News Info - The Foreign Office has confirmed the death of a British national on the Indonesian island of Bali.
Reports have named her as Anne-Marie Drozdz, who is thought to be in her forties and from Leicestershire.
Indonesian police suspect the woman was murdered, according to the AFP news agency.
horn of africa - The agency quoted police as saying she was found dead by the owner of a villa where she was staying in the tourist district of Ubud.
Police say the door to the property the woman was damaged and she had a black cloth over her face, said AFP.
A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: "We are aware of the death of a British national in Bali on 22 May.
"We are providing consular assistance to the family."
A police spokesman told AFP: "She was found by the owner of the villa lying dead on the floor with a black cloth over her face.
"The door was damaged and there were dried up pools of blood on the floor."
Police also told the agency the woman had been renting the villa since 17 May.
Ida Bagus Putu Alitin, the head of forensics at Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar on the island, told AFP that the woman's body showed bruises on the neck and around the mouth.
"But we will wait until permission from her family and police to carry out an autopsy," Alitin said.
Sunday, 25 May 2014
Ukraine's Petro Poroshenko pledges 'end to war'
News Info - Petro Poroshenko, who looks set to win Ukraine's presidential election, says he wants to "end war and bring peace".
Official results are expected on Monday but exit polls suggest the billionaire confectionary magnate has won the election with about 56% of the vote.
premenstrual syndrome - He said his first step as president would be to visit the eastern Donbass region where pro-Russian separatists have seized control in many areas.
He also said Kiev would never recognise Russia's "occupation" of Crimea.
The election came three months after pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych fled Kiev amid bloody street protests and calls for closer ties with the EU.
Since then, Russia has annexed the Crimean peninsula in southern Ukraine and armed separatists in the eastern Donbass provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk have declared independence from Kiev.
Ukraine's interim government is engaged in an offensive in the east to quash the uprising that has left dozens dead.
Pro-Russian separatists severely disrupted voting there. No polling stations were open in Donetsk city, and across the region only seven out of 12 district electoral commissions were operating.
However, the central elections commission said about 60% of Ukraine's 35.5 million eligible voters turned out.
"My first decisive step will be aimed at ending the war, ending chaos, and bringing peace to a united and free Ukraine," Mr Poroshenko said at a press conference in Kiev.
"I am certain that our decisive actions will bring fairly quick results."
He also promised a dialogue with people in eastern Ukraine if he is elected.
"For those people who don't take (up) weapons, we are always ready for negotiations to guarantee them security, to guarantee their rights, including speaking the language they want," he said in English.
Mr Poroshenko said he would also like to negotiate a new security treaty with Moscow.
Although he strongly backs closer ties with the EU, Mr Poroshenko also stresses the need to normalise ties with Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised to recognise the result of the election.
Kiev and the West accuse Russia of fomenting separatist sentiment - a claim President Putin denies.
US President Barack Obama hailed the election as an "important step forward in the efforts of the Ukrainian government to unify the country".
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague called the election a "decisive signal" of Ukraine's support for reform.
If the exit polls are confirmed, there will be no need for a run-off vote next month.
Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was Mr Poroshenko's nearest rival with 12.9% of the vote, according to the exit polls.
After polls closed, Mr Poroshenko appeared on stage beside former boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, who had once been tipped as a presidential candidate but later decided to support Mr Poroshenko.
In local elections also held on Sunday, Mr Klitschko looked set to become the mayor of Kiev.
Official results are expected on Monday but exit polls suggest the billionaire confectionary magnate has won the election with about 56% of the vote.
premenstrual syndrome - He said his first step as president would be to visit the eastern Donbass region where pro-Russian separatists have seized control in many areas.
He also said Kiev would never recognise Russia's "occupation" of Crimea.
The election came three months after pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych fled Kiev amid bloody street protests and calls for closer ties with the EU.
Since then, Russia has annexed the Crimean peninsula in southern Ukraine and armed separatists in the eastern Donbass provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk have declared independence from Kiev.
Ukraine's interim government is engaged in an offensive in the east to quash the uprising that has left dozens dead.
Pro-Russian separatists severely disrupted voting there. No polling stations were open in Donetsk city, and across the region only seven out of 12 district electoral commissions were operating.
