Twenty judges and magistrates have been sacked in Ghana after being found guilty of bribery.

The dismissals followed a thorough investigation into allegations of corruption in the judiciary, Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood said.
In August, a journalist revealed that he had evidence showing judges demanding bribes and sex to influence judgements in court cases.
The revelation shocked Ghanaians who packed cinemas to see his documentary.
Announcing the sackings, the chief justice said she wanted to assure the public that the judicial council, the regulatory body for judges, would take "prompt and resolute" action to "redeem" the image of the judiciary.
Judicial council secretary Justice Alex Poku Acheampong said some of the sacked judges had been stripped of their benefits.
However, the benefits of other judges had been retained, after they had shown show remorse and had apologised "profusely" for bringing the judiciary into disrepute, he added.
Ghanaian journalist Sammy Darko says many people feel the judges got off lightly, and are demanding that they be prosecuted.
The sacked judges and magistrates were from lower courts, and had been investigated by a committee appointed by the chief justice. One judge was cleared of the charges.
A second inquiry, focusing on similar allegations against 12 High Court judges, has not yet concluded its work.
Investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas handed over nearly 500 hours of video evidence on tape to the chief justice in August.
Anas Aremeyaw Anas was something of an enigma, as he had never been seen in public without a disguise until he took off his trademark beaded veil in a BBC interview in November.
His fans call him a modern-day folk hero or the "James Bond of journalism" for his work in exposing alleged corruption and malpractice in Ghana and beyond.
In his 15 years of undercover journalism he has among other disguises, posed as a female investor in high heels, sunglasses and lipstick, and a janitor in a brothel. He has also secreted himself inside a fake rock placed at the side of the road with a peep hole for his eyes.
In his work he has exposed a human trafficking racket, corruption in the police and malpractice in a food processing plant. He argues that "there is no point in doing journalism, if it does not lead progress in your society". Mr Anas became a lawyer while working as a journalist.
How the judicial scandal has led Ghanaians to invent new words


Chelsea beat Bournemouth 3-1 to stay seven points clear at the top of the Premier League, while Tottenham remain second after a 4-0 win at home to Watford.

Liverpool stay third with a 2-1 win at Stoke City, Manchester City remain fourth following a 3-1 victory over Hull City, and Manchester United climb up to fifth as they beat bottom club Sunderland 3-0.
Elsewhere, there are wins for Southampton away to West Brom, West Ham against Swansea and Everton at home to Leicester, while Middlesbrough v Burnley ended goalless.
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He's taken a fair amount of stick during his time at Liverpool but the hug from Jurgen Klopp at the end of the match seems to suggest goalkeeper Simon Mignolet was not just in good form but had done something quite special. It was the save from Saido Berahino that did it - costing Stoke a point while keeping Liverpool on course for a Champions League spot.
Moments before, Mignolet also made a point-blank save from Charlie Adam when he and Berahino practically apologised to each other for taking the strike. However, in my view, Klopp has failed to address the most obvious issue facing Liverpool since the start of the season - that is their back four.
Mignolet has recovered his season with some sparkling performances since being dropped earlier in the campaign. Yet if the German manager had got his back four right it's difficult to see how Chelsea could be 12 points clear of the Reds with six games left to play. Hugging Mignolet in sheer relief that his keeper has kept him in with a massive shout of Champions League football next season is a bit of a cop out for me. Liverpool should have been challenging for the title.
Matthew Lowton's headed clearance off the line from Stewart Downing's free-kick was absolutely sensational. For the full-back to recognise that keeper Tom Heaton was vulnerable and Downing was about to put the free-kick over the wall and into the top right-hand corner was intuitive genius.
Lowton left the wall having spotted the danger. But if that wasn't enough he almost immediately afterwards cleared off the line again - this time from Daniel Ayala's header. These two clearances were not just brilliant but game-changers. I've seen defenders panic in those positions and head the ball into the roof of their own net or get their feet in a tangle at the crucial moment.
Lowton was as steady as a rock and kept his eye on the ball - clearing his lines and the danger. It's these moments in games that define seasons for teams like Burnley. This was a fixture that produced no goals but, in the final analysis, Burnley didn't care. They have begged, borrowed and stolen points this season and Lowton - like their entire back five - did a superb job.
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic was manic throughout this affair and understandably so. The Hammers had lost five games on the bounce and rumours were rife that West Ham's directors had a contingency in place - whatever that meant - had Bilic suffered a sixth consecutive defeat.
There was so much riding on this result and Bilic did well to put his faith in an old head with a lot of experience. James Collins was that man and he did everything that needed to be done. He was magnificent in the air and needed to be, particularly when Fernando Llorente came on in the second half for Swansea.
The Spanish centre-forward raised the stakes for the Hammers and it forced Collins to put his body on the line on a number of occasions.
Swansea, on the other hand, seemed like a team who were suffering from stage fright and paralysed by fear. It would appear their 3-1 drubbing at home to Spurs in midweek had a far bigger impact on the team's confidence than they realised.
What a wonderful ball from David Luiz to Victor Moses. It resulted in Diego Costa's superb turn and Chelsea's fortuitous opening goal. I'm not in the least bit surprised by Luiz's ability to knock a 40-yard pass. This is a defender with so much ability he can do that and much more.
However, as the season draws to a close and Chelsea put a date in the diary for a trip to the Premier League engravers, I would like to commend manager Antonio Conte and technical director Michael Emenalo for having the foresight and courage to bring Luiz back to Stamford Bridge.
The Brazil international is unrecognisable from the irrational player we saw during his first period at the club. Since his return, he has played some glorious football and been a unifying figure in a new era at the Bridge.
If Chelsea are serious about winning the Champions League next season they must do whatever it takes to keep Luiz. There aren't many great centre-backs out there, and those who do exist are with the biggest clubs in Europe. With a couple of strong additions to their squad, Chelsea could be serious Champions League candidates.
I didn't know who was going to take Chelsea's free-kick - David Luiz, Victor Moses or Marcos Alonso. In the end it was Alonso who bent it past Artur Boruc with extraordinary accuracy.
The harsh truth for Bournemouth, and the rest of the Premier League, is any one of those players could have planted the free-kick past Boruc, such is the quality and confidence that exists in the Chelsea ranks at the moment. The truth is I couldn't leave Alonso out of my team of the week having scored a goal like that.
Alonso has done this sort of thing before, of course, and I have no doubt he will do it again before Chelsea lift the Premier League trophy. Which they will.
Philippe Coutinho didn't feel great on the morning of the match and arrived in the Potteries by car feeling OK before deciding to declare himself fit for the game against Stoke City. That was the beginning of the end for the Potters.  From the moment Coutinho came on the pitch at the start of the second half, I knew it was a game-changer.
The Brazilian had already warned Lee Grant he was on the prowl, having forced the Stoke keeper to produce a fantastic save just after he arrived on the pitch. It was at that moment you knew whatever symptoms Coutinho had before the game had well and truly passed. However, it was his one-touch finish on the edge of the box that I thought was so impressive.
Coutinho hung around waiting for something to happen - anything that might give him an opportunity to pounce. When it came he was equal to it. All credit to Coutinho for getting to Stoke. The easy option would have been not to play and no-one would have blamed him. Instead he put himself on the line for his team-mates and his manager. I hope Jurgen Klopp remembers that in the future when Coutinho is having a bad time.
I saw Fabian Delph play against Chelsea in midweek and, considering it was his first start of the season, he looked in great shape and played like it. All credit to him. Delph has been plagued with injuries and had such little first-team game time, yet still has the presence of mind and the right attitude to keep himself in such tip-top condition.
He ran out of steam at Stamford Bridge, but not so against Hull. For Delph to retain the level of fitness at this stage of the season, and go on to have such an impact on Manchester City's victory over Hull, is a credit to his professionalism.
There will be those who will argue that professional players should keep themselves in the best shape ever - after all, it's their job. Those cynics have no idea of the mental discipline required to keep yourself at the top of your game in mind and health when you have no fixture to look forward to.
At the end of the game against Hull you could see how delighted Manchester City's backroom staff were for him. They have also played a part in the recovery. Hopefully Delph can now start to think of playing for his country again. Heaven knows we could do with him.
What a goal by Roberto Firmino. The ball from Georginio Wijnaldum was wonderful but the finish even better. It's one thing your team-mate delivering the pass of the match. It's something entirely different having received the ball at your feet and having the technical ability to put it into the back of the net. Firmino finished the move so emphatically. If the referee had decided to blow the full-time whistle there and then, no neutral observer would have complained - the quality of the finish was worthy of winning any match.
However, watching the goal in real time does not do the execution of the finish justice. The replay clearly identifies how Firmino takes a look at the ball as it arrives over his shoulder, watches it bounce in front of him, then takes a look at where Grant is positioned before deciding to hit the ball on the volley. Grant, who is slightly off his line in case Firmino decides to take him on, almost dares his opponent to take the volley due to the degree of technical difficulty required to execute the skill.
All this being played out, of course, in a couple of seconds. So imagine Grant, when the Brazilian calls his bluff and goes for the volley and smashes it into the back of the net, having left the Stoke keeper clutching fresh air. That's why the finish was so good and we all said 'wow'.
The moment Dele Alli bent his super shot around the well-beaten Heurelho Gomes in the Watford goal, former Spurs midfielder Jermaine Jenas said: "He's the player of the season for me."
Jermaine, preparing for Football Focus in the BBC green room, instigated a frightful debate prior to the programme around who deserved to win the PFA Player of the Year. Dion Dublin, Dan Walker, Martin Keown and myself immediately engaged in the argument with differing opinions but generally agreed the prize would probably go to either to Eden Hazard or N'Golo Kante.
Jermaine seemed incredulous that none of us had mentioned Alli and said that he wanted more flair from his midfield players which suggested Kante came up short in that department as far as he was concerned. A fair point and a perfectly reasonable assertion under the circumstances.
It did seem odd at the time bearing in mind Alli was having a terrific game against Watford and Spurs were second in the table largely due to Alli's contribution this season. That said, I don't think Alli will win the PFA Player of the Year even though Jermaine put together a very credible case.
There have been some notable performances this week, from strikers in particular, who would have, under normal circumstances, made my team of the week. However, this wasn't a normal week. Romelu Lukaku and Son Heung-min scored twice for Everton and Tottenham respectively, but it was Zlatan Ibrahimovic who impressed me the most.
Playing up front on your own is always a task but it never seems to bother the Manchester United striker. Against a Sunderland side sporting 11 men at the time, the Swede produced a goal out of nothing. He set up Marcus Rashford's goal and you can see how his team-mates respond to his presence.
I don't think it's a coincidence that Luke Shaw has timed his return to the team with Ibrahimovic's return. The lad has been put under immense pressure by United boss Jose Mourinho and, if the game against Sunderland is anything to go by, he has stood up to Mourinho's bully-boy tactics very well. I'm not sure Mourinho would get away with such a public condemnation of an employee in any other form of employment.
Nevertheless, this was a very important victory for United and keeps them in the hunt for a fourth-place finish.  I would have liked to have seen the outcome of this game against Sunderland with a referee who recognises the difference between a tackle that looks dangerous and one that actually is dangerous. Sebastian Larsson's tackle on Ander Herrera neither looked dangerous nor was dangerous. So why the player received an automatic red card from referee Craig Pawson is a total mystery to me.
If David Luiz's presence at Chelsea is central to any future Champions League campaign, then Eden Hazard is imperative. Real Madrid will know all about Hazard's potential but will most certainly have noted his form this season. This is without doubt his best season in the Premier League. His performance against Bournemouth was wonderful to watch.
I haven't seen a player for sometime enjoy his football as much as Hazard is at the moment. He is playing with such freedom and confidence that makes me think that an audacious offer from Madrid is almost certain. There are not many players who can resist playing at the Bernabeu Stadium on a regular basis.
So it is crucial that Chelsea boss Antonio Conte removes the rumours circulating the game about his possible return to Italy and starts focusing on the Champions League with Chelsea next season. That must be the next stage in Chelsea's development.


