she was teased in police college for always wearing a seatbelt.

Earlier, Larkin told reporters that Kovach was asked by her mother to take the day off to go to Ottawa to be with family, but had decided to come to work.

A public funeral for Kovach was held on March 21.

Thousands gathered in the streets of downtown Guelph to watch a procession of more than 6,000 uniformed officers escort Kovach's flag-draped casket to the Sleeman Centre for the funeral service.

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Glen Murray accuses Rob Ford of campaigning to send 'puppet' — Doug ... - National Post

Ontario Transportation Minister Glen Murray on Wednesday said Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has no business taking sides in an upcoming provincial vote, and accused the mayor of campaigning to send a "puppet" — Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday — to Queen's Park.

Polls show Mr. Holyday, a former mayor of Etobicoke, running neck and neck with Liberal candidate and long-time city councillor Peter Milczyn in Etobicoke-Lakeshore, one of two Toronto ridings up for grabs in five by-elections Thursday.

"A provincial election is none of the mayor's business," said Mr. Murray. "I don't think a ringing personal endorsement of Rob Ford is the message most residents of Etobicoke want to send." He added that the vote "is not a referendum on the Ford brothers."

He also dismissed the mayor as all talk and no action on subways — a top issue in the riding of Scarborough-Guildwood. The Liberals have committed $1.4-billion towards extending the Bloor Danforth line.

"How can you claim to be a subway champion when you've been Rob Ford for three years and you haven't come up with five cents for the subway investment?" asked Mr. Murray. "This guy has been raising my property taxes and he hasn't built a single metre of subway."

The minister's rebuke came a day after Mayor Ford lashed out at the Grits while campaigning for PC candidate Ken Kirupa in Scarborough-Guildwood. "If you say you want to go and vote Liberal, then you're basically just giving a bank robber another gun and say[ing] go rob another bank. That's what it comes down to," said Mr. Ford on Tuesday.

Mr. Milczyn, also a member of the mayor's executive, called Mr. Ford's language "inappropriate" and Mr. Murray's response "bang on."

"He is attacking the only partners he has for public transit," he said of Mayor Ford.

Mr. Holyday, however, blamed the Milczyn campaign for starting the war of words, and said the Liberals are "clutching at straws" to avoid talking about their record.

"It will be an absolute shame if this strategy of calling an election in the middle of the summer saves their ass," said Mr. Holyday.

National Post

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Wikileaks 'strained' US-Afghan ties - BBC News

31 July 2013 Last updated at 21:10 ET

The Wikileaks disclosures strained US-Afghan relations, a retired US Army general said at the sentencing hearing of Pte First Class Bradley Manning.

Brig Gen Robert Carr said documents Pte Manning leaked named hundreds of friendly Afghan villagers, putting their lives at risk.

Pte Manning faces up to 136 years in prison after his conviction for espionage and 19 other charges.

He had admitted passing hundreds of thousands of documents to Wikileaks.

On the first day of the sentencing hearing in a military court in Fort Meade, Maryland, the prosecution sought to demonstrate the extent of damage caused by the 2010 leaks.

That issue is at the heart of the sentencing process, and also in the wider debate over whether to treat Pte Manning as an ethical whistle-blower or a traitor, says the BBC's security correspondent Gordon Corera.

On Tuesday, a military judge convicted Pte Manning of 20 out of 22 counts, including espionage and theft of government data.

Julian Assange, founder of the Wikileaks anti-secrecy organisation, has condemned the verdict and called for it to be overturned.

'Friendly Afghans at risk'

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Julian Assange described Bradley Manning as a "quintessential whistleblower"

Gen Carr, an intelligence expert who led a Pentagon task force investigating the damage done by the leaks, testified that protecting the Afghan population was one of the US military's primary missions.

"We had to get close to the population, had to understand that population, and we had to protect them," he told Judge Col Denise Lind on Wednesday.

"If the adversary had more clarity as to which people in the village were collaborating with the US forces, then there is a chance that those folks could be at greater risk."

The general testified that US relationships with other countries suffered as a result of the leaks. He said some of the exposed diplomatic cables were "very blunt" and made it harder to communicate with other nations.

But Gen Carr acknowledged that no-one named in the Afghan war logs was killed.

He said the Taliban tied a killing for which it claimed responsibility to the WikiLeaks disclosures, but he acknowledged the victim's name did not appear in the leaked files.

More than 20 witnesses are expected to be called for the sentencing hearing, which could take weeks.

Analysts say Pte Manning, who did not testify in his defence, could still take the stand during the sentencing phase.

Pte Manning's defence lawyer is expected to argue the soldier never intended to harm US national security, an argument made at length and with apparent success during the trial, as he was acquitted of the most serious charge against him, aiding the enemy.