However, the central elections commission said about 60% of Ukraine's 35.5 million eligible voters turned out.
"My first decisive step will be aimed at ending the war, ending chaos, and bringing peace to a united and free Ukraine," Mr Poroshenko said at a press conference in Kiev.
"I am certain that our decisive actions will bring fairly quick results."
He also promised a dialogue with people in eastern Ukraine if he is elected.
"For those people who don't take (up) weapons, we are always ready for negotiations to guarantee them security, to guarantee their rights, including speaking the language they want," he said in English.
Mr Poroshenko said he would also like to negotiate a new security treaty with Moscow.
Although he strongly backs closer ties with the EU, Mr Poroshenko also stresses the need to normalise ties with Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised to recognise the result of the election.
Kiev and the West accuse Russia of fomenting separatist sentiment - a claim President Putin denies.
US President Barack Obama hailed the election as an "important step forward in the efforts of the Ukrainian government to unify the country".
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague called the election a "decisive signal" of Ukraine's support for reform.
If the exit polls are confirmed, there will be no need for a run-off vote next month.
Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was Mr Poroshenko's nearest rival with 12.9% of the vote, according to the exit polls.
After polls closed, Mr Poroshenko appeared on stage beside former boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, who had once been tipped as a presidential candidate but later decided to support Mr Poroshenko.
In local elections also held on Sunday, Mr Klitschko looked set to become the mayor of Kiev.
Pope prays at Israel's West Bank separation barrier
News Info - Pope Francis has prayed at the concrete barrier Israel is building in and around the West Bank during his three-day tour of the Middle East.
The unscheduled stop came after he called for an end to the "increasingly unacceptable" Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Speaking in Bethlehem, the Pope invited the Israeli and Palestinian presidents to the Vatican to pray for peace.
The tour's official purpose is to improve ties with the Orthodox Church.
menstrual cramps - The Pope is to meet Bartholomew I, the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople, in Jerusalem later - to commemorate the 50th anniversary of a historic meeting of Catholic and Orthodox leaders who moved to end 900 years of division between the two churches.
Francis's visit comes just weeks after peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down, and his invitation to Rome for Presidents Peres and Abbas - quickly welcomed by both - is an intriguing development, says BBC Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen.
Following the Mass in Bethlehem, the Pope flew by helicopter to Tel Aviv where he was formally welcomed to Israel by President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Jeremy Bowen, BBC News, Bethlehem
This has turned into a much better than expected visit for the Palestinians, according to a PLO official I spoke to here in Bethlehem.
Palestinians have used social media to post pictures of Pope Francis praying at the 8m concrete wall that separates Bethlehem from Jerusalem. The Israelis say the wall and other parts of the separation barrier are vital for the security of their people. But for Palestinians the wall is tangible symbol of what they say is Israel's intention to grab as much land as possible.
The invitation to Rome for President Peres of Israel and the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is an intriguing development, at a time when negotiations have collapsed. The Pope's spokesman said it was a papal peace initiative, based on the Pope's moral and spiritual authority.
line
"The time has come to put an end to this situation which has become increasingly unacceptable," the Pope said on Sunday as he met Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
He talked of the "tragic consequences of the protracted conflict" and the need "to intensify efforts and initiatives" to create a stable peace - based on a two-state solution.
He later held an open-air Mass for 8,000 local Christians by Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, during which he said he wished to invite Mr Abbas and Mr Peres to join him at the Vatican "in heartfelt prayer to God for the gift of peace".
The Pope's spokesman, Federico Lombardi, told the BBC the move was papal peace initiative and believed to be the first of its kind.
Pope Francis has insisted the purpose of his Middle East trip is purely religious, but his first speech on his arrival in Bethlehem showed he is also willing to address pressing political issues, correspondents say.
On his way to Bethlehem, he stopped to pray at an 8m concrete wall that is part of the barrier Israel is building in and around the West Bank.
The Pope rested his head against the wall - which Israel says is needed for security, but the Palestinians see as a land grab - near graffiti reading: "Free Palestine."
Palestinian officials have noted that Pope Francis is the first pontiff to travel directly to the West Bank rather than enter via Israel: Many Palestinians see that as a recognition of their push for full statehood.
