Hydrablog

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/29/AR2007072901117.html
Afghan President Calls Kidnappings 'Shameful'
Monday, July 30, 2007; A12
Afghan President Calls Kidnappings 'Shameful'
[Afghanistan] [hydra] [insurgency] [followup] [the 2007 offensive and mixed messages] [on the one hand, NATO seemed to anticipate and stymied Taliban and al Qaeda fighters on several fronts] [on other, hydra proving resilent and arguably more popular than they should be given their history] [Korean hostages who are Christian—followup] [*******]
KABUL -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Sunday called the kidnapping of 23 South Koreans by the Taliban "shameful," noting in his first statement on the incident that abducting women in particular is un-Islamic.
A purported Taliban spokesman shrugged off the remarks and set a new deadline, saying one or all of the 22 remaining captives could be killed if the government didn't release 23 militant prisoners by Monday. Several deadlines have passed without killings.
The church members were kidnapped July 19 while traveling by bus on the Kabul-Kandahar highway. The Taliban shot and killed a male hostage last week. The 22 others include 18 women.
Afghanistan's national council of clerics said the prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam, taught that no one has the right to kill women.
ASIA
• BEIJING -- China has banned a conference in August that would have brought together 50 Chinese and foreign experts and activists to discuss how to press the legal rights of people with HIV/AIDS, an organizer said of the meeting planned by Asia Catalyst group, based in New York.
• BEIJING-- Fierce storms and hail have killed at least 17 people in China, pushing to nearly 700 the deaths this summer in floods, landslides and other natural disasters, according to state media.
AFRICA
• MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Gun battles and grenade attacks killed two soldiers and two civilians in Mogadishu, [***]witnesses said. The government is struggling to contain a violent insurgency in the capital.
THE AMERICAS
• MEXICO CITY -- Mexico City's prison system has begun allowing gay conjugal visits, agreeing to a recommendation by the country's National Human Rights Commission, the commission said.
Despite opposition from conservatives and religious groups, the city's leftist government has taken controversial stands in recent months on social issues such as abortion, gay marriage and prostitution.
-- From News Services
© 2007 The Washington Post Company