International human rights advocacy group Amnesty International on Friday accused the Nigerian government of knowing hours beforehand of the threat to hundreds of Nigerian schoolgirls still missing but not taking action to protect them ahead of their abduction.

"Amnesty International has confirmed through various sources that Nigeria's military headquarters in Maiduguri [130 km from the kidnapping] was aware of the impending attack soon after 7:00 p.m. on April 14, close to four hours before Boko Haram began their assault on the town," the group said in a release. But the military was unable to muster enough troops to take on the militants with the Boko Haram terrorist group who were closing in on the Government Girls Secondary School in the town of Chibok. "The small contingent of security forces based in the town - 17 army personnel as well as local police - attempted to repel the Boko Haram assault but were overpowered and forced to retreat," Amnesty says, adding that one soldier was reportedly killed in the fight.

Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine said Thursday they would go ahead with a referendum on secession set for Sunday, defying Russian President Vladimir Putin's call to postpone it and dashing hopes of dialogue with the government in Kiev.

Western capitals had already been skeptical of Mr. Putin's surprise appeal Wednesday, a change of tone that included a claim that Russian troops had pulled back from the border. With the decision by separatists in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions at the heart of the insurgency, the conflict again appeared to be escalating.

In Kiev, the Foreign Ministry said the decisions confirmed fears that Moscow was just trying "to whitewash its aggression in the eyes of the international community" by appearing to endorse dialogue. Ukrainian officials rejected Moscow's demands that they end their military operation in eastern Ukraine and negotiate with the rebels.


Kiev and its Western allies say the separatists are led by Russian agents and are part of Moscow's plan to undermine the pro-Western government, which took power in late Feburary after a Moscow ally, President Viktor Yanukovych, was toppled by months of street protests centered in the capital.

Previous diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis have failed, often buying time for Russia and its allies to strengthen their position on the ground. (Track conflict along the border in an interactive map.)

The decline of religious belief in the West and the growth of secularism has "opened the window" to black magic, Satanism and belief in the occult, the organisers of a conference on exorcism have said.

The six-day meeting in Rome aims to train about 200 Roman Catholic priests from more than 30 countries in how to cast out evil from people who believe themselves to be in thrall to the Devil.

The conference, "Exorcism and Prayers of Liberation", has also attracted psychiatrists, sociologists, doctors and criminologists in what the Church called a "multi-disciplinary" approach to exorcisms.

Giuseppe Ferrari, from GRIS, a Catholic research group that organised the conference, said there was an ever growing need for priests to be trained to perform exorcisms because of the increasing number of lay people tempted to dabble in black magic, paganism and the occult.

The controversy surrounding Justina Pelletier and her family has expanded its scope in recent months, and has now become a general public scrutiny of Massachusetts's Department of Children and Families.

On April 29, State Governor Deval Patrick gave a press conference in which he announced the resignation of DCF Commissioner Olga Roche.

I think there's a very real risk of confusing some issues here. The sad fact is that, despite the enormous strides we have made as a society, there are still a great many children who are abused and neglected. Every state in the US has a social services department, one of whose statutory responsibilities is to investigate reports of abuse and/or neglect. The case workers who conduct the investigations are required to follow set procedures. Often they find that the allegation is unfounded, and the investigation is terminated. When they do find probable cause, they are required by law to present their findings to a judge, who scrutinizes the evidence in accordance with the normal judicial procedures. The social services department, the parents, and the child are usually represented by attorneys.

A wide range of options is available to the court, from outright termination of parental rights to outright dismissal of the case. Both of these extremes are rare. The usual outcome is some kind of remediation program, whereby the parents are encouraged and coached in childcare matters. Sometimes the children are placed in foster homes pending resolution of issues in the home. If the home issues aren't resolved, the foster care placement can be lengthy.

The system isn't perfect. Mistakes get made, and sometimes the mistakes are serious. I have no way of knowing if the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families was more error-prone than social service departments in other states. Obviously the commissioner Olga Roche has to take responsibility. But whether she was personally derelict in her duties or was just the designated fall-gal, I don't know.

But this I do know: the spotlight has been taken off psychiatry.

An East Tennessee couple faces a murder charge, accused of forcing the man's 5-year-old daughter to drink more than 2 liters of grape soda and water, causing her brain to swell and rupture, authorities said.

According to the Hawkins County Sheriff's Office and the autopsy report, Alexa Linboom was brought in to the emergency room on Jan. 1, 2012, by her father, Randall Vaughn, and his wife, Mary Vaughn.

The girl was blue and unresponsive with "an abnormal body posture that indicates severe brain damage," according to the autopsy, which was completed in July 2013.

The Vaughns were arrested on Wednesday and were being held at the Hawkins County Jail on a $500,000 bond each. Officials did not know whether the Vaughns had hired an attorney. Their arraignment was scheduled for Friday morning.

A SWAT team raids a Kalamazoo family home looking for drugs, but turns up empty handed.

It happened last Thursday at a house on Southworth Terrace.

Two young children were home at the time.

Their parents tell us, police made a mistake, and now they're left to cope with the trauma.

The family tells Newschannel 3 the man police were looking for, was renting the home nearly a year before they moved in, and they're upset police didn't do their homework before busting through their door.

"I thought it was somebody either trying to rob us, or hurt us," said Jeremy Handley.

'I spent the rest of the day assuming the pin I'd swallowed would eventually find its way out. I was so blasé, I went out that night and forgot all about it'

I was working in the wardrobe department on a television series in Sydney. The pressure was intense, but it was exciting.

Around halfway through the shoot, I was making an intricate Victorian costume for one of the lead actresses. I remember the pale green taffeta of the gown as I sat at the sewing machine, struggling with all the pleats and ribbons that had to look perfect for the screen. As always, the most convenient place to put the pin I was using was in my mouth. Somehow, one minute it was clenched between my teeth and the next it was gone.

Russell Dermond, 88, was found headless in the garage of his upscale, lakeside home outside Eatonton, Ga., about 75 miles southeast of Atlanta. His wife of nearly seven decades, Shirley Dermond, is missing and authorities are concerned for her safety after finding the gruesome scene.

A desperate search is on for a missing woman after her 88-year-old husband was found decapitated inside the garage of their rural lakeside Georgia home.

Shirley Dermond, 87, was likely abducted from her 3,300-square-foot home in the Great Waters community outside Eatonton, Ga., where Russell Dermond's headless body was found Tuesday after friends hadn't heard from the "sweet as can be" couple in days.

Sampson County Sheriff officials announced the arrest in McKenzie Semmons' 2013 murder Wednesday, with the boy's grandfather telling a local TV station that the suspect is just 14 years old.

Eight months after an 11-year-old girl was found dead in her North Carolina home, authorities have announced the arrest of a boy in her rape and murder.

Sampson County Sheriff officials Wednesday announced the arrest in McKenzie Semmons' 2013 murder, with the boy's grandfather telling WTVD that the suspect is just 14 years old.

Alice Uden testified she shot and killed her husband in the head sometime in late 1974 or early 1975, just as he was about to attack her 2-year-old daughter. The man's body was found last year in Wyoming and Uden was arrested for the murder in Missouri.

A 75-year-old Missouri woman accused of killing her husband in Wyoming almost 40 years ago was found guilty of second-degree murder Thursday in a case that hinged on whether jurors believed her claim she was defending their 2-year-old daughter.

Alice Uden faces 20 years to life in prison during sentencing, which will be scheduled later.