The Scottish and UK energy ministers are due to meet for the first time following a row over an early end to wind farm subsidies.

Last week, the UK government announced new onshore wind farms will be excluded from a subsidy scheme from 1 April 2016, a year earlier than expected.
Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said the decision would disproportionately affect Scotland.
The move was part of a manifesto commitment by the Conservative party.
UK Energy and Climate Change Secretary Amber Rudd said it will give local communities the final say over any new wind farms.
The ministers are due to meet at a renewables conference in London, where both will be speaking.
Mr Ewing is expected to seek clarity about whether wind projects already in development will still receive funding.
He said Ms Rudd and Scottish Secretary David Mundell had given apparently contradictory statements on which projects would still go ahead.
He said: "The UK Tory government's decision to scrap investment in onshore wind is completely wrong-headed, and makes no economic or environmental sense - but it is absolutely essential that developers know whether projects already in the pipeline are going to receive financial support or not.
"Amber Rudd and David Mundell's different positions show that there is either confusion between UK cabinet members about the UK government position on the crucial issue of grace periods, or there is a welcome change in policy towards that set out by the Scottish government.
"I hope it is the latter and I will be raising this issue with Amber Rudd at our meeting - investment and jobs hinge on the UK government ensuring continued support to projects already in the pipeline."
Energy firms had been facing an end to subsidies in 2017.
The funding for the subsidy comes from the Renewables Obligation, which is funded by levies added to household fuel bills.
While subsidies will end from 1 April 2016, there will be a grace period for projects which already have planning permission.
About 3,000 wind turbines across the UK are awaiting planning consent.
Scottish Renewables have said the move was "neither fair nor reasonable" and could cost Scotland up to Â£3bn in business investment.


A police force has apologised after its officers made a sandcastle "crime scene" featuring a naked dead woman.

The sculpture, depicting a sprawled murder victim surrounded by police tape, was crowned winner of the Cornwall Beach Games sandcastle competition.
But Devon and Cornwall Police was criticised after boasting officers tweeted about their victory.
Labour councillor Hannah Toms said some would find it "very offensive".
The force said it was a "fun event" and officers had not intended to cause any offence.
Ms Toms acknowledged officers had intended to be "light-hearted" but said the sandcastle "somewhat misses the mark and is in a bit of poor taste".
"I like a joke as much as the next person but this is a family beach event," she said.
"As a parent I would not be very happy to explain to my child what it was all about.
"It's trivialising quite a serious matter."
Ms Toms added: "I think there's a level of sexual stereotyping with the large bottom and the large breasts. Police have been working really hard to break down barriers on reporting sex crimes and I don't think this image really helps their cause."
Reaction on social media was mixed, with some defending the sandcastle.
Hazel Jago said on Facebook: "So it's a team of police officers representing the type of work they deal with. What's the problem!? There is always someone that will whinge about something."
Lorraine Lardon said: "People need an injection of humour."
A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said: "If any offence has been cause by the nature of the sculpture, this was never intended and we apologise for that."


Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz has endured his fair share of criticism - from fellow politicians to his former university flatmate.

People have called the Texas senator "abrasive", "creepy" and "arrogant".
Despite alienating many people he has encountered throughout his life and career, he may be the only realistic Republican alternative to Donald Trump.
He has won 10 state contests and has millions of devoted supporters across the county.
However, Mr Cruz himself acknowledged he may not be the most beloved politician. "If you want someone to grab a beer with, I may not be that guy," he said in October.
Here are 10 of his most prominent - and passionate - detractors:
Former House speaker and an Ohio Republican
"I have Democrat friends and Republican friends. I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life."
Republican senator from South Carolina
"If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you." Mr Graham now grudgingly supports Mr Cruz's presidential bid.
Republican congressman from New York
"I hate Ted Cruz, and I think I'll take cyanide if he ever got the nomination." He later told CNN that he would not actually kill himself.
Former roommate at Princeton University; now a Hollywood screenwriter
"I would rather have anybody else be the president of the United States. Anyone. I would rather pick somebody from the phone book."
Republican presidential candidate
"He's a nasty guy. Nobody likes him. Nobody in Congress likes him. Nobody likes him anywhere once they get to know him."
Conservative media personality and Trump supporter
"Just look at Cruz's face: it's got career scum politician, aka liar, written all over it."
Republican senator from Arizona
"You know, it's always the wacko birds ... that get the media megaphone," he said referring to Mr Cruz and others. Mr McCain has also cast doubt on whether the Canadian-born Cruz was eligible to be president.
Former Republican congressional aide
"Cruz is an army of one, alienating anybody who is in his path. He advocates losing strategies purely to further his own career at the expense of the party."
Former Republican senator from Kansas
Speaking on the presidential race: "We need somebody with experience and there are a lot of good candidates - I like nearly all of them. Except Cruz."
Former Republican president; Mr Cruz worked on his staff during his 2000 campaign
"I just don't like the guy," the fellow Texan told Republican donors privately in October.
Of course, not everyone hates Mr Cruz. Here are some nice things people had to say about him:
Paul Ryan:
Asked about Mr Boehner's comments, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said he has a much better relationship with Mr Cruz.
"I have a very good relationship with both of these men, and I'm going to keep it that way," he said.
Heidi Cruz:
The former Goldman Sachs executive told Fox News of her husband: "Ted has a very rare combination that I spotted immediately, which is that he has a deep, deep intelligence, but at the same time, he's a lot of fun."
Carly Fiorina:
Ms Fiorina has had positive things to say about Mr Cruz since she dropped out of the presidential race - and especially now that she has agreed to be his running-mate should he earn the Republican nomination.
"I know the Ted Cruz the media won't tell you aboutâ€”the loving father, the devoted husband, the movie buff," she said. "Ted Cruz is a constitutional conservative who has made enemies in both partiesâ€”because he's dared to stand up to bipartisan corruption in Washington."


Over the past month what is often cited as the world's largest Buddhist temple, on the outskirts of Bangkok, has been the scene of an extraordinary stalemate.

