Woman Kidnapped At Gunpoint Found In Garage

A woman who was kidnapped at gunpoint and held for ransom for two days without any food or water has been rescued, police say.

The 44-year-old victim was found tied up with duct tape in a garage in Los Angeles County.

She was weak and dehydrated but was expected to make a full recovery.

Authorities say she was taken on Monday after a woman she had worked with for years offered her a ride home.

The victim's family received a telephone call demanding $110,000 (£65,000) and warning she would be harmed or killed if it was not paid.

No ransom was paid.

About 25 sheriff's detectives, who worked around the clock to find the woman, discovered her on Wednesday.

Two couples from the Rowland Heights area of LA County remain in custody after pleading not guilty to kidnapping for ransom and conspiracy.

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Israeli Shells Pound Gaza As Fighting Resumes

Hamas has vowed it will not back down as Israel pounded Gaza with a fresh wave of strikes, killing five Palestinians.

The Israeli military has launched 30 airstrikes on Gaza since midnight on Saturday as talks to extend the temporary ceasefire stalled.

Palestinian health officials claim senior Hamas official Moaaz Zaid was among three Palestinians killed in an attack on a mosque. Two people travelling on a motorcycle died when they were struck by a bomb.

Another two Palestinians were shot dead by soldiers and dozens wounded in clashes with Israeli forces amid violent protests in occupied West Bank.

Palestinians pray over the bodies of three members of the same family

The deaths bring the number of dead in the month-long conflict to nearly 1,900. The United Nations, which has condemned Israel's actions, say 1,354 of those killed have been civilians.

Israel has lost 64 soldiers during the conflict, while three civilians have died from rocket fire into the country.

Israel says Hamas has fired six rockets across the border since the 72-hour ceasefire ended on Friday morning.

Smoke rises from what witnesses said was an Israeli strike on Gaza City

Hamas spokesman Fawzy Barhum said: "There will be no going back, the resistance will continue. The occupier's intransigence will get it nowhere and we will make no concessions on the demands of our people."

The resumption of violence came as Britain announced it would send a team of NHS experts to help victims wounded in Gaza.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: "The conflict in Gaza has taken a terrible toll.

"The NHS has always stepped up to the plate to help those in need and this expert team will play a crucial role in helping hundreds caught up in this conflict."

Palestinian protesters clash with Israeli border guards in West Bank

The UK team consists of doctors, nurses, surgeons, anaesthetists and paramedics - and their specialities include trauma and plastic surgery.

And the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) said its appeal for Gaza had raised £4.5m from the British public in less than 24 hours.

Mr Cameron is under increasing pressure to suspend arms exports from British manufacturers to Israeli forces following the resignation of foreign minister Baroness Warsi over the Government's line on Gaza this week.

A Palestinian boy sleeps in a UN-organised shelter

Lady Warsi said the Government's approach had been "morally indefensible" and has stepped up her call for action to be taken.

"For me at that moment the concern that I had was that even if the ceasefire had held, and I sincerely hoped it had, there was still no clear language from the Government in relation to the condemnation of what had happened," she said.

"There was no clear commitment that we would lead the international effort on accountability on both sides for what had happened.

Protesters in London march on Hyde Park

"Our language was not there. It was lagging behind. I don't think it was just words that would have stopped me from doing what I did.

"I think it was a combination of issues. It was the language that we were using, I think it was our lack of support for international justice and accountability for the crimes that had been committed."

In London protesters calling for an end to the "massacre" in Gaza marched on Hyde Park.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has urged the coalition to halt arms export licences for ammunition, drone parts and armoured vehicles, which are being used in Operation Protective Edge. He had indicated on Thursday an announcement would be imminent.

Baroness Warsi's resiganation has placed pressure on David Cameron

The United States said it still hoped the three-day ceasefire could be revived and Egypt, which attempting to broker peace between Israelis and Palestinians with US and European mediators, insisted negotiations were making progress.

However, little movement seems to have been achieved and the two sides are still far apart on meeting terms of agreement.

In an interview with the New York Times on Friday, Barack Obama urged Israel to recognise Palestinians had a right to land and space to live.

He said: "It has consistently been my belief that you have to find a way to live side by side in peace with Palestinians ... You have to recognise that they have legitimate claims, and this is their land and neighbourhood as well."

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Chinese Drivers Forced To Stare At Headlights

Police in China have begun punishing drivers who dazzle other motorists by forcing them to stare at full-beam headlights for five minutes.