Papal precedents
Israel has issued restraining orders against several Jewish right-wing activists this week over concerns that they could try to disrupt the visit.
Twenty-six people were arrested overnight for throwing stones and bottles at police during a protest at a holy site on Mount Zion, reports say.
The Pope's tour began on Saturday with a visit to Jordan.
On Monday he is due to visit the al-Aqsa mosque complex in Jerusalem's Old City followed by the Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall.
Pope Francis will be the fourth leader of the modern Roman Catholic Church to visit Jerusalem, after Popes Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, who went there in 2009.
The unscheduled stop came after he called for an end to the "increasingly unacceptable" Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Speaking in Bethlehem, the Pope invited the Israeli and Palestinian presidents to the Vatican to pray for peace.
The tour's official purpose is to improve ties with the Orthodox Church.
menstrual cramps - The Pope is to meet Bartholomew I, the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople, in Jerusalem later - to commemorate the 50th anniversary of a historic meeting of Catholic and Orthodox leaders who moved to end 900 years of division between the two churches.
Francis's visit comes just weeks after peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down, and his invitation to Rome for Presidents Peres and Abbas - quickly welcomed by both - is an intriguing development, says BBC Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen.
Following the Mass in Bethlehem, the Pope flew by helicopter to Tel Aviv where he was formally welcomed to Israel by President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Jeremy Bowen, BBC News, Bethlehem
This has turned into a much better than expected visit for the Palestinians, according to a PLO official I spoke to here in Bethlehem.
Palestinians have used social media to post pictures of Pope Francis praying at the 8m concrete wall that separates Bethlehem from Jerusalem. The Israelis say the wall and other parts of the separation barrier are vital for the security of their people. But for Palestinians the wall is tangible symbol of what they say is Israel's intention to grab as much land as possible.
The invitation to Rome for President Peres of Israel and the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is an intriguing development, at a time when negotiations have collapsed. The Pope's spokesman said it was a papal peace initiative, based on the Pope's moral and spiritual authority.
line
"The time has come to put an end to this situation which has become increasingly unacceptable," the Pope said on Sunday as he met Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
He talked of the "tragic consequences of the protracted conflict" and the need "to intensify efforts and initiatives" to create a stable peace - based on a two-state solution.
He later held an open-air Mass for 8,000 local Christians by Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, during which he said he wished to invite Mr Abbas and Mr Peres to join him at the Vatican "in heartfelt prayer to God for the gift of peace".
The Pope's spokesman, Federico Lombardi, told the BBC the move was papal peace initiative and believed to be the first of its kind.
Pope Francis has insisted the purpose of his Middle East trip is purely religious, but his first speech on his arrival in Bethlehem showed he is also willing to address pressing political issues, correspondents say.
On his way to Bethlehem, he stopped to pray at an 8m concrete wall that is part of the barrier Israel is building in and around the West Bank.
The Pope rested his head against the wall - which Israel says is needed for security, but the Palestinians see as a land grab - near graffiti reading: "Free Palestine."
Palestinian officials have noted that Pope Francis is the first pontiff to travel directly to the West Bank rather than enter via Israel: Many Palestinians see that as a recognition of their push for full statehood.
Papal precedents
Israel has issued restraining orders against several Jewish right-wing activists this week over concerns that they could try to disrupt the visit.
Twenty-six people were arrested overnight for throwing stones and bottles at police during a protest at a holy site on Mount Zion, reports say.
The Pope's tour began on Saturday with a visit to Jordan.
On Monday he is due to visit the al-Aqsa mosque complex in Jerusalem's Old City followed by the Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall.
Pope Francis will be the fourth leader of the modern Roman Catholic Church to visit Jerusalem, after Popes Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, who went there in 2009.
Thursday, 22 May 2014
UN committee imposes sanctions on Nigeria's Boko Haram
News Info - The UN Security Council has approved sanctions against the Nigerian militant group Boko Haram, five weeks after it kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls.
It will now be added to a list of al-Qaeda-linked organisations subject to an arms embargo and asset freeze.