Police officers, in rows three deep, blocked the gates to the Wat Dhammakaya temple compound. Around the back, helmeted soldiers guarded alleyways, with some crawling through surrounding rice-fields. It was, they explained, a restricted military zone. Nobody was allowed inside.
The official reason for this siege was that the elderly abbot, Phra Dhammachayo, was wanted on multiple criminal charges related to a collapsed credit union and police believed he was being hidden inside the temple.
It was the largest security operation since the 2014 coup, involving thousands of troops and police officers, trying to flush him out. At one point it seemed certain they would storm the temple. Conservative supporters of the government made no secret of their wish to see what they view as a dangerously deviant Buddhist sect shut down.
But then, after three weeks,  the operation was suddenly called off.
The police, after their third search through the sprawling complex, appeared to have been convinced that the abbot was no longer there. So the temple's passionate followers, who had been confined by the police in a nearby marketplace, were finally allowed to enter. Even now it remains unclear what exactly the police wanted to achieve.
As so often in Thailand, the official explanation is misleading. Allegations of financial malpractice have hung over the temple and its charismatic abbot for decades. They also hang over many other institutions and individuals in Thailand, many of whom are neither investigated nor prosecuted. To be pursued by the state with this much commitment suggests that much larger issues are at stake.
Wat Dhammakaya is controversial. The temple compound has been constructed on a vast scale, with a huge, open-air auditorium, centred on a gold, flying-saucer-shaped chedi (stupa). Other futuristic buildings are dotted around the site - it is quite unlike any other Buddhist temple. It does not hide the fact that it is perhaps the wealthiest religious sect in Thailand.
The auditorium can, we were told, accommodate up to one million people, and Dhammakaya is famous for its impressively choreographed mass-meditations, sometimes by candlelight.
The movement is big on discipline. Its stripped-down interpretation of traditional Buddhist thinking and practices, and the intense, shared experience of meditation, has proven very appealing to its urban, middle-class followers, whose intense devotion to Phra Dhammachayo has been likened by some to a form of cult worship. The emphasis on donations has prompted accusations that it has commercialised Buddhism.
So it should come as no surprise that a military government bent on restoring traditional values, and backed by ultra-conservatives who want to see the Buddhist clergy cleansed of corrupting, modern influences, dislikes Wat Dhammakaya. A former senator, Paiboon Nititawan, who has led the calls for the temple to be taken over, goes further and argues that it is a threat to national security.
"Phra Dhammachayo is ready to ask his followers to protect him, and those tens of thousands of people could easily turn into a mob. The abbot's followers insisted the police needed their permission to enter, and that they would only comply with their orders when Thailand is democratic again. This is like declaring autonomy, and denying the sovereignty of the state."
Temple followers laugh off these accusations as absurd. Spokeperson Phra Pasura Dantamano, a former Thai Airways flight attendant who became a monk at Dhammakaya 11 years ago, said that even if the security forces stormed the temple, they would face only peaceful resistance.
"We are just a temple, we are not a threat to national security. As you can see, we are women and old people, chanting and meditating. We are not dangerous."
But the government continues to push its argument that there is something sinister about Wat Dhammakaya.
Last weekend the police showed off a large cache of weapons seized, they said, from the home of a now-exiled dissident. Although many of the weapons were ancient, the police argued that there was a plan to arm the temple's supporters and even to assassinate top government officials.
The attempt to link the temple with this dissident is telling. His name is Wuthipong "Kotee" Kochathamakun, one of the most outspoken members of the "red-shirt" movement, which backed the government unseated by the coup. He left Thailand even before the coup and has been charged in absentia with lese majeste, insulting the monarchy. He was singled out by the military in 2014 as a dangerous radical, although other red-shirt activists say his tough talk was largely posturing.
But the police statements help reinforce the government's view that Wat Dhammakaya is allied to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose parties won every election held over the past 20 years and whose destruction as a political force is still thought to be the primary, though unstated, aim of the 2014 coup leaders.
Again the temple denies this charge, insisting it is above politics and pointing out that its followers come from all political factions.
More do appear to come from the red-shirt side; a number of prominent red politicians attend the meditation sessions. But academic James Taylor from Adelaide University, who has studied Wat Dhammakaya for years, believes the notion of a political alliance is now outdated.
"The movement was clearly ambitious during its early decades, contesting religious convention by attempting to reframe the religious system from within, recruiting economically and politically influential individuals... But in the past decade it has remained outside of politics in an effort to disassociate itself from any political alliances."
There are striking parallels between the methods used by Wat Dhammakaya and Mr Thaksin's political movement to build a mass support base. Both offered a powerful sense of belonging to people feeling rootless in Thailand's increasingly urban and material society. Both were skilled at using modern media to project a simple, appealing philosophy and skilled at raising large amounts of money, an essential ingredient for any successful movement in Thailand.
Indeed the temple is the largest institution in the country not under the military's control, and its refusal to hand over its abbot is the most sustained defiance of military rule since the coup.
But there is another equally important factor which may have driven the government to act. Buddhism itself has been in crisis in Thailand for many years, as the modern, material world has either corrupted parts of the monkhood, or made its role seem less relevant, much as the church has lost its influence in Western societies. The popularity of Wat Dhammakaya is a symptom of that lost faith in traditional religion.
And this matters in a country lacking the reinforcing narrative of an anti-colonial struggle that has defined the identity of so many other countries in this region. Thailand's official national slogan has long been "Nation, Religion, King", although the military government has now added "People" to the slogan, and an "s" to "Religion" to acknowledge that not every Thai is Buddhist.
Just as the monarchy is seen by Thailand's rulers as the essential institution holding the country together and legitimising governments, so the monarch's official role as protector of Buddhism gives each occupant of the throne a unique, sacred stature. Kings preside over the most important Buddhist rituals at the most prestigious temples. The two institutions reinforce each other.
And that symbiotic relationship is never more important than in a time of transition, as now, after the defining, 70 year-long reign of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and while his untested son, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, is shaping his own, very different reign, one which the harsh penalties of the lese majeste law prevent any Thailand-based journalist from writing about it freely.
Presiding over his father's elaborate cremation later this year will be an important source of legitimacy for the new king. But his relationship with the Buddhist hierarchy also matters. Already he has made his mark, restoring the monarch's right to name the Supreme Patriarch, the head of the Sangha, the body that regulates the faith, but which has lain moribund for some years.
King Vajirakongkorn's command to strip the royal monastic titles from Phra Dhammachayo and his de facto replacement as abbot also signals royal support for the government's move against the temple.
Thailand is in the midst of a complex and potentially dangerous, triple transition; a delicate royal succession, a battle over the future of Buddhism and a still uncertain political transition to a military-guided democracy.
Given that, a sect as controversial as Wat Dhammakaya was perhaps bound to be caught up in the turbulence.


Republican Senators are moving ahead with plans to defund Planned Parenthood after anti-abortion activists claimed its employees were selling the organs of aborted foetuses.

The release of a series of hidden-camera videos has prompted renewed scrutiny of the healthcare provider.
Planned Parenthood says its employees were discussing foetal tissue donations for research, not for-profit sales.
Democrats have said they would block efforts to cut the group's funding.
In the videos filmed by the anti-abortion group, Center for Medical Progress, activists posing as medical researchers discuss acquiring intact organs removed from aborted foetuses.
Foetal tissue is sometimes used by researchers to study diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. However interest from the medical research community is declining, according to reporting by Reuters.
"Planned Parenthood's criminal conspiracy to make money off of aborted baby parts reaches to the very highest levels of their organization," said David Daleiden, the activist who helped create the videos.
Planned Parenthood received $528 million (Â£338 million) from taxpayers in 2014. Of the roughly one million abortions performed in the US, about a third occurred in clinics run by Planned Parenthood.
Critics of the effort to defund the organization point out that funding received from the federal government is not legally permitted to be used for performing most abortions.
Planned Parenthood also provides family planning advice, cancer screenings, and contraceptive health which pro-choice advocates  say would be put at risk if the Republican bill succeeds.
President Obama said that he would veto the bill if it passes, which experts say is unlikely. Republicans may then attempt to write the law into the government budget, which could possibly trigger a government shutdown.


Egyptian club Al Ahly have terminated Souleymane Coulibaly's contract after the Ivory Coast forward's decision to remain in the UK.

The move comes 24 hours after Coulibaly accused Egypt's most successful club of treating him "like a slave".
Coulibaly's arrival in England last week prompted the Cairo Red Devils to lodge a complaint with Fifa, saying he was absent without permission.
But Coulibaly, who played for Kilmarnock in Scotland's top flight during the first half of the 2016/17 season - issued a statement on Twitter, saying he had no choice but to walk out on his contract, which runs until 2020.
They treated me like a slave all because of money
The 22-year-old accused one of African football's most iconic clubs of confiscating his passport and making his family feel uncomfortable practising their religion.
"I had to flee the first chance I had hold of my passport. They treated me like a slave all because of money," said Coulibaly.
Al Ahly have since issued a statement confirming the termination of Coulibaly's contract and vowed to investigate any allegations of mistreatment.
Ahly chairman Mahmoud Taher said: "Ahly totally rejects Coulibaly's allegations; these are all faulty accusations which never happened."
Coulibaly joined the eight-time African champions last January from Kilmarnock and played 12 matches, scoring six goals.
But he claimed his team-mates refused to pass the ball to him and would be willing to accept accept a ban from football rather than return to Cairo.


England and Ireland are the 2017 Six Nations favourites, says Wales open-side flanker Justin Tipuric.

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He scored a stunning try as Wales beat South Africa 27-13 on Saturday.
Wales were heavily criticised following their opening defeat by Australia and unimpressive displays in wins over Argentina and Japan.
England and Ireland have enjoyed greater plaudits and Tipuric said: "There are going to be up there as favourites for the Six Nations."
He added: "It's going to be tough for us, but everybody loves an underdog."
Ireland beat Australia on Saturday to add to historic wins over New Zealand and South Africa in 2016.
England have also shone, their latest successes being wins over the Springboks, Fiji and Argentina and hopes of also toppling the Wallabies on Saturday 3 December.
Michael Cheika's tourists opened their now-failed Grand Slam tour bid by humbling Wales 32-8 in Cardiff.
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Wales improved to see off the Pumas a week later, but had to rely on a late Sam Davies drop-goal to beat Japan.
The Springboks ended 2016 with an historic eight defeats in a calendar year with their loss in Cardiff.
Ospreys flanker Tipuric said: "Game by game we are getting better and hopefully by the Six Nations we'll be flying.
"Definitely, we could raise it up again, look after the ball a little better, not give so many penalties away and take it on to another level."
Wales captain Gethin Jenkins - he was deputising for Tipuric's injured rival Sam Warburton - admits "there is still a long way to go" for them in terms of performance.
But amid the much-vaunted Welsh desire to successfully adopt a more attacking ethos, the loose-head prop had a warning.
"We're definitely changing the way we're playing a little and playing with a lot of confidence," said the Cardiff Blues veteran.
"Criticism comes from the coaches and your team-mates and those are the people you listen to.
"I think there's a balance between playing open rugby and playing winning rugby.
"I think everyone would be complaining if we played a big, open style and lost every game.
"There's a bit of development. We're working on things in training that we probably need to put a little bit more into the game, but we're getting there and three wins out of four is something we can build on."
Centre Jonathan Davies saaid Wales showed they were on an "upward" curve during autumn and that their defensive display against the Springboks impressed their coach in that area, Shaun Edwards.
"Shaun said we didn't concede a line-break so that's a big defensive performance and that's pleasing," said the Scarlets player.
Wales' Six Nations campaign kicks off against Italy in Rome on Sunday, 5 February, but Davies' Scarlets' team-mate Gareth Davies' eyes are already on England's visit to Cardiff in the second round on Saturday, 11 February.
The scrum-half said: "We've got another couple of gears in us and for us to beat England we're going to have to go through those gears.
"And if we can get up to that top gear, I think it will be one hell of a game."


