A man who was arrested over an alleged assault after a woman was pushed into the path of an oncoming bus has denied any involvement in the incident.

Millionaire American investment banker Eric Bellquist, 41, was held yesterday in relation to the incident in which the woman was pushed on Putney Bridge. 

But his lawyers say he has irrefutable proof that he was in the United States at the time of the incident 

The bus managed to swerve at the last minute, narrowly avoiding running over the 33-year-old woman's head. It read: 'Our client has been wrongly implicated in this matter; he categorically denies being the individual concerned and has irrefutable proof that he was in the United States at the time of the incident.

'Consequently we expect a swift resolution to this wholly untrue allegation.’

Mr Bellquist, who lives in Chelsea, west London, joined Hutton Collins in 2002. 

Over the course of various transactions he has represented Hutton Collins in the leisure, media/telecom and manufacturing sectors.

He currently represents Hutton Collins on the boards of Byron Hamburgers and was responsible for the firm's investment in Caffè Nero. Prior to Hutton Collins, Mr Bellquist worked in the European Leveraged Finance and Sponsor Coverage group at Lehman Brothers. He is a graduate from the University of Colorado at Boulder. 

Meanwhile, the driver of the London bus who swerved to avoid the woman who was pushed over has insisted he was 'just doing his job'.

Footage of the incident was released by Scotland Yard earlier this week, showing a man running over Putney Bridge and apparently knocking a woman into the path of an oncoming double-decker. 

Bus operators Go Ahead London told 5 News: 'The driver commented that he is pleased to have been a hero, he was just doing his job. 'He is pleased to have been able to react the way he did and that there was no serious injury to the lady.'

Police said a 41-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm at an address in the Chelsea area of London yesterday morning following a public appeal.

He was taken to a south London police station and was released pending further enquiries, Metropolitan Police said.

Yesterday the Metropolitan Police said that officers had received a 'good response' after calling for information on the incident.

The bus stopped after the fall and passengers tended to the woman - who received minor injuries - following the incident during rush hour, at around 7.40am on May 5.

On October 12, a 10-30 meter (32-98 foot) asteroid is set to make a 'close' flyby of Earth. 

The asteroid, named 2012 TC4, will pass just 4,200 miles (6,800 kilometers) from Earth for the first time since it went out of range in 2012.  

Although NASA researchers are certain that it will not come any closer than this, if the asteroid did hit Earth, it could lead to a much more devastating level of impact than the 18-meter asteroid that hit the city of Chelyabinsk in Russia in 2013.

That particular blast injured about 1,500 people, and damaged over 7,000 buildings, and experts now say 2012 TC4 is 'something to keep an eye on. According to NASA's jet Propulsion Laboratory, the asteroid's next 'close-approach' to Earth will take place on December 29, 2019 - although at a much further distance of more than 21 million miles (34 million kilometers). 

If it were to make impact with Earth's atmosphere, scientists predict the space rock would burn up before hitting the surface. But, this could still cause damage and injuries at the ground level. 

'It is something to keep an eye on,' Dr Judit Györgyey-Ries, an astronomer at the University of Texas’ McDonald Observatory, told Astrowatch. NASA hopes to use its international network of observatories to recover, track and characterize asteroid 2012 TC4. 

As it starts to approach Earth in the coming months, large telescopes will be used to detect it and establish the asteroid's precise trajectory.

The new observations are expected to help refine knowledge about its orbit, narrowing the uncertainty about how far it will be from Earth at its closest approach in October. A meteor that blazed across southern Urals in February 2013 was the largest recorded meteor strike in more than a century.

More than 1,500 people were injured by the shock wave from the explosion, estimated to be as strong as 20 Hiroshima atomic bombs, as it landed near the city of Chelyabinsk. 

Thousands of North Korea's top military officers have marched through Pyongyang in a show of support for their dictator Kim Jong-un as the country issued yet more threats against the 'reckless and hysteric' US.

Pictures show organised lines of men from the country's armed forces cheering and raising their fists during the parade, in front of the capital's Fatherland Liberation War Victory monument.

It comes days after tens of thousands of placard-waving civilians staged a similar rally in the city.

This morning, Pyongyang's KCNA agency warned America that it is a 'tragedy that the reckless and hysteric behaviours may reduce the U.S. mainland to ashes any moment.'