What is gun in japan - US envoy Samantha Power said it was an "important step" in support of efforts to "defeat Boko Haram and hold its murderous leadership accountable".
It was earlier blamed for the deaths of 27 people in a north-eastern village.
Residents said gunmen had shot dead farm workers in Chikongudo, set fire to nearly all the homes there and stolen food in an attack on Wednesday night. The assailants stormed the village in cars and motorbikes, a trademark of Boko Haram, the residents added.
It came a day after twin bombings killed 122 in the central city of Jos. The authorities suspect Boko Haram of being behind them, but there has so far been no claim of responsibility from the group.
'Al-Qaeda training'
Boko Haram was added to the al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee's list of designated entities on Thursday at the request of Nigeria.
"Today, the Security Council took an important step in support of the government of Nigeria's efforts to defeat Boko Haram and hold its murderous leadership accountable for atrocities," Ms Power said.
The sanctions designation would help "close off important avenues of funding, travel and weapons" to the group, she added.
On Wednesday, Nigeria's permanent representative, U Joy Ogwu, said: "The important thing is to attack the problem, and that is terrorism."
The BBC's Barbara Plett Usher in New York says Boko Haram's links with al-Qaeda have come under scrutiny.
Reports quoting a draft UN document said its members had received training from al-Qaeda affiliates and fought alongside them in Mali.
Protests
Boko Haram, which has killed thousands of people in Nigeria through a wave of bombings and assassinations since 2009, is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state.
The government's failure to prevent attacks since launching an offensive against Boko Haram a year ago has triggered widespread anger.
On Thursday, protesters demanding the return of the schoolgirls snatched from their classrooms in the north-eastern town of Chibok and taken hostage five weeks ago were prevented from reaching the presidential villa in the capital, Abuja.
A statement from President Goodluck Jonathan read out to the demonstrators said the state was doing all it could to secure their release.
He also urged them to ensure their "zeal is matched with a realistic understanding of the situation".
The statement did little to placate the crowd, and one protester shouted: "Another small window for Jonathan and he refuses to use it."
Teachers across Nigeria also held a day of protests on Thursday in support of the abducted schoolgirls.
Teaching unions said they were also marching in memory of the 173 teachers killed by militants and called on the authorities to increase protection for schools, which were closed for the day.
It will now be added to a list of al-Qaeda-linked organisations subject to an arms embargo and asset freeze.
What is gun in japan - US envoy Samantha Power said it was an "important step" in support of efforts to "defeat Boko Haram and hold its murderous leadership accountable".
It was earlier blamed for the deaths of 27 people in a north-eastern village.
Residents said gunmen had shot dead farm workers in Chikongudo, set fire to nearly all the homes there and stolen food in an attack on Wednesday night. The assailants stormed the village in cars and motorbikes, a trademark of Boko Haram, the residents added.
It came a day after twin bombings killed 122 in the central city of Jos. The authorities suspect Boko Haram of being behind them, but there has so far been no claim of responsibility from the group.
'Al-Qaeda training'
Boko Haram was added to the al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee's list of designated entities on Thursday at the request of Nigeria.
"Today, the Security Council took an important step in support of the government of Nigeria's efforts to defeat Boko Haram and hold its murderous leadership accountable for atrocities," Ms Power said.
The sanctions designation would help "close off important avenues of funding, travel and weapons" to the group, she added.
On Wednesday, Nigeria's permanent representative, U Joy Ogwu, said: "The important thing is to attack the problem, and that is terrorism."
The BBC's Barbara Plett Usher in New York says Boko Haram's links with al-Qaeda have come under scrutiny.
Reports quoting a draft UN document said its members had received training from al-Qaeda affiliates and fought alongside them in Mali.
Protests
Boko Haram, which has killed thousands of people in Nigeria through a wave of bombings and assassinations since 2009, is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state.
The government's failure to prevent attacks since launching an offensive against Boko Haram a year ago has triggered widespread anger.
On Thursday, protesters demanding the return of the schoolgirls snatched from their classrooms in the north-eastern town of Chibok and taken hostage five weeks ago were prevented from reaching the presidential villa in the capital, Abuja.
A statement from President Goodluck Jonathan read out to the demonstrators said the state was doing all it could to secure their release.