Watching the reaction to Lee Kuan Yew's death from overseas has been a surreal and difficult experience.

As a Singaporean journalist with the BBC, it's been a privilege to cover many stories about my country over the years. But here was probably its biggest story, garnering the most global attention, that I was missing entirely as I spend two weeks working in London. I've had to watch the events of his death unfold, and my fellow Singaporeans grieving from afar.
But my anguish isn't just professional, it is also personal. As a Singaporean growing up in the 1970s and 80s under Lee Kuan Yew, the influence he had on my life and the lives of many millions of Singaporeans has been immense. The story has been told a million times, how with a tight grip on power, he and his team took a small third world country with limited natural resources and turned it one of the world's wealthiest countries per capita in a generation.
But what was it like growing up as that transformation took place?
Even as children, we were aware of the constant change, not just externally, with the nation's skyline, its factories and rivers, but also internally.  Campaigns spearheaded by Mr Lee's government sought to micromanage our behaviour. From courtesy to anti-spitting campaigns, Singaporeans were taught from a young age how to be compliant.
When we were older, we were told how many children we should have and even whom to marry. As graduates, you were encouraged to marry someone with the same level of education, to make real Mr Lee's vision of social engineering and becoming a nation producing smarter babies.
Watching the thousands throng the streets - first to show their respects to his coffin at Parliament House and then to watch his funeral motorcade go by in a tropical downpour - made me think at first that here at work was the same thing: compliance, from a nation so accustomed to doing as he said. The alternative often meant being sued, or thrown into detention without trial. Most Singaporeans traded up personal freedoms for economic success.
But here at work was something more. Tears and emotions were high, not just in Singapore but for the many Singaporeans living overseas. My extended family, many of whom have emigrated to the US and Canada, spent days debating his legacy on our family group on WhatsApp. If he was having that impact on them, years after they left their country, imagine what sort of influence his death still wielded on many millions more.
It's hard to put in words the effect he had. For many, including myself, it was a love-hate relationship. Love for the immense transformation his governance brought to Singapore. How it's now admired as a nation to be emulated by giants such as India, which has Singapore building a new city for it, and China, which had President Xi Jinping dispatching generals to live there to study its model of governance. Being Singaporean makes me hold my orange-red passport proud at immigration lines worldwide.
But hate for the way his executed the transformation, depriving many of free speech, a two-party state, their native Chinese dialects and, if you were a man, the freedom to wear your hair long, get out of military conscription and love a member of the same sex. And then there's the ban on chewing gum that many foreigners seem to delight in pointing out.
Mr Lee's influence spanned well over the 31 years that he actually governed. As a senior minister and then "minister mentor" - titles he took after standing down as prime minister in 1990 - his counsel was regularly sought by Singapore's next generation of leaders, including the current leader, his son, Lee Hsien Loong.
Such a cult of personality has been built around Lee Kuan Yew's intelligence and vision that continuing on as a successful nation almost seems impossible without him.
It's made me nervous about the Singapore I shall find when I return, stepping through the comfortable gates of Changi Airport in a little over a week's time. A Singapore without Lee Kuan Yew.


An additional £10m will be made available to help firms cope with changes to their business rates, the Welsh Government has announced.

Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford said it will help shops, pubs and cafes.
Their tax bills are set to increase significantly in April as a result of a revaluation of their premises.
Monmouthshire council deputy leader Bob Greenland gave a cautious welcome, having previously said firms in the county face a big hike in rates.
"So the news is good but we cannot be sure we are out of the woods until we see the details of the scheme," he said.
Mr Drakeford's announcement follows calls for more support to be offered to affected retailers.
He said: "Some retailers across Wales are seeing substantial increases in their rates.
"There are towns and communities which have been disproportionately affected.
"Equally, there are many high streets across the country where business rates are falling but retailers are still struggling.
"This targeted relief scheme will be in place by 1 April next year when the revised rates come into force."
In Monmouth, Gatehouse pub boss Phil Ramsden said his business rates would be increasing 130%, costing the business the equivalent of one person's salary.
He added that a "massive amount of extra turnover" would have to be generated "to pay that increase".
"That's going to have an effect on how we look to develop," he said.
Nearby Mon Teas, a loose leaf teas and tea paraphernalia seller, called the rates an "indiscriminate tax" on small businesses.
"They are based, in theory, on the ability to rent out a property at a certain level. It's not based on how much profit you make," said boss David Tovey.
His rateable value will increase by about 62% - an extra £2,500, which could, potentially, "kill the business", he said.
The new funding, which will be distributed by local authorities, is in addition to the Welsh Government's £10m transitional relief scheme and its Small Business Rates Relief Scheme worth £100m.
Business rates all over Wales and England have been re-calculated, with the new tariffs based primarily on how much a property would cost to rent.
The re-valuation, based on 2015 prices, was carried out by the independent Valuation Office Agency.
The pledge has been agreed with Plaid Cymru ahead of the Welsh Government's final budget.
Plaid Cymru's finance spokesman Adam Price said: "We have taken heed of the concerns of businesses, and urged the government to take action. We are glad that they have responded constructively."
Welsh Conservatives' economy spokesman Russell George said: "We are pleased that they have finally listened to reason.
"Hopefully this additional money will be sufficient to support companies facing a huge uplift in their tax bills."


England coach Peter Moores is a "great man" who "deserves better", says former national captain Andrew Flintoff.

Media reports claim Moores will be dismissed when Andrew Strauss becomes England's director of cricket.
Flintoff, who played under Moores during the 52-year-old's first stint as England coach, wrote on Twitter: "His agenda is England winning, he needs the players to hold up their end too."
Moores' side drew their recent Test series in the West Indies 1-1.
Former Lancashire all-rounder Flintoff, 37, said it was not Moores' fault England "underperformed", adding he hoped the reports about his sacking were not accurate.
Moores, reappointed England coach in April 2014, was in charge for a disastrous World Cup campaign, which saw them eliminated by Bangladesh.
He also oversaw the draw with a West Indies side labelled "mediocre" by incoming England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Colin Graves.
Stand-in captain James Taylor said Moores was "positive and bubbly" during Friday's one-day international against Ireland, despite the speculation about his future.
Some reports on Saturday said Moores' dismissal would happen before the expected appointment of former England captain Strauss, who retired in 2012.
Former England opener Geoffrey Boycott wrote on Twitter that ex-Lancashire coach Moores was "a nice man" but "out of his depth at international cricket".
Boycott also questioned the selections and tactics of Moores and captain Alastair Cook during the recent series in the Caribbean, which concluded with a five-wicket defeat inside three days at Bridgetown.
Moores first led the national team between 2007 and 2009 but was sacked after being involved in a dispute with batsman Kevin Pietersen.


Off the coast of Aberdeen, a dozen oil supply ships sit idly, their crews waiting for word of work.