The ranting statement said that it was the country's 'steadfast will...to put an end to the hostile moves of the U.S. which has imposed misfortunes and sufferings upon the Korean people for over half a century and win the final victory in the stand-off with imperialism and the U.S.'

It added: 'The U.S. and its vassal forces will dearly pay for the harshest sanctions and pressure and reckless military provocations against the DPRK.'

The latest show of defiance comes after Washington warned North Korea this week it faced 'fire and fury like the world has never seen' if it continued to threaten the US with its missile and nuclear programmes. Amid heightened tensions this morning, a Chinese state-run newspaper called on Beijing on Friday to 'stay neutral' if North Korea strikes first in a conflict with the United States, despite a mutual defence pact between the Asian allies. 

The nationalistic Global Times tabloid said in an editorial that Washington and Pyongyang were playing a 'reckless game' that could lead to 'miscalculations and a strategic 'war''.

'Beijing is not able to persuade Washington or Pyongyang to back down at this time,' the Global Times said.

'It needs to make clear its stance to all sides and make them understand that when their actions jeopardize China's interests, China will respond with a firm hand. The commentary came after Washington warned North Korea this week it faced 'fire and fury like the world has never seen' if it continued to threaten the US with its missile and nuclear programmes.

That prompted a defiant Pyongyang to threaten a missile attack on Guam, a tiny US territory in the Pacific that is home to major US air and naval facilities.

China - which has been accused by the US of not doing enough to rein in its longtime ally - has maintained that political dialogue is the only solution.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is the name for a range of similar conditions, including Asperger syndrome, that affect a person's social interaction, communication, interests and behaviour.

In children with ASD, the symptoms are present before three years of age, although a diagnosis can sometimes be made after the age of three.

It's estimated that about 1 in every 100 people in the UK has ASD. More boys are diagnosed with the condition than girls.

There's no "cure" for ASD, but speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, educational support, plus a number of other interventions are available to help children and parents.  People with ASD tend to have problems with social interaction and communication.

In early infancy, some children with ASD don’t babble or use other vocal sounds. Older children have problems using non-verbal behaviours to interact with others – for example, they have difficulty with eye contact, facial expressions, body language and gestures. They may give no or brief eye contact and ignore familiar or unfamiliar people.

Children with ASD may also lack awareness of and interest in other children. They’ll often either gravitate to older or younger children, rather than interacting with children of the same age. They tend to play alone.

They can find it hard to understand other people's emotions and feelings, and have difficulty starting conversations or taking part in them properly. Language development may be delayed, and a child with ASD won’t compensate their lack of language or delayed language skills by using gestures (body language) or facial expressions.

Children with ASD will tend to repeat words or phrases spoken by others (either immediately or later) without formulating their own language, or in parallel to developing their language skills. Some children don’t demonstrate imaginative or pretend play, while others will continually repeat the same pretend play.

Some children with ASD like to stick to the same routine and little changes may trigger tantrums. Some children may flap their hand or twist or flick their fingers when they’re excited or upset. Others may engage in repetitive activity, such as turning light switches on and off, opening and closing doors, or lining things up.

Children and young people with ASD frequently experience a range of cognitive (thinking), learning, emotional and behavioural problems. For example, they may also have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety, or depression.

Dawn raids took place on 10 addresses this morning as police attempt to catch a murderer who escaped from prison six months ago.

Shaun Walmsley, 28, has been on the run since two men armed with a knife and a gun confronted prison guards outside Aintree University Hospital during a visit from HMP Walton on February 21.

Today a 26-year-old man wanted on warrant was arrested and an 18-year-old man was held on suspicion of money laundering following the recovery of a large quantity of cash from a property in Kirkdale.

The early-morning operation was undertaken in a bid to hit individuals suspected of gun, drugs and a host of other offences linked to the his underworld network.

Searches of properties in the Kensington, Toxteth, Everton, Anfield, Fazakerley, Bootle and Vauxhall areas of the city are continuing.

A number of raids have also taken place in cells at Walton jail as part of the same operation. He escaped from custody on February 21 during the scheduled hospital appointment and used a gold-coloured Volvo as a getaway vehicle. The car was later found abandoned in Fazakerley.

Superintendent Natalie Perischine, of Merseyside Police, said: 'We are still working to establish Walmsley's whereabouts and will not stop until we have found him. 'In the meantime, we will continue to disrupt those who we believe are linked to Walmsley and who are also believed to be involved in serious organised crime on Merseyside.

