Sconty empire

Boy, 9, robbed at gunpoint while running lemonade stand in Monroe, North Carolina Image: The boy was selling lemonade in Monroe, North Carolina A nine-year-old boy has been robbed at gunpoint while selling lemonade from a stand. Police in Monroe, North Carolina, say the boy was approached by a teenager who stuck a gun in his stomach, demanded money and fled on foot. It happened at about 3pm on Saturday at the entrance to a development called St John's Forest, police added. While searching the area for a suspect, officers "located a trail in the woods where a camo hat, a black colored BB handgun and the stolen metal tin were recovered". Officers believe the suspect "left a bicycle and walked from there to the lemonade stand before the robbery". Less than $20 (£15) was stolen, the Charlotte Observer newspaper reported.

Man charged with murdering midwife Samantha Eastwood Image: Samantha Eastwood was reported missing by work colleagues at the Royal Stoke Hospital A man has been charged with murdering midwife Samantha Eastwood, whose body was found a week after she went missing in Stoke-on-Trent. Michael Stirling, 32, from Cromer Road, Stoke-on-Trent, will appear at North Staffordshire Magistrates Court on Monday. Two other men, aged 28 and 60, who were arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, have been released on conditional bail while inquiries continue. Ms Eastwood was last seen when she left her night shift at the Royal Stoke Hospital at 7.47am last Friday, and officers investigating her disappearance found a body in a rural area near the city on Saturday. Staffordshire Police have now confirmed that the body is believed to be that of the 28-year-old. A post-mortem took place on Sunday, but further tests are required. In a statement released by police, Ms Eastwo...