From their decks, the commodities that once made this Scottish city a centre of commerce are still visible - the grand granite buildings of Union Street, and the few remaining fisheries in a harbour dominated by fuel storage cylinders.
One of those is co-run by James Robertson. Founded in 1892 by James's ancestor, Joseph, the firm has been in family hands for four generations.
In the 1970s and 1980s, when the North Sea energy boom began to drive up costs for local businesses, and the Cod Wars led to restrictions on fishing quotas, Joseph Robertson Ltd had to adapt to survive.
"We used to fillet fish," Mr Robertson says, but limited expansion meant that soon became unprofitable.
"Now we process fish cakes and frozen breaded fish for some of the UK's largest supermarkets".
But it's the North Sea oil industry, which fuelled Aberdeen's economy for more than four decades, that is now facing a similar challenge - adapt or die.
And, unlike granite and fishing, which faded slowly over a couple of decades, the pace of the fall in the oil price - from $120 a barrel to around a quarter of that  in less than two years - has taken almost everyone in the city by surprise.
Just a couple of years ago, house prices in "the energy capital of Europe" were rising faster than in London. And the energy sector was so strong, that the impact of the global recession of 2008 was hardly felt.
Prior to the collapse in the oil price, it was said that if you wanted a job in Aberdeen, you got one.
Now, it has one of the fastest-rising rates of unemployment in the UK. An estimated 65,000 oil and gas jobs have been lost since the downturn began in 2014, and the number rises on a weekly basis.
The redundancies are made all the worse by the fact that the cost of living in Aberdeen is still high, powered by the six figure salaries that were commonplace in the oil sector just a couple of years ago.
"Many people are living above their means," says Dave Simmers, who runs a food bank as part of Community Food Initiatives North East, which has handed out staples such as cereals, rice and frozen fish to some former oil high-fliers in the last few months.
"They are two or three wage slips away from a brick wall."
Nonetheless, almost everyone you meet in Aberdeen is convinced that oil will rebound, if not to the heady heights of $120 a barrel, then at least to a level where the North Sea operations can be profitable again (somewhere between $60 and $80 a barrel, depending on whom you ask).
When it does, argues Sir Ian Wood, Aberdeen will still have some advantages.
Sir Ian, a billionaire-turned-philanthropist who made his fortune in North Sea oil (the family business was once fishing) says that while reserves are depleting, the Aberdeen-based industry could be "exploiting a million barrels a day" for some time to come.
Plus, the fact that it's a "politically and economically stable" region, especially when compared with other oil hotspots such as West Africa, will work in the city's favour, he says.
Most significantly, multinational operators in the North Sea were forced to do more with less as the oil price plummeted.
"The good news is the costs have been reduced," says Sir Ian.
"Our operating cost base is down something like $15 a barrel. That's a huge reduction."
BBC World Service: Aberdeen - life after oil
Sir Ian Wood's plan to help Aberdeen prepare for oil running out
How has the oil price fall hit Scotland's north east?
But the future of Aberdeen's association with oil does not necessarily depend on how quickly the platforms begin pumping again.
"Whatever happens to the oil industry," Prof Ferdinand von Prondzynski, the vice-chancellor of Aberdeen's Robert Gordon University says, "there is going to be some aspects of it that will remain very important here for a long time to come - decommissioning being an obvious example."
For the university, which offers a plethora of postgraduate energy degrees (and still has one of the highest graduate employment rates in the country), expertise may become more important than the black gold itself.
"Next to the UK, the largest number of people working in the oil industry in Europe are in France," Prof von Prondzynski adds.
"France has no oil. If you look at Houston, it is still recognised by most people as the global centre of the oil industry, but there is no oil - only very minor amounts are left now.
"It's not necessary to actually have the natural resource there."
The woes of the oil industry have also had a positive effect on some local businesses, which found it hard to compete for labour when generous salaries were the norm.
"Prior to this we struggled to get people to come and work for us," says James Robertson, of fish processors Joseph Robertson.
"Our staff turnover was something like 30% a week - now it's around 5%. We've got access to some skills that we weren't able to access before."
Tourism is another beneficiary. Steve Harris, the chief executive of Visit Aberdeen, says it used to be "really hard for people to afford to come and get a hotel room" in the city, but "that's not the case anymore."
And those who do visit for something other than oil often do so to take in another treasure of the North Sea.
"It's a little known fact that Aberdeen is the best spot in Europe for dolphin watching," explains Steve, standing on the edge of the harbour, battered by the heavy hibernal winds.
"We got a bit obsessed by oil."


Nigeria is to recruit an extra 10,000 police officers to boost security and help tackle youth employment, President Muhammadu Buhari has announced.

More CCTV cameras would also be installed in cities and major towns to curb crime, he added.
Inadequate security has been blamed for the authorities' failure to defeat the militant Islamist group Boko Haram.
Last week, President Buhari gave his security commanders three months to defeat the insurgents.
The police are part of the national task force fighting the insurgents in the north-east of the country.
Although the militants have lost their strongholds this year, they are still active and there has been an upsurge in suicide attacks since Mr Buhari took office.
The bombers often target markets and bus stations.
A senior officer told the BBC that the police force had an estimated 375,000 officers at the moment.
Analysis: Bashir Sa'ad Abdullahi, BBC Abuja editor
Nigeria needs much more than an additional 10,000 policemen to rein in crime. The number of police officers compared to the country's population is below the UN's recommended benchmark of one police officer per 400 citizens.
The existing police officers lack adequate equipment and training, leaving the force with a very large number of under-trained, ill-equipped and poorly motivated personnel. The decision to assign some of the existing police officers to provide security for VIPs and their families further depletes the capacity of the force to provide security for all.
But some Nigerians believe the president's decision to recruit more officers could be a beginning of a total reform of the police force as the president also promised more training and focused on human rights.
President Buhari told a police security summit in the capital, Abuja, on Monday that a federal anti-terrorism agency would be established to deal with future conflicts.
He said that the government would also train and equip police to address the challenges facing the country.
But he urged the officers to respect human rights and other international conventions in carrying out their duties.
Rights groups have accused Nigerian police of human rights abuses and corruption - allegations they deny.
Nigeria insecurity:
The president did not say when the recruitment would start.
Apart from the Boko Haram insurgency, Nigeria's security is also being threatened by ethnic conflict mostly between Fulani herdsmen and farmers in central part of the country.
Police are also struggling to cope with kidnappings and armed robbery in the south.


The reviews of Fifty Shades Darker are in and err, well... oh dear.

While not everyone hated the sequel to 2015's Fifty Shades of Grey, the vast majority of critics were not impressed.
The New York Times said the film was "Fifty Shades Darker and only half as watchable" as its predecessor.
"What an incredibly, indelibly idiotic movie," is how Rolling Stone's Peter Travers summed it up in his 0.5-star review.
"Fifty Shades Darker is an ordeal to watch not because of its gothic eroticism but because of its utter blandness," wrote The Independent's Geoffrey Macnab.
"When the inevitable spanking scene takes place, it is tongue in cheek (although not quite literally so)."
"Buff, bland, bonking machines are possessed of prodigious libido but bereft of personality," The Daily Mirror's Chris Hunneysett wrote.
"If you want to watch a movie about a billionaire playboy with a penchant for darkness, inflicting violence and dressing up in masks, you're far better off seeing The Lego Batman Movie."
But Variety liked it a little more, writing: "For all its structural and psychological deficiencies, it's hard not to enjoy Fifty Shades Darker on its own lusciously limited terms."
"It sure ain't boring," observed Deadline's Pete Hammond, who also gave the film a more positive review.
"Best of all, like the first film, this one has a killer soundtrack that makes Fifty Shades Darker sound just as good as it looks."
"There's one significant problem with both Fifty Shades movies that's impossible to ignore: [Jamie] Dornan is just a dud," said Time's Stephanie Zacharek.
But, she adds: "It's all fantasy, so what's the harm? There isn't any. And if millions of girls or guys go out to see Fifty Shades Darker with their friends for a giggle or two, then the world is a happier place."
Other publications who didn't quite consider the film a masterpiece included The Guardian, The Telegraph and The New Yorker.
To be fair - we're fairly confident everyone involved in making the film wasn't pinning their hopes on critical praise.
Like the first film in the franchise, Fifty Shades Darker will still likely be a huge box office success.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.


Two Tory MPs have come under fire for paying themselves a total of £40,000 for running a not-for-profit campaign for a Leave vote in the EU referendum.

Donor Arron Banks said he was "extremely shocked and disappointed" that Peter Bone and Tom Pursglove had profited from Grassroots Out.
He called on them to pay the money to a "smaller Brexit" campaign.
But in a joint statement, the MPs said employing them was "clearly the most cost-effective way" of campaigning.
The payments were revealed in the register of members' interests.
Grassroots Out was founded in December by Mr Bone and Mr Pursglove, with backing from UKIP leader Nigel Farage and, later, Labour MP Kate Hoey.
It came close to being designated the official Leave campaign by the Electoral Commission, but lost out to Vote Leave.
Mr Bone's accountancy firm PWB received a total of £21,750 from Grassroots Out in the first four months of this year, according to his entry in the register of members' interests.
That was made up of two payments for accountancy services, of £17,500 and £2,500, at a rate of £42 an hour, and a £1,750 director's fee.
Mr Pursglove charged Grassroots Out a total of £19,250 - £17,500 for 450 hours' work as chief executive - between 16 December and 31 March - and £1,750 in director's fees, according to his entry.
In a statement, Arron Banks, who says he has given £4m of his own money to his Leave.EU campaign, a group which also funded Grassroots Out, criticised the pair.
The statement said: "Leave.EU has raised £9m to fight the Brexit cause, £5m personally from Arron Banks, £4m from other donations including over 5,000 individuals.
"We are extremely shocked and disappointed to discover that two elected individuals have treated the GO Brexit campaign as a business, not a cause, and would urge them to do the honourable thing and donate the sum directly to a smaller Brexit group."
But the MPs said some individuals "had jumped to conclusions without being in full possession of the facts".
"Of all the major EU referendum campaigns, we have the cheapest and most efficient structure in place and our administrative and running costs are by far the lowest," they said.
Using the two MPs had allowed Grassroots Out to "keep costs to a minimum, allowing us to spend the maximum amount on campaigning", rather than hiring outside expertise, they added.
They said they had "properly" made the declaration in the Register of Members' Interests adding: "It must also be clarified that both Peter Bone MP and Tom Pursglove MP have made donations to Grassroots Out Ltd that exceed the level of the payments received.
"These donations will be listed in the official return made to the Electoral Commission. Neither Peter Bone MP, or Tom Pursglove MP, have made any financial gain from this arrangement."


An object believed to be a human foot has been found on a beach on Anglesey, police have confirmed.

It was spotted by a walker on Tal y Foel, near Dwyran, at about 13:40 BST on Tuesday.
The item has now been sent for forensic examination, while the coroner will be informed.
North Wales Police said it was continuing to look into the circumstances surrounding the discovery.


Northern Ireland needs more investment to provide the skilled workforce necessary to grow its economy, a leading businessman has said.

Gavin Killeen is the managing director of the Londonderry firm Nuprint Technologies, which prints labels for several UK high street retailers.
He said it was essential a new Northern Ireland Executive was established to take such strategic decisions.
Mr Killeen was speaking on the BBC's Inside Business programme.
"We've the highest uptake of people leaving school, going to university, but we have the lowest level of provision," he said.
"Every year, a third of our young people leave the province and we're then left with the people at the other end who are either failed or failed by education.
"So this needs to be addressed and this needs to be a critical thing for our executive."
The previous Northern Ireland Executive collapsed in January following a row over an £490m overspend on a green energy scheme.
A snap election was held on 2 March and the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin were returned as the two largest parties.
All the political parties were given a three-week deadline to form a new power-sharing government, or face a second snap election.
Mr Killeen is a former president of Londonderry Chamber of Commerce.
He is also member of the board of governors of Foyle and Londonderry College and North West Regional College.
He said: "It's really important that we have an executive that's functioning in three week's time, that can address these issues".
Inside Business will be broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster at 13:30 GMT on Sunday 12 March.