'We know that some members of the criminal fraternity on Merseyside will know where Walmsley is and I would urge them to think long and hard about what they know and to come forward.

'He is a violent individual and we are determined to put him back behind bars and we will leave no stone unturned in the coming months. As police raided addresses in search of Walmsley officers some 30 miles away were hunting 'dangerous' arsonist Anthony Curry who escaped from prison yesterday. 

Curry, who was jailed in 2013 for manslaughter, burglary and arson, escaped from HMP Kirkham between midday and 2pm yesterday, according to police.

The 43-year-old was sentenced to 12 years after admitting the manslaughter of retired lecturer Christopher Proctor, 88, and burning his house down to destroy any evidence.

During sentencing the judge said it was 'difficult to imagine a more serious case of manslaughter'. 

He was found and arrested on Thursday afternoon. 

Japan has wheeled missile defence systems into the heart of Tokyo after North Korea threatened to send a volley of rockets over the country towards Guam.

Pictures show how a PAC-3 Patriot missile unit has been moved in to a compound at the Defence Ministry in the capital after officials said they could shoot down North Korean rockets if they pass overhead. 

Sales of bomb shelters in Japan are said to have increased as tensions continue to rise in the region while officials in Seoul have vowed to bolster their defences. But South Korean citizens - long accustomed to its neighbour's fearsome rhetoric - are staying remarkably calm as the crisis unfolds, it has been reported.

Officials in Hawaii, meanwhile, say they are working on how to warn its 1.4million residents in the event of an attack. 

It comes after North Korea warned it will complete a plan to unleash an 'enveloping fire' around Guam by mid-August. This will involved firing four Hwasong-12 missiles over Japan and into waters near the tiny US island, officials claimed. Tokyo, which has in the past warned it would shoot down any North Korean missiles that threaten its territory, responded that it could 'never tolerate' provocations from the reclusive state. In April it emerged that sales of nuclear shelters and radiation-blocking air purifiers have surged in Japan  as North Korea pressed ahead with missile tests in defiance of U.N. sanctions.

A small company that specializes in building nuclear shelters, generally under people's houses, said it had received eight orders in April alone compared with six orders during a typical year.

The company, Oribe Seiki Seisakusho, based in Kobe, western Japan, also has sold out of 50 Swiss-made air purifiers, which are said to keep out radiation and poisonous gas, and is trying to get more, said Nobuko Oribe, the company's director.

Meanwhile, officials in Hawaii have revealed how they plan to respond in the event of a North Korean attack,CNN reports. 

Lt. Col. Charles Anthony, director of public affairs for the state's Department of Defense, said: 'If North Korea uses an intercontinental ballistic missile, from launch to impact (in Hawaii) is approximately 20 minutes;

Vern Miyagi, administrator for Hawaii's Emergency Management Agency, added: 'Pacific Command would take about fives minutes to characterize a launch, where the missile is going, which means the population would have about 15 minutes to take shelter.

Hate crime reports jumped sharply as Britain was hit by a spate of terrorist attacks earlier this year, new figures show.

Police registered increases in the incidents in the days immediately after the atrocities at Westminster Manchester and London Bridge.

Alleged race or faith hate offences accounted for the vast majority of rises, according to the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC). Figures compiled from forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland showed the daily totals were well above typical levels two days after the Westminster, Manchester and London Bridge attacks, with 234, 273 and 319 hate crime incidents respectively.

The NPCC said this pattern was not seen after the Finsbury Park attack in June, with 223 incidents.

Figures for the weeks including the attacks show hate crime was up compared to the previous year for all but Finsbury Park.

The sharpest increase was observed around the Manchester bombing, when the weekly tally was 50% higher than the same period in 2016.

NPCC lead for Hate Crime Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton said: 'We know that terrorist attacks and other national and global events have the potential to trigger short-term spikes in hate crime and so we have been carefully monitoring community tensions following recent horrific events. 'Reporting from police forces show that levels of hate crime peaked in the wake of the attacks but quickly subsided within a few days. 'This is in line with trends we have seen before, though obviously still a real concern for the police service and wider society.

'As terrorists seek to divide us, it is more important than ever that we continue to stand united in the face of hostility and hatred.'