Officers hope the ordeal will stop drivers blinding others

Officers in the southern city of Shenzhen are using the unusual penalty to crack down on motorists who inappropriately flash their lights.

Drivers are ordered to sit on a small plastic stool and stare at the front of a police vehicle while its headlights are turned on full beam for five minutes.

Shenzhen traffic police announced the optical ordeal on their Weibo account, a Chinese version of Twitter, saying it was an "appropriate experience" that would make offenders "sense the harm" of flashing their lights.

The punishment was announced on Shenzhen police's Weibo account

"From now on, traffic police will make those found carelessly using bright lights to look at them for five minutes," they warned.

Offenders are also lectured about properly using their headlights and fined 300 yuan (£30).

The punishment has sparked ridicule and anger on Chinese social media.

One blogger, called Darkcity2, said: "I live in Shanghai. Of all the absolutely mind-bogglingly inconsiderate **** drivers do on the road here, driving with your high beams on is low on the list."

However, some said the punishment did not go far enough.

"I'm hitting 'likes' with my hands and feet," @shenzhenlaocui wrote.

"Full-beam headlights are evil. I suggest they extend the stare time to 30 minutes, splitting it into three time periods, and let people take a 60-second break in between."

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Reagan Press Chief's Death Ruled 'Homicide'

Former White House Press Secretary James Brady's death this week has been ruled a homicide.

A Virginia medical examiner said on Friday that Brady had died as a result of the injuries he suffered 33 years ago when he was wounded during the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan.

It is not clear whether the gunman, John Hinckley, could now be charged with Brady's murder.

Brady pictured behind the president just before John Hinckley opened fire

District of Columbia police say they have been notified of Friday's homicide ruling.

Hinckley - who is a patient at a psychiatric hospital in Washington DC - was found not guilty by reason of insanity for the attempted murder of Reagan.

Brady died on Monday aged 73 from a series of health issues, his family said.

The White House press briefing room was renamed for Mr Brady in 2000

He was one of four people wounded, including Reagan, in the shooting by Hinckley outside the Washington Hilton Hotel on March 30, 1981.

A bullet struck Brady in the head, causing brain damage, partial paralysis, short-term memory impairment, slurred speech and constant pain for the rest of his life.

He endured a series of brain operations in the years after the shooting.

Brady devoted his life to the pursuit of stronger gun laws after he was left permanently disabled in the shooting.

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence is named in his honour.

Despite being unable to perform as press secretary after the shooting, Reagan allowed Brady to keep his title until his second term in office ended in 1989.

In 2000, the White House press briefing room was renamed in honour of Brady.

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Gaza 'Is Living In A Disaster Situation'

By Katie Stallard, Sky News Correspondent, in Gaza

The first ambulance came in at speed, tyres squealing.

Inside, was a 10-year-old boy.

They rushed him to the emergency ward, but there was nothing they could do to save his life.

We saw other children being brought in - a little girl, maybe five years old, carried in a paramedic's arms.

An ambulance brings a child to Gaza's Shifa Hospital

She looked absolutely terrified.

The doctors told us they treated a six-month-old baby for shrapnel wounds to the head.

We saw an 80-year-old woman, clearly very frail and confused and clearly seriously injured.

"Gaza is living in a disaster situation," said Dr Sobhi Skaik at Shifa Hospital.

"Again the war is coming to kill and kill and kill.

"Today is the 33rd day of this massacre in Gaza. This is inhuman and it has to be stopped."

Dr Sobhu Skaik tends to an injured 80-year-old woman

He said they need basic supplies now - surgical instruments, drugs, medication, and expertise - specifically vascular, orthopaedic and neurosurgeons.

One of the ambulances pulling up outside had blast damage to the windscreen and a bullet hole in the side.

Six medics have been killed in Gaza so far.

Paramedic Ahmed Abu-Ali said: "We feel we are targeted in any minute.

"All medical teams are now afraid they are targeted, it's very hard now.

"We wake up every day and we don't know if we are coming back to our homes or not."

We saw outgoing rockets too.

Although Hamas has not admitted firing any rockets since the ceasefire ended, Islamic Jihad and other smaller militant groups have said they fired on Israel.

But Israel says Hamas violated the ceasefire, and therefore Hamas is responsible for any resulting harm to the residents Gaza, who, it says, are being used as human shields.

But it's difficult to explain that argument to a parent carrying their child into the emergency ward.

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Hundreds Of Women Captured By ISIS Fighters

Hundreds of women from the Yazidi religious minority have been taken captive by Islamist militants, Iraq's government has said.