A computer expert has avoided jail after being convicted of helping to send millions of spam messages.

Naveed Ahmed, 27, of Tampa, US, wrote a programme that helped a group of scammers bombard mobile phones with unsolicited text messages.
Recipients were told they had won gift cards for an electrical retailer that could be claimed by visiting a website.
He was sentenced to two years probation and can continue to work with computers monitored by probation officers.
Contact information harvested by the scam was submitted to Internet Cost Per Action networks, which are companies that gather personal information and pay for submissions.
ICPA networks are legal - but the way Ahmed and his group obtained the details they submitted was not, said Assistant US Attorney Jimmy Kitchen.
Ahmed is thought to have earned more than $2,000 (Â£1,400) a week between September 2011 and February 2013 by taking part in the scam, according to the Associated Press.
It is believed the money raised was channelled though a Swiss bank account controlled by a so far unidentified co-conspirator.
Ahmed was one of 12 people charged for advertising their computer skills for illegal use on a cybercriminal marketplace which was shut down by the FBI in July.
Ahmed told the judge: "I know my actions were irresponsible... I had this naive, immature view of being invincible."
Defence lawyer Melvin Vatz said Ahmed was "a man of considerable intelligence" who had "succumbed to directing those talents in the wrong way".


A new retirement village has opened in Flintshire, but it is not your average old folk's home.

North Clwyd Animal Rescue in Trelogan, near Holywell has created the village to ensure its oldest dogs live out their final years in comfort.
Each dog has an individual room with an armchair, bed, outdoor run and even under floor heating after money was left by a supporter after they died.
Fundraising manager Nicky Owen said: "I think they are very happy."
The charity rescues about 1,800 animals a year and the retirement home is for older dogs which are more difficult to find new homes for.
Animal welfare manager Karen Weed said: "You don't want to see older dogs in the kennels. It's not the place for them.
"So we are trying to make it as nice as possible."
The retirement village officially opens at the start of December.


A scientist has been making her case to be the first in the UK to be allowed to genetically modify human embryos.

Dr Kathy Niakan said the experiments would provide a deeper understanding of the earliest moments of human life and could reduce miscarriages.
The regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), will consider her application on Thursday.
If Dr Niakan is given approval then the first such embryos could be created by the summer.
Every person has gone through a remarkable transformation from a single fertilised egg into a fully fledged human being made of trillions of precisely organised cells.
Exactly how this takes place is a mystery.
Dr Niakan, who has spent a decade researching human development, is trying to understand the first seven days.
During this time we go from a fertilised egg to a structure called a blastocyst, containing 200-300 cells.
But even at this early blastocyst stage, some cells have been organised to perform specific roles - some go on to form the placenta, others the yolk sac and others ultimately us.
During this period, parts of our DNA are highly active.
It is likely these genes are guiding our early development but it is unclear exactly what they are doing or what goes wrong in miscarriage.
Dr Niakan, from the Francis Crick Institute, said: "We would really like to understand the genes needed for a human embryo to develop successfully into a healthy baby.
"The reason why it is so important is because miscarriages and infertility are extremely common, but they're not very well understood."
Of 100 fertilised eggs, fewer than 50 reach the blastocyst stage, 25 implant into the womb and only 13 develop beyond three months.
She says that understanding what is supposed to happen and what can go wrong could improve IVF.
"We believe that this research could really lead to improvements in infertility treatment and ultimately provide us with a deeper understanding of the earliest stages of human life."
However, she says the only way to do this is to edit human embryos.
Many of the genes which become active in the week after fertilisation are unique to humans, so they cannot be studied in animal experiments.
"The only way we can understand human biology at this early stage is by further studying human embryos directly," Dr Niakan said.
Her intention is to use one of the most exciting recent scientific breakthroughs - Crispr gene editing - to turn off genes at the single-cell stage and see what happens.
She said that if our DNA were an entire encyclopedia, then Crispr had the precision to alter a single letter on a single page.
She aims to start with the gene Oct4 which appears to have a crucial role.
It is expressed only in a handful of blastocyst cells (pictured above in green) which go on to form all the tissues of the human body.
She will stop it functioning in 20-30 donated embryos and if the experiments are successful her research group will move on to other genes.
The knowledge gained from such studies could help pick which embryos had the best chance of resulting in a successful pregnancy in IVF.
Such experiments are legal in the UK as long as the modified embryos are not implanted into people.
But scientists need a licence from the HFEA before they can perform such studies.
The regulator will consider Dr Niakan's request on Thursday.
The field is attracting controversy with some saying that altering the DNA of an embryo is a step too far.
Dr David King, the director of the campaign group Human Genetics Alert, said: "This is the first step on a path that scientists have carefully mapped out towards the legalisation of GM babies."
Dr Niakan said this was not the aim of her research and that: "In the UK there are very appropriately tight regulations in this area that would make it completely illegal to move it in that direction [of genetically modified babies]."
Wolf Reik, a genetics professor at the Babraham Institute in Cambridge, said such experiments needed to be carefully monitored and regulated to prevent misuse, but they were an "exciting prospect".
He added: "The long term impacts on understanding human development and hence on better regenerative medicine approaches will be considerable.
"Not everything about human development can be understood from studying model organisms such as mice or even non-human primates."
Follow James on Twitter.


Climbing and skateboarding are among five sports which have moved closer to being added to the Olympics for the 2020 Games in Tokyo.

Skateboarding, surfing, karate, sports climbing and baseball/softball were all recommended for inclusion last month by the International Olympic Committee.
They have now been called "a dynamic and exciting package" by the IOC, with all five sports likely to be confirmed.
A final decision will be announced in Rio de Janeiro on 3 August.
That will be two days before the 2016 Games begin officially in the Brazilian city.
Each sport was analysed in a detailed report which said that the additions would "encompass both traditional and emerging events, all of which are popular both in Japan and internationally".
The IOC hopes to draw in new audiences by focusing on youth-oriented sports, and said in a statement that also important was "the impact on gender equality" and "legacy value".
The five added sports - which would not replace any of the 28 already on the schedule for Tokyo - would include 18 events and involve 474 athletes, the IOC has said.
If climbing is added, Britain could have a medal hope, after Shauna Coxsey became the first Briton to win the Bouldering World Cup last month.
Baseball and softball were included separately at the Olympics between 1992 and 2008, but have made a joint bid to be readmitted to the Games.
None of the other sports have been included before, though surf lifesaving was a demonstration sport at the Paris Games in 1900.
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All primary school children in Scotland should be given first aid training, a charity has said.

St Andrew's First Aid said they should learn potentially live-saving skills such using the recovery position.
The charity also said children should know how and when to call an ambulance.
The Scottish government said it recognised the value of children learning first aid skills and insisted individual schools were best placed to decide what was appropriate.
St Andrew's First Aid chief executive Stuart Callison, said: "One of our key priorities is to provide as many people as possible in Scotland with first aid training.
"Research has shown that even very young children can learn the basics of first aid and that the skills and knowledge they develop at a young age will stay with them for years.
"We can equip them with the necessary skills to help a parent, family member, friend or someone in the street. By knowing how to call for an ambulance, put someone into the recovery position or assist a person who has suffered a heart attack, they will help save lives."
He added: "This is why we feel it is so important to partner with local authorities, with the support of the Scottish government, to identify ways in which we can make it easy for teachers in Scotland to deliver basic first aid training to their pupils."
A spokesman for the Scottish government said: "We recognise how important it is that children and young people are able to positively engage with health and wellbeing issues at school.
"Being trained in first aid can help young people develop the skills they may need in an emergency situation.
"Under Curriculum for Excellence, schools already have the flexibility to provide first aid training. It is up to individual schools and local authorities to decide if, and how best, to deliver this."


A London academy faces the prospect of being placed in special measures following a damning Ofsted report.

Inspectors judged the Durand Academy "inadequate" in a draft report seen by the BBC.
Ofsted published the report in error on Wednesday before withdrawing it on Thursday. It said a final version will be published "in the coming days".
In a letter to parents, the academy's governing body said they had "no doubt" it had been "deliberately published".
The school said the release of the draft report was "part of yet further attacks on the school by the educational establishment".
The Department for Education (DfE) terminated funding for the school's trust in October.
It runs an infant and junior school in Stockwell, south London, and a boarding school for older pupils in Midhurst, West Sussex.
The report said senior staff did not ensure that "safeguarding [of pupils] was at the top of their priorities".
It said the school "could not account for the whereabouts of all pupils", adding its policies for child protection and safeguarding were "not translated into effective practice".
The inspectors cited one case in which a boarding school pupils's complaint of abuse by a member of staff was not referred to the local authority.
The report also said senior leaders at the Durand Academy had "an inflated view of the school's strengths and underestimate the seriousness of its weaknesses".
Other failings identified include:
Durand Academy has more than 1,000 pupils at its three sites and received Â£17m from the government to set up a school for weekly boarders in 2014.
The Ofsted report comes less than three months after the DfE announced it was terminating funding when it cited serious concerns about management and governance.
But the former head of the academy chain, Sir Greg Martin, said the withdrawal of the funding had "no legal basis".
Sir Greg stood down as executive head teacher in August 2015, six months after the Charities Commission announced it would be investigating the relationship between the Durand Academy Trust, its charitable arm, the Durand Education Trust and two other businesses - London Horizons Limited and GMG Resource Management.
A spokesman for Ofsted said the school's inspectorate was "urgently investigating" how the draft version of the report had been published.
They added: "We have contacted the school's representatives this morning to apologise for this error."
Durand Academy was previously rated as "good" when Ofsted last visited in 2014.


