Pope John Paul appealed yesterday for the release of the French and other hostages in Iraq, saying human beings could not be treated like merchandise.
The 84-year-old Pope made his appeal in an address accepting the Political Courage Prize given to him by France's International Politics magazine.
"I am also thinking of the hostages and their families, innocent victims of violence and hate," he said in his French address to a group of dignitaries from France.
"I invite all people of goodwill to respect people's lives. Nothing can justify treating human beings like merchandise. The path of violence is a path with no way out."
Meanwhile, President Jacques Chirac of France is "concerned" at attempts by a French deputy to secure the release of two French hostages held in Iraq, saying he hoped it would not have negative consequences, aides said yesterday.
The lawmaker, Didier Julia, claimed late Friday in Damascus that US forces had torpedoed his private effort to free the two French journalists by firing on a convoy allegedly bringing them out of Iraq.
Julia, a member of Chirac's ruling party, said an assistant had persuaded the kidnappers to release Georges Malbrunot and Christian Chesnot, who were abducted near Baghdad on Aug. 20.
Chirac's aides said that the president did not think the initiative was a positive development and "especially hopes that it will not be negative" for the reporters and their driver.
An insurgent group called the Islamic Army in Iraq is thought to be holding the hostages.
Chirac is "concerned at this interference in a delicate process," the aides said, while acknowledging that every avenue must be explored to try to secure the hostages' release.
Also yesterday, an imprisoned Islamic preacher rejected demands by Iraqi militants that he be released in return for two Indonesian women held hostage in Iraq, his lawyer said.
Instead, Abu Bakar Bashir, 66, asked the hostage-takers to immediately release Rosidah binti Anom and Rafikan binti Amin unconditionally, his lawyer Mahendradatta told Elshinta radio.
"Because he rejects being freed by means outside the law," the lawyer said.
A militant group calling itself the Islamic Army in Iraq made the request for Bashir's release in a video broadcast by al-Jazeera television.
Mahendradatta said the Indonesian cleric became extremely angry when he learned of the demand because it is forbidden by Islam to take innocent women hostage.
"Maybe the people who did this forgot that there are certain parameters or paradigms that cannot be violated in the Islamic struggle. These have been violated," Mahendradatta said.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
GEOPOLITICAL CONCERNS: Foreign companies such as Nissan, Volkswagen and Konica Minolta have pulled back their operations in China this year Foreign companies pulled more money from China last quarter, a sign that some investors are still pessimistic even as Beijing rolls out stimulus measures aimed at stabilizing growth. China’s direct investment liabilities in its balance of payments dropped US$8.1 billion in the third quarter, data released by the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange showed on Friday. The gauge, which measures foreign direct investment (FDI) in China, was down almost US$13 billion for the first nine months of the year. Foreign investment into China has slumped in the past three years after hitting a record in 2021, a casualty of geopolitical tensions,
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