S Korea urges hostages' release
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South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun appeals for the release of 18 citizens held captive in Afghanistan.
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A UN spokesman has called on kidnappers to release three UN hostages held in Afghanistan before the Muslim celebration of Eid al-Fitr later this week.
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Japan&#39;s Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, has called for the release of of a Japanese tourist taken hostage in Iraq but says Japan will not &quot;bend to terror.
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GHAZNI, Afghanistan  - Taliban insurgents said on Tuesday they would release 19 South Korean Christian volunteers they have held for nearly six weeks, provided Seoul pull out its troops and stop Korean missionary work in Afghanistan by year-end.
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South Korean hostages held by Taliban rebels in Afghanistan are in good health and any use of force to rescue them would risk the lives of the 23 Christian captives, a Taliban spokesman said on Monday.
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The United Nations has reiterated a plea for the safe release of three UN workers taken hostage by alleged Islamic militants, as the crisis dragged into its third week with little known about the hostages' fate.
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ANYANG, South Korea  - Nineteen South Korean Christian volunteers held hostage by the Taliban in Afghanistan for six weeks returned home to an uncomfortable welcome on Sunday, thanking their government for winning their release.
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President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo appealed to world Muslim leaders today to help secure the release of Filipino hostages in Afghanistan and Iraq as anxious relatives prayed for their safety.
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Families of eight Chinese labourers held hostage by militants in Iraq plead for their release.
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Kidnappers holding two Indonesian women hostages in Iraq are demanding the release of a militant cleric accused of leading a terrorist group in Southeast Asia.
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The government appealed for the release of a Briton held hostage in Iraq in a message aired on Arabic satellite television channels.
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Families of eight Chinese hostages in  Iraq pleaded on Thursday for their release as a deadline set by  their captors neared, and Japan said it was checking reports  one of its citizens had been kidnapped.
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A Taliban spokesman said the three remaining South Korean hostages would be released within hours.
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GAZA: The Palestinian Islamic militant group, Hamas, called on Tuesday for the release of two French journalists held hostage in Iraq, saying it could add to the isolation of Israel and the United States.
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President Roh Moo-Hyun on Saturday urged the immediate release of South Koreans kidnapped by armed insurgents in Afghanistan as Seoul said it would withdraw troops from the war-torn country by the end of 2007.
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Taliban rebels in Afghanistan warned that talks to secure the release of 23 South Korean hostages were &quot;not going well&quot; and reiterated their threat to kill them by sunset.
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John Paul II appeals for the release of two French journalists being held hostage in Iraq.