Kamil Amin, a spokesman for the country's human rights ministry, said the women were kidnapped by Islamic State (IS) fighters.

He added that some of the women are being held in schools in Iraq's second city Mosul, and that the ministry learned of the kidnappings from the victims' families.

"We think that the terrorists by now consider them slaves and they have vicious plans for them," Mr Amin said.

"We think that these women are going to be used in demeaning ways by those terrorists to satisfy their animalistic urges in a way that contradicts all the human and Islamic values."

The aftermath of US airstrikes near Irbil, seen from the Khazer Checkpoint

A US official speaking on condition of anonymity said IS militants kidnapped the women so they could be sold or married off to extremist fighters.

Some 50,000 residents from the ancient Yazidi community fled the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar after IS militants overwhelmed Kurdish forces this month.

Many Yazidis are trapped on Mount Sinjar without food or water and are at risk of starvation as militants surround the base.

Kurdish media has reported that Peshmerga forces have rescued 11,000 of those trapped in the mountains.

The US has been carrying out airstrikes against the militants in the north of the country.

An F/A-18C Hornet aboard the USS George HW Bush on August 8

Two F/A-18 aircraft dropped 500lb laser-guided bombs on a mobile artillery piece near Irbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

Later on Friday, two further strikes were carried out near Irbil, targeting mortar positions and a convoy of IS vehicles.

On Thursday, the US also dropped thousands of gallons of drinking water and 8,000 packaged meals to Yazidis.

President Barack Obama said the airdrops were made at the request of the Iraqi government as IS fighters tightened their grip on northern Iraq.

In his remarks late Thursday, he mentioned "chilling reports" of fighters with the group "rounding up families, conducting mass executions, and enslaving Yazidi women".

IS believes the Yazidis, who are followers of a religion derived from Zoroastrianism, are "devil worshippers".

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Cruz And Bardem 'Face Hollywood Backlash'

Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem are reportedly facing a Hollywood backlash over their criticism of Israel's offensive in Gaza.

The couple, along with dozens of other Spanish film stars, directors and writers, signed an open letter which described the actions against Palestinians as "genocide".

The letter demanded a ceasefire by the military and urged Israel to lift the blockade in the Gaza Strip.

Following the comments, the pair were accused of being anti-Semitic.

One top producer who has worked with Cruz says he has vowed not to hire her again, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The publication also said another top Hollywood executive had expressed his disapproval, saying he was "furious at Javier and Penelope" and was not sure about working with the couple again.

So far, one studio boss, Relativity Media chief executive Ryan Kavanaugh, has gone public with his views.

He said: "As the grandson of Holocaust survivors, I know that anyone calling what's going on in Israel 'genocide' vs self-defence is either ignorant and shouldn't be commenting or is truly anti-Semitic."

The letter demanded a ceasefire by Israel

Kavanaugh reportedly said he received more than 500 calls, emails and texts of support in the 24 hours after his comments were published, including from high-ranking industry executives, suggesting the sentiment was widespread.

But he does not think the open letter will hurt either of their careers as long as they continue to have box office hits.

Another producer reportedly said: "I think the thing any executive or producer will try to calculate before working with Penelope Cruz or Javier Bardem in the near future is what their value is in the all-important international marketplace.

"And what territories they might have alienated people in by what they said. It might not be that many. But it's really all about business."

Cruz and Bardem later clarified their positions. She said: "I'm not an expert on the situation and I'm aware of the complexity of it."

And she said her "only wish and intention" in signing the letter was that there would be peace in Israel and Gaza.

Bardem said: "My signature was solely meant as a plea for peace. Destruction and hatred only generate more hatred and destruction.

"While I was critical of the Israeli military response, I have great respect for the people of Israel and deep compassion for their losses.

"I am now being labelled by some as anti-Semitic, as is my wife - which is the antithesis of who we are as human beings.

"We detest anti-Semitism as much as we detest the horrible and painful consequences of war."

Among those who accused the pair of stoking anti-Semitism was actor Jon Voight.

He wrote: "I am more than angry, I am heartsick that people like Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem could incite anti-Semitism all over the world and are oblivious to the damage they have caused."

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Guinea Closes Borders To Stop Ebola Outbreak

Guinea has closed its borders with Sierra Leone and Liberia in an attempt to stop the spread of ebola in West Africa.

The outbreak - the most serious since the disease first emerged in Africa 40 years ago - has so far killed nearly 1,000 people in the three countries this year.

