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A man accused of imprisoning three women for about a decade in his home in Cleveland, Ohio, has pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and kidnapping.

Ariel Castro, 52, said nothing as he appeared briefly to be arraigned on 329 counts, including 139 of rape, 177 of kidnap and two of aggravated murder.

But the defence appeared to hint of a possible plea deal if prosecutors rule out the death penalty.

The women were Michelle Knight, 32, Amanda Berry, 27, and Gina DeJesus, 23.

The murder charges relate to Mr Castro allegedly starving and beating one pregnant captive until she miscarried.

Defence lawyer Craig Weintraub said after Wednesday's hearing: "Mr Castro currently faces hundreds of years in prison with the current charges.

"It is our hope that we can continue to work toward a resolution to avoid having an unnecessary trial about aggravated murder and the death penalty."

The accused, a former school bus driver, is in custody on $8m (£5m) bail. His indictment runs to 142 pages.

Last week he was taken off suicide watch in jail.

Ms Berry, who disappeared in 2003 the day before her 17th birthday, escaped on 6 May from Mr Castro's home, along with her six-year-old daughter born in captivity.

The other women were then freed from the house. They were all reportedly abducted after accepting car rides from the accused.

Ms Knight vanished in 2002 when she was 20. Ms DeJesus was 14 when she went missing in April 2004.

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Barcelona footballer Lionel Messi and his father are being investigated in Spain for allegedly defrauding the state of more than 4m euros (£3.4m).

The 25-year-old Argentina forward and his father, Jorge Horacio, are suspected of filing fraudulent tax returns for 2007-09, officials say.

The World Player of the Year expressed his surprise, denying the allegation.

His Barcelona net salary is said to be some 16m euros a year, making him one of the world's highest-paid athletes.

He has also signed a number of multimillion-dollar endorsements with major sponsors around the globe.

On Wednesday, a complaint signed by prosecutor Raquel Amado was filed at the courthouse in Gava - the affluent Barcelona district where Messi lives.

Judges at the courthouse must accept the complaint before the suspects can be charged, reports say.

The player and his father are accused of three crimes of defrauding the state of taxes related to income from the use of his image.

They are suspected of using companies abroad - in Belize and Uruguay - to sell the rights to use the image.

The accusation is that with the help of firms based outside Spain, where he lives and plays club football, Messi and his father avoided paying more than 4m euros in tax.

If convicted, Messi could face up to six years in prison and a large fine, according to Spain's EFE news agency.

Responding to the allegations, Messi expressed his surprise, saying he had only learned about the investigation against him through the media.

He wrote on his Facebook page: "We have never committed any infringement. We have always fulfilled all our tax obligations, following the advices of our tax consultants who will take care of clarifying this situation."

Argentina's media also appeared puzzled by Wednesday's development, with the Clarin newspaper describing it as "unexpected news".

Barcelona FC have not commented on the allegations.

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