He also urged them to ensure their "zeal is matched with a realistic understanding of the situation".
The statement did little to placate the crowd, and one protester shouted: "Another small window for Jonathan and he refuses to use it."
Teachers across Nigeria also held a day of protests on Thursday in support of the abducted schoolgirls.
Teaching unions said they were also marching in memory of the 173 teachers killed by militants and called on the authorities to increase protection for schools, which were closed for the day.
Chinese tycoon Liu Han sentenced to death for murder
News Info - Liu Han, a Chinese tycoon believed to have links to China's former security chief Zhou Yongkang, has been sentenced to death.
A Hubei court has found Liu Han and his brother Liu Wei guilty of "organising and leading mafia-style crime and murder", reports Xinhua.
Fun Crocodile Facts - The two men were among a group of 36 people charged with similar crimes.
Liu Han's sentencing is believed to be part of a wider corruption crackdown linked to Zhou's network.
The court verdict stated that, among other things, Liu Han and his group had "in an organised fashion obtained financial gains via illegal activities".
They had also on multiple occasions "committed murder, harm and illegal detention".
The verdict stated they relied on "the cover-ups and collusion of government employees" to illegally control gaming machines in Guanghan in Sichuan province.
Liu, who is the former head of mining conglomerate Sichuan Hanlong Group, was ranked 148th on Forbes' list of the richest Chinese business people in 2012.
His former company once tried to take over Australian miner Sundance Resources Ltd.
Chinese state media said previously that the Sichuan-based gang had had strong political ties that played a role in Liu Han's appointment as a delegate in Sichuan's political advisory body.
In recent months, several top officials from Sichuan province linked to Zhou Yongkang have come under scrutiny.
Mr Zhou was the party secretary in Sichuan province before becoming head of China's Public Security Ministry in 2003.
In April, China announced it had removed from office Guo Yongxiang, a former Sichuan vice-governor, and that Sichuan's former deputy party chief Li Chuncheng was being investigated for bribery.
Speculation has swirled for months that Mr Zhou is being investigated for corruption, although none of the rumours have been confirmed officially.
A Hubei court has found Liu Han and his brother Liu Wei guilty of "organising and leading mafia-style crime and murder", reports Xinhua.
Fun Crocodile Facts - The two men were among a group of 36 people charged with similar crimes.
Liu Han's sentencing is believed to be part of a wider corruption crackdown linked to Zhou's network.
The court verdict stated that, among other things, Liu Han and his group had "in an organised fashion obtained financial gains via illegal activities".
They had also on multiple occasions "committed murder, harm and illegal detention".
The verdict stated they relied on "the cover-ups and collusion of government employees" to illegally control gaming machines in Guanghan in Sichuan province.
Liu, who is the former head of mining conglomerate Sichuan Hanlong Group, was ranked 148th on Forbes' list of the richest Chinese business people in 2012.
His former company once tried to take over Australian miner Sundance Resources Ltd.
Chinese state media said previously that the Sichuan-based gang had had strong political ties that played a role in Liu Han's appointment as a delegate in Sichuan's political advisory body.
In recent months, several top officials from Sichuan province linked to Zhou Yongkang have come under scrutiny.
Mr Zhou was the party secretary in Sichuan province before becoming head of China's Public Security Ministry in 2003.
In April, China announced it had removed from office Guo Yongxiang, a former Sichuan vice-governor, and that Sichuan's former deputy party chief Li Chuncheng was being investigated for bribery.
Speculation has swirled for months that Mr Zhou is being investigated for corruption, although none of the rumours have been confirmed officially.
Wednesday, 21 May 2014
Missing US woman found after 10 years
News Info - A 25-year-old woman who went missing 10 years ago in California has told police she was forced to marry her captor and have his child.
The unnamed woman contacted police shortly after communicating with her sister on Facebook, officers said.
Isidro Garcia, 41, was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of kidnapping, rape and false imprisonment.
Animal Facts for Kids - Police said in a statement he had been living with the girl's family at the time of her disappearance.
The abuse began in 2004, the statement said, when Mr Garcia was dating the victim's mother and residing with her and her daughters in Santa Ana, a city in Orange County.