'Bloodlust'

During the trial the judge stopped both sides from presenting evidence about whether the leaks had endangered national security or US troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, but the prosecution and defence will be able to bring that up at the sentencing hearing.

The judge also limited evidence of Pte Manning's motives. At a pre-trial hearing, he testified that he had leaked the material to expose the "bloodlust" of US forces and the country's diplomatic deceitfulness. He did not believe his actions would harm the country, he said.

Among the items Pte Manning sent to Wikileaks was graphic footage of an Apache helicopter attack in 2007 that killed a dozen people in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, including a Reuters photographer.

The documents also included 470,000 Iraq and Afghanistan battlefield reports and 250,000 secure state department cables between Washington and embassies around the world.

Pte Manning, an intelligence analyst, was arrested in Iraq in May 2010. He spent weeks in a cell at Camp Arifjan, a US Army installation in Kuwait, before being transferred to the US.

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Mugabe's party claims Zimbabwe election win, Tsvangirai's party cries fraud - Globe and Mail

President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party claimed a landslide victory on Thursday in Zimbabwe's elections, but its rival, Prime Minster Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said there had been "monumental fraud".

Wednesday's voting was peaceful across the southern African nation, but the early conflicting claims from the two sides heralded an acrimonious dispute over the outcome and raised fears of a repeat of violence that marred a 2008 election.

More Related to this Story

Releasing unofficial results early in Zimbabwe is illegal, and police have said they will arrest anybody who makes premature claims about the result. Election authorities were due to announce results within five days from Wednesday.

But a senior source in Mugabe's ZANU-PF party, who asked not to be named, said the outcome was already clear.

"We've taken this election. We've buried the MDC. We never had any doubt that we were going to win," the source told Reuters by phone on Thursday.

Riot police took up positions outside the party's headquarters in central Harare and other key locations in the capital. MDC offices appeared to be almost deserted.

An independent election monitor in Zimbabwe, who also could not be named for fear of arrest, said early results were looking like a "disaster" for Tsvangirai, who was making his third bid to unseat the 89-year-old Mugabe.

Responding to the ZANU-PF claim, a high-ranking source in Tsvangirai's MDC party described the election as "a monumental fraud".

"Zimbabweans have been taken for a ride by ZANU-PF and Mugabe. We do not accept it," the source, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters.

The MDC was to hold an emergency meeting later on Thursday.

PEACEFUL, BUT FREE AND FAIR?

Several political sources told Reuters key MDC members had lost their seats, even in the capital, Tsvangirai's main support base since he burst onto the political scene 15 years ago.

The head of an African Union observer mission said late on Wednesday the polls appeared at first glance to be "peaceful, orderly and free and fair" - an assessment at odds with the view of the MDC and of independent entities monitoring the poll.

In Thursday, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), the leading domestic monitoring agency, said the credibility of the poll was seriously compromised by large numbers of voters being turned away from polling stations in MDC strongholds.

"It is not sufficient for elections to be peaceful for elections to be credible," ZESN chairman Solomon Zwana told a news conference. "They must offer all citizens... an equal opportunity to vote."

The United States, which has sanctions in place against Mugabe, had also expressed concern before Wednesday about the credibility of the vote, citing persistent pro-ZANU-PF bias in the state media and partisan security forces.

Other worries centred on the voters' roll, which was meant by law to be released in electronic form to all parties before the poll, but which has still not been made available.

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Ontario gas plants scandal: Speaker shrugs off Liberal 'intimidation' - Toronto Star

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The Speaker of Ontario's legislature has shrugged off opposition charges former premier Dalton McGuinty's office tried to "bully" him into changing a gas plant scandal ruling that rattled the governing Liberals.

Dave Levac responded Tuesday to concerns that top McGuinty operatives improperly attempted to force a reversal of his bombshell finding in September 2012.

It concluded that then-energy minister Chris Bentley breached parliamentary privilege by withholding documents on the cost of scrapping power plants in Oakville and Mississauga before the 2011 election to save Liberal seats.

"I have never felt unable to make an informed, objective and procedurally sound decision, free of political interference," Levac said in a statement.

"The fact that the ruling did stand should also speak for itself."

Levac's decision put Bentley and the Liberals on the precipice of a rare contempt of parliament charge that McGuinty strategists feared would set the stage for another election with the minority government under fire for the cost of closing the plants — a tab that has now hit $585 million.

Concerned that the Liberal attempts to influence Levac set a dangerous precedent, the Progressive Conservatives called on Ontario Integrity Commissioner Lynn Morrison to investigate Tuesday.

Tory energy critic Fedeli dubbed the Liberal effort "an act of intimidation" and a good reason to vote against Premier Kathleen Wynne's party in five byelections Thursday.