"We have provisionally closed the frontier between Guinea and Sierra Leone because of all the news that we have received from there recently," Health Minister Rémy Lamah told a news conference.

She said the border has also been closed with Liberia.

The World Health Organisation has declared an international health emergency and said the virus may continue spreading for months.

On Friday, Nigeria became the third African nation, after Sierra Leone and Liberia, to declare a national emergency as hospitals struggled to cope with increasing cases.

"The outbreak is moving faster than we can control it," WHO Director-General Margaret Chan told reporters at a news briefing in Geneva.

She said all countries with ebola should declare a national emergency, but said a ban on international travel is not needed.

Some 1,779 people have been infected and 961 people have died in the outbreak, according to the latest WHO figures.

Most of the cases are in the remote area where Guinea borders Sierra Leone and Liberia.

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Supersonic 'Flying Saucer' Video Released By Nasa

Footage of a supersonic "flying saucer" has been released by Nasa, as the agency attempts to find a process for landing heavier spacecraft on Mars.

The video of the spinning saucer, launched from Hawaii, shows it being shot 120,000ft into orbit by a giant balloon.

A giant balloon launches the craft into space

Officially called a Low Density Supersonic Decelerator, the spacecraft is part of a system designed to slow down landings in space.

The device borrows the rapid inflation technique of the Hawaiian puffer fish to slow the landing - reducing its velocity from four times the speed of sound to two and a half times the speed of sound.

The parachute is ripped to pieces

The footage, shot on June 28, shows a giant parachute being shot out once the slower speed is reached and then being ripped to pieces as the spacecraft punches a hole in the atmosphere.

Landing exploratory vehicles on Mars presents greater problems than landing spacecraft on Earth because the planet's atmosphere is much thinner.

The flying saucer is important for the future of Mars exploration

Giant parachutes, several times the size of those used for Earth landings, and a deceleration device are needed to put the brakes on so that rovers can be landed on the Red Planet safely and in one piece.

Nasa is working on the system because future missions to Mars will need heavier landers than the current one-ton Curiosity Rover.

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Obama: Islamist Arms And Equipment Destroyed

US warplanes have succeeded in destroying arms and equipment that could have been used to attack the Kurdish capital Irbil, President Barack Obama has revealed.

The American commander-in-chief said the US is stepping up assistance to Kurdish forces in Iraq to counter the advance of Islamic State (IS) forces in Iraq, during a special address on the lawn of the White House.

Earlier the Pentagon said that two F/A-18 aircraft from a carrier in the Gulf had dropped laser-guided 500-pound bombs on the fighters' artillery.

The advance of IS, previously known as ISIS or ISIL, has forced up to 50,000 people from Iraq's Yazidi community from their homes in the north east into the Sinjar mountains.

Several witnesses told Reuters on Saturday that IS have threatened to kill more than 300 families from his community unless they convert to Islam.

Three US cargo planes escorted by the F/A-18 combat jets dropped 28,224 individually packaged meals and 1,522 gallons of fresh drinking water.

He said the US was now working out, together with its allies, how to create a "safe corridor" that would allow Yazidi people trapped in the mountains to be moved to safety.

The US president said that the IS advance had been faster than expected and that it would take "some time" to solve Iraq's problems.

Among the most urgent needs, he said, was for Iraq to form a stable government that could work out how to tackle the problem of IS for itself.

"I'm not going to give a particular timetable, because as I've said from the start, wherever and whenever US personnel and facilities are threatened, it's my obligation, my responsibility as commander-in-chief, to make sure they are protected," he said.

He repeated comments he made earlier on Saturday, during his weekly address to the nations, that  US combat troops were not going to be dragged into fighting another war on the ground.

Two British cargo planes are due to drop supplies including tents, blankets, food, water and solar lanterns "imminently", according to UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond.

The British minister said that the UK was fully supportive of the US operation.

Mr Hammond said: "We can expect a continuing drumbeat of airdrop operations working in co-ordination with the US and potentially with others as well.

"But more widely we are looking at how to support this group of people and get them off that mountain, how we are going to facilitate their exit from what is a completely unacceptable situation."

Islamic State fighters, who have beheaded and crucified captives, have advanced to within a half an hour of Irbil, Iraq's Kurdish capital and a hub for US oil companies.

As Mr Obama was speaking, it emerged that Islamist militants had clashed with villagers in Lebanon, engaging in a firefight before withdrawing into Syria.

Because of the crisis, all US civilian aircraft and British Airways planes are no longer flying over Iraq. Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines have also halted their flights to Irbil until Monday.

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