The police allege that Mr Garcia began sexually assaulting the victim in June of that year, only four months after the girl arrived in the US from Mexico.
In August, he assaulted the victim's mother and drugged the teenager, driving her 26 miles north to Compton, Los Angeles, where she was locked in a garage, say police.
"Over the course of the following months and years, Mr Garcia repeatedly told the victim her family had given up looking for her, and if she tried to go back to them, the family would be deported," police said.
The two moved on several occasions to avoid police detection, and used different identities, the police statement said.
Mr Garcia frequently physically and sexually assaulted the victim, it is alleged, and the two of them worked together at a night cleaning service.
"Even with the opportunity to escape, after years of physical and mental abuse, the victim saw no way out of her situation and lived a life with Garcia under sustained physical and mental abuse," police said.
At a press conference, Corporal Anthony Bertagna of the Santa Ana Police Department told reporters Mr Garcia had "brainwashed" her.
He said that in 2007, he forced the woman into a marriage, using documents he obtained in Mexico, and in 2012 the two had a child.
Recently, she contacted her sister on Facebook and was told that her mother had indeed been trying to find her, using a Spanish language newspaper and television station.
The communication with her sister made her realise she needed to leave, said Mr Bertagna, and on Monday she went to police to report that she was a victim of domestic abuse, and she told them she had been abducted.
The following day, police formally arrested Mr Garcia on suspicion of kidnapping for rape, lewd acts with a minor and false imprisonment. He has not been charged.
Neighbours in the street in Bell Gardens, Los Angeles, where the couple lived in recent years said on Wednesday evening they were stunned by the news, describing them as a happy couple who doted on their young daughter and even hosted parties.
The arrest comes a year after three women who went missing separately about a decade earlier were rescued from a house in Cleveland, Ohio.
Their captor, Ariel Castro, killed himself in prison in September 2013 at the beginning of a life sentence plus 1,000 years.
The unnamed woman contacted police shortly after communicating with her sister on Facebook, officers said.
Isidro Garcia, 41, was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of kidnapping, rape and false imprisonment.
Animal Facts for Kids - Police said in a statement he had been living with the girl's family at the time of her disappearance.
The abuse began in 2004, the statement said, when Mr Garcia was dating the victim's mother and residing with her and her daughters in Santa Ana, a city in Orange County.
The police allege that Mr Garcia began sexually assaulting the victim in June of that year, only four months after the girl arrived in the US from Mexico.
In August, he assaulted the victim's mother and drugged the teenager, driving her 26 miles north to Compton, Los Angeles, where she was locked in a garage, say police.
"Over the course of the following months and years, Mr Garcia repeatedly told the victim her family had given up looking for her, and if she tried to go back to them, the family would be deported," police said.
The two moved on several occasions to avoid police detection, and used different identities, the police statement said.
Mr Garcia frequently physically and sexually assaulted the victim, it is alleged, and the two of them worked together at a night cleaning service.
"Even with the opportunity to escape, after years of physical and mental abuse, the victim saw no way out of her situation and lived a life with Garcia under sustained physical and mental abuse," police said.
At a press conference, Corporal Anthony Bertagna of the Santa Ana Police Department told reporters Mr Garcia had "brainwashed" her.
He said that in 2007, he forced the woman into a marriage, using documents he obtained in Mexico, and in 2012 the two had a child.
Recently, she contacted her sister on Facebook and was told that her mother had indeed been trying to find her, using a Spanish language newspaper and television station.
The communication with her sister made her realise she needed to leave, said Mr Bertagna, and on Monday she went to police to report that she was a victim of domestic abuse, and she told them she had been abducted.
The following day, police formally arrested Mr Garcia on suspicion of kidnapping for rape, lewd acts with a minor and false imprisonment. He has not been charged.
Neighbours in the street in Bell Gardens, Los Angeles, where the couple lived in recent years said on Wednesday evening they were stunned by the news, describing them as a happy couple who doted on their young daughter and even hosted parties.
The arrest comes a year after three women who went missing separately about a decade earlier were rescued from a house in Cleveland, Ohio.
Their captor, Ariel Castro, killed himself in prison in September 2013 at the beginning of a life sentence plus 1,000 years.