A company owned by the family of Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, has apologised for mentioning him at a Chinese conference.

Nicole Kushner Meyer used her brother's name while promoting an investment-for-visas scheme in Beijing and Shanghai.
Critics were quick to accuse the family business of playing up its connection to the White House at the event.
But the company said on Monday the comments were misconstrued and Ms Meyer was only pointing out he left the firm.
"Ms Meyer wanted to make clear that her brother had stepped away from the company in January and has nothing to do with this project," said Risa Heller, a Kushner Companies spokeswoman.
"Kushner Companies apologises if that mention of her brother was in any way interpreted as an attempt to lure investors. That was not Ms Meyer's intention."
Mr Kushner, 36, who is married to President Trump's daughter, Ivanka, and serves as a White House senior adviser, has come under scrutiny for his private business interests.
Government ethics laws bar government officials from profiting personally from their roles.
Jared Kushner: The son-in-law with Donald Trump's ear
Is Kushner the most powerful 36-year-old in the world?
Ms Meyer mentioned her brother on Saturday and Sunday while urging investors to put $500,000 (Â£386,500) into a New Jersey real estate project in exchange for investor visas and residency cards in the US through the so-called EB-5 programme.
The EB-5 visa programme, often used by wealthy Chinese nationals, allows foreign investors a path to a green card if they invest more than $500,000 in a project that creates jobs in the US.
Critics of the programme say it used as a means of cheap financing for real estate developers.
Ms Meyer brought up her brother as the company's former chief executive before he left in January to join the Trump administration.
She then said the Jersey City project, which the company is developing with real estate firm KABR group, "means a lot to me and my entire family", the New York Times reported.
About 15% of the $976.4m-project, known as One Journal Square, will be funded through the EB-5 programme, according to Kushner Companies.
The company also featured a photo of President Trump  on a slide at the event that said "key decision makers" on the EB-5 programme, CNN reported.
The White House said on Monday that it was "evaluating wholesale reform" on the programme to make sure it it was "used as intended and that investment is being spread to all areas of the country".
The administration also said it was "exploring the possibility of raising the price of the visa to further bring the programme in line with its intent".
Reforming visa programmes has been a key part of Mr Trump's immigration policy.
Mr Kushner has said he stepped away from his family's business operations, but government ethics filings show that he and his wife, Ivanka Trump, continue to benefit from their stake in Kushner Companies.
The president's son-in-law, who has no prior government experience, has been entrusted to broker Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and also serves as the lead adviser on relations with China, Mexico and Canada.
Blake Roberts, Mr Kushner's attorney, said on Saturday that he has divested his interests in the One Journal Square project.
"As previously stated, he will recuse from particular matters concerning the EB-5 visa program," Mr Roberts said in a statement.


Former England head coach Sir Clive Woodward has warned current boss Stuart Lancaster that social media could derail his side's World Cup campaign.

Woodward, who led England to victory at the 2003 tournament, described the risk of "one stupid tweet" to squad harmony as "the new enemy".
Hosts England start their 2015 campaign against Fiji on 18 September.
"If you allow one player to be distracted, it can all come tumbling down," said the 59-year-old.
Speaking to the Radio Times, Woodward added: "We didn't have to worry about it in 2003. I've had the conversation with Stuart Lancaster.
"Don't let the players be distracted. It could be the media, their family, sponsors, ticket requests, anything."
England have reportedly handed their World Cup squad social media guidelines, keen to avoid any unnecessary distractions.
Meanwhile, Rugby Football Union chief executive Ian Ritchie has refused to be drawn on what Lancaster needs to achieve at the World Cup to retain his job as England coach.
"I'm not going to deal in hypotheticals," he said. "I think we should be going into every game trying to win it and I think that's what we'll try and do.
"We are in here to try and win the event, we will worry about the hypotheticals afterwards.
"Knowing the squad and the coaching set-up, they are all very focused on doing their very best to win and I think we have a chance of doing that."
Listen to 'Woodward's World Cup' on BBC Radio 5 live on Wednesday, 9 September from 21:00 BST.


England's Will Stevens will make his Formula 1 debut in this weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, partnering Kamui Kobayashi at Caterham.

Caterham missed the last two races because of financial problems, but will compete at the season-ending race thanks to a crowdfunding project.
Stevens was previously part of the Caterham Racing Academy and has twice tested for the Formula 1 team.
"I'm ready for the challenge of my F1 debut," said the 23-year-old.
"I look forward to working as part of the team in a race environment after all the work we've done together previously in the tests I've completed and back at [the team's factory in] Leafield in the simulator.
"Hopefully this will be something we will be able to carry through to the 2015 season together."
Caterham's head of engineering operations Gianluca Pisanello said: "Will has done a vast amount of time in our simulator, completing around 10,000km (6,200 miles).
"In addition, his 2014 test at Silverstone in our current car, where he completed over 500km (310 miles), was very successful and his race pace was very good."
Pisanello added the team had completed the deal last week but had to wait for confirmation of his super licence, which is required to take part in a grand prix weekend.
Swede Marcus Ericsson, who has driven alongside Kobayashi for most of the season, terminated his Caterham contract with immediate effect earlier this week.
Caterham was put into administration last month and the man now running the team, Finbarr O'Connell, said he had made the effort to get them to Abu Dhabi to "showcase" the team for potential buyers, who wanted to see that Caterham could still be a functioning race team.
"I am talking to three or four who have the financial wherewithal to do this and people sit on the fence," he said.
"They wonder: 'Is it a good idea?' The staff start to drift away. They just think: 'What are we buying? Is it a licence and the idea of a team, or is it a real team?' It is effectively showcasing it and proving it is a real team."
There is still a legal dispute between the team's founder Tony Fernandes and the organisation that agreed to buy it from the Malaysian businessman in the summer.
But O'Connell said that did not affect any potential buyer because his legal advice was that Fernandes was the legal owner of the shares of 1MRT, the company that owns the F1 entry, and had agreed to hand its ownership over to the administrator.
O'Connell said the sale would be of both the team's factory in Oxfordshire, which is owned by a separate company called Caterham Sports Ltd, and 1MRT.
Abu Dhabi GP coverage details


Mansfield have signed Plymouth striker Jimmy Spencer, former England under-20 international Paul Digby and ex-Nottingham Forest winger Paul Anderson.

Former Notts County forward Spencer, 25, will officially join when his contract runs out on 1 July.
Digby, 22, who plays in defence or midfield, joined Ipswich Town in January 2016 but only played 12 games.
Anderson, 28, left Northampton earlier this month following a year-long spell at the League One club.
The length of the trio's contracts have not been revealed.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


A man's body has been discovered in the grounds of an Edinburgh school, police have said.

The remains were found in a wooded area at the bottom of the playing fields at Liberton High School, Gilmerton Road, on Tuesday afternoon.
Officers are currently treating the death as unexplained.
A spokesman for Police Scotland said inquiries to establish the full circumstances of the man's death were at an early stage.


Police are to re-open their inquiry into the Kingsmills massacre following the discovery of new evidence.

A palm print found on a getaway van has been linked to a set of fingerprints.
The new evidence comes 40 years after the killings by an IRA gang and 13 years after the families began fighting for an inquest.
Ten Protestant men were shot dead in the massacre by an IRA gang near the County Armagh village of Kingsmills in 1976.
Colin Worton, whose 24-year-old brother, Kenneth, was one of the men killed, said the announcement that the PSNI would re-open the investigation was a "total shock".
"I have to be truthful to you", he told the BBC, "I do feel a mixture of emotions, but one of the worst ones I have is anger.
"Why has this taken more than 40 years to come out?"
He called the men who fired the shots "animals" and said he was "totally sickened" that the investigation has gone on so long.
The men who were killed were travelling home from work in a textile factory when their mini-bus was ambushed.
After checking their religion, the gang ordered one Catholic to leave before opening fire.
Only one man survived the shootings.
Alan Black, a 32-year-old father of three at the time, was seriously wounded and spent months recovering in hospital.
On Tuesday, an inquest into the deaths resumed following a short delay.
A senior investigating officer has now been allocated to the case and the criminal investigation re-opened.
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton, head of the PSNI's legacy and justice department, said he appreciated this was "a very difficult time" for the victims' families.
"Due to a recent forensic development, detectives from legacy investigation branch are now following a line of inquiry in relation to the murders at Kingsmills in 1976", he said.
"We have been liaising with the coroner's office in relation to this and will continue to do so.
"We are committed to progressing this matter as expeditiously as possible and will keep them (the families) updated as appropriate."


Amir Khan says a fight against British rival Kell Brook will never happen, despite his devastating knockout defeat by Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez.

