LONDON - A French aid worker kidnapped in Afghanistan earlier this month has appeared in a video with two rifles pressed to either side of his head and chains around his legs.
In the video, obtained by news agencies in Afghanistan, the dirt-streaked man barely seems to open his eyes as he pleads for his release.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - A prominent U.S. congresswoman called on Wednesday for a better-funded, systemic approach to fighting hunger in Haiti following an Associated Press report that child malnutrition is worsening.
California Democrat Maxine Waters, a veteran member of the Congressional Black Caucus, urged the U.S. Agency for International Development to locate Haitian children in danger of starvation, citing a Nov. 21 AP report that malnutrition had contributed to the deaths of at least 26 children in the southeastern area of Baie d’Orange.
UNITED NATIONS, (AFP) - - The UN Security Council unanimously endorsed a plan by Secretary Genral Ban Ki-moon on the deployment of an EU police and justice mission in Kosovo.
“The Security Council welcomes the Secretary-General’s report” and “welcomes the cooperation between the UN and other international actors, within the framework of Security Council resolution 1244,” said the council’s declaration, which was read by the representative of Costa Rica, which is this month’s council president.
CHICAGO, (AFP) - - President-elect Barack Obama promised that “help is on the way” for those affected by the nation’s economic woes as he announced the creation of an economic recovery advisory board.
Heading into the Thanksgiving shopping weekend, which retailers fear could prove a bust as customers tighten their belts, Obama said concerns about the financial future were understandable.
BERLIN - A 104-year-old Dutch-born entertainer who made his name performing in Hitler’s Germany is trying to clear his name of allegations he sang for Nazi guards at the Dachau concentration camp.
Johannes Heesters admits that he visited the notorious camp outside Munich in 1941, but is suing in a civil court in Berlin on Thursday to have a German author and documentary maker retract statements that he entertained the SS troops while there.
MANILA, Philippines - A bill imposing tougher penalties against illegal fishing moved closer to becoming a law after the House of Representatives aquaculture-fisheries committee reported it out for floor deliberation.
House Bill 2623 aims to establish a fisheries law enforcement support fund and create special courts for fisheries violations.
MANILA, Philippines - Former House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr on Thursday claimed President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s plans for term extension will be behind her choice for the next Supreme Court justices.
In a radio interview, De Venecia said the replacement of the retiring Supreme Court justices in 2009 could spell a term extension for President Arroyo beyond 2010, saying the administration plans to fill vacancies at the High Court before pushing for a charter change.
The Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) had declared that Fat & Thin Lohan Kou Pei Pa Koa Candy 120 grams is free from formaldehyde, a preservative substance.
In a letter dated April 21, BFAD director Leticia Gutierrez said the samples of this product collected from the establishment of Hua San Wan Foodmart Inc. along Sta. Elena street in Binondo, Manila and in its warehouse in Kaingin Road, Quezon City “were analyzed and gave negative results for the presence of formaldehyde.”
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) director general Ralph Recto said yesterday oil companies should cut prices of gasoline and diesel by roughly P8 to P9 per liter this week to reflect the price reduction in the world market.
Citing estimates made by NEDA, Recto said pump prices should now be P35.86 per liter for gasoline and P31.77 per liter for diesel based on Dubai crude oil prices of $56 per barrel.