X-rays shine new light on mystery 'bird'
News Info - Is it a bird? Is it a dinosaur? Or something in between?
The feathered limbs of Archaeopteryx have fascinated palaeontologists ever since Charles Darwin's day.
Only 12 of these curious creatures have ever been found.
Now these precious fossils are going under the glare of a giant X-ray machine - to find out what lies buried beneath the surface.
human body system - Using a new "camera obscura" technique - inspired by Leonardo da Vinci - scientists have captured some of the clearest ever images of Archaeopteryx.
For the first time, they can see the complete skeleton in 3D. Not just the surface outlines, but all the hidden bones and feathers too.
They hope to discover how "the first true birds" evolved from feathered dinosaurs and took flight.
And what's more, to answer a riddle that has puzzled palaeontologists for 150 years. Could Archaeopteryx fly, or not?
The new tests are taking place at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, at the foot of the French Alps.
In the past, large fossil slabs were too bulky to be scanned in a synchrotron light source - a type of particle accelerator which generates high-energy X-rays.
But now scientists here are experimenting with a clever new trick, inspired by a very ancient and simple idea - the pinhole camera.
The basic concept has been around since at least 400 BC. But it was Leonardo da Vinci who made the first detailed drawings of a camera obscura in his 1485 sketchbook, Codex Atlanticus.
Light entering through a tiny hole is magnified and projected onto a screen wall.
Leonardo's camera allowed artists inside a tent to accurately trace and paint panoramic landscapes.
In a synchrotron, the pinhole system allows large fossils - too bulky to be rotated and scanned via conventional techniques (such as tomography) - to be captured in full by an extremely narrow X-ray beam.
"It's a beam that's only the thickness of a human hair. But extremely powerful. If you stood in front of it you would be killed," says Dr Paul Tafforeau, a palaeontologist at ESRF.
"As the beam goes through the sample you have diffusion of the X-rays and this diffusion pattern can be detected via the camera obscura - a very small hole in a piece of lead. Afterwards, you can reconstruct the images in 3D."
If their pinhole trick works as well on all dinosaur fossils as initial tests on Archaeopteryx suggest, it could open up new avenues in fossil research. The world's biggest, most famous dinosaur skeletons could be seen in a whole new light.
And so to demonstrate their proof of principle, the ESRF team began by summoning a very famous specimen.
Archaeopteryx caused a major stir when the first fossil was unearthed in 1861 - just two years after Charles Darwin published On The Origin of Species.
With the claws and teeth of a dinosaur, but the feathers of a bird, it was immediately recognised as a transitional form - proof of Darwin's theory.
Hailed as "the first true bird", the discovery shook the scientific community. Not bad for an animal as small as a magpie - only 20 inches from head to tail.
In recent years, more primitive bird ancestors have been unearthed in Liaoning, China. But the fascination with Archaeopteryx has endured - driven by the unsolved mystery over its ability to fly.
Around 150 million years ago, the modern-day region of Germany where Archaeopteryx lived was an archipelago of islands in a shallow tropical sea, covered in lush vegetation.
"We want to know how Archaeopteryx lived," says Martin Roeper, curator of the Solnhofen Museum, which houses one of the specimens.
"Was he a little dinosaur running, climbing trees - or was he flying? That's the most important question. Could Archaeopteryx fly or not?"
The answer grows closer as new, microscopic details of its anatomy emerge from ever more precise scans.
Blood vessels within the bones, for example, can be compared to modern birds.
One by one, the 12 fossils have been arriving at the ESRF. And very soon there may be a major breakthrough to announce.
In the meantime: "What is really remarkable are the feathers - they are far more visible by this new scan than by looking at the original specimen," says Paul Tafforeau.
"But that's not all, because this technique reveals a lot about the anatomy that's not visible below the surface.
"You can see many hidden details inside the stone. With these we can better understand what Archaeopteryx really was."
If this X-ray spectacle can be repeated with other famous fossils, there may be other discoveries that ruffle the feathers of established wisdom.
And not only scientists will see the benefit, says Martin Roeper.
"In former times the visitors to our museum cannot easily understand the fossil - because they cannot see the feathers.