The approach to Levac — who is the Liberal MPP for Brant but elected by all parties as neutral referee in the legislature — was made by former McGuinty staffer Dave Gene, after concerns were raised by former McGuinty adviser Laura Miller and Liberal campaign chairman Don Guy.

In an email exchange on Sept. 21, 2012, after the Levac ruling, Guy wrote, "Speaker needs to follow up on his prima facie finding and change his mind." Miller wrote that Gene "is putting the member from Brant on notice that we need better here."

That language raised alarm bells with the opposition parties, with NDP House Leader Gilles Bisson calling it "pretty serious stuff."

"Which incentives were offered or punishments were threatened is unclear," Fedeli said. "These actions threaten and undermine the institutions we value in our democracy.

Fedeli said he would rather have Morrison investigate than call Levac to testify before a legislative committee probing the gas plants scandal, but later told reporters that remains an option when hearings resume.

Bisson said the NDP will call Miller and Guy.

"Who ordered them to do this . . . was it the (former) premier?"

Miller told the Star no threats were made by the premier's office or the Liberal party against Levac.

"There is really no way to strong-arm the Speaker. You can't remove him. And as to threatening his nomination, that would just be silly because we need(ed) him to keep the seat."

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Police shooting of TO man a 'tragedy for all involved' - Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

By: Allison Jones

Posted: 1:00 AM | Comments:

TORONTO -- The family of a young man who died after being shot by police on a Toronto streetcar called it a "tragedy for all involved" and said they hold no ill will against the thousands of officers who protect the public every day.

Sammy Yatim, 18, died early Saturday morning in what the Special Investigations Unit called an "interaction" with police, which was captured on surveillance and cellphone video. Yatim can be seen on video pacing the empty streetcar as shouts of "drop the knife" are heard.

Nine shots can be heard on the bystander video, first three shots in succession then six more after a pause of about six seconds. Yatim was shot multiple times, the SIU has said.

Yatim's family released a statement Tuesday thanking Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair for reaching out to them and vowing to co-operate with the SIU's probe.

"We expect that this matter will be investigated with the fullest measure of the law, so that incidents like this can be better managed and de-escalated before such extreme use of force is ever exercised again," the family said.

"We want to be clear that we do not hold any ill will against the thousands of police officers who work to protect us each day. This is a tragedy for all involved."

Yatim, wearing what appears to be white pants, can be seen in security-camera footage -- obtained by Global News -- dropping to the ground after the initial volley of shots.

The security video has no audio, but when synced with a cellphone video taken by a bystander, it appears to show Yatim is still on the ground, his leg moving slightly, as six more shots are fired.

Police are then seen boarding the streetcar and the sound of a stun gun can be heard. The SIU confirmed a conducted energy weapon was also used.

The SIU has designated one subject officer and 22 witness officers. The Toronto Police Association's president has said the officer involved in the incident is "devastated."

Mike McCormack said the public shouldn't jump to conclusions before investigators collect all the facts surrounding the shooting.

The officer was identified late Tuesday as Const. James Forcillo by his lawyer, Peter Brauti, who often defends police.

Brauti said he is reviewing the case and has not decided whether to recommend Forcillo submit to an SIU interview.

Police designated as subject officers in SIU investigations can exercise a right not to be interviewed. In addition to the SIU investigation, Blair has said his office will do a review.

Ontario's ombudsman also weighed in on the case, saying his office would be reviewing the incident to determine if it could trigger a wider investigation.

The family, meanwhile, said they are "living a nightmare" from which they can't seem to wake up.

"The next few months will be very trying for us as our family adjusts to life without Sammy and wades through all the details and decisions that led to this senseless tragedy," they said in their statement.

They are just trying to "bury this poor kid in peace," said family friend Joseph Nazar.

Both of Yatim's parents were out of town when he died: his father on business in Atlanta and his mother visiting Montreal from Syria, where she is a doctor at a children's hospital, Nazar said.

Yatim's sister, believed to be about 17 years old, was left to identify her brother's body, Nazar said.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford briefly addressed the death Tuesday saying it was "unfortunate," but he cautioned against a rush to judgment.

"My heart goes out to the family," he said. "But none of us know the facts."

Hundreds of people took to the streets Monday with cries of "shame" and brandishing posters that read "protect us from our protectors" as public outrage grew over Yatim's death.

That mobilization likely wouldn't have happened if it weren't for the videos, said Abby Deshman, director of the public safety program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

"That kind of community outrage, I think, can be directly related to how closely people understand what happened," she said.

Canadians in general are very trusting of police officers, so when someone involved with police is hurt the public usually assumes police acted rightfully unless there is evidence to the contrary, Deshman said.

"I think what video really does is provide a direct account of what happened that a person can see and really judge for themselves without having to primarily rely on the police officer's word about what was necessary."

-- The Canadian Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 31, 2013 A1

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