Following Khan's unsuccessful foray into the middleweight division, a match between him and IBF welterweight champion Brook seemed natural.
But Khan said Brook is not a big enough name and they simply do not get on.
"Eddie Hearn [Brook's promoter] keeps saying Brook is a big draw, but he's not," said Khan.
"I respect him, he's got a world title, but he's not a big name. He's gone down his route, I've gone down my route and I don't like him.
"I want to fight the biggest names, leave a great legacy and I've only got a few fights left.
"I was out-boxing Canelo for six rounds, so I can go straight into another big fight. So I don't think the Kell Brook fight will happen."
Bolton's Khan and Sheffield's Brook have been circling each other for years and when the latter won a world title in 2014, a match-up seemed inevitable.
However, despite not owning a world title himself since 2012 and losing for a fourth time on Saturday, Khan has always insisted Brook is not at his level.
Instead, Khan, 29, is likely to take a rematch with American Danny Garcia, the WBC welterweight champion who knocked him out four years ago.
Despite being knocked out in brutal fashion by Avarez in Las Vegas, Khan gave a good enough account of himself to make a match against Brook compelling.
But Brook, 30, will have to look elsewhere for his next payday, with a unification bout against WBO welterweight champion Jessie Vargas most likely.
Brook tweeted "I'm here, all-British showdown" after Saturday's fight, but said on Monday that it "wasn't safe" for him to fight Khan.
"He's had some bad knockouts. I punch just as hard as Canelo. It would just be a matter of time before the same thing happened," Brook said.
Meanwhile, Khan tipped Gennady Golovkin to beat Alvarez if that fight happens later this year.
Alvarez, who fought Khan at a catch-weight of 155lb, says he is willing to fight Golovkin at the natural middleweight limit of 160lb.
Kazakhstan's Golovkin, who has 32 knockouts from 35 fights, is the WBA and IBF middleweight champion, while Alvarez owns the WBC belt.
"On boxing skills alone, Canelo is very beatable," said Khan, who was knocked out by Alvarez in the sixth round in Las Vegas.
"Golovkin is a very good boxer and a big guy as well, so he'll be able to deal with Canelo's pressure and size.
"That fight should happen, Canelo needs to fight someone his own weight. But I think Golovkin would edge it."


A nocturnal "cat burglar" has been stealing dozens of socks and men's underwear in New Zealand.

In two months, six-year-old Tonkinese cat Brigit from Hamilton city brought back 11 pairs of underpants and more than 50 socks.
Her owner, Sarah Nathan, has documented her feline's strange obsession on a widely shared Facebook post.
"Now it's getting silly. Someone must be missing this stuff," she said in a post shared close to 500 times.
Ms Nathan told the BBC that the trouble first began when she started discovering "odd pieces" of underwear among her washing.
"They didn't belong to anyone in the house and one day Brigit walked into our lounge carrying a sock like a kitten," she said, adding that Brigit's unlucky victims were probably a nearby flat "full of blokes".
The family said it has also started distributing street flyers.
"Keeping cats indoors isn't common in New Zealand," said Ms Nathan.
"Brigit doesn't hunt birds or wildlife so it seems unnecessary and our neighbours have been very good natured about it.
"But we are moving to the country soon so hopefully she will run out of opportunity!"


Diver Tom Daley believes he can still achieve his lifelong "dream" of becoming an Olympic champion after his stunning World Championship title.

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Many felt his best chance had gone after his shock semi-final elimination at Rio 2016 and subsequent injuries.
However, Daley beat Rio 2016 champion Aisen Chen of China with a stunning final routine to secure victory in a dramatic world 10m final on Saturday.
"An Olympic gold is the one thing I'm yet to win and it's my dream," he said.
The diver - who is now 23 - admits his Rio Olympic heartache was "devastating" and the "lowest point" of his career, but insists that world success will not make him complacent.
"Yes my score (590.95) would have been enough to win the Olympics last year, but if you ran this competition again today there's no guarantee of the same outcome," he said.
"I can't take it [victory] for granted and I'm going to go away and work twice as hard because getting to the top is hard, but staying there is harder."
The diver's last individual World Championship title was secured back in 2009 in Rome, when Daley's tearful father gate-crashed the post-event news conference to demand a "hug from my boy."
Rob Daley died in 2011 and his son was keen to reflect on the moment they shared together eight years earlier.
"This is my first press conference as a world champion since 2009 when it was a bit emotional with my dad," he said with a smile.
"I hope he would be proud of me today."
Although Daley became a household name by competing at the 2008 Beijing Olympics at the age of 14, it was not until 12 months later - when he won his maiden world title - that he became an internationally renowned diver.
His fame and celebrity status now extends around the globe and that has brought pressure which Daley admits he is only now beginning to understand how to handle.
"Back in 2009 no-one expected me to win and ever since then I've been chasing gold and thinking about trying to win at every single event," said Daley. "But after the stress of Rio that changed.
"I just wanted to get back to diving because I love it, like I used to in 2009."
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Several of the world's leading men's 10m platform divers had been due to compete in the mixed 3m springboard competition but withdrew as there were just a couple of hours between the event.
Daley decided to compete in both and warmed up for the individual 10m final with synchronised silver alongside Grace Reid.
"I think it helped a lot, because we kept everything so fun," revealed Daley.
"We were singing and dancing between the rounds and it worked as we got the silver so I thought 'well, let's try that in the 10m final.'
"Some of the volunteers must have thought I was mad, singing in the shower on my own, but I was in my own world."
Daley - who married Dustin Lance Black in March - says his immediate focus is on his upcoming honeymoon.
After a short time away he will return to training before a bid for a third successive individual Commonwealth Games title at Gold Coast 2018.
"The Commonwealths are a massive motivation and it's always a fun event to compete in," he told BBC Sport.
"I've won gold medals at the last two Games and it should be a good battle with the Australians in the synchronised event."
Analysis - Can Daley dominate diving?
Leon Taylor - Olympic silver medallist, BBC diving commentator and Tom Daley's former mentor:
Tom Daley's achievement is just absolutely incredible because that is the highest-class diving final I have ever witnessed.
Tom didn't become a bad diver in Rio. He just had an awful day and it was a surprise because he is always so consistent but that never meant it was the end of him as a top competitor.
He is the hardest-working, most professional diver out there, who is doing so much even away from the pool - like yoga - to ensure he has the best chance of staying at the top for as long as possible.
Technically and mentally though, Tom still has it all, but you have to remember that the Chinese divers are still the dominant force in the sport.
Although this result could put a seed of doubt into their minds, it could also motivate them even more, so it will be fascinating to see all the top divers battle it out over the next few years.


A prison leaver unlawfully killed a woman at a hostel in Caerphilly county before he died suddenly as a result of taking drugs and struggling against police restraint, an inquest has heard.

Matthew Williams was found attacking Cerys Yemm, 22, at the Sirhowy Arms Hotel in Argoed on 6 November 2014.
Police officers stunned Williams, 34, with a Taser but he later died.
Their families want lessons to be learned, while a watchdog inquiry said police used reasonable force.
In a statement, Miss Yemm's family said her death had "devastated our family".
"We feel that there should be reform of the systems of monitoring and information sharing between agencies when offenders are released from prison," they said.
In their statement released after the hearing, Williams' family described him as a "troubled" man who had struggled to get the help he needed for mental health and drugs issues in prison or the community".
It continued: "We hope that this case will highlight the need for better mental healthcare care and lead to the effective sharing of information between state agencies and that another family will not have to go through what the families touched by this inquest have had to endure."
During the three-week inquest inquest, the jury heard the pair had met two weeks before the killing, on a night out in Blackwood.
On the night of the attack, they went back to the hostel together but the alarm was raised when other residents heard screaming coming from Williams' room.
Hostel owner Mandy Miles, who opened Williams' door, told the inquest there was "blood everywhere" and the scene was "like a horror film".
Her husband, Raymond Miles said it was "clear that Cerys was dead" and Williams was still attacking her face.
Williams was Tasered four times by police before he was arrested.
Paramedics said he did not need immediate help but soon after his pulse and breathing deteriorated. He died in the back of the ambulance.
Two consultant cardiologists said Williams suffered a cardiac arrest induced by amphetamines he used along with stress caused by the attack on Miss Yemm, the struggle with police and undiagnosed relapsed schizophrenia.
Miss Yemm's post mortem examination revealed she had at least 89 separate injures across her body and her cause of death was given as "sharp force trauma to the face and neck".
The inquest heard Williams, who was released from prison two weeks before the attack, had taken mephedrone and amphetamine in the days before the killing.
Williams' mother Sally Ann claimed he had been released with no help for his mental health problems and said he told her he was feeling paranoid and the "voices were back".
She said PC Alison Perry promised she would arrange a "fast track" meeting to get him anti-psychotic medication.
But PC Perry told the inquest he rejected all offers of help and any psychiatrist appointments would have needed to be made by his doctor.
His GP said he showed no signs of schizophrenia the week before the attack, but his school friend Rhodri Moore told the hearing Williams "didn't seem very well" and was having hallucinations.
The inquest also heard from police that Williams had sent letters threatening to kill others while in prison.
It heard Williams had wanted to be housed near his father in Newport, but the council did not consider him their responsibility and sent him to Caerphilly council, which housed him at the Sirhowy Arms.
If he had been living in Newport, he would have been away from his former drug taking associates in the area where he grew up and "was most likely to offend", the inquest heard.
Gwent Coroner David Bowen told jurors the only finding they could make in respect of Miss Yemm's death was of unlawful killing.
He then directed them to return a narrative finding in respect of Williams and said he did not need them to make any findings of fact about the wider circumstances.
Gwent Police's Ass Ch Con Emma Ackland extended the force's sympathies to both families and paid tribute to the officers involved for "the professional way they have dealt with this distressing incident".
An Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) investigation into the incident found Gwent Police officers acted with reasonable and necessary force in "traumatic circumstances".
A report detailing its findings concluded the use of force, including a Taser, was proportionate given the circumstances and the high risk posed.
The IPCC made two recommendations to the force, including reviewing its procedure to ensure offenders on the Integrated Offender Management Scheme are visited shortly before release.
It also reminded officers wearing body cameras to switch the device on to ensure best evidence is captured, after the inquest revealed an officer wearing one forgot to switch it on.
Caerphilly council said legislation in Wales had changed since the incident and councils in Wales no longer had a duty to provide emergency accommodation for the vast majority of prison leavers, as it did at the time of the incident.
A spokesman added a new prison leaver pathway had been introduced for those it does help, which provides a coordinated resettlement package to be implemented.
A spokesman for Abertawe Bro Morgannwg health board said Williams had refused all help offered to address his drug problem and he was released without medication because doctors decided his psychosis was down to drug use and not schizophrenia.