"But now that we see the whole wings - now everyone can see that Archaeopteryx really is a very fine specimen."
The feathered limbs of Archaeopteryx have fascinated palaeontologists ever since Charles Darwin's day.
Only 12 of these curious creatures have ever been found.
Now these precious fossils are going under the glare of a giant X-ray machine - to find out what lies buried beneath the surface.
human body system - Using a new "camera obscura" technique - inspired by Leonardo da Vinci - scientists have captured some of the clearest ever images of Archaeopteryx.
For the first time, they can see the complete skeleton in 3D. Not just the surface outlines, but all the hidden bones and feathers too.
They hope to discover how "the first true birds" evolved from feathered dinosaurs and took flight.
And what's more, to answer a riddle that has puzzled palaeontologists for 150 years. Could Archaeopteryx fly, or not?
The new tests are taking place at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, at the foot of the French Alps.
In the past, large fossil slabs were too bulky to be scanned in a synchrotron light source - a type of particle accelerator which generates high-energy X-rays.
But now scientists here are experimenting with a clever new trick, inspired by a very ancient and simple idea - the pinhole camera.
The basic concept has been around since at least 400 BC. But it was Leonardo da Vinci who made the first detailed drawings of a camera obscura in his 1485 sketchbook, Codex Atlanticus.
Light entering through a tiny hole is magnified and projected onto a screen wall.
Leonardo's camera allowed artists inside a tent to accurately trace and paint panoramic landscapes.
In a synchrotron, the pinhole system allows large fossils - too bulky to be rotated and scanned via conventional techniques (such as tomography) - to be captured in full by an extremely narrow X-ray beam.
"It's a beam that's only the thickness of a human hair. But extremely powerful. If you stood in front of it you would be killed," says Dr Paul Tafforeau, a palaeontologist at ESRF.
"As the beam goes through the sample you have diffusion of the X-rays and this diffusion pattern can be detected via the camera obscura - a very small hole in a piece of lead. Afterwards, you can reconstruct the images in 3D."
If their pinhole trick works as well on all dinosaur fossils as initial tests on Archaeopteryx suggest, it could open up new avenues in fossil research. The world's biggest, most famous dinosaur skeletons could be seen in a whole new light.
And so to demonstrate their proof of principle, the ESRF team began by summoning a very famous specimen.
Archaeopteryx caused a major stir when the first fossil was unearthed in 1861 - just two years after Charles Darwin published On The Origin of Species.
With the claws and teeth of a dinosaur, but the feathers of a bird, it was immediately recognised as a transitional form - proof of Darwin's theory.
Hailed as "the first true bird", the discovery shook the scientific community. Not bad for an animal as small as a magpie - only 20 inches from head to tail.
In recent years, more primitive bird ancestors have been unearthed in Liaoning, China. But the fascination with Archaeopteryx has endured - driven by the unsolved mystery over its ability to fly.
Around 150 million years ago, the modern-day region of Germany where Archaeopteryx lived was an archipelago of islands in a shallow tropical sea, covered in lush vegetation.
"We want to know how Archaeopteryx lived," says Martin Roeper, curator of the Solnhofen Museum, which houses one of the specimens.
"Was he a little dinosaur running, climbing trees - or was he flying? That's the most important question. Could Archaeopteryx fly or not?"
The answer grows closer as new, microscopic details of its anatomy emerge from ever more precise scans.
Blood vessels within the bones, for example, can be compared to modern birds.
One by one, the 12 fossils have been arriving at the ESRF. And very soon there may be a major breakthrough to announce.
In the meantime: "What is really remarkable are the feathers - they are far more visible by this new scan than by looking at the original specimen," says Paul Tafforeau.
"But that's not all, because this technique reveals a lot about the anatomy that's not visible below the surface.
"You can see many hidden details inside the stone. With these we can better understand what Archaeopteryx really was."
If this X-ray spectacle can be repeated with other famous fossils, there may be other discoveries that ruffle the feathers of established wisdom.
And not only scientists will see the benefit, says Martin Roeper.
"In former times the visitors to our museum cannot easily understand the fossil - because they cannot see the feathers.
"But now that we see the whole wings - now everyone can see that Archaeopteryx really is a very fine specimen."
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